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Sykes Cottages Reviews

1.2 Rating 1,352 Reviews

5 %

of reviewers recommend Sykes Cottages

Company Reviews

1.2

Based on 1,352 reviews


Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Own Driver
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Over A Week
Customer Service	1.1 out of 5
Returns & Refunds
Refunds Process	Difficult
Returns Process	Could Be Better

Read Sykes Cottages Reviews

Phone:

0124 435 2059

Location:

Sykes Holiday Cottages Lime Tree House Hoole Lane
Chester
CH2 3EG

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Sykes Cottages 1 star review on 10th April 2024

Sykes Cottages 1 star review on 18th January 2024

Sykes Cottages 1 star review on 4th January 2023

Sykes Cottages 1 star review on 4th January 2023

Sykes Cottages 1 star review on 4th January 2023

Sykes Cottages 1 star review on 4th January 2023

Sykes Cottages 1 star review on 4th January 2023

205

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Filter: Helpful None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“I'm an owner of a property which I have been letting out through Sykes. This company is a complete rip off. They rip off owners and customers alike . I've now had the good sense to rid myself of them which, you've probably guessed, was a very expensive experience. There are plenty of other companies out there, please don't make the same mistake I did........”

Posted 2 years ago

“Have booked through them many times before but never again - always been bordering on inflexible at the best of times but the barbarically aggressive nature of the no deposit in any situation is ludicrous... I get the desire to avoid convenience cancellation, but months before with a very legitimate reason and not a pound back. Sure Sykes got tehir pound of flesh with the £990 deposit, but we never rebooked the trip so the rest of the money was never secured and nobody from our group of 6 adults will ever book with them again - ludicrous system which you would expect to have a human layer of compromise behind the rigid surface rationale. . . . . Just worked themselves out of tens of thousands of pounds worth of business for the next 10-20 years just to crunch £900 out of someone you could have just given back as credit to use on Sykes - awful system, terrible business model.... P.S YOU CAN FIND MOST OF THEIR PROPERTIES ELSEWHERE - dON'T BE FOOLED - THEY WILL LIKELY BE AVAILABLE ON SITES OFFERING MORE FLEXIBILITY AND AN OVERALL BETTER SERVICE”

Posted 1 year ago

“We put a £20 deposit down for a cottage as per the web site, and when we cancelled (in January with the cottage booked for August), we were billed nearly £500 for cancelling. Very misleading messaging and appalling customer service all round. We called them and they said they could move the booking to another date and would let us know, then never called us back. When we called them they said it was too late now to do anything. Honestly AVOID this company they are crooks!”

Posted 1 year ago

“FRAUDULENT REPORTING OF OWNER. NONE RESPONSE TO DETAILED COMPLAINT BY THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICES TEAM AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE. NOW REPORTED TO TOURIST INFORMATION AND COUNCIL FOR AREA. NEED TO GO FURTHER PUBLIC WITH THIS. THIS FIRM IS A CON.”

Posted 1 year ago

“I booked a holiday in January for December but unfortunately our circumstances have changed. Instead of cancelling I've asked if I can transfer the deposit to another holiday next year but was told their police won't allow this so I have to lose my deposit even though there are 8 months to December and know the cottage can be re-let. I would never book with these again unless its last minute as they are not interested in their customers and would not recommend this company to anyone.”

Posted 1 year ago

“Sykes will categorically take your money (as with a housekeeping bond) without warning, or at least on the day its stolen from your account without giving you recourse, or chance to defend yourself or disagree. Our rich cottage land owner decided to blame a number of things already wrong in the cottage on us and then charge us £141 for them. Did Sykes defend us? No. There was me being kind about all the dirt i already found in the cottage, the filthy windows, the stove that didnt work, the broken blinds and bad lighting, and not mentioing it because the landowner was old, and seemingly 'nice' and this is what i got in return from both Sykes and landowner. Thievery basically. Congratulations to both of you. You just made an already difficult world that bit more cut-throat. Don't trust Sykes and don't trust the cottage owners. Take pictures of everything that is wrong in the cottage when you get there and prepare for your money to be stolen from your card details without warning for issues that you are never given a right to defend yourself for. This was the 1st time i have ever booked with Sykes. Poor poor poor and while many of you might never come across a problem, because your cottage owners are decent unlike mine was, remember they will not defend you or give you a chance to defend yourself if something goes wrong. So i would say they aren't a holiday cottage company worth taking the risk with. I will never use them again.”

Posted 2 years ago

“Awful customer service!!.. emailed Sykes (as property owner) with some very important information regarding our property availability and some other concerns for future guests. Message was sent to at least five different email address' to ensure that someone at Sykes received this message? After 4 weeks have still not received a reply!!!??? If a company offers an email address as a contact option, they need to ensure that these correspondence as dealt with efficiently. So due to a number issues with Sykes over the past 2 years, we now have decided to remove our property from Sykes. As their commission/booking percentage does not justify their very, very poor level of customer service!!”

Posted 2 years ago

“I’m a property owner. I’m leaving Sykes after nearly 6 years of complete incompetence on their behalf. It’s a complete sham how they run it. I’m sick of guests complaining about Sykes to me. When I finally get through because of an email saying I need to call them urgently about an imminent booking, no one has any idea what the call was about or if there was a booking! They deducted £600 of my money from what was owed to me after asking them to cancel a booking which had been made by a previous guest who was previously told never to return (police involved, after he caused over £1100 damage to my property and was very threatening towards me). Sykes were made aware of him and told me he’d been blocked from returning to my property. They still took another booking from him and after 4 calls and several emails they eventually cancelled the booking, charging me for the money they said they had lost, amounting to around £600. If you’re a property owner, I personally wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole again.”

Posted 3 years ago

“DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY!!! THEY GAVE THE INCORRECT INFORMATION FOR THE LOCATION OF THE COTTAGE WHICH MY FAMILY AND I WERE SUPPOSED TO STAY AT AND ARE REFUSING TO GIVE OUR MONEY BACK. WE WERE STRANDED ON DARK COUNTRY ROADS AT 10PM AS A SINGLE MUM WITH 3 CHILDREN. AND £1700 OF OUR MONEY HAS BEEN LOST. THEY HAVE PATHETIC CUSTOMER SERVICE AND LACK OF SYMPATHY FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS AS WELL AS BEING COMPULSIVE LIARS.”

Posted 1 year ago

“We booked a cottage at Harford in Devon advertised by Sykes as having two off road parking spaces. On arrival we found this was a complete fabrication and any parking was actually on the lane to the moor outside, which, when we arrived, was jam packed with cars and camper vans. When a car moved off later we found there was a hand painted notice on a stone stating the parking space near the gate was for this property. This has no legal standing - it is a public highway. We thought the cottage was very well equipped - probably the best we have used. We decided to phone Sykes to complain about the the misleading description and ask if we could be transferred to a cottage which actually had off road parking. However, no phone signal there or anywhere nearby. We also were not happy about plasticised mats on the laminate type floor which skidded when walked on and a 'baby gate' at the head of the stairs. This was situated right above the top step with the bottom frame of the gate about three inches above floor level. A definite trip hazard. One had to step up over this and then down to the polished wood stair. We took note of this and knew we had to be careful. However, going downstairs to attend to our dog just before retiring for the night, I stepped over the baby gate frame and down to the stair below when my foot slipped on the stair and I fell from top to bottom sustaining injury. I damaged my replacement right knee, had bruised ribs and we suspected a bruised kidney, I was covered in bruises and was bleeding badly from my right arm. How can we summon assistance? - no phone signal, no landline. After my wife had rendered first aid we drove to Derriford Hospital to be told there was a 4-5 hour wait. On hearing this we decided to return home and attend our local minor injury clinic. On return to the cottage from Derriford we found the space we had left right outside was now occupied by a camper van. This was the last straw. We have been trying to get a refund from Sykes or even an alternative holiday on the basis there was no off road parking, but to no avail. They are not interested in the fact that I was injured, they seem to think that advertising a feature which does not exist is fine. Be warned - don't use Sykes. I just wish we had read some of these reviews!!!! £478 down the drain!”

Posted 2 years ago

“What went right? Nothing. I made a complaint to this company two weeks ago. I then emailed and (tried to) telephone. They do not reply to the phone, or one is in a long que. Their response to email is to send auto reply, but then never respond. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS It is apparent (from other reviews) that Sykes do not give a damn - just take your money and sit back . That's it. No customer service whatsoever. Please remember that Sykes were the only company (in lockdown one) who simply refused (yes, refused) to give people refunds!!!) What? I am still awaiting a response to my e-mail, and have run out of energy (and time) to keep holding on to their stupid phoneline JUST AVOID THEM”

Posted 2 years ago

“We just want our money back 😪..Theft is what I call it the owners getting nearly£600 my partner is disabled he saved hard for this holiday.The owners of Gerlan in morfya bychan should at least give us something back.Its heart breaking.!!!”

Posted 2 years ago

“We booked this cottage as a family and after weeks of left to be booked and to check sticking to covid rules they decided to cancel our stay last minute. Also then to top this off they refuse to refund, absolutely disgusting. I am not sure how they think can do this? If you had of had a problem with how many people which you would have seen at time of booking you should have refused booking. Not now cancel last minute and try take our money. Will be reporting you as I can see you were already investigated last year by CMA!!!”

Posted 2 years ago

“If I could rate them a 0 I would. They have been absolutely abysmal amongst this pandemic. Last year even though there was a travel ban in place, they refused to cancel and refund us for our holiday and instead only offered us the option of rebooking. We were given two dates, both costing more than what we had paid originally. We picked a date and as soon as we did, the second option went down in price so we asked to swap to that date instead and they refused. Fast forward a year later and due to government rules we can not go because there are 3 households mixing, which is not allowed. They are still refusing to cancel or refund and have only offered for us to rebook again, only this time they want to charge us £30 to do that. I am not sure legally how they are allowed to encourage you to break the government rules and have contacted the CMA on this regard. The CMA has already confirmed that if there was a travel ban they should have offered refunds and apparently Sykes have agreed to it, yet still no refund. I will never ever use this company again, and I will be writing this review on several platforms.”

Posted 3 years ago

“I made a booking with Sykes cottages in February to go to Geltsdale east wing 24th-27th December 2020 for 7 people with the latest government guidance of 6 people being allowed to travel I went on to the Sykes website and there was a statement on there to say ALL customers are entitled to refunds or to change there date but they are prioritising refunds for people travelling September & October first So I called Sykes and was told by someone who claimed to be a manager names alister that although the agreed it does sounds like that it actually means only September & October can have refunds or change the date at the moment so when I said we’ll isn’t that false advertising he informed me as I was the only person to complain it would not be changed (ironically the next day they changed the online statement I have screenshots to prove the change) I informed alistar that the full balance of £892 was due to come out on the 11th November and I wasn’t willing to pay this if I could not go and his answer was o don’t worry you will know either way by then. Then today I called Sykes cottages again the first time on hold for 30 minutes for some to answer and then put the phone down then 2nd time I spoke to a foreign lady names geo she said that my booking was showing as only 6 people so I’d be fine which is incorrect as I booked and paid for 7 so now seriously worried! She the went on to tell me they cannot confirm I will be told by the 11th November if My booking will be going ahead or not so she said alistar Miss informed me and that he isn’t intact a manager he’s just a member or the senior so when I asked to speak to a manager to report being lied to numerous times she’s wouldn’t let me speak to a manager no matter how many times I pleaded. Im so worried as now I either cancel and pay £300 to cancel or pay £900 for a holiday I may not be able to go on! I’m at my whits end with this I don’t know what I can do as this is a Christmas booking I don’t know what to do as we could be left with nowhere to go and £900 out of pocket”

Posted 3 years ago

“We signed up with Sykes as a property owner and have been hugely disappointed from the start. They have flexibility to charge rates, which hugely devalues our property. Compared to other rental companies, Sykes have greatly underperformed. In fact, they have earned more revenue through fining us than new bookings. This is a company with more than £200m profit and two listed directors (check them out via the Companies House website). No wonder they don't care....”

Posted 1 year ago

“Sykes- Very Bad Experience We have stayed with Sykes for decades. However an owner on a recent holiday has claimed incorrectly for damage to towels and sheets. At the most, all that was required was to wash them, which I would assume was normal in between hires. Sykes will not accept any explanation on my part but simply believed the owner and charged a ridiculous £89 to my card. Basically the owners have replenished their stocks at our expense. Never have I seen this behaviour before and as a result Sykes have lost a loyal customer. As we will in future , I suggest that you think very carefully before using this company.”

Posted 1 year ago

“The worse company ever, no empathy what so ever, a family member passed away, leaving the family in such a situation to continue the holiday home. This was due to the pandemic and covid, a second family also very sick , tried to cancel as it was not live to take bookings as you could understand. Still demanded a fee for setting up absolutely nothing. Kept issuing invoices until I gave up and paid a fee to stop my credit rating getting obliterated which was reduced but still didn’t cancel and demanded. I offered to speak to the marketing director which I will get to contact one day and discuss why why . Horrid company to work with please think twice”

Posted 1 year ago

“We wooked 9 Pen y Ghent - Tosside near Long Preston, Yorkshire Dales for a 5 night stay in July. On arrival we noticed that the accommodation was dirty, dead flower in a glass on the window sill, vet medication which was over 6 months old left in the kitchen cupboard, broken ornaments on the fire place, all pots, very very old and well used pans, cooking utensils etc dirty and all needs to be cleaned. The welcome pack left contained out of date and muldy bread, the decking didn't have furniture as advertised, and what was there was rusty and old and decking was filthy. There was nothing in the accommodation to enable us to use in the oven so no means of cooking an evening meal. Tried to contact owner on number given by Sykes, tried several times, no answer. Following day called Sykes to be told owner lives in Canada so struggling to get hold of him. Shower in ensuite couldnt be used as door was off the rails, no toilet roll not bath mat. All magazines left were ripped and over a year old. We reported all of the issues, which there are many more than I have listed, to Sykes and stated we wanted compensation. Owner finally got someone to call to fix shower, and we asked ofr some oven pots so we could cook food which he brought 1 x baking tracy, 1 x bowl and 1 x lid from a pyrex bowl. The shower door came off runner as soon as we tried ot use it so it wasn't fixed. Sykes contacted owner and owner doens't think that anything is wrong and is not prepared to offer compensation, how does he know if everything is ok when he lives in Canada. Sykes have backed the owner and basically said the complaint is closed so nothing can be done and that is that. It seems that although we are Sykes customer and paid htem good money for this holiday they don't actually care about our experience and only interested in the owner of the accommodation. They took our money for a substandard accommodation and now basically we can't do anything about this and we have to shut up and go away as they do seem to only care about their client the accommodation owner and getting their money from good honest people who save hard to have holidays. Sykes, remember you are there to help not only the accommodation owner but also to help and ensure that hte holiday maker who pays good money also has a good time and the accommodation and holiday experience is a good one and if it isn't then support the holiday maker as well and as good as the owner of the accommodation as it does seem you don't care about the holiday maker.”

Posted 1 year ago

“With having a dreadful holiday sykes holiday cottages are only interested in taking your money won't handle any complaints and ignore your all correspondence .”

Posted 1 year ago

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Sykes Cottages is rated 1.2 based on 1,352 reviews