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Preston, PR1
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"Rented a house, while sorting ..."
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1 Star Review
By : 'Lee'
Services : Letting(As a Tenant)
Rent PCM : £600
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : PR$
Mar 22, 2016
People found this helpful1
Rented a house, while sorting out a new house and flats for myself. Was the worst company i have ever dealt with, so decided that i would go to a different letting agency for my flats. Once i bought my house over a month later there was still no sign of my deposit being returned. No call is ever returned from the Preston branch, though Mansfield were help full so they get the 2 stars. Boiler and fence that broke i ended up paying for as the Preston Branch were just next to useless. Glad i got to see this side of them though before letting them run my property. They just assume that they have you where they need you and you have to wait for them. Oh and they also don't follow the rules of letting you know of any additional charges (nothing on website or i cant find it, and when signing there was no information given or spoken) you just get a letter though the post asking for more money. At the time of writing this i still don't have my deposit of over 700 pounds out standing 40 days after moving out. Even when you talk to my deposit who say we are not taking anything they deduct into consideration they still tell you there waiting for the landlord to check the house.
What agent could do to change your mind?
Had no idea about fees until i got a letter through the door.Since i paid for the boiler and the fence to be repaired. Apparently the boiler was too old to fix? I got someone who fixed it in less than an hour.
Comments on Agent Fees
Had no idea about fees until i got a letter through the door.Since i paid for the boiler and the fence to be repaired. Apparently the boiler was too old to fix? I got someone who fixed it in less than an hour.
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Performance Statistics
| Services | Valuation | Fees | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letting | 100% | 50.00% | £430 | £650 |
Address
Countrywide Residential Lettings
1 Winkley Street, Preston, Lancashire
PR1 2AA
01772 258317
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Rented a house, while sorting ...
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1 Star Review
By : 'Lee'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Rent PCM : £600
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : PR$
Mar 22, 2016
People found this helpful1
Rented a house, while sorting out a new house and flats for myself. Was the worst company i have ever dealt with, so decided that i would go to a different letting agency for my flats. Once i bought my house over a month later there was still no sign of my deposit being returned. No call is ever... Read Full Review
What agent could do to change your mind?
Had no idea about fees until i got a letter through the door.Since i paid for the boiler and the fence to be repaired. Apparently the boiler was too old to fix? I got someone who fixed it in less than an hour.
Comments on Agent Fees
Had no idea about fees until i got a letter through the door.Since i paid for the boiler and the fence to be repaired. Apparently the boiler was too old to fix? I got someone who fixed it in less than an hour.
Comments (0)
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Lee Bragg said about Countrywide Residential Lettings
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )Date: 22nd Mar 2016
Rented a house, while sorting out a new house and flats for myself. Was the worst company i have ever dealt with, so decided that i would go to a different letting agency for my flats. Once i bought my house over a month later there was still no sign of my deposit being returned. No call is ever returned from the Preston branch, though Mansfield were help full so they get the 2 stars. Boiler and fence that broke i ended up paying for as the Preston Branch were just next to useless. Glad i got to see this side of them though before letting them run my property. They just assume that they have you where they need you and you have to wait for them. Oh and they also don't follow the rules of letting you know of any additional charges (nothing on website or i cant find it, and when signing there was no information given or spoken) you just get a letter though the post asking for more money. At the time of writing this i still don't have my deposit of over 700 pounds out standing 40 days after moving out. Even when you talk to my deposit who say we are not taking anything they deduct into consideration they still tell you there waiting for the landlord to check the house.
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Terrible company; absolutely ...
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2 Star Review
By : 'Annoyed.'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Rent PCM : £430
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : PR7
Oct 18, 2015
People found this helpful4
Terrible company; absolutely nobody takes ownership of a problem. They make false promises or drag their feet over things. They managed to re-let my property and the new tenant had already moved in but nobody seemed bothered about returning my deposit. Several phone calls later, I lost my temper... Read Full Review
Comments (0)Terrible company; absolutely nobody takes ownership of a problem. They make false promises or drag their feet over things. They managed to re-let my property and the new tenant had already moved in but nobody seemed bothered about returning my deposit. Several phone calls later, I lost my temper with someone and things finally moved along (Having already been PROMISED that I would get a call back the previous day) .
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Annoyed. said about Countrywide Residential Lettings
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )Date: 18th Oct 2015
Terrible company; absolutely nobody takes ownership of a problem. They make false promises or drag their feet over things. They managed to re-let my property and the new tenant had already moved in but nobody seemed bothered about returning my deposit. Several phone calls later, I lost my temper with someone and things finally moved along (Having already been PROMISED that I would get a call back the previous day) .
This also comes after reporting various other issues and nobody coming out to look at them.
It took over a month and over 20 phone calls ( I was calm for the first 19) before anybody bothered to sort out my broken washing machine.
Nobody knows what they are doing, there's no communication and it's a very unprofessional organisation.
I paid my rent promptly for 4 and 1/2 years and yet they still showed little regard in respect to helping the tenant and respecting their rights.
I'm glad to be rid of them, they're a bunch of clowns.
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Firstly, all Countrywide ...
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2 Star Review
Cathy
By : 'JayCee'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Rent PCM : £550
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : PR5
Oct 8, 2015
People found this helpful3
Firstly, all Countrywide Landlords, did you know that Countrywide (or is it Bridgefords) do a deal with energy providers. When a tenant leaves your property, they switch your energy provider - getting a back-hander from the energy company as they now have your next tenants business. Currently in... Read Full Review
What agent could do to change your mind?
Customer service is more important than you realise. Be more efficient. Realise who your customer is. Realise where your money is coming from. Customer service. Stop lying. Customer service. Get the facts instead of reporting what you think. Customer service. Get a CRM and proper tenancy housing computer system. Customer service. This market is getting much bigger and you have gone from being the biggest and best to one of the worst. Oh, and did I mention that your customer service is appalling.
Comments on Agent Fees
Starting up fees are above others but as up to now, you have always found me good tenants, quickly, am happy to pay this. Everything after this is overpriced and in numerous cases down right underhand and these grind very heavily on the back of my mind. If everything after check-in were perfect, higher costs are acceptable but as everything after check-in is appalling, they are not.
Comments (0)Firstly, all Countrywide Landlords, did you know that Countrywide (or is it Bridgefords) do a deal with energy providers. When a tenant leaves your property, they switch your energy provider - getting a back-hander from the energy company as they now have your next tenants business. Currently in the North West area, they change you over to Spark and yes, they put you with an expensive provider on an expensive tariff. Is that underhand?
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JayCee said about Countrywide Residential Lettings
Services : Letting( As a Owner )Date: 8th Oct 2015
Firstly, all Countrywide Landlords, did you know that Countrywide (or is it Bridgefords) do a deal with energy providers. When a tenant leaves your property, they switch your energy provider - getting a back-hander from the energy company as they now have your next tenants business. Currently in the North West area, they change you over to Spark and yes, they put you with an expensive provider on an expensive tariff. Is that underhand?
So, what have Countrywide done to me. I have rented out with Countrywide for over 10 years. Up until a couple of years ago, didn't really have too many problems but now it seems that the staff are quite willing to lie and do underhand tricks.
So, verbally, the Tenant has 2 little dogs and you complete the contract only to find that there are 3 big dogs. The tenant told them very clearly that there were 3. Oh no, says Cathy, I quite clearly told you that there were 3. Instead of sorting it out with the Landlord, Cathy goes and tells the Tenant that I'm not happy with her for keeping 3 dogs at the house. Next of course comes the tenant saying do you want me to move out? Nice customer service Cathy.
Time to pick up the keys from a vacated house - oh yes says boy (name omitted cause he's only an apprentice) the keys are here. Into Preston centre goes the wife and speaks to Monique. Monique has a look and says no, no keys here. But he told me just 15 minutes ago that they are here (pointing at boy). Monique says go and get the keys boy. Of course, boy turns up red faced. "Can't find them". Wife has to go back home.
Finally, "yes, we've got the keys". We'll drop them at the Bamber Bridge office to "save you a journey". They'll be there before 17:30.
I fought through the traffic that night to pick up the keys and... they weren't there.
The lady of that office then phoned up Cathy who said that she would drop them in my house I clarified "going to drop them at my house" Yes, says the lady in the office. I went home and waited - for nothing. The following day, wife phones Cathy who denies point blank that she said she was going to drop them at our house. Once again, makes the promise that she will drop them in at the Bamber Bridge office for my Wife to collect.
Wife went into the Bamber Bridge office and yes, this time the keys are waiting but, "oh, do you remember my husband coming in on his motorbike?", yes? and where did Cathy say she was going to take the keys? "she said she was going to drop them in at your house". Never mind Cathy, getting used to the way you are. I'm not going to deal with you without everything going down in writing in future.
My wife has just withdrawn from Countrywide Lettings and re-let through Holdens as she felt they dealt with the rental in the most appalling manner.
Other arguments? Gas certificates. Gas Engineers say, "oh, be right if it goes a couple of weeks over". Countrywide say, must be 2 weeks before. I manage my properties myself. My gas certs are done to the exact date and I keep 7 years copies as advised by Gas Safe. Countrywide "forget to remind me they are due for renewal and just send their contractors in 2 weeks before I get my done on the correct date. Then they try to charge me for them :) Yes, we've had discussions over that one. Why should I lose 2 weeks gas cert every year and pay them extra for a gas cert I get done for £40 rather than their £75?
Other incidents where my tenant phones them to report a problem, they send someone out to fix it without asking me (when I manage the property myself) and think I should pay (more costs to them). One problem took them 3 weeks to report to me - but it was only a toilet leaking all over the place, and that is why I manage my own properties.
The list of my problems with countrywide is very long. Needless to say that up until now, they have always been very quick to find me a tenant. Even this efficiency is starting to reduce. The standard of their tenants are dropping and they now try to place you with Tenants who have medical problems and the tenant is the agency that is trying to house these people. If they do this, you are not insured and there is likely to be damage done to your house. * This is very much at your own risk - as I said, you are not insured!
And my final finding with Countrywide. Did you know that if your tenant pays late that they get charged a fee. Is this fee passed onto you, the person who is missing out on the biggest part of the rental income? Not likely. Countrywide don't want you to know that they are ripping your tenant off and not passing late fees onto you.
Actually, one other, at the end of the annual tenancy agreement, instead of paying another years admin fee to these robbers, go onto a rolling contract. The original contract still stands, the tenant needs to give you one months notice, you give them 2 months notice. Financially, you and the tenant save £175 each per year!
I've said my piece on this one now (bout bl**dy time I hear you say). Yes, I currently have 3 houses all on Tenant introduction only through Countrywide, I am always learning sneaky new tricks that they have and when they fail to get a new tenant within a 2 week period, I will drop them like a stone!
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Initialy they were fine, we ...
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1 Star Review
By : 'Jemma'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Rent PCM : £650
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : PR2
Apr 14, 2015
People found this helpful1
Initialy they were fine, we got the flat smoothly and moved in with no problems. Then the issues started. At first they simply ignored the issues we identified on moving in, such as advertised white goods not working properly, a sink leaking, the shed being full of rubbish from previous tennants... Read Full Review
What agent could do to change your mind?
The actual condition of the appliences meant this property should really have been on the market for a lower rent.
Comments on Agent Fees
The actual condition of the appliences meant this property should really have been on the market for a lower rent.
Comments (0)Initialy they were fine, we got the flat smoothly and moved in with no problems. Then the issues started. At first they simply ignored the issues we identified on moving in, such as advertised white goods not working properly, a sink leaking, the shed being full of rubbish from previous tennants etc. After chasing up for ages we got the sink fixed but nothing else. Then after our 6 months contract started reaching the end we got a new one, we went into the branch to sign and have it witnessed and handed it in there. It promptly got lost and whilst preston branch clearly new our moving out date, countrywide were unclear about what was happening. This led to us being charged an extra months rent (after we moved out), this issue still hasnt been resolved.
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Jemma said about Countrywide Residential Lettings
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )Date: 14th Apr 2015
Initialy they were fine, we got the flat smoothly and moved in with no problems. Then the issues started. At first they simply ignored the issues we identified on moving in, such as advertised white goods not working properly, a sink leaking, the shed being full of rubbish from previous tennants etc. After chasing up for ages we got the sink fixed but nothing else. Then after our 6 months contract started reaching the end we got a new one, we went into the branch to sign and have it witnessed and handed it in there. It promptly got lost and whilst preston branch clearly new our moving out date, countrywide were unclear about what was happening. This led to us being charged an extra months rent (after we moved out), this issue still hasnt been resolved.
Then comes the deposit. Its been 4 months since we moved out now and there has been no return of the deposit nor any indication of what its going to be. I have rung there dposit line multiple times and they have promised each and every time to get back to me, yet never managed it. On top of that there has been no appologies or acceptance that this really isnt on. Its lucky that me and my husband had help from work to move or we would be really struggling without that money.
I would definitley warn anyone away from Countrywide or Bridgefords. Whilst the branch staff itself are friendly enough, othey have no interest in anything looked after by there parent company and actively avoid talking about it (probably because they know the service is appaling).
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:-( Never ever go with this ...
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1 Star Review
By : 'Not'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : No
Feb 1, 2012
People found this helpful8
:-( Never ever go with this company!!! I have had tiles coming off behind my sink taps in my bathroom for near 2 years!! (Since I moved in) With a little 2 year old.... not a goood idea!!! Now trying to say I owe them money for my rent??? No idea! And have contacted my guarantor saying that I owe... Read Full Review
What agent could do to change your mind?
Nothing they are pretty useless!
Comments (0):-( Never ever go with this company!!! I have had tiles coming off behind my sink taps in my bathroom for near 2 years!! (Since I moved in) With a little 2 year old.... not a goood idea!!! Now trying to say I owe them money for my rent??? No idea! And have contacted my guarantor saying that I owe last months rent...... that has been payed????!!!
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Not Very Happy! .com! said about Countrywide Residential Lettings
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )Date: 1st Feb 2012
:-( Never ever go with this company!!! I have had tiles coming off behind my sink taps in my bathroom for near 2 years!! (Since I moved in) With a little 2 year old.... not a goood idea!!! Now trying to say I owe them money for my rent??? No idea! And have contacted my guarantor saying that I owe last months rent...... that has been payed????!!!
Never ever again will I use Courtwide lettings after this experience!!!
I have already had one flat from hell with them but thought they may have sorted themselfs out!! Obviously not!
Never ever again!! Ever again!.....
Be very aware!!!
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absolutely crap!! rude, ...
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1 Star Review
By : 'ANGRY'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : No
Oct 11, 2011
People found this helpful8
absolutely crap!! rude, incompitent, unprofessional and dishonest, i rented off countrywide/bridgfords for nearly 2 years and had nothing but trouble. if you want passing between staff none of which who know what they are doing, lost paerwork, no correspondence, wrong amounts of money taken from... Read Full Review
What agent could do to change your mind?
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, NO THANKS!!
Comments (0)absolutely crap!!
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ANGRY Danni said about Countrywide Residential Lettings
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )Date: 11th Oct 2011
absolutely crap!!
rude, incompitent, unprofessional and dishonest, i rented off countrywide/bridgfords for nearly 2 years and had nothing but trouble. if you want passing between staff none of which who know what they are doing, lost paerwork, no correspondence, wrong amounts of money taken from youre account and general rude unhelpful behaviour they will be perfect,
add that to lies, lost keys and conversations and emails actually being denied they will make you feel unbelievably frustrated.
my advise to tenants/landlords, go elsewhere
my advise to bridgfords is revise what youre actual job is and start again!
proof of how much this company actually cares is right here...not 1 reply to 70 complaints.
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[[EDIT ORIGINAL ...
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1 Star Review
By : 'annoyed'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : No
Oct 11, 2011
People found this helpful6
[[EDIT ORIGINAL START]] absolutely horrendous, lazy, incompitent, un organised...shall i carry on!! spent 2 years renting through bridgfords in preston and they never failed to cock up the task given, they never called back, replied to queeries or even admitted to speaking to me! Danielle, Niki... Read Full Review
Comments (0)[[EDIT ORIGINAL START]]
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annoyed said about Countrywide Residential Lettings
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )Date: 11th Oct 2011
[[EDIT ORIGINAL START]]
absolutely horrendous, lazy, incompitent, un organised...shall i carry on!! spent 2 years renting through bridgfords in preston and they never failed to cock up the task given, they never called back, replied to queeries or even admitted to speaking to me! Danielle, Niki and team need to take a course in 'customer service'.
to sum up..if you want to get ripped off, ignored, and have youre correspondence denied go with bridgfords, oh and dont forget they will keep youre deposit at the end of the lease as they will insist they have never recieved the property keys back! although they should chat to each other as half the team admits to receiving the envelope whilst the other insists they havent!!
good luck wi this one.
not a happy customer from preston.
not a happy landlord...
[[EDIT ORIGINAL END]]
absolutely horrendous, lazy, incompitent, un organised...shall i carry on!! spent 2 years renting through bridgfords in preston and they never failed to cock up the task given, they never called back, replied to queeries or even admitted to speaking to me! D, N and team need to take a course in 'customer service'.
to sum up..if you want to get ripped off, ignored, and have youre correspondence denied go with bridgfords, oh and dont forget they will keep youre deposit at the end of the lease as they will insist they have never recieved the property keys back! although they should chat to each other as half the team admits to receiving the envelope whilst the other insists they havent!!
good luck wi this one.
not a happy customer from preston.
not a happy landlord...
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I'd like to have rated them 0 ...
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5 Star Review
By : 'Mike'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Would you recommend ? : No
Aug 13, 2011
People found this helpful1
I'd like to have rated them 0 stars, but was prevented from doing so. Ironically, as a direct result of dealings with them, I decided that I could do a better job and now run a lettings agency elsewhere. We had two flats with them in a new development (at the time) and they took an inordinate ... Read Full Review
What agent could do to change your mind?
Care a bit.
Comments (1)I'd like to have rated them 0 stars, but was prevented from doing so.
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Mike said about Countrywide Residential Lettings
Services : Letting( As a Owner )Date: 13th Aug 2011
I'd like to have rated them 0 stars, but was prevented from doing so.
Ironically, as a direct result of dealings with them, I decided that I could do a better job and now run a lettings agency elsewhere.
We had two flats with them in a new development (at the time) and they took an inordinate amount of time to let them. They pressurised us into marketing at a rent higher than we needed on unencumbered flats, supposedly because otherwise we'd be "lowering the development's value"
Since we were not local investors, we took a lot on trust and we were left with the distinct impression that they favoured local landlords who, presumably, they enjoyed better relationships with.
Following the comprehensive trashing of one of the flats, we moved one to a small independent agent who seems much better.
As an aside, they take very small deposits, resulting in greater losses.
I attempted on numerous occasions to complain to the franchisor, but they seemed to care less than the local management.
I am aware that all franchises operate to differing standards-just look at the variations of reviews anywhere on this site.
In my humble opinion, find one with NALS and SAFE agent accreditation, that has been trading long enough to know what they are about, but not long enough to have a huge managed portfolio. The salesmen will boast about large portfolios, so it's easy enough to establish.
And use one where the business owner is still on the front line. Generally they genuinely do care.
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By : Mike
Aug 15, 2011THIS SHOULD BE A ONE STAR RATING. ACTUALLY, IT SHOULD BE NO STAR, BUT THE RIDICULOUS SOFTWARE WON'T ALLOW IT. NOT A TERRIBLY RELIABLE SITE IS...
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