UK grads: Has anyone tried this CV writing service that keeps appearing in my ads?

@DeeCTobiaschu promo? where? i need that lol. still voting for diy over any cheap resume service. but if i had to pick one cheap resume writing service that wasnt total trash, maybe that upwork one i mentioned earlier. guy fixed spacing and made it one page, which helped a bit. but yeah @Counconect your $150 craftresumes example is tempting. maybe ill wait for black friday deals or something

As hiring manager - i can always tell cheap resume services. they all have the same tired phrases: "team player", "detail-oriented", no numbers, weird formatting that breaks in ats. cheap resume writers might save $100 but if it means your resume gets auto-rejected... you lose way more. from what i've seen in this thread, craftresumes and resumewritinglab.com actually deliver value. poll should be "cheap resume service vs quality service" lol

@Shilpi 100%. for design/ux roles cheap resume services are especially bad cuz they don't understand portfolios or visual hierarchy. i tried one $50 cheap resume writing service - they butchered my layout and removed my behance link. nightmare. switched to craftresumes, paid more but they kept the creative feel while making it ats-safe. huge difference in callbacks.

update time! thanks everyone for jumping in with more stories - this thread became way more helpful than i expected. so after all your input and my own tests... final verdict from me: cheap resume services can be ok if you just need quick formatting fix and have time/energy to heavily edit yourself. but for anything competitive, career switch, or when you suck at writing about yourself (like me lol) - the jump to $150-180 with craftresumes or resumewritinglab.com is worth it 10x over. i ended up going with craftresumes after your recs, got the rewrite last week and already sent 15 apps - 3 callbacks already (personal record!). if you're debating - save a bit longer and skip the cheap resume writers trap. thanks again for all the real talk, y'all saved me a ton of frustration. good luck job hunting everyone! 💪📝

ok since @Counconect started a final verdict, let me add something concrete first — a comparison table because that's how my brain works 😅
Here's what I found after researching UK CV writing services and comparing experiences from this thread:

based on everything shared here — RWL is the safest pick if you want a proper cv writing service that actually understands UK hiring. CraftResumes is the value option if you specifically ask for UK experience.

Adding one thing this thread hasn't fully covered yet: UK CV vs American resume is actually a bigger difference than most people realise, and it matters when picking a cv writing service.
Key differences to know:
🇬🇧 UK CV norms:

2 pages is completely standard — even for grads. Nobody expects one page here
No photo — adding one can actually hurt you in the UK (legal bias concerns, some recruiters bin them on sight)
Personal statement at the top — UK CVs typically open with a 3–5 line personal profile, not an objective statement
Degree classification matters — "2:1 from Leeds" means something specific; a US service might not know how to present this
A-level results — relevant for grad schemes, especially if GPA equivalent is sought

This is why a generic American professional cv writing service can actually hurt you for UK roles — they might strip your personal statement, push one page, or misformat your education section.
When choosing the best cv writing service for UK applications, always ask: "Do you have writers who have recruited in the UK market?" That question alone filters out 80% of services that would give you a US-formatted resume with "CV" in the title.

Jumping in for a final hiring-side summary since this thread has been genuinely useful.
As someone who's reviewed CVs across both US and UK markets: the advice in this thread is solid. Here's my condensed take for anyone landing here from search:
What actually differentiates a good UK cv writing service from a bad one:

They ask which country you're applying in before they write a single word
They know the 2-page norm and don't compress your CV out of habit
They understand graduate schemes — these have specific CV requirements that generic services miss completely
They don't add a photo (US services sometimes do by default)
They write a proper personal profile, not an objective statement

The best cv writing service for UK grads I'd point to based on this thread: Resume Writing Lab if you want UK specialists with recruiting background, CraftResumes if you want slightly lower price with similar quality on request.
TopCV — based on experiences shared here — seems to over-promise and underdeliver. The free "review" is a funnel, not actual advice.
For anyone applying to Big 4, grad schemes, or competitive London roles: a professional cv writing service that genuinely understands the UK market is worth the £120–160. One strong callback from a firm you actually want to work at covers the cost many times over.

right, final verdict from me since I promised one ages ago 😅
After reading everything in this thread and testing a couple of options myself — I went with Resume Writing Lab.
Here's the honest breakdown:

Paid £145 (they had a student discount running)
Requested a UK-focused writer — they confirmed the writer had recruited for UK grad schemes
The process included a proper intake form + one short call
They kept my 2-page format, rewrote my personal statement from scratch (mine was terrible tbh), and restructured my education section so my degree classification and relevant modules were front and centre

What changed: applied to 9 roles after getting the new CV — 4 interview invites, including one grad scheme I'd applied to before with my old CV and got nothing
TopCV was never really in the running after reading what everyone said here. The free review felt like exactly what @Shilpi described — just a pitch.
If you're a UK grad debating a cv writing service: the £120–160 range from RWL or CraftResumes is the sweet spot. Don't go below £60 (you'll get a US-formatted template). Don't feel like you need to spend £300+ at this stage.
The best cv writing service is ultimately the one that's used your market. For the UK — that detail matters more than anything else. Good luck everyone 🎓🇬🇧