To leave a review you need to be logged in
Wakefield Estate Agents | We sold over 1,000 properties to local people last year. | Get in touch for a FREE valuation or to arrange a viewing!
Reviews 752
Charlotte B
Feb 16,2022Rented from them for 7 plus years , only contacted when I really had to but do not recommend everything’s generally a struggle , or half fixed . However last straw boiler broke , no heating water to be told to sort it myself … When I went to the office I was told “ it’s not even that cold “ eventually got it back on left with a leak , I feel like because the area is so in demand they don’t really care as they know they can just get someone else in . Kindness goes along way !
Rebecca S
Feb 16,2022I have rented a property through Richard Kendall for nearly two years in which the majority of the service received has been unacceptable. The way in which I have been spoken to via telephone with the majority of staff (not all) , or emailed has been shocking. I moved into the property during the start of the pandemic in which initially Richard Kendall would respond to concerns or issues that had arisen. This included the discovering the boiler leaked, the oven not working and the hob been broken when I moved in. However, this changed throughout the tenancy and instead I was subject to a complete disregard as a tenant. A few examples include: - the cellar leaked considerably during a time when there was a lot of rainfall so I informed Richard Kendall of this. At the start of my tenancy there was a lot of rubbish, and smashed glass down there which they said they would remove when the tips opened again. I was informed as a conclusion by Richard Kendall that cellars do leak (which they certainly shouldn’t), and that I should have continued to remind them to get rid of the rubbish in the cellar (I had already phoned previously regarding this). I spoke to the manager regarding this incident as I was spoken to very rudely by the staff member. - Damp also started to become apparent only in the main bedroom which indicated a leak on the outside. I was informed by a staff member as it was the weekend the landlord wouldn’t be likely to get anybody to visit until next week as it is ‘double pay’ for landlords. The landlord later phoned me off his own accord stating Richard Kendall had told him I was annoyed at him (which I had never said) but we have always had a good rapport and informed me he had not stipulated this to Richard Kendall. I also received an email blaming the damp on BREATHING in the property! - I phoned Richard Kendall on one occasion and they began by stating I was the one who had come into the office abruptly regarding the boiler. I told them this was not me to which they replied the worker has put it on the wrong notes and it’s for next door tenants instead! Not only is this unprofessional in my opinion, but also a breach of the Data Protection Act as I should not be made aware of my neighbours tenancy issues. - When moving out, we had to gather confirmation from Richard Kendall via a website to state I was a tenant. My new letting agent explained they were just awaiting on this as all other checks had been completed then we could sign. I phoned Richard Kendall regarding this to check if they have the email as needing this to sign. The staff member response ‘we don’t just drop everything you know’ and further stated the specific website take ages to respond to them but when they need something it has to be done right away. Again, customer service being unprofessional. I have given Richard Kendall 2 stars as when I was informed the property was going to be sold, I had correspondence with Mandy who was genuinely nice towards myself. Despite the horrendous treatment from the majority of Richard Kendall staff, I continued to help as much as I could such as undertaking viewings so staff members didn’t have to take time out to do so. I even said to Richard Kendall to book them in for my first day of annual leave at any time which allowed 6 different viewings to take place. To end with, whilst Richard Kendall have since apologised for this - which I should add was only when I raised the incident to the manager of the firm . When moving out of the property, I heard voices in my living room. Richard Kendal had given one of their admin employees the keys to my rented property to look around with her son! I was on my own, and in shock that someone had entered my house. Whilst the two strangers apologised and I allowed them to look around (more so as I didn’t know how to react), it points out again the downfalls of Richard Kendall. This was a breach of my tenancy rights further and the excuse stipulated by the partner of the firm was that the notes had not been read which outlined the property was still in tenancy with myself. This further breached my content insurance, and would have been void if something would have been taken. Mandy did apologise for this error, and whilst I appreciate this as Mandy has been welcoming in discussions, the combination of this incident with the rest was too much. A company that should be vastly ashamed of their treatment towards tenants.
Frank
Feb 11,2022Richard Kendall Estate Agents sold my property quickly and for a very good price and I would recommend them to anyone. I live 200 miles away from Wakefield but they made the process quick, simple and painless. They quickly marketed the property, arranged viewings and nothing was too much trouble for them. They kept me up to date with developments and forwarded offers quickly. If a buyer wanted a second viewing they sorted it quickly. They responded very quickly to emails and phone calls and kept me in the loop and updated. In two weeks there were about 10 viewings and 3 offers. As the buyer who eventually bought the property was renting close by I arranged with the buyer and Kendalls another visit so we could liase about what furniture and fittings the buyer would like to be left in the property - again - no problem Kendalls went back to the property and liased with the buyer about what furniture would be left in there. The comany also valued the property considerably higher than the other companies which looked at it and achieved a price way above those other company's valuations. Richard Kendall was recommended to me by a family friend and I am so glad I chose them and have no hesitation in recommending them as an estate agent.
Debbie Shaw
Feb 08,2022I received the paperwork needed but had numerous problems with the property and was told they weren't resolved as they could not gain access which is a lie...the only time access was denied was if I was not in at the time or due to covid......the tenancy agreement was also changed without my knowledge
Emily Shires
Feb 03,2022Great estate agents and made me feel at ease as I was a first time renter. Great communication and supported me through all the process. Thanks again Amy :)
susan ramsden
Jan 28,2022I sold my property through their Wakefield branch and Joanne and Amanda were fabulous. Very supportive and always up-to-date with information. Extremely helpful. I would highly recommend.
Dave Thornton
Jan 21,2022Positive experience selling with Richard Kendall. Professional and responsive. Kept us fully informed throughout the selling process. Would recommend.
P C
Jan 21,2022I totally agree with other renters providing feedback - do not use Richard Kendal if you are a renter. I was also told that the rental agreement would be for 6 months but it would be extended once they were aware I paid my rent every month. Having moved in because I was given notice from another landlord who needed to sell that property I was not impressed that 3 months into the lease I was informed that the landlord had decided to sell the property- no reason given. The state of the house was horrendous, there was so much work needed doing it was no surprise the landlord decided to sell rather than fix up the house. The mould and damp had such an effect on our lives, my daughter ended up seriously ill and the cat died due to breathing in the horrendous damp that was left when the previous tenants moved out. I frequently asked for issues to be resolved, the maintenance man (from RK) would turn up with less than the required 24 hours notice, the landlords contractors turned up with no notice. When I complained I was informed that landlords can do what they want and renters have no say (but was informed in slightly different words). Being informed I was going to be evicted and taken to court was a disgusting way to treat renters who have paid full rent and improved a property, even though I informed RK when I would be moving out. Do not believe any communication from the staff at Richard Kendall. They lie and then become defensive and bully you. Even after I explained that their behaviour left me feeling suicidal they continued lying and bullying and even said that by making complaints I was making the staff mentally ill!!! Having seen the reviews on this site I am quite aware that RK will respond in a negative way. RK did not respond to the request from the TDS asking for my deposit to be released- no mention that they were deducting funds because I had left the house in a mess or not paid the rent - just nothing. Over a month I had to wait for the full deposit to be returned to me. Because they the landlords went to court to have me evicted I have had to wait over a month after moving out to hear that the court has dismissed the hearing and I have no fees to pay, even though they requested that I pay the fees. All I will say is if you want to rent go elsewhere. If you do rent through RK know your rights, Human Rights Act, Housing Laws, who your MP is and how to contact the various Ombudsman teams, and when it comes to leaving ensure you have evidence of everything to show to the court and TDS- it certainly helped me as I provided the proof to the court and TDS to show how bad RK are as a letting agent.
Andy Hemingway
Jan 21,2022Purchased our first house through them and couldn’t fault the service we received. We are currently in the process of selling another house. Mandy is super efficient in her field, she is clear in her communication with us. We would not hesitate to recommend her to others who are looking to buy or sell a property. She is a credit to your company.
Tracey
Jan 21,2022Great service, keeping us up to date every stage and confirming everything by email.
Darren Thornton
Jan 20,2022Sold our old house and bought our new one through Richard kendalls about 2 years ago, I couldn't thank them enough I basically sat back and let them get on with it, all the staff were so helpful, special mention to mandy at the ossett branch I was kept upto date and she/they did all they could to prevent us losing our dream home. So much so I listed my late father's house with them, again a stress free experience, from the initial valuation by Danny to the brochure and advertising I can't recommend them enough
Leigh Allsopp
Jan 20,2022Excellent, personalised and considered service from start to finish of our sale and purchase! The valuers came promptly and valued our property fairly, the images of the house were of a high standard, the house was on the market quickly and the RK sales team were professionally on top of viewings and negotiations! We found the whole process to be very positive and we would definitely use again!! 5* service
jonathon herbert
Jan 18,2022Booked a viewing for Sunday 16th Jan at 3pm for an appartment in Normanton. Got a call to ask if we could delay it to 3-15, no problem. We arrived on time & met who we thought was the estate agent. There was someone else there to view the property at 3-15 so the rep from Richard Kendall thought it a good idea to combine both into one viewing. Once we pointed out that we were not prepared to do this we eventually managed to sort things out. Then he couldn't find the appartment until we pointed it out to him that it was infact a ground floor appartment. Once inside i asked a question re the property, he couldn't answer as he was only the designated key holder & not an estate agent, not his fault. Any questions would have to be answered the following day by the office where i made the appointment. It also appears they only give you a 15 minute window to view the property. When the lady from the estate agents rang me the following day for feedback she was very nice & apologised but i'm afraid the damage was already done.
George
Jan 15,2022Looked at a house on a Tuesday then arranged a second viewing for the Saturday but never got confirmation so rang them just before we were setting off for the viewing to check and they said the house was sold we forgot to tell you. Thanks for nearly letting us travel 20 miles for something we couldn’t view, first time buyers but won’t be looking at any more homes they are involved with. The property was on Lindsay Avenue in Wakefield. The phone call was on Wednesday when I arranged the second viewing and apologies, forgot wasn’t the words they used but there was no inbound call to me to “advise that the property had been sold” and if you had contacted someone to cancel a viewing wouldn’t you leave a voicemail? Or attempt to call them again? So what I am saying is you forgot to call me, it’s nice if someone accepts responsibility rather than pretending they rang someone….
Danny
Jan 07,2022Absolutely shocking service from Richard Kendalls in Horbury, we rented from them for 2 years and we have just handed back the keys. They will try to make your life as difficult as possible for tenants. When we raised issues with the landlord just showing up when he liked and sending dodgy "workmen" around we got told that we are not their clients but the landlord is their client and would not do anything about it. We also had an issue where the alarm system stopped working last Christmas and it was still not fixed when we left, usually this sort of thing would not concern me but when we have my baby in the house its pretty appalling, when we chased this with Richard Kendall they didn't seemed concerned for our welfare and didn't chase this with the landlord. Overall don't go with them they are not concerned over tenants safety or issues but just what the landlord wants.
Lala
Dec 09,2021If I could give a zero, I would. The treatment of tenants which were new to renting I might add was atrocious. Not only were they unprofessional in the way that they spoke to us, but they also accused us on numerous occasions of lying about things that they had said. We’ve just left the property and they’re now demanding money for things that we did not damage. Utterly disgusting and Would 100% NOT recommend.
Daniel
Dec 09,2021Renters beware! Some of these negative reviews are true. Renting with Richard Kendall was an awful experience. As a first timer renting an actual property, Richard Kendall did a terrible job at making it a smooth process. The biggest issue I had was the lack of communication between myself and the Horbury office. When I tried to request an earlier move out date, I was told completely different information by members of the team that added to the pressure and stress of moving house. Basic communication such as calling the Horbury office to get an alarm battery fixed or move our payment date was tedious and took time out of my busy schedule. We was forcefully moved in to the property early just before Christmas 2020 (Wonderful time to rush us into a property lol) and lied to, that apparently the property had "People interested in it". We moved in with the idea from Richard Kendall that we was going to be renting the property for longer then we actually did. Fair enough the landlord wanted to sell the property but Richard Kendall should have notified us of this before we signed the contract. Again, another communication error from the team at the Horbury office. Not only did I find out we had to vacate the property in 6 months but I was pitched to on the same phone call asking if I'd like to buy the property which was even more degrading. We have raised our concerns over the terrible service and communication but nothing improved. A few week's prior to leaving, a member came to take pictures of the property the was renting and they had no idea we was moving out. If you're looking to rent from Richard Kendall, I strongly advice you look elsewhere and save you time, money and stress dealing with the unprofessionalism. They're helpful in the beginning but once you sign the tenancy agreement it's a whole different experience. I rented a HMO studio apartment from a different agency prior to renting with RK and in comparison, the quality of service here is awful. The only redeeming quality is the house we rented was nice and when we did raise our issues with one of the members (Lucy, I think her name was) She actually cared about our experience.
Ben Naylor
Nov 08,2021First time buyers and wasn’t really sure what the process was but Mandy couldn’t of helped more, she was so supportive, happy, polite and kept us updated every step of the way. Real thanks to her and highly recommend Richard Kendall.
Mazidi Sam
Apr 27,2021Let me share my experience in dealing with Richard kendal and Catherine. We cancelled over agreement with Richard kendall and received a phone call from Catherine and i was told we can't advertise over property with any other company and if we decide to sell over property we be liable to pay Richard kendal selling fee. After reading contract it was clear enough to see she Lined and trying to bully us. After sending few emails we had no reply and been told she is not available to take my phone calls. Very very disappointed in Richard kendal and advice i was given. Do not trust this company and never again we will deal with Catherine and Richard kendall. The will under value your property to get a quick sell and charge the fees.
Beverly jones
Feb 25,2022What a wonderfull warm friendly estate agents to use. These ladies at the Castleford branch could not do enough for us chasing solictors and vendors etc. Nothing was too much of a problem for them. Grateful for all their support. Without them we would have struggled with the fact that we didn’t get support and advise from purple bricks. Who take your money and run from day one.