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SpareRoom Reviews Summary
SpareRoom has a rating of 1.5 stars from 50 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. SpareRoom ranks 9th among Roommate sites.
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I paid the $25 to run an ad for a roommate and 10 minutes after the transaction went trough they blocked my account because they said they need to complete the outstanding review. They have unreasonable requests such as providing them with title deeds. Why they did not stated these before? I am waiting for my refund. Will update about the refund status. Also, all the "people" they sent were very obviously spam. Do not use this site!
They smile in your face, act like they are rich and don't care about money. They use Paolo's drug use to cover the rooms damages and bad energy they are sending to the room. Then, when you move in, they start harassing you by making your lungs and head feel congested and mess with your genitals. You start to get scabs coming out of your throat and nose bc Paolo has smoked marijuana too long and his lungs are no good so he's using you as an organ bank. The food smell and smoke goes into your bathroom. The sounds of the boiler, washer/dryer, dishes, foot steps and water are constantly interrupting your peace. They torture you after you sign the contract to try to force you to pay more for the room or make you feel like you paid too little by making it excruciating, so they can try to make you leave and take your rent. They have communication problems and different agendas so you suffer the consequences. They favor people, so if you're not a nurse or in the medical field, don't bother going there or they are going to try to make you sick or give you a disease from their uncleanliness so you go to doctors. Don't let Paolo's bubbly act fool you, he is a killer inside. They are head stealers so prepare to be an egghead, they take from you while you're sleeping if you can even sleep or eat in that room. Old man is not the Princess that needs to be saved, you are. They are all bad.
Spareroom complaint wastes your time and doesn't get you your money back. Contracts cannot be enforced if they breach the contract and do not fulfill their obligations.
Hi Jg,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with an advertiser away from the site. We can see you've been in touch with our moderation team regarding your report, including our jurisdiction as an advertising platform. If you do need any further assistance, or have any other updates for them, please do not hesitate to get in touch at site.moderator@spareroom.com and they will be pleased to help.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team
I'd posted and been paying the weekly fee for almost two months posting the room for rent. I got nothing but a few scam tenants responding asking for my account info so they can cashapp the deposit for me to hold the room, due to being out of town. I refused and block the scammers. The many other tenants messages me regarding the room, but never ever responds when I respond back. Totally a waste of my money and time. About to cancel this crap.
Hello,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with other users on SpareRoom and as your comments sound concerning, we'd like to look into this further and would be grateful if you could contact us on 877 834 2909 or at site.moderator@spareroom.com.
We have a team of moderators who investigate every report made and where appropriate, will remove a user from the site. If you can provide as many details as possible to them in your report, including any off-site communication if this activity did not take place within our messaging system, that will help them locate any account concerned.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team
Had SpareRoom for years and it's always had problems with verifying posted ads and handling reports.
Just roomed with a landlord who promised "a room with heat, tv/Roku/switch access, shared living space and two cats". The room was not the one they advertised, heater was broken, remote and games kept away. And the apartment was trashed with pee & poop everywhere, random junk on the floor, a sour smell and two VERY hungry/lonely cats.
Was any of this squalor checked by SpareRoom for false advertisement? No. Did they offer a decent option for reporting? Also no. I witnessed multiple other tenants go through this too and it'll be the last time for me. Don't use that site. SpareRoom, and the con-artists who use it, don't deserve to live off your dime.
Hi Sam,
We're sorry to hear your experience with a landlord away from the site.
As an advertising platform, we offer an online space for users to post accommodation for rent and those looking for accommodation to rent to find each other and do always recommend an in-person viewing (or video viewing if that's not possible) to decide if a property is suitable.
We're not involved in any part of the letting process, so if you do come across something that isn't, or doesn't seem right, you can report an ad or advertiser to us right away and we'll investigate.
As we're unable to locate any specific details from your review here and your experience sounds concerning, please contact our moderation team on site.moderator@spareroom.com so they may investigate and where appropriate, we do remove advertisers from SpareRoom if deemed necessary from any report and evidence we receive.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
I have found this app to be quite useful, but living with a landlord can often be a challenging experience. In my experience, many landlords are primarily concerned with financial matters and tend to place a significant emphasis on saving money. As a result, they may request tenants to engage in extensive communication, perform most of the housework, and minimize the use of electricity and water. In my opinion, it is often preferable to live with friends and avoid spare rooms if possible, as this can help avoid the potential difficulties and frustrations that can arise from living with a landlord. Overall, living with a landlord can sometimes be a less than ideal situation. Additionally, there are numerous challenges associated with living with flatmates, such as the tendency for some to neglect their share of the housework, resulting in untidiness and overall uncleanliness. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence that happens all too frequently.
UK ONLY
Hi TT,
Thanks for your comments on differing living situations and we're glad the app itself was useful!
We do always recommend meeting those you might be living with first and discussing any potential house rules, as this helps with decision making and if a share is going to be a good fit.
For many of our users, living with a landlord works very well, as it's often a more budget-friendly option and as the owner also lives in the property, it can offer a more homely set-up. Additionally, if you do have anything you need to raise, the landlord is immediately available to speak with.
For others, living with similar flatmates to themselves helps them settle into a new area, with a ready-made set of people who already know it and can show them the ropes!
We do recommend placing a Room Wanted advert, if you've not already done so, as this gives you the opportunity to mention any dealbreakers, such as around household tasks and cleaning, and if you have any strong preference around this for the type of share you're looking for, so that those with a matching living situation can connect with you.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team
1. Scammers
It's a decent mix of fake ads and scammers who who don't have ads and reach out directly asking for your contact info
2. Time wasters
You can place your own personal ad detailing who you are and what your looking for. Be prepared for folks to get in touch who don't bother to read your ad. For instance, if you have a small pet, be prepared to be overwhelmed by an array of options that don't allow small pets.
(I suppose they think that you throw your small pet in the trash?)
3. Functional issues
There are certain features that aren't, like the aforementioned, mentioned. These features don't work on the app yet work on the website.
(It's a go figure it out for yourself bonus)
4. Breach of contract
In the event that you share your dissatisfaction, in the event your experience is quite negative, eventually a "manager" of customer service comes along and insinuates a ploy of brutal British condescension. Without requesting anything whatsoever, SpareRoom will take it upon themselves to cancel the service you paid for no longer providing "early bird" access to ads.
Businesses have an opportunity to grow as a result of direct and honest feedback. This particular business doesn't inhabit or share that particular value.
I'm quite confident they hope I just go away. I'll be glad to. I'm equally confident that SpareRoom's nefarious business practices won't
Hi Jesse,
We're sorry to hear SpareRoom wasn't the service you expected or enjoyed using, As an advertising platform, we have limited jurisdiction in what we can enforce users themselves actually doing, even if we've provided lots of tools and tips along the way for them. We're adding to these continuously in order to improve the overall experience, so we're sorry to hear the current ones weren't quite right.
Our custom systems also help to detect and warn anyone of any users we believe to be non-genuine and the majority are removed before they get onto the site, however, it may be the case more sophisticated untoward behaviour is detected at a later stage, though we do immediately remove the accounts concerned and advise any user who may have been in contact with them as soon as possible.
We're bringing as many parts of the web service to the apps as we can as they have a different set up due to the nature of the platform type they are, so it can take a little longer to bring certain features to them that work on web but are not formatted for apps - yet! If you have any particular features you'd like to see on the app that are not currently there, do let us know as it may be something we're currently working on or can add to our feedback considerations for apps.
We can see your upgrade was refunded in full, just to clarify once an upgrade does come to an end, the service will revert back to the free version so there will be early bird ads in the results again, which is correct according to our terms and conditions.
We recognise SpareRoom may not be for everyone, though we hope you'll give us another chance in the future as we're always implementing new features and improving them to bring the level of service our users ask for and expect and appreciate you taking the time to let us know your thoughts.
If you do need any further help in the meantime, our team can be contacted at customerservices@spareroom.com or on 877 834 2909 and they'll be happy to help.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team
Normally l do not write reviews, but please be aware of those properties that are rented out by beaconproperty on sparerooms or any other plateform. These people will not return your deposit and will try everything to make sure that they do not return your deposit. To their defence I did stay extra one week which I forgot to pay the rent until remainded, but was the time I was moving out.
Upon leaving and despite leaving everything in really good state, infact left the room better than it was given, they now claim that I was late on the rent and had to pay £195 pounds when the rent that was agreed was £125.
Long story short, try your level best to avoid this company as you are sure to be bullied and ripped off.
I cut my losses, because they wanted me to pay the £195 then they would return the deposit :)) ), inanycase this is for others out there, who maybe are health care professionals or who have been employed by the hospital.
All I'm saying is to be very careful, Guys and Girls.
P.S zero stars
Regards
The Doctor
UK ONLY
Hi Sarfaraz,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with an advertiser on SpareRoom. Your report sounds concerning so we'd like to investigate further. Please contact our moderators at site.moderator@sapreroom.co.uk or on 0161 768 1162 and they will be pleased to assist and look into this further.
Where appropriate and depending on the outcome of an investigation, an advertiser can be removed form the site completely.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
On 5/22/23 Nathalie Ruault discriminate against me by failing to rent me a room base on my age.
This discrimination was done by her via spare room.com, and it violates Federal Fair Housing Act ( 42 US Code 360-3619).
Hi Chuck,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with an advertiser on SpareRoom and we'd like to look into the account concerned. Please contact our moderation team at site.moderator@spareroom.com or on 877 834 2909 and they will be pleased to investigate further.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom team
As above be really careful getting a tenant from this site you will end up being owed money, being messed around by dishonest people.
UK ONLY
Hi Virginia,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience while using SpareRoom. We are unable to find an account or any contact based on the details posted here, however, we'd still like to look into your comments and any account concerned, or alternatively offer any advice if it's something outside of our jurisdiction as an advertising platform.
Our team can be contacted at customerservices@spareroom.co.uk or on 0161 768 1162 and they will be happy to help.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
There are other roomie sites that don't chargé a fee so I'm not sure why people even use this one. They don't even spell properly; I'm assuming they are originally a British company, but if you're doing business in the states, at least adjust your spelling to match. "Enquiry?" No, that's not how we spell it here. You have to be on site for a week with your "advert" (another Brit word they didn't bother to adapt) and it is unclear whether I will be able to finally contact people after a week or whether they will continue hounding me to pay a fee, we will see. Otherwise, I'll just keep using Roomies for free. At least they're an American company.
Hi Allie,
Thanks for your review.
Everyone can place a free ad and use the site free of charge if preferred and there are optional upgrades that provide additional promotion and open your contact links up instantly to all those looking.
We do offer a premium service in order to keep our site running and help people find homes. We make this service optional and many of our users use our free service and while many companies offer free platforms, in time monetising is often introduced in order to keep them running, including where investors may be involved who are looking for their returns.
We've always been privately owned and managed and instead chose to be upfront and provide both the free and optional paid options from day one (we're 12 years old in the US, 24 years in the UK and also have sister platforms around the world).
Thank you for your comments on localisations, there may be the odd one that's escaped onto the platform so we'll pass this on to our tech team to have these resolved.
In the meantime, if you need any further help with your account, do get in touch at customerservices@spareroom.com or 877 834 2909.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team
They quick take your money when is about early bird subscription.
But in case you want to pop an email to someone after the subscription expired, the account present issue.
No comment.
I don't recommend
Hi Cristiana,
Thanks for your feedback, that's appreciated.
You'll have access to new early bird ads while your upgrade is active and can still communicate with everyone you've already contacted even when your upgrade has ended via your SpareRoom inbox. Once your upgrade ends, your account will revert back to a free one and if you wish to contact any new early bird ads you would need a new upgrade to do so.
We'd like to make sure you're getting the best from your account so please do get in touch on 877 834 2909 or at customerservices@spareroom.com and we'll be happy to help.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
Besides the fact that the platform doesn't make it very easy for renter to find a place the platform is NOT to be trusted.
I got scammed in paying deposit and 1 month worth of rent by a so called estate agency which had a website and everything.
Spareroom should make sure they check all the accounts and listings properly as they weren't even able to detect the scam after it happened. I don't understand why they ask people to pay for premium when they can't even detect fraudsters on their own platform, shame on you!
Be very careful and try to avoid if you can!
UK ONLY
Hi Andreea,
We're sorry that you've had a negative experience with a letting agency that you found on SpareRoom.co.uk. While we are an advertising platform and don't own or manage the properties listed on our site, we do offer as much advice and support as we can when we receive any reports.
We'd like to assure you that we follow up on all reports made and do our best to assist where we can.
We've not been able to locate any previous correspondence from you, based on the limited information available to us here. Can we ask that you contact our Site Moderation Team directly at site.moderator@spareroom.co.uk or call on 0161 768 1162 as they'd like to make sure they've assisted you as fully as possible.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team
It was in vain looking for a shared room (No matter single or double bedroom) on this sxxt website, once I've messaged to a "landlord" or "current flatmate", they just had read the message that I sent to, rather than had taken any response to me. So exhausted to carry on looking a room on it.
UK ONLY
Hi Jacky,
We're sorry to hear you didn't always get a reply from the advertisers you contacted. Demand is extremely high right now versus rental stock supply and those offering rooms are being inundated with messages, so it's taking them a bit longer to get back to everyone who enquires.
We do always recommend a personalised Room Wanted ad as well as tailoring your messages according to the person's room ad requirements to get the best chance of a reply.
We'd like to take a look over your account to make sure you're getting the best from ir and can be contacted at customerservices@spareroom.co.uk or on 0161 768 1162 and a member of the team will be happy to help.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
I have been contacted by 3 people non of which I believed. The first had photoshopped pics and was never available to meet in person. The second was asking a fake question the third suggested he was a Dr who showed me a utility bill that was 9 months old then a bank statement with over £11k in it... plenty of money to get a hotel room and meet in person rather than have to move in straight away. I think the profiles are click bait and scammers. Feels like a very dodgy site. Beware
Hi Joan,
We're sorry to hear you came across other users you were uncertain of and you can always get in touch with our moderation team directly, as they monitor the site 7 days a week and will look into every report or any concerns another user may have to keep the site safe for everyone.
Please contact them at site.moderator@spareroom.co.uk so they may look into your experience further and where they will be pleased to assist.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
I have spent many hours responding to ads, Not one phone call. The ads are fake or old. Not one response. I am going to request a refund and see how difacult it is to contact them, most bogus sites will not respond in person and avoid scammed customers.
Hi Mr B,
We're sorry to hear you didn't get the level of replies you were looking for. Competition for rooms is at an all time high across both the US and UK, so we're aware those offering rooms have been inundated with enquiries and are trying to get back to everyone as quickly as possible.
We do recommend having your own Room Wanted advert, as this helps those you message see something about you, as well as increases your chances of getting a reply.
We'd like to make sure you're getting the best from your account, so if you're in the US, please call us on 877 834 2909 or email at customerservices@spareroom.com, or if you're in the UK, 0161 768 1162 or customerservices@spareroom.co.uk and a member of the team will be pleased to assist.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team
I've used spareroom for a few years and still they don't seem to take the diversity of renters seriously. There is no function to be able to set preferences of who you want to share with.
The dangerous this is that the majority of landlords are white and discriminating against ethnic room seekers. Spareroom monitors ads for racist or discriminatory language, bit needs to fully verify ad posters and do checks.
I had an experience with a landlord that kept my deposit and had mould issues and behaviour issues. The landlord had painted over the mould and the mould grew back. I alerted spareroom multiple times, with photo and video evidence, as the mould affected my property in the room and my health. Yet the landlord had posted the room again without fixing the issue before i left. Without fixing the issue before I moved in and refuses to address it properly.
I received email responses from spareroom saying they are a platform and don't get involved and will bite my report, so in the future if anyone else reports the landlord it will be on file.
I understand that spareroom is a platform and I needed to report it to the local council environment department. However, if I have alerted spareroom why was the landlord allowed to repost?
I think spareroom needs regulation and a body that they report into to make sure anyone posting an ad is verified. There are social media platforms that are held responsible, so why not a platform for renters/landlords.
UK ONLY
Hi Denise,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with a landlord you encountered on SpareRoom.
As our moderation team may have advised, we're providing advertising space for people looking for and offering accommodation, but are not involved with any part of the letting process and are only able to moderate adverts placed and behaviour while using the site, as this falls within our jurisdiction for the type of platform we are.
A letting agent, for example, is different as their services do fall under regulatory bodies involving the letting process as they are directly involved with that. Social media platforms may also differ as they can often state certain promises or fulfillments in their own terms and promotion related to their services, so may be able to be held accountable for not abiding by these.
If you've made a report to the local council and can provide our team with any contact details, they'll be happy to get in touch with them to confirm if there is any legal evidence of wrongdoing and take the appropriate action with the advertiser concerned. They do investigate every report made to them, however, certain reports can require legal evidence, as they may have advised. If you need to discuss your report any further, please get in touch at site.moderator@spareroom.co.uk or on 0161 768 1162 and they'll be pleased to assist.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
Horrible App. Nobody replies and full of fake adverts. No matter how much you complain, no action is ever taken.
Hi,
We're sorry to hear you didn't always get a reply from the ads you contacted. Some areas can be incredibly competitive and we know there's currently high demand versus supply. We do recommend placing a room wanted ad, as some advertisers can show a preference to replying those with an ad first over those with little to no information about themselves.
We're always happy to help you get the best from your account and our friendly customer services team can be contacted at customerservices@spareroom.com or on 877 834 2909.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team
I paid the $24.99 to have my ad for a roommate and 2 days later they deleted my account because they said I was trying to sublet my entire apartment, which is clearly not the case. Also, all the "people" they sent were very obviously spam information collectors.Do not use this site, ick!
Hi OP,
Thanks for your review. It sounds like your account was selected for a security check by our moderation team and they may have requested some further information as part of that check.
This is quite normal and they do carry out regular routine checks to ensure the safety of all site users. In this case, they may be waiting for a few more details from you in order to allow continued use of the site.
For any further information on the status of your account, including any upgrades purchased, please do contact us at site.moderator@spareroom.com or on 877 834 2909 and they will be happy to assist.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
You can't block users, even if they are harassing you through messages on your ads. One person who did not get chosen for the rental I had posted created multiple fake accounts, one of which was under the identity and photo of a dead celebrity. Spareroom did communicate with me after I reported this, but they did not take the accounts down. You also cannot delete messages in your inbox without first opening them, which is pretty annoying in this particular situation.
Spareroom your customer service team is very nice and professional from my experience, but the security is lacking. Too easy for someone to make fake accounts and say awful things on your platform through private messages and get away with it. There should be a stronger screening process or some kind of security measure to ensure accounts are real.
Hi LH,
Thank for your review. We're sorry to hear you came across some advertisers you believed were non-genuine.
We can see you were in contact with our Site Moderation team (SpareRoom is fully moderated with a security system to monitor, detect and remove fraudulent accounts) and they looked into your report made to them. They have confirmed with you as part of their investigation, action will be taken if appropriate.
We are launching background checks for renters very shortly so there will be a further layer of security on accounts as well as our own moderation team.
If you do need any further help or advice, our team will be pleased to help and can be contacted on 877 257 4944 or at site.moderator@spareroom.com.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
Have been using this site for quite a while and it is utter rubbish. It is impossible to rent anything via this web, landlords don't reply despite reading messages, listings are inundated with adverts of horrible overpriced con ads or properties already rented. Also lots of people try to scam you and just get your info without offering actual viewing etc.
Made many reports to the site, but they are incompetent enough not to care. They wanted me to play police and submit proofs so that adverts can continue to up as they are ' only advertisement platform' and cannot control what is being posted, according to them. My question is what are the moderators for if they cannot do anything and scammers can do what they want.
Also, most of the adverts that are worth something are not free and want to to pay ridiculous amount to try to contact the landlord that will most likely not reply anyway.
I will soon report it to authorities as they do not realize that responsibility for all the content lies on themselves.
AVOID!
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SpareRoom: Find Roommates and Rooms to Rent
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Hi Lana,
Thanks for your review. Our Site Moderation team do carry out random security checks on accounts and can request a few extra details to ensure that site remains safe for all users. It's nothing to worry about and once the requested details are in place and satisfied, accounts can then be reopened to use our service to find a room or roommate.
It looks like you did not wish to provide any further information and a refund has been requested to be processed for you. If you do have any further questions about your account or refund, please do get in touch with us at site.moderator@spareroom.com and a member of the team will be pleased to assist.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team