Poor communication on use, poor delayed collection of kit, no clear advice on fuel consumption charges, debacle with Keys and collection, deposit held for 7 weeks, poor to no communication throughout.... See more
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Review summary
Created with AI, based on recent reviews
What people talk about most
Reviews shaping this summary
I hired a 2T Engine Hoist from these guys. Ordered on Saturday for Tuesday. Got confirmation email then nothing. Tried to chat with them on Monday and was given expected wait 22-25 hours!. They called... See more
This company is a joke! If you want a reliable hire - GO ELSWHERE. You might or might not receive it. There is a small chance you will have it on time. Customer service - forget about it. They... See more
Company replied
AVOID THIS COMPANY - SCAMMERS They are illegally withholding my £500 deposit since my digger hire in May. They say it takes 21 days - well it’s been months and every time you call you get fobbed of t... See more
Company replied
Company details
- Tool Rental Service
- Building Equipment Hire Service
- Construction Machine Rental Service
- Equipment Rental Agency
- Lawn Equipment Rental Service
- Plant and Machinery Hire
About National Tool Hire
Written by the company
With over 2,000 'Click & Collect' locations and FREE nationwide delivery, National Tool Hire Shops offers DIY and Trade customers a convenient same-day tool hire service.
Our tool hire range has over 2,000,000 products ranging from power tools and carpet cleaners to mini diggers and scaffold towers.
Book & Pay Online: Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal.
Contact info
National Tool Hire, Over 2,000 'Click & Collect' Locations, FREE Nationwide Delivery, United Kingdom
- 03330 384 943
- nationaltoolhireshops.co.uk
2.0
Poor
5K reviews
Asks customers to review
This company invites their customers to review, whether positive or negative
Replied to 67% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 1 week
How this company uses Trustpilot
See how their reviews and ratings are sourced, scored, and moderated.
National Tool Hire Cost Me Big Time
I ordered a floor sanding package over a month ago and booked delivery for Saturday the 20th through their system. A week before, they rang to say Saturday “wasn’t possible” and pushed it to Friday the 19th. I agreed **only** if it arrived before 1pm. They confirmed. Then they simply didn’t show up.
I waited from 6am until 8pm. No delivery. No call. No explanation. Customer service repeatedly promised updates and never called back. A few hours before closing, they stopped answering the phone altogether. My neighbour has a door camera — they never even attempted delivery.
To make matters worse, the company is closed over the weekend, meaning I likely won’t receive the equipment until next week. That wipes out my entire schedule, as I cannot sand floors from Christmas Eve through Boxing Day. Weeks of planning have been destroyed by one no-show delivery.
This incompetence has cost me time, money, and serious stress. I booked time off work, paid for alternative accommodation, and planned weeks of work around sanding and varnishing three rooms before my family returns from the school break. I also lost a full day needed for Christmas preparations.
I am trying to make this house safe for my husband to return home after a stroke, completing renovations he was forced to abandon. Their complete lack of reliability, communication, or basic decency has made an already difficult situation far worse.
No delivery. No accountability. No professionalism. This company cannot be trusted. Avoid at all costs.
19 December 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from National Tool Hire
We are really sorry to hear that you have had an issue with your order. It is never our intention to let our customers down, please drop us a message at MyExperience@NationalToolHire.co.uk where we would like to discuss this further. Please remember to include your Order number. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Abysmal pick up and communication zero
Delivery OK. Equipment in good condition. Pick up abysmal. Due to be picked up 2 days ago but re scheduled by them for today. Driver rang today and said no can do. Refused to ask office to call me. Attempts to contact office result in total failure to get any reply. Still have to store equipment which is impeding public events.
19 December 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from National Tool Hire
We are really sorry to hear that your experience with National Tool Hire hasn't been up to scratch. Please drop us a message at MyExperience@NationalToolHire.co.uk and we will endeavour to assist you further. Please remember to include your Order Number. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Be warned!
Costs are high which I can accept as were able to supply promptly. However when it comes to collection they need a 5 day window to collect with no notice of the day let alone time of collection. As such this will require some one to be in for up to 5 full days . If you miss collection you will be charged both additional hire and collection fees. Offered to drop the tower back but would not tell me where I needed to return to until I agreed I would return by 5pm again leaving me open to additional costs if the location was a long way from my home. Please read the other reviews and think very carefully before hiring with this company.
19 December 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from National Tool Hire
We are really sorry to hear that your experience with National Tool Hire hasn't been up to scratch. Please drop us a message at MyExperience@NationalToolHire.co.uk and we will endeavour to assist you further. Please remember to include your Order Number. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
dreadful customer service
Pretty dreadful customer service. I'm only giving 1 star because the equipment actually worked - though they used a 3rd party company so that wasn't their doing!
I had a number of mess ups at every stage dealing with these guys, but in short:
- took my money for a date then told me it wasn't available
- offered me another date, I confirmed, they failed to book it in for me
- 4 days after taking my money, a member of customer service asked if I 'wanted' them to find me another date - while holding onto nearly £500 of mine
- finally got it booked in for a week later than I wanted it and they attempted delivery on the wrong day
- I stayed in all day on my pick up day, nobody came, I rang up and asked when it was getting picked up and somebody on the phone told me that 'a member of the team had rescheduled my pick up date' (I wasn't informed).
- I said the new pick up date didn't work for me as I was in work, asked to rearrange, the person on the phone assured me that was fine
- they attempted to pick up on the date I said didn't work for me and I had to send the delivery driver away a SECOND time
Overall, terrible planning, poor communication, and when you do manage to get in contact (after making it past an AI agent that's practically impossible to get through), the people you speak to are generally unhelpful. In my experience, they went through CW plant hire - honestly, save yourself the hassle (and the fees!) and go direct to them. Their delivery driver was lovely and so understanding on both occasions I had to turn him away.
5 December 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from National Tool Hire
We are really sorry to hear that your experience with National Tool Hire hasn't been up to scratch. Please drop us a message at MyExperience@NationalToolHire.co.uk and we will endeavour to assist you further. Please remember to include your Order Number. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Very poor experience
Very poor experience. This company advertises tools that are not actually available. After I made a booking, they waited two days to call me and then told me they didn’t have availability for the dates I had already booked.
I had no choice but to cancel and urgently find another tool hire company at very short notice, which was extremely difficult and stressful. To make things worse, they delayed the refund for an unreasonably long time.
In the end, I had to open a case with PayPal just to get my money back. I would not recommend this company due to unreliable service and poor handling of refunds.
9 December 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from National Tool Hire
We are really sorry to hear that your experience with National Tool Hire hasn't been up to scratch. Please drop us a message at MyExperience@NationalToolHire.co.uk and we will endeavour to assist you further. Please remember to include your Order Number. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Pursuing a chargeback currently for…
Pursuing a chargeback currently for service not as advertised.
- Delay in delivery
- No invoice or receipt despite this being requested
- Delay in collection
- No communication from national tool hire around the above issues
I do hope others read these reviews as I had neglected to do and do not use this company.
24 November 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from National Tool Hire
We are really sorry to hear that we have not met your expectaions whilst dealing with National Tool Hire, this is never our intention. Please drop us a message to discuss further at MyExperience@NationalToolHire.co.uk. Please remember to include your Order Number. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Awful! Awful! Awful!
Awful! I wish we had read the reviews before we engaged with them! They are unreliable, unresponsive and far more expensive than other equivalent providers. Our mistake for not researching properly - we needed a dehumidifier urgently. Service failed, we ended up heiring elsewhere and not getting a refund - be aware that this is a money grabbing company. Totally unethical - don't go there!!
15 December 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from National Tool Hire
We are really sorry to hear that your experience with National Tool Hire hasn't been up to scratch. Please drop us a message at MyExperience@NationalToolHire.co.uk and we will endeavour to assist you further. Please remember to include your Order Number. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Failed to deliver a complete machine…
Failed to deliver a complete machine that I had hired, the delivery was therefore rejected but three weeks on national Tool Hire still have my money and are refusing to respond to emails. Terrible service. avoid national tool Hire service at all costs. At the end of the day they just subcontract to whatever Mickey Mouse operation is cheapest and that’s the root of the problem here.
1 December 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from National Tool Hire
Thanks for reaching out to us here at National Tool Hire. Please bear in mind that your Deposit will be refunded after 21 Working Days after your collection date. If this time has passed, please drop us an email with your order number to MyExperience@NationalToolHire.co.uk for us to look into this further for you. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Time wasters
Delivery of tower 2 days after delivery date !
Wished I had seen the reviews before I wasted my time.
Don’t bother waiting in for the delivery , it isn’t coming .
A real shower.
10 December 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from National Tool Hire
We are really sorry to hear that you have had an issue with your order. It is never our intention to let our customers down, please drop us a message at MyExperience@NationalToolHire.co.uk where we would like to discuss this further. Please remember to include your Order number. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Poor yet again
Poor yet again. Sick of giving these jokers a chance. Still waiting for a refund.
1 December 2025
Reply from National Tool Hire
We are really sorry to hear that your experience with National Tool Hire hasn't been up to scratch. Please drop us a message at MyExperience@NationalToolHire.co.uk and we will endevour to assist you further. Please rememebr to include your Order Number. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Refusing to return £500 deposit
Refusing to return £500 deposit, even though the equipment was returned on time and confirmed in working order.
National tool hire, who I rented through, say that it's the fault of Travis Perkins, and until they get the deposit back from Travis Perkins, they can not return it to me.
Whoever's fault it is, sort it out!
It's £500 and Christmas is around the corner. I have bills to pay and gifts to buy!
Absolutely disgraceful!
5 November 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from National Tool Hire
Thanks for reaching out to us here at National Tool Hire. Please bear in mind that your Deposit will be refunded after 21 Working Days after your collection date. If this time has passed, please drop us an email with your order number to MyExperience@NationalToolHire.co.uk for us to look into this further for you. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Order ladders but they never turned up
Order ladders but they never turned up. Ruined the day as everything I had organised revolved around having a ladder. No response from online chat or phone. Wish I'd read the other reviews first as loads of people are saying the same thing.
4 December 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from National Tool Hire
We are really sorry to hear that your experience with National Tool Hire hasn't been up to scratch. Please drop us a message at MyExperience@NationalToolHire.co.uk and we will endevour to assist you further. Please rememebr to include your Order Number. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
AVOID this company, their customer service is SHOCKING! They do not even deserve their 2.5 rating
What website doesn't have a 'Contact Us' button.....................one that just doesn't want to speak to customers!
The 'support' e-mail I found via Google just bounces back& their AI 'Chat' facility is useless!
Lots of other hire companies out there who actually care about their customers
4 December 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from National Tool Hire
We are really sorry to hear that we have not met your expectaions whilst dealing with National Tool Hire, this is never our intention. Please drop us a message to discuss further at MyExperience@NationalToolHire.co.uk. Please remember to include your Order Number. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Reply from National Tool Hire
Hi Dimo, we are really sorry we couldn't assist you on this occasion. Our prices are very competitive, so if you haven't managed to source the equipment you required please don't hesitate to get back in touch with us. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Reply from National Tool Hire
Hi Robert, I can see on our records that we have managed to accommodate the date change as requested. Huge thanks for your understanding. We hope to see you again soon. Have a great day. Regards. NTH Customer Service Team
Lack of response with problems
I contacted the company when I had a problem with the machine I borrowed. I contacted them and have WhatsApp proof but they have since tried to deny I contacted them, despite me sending screenshots and have failed to respond to my complaint after 3 months of chasing!
28 August 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from National Tool Hire
We are really sorry to hear that we have not met your expectaions whilst dealing with National Tool Hire, this is never our intention. Please drop us a message to discuss further at MyExperience@NationalToolHire.co.uk. Please remember to include your Order Number. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Absolute shambles of a company
Absolute shambles of a company. Delivered dumper a day late and collected a day earlier than arranged. Been waiting nearly a month for my deposit to be returned and keep getting fobbed off with the same excuses. No one has contacted me to sort out. Stay well clear of this joke of a company.
3 December 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from National Tool Hire
Thanks for reaching out to us here at National Tool Hire. Please bear in mind that your Deposit will be refunded within 21 Working Days following your Off Hire date. If this time has passed, please drop us an email with your order number to MyExperience@NationalToolHire.co.uk for us to look into this further for you. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Came in time
Came in time, it’s expensive but no idea if there is any less expensive place
1 December 2025
Reply from National Tool Hire
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave us a Review. We really do appreciate it . Please don't hesitate to get in touch is there is anything else we can help you with around any future hires. Have a great day. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Reply from National Tool Hire
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave us a 5 Star Review. We really do appreciate it . Please don't hesitate to get in touch if there is anything else we can help you with around any future hires. Have a great day. Regards NTH Customer Service Team
Failed to get customer service after a…
Failed to get customer service after a problem with my hire cement mixer , do not use under any circumstance. Paid by PayPal but as there is no return link to satisfy PayPal they refused any refund
21 October 2025
Unprompted review
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