Every review we hold for the Broadland office, from every platform, shown as written. First names only.
★★★★★ 2/5
TrustpilotNot telling about fees, keeping deposit for long time
Last year I was quite desperate to rent a 3 bed house within a month and all available in the are were with William H Brown.I liked the property so I paid the fees (equaling to nearly a month's rent) and was sure that all that was left to pay was the deposit and rent bit when I came back to sign the agreement I was told that I had to pay extra for the property check by 3rd party, which turned out to be part of William H Brown. When I refused I was told that I would lose the fees paid so far.When I moved in I got the details of the energy suppliers from the landlord but I started getting phonecards from completely different supplier. They said that the agency switched to them and I had to pay them. They were blocking my switching process stating that they had to finish their switch first and it took them 3 months. I paid £120 more than I was would paid with any different supplier for the electricity and gas. After they finally let me switch I was paying £47 a month less.Of course when I called William H Brown they said that they had right to do it and didn't have to let me know.I moved out of the property on 02/04/20. I agreed with landlord for some deductions to be made on 20/04/20 and the email was sent to the agency straight away. It is 19/05/20 and I still haven't received my deposit and they do not answer the phone :/Summarising:- they do not tell you about all the fees- they change the supplier without letting you know to the most expensive one- they do not release your deposit within reasonable time- they are nice when you come to them first time but when you phone them they want to get rid of you quickly being rather not nice and not interested in helping you.
Michal · 19 May 2020
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotSeldom bother to respond to phone calls, messages or emails
Have tried to deal with 3 different branches of this company when buying properties (their branches seem to cover very small areas in the same vicinity) and all of them just do not bother to reply to messages, phone calls and emails. We now don't bother going any further if we see attractive properties to purchase. So much easier to deal with responsive agents.
Daisy · 9 January 2023
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotAvoid at all costs
CLACTON ON SEAWould avoid letting from WHBrown at all costs. Dishonest, unhelpful, with a clear lack of communication between agents and tenants. Many calls and complaints, and a year down the line, nothing had been addressed or fixed. Each time you contact the agent it seems a different person was responsible for dealing with tenants. Customer/tenant satisfaction is not a priority for the agents at all, it seems as long as the rent is paid, they’re quite happy to conveniently forget about you.All in all, I wouldn’t trust them to manage my sock drawer.
James · 3 May 2020
★★★★★ 5/5
TrustpilotHighly recommended
We sold our property with William H Brown in Hertfordshire in April 2019, I cannot praise James and Dan highly enough for their professional approach from the beginning which was reassuring and greatly appreciated. They were always able to answer any questions etc that we had of which there were many. During the course of our sale we had contact with all the members of staff in this branch who worked very hard to complete a successful sale on our behalf, we are very grateful for their hardworking and professional approach, I would have no hesitation in recommending them to anyone.
Michelle · 29 April 2020
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotI would not trust this agent
I would not trust this agent. My partner and I put in an offer for a house which was accepted and taken off the market. A day later someone else walked into our local shop, apparently distressed and insisted they had to buy the house instead due to a family matter which I won't disclose (breach of confidentiality I think on their behalf?)Our offer was then declined and we were not given the chance to increase our offer. I believe the definition is gazumping but William H Brown reassured us that this wasn't the case?! Don't trust them.
Amelia · 10 March 2020
★★★★★ 1/5
Trustpilot1 Star is extremely generous...
Wish I didn’t even have to rate this company 1 star. The most incompetent group of employees and business as a whole that I have EVER dealt with. After responding to an email within their set time period regarding renewing a tenancy agreement, they proceeded to ignore the reply and not send the contract. 2 months down the line and after endless amounts of chasing we are finally sent the contract to sign. Yet since signing the contract there have been FIVE separate phone calls asking to arrange viewings of the house and EVERY time we have said we’ve to signed the renewal agreement. Their response? Pure lies every single time saying they’ve taken the house off the market during each call, evidently not, so why lie? So it goes quiet, they’ve finally taken it off the market... NOPE.... an estate agent and three people turn up UNANNOUNCED asking to look round the house. Two weeks later, ANOTHER phone call asking for a viewing today to which we have been categorically promised the house is now off the market, 3 months after thinking they’d done so. Let’s see if the saga continues. Been many many other problems with a friend’s William H Brown house too including them not even having the keys nor obtaining the relevant safety certificates to his house two weeks after the tenancy agreement started and simply being told to stay in a hotel for the night. So please, do yourself a favour and avoid putting yourself through the stress of these incompetent people who could not care less about anything other than turning up to the office for a pay cheque...
Anon · 12 February 2020
★★★★★ 5/5
Trustpilotmany thanx to all at william h brown
many thanx to all at william h brown. worksop, just brought my dream house at a bargain price, i decided to move to the chesterfield area last october to be more of a help to my elderly mum, thats when i was going to purchase a 2 bed terraced house on derby road for 100k through blundells of chesterfield, that was until the bad floods in november when i found out that the house was in a flood area, blundells was not honest with me and very unhelpful, so i decided, to look elsewhere, and by luck i saw a 3 bed house in worksop being sold by william h brown for the same money so by spreading my wings and being prepared to travel that bit further , i gained a lot more than i thought, and from the very first day i notice a difference in the estate agents, blundells was not very honest and would not recommend them whereas william h brown was totally, the opposite, very helpful, and most important they would always pass on any messages that you leave and always return the call, that i find so polite, i would always reccommend william h brown to both buyers and sellers, the whole team was excellent and can not be faulted in any way, my biggest thanks must go to liam he was a great help, me i got a great bargain, so i m over the moon, more than i can say with blundells at chesterfield my complaint is now with the property ombudsman,
Betty · 12 February 2020
★★★★★ 1/5
Trustpilotworst agency ever STAY AWAY !!
worst agency ever took money for a renewal contract and a week later told me that it can not be done since they didn't looked proper in to a new law passed. 25 days had been passed and no refund was done yet but only promises that it will be from the stuff... Me as well as the landlord are really upset and he changed the agency already. Also they will try all the time to push for 6 months contract collecting fees each time! I did a screenshot of the emails sent and conversations of my landlord as well complaining about their lack of knowledge of the law!!! They go by William H Brown Estate Agent. Stay away!!!
Radu · 10 February 2020
★★★★★ 2/5
TrustpilotInept
I have used this company to both manage a rental property and to sell one...neither were good experiences.In relation to the rental side they had to be reminded on several occasions to conduct routine checks on the property. During these checks they should of picked up on the fact the occupier had ruined the carpets by allowing unauthorised dogs to urinate all over the place. The stink had gotten into the floor boards and required rectification when I got the tenant out to sell it. At no point during their checks did they tell me how bad things had gotten inside.Additionally on three occasions they took more money in fees than authorised and kept blaming accounts. My father has had similar issues when he used them to manage. He doesn't any more.In relation to selling it was a poor service.They over valued the property and this meant it sat without viewings for months. I was assured it was the right valuation and told the market is just slow. After losing patience I instructed them to bring the price down 15k in line with similar properties on that road. I then got a sale within days.Additional farces included them telling me I had an offer and going through the bargaining process with the buyer only to discover it was not actually my property they had viewed! They also delayed proceedings with my eventual buyer by telling the surveyor they needed to get hold of the tenant to arrange convenient times. There had not been a tenant in there for several months. This only came to light when the surveyor contacted me to speak to the non existent tenant.They also lost the keys on two occasions and one viewing was conducted by climbing into the garden window.They also appear to churn through staff as agents seemed to change on about 5 occasions. And to cap it all off they are now chasing me for under paying the fee as apparently someone in accounting team told my solicitor the wrong amount.In short a bunch of inept clowns....avoid
Dennis · 7 February 2020
★★★★★ 1/5
Trustpilot5 months of lunacy from these people
5 months of lunacy from these people. Zero communication. Zero anything. Appointments not booked in, 4 hour journey wasted due to informing me I had a viewing when no one was aware of it at all. Meanwhile I was being reminded of appointments I'd previously cancelled. Finally released from contract it took another agent to inform me I had been a month after the fact. 4 complaints to head office to get absolutely nowhere. Totally appalling service and that's an understatement. They are pointless, stress inducing and getting paid for it.
Nolite · 4 February 2020
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotBad customer service, no communication and not at all proactive
From week one I had to email my estate agent at least twice before I got a response. Even when four or five people were copied on the email, none of them replied. Communication and updates were non existent, apart from calling to schedule the odd viewing that they procured. At no point did we receive any marketing reports or feedback on any efforts that they had made, if they even made any. We were repeatedly asked if we wanted to reduce the price, no effort was made whatsoever to refresh the marketing or increase efforts proactively to actually try and sell the property. The agent we met wasn’t willing to negotiate the fee hardly at all. Be warned, they also have a 28 day notice period which is ridiculous. When they have failed to be successful in selling a property, they should not make you stay with them for another month while they sit on the property and do nothing.
C · 30 January 2020
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotTerrible Customer Service
My friends and I travelled all the way to Scunthorpe from London to view a property which details was confirmed by agency staff "Rebecca" via email a few days prior to the viewing and text message the day before viewing.When we were in front of the property at the viewing time I called the office to find out when they were coming to show us the property but person on the phone asked me "is the viewing today?" when I replied yes she put me on hold and then said "the viewing has been cancelled" without giving me a reason.Then we visited their office and asked Rebecca why we were not informed about the cancellation? she replied just now it has been cancelled, but when we said we didn't see any signboard in front of the property she kept on apologising which was not acceptable because they knew we were coming from London. Later on we spoke to the manager and she was saying "vendor cancelled the viewing after we called" we could tell they were not telling us the truth, she was apologising too. They do not have any professionalism in their customer service. They don't know how to serve the customer even Manager she just apologising but did not acknowledge we came from London. They did not follow any policy for cancelling a viewing. We gave our time, effort, took time off from work, and drove 4 hours to view this property only but everything was wasted.
Imdad · 29 January 2020
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotVery poor communication
The head office and local branches don’t communicate. Both asking us to ring them and no communication between them both. We are buyers and they have been very poor with us. I would never sell with them, ever. Be very wary.
Mrs · 3 July 2024
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotDisgruntled first time buyer..
I have just been in the process of purchasing my first home which is supposed to be an enjoyable experience. I went on a couple of viewings and found a house I really liked and notified the estate agents of this. Initially, the mortgage advisor and other staff member contacted me regularly at their convenience when they were getting me to place an offer or having me make a payment.From that point I heard nothing from them (unless you include the answerphone message they have as they never returned any recalls I asked I asked them to). I was constantly chasing them for updates to which they did not reply to, and received more updates from the seller of the house than them.On my completion date I heard nothing from them. I had to ring them, got told that the two people who were dealing with my case were not there but that she could pass me the keys. I was allowed to collect the keys without ID because she “recognised my voice” which raises concern.They supplied me with conveyancers who have missed basic details including windows that don’t close and a faulty washing machine propped up on garden stones. They also supplied me with solicitors who provided me with even less contact (hard to believe) than they did.I have ended up in a home which is filthy beyond words, and quite frankly unliveable. The house buying process has been endless stress for me and it’s nowhere near being over. I’ll be lucky if I’m living there before the end of this year, and even then the smell of cat wee will still be fresh in my nostrils. If you want to pay over the odds for a house and then thousands of extra pounds making it liveable, William H Brown are the ones to call.
Siobhan · 18 January 2020
★★★★★ 1/5
Trustpilot0 STARS
I agreed to use this letting Agent to rent my property in Essex in 2016 as i was overseas attending to a sick relative and I wish i had left the property empty. This Agent put tenants in to my property that were unemployed despite telling me they were employed. I specifically said i did not want tenants with a dog, They put tenants in with a dog. They changed the utilities without my consent. They added additional clauses to the contract without consulting me in writing. They reduced the deposit without my consent. The tenants went into arrears and my two year nightmare began. The courts and baliffs eventually evicted the tenants. I normally do my own vetting without an issue in 20 years. Had i used this agent to manage the property they would never have put these tenants into the property. I could have found better tenants if i stood on the high street with a sandwich board on my back. These are the lowest of the Low.
M · 17 January 2020
★★★★★ 2/5
TrustpilotUnreliable home support service.
I rented a house through them one year back , agent was fine , initially every thing went well and then I got a phone call from them saying that they they a home assist wing, TILI or some thing?? And they introduced me to a company for internet and electricity , both of these are very costlier than others,which I didn't recognize by then, my internet is with home telecom comparing others they are atleast 30 to 40 percentage costly.I wonder why will.h introduced me to these people.
Jemshad · 9 January 2020
★★★★★ 5/5
Trustpilot5* for the Rainham office
We would like to thank Luke, Jerome and Bradley for their help in selling our property. Excellent communication throughout the whole process, would highly recommend. Mr and Mrs Blackwell
Glenda · 22 November 2020
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotNot even worth 1 star
Not even worth 1 star, they have advertised our house for nearly 12 months, we have had viewings where people have come to the house only to find out whb have advertised the house at one time £50000 less than we asked, and today at £25000 less than we asked, Jessie who is the "senior sales" is rude, unhelpful, talks over you won't listen, and blames everything on us, absolute diabolical , my wife assures me that she didnt drop the price but "jessie " is adamant we did, Rude , incompetent and useless about sums them up, think twice before using them
Kate · 13 December 2019
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotDo not sell with WHBrown
I asked WHBrown to remove my property from the market within the 14 day cancellation period, that was 2 months ago and I am still waiting for it to be removed despite having emailed and called more times than I can remember. The reason for wanting to take my property off the market is because they did an awful job with the advert and after I kept asking them to change stuff they either didn't do it or only changed 5% of what I asked. The pictures are bad and floor plan isn't 100% correct. Once you sign that contract they basically don't want anything to do with you.
Hannah · 20 November 2019
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotTenancy service
I have been in touch with Sequence the home tenancy team that are there to make sure all runs smoothly. Since moving into my house 1 month ago, I have yet to have a washing machine. I reported it and have had to chase, chase and chase again to get an answer about what is happening. When calling, I always ask for someone to give me feedback but that doesn't happen. Would not recommend this service at all.
Sally · 30 July 2020
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotAppalling & unlawful practice
I wish I had read other reviews before renting from them. They tried to deceive me, blame me for their errors and sent threatening emails asking me to take the financial burden for their remarkable lack of professionalism and unlawful practice. They messed up my contract, which they acknowledged in writing, however afterwards they refused that they did so. I ended up seeking legal advice to ensure protection of my rights as a customer and as it seems they conducted several legal violations. I believe this company should be seriously investigated. No one, landlord or tenant should go through the financial and emotional distress I went through because of their misconduct.
Anto · 30 October 2019
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotThe agent assigned to us was creepy...
The agent assigned to us was creepy and aggressive. When we first went to look at properties he asked if we’d agree to sit in our car to talk while avoiding the rain. He then led us to HIS car (one with no back doors) and essentially trapped us there while we signed the papers. When we raised questions he went into a long, uninterruptible spiel about how William H Brown are different to other estate agents because they deal with ‘people like us’ and how if we didn’t accept this offer we could end up in a situation where we had to abandon our pets (?). He then proceeded to call me (and not my male partner) constantly during work hours, trapping me in conversation for half hours at a time and trying to upsell insurance.I seriously hope that this is not behaviour encouraged by the company, and once we are moved in I plan to make a formal complaint.
Errol · 29 October 2019
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotTHEY ONLY CARE ABOUT YOUR MONEY NOT YOU
The agency doesn't care about you or your financial problems. Especially if you're not British, they will always call you to pay the rent (if something unexpected happens) every day depsite if you got studies or work even though they can see clearly you've always been paying the rent. Doesn't bother to fix anything. Horrible attitude and clearly talks with you as if you are an dumb immigrant. Continuous attempt to trespass to your property because "they can" even thought by law they need to get tenants permission to do so or at least warn about the visit day before not couple hours beforehand. This agency hasn't attempted to fix anything and if you try mention how it took 4-6years to "fix" the walls,replace carpet in the kitchen with an actual wooden floor, they will say "no excuses will prevent you from paying the rent" or "not our problem sorry". Basically for the amount of money you pay for the rent you won't get anything in return because that's how greedy they are.Stop mistreating people from EU. Stop being a racist, dysfunctional agency and get a grip that some people get financial issues. Don't just ignore us with your pathetic attitude. You are a greedy, scummy agency that does not deserve to be distributed across UK.
Aistė · 28 October 2019
★★★★★ 4/5
TrustpilotWilliam h brown - Barking
Saw the estate agents mentioned in an evening standard article about affordable London property and googled the office. Was difficult to find parking but tube was close. Got shown 4 properties which matched our criteria and budget and ended up bidding and buying the 2nd one. Initially dealt with the manager Geoff, but Luke did almost all our legwork. They were really friendly and their advice turned out to be the best we had, helping us to buy within budget.
Jessica · 28 September 2019
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.
