Countrywide Avis 

They are nice to you in the start. Once when they have your money everything changes. You have to ask for everything. Nobody give you updates. They act like dead bugs.

Ethan Wilkins, based in Warwick, is truly a godsend. His dedication and professionalism have made my journey way easier. When it comes to anything maintenance-related, I can’t recommend him highly enough. He’s an absolute gem. reliable, efficient, and genuinely invested in helping others. I sincerely hope he receives the recognition he so rightly deserves. I don’t give reviews but I just had to this one

The mortgage broker claims that he has more than 10 years experience but showed no solid knowledge or previous examples of applying mortgage for non-standard construction.
All mortgage brokers seem use the same database or software to get the mortgage illustrations.

When lender asked for anything, most mortgage brokers seem do not have any negotiating power. So it is okay with me to hire a mortgage broker stations in a branch.

Sadly, the one I am hiring is holding information from me, rewrote the lender's request but the meaning was wrong and cut short.
It surprised me that the mortgage broker does not know the differences between a structural engineer report and a level 3 structural survey. And confirm me by email to proceed level 3 survey. Instantly refer me to their sister survey company. I got phone calls everyday from that survey company. The survey fee they quoted was more than £900.

Fortunately, I asked for the original texts from the lender and googled it . Actually the lender requested a structural engineer report conducted by Chartered engineer, which costs £500 to £600 incl. VAT. Even though I intended to have a level 3 survey after the mortgage is agreed, but it was NOT what lender want at the moment. I saved myself money and time but not the broker.

Right after passed along the structural engineer report to lender, the mortgage broker instantly vanished for 10 days without notice after Easter holiday. I had already asked if he has any holiday plan before assigned him on March.
So that is ironic that he said if I changed lender will spend another month for the mortgage application.

The structural engineer concluded that the house does not have structural movement through visual inspection.
Since there is a 1 metre long, 2mm wide crack of the render near the front door. Lender took all the recommendations in the structural engineer report. And asked for further reports, a full CCTV drainage report and a tree report, which the only tree is more or less 10m far from the house. I have no comment because it is professional point of view. It is only my decision to make to pay for more and more potential inspections. And seeing no hope to get a mortgage agreed.

This time the mortgage broker did not recap that the lender request an structural engineer to make conclusions upon the drainage report and the tree report. I have to ask again the broker to forward the lender's original words. I am speechless but the broker does not know what is wrong.

A lot of times was spent to sell their company's insurance. Life insurance, building insurance(3 times higher than quote in the market), content insurance, income insurance, on and on...sugar-coated them that they are for my own good. I only said I will consider.

So far I don't get much useful advice nor guidance during the mortgage application.

It seems that mortgage application is the second priority. He asked for my GP contact several times secured his interest of buying their insurance.
And blame me that I said to agree to buy their over-priced building insurance. I never said so but only to take it into consideration. Which I guess the claim will be long and painful like I feel now. Also blame me not to opposed the document summary sent by an stranger's email several weeks ago.

Is it all about commission or company sales target? I don't know but make me feel very uncomfortable. I am a first time buyer, I am still not sure when I can have a mortgage agreed.
It is a stupid decision to trust and pay the broker fees in one time payment.

I think as a foreigner from far east, a new immigrant in UK. Local people I met are reasonable, nice and sincere.
Though foreign customer in property business is probably more easily mislead and cash cow to exploit.

Professional? I cannot tell. I thought it is about reputation and solid knowledge. Working in a field for decades can be merely an email forwarder playing blaming games.

Recent dealings with Countrywide/Taylor’s has been a positive turnaround in service led by Niki, a very supportive member of the Milton Keynes team.

Please do not rent through this company. We have been waiting since the 8th April for the return of our bond. Landlord confirmed on the 9th they were happy with the inspection report to release the bond. We were told it was released that day. Rang everyday since to be told all okay should be in our account. Today told us it was My Deposit Scheme who was responsible for releasing the money. Rang them to be told they didn't hold the money. After 5 more phone calls to various people finally found out Countrywide held the money and was releasing it today by BACS. Never dealt with such incompetency or been so lied to !!

They survived my house they said it was only worth 265,000 the going rate in my area for my house is 425,000 when the surveyor come in it was all this could happen and that could happen there was no signs of anything what he said and now I have lost my buyers my advice is stay well away from countrywide I do not know how they are still operating

They rented me a house at 26 Jefferson Walk ST16 1WF and I listened to construction noises for 1 year and they forced me to sign an additional contract for 1 year even though I told them before. They tried to rent me this house above market prices. When I left, they had no other choice so they rented it to others at a lower price. They are not honest and try to rip people off. Also, do not trust the zero deposit system, they work together and try to get money from you

No professionalism or organisation but also actively worked against us while they managed our property. Took £2,000 from us for roof repairs which were not completed for weeks, then withheld our rent without any communication so our mortgage defaulted. Meanwhile our tenants were left in the house with 2 v young children with the electrics faulty from the leak! They would have been within their rights to withhold rent but luckily for us they continued to pay. They lied to us on the phone saying the tenants were not getting back to them but once we fired them the tenants showed us proof they had been chasing them.
If you have the misfortune of having to deal with this company make sure it is by email so you at least have proof of their incompetence. Several times we were lied to on the phone and then no proof. "Fully managed service" is an absolute scam just manage it yourself. They have severely damaged our relationship with our tenants and we are trying to rebuild that trust.

I would strongly caution any landlord or property owner against using Countrywide (Bridgfords) for property management.

Over the course of 1.5 years under their “Full Management Service”, I experienced repeated failures in duty of care, legal compliance, and basic professionalism. Under their care, I became a victim of rental fraud. This ultimately resulted in severe financial losses, worst emotional distress of my life for over a year, and the forced sale of my own home.

Key issues included:

Negligent tenant vetting: One tenant placed by Bridgfords was later involved in serious criminal activity, leading to a police being involved at my property and almost a year of unpaid rent. My concerns were dismissed repeatedly despite early warning signs.
Poor handling of significant rental arrears, Bridgfords failed to alert me promptly or take meaningful steps to recover the funds.
Breach of GDPR and lack of transparency: I was denied access to tenant information and legal documents, even when trying to recover losses—contrary to both my contractual rights and data protection law.
Failure to act on subletting and unauthorised occupants: These breaches were confirmed but not acted upon for months. I had no idea who lived in my home for a year.
Obstructed legal process: Despite paying for Rent & Legal Protection insurance, I was blocked from speaking directly with the appointed legal team, delaying essential proceedings.
Inadequate communication and complaint handling: My formal complaint went unacknowledged for weeks, and responses repeatedly ignored key issues. I often received contradictory or misleading information.
I have been advised to escalate this to the TPO, the FCA, and now Propertymark. No meaningful accountability has been shown by Countrywide. I hope my experience serves as a warning to others.

Landlords entrust agents with one of their most valuable assets. In my case, that trust was entirely misplaced. What I expected to be a straightforward process turned into a costly and distressing ordeal. I would never use their services again. I would strongly recommend Landlords and tenants to read the reviews and issues that others experience. Propertymark, Countrywide's regulators are aware of their failings.

Do not use this company they hold on to renters deposits for months

Stay away. There is no trace of professionalism or care towards the tenants in any department or employee. They are willing to lie to the tenants to get them off the phone as quick as possible. They offer no support when tenants require adequate legal service like getting deposits returned on time. After 5 months and appealing through higher authorities did they agree with the landlord to give back our deposit. They refused to help when the water company were asking to inspect a property for a leak, prolonging a simple process (that remains ongoing after 5 months) to protect the landlord from maintenance costs that were/are costing their tenants in excessive water bills. These are only facts and not the opinion of a disgruntled customer. Their high turn around of staff (quitting or being fired) speaks volumes, also. Facts are facts.

Stay clear of this estate agents and James Lambert the landlord who lets his houses through them. Absolute joke of a company. James has not paid the mortgage on my flat since at least September 2024 and the mortgage company was reposing. I have been without a working boiler for 8 weeks now and countrywide keep saying the part is on its way. He is not getting it fixed because he won’t have the property soon and is now threatening to give me my notice as I have withheld my rent. Absolute joke of a man. I have reported him to the council and nothing is being done about him. He should be charged with neglect to his tenant and properties and should lose his landlords license. If you can’t afford to be a landlord then you don’t be one!!!

I was asked to vacate a £1600 per month rental property after nearly two years of occupation so that the landlord could sell. The sale completed a week ago and I have moved out but Countrywide are holding on to my £1900 deposit and will not communicate with me on its return. The best they've managed to do is tell me that there is a 'process' and a 'time scale' but they will not say what either of those actually is. I would advise strongly against letting a house through these guys.

Robbed us of our holding deposit.

We were asked questions upon viewing the property such as are you in employment, what is your job etc and we answered truthfully. They encouraged us to put the holding deposit down immediately so we did but we were rejected due to me having to leave my job a few weeks later - they never asked about how long I foresee me being in the job. We offered 6 months rent in advance but then they asked for a year in advance payment, £16000+!

They said they would keep the holding deposit and we disputed this.

Report claimed that I did not advise them prior, that I was moving from full time employment to being a student at the start of the proposed tenancy. I was not made aware that this information was required, I was simply asked at the viewing "are you in employment?". At the time of the viewing I was in full time employment, I was not at any point asked what my future plans would be and whether I was to remain in that job and for how long.

I should come to you and tell you that I am employed or not employed and you don't need to ask me any questions when clearly that is not how the agents at King and Chasemore handled the interest in the property - they asked prepared questions. Apparently I failed to declare important information when it is clear that the agents failed to ask important questions. I was not privy to their processes and requirements, prior to placing my holding deposit and completing referencing, whereas the agents knew in advance the information required. I don't believe it is fair to put the blame on me when the customer cannot be expected to predict what information you need and provide it all when viewing the property.

I was truthful throughout my communication with them and the referencing company. I was not even expecting to leave my job so soon but, still, I had nothing to hide and provided my employer reference. "I wanted to make it clear that Zaid had not tried to hide this - even when I flagged what I intended to put on the reference and that it could cause an issue with his application."

Stay away from these people if you don't want them stealing from you.

Utterly terrible, Countrywide Lettings/Frank Innes - PLEASE, please do not bother if you're a landlord. Withholding deposit even when tenant thoroughly wrecked the property months ago. SMT are not legally trained and have no idea how to resolve issues. Seriously doubt the tenant was thoroughly background checked. Passed round in circles unprofessionally. Withholding rent protection, haven't followed procedures. Need I go on. Thousands of pounds down in rent and fees and zero offer or liability.

DO NOT EVER DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY!!! They are the worst of the worst. No one ever comes back to you, and all they care about is taking your money while doing absolutely nothing in return. The level of incompetence and neglect is shocking.

I have three small children, and they have left us without a working toilet, which is a serious environmental health hazard. Despite paying all my rent upfront, I have been completely ignored. I have sent over 12 emails, and not a single one has been responded to. No updates, no explanations—just silence. When I try to call, no one is ever available. On the rare occasion that I do get through, I am promised a call back that never happens.

Not only do they ignore me, but they also ignore my landlord, making it absolutely impossible to get anything resolved. Even my landlord is frustrated and unable to get answers from them. It’s clear they have no interest in actually managing properties or helping tenants—just taking people’s money and running.

This company lies, avoids responsibility, and treats both tenants and landlords with absolute disregard. The service is disgraceful, and I wouldn’t wish this experience on anyone. If you’re thinking of dealing with them—DON’T! Save yourself the stress and go elsewhere.

I used 'Bridgefords' / Countrywide to let one of my properties.
The renewal was due in Feb and I stupidly missed there call of 7th January.
Finally managed to get through on 24th Feb (Past due date) only to find that I should have been speaking to the local branch. Two weeks later told them to cancel everything as they have not returned any calls etc.
Quoted their terms and conditions to release myself from there mismanagement.
They have never done any of the promised visits to the property or returned calls from the tenant who contacted me when issues arose.
In other words over £100.00/mth for doing nothing and now expect me to pay to get out of a 24mth clause on a 12mth contact !
Modern Piracy!

Absolutely rude staff & unbelievable behaviour! Avoid at all costs

First class service provided by Eilidh,Kirsten and the Hamilton lettings team. Resulting in finding a suitable tenant with an early date of entry.

We rent out our property through Entwistle Green and had no idea at the time that they used Countrywide to manage the entire process once you're signed up. Never again! We're moving elsewhere once this current lease is up.

We're paying for full management and they quite literally do nothing unless you repeatedly chase them up. We have to chase up multiple times when work needs to be completed on our property, which likely damages the relationship we have with the tenants. We've been overcharged on more than one occasion. They don't complete 'mid-tenancy' property checks unless you chase them up, and the company are rude every time we speak to them about these issues.

They often call me if there is a complaint from the tenant, such as a water leak through the roof, then I ask them to send me an email with the quote for repair works and this doesn't get sent. So the following week I'm chasing it up again.

I have a baby to take care of and we chose the full management service to avoid all of this stress. Honestly, we may as well of just done everything ourself.

Avoid.