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The UK's Largest Customer Review Website for the Property Industry

1.7/5, 13 Reviews
15% Recommended
100% letting valuation accuracy
0% letting fee satisfaction
By : 'Al'
Services :
Rent PCM : £800
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : CB23
I don't usually write online reviews and in a way I'm not entirely sure if our views actually make a difference, however I have been compelled to make an exception in this case, and express my disbelief at the incompetence and inefficiency of Russells Estate Agents in Cambridge. We were intending to move to Cambridge to take up new jobs in the Summer at which point we made appointments to see some properties to rent. We were shown a place by a representative from Russells and decided to put a deposit down, this was 3 weeks prior to agreed date of moving in. We felt relieved that we had found something and that it was all arranged as we were moving up from the South West of the country we could now concentrate on planning moving our furniture and applying for schools for our child etc... Anyway, 2 days before we intended to move in, Russells call informing us that the landlord had pulled the let, maybe this was genuine or something else was going on between the landlord and the agent that I was unaware of, we will never know. However, during the 3 weeks I had repeatedly sent emails to Russells requesting information and just to check to see that all was going ok with our reference checks. If something had been going on with this property then it would have been nice to have been informed by the agents sooner, however this was not the case and we heard a measly 2 days before our initally agreed date. In the meantime, our child had been accepted into the local school, we had bought the uniform, had our furniture booked for delivery, taken out home insurance and other preliminary stuff one normally does before moving into a new property. We are still even now 3 weeks after the event feeling the repercussions as our child is still on the waiting list for a new school which is causing a tremendous amount of stress emotionally and financially. In addition, at that point of discovering we could not move into the property, we were essentially homeless in Cambridge, not a very nice start, out of necessity we had stay in a hotel for a week while we frantically tried to find a place. Although one representative from Russells took ownership of the situation and actually spent a whole day with us trying to find something, the stress we experienced was so great, in particular as I was about to start a new job and was still staying at a hotel, it just wasn't enough to cushion the blow. And this is why I feel that Russells has to be one of the worst estate agents I have ever had to deal with. I have rented all over the country and abroad and I have never come across agents like this, they are truly remarkable. Even in the new place we have moved into we have problems, unfortunately it is still with Russells, this is purely because our original deposit was with them and they had already done the reference checks, being essentially homeless forces you to make things happen quickly. The new place has water leaking under the sink and it has been a week and still no response. These estate agents are riding the crest of that wave where the sheer volume of people moving into the area keeps them afloat, and I doubt that anything I say or anyone else will make much of a difference. Their fees are the highest I have ever had to pay, �622! For what I don't know. If they provided an excellent service I could probably accept the �622 in fees, but it is the worst service you could imagine. For what it's worth, if you are considering moving to the area, whatever you do avoid these guys like the plague. Even if you think,
| Services | Valuation | Fees | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letting | 100% | 0% | £695 | £1,150 |
Russell Residential
60 High Street, Sawston, Cambridgeshire
CB2 4BG
01223 493420

By : 'Stephen'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Rent PCM : £1025
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : CB1
Worst experience of my life. They quite literally do not know what a contract is and charge ridiculous fees for 'admin' but provide nothing in return. We had awful tenants and had to do all the work ourselves. What did we pay Russells... Read Full Review
By : 'Al'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Rent PCM : £800
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : CB23
I don't usually write online reviews and in a way I'm not entirely sure if our views actually make a difference, however I have been compelled to make an exception in this case, and express my disbelief at the incompetence and inefficiency of Russells Estate Agents in Cambridge. We were intending... Read Full Review
By : 'Neil'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Rent PCM : £875
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : CB1
I can only echo what other tenants have said. Fees were ridiculously high, rent increased every time the tenancy was renewed, hardly ever responded to emails or phone calls. In addition they occasionally failed to pay the landlord the correct rent, then contacted us when she complained before... Read Full Review
Communicate with tenants, communicate with their colleagues.

By : 'Budgiesmuggler'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Rent PCM : £695
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : CB22
Unfortunately I cannot leave worse than 'terrible' above. The are wholly Incompetent on every single level. Their communication is horrendous and they are bi credibly good at avoiding probing questions. They are very quick to chase and request fees that, realistically, are not required but are... Read Full Review
Do the opposite of what has been done and you may be getting somewhere
Fees were outrageous. Nothing more to add.

By : 'modeltenant'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Rent PCM : £850
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : CB1
Wanted to warn other tenants away from Russells - they are very grasping in terms of fees, and they habitually lost paperwork I returned to them or ignored emails. The final straw was the massive delay in returning my... Read Full Review
Rent was reasonable, if steep, but all the admin & tenancy renewal fees were extortionate.
By : 'Tenants'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Rent PCM : £1050
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : CB1
We completely agree with these negative reviews. Russells are absolutely atrocious and their professional standards are appalling. We are in the process of raising a dispute through the HM Court & Tribunal Service and have launched a campaign to question the ethics of this organisation and... Read Full Review
To remain impartial and not to favour the landlord over the tenant. To provide pertinent and legal documentation in good time and to listen to the tenants and address queries that are raised.
Extortionate in comparison to others.
By : 'Angry'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Rent PCM : £895
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : CB1
My partner and I rented a property from Russels on a year long tennancy. It is well known that the majority of lettings agents in Cambridge have a great number of fees but Russells managed to outshine the rest. There are a great number of 'admin', 'check out' fees which accumulate to a... Read Full Review
Not so much the agents specifically. The two agents who actually dealt with our property were very helpful and when we could get hold of them on the phone got things done promptly. The issue is having to send emails thaty are not replied to because of being at work through the day and the greater Russells management charging extortionate amounts for little service.
Extortionate and unjustified
By : 'FenWoman'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Rent PCM : £1150
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : CB1
We had no significant problems until the company was taken over by Countrywide. We were advised by more than one contractor that services included to the landlords had been reduced and this was leading to a reduction in maintenance the properties - such no longer servicing heating systems as part ... Read Full Review
There are fees for everything and it is not made very clear when these will be incurred. the renewal of tenancy fee kept going up.
By : 'Hokken'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : CB4
Russell Residential is the perfect example of the estate agents to avoid, the obvious incarnation of profit before people. They don't reply to emails or phone calls but you can trust them to always be there to grab the money where they can get it. Sorry Russell, focus on putting the people first... Read Full Review
By : 'Jm'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : CB22
Russell's have gone swiftly downhill since they stopped being an independent and became part of a chain of estate agents. Russell lost me thousands of pounds in the poor handling of a new tenant resulting in the loss of the tenant and at least two months rent. They are now too big, cannot... Read Full Review
By : 'Cambridge'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : No
Warning for both landlords and tenants! I am a professional who owns two properties and have two tenants myself and due to work situation rented a house through the agency a year ago. I found out in the last year that they can not be good for neighther the tenants nor the landlord. The rationale... Read Full Review
By : 'Rosie'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Very good agents. Reliable and trustworthy. Always keep me up to date. Properties being well cared for and administered. Would recommend them. Never had any bad experiences and have been with them many... Read Full Review
By : 's'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Ive been renting a house with russells residential for 2yrs,and must say they have been excellent with dealing with issues with the property,not waited any longer than 24hrs for repairs,they even come round to put my curtain poles up! very friendly in the office at... Read Full Review
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