Connells Kingsheath, Birmingham reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely useless, avoid

Connells took over my Tennancy from a previous letting agent and have had nothing but hassle since. They changed my Energy provider without anybody's authorisation from landlord or myself. Then were no help in resolving this. I had to deal with a miserable renewals coordinator, who has since apparently "left the conpany", she hung the phone up on me twice and told me I was at the wrong department when I phoned then didn't bother to give me any information about who I needed to call and hung up the phone. I got passed around between all kinds of connells staff ranging from senior to team leader, no one really wanted to deal with my case and at no point was any genuine apology given or an ounce of empathy about everything. My landlord and I eventually came to an agreement on contract because connells were such a liability. They hadn't fulfilled any agent duties by this point and had the audacity to ask me for a £110 renewal fee. So I'd done every bit of work for them and they'd messed me about ten fold then they asked me for money?! They kept replying with hollow apologies and eventually knocked it down £20, I paid this to finally not have to deal with them anymore. Up until the renewal contracts they sent through had misspelled my partner's name! They are absolute shambles do not give them your time or your money

Customer · 26 January 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Worst letting agency ever. Avoid at all costs!!

Decided to rent a property with the Poole branch. We are both working professionals and have a dog, which Connells were advised of at the start of our property search and were very clear on. All went swimmingly at first, we passed the referencing, the landlady agreed to allow us to have our dog in the property, the date was set for when we were to move in and pay the deposit. That's when the trouble started. According to Connell's the landlady started making unreasonable demands on us as a tenant and the day we were to move in and pay the deposit landlady pulled out on the rental. We were left with no property to move into. Connells then immediately showed us another property in a block of managed flats (not ideal for us but better than nothing). Prior to the viewing the property particulars stated "Sorry no pets". We queried this and we advised that this was an error on the particulars and pets were accepted. Prior to agreeing the let we asked the agent to double check with the landlord that pets were definitely accepted (we actually checked multiple times) and the landlord agreed that the property accepted pets. We then moved in and after only a couple of days of moving in we then spoke to a neighbour who advised that actually the block management company doesn't allow dogs in the top floor flat. In a panic and extremely worried about this we spoke to Connells who again said yes pets are accepted but we will check again with the landlord. Cut to 3 weeks later to receiving a phone call from Connells Management in Liverpool from some random woman (Luanne/Leanne?) we have never spoken to before, we were advised that the landlord failed to check his lease properly and spoke to the Block management company and guess what! We are not able to have our dog in the property. We have been given an ultimatum by the block management company to either remove the dog or move out within 2 months. After a heated phone call with the agent we dealt with in branch in which we were basically fobbed off to speak to this Luanne person. We are both extremely angry with Connells for both their service and conduct. Their failure to ensure that the correct due diligence was carried out and that they ensured that the landlord was aware of the terms of his lease has now left us potentially homeless and also having to cough up the additional fees and deposit for another rental property. We will be complaining to their official complaints team and also The Property Ombudsman in an attempt to claim some compensation for the expenses incurred by their incompetence and also for the full return of our deposit and holding fees that we paid.

Angel · 11 January 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The most shocking service ive ever had.

The most shocking service ive ever had. About to move into a house i was informed by the cleaners that were cleaning my current property that the house smelt of cat urine. So having not signed the tenacy agreement i wanted to inspect the house . As i walked in it smelt of cat pee . I informed them im not moving in . As after 3 days of cleaning the cat smell was still there . As i paid six months up front i requested my money back. Not even a phone call back. That was 19 days ago. Cheers connells andover .

Stephen · 8 January 2019

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Delivered on promises to get viewers…

Delivered on promises to get viewers into the door. I like other local agents they had a high flow of viewings resulting in a rapid sale of my house at a very competitive sale price. Easy to deal with good communication throughout and advice.

Stuart · 15 December 2025

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

We had a great experience with Connells, particularly with Sandra Dinh. She was highly professional and answered all of our enquiries, making the renting process feel really smooth and easy. The team were also very helpful and communicated with us throughout the way. Thank you for the excellent service!

Simona · 4 October 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely horrible service

Absolutely horrible service. I rented the flat on 20 of August with Connels. After i had moved , i reported them some faults in the property. How many times i called and emailed i could not count but they did not call me back or reply my email back then i pop in the their office i tried to explain my issues. There was nobody from letting team they said and eventually! They called me back. I told her my issues and wanted to cancel my home insurance policy and she said to me "i should have canceled my direct debit without tell up anything. Can you believe that ?! Bizarre !She thought i was a young and forgein man and i did not know how it works in this country.!!" The last conversation was a week ago and i m still waiting they are going to sort it out !! ridiculous and unresponsible services. Thank for your great professionalism !!

Efe · 24 September 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Connells were used to value our…

Connells were used to value our property for our buyers mortgage. They under valued by 38,000Our mortgage company, right move, estate agents and comparable properties in the area are all in line with our agreed price.They sent a young man with a trainee child to value and now looks like the whole thing is off because our agent put a good case together with comparable properties but they won’t budge.Exceptionally incompetent and this in turn causes huge damage and distress to all involved.They did the survey for us 10yrs ago when we moved and we definitely received the results from a different house, awful experience then and awful experience now.How are they still in business considering the reviews are abysmal???

Happy · 14 October 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Company is completely disfunctional

Company is completely disfunctional, how they operate nation wide is a complete mystery. All tenants and landlords beware of them, they are more hassle than they are worth.I arranged to view a letting property in Poole, rang several times to make sure that it was still arranged and that I was still viewing the property. Now considering I live 180 miles away in Leicestershire, it's a 3.5 hour journey to the house, so I wanted to make sure it was still going ahead.Everytime I rang I was reassured that it's still going ahead, right up to an hour before... got to the house, and there were people inside (living inside)... I rang Connells and they advised that the property had been let agreed and they did not know why I was there! I had rang several times and no one had I formed me of this. 7 hours of driving in total, complete waste of time and all I got was a 'sorry for the confusion' and a 'maybe there was a miscommunication' from the person on the other end of the phone, almost like they're trying to say it's my fault!The property now says Let Agreed on the website, and the £60 I spent on petrol was wasted. Can't believe they would let someone travel 400 miles (round trip) and not tell them that the property was no longer available, even when they ring several times to make sure.The even more annoying thing is that the advert still says that there is an open day for the property later this Month, and that they need someone to move in, in August.Completely disappointed.

Chris · 7 July 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Terrible experience with Amy Tingay

Horrible experience with hall & benson. Apparently the guy who told me all the lies has now “left” the company. They did nothing to sell my house. They did not follow through with anything they said they would do. Put me a board up when I specifically requested not to do that (due to personal issues)I removed my house from being on sale with them. Fast forward a few weeks and received a debt collection letter from Connells about an EPC certificate that I hadn’t paid for. The agent who has now “left” the business. Told me I didn’t have to pay for that. I rang Amy Tingay at the debt department. Left a message, she returned my call and was the most unprofessional, unpleasant, individual. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Should have gone with my initial thoughts and given anything from this company a wide birth.

Amye · 10 October 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Comedy of errors with my property let

I was very disappointed with the service I received when letting my house through Connells. They were managing the let. It was almost a comedy of errors from start to finish. I'm not sure who was most upset, myself or my tenants. Initially I made 3 sets of keys so that the tenants had 2 sets and Connells had one. Connells managed to lose one set. The tenants asked for some things at the property (things that needed seeing to at the beginning of the let and they couldn't access the shed). This information was not communicated to me for a couple of months and then by email not phone. There was a small leak at the property and the tennants notified Connells but I was not informed. Because of this not being communicated, I was offered a refund of my management fee for that month but a couple of days later (without explanation) this offer was withdrawn. There were several other cases of miscommunication from Connells where the tenants had asked for something to be fixed and it was not passed on to myself. In the end I was forced to ask the tenants to contact me directly about repairs rather than going through Connells so I was essentially paying them a fee and managing the property myself. At the end of the tenancy things were no better. The tenants contacted me to give a date to vacate the property. I agreed this and notified Connells. Despite this, the company pursued the tenants for rent when they were no longer at the property. I asked for a repair at the property and the contractor they sent delayed and delayed. When I contacted them about this, they said that the tenants were not at the property whenever the contractor had visited. It seemed that again, despite managing the let, Connells had not been aware that the property had been vacated a month earlier. Finally, collecting my keys when ending the contract with Connells, staff at the office handed me a bunch of keys with both my keys and someone elses keys on it. Luckily I am honest and handed back the extra keys I was offered. Perhaps that's why mine went missing at the start of the let! I was not given any compensation for any of these mistakes, rather their head office managers tried to turn the blame on me instead. So glad to be shot of this company.

Amy · 28 January 2018

★★★★★ 4/5

Google

I recently arrived from South Africa for a year long fellowship and needed to find a house that was close to the hospital, fitted my budget and was suitable for dogs. Lauren was amazing. She was not perturbed by my numerous questions, nothing was ever too much trouble and she managed to get everything completed in record time so that I could move in before the Easter weekend. Thank you very much for your professionalism and kindness

Elmarie · 27 October 2019

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Great experience with Connells, St Slbans

Laura was fantastic at keeping me informed on viewings, feedbacks etc and her manner when conducting viewings was fun, bubbly and professional at the same time. Sophie was great at giving me the advice I needed for advertising and within 48 hours, I had 2 offers on the same day. Whilst that was going through she was so proactive in helping me find a new home, regardless of whether it was her instruction or another agents. Couldn't ask for more. Thank you ladies.

Nina · 18 November 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Might as well burn your money

Just left Connells. Wouldn't recommend them even if they paid me to to be totally honest and will not go back. We've have had nothing but issues with these guys in the year and bit we were with them. It's been one long road of error after error that could have easily been fixed if they'd pulled their finger out and communicated with us as tenants.They rented us a house that they knew was damp long before we moved in and that we reported SEVERAL times but they did nothing about it. We were told that "a few damp traps would sort it", which sounded fine and made it out to be a minor issue. It became apparent that there was terrible rising damp in the living room, with mould accumulating in all rooms and a big spider/insect problem due to the constant and persistent humidity. The problem only got worse and worse and Connells essentially ignored it. Repairs were hard to come by and there was little to no communication as to what was going on. We had a curtain rail fall on me and a kitchen countertop that wasn't fixed properly and nothing came of it despite reporting it. They handed us an essentially illegal notice with the wrong dates and length of notice. Correct me if I'm wrong but if the notice is wrong then it's null and void?? There was no admission of their mistake until I pressed them for some kind of explanation as to where we stood. This could have been corrected as they admitted it on the phone as a mistake after a month of stress, but not once did anybody call, email or write, or even hand us another *correct* one. This has completely confused me as to what their reasonings were and what kind of training their staff have.I will also be going into my local office to challenge the way one of their staff reviewed the property when we left. I do not appreciate being called "dirty" over ten times and essentially lazy not by anyone, let alone some letting agent. We had both of our families and ourselves clean that house for a whole day to make sure that it was clean and presentable and I have the photos to prove so. This has pretty much enraged me as it erases all the hard work everybody put in helping sort out their dump of a house.TL/DR version: don't bother. Bad conduct from a nationwide chain ruined the better part of a year. A series of errors that could have been easily sorted were ignored and left to build up, which left us in the lurch and caused much stress and irritation. Don't waste your hard earned cash and time on such an ill managed company, but it's your choice at the end of the day.

Clarke · 21 October 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Difficult, unprofessional, incompetent

After finding a property that we liked, we went ahead and decided to put the necessary holding deposit down to secure the place. We agreed the moving-in date with the estate agent, and signed the Holding Deposit Agreement for the agreed move date and rent per month. After paying the £200 holding deposit, a few days later we were called and told the move-in date was actually now 'too late' and that we needed to move in sooner so the landlord could collect the rent on the same day as other tenants. Having already booked the correct time off work and booked the moving company due to signing the document with the estate agents, already moving in 2 weeks earlier than we needed to, we were unable to do this earlier date.We were then bombarded with questions about why we couldn't move in sooner such as 'do you not have the money to pay for it yet, what’s the issue here', and after multiple phone calls from them we were finally able to keep our original move-in date; even though we were originally told multiple times before paying the £200 holding deposit the move-in date was fine.We then moved on to Vetting, where we discovered that the tenancy agreement we would be signing is 9 months long - not the 6 months told to us by the estate agent. After calling them to double check, it was 9 months and we had been told wrong, but decided we would proceed with the application anyway. A couple days later we then got a phone call by the estate agent now saying that they 'had been told wrong by the property managing company that the property is actually £50 more per month than originally listed', so the new rent was even more expensive than what we had signed and paid the Holding Deposit for. We were told we were able to have a refund on the £200 due to the incorrect listing if we no longer wanted to go ahead with the place. At this point we decided to stop with the application as we were told by the estate agent everyone else with the same landlord was paying the original price, and that the property was probably not worth that and she did not know why it had been raised or 'incorrectly listed' by the managing company. We then asked for a refund which was due back within 5 working days. At the end of 5 working days with no £200 back in my account we rang them to find out where our money was. We were told the person who processed the refund was on holiday, but they would try and find out what had happened to it. After another few days we rang back only to be told we had to wait for the regional manager to in to ask them where our refund was, and they could not find any record of the original refund. We then contacted Connells Head Office who emailed the Connells accounts department, who said they did not have record of the refund, so it had not been processed by the estate agent. There was a clear lack of communication between staff, and we were told how the refund was 'definitely progressing' whilst being given many excuses about where our money actually was.After calling them almost every day to find out where our money was, it took a MONTH to get the £200 back; not 3-5 working days as originally promised! Please ignore the 5 star reviews below written by Connells employees, and avoid this estate agent and save yourself the hassle!

Paignton · 6 October 2017

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

The team in Horley branch of Connells…is exceptional!

The team in Horley branch of Connells have been exceptional in handling the sale of our property. Nothing was too much trouble, helped when we weren’t sure of a procedure and the patience we experienced from everyone in the team was exceptional! If you offered six star rating we would give it. For a young team to show such a degree of patience towards the elderly is outstanding. From us a big thank you which doesn’t seem adequate.

Carole · 28 October 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Bristol Henbury branch

Bristol Henbury branch. Absolutely abysmal. Barely any communication, tell myself one thing and my partner another. They just throw estate agent jargon at you. The manager even told me that estate agents are ‘Solicitors representatives on earth’. They pushed us to go with Talbots solicitors as they claimed they have great lines of communication with them but this was just another lie. It’s been EIGHT months since we started the buying process with them and our mortgage offer is about to run out. Still not moved.

Mel · 27 September 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Great job

My wife and chose Connells to market and hopefully sell our property for us. From the initial valuation through to the completion of our eventual sale and purchase - Stephanie and the team at Connells were fantastic. They were all professional, courteous, calming and extremely knowledgable about the property market in our area. There were no over exagerated pricing expectations and this allowed us to be realistic about what we could achieve from our sale.Stephanie and team at Connells replied to phone calls and queries very quickly - even out of office hours if needed, and were always on hand to give great advice. They were a pleasure to work with and we would happliy recommend them to anyone looking to sell their property.

Simon · 30 May 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

they are unbelievable

they are unbelievable. Im very disappointed about how connells are handling us as tenants. Firstly, the transition into this property went anything but smoother, with the real estate providing us with the wrong set of keys resulting in us being locked out of the property with nowhere to go on a Friday night. We were not provided with an apology or explanation and it was left to us to fix. Further, we have been here since December. Initially on our check sheet for any issues with the property, we stated that the blinds in the second room were not installed. We were told this would be chased up as soon as possible. After several more weeks past we had an inspection in which I stated to the inspector the blinds have still not been installed in the second room. I was told this would be chased up with the owners. A few more weeks passed and I put in a form online through the Connels repairs website, to which i received an email saying this would be chased up immediately, but this once again was never followed up with me. Today I have made a phone call, once again to the real estate agent in maidstone about the blinds and have been told, once again, this would be chased up immediately. We have been living here for 4 months and still we have no blinds. Why is it so hard to fix what is supposedly their responsibility to fix, I can only report it so many times. the issue is still progressing till now that I'm writing this.

Vinska · 18 April 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Poisonous Company, Avoid at all costs!

I don't want to go ito too much detail but as first time buyers Connells though they could take advantage of our small knowledge of how mortgages work and prices.After going through their mortgage broker (£499 fee) because we were pretty much forced to go through them we were given quotes for home insurance and life insurance. These were said to be 'great deals', luckily I have worked in home and my partner if life and instantly said 'no' as the prices quote were astronomical.Once we were not looking to go with the quotes, the adviser instantly turned bitter and starting ramming all the paper documents into a folder. She had already ripped us off with the broker fee so she got some commission at least.What does the broker do you ask? nothing, absolutely nothing. It does NOT make it easier as they say that they will be doing all the chasing and everything will go through them. Not a chance, we had to chase everything after being given wrong pricing information, wrong forms were sent and wrong names were quoted.We have since lodged a big complaint which has been returned with a slap in the face of £45 compo and a sarcastic letter saying they are 'puzzled' at our claim.I can assure i will respond this this and if needs be go to the ombudsman as all i can say of Connells is that they are unprofessional, blaggers and estate agents in general should be more tightly regulated like the banks as they get away with everything. We will never be going through Connells again and cannot warn people enough!!

Mitch · 31 March 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

"Smoothly" process could cost my family's life!!!

The worst experience ever. They told me that house its ready to live... All ready in 3 month we spend 10000 for repair. Roof and rest. When I ask them early for full building survey thay offer that as thay can booking it for me. Survey was but not full. With out electrican and gas safe check... One day before completion thay provide me first title insurance policy coverage for known risk, and told me that insurance what ex owner get for me coz he did not have safe checks. One month earlie I told them if owner will be not happy to pay for safe checks, Im ready to do that. Coz safe of my family its more worth than 130 £. So, they keept me waiting and after cuplle months they provide me insurance with out any explain how this insurance gona work... Never use them service agane. One thing what they care its to take yours money.. much as they can. 3 weeks ago all my family get carbon monoxide poisoning. Boiler installation from 12.2015 was absolutely ridiculous what gas safe inspector said thats why gas flue from boiler get disconected cupple months earlie..... Defenetly house ready to live!!!

Iwona · 27 February 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

So firstly,one of the staff had laughed…

So firstly,one of the staff had laughed saying it would be a miracle if i passed referencing. I explained my situation with having 2 step children who live with me part time aswell as my own child,which i was told was okay,as was asking for stuff to be removed from the property. When discussing with the landlord,he had been told i wanted everything and that i was a complete liar! Diagusting behaviour,it has led to the landlord pulling out and us now having nowhere to live. Im now worried im not going to get my holding deposit or zero deposit back.

Tiegan · 22 September 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Billy Knowles is/was the sole reason I brought through Connells. Honestly, this man is a credit to the company! Buying a house is stressful enough and even worst during this pandemic but speaking to Billy always put mind to ease. His work is very methodical, he explains everything that he's doing and he's super patient. 10/10 Thank you!!PositiveResponsiveness, Quality, Professionalism, Value

TURB · 26 October 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Extortionate Fees Charged to Tennant

Myself and my partner looked to rent a house available to let through Connels. Met the landlord at the property, got along great, he showed us around and we loved it! Great you'd think?Then the "estate agent" from Connels turned up (10 mins late), in a scruffy looking suit. We'd already seen around the property and began negotiations with the landlord regarding rent etc. We then asked the scruffy looking agent how to proceed, he began to list fees we'd need to pay for two people renting. Thee fees he listed totalled £684!!! Yup, that's Six Hundred Eighty Four pounds!! For two people to be credit checked. This is a non-refundable amount, not counted towards any deposit or first months rent. They seem to think that a Tenancy Agreement requires a £210 rewrite, and that the Tenant is liable for an "Inventory Check" (OF THE LANDLORDS PROPERTY)! There's then the fact that'll require a further £114 every SIX MONTHS to "renew/extend" a contract. Absolute rip off merchants, and no wonder the government has to get involved to stop agents extorting fees from tenants! Connels, you're a disgrace and I for one will be glad to see government regulations in place to limit the amount you can extort from tenants.

Frogs · 17 February 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Treated like garbage

I was a customer of Connells for nearly 5 years as a tenant in one of their properties. It was bad service from day one. They lied to me about being allowed pets in the house by saying that it was fine and then changing their mind after I had signed. They refused to fix problems noticed in the inventory such as very dirty cupboards and a crack in the front window, but said should this get any worse I would be charged. The house was in an awful state when i moved in but at the time i had just moved to the area and didn't have a job. I paid 6 months rent up front and in that time got a job but Connell always treated me like a criminal in my own home. The tried to enter more than once with no notice and claimed the letter was sent despite the fact i would always call to arrange visits. There was no emergency help and i had to stay at a friends one night when the security door broke and I could not get into my home. They left me without a carpet in an unheated hallway for over a week during which time i got quite ill. They never fixed any problem i called them about and seemed to always blame everything on the landlady. They where rude to me on more than one occasion for no reason. I kept the house tidy. I always paid rent early and only ever called if I had to but was treated like rubbish by them. They seem to turn over staff at an alarming rate as i could never talk to the same person twice. When i moved out i gave over 2 months notice and received nothing back from them. A month before leaving i went in to ask if i needed to do anything and was told they had no idea i was leaving. This was very accusatory, luckily i had emailed them so i had proof. They responded with that employee had left, as if it was my fault they didn't know i was going. I ignored this and set up to leave. On the last day they set up a exit inspection which they didn't even turn up for. I waited 3 hours in a cold, empty house and then went to the branch to hand in my key. They then took nearly a month to hand back my deposit. I have been with other agencies before and can truly say Connell is not just the worst agency, but the worst company i have ever dealt with.

Hannah · 16 February 2017