Poor customer service from Saxton Mee

[Rebecca2008 10]

Hi everyone

 

I have to tell you about the very poor service I have suffered from Saxton Mee in Sheffield.

 

I have a property in Sheffield that I have been trying to sell through Saxton Mee. And over the course of the past few months the service from Saxton Mee has got worse and worse.

 

At the beginning, in Feb08, Saxton Mee sent me lists of who had requested information about the property and what type of information. This stopped in the last couple of months, today being June 08.

 

I spoke to Saxton Mee a couple of months ago about what I could do which might help sell the property (e.g. drop the price/ target potential buyers) and they offered no help and told me to 'sit it out' and 'not to drop the price as buyers will negotiate anyway'. I realise now that this may mean I missed the boat as if I'd dropped the price then maybe I would have got a buyer??

 

I have probably only had a phone call from Saxton Mee once every two weeks. And Saxton Mee have actively shown disinterest in selling my property.

 

Two weeks ago Saxton Mee left me a message to say "the market is dire and you need to think about what you're doing with the property". What kind of message is that!?

 

So now I am in the position of taking it off the market and renting it. But even now Saxton Mee won't negotiate on their fees. Saxton Mee keep telling me the standard T&Cs which theoretically mean I could leave it on their books for sale indefinitely and if either myself or them take it off the market I pay fees coming to £395 to Saxton Mee to do so!!. They are not even willing to discuss alternatives, if I rent it through Saxton Mee and put it back on the market in 4 months then they'll drop the fees if it sells then. The likelihood of that is very small considering current times. Saxton Mee are now quite dismissive on the phone and appear not care about my position as a seller and don't appear to be doing anything to actively market or sell my property.

 

If you have read this far, and are still considering using Saxton Mee then consider yourself warned! Do not expect good customer service, and expect to be screwed over on the fees.

 

Happy to discuss.

[theripsaw 10]

Which branch are you using. I think the standard of service depends a lot on your personal negotiator.

I've just a place on the market with them!

[Rebecca2008 10]

Using Banner Cross branch. My advice in hindsight is to keep on top of them, contact them regularly and making sure they're working for you. Think that's where I could have done better in my communications with them.

[sham71 10]

all estate agents must be in fear of losing their jobs at the moment as nothing is selling, I guess morale is low and this will affect customer service.

[theripsaw 10]

Using Banner Cross branch. My advice in hindsight is to keep on top of them, contact them regularly and making sure they're working for you. Think that's where I could have done better in my communications with them.

 

Not my branch thankfully.

Good advice thanks.

[theripsaw 10]

all estate agents must be in fear of losing their jobs at the moment as nothing is selling, I guess morale is low and this will affect customer service.

 

A good opportunity for them to shine above the rest!

 

They've had it easy for too long anyway..

[Rebecca2008 10]

Agree its not an easy job at the moment. Which makes it all the more important they consider both the seller and the buyer and the service they provide. It makes me wonder about how they've been with the people viewing my property or potential buyers.

[SUZIFACE 10]

Hi

Well after almost a year we have subject to contact fingers, legs, and knees crossed we have sold a propoerty which was at the bottom end of the market price wise and in an absolute steal.

We had the property on with Winkworth whom althugh they had a few viewers were just wanting us to continually drop the price, I got fed up with their attitude and handed the property to Haybrooks, or is it Haywoods[ one is my accountant, I get confused]. They have had even fewer viewings but they have got me a sale. We have accpeted less than we wanted, but at one point I did have to get a bit stroppy with a young lad from Haybrooks who suggested that if I didnt drop the price maybe I should take it off the market.

The property is yours and yours alone to sell, there is a limit that we all have that we cannot go below, otherwise it is not viable to sell,estate agents need to remember that, I appreciate they are worried, but so are we all, and they are still obliged to do their best by their client.

Also beware there are those who will take adavantage of peoples situations and offer deliberatly bad offers, if you can, hang on in there, dont give it away. It will happen its just a matter of when. Best wishes

[Deepak_S7 10]

Im sorry to hear of your trouble

 

But your post shows that it is vital to insist on no sale no fee at the moment

 

I cant believe the local agents get away with £££££ charges even if they dont sell your property

 

This does NOT happen everywhere in the country

 

If they sell it they get paid

Simple as that

 

Estate agents have had it good for many years

Now they dont so also use this to drive down their fees and commission if they do sell it

 

Good luck

 

Deepak

[Buttercup80 10]

Not that i want to get into a debate, but estate agents across the city have had to make numerous redundancies recently and are highly likely to be making more over the next few months. Fees have to go up or be strictly maintained to keep the businesses afloat. If they reduce the fees and/or do 'no sale, no fee' for everyone they will end up either going under or closing offices and having zero staff - then no-one will be there to sell your house and give you advice in the first place!

 

In a declining market, estate agents have to work much harder to keep sales together and therefore are more worth the money than ever before. They can't magic buyers out of nowhere and you have to be realistic about your price and how saleable your house is. Some responsibilty must be put on the seller instead of blaming the agent for everything. It is a business and if you have used their service and signed a contract, fees will be payable if you decide to withdraw. This is fair enough, you can't excpect people to do things for free - we all need to get paid and estate agents are not trolls that live under a bridge, despite popular opinion!

 

This is not meant to be a dig at the OP as s/he is quite right to be annoyed with poor service. Taking into account my above comments, estate agents should be doing everything they can to maintain a good relationship with their clients as it's extremely important that people have some faith in their agent in what is a very despondant period and stressful time. They must understand that the market is as it is and there is a limit to what agents can do, regardless of who they are, but customer service should be the one thing that improves rather than slips. There are less clients and less activity, therefore every agent has more time on their hands, so should have plenty of opportunity to speak to the clients they do have. There is a big difference between realism and pessimism.

 

If you've been on the market for a while and nothing is happening, then a call every two weeks is about normal. A lot of people don't want agents ringing them every few days to tell them there is no news as it can be an annoyance. However, if you do want to be called more regularly, then tell your negotiator and they should work with you on this.

 

Anyway, that's my two penneth!

[Deepak_S7 10]

 

.........estate agents across the city have had to make numerous redundancies recently ....

 

........ are highly likely to be making more over the next few months.......

 

Fees have to go up or be strictly maintained to keep the businesses afloat. If they reduce the fees and/or do 'no sale, no fee' for everyone they will end up either going under or closing offices and having zero staff.........

 

 

 

 

Exactly my point

 

Why should we support them?

 

They were quick to cash in when the market was hot

[Buttercup80 10]

How so? Your complaint is that they will no longer do no sale, no fee, and that fees are increasing as the market gets more difficult. By that definition, that means when the market was hot and things sold themselves, agents were giving lower fees and less restrictions on sellers, therefore not 'cashing in'.

 

Obviously they made a lot of money as the market was very bouyant - but as they are estate agents, that's kind of the point! First and foremost, they are there to make money, like any other business in the marketplace. Less money is coming in (as in, less than 50% compared to last year) so they cannot operate to the same standards and staffing levels without charging more, regardless of how much money they banked in the past.

 

The point is this - you want a service and a high standard, and you want to sell your house. If you choose to do it through an estate agent then you should be prepared to pay the fees they set. If you want to sell privately, and the rest of the country goes along, the estate agency business will go under altogether and your life will be enriched, no doubt!

 

You can't have it both ways - everything else is getting more expensive, this is just one more thing. We can't give you everything you want without charging for it, because the market will not allow us to continue as we were, so we have to charge you more. If you don't like it, don't sell.

 

By the way, i don't work for Saxton Mee. Obviously i work for an agent, but it's not, and never will be, them!