William H Brown Retford reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Will not return deposit

I would not recommend using this company when you need to rent/let a home while stationed at Mildenhall or Lakenheath.Yes they are great at finding you a property and at taking the rental money every month. However when it’s time for your rental deposit to be returned - it does not happen!We have been waiting for our rental deposit to be returned since January 2024 on a property that was rented in Mundford.We were told that our full deposit would be returned after we did our final walk through of the property.We still have not received the deposit. Every time we call the office we are told that the deposit is being transferred but it never happens. We have spoken to Daniel Juniper, Richard Thurston, and Aliya Vadillo. It should not be this difficult to get a deposit into our account. There has been zero follow up by this office to resolve this matter.Every time we call the office from the US our cell phone carrier charges us international rates on an average of $100 USD! It would be great if this company would take the time and spend their money to call us to confirm this has been resolved!If you are in the US military please Do Not use this company if you need to rent/let a home!!!!

H · 29 May 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

We were first time buyers are the ripe old age of 41 and Liz was brilliant, keeping us updated and helping us along the process. It really felt like she was championing our purchase from day one. Thanks Liz ☺️

Carly-Emma · 25 September 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Working with Tom has been a fantastic experience. He is knowledgeable, responsive, and made the entire mortgage process smooth and stress-free. Tom took the time to explain all my options clearly and found the best deal that suited my needs. I truly appreciated his professionalism and support throughout the journey. Highly recommended!

Tom · 17 June 2025

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Lettings - Holderness Road Branch Hull

William H Brown's Holderness Road Branch in Hull was tasked with managing 24 apartments but failed to provide satisfactory service. The absence of a senior lettings manager and reliance on outsourced call centres in Liverpool led to poor communication and unresolved tenant issues, reflecting a lack of proactive management.After enduring eight months of inadequate service, we tried to terminate our contract, only to uncover a hidden six-month notice requirement. This lack of transparency highlighted the company's focus on securing fees rather than providing quality service or ensuring client satisfaction.This negative experience with the local branch has convinced us to cease using William H Brown and its wider group for our property management needs nationwide. It reflects the importance of carefully choosing property managers who are truly committed to serving the interests of their clients and maintaining valuable business relationships.

Kekul · 29 April 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Many thanks to Robbie, Liz and Sarah who was involved in my incredibly difficult sale. Their patience is unbelievable and was professional throughout over a very long period. I really appreciate all your efforts. When i am in Retford next ill pop in the shop so I can thank you personally.

Liam · 27 February 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Where do we even start...

Welwyn Garden CityWilliam H BrownWe had an issue at home with our washing machine with a fault showing on the screen. We immediately contacted our estate agent for them to send out an engineer as we were home all week so needed to use our washing machine (of course). The estate agent we were dealing with replied to say they will contact the landlord to arrange an engineer to come out to look at the washing machine.2 weeks later.. nothing. We chased this with our estate agent who we must say had NO idea what he was doing. His responses and replies were awful and unprofessional, completely unhelpful.Maybe 2 1/2 weeks later, they sent out an engineer to finally look at the machine. In this time, we needed to wash our clothes elsewhere so took them to a family member who we were very lucky to have help us - some people aren't this lucky. Where they spent a total of £112 during this lengthy time to do our washing whilst needing to do washing for their own family.The engineer spoke to the estate agent to let them know that the system needed to be replaced completely. That was another 3 weeks that went by... which meant we were without a washing machine for around a month. During the time we waited for the new machine, we chased.. and chased.. and chased.You guessed it, no reply or a very unhelpful unprofessional email.Finally - a washing machine!We thought as paying tenants of a property, we would be eligible for some sort of compensation for the fact that we had no machine for a month (must just address, white goods come under the cost of the rent and we were still paying our full rent). We kindly asked the estate agent whether we could request some deduction of the rent from the landlord.6 weeks.. yes.. 6 weeks went by and nothing.. no updates, no word of a reply from the estate agent.We were then informed the estate agent was on annual leave, so another estate agent took over. Very helpful guy and we finally saw some hope!Within less than a day the estate agent replied to let us know the landlord was not prepared to offer a single penny for the stress we went through that month with the travelling to do our washing, stresses of emails and constantly checking to see about a response.Firstly.. I have very little doubt the initial estate agent even contacted the landlord regarding this situation as the landlord replied very quickly to the second estate agent.Where do we even go from here!? We can't let them get away with this. We have been treated so poorly and unfairly by William H Brown - not to mention the other issues we had within the property regarding insulation. We have been recommended to take this further with the ombudsman but honestly, we are so tired and fed up.(It's now 15/04) I must just also mention, we've had to continuously chase them for updates regarding anything.. literally anything to do with the house, repairs, money.. anything. We have since decided to take this matter further, now we are happy and settled into our new home. Wish us luck!Please avoid or please don't let them get away with taking money and not dealing with issues in a good time. We will NEVER go with William H Brown in Welwyn Garden City again.

Lauren · 15 April 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Appalling service

Appalling service after signing contract, send people that aren't even on the market to view.. never return calls, castleford staff are arrogant, and lie through their back teeth.. would never use William H Brown again and advise anyone not to use them and go with anyone but them. Put a complaint in and got more lies, end of subject.. the at te reviews they have so many one stars 😡

Beverley · 17 March 2026

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Scunthorpe branch of William H Browns…

Scunthorpe branch of William H Browns were absolutely diabolical. House was up for sale with them for 5 months .They did not respond to any of my e mails voicing my concerns at the lack of customer service and the length of time it took people to be able to get a viewing (2 weeks ) by which time they had already bought other properties.They booked multiple viewers in to view the property at the same time .They did not inform me if viewers had cancelled.The whole experience was negative they appear only to be interested in selling to property developers.Once contract was up I moved to a different estate agent and the property had 3 offers and was sold within 1 day for over the asking price .

CJ · 29 March 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Spoke to Grace who is the mortgage advisor for this branch, she was extremely helpful to both myself and my girlfriend who were going down as first time buyers. She walked us through the entire process, did a breakdown of all the expected costs and found us a potential lender based on feedback with fees, etc. While I didn't go any further with William H Brown, I would definitely recommend this branch as a place to start looking for a mortgage and was impressed with the quality of the service they're providing. Honestly couldn't fault it at all.

Richard · 26 August 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Excellent service

“I had the pleasure of working with Phil as my mortgage advisor, and I couldn’t be more impressed. Their expertise and professionalism guided me through every step of the mortgage process with ease. They took the time to understand my financial situation and goals, providing personalized advice and solutions tailored to my needs. Their communication was exceptional, keeping me informed and updated throughout the entire process. Thanks to their diligent work, I secured a fantastic mortgage rate that exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend Phil to anyone in need of expert mortgage advice.” Belinda

Belinda · 7 March 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Our experience with WH Brown Rentals…

Our experience with WH Brown Rentals was shocking. Upon taking a rental property under the managed scheme, like many tenants, we faced maintenance issues. For example, we lived in a property with an oil boiler. One morning, we awoke to find an issue. Despite informing WH Brown that we used oil, they repeatedly sent gas engineers, eventually stating, "We can't fix it; sort it out yourself." After obtaining the landlord's contact information, it took three days to resolve the issue, leaving us without a boiler during winter. When we requested a hotel due to WH Brown's refusal to address the problem and having young children, we were told, "Sort it yourself; we don't offer that. It's not our problem."Other reported issues weren't addressed under the management scheme, leading us to contact the landlord directly, who addressed them but requested we not report him to the council due to WH Brown's ignorance. When deciding to leave the house, the situation worsened.Upon contacting WH Brown, they told our new agent we were in contract and wouldn't be moving. After challenging this, they acknowledged our break clause. Regarding referencing, they claimed 2-3 weeks, which our new agent and the referencing agency found unacceptable, prompting an alternative approach due to WH Brown being labeled as "the most difficult agent I have ever dealt with for absolutely no reason."Despite three emails, we received the final account balance four weeks later from a company associated with WH Brown. The amount requested was incorrect, and when questioned, they refused to provide clarification. We paid the verified amount as per our contract through a solicitor.During checkout, we returned the keys, receiving the checkout report seven days later, conducted four days before we received a copy. WH Brown absolved themselves, stating another company handles the deposit. Ten days later, with no information, we've threatened legal action for deposit recovery. WH Brown, when contacted, cited busyness and non-responsiveness to emails. The checkout report showed photographed parcels, which we arranged to have collected by a neighbor. However, they were removed without permission, and we've reported this to the police as theft from WH Brown.I've never experienced such shocking service from an agent, and it seems we may need to take legal action to recover our deposit. I strongly advise anyone considering renting with WH Brown to think twice. This review is based on a genuinely terrible experience, and we will continue to fight to get our money back, regardless of the legal implications.

Karl · 15 December 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

We used WilliamHBrown for the sale of our property. They were all absolutely fantastic, particularly Sarah Kettlewell who was extremely helpful with all the paperwork, and Elizabeth Dinmore who worked extremely hard liaising with solicitors and our buyer. Everyone was very approachable and professional and nothing was too much trouble.

Caroline · 30 October 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

My agent Liz at WHBrown in Retford was extremely professional and helpful and kept everyone in the loop driving the move at the latter end. She never worried about how much time she gave making you feel like you were there only customer.

John · 27 February 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Good renting experience with…

Good renting experience with Williamhbrown. Special thanks to Matthew Wolff for his efforts and following up the process throughout.

Hanan · 4 February 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Many thanks Matthew Wolf for your…

Many thanks Matthew Wolf for your assistance. The service you provided made the renting process much easier and smoother.

Hadeel · 4 February 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I have not yet completed but my…

I have not yet completed but my experience so far has been plain sailing. All the team have been really helpful especially Olivia who carried out the valuation who was very sensitive to my personal situation . I also needed help with some paperwork and Olivia took the time to come and sit with me. Would definitely recommend their services.

Ruth · 19 October 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

We completed on our first home last week, Liz from the retford branch was amazing in providing us with updates and information. We were first time buyers so the process was so overwhelming, however the process was made so very easy with Liz and the staff at Williams H brown. We also used Tom Hill as our mortgage advisor. Tom really went above and beyond to help us with the process and to help us understand everything. 5 star service, wouldn’t go with anyone else.

Abbi · 11 August 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

we went to William H Brown as first time buyers. Tom was a amazing mortgage advisor and was really helpful and super easy to get in contact with during the hole process. Couldn't recommend them more.

Curb · 27 May 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Highly recommend! Seamless purchase with Elizabeth Dinmore at William H Brown, Retford. Liz went above and beyond to ensure we secured our property. Queries were answered immediately and she kept us informed throughout the buying process. Thanks for your assistance and hard work!

Megan · 23 May 2025

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

I recently moved home with William H Brown Tom Hill , mortgage advisor, gave excellent advice on both of my mortgages from start to finish He was totally committed to completing my mortgage on time with the upmost professionalism and knowledge of the product and processes It was very close to the wire for completion, I truly believe without Tom chasing everything up for me and communicating with the solicitors throughout the process I would not have completed on time So massive thank you Tom for your assistance and for making the hole process a smooth transition. Loving my new home 🏡

Marianne · 26 August 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Swaffham - Aston 10/10

Aston at the Swaffham branch was fantastic. He made us feel really comfortable and answered all the questions we had. As first time buyers it can be all very overwhelming at times however Aston made the process very simple. 10/10. Also Tony and Emily at the Swaffham branch are great. All very friendly and they are there for you across your house buying journey.

Adam · 10 July 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I found a rental property online and…

I found a rental property online and asked for a viewing. The property was located over 100 miles from my residence and as a consequence of this the employee said that they had a recent video of the property, she sent it to me and it looked amazing so I put in an offer. Contracts were exchanged and then on the day of moving the agency contacted me to inform me that the cooker had been condemned and had to be removed from the property and that the landlord was now refusing to buy a cooker and that they were not required to provide one. As you can appreciate at this stage I was very upset, however the agents said they would get back to the landlord to see if she would change her mind. The contracts had already been exchanged and the landlord was refusing to honour her side of the agreement on the moving day when the arrangements had been made and I had moved out of my current home. I would not use this company at all they have no common decency and to add salt to the wound I have to take them to court to get my money back for the E first months rent and deposit because they think that I should be held to the fixed term contract and be liable for paying the rent nevertheless! Do not trust this company!!!

Sabrina · 8 July 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

We could not recommend Tom enough. Don't get me wrong, the whole team are lovely but Tom has been very helpful every step of the way. He made everything seem simple in the way he explained everything and certainly wasn't pushy. Incredible service. Would highly recommend!

ScruffyJACK96 · 26 August 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

I’ve recently just completed on a purchase with William H Brown in Retford and i absolutely will be using them again. My mortgage advisor was Tom Hill who really went above and beyond to explain everything to me, nothing ever felt like a silly question! My selling agent was Sarah Kettlewell and she was fab at providing an update whenever requested! All staff were kind and helpful when I would ring up and nothing ever felt too much trouble. After a not so pleasant experience with a different local Estate agent to sell my previous property I was so relieved my purchase was with William H Brown! Thank you again ☺️

Izzy · 2 June 2024