50% lettings valuation accuracy
44% lettings fee satisfaction
Jun 28,2018
Jun 28,2018
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
We rented an unfurnished flat for a year as a family home inbetween selling and buying properties. Overall we were unhappy with the experience and would advise anyone in our position against using Retties. In fact we moved out the moment our lease expired and rented a nearby Air bnb for the remaining month for which we needed accommodation, just to get away from the whole situation. We had a fair number of problems. This included me discovering (from a newspaper article) that the washing machine in the flat was of a model which had been subject to a recall because of the risk of it going on fire. Retties did not want to take responsibility for this and just notified the landlord, who did nothing for weeks. I needed to be able to use the machine and eventually sorted the matter out myself by arranging for the appropriate alterations to be made to the machine. However, I was pretty astounded that they had not checked it as part of their annual electrical tests and did not consider the matter urgent once I pointed it out.
Retties do flat inspections and I had been clear that I always wanted to be present when this happened. On one occasion they sent an email notifiying me of the date of an inspection, but then someone came and let themselves into the flat a day early, when I was not there (they blamed a typo in the email). I think that this is something which should never happen with a proper letting agency. It felt very invasive and has also put us in a difficult position as we have lost or mislaid some valuable jewellery in the time we were in the flat. I'm still hoping the things will turn up but in the back of my mind I'm aware that the Retties inspection was the only occasion when a stranger was in the flat on their own.
A more general point is that if you do use Retties, don't expect to get your full deposit back. Shortly before you leave you will start getting warnings that they expect a flat to be cleaned 'to a professional standard' - and it is clear that they will be super-picky. I didn't want to risk yet another disagreement with them so I paid £300 for a professional cleaning job, even though we had kept the place clean. And then even after the cleaners did their thing Retties managed to find a slight discolouration of the sealant in the shower to complain about!
The flat has a small back garden. After we took on the lease it turned out that we were also responsible for lawns and flower beds at the front of the house. We had assumed that these belonged to the upper part of the villa (partly I guess because there was no garden shed or place for us to keep a mowing machine etc). The front part of the garden had not been mentioned when we were shown around the flat. Anyway, it cost us, as Rettie's retained £360 of the deposit when we left, claiming that even though we had mowed the lawn, weeded the beds and pruned the roses, we hadn't trimmed the edges of the lawn and there there were too many leaves round about the bin area. We couldn't contest it, as we needed the rest of the deposit back quickly, but we had certainly never expected such a draconian approach to deposits, particularly with the new system which was intended to protect tenants.
Retties do flat inspections and I had been clear that I always wanted to be present when this happened. On one occasion they sent an email notifiying me of the date of an inspection, but then someone came and let themselves into the flat a day early, when I was not there (they blamed a typo in the email). I think that this is something which should never happen with a proper letting agency. It felt very invasive and has also put us in a difficult position as we have lost or mislaid some valuable jewellery in the time we were in the flat. I'm still hoping the things will turn up but in the back of my mind I'm aware that the Retties inspection was the only occasion when a stranger was in the flat on their own.
A more general point is that if you do use Retties, don't expect to get your full deposit back. Shortly before you leave you will start getting warnings that they expect a flat to be cleaned 'to a professional standard' - and it is clear that they will be super-picky. I didn't want to risk yet another disagreement with them so I paid £300 for a professional cleaning job, even though we had kept the place clean. And then even after the cleaners did their thing Retties managed to find a slight discolouration of the sealant in the shower to complain about!
The flat has a small back garden. After we took on the lease it turned out that we were also responsible for lawns and flower beds at the front of the house. We had assumed that these belonged to the upper part of the villa (partly I guess because there was no garden shed or place for us to keep a mowing machine etc). The front part of the garden had not been mentioned when we were shown around the flat. Anyway, it cost us, as Rettie's retained £360 of the deposit when we left, claiming that even though we had mowed the lawn, weeded the beds and pruned the roses, we hadn't trimmed the edges of the lawn and there there were too many leaves round about the bin area. We couldn't contest it, as we needed the rest of the deposit back quickly, but we had certainly never expected such a draconian approach to deposits, particularly with the new system which was intended to protect tenants.
Comment on agent fees
Don't know - fees were part of the rent. But the rent was very high.
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Jun 29, 2018
We are very sorry to hear that you have not been satisfied with the service you have received. As the company's Chief Operating Officer, I would be grateful if you could contact me on 0131 622 4160 to discuss your concerns in more detail. Thankyou
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Latest Reviews
29th Jan 2024
reviewed by 'Hughes'
15th Jan 2024
reviewed by 'Ellie'
27th Jul 2022
reviewed by 'Douglas'
29th Oct 2019
reviewed by 'Alastair'
Opening Hours
Address
Rettie & Co
4 Jamaica Street
Edinburgh
City of Edinburgh
EH3 6HH
0131 622 4160
Performance statistics
| Services | Valuation Accuracy | Fees Satisfaction | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lettings | 50% | 44% | £800 | £3,000 |
Review statistics
| From Landlords | From Tenants | From Vendors | From Buyers | Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Areas covered
Services offered
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- Block Management
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Jan 29,2024
Jan 29,2024
0
people found
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We letted two consecutive flats with Rettie over the past 6 years, both with Emma as our letting agent. We have nothing but stellar things to say about both Rettie and Emma! Both flats were fabulous, in great shape and looked after carefully by Rettie. Rettie ...
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Jan 29, 2024
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Hi, thank you so much for leaving such a lovely 5-star review. It is great feedback and we'll make sure Emma is aware of it. Best wishes Rettie Lettings ...
Jan 15,2024
Jan 15,2024
0
people found
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Were generally okay throught our renting period, however don't use this service if you aren't willing to fight tooth and nail for a fair share of your deposit back. As a flat we never expected to get 100% of the deposit back; however, they were adamant ...
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Jan 19, 2024
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(1)
Thank you for your feedback and we are sorry to hear that you are not satisfied with matters since checking out. We understand the matter is still being finalised. Should you wish to raise your concerns further please contact Karen Turner, Director of Lettings who is happy to discuss with you. ...
Sep 06,2022
Sep 06,2022
0
people found
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Rettie manage rental properties for me. The service they provide is terrible. My emails go unanswered, sometimes for weeks. If I don't chase them then nothing gets done.
I'm paying for a full management service but it feels like I have to micro-mange them. There ...
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Sep 07, 2022
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(1)
Hi Iain, thankyou for your feedback. As you know we are in regular discussion about the management of your properties. Our Lettings Director, Karen Turner will be calling you to discuss your review and to understand you current concerns in more detail and to work with you to resolve them. ...
Jul 27,2022
Jul 27,2022
0
people found
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We're moving to Edinburgh from London and need to find a furnished flat quickly as our house sale completes in mid August. It's a tight timescale and having little experience of the rental market we've relied on lettings agents in Edinburgh to help us.
Far ...
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Mar 05,2021
Mar 05,2021
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I cannot recommend rettie enough.We moved in to Edinburgh from abroad and we had 5 star service throughout our entire experience. Stayed for 3 years in one property, whenever we had problems rettie promptly resolved them for us. We had 3 pets and committed to pay professional ...
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Oct 29,2019
Oct 29,2019
2
people found
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this helpful
Nearly 4 weeks after moving out of our property and we still haven't received the refund of our deposit. They are very quick to contact you while you are a tenant and they want something done, not so much when you have moved out....
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Nov 01, 2019
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Dear Stuart, I would be very happy to discuss any concerns you have regarding our service in either sales and lettings team. Rettie & Co is regulated by both the RICS and The Letting Agents Code of Practice and we adhere to their professional standards and codes of practice. As the Chief Operating Officer I would welcome the opportunity to hear more about any specific experience you have had so we can learn from your feedback. I can be contacted at [email protected] or 07881 905775 ...
Jun 14,2019
Jun 14,2019
5
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Do not rent using Rettie, they will try to lay claim to your deposit at end of tenancy. Luckily we have the necessary proof to illustrate that the claims were unfounded to the lettings protection service. Unethical
and unprofessional, * who has shown us nothing but ...
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Dec 11,2018
Dec 11,2018
6
people found
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this helpful
We entrusted our property to Rettie for 6 years. Upon taking the property back we found substantial damage to the house caused by the tenant's cats. Rettie's response? Complete and utter disinterest.
In my view they breached their duty of care. I would not recommend this ...
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Comment on agent fees
For the service we received? Way too much.
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Feb 28, 2019
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Dear Brenda, we are sorry to read your comment. I can confirm that all feedback is fully investigated with the view to resolving any issues. If there is anything you would like to discuss regarding your experience please get in touch with myself or my team on 0131 622 4160. Best regards, Karen Turner, Lettings Director. ...
Jun 28,2018
Jun 28,2018
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
We rented an unfurnished flat for a year as a family home inbetween selling and buying properties. Overall we were unhappy with the experience and would advise anyone in our position against using Retties. In fact we moved out the moment our lease expired and ...
read full review
read full review
Comment on agent fees
Don't know - fees were part of the rent. But the rent was very high.
Was this helpful?
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Yes
Jun 29, 2018
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(1)
We are very sorry to hear that you have not been satisfied with the service you have received. As the company's Chief Operating Officer, I would be grateful if you could contact me on 0131 622 4160 to discuss your concerns in more detail. Thankyou ...
Jun 01,2018
Jun 01,2018
0
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Nice people to deal with, efficient, pleasant and helpful.Best Edinburgh flat hunting experience by far.
There are some agencies who seem to take potential customers for granted.This is not one of them.
5 stars....
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Jan 16,2017
Jan 16,2017
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Provided a great service, always showed up on time.Very pleasant and knowledgeable about local market.
Will definitely use again....
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Jun 15,2016
Jun 15,2016
0
people found
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this helpful
I would particularly like to thank Gerry Haining for his prompt and professional responses to my queries and the follow up by Louise Amos....
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Comment on agent fees
For rental - Rettie & Co's fees are great value for money.
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Jun 16, 2016
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Thank you very much indeed for taking the time to write this kind review - it is very much appreciated by the team! ...
Apr 11,2016
Apr 11,2016
1
people found
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this helpful
I can't choose one of the staff members because at Rettie & Co they seem to have a great team. Whoever I have talked to during our 3 1/2 years as tenants, have always been helpful, professional and very friendly. Matters have been dealt with promptly and I ...
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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.
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