Uniplaces

After my booking was rejected for first time due to mistake on room price on the advertisement I was soon called and told the price was fixed and go book again. After booking I was able to go and see the apartment and I wasn't impressed I contact them to cancel and it took 2 days for them to get back. They call you with private numbers so you won't be able to call them back (what kind of company does that to customers?) Long story short I did not get any refund they took commission money and deposit money as well. The fact, I didn't move in, they took advantage to take all of the payment money (commission + deposit). I sent emails to complain only to be told the money was released to landlord, and it will take few days to arrive. After a week I went to see the landlord and he didn't receive any money, then the landlord called them, they apologise and said they will release deposit money immediately which they haven't it's been one more week! This company is fraud and scams people! Avoid!

I booked a room for 5 months in Madrid and as a student at the Complutense I was supposed to be entitled of the 100% discount on the booking fees. My university website said I could have the discount only after the contract was signed. I went to the office and the secretary at the University told me they weren't working with Uniplaces anymore (but they were still advertising it on their website).
They put me in contact with Ines, who initially offered me a 25% discount coupon (that I couldn't even use because I had already booked so.?); in the end she said she couldn't do anything, since when the payment is done they are not allowed to give refunds, and instead of solving the thing between them they kept playing this blame game for more than two months, giving me no solution.
Now, this is what happened in the meanwhile: I sent to Uniplaces at least three e-mails few days before the beginning of my contract because I couldn't get in touch with my landlord and I didn't know how to check in. I received their answer 26 days after the beginning of it so I had to solve the problem on my own. Basically I paid 150 euros to have zero customer care, zero help and zero understanding because what happened with my University.
Fair enough.

I recently had an unfortunate experience with Uniplaces, an online platform that claims to provide safe and reliable accommodations for students. I feel compelled to share my harrowing story to warn others about the risks associated with trusting this platform.

When I initially booked my accommodation through Uniplaces, I was relieved to see that the place had been marked as "checked," indicating that someone from Uniplaces had physically visited the property and verified its safety. However, my relief quickly turned into disbelief and fear when the ceiling of my room unexpectedly collapsed while I was inside. My life was put in immediate danger, and I cannot stress enough how terrifying and traumatic this incident was.

The fact that Uniplaces had labeled the property as "checked" is deeply concerning. It implies a thorough inspection was conducted, providing tenants like myself with a sense of security. However, the reality was far from it. How could a property with such a blatant safety hazard be marked as safe? Uniplaces failed in its duty to ensure the well-being of its tenants, and I believe it's essential for prospective users to be aware of this grave oversight.

Moreover, I am deeply disappointed by Uniplaces' response to this incident. Not only did they neglect to adequately address the dangerous situation that occurred, but they also made matters worse by re-listing the room on their website as available and marked as "checked" once again. This blatant disregard for tenant safety and the lack of follow-up inspection is absolutely unacceptable.

In light of these experiences, I implore anyone considering using Uniplaces to exercise extreme caution. Trusting this platform could potentially jeopardize your safety and well-being, as it did with mine. The incident I faced was not only terrifying but also left me feeling betrayed by the false sense of security that Uniplaces provided.

Furthermore, I firmly believe that Uniplaces should take responsibility for the trauma and danger they exposed me to. I urge them to refund the service fees I paid, as their services proved to be entirely unworthy and contributed to the perilous situation I endured. Additionally, I believe that compensation should be provided, not only as a gesture of goodwill but also to acknowledge the severe negligence that endangered my life.

It is disheartening to see a company that claims to prioritize tenant safety and satisfaction fail so spectacularly. Until Uniplaces takes concrete measures to rectify their flawed system, I cannot, in good conscience, recommend their services to anyone. Trust, safety, and accountability should never be compromised when it comes to providing accommodation for students or anyone else.

Uniplaces is a SCAM and a Thief, Don't trust
My booking ID is *******,
I paid 780 Euros, They asked extra fee and changed the rent of the room with their partner colivys.com in Paris after I paid. Just 5 days after my paying (without receiving any room and any contract) Uniplaces sent me an email that they said they canceled my reservation without a refund. They didn't refund my money until now. Shame to Uniplaces. Here I shared their emails. They broke all things even their cancelation policy on their thief website.

Thank you for your email.

We are sorry to inform you but we have finished your booking with Uniplaces, as well as we transferred the money of the first rent to the landlady. Thus, we can no longer help you but we advise you to contact her in order to reach an agreement. This contact may be preferably made by email.

We hope you understand and collaborate.

Best regards,

Carolina
Customer Experience Team | Uniplaces
Help Center: help.uniplaces.com
Uniplaces Stories https://medium.com/uniplaces
Download our Android app here: http://bit.ly/Uniplaces_app
IOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/uniplaces/id*******467

Booking ID: *******

At the beginning, Uniplaces makes you believe that they are here for you, ready to help you finding accomodations.
But as soon as the fee has been paid, they disappear!

To sum up, "Uniplaces"only takes care about the landlord and do not take into account the rights of the tenants. They know that the gooes that lays the golden eggs is the landlord.

My experience: my boyfriend and me booked a flat to spend 6 months in Lisbon. After a few days, we noticed the presence of bedbugs in the flat. As our landlord didn't seem to be interested to help us finding solutions to our problem, we decided to leave the flat and we booked another flat in the same neighborhood. We contacted Uniplaces several times to explain our problem and we asked them to help us and advice us because we had good reasons to complain and we wanted to get our deposit back. They told us they would speak with the landlord and call us back. Nothing happened! And we are still waiting for the call!

As we finally could find a deal with the landlord, we had to cancel the second flat we had booked. At the end, we didn't even see the second flat but we lost more than 1600 euros because the cancellation was late.

Uniplaces doesn't respect the ordinary tenancy law. They are ment to protect the weaker party to the contract but in fact they protect the stronger party (the Landlords). They don't protect your rights at all and they won't help you to get back the first months rent you paid in advance, even if they still possess it. Giving the first month rent to the landlord before the check-in is a pure robbery!

I rented the room in the picture for "300 euros" for one month.
What they really charge you for in the end is:
Room: 300 euros
Deposit: 350 euros (they did not give me the deposit back since I only stayed 2 weeks and not the whole month, although I payed the whole month, I know it doesn't make sense).
One month fine: 150 euros (Since I only rented for one month and not three, they fined me)
Half month fine: 175 euros (Since I rented the room from the 16th to the 15th, and not from the 1st to the 30th I got fined)
Admin cost: 50 euros (Although you make the whole booking online)
Cleaning Fee: 75 euros (Although you see in the picture "all bills included")
Total: 1,100
Plus, I rented a room with a private bathroom which was not the case and wifi that never worked. (Reasons why I took off early)
Yes people, they are scammers

My partner and I were excited to try an alternative to Airbnb, and a friend directed us to the Uniplaces platform. We booked an apartment in Lisbon for two months at 1300 euros per month. The 1300 euros was boldly written on the apartment listing page. There were no reviews for the apartment, however for the description (90 square meters), a great location, two balconies, and weekly cleaning included in the price, we decided to give it a shot, and we request to book the apartment. 24 hours later we receive a confirmation stating that 2,180 Euros has been charged to our card. We thought, "Great! We get a discount for booking two months instead of one!" We arrived at our apartment and were disappointed to find the apartment was no larger than 60 square meters and had NO balconies (only french doors). We are disappointed, but there is nothing we can do; we have nowhere else to go. Fast foward six weeks into our reservation, our landlord contacts us saying she hasn't received the second month's payment! This was odd. We look at our bank statement and 2600 USD came out. Perhaps there was an error in converting the currency... Now Uniplaces is contacting us saying $2600 is for ONE month and that the rent is VARIABLE!

Additionally, aside from the apartment being smaller, there are cockroaches in the hall, the cleaning service was never regular, and we can't even get our money back or get our landlord to fix anything!

This practice is abhorrent and disgusting. They also don't speak fluent English (even on the website where all the language is fairly unclear and ambiguous). Unfortunately just stick to Airbnb. At least you can get your money back if the landlord doesn't deliver on what is promised, and Airbnb can communicate in plain English.

I first had issues with Uniplaces two days after I booked my room with them. Uniplaces does not let their users get in contact with the landlords prior to making a non-refundable payment. I therefore made the payment of their services fees plus the first month's rent. I messaged my landlord about the security of my room as a "lock was not available". I wanted to know my options of installing a lock. He informed me that a lock was not allowed at all which was not stated in the website. I therefore changed my mind about the room and contacted Uniplaces so that I can get my money back. After a dozen emails, they did not give me a refund. I did not have the means to rent another room, and I had to stay in a room with no lock for two months.

I moved in on the move-in date, signed the contract, and payed my security deposit. During this time, Uniplaces sent me an email to confirm that I moved in. I responded five days later that I had. However, before I had responded, they contacted my landlord to receive a confirmation, but my landlord did not respond. They then closed my reservation and cancelled their services which cost me 150, even though I had responded five days later.

When the pandemic broke out, the government of Canada called all Canadians back. I had to leave earlier than agreed upon in the contract and lost my deposit. I therefore contacted Uniplaces again to see my options for coverage as the circumstances were out of my control. Uniplaces told me that because I had confirmed moving in five days later and that my landlord also failed to confirm on time, they will not help me at all as they closed my reservation and cancelled their services. Keep in mind, I had payed them a service fee, they kept the money, and they refuse to offer me any help or services because I confirmed moving in five days late.

Avoid them at all costs.

I booked my stay abroad through uniplaces. Everything looked good online but shortly after moving in I noticed that the apartment and also my room had a huge cockroach problem (in bed, in the room, kitchen, living room, bathroom, everywhere).
I found about 10 cockroaches in the apartment every day, with a lot also being in my room, sometimes up to 10 in my room. After my landlord did not want to reduce my rent and I informed him about the legal situation (he knew about the situation and put wrong information online, cockroaches everywhere) he told me I have to pay or else I'm free to leave (even though he knew exactly what he was doing is illegal and I had hardly any options to move somewhere else within short notice) what about uniplaces? Tells me to pay rent (I didn't pay rent because I wanted a rent reduction) or I can leave:--)
Due to lack of options i moved out (luckily: i couldn't sleep in that room for much longer in because i had cockroaches in my bed!) and completed my semester abroad back home in austria online
When I wanted to leave a short and honest review on uniplaces about the room I got the info that uniplaces has any right to change or not publish reviews if it violates the guidelines. My review described the room and also stated that the room and apartment had a major roach problem - what happened? Uniplaces did not publish it so they can rent the room to the next poor girl not knowing what's about to come. I paid 650€ (cold) in Lisbon. Thanks for that Uniplaces. Questionable practices. Don't help, they support the distribution of wrong information and give you the option: pay or get out. Never again - do not to book.
Update: I recently tried to review uniplaces on instagram on their page: they deleted my comments:—-) DON't book

What a piece of crap of a company. On March 27th, I booked an overpriced apartment to enter on March 31st to stay for April and May and got charged for the full month of March as they only offered monthly contracts for this property! No joke! They make it very easy to rent and pay apartments that you did not use retroactively. Cancelled the booking as soon as I realised but €2,300 thrown away, just like that. Great business model, Uniplaces! When you try to reach them, OF COURSE there is no phone number to be found anywhere. BE VERY SUSPICIOUS OF ANY BUSINESS THAT AVOIDS PHONE INTERACTIONS WITH CLIENTS AT ALL COST. Instead, they make you file an online claim and all I got was an email exchange where some (likely underpaid) customer service agent proceeded to explain that it was all my fault for not reading the conditions. What a beauty. Avoid Uniplaces like the plague, people! Lots of local rental platforms use this site for their ads, so I suggest you search for local platforms in the country / city you are visiting before heading to Uniplaces. It can save you money!

I came to Milan for study and had no apartment to stay. As I was tired of searching, I decided to use uniplaces (as it was recommended for me by some friends and also my Italian university). I have found a nice studio in a nice place. But, as you know, according to the policy of uniplaces you cannot see the precise address. So after my payment went away, I got the address and the contact of the landlord, I called him immediately. He was embarrassed and said he knew nothing about my booking. In some time (30 minutes) he finally understood what I am talking about (I found out that in fact it was his father renting it, they do not communicate much, so why there is his number?). Finally he made me a favour to enter next day, the beginning of the renting period. I was curious about the place and arrived the day before to see the district. It was awful! Near the metro means about 1 km from it, at 8 p.m. everything was closed, nothing was open, no bars, shops. Contradicted the description of a friendly full of people area. What is worse, the flat itself is situated in something similar to stock, where there was a production of something (actually I was so shocked that did not manage to understand what). Next day we decided to confirm a meeting via phone to probably discuss the cancellation, but after he did not answer the telephone! I was waiting for the answer from uniplaces, but they reacted only when I asked my university to contact them directly. So I lost my money without even moving in (820 euro rent plus 130 discounted uniplaces fee), the landlord referred to them, the uniplaced referred to him. The pollicy is strange and could have been correct, but the description doesn't match, so why do I have to pay for there (or the landlord's) cheating? I am going to police.

Recently I recieved a reply through email from a renter. She said that I can rent her apartment.

I was just so happy because I was looking for a place to live, so I can begin my first semester in Stuttgart, Germany. We spoke in Engish, because she said she lived in Spanish and is bad in German. She wrote for me some long emails and explained for me everything about the rent. I just believed in her until she explained about uniplaces. She said uniplace has a lot of professional worker, something like you can rely on them. I saw it as a marketing news. And when she said that I have to transfer money to them immediately, I woke up from my dream and looked for some rate about uniplace... And you know, beside many comments about this awful services, i saw a warning from a person who suffered exactly the same thing like me and he lost 750 euro already. I asked her about this stuff, she explained a little bot that she was offended and sent me her passport or something that proved she didnt lie to me. But it was still a cheat, a real cheat because I didnt recieve any futher explain for this sotuation. If she were real, she must have worried about this kind of thing, because nobody will rent this room anymore. I post this review here. I just suprise that the policy havent made anything about this company and a lot of cheating like that.

Not sure about telling "the entire world", but... I booked a room in an apartment for a friend with a "Move-in" date of March 26 and a "Move-out" date of June 26. Three months, right? Well, much later, I found that the landlord's policy is to charge an entire month for any booking within a month (in this case 5 days). In reality, this is how the website works, reflecting the policy of the landlord, though a bit more transparency would be helpful. UniPlaces website was not clear in this (hopefully a change is being made) and they are working with their landlords to change this policy to something less than a whole month (perhaps a fortnight). Personally, I think it should be based on the booking date (if you sign up for a room on the 15th, thus taking the room off the market, and are moving in on the 25th, you limit the landlord's ability to fill that time. So you would be charged from the 16th). But UniPlaces website was also at fault, as the fact that you were being charged an additional month was hidden behind a "Show all rents" highlighted text that was not so obvious. In our case, because the tenant paid for the entire stay upon arrival, this was not discovered until the last month when the landlord wanted additional payment. I sent an email to UniPlaces and wrote the original scathing review base on my understanding at the time. They contacted me immediately, stated that it was a combination of the landlord's rental policy and a website issue that is "being corrected", agreed that that they would only charge a partial fee for March, and straightened out everything with the landlord. A few days later, I received the pro-rated refund as agreed. Bottom line: The room is good, the folks at UniPlaces are honest, and in the end, My friend (the tenant) and I are satisfied customers. I highly recommend UniPlaces!