butters john bee - Alsager Estate agents Reviews 5

This company is a shambles not only are their fees expensive,when ever you ring no one answers the phone , they do not return your phone calls and it takes them 3 weeks to answer emails They also deal with cowboy firms who issue certificates before remidial work has take place. When you tell them you want to leave and go with another letting agency they try to sting you with a fee equel to 6 weeks rent plus vat. The tenent informs me it takes forever to get to speak to someone and now contacts me direct when anything needs sorting

Would be minus zero if I could

Property in high street, halmerend came up for rent , rang them seven times over 2 days to get a viewing spoke to seven different people, rang yestersay 3 times each time spoke to different person gave them my details each one said someone would call me back to arrange a viewing my today at 0930 told they would send a message to the crewe office as they were not answering the phone said i could pay the deposit there and then without seeing the prowprty as its right by my daughter in law and exactly wjat we wanted was told someone would ne in touch for a viewing , 1130 same another message sent had to explain to the idiot who answered 3 times the address of the property even spelling it put as he could t get it right 1430 said they would send a message as the crewe office didnt answer the phone i asked if soneone could ring me back to arrange a viewing , 1720 rang spoke to someone who after exhaling everything eventually found the property and told it that it had been let , so angry and dissapointed to be lied to treated like a fool , this company os run by idiots who have no clue what's going on , I urge any landlords out there to not use these to let your properties, we have been so let down, we just wanted to move near our daughter and this was perfect, we had the deposit what prepared to pay straight away and never got a call back .
After we had been told that it was rented we got a call back saying we were interested in a property in Abbey Hulton?????? Someone seriously wasn't listening.
Total rubbish this company they should seriously look at the staff they have at crewe as they dont know how to return a call , terrible

If you are thinking about choosing this agency, I would advise you to compare their social media with any of their competitors. While most other agencies use Facebook and Instagram to effectively and creatively promote their properties, most of BJB’s posts seem to be bland, generic adverts, reposts promoting outside contractors, or random content about bees (I get the brand reference but is it helping to sell houses?). The rare videos that show their properties look tacky and poorly made. Given the prominence of social media as an advertising tool, this is a huge missed opportunity.

From their posts, BJB makes a point of saying that they are not the cheapest, but they are the best. This is a weird flex to make. While very expensive, they are overshadowed by other local agencies, such as Chris Hamriding, an agency that seems to have the creativity and customer service that BJB - at least the Alsager branch - lack. Weirdly, the description I wrote for my property and asked the agent to add to its Rightmove listing is now being used by BJB to advertise other properties in the area. This is disingenuous at best.

This may be an obvious point, but as it is something we were not aware of, it is worth noting that the Alsager branch does not have a physical branch in Alsager. This means that other agencies in Alsager have the advantage of having a window display to engage passing trade and on-site staff to field enquiries. The so-called concierge service seems to be a centralised call centre, so is of little help when you need to discuss your sale in detail.

Although our agent was fairly responsive, communication became increasingly frustrating. By the end of the process, we were made to feel like we were an inconvenience for being anxious (given that the sale nearly fell through due to the buyer’s financial situation, previously unknown to us, these anxieties were well-founded). Although they claim to encourage clients to take the best offer, not the first one, we felt pushed into accepting the first, with the agent implying that it might be our only offer. At this point, the property had been on the market for just two weeks and had one viewing. In retrospect, we should have either refused the offer or gone with an agent who had more faith in their ability to market a character property.

While our experience of Alsager BJB was not entirely negative, I would recommend that other people did what we, rather stupidly, did not and research other agencies before committing to them. I would also be very careful about going with any solicitor or conveyancer recommended by BJB, especially DC Law. Their recommendation seems to be solely based on getting commission from the third party, rather than there being any merit or benefit for the client.

Edited following response from BJB: thank you for your reply. For transparency, the estate agent shared the survey results with us. The surveyor stated that the property was in good overall condition with a price that reflected the necessary modernisation. Again, I would recommend that sellers research this agency before committing to them, including reading the negative reviews recently added to this site.

Tried to book a viewing with the Alsager branch.
One employee answered the phone on Thursday and booked me a viewing at 4pm Monday, but when I've rung up today having not had any kind of confirmation message or email, the employee I spoke to today said this time was never an option. No apologies for the mix up either and made it seem like it was my fault! I appreciate they are busy at the moment, but there's no need to be rude about an error on their side!

So, we called Alsager office asking for a viewing. We were told next available appointment was 9!! days later which we grudgingly accepted. We were available any time or day ( from 2 days after our call). We were about to leave home, which is not near, 100 mins before viewing. A curt phone call. "we're cancelling your viewing, as the owner has accepted an offer". Who got an appointment before us and how / why? Emailed and texted to voice my annoyance. No response....