William H Brown Colchester reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Our experience with WH Brown Rentals…

Our experience with WH Brown Rentals was shocking. Upon taking a rental property under the managed scheme, like many tenants, we faced maintenance issues. For example, we lived in a property with an oil boiler. One morning, we awoke to find an issue. Despite informing WH Brown that we used oil, they repeatedly sent gas engineers, eventually stating, "We can't fix it; sort it out yourself." After obtaining the landlord's contact information, it took three days to resolve the issue, leaving us without a boiler during winter. When we requested a hotel due to WH Brown's refusal to address the problem and having young children, we were told, "Sort it yourself; we don't offer that. It's not our problem."Other reported issues weren't addressed under the management scheme, leading us to contact the landlord directly, who addressed them but requested we not report him to the council due to WH Brown's ignorance. When deciding to leave the house, the situation worsened.Upon contacting WH Brown, they told our new agent we were in contract and wouldn't be moving. After challenging this, they acknowledged our break clause. Regarding referencing, they claimed 2-3 weeks, which our new agent and the referencing agency found unacceptable, prompting an alternative approach due to WH Brown being labeled as "the most difficult agent I have ever dealt with for absolutely no reason."Despite three emails, we received the final account balance four weeks later from a company associated with WH Brown. The amount requested was incorrect, and when questioned, they refused to provide clarification. We paid the verified amount as per our contract through a solicitor.During checkout, we returned the keys, receiving the checkout report seven days later, conducted four days before we received a copy. WH Brown absolved themselves, stating another company handles the deposit. Ten days later, with no information, we've threatened legal action for deposit recovery. WH Brown, when contacted, cited busyness and non-responsiveness to emails. The checkout report showed photographed parcels, which we arranged to have collected by a neighbor. However, they were removed without permission, and we've reported this to the police as theft from WH Brown.I've never experienced such shocking service from an agent, and it seems we may need to take legal action to recover our deposit. I strongly advise anyone considering renting with WH Brown to think twice. This review is based on a genuinely terrible experience, and we will continue to fight to get our money back, regardless of the legal implications.

Karl · 15 December 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

My partner and I have recently used William h brown to move into our first flat together and could not be happier with the customer service and support we have received. Jack in particular who has been dealing with our tenancy, has been prompt with reply’s and extremely organised. He has been friendly and approachable and made the whole process very smooth and stress free ! He has answered all our questions and made sure we felt supported. Thanks again !

Madzark · 1 October 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

We’ve had a huge amount of help from Jack Percival from this estate agents. Jack has always been very attentive, very polite and always willing to help. Always actively looking to help us find a property that would suit our needs. A great asset to this branch. Thank you!

Hannah · 15 October 2025

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

A very positive experience with William h Brown especially with Lisa Dove who oversaw the completion of the sale, which at times became a little problematical, although this was mainly due to poor communication from my recommended conveyancer. Also a mention of Jack who was very helpful in securing the sale.

Barry · 20 September 2025

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

We had a fantastic experience with William H Brown and especially Hannah. From start to finish Hannah was extremely friendly and helpful, truly professional and her kindness and dedication made the process very positive and stress free. We would highly recommend this agency.

Fiona · 25 February 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Do not recommend renting with WHBrown

I don't usually leave reviews but the horrific experience I had renting a property with William H Brown warrants letting others know how this company functions. From start to finish things were conducted haphazardly - no exit inventory was done when the tenant before me left and the inventory they did prior to me moving in was extremely inaccurate. When I moved in I found rodent faeces, mould, and general grime throughout the house. A couple of weeks after moving in, the shower was leaking badly through to the ceiling below, next to an electrical fixture. It took nearly 8 months to get them to sort it. At the end of my tenancy, the landlord made claims on the deposit for a number of inaccurate reasons, including damage left by the contractors they hired to finally do the repairs on the shower. Throughout my tenancy, getting through to the property manager with "Sequence" was difficult. I was often told they would call me back and never did. All in all they do not seem to have the best interests of tenants in mind and do a poor job of mediating with unresponsive landlords. I will not ever rent from them again and would never recommend anyone else to do so either.

Emily · 15 October 2025

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Recently moved to a lovely new apartment with William H Brown and right from the very start to finish Hannah has been extremely helpful and readily available to answer any related queries. Hannah, Emma and Lucy are very professional and make a marvellous team. Massive thank you to Hannah for being so proactive and making the moving process an enjoyable one. I have had an amazing experience and would highly recommend Hannah, the entire team and William H Brown anytime :)

Subas · 23 October 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Emma and the team kept us informed at all times, communication was excellent throughout the process of one tenant leaving and the new one moving in. It was seamless, with only 5 days between the two (just enough time to do the little bits required!) Emma made the effort to really get to know the new tenant to ensure they were the right fit. It's not just a case of getting references, it's getting the most suitable person who will take care of your property and that is what she did. Very happy with the service from Emma, Hannah and Jack. Thanks guys!

Helen · 23 October 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Me and my partner went into William H Brown on the weekend and they were so helpful and really went out of their way to help us understand buying a property. Especially Kirsty and Elena! Really recommend using this Estate Agents

Georgia · 26 March 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

As a landlord, my experience with William H Brown was extremely disappointing. I trusted them to manage my property professionally, but instead dealt with poor communication, lack of transparency, and minimal proactive management. …

Martin · 17 February 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Antonny and the team have been absolutely exceptional, from start to finish, couldn’t have been happier with the service, they all over achieved all my expectations. Thank you guys!!

Mya · 8 November 2025

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Good renting experience with…

Good renting experience with Williamhbrown. Special thanks to Matthew Wolff for his efforts and following up the process throughout.

Hanan · 4 February 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Many thanks Matthew Wolf for your…

Many thanks Matthew Wolf for your assistance. The service you provided made the renting process much easier and smoother.

Hadeel · 4 February 2026

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Not very happy with the customer service we were promised - we viewed our new property and even the person who showed us around said it’s very poor needs a deep clean and attention to works. Hannah said works that needed doing in the property like wear and tear before we moved in and wasn’t all done it’s just a hassle to get done and now the contracts been signed they don’t care at all and just pass us to property management. They also put the tenancy date the same day we got the keys however it was gone 5pm in the evening even though we said we needed to move in the next day due to their times being so late and rushed everything and didn’t complete all the works and started the tenancy from that day. They said they wanted us to be happy in our new home. Jack and Emma have been brilliant and tried to help as much as they can. Wouldn’t recommend if trying to rent. We are starting to regret this a little but hopefully the issues get resolved.

Emily-jayne · 23 August 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I have not yet completed but my…

I have not yet completed but my experience so far has been plain sailing. All the team have been really helpful especially Olivia who carried out the valuation who was very sensitive to my personal situation . I also needed help with some paperwork and Olivia took the time to come and sit with me. Would definitely recommend their services.

Ruth · 19 October 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Very good experience

Jonny · 10 September 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Wat an amazing staff Thank you Hannah for the great work u done for my family Very professional swift in response so polite highly recommend

Burim · 2 November 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Swaffham - Aston 10/10

Aston at the Swaffham branch was fantastic. He made us feel really comfortable and answered all the questions we had. As first time buyers it can be all very overwhelming at times however Aston made the process very simple. 10/10. Also Tony and Emily at the Swaffham branch are great. All very friendly and they are there for you across your house buying journey.

Adam · 10 July 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Jack Percival has been a great help over the last few weeks, answering any questions i have to ask and responding very quickly. He was really friendly at the viewings and explained everything to the best of his ability’s

Jai · 25 February 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Jack is absolutely fantastic! Putting in extra work to help out and make sure that our move goes as smoothly as possible. Even ensuring that we got another viewing where he drove all the way out from another property that he was working on. Job well done!

Jade · 19 March 2025

★★★★★ 2/5

Google

Were really helpful right up until the point where we paid a holding deposit in December 2023. Originally told we could move in February, then April, then May, June and eventually moved at the end of July. Had to chase them for updates on a regular basis even though we had been assigned a ‘sales progression manager’. We got there in the end but it was a stressful 8 months not helped by the lack of communication.

Steven · 23 August 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Our experience with Wlliam H Brown has been fantastic. Jack has been exceptionally brilliant from getting us a tenant in less than 3 days. He has been really good in relieving the stress that comes with letting Property. Thanks Jack, absolute star you are.Vida

Vee · 23 October 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I found a rental property online and…

I found a rental property online and asked for a viewing. The property was located over 100 miles from my residence and as a consequence of this the employee said that they had a recent video of the property, she sent it to me and it looked amazing so I put in an offer. Contracts were exchanged and then on the day of moving the agency contacted me to inform me that the cooker had been condemned and had to be removed from the property and that the landlord was now refusing to buy a cooker and that they were not required to provide one. As you can appreciate at this stage I was very upset, however the agents said they would get back to the landlord to see if she would change her mind. The contracts had already been exchanged and the landlord was refusing to honour her side of the agreement on the moving day when the arrangements had been made and I had moved out of my current home. I would not use this company at all they have no common decency and to add salt to the wound I have to take them to court to get my money back for the E first months rent and deposit because they think that I should be held to the fixed term contract and be liable for paying the rent nevertheless! Do not trust this company!!!

Sabrina · 8 July 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Thank you Anthony and Lisa for helping us finding the perfect property and making the process of buying the flat very smooth and understanding.

JET · 26 October 2024