75% sales valuation accuracy
78% sales fee satisfaction
93% lettings valuation accuracy
80% lettings fee satisfaction
Nov 24,2016
Nov 24,2016
48
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Absolute epitome of why estate agents are the most hated profession. A shoddy 2 man band in the back waters of Manchester.
Urge you to read other negative comments about this agent; the same theme runs throughout. Wesley Hopwood of is an arrogant individual who tries to be too clever by half and leaves a bitter taste in your mouth with his untruths.
As two professionals, a Consultant and Barrister, it is a different world when your dealing with estate agents who do not require any qualifications to set up nor regulated by the Government. Even our local MP's hands were tied and unable to assist in dealing with this rogue agent. It is optional for agents to be part of a redress scheme funded by agents themselves which brings into question their independence.
As our complaint with The Property Ombudsman was made at the start of our tenancy, they stated that they cannot perform the role of a Court/Judge and would not look at one person's word against the other if there is not enough independent evidence and could not find against the agent under their rules. This is what happened in our case. The only way was for us to pursue a separate legal claim.
Every complaint which arose through the duration of our tenancy had to be registered as a new complaint which we just didn't have time to waste doing. As you can imagine, we had busy lives to get on with, unlike Wesley Hopwood who had the time to respond to our complaint with a 14,000 word dissertation. Shame he couldn't invest that time in doing what he's paid to do, effectively manage properties.
Granite Lettings are determined to throw names around, let's be clear who's who!
Agent: Granite Lettings
Directors: Wesley Hopwood and Collin Currie
Landlord: Dr Kiki Lam
1. Within 24 hours of moving in, we found furnishings agreed on the inventory had been removed and others left behind that we did not require. Paid a higher rent for fully furnished to find no vacuum cleaner or tv provided in the kitchen amongst other pre agreed items. Took 10 days to remove unwanted items but inventorised e.g. huge tv stand couldn't set up our own mounted tv
2. No inventory ever signed off because Granite Lettings refused to attend the property to go through together despite repeated requests. Wanted inventory returned within 24 hours of us signing the contract on a Sunday at their offices 20 miles away when the contract stated 48 hours. Even though their offices are closed on Sunday and have no physical postbox as covered with metal shutters!
3. Property not cleaned adequately as confirmed by an independent company. Bathrooms, kitchen, cupboards, bedroom draws, windows inside and out all required a thorough clean. Our guess, the agent makes a profit from the landlord by organising the cleaning. Granite Lettings organises a quick half baked job then ensures the tenant is forced to leave the property sparkling as per the contract. If they do not, monies deducted from deposit.
4. Granite Lettings provided a false spare key to the garage so landlord could access to remove stuff. We were clear we required a full sets of keys for our move in.
5. No instruction manuals for central heating/water provided on our move in, had to repeatedly request. Made false claims had left in a folder in the kitchen. Nothing of the sort. Disaster on first night when leaking water tank came crashing off the wall.
6. Misled to believe emails checked hourly throughout the night in case of emergencies.
7. No deposit information provided. Had no clue which scheme our deposit was under nor did we receive any accompanying information
8. Complete breakdown in relationship between Granite Lettings and ourselves after first week, thus only ever communicated via email thereafter. Landlady refused to get involved. Wesley Hopwood attempted to report us to the police for "harassment" in reference to an online review posted on this very site "all agents".
The police laughed and said they explained to Wesley Hopwood, an online review was a civil matter not criminal. In a word, stop wasting police time. Why he would think the police would be interested in his tall stories of verbal attacks, harassment and threats beggars belief!!! These are serious accusations which if any remote truth, the police would initiate a criminal investigation.
He also contacted my professional body, the Bar Standards Board to try and disprove my status as a Barrister!
Unfortunately for Wesley Hopwood, he had missed the fact that I'm a Barrister in our tenancy application as I was on mat leave and he couldn't stomach the fact that I was able to challenge him. He will go to any lengths.
9. Granite Lettings were unable to conduct property checks in a reasonable manner. Used bullying tactics claiming they could enter with 24 hrs notice. Clueless about the law; the role of the agent and rights of the tenant. Spineless Wesley Hopwood sent Colin Currie who simply didn't bother turning up for a pre arranged property inspection on the agreed date/time under the guise that he didn't have confirmation whether every room was accessible. When he finally attended, attempted to take pictures of every room in the property, which I refused to allow. They will try every trick under the sun so be warned.
10. Granite Lettings charged a fee of £60 to bad reference us with no reason given. Effectively tried to make us homeless and wrote to us stating they had started "accelerated possession proceedings".
11. Tenancy terminated due to landlady's early return from Honk Kong despite being told she would be abroad for 2 years. A tactic used to get tenants in. Gladdened to see the back of an indifferent landlord and a rogue agent.
12. Overpaid rent never repaid to date despite promises it would be returned by the landlord. Emails just ignored
Urge you to read other negative comments about this agent; the same theme runs throughout. Wesley Hopwood of is an arrogant individual who tries to be too clever by half and leaves a bitter taste in your mouth with his untruths.
As two professionals, a Consultant and Barrister, it is a different world when your dealing with estate agents who do not require any qualifications to set up nor regulated by the Government. Even our local MP's hands were tied and unable to assist in dealing with this rogue agent. It is optional for agents to be part of a redress scheme funded by agents themselves which brings into question their independence.
As our complaint with The Property Ombudsman was made at the start of our tenancy, they stated that they cannot perform the role of a Court/Judge and would not look at one person's word against the other if there is not enough independent evidence and could not find against the agent under their rules. This is what happened in our case. The only way was for us to pursue a separate legal claim.
Every complaint which arose through the duration of our tenancy had to be registered as a new complaint which we just didn't have time to waste doing. As you can imagine, we had busy lives to get on with, unlike Wesley Hopwood who had the time to respond to our complaint with a 14,000 word dissertation. Shame he couldn't invest that time in doing what he's paid to do, effectively manage properties.
Granite Lettings are determined to throw names around, let's be clear who's who!
Agent: Granite Lettings
Directors: Wesley Hopwood and Collin Currie
Landlord: Dr Kiki Lam
1. Within 24 hours of moving in, we found furnishings agreed on the inventory had been removed and others left behind that we did not require. Paid a higher rent for fully furnished to find no vacuum cleaner or tv provided in the kitchen amongst other pre agreed items. Took 10 days to remove unwanted items but inventorised e.g. huge tv stand couldn't set up our own mounted tv
2. No inventory ever signed off because Granite Lettings refused to attend the property to go through together despite repeated requests. Wanted inventory returned within 24 hours of us signing the contract on a Sunday at their offices 20 miles away when the contract stated 48 hours. Even though their offices are closed on Sunday and have no physical postbox as covered with metal shutters!
3. Property not cleaned adequately as confirmed by an independent company. Bathrooms, kitchen, cupboards, bedroom draws, windows inside and out all required a thorough clean. Our guess, the agent makes a profit from the landlord by organising the cleaning. Granite Lettings organises a quick half baked job then ensures the tenant is forced to leave the property sparkling as per the contract. If they do not, monies deducted from deposit.
4. Granite Lettings provided a false spare key to the garage so landlord could access to remove stuff. We were clear we required a full sets of keys for our move in.
5. No instruction manuals for central heating/water provided on our move in, had to repeatedly request. Made false claims had left in a folder in the kitchen. Nothing of the sort. Disaster on first night when leaking water tank came crashing off the wall.
6. Misled to believe emails checked hourly throughout the night in case of emergencies.
7. No deposit information provided. Had no clue which scheme our deposit was under nor did we receive any accompanying information
8. Complete breakdown in relationship between Granite Lettings and ourselves after first week, thus only ever communicated via email thereafter. Landlady refused to get involved. Wesley Hopwood attempted to report us to the police for "harassment" in reference to an online review posted on this very site "all agents".
The police laughed and said they explained to Wesley Hopwood, an online review was a civil matter not criminal. In a word, stop wasting police time. Why he would think the police would be interested in his tall stories of verbal attacks, harassment and threats beggars belief!!! These are serious accusations which if any remote truth, the police would initiate a criminal investigation.
He also contacted my professional body, the Bar Standards Board to try and disprove my status as a Barrister!
Unfortunately for Wesley Hopwood, he had missed the fact that I'm a Barrister in our tenancy application as I was on mat leave and he couldn't stomach the fact that I was able to challenge him. He will go to any lengths.
9. Granite Lettings were unable to conduct property checks in a reasonable manner. Used bullying tactics claiming they could enter with 24 hrs notice. Clueless about the law; the role of the agent and rights of the tenant. Spineless Wesley Hopwood sent Colin Currie who simply didn't bother turning up for a pre arranged property inspection on the agreed date/time under the guise that he didn't have confirmation whether every room was accessible. When he finally attended, attempted to take pictures of every room in the property, which I refused to allow. They will try every trick under the sun so be warned.
10. Granite Lettings charged a fee of £60 to bad reference us with no reason given. Effectively tried to make us homeless and wrote to us stating they had started "accelerated possession proceedings".
11. Tenancy terminated due to landlady's early return from Honk Kong despite being told she would be abroad for 2 years. A tactic used to get tenants in. Gladdened to see the back of an indifferent landlord and a rogue agent.
12. Overpaid rent never repaid to date despite promises it would be returned by the landlord. Emails just ignored
Comment on agent fees
Reasonable
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Latest Reviews
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Opening Hours
Address
Granite Lettings
52 Port Street
Manchester
Greater Manchester
M1 2EQ
01612366088
Performance statistics
| Services | Valuation Accuracy | Fees Satisfaction | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 75% | 78% | £0 | £0 |
| Lettings | 93% | 80% | £375 | £1,395 |
Review statistics
| From Landlords | From Tenants | From Vendors | From Buyers | Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Areas covered
- M1
Services offered
- Sales
- Lettings
- Block Management
- Surveys
- Conveyancing
- Mortgage Advice
- Home Builder
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Latest Properties
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Oct 13,2023
Oct 13,2023
0
people found
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this helpful
Very happy with the service. I was a tenant for 3 plus years and every issue was dealt with nicely. Would recommend....
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Oct 06,2023
Oct 06,2023
0
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Really happy with the service they provided for the duration of my tenancy. Thank you...
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Nov 14,2021
Nov 14,2021
0
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I wouldn’t normally leave a review but I promised the tewam I would, simply on the basis the service they provided, totally exceeded that of previous experiences. To keep this brief, the team at granite did everything, they went out of their way to ...
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Nov 03,2021
Nov 03,2021
0
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this helpful
Wesley and the whole team were fantastic, nothing was too much trouble and always good advice, thank you so much!...
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Nov 06,2020
Nov 06,2020
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I had tried to guarantee a flat through these for 2 months prior to this date. Was informed we could not view the property till 2 weeks before we needed to move in. We complied to this and had our viewing yesterday, and was offered the flat ...
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Aug 06,2020
Aug 06,2020
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I signed with Granite a few months ago and couldn't be more happy with their service. They are efficient, professional, knowledgeable, extremely helpful and friendly. They're doing a great job managing my property....
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Jun 20,2020
Jun 20,2020
6
people found
this helpful
this helpful
HORRENDOUS EXPERIENCE! Not worth it no matter how good the property.
The staff members who work for this agency treated me awfully and they also hold onto your money for as long as they can.
Took a formal complaint to receive a refund from them ...
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Apr 23,2020
Apr 23,2020
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Can not fault the service we have been provided. The advice given to us from Colin to help get a property ready to let was excellent. The speed of finding a tenant was very fast. Ever since, we have had payments and statements on time ...
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Sep 07,2018
Sep 07,2018
0
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Cracking letting agents. We moved into a property last week and are over the moon with the property. Colin was present at the viewing and he was really friendly and professional.
The whole process of dealing with Granite was great. A lot of letting agents ...
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Comment on agent fees
Good
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Aug 22,2018
Aug 22,2018
0
people found
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this helpful
I've used granite lettings for nearly 3 years and I'm super happy with them. Excellent communications, reliable and trustworthy! which is often hard to come by these days! highly recommend...
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Aug 16,2018
Aug 16,2018
8
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Myself and my partner travelled to Manchester from Newcastle for a viewing.
We met Colin who was friendly enough. He asked us to call him when we had some further information which he requested, but when we tried to call him he didn't answer, which ...
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May 11,2018
May 11,2018
0
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I am so glad I chose Granite Lettings to manage my property. I had had a different lettings agent for 18 months but the relationship broke down and I was left needing a tenant and lettings agent, while relocating to Dundee, and dealing with one relatives ...
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Comment on agent fees
Good
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Apr 17,2018
Apr 17,2018
2
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I rented a flat in Manchester city via Granite Lettings Team and ended up buying the same place after 2 years of living in it. Although it has been several months now, I wanted to take an opportunity to thank Colin and his entire team at ...
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Comment on agent fees
I think they are standard fees
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Mar 28,2018
Mar 28,2018
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
From the start of our contract they were a breath of fresh air. Willing to negotiate, willing to listen, and willing to treat us as people, not as a sale like other agents we've dealt with. Colin was great during negotiations, and Demi was a ...
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Comment on agent fees
Seem to be inkeeping with the market rate
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Oct 11,2017
Oct 11,2017
18
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Honestly this place has put me off letting agents.
We had an issue with the boiler which took days to resolve, in the middle of winter, and was told to deal with it and just boil a kettle a million times to make a bath ...
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Jul 28,2017
Jul 28,2017
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
We have used the lads for both letting our flat and most recently selling a flat. Colin and Wes have always been able to find us tenants who pay the rent they estimated and managed the property brilliantly, giving us nothing to worry about. I ...
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Comment on agent fees
Great value for money.
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May 26,2017
May 26,2017
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
The guys at Granite letting are amazing and i have been a landlord with them for a few years now and each time we need new tenants the team find us them very quickly with no hassle! They are a pleasure to deal with so ...
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Mar 29,2017
Mar 29,2017
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
We have used Granite as our letting agents for the past 6 and a half years and have been completely happy with everything they have done - from vetting potential tenants to carrying out maintenance and regular inspections of our property. As we live in Spain, ...
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Comment on agent fees
The fees we negotiated back in 2010 have never changed and have been excellent value for money.
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Mar 27,2017
Mar 27,2017
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Both Colin & Wesley are two of the most helpful professional guys running the best letting agents in the Northern Quarter in my view. This is my 10 year in dealing with them...
We find them so accommodating to both Tenants and Landlords and fair in their ...
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Comment on agent fees
GOOD
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Mar 15,2017
Mar 15,2017
26
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Horrible, please read other negative comments about this agent and never ever work with them.
When I entered the property it was quite messy. The previous tenant did not clean the house properly. Toilets were full of mould, kitchen hub was dirty, fridge was in ...
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Comment on agent fees
It is awful
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Nov 24,2016
Nov 24,2016
48
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Absolute epitome of why estate agents are the most hated profession. A shoddy 2 man band in the back waters of Manchester.
Urge you to read other negative comments about this agent; the same theme runs throughout. Wesley Hopwood of is an arrogant individual who tries ...
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Comment on agent fees
Reasonable
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Jul 29,2016
Jul 29,2016
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
We just moved to Manchester from London and the team at Granite Lettings showed us a few properties. We ended up choosing one of these properties to move into after Colin made a suggestion that he thought we'd really like - and he was right! ...
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Jul 19,2016
Jul 19,2016
25
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Cant remember the name of the guy showing me the property to rent. But the didnt know mine either. He showed up without his diary. There was 3 other people to view the property at the same time. (personally I hate group viewings and this wasn't ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
Didnt askAttached Filesnbsp;
Comment on agent fees
Didnt ask
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Mar 09,2015
Mar 09,2015
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Granite Lettings offer a great service. As a landlord I had worked successfully with Wes many years back through another agency and so was delighted when a few years ago I stumbled across their own business in Manchester. Wes and Colin provide me with top ...
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Mar 04,2015
Mar 04,2015
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I have just rented an apartment through Granite Lettings for the second time and I have nothing but praise for Wes and his team. They are professional, efficient and have helped me beyond what I would have expected of them. When at the last minute ...
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Mar 04,2015
Mar 04,2015
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I have been working with Wes for a few months now and have found the service to be nothing short of excellent. I am renting two apartments with Granite and plan to sell with them also.
I have had dealings with many estates agents around ...
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Dec 17,2014
Dec 17,2014
5
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Colin was such a great lettings agent, he went out of his way to make sure I was happy in the flat. Really good experience. Dealt with everything so well and quickly. I would of stayed a lot longer if I could of.
Thanks so ...
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Nov 25,2014
Nov 25,2014
5
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Not often I write reviews but I felt that Wesley and his team are unique with regards the service they offer. I was in a rush to find a flat dure to a relocation with work. Wesley got back to my enquiry within a few ...
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Comment on agent fees
Fees were actually more reasonable than other agents I come across.
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Oct 24,2014
Oct 24,2014
35
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Wesley Hopwood! Need I say anymore, an extremely arrogant little man with no remorse for any of his own mistakes. I rented from granite quite a while back and it still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, unhelpful, with no organisation, no punctuality(he ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
Actually been helpful, instead of just utter rudeAttached Filesnbsp;
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Oct 09,2014
Oct 09,2014
4
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I dealt with Colin and April at Granite and thought they did a fantastic job with my move in!
They were both helpful and a pleasure to speak to! Would recommend Granite to anyone....
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No fees information available
Kindly note that legally, letting agents need to publish information about their tenancy fees, government-approved redress schemes and client money protection schemes on their website and on third party websites (on which agents are listed). For properties to lease/rent in England, agents need to keep this information up to date and precise on allAgents or specify within the property description.
Complaints Procedure
No procedure set.
Last updated at 10:41 AM 28/11/2016 by Colin Currie
