"Criminal Agency that stole my deposit and broke the law"

Do not rent with this criminal agency

Thornley Groves in addition to being some of the most unprofessional and unhelpful estate agents I have ever been with has also been the first agency that has broken the law!

Thornley Groves failed to properly insure our deposit

It was under the wrong amount, so we didn’t get it all back. It was under the wrong name, so we were unable to dispute it when Thornley Groves tried to withhold it, and it was for the wrong tenancy!

I’d also like to give a special mention to our property manager: Jack

A thief who has done nothing but lie to me and the other tenants in our property and make our experience with Thornley just that more miserable

- Jack lied to us, saying we were getting our full deposit back, only to renege on this. Only relenting when we threatened legal action over our deposit being improperly insured

- Jack lied to us about when our tenancy was ending and when it was okay to vacate the property + hand over the keys. This cost us even more of our deposit

- Jack lied to us on multiple occasions about if our rent was going to rise and frequently failed to bother to answer questions about us continuing the lease

I have no idea how this agency has 4* on TP when anyone who has lived in Manchester will tell you Thornley Groves has one of the worst reputations in the city

I can certainly believe it, they broke the law and literally robbed us! And I know they will deny and lie in their response to this too and try to get this review removed

Rent with someone else, anyone else, just make sure it isn't Thornley. If you're lucky, they won't be arsed to attend the viewing you organised

No I'm not joking they do this too 😒

"Thoroughly recommended"

A big thank you to Carolyne Amelia and Ruby at the Sale office
From the start to finish all has run smoothly as a result of their expertise professionalism and efficiency
Every query was dealt with promptly
All has gone so well

"Thank you Thornley Groves!"

Thornley Groves and in particular Clare at Monton were absolute life savers for me when my initial house sale fell through with another estate agent. Within 24 hours Clare got my house back on the market and had managed to gain interest from a number of buyers. I am now days away from my new home and am so grateful to the team at Thornley Groves
Thank you!!

"Fast and efficient responses to our…"

Fast and efficient responses to our requests even when we email in the evenings. Ali Perry has been great. Much better service than we have received with other management companies

"Ineffectual"

This company acts as agent for property landlords, but their clients fail to carry out necessary repairs or even communicate with tenants in any way. Approaches to Thornley Groves are met with "We can't make the landlords carry out any repairs". They are assiduous with debt collecting though. Some of them are good at sounding sympathetic but in the end they are all ineffectual.
In the case I have been dealing with, roof repairs have gone unresolved for months by the landlord, David Navin Holdings Ltd, even though they affect electrical equipment particularly a ceiling extractor fan. We have now had to go down the route of complaining to the council.

"Very poor management company and holds your deposit!! "

As a management company they do not fix issues when raised (broken dishwasher 5 months to fix, and fixed if n day if leaving, and shower never fixed after 3 months of issue raised) or release your deposit when the landlord is happy for it to be fully refunded. Very poor communication from the “relationship” managers.

"Glossy sales pitch masks negligence and incompetence....AVOID!"

As a landlord Thornley Groves cost me stress, money, and good tenants. For my tenants they caused unnecessary stress by literally not responding to their issues and causing them to live in unsafe conditions due to their negligence. The summary is - avoid Thornley Groves at all costs; their glossy sales pitch hides shockingly poor service levels once on contract, and a disregard for the issues their ineffectiveness causes to people's lives.

More details below if you need further evidence…

I decided to let my house out when leaving Manchester, and chose Thornley groves because their sales person was able to answer all my queries, and put my mind at ease with the service they offered. The issues started within the first few weeks of the property being let. The tenants asked for 3 skylights in the kitchen to be cleaned. Thornley Groves quoted me £1,750 to clean them (CLEAN….not replace). After several conversations where they insisted this was the market rate, I was forced to find and book my own window cleaner for £100 for the whole house.
The problems then followed when a storm hit Manchester, affecting the roof. The tenants (who had a newborn baby) reported a leak and Thornley Groves asked how I wanted it dealt. I said repair as soon as possible and gave permission to spend what was required. 2 MONTHS later they called back and asked me to approve the repair, for which I thought they had already dealt with. Unnecessary damage caused, and stress for the tenant, who had called them repeatedly about the issue and Thornley Groves had resorted to putting the phone down on them.
A few months later and the tenant reported a pinhole pipe leak. Thornley Groves sent round 2 contractors to the same job and I was double charged. When I challenged why I'd paid for the same job twice they had no solution other than to chase the contractor that didn't do the work for a refund. That refund took nearly a year to be paid back to me, long after I'd terminated my relationship with TG, and I only received 50%. I had to chase them constantly to get anywhere.

There was then a mould issue in one of the bedrooms. The tenants had a young family and were using the 2nd bedroom far more than I used to. A mould issue grew and they reported it. TG didn't do anything about it. The tenants repeatedly called the TG and they simply put the phone down on them, and closed their online requests without resolution. I found out about the issue because after months of their children sleeping in the same bedroom as them (to avoid the bedroom with mould) they talked to the neighbour, who contacted me. I was then able to communicate with the tenant directly, and get the issue sorted in a matter of days. The contractor I used had also worked with TG, and he said they always have to quote more when working with TG due to the uncertainty they bring to the job.

The real icing on the cake came when I took back control of the property. I went in myself to inspect it, and arranged for my own boiler service, using my neighbours friend who had looked after their boiler for 20 years. He reported that someone had broken an internal boiler clip, rendering the boiler unsafe. This was a 1 year old boiler, and the only person who had accessed the inside of it since installation was the boilerman from Thornley Groves. The poor tenants were living in an unsafe environment due to their negligence, and weren't even aware of it.

It disgusts me how the lettings team treated the tenants. They were a young family who were so worn down by the experience they vacated as soon as their contract ended. From a landlords perspective I spent more time chasing their incompetent actions or inactions than I would have if I had just managed it all myself.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS

"I met with Kelly McDermott today for a…"

I met with Kelly McDermott today for a viewing, what a lovely lady, she was helpful and informative and told me everything I needed to know about the property I was viewing. I will definately use Thornley Groves Monton in the future.

"Buying a house can be very stressful"

Buying a house can be very stressful at the best of times but when it's your first time you need help. That is what I received from this office. I spotted a house of real interest and after a phone call a viewing was set up the very next day. A very friendly lady Kelly McDermott arrived early showed me around and explained the process of making an offer and buying a house. Thank you Thornley Groves Monton Office

"House viewings"

My partner and I recently had a couple of house viewings with Thornley Groves in Monton and were shown round by Kelly McDermott. Kelly was polite, enthusiastic and very informative regarding both the properties/local area. Kelly’s service left a great impression and we would think about using Thornley Groves again in the future.