“Company that has no shame! Would take your money every way they can! Do not fall for the lies and promises of Robert Marsh and Maria Brindley! The most dishonest and disrespectful people we have ever met! The service provided is below zero! All you need is the majority of the Director’s votes to cancel HML’s services and switch to a new company. That is what we did! Do not waste your time and money with HML!”
“You would have to be insane to employ this company to manage what is most people's biggest investment. They are quite simply terrible. Slow to do anything , over charge at every opportunity, allow buildings to become run down , have extremely high staff turnover meaning you are always in a position where the property manager is 'catching up' in a vicious cycle of no actual work being done, accounting errors on every set of accounts, obstructive when dealing with matters you don't pay them for as an extra in the contract , non existent communication , rude staff , worse managers if escalating issues, report all bad reviews on Trust Pilot to try and get better ratings, use staff/contractors to publish 5* reviews to push up ratings. I could go on and on
Save yourself the financial headache and either employ a reputable company or go RTM !”
“There seems to be a common theme here! I have also had a terrible experience of Leah Weeks and her team. Incompetence, unprofessionalism and washing their hands of issues that arose with my apartment and then presenting no solutions and leaving me with a legal battle to manage Landlord issues with insurance claims! Would not recommend HML or Leah as anyone to work with from my experience. Steer clear.”
“HML doesn’t warrant a 1 review, worst company I have dealt with, property manager/regional manager absolutely obnoxious, rude, not prepared to do anything for the money we pay them, some issues are going back over a year, if you can DONT have any dealings with them.”
“I can only echo other reviewers before me. They provide zero service for sky high service charges, leaving the buildings they manage neglected and delipidated. AVOID THEM if you want your property to be nice and well managed!
I am a director at five other estates and have been dealing with various property management companies over the years, but HML Group was so bad that we formed an RTM to be able to get rid of them. Took months and lot of effort, but it was worth it.
Here are just a few of their failings…
Maintenance
Despite reporting issues for years, none of these have been attended to:
- emergency lighting missing (a legal requite requirement)
- all exterior lights (bar one) broken
- there was a hole in the wall, allowing water to ingress (has been there for about 4 years)
- gardening was atrocious, bushes not cut back and leaves and debris just swept under so much that ground level was raised quite a lot (in fact, when the new management company took over and the bushes were cut back properly, we discovered that there were car park lights in the bushes that have not been seen for years (and they were not working)
- cleaning was bad
- internal decorating not done for 10 years or more
- carpets have not been cleaned or changed for at least 15 years
- gutters were always sprouting greenery as they have not been cleared for years and the roof was full of moss
Management
The turnover of property managers was quite frequent and each of them said… ‘Give me a bit of time to understand the issues’ or ‘I cannot comment on what went on before me’. Then nothing ever changed or got done. What happened to corporate responsibilities?
Once we moved away and received some information from them (after months of trying to get it out of them), we discovered that their charges were astronomical. For example, they charged £ 2000 for sending out one Section 20 letter to 36 leaseholders. No wonder the service charge was sky high.
Handover
The handover was the worst and most shambolic I ever encountered. Management companies supposed to provide information and transfer uncommitted funds to the new management company on the day of the handover, if not before. We had zero information and zero funds from the HML Group. After months and months of pushing and going through their formal complaint procedure, taking it up to director level, we eventually received a statement of accounts for leaseholders, then a reconciliation spreadsheet and eventually the accounts.
Things are a bit complicated as the estate has 4 buildings, the RTM took over only one of them and HML continued to manage the other 3. In their reconciliation spreadsheet they got many things wrong, they tried to charge us for things they should not have. But the major thing that continues to be a sticking point is the building insurance. They instructed their insurance brokers to contact the new management company, which they duly did. The new management company then insured the building (though they used a different broker eventually). It turned out – from the reconciliation spreadsheet – that they also insured our building and charged us over a £ 1000 (even though their own brokers quoted about £ 600). There was zero communication with the new management company, we only picked this little gem up from the reconciliation spreadsheet.
After handover
Even though we have parted company with HML Group almost a year ago, we continue to have issues with them as they continue to try to invoice us for ‘estate costs’ even though their contactors have not been on site since handover almost a year ago, they sent Section 20 notices and other unsolicited emails.
So if you are thinking of engaging them as your property management company, DON’T. Save yourselves years of trouble and headache and AVOID THEM!”
“Don't touch this company.They don't do anything.Total waste if money employing them
Extremely unprofessional,don't get back to you,even trade people won't deal with them,can't even hold agms correctly,shambles.
No reports when they when they are chased to do site visits.
Only gave 1 star as system won't allow nil stars as this is what they deserve.
Stay clear of them.”
“Take your money but provide nothing for it. They dont answer emails EVER but slap you with threats for debt collection agenciesif you dont pay service charges within 7 days.They are also happy to discredit you and assassinate your character because of their accounting errors. They NEVER answer emails.”
