Philip James Manchester Manchester reviews

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Great viewing very helpful

Liam · 6 December 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

AVOID at all costs! They are only interested in your money as a tenant. After reporting dampness and mold growth in November, nothing was done until March resulting in me having to call each and every week. Lois who was 'dealing' with the case was extremely unprofessional, refusing to take phonecalls from me and emails often not replied to. Complaints procedure is also a joke.... they admitted they were slow in dealing with it, but no apology at all.

C · 6 July 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Awful experience from start to finish

Awful experience from start to finish. Would try to avoid at all costs. Staff appear unorganised and do not adhere to agreed time frames.

Anna · 5 December 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Things ran smoothly from start to…

Things ran smoothly from start to finish and a buyer was found very promptly

Niall · 25 June 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Louis

Louis, was very professional and thorough with the inspection- also answered any question I had on things that needed fixing.

Luca · 29 February 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Awful experience

Awful experience. A lot of issues with our apartment and building. Issues left unresolved for long periods of time, sometimes not resolved at all.

Oliver · 1 December 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

This is the worst agency in Manchester

This is the worst agency in Manchester, avoid at all costs. They are unprofessional, lazy and can not do their jobs. Embarrassment of a company.When we first moved in the washing machine was broken and the property was not very clean. I reported this instantly and after many visits from engineers we were informed that a wire had been cut behind the washing machine that could have been life threatening! I contacted the agency multiple times and they did not seem to believe us even after engineers had done several reports and then eventually would ignore all our calls and emails leaving us without a washing machine and a live wire in our house! This took over 3 months before they finally got the machine fixed. Everything should have been checked before we moved in and working.We were also entitled to a parking space, a few months down the line we got a fine for a space that we owned as the agency failed to give us the details about a permit even after we had asked them several times. They said they would get the fine removed which they did not do and then the fine went up. When we confronted them about this they then lied and said they never agreed to get rid of the fine even though it was their responsibility. If you do unfortunately end up with this agency make sure you get everything they say written down and proof as they will try and lie and deny. When we moved out of the property they kept contacting us asking for codes to get into the building, you would think if they actually did their jobs properly they should know this. They also did not justify fees that were taken out of our deposit for cleaning, when we asked for invoices to prove how much the cleaning came to they advised that they would not do this, which proves they were keeping the money for themselves and not getting the property cleaned.

Hollie · 6 February 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Listen to the reviews. They just took my holding deposit and that was it... never heard anything back from them. Went through the ref check. Nothing back. No communication. Just really took the money and disappeared. Terrible when you're dealing with people who are looking for a home... we just needed some professionalism and communication. I was dealing with tight deadlines, and needed them to do their job.. but the failed me and left me without a home.

H · 6 July 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Great service

Grace in the Property Management team has been amazimg! Speedy replies and super professional throughout in my time of need. Can't thank her enough!

Andreea · 8 November 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Good customer service

Good customer service, Nice smiles

Wai · 19 October 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Check for a listing with a different agent!

Looking for rental property in Manchester. The Manchester branch proved themselves to be yet another estate agent that conducts themselves like they really don't need to make any effort because the queries will just keep rolling in. Not doing any favours for the reputation of the industry...It seems like once an agent has registered that you're looking for a rental that won't make any commission or generate much in fees, they have checked out. Later in the same day that I spoke with Philip James, I made an enquiry with Reed Rains. They were instinctively inquisitive, asked relevant questions and suggested other properties within my price range. Top tip for any prospective renters: properties are often listed with more than one agent. If you see Philip James has a listing, I recommend searching the property name to find a listing with another agent!

Coco · 8 October 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

The process was very professional and…

The process was very professional and seamless. The tools they are using for information and references are quite good.

Imran · 23 January 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Typical slimey letting agents in cheap suits. Care more about their reputation than the welfare of their tennants. Mushroom growing through the carpet is not ok. Hope these guys go bankrupt and are forced to rent from a letting agency as bad as them.

Jay · 6 July 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Property Purchase - No issues

Property Purchase - no issuesPJK Heaton Moor - I've always had the phone answered and a friendly guy named Rick (Who has now left their employ) answered the phone and booked viewings for me which always went ahead. No issues.Communication has been good with Nowshia their office manager. No issues We have had an offer accepted on one of their properties recently. No issues. So far so good.

Alexis · 1 September 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

*Edited with this additional comment as you now responded to my review after 9 months* You have shown no care about the series of blunders in renting out my apartment at all, in my opinion. You couldn't even bring yourself to apologise when I asked you to after The Property Ombudsman sided with me on 6 out of 8 complaints (with insufficient evidence on the final two), and forced you to pay me compensation. It was only when you couldn't bring yourselves to apologise that I then involved ARLA as the next independent body to review the case. ARLA found you to have broken industry codes of practice and issued you with further fines. Even then you did not apologise. *Original comment* Have given them every chance to make up for a series of big blunders in renting out my apartment but they continue to let me and the tennants down. The worst was a 72 -day delay in telling me there was a fire in my kitchen. Kudos to the CEO for responding to my complaints professionally and directly, but the mistakes have continued.

Chris · 6 July 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

I can honestly say that if you're looking to rent, there is no property that is worth dealing with Philip James. I had to travel 3 hours to the Manchester office just to book a viewing because no one in the office answers the phone or replies emails! At the office I asked if its possible to have a video viewing of the property (as I live at least 3 hours away) and I was told 'we don't do that here at Philip James' only for the SAME PERSON to send me the video of the property after I had just spent 3+ hours on another costly trip back to Manchester Piccadilly the next day for a viewing. I've emailed management and after my experience, I am honestly certain I won't be hearing back from them. Philip James has consistently demonstrated their poor communication, and lack of care. To anyone who is seeing these reviews, don't make the same mistakes I did! Take the hint and save your money. Their rating is below average for MANY reasons. They don't even deserve this star tbh.

Irene · 6 July 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

If we could give Philip James ZERO stars, we would. They will try to increase your rent for no apparent reason every single year. They take ages to respond to calls about maintenance. I had no heating in my apartment and it would take three weeks to fix it (this happened regularly). The balcony door was broken and never fixed for three years. They barge into your home without knocking and do no respect privacy. They take forever to send you back your deposit and you will have to chase them for it, even though the apartment was returned to them one whole month before the end of the tenancy agreement. AVOID at all costs. Poor service overall.

Lamia · 6 July 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

AVOID AT ALL COSTS! If it was possible to choose 0 stars, I would. All of the negative reviews on Google are absolutely spot on and any positive reviews are undoubtedly fictitious. I recently dealt with the female manager in the Deansgate office who was sarcastic, unprofessional and THE rudest individual I have ever come across. Don't bother placing a complaint either as all you will receive is an "apology" by email which is almost certainly a standard email they have on file in case anyone actually complains. They NEVER answer the phone, reply to emails or even bother to understand your issues. If I had the choice, I would NEVER EVER choose Philip James. It is amazing that the company has not been investigated by their regulating body already, but no doubt that day will come! (fingers crossed)

Maral · 6 July 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

The most unprofessional and incompetent agents I’ve ever had the displeasure of renting from. Consistently unorganised, slow to respond, and frequently downright rude. Upon deciding on a property that my partner and I wanted to rent, we quickly paid a holding fee. It then took two more weeks, a dozen unanswered phone calls and several more unanswered emails to get a contract through to sign on the property. I know they were particularly busy at the time, but you'd think they could at least acknowledge an email? The contract didn’t mention several things that we had been promised would be included in the rent. However PJ refused to amend the contract because ‘we can’t, it’s a set contract’. Perhaps they don’t have MS word? No other agent I’ve dealt with in Manchester has ever refused to amend a contract. We arranged a time and date to collect the keys, and upon arriving on time to collect the keys my partner was told she didn’t have an appointment so would have to wait an hour for someone to come. She went back again, and the employee refused to hand over the keys unless my partner signed the inventory to state that everything was in good condition - however, we hadn’t seen the property yet. I'm quite sure this is illegal. My partner was so desperate to get the keys she signed anyway, writing on the document that she hadn’t actually seen the property. Unfortunately I was working abroad at the time, so there was little I could do. I hope this was just one stupid employee and not common practice for PJ, not that it would surprise me. When we moved in PJ told us the wrong parking space and didn’t specify it on any documents. Great. For maintenance issues they’ve been generally slow to respond. On one occasion I still hadn’t had a response after 4 weeks so I emailed again, this time getting a condescending reply that the issue had been fixed, and that a maintenance man had entered my property on x date to fix it. I promptly told them that no one had been round, and sent a photo of the still broken fixture. I’m still waiting on an apology. Admittedly, the last employee I dealt with responded quicker and seemed to be on the ball. Now I’m just dreading seeing what they try to do with the deposit at the end of the tenancy. Philip James are a nightmare. My advice would be to avoid.

Nick · 6 July 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Worst experience, absolutely disgusting service DO NOT RENT WITH PHILIP JAMES Have numerous problems with our apartment that need addressing. We have sent constant emails to highlight what needs fixing but on every single occasion the email was read and ignored. The issues raised didn’t meet basic living standards and was needed sorting prior to anyone moving in. It has now been three months and still no response or action taken. This is not what you expect from an estate agent service. AVOID AT ALL COSTS

Kieran · 6 July 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

I've never wanted to leave a 0 star review more in my life. I've attached just a few pictures of the disgusting flat that we moved into that Philip James signed off as okay to move into. Riddled with mouldy furniture, a broken bed that collapsed on the 2nd night of sleeping, ripped carpets and much more, we can't help but feel utterly mugged off and frustrated. The latter feeling is compounded by Philip James' complete lack of communication and zero action when raising numerous complaints. Philip James have left us to live with the mouldy furniture - a clear risk to health, as well as constantly telling us they'll get back to us without ever actually doing so. We've lived here for 3 months now and nothing has been done, the most communication we've had from Philip James is a leaflet through the door titled "Super Agent", so it's good to see they're spending more time falsely promoting their services as opposed to actually providing it. It's shocking to see a business operate so poorly. DO NOT RENT WITH PHILIP JAMES - I wish I'd read reviews before doing so myself.

Josh · 6 July 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Outstanding customer service

So helpful, friendly , polite. Very understanding. Explains everything in great detail.

Carol · 6 June 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Can’t even get through to arrange a viewing. Don’t know how any of their properties get let. They don’t respond by phone or email - useless

Chloe · 19 July 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Absolutely appalling estate agent. No reply by phone, email or even in person!! No attempt to assist or give you alerts to any new properties. Do you really want to rent with a company who just say “No, we have nothing.” And effectively tell you to just go away and have a nice day??! I’d give them zero stars if I could. Absolute joke.

Jenny · 1 January 2023