William H Brown Colchester reviews

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

I can not reccomend William H Brown colchester enough. Was shown round our home before putting an offer in with Kim. She was great and helpful with the questions I had even when she didn't know the answer to a few questions i had about the property she called back that evening with the answers. Nicola was also brilliant in keeping me informed all the way though from putting an offer in to completing on the property. She always returned my calls as quickly as possible and was a great help in chasing solicitors. I used their in house mortgage advisor Kirsty. I've never dealt with someone so good at their job as kirsty is. During a global pandemic when lenders didnt want to know anyone she was in at god knows what time trying to get me a mortgage in principal. She did it and got me a great deal with everything that I asked for. All In all I dont think I'll ever deal with another estate agents other than the St John's team and thank them all for their hardwork.

Sam · 14 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

4 to 5 Phone Calls A Week For 5 Months To Hussle An Instruction!

This company needs to be regulated, but the problem is there is no proper body that deals with Estate Agents behaviour prior to contract, and only then will the relevant Ombudsman step in, but without teeth, and only for the vendor! Before contract William H. Brown, once they get a sniff of a property, will begin to hassle, harass, hound, and hustle to get the instruction! This will usually begin with a phone number and address being on file, as was with my case, and someone, probably the manager, will tell one of the negotiators to call the number to see if the person is still looking or has anything to sell. This usually, if selling, corresponds with a look at Rightmove or Zoopla, where they see the property is on, has been on, and with another agent. Then the calls begin.... and continue! I stopped answering my land line, and blocked their number on my mobile, as one Thursday I received five calls on each devoice during the day, and three calls on both that evening, up until 7.00pm! That is pure harassment! The only reason they do this, is to GET the instruction, by whatever means! And why? Because for every instruction a standard negotiator gets, he or she receives a payment at the end of the month. The manager also receives a payment. The area manager also receives a payment! But beware: they also have a tie in contract of 30 weeks! They will try and charge 2%. And they are reluctant to agree to multi agency, and if they do will word a contract misleadingly, so the vendor could be liable for two sets of commission! Let's say you have been hooked, as you fell for the 100th phone call! The will then all make money on a mortgage appointment with their, so called, independent, in house mortgage broker. They will push their panel solicitors, and all make commission when one of them is used, too. Oh, and before any of this, they will charge a fee, which actually is illegal, masked as ''Professional photographer, video, and EPC''. This is around £135.00, maybe more. But, of course, you can claim that back.... IF you fall for their offer of one of their solicitors! But beware there, too: they are conveyancing companies, with a huge number of faceless individuals, who are not solicitors, but handlers. This means it is a factory, but a factory that goes slowly due to staff not being at all bothered!This estate agent is guilty of harassment, and hassle, and needs to be stopped from these constant phone calls, and we all should be aware it is all based on multi layered commission, and this all should be transparent!

BlueSky · 21 May 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

WHB looked after the sale of my late mother's property very well. They showed patience with all my follow ups, chasing all parties concerned and got the transaction over the line at a time when all the headlines were about the downturn in the economy. Special mention to Jon and Sam who were my main contacts during the sale process. Good job guys

Nigel · 14 June 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Adter deciding to move house during lockdown and viewing a lot of properties with a lot of different estate agencies we can definitely say Sam is one of the best. Sam showed us around 3 properties, he was extremely helpful and patient and had brilliant knowledge. Nothing was ever too much trouble, even getting us a second viewing on one of the properties in the same day! He is an asset to the team. Highly recommend.PositiveResponsiveness, Quality, Professionalism, Value

Andrew · 14 June 2021

★★★★★ 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

★★★★★ 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

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Worse estate agent I have ever used and…

Worse estate agent I have ever used and I have used a lot. No communication or selling skills.The Valuer was great Jennifer and then she went off on maternity leave. The rest were useless.

Talenteyed · 8 December 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

★★★★★ 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

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

★★★★★ 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

★★★★★ 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

Willam H Brown our amazing team, be honest with them and they will be honest with you keep reminding them obviously they have a lot of other people to deal with and companies to deal with, Sophie Cooper is a VERY GOOD team leader, her team Amanda: : mortgage advisor. I have got to say she is very good, because somebody left me in a muddle and she had to get me out of the model. Amanda works along with Kirsty. These two girls are very outspoken people, Be honest with them and they will be honest with you they are very very helpful. I must say Sophie Cooper is a very very good team leader in the Colchester area if you go and see her she would do what she has to do straightaway, I think she is the best. So I’m going to say thank you so so much Sophie, I am very pleased and very grateful what you have done for me Thankyou. And a very big thanks to the team at Saint johns Branch Colchester Thankyou Amanda Thank you Kirsty Thank you Leila Thank you Pamela Thank you Graham And a big thank you to Sophie 👍

Jonny · 14 June 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

This is the first time we have used William H Brown and we have been so impressed by Nickola and her team. We also used the in house services that they offer which made everything easier for us. Nickola put us at ease throughout the whole process and went over and above in the support that she offered. Also a big thanks to Kim who is very efficient and approachable, making what is usually a stressful process so much easier and more relaxed for us.PositiveQuality

Sonya · 14 June 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

As a first time buyer, the process of buying a house was daunting with lots to learn. The advice and help I received from Amy Flanagan was above and beyond that of any other mortgage advisor I've tried to use, she was very friendly and helpful throughout. I had a lot of questions that spanned much further beyond mortgage advice, yet she was able to answer them all, showing her expertise in the field. I liked how honest they are, bringing up all information in front of my eyes. Amy found the mortgage to suit my personal needs. I was being able to ask and filter to find the right mortgage with all the options I wanted. The service I received from William H Brown was far more than just mortgage advice, they helped me find my home, even if it was with another estate agent! During my search I went on various viewings with Graham Gough, he is very friendly and professional. He knew all about the properties we looked at, able to answer all my questions and advise about new properties coming to the market that suited my requirements. Overall I am very happy with my experience with the St Johns branch, recommend them to anyone and look forward to using them again in the future.

Ben · 14 June 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

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

We had a very positive experience with William H Brown St Johns when buying our first home. All the staff were very helpful and ready to answer any questions we had. Sam especially was always brilliant at responding to emails and we always felt as though we were in safe hands.

Lauren · 21 October 2024

★★★★★ 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

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

We would 100% recommend William H Brown (St Johns), John and his team. They were not just estate agents but counsellors at times. We managed to get a sale and purchase through with a quick turnaround and I don’t think it would have happened without their assistance. Great communication and advice. Made a stressful situation a lot easier.

Louise · 10 June 2023