William H Brown Colchester reviews

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

I would not recommend William H Brown

I would not recommend William H Brown. There is a complete lack of organisation between contractors and William H Brown, meaning there are long delays everytime there is a problem with the house. If you don't continually call the office they seem to end up forgetting the problem.A few problems we have had:1. Promised a removal of a bunkbed before moving in- took 6 weeks once moving in to change to single. William H Brown never removed the old bunk bed- so now we have an old mattress and wooden remains in our house.2. We were left without heating when it was snowing for 5 days. Clearly no sense of urgency from William H Brown (even after many calls)3. Monthly emails detailing that we haven't paid the rent. Every month we call and there is an error. They promise to remove this error on a monthly basis. They have not removed this error after 6 months.

Bethany · 30 March 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Timely response to email/messages made every step/ stages of the renting process to seams easy . All thanks to Jack and his team

Oikhe · 27 December 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Shocking service full of lies and incompetence

William H Brown, MildenhallBuying this house should had been straight forward, especially as the seller was purchasing an empty house themselves. However this being in September 2020 we all thought this would be complete by December 2020, how wrong were we!Recently I finally pulled out of my purchase after 6 months of constant lies, no call backs, no updates, various stories from the agent.In their own words (and this is word for word from Becky that works there) "we only advertise and hold the keys, we just leave the solicitors to it"Wow, for an industry that involves commission you would think it would be the estate agents best interest to make sure the property they are selling all goes through?!?!?!Many occasions I was told I would receive an update, however several times over a week went by before I would have to chase myself.Daryl asked for my solicitors details after 5 months into the purchase, even though he had an email trail with my solicitor....Recently I asked the question if the resident would move into a family members house or rented while the sale progressed, I was told by Daryl that he had no family nearby and renting was out the question as the owner had a child. However, a week later I instructed my solicitor to pull out and in less than 24 hours Ben (the manager) called and advised the owner would move into a family members house or would I let him rent the property from me. Somehow suddenly the owner had family locally, a lie has been told somewhere there.Ben then also made me aware that there were works taking place at the buyers house they were purchasing, this was news to me and I questioned why has this only been brought up etc, I received the reply "it doesn't matter". Absolutely shocking answer to receive!Other examples of incompetence, passing my details to the wrong solicitor twice! I had already gave my details and the purchase was underway, however 3 months later the same incorrect solicitor got in touch with me, my details had been passed over twice by William H Brown.Daryl informed me that some document had been sent twice in December to my solicitor, this was 100% untrue as the documents eventually come mid January and were in fact signed and dated January.I would never recommend this estate agent to purchase through, I wouldn't dare sell through them as it would mean paying for their 'service'.Furthermore I was purchasing this property to let out, surely the estate agent would want to give a good impression so that I would consider (not that I would) using them as a management company. On another recent occasion I asked to view an additional property for myself and my fiance. I called Daryl on the Friday who said viewings were taking place on the Saturday, however he would arrange something for me.On the Saturday my fiance called and spoke to Tom, he was only capable of taking details and message as Daryl was currently at the viewings.Wednesday came and neither of us had received a call to which my fiance called and spoke to Daryl. Apparently Daryl had no details given and no apology was given as to why she wasn't called. On the same call she was then told an offer had been accepted!As for myself, I called on the Thurs/Fri and asked Daryl when my viewing would be. Daryl seemed to had forgotten I wanted a viewing and informed me an offer had been accepted.Right there you see 2 people called for a viewing and neither were called back, 1 was told an offer had been accepted while the other had to find out 2 days later even though they had called first.Again this is clearly an example of "we just advertise and hold the keys"

Daniel · 26 March 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Mildenhall office

Wanted to view a property as first time buyers, had the money to spend.. even would of gone over the asking price but the so called agent ( Daryl ) did everything possible to not let us view the property until we had spoken to “Their” broker. When we said no as already have it sorted then we was told we have to show an AIP just to VIEW the property! Which is completely false information !! I honestly thought this kind of pressure selling tactics and anything to up their commission died in the 80s along with there cut throat slimy image. Complaint has been made with head office but I don’t hold any hope of them changing ! No wonder the properties they represent in mildenhall have been up for sale for an extremely long time causing the vendors they so call look after to reduce asking prices. But this won’t make any difference if agents are blocking genuine buyers from just viewings !! Agents need to be re educated and dragged into 2021 !!

Mr · 24 March 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Swaffham Branch

Cannot fault the team who handled our sale.Special shout out to Bradly and Tony.Very pleasant and professional service from start to finish.From Natasha who valued the property who convinced me our house was worth more than I thought.They sold our house to the first buyer in the door within 2 hrs of it going on the market :-)They also acted as a buying agent for us for our ongoing purchase (without charging more) negotiating on our behalf and achieving a discount and taking away a lot of the stress.Through to the property progression team who always kept us informed along the way.We were in a pretty stressful chain that unfortunately collapsed at one point due to someone in the chain pulling out at the last hour before completion, but Bradly was fantastic, speaking to the people in chain and getting everyone to take some breathing space whilst the chain was linked up again, which fortunately happened a week later.I really cannot fault the level of service that we received and would not hesitate to use them.Thank You William H Brown Swaffham

Matt · 10 March 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

William H Brown Dinnington

From start to finish they provided a fast efficient professional service. We dealt with Jane and Elle and both were excellent. Our buyer was constantly contacting them with questions (daily at some points) and they handled this excellently, kept us informed and our buyer happy making the process as smooth as possible. If the other estate agents in the chain had been as good we would have had a stress free sale and purchase. Cannot recommend them highly enough. Would happily use again

Richard · 22 February 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Jack was incredibly polite and helpful during my letting process. He was always willing to answer questions and simplified the whole process for me. Recommended.

Joe · 23 October 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

The agency is very reliable and a pleasure to deal with. Hannah has been so kind, professional and supportive. Thank you for a great service

Anna · 23 October 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Good service throughout. Seamless process for us moving home. Special thanks to Hannah for facilitating our move.

Daniel · 21 July 2025

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Jack Percival has been amazing helping me and my partner find a new property. We appreciate it alot. :)

Saffy · 25 February 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Shout out to Harry Hicks at Colchester Branch!

My wife and I recently got a rental property through William H Brown Colchester office. Harry Hicks is such an amazing guy. Quite a patient, helpful, sound and honest gentleman. Took us to view more properties than originally scheduled after listening to understand what our budget and needs were. Was able to explain in detail what paperwork was required, how long things could take and this helped us plan adequately for our move. So if you're new in Colchester, go to William H Brown. Well done Harry, we'll go out for a drink when the pubs are open again.

Femi · 17 November 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Went with William H Brown for my first move and had the pleasure of having Charley assist us, could not have asked for better help, really friendly and incredibly helpful. Had the misfortune of a landlord changing their mind about having me and my partner as a tenant, Charley and Tommy were apologetic and instant in their response and ended up finding us a nicer home in the same area for the same price. Highly recommended, thank you again Charley!PositiveResponsiveness, Quality, Professionalism, Value

Mycool · 10 November 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Hannah went above and beyond to help us find our first rental property! We had no idea what we were doing and she was so patient and took us through everything at our own pace. She checked in with us and helped us after we moved too with things that really aren’t in her job description so we are so grateful to have had her dealing with us!

Charley · 23 October 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Would Never Reccomend

Agency was very difficult to communicate with. The person handling our case was never available and messages to them were never passed on. Our landlord told them to release our deposit in full straight away and it took them 5 weeks to get it to us. This was with many phone calls and emails inbetween which received little response. Our landlord actually moved to a different agent part way through the year because of how difficult they were to deal with. Many friends have had negtive experiences with W H Brown too so I am aware that this is not a one off. Would never reccomend.

Abi · 17 October 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I have been searching for rental…

I have been searching for rental property in Essex for weeks now and have found the whole process frustrating and very irritating. Many estate agents seem very unprofessional and don’t even have the decency to call you back or let you know you didn’t successfully get the property. In my experience, It appears there is so much demand they have become complacent and lazy, developed poor people skills and don’t deserve the easy business they close. As a guy with a 20 year sales/ management background I have found many of them well below par. However, Harry was a likeable, friendly and helpful guy who couldn’t do enough to help me with my property enquiries. His communication was on point and he always got back to me. I cannot recommend him or his company highly enough. Thank you for all your help Harry. I got there in the end !

Mark · 15 October 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

We rented out our house recently thru WHB and it has been a real pleasure working with them to get this sorted. Emma, Hannah and Jack have been really helpful during the whole process and were always a phone call away to get thing sorted. Kudos to the team.

Mukund · 21 December 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

WH Brown Colchester is probably the best in town.

WH Brown Colchester is probably the best estate agent in the town. Pound for pound i know its tough, but they clearly know their game in a very rough and highly competitive ever changing environment. Mr Phillip Lay-Flurie is one of the best agents I've come across and I am pleased that he has become a partner of the local branch.They're worth their weight in gold and the low cost sales mediums don't stand a chance against the real thing I'm afraid.

AVeryPrivateGentleman · 21 September 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Yell

"WH Brown (Colchester) is probably the best in town".

WH Brown Colchester is probably the best estate agent in the town. Pound for pound i know its tough, but they clearly know their game in a very rough and highly competitive ever changing environment. Mr Phillip Lay-Flurie is one of the best agents I've come across and I am pleased that he has become a partner of the local branch. They're worth their weight in gold and the low cost sales mediums don't stand a chance against the real thing I'm afraid.

AnthonyK-138 · 21 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Colchester Culver Street Branch.

Colchester Culver Street Branch.Beyond appauling. Criminal at best with absolutely zero morals. The branch took a 500 deposit and entered a reservation agreement with me after my offer was accepted by the vendor. Paperwork was then send over with incorrect solicitors on, my name spelt incorrect, wrong purchase price etc etc. Two days later I return a missed call to be told 'the vendor had accepted a higher offer'. Complete breach of the reservation contract. No apology or follow up. There only suggestion to me was 'the other offer is significantly more, you can try and beat it'I would strongly advise you disregard attempting to buy any property through these crooks.

Sam · 15 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

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

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Very pleased, excellent service.

Caroline · 3 April 2026

★★★★★ 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

Google

Jack Percival has been excellent and professional. Thank you for helping me find a home.

Igwe · 26 March 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Hannah is really good in her job, she is patient, accommodating and a good listener.

Emmanuel · 26 March 2024