Connells Torquay reviews in Torbay

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The worst estate agent around

The shoddiest estate agent around. We had two lots potential purchasers come to our house directly because the estate agent would “not allow” them to come round . They are not interested in buyers that already have their own mortgage advisor or even cash buyers it seems.They are so greedy that if they are not getting the vendors estate agents fees, the buyers mortgage arrangement fees and even the solicitor referral fee that they get for using their “preferred” Solicitor they will not assist with the transaction. They inflate the valuation to try and get you to market the property with them. If you are a buyer and are unfortunate to have your new mortgage lender instruct them to carry out your survey, unfortunately they cannot be trusted either .

ABC · 14 June 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Awful.

Awful.We had the worst ever dealing with Bittern Branch.Lucy the lady in charge was rude to say the least as well as unprofessional and incompetent at her job.They tried to sell us a house with Legal issues surrounding it, and did not help or refer to this matter hence the sale fell through. They latter advertised the property with sold again, and yes you guessed it, it fell through again.No staff ever around to take your calls either.A friend also used them and swore by how bad they where and named also Lucy.Close the branch down.DO NOT SELL OR BUY OR RENT WITH THESE PEOPLE

Liz · 13 June 2018

★★★★★ 3/5

Trustpilot

Bad manager, don't care about the people

Me and my partner were suppose to have the flat in the begging of the month but they said that the house is not safe because of the boiler that needs to be fix. They said that it will that in maximum 2 days to work this out. Already pass by 2 weeks and after calls, going there and mails they don't give us at least updates about the situacion. They don't care about the customers and don't and don't care about the problems that we can have. For example I already delayed 3 deliverys and I am struggling to have everything settle to move in but no one does nothing to make that happens. Don't make business with them is not worth it the problems. The only person that saves the review is Macaulay that cares a lot and tries to help but because of is position he can't do more. If he was the manager I bet the problem was already solved.

António · 7 June 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

CONnells, it's all in the name!

The only time we received any service was prior to signing the lease agreement, after that was finished it seems things took a turn.Repairs took almost 2 months to even get looked at, changing the date that rental was due took another 2 months.Phone calls are never returned, emails ignored. Then they have the nerve to tell you they have been in communication with you the entire time.Now at the end of the tenancy they are withholding our deposit, this after an exit inspection which highlighted no issues. they now say the landlord wants to do an inspection himself, almost two weeks after us requesting our deposit back.Avoid these guys like the plague, never in my life have I had an estate mess me around and waste my time like this. Far better options out there!

Charl · 29 May 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Endless Problems Do Not Recommend

We have had endless problems with this lettings agency. If it was possible to give zero stars I would. First of all we were given the nightmare tenant from hell even though we specifically requested that we have a straightforward tenant who pays on time and isn't difficult. We paid management fees but I had to chase them up no end asking where is my rent money and I am still waiting on 2 months rent that remains in arrears. The entire thing has been a complete nightmare, I wish we had not chosen Connells from day one, we have lost so much money, all they want is your money and they don't do anything to help you whatsoever. I am deeply disappointed as this property was supposed to be an investment when in fact we have simply wasted our time. Absolute nightmare.

Maria · 25 May 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I wouldn't even give them one star

I wouldn't even give them one star. I did not deal with this company direct but my friend was in the process of renting a house from them, they took all her money and then just before moving in told her she was unable to move in as the land lord had changed his mind. It then took her weeks to get her money back with constant phone calls to them. They had also promised to give her a fee back which later on completely denied. She had the calls on loudspeaker in front of us all and the way Preti the lettings manager spoke to her on the phone was down right disgraceful. It took contacting the head office for her to finally receive her money despite the situation not being her fault and the agreed fee was completely disregarded. They would not provide recordings of the calls and were the most unprofessional company I have heard of. It caused my friend a lot of upset and worry just to be shouted at and called a liar. PLEASE DO NOT EVER USE THIS COMPANY! INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE HAVING THEIR MONEY TAKEN DAILY.HOW THEY ARE STILL IN BUSINESS I DO NOT KNOW.

Aimee · 24 May 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I wish I could give minus stars

I wish I could give minus stars. In a nutshell, maintenance issues weren’t fixed including a blocking toilet from day one. Despite payment rent in full and on time every single month I received arrears letters every month.In the end they made me my life so miserable I became ill through stress. I had no choice but to move, incurring further cost. I am an good, honest and respectful tenant. This was just a very distressing experience.I am still awaiting my deposit and I left a month ago.I would never ever recommend or use this company again.

Rachel · 24 May 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Having used connells through Burchell…

Having used connells through Burchell Edwards, Ilkeston. I was interviewed by the senior mortgage advisor (Rachel Cox) ...I was given a mortgage offer and on enquiry was assured the solicitor fees would average around £1000 “give or take a couple quid” without extra or hidden costs however, my solicitors bill came in at over £1800. When I asked why this was, I was informed it was due to the fact the property I was buying was a new build property being purchased through the help to buy scheme and they come with extra costs, further to this I asked why wasn’t I told this when I enquiried about the legal fees and the response I received was “ I didn’t know about it”.This left me feeling very frustrated as I had to raise extra unexpected funds due to the incompetence of a senior mortgage advisor not knowing about the product she was supposed to be an expert in selling. It would be like a car salesman knowing nothing about cars.Further frustration was experienced with the lack of communication with Burchell Edwards, conells and conveyancing direct. I’ve had to constantly chase them with emails or phonecalls to find out what was happening. Otherwise months would elapse without anything. When I did eventually get to speak to a human I was more often than not told “They're not available right now, I’ll get them to ring you back” to which these callbacks rarely materialised.When I have been lucky enough the receive correspondence from conveyancing direct at times the emails have been so poorly written it’s nonsensical and barely passable as belonging to the English language.Even the legal paperwork such as contracts and mortgage offers are inundated with spelling and grammatical errors, which considering they are supposed to be a legal binding document, astounds me.Due to delays with the builders and solicitors I have had to extend the mortgage offer which meant I incurred further charges, but I was informed this would be refunded to me. This has yet to materialise. Furthermore I was told that the retention deposit I paid to secure the plot I wanted would be deducted from my deposit towards the house, yet there is still no sign of this being true.So my advice to anyone considering connells or any of its affiliated companies such as conveyancing direct or Burchell Edwards, if you value your time and money AVOID AT ALL COST.

Karl · 12 May 2018

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Rob the mortgage advisor was extremely helpful and very knowledgeable, would definitely deal with Rob and Connells again.

Jane · 26 October 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The Valuer tried all sorts of bribery…

The Valuer tried all sorts of bribery to get me to list my house for sale with them - even was offered me a job as a ‘home stager’ if I listed with them! But I had to sign a contract first!! Saw the mortgage advisor who quickly lost interest in me because I would not sell through the agent - and he did not bother to follow up my application. A big thumbs down from me . Avoid.

Joanne · 9 January 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

do not go with Connells

I would have liked to say that they were great and that they sold my house but sadly that is not the case. I had my house with them for 4 months (Headingdon branch) and I hardly got any viewers through the door. The team is young and sadly (always in my opinion) they do not get back to you on time, they do not put their out of office when they are away so you never know why they wont respond, or they simply do not email you back for the first couple of days, even though sometimes what you need is urgent. They overpriced my house by £50,000, yes you read right, no wonder why the house never got sold. When I expressed my worries I then got “why did you not tell us that the price was too high”. How am I meant to know this, you are the agency that should be there to support me and guide me through this stressful time. On the very few viewings I did have I had noticed that the agent would either not lock the door behind him or simply not bother getting back to me for feedback unless I called in to check. Finally, they make you sign the contract, tell you what you want to hear of course and then once the property is online you notice that the floorplan is not even there, that you have to pay extra for it, just like the professional photos (which were awful and very bright). I would not recommend them, they only delayed everything for me by 4 months, something I cant get back and caused me and my family a lot of stress and problems. Stay away is what I would advise!

Sara · 11 April 2018

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

The worst letting agency ever conceived

If there were awards for the worst letting agency ever operating, they would be winning every single one of them. I have heard some really bad opinions from people who used to deal with them but decided to view a house anyway, as it did seem perfect for me. First meeting - they have got the wrong pair of keys so I was unable to view it - wasted 30 minutes of my life.Second viewing, rescheduled - no one from the agency showed up - waited 15 minutes and went home laughing. Why would they ask 420 British Pounds of administration fee for jokes like this? It's a shame companies like these control so many decent houses in England, blocking the market essentially.

Ulven · 21 March 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely useless

Absolutely useless. Over-priced our house to get our business then suggested a significant price drop within two or three weeks. Now claiming that they said from the start that an offer £150K less than their suggested asking price would be an extremely good one! The initial prospectus had loads of faults - listing it as a three bed when it's a four bed, for starters - and communication has been terrible. We haven't had a single viewing in the four months that it's been on the market - which is bizarre even if it is over-priced - so I've given up and taken it off. Complete waste of time - do not use this lot even if they promise to chuck in a golden helicopter and a couple of unicorns as part of the deal for selling your house.

Amanda · 16 March 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Avoid wherever possible.....

Appalling communication with their own staff and with prospective buyers. They don't return calls; lie regarding receiving information requested, to the point they don't even bother to cover the fact when forwarding said information, saying they've 'just' received it but it was clearly received 1 week + before; will continue to show prospective buyers around properties and take details of offers After previous offers have been accepted whilst leaving you waiting and hoping that your offer has been accepted and all this will take in excess of a month!! When tackled about this, they will try to bluff their way through conversations, When you manage to speak to someone who usually doesn't have a clue what's going on! They obviously get paid so much commission they don't have to consider customer service for either vendor or buyer!!! If it were possible to give a minus star, I'd recommend that!

Ruth · 13 March 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Never ever use Connells, cost us a fortune

Avoid them, selling our house through them, they originally quoted us a high price to get us to sign with them. This is a lie to get your business. Then after waiting and dropping the price 10%, they asked if we would take a cash buyer for £1000 less than the asking price. We accepted as long as it was a quick sale.We ended up waiting months and Connells claimed to have never said it and that it was a mortgage deal. Ended up costing us money, I would never use any of their branches ever again. The sooner these types of cowboys are out of business the better. Take your business elsewhere, you might as well use purple bricks for the little Connells did for the thousands they charged, it was everyone waiting for them that delayed the sale even further.

LJ · 23 February 2018

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Connells Torquay

Would highly recommend the lettings department at Connells Torquay. I only had a day to find a property to be able to re locate for a job. I turned up for my viewing with Harry and because of his quick judgment realising the property wasn’t right he took me to another property I hadn’t even booked in for. I was able to move in the next week! Fab, quick, efficient and friendly service, would definitely use again!

Lilian · 28 November 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

BEWARE the Connells' (Estate Agents) Mortgage Advice Service

Where do I begin? This organisation offers free mortgage "advice" up to a point, after which "lifetime broker" fees are charged: supposedly once you decide to go ahead. But what happens if the member of staff you're dealing with lies to you? In this particular case, one young lad working for Connells decided to tell a few porky pies which resulted in a £499.00 fee being deducted up front, rather than after completion of the mortgage - he said it would be charged at the end. As a result the mortgage application was immediately cancelled (within 7 days of the unexpected fee being deducted from the bank). If you can't trust people to be honest about the simple things, why would you trust them to be honest about the more expensive/complicated things? Strangely, the guy no longer works for Connells having "disappeared" a few months after the first complaint was lodged. However, something weird then happened. Connells admitted that the "broker" fee covered certain works which had NEVER taken place yet refused to reimburse it! This relates to Clacton on Sea branch. The funny thing is - when you ask staff around the country what the "lifetime broker" fee is, and what it covers - you get different answers depending who you ask. How can that be so? HQ refuse to answer the question: "what work does the fee cover"? - so much for complying with MCOBS (the Mortgage Code of Business Sourcebook): MCOB 3A.2.1 Rule: (1) When a firm communicates information to a customer, it must take reasonable steps to do so in a way that is fair, clear and not misleadingMCOB 2.5A.1 Rule:A firm must act honestly, fairly and professionally in accordance with the best interests of its customer. If a firm has caused unnecessary and or avoidable costs, as a direct result of statutory negligence, you have the right to claim compensation pursuant to section 138D of the FSMA 2000. Steer clear of this company if you wish to be treated fairly (in my opinion). If you get caught out: I hope the above info helps x

Simon · 12 February 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Getting your deposit back is a struggle

11 days after the landlord instructed them to release the deposit with no deductions, I'm still waiting. Apparently they're having IT issues and can't send an email to some team for them to release the funds. Asked what the complaints procedure was and they refused to provide it. Stay clear if you're looking for a rental property. 75% 1 star reviews says it all....

Charl · 26 July 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

My ABC Rule, Anyone but Connells!!

Having over 20 years of property experience I have seen Connells woeful standard on numerous occasions. I had such reservations that I listed various properties for an Agent to assess then as there was a Connells Valuer with 12 years’ experience in the same building, he cast his eye over the figures, before I relayed the information to my Lender. The result a different Connells Valuer with 3 months experience saw the places and these was a total drop in prices of £800:000!!2 years on and a house was valued at £1.25 million and £1.35 million by Local Estate Agents for Connells to thereafter turn up and say £975K!! 8 months later, a different firm values the untouched property at £1.45 million. Recently 4 and 5 bed flats were valued on the same development at 650K with rents strangely being stated at exactly the same level. As the rents were years out of date, bank statements and AST’s were evidenced to the Lender who subsequently decided to ignore Connells figures who rather than accept them preferred their fiction. To further damn them they valued a further 5 bed near Fulham at £500K again with ludicrous rents. Bored with their ineptness a new firm was commissioned and surprise surprise they accepted bank statements, AST’s and quoted 10 comps in the area. Result - the places valued shot up from £500K to £650K !!So, based on my experience, if you wish people to be unreliable, make up unrealistic rents and values then refuse to change their figures and hide when they are caught out - then I strongly recommend this organisation to you.

Mr · 17 January 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Really bad customer service

Requested some viewings on properties through Right Move with Connells. Promptly got a call back where I was asked about preferences and then suggestions were made in light of this. This was good and did listen to me and what i wanted in a house and made good suggestions. He then asked about mortgages and whether i had a mortgage broker already. I did explain that i already had one and had an appointment and that i had had a bad experience previously with a mortgage broker from Connells so wasn't keen to use them. The guy did get quite pushy and i did feel very uncomfortable and had to firmly say that i wanted to wait until I'd see my other mortgage broker. The next day I drove 25 minutes in bad traffic at rush hour after work to view a property that i had requested a viewing through Right Move. My partner and i got out the car, a few minutes letter, after the guy had finished texting or something he got out the car - not the best first impression. He knocked on the door of the property as apparently the homeowners would be in whilst the viewing took place. No answer. Five minutes later after still no reply, the guy said he didn't have the keys and was surprised the owners weren't in as they had been in on other viewings. You would have thought, to be prepared you that he would have the keys just in case of such occasions or phoning the homeowners the day of the viewing to remind them to be in etc... Quite annoyed as we had driven a long way in bad traffic. Luckily we had another viewing lined up down the road. Arrived there, again the guy stayed in the car a bit longer on his phone before getting out the car. As we approached the property, the guy asked why we weren't using their mortgage broker again being quite blunt, again had to tell him why. Let in the house, no information or details given about the house as we walked round!! We had to ask lots of questions such as where the parking was, price, double glazing, rooms for ourselves. he literally just said nothing at all about the house, he just followed us from room to room, quite honestly looking like he couldn't be bothered. To top it all off, on the way out the guy asked again, about booking an appointment with the mortgage broker at Connells. At this point my partner had to put in a firm word and tell him again about our mortgage broker we had already lined up. I understand they want the sale and customers, it was just the way and the amount of times we are asked - did feel like an ambush and quite uncomfortable. The guy speeded off half saying as he got into is car that he would give us a call with more properties and to re-arrange the first viewing. We have not been called back and this happened a week ago. Really unimpressed, disappointed and will avoid having anything to do with Connells ever again!!

Becky · 16 January 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The most horrific experience of my life…

The most horrific experience of my life dealing with Connells. Terrible communication, rude, never apologise, they are currently withholding my money and won’t tell me when I can expect to receive it. This is renting with them in Manchester. Avoid like the plague!!

Laura · 21 March 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

It's as bad as it is possible to be

It's as bad as it is possible to be. Just awful in every regard. Do not give them your card details, no matter what they tell you to get the money out of you. I cannot believe they can still operate when they behave in such an appalling manner. All their properties are advertised elsewhere, so if you see their name against a property, just keep on looking and find a proper agent to rent through.

Carter · 30 March 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely avoid like the plague

Absolutely avoid like the plague! From start to finish, I have never in my experience dealt with such uncouth, absurd and depressingly unprofessional agents. At the beginning of the sale, there was an air of niceness: when I was first shown the property, everything seemed OK. All questions were clarified and answered, brochures were given and information was made available. Or so I thought...The second I offered my selling price, I was immediately hounded for solicitor details. As a first time buyer, the process of buying was incredibly new to me and so I was very miffed at this strange pressure that I was facing. Then for a short while, everything seemed OK...surveys took place, the solicitors completed all the paperwork and the vendor and I (at the time) managed to secure a solid relationship to ease the stressful nature and process of buying...All of a sudden came the day of exchange and completion. This is where things went utterly wrong and woeful. The agent that had initially shown me the property uttered depraved slander about me to my Mother (who had collected the keys on my behalf) which utterly infuriated me. But worst of all was the management. Never have I had to deal with so many lies. It's actually laughable. After nearly 4 weeks after exchange, the "for sale" sign is still outside my door. I have contractors coming in to start work and that to me just spells absolutely disastrous customer service. Throughput this whole process, it has been a trainwreck and a nightmare. The process of buying is never easy and you need an agent that can soothe and ease all your concerns. That has absolutely not been the case for me whatsoever. If there is any final advice I can give to anyone, it's this: run. Run as far away as possible because this estate agent will just use and abuse. Take it from me, if you see a property you like, do not buy through them.

Bhavna · 24 December 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Look at the star rating...

Look at the star rating... it says so much From the moment I moved in, stains and filth were missed off the inventory and it took them 3 week (post moving in), to take an accurate description of the condition of the flat, baring in mind neighbours had warned me of underhand tactics The lettings management team don’t respond to correspondence, they took 17 weeks to fix a minor issue and then they’re now delaying on further more significant repairs and issuesAvoid at all costs

Jay · 11 December 2017