In my opinion, a buyer is not a customer when dealing with an estate agent. This is an important consideration.

Here is my experience.

I was contacted by my conveyancing solicitor at 11:02 on moving day and was informed that the purchase had completed and I could now collect my keys from Mortimer's. The new property now legally belonged to me and, as such, I proceeded to vacate my former home.

At 12:05, I was contacted by a representative at Mortimer's to let me know I should be able to collect the keys within an hour and that they would be back in touch. By this time, with possessions in transit, I was already travelling to Mortimer's Accrington branch. I parked nearby to await the call from them.

This was the first red flag. In a legal sense, the property was sold with vacant possession and completion had taken place. At this point the property should have been empty of possessions and occupants, It now belonged to me.

By 14:20, I had received no call, so I called Mortimer's. I was informed that they would make enquiries and call me back. They called back 2 minutes later and informed me that the sellers had not delivered the keys to the Accrington branch and that upon calling them, their phone went straight to voicemail.

They informed me that they would call back when they had managed to make contact with the sellers.

By now it was very clear that something was wrong. Having received no call back after 25 minutes, at 14:45 I contacted my solicitor for advice. I was advised that there had now been a breach of contract and that she would make contact with the seller's solicitor.

Over the next 2 hours, various calls and emails were exchanged between myself and my solicitor.

Eventually, at 16:38 I received a call from Mortimer's to say that the keys had now been dropped off and I could collect them. I collected them 2 minutes later and proceeded to travel to my new property.

I arrived 13 minutes later, at 16:53, only to discover that the sellers were still moving their belongings from the property.

I immediately contacted Mortimer's and was informed by them that this was now a legal matter to be resolved by solicitors.

I'd like to be able to offer the opinion that Mortimer's had washed their hands of me, but...

Again, in my opinion, a buyer is not a customer when dealing with an estate agent. Mortimer's did not treat me as a customer and consequently, they were not serving me. In the end, they were unapologetic and remained distant from the predicament I found myself in.

I asked myself many questions on moving day, such as "Why were my keys not available to collect on completion?", "Could anybody other than the sellers have known that the property was not vacant?", and "Could anyone have kept me better informed?".

I'll likely never know, but I do have my own theory. I'll leave you to form yours.

All staff involved in the sale of the property supported me in a timely manner and were considerate of a difficult situation.

Mortimers helped me with every step of selling my property.

All the staff are really helpful and professional I would definitely recommend them to future home sellers/buyers.

Thanks

Improves communication skills, listen to their customers. Keep them updated.
Be reliable and honest, don't make assumptions.
Need training on how to behave professionally.
Refrain from publicly criticising customers.
Send available properties to customers who are looking for properties

I would definitely recommend Mortimers Estate Agents Accrington Branch. The team were very professional, Grace dealt with our sale and was brilliant we had a few setbacks along the way but she always went the extra mile. Amazing Grace! no pun intended 😆

Our agent Matt Hale was an absolute gem, he was always available for me, when we wanted viewings he bent over backwards to get them for us and there were several. Matt got answers to all our questions and kept us updated the whole way through the process.

I would highly recommend Mortimers as a whole for buying and selling a property - the entire team were fantastic

Smooth process, Alex kept us informed and updated at every stage, without every pressuring us to complete and vacate, even when our purchase was delayed. Excellent service, high rating for Alexandra McMahon.

Mortimers team was amazing from start to finish. I was a bit nervous about the whole process as this was my first time as a home buyer, Grace was amazing and made the whole process so much easier for me. There were issues with the solicitors where they did not communicate with me or provide updates on the case, I was so close to give up. The helpfulness of Grace also extended to my solicitor, as she chased them up and provided me with a status update, and made sure that they were staying on top of everything as well. Overall, I am glad I decided to go with Mortimers and managed to get my house sorted. Thank you for the great service.

Grace was amazing, despite issues with the chain and a few delays, Grace always kept us informed of progress and worked tirelessly to ensure we moved into our dream home as quickly as possible. Grace is credit to the team at Mortimers and instrumental in liasing with solicitors and other parties, no matter how stressful things got, she was always calm, understanding and proactive. Mortimers get the 5 star review, Grace gets 6 stars. Thank you!

Due to being messed about with a potential buyer, Mortimers did all they could to pursue another buyer quickly.

Great team at Mortimers in Accrington. Alex and Matt were super helpful and just good people. It made the first time buying process that bit easier and using Ryan and Laura from the MAB who are right next to Mortimers meant that they could just drop by their desk. The whole team helped us move in just over 10 weeks which was great. Thank you for all your hard work in helping making it as stress-free as possible and thank you for the gift box! We would definitely recommend their services. Thanks again, Will & Bliss

During the sale of our property from the valuation to completion we have been kept informed as to the progress of the sale. Alex was always available for any questions we needed answering and was always professional and pleasant to speak with.

We were first time buyers and completely new to the process, Grace helped us along the way and was very supportive and informative. It’s been a great journey and we will definitely consider Mortimers again in the future.

Thankyou to Grace, Matt and the team for ensuring a speedy, smooth process.

Great staff.
Thanks to both Matt’s,Grace,Jonny,Alex and Emmy.

We used the full process from house visits to mortgage advice and house purchase, we found the team very responsive in particular Grace who was informative, helpful and always in touch keeping us fully updated on all stages of our buying process. She is a credit to the Accrington branch.

Grace and the whole team at Mortimers helped make a tough move go as smoothly as it could. Both in selling a house and finding my new home (which took a while!) they were kind, efficient and very patient with a rather clueless client! Thank you all 😊

We were originally listed with another agent and had limited interest in our home.
We decided to change agents and chose Mortimers based on their reputation in the local area. We had a significant increase in interest immediately and sold in a week.
Once sold, Alex McMahon was allocated for our sale and was excellent throughout the process.
I wish we had chosen Mortimers from the beginning, but extremely happy we did in the end.
10 out of 10 for service.

Good communication