Do not touch this company with a barge pole Completely useless ,Issues including not passing rent paid to them to the landlord resulting in the landlord turning up on the doorstep wanting know why he hadn’t been paid ,Also took an age to return the deposit despite constant chasing

Pretty bad

I would not recommend this letting agency based on my experience with the Nottingham City Centre branch. I was looked after by Katie W during the letting process, and I was very disappointed with the level of communication and support I received after I had paid the initial deposit. I felt that the level of engagement changed significantly once payment had been made. The apartment was in an extremely dirty and unhygenic condition when I collected the keys, despite being assured during the viewing and before the tenancy commenced that it would be professionally deep cleaned. I was also told that a bed topper would be provided for the stained mattress with loose fibres, but this was never provided. I even requested a second viewing before my move-in date so that I could check the property and ensure that the issues and promises discussed during the initial viewing had been addressed. I was told that second viewings were not offered. I raised these issues promptly and provided photographs and videos as evidence. Instead of being able to settle into my new home, I have had to spend a considerable amount of time documenting problems, sending emails and raising complaints in order to have issues addressed. I have found the communication and customer service to be dismissive and unprofessional, and I have been disappointed by the lack of ownership taken when issues have been raised. The experience has caused unnecessary stress and frustration at what should have been an exciting time. I believe the agency would benefit significantly from improving its customer service, communication and accountability, particularly after a tenant has committed to a property and paid the required funds.

If you're looking for a student letting agency that treats communication as an optional extra, then John Shepherd might be exactly what you're after. I have to admire John Shepherd’s dedication to consistency. It takes real effort to ignore emails, avoid phone calls, and somehow make tenants feel like they're inconveniencing the agency by expecting a response. The contracts are another exciting feature. Just when you think you know what you've signed, changes seem to appear as if by magic. It's like a subscription service, except instead of new content, you get new terms. Payments are equally entertaining. Keeping track of what you've paid, what you're allegedly supposed to pay, and any surprise additional charges feels less like renting a property and more like participating in an escape room. Every invoice is a mystery waiting to be solved. Once you've signed, you may start to wonder whether you're a tenant or just a direct debit. Support becomes remarkably difficult to find, unless, of course, it's time for another payment. Overall, if transparency, responsiveness, and professionalism are important to you, you may want to consider other options before signing anything.

The property manager we had was pretty much useless. We asked for an additional pair of keys to be cut to save us having to plan when the other person was going to be in which we were told we would have to pay for - turns out there was a spare pair of keys in the key box outside the whole time... Over the course of the year they virtually never picked up the phone when called - good luck getting through to anyone. Lastly, our property thankfully changed hands to a property manager that did their job and towards the end of our contract we received an email from John Shepherd outlining that their was rent arrears for the past 4 months... yes they seriously didn't even know that our property had not been under their management for almost half of our tenancy. Strongly do not recommend.

Very unfortunate that I have to share a bad experience with this company, especially as I had such high expectations… Poor customer service and internal planning! Rung a week ahead of time to book a property viewing, but received no email confirmation. This meant the planned viewing did not take place, thankfully after chasing up via the phone, they rearranged for a different time the same day, to which we confirmed our attendance for. Upon arrival, the estate agent was nowhere to be found, and after waiting for 15 minutes outside, I again called the company. I was then informed that the estate agent did not have keys to access the property at all, as the current tenant was not present, and that the viewing was to be cancelled 15 minutes after the arranged start time… I understand that these things can happen but it is extremely frustrating as I booked time off work, was in direct contact with John Shepard at multiple points throughout the day, and that the was the viewing was cancelled as I was stood outside the property waiting for the estate agent (not to mention this was quarter of an hour after the agreed time). And I was offered no alternative viewing time, very disappointed and frustrated. Huge shame - John Shepherd appears to have lovely properties available but I cannot risk booking time off work to have my time wasted, and I am now extremely reluctant to book any further viewing as I have good reason to believe they will be cancelled as I am stood looking at the front door!

Company bought out the majority of the competition in Student Housing in Notts, and they actually a disaster. Rahim Iqbal is by far the most incompetent Letting Manager i’ve ever dealt with.

No idea how these guys are still in business. Its impossible to get anyone to answer the phone and your lucky if you get a response to an email within a week.

After weeks of trying to arrange a viewing on a property and it being cancelled and rearranged by the estate agent. I finally got a viewing. I requested a second viewing as there was a few other things I wished to see on the property. I was told the only viewing they could do was in 2 weeks time. I attempted to contact the estate agent twice after booking the second viewing with a couple of questions only to now be told 3 days before viewing that the property has sold. So did everyone else manage to get viewings while I had to wait weeks? Or am I missing something? Terrible communication when booking viewings. Terrible at replying to emails or answering questions on properties. Would have been nice to know that offers had been made while I sit waiting for a viewing when I also wanted to make an offer. Will never deal with this estate agent again.

if i could rate 0 stars i would. communication is non existent until you have to go into the branch and speak to somebody in person. they have no problem reaching out when they want money though. staff are passive aggressive, condescending, and speak down on you just because you are a student. the whole "joint tenancy" contract is a complete exploitation of students and the agency refuses to help when there are any issues regarding lousy tenants, their morals and ethics are nowhere to be seen. there were several occasions where staff and handymen turned up to the property with no notice at all. this letting agency is nothing but money hungry. at the end of my tenancy i am being charged for £50 to remove a bag of rubbish, £50 to slide the tv back into its bracket on the wall, £55 to replace "mattress protectors" on the beds which were never even there in the first place when i moved in, £275 for a "deep carpet refresh" even though when i moved in the carpets were completely soiled and ridden with stains; they obviously charged the previous tenants the same carpet refresh, just to not even do it. when you eventually do get an answer from somebody at the agency, you will be told one thing only to be told another thing by somebody else when you contact again. not only is there no communication between yourself and the agency, there is no communication amongst them either. this letting agency is exploitative, money hungry, careless, and contradictory. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!! EDIT: I have had the displeasure of renting with John Shepherd for the second year running, what a huge mistake. I don't know why I chose to rent with them again in the first place. Nothing has changed, communication is non existent unless the agency want to contact you regarding money. When you call you are told to put it in writing on an email only for it to never get addressed. When we first moved into this property, we didn't have working water for a whole week, meaning we weren't able to shower properly and having to literally fill up bowls and tip it over ourselves like we were living in poverty. We were told we would receive compensation for this, 8 months later and we've still received nothing despite contacting on several occasions. Before we moved into the property we asked for the garden to be cleared and surprisingly it was, however the 10 black bags of rubbish from this have been left in our garden for the duration of our tenancy again despite contacting on several occasions. We have had MULTIPLE contractors turn up at the property without a 24 hour warning, which is illegal by the way. I just know at the end of the tenancy they will also deduct extortionate amounts from the deposit with no good reason, the same way they did in my last tenancy. The way they treat tenants is honestly disgusting and their attentiveness to correct issues and upstand the law is non existent. If I could urge you to do one thing it's to stay away from this letting agency. I'm convinced all the good reviews are from either people they've paid or people working in the agency under a fake name.