By : 'Dan' Services : Sales( As a Buyer ) Sold price : £347500 Would you recommend ? : No Postcode : PL21
10 Jul 2023
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There are many good estate agents to sell your house with in Ivybridge, but Connells certainly aren’t one of them. Having just completed a purchase with them, I can confidently say I would never sell with them – even if they were the last estate agent in business.
They seem... Read Full Review
There are many good estate agents to sell your house with in Ivybridge, but Connells certainly aren’t one of them. Having just completed a purchase with them, I can confidently say I would never sell with them – even if they were the last estate agent in business.
They seem generally disinterested in selling houses, with my first interaction with them being a week of them not answering the phone so I couldn’t book a viewing. When I finally got through to somebody I was told when viewings would be, rather than asking when would suit me, something every other estate agent seems to handle. They make you wait at least a week from when the property comes on the market. Other agents will have a sold sign in your front garden before Connells have got the first viewing booked in.
With a viewing booked I turned up to the property at the agreed time, only to be stood up. When I called the office to find out where they were, apparently, they weren’t on their way as I hadn’t ‘confirmed’ my viewing. Somebody begrudgingly came to meet me at the property and proceeded to show me round the property at the speed of light.
Viewings aren’t followed up (again, something every other agent manages to do) and feedback from buyers is not sought – who knows what they say to sellers when they have a viewing that doesn’t go anywhere. Questions asked on viewings are not answered or followed up and the agents on viewings do no prior research on the property so serve to do little more than unlock the door for you. I would say they should be more proactive in dealing with buyers, but I think they ought to get a grip on being reactive first.
Should you be unlucky enough to actually want to buy a property Connells have for sale, you will have to try to get them to actually listen to an offer. Having made a number of offers before reaching agreement with the sellers of my property, Connells failed to comply with s.9a of the property ombudsman’s code of practice – they did not confirm all offers made by me in writing within the specified 2 days, rather, they did not confirm them to me at all. It would be fair to assume this may have been a one off, but having discussed this with other buyers, it seems to be standard practice for this office not to bother. I had to resort to emailing the office myself to ensure there was a record of what was said in telephone conversations.
The general attitude of the team meant that, despite wishing to raise these issues at the time, I decided not to make a complaint as I felt it may prejudice my buying position. I did not trust Connells to treat me fairly.
If you do make an offer, you might get an update, you might not. I had to chase every offer and had to resort to visiting the branch to actually get any meaningful update on the purchase. In the course of buying I also made offers on other properties with other agents, who were able to call the sellers that day and provide an update within 24 hours, if not instantly – Connells had me waiting weeks.
Communication is not a strong point of this office either; they don’t even seem to talk to each other. One member of the team called me while I was on a viewing with another member of the team, and on another occasion, I was called to ask if I was still looking for properties while negotiating on the purchase of one. I’d leave messages with one of the team asking for others to call me back, only having to follow up myself days later when I didn’t get promised call backs.
Should you have the misfortune of dealing with a transaction Connells are involved in, do yourself a favour and find your own local solicitor (as I did) and avoid their recommended ‘Premier Property Lawyers’. Thankfully my transaction was straightforward, but I wouldn’t want them involved for anything more complicated or time sensitive.
If you have a house to sell, find an agent that actually wants to sell it for you, not Connells.
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5 Star Review
Stuart
By : 'Sally' Services : Sales( As a Vendor ) Sold price : £365000 Would you recommend ? : Yes Postcode : TQ10
13 Feb 2019
People found this helpful0
Friendly, helpful and professional approach. All viewings conducted well and communication good. I felt that my views were always considered and acted... Read Full Review
Services : Sales( As a Vendor )Date: 13th Feb 2019
Friendly, helpful and professional approach. All viewings conducted well and communication good. I felt that my views were always considered and acted on.
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1 Star Review
By : 'Hariold' Services : Sales( As a Vendor ) Would you recommend ? : No Postcode : PL
3 Dec 2018
People found this helpful1
Our experience of selling a property through Connells was a bad one. During the process we raised a complaint. The complaint was acknowledged but never dealt with, as had been indicated, before completion. After completion the complaint was still not addressed and Connells failed to follow... Read Full Review
Comments on Agent Fees
The fees were typical. However, if the high street agent is to survive the challenge presented by the internet, we would suggest they need to deliver something of "value"; such as excellent service. Since that "value" was missing, the fee charged was too much.
Our experience of selling a property through Connells was a bad one. During the process we raised a complaint. The complaint was acknowledged but never dealt with, as had been indicated, before completion. After completion the complaint was still not addressed and Connells failed to follow its' "complaints procedure". Eventually, Connells acknowledge errors had been made. An apology followed and some financial compensation. It was, however, like getting blood out of a stone. Very disappointing.
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1 Star Review
By : 'Seller,' Services : Sales( As a Vendor ) Would you recommend ? : No Postcode : POST
6 Nov 2018
People found this helpful0
Awful. Awful for a whole range of reasons. The main ones being leaving my property unlocked after a viewing; 'forgetting' to mention that buyer wanted white goods, curtains and a new wardrobe included in the price, only mentioning this at the 11th hour and then accusing me of lying that ... Read Full Review
Awful. Awful for a whole range of reasons. The main ones being leaving my property unlocked after a viewing; 'forgetting' to mention that buyer wanted white goods, curtains and a new wardrobe included in the price, only mentioning this at the 11th hour and then accusing me of lying that they had told me - when I had an email from the Connells Manager apologising he forgot to mention it(!). Subsequently lodged a formal complaint that wasn't lodged for months and was only lodged when I reminded them! Amateur hour, it really was. Do yourself a favour and save the stress and headache of dealing with these people.
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2 Star Review
By : 'LS' Services : Sales( Prospective Vendor/Buyer ) Would you recommend ? : No
1 Jun 2012
People found this helpful5
This property was on the market with two agents and the owner had accepted an offer from us through the other one. Our agent contacted Connells to let them know that an offer had been accepted. Connells then found out how much we had offered and engineered a gazumping. We complained, but they... Read Full Review
What agent could do to change your mind?
They could have been more understanding when we complained and simply apologised. Instead they insisted they hadn\'t broken the law and wouldn\'t back down in the slightest. Seriously, all we wanted was an apology, but they stood by their despicable behaviour which while legal, was not moral.
Services : Sales( Prospective Vendor/Buyer )Date: 1st Jun 2012
This property was on the market with two agents and the owner had accepted an offer from us through the other one. Our agent contacted Connells to let them know that an offer had been accepted. Connells then found out how much we had offered and engineered a gazumping. We complained, but they didn't apologise, merely quiblled over the definition of gazumping. It was a terrible customer service experience and while they may not have broken the law they did put us and the seller in an awkward position and the way they did it certainly wasn't right. Due to the way our complaint was handled we would never consider using Connells and would warn you off of them. Needless to say we purchased a different house through our agent and have now moved into the property, and we have given our agent a much better review!
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