“Had a guided tour by Carol & Diane about the conservation work ongoing at Kingston Lacey this lunch time. They were both friendly and knowledgable. We will certainly be back to see the house again, when all the rooms are back to normal settings, as everything is covered up at this time.”
“The National Trust have provided a very mixed experience in their rather pricey holiday accommodation. Their star rating appears to be based upon the offer of Wi-Fi and or amenities such as a dishwasher. However, on our recent visits to two adjacent properties at Trelissick, Feock near Cornwall, the less pricey accommodation was superior to the pricey top rated one. Each was designed for 4 persons, each offered ‘dog friendly’ status. The pricey one stank owing to lack of cleaning after renters had dried their wet animals on the carpet before the fire. The less luxurious one was far cleaner (despite the damp on the rear wall of the chimney wall, which can be expected in older cottages in winter!) The trust has taken the trouble to ring us to apologise, which is appreciated, but the stinking doggy smell could have been avoided had the carpets been cleaned in between lets. Caveat emptor! Buyer beware! The Trust want your money and know how to over charge for an inferior offering. There’s no inspectorate and self monitoring isn’t good enough.”
“So our daughter purchased us a joint membership before COVID 19 hit, due to the pandemic national trust sites closed, now only a very limited number have opened yet National trust are not interested in discussing the options of refunding or extending our membership other than a three month extension which was 6 months ago. They will not listen to reason and sticking to 3 months only. How can they get away with this? 6 months this has been going on and not looking like it’s getting any better yet still take my money. Now I know it’s a charity but I’m only asking to have what we paid for, not too much to ask I do t think.”
“It seems all this organization does is get seniors on its mailing list, sells the names to anyone, and it is then impossible to be removed from its mailing lists. Somehow my mother got on its list with my home address. My Mother passed away in 2014 and I have received so many junk mailings from this organization since then. It is disconcerting to constantly receive junk mail addressed to a deceased parent. I decided to try to stop it by contacting the organization. A person who has identified himself/herself as its Director (although I suspect that is an alias and is a lie like everything else he/she has stated in emails sent by him/her since September of 2023) told me the mailings would stop, but I continue to get their junk mail addressed to my deceased mother. I have the emails sent to me which are a pack of lies.
I think substantially all their income is derived from just selling names and addresses to whoever and whatever will pay them. Stay away from this organization. You can't TRUST it.”
“Went to Oxburgh Hall today, We were very disappointed with the services in the tea rooms. We waited appx. 15 minutes to be served, only one colleague serving, and then to be told that no jacket potatoes were available, no cornish pasty or Hog rolls also not available, which were all available on the menu board. The lady that served us apologised and said she could offer Chilli which we do not like. She also said we cheese or ham sandwich were available, which we ordered only to then have to wait another 30 minutes for them to arrive. The bread was stale and we could not eat the sandwichs. We will not be visiting again.”
“Dreadful customer service. I have spoken to four customer service representatives and emailed 8 times regarding an issue with payment, and still I have no joy in getting anything resolved. I have cancelled my direct debit and until I get a response saying they have received my cheque, they will not be getting the final payment. In the meantime, because they don't seem to understand that their accounts department deal with cheques, and continue to harass me for payment, I will ignore them, and gladly wait for their debt collectors to write to me so that I can send them all the emails that they have ignored, and proved that they are incompetent.”
“Poor selection of food in cafe, it’s just after midday and all they can offer is a cheese sandwich ( it’s the only one they have ) or a microwaved pasty ( two remaining) it’s a Friday and a big queue behind, hoping for lunch.”
“Wanted to cancel a membership that I'd purchased for my mother in law for Mother's Day. Unknown to us, she had already purchased it. I tried phoning multiple times to get a refund or another later years membership. It took multiple attempts to get through. Holding on the line for at least half hour. I got through at one point after waiting ages to get cut off. I got through and they said would give me a refund. It could take 3 weeks for a cheque. Not heard anything since. No refund, no cheque. I emailed on April 6th and no response again. Absolutely ridiculous. Customer service doesn't exist.”
“You're not sorry at all, you are liars and thieves,we have been waiting nearly 5 months for our membership cards, have phoned your office 6 times and each time I was told our cards would be sent within 2 weeks. How do you people sleep at night knowing that you are robbing honest people, isn't there any decency in the national Fraud staff”
“I activated my membership in January 2023. Given 1 month temporary green membership and 1 month car park pass. Now it's after Easter (April) and I would like to use the membership card that I have never received nor been emailed my membership. I have tried to call the helpline on 3 occasions but waited 20 minutes each time. Also emailed and never heard back. I have rung the head office to have a voicemail saying there is no one to answer as there is HYBRID DESKING/HOT DESKING. Lord help them. No doubt working from home because of Covid but still going to shopping centre's and the pub mixing with thousands of people. I'd like a full refund please.”
“Our Son bought us yearly membership as a Christmas present in December 2022. We have still not received them nearly 4months later, have rang customer services on 4 occasions(waiting over 1hour each time) each time I have spoken with N.T staff I have been told that the tickets would be with us in 2weeks, we still haven't got them. We are no longer interested in joining The National Fraud, I would strongly advise people to read the Trust Pilot reviews before thinking of joining”
“Be aware that from January this year, new Life Membership does not include being able to bring a guest free of charge as previously. So, in exchange for the very large Life Membership fee you now only get half the benefit. NT should make clear this very important change under Benefits of Life Membership on their website.”
“Visited Culzean castle and were horrified at the charge to the grounds - nearly £10 per person. A car parking charge is reasonable but this was an entry charge. We have National Trust membership but our family travelling in a separate car had to pay. Even the lady at the entrance was embarrassed at the cost. At this time of year there was little to see. The woodland paths were muddy and rutted making them difficult for a mobility trike. The café was dreary and run down. Very disappointing.”
