We bought a property in Southend. We were told that the seller had to move out by 12 noon on that…read moreday so we arranged removal van for 13.00 arrival at the property. As we arrived, we found out that the exchange was delayed therefore we cannot enter the property yet. The removal people had to leave all our stuffs outside of the property and my partner and I were waiting in the cold. We called Sydney, the negotiation person at the agent, multiple times to check when we do have the go ahead, whether she can meet us in the property to hand us the key as we are not driving and we do not know the town. She kept saying that she and the team were too busy and no one can deliver us the key.
By that time, my partner and I were already waited in the cold for a couple of hours. As we were waiting outside, we noticed that the sellers were actually in the house. We called Sydney again to check if the sellers were inside and asked if she can liaise with them handing us the key. She said she'd left them a message. We also alerted our lawyer that the seller were in the property and the lawyer said they shouldn't be. Shortly after, the sellers walked out of the property, closing the door behind them and leaving the keys inside of the house. We called Sydney again for help as we were very cold and struggled to navigate the town to get to the office to collect the key. Again, she said she can't help. In the end, I had to cycle from the property for 45 minutes to the office to collect the key. We were new to town, moved from London. My phone was dying and I had to take my partner's phone for GPS. It was then getting dark and my father in law, who had my two year old baby, had already arrived the property. So I ordered a taxi from Bears' office to come back to find my in laws, my baby and my partner were all waiting outside in the cold for me to access the property. It was a sad scene to witness on a supposedly happy day of moving into a new property.
I think this experience is appalling. I am a customer who paid a large amount for a property and was told they can't deliver me the key for my product and I had to navigate my way in a brand new town to collect the key on my bike, whilst already having waited in the cold for hours. My partner had to wait in the cold for hours watching our stuffs left by the removal people and he couldn't even go to the toilet or accept the offer of waiting inside by our neighbours. By the time we entered the property, it was already 16.30. It was dark, cold and we were hungry with a 2 year old baby needing attention, yet, we still need to unload everything by ourselves as the removal guys had gone. Perhaps it could have been avoided if your office cared enough to liaise with the seller so we can get in as the property was empty, the seller were just inside keeping warm.
It was a long stressful day and I'm still shocked at how unsympathetic your team can be. Never mind I'm a customer, it's just not a normal human being should treat another human being. This is the second time I owned a property, the first time I bought my property I was certainly met and greeted by my property agent at the property and handed the key to me, saying thank you and welcome and congratulations. I really don't feel Sydney has valued me as a customer or a person, in fact, I feel being treated like a piece of garbage by her.
When we complained, they were just being defensive and offered no apology. Really shocking customer service. Stay away from them. They might be nice to seller, but treated buyer very badly, at the end of the day , if you want a smooth transaction, don't go anywhere near them!!!
