Trusted Agent profile · St Albans
★★★★★
1,666 reviews across 2 platforms
50 High Street, Harpenden, AL5 2SU, St Albans, AL5 2SU
Connells's office in St Albans, at 50 High Street, is rated 2.0 out of 5 across 1,666 reviews on two platforms, including 32 Google reviews rated 4.5.
Every review we hold for the St Albans office, from every platform, shown as written. First names only.
1/5
TrustpilotInitial sales pitch was promising
Initial sales pitch was promising, which lead us to believe that Connells would be competent and trustworthy. What lay ahead was Rude arrogant staff who lied too us , no apologies or recognition of responsibility and sarcasm on phone calls. According to sources Connells are reviewing their finances. If our experience is anything to go on it won't belong before the administrator is in.
5/5
TrustpilotAll the staff were lovely and went…
All the staff were lovely and went above and beyond. So nice and so efficient and persistent. Big shout out to Lesley and Lauren. You ladies are the best and thank you so much.
5/5
GoogleI have recently sold and bought another house through Connells and could not rate them highly enough. They were exceptional! Justin Walters and his professional team, gave me outstanding service from the moment I made contact. Justin made himself available even out of working hours and, in spite of a few hic-cups, if it wasn't for his expertise and experience, I doubt I'd have met with the same success. Couldn't recommend Connells more highly. Five stars all the way from me!PositiveQuality, Professionalism, Value
Hello, thank you so much for taking the time to provide our Connells team with a 5-star review. We are so happy to hear Justin and the rest of the team helped you every step of the way with great service. If you ever require anything else from our team, we will be more than happy to help.
3/5
TrustpilotBad landord
My daughter was in one of the poorer maintained properties for a year whilst finishing a degree.. on leaving the property without any damage etc and cleaned the landlord started to use silly excuses to withhold the deposit.I must point out conells were not responsible for the maintenance and care of the property.Connell management stepped in and resolved the matter and the deposit was released .So a bit thank you to Connell for doing this.I would’ve given five stars, but it took a couple of months and a lot of frustration which is mainly down to the landlord. Would I recommend Connells In the future? Yes I would.
1/5
TrustpilotStay away - they are more interested in selling themselves than your house.
I contacted a branch of Connells in January with a view to choosing them as agents to sell my recently deceased sister's house. I felt in my meeting with them the agent made too big a deal about their success as large national company and their innovative sales methods and chose not use them and gave feedback to the agent. A few weeks later once the house was advertised by a rival local agency I was phoned by Connells trying to interest me in buying a house. I feel this was totally inappropriate use of my contact details. Rather than a giving a direct apology the young man (he sounded young) gave me a similiar spiel about the wonders of Connells I heard before. My advice is stay away from the corporate monolith that is more interested in selling itself than selling your house.
1/5
TrustpilotWorse experience our lives
Sold our property though them and it was one of the worse experiences of our lives. Verbal agreements and prior discussions to signing with them were not honoured in the contract. After going through their compliance team and met with no resolution, our complaint is currently being reviewed by the property ombudsman. There is zero customer service or apologies for things that go wrong and if there are any delays or issues you will be met with the fact that when you sign a contact with them you are agreeing to pay their fee for completion of a sale only as it's not an SLA. Therefore you are not signing for an agreed level of service which basically means they can do whatever they want. Even management and Area Director's don't give a toss and was even told by one that we were making a mockery of their contracts. Connells are hard nosed and don't look at vendors as humans, but simply as a financial transaction, despite house moves being one of the most stressful experiences in peoples lives. We had to chase for feedback of which was always pretty vague, their vendor app never worked depsite asking numerous times for it to be resolved, we had to rewrite the description of our property, changed the photos on the advert and took better ones with a Samsung phone. Oh and be aware of their photographers who when you suggest photos for your property, you will likely be met with 'no that won't work' or when you make suggestions on a USP for your property for it to be ignored as what do you know? (You have only lived in the property for X number of years) As it turned out s requesting for a change in photos and layout ended up with the sale we needed. After being stuck in this contract with them and no way out to sell our property quickly (we had bought a I am Sold Auction property) we took matters in to our own hands and did the viewings ourselves. After Connells marketing the property for 6 weeks with 10 viewings and no offers, the 4 viewings we did ourselves resulted in 2 offers of which one we accepted. After questioning all of this with Connells their response is sorry you are unhappy but we did get you to completion....well after paying £2.5k they didn't really get to us completion on their own. They registered an applicant and we basically secured the buyer ourselves.Please be warned about their tactics and their lack of transparency. The one saving grace was Adam who once we had an agreed sale was always amiable and friendly chasing up legal aspects. He is completely wasted in this toxic environment when it seems that the negotiators 'own' applicants, so don't be surprised when you call and want feedback, if you aren't talking to the negotiator who signed up the applicant you are unlikely to get any useful feedback.We now have another property for sale and wouldn't touch a traditional agent with a bargepole and have signed up with purple bricks for £399. After learning that anyone can take photos, and do a floorplan plus your own viewings this is a considerable saving. We have been really impressed with the ease, speed and follow ups we have already recieved with an online agent compared to a traditional one. At he end of the day remember with Connells you are not signing a SLA, you are only signing to commit to paying their fees when you complete - regardless of how they perform until you get to that point. When you run into issues with them don't expect any apologies, or compensation with them, expect to be gas lit and blamed for not reading a contract properly.
1/5
TrustpilotTerrible exerience with Connels
I am not sure if all estate agents are money grabbing, corner cutting vultures but my experience with Connels Worcester has been horrible. They ofcourse charged me with a £600 tenant finder fee, and have convinced me that the zero deposit scheme will ensure if there are any damages to the property they will be paid by the tenant(s). Ofcourse the apartment was left in shambles despite having regular inspection visits at my request and the repairs done to the flat were horrible. I would recommend finding a different management company to manage your property if you cant do it yourself. Absolute livid by their horrible service
5/5
TrustpilotAbsolutely positive experience
Absolutely positive experience. Please don't listen if someone says different it is marketing. I've been almost 7 months with this agency and I have only super positive experience. Sam, Ateja and a gentleman i forgot his name( i hope he forgives me ) super helpful, went above and beyond even out of working hours, on short notices honestly just can't find anything i could of complain. Absolutely awesome experience and would definitely recommend 👌 👍
1/5
TrustpilotIrritatingly pushy, with an unwanted 'hard sell'.
Last year Connells valued my house. From that point on I was constantly being contacted to ask when I would be putting the house on the market. Phone calls, messages, contact cards through the letterbox (with handwritten notes saying please call me). It put me off them. When the time came, I used another agent. Recently, Ive arranged viewings of other properties, via various agents and there have been no issues. They all offer services but don't push and respect it when you decline. Yesterday, I arranged a viewing of a property which Connells are marketing. I expected to supply my details, give them my search criteria, my brief circumstances and arrange the viewing, but found myself subject to a 15 minute hard sell of a product where an agent 'does everything for me' and also a hard sell of their mortgage adviser. Despite telling the agent that Im satisfied with all my personal arrangements and that I just wanted to view the property, he persisted, which was quite irritating. The viewing itself was conducted by a different rep. (I was 15 mins early and he was 10 mins late, without any apology). There was little input about the property and I found some simple and perhaps obvious questions could not be answered. He did, however put a lot of effort and time into giving me the hard sell again, repeating the conversation Id had with his colleague earlier. He questioned my own financial decisions and pushed heavily for me to consider the Home Search package. It actually distracted from the viewing and highly irritated me, especially when someone won't take the hint that Im quite happy (at 56 yrs) with my own decisions and that I didn't want the product. I am porting my fixed rate mortgage via my lender. It is sorted. I don't need to pay someone else to do it. I can and do (constantly) look at all the property platforms. Im registered with various agents who send me details of new listings (often before they are published). I don't need to pay a Connells agent to 'do all that for me'. Connells staff need to listen. Im there to simply view a property. If only they put as much effort into selling the property as they do trying to sell their products. The persistence soured the viewing and not only I could I not wait to end the viewing, but I am actually put off viewing properties where I have to deal with Connells again because I have no wish to repeat my experience.
5/5
GoogleAllan and Marion were superb in all aspects of our recent house purchase. They went above and beyond for all parties in the chain, even those who were not their clients. Their due diligence, sensitivity, communication and overall customer service was outstanding. I would highly recommend them!
Thank you for your brilliant 5* review and thank you for your recommendation Sarah. Best wishes, Lucy, Customer Relations.
1/5
TrustpilotAVOID!!!!
AVOID!!!!! These are the worst solicitors to use for buying and selling your property. They are unprofessional, rude, accept no responsibility when things go wrong and speak to you in a derogatory tone, like your an inconvenience for asking for an update.Poor communication with internal departments and actually bad mouth their own solicitors! Do not speak to external companies to chase enquiries, or update them. Everything is done via email, no personal touch. Dismiss your complaints and bully/threaten you when you question things.Increase fees which they don't tell you about or ask you to authorise then refuse to explain them when you receive your final bill.The list is endless!
1/5
TrustpilotAppalling service
Made an appointment to view a property. For 3 days in a row they sent me a reminder to attend the viewing. I arrived & waited in the bitterly cold weather for someone to arrive. On phoning the company I was told someone would be with me in minutes. After a further 10 minutes I phoned for a taxi to collect me. The agent did eventually arrive but I told her that I no longer wished to view the property. I thought I would've received an apology from the branch manager but no such luck. Avoid the company.
1/5
TrustpilotGDPR breach and passive aggressive emails - AVOID CONNELLS AT AL COSTS
I am receiving passive aggressive emails from Connells 5 years after they made my house purchase 10x harder than it needed to be despite being told my information had been removed from their databases in line with GDPR regulations- clearly they cannot even manage that. As a first time buyer I was given a terrible deal as I unfortunately did not know any better- if you are a first time buyer, or really any buyer, AVOID CONNELLS.
2/5
TrustpilotLike all estate agents
Like all estate agents, they are vague and not capable of providing buyers with the required information. Basically estate agents book in a handful of viewings, act as a path through to portals like Rightmove and that’s it. The house sells itself, not the agent. They just collect commission for hardly any work.
1/5
TrustpilotVery disappointing experience with…
Very disappointing experience with Connells. The staff were unprofessional and completely unhelpful whenever problems came up. Instead of trying to resolve issues, they avoided contact and ignored messages for weeks. I had to fight for over 10 weeks just to get my deposit back, which caused unnecessary stress and frustration. Communication was terrible throughout the whole process. I would not recommend this agency to anyone.
5/5
TrustpilotRecent valuation
I recently had a valuation carried out by Steve Mather, from previous experience I wasent full of confidence with Connells however Steve did a superb job , he hit the nail on the head with the valuation and the rent figures and it was exactly what was put forward, I wish more surveyors where like Steve. I hope he gets this feedback and I hope I get him again on future projects. 10/10
5/5
TrustpilotNicola and Mihai were both very helpful…
Nicola and Mihai were both very helpful and supportive during the process of renting a flat. They were able to coordinate matters from start to finish, and I would recommend both of them.
1/5
TrustpilotPoor they do not contact you
Poor they do not contact you. I wouldn't recommend them. I have asked 5 times what date doe's my contract end still no reply. The staff can be rude when you call for information. Do not sign the content. Please do not ues.
1/5
TrustpilotI loved the property on their site
I loved the property on their site, I asked for viewings on 31 ist of January, I was asked to view the property on a Saturday 05 of February, the key lock wasn't working I was asked to go back and view on 12th of February, after viewing we were told that we would get a phone call with landlords approval or not, then I got a phone call from the Connels, asking me how much I was gonna give to them i told the the price, and if it was long therm wich I agreed.No phone call from the Landlords approval or denial, I called the Connels twice on 12th and 13th of February,her colleagues told me: the first time the lady how show us flat was busy, the second time she was out, on 14th of February I checked the site and the Status was "let agreed "; later i was told that the flat was given to someone else. No common sense from the Connels to tell us the good or bad news before their changed the flat status on Google and let's find out this way.No common sense from the ConnelsI was wondering let agreed by whom?
1/5
TrustpilotDisappointing Experience with Connells Estate Agency
Unfortunately there is no option to leave no stars. Our experience with Connells Estate Agency has been disappointing and frustrating. Despite choosing to seel our house with them due to their familiarity, we encountered poor communication and unprofessionalism throughout the process. From inaccurate advice provided by their mortgage advisor which led to delays and unnecessary stress and wasting money on our part, to feeling pressured to accept offers from investors, it became clear that our interests as clients were not prioritised. Despite assurances, the agency failed to address our concerns effectively, leaving us with a lack of confidence in their reliability and credibility. Overall, if you want to have a stress free, professional sale DO NOT choose Connells to present your home to the market!
1/5
TrustpilotThey have been holding my deposit since…
They have been holding my deposit since March with no reason at all. We spoke to the landlord personally and agreed an amount which we sent an email detailing and still they don’t want to process our deposit. The one star is for Naomi and Ben from the hitchin office everybody else is useless
1/5
TrustpilotRude and do not communicate dont…
Rude and do not communicate dont update you and do not reply to messages .. waste if time and a just unreliable very unprofessional especially a guy named luke Rolt and chante Stott avoid these 2 at all costs
1/5
TrustpilotMortgage advisor
I went to get a mortgage in principle. After discussing and giving all my intimation, I didn’t hear anything from the company. I kept sending emails, and phone calls to the office multiple times. Every time I was told that someone would get back to me but nobody never got back. Incredible how such a company can even exist with such employees.
1/5
TrustpilotGhosting I believe has happened rental connells blaby office Leicestershire …
Ghosting I believe has happened rental property agent never replied back to me for ages then say not accepting my application affordability was there, taken all my time to gather all they needed and if this was a problem could have ask for a guarantor i have asked for all my documents to be removed and be deleted in my opinion appalling please be aware .
Where the same review appears twice we show it once. We leave out reviews that name another agent or another of the brand's offices.
Connells's St Albans office has 1,666 reviews across two platforms: 32 on Google, 1,634 on Trustpilot (across the whole business).
Connells Harpenden is rated 2.0 out of 5 across all 1,666 reviews, and 4.5 out of 5 on Google from 32 reviews.
Connells Harpenden, 50 High Street, Harpenden, AL5 2SU, St Albans, AL5 2SU.
