William H Brown Dereham reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

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William H Brown in howden.

William H Brown in howden.I went to view a flat to rent in August, all was well, I put an application through and waited. Eager I called everyday asking if there was any news, until the 2nd of September. Which is when o got a call from the MANAGER of William H Brown telling me I had been accepted. (Baring in mind I was crying down the phone of happiness, thanking this man for the help so he could obviously see how happy I was I THOUGHT I’d got it.) Everyday after that I called asking what and when would be the next steps (again baring in mind I was asking things like when corporate do get in touch with me how long will it be until I can move in and the people at William h brown would say every time they would give me the same answer “ Corporate is now dealing with this so you will have to wait for them to call” . Until Monday the 7th when I finally called and said right this is abit silly now who is corporate and how do I get in touch with them.They then told me it goes through corporate then to a company called savilles. Savilles who where a much more professional agency then told me what was really going on and they told me I hadn’t been accepted for this flat just my application. I then called the MANAGER of William H Brown howden and he was VERY VERY RUDE! I called saying I wanted to complain as I had been lied to he rudely replied “no you haven’t cause I was the one who told you JUST your APPLICATION had been accepted if you’ve misinterpreted that that’s on you”. HE NEVER told me any information he and his team had many times to say to me “hang on you haven’t been accepted for the flat just your application” I then got angry and swore ONCE he then again was so rude and began shouting down the phone “DO YOU WANT ME TO CLOSE YOUR APPLICATION!?” Repetitively until I had to listen and say “well do you want to cancel my application because at this point it seems that’s what you want to do!!” I said to him “if you were in my position you would be acting the same way” he then rudely stopped me talking again and said “ NO YOU DONT KNOW ME SO DONT YOU COMPARE YOURSELF TO ME” as this whole conversation is going on he then again rudely stops me to SWEAR at his own staff presumably because they heard all the shouting and stopped working. This man to say he is a MANAGER was so very unprofessional! I’ve never come across such a rude, not bothered Agency ever! He also told me if I complained about him it would slow my process down to getting a flat which was a big lie!!! The only time I got any information was when I actually kicked off! And that’s only because the top company Savilles had heard of what this manager had said and they didn’t want him to represent them like that. So they took over my application and have been a massive help and very kind ever since. I CANT STRESS ENOUGH HOW RUDE THE MANAGER OF THE HOWDEN STORE WAS! He did NOT deal with the situation professionally at all! I felt I dealt with it better and I’m 23! I also had another agent from there ignore me completely as he gave me his work whatsapp contact number and just ignored me!! Very unprofessional.

RUDEHOWDENMANAGER · 10 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Worst estate agency in England

Dear friends, AVOID. AVOID AVOIDI wanted to buy a property in Askern DN6 .I went to view a property they never told me they had an offer and advertise it at £120k and after viewing I placed n offer and now they say I need to bid over £120k if I want to buy that property . So I bid £125 and my offer is accepted . Now comes the trap .They want me to pay £1200 and use their own mortgage advisor Julie Haigh and I told them I have my own mortgage advisor and as he charges no fee from me and gets commission from the Lender I won’t loose any money because if Miss Julie haighs lender denie me a mortgage deal they won’t refund me their fees and I’m stuck with William h brown .Now as soon as I say I have my own mortgage advisor they try to scare me like “ I’ll loose the property nd will never get a mortgage from my mortgage advisor. I doubted them and checked there reviews and to my shock they have 71%. 1 star And 24% 5 star rating That tells it all.I know people will still fall in there trap like I would have but I would only tell them that please change your way of practice.Most of us work hard for money but I think most of William H Brown employees tell lies nd take peoples hard earned money . Just be honest and don’t lie to ur landlords nd customers, sellers , buyers or tenants then u won’t have a single negative review..I think the people who have given them 5 stars are there friends Untill they change the way they practise AVOID Avoid Avoi Thank uNarender

Narender · 12 December 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I’ll let my review speak for itself.

Ensured the house we were viewing was of a certain standard, clean and hospitable. “Doesn’t need new carpets or to be painted, just a quick clean”. photos of different property on the listing. They called us the day before viewing and said that there was other people interested so that we would pay the holding deposit as they knew we were desperate to find somewhere. House was vile, rotten doors, dog urine on carpet, stunk and just generally in a bad state of repair. I called the next day to ask for the deposit back. They hadn’t even seen the property in 6 months. Took about 25 minutes of them trying to make me accept the property until they finally said they would refund after I threatened court action. I’m pretty sure what they did was illegal. If not then just extremely unethical. Oh and now I’m being bombarded with numerous emails, phone calls and texts a day about the property everyday. Avoid this company.

Mr · 1 July 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I recently bought a house from William…

I recently bought a house from William h brown through the corona virus period I dealt with Shelby who works there.From start to finish she was absolutely amazing and helped me and kept me up to date with the whole progress even when she wasn’t working. I can’t thank her enough for everything she did for us. I will defo be using them in the future for buying and selling any properties we have. Thank you again Shelby X

Sammy · 16 June 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

William H Brown took over the letting…

William H Brown took over the letting and estate agency I was using to rent my late parents flat.Beware, they have a Rent and Legal Protection option on their lettings contract, but if you then decide you no longer want them to manage the let for you this policy is 'non-transferable' .When I queried why this was not explained I got this response:-'All of the insurance products we sell are on a non-advised basis'so they do not want to know.To add insult to injury their 'complaints procedure' email has BLOCKED my complaint email 3 times with the following messageYour message to Customerrelations has been blocked. See technical details below for more information. The response from the remote server was:550 5.4.1 Recipient address rejected: Access denied [AM5EUR03FT003.eop-EUR03.prod.protection.outlook.com] so delaying tactics meaning I have to send it recorded delivery snail mail.A typical big company attitude, have now found out they are a subsidiary of Sequence Homes so part of the Connells group.

Lavender · 22 November 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely horrendous service

Absolutely horrendous service, all talk and no follow-through.

Ryan · 21 September 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

After recently dealing the Broxboune

After recently dealing the Broxboune, Hertfordshire branch for my Son’s first mortgage with Ricky and the purchase of his first property, my Son & I are both very happy with the level of service and Ricky’s attention to detail was second to none. He certainly went above & beyond!Ricky was extremely helpful, as not only did he explain the entire mortgage process to my Son but he gave his time and expertise to secure my Son’s purchase. I would highly recommend his services to anyone and my Son will be highly recommending him to his friends.

Vickie · 7 October 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Appalling costumer service.

Irang to try to book a viewing but all they were interested in was to offer me a broker and to get my email address. They said they will get in touch with the owner to arrange the viewing and will call me back. Nobody rang me so I called them again after two days and it was the same they said will sort out the viewing and call me back. Another two days have past and still no one got in touch about my inquiry. Appalling customer services.

Gabriel · 7 November 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely diabolical!!!

Absolutely diabolical!!!Where do I start?! The attitude and general way William H Brown deal with customers is disgusting! I pay ‘full management fee’s’ for them to manage my flat for me and they had no idea the tenant hadn’t paid any bills since living in the property for over 9 months!!!Then they lied about potential tenants in another property claiming the references had ‘passed with flying colours’ Which is an outright lie as they failed! Not only that, the guarantors failed as well!! They wanted us to agree over the phone and not even sign any paperwork....that’s how desperate and unprofessional they are.And the complaints procedure is even more of a joke....being fobbed of in the hopes we’ll just give up.DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!!!!

Natalie · 13 August 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Extremely disappointing experience with…

Extremely disappointing experience with William H Brown - Welwyn Garden City

Brikena · 28 August 2026

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I am deeply disappointed with the…

I am deeply disappointed with the service provided by WHB, which has unfortunately fallen far from the reputable company it once was. Over the past two months, I have encountered a pattern of misinformation and delays regarding the return of deposits for students who are simply trying to secure housing and move forward with their lives. Despite repeated assurances that the deposit would be released soon, there has been no progress, leaving students and their families in a challenging position.Several parents, myself included, have escalated this matter to the Ombudsman due to the unfulfilled commitments and lack of transparency. I urge WHB to reflect on the impact of these actions on students and their families, who place their trust in the company.I sincerely hope that WHB takes this feedback seriously and works to regain the trust it once commanded in the industry.

A · 30 October 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

W H Brown St Albans

W H Brown St AlbansPlease what ever you do DO NOT go to this estate agents. They lack integrity and use bullying tactics to try and get you to sell your property with them. I decided to take my property off the market with them during my cooling off period and they did so. When I later decided to go with a different agency they contacted me to tell me that I was still in a contract with them. They twist what you have said to try and keep you locked in. It's appalling behaviour and I feel victimised and bullied by them. They push you to sign a contract from when they first value your home and they never told me that there was a 20 weeks selling period if you decide to market your home with them. Please avoid the stress and choose an agent that is upfront, trustworthy and with good customer service skills.

Homeowner · 28 October 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

We made a cheeky offer on s property…

We made a cheeky offer on s property marketed with WH Brown which was accepted. One day before we were to exchange they call to say they have had a significantly higher offer. We pulled out as were not going to be bullied into paying more. The next day they call and say the buyer has pulled out. Completely underhand and dishonest. Where has this mystery buyer come from? We were lucky enough to be moving into my parents in the short term, however i feel they were hoping we would panic on the basis we would have no where to live. We were effectively in a no chain situation. The house has only now completed 6 months after this all arose, for a £1000 more than our accepted offer. Worth waiting for. Why were they accepting apparent offers so late in the chain and showing people the property when it had a buyer. Do not use. They go against every code of conduct for estate agents. Corrupt as they come.

Belle · 1 April 2019

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

time wasting agents and sellers

Lesson number 1 : Do not view a house if the agent / seller is not giving basic details such as dimensions. Lack of photos is a no no. Yes we knew all of the above, but the property ticked a few boxesWe were alert to a pumping sound from the cellar, went down to investigate and found a cellar with ( presumably), a spring running underneath. House very delapidated. Was the condition in the price? Arguably not!!The house should have been advertized more honestly. Afterall, one can hardly get builders with full order books to quote for jobs, where one has no accessTotal waste of our time

Stephen · 22 October 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Was pressurised into signing up to sell…

Was pressurised into signing up to sell my property after doing so I cancelled the agreement within 24 hours . I had paid a fee upfront which I was informed by the branch had been spent already on floor plans and photographer and EPC .The photographer rang me himself and apparently he wasn't aware he had been paid ! I wrote to head office and was informed that they had contacted the branch and instructed them to refund me in full .That was on 16th October now 26 November and no refund!! I would not recommend this company and avoid .

Carole · 26 November 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Barking

Barking: A very impolite and unhelpful property specifically Daivad and Gary. Daivad was very very rude and so unprofessional. I paid for the refereeing and my referencing went through however as per their words the landlord decided to not rent the flat to me after the referencing. They didn't pay my money back although my documents were not on fault. I would never recommend this property to anyone, as you have seen other reviews as well make sure you keep your distance from this property

S · 15 November 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Don’t even think about it...

I am a landord who made the mistake to take the full service with them. I thought they were good considering also how high their rates are but in reality they are the worst I have dealt with. Management is being done from a central office not in the same city and no one of course mentioned that when signing the contract. They have costed me more than 1k in repairs due to unacceptably late reactions after a water pipe leaked (they repaired it after a week and all the repairs walls, painting etc took them more than 3 months. Everything started moving after I gave notice to end the contract early (which is 2 months), when the manager took over. A real shame for such a big company. I made the mistake to ask them to do the check out as it was their job even after I ended early and they messed it so badly I regreted it. The only thing they are good at is finding you tenants but I am not sure I want to go back now after such a mess.

Andreas · 14 October 2018

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

One of the Best AGENCY in Uk

I saw online one rental property and I fallen in love that flat . I called straight away William h Brown to find out if it was still available. The agent Ruby H. Was very kind and helpful on the phone. My journey through to moving my new home was smooth and pleasant with William h Brown. It was one of my best day ever when Ruby called me on 27th and she said the landlord accepted my application to rent the flat . So I am living now my new home already a few days and I really Love it. Thank you very much all your help Ruby H. And also her Team Marianna P

Marianna · 11 October 2024

★★★★★ 3/5

Trustpilot

Williamhbrown

I have had a lovely experience with Williamhbrown; Gina Comerford has been very efficient and helpful. Overall there is a lack of communication throughout the office as I am due to move into a rental property next week. Yet someone from the company rang me today to ask if I was still looking for somewhere. This have been very stressful and frustrating as they should have known this information already.

Martina · 21 October 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Unbelievably rubbish is all I can say!!

The Ware branch in Hertfordshire are completely rubbish!!Where do I start?? We were unforuntate to not research agencies before we started & seemed pushed into signing up with William H Brown in Ware, Herts branch. They seemed enthusiastic & keen at the beginning showing a willingness to help us. The truth is, it's only to get you on their books! Since then we have had such poor customer service from them, my poor husband has had to constantly chase them for updates, trying to confirm viewings with them was a chore, as negotiator was hard to get hold of. They don't give you feedback on viewings of our house or even feedback from potential offers!! Communication is s***, manager & senior negotiator never available & always out of office. The rest of the staff left in the branch are so lazy they couldn't even update us on the progress of our property!Even 1 of our viewings was cancelled & they didn't even ring us to let us know, so instead we rushed out the door 1 Saturday morning assuming it was going ahead, only to be told it was cancelled when my husband rang up the following Monday!! 😡 How is that on?! Staff obviously not fit for the job! Emailed the branch manager to complain about the unacceptable poor service & communication. She seemed unapologetic, defensive & very 1 sided saying they are so busy like it's all about them 🙄 We all have busy lives aswell you know! They are all talk & no action, they are good at selling themselves as a company, but when it comes down to selling the houses, they basically let the house sell itself & wait for vendors to pick up the phone & ring them! They obviously have not got the thorough sources & database they need to be pro actively finding potential vendors, because it's been 2 months & we have only had 4 viewings. So what has been going on? Photographs are also amateur & poor quality, they are obviously not doing anything to encourage interest in customers properties. They are unprofessional & uncommitted, all they care about is your signature on the contract, then you are stuck with them for 20 weeks, which is a very long time. Please research & read reviews before you sign up to an agency & do not use this branch because you will be stuck in a trap & will not get anywhere particularly if you are keen to get the ball rolling!!!

Jo · 27 January 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

In my opinion,

In my opinion,Decided to use W H Brown based on there reputation of being the best in what they do. Got a place with a friend, was both our first time using w h brown and we viewed the place. We mentioned obvious repairs and cleaning that was meant to be done. When we got the keys and moved in we found the place hadn’t been cleaned and the repairs have not been done and they are expecting the tenants to deal with it. The property is not secure and the garden is a complete mess. Still nothing has been done about the repairs or the ongoing issues we are currently experiencing. Wouldn’t recommend them to anyone, avoid like the plague.

Peter · 28 September 2024

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

Prospective buyer doing all the work

I'm a buyer looking for my next home - I've viewed 9 properties so far - the 3 being sold via William H Brown (though 3 different offices) have all been a nightmare. It took 2 weeks and 5 phone calls to get a viewing on one property, and each time I called they insisted on trying to sell me other services first (conveyancers, mortgage advisors, renting options etc). After finally viewing the property 3 different people called me for feedback and again tried the hard sell. They're such a big company I can't avoid them but my experience with them is colouring my views of how appealing some properties are.

MH · 27 September 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Dishonest sales particulars - Failure to disclose material facts

After a 70+ mile drive to view what seemed to be the perfect house on paper - great house in need of some major updating, pictures made that clear - Great garden, very private with beautiful natural boundaries all around and not at all over looked by anyone.The house was empty and the agents had said we could look around the garden and have a look through the windows whilst we waited for the chap who was booked to show up around. We were wow'd by the back garden as it was a great size and so private. We were very excited and happy to have found a gem and were eager to get inside.Then the agent arrived and proceeded to tell us in a matter of fact way that a 1/3 of the garden was not included in the sale and would be sold off separately with outlined planning consent to build 4 new detached houses. That one sentence totally change the houses standing and took away all the privacy that is currently enjoyed by the property. We proceeded to view the house but made it very clear at that point that this information should have been in the sales particulars and in the online advertising details. We also said our offer would be drastically reduced if we were to make one.We decided that we liked the house and could accept the smaller garden but felt the price to high made a few offers that we were prepared to pay. Our offer was rejected so we walked away - A quick google search shows this house has been on the market on and off since 2013 with the same furniture inside, so we came to the conclusion the seller is unrealistic and decided to walk away.We wrote off a complaint to William H Brown asking why they hadn't given prospective buyers the information about the garden and they didn't feel it necessary as the agent was happy to inform people as they viewed. 4 detached houses being built in the garden and they don't feel buyers have the right or need to know prior top arriving at the house?An estate agent has a legal and moral duty to give any such information out that they have that can affect a buyers decision prior to them becoming financially involved. I might add, the ombudsman has stated that a buyer becomes finally involved when they turn the ignition key in their car and drives to view a property.Will Cross - Compliance Controller at William H Brown (Connells Group) decided against my complaint because he didn't feel the property was misrepresented and the fact that we made two offers backed that up.We did make an offer, our first offer was 60k below guide, and our second and final was 35k below guide.It transpired that Will Cross was looking at the photographs and his reasoning was only the areas of garden included in the sale were shown. Bagshaws Residential who are also part of the Connells Group tried to sell this house at auction and failed - Again, this is listed on Rightmove with all the garden pictured, even the areas that aren't included in the sale. This is the place we first found the house.. So they are reviewing.Both William H Brown and bagshaw residential are selling this house and they are also selling the land - They have a total of 4 adds between them on right and not one of these agents have mentioned 4 detached houses are to be built in the garden. William H Brown have since added an agents not to say the boundaries are being redefined - Yet they do not note planning has already been granted to build 4 detached houses in the garden.Yet Will Cross of the Connells Group does not believe this property is being misrepresented.It also needs to be said, they haven't sold this house and have failed the owner also by thinking it acceptable to let buyers know when the view and not allow them to decide before they arrange to view.

Philip · 26 June 2017

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

Don't Even Bother

Current tenant in a property managed by William H Brown. Landlord is what you would call rogue and flat out refuses to carry out basic maintenance tasks as well as essential electrical safety items. This agency are not interested in helping in the matter. Rather they are happy to collect your money via the rent paid and allow bad practices to carry on. If you're a rental prospect or even a potential buyer, steer well clear as they are only interested in your wallet rather than your standard of living.

M · 6 April 2016