“This company should be investigate by the police . I rent a flat in Uxbridge managed by HML . When I moved in the flat I could never open the windows . I flagged the issues for months they never fixed it . I had to move in my friend’s house in summer because I couldn’t breath . As soon as I coukd apply the break clause I gave the notice and I moved out . The flat has been given back clean ( I took pictures and video ) and now they try to keep my deposit for professional cleaning and rent areas, when the rent has been always paid in advance . The building managed by them was a nightmare , lift broken , dirty , unsafe . Stay a way from this company !!!!!”
“If I could give a '0' Star review I would...
I am currently in the process of trying to sell my FREEHOLD Persimmon property which is "managed" by HML Group. We had an offer accepted in July/August 2023. The conveyencing process has now been delayed with absolutely no end in sight.
The buyers solicitor asked for a deed of variation which Persimmon swiftly granted. This then went to HML Group acting as B-HIVE who then asked us for £650 + VAT in order for them to instruct solicitors to review it.
They then disagreed with elements of the deed of variation and sent it back to Persimmon. Persimmon are unwilling to alter it so now we are in a complete stale mate.
HML Group will not answer the phone or reply to emails from me or my solicitor. We are now desperately close to our ongoing purchase falling through due to the seller loosing patience (understandably) or our mortgage offer expiring.
I am absolutely disgusted with how this company are neglegently failing to discharge their role and have charged us £650 + vat for the privilage.
They are now demanding Persimmon provide examples of other deed of variations for properties on the development which HML have agreed? What a complete farce.
Do not purchase a property managed by this excuse for a company. They appear to try and mask themselves as B-HIVE.
As I write this I am on my 5th attempt this morning to call their legal team who just hang up when the phone eventually connects.
They completely abuse their position and have absolutely no interest in providing any level of service to the end user as long as they get their money.”
“Hml are terrible company. I don’t recommend anybody to go with them. All they do is send you claim forms when you have paid don’t go with them I think they should be sued bad company do not go with them”
“Possibly one of the worst companies we have ever dealt with. 6 years on from moving into our new home, we’re still stuck with HML without being able to get rid of them because the developer is still controlling the management company (apparently the council haven’t got round to adopting some of the roads yet). During this time HML have demonstrated that they aren’t able to conduct basic maintenance (despite paying their suppliers for it), can’t do basic maths or provide an explanation of how they’ve come to the charges they have for our property. On asking for a breakdown of our charge for a 6-month period, we were threatened (repeatedly) with bailiffs and further ‘recovery’ charges, despite having it in writing that all recovery action had been paused whilst they figured out how to send us a very basic calculation that they had supposedly already completed…to top it all off, their ‘customer services’ responded to a complaint by gaslighting me into submission. Avoid at all costs. Tell developers that you won’t buy their houses/flats if HML are involved…”
“Would give zero if it was an option. I have been forcefully paying into this service charge for our freehold house for 19 years and they haven't once provided any service to us. Imagine paying for your ASDA shoppng delivery and he didn't turn up, that's exactly HML. Only they write to bailiffs and mortgage providers if you don't pay.”
“Worst management company ever, ignored for weeks on end, they clearly have no central CRM system or just don't bother to take notes, or ever do a thorough handover when they inevitably hand around properties and switch account managers every 3 months. Failed to collect annual fees for years in a row so they can't even manage funds. Nothing achieved ever, nothing ever seen through to the end, money disappears into a black hole every year.”
“Horrendous management company. Everything finacial that they produce is wrong. They are terrible at communicating with residents , they charge extortionate fees and don't do any meaningful management. They also like to not pay utility bills and then add the late payment fees to the service charge!
Avoid this company like the plague ! If you are already with them I advise going RTM (which I did) or checking your lease to see if they were appointed under an RMC company , that way you should be able to vote them out!
Please also consider reviewing them on Trustpilot as they are getting all of their employees and contractors to give them 5* reviews to falsify how good they are!
Ps there is a FB group - HML Group Victims that's might be worth a look ;-)”
“horrific company to work with. For over 18 months i've asked when the work will be done. I have a private area that they need to get into. They didn't tell me they were starting work, I come home and have an expensive bike stolen ... I DID NOT WANT THEM TOUCHING ANYTHING! if we knew work was starting we would have moved everything. The workmen leave doors propped open which should be locked. they are responsible for who they hire and communicating with tenants... but won't take any responsibility. I found out that there was another robbery 6 weeks prior but nobody bothered to tell tenants. I wouldn't be surprised if they are on the verge of bankruptcy. they are the worst. avoid working with them at all costs.”
“We KNOW : Our charges are HUGE, replacing a light bulb costs £50, the are difficult about disclosing information which tenants ask for to expose their charges, they charge "late payments " which we are not sure are legal, they use legal terminology to bamboozle residents into keeping off their back.
WE SUSPECT : They have not acted in our best interests, they have added huge amounts to invoices, received kickbacks, chosen "friends " to do work at very uncompetitive rates
We are the exchanged residents in Croydon”
“I had the misfortune to buy a flat in a block managed by HML. They are utterly useless and incapable. I can't even describe the amount of issues I faced while living there but a few lowlights - HML refusing to collaborate with Open Reach in order to help me get a phone line installed, ignoring maintenance requests and queries for months, holding up the sale of my flat for several weeks by not providing Management Pack and by answering queries with vague replies, not billing water/electric for 8 months during a period of massive energy price surges, despite chasing multiple times.
Luckily for me I have just sold the flat, however trying to get closing water/electric/service charge/ground rent bills seems to be completely impossible.
To be honest, if I found out HML managed a block it would put me off buying a flat there.”
“Once again David Tamsitt of HML, Cambridgeshire has gone above and beyond every single request and expectation to help us sort out a solicitor mess that never seems to end!
Not only is he absolutely wonderful to work with, time and time again he has provided the information that we needed so very quickly
I truly cannot say enough great things about David as a person who really went the extra mile to help us out however he could
From the bottom of our hearts David - thank you. Each time we needed to get you involved (yet again!) your quick attention to our request brought our stress levels down immediately because we knew you would do what you said would be done for us”
“Would say 0 stars but it won't let me! Avoid at all costs they have no clue how to run a management Co. Customer service is shocking especially in Kent area michelle and Sarah. Not full filling their contract and just fob you off all the time. Apparently 5ft stinging nettles are wild meadow flowers 🤔. This is somehow costing us more even though they are cutting less and haven't planted no meadows seeds! Absolute shambles of a company. This was also not part of the contract. Lots of over issues too but too long to list them all!”
“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!”
