Butters John Bee Newcastle Under Lyme reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely awful service from the Crewe branch

Absolutely awful service from the Crewe branch. Discourteous, disorganised and seemingly incompetent. I have spent hours trying to phone to arrange viewings of properties for sale (more than one) and have failed to arrange a viewing on any property in which I have expressed interest. When I eventually managed to get through with regard to one particular property I had to endure listening to how busy they are and how many bookings they have to take to view properties! Needless to say they were unable to offer me a convenient viewing time even though I offered a lot of flexibility from my side, Last time I eventually managed to speak with someone I was asked to register my details even though I had registered them more than once previously (and had previously received emails from the company confirming my registration). The lady with whom I was speaking insisted I had never registered even when I insisted I had and had received email confirmation. Do they all operate the same system in the same branch?? I was asked if I was financially able to proceed to purchase and when I said yes and that I had already sold my own house, I was then asked whether I was a first time buyer!! This was incredible.... words escape me! Very curt attitude over the phone from some of the staff. I had also recently used this company (a different local branch) to carry out a valuation with a view to selling my house. I felt that they had undervalued it and invited two other estate agents to undertake valuations who both valued my property considerably higher and so I chose one of them. My house sold within 3 weeks at almost the full asking price and I had no shortage of interest in my property. If I had used Butters John Bee to market my house, I would have been over £22,000 poorer plus would have paid considerably higher fees. If anyone is reading this to help decide whether to use Butters John Bee, please be very careful in making your decision and look at other review sites too. I cannot recommend this company at all - especially the branch in Crewe.

Barbara · 2 August 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Stacey is always a pleasure to work…

Stacey is always a pleasure to work with , Always there giving a helping hand. Great person with great knowledge of her job . The only person I want to deal with .

Lee · 14 May 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Definitely going to use again in the…

Definitely going to use again in the future .thanks to Ellie Ratcliff witch in the very beginning was helpful getting the house and also to the rest of the team making the things move a little bit faster.

Marian · 27 November 2019

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Michael Ferris Congleton branch

Michael Ferris has been our point of contact from previous end of tenancy to finding a new tenant. He has kept us informed throughout, provided detailed advice & support and a new suitable tenant was found within 6 weeks.

Claire · 14 June 2019

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Abigail was so lovely! A really friendly and informative approach. Thank you for all your advice

Grace · 16 June 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

This past week and longer have been a…

This past week and longer have been a nightmare our ceiling fell in the bathroom. With an ongoing issue with water coming in when it rained heavily since 2019. This last 6 months it just got worse and never actually got actioned anything we sent till our lights ended up tripping off and me consistently chasing updates. The roof has now been fixed and I have spoke on several occasions with molly and Andrea but more recently we have had radio silence, we still have bare wires hanging and debris hanging in the bathroom after the outside roof was fixed. All we have asked is to make it more secure, or ensure wires are isolated. We call and get fobbed off and get no response at all this has been so stressful barely having a bathroom and has affected my mental health. Having no lights at all and having to find refuge in family just to have a simple thing like a wash our ceiling won’t be completed for another few weeks internally and they last I heard I would be getting a temp light within the next few days. But can’t seem to get any more info that, glad I came across this as me an my partner we have no other choice but to move due to this as nothing will rectify how we feel right now. And also but a complaint in with the branch manager or property ombudsmen.

Abbie · 16 July 2021

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

Poor customer communications

I purchased a property in 2021 which was listed by Butter's John Bee's Crewe office. The initial contact process was poor with difficulty being experienced in speaking to someone who could assist with arranging a viewing. We were further frustrated by unnecessary obstacles in arranging a viewing of the property, allegedly due to Covid restrictions but which were not in line with the approach of other Estate Agents we had spoken to. We were only able to view the property we eventually purchased by escalating the matter to their branch manager and even then we received no apology. When calling the branch subsequently it continued to be difficult to speak to someone who could assist us with calls regularly routed to a 'Concierge' service which may as well have been a voicemail. On speaking to our seller they too felt their experience in dealing with Butters John Bee was poor. I will not be using or recommending Butters John Bee to list any future properties and believe their communications and general customer interactions are very poor.

Andrew · 14 July 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

BJB working round the clock!

Hi, I just wanted to say a big thank you to Stacey O’hara at Butters John Bee. I called after 6:00pm half-expecting the office to be closed, but far from it. Stacey was still working into the night and was happy to help me. She even emailed me the details that I needed so thank you BJB and please say thank you to Stacey from me.Steve Gray

Stephen · 10 November 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Excellent service Georgina was very helpful

Sharon · 16 February 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Brilliant experience

Brilliant experience, very helpful and will recommend to family and friends. Big thanks to Charlotte Foden for all her help and she made the whole experience very positive and the reason I felt she deserved a 5 star review.

Scott · 17 May 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Law breaking crooks AVOID AT ALL COSTS

Serious injury caused to my child due to not maintaining property. They ignored my emails for six months causing an injury to my child due to the property not being maintained. The Cheshire council told me they didn’t even issue my section 21 right as landlord wanted to sell house. BJB staff arrived at the rented house to try and intimidate me, no respect for the tenants right to live in peace . The worst communication and incompetent staff I’ve ever seen in an estate agent. The house is left immaculate and they are trying to tell me it’s £350 for a clean! They take advantage of their tenants especially if they’re vulnerable and can bully them. I will be taking this as far as it will go. Constantly being misinformed and lied to by Ben Molly and Stacey that’s if your lucky enough to be communicated with atall, the day my terminally Ill dad was on chemotherapy they gave me no notice for a gas certificate . They have literally no morals . Estate agents and landlords like this ruin lives . Absolute crooks would highly recommend to avoid this company. I will be taking further action Bjb.

Georgina · 4 July 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

No replies to phone calls no replies to…estate agent carnage

No replies to phone calls no replies to emails. How do they sell anything. Waiting days to hear back and still no response. Please people wake up and smell the coffee. Do not put your house on the market with these charlatans as real purchasers like ourselves will not even try and view with them. 3 days and no response to viewing requests on 3 different properties. My wife has also emailed the same requests and still no answer. Total waste of time

Martin · 3 July 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Couldn't have hoped for a better estate agent

We have completed the sale of our property today through Butters John Bee, Newcastle under Lyme office. We had four separate agents to do a valuation before we put the house on the market, as it was an unusual property with no comparables in the area. As soon as we met Julia Bramfitt from Butters we felt as though our house sale would be in good hands. Right from the start she gave us good advice and used her wealth of knowledge and experience to give us a valuation, rather than referencing it to completely incompatible properties which other inexperienced agents tried to do. Julia showed she was genuinely excited to be able to deal with our property and relished the challenge. Once instructed, a wealth of photos were done straight away and a draft advert was sent for our approval, and they were receptive to the alterations that we wanted. Julia did a wonderful walk through video of the property which really showed it to its best - the eventual buyers of the property actually told us that it was the video that made them want to have a physical viewing. Butters did not just upload the property to the internet and leave it, they actively went the extra mile to generate potential buyers, considering other uses for the property, including developer interest or commerical uses. Once an offer had been made they advised on the price negotiation and we didn't feel pushed into accepting any price just so that they could get their commission. Thomas Hands guided us through the process once the offer was accepted, giving us weekly updates and chasing solicitors and other agents to ensure that the sale went through as smoothly as possible.We can't thank them enough, and wouldn't hesitate in recommending them to other sellers.

DJW · 28 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Customer Service. What Customer Service

Wish there were no stars for starters.It has been three days now waiting for the promised phone call to view a property. How do they manage to sell them?Several emails and no reply. Both myself and my daughter are buying properties in the East Cheshire/ Staffordshire area. Impossible to get someone to call you back or respond to emails. My daughter managed to finally get one appointment where they sent her an appointment without the full address. Phoned them for instructions. We had travelled over 40 miles to the appointment. They did not know anything about the appointment but later that day someone phoned to ask what she thought about the property.!!! Complete incompetent ******sFrom now on, any houses for sale through this company will result in us actually knocking on the vendors door to report BJB and making an appointment direct.Thinking also of making flyers to put through any door with their for sale board showing.Avoid at all cost.

Mrs · 23 June 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Having been messed around by a prospective buyer that never materialised, I contacted BJB for help in selling our property. It was a Friday morning at 9am and I spoke with Nathan Cooper; by midday Nathan had met with us at the property and explained the sales process and how BJB would take care of everything and took all the marketing photos, and and by 4pm the same afternoon the property was listed for sale. We had a viewings within a matter of days, which continued until the Auction date, at which point the property was sold. Everything Nathan said at that first meeting was true...he and the BJB team took care of everything and the property was sold. With hindsight, I would have contacted Nathan/BJB from the outset. I would recommend BJB without hesitation.PositiveProfessionalism

Matt · 16 June 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

I rented a property and my agent was Abigail at the Newcastle branch. Whilst I cannot fault the service from Abi, Butters John Bee could do better, they expect the agents to do every thing on their own therefore it is difficult to speak to the person when required. Majority of the time you get the call centre and they tell you the agent is not available or is on another call (how do they know that)? Then you get a whole pile of different companies trying to sell you things and the referencing company putting all sorts of hurdles for you to jump over. Anyway enough of my rant, if you need good service from Newcastle Branch ask for Abigail, she will do her best for you.PositiveProfessionalism

Allan · 16 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Absolutely awful! At first Butters help us out alot when moving into our new rented property but as soon as it came to moving out they were dishonest and extremely unreliable. We had to wait a month to get our deposit back after being told we would receive it within 5 working days of moving out, we moved out in November and they STILL owe me and my partner half a month's rent that was overpaid on the final bill. For 80 days they have been telling us that our money will be refunded "this week" .... They are quick to take your money from you but as soon as they owe you you'll be lucky to ever receive it back!

Charlotte · 16 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Myself and the tenant have been lied to from the start and throughout and even pitted against one another. I have been left with unexplained and incorrect repair bills, incorrect fees, no keys to my own property, a contract I am not happy with and the majority of my furniture in storage. The tenant has been left with no front door key for over a week now, no emergency or out of hours contact number and several faults with the house for months, even though she chased and chased and chased. Fortunately the tenant and I have been able to sort a lot of this out between us, with great ease. Butters is a very poor estate agency, I haven't met a single person who has anything good to say about them. They take days to reply to calls and emails, if they ever actually do, they are unprofessional and seem to just pass messages between myself and the tenant without any input or assistance. They don't seem to have any communicating systems in place within the branch, and it appears that if one crucial person is off sick then the whole office falls apart. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone I like, let's put it that way! I have been forced to go through a complaints procedure to get back nearly £600! The first letter of complaint wasn't even acknowledged, the Newcastle branch should be ashamed of themselves!

Damian · 16 June 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Quality rental properties for tenants available consistently. Abigail knows her stuff clearly as she explains and discusses situations in an excellent Manor and is very professional while having the personal and friendly touch too. In todays world its so nice to deal with a personable person who clearly cares about her clients and will go above and beyond to assist where she can. She even called me about a rental property at 8pm of an evening, I've never come across that before!PositiveQuality, Professionalism, Value

Damien · 16 June 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Teri kept me informed about viewings, and my sale progression at all times. When I needed to know what was happening Teri had the answers. She was better at advising me on progress than the solicitors!

Kevino · 16 June 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Poor customer service, lacking honesty and help

*Edited* I rang to view a property with Butters John Bee (review covers two of the Cheshire/Staffordshire branches), having got an evaluation, with photographs ready for our instruction to put own property on market with other Sales Agent. Was told an agent would get back to me by Shannon.I had to ring again and was told the person was in meetings. I also contacted via email form to view another property but not to be contacted during certain hours due to an important meeting. A different agent (Ryan) contacted me during this meeting and made me feel belittled, told me the property was due to sell that evening and would allow me no visit to either property. He did not listen to me and talked over me. Trying to end the call due to my meeting, I found his behaviour insulting and upsetting. I was told that houses were being snapped up as soon as they are advertised, yet then went on to say the market is slowing. I was told that one property which we were hoping to put an offer in on had been having visitors for the past week and half, therefore we were too late to visit as the likelihood is that someone will have already offered. I asked if I could view anyway and this was met with a no. Whilst I understand our house has not yet been bought, we had the funds and our house was just awaiting our instruction to go live.The following day, the initial agent left a voicemail to ask what time I was attending the property. I tried to ring back and spoke to the receptionist who passed my message on. I had originally booked the afternoon off and receiving the bad news from Ryan, made alternative plans. Both myself and partner rang several times that day and the phone did not answer. My partner was told I had incorrectly completed the form and so my number was unknown, despite having registered with them and previously being ring by themselves.I finally got through and the individual had left for the day, but was told they would ring me back the following day. I again cleared my afternoon for the visit.I explained my surprise that I was now allowed to view both properties and was told that no offer was ever put in. I was also told that only two viewing days were occurring at this property, not consistent with Ryan's story.I believe this was just a selling technique which alongside the poor service has put me off using or recommending Butters John Bee. I have never been contacted again and sadly have missed out on putting in an offer at this home.

Anonymous · 10 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Do NOT trust - walk the other way - molly is not equipped to deal with property management

After renting in the same property for almost 6 years Molly Farelly returned a reference for myself with party false information which resulted in a reference for my new property being declined. Transaction receipts and bank statements do not lie but there was no intention for it to be looked into and rectified to reflect the truthful circumstances. There has also been a breach of data protection regarding my personal information being shared outside of the refencing documentation. Communication with the property management team over the last 18 months has been difficult to obtain, with concerns and issues left unaddressed or unrepsonded to for months on end. There have been multiple occasions in which information should of been passed to my landlord via butters john bee, but they have been unable to provide any proof or confirmation of their attempt to forward particular requests to the property owner. Failing on both the tenants and landlords side to to manage the property. They are however, keen to take rental payments and then lie on legal documentation and in molly own words "i don't know about any payment thats been made" ... I have lost every part of trust i had in this company. I would not recommend to a single sole ands would warn anybody applying to let a property managed by butters john bee....it really is scary to understand the power and implications these agents have with regards to your future prospects when the time is due to move forward. I caanot speak for sales and purchasing, however, property management, and espcially staff that believe they are managers due to working in a property mamagement roll have failed to fulfill their duties and have sent falsified information and sare not capable or equipped in to resond transparently to simple requests and comminications. Ben however, has tried his best to recall my reference and send one with the factual information, and the matter will be escalated with operational management and possibly in court, as it is probably too late and i will be stuck in this hell hole until a new property becomes available due to falsified information on a reference. Do not trust this company.

Shona · 10 June 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely amazing

Absolutely amazing! Jo Evans at the Stafford branch has been fantastic throughout our buying process, after many dramas she has always been there to help and support and even just to talk to! With us being first time buyers Jo guided us throughout the whole process and really did everything possible to help us along!I would recommend Jo and her team to anyone including friends and family! Everyone in the branch is so helpful and lovely to talk to, they really do know the meaning of true fantastic customer service!Once again Thank You so much!!!

Katie · 4 June 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Chloe L has been amazing helping me and my partner look at properties within our price range. And she has also helped us to make a viewing at one of the house we really like. She also gave us really helpful advice about us moving into our own place.

James · 16 May 2024