Trusted Agent profile · Bedford
★★★★★
1,612 reviews across 1 platform
42 Allhallows, Bedford, MK40 1LN, MK40 1LN
Connells's office in Bedford, at 42 Allhallows, is rated 1.9 out of 5 across 1,612 reviews on 1 platform.
Every review we hold for the Bedford office, from every platform, shown as written. First names only.
1/5
TrustpilotNot to be trusted
They lied to us. Telling us we would be the first person to view the property and would call us as soon as we could make an offer. They never called, I always had to chase them. When the buyer chose a different seller and I asked why they said the other buyer put an offer in first. They also tried to say we would have to pay the sellers estate agent fees, which should never happen. There's something dodgy going on with them and do not trust them at all.
1/5
TrustpilotFailing to keep to word during COVID-19 pandemic - I’m appalled
During the current coronavirus pandemic, our landlord (located in HK) decided it would be best to sell the property! Which we had no issues with until recent events. I have been shielding for 5 months, and have only agreed to 1 viewing a day, that must be booked in advance so that safety measures can be put in place! As it is not my own property, I have refused to show people around it myself as I feel that this is the estate agents job on behalf of the landlord!Yet even after stating that to protect mine and my families health and wellbeing, I would not be taking more than 1 viewing a day. Connells have phoned asking if they can bring 3-4 people in to the property on the same day, completely ignoring the safety measures that have to be in place for a person who is high risk. Due to shielding, etc I feel that I have been particularly helpful still allowing them to bring in a minimal amount of people to view the property, when actually it has been stated that no one outside of the household (my family) should be inside. Another issue I’ve had is that they have booked in viewings for days that we have specifically stated that we cannot do, due to other more important things that can’t be missed. People have been turning up at the house unexpected, without a member of the connells staff - who are supposed to be doing all views so I can maintain social distancing practices! Those turning up have not been told before hand that masks and gloves should, and need to be worn inside the house to protect my family. Connells have also failed to listen my opinion on how many people I was comfortable allowing in the property at once. I stated that I would feel comfortable with 1 person (potential buyer) and the estate agent, but they have been bringing groups of 2+ into the household making it nearly impossible to ensure the safety of myself and family during a worldwide pandemic! It’s not the only problem I’ve had in the space of the 2yrs I’ve been renting. They have blamed us for the cause of significant damage to a drainage pipe! Which when looked at by a specialist, they said that it had eroded and more than likely occurred years ago - when I was not even renting! They have let me down, I will fortunately be leaving the property sooner than expected as there is no possible way that we as a family can deal with these issues anymore! Their customer service/help portal is a joke, and never gets answered! A lot of branches need to be looked into, as the severe amount of problems that have caused is astounding! I’m beyond appalled and cannot wait to move out of the property and find a rental through a different estate agents!
1/5
TrustpilotDishonest and generally incompetent
Our mortgage lender has instructed them to conduct a valuation of the house we are buying. They have made claims that they have been trying to arrange this and have left messages with the sales office. They have not tried to contact them at all. We are buying a new build and the sales office is keen to get everything sorted before our reservation period is over so they have no reason to slow the process. Our broker tried to follow up with them but they had been provided with the incorrect number from them by email. The number was for another department from Connells who apparently couldn’t just transfer them across to the right place. The entire process of buying had been so smooth working with a competent broker, solicitor and sales manager - until we had to deal with Connells. Completely incompetent and worse yet, will lie to cover their incompetence. Disgusting business practice to think you can gloss over your inadequacies with lies.
1/5
TrustpilotAvoid Connells mortgage broker services
Nice enough people let down by what must be poor systems and terrible processes, shame.Remortgaging as part of their "lifetime membership" program, we ended up being presented with 2 not great products, this is after hours and hours of phone calls chatting about products, going over the same details again & again. Applying for one of these products took over 4 months, tonnes of pointless repetitive paperwork that frankly they should've been filling out until 1 week before our current product ends they tell us "actually we'll just do a product transfer with your existing lender", this is a fact I'd already told the advisor about in an email some 2 months into the process. Having not been provided with any form of useful remortgaging service we requested the £100 fee be refunded only to be told its "non-refundable".I'd recommend sticking to the newer online mortgage brokers, they rarely charge any upfront admin fees and as we've found can offer better products with far less hassle.
1/5
TrustpilotDO NOT USE!
Buying, Selling, Renting a house is stressful enough, add on the amount of stress from these people and your will never want to buy, sell or rent again.We simply wanted to view a property and make an offer, sounds simple, it is rather simple... These guys made both myself and my partner feel inadequate, incompetent and inept. Every other sentence on every phone call was pushing us, telling us we must see their onsite mortgage advisor, every phone call, every time. Even though we had said 4,5.6 times we had our own mortgage broker and done our own research - all is set ready to go, we got pushed, constantly. After having to drawing the line and having to do so forcefully, we felt dreadful, we put an offer in and then were forgotten about. We had to call 2 or 3 times to get an answer...I honestly have no idea why people would want to use this company. We are thankfully not first-time buyers or sellers but if we were this would scare you off for such a long time. Either more customer service training needs to but in place or their targets/KPI's need to be reviewed. Each phone call was infuriating - even if we saw a house that would suit us perfectly as a family, we have avoided due to the nature of this company.DO NOT USE!
1/5
TrustpilotI cant even give them a star absolutely…
I cant even give them a star absolutely awful please read reviews before renting of them fools. people having wild parties opposite my flat and they are rubbish students gathering in car park of bingley court until 4 am and they don't care about anybody else who are still working during pandemic . you are a joke and the police is not doing anything ! it is not acceptable to charge 900 quid for a rubbish area and rubbish neighbours who leave their kids screaming until all sort of the freaking day including past 11 pm when WE supposed to sleep or relax and rest before the next shift in hospital. You are not well charging people for this area . A total lack of considerations for others !!!! Shame on you
1/5
TrustpilotIncompetent
This clown outfit came and valued my property on behalf of the buyers' lenders. Everything seemed fine until I got the report. They compared my property against three other porperties that had been sold in the local area and just took the average of the three despite the one of the properties being sold almost a year before the valuation and the most recent sale was 7 months ago. To add further insult to inury, two of the properties were not even comparable as they were smaller 2 bed properties that had been converted to 3 small bedrooms whereas my property is a larger 3 bed property. The result being that they grossly undervalued my property and have caused unnecessary delays in the buyer being able to progress, with the possible outcome that I loose the buyer.
1/5
TrustpilotAwful service
Arranged an appointment for a valuation to sell, had an email and voicemail 3 days later saying they’d had to move it back an hour and a half - not ideal but fair enough. Comes to today and the day of the valuation and no sign of their agent. Rang the office to be told there is no appointment in their diary and the guy who was meant to be coming out isn’t even working. Glad I got a glimpse of their service before giving them my money to sell my house.
1/5
TrustpilotPoor management
We found a house contacted them multiple times for appointments for viewing and they just kept saying they are not working at the moment cause of covid and will give us a call when we can check house, last time they said can get an appointment for following week because they will be open.... they sold the house while they were closed and just kept us waiting for nothing for 3 weeks, they should have told the house is on hold or sorry not available, poor management, poor communication
1/5
Trustpilotif i could give them negative stars i…
if i could give them negative stars i would i would like to book to view a house and they insist i need to use their mortgage service to be able to book to see their house.i already told them i got my independence mortgage adviser already i do not wish to use the their mortgage service.and the girl on the phone was very rude to me she said if i dont give out all my financial statement then we wont let me see the housei never experience this ever in my life.avoid this company at all costthis brand located in torquay.
1/5
TrustpilotDONT USE CONNELLS IF YOU CAN HELP IT
Don't use Connells if you can avoid it!!I'm moving house and the Mortgage Lender for the house I want to purchase insisted on a valuation by Connells. The vendor almost refused my offer on the strength of their previous experiences with this company but after some coaxing he relented and the valuation went ahead. At the suggestion of the vendor we spelt out in clear terms the proposed purchase to my broker, who passed this to the Lender (Kent Reliance) who were supposed to inform the valuer. This information was not passed on, Kent's mistake which they admitted, so the valuation was returned as nil. Before we could get the value reassessed by the valuer Connells furloughed all their valuers due to coronvirus so now 9 weeks later nothing has progressed. Connells were a disgrace.. surely they could have instructed their valuers to complete all work prior to sitting at home twiddling their thumbs??? I'm disgusted.
1/5
TrustpilotI wish we had read the reviews before engaging ...
I am literally unable to find how appalling this organisation is . My wife was recommended to use this Connells by the estate agent. And we had wish we had read the reviews before agreeing to use them. You will spend most of the sale process being frustrated by their lack of communication, timelines that have been agreed will never be met. And being passed from different account managers and this will lead to a replication of the same questions leading to needless delays and frustration.Do not use them and look for another conveyancer to use. If anyone does read these reviews from Connells you need to look at your customer service policy and how your staff execute it. You should be aiming to do a lot better.
1/5
TrustpilotAbsolutely discusting actions by…
Absolutely discusting actions by connells not paying an employee who left 2 days before lockdown. She worked for them for 7 years . And cant get paid from the new employer but connells can pay them (which doesn't even come out of their pocket its the government who pay it )But wont. They should be ashamed of themselves..In a time with such uncertainty it wouldn't even hurt them to actually help out an employee who gave many good years .!!!
1/5
TrustpilotConstantly spamming me with false…
Constantly spamming me with false information and harassing me despite asking several times to stop. I’ve blocked the number as they ignored my request but now they constantly send spam letters to my door. Would never use if the last estate agent standing. I have also heard from a friend who used them that they lied about having viewings as was caught out in the action but couldn’t care less. Terrible customer service. Absolutely awful!
1/5
TrustpilotTenants - AVOID at all costs
Previous and current property rented with Connells as the agent (different branches).Still waiting to get my full deposit back 15 WEEKS after moving out, as they withheld money for fees they were not due, contravening the terms of the tenancy agreement - note that according to the terms they have to get your agreement to deduct money from the deposit, they can't just take (steal) it.New property also with Connells. The new Tenant Fees Act 2019 stops agents from charging all kinds of fees. Connells try to get around this by trying to process everything as a "change to the tenancy agreement". I have reported them to trading standards, as this is illegal.
5/5
TrustpilotExceptional Service from Chloe…
Exceptional Service from Chloe Longhurst
1/5
TrustpilotAbsolutely Discusted!!
I cannot believe the way they have treated my mum. She had asked for repairs over a year ago when she first moved in, nothing had got done. They increased the rent without any notice, and on the system the day she left was still at the original price. Everytime she tried to phone them nobody was available to deal with her. They had issued a section 21 to the wrong person. They lied about most things. I wouldn't trust Connells if my life depended on it. They need some more training on how to treat people when they are renting. Absolutely ridiculous! They are now only fixing what mum needed done because they have a court order to do the repairs!! 3 months she went without heating because nobody could be bothered to deal with her. If it was just mum in the house I wouldn't have minded that much but there was a 10 year old living there too!!
1/5
TrustpilotI had the most horrible experience with…
I had the most horrible experience with this agency from The agency from Bilstol West Midlands. Had the credit checks with 1 month before the date of the contract, but waited with 2 days before to tell me a story that the landlord is not UK and they can't rent the property. They left me on the street and I need to wait to be refunded for the feed that I have payed.Sophia Mitchell MARLA the manager started to scream at us!!! Horrible experience, horrible people!!!!DO NOT TRUST!!!!!!
1/5
TrustpilotUntrustworthy and cancelled my agreement 2 days before move leaving me homeless.
I was pushed / harassed to put a deposit down for a property to rent. I paid the deposit on the conditions that the fridge would be moved from the living room. This was agreed by the agent Rick. 2 days before moving into the property, the contract was not sent to me. I thought this was very strange. I had handed my notice into my current property already. I called the agency they said we are not proceeding with the agreement as the landlord as rejected to rent to you. This was very infuriating as the reference was all complete and good to go.Now Rick has decided to keep my deposit, due to no fault of my own. I will be seeking legal action if the deposit is not returned.
1/5
TrustpilotAvoid …
We were booked in to talk to a first time buyer mortgage adviser, they told us we could get a mortgage with a slightly higher interest rate due which we were ok with. They strongly recommended that we stopped conversation with independent mortgage advisors as it could damage our credit rating when they search for lenders, they were confident we just had to wait for them to work on our file, 2 weeks later we are told ‘no’. Poor communication and I would advise anyone to avoid Connells at all costs
1/5
TrustpilotAnyone else sick of receiving emails…
Anyone else sick of receiving emails from companies, when you go to unsubscribe you get put through to Conells who make it impossible to stop them, what an absolute joke disgrace
1/5
TrustpilotAvoid if at all possible.
Dreadful communication. Slow to take action. We feel we were tricked into taking out an expensive survey on a property we subsequently didn't buy (they accepted our offer when they shouldn't have and we felt under pressure to proceed). The day after I let them know out of courtesy (despite their lack of communication) that we had had our offer accepted on a different property (through another agent) they contacted our solicitors to tell them we were buying the property we had viewed through them! When I corrected our solicitor, he said he was having problems with them in relation to another case too.
1/5
TrustpilotAvoid Connells, otherwise will cost you a lot
Arranged to view a flat. Given the wrong information by the agent during the viewing, based on the wrong information got the flat. Attempted to dispute, pointless. They hired cheater-negotiators, who are pointless to talk to, as they will not admit the misinformation provided by their agent and would not compensate or compromise on anything despite their fault. The worst agent we across to. Stay away from them, you will only lose money, effort, time and be stressed.
1/5
TrustpilotDon’t trust them when renting! Tenant experience.
As a tenant they were terrible, I moved into a place with a broken boiler and broken sockets which had already been reported and was agreed to already be repaired a week earlier. I had to wait a further 2 weeks after moving in and persistent emails until it was actually fixed. Previous tenants left junk at the property and I was told that I would have to pay to get it removed. Terrible communication throughout the tenancy but the worst was when I found somewhere to buy and was arranging to move out. They let the landlord in the property with no notification (contract stated minimum of 24hr), had viewings without any notification (again 24hr required), and then completed an inventory check out before I’d moved out! I then requested the check out to be done again, and they submitted the IDENTICAL report with the date amended (you can see this from the images having the date and time on them). Check out report tried to take our whole deposit for nonsense reasons and had to take them to the TDS where the claim of £850 was reduced down to £75.Then submitted a complaint to Connells for their terrible service who said I can take £200 compensation but threatened that I would lose the right to take it to any ombudsman if I took the offer.I luckily stood my ground but you shouldn’t have to, just avoid it and save some hassle and money.
Where the same review appears twice we show it once. We leave out reviews that name another agent or another of the brand's offices.
