24th Apr 2024 (19 days ago)
It has been a little over 2 years now since I first decided to rent my flat in Slough with Connells. There were tons of letting agents who had approached me to utilize their services, but I somehow decided to pick Connells as they had made big promises on how efficiently they will be able to manage my property. Frankly, in this past year, not one week has gone by where I didn't regret my decision.
While the first year was relatively smooth sailing, there were always indications of how abysmal the whole experience is going to turn out - not always returning calls, me having to chase them for the smallest of issues, avoidable errors in putting together simple documentation - from the tenancy agreement to maintenance certificates to issuing the wrong rental statement. They issued me a boiler installation certificate with the wrong address, and it has been 8 months since I asked them to correct it, and I am still chasing them. 240 days later!!!
But this past year, Connells has just been a colossal disappointment. My tenant had complained of mold in the flat and Connells, as managers of the flat, were responsible to look after the issue promptly. Not only did I have to chase them numerous times to get the issue looked into, the tenant also shared similar frustrations with me, as he had tried to reach Connells several times to report the issue, but he had received no assurance that they will look into the problem. After much back and forth, they managed to get the right contractors to investigate the problem only 3 months later - first there was confusion between the head office and Slough office on who sends the contractor, then they send someone to inspect the roof (when there was nothing wrong with the roof!!). By the time, the right contractors went in to inspect the issue, the problem had already worsened - it was later determined that the mold was because of a leaking pipe, which could have been identified much earlier and limited the damage significantly.
Given this was not potentially the tenant's fault, it was agreed, after much deliberation, to give the tenant a compensation of 50% off on the rent for a month - but given how much of this was owing to a fault on Connell's part in getting the issue resolved promptly, I asked Connells to bear half of the loss. First Connells refused to admit they were at fault and then when I pressed on, they eventually agreed to compensate me £150 as they accepted responsibility in the delay in getting contractors in + agreed to reduce my service charge from 8% to 6%. This was agreed almost 2 months ago and I am still waiting to be compensated.
Two rent cycles have gone by and Connells has done nothing to either redress the matter nor do I have the updated boiler certificate. I have sent hundreds of emails to Balreet Grewal from the Slough office and Emily Sheehan and Beth David from the head office and I have been met with radio silence. I barely managed to speak to Bal two weeks ago and he said he had instructed head office to take care of it and should be done soon, but still nothing! Why should I be caught in the cross fire between the Slough office and the head office. I pay about £100 per month to Connells for management of my flat only to be given this dreadful service.
I am writing this review now because I am frankly tired of chasing Connells. Overall, I would not recommend Connells to anyone in search of reliable and efficient property management services. Their consistent delays in communication and subpar service have only served to exacerbate the situation these past few months.... Read more