Countrywide Avis 

I am really cross. The agent looking after my property sale was asked in September 2025 if they still held keys for the property as my family member tenant had lost theirs.

New owner going in November 2025 wanted property completely empty plus the keys

For 5 weeks i raced around trying to locate keys, locate a spare set, get movers in at exact same time as a locksmith. I eventually managed to cross hatch everyone's needs and had a gut instinct to check agent one last time re spare keys

Got a different staff member; "Oh yes. We have keys!" The evening before movers and locksmith to attend.

I shouldn't have had to ask twice. Trust gone.

Knowing movers had to get in THAT exact date and locksmith also could only do that date, I had to wait until next day to triple check absolutely keys in Countrywide office.

I didn't trust anyone at this point and couldn't risk movers or locksmith abandoning job

Keys WERE there but I was only told 9.35 a.m. 30 minutes after locksmith left me with £257 bill.

An unnecessary bill had September email been answered correctly with YES WE HAVE KEYS

I also had 5 weeks bills in my home to pay which I would not have had if keys located as flat could have been emptied and new owner in much earlier

I have emailed Countrywide and had only blame shifting. No apology. No refund of locksmith. Now stonewalling

That one mistake in September started a catalogue of costs and stress for me. Unacceptable

If your estate agent uses this company to handle the property management, DO NOT SIGN THE LEASE. They are the worst. They don't respond to calls or emails. They took weeks to address repairs that never were fixed. They will downgrade your exit survey so that they can keep your deposit which I got at the full clearance from my landlord. Incompetence at its finest.

I've just had to chase for the return of my deposit. This was an uncomplicated end of tenancy, with my full deposit being returned. I've just been told that it will take up to an additional 10 working days - totalling a month since the end of my tenancy. They ignored the questions in my email. 1 star review because 0 wasn't an option.

I needed clarification regarding LPA's and the correct method for Attorneys to use them.
I also needed details of Professional Deputies and how to engage them. CTT were most helpful but advised they no longer were active in that market.

I being elderly can be a bit vague at times. Checking some stuff revealed that the company increased my monthy payments by 90 percent with no reason. I will never use them again

Insured for years taken payments but when you try to make a claim you cannot contact anybody. You text them to call you back and they give you a one ring call. Stopped paying my premium 4 months ago as a way to make contact and they still haven't been in touch. Ridiculous.

What an absolute joke of a company they call themselves surveyors, Barclays sent them to my house to value it after I had done a 2 storey side extension and rooms in roof space, the surveyor put it down as a new build, Barclays will not lend the extra money on the property as they are saying a new build needs a NHBC or equivalent insurance backed guarantee when clearly on the planning decision states a 2 STOREY EXTENSION what an absolute joke this company is should be struck off for being incompetent.
If I could of given 0 stars I would have

My experience with Countrywide’s full management letting service has been disappointing although it was not that bad in the beginning. As landlord staying outside UK, I chose full management for greater peace of mind. However, each time repairs were required, I received limited explanations and no advice on resolving the issues—often without any photos to illustrate the situation. In most cases, I was not provided with quotes beforehand and felt compelled to accept whichever costs were proposed. Additionally, despite repeated requests, I was never sent photographs of completed work. The agency did not supply multiple quotes or evidence of competitive pricing. Responses to my queries tended to overlook my concerns and focused instead on tenant dissatisfaction, even when delays were caused by the agency itself. Costs could be increased with simply “additional work was needed” as explanation, yet detailed breakdowns were not supplied. With the current tenancy ending in about 10 days, I have been corresponding with the agency regarding renewal since July but remain unsure if the property will be re-let or if the tenants wish to stay. After noticing many negative reviews, I really don’t know what I can do!

Title: Misleading Information by Countrywide - Milton Keynes, Lack of Accountability and £200 Unfair Parking Fines

I arranged two viewings with Milton Keynes - Countrywide Estate Agent – Ms. Natasha Lucas – on 16th and 17th September 2025 at 1-112 Caspian View Bletchley, Milton Keynes, MK3 5JJ.

Unfortunately, my experience has been extremely disappointing due to misleading information and a complete lack of accountability, which has now cost us £200 by CPM in parking fines.

Firstly, neither in the viewing confirmation emails nor in any phone communication was there any mention of parking arrangements or time restrictions. On both days, when we met Ms. Lucas at the property, she did not proactively explain that the car park only allows 15 minutes of free parking.

When we arrived, we immediately noticed the signs stating a 15-minute limit and asked Ms. Lucas directly whether we needed to register our vehicle or make payment, as we knew the viewing would take longer than 15 minutes. Her response was: “Don’t worry, I will register it, even if it goes over 15 minutes there will be no problem.” Based on this reassurance, we proceeded with the viewing in good faith.

To our shock, we later received penalty notices for both days, totalling £200. We contacted Ms. Lucas straight away, reminding her of what she had told us at the viewings. She assured us by phone that she would contact CPM, the parking company, to have the fines cancelled. However, on 25th September, she emailed us to say the fines could not be cancelled because we had overstayed the 15 minutes.

When we called again, she repeatedly insisted there was “nothing that could be done” and that we had simply parked too long, completely ignoring the fact that she had explicitly told us otherwise at the time. When we pointed out that it is unreasonable to expect potential tenants to complete a property viewing within 15 minutes, her dismissive response was: “It’s fine, plenty of other people come to view the property.”

In summary:
1. Countrywide (436 Midsummer Boulevard, Milton Keynes, MK9 2EA) failed to inform us in advance about the parking restrictions clearly.
2. Ms. Lucas gave us incorrect verbal assurances that no action was needed for exceeding 15 minutes.
3. After we received the fines, she initially promised to liaise with CPM to resolve the matter but then retracted this and denied responsibility.
4. We feel misled as prospective tenants, and her attitude was unprofessional and dismissive.

It is extremely concerning that even for a simple property viewing, Countrywide could not provide accurate guidance or accept responsibility for misleading advice. If such basic matters are handled with this lack of care and integrity, it raises serious questions about their professionalism and trustworthiness in managing tenancies or property purchases.

This experience has not only caused us financial loss but also left us with deep disappointment to Countrywide (436 Midsummer Boulevard, Milton Keynes, MK9 2EA)

My experience with Countrywide was deeply upsetting. Over a short-term rent arrears of only £500, despite my repeated updates and confirmed plan to pay, I was bombarded with calls and letters threatening immediate possession and large legal costs. These threats were completely out of proportion and below the legal threshold for eviction.

Their communications felt designed to intimidate rather than resolve the issue and caused significant distress at a time when I was already taking every step to clear the balance.
No tenant should be subjected to this kind of pressure. Countrywide must be held accountable and urgently review their practices to ensure they treat tenants lawfully and with basic respect.

I had an absolutely dreadful experience as my property management agent. They charged the standard monthly service fee, but on top of that, they repeatedly deducted unauthorized fees from the rent without my consent—random charges popping up monthly, quarterly, and annually. They also proactively withheld inspection and repair fees from the rent without any approval from me as the landlord.
To make matters worse, they misled me about the contract term and dragged their feet on handover dates when the tenancy ended. After the contract expired, they conducted a so-called inventory check and charged me £150 for an “Inventory Report,” but shockingly, they didn’t even bother to verify the water, electricity, or gas meter readings. They deliberately hid the fact that the tenant owed outstanding utility bills and refused to deduct these from the deposit on my behalf.
On top of all that, multiple items in the property were damaged, yet they did nothing to pursue deductions from the tenant’s deposit. This left me out of pocket and frustrated.

WARNING TO All LANDLORDS, use this organisation at your peril (Specifically Mid Cornwall Lettings, within this group). My property was left in a terrible state and cost me thousands to put right. I opted for “fully managed”, which turned out to be fully mis-managed. These amateurs carried out property inspections, during the tenancy, and completely ignored the shocking condition in which the tenants were keeping the property. The tenants had “decorated” rooms, very badly (tenancy agreement states they cannot without permission), rooms part painted, hideous colours, all carpets had to be thrown away, etc etc. Garden looked like a jungle, rubbish left in the house and garden. Mid Cornwall Lettings are completely responsible for failing to ensure the tenants kept to the tenancy agreement. Also, for anyone considering using these amateurs, they are part of Countrywide Lettings group, I ended up with emails and calls from so many different people and from different parts of the country, often about the same subject, I never knew who I should be contacting about what. Trustpilot reviews, possibly the worst I have ever read, basically Mid Cornwall Lettings and Countrywide Group are the same Company. Mid Cornwall Lettings couldn’t organise one in a brewery, but they are experts in extracting every last possible penny for doing very little, and what they do, they don’t do well. Wish I knew all of this before getting involved wish this shambolic, disjointed bunch of amateurs. Would be putting minus stars here, if that were possible.

you should better stay on the street, instead of doing business with them, they are disaster, and treating you, as if you are someone to rob easy. Please do not involve any of them, they are corrupted from top to bottom.

I am a returning customer and have been with Countrywide for many years. My recent remortgage went incredibly smoothly thanks to the fantastic Ashru Bairagee, Mortgage Services Manager Advisor at Bairstow Eves, Woodford Green.
This is not the first time Ashru has gone above and beyond. She clearly explained the process and terminology, kept in regular communication, liaised directly with the solicitors (whom she kindly recommended), and made the whole experience stress-free.
Her professionalism, combined with a friendly, human touch, made everything feel easy and straightforward. I am truly grateful for the time she dedicated to my case, even going as far as sending helpful updates outside of working hours. I’ve already recommended her to friends who are now applying for mortgages themselves.

As a longstanding Landlord, I advise you to NOT use Countrywide. You will regret it.

I’ve been a landlord and customer of countrywide for 30 years. I have to say, the quality of service has pretty much declined in every year. The departments don’t communicate with each other, the deposits team are worse than incompetent and quite frankly lie. To say I’m disappointed as a customer would be a significant understatement.

If you are a landlord and looking to let a property, I’d look to alternative agents (making sure they are not part of the Countrywide Group)

LANDLORDS; do not trust Countrywide. Firstly I have a criticism of Trustpilot. It is unacceptable that we have to give a minimum of one star in a review. This implies that 20% of the behaviour of the company being reviewed is acceptable. This is certainly not the case with Countrywide where zero would be an appropriate assessment.
Our complaint was originally specifically with Miller Countrywide Falmouth branch and can be found as a review on Trustpilot.
The complaint was escalated to the so-called Countrywide Customer Care team by the Falmouth branch manager when questions became too tough for him to answer and he refused to talk to us. Having dealt with various members of the so-called Countrywide Customer Care team, in ascending order of superiority it appears to be clear that the rotten unethical behaviour we have experienced at the Falmouth branch of Miller Countrywide is not an exception but the rule.
Countrywide claim to have looked into and reviewed our complaint thoroughly but at every stage of the complaints process they have consistently ignored and not commented on the most important facts of the case. Instead they have sent long explanations of their decisions by waffling about unimportant aspects of the case.
At a time when landlords are under pressure from past and pending Government legislation the last thing we need is to be ripped off by Letting agents but that is exactly what has happened to us. Trading Standards are looking into our case and the police have said that what they have done in our case looks like fraud but have pointed out that it is a civil matter, not a criminal matter.
From reading other reviews on this site it appears that the unethical behaviour of Countrywide impacts on the tenants as well as the landlords and inevitably some tenants will blame the landlord for the actions taken by Countrywide widening the gulf between the two.
It is often said that a wise person learns from the mistakes of others. Please learn from our mistakes!

Unfortunately 0 stars isn’t an option. Some of the most vile staff I have ever had the displeasure of talking to.

I emailed them via the email address they specifically told me to email re not renewing my tenancy. I was told that they don’t have access to this email address (why tell me to email it?). I calmly tried to explain that I followed their procedure and was interrupted by potentially the rudest and most dismissive person I’ve ever spoken to. Their employees need to remember that it’s tenants’ money who pay their wages and therefore should refrain from speaking to them like dirt.

I genuinely feel sorry for any tenant who has to deal with this company, shocking,

We moved in, have a disability from a sexual crime. Agents force unannounced visits, made a self harm incident occur in the property and continued to push on.

Evil isn't a strong enough word here.

VERY POOR SERVICE DO NOT USE, WE BEEN IN THE PROCESS BUYING A HOUSE. THEY NEW WE DIDNT HAVE DOWN PAYMENT FIRST TIME HOMEOWNERS AS WELL WE HAVE TEXT MESSAGE EMAILS FROM THEM STATING EVERYTHING WILL BE GOOD DOWN PAYMENT WILL BE ADDED O TO LOAN THIS THAT. TWO MONTHS IN WE FIND A HOUSE 1 MONTH OF DEALING WITH INSPECTIONS AND GETTING THEM TO FIX THING TO ITS APPRASEL TIME THEY CALL TODAY SAYING WE NEED 8,000 DOWN FORO PAYMENT THIS WHOLE TIME WE WAS TOLD WE DIDNT NEED IT AND IT WAS GOING TO BE ADDED INTO THE LOAN. MAKING OUR PAYMENT LITTLE MORE FINE BUT YOU ALL HAD ME PAY FOR INSPECTION AND NOE SAYING WE NEED MONEY DO NOT USE THEM THEY WILL LIE ALL THE WAY TILL WHEN EVER,THEY DECODE TO SAY SOMETHING NEW. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY THEY ARE LIERS STRAIGHT UP I HAVE EMAILS AND TEXT FROM US TO THEM FOR PROOF THEY NEW THIS WHOLETIME THEY EVEN REDONE THE PAYMENT PLAN TO ADD THE DOWN PAYMNT ASSISTANCE TO IT SO THIS WAS DONE TWICE. NOW THEY DONT DO ASSISTANCE DOWNPAYMENT IS WHAT THET ARE NOW SAYING