Connells Reviews 

Connells (Canterbury) managed a property which I rented for almost nine years. Whilst they were kind of adequate in managing the property and would respond reasonably quickly to any maintenance issues their behaviour when it came to return the deposit was appalling. They attempted to withold £895 of a total deposit of £1378. They claimed this was for cleaning and damage repair but I cleaned the property thoroughly before I left and nothing in the house was damaged. I raised a dispute about this with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme which was a bit of a pain to do and took quite a long time to be resolved but, ultimately, I received the full disputed deposit back. Another friend of mine who rented through Connells had a very similar experience and didn't receive any of his deposit back. They're basically thieves and obviously view not returning the deposit as a means to make money. I would never rent anything through Connells again because of this and I'd advise people to be very, very wary because I suspect they try to do this with everyone. They also don't really reply to any email correspondence and still, four months after I moved out have not returned the undisputed amount of the deposit. I only received the full disputed amount of the deposit back from TDS because they didn't bother submitting any of their evidence which just shows how incompetent they are generally. I'd advise everyone to go via TDS or whatever deposit holding scheme it is (I think there are a few) if you have a similiar problem to me with the agents witholding an unreasonable amount of the deposit. I think Connells are just thieves and I would never, ever deal with them again. Hope their business closes.

I can not praise James from Connells Grantham enough, from the first meet and viewings through a challenging process to rent a property he was faultless. Nothing was too much, he gave his all and helped and updated me constantly. I am so very grateful for everything he did and the support I got before during & after I got my tenancy agreement. I had dealing with a couple of others at Connells and they too were amazing.
Thank you James for everything, I highly recommend Connells.

Kirsty from the accounts team from Connells, she really helped me from start to finish with my query, considering our urgent situation we’re currently dealing with - she made sure to do everything she could to help us out and went above and beyond for us. Really glad I spoke with her.

Very poor experience with Connells. I was quoted a clear fee to find new tenants which was supposed to include references, Right to Rent checks and the tenancy agreement. Instead, I received a statement with lots of extra and duplicated charges.
I also had major problems getting my deposit refund, with poor communication and conflicting information from staff. The whole process has been stressful and frustrating. I will not be using Connells again.

I had to take some time to calm down before writing this review.

We chose Connells at Lyppard Grange Worcester because they had successfully sold our property before, and initially everything seemed promising. In fact, they sold our property before the photos had even been taken.

Unfortunately, things quickly went downhill. On a Saturday morning, we accepted an offer and instructed Lucy to inform the buyers immediately. However, she told us she wanted to wait until she had received confirmation of their mortgage in principle. I specifically asked her to let them know we had accepted the offer, as I didn't want them left waiting all weekend without any update.

On the Wednesday afternoon, the prospective buyers unexpectedly arrived at our home to tell us they had withdrawn from the purchase. They explained that, because nobody had informed them their offer had been accepted, they had gone ahead and made an offer on another property. According to them, the first communication they received was on Wednesday afternoon—far too late.

We eventually sold the property through another estate agent, The Property Centre, but due to the circumstances we had to accept £15,000 less than the original offer because we had already committed to purchasing another house and put a deposit down.

I submitted a formal complaint, but the investigation found in Lucy's favour. I challenged the outcome and requested a further review, only for that complaint to be dismissed as well. What makes this even more frustrating is that Lucy was the Branch Manager.

Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this branch.

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.

James was a great guy 100

I have bought or sold 85 properties in my lifetime, and must confess that Stratton Creber (Liskeard), on of Connels subsidaries through Countrywide, have been the worst I have dealt with. In fairness, they did find a buyer but as far as they were concerened that was it, they wanted nothing to do with the progression of the sale. Never had any feedback from them, it was always us chasing them. I did complain, but was told that sales progression is not part of their service, even though that was differnt to what I was told when placing the property for sale and differnet to the property ombudsman guidelines which they profess to adhere to. There are may much better agents out there and I would asvise using one of them. I did complain but teh feedback we received was full of errors and in many cases factually incorrect, so the case is now going to the property ombudsman and possibly the small claims court.

Connells Letting Agents (Hitchin)
Extremely disappointed with the service from Connells Letting Agents in Hitchin. Once you have rented a property and they have your money they are painfully slow to respond to even the most basic enquiries, and when you do eventually get a reply, nothing actually gets progressed. There is little to no follow up, and you’re left constantly chasing for updates that should be proactively provided.
To make matters worse, the lettings “manager” is unable to answer basic questions such as “how do I get my deposit back” and repeatedly gave inconsistent or unhelpful information. From my experience, she appears to have little understanding of the legal obligations and standards expected of a UK letting agent, which left me with no confidence that issues were being handled correctly or responsibly.
The worst example of their negligence was allowing a tenant to go without heating and hot water for nearly a month. This is not a minor inconvenience—it’s a basic necessity, and the lack of urgency or ownership was shocking. Calls and messages went unanswered for days at a time, promised actions didn’t happen, and there was no meaningful communication about what was being done or when it would be fixed. We had to contact our local council, the environment department and our local MP before anything was done.
Overall, this office appears disorganised, unresponsive, and indifferent to tenants’ welfare. I would not recommend Connells Hitchin to anyone who expects timely communication, basic follow through, or a responsible approach to urgent repairs.

Avoid if you can.

AN UPDATE - New tenant left the property because on moving in had no running water except in the kitchen and only cold water. Hitchins blamed "the previous tenants for leaving the place in a state". Disgusting and defamation of character. They are liars!

I rented a flat throughConnells 2 years ago.. After 2 years and 3 months I moved out.. I painted the whole flat, cleaned all the carpets with carpet cleaner, changed all the curtains and returned it.. I didn't do any damage.. I didn't even use a nail. But they didn't give me back even 1 penny of my deposit amount. I don't know what to do. It's been 3 years since I came to the UK. They are taking advantage of me.

Rented a property from Connells, at the end of term landlord tried to exploit and grab the deposit and Connells acted like they can’t take any responsibility. Connells were the ones rented the property and should’ve taken some responsibility.

Not bad.Poor communication via email and phone.Would not recommend.

Stevenage Connell! If you’re looking for broker that knows their job, this is your place to hit up!

After many failed attempts with other brokers, we’ve been recommended Connell. From the moment we’ve entered this office we’ve had an absolute pleasure to work with Julie Twinnings. What an expert she is! Her knowledge reaches far out across and her transparency with professionalism led with quality mindset has given us certainty and a good night sleep through the whole process.

Julie, we are ever so grateful for your exceptional service, your availability, flexibility, knowledge, friendly and professional approach, going above and beyond! You’ve made our dream possible!

Thank you ever so much again! Wishing you all the best.

Unfortunately I had a terrible experience with Connels. I was first advised to auction my house for a speedy sale. Although I did want a quick sale, they did not explain the implications in terms of fees and selling price. When I called, no one one would answer or return the call. The onus was always on me to get feedback from viewings. I changed estate agent as Connels lost a sale - they told me they gave up trying to contact the potential buyer as they didn't get through to him after a couple of attempts and they just assumed if he was still interested he would be in touch. When I changes, someone who viewed the house called the new estate agent to enquire. Obviously, they were not able to have a second viewing but explained to the new estate agent that Connels did not answer any of their questions and did not show the house properly.

Extremely poor service from Stourbridge branch. Can we give
0 stars? Where to start?…. Poor communication, promises not kept, no pro activity, lacking staff with expertise, complacency, seemed to have no interest once you’re signed up. There are plenty of other agents in Stourbridge….give one of them your business and commission instead.

We used the Connells Newport Pagnell branch to sell our home, and it was a terrible experience. Before you sign the contract, they will promise you the world, claiming they have a huge list of eager buyers lined up. The moment you sign, it is complete radio silence. They didn’t even bother to visit the property to create the listing properly. You quickly realise that the onus is entirely on you to sell the property, not them.

Whenever we had to chase them for an update, their default excuse for the lack of progress was claiming the "house is not clean"—without ever specifying what actually needed cleaning. This was an insulting and completely bogus excuse, considering the house was completely vacant and we were regularly commuting from Aylesbury, balancing full-time jobs and a young family, to keep it in pristine condition.

However, the most severe issue was their blatant breach of security and legal protocols. Prior to the legal completion of the sale, Connells handed over our keys to the buyer and their contractors, allowing them unaccompanied and unauthorized access to our property on multiple occasions. We were never notified or asked for consent; we only found out because our vigilant neighbors told us. To arrive and find new stains in the house because the agent illegally allowed people in was devastating. Their negligence not only breached the TPO Code of Practice but put us at immense risk of invalidating our insurance.

When we raised this severe security breach, the branch was entirely dismissive. They operate with a shocking air of entitlement, constantly reminding us they are the "biggest estate agent," as if basic legal safeguards don't apply to them. They brushed off this massive failure as a "minor service issue" and offered an insulting £100 "goodwill gesture," which we firmly rejected.

They expect sellers to pay their hefty fees and follow every rule to the letter, but casually waive the law when it suits them or their buyers. This branch cannot be trusted with your keys, your listing, or your legal rights. We have formally escalated this matter to The Property Ombudsman (TPO). Avoid at all costs.

​I am writing this to warn other tenants and landlords about the lack of professional standards at the Bairstow Eves Mansfield branch, specifically regarding a tenancy at 65 Nottingham Road.
​Following the end of our tenancy, the agency facilitated a deposit deduction of £830 based on claims that are demonstrably false. Most notably, we were charged for a 'missing' back door key, despite the signed move-in inventory explicitly stating that no back door key was ever provided to us.
​Furthermore, the agency failed to maintain a professional environment, allowing the landlord to use insulting and derogatory language ('dork') in written correspondence during the dispute.
​Despite having clear evidence in the form of the property's own paperwork, the agency has not rectified this 'mistake.' I have been directed to contact the Connells Group review team, and I am currently preparing my evidence for a formal submission to The Property Ombudsman.
​If you value transparency and professional integrity, I would suggest looking elsewhere. I will update this review if and when the agency takes accountability for this service failure.oʻ

I am a domestic abuse survivor.

My ex partner is only interested in control or a quick sale no matter the finical loss and my detriment.

Connells gave an in factual initial sales value. Tried to use buyer feedback to sell at a lower price. Connells has used pressure tactics to get me to accept a sale, at a price I could not afford a deposit on a new property. Eventhough I had previous stated my reasons for not being able to drop my house price any further. The property was offered the full asking price twice but feel through due to finical agreement between myself and my ex-spouse. This was the played down by the Connells agents.

At one point my ex-partner tried to drop the house price with Connell by £50,000 without discussion!!!

After 6 months Connells withdrew marketing (which I didn’t disagree about) however listed me as the reason to why the sale process had not been successful.

I advised the agents about what had happened and requested NOT to send out letters or email apportioning blame to any party.. this was ignored. They wrote their letter “framing me as the issue” “not at this moment in time a buyer being able to me the market value for the price that had already been proven”

I asked the agent to retract the letter immediately and clarify/ rewrite. This was refused.

What was handed over was a poorly worded letter.

Not only have I gone through physical assault, manipulation, DARVO (deny attach reverse victim and offender), projection, triangulation. Connells has handed my ex-partner something else to make things even more difficult, all because I haven’t accepted a house at the price it is not listed for.

You are meant to have staff trained or at least aware of this!!!. Connells, shame on you, shame on your staff….. 💷💷💷💷💷💷💷 that’s all that matters 💷💷💷💷💷💷💷

Connells Bletchley the worst estate agent I have dealt with over 20yrs
Tried to scam out of our deposit with claims so wild they were outright lies.
I have dealt with many estate agents over the years but his has to be the most unpleasant by far as many exaggerate but this one had no qualms with actual lying under the Connells banner
Luckily we went via TDS which we recommend all tenants do l.

Connells did valuation report on my house recently. It is a comedy of errors by this company. Firstly, they tried to falsify my report by adding that my property was in a flood area and had previously been flooded. All of which was proven to be incorrect and instead of altering the valuation report to suit this they refuse.

They significantly undervalued it even after comparable evidence was supplied to them. The house in question is on the same street as my own and I have been informed by various other companies that this should have been used.

Stay clear of this company, ideally check that this company will not be providing any valuation reports on your properties..