Having experienced a handful of issues with my flat recently, I have had regular dealings with James Gibb to rectify. The development manager is a very friendly chap who seems to have a very good network of tradespeople and contractors to call upon to resolve the issues, and, so far, my property problems have been resolved in a timely manner. The only negatives I have experienced are that we have been without a concierge for almost 2 years, and that would improve the issue with communication and fixing little issues quickly, and it is a reasonably expensive service. 4 stars.

£26,000 (GIVE OR TAKE A FEW QUID) TO CUT GRASS ON AN UNFINISHED ESTATE IN SCOTLAND. YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT, £26,000 DIVIDED BETWEEN APPROX 45 HOUSES SO FAR FOR 12 MONTHS. Disgusting company, disgusting customer service, disgusting amounts of money being sucked from people for horrendous work that’s almost non existent. Should be shut down for treating people this way. Actually makes me want to move house to get away from the charges which are absolutely f#%king ridiculous. Hang your heads in shame you rancid shower of crooks. Can’t reply to emails, can’t provide account info to o pay bills, mrs has also emailed countless times without any shred of a reply. What’s the point in your existence? I warn anyone reading this post, ABSOLUTELY DO NOT deal with this people.

Big thank you to Ronald

James Gibb Factors repeatedly demonstrates a blatant disregard for fairness, consistently overcharging customers for their own blunders and exploiting customers for their legal cover. This pattern of consistently exploiting clients for their mistakes paints a grim picture of their ethics and leaves little room for trust in their services. 1 star is too generous- stay well away.

I have been trying to pay my invoice for several weeks. Tried to log in to my account and pay as normal, but it did not recognise my client number. Tried to use the phone billing, but it did not allow me to enter my flat number. I decided that it was best to send an email to get some help, but after two attempts with no response I decided that they must make too much money and don't need mine. It is worth noting that there are no phone contact numbers on their site, just impossible to get an answer!

I sold my property in 2021 and in August 2023 received an invoice asking for nearly £600! The invoice was incorrect and it’s taken to November 2023 to have one part of the invoice corrected. They are now trying to charge me £21 for a roof repair in 2018 I know nothing about! I have asked them for an explanation and will let you know if I ever receive it. Finally resolved as now no longer charging for the 2018 roofing works and cancelling £40 late payment fee which really should not have been charged. All very stressful but glad it’s finally resolved.

Don’t be fooled by professional-sounding replies from James Gibb left in response to negative reviews posted on Trustpilot. I recently had a shockingly bad experience with them trying to achieve a refund of circa £700 factoring fees I had been bullied into overpaying, after which I left a review for them on this site. Today, they replied to it. You can see their reply, below. You will note that their reply makes no mention of the multiple inaccuracies I explained that I had experienced, nor the wilfully obtuse nature of their operatives. I contacted every member of their board of directors - in writing - about my concerns, making a formal complaint about the issues I raise in my Trustpilot review. Not one of them replied to me. Their Trustpilot response, below, tries to imply that my review is unfair, as it allegedly does not take into account the terms and conditions of the block of flats I was living in. This, at best, is gaslighting. And I believe I’m being generous to James Gibb when I describe it thus. James Gibb is the most disreputable company I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. I wonder how smart they will now be feeling, having left a partial and misrepresentative response to my criticisms on this platform for all to see? Their sign-off, “we hope that this assists”, was barbed and sarcastic. Water off a duck’s back to me, however, as I know from personal experience that this company is rotten to the core. Here is the remainder of my original Trustpilot review. I hope that it assists. Original review: “It had been made clear to them by my solicitor that I had already exchanged missives on the sale of my property and would no longer be living in the block of flats they manage. They would not even engage in conversation about this essential fact, which meant that in order to complete on my sale I had to pay factoring fees in advance for a four-and-a-half-month chunk of 2023 during which I would not be using their services, as I would no longer own a property in their block. Written communication from JG about getting my money back was sporadic, and always full of multiple inaccuracies. Don’t deal with them over the phone, do it in writing - it’s important that you keep a record of your interactions as they constantly move the goalposts, misrepresent and obfuscate. Staffmembers, on the occasions that I did speak to them, were obstreperous, indolent and unhelpful. JG hid behind small print in their contract indicating that they can take up to six months to issue refunds. Six months! Use Google to check out the various newspaper stories about elderly people being exploited by this aspect of JG’s nefarious modus operandi. Avoid if you can. They make Ross & Liddell look like The Salvation Army”. Here is James Gibb’s misleading and incomplete response: “Hi Simon, we are sorry to hear that you are unhappy with our services. However, we do believe this may be a lack of communication or understanding on what your responsibilities are as a duty holder and homeowner at the development. The deed of conditions/titles (not James Gibb) states that your development is billed in arrears for the previous 3 months. If you leave in June 2023, you can still expect a bill for any services incurred during your period of ownership up until the date ownership ceases. This can include any invoices which may have been delayed in being sent by suppliers of the maintenance service which ensured the upkeep of your development and sustaining the value of your property when you sold it. We hope that this assists.”

If your residents’ association signs up James Gibb to manage your building, be prepared for some challenging and distressing experiences. They chase payments mercilessly, then sit for months on any monies overpaid. Their small print enables them to retain your deposit float for up to six months after you have sold your property. They rarely answer the phone. They ignore emails. Their staff present as incompetent, downright rude, or both at once. Any email they send in response to a query - if you’re lucky enough to receive one - will take several days to arrive. It will be full of errors and omissions, to the point of being incomprehensible. It will almost certainly not answer the question you posed. If you send a follow-up, you will receive an out-of-office message indicating that they are very busy and that you must wait a minimum of five days for a response. James Gibb replied to my Trustpilot review. See below. You will note that their reply, whilst superficially polite, does not substantively address my concerns. James Gibb suggest I participate in their complaints process. I did, in writing… making sure that I copied my letter to each and every one of their board of directors. I received no reply. James Gibb, in my sincere opinion, are total and utter charlatans.

We have had James Gibb looking after our estate for a number of years and I have found the company to be first class, I would also like to thank Ronald Dalley for being very professional regarding dealing with the day to day issues, many thanks. Mike Devlin.

James Gibb The Retirement Development which is in Edinburgh has been with James Gibb since September 2019. The initial period of 2 years coincided with Covid, and although this should not be used as an excuse it obviously did create communication problems especially for face to face interaction. The fact that the company also had little experience managing retirement developments added to the problems. In this initial period it was difficult if not impossible getting feedback when issues were raised. It also made it very difficult in that coinciding with this the House Manager at that time was off work for long periods with a serious illness, unfortunately the managers used on a temporary basis had little to no experience of retirement developments. It all meant that for long periods the residents felt they were not getting the type of service they expected and had been used to in the past. So during this period (really up to the end of 2022) things were very unsatisfactory with the main issues being. • Poor communication especially in getting feedback when issues arose. • Getting information on the budgets and year end accounts, including having audits organised. • Getting up to date information on the contingency funds for the development. This made it very difficult at times for the residents’ representatives to plan projects for the continued improvement of the development. With a change in the management structure within James Gibb in early 2023 (a change that is continuing to evolve) many of the issues highlighted above are improving, especially: • the communication and follow up to issues raised. o This has been particularly due to the way the New Development Manager (starting early 2023) interacts with the residents committee. It has created a much more positive approach. • Understanding of the way budgets and accounts are managed and communicated but still work to be done. Things are moving forward but it is still the area that needs improving . The other changes that are having a good impact are: • A new House Manager is now in place, employed directly by James Gibb. o Initial signs are very positive for this individual and this will give residents stability and confidence in living in the development. o It also highlights the importance of having the right type of person in this role. The salary also has to reflect this. o The House Manager is the direct link between residents and James Gibb (the Property Portfolio Team) PPT team. The role is critical to making this type of development run smoothly. • James Gibb have now got a retirement division in place, this will hopefully give confidence across the retirement developments managed by James Gibb. Again it is early days but it looks like this will give an added dimension to the way these types of development are managed. Hopefully next year we will be giving James Gibb 4 stars.

we owned 2 flats in a development in Edinburgh that were plagued with problems over a period of over 15 years, which resulted in a big legal case. Throughout this time we were very fortunate to have Sandi Macpherson as the lead person from James Gibb. Sandi was just superb from start to finish, professional, sympathetic, focused and clear on what was needed. coud not recommend Sandi highly enough.

A new low even for James Gibb Our AGM was cancelled tonight at 7pm when it was due to start, despite the valiant efforts of a new estate manager the rot from the top pulled the AGM. We are all receiving huge bills for major works because LPM/James Gibb have not maintained the fabric of the buildings. The works should have happened over 5 years ago but delayed by James Gibb incompetence. Costs have trebled and with the cancelling of the AGM which was to update on those works and encourage homeowners to stump up the cash - there will be further delay, further cost increases and the small shoots of credibility the new estate manager had have been stamped out by his CEO. Even one star is too generous for this level of incompetence. If you need a Factor - avoid this one. James Gibb's review ignores that they have done nothing to progress the major works without lots of work and chasing form the committee. There has not been a single proactive action. They have also not been focusing on the debt and this has not been raised with the Committee who have been forcing near monthly meetings. The delay caused by delaying the AGM moves the major works money collection which had not been invoiced fro for over 5 years and is likely to move the works from 2024 to 2025. Thanks James Gibb. Even if you take them at their word - they have not managed this situation effectively for at least 5 years. Hardly a recommendation for a company who uses the strapline 'doing it the right way'. I repeat our experience is a new low even for the appalling track record James Gibb has on our development.

One of the top WORSE UNETHICAL AND MONEY GRABBING factor in Glasgow. Keep asking for payments in the hundreds for their lawyers and their fees for chasing other owners factoring accounts nothing to do with us. Then adding £40.00 late payments charges passively for us disputing those unethical charges while 100% of our own account is up-to-date. Stay away from this group of dishonest money grabbers. We already invited them to leave but they are like blood suckers unwilling to even discuss leaving our building alone. There are a growing amount of victim owners disputing their dishonest practice.

This company stands out as the worst I've come across in the UK over the last two decades. While I'd rather not delve into the specifics of its shortcomings, there are two noteworthy points that encapsulate my experience: Firstly, in Edinburgh, we took decisive action by voting to replace this company as our property factors. This decision reflects the extent of dissatisfaction and frustration among property owners. Secondly, the company's staff consistently misled me and went so far as to deny my legitimate insurance claim. It's disheartening to note that their actions directly contradicted the confirmation I received from our property insurer, affirming my right to make the claim. Apart from that they refused to provide any documents to justify their decision. Such a blatant disregard for honesty and a refusal to honor valid claims have left a lasting negative impression on my overall perception of this company.

Have had a very positive experience of James Gibb so far.In particular I have found Ronald Dalley to be very professional and approachable .

Would steer clear of this company if you can. I’ve received a quarterly bill with several charges dating back to 2021(it’s nearly Dec 2023). All of which have attached invoices dated from this time. Completely incompetent and don’t really understand why I’m paying for a service from a company who 1) thinks it’s ok to send a bill with SIX extra charges over 1k 2) thinks not communicating this error beforehand is ok and 3) telling me I have 14 days to pay this a month before Christmas. Do not use them!!!! Update 04/12/23: have since sent 3 emails and still to receive even an acknowledgment. Update 05/12/23: have now received a response. The stand out being how the development has ‘benefited’ from the lack of charges. Totally missing my point that it’s the lack of communication. I pay a fee for James Gibb to manage the development- Clearly something they haven’t been doing.

After dealing with constant changes of property manager since we moved into our development it has been a good experience having Neil to deal with since he returned last year. Previously communications were bad with great difficulty emailing or speaking to anyone over the telephone. Responses were often slow or non-existent. Neil has vastly improved this aspect and deals with issues quickly and efficiently. That is not to say we always see eye to eye but he is fair and helpful. A full 5 stars for Neil but only 4 stars for James Gibb. The issues we had with a painting project last year which is still not complete (broken paving slabs to be replaced) were a direct result of their decision to offload the management of the work.

After a horrendous experience with our previous Factor, James Gibb has been a godsend. We had a bit of a rocky patch early in their tenure when the Development Manager wasn’t up to the job. Now, however since Clare and Alasdair came on board, things have improved dramatically. At last we are listened to and a solution is offered. Keep up the good work.

absolutely terrible company been paying this rip of company for almost 15 years . They do absolutely no work round our road . But charge for play parks and broken fences . That are nowhere near our property . we are pensioners and are no longer requiring the terrible service . so i’m dissolving our contract . The council sanded our road last year so i’m guessing James Gibb is coming to an end anyway Thank God .

Neil Main at James Gibb has been one of our best Development Manager since being allocated to our development of 78 flats in Edinburgh. Having gone through a dozen DMs in a very short time period, he has brought good organisation with lots of energy to the many tasks and projects that had stacked up during our unstable period. Despite being under resourced but with the support of our Steering Group he has diligently managed our development and has finally been able to start clearing up many long term issues we had. He listens carefully to our issues, gives accurate advice and actions the tasks necessary to keep the development compliant and maintained to the benefit of all owners and residents. I hope we have him for a while to come.