85% lettings valuation accuracy
89% lettings fee satisfaction
Oct 12,2020
Oct 12,2020
2
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We had previously worked with Gemma at Gem Lettings to let our house but the tenants she found us were nothing but trouble and the documentation used was shoddy, so we moved to renting privately.
As it turned out, Gem Lettings manages a property which is next door to our privately let one. There was the same pair of tenants in the Gem managed property for around 6 years. Those neighbouring tenants were the tenants from hell - constant noise, at antisocial hours, very likely domestic abuse. Each one of our tenants complained about them - the police were called more than once because of the appaling behaviour. The last tenant had to move out to protect his mental health from living next to them during lock down.
We tried to talk to Gemma about managing her antisocial tenants and she promised us she'd speak to the landlord over and over again, each time a new tenant complained. All we ever got back was stories which were hard to take seriously about how the landlord was worried about giving notice to their tenants and how hard it is to get people out, so wouldn't do anything. We once got threatened by Gemma (apparently on behalf of tenants) for harassment. St Albans is not a difficult market to rent a nice property. We even offered to contribute to the cost of a search fee to find new tenants, just to do the right thing. Always blanket refuses, which was amazing.
6 years later the tenants move out because the landlord wanted to sell. The landlord moves in for a short period, so we pop around to speak to the landlord and question why it had taken him this long to get rid of his awful tenants. Guess what? He was horrified at what we had heard. He had never received any of the complaints from Gemma - we had been lied to the whole time. She hadn't passed on any of our concerns.
It is hard to tell whether Gemma took this approach out of incompetence or laziness. Either way, its totally unprofessional and as a landlord we strongly recommend against trusting her with your property.
As it turned out, Gem Lettings manages a property which is next door to our privately let one. There was the same pair of tenants in the Gem managed property for around 6 years. Those neighbouring tenants were the tenants from hell - constant noise, at antisocial hours, very likely domestic abuse. Each one of our tenants complained about them - the police were called more than once because of the appaling behaviour. The last tenant had to move out to protect his mental health from living next to them during lock down.
We tried to talk to Gemma about managing her antisocial tenants and she promised us she'd speak to the landlord over and over again, each time a new tenant complained. All we ever got back was stories which were hard to take seriously about how the landlord was worried about giving notice to their tenants and how hard it is to get people out, so wouldn't do anything. We once got threatened by Gemma (apparently on behalf of tenants) for harassment. St Albans is not a difficult market to rent a nice property. We even offered to contribute to the cost of a search fee to find new tenants, just to do the right thing. Always blanket refuses, which was amazing.
6 years later the tenants move out because the landlord wanted to sell. The landlord moves in for a short period, so we pop around to speak to the landlord and question why it had taken him this long to get rid of his awful tenants. Guess what? He was horrified at what we had heard. He had never received any of the complaints from Gemma - we had been lied to the whole time. She hadn't passed on any of our concerns.
It is hard to tell whether Gemma took this approach out of incompetence or laziness. Either way, its totally unprofessional and as a landlord we strongly recommend against trusting her with your property.
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Oct 12, 2020
This is completely untrue and the Landlord was made aware of the complaints from the neighbour. We didn't ever receive any complaints from his tenants living in the house only himself. We also spoke to the Tenant's living in the house and they were shocked by his comments and fully denied everything.
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Opening Hours
Address
Gem Lettings
17 Holywell Hill
St Albans
Hertfordshire
AL1 1DT
01727 750122
Performance statistics
| Services | Valuation Accuracy | Fees Satisfaction | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lettings | 85% | 89% | £800 | £2,000 |
Review statistics
| From Landlords | From Tenants | From Vendors | From Buyers | Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
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Nov 07,2021
Nov 07,2021
0
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We called Gemma for a property in St Albans and asked her specifically if there was any official views or offers from anyone else as we were desperatly in need of a place for our family. She said no, you can come and view it, ...
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Nov 07, 2021
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I’m so sorry but the Landlord decided to go for someone else. We had a lot of interest in the property and we always let the Landlord’s choose.
As mentioned we have other properties coming up and are always happy to try and help but it’s a very competitive market at the moment. ...
Jun 09,2021
Jun 09,2021
0
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Terrible - unprofessional, useless - how can they find you a tenant when they don't answer the phone! . Don't use GEM...
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Mar 05,2021
Mar 05,2021
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Gemma has been a very prompt and responsive agent, with nothing ever being too much trouble. Polite and friendly, dealing speedily with maintenance issues, and quick at getting renewals of lettings. We have no hesitation in recommending her....
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Feb 17,2021
Feb 17,2021
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Gem Lettings has been great. Gemma herself is always responsive and helpful over the last 5 years we've been dealing with her. The tradesmen they use are friendly and professional and have carried out high quality repairs when we have needed anything fixed. Highly recommended!...
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Jan 06,2021
Jan 06,2021
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My husband and I used Gems Lettings to let out our 2 bedroom flat. We were really happy with how quickly she found someone to fill the tenancy and also the quality of the tenants she found. We were very happy with the service she provided ...
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Dec 02,2020
Dec 02,2020
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I have let my property with Gem Lettings for 6 years and have been very happy. Gemma and her team are very helpful and a great support to landlords. They sort any issues for tenants promptly and communicate well. Additionally we have had hardly any gaps ...
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Nov 20,2020
Nov 20,2020
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Have used Gemma twice in recent years and she has provided an excellent service on both occasions. Last month she provided very sound letting advice, found excellent tenants for my property in central St Albans within a week and managed all the administration speedily with ...
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Oct 13,2020
Oct 13,2020
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Absolutely fantastic experience with Gem lettings, we were with Gem lettings for roughly 7 years, Gemma always resolves any issue within the properties promptly. Gemma also had to deal with an extremely delicate situation, this was with an extremely volatile and intolerant Neighbouring landlord, who was ...
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Oct 13,2020
Oct 13,2020
0
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Having used Gem Lettings for a number of years on a number of properties i would highly recommend them. From finding me very good tenants, to on time payments and keeping me updated with any issues, the service was excellent. A very professional service and ...
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Oct 13,2020
Oct 13,2020
0
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I have used Gem Lettings for a number of years and found the service received from Gemma both professional and efficient.
Having fully trusted Gem Lettings to find the most reliable and trustworthy tenants, I will continue with confidence that all tenants are vetted and ...
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Oct 12,2020
Oct 12,2020
2
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We had previously worked with Gemma at Gem Lettings to let our house but the tenants she found us were nothing but trouble and the documentation used was shoddy, so we moved to renting privately.
As it turned out, Gem Lettings manages a property which ...
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Oct 14, 2020
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"Completely untrue"? Hmm. I understand defamation law well enough to make sure everything included in the above review was objectively correct and often demonstrable through emails exchanged. I have emails from Gemma on this subject from 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 which I'd be happy to upload to avoid any doubt.
Whether complaints about a tenant came to Gem Lettings through our tenant or from me (their landlord) is irrelevant. The facts are, complaints were received by Gem Lettings over an ...
May 02,2019
May 02,2019
0
people found
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I was a tenant managed by Gemma. She was amazing. When we ended our tenancy she was really flexible with us and made sure to give as much notice as possible for viewings when we were in. We got our full deposit back thanks to ...
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Comment on agent fees
standard for industry
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Mar 04,2019
Mar 04,2019
4
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I have rented a property though Gems letting from May 2018 until Feb 2019 in St Albans. The only time Gemma treated their customer well is when you initially sign up but once you have in the property, the service is extremely poor. I had to leave ...
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Comment on agent fees
AGENT FEES ARE BAD FOR THE SERVICE THEY PROVIDE
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Mar 04, 2019
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This is untrue:
- The Tenant wouldn't give access for viewings
- The Tenant left the property in worse condition than when they moved in and didn't want to pay for the damage. ...
Jan 28,2019
Jan 28,2019
0
people found
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I've been a tenant in rental properties for a good part of the last 35 years and I can honestly say that Gemma at Gem Lettings is the best agent I have ever dealt with.
Nothing is ever too much trouble. Problems that other agents would ...
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Comment on agent fees
Fair and in line with the local market
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Dec 11,2018
Dec 11,2018
1
people found
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this helpful
I used Gem lettings to let my property for around 4 years. All was fine until a problem arose with tenants, then Gemma seemed out of her depth and became very unprofessional....
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Comment on agent fees
Low fee
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Nov 10,2018
Nov 10,2018
1
people found
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For the past six years we have been letting properties through Gem Lettings. Before that we let through a well-known high-end national agency. We are very glad we changed agency. Gem Lettings deals with matters far more swiftly and efficiently. The service is personal, professional ...
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Comment on agent fees
Very reasonable compared to other agencies.
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Nov 08,2018
Nov 08,2018
0
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Gemma has been letting my property for over 3 years and to date I have only positive comments on her service. I cannot comment on her service over other letting agents as I have had no need to try others.
Gemma has made sure my property ...
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Comment on agent fees
Fees are competitively priced for the area.
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May 22,2018
May 22,2018
2
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Requested to view a property through Gem Lettings and dealt with Gemma O'Sullivan directly. After viewing the property we decided we would like to rent the flat. We met the landlord during the viewing and him and his wife were really nice and very friendly. ...
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Comment on agent fees
Her fees are shocking considering how bad the level of service is.
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Jan 09,2018
Jan 09,2018
4
people found
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this helpful
I was looking to rent a property, initially on the phone setting the appt up Gemma was very pleasant and efficient..........however due to myself running late from another viewing i had been on and the lovely M25 i had to let Gemma know, she ...
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Comment on agent fees
NA
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Nov 01,2017
Nov 01,2017
0
people found
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We used Gem Lettings to rent out our flat - the service was nothing but exceptional. She was quick and efficient - we have nothing but positive feedback about the whole experience!...
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Sep 12,2017
Sep 12,2017
0
people found
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Efficient friendly service. In a competitive market Gemma stands out as being resourceful and competent.
Once we'd decided to rent the property we were in very quickly in regards to referencing. Some agents seem to take forever....
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Comment on agent fees
Fees are level with everyone else.
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Mar 02,2017
Mar 02,2017
4
people found
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Used in 2016/2017: My partner and I were looking to rent a property in St Albans and found a really nice one online. Unfortunately it was being let through Gem lettings. We met Gemma, the lady behind the agency and had our viewing. Despite a weirdly ...
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Comment on agent fees
No sale made, so no fees.
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Nov 22,2013
Nov 22,2013
8
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In November 2013 we enquiries about letting a house in St Albans.
We were very keen to rent this house as it was a good size and perfect location. After several attempts my wife managed to get an appointment for a viewing. On the day of ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
Nothing..! The trust in between customer and agent has been broken.Attached Filesnbsp;
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Vendor Fees
No fees set.Landlord Fees
from 6%+VATTenant Fees
No fees set. Last updated at 19/10/2022, 4:12 PM by Gemma osullivanComplaints Procedure
No procedure set.
Last updated at 3:12 PM 19/10/2022 by Gemma osullivan
Best Letting Agent in St Albans 
Whether complaints about a tenant came to Gem Lettings through our tenant or from me (their landlord) is irrelevant. The facts are, complaints were received by Gem Lettings over and over again including quotes verbatim from the people having to live next door to these awful people. Recall that one of the people living in our house was me!
No action taken despite years of complaints and proposals for ways to resolve the situation which would have cost Gemma nothing.