Raspberry Lettings 

Have rented at Ledgard Bridge Mill and love the property. Have found Raspberry Lettings to be very helpful

I’ve had no issues whatsoever since getting the keys.
Moving in was nice and easy, everything explained to me, shown where all the facilities were.
All’s Good.

Do not rent here. It is ran by cowboys!! We lived in Blakeridge Mill for 18 months and wouldn’t advise anyone to rent here. It has the potential to be a lovely place to live if it wasn’t ran by Raspberry Lettings.

The apartments themselves are nice looking and are well located for access to Batley town centre and commuter links, the fixtures were of a decent enough quality. Some design elements of the flat were frustrating such as the tiny fridge/freezer next to the oven so milk would always go off and there being no draining board or dishwasher. There is CCTV all over the site and lots of external lighting covering the car parks, but the police were always there for one reason or another. The walls are paper thin and you can hear everything in neighbouring apartments. They are unbearably hot in summer with windows that barely open and in winter the electric heaters cost a fortune to use. No fibre broadband is available on site so you’re restricted to copper broadband.

The car park is like a building site they couldn’t be bothered to finish. Your car will always be dirty whilst you live here with no where on site to clean it/get access to an external tap etc. We were told numerous times that it was getting resurfaced and spaces would be numbered, this never happened. Yet they found time and money to sort out staff parking spaces, installing themselves some bollards so no one else can park in their spots. They extended the car park to the rear of Blakeridge Mill whilst we lived here, they had the opportunity to do it properly, yet it was left as a dusty, unfinished, pot-hole-ridden surface. They also began to employ an external company to issue parking tickets to residents towards the end of our tenancy.

The convenience of the swim pool and gym on site is good, both were empty most of the time I used them. Bizarrely they have fitted heaters in the gym instead of aircon.

Getting post here was a nightmare, there is no buzzer entry or post room and only Royal Mail were given fobs to access the buildings. People resorted to writing their numbers on scraps of paper and sticking it to the main door for delivery people to ring them. There is also no signage inside to say what apartments are on which floor etc.

Everything Raspberry Lettings do seems to be a bit of a bodge, for instance they installed a barrier after travellers moved into the car park. The barrier consisted of 3 pieces of scaffolding duct taped together across the road with no signage. Numerous times delivery vans crashed into it and it was just re-duct taped back together, with no signage still.

Like the majority of other reviews, Raspberry Lettings decided they would ignore all emails/calls when we tried to get our deposit back. This was after numerous excuses about why it was taking so long to return the deposit. On checkout we were told there were no issues whatsoever and the flat was spotless even according to them. We were forced to ultimately raise a dispute with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. We eventually got our deposit back 4 months after leaving.

In November 2020 another resident took the matter into his own hands and clamped one of the staffs’ Maserati whilst demanding his deposit be returned. This seemed to work as he got his money back immediately. This, people complaining to trading standards, the local MP, various ombudsman’s, newspapers and other insightful reading is featured in the ‘blakeridge & sugar mill - Batley apartments - raspberry Lettings’ Facebook group. You should join and read the content of this group if you are seriously considering moving here.

Part way through our tenancy we were emailed asking if we’d write a good review to balance out the bad ones, glad we didn’t bother!

The only saving grace about this place is the maintenance man, Dave. He would do anything for anyone at the drop of a hat!

Just left after 5 years of living here in three different apartments and I cannot fault the professionalism of the management team and the two handymen. I I had a problem which was very rare it would be fixed the same day. Loved the facilities of the gym and the pool second to none. Sorry to be leaving and that's only because we have bought a property .
Highly recommend this place to live ...

2 stars Because its friday and I'm being fair.
Started well...enough.
They fixed the washer drier within a couple days and i was off and running.

6 months in..the owner of the flat i was renting contacted me to say raspberry had not been forwarding any income to her. I showed her my bank statements which she gave to her lawyer.
Come the end of the years tennancy it took over a month of chasing
I had to leverage the fact my land lady had an open criminal offense (fraud) charged on them..to get my deposit.

Annoying if say you needed it for the next rental.
Never again.
Apart from that though no conplaints, nice pool

If I could give this place a zero I would. They are the loveliest people ever when they want you to move in. As soon as they’ve got you tied in to that 12 month agreement they couldn’t care less about you.

I moved out on ththe 26/08/2020. We were supposed to get our deposit back 10 days after this, still waiting and I’m having to raise it TDS and the property ombudsman. Absolutely the worst estate agents I’ve ever dealt with.

I’d advise to stay away at all costs from these guys. Money grabbing thieves.

I lived here for a year before leaving. The flats seem nice at first, everything is new and clean. They are damn expensive to heat as the heaters are tiny electric ones. The vents in the windows leak if you have a storm or the windows are cleaned. The under counter fridge with a shelf freezer is not really suitable for one person so good luck if you're a couple. Honestly for the price you pay, you can get somewhere a lot more practical in the area.

The car park is terrible, parking is a mess (I have been boxed in once or twice) and the dirt gets on you as you walk to your car (they have made it look resurfaced in the pictures but it is unfinished gravely mud) They don't care, no replies to any complaints about parking and no action taken despite the face I had an email last November saying they would start to monitor the parking.

Now I am going through the process of trying to get my deposit back. I have been told by Raspberry Lettings that everything was fine with the flat and now I am being ignored. As anyone who rents knows, getting your deposit back on time can be pretty important and I have been totally let down and will probably have to chase through other avenues at this rate.

Overall I would approach with caution, don't expect amazing quality from the fittings they have used and definitely don't expect your deposit back (or any acknowledgement of getting it back) when you leave.

I have been a tenant from October 2019, lived in Spinning House. The whole experience was good with fast responses from the agents, easy check in and fast deposit refund.
I can see a lot of negative reviews which I do not understand as my experience was positive throughout. I can only highlight that I looked after my flat and therefore did not have problems. Would like to thank Harriet and her team.

DO NOT RENT FROM RASPBERRY LETTINGS

Rented a property from this very unprofessional company, who have no idea what customer service is, from march 2020 to Sept 2020.

Harriet was very pleasant when we signed for the property, but when you ring up for things repairing, you get asked that if you don't like the property then they can end the tenancy!!!

Extractor fan over cooker didn't work, but was told previous tenant didn't have a problem with it, so it didn't get replaced, even tho she admitted it needed replacing. Thermostat wasn't connected to boiler, that didn't get done either, and their excuse, Covid-19, perfect excuse for them to get out of doing anything.

The property was up for sale when we moved in but was told it had been removed, only to get called for a viewing a month later!! That's when things started going downhill fast.
The property needed updating, nothing had been done in it for over 10 years, so was looking very tired, kitchen, windows, bathrooms, carpets, everything wanted replacing, but I was accused of sabotaging the sale of the property because I told the estate agent this, so we were given a section 21 by raspberry lettings.
We got our deposit back within the week but I think that was so she didn't have to deal with us, and that she'd get no peace from my partner, I had refused to deal with her at this point, because of her treatment if us.

So if you want to deal with an unprofessional company, then rent with these if not stear clear at all costs.
From the worst tenants raspberry lettings have ever had! Apparently!!

Do not rent from this company !!!! We rented a house in Wakefield owned by Harriet to be honest when we moved in what a dump it was in a right filthy state the carpets were minging, the garden was in a mess, rubbish left by previous tennant, shower leaked, the thermostat was not connected up to the boiler, the list goes on, when I rang this thing called a landlord all she had to say when I complained on the state of the place was ...if you don't like it I will end the tenancy.. not what I was expecting her to say when we moved out few weeks back at the end of the six months tbh couldn't wait to get out of this dump, she had the cheek to charge me 40 quid to clean the stair carpet cleaning I had left stains on it, when I disputed this with her on the phone the child decided to put the phone down something that I have read on previous posts about harriet, I'm surprised this company has not been investigated by authorities yet I have never had dealings with a company like this, at some point I'm sure they will come unstuck !! DO NOT RENT FROM THESE COWBOYS !!!!!! You will regret it !!!!

Raspberry Lettings cannot let anyone else go through the hell and STRESS of getting their deposit back.

I moved into Jubilee Mill 5th June - 4th December 2019. When I first moved in, everything was perfect and so easy. Never had any problems and the flat was super nice. I even recommended my friend to move there which she did and unfortunately she is now going through what I did having left the property. If you notice aswell, all the 5* reviews that you may see are from current tenants (which I would have given if I was still there). The hell comes after you leave!!

I arranged to have a check out inspection and hand the keys back at a given time and day. When I rung to tell them I was in the flat for the inspection apparently the “cleaner was in another property” and Harriet was “in a meeting” (even though she was able to answer the phone to my call) so I was to drop the keys off at their office and the inspection would happen later. She told me there she sees no problems and I’d expect to get my deposit back ASAP. After a week of leaving, I still hadn’t received my deposit. I emailed Harriet and she replied saying it would be returned within 10 working days. 10 working days passed and still no deposit. Baring in mind my flat was spotless, I always paid my rent and there was no damage to the property. She replied on the Wednesday, apologised saying her “accounts lady is ill and hoping to be back on Friday to do all pre Christmas payments”. Friday came and still no deposit. I emailed again and no response. Phoned the office and Harriet said it would be returned on the Monday latest before Xmas. Mon 23rd Dec arrived, no deposit and no response through email or the office after numerous attempts. And of course they broke for Christmas break!! On the 27th Dec, I wrote them a letter before action regarding the failure to return my deposit as I was getting nothing but excuses of “someone being in a meeting” or “someone being ill” or Harriet herself just being “really busy” to then absolute silence and no response. At this stage there was also no recognition of my deposit being protected so I referred to that in the letter. Again, they ignored. Funny they didn’t reply to me but sent an email to their current tenants with a copy of their Deposit Protection Certificates just after I had sent the email. my friend who was living there made me aware of this!

Because I was getting no response after multiple attempts, I came across a site called Justice For Tenants where I spoke to a guy called Daniele and he couldn’t have been more helpful and professional. Could not fault him!! I explained what had happened and he said he had heard of Raspberry Lettings for similar reasons. I forwarded him all the emails and evidence I had and he said to raise a dispute with the ADR scheme. I had no certificate or no record that my deposit was protected so didn’t think I’d be able to do this. We looked into it further and found a letter which had all the wrong details (Surname, address etc) hence why I couldn’t find my deposit protection online. I then spoke to my deposits and they confirmed it was protected with the incorrect details. I raised a dispute and again Raspberry Lettings ignored them so I FINALLY managed to get my deposit back after a further few weeks as they were unable to provide evidence as to why they were holding it.

After retrieving my certificate from MyDeposits, we realised not only did they register the incorrect details, they had also broke the law and protected my deposit out of the 30 day period- long story short, I have only just come to the end of this case and managed to settle out of court for compensation. I wouldn’t have known any of this if they gave my deposit back in the first place!! PLZ DO NOT RENT WITH THEM. They will do the same to you! No one deserves the stress they caused me for the last 6 months. Don’t be deceived, the owners come across so lovely but rinse you dry at the end!

Excellent place to rent

MUST READ- DO NOT SCROLL PAST- THE WORST PLACE TO LIVE!

I moved out of Apartment 22 in The Pavilion (which was one of the houses) in February 2020! THE WORST LANDLORD I have ever experienced!

Let me tell you... if you’ve already started a tenancy with raspberry Lettings then I’d start regretting it now

So, after moving out I was told via face to face and over the phone that my full deposit would be returned within 10 days ... LIES... 12 weeks later we still hadn’t got it back with the excuse of “we’re doing it today” or “the accountant is in a meeting” ...they don’t have an accountant... this was every time I rang (7 or 8 times out of hundreds that I managed to get through to them)! We raised a dispute through TDS and have finally got it back after 14 weeks!
Myself and my house mate we’re also registered under false names on TDS which raspberry Lettings had done which made it harder to retrieve the deposit!

If you think you can just keep ringing them and emailing them to get your deposit back or to get things done... think again, I was hung up on, my number was blocked, they sent me to voicemail if they knew I wanted to contact them.. they’re impossible!

Want to hear your neighbours express their love for each other via movement and sound??? GOOD because the walls are paper thin!

Apparently grass was to be put down in-front of our house “anytime soon”... that never happened

They lied about getting individual spaces in the car park which never happened... also, if you love your car being dirty, broken suspension, risk of theft and bald tyres... then this car park serves all that!

You think you might pay maybe £15 or £20 a month for water ??? Ohh nooooo you pay £40 A MONTH to raspberry Lettings for water to run out your taps... is this a money making scheme? We’ll never know!!!!

You want hot water longer than 10 minutes a day??? Well, your out of luck! because that’s all you’ve got in a 24 hour period!

They’ve been offering free fobs to the over packed and unclean swimming pool and gym if people leave a good review, so if you want to believe them that’s up to you!

Travellers came at one point and parked their caravans on the car park! Raspberry Lettings didn’t seem to care

Work men constantly building and working at early hours of the morning and all through the day!

We received many emails about people having their cars broken into and one person even got hijacked!

So, if you love being stressed to the point of breaking, want to feel unsafe where you live, have no money, have no help from your so called ‘Landlord’ and want to be treated like a carpet stain then Raspberry Lettings at Blakeridge mill village is the place for you! Absolutely atrocious!

I lived here for just over a year. The apartments were alright however, not to the standard they are portrayed in advertisements. The nightmare came upon leaving the place when around a month before leaving I submitted my notice for leaving. They informed me that I had missed the deadline by one day for giving notice to leave which annoyed me however, I took this as my own mistake. The result of this was that I had to pay for another months rent. After moving out, there was no issues with the state of the apartment and so I gave them my details for the return of both the apartment and gym deposit. in the contracted this was stated to take around 7 - 10 days. Following 8 days, I rang to making sure it was being processed, only to find out that, "we haven't received your bank account details". I insisted this had been done and even told them the date and time the email was sent. To my surprise, they refused to believe that I had sent them across and so I sent my details across again and asked for a confirmation email that they had received them. They did reply this time and so after another 10 days, I rang again to find out that Harriet was taking her annual leave and would process my payment when she got back. After another week, surprise surprise, they were still processing my payment. Eventually, after about one month, I was told the payment had been made, only to find out a couple weeks later that it had not. This issue went on forever and after going through the Deposit scheme I received only my apartment deposit back which took 3 months. I then went to the small claims court and filed for the remaining gym deposit to which they paid at the very last minute. This was a very stressful 4 month long process and the customer service from raspberry lettings staff was appauling!!!! I do advise for those starting this process to record phone calls as evidence and try to get everything in email.

On applying for an apartment the staff at Raspberry lettings are kind and helpful and friendly but when you move out it is a different story. Getting your deposit back is a massive headache. Even getting your gym bond back is impossible. I moved out over a month ago and I have had to raise a dispute with TDS. The apartments look nice but the walls are paper thin and offer no privacy and cost a fortune to keep warm too. The pool is nice in the morning but the gym is too hot and cramped on an evening. All in all not a great place to live and a headache to leave behind. If you're already in one I would not pay your last months rent and leave them with the deposit. The financial loss outweighs the hassle.

SHOCKING! Do not live here under any circumstances, the gym and pool may catch your eye but believe me they are not worth it and are small anyway. The landlords are awful and will do anything possible to avoid paying back the deposit, we still have not received ours after moving out a month ago. But rest assured if you are reading this Raspberry Lettings you WILL be paying it back. They even have had people writing fake reviews on here and used gym key fobs as bribes?? Says it all doesn't it!! The parking is shocking and your car will be wrecked by the time you leave, which will no doubt be as soon as you can because you will be sick of them. The flats themselves are awful, far too hot in summer and freezing in winter which will mean expensive bills coming your way. They refused to let us install a smart meter because they said there was no space?? Which was just lies. On that topic lies are all they seem to tell from what I have experienced and heard from others. The furniture in the place is pretty shoddy also, and the fixtures and fittings are appalling. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND BLAKERIDGE MILLS TO ANYONE!

I moved out in October 2019 and still haven't had my deposit back yet. After months of e-mails and phone calls...nothing.
**WARNING: DO NOT RENT WITH RASPBERRY LETTINGS - YOU'LL NEVER SEE YOUR DEPOSIT BACK!**

Extremely disappointed and shocked at the way I have been treated after leaving my rented property.
Viewed early Jul 2019 and after being showed around i was keen to proceed, at which i was required to pay the £630 deposit to secure even though the apartment wasnt available for another 3 weeks. This was done and the day I was due to move in I was then required to pay the month rent up front of £550 which I did.
This was my first rental and thought this was fairly standard.
I did enjoy living there and also paid £200 in Aug 19 for use of the communal gym/pool which again I enjoyed using
This was a 1 off payment which is to be returned at the end of the tenancy.
I continued to pay my rent on time for the 7 months, then provided 1 month notice 26th Jan yet asked to leave by 24th Feb which I did.
On this date I asked when i should receive the £830 total to be told the apartment is due a full check over and once approved I will receive refund within 10days. This timeframe passed and so I chased to be told 13th March the payment was in process and due with me the following week. Unfortunately this is the last response i received and after chasing numerous occasions. I have been left no choice but to dispute through the Tenancy Deposit Scheme yet this only covers the £630 deposit for the apartment.

I think this is completely immoral and cannot understand why Raspberry Lettings thinks this is an acceptable way to treat people. Such a shame after a great 7 months and now I want to warn others in advance of entering a contract.

Appears my last review was deleted!
So here we go again, I started renting back in Feb of 2019 and the coven who run the place were friendly and happy to get me moved in as soon ad possible.
But once I was in...
The flats in Blakeridge Mill are a terrible design with a huge lens to focus light and super heat the place in the summer as well as that same window being only able to be opened a crack and there being no air flow. On the other hand it was also freezing in the winter due to the open brickwork... So there's that?
They also get damp and mould growing on that same brick wall.
The Internet is poor and dips at peak times sometimes to being barely usable.
The car park is a muddy pit that allegedly is secure though when my motorcycle was vandalised the landladies were unhelpful to say the least and tried to charge me £75 to review thier own security cameras, and seemed downright offended when I told them I'd informed the police.
The gym is unpleasant but usable though I'd recommend any of the other gyms close by as it can be a struggle to get your bond back at the end of the tenancy, I opted to miss it out on one of my last months of rent which they accepted though others have had to go through small claims even.
And finally the landladies who were rude and condescending at every opportunity, blatantly ignoring requests and once stated that they would not take down the barrier they had erected (to keep traveler's out of the car park) so that I could move my stuff out, and that should I take the barrier down, they would seek to have me charged with criminal damage.
So on my last day I had to haul my possessions from the top floor all the way up the little rise into a van at the top.
They are quite simply unbelievable to deal with, the fact they have any business at all amazes me and should be avoided at all costs.
Speaking of costs
Utility bills are enormous and you can't have a smart meter for electricity or get info on water usage. Water is often on flat rates that are totally above reasonable.

This review was written a year ago and I’ve been waiting until my business had finished to post....Today it has now been concluded, With the help of HMRC and their lawyer Mrs Davies it has taken these scumbags almost a year to give us back our bond for the gym!!!

Terrible! Don't bother. All nicey nice when you move in but once they have you, prepare for snotty, rude, pointless emails. Poor communication, terrible upkeep of the car park and do not fall for the con that is the sugar hut- Their leisure facility. The deposit of £300 per couple or £150 for an individual is scandalous, it is not protected, and I am sure is only used to boost their ISA's interest. Forget about having packages delivered to your address, no intercom or parcel acceptance service. Forget about going into the office to discuss any issues as they are not in until 8.30am and they are often on the road home by 4:30pm, so unless you’re lucky enough to work part time like these seem to, you'll never catch them. Not to mention the fact that their emails/phones seem to stop working when you ask them to send you the bond back (for the leisure facilities) thank god we didn't have to deal with them to get our flat deposit back, we were lucky, our landlord saw sense and asked homestart to manage our flat, miles more professional, fair and a pleasure to deal with. Watch out for vandalism, car theft and burglary while your at it as well. Nice flats to start out in but the customer service from these cowboys is not worth it. Avoid avoid avoid!