I'm a ERASMUS student living in Valencia and lived in a flat with Helloflatmate. But before I moved in I couldn't find any sort of reviews on the company, which made me worry about signing a contract for 6 months with them.
So I thought I would message all the people I knew staying/who stayed in a flat by the company and ask for a quick review and to answer a poll. This way maybe people in our position next year will be better informed, as at the moment I can't find anything at all which is from a non-biased view point.
So if you have stayed in a helloflatmate property please give a review of a few sentences below in the comment box!
DO NOT SIGN WITH HELLOFLAT MATE.
ResponderEliminarHelloflat Mate is a company of the worst kind. It ignores questions made by tenants. They lie about their intentions. In their video they say they will pick you up from the airport - they don't. They say they will come and check everything is working properly in the flat - they don't. They offer a "free" monthly cleaning service - I've been here many months now and a young girl came once demanding cleaning products and tools. They set up dodgey phone contracts with orange which leave you with 160EURO bills. They squeaze you for every penny you're worth. I saw photos of one girl's room that had mould growing all over her bedroom wall. They did nothing to treat the problem, she moved out, they refused to give her her deposit, they painted over the mould and started to show the room to other potential tenants. They don't supply you with enough kitchen equipment. Another story goes that they had no oven in their flat and they refused to buy one for the flat. One of their staff slept with a tenant, highly unprofessional. No reply to emails - rude. Now they are trying to make us sign a new contract and pay them a bills deposit... FUCK YOU HELLOFLAT MATE.
All I can say to people thinking about signing with Helloflat Mate is DON'T DO IT! BIGGEST REGRET OF MY YEAR ABROAD. Be brave enough to find something by yourself. Don't be sucked in by their "we're young and fun" image. They are lazy and incompetent.
I cannot say anything about other offers of Helloflatmate than just flat renting as there were no such additional services (as cleaning, etc.) offered that time when I went to Valencia. But, man, you're in SPAIN!!! I would say that all Spanish nation is quite lazy and not hardworking (their favourite word "mañana" :) ). So no surprise cleaning and repair service was not so good. But it's not because the company is bad, but because the nation is such. If you don't like something, it means you chose the wrong country for your exchange. Instead, go to some Switzerland or Germany - I believe they are more organized and you'll be happy.
EliminarP.S. Our kitchen was well equipped. ;)
Aha... very lazy. Yep. Working many more hours than any other country and having shops/ commercial centers opened until very late (something that does not happen in your country).
EliminarSeriously, if you want to write bullshit at least complain for the right things.
I could tell you a few bad experiences i've had in your country but i'd never complain for the whole nation... only for a few idiots.
Up yours.
ATTENTION! Inga Duda is a FAKE PROFILE.
EliminarIf you look up her picture profile in google reverse images you will find four profiles with the same photo and slavic names.
Lauris Baltins - Google+
https://plus.google.com/111715637280176238635 -
240 × 240 - Lauris Baltins - Stockholm School of Economics.
Mariia Shekhireva - Videos - Google+
https://plus.google.com/.../videos
Inga Duda - Google+
https://plus.google.com/111526508338695987894
Vladislav Keldish - About - Google+
https://plus.google.com/+VladislavKeldish/about -
I stayed 4 months in a HFM room, Seemed a good solution and the whole package is offered. But you pay way more than when you find a room on your own, and the service promised to offer was rarely delivered (cleaning, repairs,...).
ResponderEliminarThe way they organize the paying of the bills is barely to be called professional. How collaborate with foreigners if half of the crew speaks only spanish?
The concept sounds nice, but the company is to small and inexperienced to deliver what they promise.
In Helloflatmate we speak spanish, english, french, italian, just to mention a few, in order to facilitate the communication with our clients. The services are delivered according to the subscribed package. Please make sure you contact our office and let one of our staff members help you with the choice.
EliminarEste comentario ha sido eliminado por un administrador del blog.
ResponderEliminarI suggest everybody to try this service. I spent six months in Valencia and I've been looking for a flat for a while, I also had a nasty experience with a landlord that tried to cheat me.
ResponderEliminarBut Helloflatemate staff provided us a cheap and huge flat close to the center, and when we needed something we just had to call the office or their personal mobile as well.
They're young people as we are, experimented same experience so they really understand students.
Lastly, if I remember well, one of them used to live in London, so it's not true that they can't speak english.
If you think that I'm a kind of "fake" and is actually one of the staff writing this, you can find me on Twitter: ChiaraGrigolini, I will confirm you all what I wrote.
Bye!
We are so happy that you had a good time in Valencia. We are working everyday to deliver the best services for our students and we are happy when the efforts made someone's journey a little bit more special.
EliminarI actually think HelloFlatMate is a GREAT company to stay with, and would recommend it to anyone who plans to stay in Valencia.
ResponderEliminarSee, HelloFlatMate is not only a company that provides you with housing (great apartments by the way)but the "go to point" for when you are in a new city and need guidance about the city, where to go get this, how to do that, etc.
And mostly, as it was in my case they were always willing to help me with matters not only related to my apartment but the city and finding a reliable source so I basically wouldn't feel lost in Valencia.
The staff too...great people, professional, and very friendly!
If I am to go back to Valencia I would definitely be staying with HelloFlatMate again :)
Hello Angela, we are thrilled about your experience with us in Valencia. We hope to see you again soon ... let us know when you come to the city again :)
EliminarI was in Valencia as an Erasmus student in 2011 and I have to say HelloFlatMate was a brilliant company to stay with and I would always recommend them, as I have done before, to anyone going there. The flat was in a great location, I didn't have to sign up before I got there or part with any money before seeing the flat. The flat was well equipped, there were no hidden charges, the staff were friendly and efficient and very easy to contact. We had contact numbers, Facebook pages and email which was reassuring when you don't know anyone and are in a foreign country. Even when our bills came one time and were unusually high, the staff gave us a discounted rate as the problem was the power company's not ours.
ResponderEliminarLike previous comments have said they provided information and help about everything in the city not just to do with the flat which was great. We even got recommendations for bank accounts and where staff would understand English.
I haven't a bad word to say about this company or any of the staff we came into contact with. All of them were very friendly and very professional! And they can speak English as I couldn't speak much Spanish when I arrived and so we communicated in English to begin with.
I would definitely use this company again and would recommend others do too!
Fake comment :s
EliminarHello Sarah, we are always happy to know that our guest had a positive experience in Valencia also thanks to us ;) .. We hope you'll come back soon, take care.
EliminarEste comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.
ResponderEliminarI would definitely recommend Helloflatmate to my friends and other people going to Valencia.
ResponderEliminarI went there as exchange student in autumn 2010. I rented flat from Alberto who was only establishing the company at that moment. No official Helloflatmate existed then, if I am correct. SO I communicated straight with Alberto and I am happy I met him. I agreed with him on the flat through Facebook even before I left my country. The flat I saw the first day in Valencia was exactly as on photos on Facebook (no lies, no cheating). Alberto showed me the nearest shops and we had a small walk to the centre; he told some interesting facts about Valencia. I really appreciated that as it was my first experience of the city.
Overall, the flat was great, no extra charges, everything was fair, if something needed a repair, Alberto tried as much as he could do. I cannot say anything about other offers of Helloflatmate as I did not have that opportunity that time. But I could always call Alberto for any questions I had.
It seems that the excuse of a company is asking people to write good things on here. I don't know if they're paying them, but if I were you I wouldn't believe a single word. EVERYONE I knew hated them, and I only know of one person that got their deposit back, and that was 3 months after moving out, and they had to fight for that as well. They are a joke and not helpful at all! Any problem you can think of, we had it in our flat and helloflatmate didn't try and sort it out. The typical excuse of 'mañana' with Spaniards applies with these, but 10 times worse. Just save yourself time, and money, and look for a flat privately. It'll be so much better!
ResponderEliminarI'm at least a real person unlike some 'Anonymous' who're writing bad things about this organization... :)
EliminarI am a real person, and could identify myself if wanted, but I'd rather not since the company would no doubt attempt to contact me, as they have with the owner of this webpage asking to take it down, and I'd rather not since I think everyone should know what they are really like
Eliminarand thank you for the kind words, we are happy you had a good and comfortable time in Valencia.
EliminarAnonimo: no one asked Google to take off the page even if it uses the company logo illegally
We are not afraid of people comments as long as we can always come with strong arguments when they prove they are wrong.
WORST RENTING COMPANY EVER !
ResponderEliminarI rented a flat last year with helloflatmate for the first semester. At first I was very happy with the flat... Nice location, cool flatmates, friendly staff at signing the contract...
BUT ...
The flat was new so we didn't had pots and pans f.e. If we ask for stuff we really needed it took ages before we got it. So I bought a pot and other stuff myself and asked them to give me the money for it --> NEVER GOT THE MONEY
Same with the deposit !
I had to pay an extra deposit for 300 euros or they threw me out of the appartment because I invited more then 7 people for a flat party.
AND ...
They didn't pay the bills for elektricity and internet.
--> No elektricity for 2 days
--> 2 times no internet for a couple of days
Can u imagine that !?
Discusting company and I was happy that the contract ended in the end of january so I didn't had to deal with them for the whole year.
Hi
EliminarMe acuerdo perfectamente de ti
Vivias en la plaza xuquer
Gracias a vuestras fiestas perdimos el piso
En un piso de HelloFlatMate.
Yo trabajaba para ellos y no he visto un piso tan guarro por ti y tus compañeros
Primero compara con tu País y luego hablas
Y nada de Fake , no ofendas
Hello to everyone, I'm going to tell you my experience with helloflatmate. I just came back after spending five months in Valencia as an erasmus. At first I was I bit worried about getting a flat, new friends and everything, usually I'm a shy person. Through a friend I heard about helloflatmate and I contact them before going to Valencia. Once I got there the 7th of September I went to their main office (I don't really know if there is more than one) and spoke with their employees and managers, six in total, all very cool people and what is most important they spoke english. (My spanish was a disaster at that moment)
ResponderEliminarAfter that I went to see some flats with a very nice looking girl. Finally I found one that I really liked. The problem was that the flat was new and the furniture wasn't in yet. They told me they could set it up for me in one week. I liked so much the flat that I decided to wait. After one week everything was in its place.
After this 'issue' I only had one more contact with helloflatmate. One day I ran out of hot water in a very compromising moment, so I called them immediately. Next day I had a 150 pound guy that fixed it in 5 minutes.
This my personal experience with helloflatmate, I was happy, and for me at least wasn't that expensive at all. My best friend is going to Madrid, I recommend him to go through helloflatmate, but I think there is no office yet. For all the users I recommend Valencia as a city (party, weather, girls/boys, local people) and helloflatmate as an end to end Erasmus solution. +10
Glad it worked well for you.
EliminarPs. the 150 pound guy is now on a diet : ))
I wouldent recommend Helloflatmates to anyone! they are a company that only thinks about money and not at the people. The flats are over priced and when something broke or something needed to be done they didnt answer and never showed up.
ResponderEliminarThe worst thing of all was that they just take money from the deposit without telling why or warning. All the peole I know who choose Helloflatmates have only bad stuff to tell.
We are sad to hear that.
EliminarMaybe you could be more specific about what went wrong so we can at least give an honest answer. Also, the "people you know" should speak for themselves, don't you think? :)
I'm from Mexico, and I went to Valencia for 7 months to study. I tried to get a flat on an internet website, but the one I liked was already full when I sent my email. Anyway, the girl who answered me recommended me HelloFlatmate (the company with which she was renting).
ResponderEliminarI got in contact with Alberto from HelloFlatmate once I was already in Valencia. He came to meet me at my university and showed me flats for 2 days as well as the surrounding areas of each of them. There were all kinds of flats: mixed, only girls, big, small, fancy, simple... When I moved to my new flat, Alberto had already hired someone to clean my room perfectly.
He came every month to pick up the money for the rent, and was available everytime we called him. Besides he was always asking us if we needed anything and if everything was ok. He never came in the flat without advice. Only once we contacted him because the lamp was not working, and he immediatly came and solved the problem.
I did gave a deposit at the beginning as you would normally do with every flat. Alberto gave me my deposit even before I left the flat; my money was complete and on time. This last point is very important because I must say from my other friends who hired flats with some random people they did not get their deposits back.
Talking on my behalf, I had a great experience with HelloFlatmmate and would definitely recommend it to anyone who goes to this great city, Valencia. And just as an extra comment, my 2 roommates had rented the flat where I was since a year before, and they seem to be happy as they kept on living there.
Besides everything, the guys were always willing to help you with any kind of issues you may have even they had nothing to do with the appartment, like tips of where to go, how to get a monthly metrocard to save expenses, and so on.
To this anonymous guy I would say you can solve your personal issues some other way instead of trying to ruin a very good company's reputation with bad comments without any real support.
I had the WORST EXPERIENCE EVER with Helloflatmate. They moved me to another house in the middle of my stay, without telling me that in advance. I had to move all my stuff without being helped. They do not repair the broken equipment in the house, if there are any. Plus, they NEVER gave me my 300 euro deposit back. I solicited the money many times, but they always add an excuse to gain time. They do not answers to e-mails nor to phone calls.
ResponderEliminarI definitely do not advise to rent a room with them.
You think you will pay some more money to have some additional warranties using Helloflatmate, but at the end they are the same as the rest of the spanish rentals: trying to fool you whenever it is possible!
The deposit is ALWAYS refounded unless the guest has unresolved issues like missing rent, damages caused to the apartment and so on. All our guests have to sign a contract which specifies all the terms and conditions, the deposit fee is among them and there's no way someone can't have the deposit back if the terms are respected.
EliminarTRUSTING HFM IS A FUCKING MISTAKE, don't have anything to do with them if you go to valencia!!
ResponderEliminarThey seem (and I repeat, SEEM) competent and reliable compared to other agencies, but after a while you realize you were wrong.
Apartments are definitely excessively expensive, and moreover be careful: do not be fooled by the pictures (I'm talking for the ones who think to rent the flat via web as I did)!! PHOTOS ARE THE ONLY THINGS THAT THEY CAN DO WELL!!
They also rely on a maintenance service that is incompetent and unreliable.
Having back the deposit is a struggle...They take about two months (yes, 2 fucking months, you read it right) and in my case they also made a number of errors in the calculation of the bills, oddly pushing up my final bill.
I CAN ONLY GIVE YOU ADVICE: LOOKING FOR AN HOME ALONE IN VALENCIA IS VERY EASY. IT'S FULL OF PEOPLE AVAILABLE TO RENT BEAUTIFUL HOUSES AT A LOW PRICES, YOU CAN MAKE GREAT DEALS AND SAVE A LOT OF MONEY THAT YOU CAN USE TO PARTY HARD!! ;)
enjoy your erasmus guys/girls
bye
I'm going to book two rooms for 5 months with this company, reading all this negative comments is confusing me a lot. the more important to me is that you can close the conctract early in case of need.Is it possible just notincing it or you need to pay a fee?
ResponderEliminarHi! I'm going to Valencia as an erasmus student this year and i'm now a little bit worried 'cause of all the negative comments...
ResponderEliminardo they really pick you up at the airport? when do you pay for it?
I am in Valencia right now and rent a flat with helloflatmate. When we first came to the appartment it was a lot smaller then the pictures and it was really dirty! My roommate had to wait a week for the keys of her room. Nothing works like it should and now we discovered cockroaches in our apparment buth we only have been here for a week and a half so the cockroaches were here before we came. The shower is so small that it's really diffucult to shower because you can't move in it. The toilet was already broken 2 times in one week. I send them a message about the cockroaches buth they ignore me. I regret my decision for renting a flat with helloflatmate.
ResponderEliminarHola
EliminarEs la primera vez que contestamos en este review
HelloFlatMate es una empresa familiar (Algo pequeño) lo que nos permite terner una comunicación continua y en el momento con las personas que alquilan una habitación con nosotros
Tenemos personal contratado de mantenimiento, un agente el cual puedes hablar con el 24 horas al día para cualquier problema
Es cierto que en pisos a veces pasan cosas pero SIEMPRE lo solucionamos.
Lamento si te ocurrió lo de las cucarachas pero hay cosas que no se pueden controlar. Valencia es una ciudad de calor y si estas en zona céntrica es posible que entren por la ventana
De todas formas estoy seguro que HelloFlatMate solucionó el problema ya que ese es nuestro trabajo y tu estarías hasta el final de contrato. verdad?
También podrías haberte ido del piso ya que el contrato que firmas en caso de este problema puedes irte y Hello te devuelve la fianza. ¿Por qué no te fuiste?
En todo caso me gustaría que contestarás a este mensaje diciendo quién eres y Hello te gratificará con 4 días en verano en uno de nuestros apartamentos turísticos para tí y amigos (Max 4 personas) por las molestias que hayamos podido causarte
Hola, yo soy de Chile y fui a Valencia por 5 meses y en el principio no me sentía bien con mis compañeros de piso pues no se relacionaban. Acudí a Helloflatmate con el problema y ellos me ofrecieron la posibilidad de cambiar a otro apartamento donde sabían que los flatmates eran simpáticos y fue genial para mi pq hice grandes amigos. Varios de ellos ya viven varios años en el mismo apartamento y repiten el contrato. Es la mejor garantía de que recibimos un buen trato. Muchas gracias
ResponderEliminarHappy to hear you are having a good time in Valencia.
EliminarRock On ;)
Goodmorning, I'm searching for a flat to share and a friend recommended me Hello Flat Mate. I found the perfect place to stay, but I tried to contact both the landlord and the agency several times but not once they answered.
ResponderEliminarI can't understand this huge difference of reviews, but why would the people who speak bad of the agency do that if the bad things that happened to them were not true?
I can not trust Hello Flat Mate, also because they claim to be always available for the customer but they have not found even once the time to answer me.
Living with a Flatmate is easy, when you find the perfect one, Find your perfect Flatmate on the best website.
ResponderEliminarThanks and I have a swell proposal: When To Renovate House remodel old house
ResponderEliminar