Clever Student Lets Arvostelua 

Had the most awful experience with them with my student accommodation, DO NOT GO WITH THIS COMPANY please, wish I did more research on them. Terrible terrible service

Had been locked out and they let us in with in the hour, Thanks Jacob

If I could rate clever a 0 I would. Waiting on a new sofa we as a flat put on property file in September, we can’t sit on it anymore because it’s that broken and they still haven’t fixed it, they make so many empty promises to fix things that it’s now a miracle if they do, they keep saying it in rent arrears even tho I’m always on time for rent and to top all of this off indefinitely. THEY BLOCKED MY MOBILE NUMBER AND ANOTHER PERSONS NUMBER IN MY FLAT. Very incompetent company, with no respect for tenants.

Clever Lets never disappoint on chaos. I'm not a student just a regular working tenant. It's 27/12/23 and I've received a letter from CL telling me I'm in rent arrears for...JANUARY 2024!!!! It's still December 2023! Rent is not even due yet and all my due rent has been paid. I'm not in arrears at all. So is rent supposed to be paid twice in December? On the 1st of the month then again on Xmas Day or Boxing Day? Nope! Not at all! Not according to my tenancy or the Tenancy Act. Rent is only legally required to be paid on the 1st of the month if you pay monthly in advance. Alot of regular (non student) tenants do so. I have no idea about students.

However CL are months ahead of the rest of us and are already chasing up rent arrears for January 2024. For them it's already January 2024. So they're chasing up rent arrears for the future! Wow!!! How very unprofessional not to mention bizzare! No matter how many times you tell CL that rent is due on the 1st of every month, it doesn't matter what time of day it's paid, rent just has to be paid on the 1st, Clever Lets still don't get this.

They'll still chase you up for rent arrears at any time or day of the month, no matter how many times you challenge them on this. It'll keep happening. Even if you're not in rent arrears they'll still bother you. And you'll have to take time out of your day to send complaint emails which they'll not take on board in order to rectify the problem, or they won't answer their phones when you want to speak to someone there. If you're a decent well behaved tenant, who will pay your rent when it's due with no problem, stay away from Clever Lets. They'll hound you for rent arrears that you don't even owe. Also this is very suspicious. You show them proof of rent payment, they'll go away for abit then tell you weeks later that you're in rent arrears. So do they want extra rent payments per month? Please avoid these people at all costs.

Treat their tenants like scum. Trying to chase me and my whole house for bills that aren’t ours.
Originally back in July my housemate sorted overuse of bills, they sent us bills form previous tenants and tried to make us pay for bills from when we didn’t even live there. Now in December, 5 months after we moved out they are sending us threatening emails saying they will take us to court. I have asked multiple times to see the bills again but they just say they are looking into then sent more threatening emails.
I currently apparently owe them £900 but other housemates owe £1000, £500 and £200. All different!! Like they have pulled numbers out of the air!

When we moved into the house it was like a rubbish dump in the front and back gardens, which they said wasn’t their problem. Mouldy house and the heating broke constantly! So the heating bills can’t have been anything because half the time it didn’t work!!

Don't even deserve 1 star.

Completely incompetent company who don't uphold their own contracts. They full believe that they can bully their tenants into paying charges with zero evidence by threatening 'further action'. I moved out over a year ago and am still being contacted about arrears on my account which have already been paid or removed because they couldn't provide the evidence I asked for.

They have no duty of care for their tenants. I lived at my property for two years and made multiple complaints about the landlord letting himself into the property with no notice (violation of contract and the law), her even let himself into a locked bedroom where my female housemate was sleeping. They did nothing to help us with this and sided with the landlord stating that are issues with him were 'our opinion'.

There is zero communication with them regarding arrears and charges unless you seek it out. They mistakenly called me (expecting my guarantor) about an arrears charge that they hadn't made me aware of or even tried to contact me about.

Bottom line is, they are bullies who have no idea what they're actually doing. Avoid them at all costs unless you want to be constantly harassed about paying money that you don't even owe them.

I'll be perfectly honest, I fell for the property when I had the tour and had the amenities discussed etc. Bar a few things, the BUILDING is amazing; the staff on the other hand?

Awful doesn't cut it. Incredibly rude over the phone 9/10 times and when they aren't they're overly patronising. They couldn't care less if you say about 20 times that you're a vulnerable person with mental health issues, they assure you they put something in place and then never do, there have been several lies thrown about in my entire time trying to get this property and so much more.

Quite frankly a waste of money that could be better spent. £195/week is ridiculous even for what they offer and need I remind you, this is STUDENT accommodation. If you don't have a job at all, good luck trying to afford this on your maintenance grant alone; I've got the max loan and pretty high paying part time job and I'm STILL struggling to get my funds together.

When getting my tenancy sorted, it was a 4 month war with the company to even get it going due to mainly how much the rent is and how much is subsequently required of the guarantor.

I was told during my interview and when signing my tenancy agreement that I'd be able to cancel if I couldn't get a guarantor sorted as well as get a refund on the money that I already paid; turns out that's a fat lie because I had already signed the tenancy agreement.

When I finally moved in, there were dead moths in multiple locations, water that had been left in the bathroom sink which is a health risk, a pre-clogged shower drain, the freezer wasn't closed properly and was left on so the entire freezer space was solid ice which had to be defrosted over the course of a week and finally a bunch of other small annoyances.

I had been told multiple times what the rent was termly and had still been lied to because I just took people's word on it, it was a couple hundred pound more than what I was expecting. I paid 2-months rent in the month that 3 months rent was due despite not really having the funds and they STILL threaten me with legal action about a month before Christmas despite the fact that the next rent instalment is due in January; I had arranged this payment plan with multiple agents in the customer service role who all told me 'everything should be fine because we can still see you're paying us the required amount before January' only to be told that they've 'given me enough chances'.

I expressed my concerns about the legal threat and that it felt like a scare tactic especially considering all of the above statements about my situation only to be belittled over the phone and told it wasn't a scare tactic without letting get a word in to defend myself.

TL;DR, don't go here unless you're one of the richest students alive, don't voice your concerns because they won't even listen, don't even THINK about them having any compassion for you because they will not care. Money-hungry leeches that expect everyone to be perfect, high earners. Do NOT sign with this company.

I've already written a review for clever student. I didn't think I'd need to write another one, especially since it's been almost 2 years since my contract ended.

I received what appears to be a mass email, with the heading "DEPOSITS- Applicable to 22/23 tenants only". I don't understand why Clever Student did not simply create a mailing list for 22/23 students themselves instead of sending irrelevant emails to hundreds (if not thousands) of people.

The email asks me to log in to the deposit protection scheme and "authorise action taken" against my deposit. My deposit issues were resolved 18 months ago.

It is not necessary or lawful to keep my details for longer than needed and my contract ended almost 2 years ago. I have emailed and asked for my details to be removed although given my experiences with Clever Student I doubt this will happen.

I would not recommend using clever student.

Absolute shambles. Avoid at all costs. I was with clever last year - worst mistake I’ve made whilst being at uni, I have not received back my £115 deposit. They never responded to any maintenance issues, and if they did…the issues would never be fixed. They are impossible to get ahold of and just generally couldn’t care less.
Go with any other letting agent unless you want to be ripped off and have mice running around you all year.

One of the most stressful experiences. My son suffers with mental health and the way he was treated to end up on the day of moving to be took the accommodation was no longer available. Absolutely disgusting

I truly could not think of a worse letting agency. After moving out in August 2022, we were then hounded 6 months after for an 'over usage of bills', after sending us 'reminder' emails that were simply reminders that they monitored the bills for us.

This, however, was the start of our issues. Dodging calls, passing us around the team, refusing to speak to us, charging us different amounts and changing the amounts when questioned then ensued. We went from £300 each, to £60 each, to adding on waste removal, to one being charged £100 less than the other. The rude and disrespectful staff made the process even more infuriating.

This was before the threats of court came into play!

I would honestly recommend living at home and commuting in instead of letting from this agency. I suggest instead of giving back the deposit and then trying to grab whatever money they can 6 months later, they start operating like an actual business instead of trying to rinse students for all they have.

Terrible Awful Customer Service. Very Rude over the phone, can’t complete simple tasks, The lettings Manager Thelma Baldrige (or whatever her name is, is terrible, awful customer service skills, accused me of lying hahaha). Ellie never responds to emails and someone else’s always says “She will get back to you”. Now seeing other reviews I see why……. Customer service skills and manners cost nothing, but they have lost potential tenant. Beware, You have been warned.

USELESS LETTING AGENCY

Replied to maybe two of my MANY emails to them regarding a massive issue with another tenant. The issue was never sorted for the entire year of living with them.

Charged the flat money almost a year after our tenancy ended, refused to explain why and threatened us with legal action.

DO NOT USE THIS LETTING AGENCY

I would use this letting agency if you want to be ignored for 6 months about any damages to the property you rent. Awful awful service and allowed us to live without hot water and gas for 2 weeks because they refused / forgot to fill up the gas meter.

Did not fix a single thing the whole of our tenancy when we provided evidence - and then has the audacity to threaten us with adding money onto our rent if we didn’t pay it immediately. Literally did nothing the whole time but take our money and not fix or help us with anything.

Awful customer service, they literally can’t answer anything - everyone has about 1 brain cell and clearly don’t know anything about letting houses or how to deal with issues.

Disgusting how they are still in business.

I was just about to write a review on google when I realised they must have removed their profile, it was so bad. Too many people would have realised what a scam this is.
Then I started writing a lengthy review here, but after reading other reviews on trustpilot I don’t think it is necessary… just read all other reviews and you should get the picture, most of the issues described there happened to us as well! Clearly this is the way they are operating, they should be investigated by the council asap!
Mould: tick
Blatant lies and never-ending promises (in writing, in person, in the contract…): tick
Threats and multiple attempts to extort money: tick
Incompetent and arrogant staff who refuse to complete the right to rent check(!!!), and when reminded about it several times, after 6 months told me I cannot enter the property they expect me to keep paying for: tick
Tradies entering the property without ANY notice and walking around the house while my wife is on her own: tick
Etc, etc, etc., I could write a book about their incompetence.
When we signed the lease we believed we were paying a premium for a newly renovated house. A few months later, when autumn started and rains came, leaks appeared in several rooms, followed by mould practically in every room. When we moved out we had to throw away several items of furniture as we didn’t want to take mould with us.
I walk past the property several times every week, it was back on the market as soon as we moved out, it has been let again and there is no evidence that any work was done to fix the leaks and mould as it would have required external work. The new tenants will soon discover what they signed up for, and year after year, tenant after tenant the scam continues.

DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND STAY AWAY FROM THEM.

The crappiest letting agency who Monopolize the area.
Nightmarish experience for my son and his flat mate who were given the rundown, moldy, blood stained and infested property.
It was so bad that the 3 friends had to sleep for 10 weeks some where else.
We weee promised that the landlord will fix the property soon. Year passed and that “soon” has never seen the light of the day.
WORST LETTING AGENCY
If there was a Negative rating … that’s what they DESERVE

To start off nice, the staff member who showed me and my partner various properties was a really nice guy cant fault him.
The issues occurred upon moving in and ongoing since. When collecting our keys my experience was fine but they misplaced my boyfriends paperwork causing him alot of stress.
Then when we arrived we found that my fob to enter the building was broken so if my bf was out id be locked out. We had no wifi for at least a week. The flat hadnt been cleaned, my sink wouldnt drain properly, the bin room smelt like someone had died in there. Come a few weeks, we discover huge rats infesting the bin room. The rats were around for months.
During our time here periodically the wifi cuts out. Actually cut out earlier today and im wasting my data. The front entrance door is broken meaning any random person can let themself intonour building with ease. Just last week i had a terrifying encounter walking home from work at night when i ran into an undressed man outside my building and if he wanted to he couldve followed me into the building. I should note theres no reception in my building that couldve looked after me.
We had a whole issue with clever trying to get them to come sort the lock just for it to break again a few weeks later!!! Making me feel constantly unsafe

We also were never given a postbox key and i have complained like 5 times and here we are 5 months later and still no key meaning i cannot access my post.

There are cleaners who come to our building once a month. They are supposed to clean the communal areas, like the stairs which is great but they also let themselves into your flat without even knocking!!! And they always seem to come at 9/10am and as i work nights this means i tend to sleep into the morning. Imagine my shock and fear when i wake up to strangers voices in my kitchen. Absolutely terrifying. We don’t even get an email warning us when theyll be here.
They do a crap job of cleaning anyway, all they do is hoover and mop. And most of the time ive already hoovered so its completely pointless but there doesnt seem to be a way to opt out?!

Im sure ill remember a host of other issues after i send this!!

Oh yes also their communication is absolutely ridiculous. So bad.

Theyll draw you in with a modern looking nice flat then when u move in the problems will start.

AVOID AVOID AVOID

Having contacted clever lets about damp in my sons flat they have failed to answer and this is an ongoing problem causing health issues for him but the just wash there hands of it.
If you are a student steer well clear of the agency…… you have been warned

Apologies for the long review but people need to be warned about this company and the stress they induce.

Began my contract with them in Sep 2021, attempted to move in but they had given me a key that did not work and took 2 weeks for them to give me one that actually worked, told me i had to share my housemates key until then. They then spring an additional charge on to all of their new tenants of £500 with zero warning, apparently to help with termly payments however this was not shared with anyone until the invoices arrived. I then had to live in a bedroom with black mold all over the walls that they repeatedly refused to do anything about. Their policy is to give tenants 24hrs notice before anyone comes to visit the property. However, we had people turning up at the property all the time with zero warning. Towards the end of the tenancy they repeatedly threatened residents with arrears cases because their systems were not registering peoples rent payments. 4 times i had to go into their office to complain and was reassured each time the situation had been sorted. Only when i threatened to take them to court about the incorrect allegations of arrears did they finally stop.

I have since moved out of the property and am still experiencing issues with clever student lets. I have not had a contract with this company for over 3 months and they have contacted me multiple times attempting to get money out of me, each time being proven, once again, that they cannot do their job properly. The first was them attempting to claim that i wasn't a student when i lived at the property and were trying to get me to pay council tax, even though they already had all of my student details when i signed my contract. The second was that they tried to charge me £40 for a new set of keys for a property i do not live at, and they no longer manage, claiming that i never handed them in... which i did, and provided evidence of. Clearly, the 'Clever' in clever student lets is an attempt to cover up their abysmal service and incompetent staff.

First of all, We asked to move in early, was told we could not move in early as those two weeks between tenants were for checking the flat out. Fair enough.
Got the keys, joint contract between me and my partner, only given one set of keys.. great. Got to the flat, had NOT been cleaned or checked. Kettle was clearly broken and flipping the switch, the coffee table was fully broken and we had no hot water. We called up and thankfully we were lucky and someone came and got the broken stuff straight away. But just defeats the purpose of the ‘checks’. We were without hot water for 5 days, which is illegal. But they did nothing about it. During our time at the property, we had random cars blocking our cars in in the drive way, this meant if we had to leave in an emergency we could not. We had near enough no Wi-Fi for 8 months. Every time we reported the issue they made us feel as though we were lying and kept asking for a speed check. WE COULD NOT GIVE THEM A SPEED CHECK AS WE COULD NOT CONNECT TO THE INTERNET!! They kept saying well the main router on the ground floor is working so you should be able to connect from the 4th floor and push us away. We had mice in the flat at one point and we new they we’re still in the whole building as we had traps constantly reset, so we new they were chewing the wires from the main router, they never believed us until once day they finally turned up and paid extra time for someone to look at the internet and he said it’s completely broken and it can’t be fixed, we had THREE new routers put in over the space of 8 months. The landlord was a horrible lazy person if he had to fix an issue that week, he would refuse to come back! He should not be owning and renting those flats! However we will give credit to his son and one of the Maintenance guys, both angels and made a horrible experience a little bit easier. Please please do not book with this company. They treat you like crap, lie to you and will leave you without the essentials. We were made to feel so little by the clever staff just for asking for stuff we paid for to be fixed.