Stephenson Browne Reviews 21

The major work when using a letting agent is when tenants move in or out. This was done very poorly, several contacts in the office were not communicating and simply tasks either done poorly or not at all. i will not be using them again

I had a disappointing experience with Stephenson Browne during the sale of my property.

An incorrect listing price of £150,750 appeared on Zoopla after the property had been withdrawn from their database. This did not reflect the actual marketing price and had the potential to mislead prospective buyers. The issue had to be resolved by contacting Zoopla directly, rather than being addressed proactively by the agent.

In addition, clear instructions were repeatedly given regarding access to the property — specifically that only the back door was to be used due to the safety of my cats. This was acknowledged and confirmed back to me prior to a viewing. Despite this, the agent proceeded to unlock and use the front door multiple times during the visit, disregarding those instructions.

When these matters were raised, the response was dismissive and lacked accountability, with responsibility being deflected rather than the issues being properly investigated.

Concerns raised in person at the branch were also met with an argumentative and unprofessional attitude, which was unexpected given the importance of the transaction.

I would like to add that Layla herself was always polite and helpful, and my experience with her individually was positive. Unfortunately, the overall handling of the sale did not reflect that same standard.

While the incorrect data has now been removed, the overall experience left me with little confidence in the level of service provided.

All of the team are consistently lovely, professional, and incredibly helpful. I have had the pleasure of working with Stephenson Browne for over 20 years, and throughout that time their service has never wavered. Even after two decades, I remain genuinely delighted with the support, dedication, and professionalism they provide. Their ability to maintain such high standards year after year is truly commendable and a testament to the strength of their team.

Don't be fooled: Sam is branch manager, but he's seriously hands-on. With a strong feel for the local area, he put together a listing that made our modest property feel a little bit special. If you're looking for arty images à la Cheshire Life, better find another agent, but if you want practical photos that sell real homes, Sam is your man. He's a straight-talking kind of guy, who's happy to stay in touch by phone or email. Sam chased up leads, negotiated hard, and gave us unbiased advice on every genuine (and half-hearted) offer that we got.

He knows your home is the most valuable thing you own, you're bound to worry as the weeks go on. But Sam made the time to listen to our concerns and calm our wobbles, that kind of customer service makes you feel like you're the only seller on the books. Okay, so there's no wiggle room on the fee, but looking back, we're 100% relieved that we chose value-for-money over cheap-and-cheerful.

Bottom line, here's what Sam did for us: 3-bed detached, sold within three weeks of marketing, achieving above-asking price. So if you like the sound of that, you should contact SAM BOWYER at Stephenson Browne. We signed up with the Alsager branch, and Sam (supported by his great team) did us proud - PS. big thumbs-up for Tracy, she worked non-stop to progress our accepted offer to completed sale.

Complain about anything and be prepared for a s21. As others have mentioned, they look down their noses and expect you to drop everything with little notice. Even my dad’s funeral wasn’t a reason to cancel an inspection, also note I had lived there nearly 4 years. Note for ladies, some seriously creepy contractors that like to proposition you even with kids around. Best thing they did was give a s21 as I now have a permanent home in a better location and without having to deal with these slumlords.

I spoke to the Newcastle branch about a property and they arranged a viewing for me. They promised to send a confirmation email to me but I haven't received it. At the day the viewing was arraged, I called them and they said the house has been sold. Zero communication, poor service.

we have lived in same property for 4 and a half years originally let through Timothy Brown then taken over years later by Stephenson browne they have to be the worst company i have ever known in all my years of owning and renting properties the first thing they do when taking over is get landlords to put rent up then they come round and look down there nose at you because you choose to rent they have repair people who when they ring you up expect you to drop everything and be prepaired to be at there beck and call and god forbid you work.
we have had nothing but issues with the property before and after they took over.
we were told damp and mould on walls was caused because we had furniture near walls nothing to with damage already explained to owner and them in roof never in my life have had to have wardrobes and units in middle of room to stop mould and damp, we were told that a handover date had to be made for final check out and to hand over keys this wasnt done and now without us being there and a week after a week after moving out Stephensone brown are saying they are taking money from our deposit even though we have explained on numerous occasions numerous issues where going to rectified before we moved in ie windows door new cistern bath not sealed causing water ingress into lounge causing damage to our property water rates sky high due to cistern continued to fill up would not shut off as it was wrong part bathroom sink badly cracked and no plug, when bathroom was stripped of paper and paint so much damage under could just paint it again explained this
the bath was never sealed properly and even last plumber who did interim fix said it had been done so badly. We had previous tenants rubbish in shed and behind shed never removed shed falling to pieces promised new one never happened property was supposed to be decorated before we moved in never done all i can say is never use them as they feel ther above people who rent

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

I have had dealings with the lettings arm of the business and we have had extremely poor service. The staff are rude, abrupt, very unhelpful and unprofessional!!

cant say I'm surprised by the bad reviews of the Crewe branch I visited once and can see why people have written the bad reviews but this is about the Newcastle branch and to be honest cant speak highly enough of the team, I got exactly the asking price and plenty of viewings. If I had to say anything negative ( and I don't ) its that once a offer is accepted it is moved to another person in another branch in this case Crewe and/or Sandbach which meant depending on email if you cant through on the phone whereas if it had stayed in the Newcastle branch it would have made life easier

They gave my personal details to their legal team without asking for my consent. GDPR breach right there. There legal team got in contact with me and tried to push their conveyancing services on me. When I told them I wasn't interested, the gentleman on the phone turned hostile and hung up abruptly. I cancelled all house viewings with them after this. Get that dog back on its chain, or you'll lose all of your business.

I phoned up the Crewe branch and was very rudely greeted. I have had many issues with the house that I’ve been living in from this company, but have had very little response from any form of contact I’ve tried. With myself being a very vulnerable older man, I thought they may have taken my concerns more seriously. However when I ask for the help it is never there. In fact when I do ask for help I’m labelled a liar, feel bullied and abused down the phone almost like I’m speaking with school girls trying to intimidate me. From a company that is suppose to look after their tenants, this is truly disgraceful and I look to take this further. To say I’m disappointed is truly underestimating it’s worth. If I was to give anybody advice, it would be to choose another company. The Crewe branch really does give the whole company a bad name.

We have rented a property from them for just over 4 years now. We were promised prior to moving in that all the weeding in the back garden would be done and the house would be thoroughly cleaned. Also that after 6 months the carpet in the hall, stairs and landing would be replaced, neither were done. When we got the keys and came to the property to move in, the house smelt terrible, complained at the time, nothing was done. The en-suite has always leaked and never been repaired/replaced properly, this also led to mold under the carpet of the adjoining bedroom where are kids were sleeping. We found this out because we replaced the carpet at our own expense in that room due to the smell in there. Again this was reported and nothing was done, I don't think it was even acknowledged. There is damage to the front door, which lets in a draft, again nothing was done. That is just a small snippet of the issues. The central heating, windows, doors, kitchen, bathrooms are all original from when the house was built almost 30 years ago. They tried to increase the rent a couple of months ago, which we disputed legally via tribunal. We advised that if the jobs were done and the house was up to standard we wouldn't mind paying the increase, we even offered the landlady and estate agent to come round, so they could see the issues and come to a resolution. This was not acknowledged and we have heard nothing since. Fast forward to today and we are served with a section 21 notice. The landlady/estate agent has no interest in doing the jobs to the property, and do not care about the tenants. We have never missed a rent payment, and other than the jobs that need doing we have never had any issues or been a problem. They treat people like dirt and think that you are below them.

Our house purchase has STILL not been completed. There is a VITAL issue regarding land registry, which seems to be ignored or downplayed by both SB and the vendors solicitor. Communication has been and continues to be poor, the same question asked repeatedly; will we exchange and complete before the land registry issue is resolved? NO! I have moved house a number of times in my life and recognise that house moves take time and not all go smoothly, but this is my worst experience! That is taking into consideration that a decade ago I moved back north from London, having to coordinate everything, including a 2 day removal. Thankfully the estate agent in Biddulph stayed open until I could collect the keys and they were very helpful. Matt has helped when Margret has been unavailable and whilst I recognise they are only passing on information given to them by the vendor and or their solicitor, much of this communication is either unclear or later proven to be false. I have sent several emails spelling out what is needed and asking for assistance in passing information over and or obtaining information and action. I might as well have just opened the window and shouted it into the breeze. I write this review STILL waiting for this matter to be resolved so that we could complete our purchase and move in. OUR buyer is champing at the bit and HER buyer is desperate to move before Christmas. ALL now frustrated because of failures between SB and the vendors solicitor. As another reviewer said; SHAME on you!

Completely ignored left messages no response whatsoever

Absolutely disgusted with their service in the Alsager branch. Their manager Margret is only bothered about the "sale" and earning commission rather than the impact that she has of families not keeping them updated with the purchase of a property. I would NEVER recommend and I would rather knock on the door of a property that was advertised by them and approach directly. Shame on you Margret!!!

Rented a 1 bedroom flat from 2021 to 2023 in Stoke-On-Trent through Stephenson Browne. Efficient and professional agency, always easy to reach someone via phone or e-mail, never any hassle. Very good experience. Tom.

Awful Custom service from Sandbach Office Lazy and can’t be bothered to answer or return calls
And it is not an isolated incident

I wanted to say how grateful I am to Matt and his team. Prior to using SB, I had my house on the market with 2 other estate agents from Alsager and neither produced the goods. Matt was very professional from the outset and gave me the confidence that he would do his best for me. He promised to sell it and he did just that. Tip; if you have a property you want to sell in Alsager, don't waste your time with others, just put it on the market with Matt at Stephenson Browne. Steve G.

Great company bought my first house from them. They did constant chasing threw the process to find out were the sale was. Jack and Denes were very helpful