Seekers Newcastle Reviews

After a 2-year tenancy and many incidents with Seekers (formerly Walton Robinson) there is little good I can say about the company. Communication regarding any issue is nearly impossible and almost always unhelpful. Maintenance issues we raised were rarely fixed. When they were fixed, it was all at once at the end of our tenancy, during exam/dissertation period in our final year at university. Contractors damaged areas of our flat which they have noted on our checkout inventory as tenant damages. Things which we noticed on arrival that were damaged (living room blinds, sofa, etc.) were never fixed. Our tenancy ended on 14/08/2024 and they employed various delaying tactics, including alleging to be waiting on contractor invoices, to withhold our deposit past the 3-month dispute opportunity window. They also cited employee changes and system errors. This forced us to raise a dispute with TDS which still has not been resolved, and has culminated in a formal letter of intent to take the agency to court. The deposit has now been transferred to TDS but still no proposal of deductions from our deposit has been submitted by Seekers. The blame has been passed from agent to agent regarding this situation and communication regarding this is, at best, vague, and at worst, deliberately obstructive. It should not take 3 months to submit a proposal for deductions to our deposit (which they still have not done).

Had numerous issues, albeit small ones, that took months to address. The final, massive, issue was sewage coming up the shower tray in the bathroom! Again not fixed. But the real issue is when trying to get the deposit back. THEY WILL TELL YOU THEY HAVE 12 WEEKS TO COLLECT INVOICES BEFORE THEY DISCUSS ANY MONEY BEING RETURNED. THIS IS A LIE. The 12 weeks is the timescale the tenant has to raise a dispute with the TDS. If you wait 12 weeks you will no longer be able to raise a dispute when the inevitably tell you you are not getting any of your deposit back! And the kicker is, they know this. I have had 3 discussion with them and sent them screenshots from the TDS website to highlight they are giving out wrong information, but they persist with this lie. They do not want to give you any money back and will make up fees like “gardening” when there is no garden. CON MEN!

Not a great service at all.

Walton Robinson seem to have a great deal of the student properties in the popular areas in Newcastle. They don’t however have the best service. With any issue, it takes a great deal to get through to a rep and even still your are very unlikely to get a resolution. I had an issue in my second year with broadband which was meant to be included with their ‘bills included package’ instead of dealing with the issue I was on hold for hours until the branch shut and left to call again the day after. Even then it took weeks to resolve the issue. Not a great service at all.

Pathetic service. They make you sign contracts and everything and they dont listen to you. They dont pick up your calls or listen to your problems. All they care about is their rent. Trust me do not choose walton robinson, they are scam and you will regret it. This reputed agency they treat their customers like shit, trust me i have experienced this myself and they surely have lost me as a customer. When it comes to paying rent they call you everyday until they get their rent, but when you have a problem with the apartment they wont even bother doing anything about it. Its been weeks since the issues in my apartment have been fixed and they really dont care all they care about is you giving your rent. And you cant do anything cause you have signed a contract. They charge you a massive amount of administration fee for what, bullshit service. And we are the frekin ones paying the frekin rent then why are the tenants treated like shit and you guys not say anything to the contractors? What is the point of paying the agency so much when they can’t even listen to their customer needs. Amy Moore is the property manager and by far she has not been helpful at all. All she says every freking day when you call her and that is if she picked her phone up..”ohh im sorry to hear that, let me leave a message to the contracter and i will get back to you when they respond” And guess what the response never comes. She does not care about her tenants needs and while being the property manager she still does not care about resolving the issues in the apartment. We had asked her to get our couches fixed, and our dish cleaner, it had been weeks or months I don’t even remember, but it still did not get fixed. She will not listen to you all she does is give you bullshitt hope and Lies. TRUST ME FROM A HONEST EXPERIENCED TENANT, DO NOT USE WALTON ROBINSON !!!

WARNING! Unethical company retaining unjustified money from young students! Daughter rented student accommodation with 6 other girls, property left clean, perfect condition and in a much better state than when occupancy taken up. Items highlighted at start of tenancy requiring repair/ attention ignored – e.g. one oven broken, one bathroom shower unusable, carbon monoxide detector broken, blinds broken, paintwork appalling in parts etc etc….Paid circa £35k for a years rent and Walton Robinson have the cheek to charge £350 at end of tenancy to remove a weed from yard, flush a toilet, remove some left items in fridge, clean dust off some skirting boards and replace 2 light bulbs. (Our belief is that a fraudulent invoice has been produced) Reported to the Tenants Deposit Scheme administrators, and in process of liaising with Trading Standards, Inland Revenue and Lettings Agents Association. WR block any calls and attempts to obtain answers to questions and will not engage to resolve the issue amicably- PARENTS and Students – please take care and for your own sake avoid this agent at all costs!