Emmaus UK Reviews 

Not impressed. They treat their homeless as slave labour and most of them are too ill to work. Any refusals are met with if you don't like it get back out on the street. They have to pay out of benefits for stuff in the shelter ( 80 a month for"wifi" )but get nothing for working full time in their charity shops. Food is poor and on a week end they all have to fend for themselves. I'd not give them a penny.

Emmaus St Albans came to view our mother's house. They said they could either take the items that they felt they could sell or we could pay and they would take anything we wanted. They quoted to clear the house and we agreed the price. They arrived on time were very helpful and respectful of the emotional situation. They were very efficient and careful moving furniture and were finished quickly. We were particularly pleased to hear the story of one helper who had been homeless but was now housed and working thanks to Emmaus. It was reassuring to hear a success story and know that her belongings would go to good use.

One of my favourite charities, however I attended an interview some weeks ago at the Bolton branch and they never got back to me to tell me I was unsuccessful. Unprofessional at it's best.

The lads in Coventry are good lads I got on well with all of them when driving with them companions
Only problem was there phones was always crap and you had to use your own because there’s was flat or not working Emma wood asked to see my phone because of a picture of items we could not collect which was in my WhatsApp there was a picture of my wife in the background in her bra which she found inappropriate bless her she wouldn’t have had access to my phone if there crap thing worked in the first place anyway good riddance to her

I got told off and threatened to take my phone off me because i was allegedly filming when I was just taking photos to send to my partner to see if I should buy it or not. Then they showed me some sort of badge saying they can take my phone away so I just walked out and felt very unsafe, I didnt even know if it was a security guard or not. There was no sign saying no photography, I was looking at new furniture and clothes to hopefully buy but experience has been ruined now.

Wanted to give some units to Emmaus which is a homeless charity in Oxford they said apparently they aren't up to Standard.

Thought they were suppose to be cheap and take donations doesn't matter what condition. If it helps a family out then that's a job well done

We donated to the Hanley Stoke on Trent branch of this charity. The older man (presumably "training the two young men who were both very pleasant) was rude and off-hand when collecting the chairs etc. He is a poor "role model" in his attitude and a poor reflection on the charity. Would rather take stuff to Lycett Recycling than to donate to this charity again! No phone call as advised when arranged collection.

I sent these people (the team from their Oxford Branch) an email asking if they accept tv donations: sent them the pictures of the tv and the plug and I got totally snubbed, extremely rude people- don’t waste your time, if you can’t find another competent charity organisation or somewhere to sell your item if you desire to sell, it’s best to recycle your television than deal with incompetence: rude + unprofessional behaviour, I read a few reviews about people’s orders not being delivered prior to writing this review- I looked up the company and its reviews because I was wondering why I hadn’t gotten a response to my enquiry, anyways when I was moving 3 years ago, a lady from Emmaus told me they sell second hand goods because I had to furnish my flat, the only reason why I didn’t go with them was because I wanted brand new so I went to ikea and Amazon instead, hindsight 2020 right- thank GOD I didn’t waste my money and time, mostly my money on them. AVOID!!!! N.B. they are similar to another company referred to as Amber Arch Ltd- if you are looking for a mystery shopping company, please look elsewhere: read their negative reviews and their disrespectful responses and you probably will agree with me.

A company that is disfuncional, illogical and needs to be held to account.. Do not donate or volunteer as your time and money could be spent in a better way.. My dad's 3 bedroom property is a 2 minute walk to the shop.. I have visited them and suggested they come to the house and take what they want for free... We don't do that I was told.. So through Coventry city council.. I had items removed to be taken to the tip.. Guess who turned up emnaus.. Two men a large van,, to take the items to the tip.. I said to the bloke.. Remember me.. Come inside and take this stuff to the shop.. It's free..
No mate,, can't do that it's a different van... Ffs I thought

I've been going to Emmaus Cambridge for over 20 years and furnished most of my house with amazing, really good quality bargains from there.
I now live in Kings Lynn.
Today I brought two friends to visit.
We had tea and some wonderful cake in Joan's Cafe.
The gentleman who served us was a master of banter, so funny, very polite and an amazing Front of House person.
The gentleman who cleared the tables was very polite, helpful and professional; both a massive credit to Emmaus as were all the other companions we had dealings with.
I've seen this place change over the years.
The gardens are so beautifully kept and the personal touches bring a smile to people's faces.
My friends couldn't believe how much there was to see; sadly, we don't have Emmaus in Kings Lynn.
A wonderful place to spend the day and an amazing worthwhile charity.
I'm sure we can find somewhere in Kings Lynn for an Emmaus........😄
Thank you for a lovely day
Shelagh van Heerden ( Kings Lynn)

What they're selling is the antithesis of their name. It's not worth the peanuts homeless people get if it's propagandising against them.

I dropped off a TV and reclining chair at the Cambridge store. Both items were quickly assessed and gratefully received. Unfortunately my car failed to restart due to a flat battery. Several staff quickly offered assistance by using one of their vans and jump leads to get me going again. I am very grateful for their help.

My mum had bought a sofa from them didn't deliver it and have kept her money when confronted the manager she spoke awful to my mum and said she wasn't going to give her money back as they don't do refunds but this wasn't stated on the receipt or anywhere in store so they still have my mum's money and sofa plus had a delivery driver shouting in my mum's face hope he is proud of this doing that to a pensioner

Really easy straightforward process to arrange a collection. Donations collected within a week by very friendly efficient people.

I tried to organise a furniture collection but 2.5 days later I just got an email stating they're not doing collections at the moment - no explanation, no indication if this is a permanent scenario or anything. Don't bother with this organisation

I popped in to your shop in Cheltenham, and was served by the kindest, most helpful gentlemen. Such exceptional customer service. Thank you so very much 💗💕💗

Went to check out the Hanley Branch half an hour ago, and despite it saying they close at 17:00, to our surprise, the automatic doors opened as we approached them, we only wanted to have a look through the window but found ourselves in the open doorway.

I thought great, I could perhaps ask them a quick question, boy was I wrong. Upon stepping in and the one way entry doors closing behind us, before I could even formulate a sentence, three staff (I presume) immediately stormed towards us, pointing at the door and repeatedly yelling “we’re closed, get out”.

Now A) We didn’t force our way in, the doors automatically opened… We only wanted to look through the window, and when the door opened, we thought maybe we could ask a question before leaving.

B) The consistent patronising tone they were displaying got me so angry that I had no choice but to shout back at them, like lock your doors on time and then don’t make people feel like they forced their way into your “charity” when they didn’t.

C) The way one of them came up to my face and tried to intimidate me, screaming and throwing a tantrum over the fact that we were walking further into the store, but you can’t exit the way you came in, you have to walk in and around, and although that’s what we were trying to do, I kid you not, “get out, get out”

Absolutely disgusting behaviour from the three individuals inside, one woman with red hair, an old man with a very long beard and a young kid who was doing the absolute most.

The woman starting arguing with me telling me I’m rude and that I’m “barred”. All because the door that they should’ve locked, opened by itself, because it’s automatic…

So I doubt I want to go back there anyways, but I still needed to get this out there, incase other people have had similar experiences with these so called “volunteers” or whatever they are, these are not friendly or helpful people in the slightest, lock your doors on time if you don’t want anyone coming into your public establishment, don’t start mocking and patronising people who are there to seek help.

Update 18th Dec : So I had also emailed Emmaus Uk on the 24th of Nov, and was told by a Debbie Prince that my complaint was passed onto Emmaus North Staffs.

I also left a google review for the store in question, I can confirm now three weeks has passed and nobody has returned to me, acknowledged either this trust pilot or google review, so I called up Emmaus North Staffs today (whom I was told my complaint was passed onto) and was told that they’ve not received anything… Which says it all really.

Worst charity company ever was placed in the south shields one and was absolutely disgusted at how we were treat made to work in there cold shops 5 days a week 8 hours with no pay what so ever slave labour using homeless people to make money for them selfs being forced to work or be homeless and being fed school dinners by a chef staff, a very patronising and controlling all three shops were making over £1 million a year and staff will running around in luxury cars wearing luxury clothes and they call people companions which is something you call your dog not a person they had secret credit that those working in the shops could use to buy lunch but they didn’t tell people about it and we’re telling people to buy their own food made to work in a cold shop and their excuses the money we make in the shops buys the food in yeah, they were claiming two grand from universal credit for us being there for a little bedroom and we still had to make up the difference they do not help people every single person I asked in there has never seen anyone receive any help in getting their own place from these me and my friend were in there for two months and this place deteriorated our mental health and because the stuff would drop last-minute change of plans on us me and my friend did it back to them as payback by not telling them we had moved out until we had moved out and they wondered where we were after we had moved out because that we had no washing machine we will use their lingerie shop up the road from us and one day one of their machines had stopped functioning properly and wouldn’t release my cloths and then Carol who is one of the staff turned up and started having a go at me that I should know what time they shut and I said yes, but it’s not my fault that your machine is refusing to let me get my clothes out and then she caused a big scene on the street giving me a mouthful with verbal abuse and when I try to report her to the CEO I got told by the CEO that I was being abusive and didn’t apologise to me for the inconvenience I had with their machine instead they both gaslight me and I was told that I am banned from their shops I therefore ordered my own washing machine in the end the disrespect and complete hassle for me is the reason i was glad to escape staff where so rude while i was staying there there was a bedbug infestation and many of the people ended up having their clothes ruined and the staff ref refused to pay them in compensation for the damage one of the people there threatened to kick my dog across the park if you ever saw my dog wearing a jumper again one of the staff tried to defend him by saying that it was a joke. So I said, would you like it if I said that about your kids if I see your kids wearing a jumper, I would kick them across the park as a joke that is not a joke making threats of violence towards an animal so while we were working for free, having some abuse from customers would come back to the main building to have more abuse from both staff and other people I personally think that if you are homeless, do not go near these go to a shelter or go to a hostel or just stay on streets anywhere is better than going to these for help because they will entrap you and want to keep you there forever to use you as a money making skivy and will not let you leave the only way you can escape is by not telling them look for somewhere and move out without notifying them to prevent them from keeping you trapped there

I reached out to Colchester Emmaus recently.
I'm struggling, without any support from family or friends.
I've got a few health issues,both physically.
Trying to maintain DIY jobs within the house are now impossible for me.
I have not a soul to ask for some help and my mental health has hit rick bottom.
I've two dependent children who have health issues,so they are entirely dependent on me.
This pressure of trying to cope with everything alone and not being physically capable now,is having a negative effect on my mental health.
The Colchester Emmaus,CEO Brian.
I called up explaining my situation and asked if I could pay for some help with some decorating my Autistic sons room,also some help with some clearance of some items that would be donated to the shop.
I knew I would have to pay for the decorating service run by them,for apparently at a lower price, which I was ok about.
A man called Rob came round and assessed the the amount of items for clearance and donation.
Baring In mind I've got not a soul to help me with the removal of the items for donation and clearance,I'm struggling to transport things myself and this is a government funded organisation that is founded on helping vulnerable people,the people running the Colchester charity do not adhere to the principle of supporting those most in need.
I was told id have to pay 400pound for removal and told I will have to remove all bedroom furniture from my son's room if I want them to come round to paint it,at a charge.
It felt like id been punched in the stomach,at their response, because I'm struggling so badly to mentally not give up on everything.
For a charity to treat people this way,is a complete disgrace.
It makes you wonder what their motives .
Because this organisation doesn't support or help the most vulnerable in society if anything I believe it benefits only the CEO's and people who work within it.
An absolute insult to the man who originally built this organisation.

Furniture donation was incredibly easy and the team were lovely. Their Stroud and Nailsworth shops are great too.