Ben Rose Reviews 101

Thank you Ben Rose! You can certainly see why so many people choose them to sell their property. We felt in safe hands every step of the way.” Rectory Drive, Chorley

These are some of the best estate agents I have come across. Simon came out to view the property promptly and he was lovely I could not fault him or his approach. He was straight forward and to the point and the house sold for the range he suggested, using his sales strategy. Everyone in the office is lovely and helpful especially Leanne for whom nothing was too much trouble. Thank you to the whole team for helping us reach our new dream house!

Easy process, made my enquiry, came to value, read the contract, happy with arrangements and communications for viewings, sold in 8 days, advised a conveyor who also communicated excellent and a super fast 8 weeks later, house sale was completed. 10 weeks turnaround from enquiry to done deal.
Always had time for my call ins and questions. Couldn’t fault their professionalism and experience to assist with a rapid sale.

Ben Rose’s contract is the reason I am not buying my dream house.

I had reserved a new build on a part exchange deal after my house had not sold during 3 months on the market with Ben Rose. The builder requested Ben Rose work with them for the onward sale. Ben Rose would not agree to the builder’s terms. Ben Rose threatened to charge me full fee for agreeing to a part exchange deal, as I had sold my house myself, which is in breach of contract. They proceeded to contact a previous interested party to encourage them to make an offer, meaning that I could be liable for a £600 charge for terminating my contract, rather than the standard £300 charge. After terminating my contract with Ben Rose I have pulled out of the part exchange because Ben Rose confirmed, as per contract, they will charge me full fee if any person they “introduced” to my house, including people who enquired but did not view, purchases it in the next 2 years. They informed me that they will be checking the Land Registry for this purpose.

This came after multiple issues I had with Ben Rose, in my opinion due to the over-worked and harassed staff and a low number of viewing appointments.
Prospective viewers were told there were no appointments available when they phoned to request to view on a certain day. 2 such parties did not rearrange.
When I attempted to arrange appointments to view several other properties on the market with Ben Rose, I was told very bluntly that I was being unreasonable in asking to view at the weekend when I had phoned on a Wednesday. When I finally did manage to view the properties, we were given 10 minutes to view a very large house, as the staff member had to get to another appointment. She was late to the next house and the owner decided to let us in himself. We were unable to enter another house as the staff member didn’t have the key and didn’t know where to find it at the property.

Separately, I had contacted the Ben Rose valuer directly for advice regarding an asking price reduction after 4 weeks of no sale. When I asked the sales staff to action the price reduction as per the valuer, the staff member in question encouraged me to reduce the price even further. It was clear however that she had no knowledge of my house or the market in my area.

And to top it all off, when Ben Rose showed someone round my house when I was on holiday, they left my back door unlocked and open!

I advise anyone to read the small print before signing the very restrictive Ben Rose contract. It has resulted in me pulling out of a part exchange, and in a position where I risk having to pay double agent fees if I choose another agent within 2 years. And had to pay £300 for the privilege of removing myself from this very poor experience.

We contacted Ben Rose to put our home on the market and they gave us a valuation of offers over £324,995 without even looking at the property. After selling 6 houses in the past 15 years I've never had that experience before and found it very strange so we asked Simon( apparently the only one who can do valuations at their company) to still come out and look at the property before we list it but was told he didn't need to( we were practically begging). Around 2 days before it went live we got a phone call saying he was in the area and could call in 20 minutes! I'm sorry we can't all drop everything we're doing in 20 minutes!
So the house went on the market and after having lots of interest on it via social media and the local buckshaw beat Facebook page we haven't had a single viewer or any interest in 8 days( even after receiving 7000 views on rightmove in the 1st 2 days alone!) We have since found out that a similar size property on the village in a condition which isn't anywhere near as good as ours has had 3 viewers in just a week with only 742 views on rightmove ( clearly something isn't adding up) . I've since been told by another local estate agent that they are heavily understaffed and are stretching themselves which makes sense because a neighbour that has just sold their property through them told us they never answered the phone.
Worryingly we have also been told by them that the house market is really slow and we will struggle to sell( that's great to know by your estate agent and also a huge lie because it's clearly not)

House was on Dukinfield Court, Buckshaw Village

Notice has now been served to come out of the contract, like I said we've sold many houses over the last few years and have never come across such a lacklustre company who have no interest in selling your house

Difficult to deal with. Unresponsive after a cash offer at the asking price was made. Three phone calls later was told it had been sold, with no opportunity to up our offer. Something very dodgy going on here.

Well you certainly responded quicker to this review than you did to our offer. The property in question was Higher Perry Street, Darwen, and I just hope the owner reads this so that they know they were ripped off.

Tammy and Leanne and the whole team at Ben Rose were amazing ! I would highly recommend Ben Rose if you are considering selling your home.
They always kept us up to date, they were responsive and supportive throughout the whole process.
Our sale had some particularly challenging times and they went above and beyond to ensure our sale was completed. I cannot thank them enough for everything they did from beginning to end and I would not hesitate to go back to them if we ever needed their expertise again.
Thankyou so much !!

After trying unsuccessfully to sell my property for over a year with another agent I decided to try Ben Rose in Chorley. They listed the property in August and by December I had sold and moved out. All the staff from Simon the valuer to Tammy the office manager and her team were fantastic. The proactive approach certainly works, I would not hesitate to recommend them.

Sold a property through Ben Rose at Bamber Bridge. It was a great experience and quite seamless. The best aspect was the customer service from Mia & Steve as I was provided with regular updates throughout the process. I would definitely recommend Ben Rose. Many thanks

Bought a property from Ben Rose, their level of service was great, I had a bit of a delay from my side but there were very patient and understanding and helped me get the purchase done. I would highly recommend them’

Update 13/11/23

Despite the HR Manager of the business confirming i advised this business (via the branch manager) of my desire to end our agreement, i am still being forced to remain with the company for 28 days. I have made numerous attempts to speak with Mr Rose but he appears to have little regard for his customers. I have had no viewings for almost two months and around seven in total across over four months.

Update 10/11/23
Mr Rose is still avoiding my calls and appears too cowardly to speak with his customers. Another week with no action from this business. For purely malicious reasons i am being forced to remain tied to them unless i remove this review.

Update 6/11/23

Mr Rose is still refusing to speak to me, he has no care for his customers. His Hr Manager has advised me if i remove the review they will cancel the contract. They clearly want to hide real experiences with this business. So after weeks of no viewings im stuck with this hapless business for another month.

Mr. Rose,

Unfortunately, it seems that the issues I am currently experiencing with your business are not considered significant enough to merit your attention. Regrettably, it appears that you are reluctant to engage with me directly, and instead, my concerns have been referred to your HR Manager. I must stress that this issue pertains to the overall operation of your business, rather than being solely an HR matter. Since it appears that my concerns are not being prioritised, I have decided to initiate a public disclosure of the inadequacies within your company.

A sufficient amount of time has elapsed for you to contact me and address this matter. Despite having informed your Branch Manager more than three weeks ago about my intention to terminate our contract, it has come to my attention that you are resorting to extortion and blackmail to compel me to continue with your unsatisfactory service for an additional 28 days. I firmly disagree with these questionable tactics and once again, I request the opportunity to have a direct conversation with you.

It is worth noting that the agreements stipulated in our contract have not been upheld by Ben Rose. Promised social media efforts have not materialized, and Simon, who acts as a representative of your company, has provided misleading information. I notified Tammy of my intention to sever ties with your company over three weeks ago, and this was not disputed by your HR Manager today.

I have formally served written notice expressing my desire to terminate the contract we entered into with your company. It is disheartening when the owner of a business believes that their elevated position absolves them from communicating directly with their customers. Until I receive a response, I will use all available means to ensure that as many people as possible are made aware of the questionable tactics employed by Ben Rose.

A company that loves to boast about how many houses they have on the market and what amazing service they will offer.
The reality is very different.
When placing the house on the market I was advised I would enjoy an open day filled with viewings, this never happened.
After minimal viewings I was then promised a renewed social media push, more false promises.
After advising the Branch Manager 3 weeks ago I wished to try another agent, I was sold a further pipe dream of a renewed push. Never happened, in fact I haven't heard from anyone at this business since the call I made.
They appear to focus on easy pickings for quick sales.
I have advised them today I will be terminating our contract in seven days and been advised despite telling them this three weeks ago, I have to remain with them another 28days.
When I challenged this I was threatened with a £300 charge.
I have requested a call with the owner of the business and been advised they have no idea where he is. If only they had mobile phones.
An awful experience from a company whose staff claim to work for the best estate agency around.

Update.
The owner of the business is refusing to take my call to discuss this matter further.

30/10/2023

I messaged the owner directly, still ignoring this issue. Absolutely appalling. A formal dispute has been raised with the Property Ombudsman.

31/10/23
Mr Rose has arranged for the companies HR Manager to contact me, this is not a HR issue. He is still too cowardly to contact me to discuss this issue.

HR Manager of Ben Rose has offered to cancel the agreement if i remove the reviews. They clearly do not want people to be aware of their practices.

Wow - incredible company to deal with. My partner and I have 2 properties and were looking at several options for our next move. It was a complicated request as there were a lot of other factors but in the space of 3 days we had viewed a property they had listed, had an appraisal on our home, spoke to their recommended mortgage advisor and sling-shotted back to another appraisal for renting out one of our current homes. Also, this was across the Leyland and Chorley branch due to location of homes! There wasn't a question we asked that they didnt have the knowledge and resource to help us with. We were helped and guided by (In no particular order) Carolyn, Aaron, Jordan, Marie, Kathryn and Louise (ZigZag Mortgage advisor) Unbelievable precision on how our enquiry was passed through their fantastic team with no repetition of our details needed. These guys REALLY know what they are doing and whilst we have put our search for our Forever Home on the back burner for 6-8 months, we will most certainly be using Ben Rose & ZigZag Mortgages for all of our future needs. 1st class service, above and beyond in every aspect.

Ben Rose worked dilligently to market our property and were very successful in getting multiple viewings and ultimately an acceptable offer for the sale. Tammy and the team at Ben Rose were pro-active throughout and always kept us up to date on progress. Would definately recommend.

An absolutely excellent Estate Agent team who handled my house sale with professionalism, efficiency and courtesy throughout. After having previously tried another Estate Agent to sell our house, we used Ben Rose in Leyland. We immediately noticed the difference... attractive and eye catching house photos, lots of potential buyers visiting the house and quick feedback after the completion of each viewing. Needless to say, within a very short time, the Ben Rose team had found a buyer for our house and throughout the whole sales process, kept us informed. They really made the process of selling the house smooth and worry free. What a fantastic team who come highly recommended!

Ben Rose Estate Agents (Bamber Bridge) can undoubtedly be very proud of the level of care, attention and service provided regards the sale of our property that had been in the family for the last 48 years.
Valued on Monday, went to Market on the Thursday, viewings on Friday and Saturday and the Sold sign went up on the following Monday.
We were very lucky that there was substantial interest in our property and Ben Rose managed to negotiate an above market rate via pro-active discussions between ourselves and the purchasers and we were delighted to choose a young first time buying couple.
Regular updates from Ben Rose to our Conveyors and ourselves made it a totally smooth pain free transaction thanks to Chris and his team at Bamber Bridge.

Great experience with Madison in the lettings team. Myself and my partner have been looking for a rental property for sometime, and we have always struggled with the relevant estate agents to get quick replies and therefore lost out on a lot. Maddison is the anomaly as she is on hand every time we have a request and I can't thank her enough for being so helpful with the process!

Didn't do appropriate background checks, after 6 months of waiting, it turned out the buyers weren't eligible for a mortgage! Then delayed putting it back on the market and lost buying the house. Then cost to get out of sales contract, when they didn't uphold their side. Very disappointed.

Unbelievable: We requested a viewing on a property via the online process, we didn't hear back so we called. We were told there was nothing available for 3/4 days. We visited on the Friday evening, and decided we wanted to make an offer. The vendors knew this. Nobody, again, contacted us, so mid-Monday we called them to discuss putting in an offer sometime that week. They, the estate agents, said they'd let us know if a new bid comes in so we can poke the IFA for documents and put in a competing bid. We called approx. 11am Thursday to be to make the formal offer only to be met with the accepted an offer. However, they stated that they'll put the offer to the vendors. They knew our offer was substantially higher than the one accepted. Today we received a call to say the vendors want to continue with the lower offer. The estate agent said they cannot control which offer the vendor chooses. However, they conveniently miss that their role is to influence and they separately failed to represent their promise to us and their client.

Edited in response to the company:

Regardless of the vendor selecting a bid, the company is not accepting responsibility for their failures. In effect they are blame shifting when the choice of the vendor was a symptom of the companies failures.

I did not mention influence the choice of bid, the company is in charge of and influences the process.

This agency typify all that is wrong with estate agencies who deal with rental properties, they hold the view there are more people looking to rent than there are rental properties so they are free to treat people looking to rent with a lack of manners and professionalism because there is a surplus of potential renters out there . I enquired about a rental property over the weekend, Monday morning I receive an email from them asking if I am available to view the property the following day Tuesday between 4 30 - 5.30 along with confirmation of my employment status, I reply to advise I am employed and can view tomorrow at 5. 00pm. I hear nothing back from them during the day so email Tuesday morning to ask for confirmation of the viewing for this evening and receive an email back from them to say sorry the property has gone. Bad manners and lack of professionalism, and although there would appear to be a surplus of people looking to rent at the moment, there are also an increased number of estate agencies out there who I would imagine run their business better than this organisation and treat potential renters with just a little bit more respect than this. If you are looking to rent, you will just be one of many out there to this organisation so they are free to pull these kind of stunts without any real consequence to them, and they trade on the belief this is acceptable practise in 2023.

24.05.23 TO ADD, after reading their reply it appears it was my fault in not being able to view the property as the slots had all gone by the time I confirmed by availability.
Let me provide the facts. I received an email from them Monday 15.05.23 at 08.14am asking me for my availability to view between 4.30pm - 5.30pm on the Tuesday 16.05.23
I replied by email 15.05.23 at 08.51am to say I was available at 05.00pm to view on the Tuesday. So their suggestion that in the 37minutes between their email and my reply the slots had all gone is clearly so unbelievable it's insulting. Added to which, if this was true, where was my email reply 15.05.23 from your business shortly after 08.51am to apologise and advise me the slots had gone? Seriously, please have the good grace and decency to admit you were wrong and mistakes were made instead of attempting to blame people who took 37 minutes from point of your email to reply with confirmation they could attend a viewing. We all make mistakes.