Connells Maidstone reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely useless

Absolutely useless. Over-priced our house to get our business then suggested a significant price drop within two or three weeks. Now claiming that they said from the start that an offer £150K less than their suggested asking price would be an extremely good one! The initial prospectus had loads of faults - listing it as a three bed when it's a four bed, for starters - and communication has been terrible. We haven't had a single viewing in the four months that it's been on the market - which is bizarre even if it is over-priced - so I've given up and taken it off. Complete waste of time - do not use this lot even if they promise to chuck in a golden helicopter and a couple of unicorns as part of the deal for selling your house.

Amanda · 16 March 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Avoid wherever possible.....

Appalling communication with their own staff and with prospective buyers. They don't return calls; lie regarding receiving information requested, to the point they don't even bother to cover the fact when forwarding said information, saying they've 'just' received it but it was clearly received 1 week + before; will continue to show prospective buyers around properties and take details of offers After previous offers have been accepted whilst leaving you waiting and hoping that your offer has been accepted and all this will take in excess of a month!! When tackled about this, they will try to bluff their way through conversations, When you manage to speak to someone who usually doesn't have a clue what's going on! They obviously get paid so much commission they don't have to consider customer service for either vendor or buyer!!! If it were possible to give a minus star, I'd recommend that!

Ruth · 13 March 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Never ever use Connells, cost us a fortune

Avoid them, selling our house through them, they originally quoted us a high price to get us to sign with them. This is a lie to get your business. Then after waiting and dropping the price 10%, they asked if we would take a cash buyer for £1000 less than the asking price. We accepted as long as it was a quick sale.We ended up waiting months and Connells claimed to have never said it and that it was a mortgage deal. Ended up costing us money, I would never use any of their branches ever again. The sooner these types of cowboys are out of business the better. Take your business elsewhere, you might as well use purple bricks for the little Connells did for the thousands they charged, it was everyone waiting for them that delayed the sale even further.

LJ · 23 February 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

BEWARE the Connells' (Estate Agents) Mortgage Advice Service

Where do I begin? This organisation offers free mortgage "advice" up to a point, after which "lifetime broker" fees are charged: supposedly once you decide to go ahead. But what happens if the member of staff you're dealing with lies to you? In this particular case, one young lad working for Connells decided to tell a few porky pies which resulted in a £499.00 fee being deducted up front, rather than after completion of the mortgage - he said it would be charged at the end. As a result the mortgage application was immediately cancelled (within 7 days of the unexpected fee being deducted from the bank). If you can't trust people to be honest about the simple things, why would you trust them to be honest about the more expensive/complicated things? Strangely, the guy no longer works for Connells having "disappeared" a few months after the first complaint was lodged. However, something weird then happened. Connells admitted that the "broker" fee covered certain works which had NEVER taken place yet refused to reimburse it! This relates to Clacton on Sea branch. The funny thing is - when you ask staff around the country what the "lifetime broker" fee is, and what it covers - you get different answers depending who you ask. How can that be so? HQ refuse to answer the question: "what work does the fee cover"? - so much for complying with MCOBS (the Mortgage Code of Business Sourcebook): MCOB 3A.2.1 Rule: (1) When a firm communicates information to a customer, it must take reasonable steps to do so in a way that is fair, clear and not misleadingMCOB 2.5A.1 Rule:A firm must act honestly, fairly and professionally in accordance with the best interests of its customer. If a firm has caused unnecessary and or avoidable costs, as a direct result of statutory negligence, you have the right to claim compensation pursuant to section 138D of the FSMA 2000. Steer clear of this company if you wish to be treated fairly (in my opinion). If you get caught out: I hope the above info helps x

Simon · 12 February 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

My ABC Rule, Anyone but Connells!!

Having over 20 years of property experience I have seen Connells woeful standard on numerous occasions. I had such reservations that I listed various properties for an Agent to assess then as there was a Connells Valuer with 12 years’ experience in the same building, he cast his eye over the figures, before I relayed the information to my Lender. The result a different Connells Valuer with 3 months experience saw the places and these was a total drop in prices of £800:000!!2 years on and a house was valued at £1.25 million and £1.35 million by Local Estate Agents for Connells to thereafter turn up and say £975K!! 8 months later, a different firm values the untouched property at £1.45 million. Recently 4 and 5 bed flats were valued on the same development at 650K with rents strangely being stated at exactly the same level. As the rents were years out of date, bank statements and AST’s were evidenced to the Lender who subsequently decided to ignore Connells figures who rather than accept them preferred their fiction. To further damn them they valued a further 5 bed near Fulham at £500K again with ludicrous rents. Bored with their ineptness a new firm was commissioned and surprise surprise they accepted bank statements, AST’s and quoted 10 comps in the area. Result - the places valued shot up from £500K to £650K !!So, based on my experience, if you wish people to be unreliable, make up unrealistic rents and values then refuse to change their figures and hide when they are caught out - then I strongly recommend this organisation to you.

Mr · 17 January 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Really bad customer service

Requested some viewings on properties through Right Move with Connells. Promptly got a call back where I was asked about preferences and then suggestions were made in light of this. This was good and did listen to me and what i wanted in a house and made good suggestions. He then asked about mortgages and whether i had a mortgage broker already. I did explain that i already had one and had an appointment and that i had had a bad experience previously with a mortgage broker from Connells so wasn't keen to use them. The guy did get quite pushy and i did feel very uncomfortable and had to firmly say that i wanted to wait until I'd see my other mortgage broker. The next day I drove 25 minutes in bad traffic at rush hour after work to view a property that i had requested a viewing through Right Move. My partner and i got out the car, a few minutes letter, after the guy had finished texting or something he got out the car - not the best first impression. He knocked on the door of the property as apparently the homeowners would be in whilst the viewing took place. No answer. Five minutes later after still no reply, the guy said he didn't have the keys and was surprised the owners weren't in as they had been in on other viewings. You would have thought, to be prepared you that he would have the keys just in case of such occasions or phoning the homeowners the day of the viewing to remind them to be in etc... Quite annoyed as we had driven a long way in bad traffic. Luckily we had another viewing lined up down the road. Arrived there, again the guy stayed in the car a bit longer on his phone before getting out the car. As we approached the property, the guy asked why we weren't using their mortgage broker again being quite blunt, again had to tell him why. Let in the house, no information or details given about the house as we walked round!! We had to ask lots of questions such as where the parking was, price, double glazing, rooms for ourselves. he literally just said nothing at all about the house, he just followed us from room to room, quite honestly looking like he couldn't be bothered. To top it all off, on the way out the guy asked again, about booking an appointment with the mortgage broker at Connells. At this point my partner had to put in a firm word and tell him again about our mortgage broker we had already lined up. I understand they want the sale and customers, it was just the way and the amount of times we are asked - did feel like an ambush and quite uncomfortable. The guy speeded off half saying as he got into is car that he would give us a call with more properties and to re-arrange the first viewing. We have not been called back and this happened a week ago. Really unimpressed, disappointed and will avoid having anything to do with Connells ever again!!

Becky · 16 January 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Getting your deposit back is a struggle

11 days after the landlord instructed them to release the deposit with no deductions, I'm still waiting. Apparently they're having IT issues and can't send an email to some team for them to release the funds. Asked what the complaints procedure was and they refused to provide it. Stay clear if you're looking for a rental property. 75% 1 star reviews says it all....

Charl · 26 July 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

It's as bad as it is possible to be

It's as bad as it is possible to be. Just awful in every regard. Do not give them your card details, no matter what they tell you to get the money out of you. I cannot believe they can still operate when they behave in such an appalling manner. All their properties are advertised elsewhere, so if you see their name against a property, just keep on looking and find a proper agent to rent through.

Carter · 30 March 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

AVOID AVOID AVOID

AVOID AVOID AVOIDI wasn't going to write this as I feel reviews are an unfair reflection upon a company but in this case people need to be warned. Such an unprofessional company. The staff at the Maidstone office treat you like dirt and feel the need to be rude down the phone having a go because you made a complaint about them. When actually this girl with an attitude which is horrific has spoken down to you all through the process of moving out. No contact when you move out and no help with getting the deposit back. I rung today to try and sort this out without raising a dispute through the TDS however was met with hostility over me not being happy with the service received. I have charges on my credit card because I need this money to pay off an essential purchase for our new home. Caused upset and stress all the way. Now because of a member of staff at the Maidstone office with a chip on her shoulder I am raising a dispute. I cannot describe how angry this experience has made me. This is such a shame as my dealings with my landlord and the manager of the Maidstone branch have always been positive. Very bitter taste has been left in my mouth.

Lisa · 15 January 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Read This - I finalized a property on a Friday morning and they scheduled a meeting with landlady on Monday noon (I still wonder why landlady needed to meet me). I took a personal leave on Monday because I didn't want to lose that property. I get a call on Monday 10am that meeting is cancelled and property is already let to someone else. They blamed it all on landlady saying it was her decision (Not even apologies from agency). Plot Twist - Apparently the property was still 'Available' on Rightmove for number of days I hate to mention. Note - When the agent arrived on property to show me the flat, there wasn't even a 'Good morning' or a greeting smile from her side. Total lack of professionalism and manners. I felt as if she was pissed at me because I was the reason she had to drive all the way (1.1 mile to be specific) from her office to the property. Now when I look back, I feel relieved that they didn't let me the house.

Nitish · 11 January 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Very poor customer service and zero respect for the people and their money. They care only about their commission and nothing else, they have been promising me and my partner a secure place where to live, we have paid all the fees and passed all the references, paid deposit and everything, we have paid them around 2500£ in total and one day before we were supposed to get the keys they told us the landlord has changed his mind when he had a month to think and left us almost on the street without any options. They tried to covered themselves with the words "you should have known that" or "we can't do anything". This was our first experience ever with a letting company and there is no way we could have known that, it was their job to explain everything perfectly clear. Instead of being ashamed of themselves and try to do evrything on their powers to help they still didn't seem to do and were providing a bad customer service. I can tell that the whole process for them was a joke and I won't recommended them to anyone. Still waiting for them to refund us the money and we specifically asked them to speed up the process becausr we need them urgently to find a new place where to live but they seem not to take us seriously which is just outrageous!

Vanya · 11 January 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely avoid like the plague

Absolutely avoid like the plague! From start to finish, I have never in my experience dealt with such uncouth, absurd and depressingly unprofessional agents. At the beginning of the sale, there was an air of niceness: when I was first shown the property, everything seemed OK. All questions were clarified and answered, brochures were given and information was made available. Or so I thought...The second I offered my selling price, I was immediately hounded for solicitor details. As a first time buyer, the process of buying was incredibly new to me and so I was very miffed at this strange pressure that I was facing. Then for a short while, everything seemed OK...surveys took place, the solicitors completed all the paperwork and the vendor and I (at the time) managed to secure a solid relationship to ease the stressful nature and process of buying...All of a sudden came the day of exchange and completion. This is where things went utterly wrong and woeful. The agent that had initially shown me the property uttered depraved slander about me to my Mother (who had collected the keys on my behalf) which utterly infuriated me. But worst of all was the management. Never have I had to deal with so many lies. It's actually laughable. After nearly 4 weeks after exchange, the "for sale" sign is still outside my door. I have contractors coming in to start work and that to me just spells absolutely disastrous customer service. Throughput this whole process, it has been a trainwreck and a nightmare. The process of buying is never easy and you need an agent that can soothe and ease all your concerns. That has absolutely not been the case for me whatsoever. If there is any final advice I can give to anyone, it's this: run. Run as far away as possible because this estate agent will just use and abuse. Take it from me, if you see a property you like, do not buy through them.

Bhavna · 24 December 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The most horrific experience of my life…

The most horrific experience of my life dealing with Connells. Terrible communication, rude, never apologise, they are currently withholding my money and won’t tell me when I can expect to receive it. This is renting with them in Manchester. Avoid like the plague!!

Laura · 21 March 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Look at the star rating...

Look at the star rating... it says so much From the moment I moved in, stains and filth were missed off the inventory and it took them 3 week (post moving in), to take an accurate description of the condition of the flat, baring in mind neighbours had warned me of underhand tactics The lettings management team don’t respond to correspondence, they took 17 weeks to fix a minor issue and then they’re now delaying on further more significant repairs and issuesAvoid at all costs

Jay · 11 December 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Skipton North Yorkshire Under valuing property trying to drive down house prices

Our business buys old run down properties, refurbishes the whole property then sells at the average value given from 3 local estate agents. Connell's were commissioned by the buyer to carry out a valuation and full survey. The survey came back with no problems but the surveyor then decided to undervalue the property by 40k. When we asked him to explain why, even though next door had sold for a higher price and had not been refurbished he would not discuss it with us and simply said its none of your business even though he had put an end to a 360k purchase. So if you have a Mr JOHN BENTLEY booked to come to your property to Survey / value your house then I suggest you cancel and ask for another company to carry out the valuation (which by law you are entitled to do) or you may as well wave goodbye to the sale. Its got to the point that if local estate agents hear he's been appointed by the lender then they cancel his appointment and ask Connells to appoint a different surveyor. Connells by law have no option but to appoint another surveyor from another company at the sellers request or buyers.

Lee · 3 December 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

We didn't appoint Connells and sold our …

We didn't appoint Connells and sold our house through another agent. Despite having sold the house in May and despite telling them that we have sold the house and no longer own it on numerous occasions, they continue to email and phone me and harass me and ask me if they can help me sell it. I have reported them to ARLA and TPOS and will report them to the Information Commissioner for misuse of personal data. Will never use Connells and would advise others to avoid using them in light of this appalling experience.

Laura · 9 November 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I rented my property through Connells.

I rented my property through Connells.It was a big mistake. Ended up with loss of £19000 to £20000 . This is the worst letting agent you can ever come across. They are liars, they are dishonest , they will avoid talking to you when you call them, they never return your calls.My dealings were with Maidstone branch in Kent. There a girl called Rebecca , is the one in charge of letting. She is not interested in dealing with her clients. I also found out that she would tell the other girls in the office to tell me that she is away to avoid attending my phone.Please avoid letting your property through Connells in Maidstone,Kent.

Iqbal · 26 October 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Caution should be taken if you end up in Connells

This review is based on my experience with the Weymouth branch. They are only interested in taking your money, nothing more nothing less! I have to say - and it's not often I name names - Tara in the lettings department is an outright liar and deceitful person. Unecessarily causes friction through lying and telling both parties two different stories to up her sales figures. A real shame because at the time she came across as a pleasant and knowledgeable young lady, she turned out to be quite nasty and underhanded in the way she manipulated all concerned. I wouldn't recommend connells to anybody, as a landlord or tenant. Seek your rental properties elsewhere because it will cost you stupid amounts and you will pay premium prices for rentals. Steer particularly clear of the Weymouth branch, not even worth walking through the door

Doyathink · 26 October 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

THE WORST AGENCY - I WAS so excited to start my journey into home ownership and was delighted when I saw a property I liked with Connells. But after stringing me along for TWELVE WEEKS across various offers, with poor feedback from the agents despite many phone calls/emails I can safely say Connells have single handedly proven that what you hear about estate agents are true. The branch manager Chris has no idea on what good customer service means, so if you are looking for a reliable agency to buy/sell with, you are in the wrong place

Nicola · 25 October 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Connells Letting Agents

DO NOT use this company. Their referencing process is poor and minimal. In my experience, they lack knowledge and training around landlord/tenancy law and seem to have little capacity to access professional advice about these issues. Their focus is to ensure a steady stream of income rather than offering an expected level of professional integrity. As a result, mistakes are made. As a landlord, this has caused me a good deal of emotional and material distress. There are some good letting agents out there and I reiterate, AVOID this organisation at all costs.

Anne · 23 October 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Connells waste of space

If I could give a lower score I would. They give it all the big potatoes that they are better then anyone else when in fact they just want to take your money and run for the hills hiding behind emails and answer phones. I have reported a problem in the property we are renting and todate nothing, we have no water in the property and are getting no help at all from connells so called support services. If you are reading this think twice before parting with your money totall useless waste of time happy to allow people to struggle and suffer

Karl · 20 October 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Avoid at all cost.

This company is the worse you could deal with. They would never stick to what they say. To get your deposit back even after your land lord has released it, it will take you ages. I am here calling them everyday to get my deposit back for past 2 weeks I been given lies after lies. Unprofessional service. The management on the top level is the worst. This company hasn't got a long road given the reviews it seems it's not only the bedford branch, they don't care nationwide once they have your money and tries to get away with it. Day light Robers. Please avoid dealing with this rubbish people altogether to save you from big stress in the future.

Harry · 17 October 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Such a terrible experience

Such a terrible experience! Had no choice but to use them as we were buyers not sellers. Told us if we didn't take a mortgage with them they would tell the vendor not to sell with us! The vendor realised this was wrong and sold to us anyway but Connells repeatedly tried to sabotage our sale causing huge amounts of stress and money loss. Took them to the ombudsman but hard to prove as all their threats were verbal. Estate agents are mostly awful but these guys are a whole new level!

Zoe · 4 October 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

travelled 1 1/2 hours to viewing and no agent to be seen....

I never have thought that an estate agent would simply not bother to turn up at a viewing . The owner was in when arrived and was invited in after 30 minutes of waiting outside, but kindly refused thier hospitality as it was awkward for both parties, and also not appropriate that the owner feels they should have to invite the viewer inside to have a look around the property without an accompanying agent. Travelling from another county taking 1 1/2 hours travelling time to get to the viewing appointment after work,... tired and then to be let down,....... no communication from the agent to at least make contact if there was a problem at any point,...and not to mention the time and money wasted to get there. The next working day made a call to the agent's and knew nothing of the appointment so was told that the agent who made the appointment would be in the next following day, and was told that they would make contact and said it appeared thier was some kind of mix up. The next day, still no contact from them. As a cash buyer,... the owner of the property may have a different perspective on who to market thier property....

LM · 30 September 2017