Philip James Manchester Manchester reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Unresponsive, unhelpful and no contact options

I can't get in touch with anyone. The phones are unmanned, and the emails go unanswered. I've been trying for a week. When I finally got an email with a scheduled viewing, I got no response, confirmation or anything else, which means the viewing resulted in nothing. No one showed up. It's absolutely impossible to rent with this company. What's the point of the listings if you make it impossible for renters to get in touch with you?

DL · 22 August 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Louis was very professional

Louis was very professional during the inspection at home. He did a meticulous. Very happy that he was the one doing the work.

Pablo · 3 February 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

i would give zero stars if i could- truly an awful estate agency. doesn’t respond to calls, don’t even try that form of communication. barely responds to emails if you are lucky to get one of the agents email address. I had nothing but a terrible experience with them, trying to organize viewings, sending countless emails. Really useless.

Alexis · 25 September 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

The agents don't seem to know what they're doing, they got the property info wrong and hence refused our viewing request, we sorted that out and finally got an appointment but were stood up keeping us waiting 30 mins at the door. No email nor voice message were left and they said the property was withdrawn from the market but the ad is still on all platforms. Nothing worse than wasting people's time these days. The way they handles landlords' preferences is so poorly executed, which could be done in much nicer ways, this is just embarrassing. Manchester deserves better.

L · 15 June 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

AVOID My partner and I have just concluded a tenancy of an apartment managed by Philip James and in short, this is the worst company I have ever dealt with (professionally or personally). One issue from our time at the property relates to a major mould outbreak throughout the flat. The mould was truly awful, sat on our chests whenever we were in the property and was spreading rapidly. The response of Philip James...was to do nothing. Emails went unanswered, people didn’t answer the phone. When a plumber was eventually sent out (as it had clearly originated from a leak), he got it so hopelessly wrong that we had to organise for a second opinion. To make a very long story short, this took over two months to resolve. Philip James denied all responsibility, and so we took them to the Property Ombudsman and won. If you think you are right, keep fighting and take it all the way. It costs them time, hopefully money and you will eventually be compensated. But the level of client service (or indeed lack of) at Philip James is breathtaking. Emails to all staff members (Jodie and Lois get a special mention for being truly apathetic) do not get responded to unless you copy in senior management. It seems to be a game for them to provide the worst client service in Manchester. We were provided with our notice during the COVID summer. The notice they gave was legally fairly dicey, so I imagine all evictions they had given up to that point this were also questionable. During our notice period (in which time Manchester was in heightened restrictions), Philip James were happy to try and schedule viewings at the property and also arranged for someone to attend the property to carry out a survey. I say arranged as we were simply told that it was happening. However, when we requested to attend the inspection at the property after our tenancy concluded, we were told that they were not allowing this “because of the pandemic” - but they were happy to have multiple people attend when we were still in the property! My opinion is that they are taking advantage of the pandemic by doing this and it is just not right. To summarise - please avoid. No one needs any additional stress at the moment. If you have the misfortune of renting with them, make sure you keep a good record and note, always copy in management (try Rob Cuffe), and if they do something wrong, always fight them on it to protect yourself.

Oliver · 6 July 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

I’m actually shocked by how our tenancy changeover is being handled. I’m due to be moving in soon and the agency is yet to perform reference checks or even hand over a document to sign (in person or electronically.) We’ve emailed, called, even the tenant i’m replacing has gone into the office twice and we keep getting told that we’d get the information or documents ‘by the end of the day.’ We we’re told that a month ago, a week ago, yesterday. Still waiting. Not sure what excuse there is as several of the team members, including the one directly handling our changeover (Amber), over the phone have confirmed that the landlord has approved the changeover. We don’t know what the hold up is. With this holdup, the person i’m due to be moving in with (who is a current tenant) doesn’t know if they’re going to be still living there by the time it comes for renewal as there is so little communication from the team- even when you are actively trying to get through. (Good luck getting through on the phone, it’ll take a minimum of 5 tries when it comes to the tenancies team- this being written after attempting to call several times). Genuine nightmare, I feel bad for the landlords also, they’re being represented awfully by this agency as it’s almost like they don’t want us to sign on and pay rent.

Jody · 8 June 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

I would strongly avoid using these people at all costs!! They will randomly ring you claiming that you have a viewing but they have communicated any details about the viewing. The estate agent won’t even let you ask any questions as to why you never got any information, he will rush you off the phone being rude and condescending. I genuinely think I’ve dodged a bullet not viewing the flat they were offering - these guys are doing landlords dirty!

Nicsphere · 8 June 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Truly awful company. It's impossible to contact them via email or phone. My partner and I must have tried the lettings department 30 times a day for 2-3 days, have left multiple emails and enquiries through Rightmove and their website, but still haven't got through. Then I tried the sales department once and got through in seconds (but of course they can't put me through to the right team), it really shows where their priorities lie... If you were allowed to leave 0 stars then this would sure be the case.

George · 6 June 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

I've had a terrible experience with this agency. They nearly scammed me and my homemate, as we requested to move in on a certain date, but they started the contract 10 days earlier under the justification that " this is the landlord's request". During our stay at the apartment we booked sometimes they didn't even bother checking their emails regarding a few issues at home. As a result, I called them,but they made fun of my English. Terrible terrible experience. They should have shut ages ago.

Christina · 6 June 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Appalling Communication and Knowledge

Very poor communication - They never respond to emails and they rarely answer the phone or respond to voicemails. When I did finally speak to someone (after two days of trying) the lady I spoke to had a complete lack of understanding with regard to Leasehold properties and the potential issues with them. She had no idea that ground rents are explained in detail within a lease (of which the leaseholder would have a copy of). When I started to ask in depth questions, she simply put the phone down. This is basic information and It is high time that estate agents began to understand the key aspects of Leasehold properties before taking them to market rather than leaving it to solictors much further down the line and potentially wasting everyone's time and money.I have since sent a couple of emails to their marketing department as requested by them but still haven't heard a thing! Utterly useless. I certainly wouldn't want them selling my property. How they ever manage to find anuy buyers is beyond me.

Ian · 25 May 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

sale of residential flat Heaton Moor

we have just completed the sale of our flat via PJK. throughout the process the whole team at PJK have been incredible. from the marketing to negociating a sale with a good buyer, through to completion of the actual sale, we have had service of the highest level, professional, friendly and extremely helpfull. i would not use another agent, ever!

Catherine · 1 August 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

They have been advistising a lot of properties recently and I'm suprised they even let or sell them as they don't reply to emails or answer there phones... I happen to be lucky once to view a property and when we went we saw a few problems already and when telling the lady showing us around she rudely turned round and told us that if we want perfection then we should increase our budget (bare in mind they wanted £900 as it was which is a lot) and that this clearly isn't the house for us. I found this very rude and unprofessional.

Bekki · 7 May 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Flat inspection

Louis was great. Approachable nature and took the time to listen to any maintenance issues we had in our apartment.

Jordan · 26 February 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Dealt with Amy to get my maintenance…

Dealt with Amy to get my maintenance sorted in my flat and she was so helpful! Turned it around so quickly.

Roxanne · 1 February 2024

★★★★★ 4/5

Google

Great onboarding experience, Max has been very friendly when doing the house viewing

Daniel · 27 June 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

My house viewing with Maria was lovely…

My house viewing with Maria was lovely as she was soft spoken, welcoming and friendly.The property is nice, matches the detailed information attached and worth the price allocated.Generally, my experience was amazing.Thank youOdiase Onyinyechukwu

Osuji · 28 January 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

AVOIDDDDDDDD

AVOIDDDDDDDDIf you're a landlord, get the hell away from this company. Communication is terrible. Staff are useless. They book things and charge you without your permission. Put rent up without telling you and then you miss out on a month's rent because they can't fill the place. Not worth the high fees at all.

Sarah · 17 October 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

painting and decorating contractor

worked as a painting and decorating contractor for the past 3 years for the company runs smoothy from the 2 girls in reception through to the office and especially the 2 girls who do the move outs..they know who they are never had no problems in 3 years one of the most efficient letting agencies I have worked for In 25 years of being self employed nigel burnyeat

Nigel · 30 January 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Great experience with Lyn, very helpful

Sam · 24 March 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I had a viewing today conducted by Titu

I had a viewing today conducted by a lovely estate agent, Titu. The viewing went well, and the property had already been cleaned and prepared for viewings. This was beneficial as it provided a clear idea of how the property looks and what furniture will be left for the tenants.

Tanya · 10 December 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Had a couple viewings with Titu today. He was professional, friendly and very helpful responding to any questions I had regarding the properties. Makes a massive difference when the agent goes out of their way to help - especially when you're looking at moving - which can be a stressful experience

D · 19 November 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Philip James Property is a horrible…

Philip James Property is a horrible agency for people who wish to take property on rent from them . They take huge amount of money in the name of contract breaking and then they unnecessarily telling that the flat was not clean and it needs cleaning for which they charge huge amount of money . I was pregnant when I moved into their property for rent . People who are working in this agency are very good in extracting money from their clients claiming different reasons . I have nearly spend my one month salary for vacating their property before term. Which was quite a shock and stress for me during my pregnancy

Jasmine · 27 August 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Excellent company for Lettings and management

Philip · 14 March 2026

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Bad service, expect trouble.

Unresponsive team who will try to dock your deposit for the slightest thing (e.g., in my case, washing machine drum left with washing powder in, tried to charge for professional cleaning!). Flat was actually dirty when I moved in; left spotless when I moved out. Unsurprisingly offered no help in COVID situation. I had to go via deposit protection scheme after agent ignored my messages for (literally) weeks after I moved out. Check the reviews others have left for the Manchester Philip James in error on the Essex Philip James Estates team if you want to see plenty more evidence. Rent with someone else in Manchester unless you want trouble.

Duncan · 21 July 2020