Twice have I been unfortunate enough to deal with Christopher Russell. This was as a buyer both times. The first occasion went swimmingly until we turned up at the property we were supposed to be viewing. I had received a confirmation email stating the time, date and address of the property we were to view and we showed up in plenty of time in the pouring rain. We walked to the he property and knocked on the door, with no answer. We tried again two more times but there was no response. Eventually we walked back to the car, now soaked, and rang Christopher Russell. We were told that the property was not that one but a different one - halfway up the road. This was obviously a human mistake that we let off the first time and out down to the fact that somebody had just miscommunicated. We eventually made it to the other end of the road and apologised profoundly to the seller who was showing us around. He wasn’t best pleased, which we understood. Fast forward to the second occasion. We had a viewing today and turned up at 3pm, which we once again turned up to early. After 15 minutes, I contacted Christopher Russell to ask if the estate agent was on their way. Apparently not. The estate agent had booked us in for 2.30pm in the diary yet booked us in both on the phone and via email for 3pm. The lady on the phone told me she would pass on my feedback which I will be holding her to and contacting in the future to discuss the issues that this “business” obviously has. We have wasted half a day planning it around this viewing and simply cannot be bothered to buy bring a company that cannot get anything right. My parents once used this estate agent to rent out my grandads house several years ago and had nothing but trouble (no communication, no responses to contact, hidden/random charges etc.). They warned me about them and I did not heed the warning stupidly. I saw the stress that they went through trying to just get things sorted and should have trusted my instinct. My parents have since used Drewery in Sidcup for renting it a property and had no issues whatsoever. I personally have found nothing but time wasting with Christopher Russell and simply cannot be bothered to use them again to even view, let alone actually purchase with. It’s such a shame as this property was one we were incredibly optimistic about.

Lack of professionalism or care

Twice have I been unfortunate enough to deal with Christopher Russell. This was as a buyer both times. The first occasion went swimmingly until we turned up at the property we were supposed to be viewing. I had received a confirmation email stating the time, date and address of the property we were to view and we showed up in plenty of time in the pouring rain. We walked to the he property and knocked on the door, with no answer. We tried again two more times but there was no response. Eventually we walked back to the car, now soaked, and rang Christopher Russell. We were told that the property was not that one but a different one - halfway up the road. This was obviously a human mistake that we let off the first time and out down to the fact that somebody had just miscommunicated. We eventually made it to the other end of the road and apologised profoundly to the seller who was showing us around. He wasn’t best pleased, which we understood. Fast forward to the second occasion. We had a viewing today and turned up at 3pm, which we once again turned up to early. After 15 minutes, I contacted Christopher Russell to ask if the estate agent was on their way. Apparently not. The estate agent had booked us in for 2.30pm in the diary yet booked us in both on the phone and via email for 3pm. The lady on the phone told me she would pass on my feedback which I will be holding her to and contacting in the future to discuss the issues that this “business” obviously has. We have wasted half a day planning it around this viewing and simply cannot be bothered to buy bring a company that cannot get anything right. My parents once used this estate agent to rent out my grandads house several years ago and had nothing but trouble (no communication, no responses to contact, hidden/random charges etc.). They warned me about them and I did not heed the warning stupidly. I saw the stress that they went through trying to just get things sorted and should have trusted my instinct. My parents have since used Drewery in Sidcup for renting it a property and had no issues whatsoever. I personally have found nothing but time wasting with Christopher Russell and simply cannot be bothered to use them again to even view, let alone actually purchase with. It’s such a shame as this property was one we were incredibly optimistic about.

Claimed to be professional but not at all.

I think 95% of the previous comments were submitted by same person/s, can easily tell by the pattern of the comments. However, I just would like to comment on one particular person, Julie, who I may say has been quite arrogant and she acts like we're asking for free housing while we pay for their fee and we expect to get good service as a customer. The way she talks to us is like she's a boss and I am her employee. I do not want to waste my time arguing with someone who keeps on talking while she has to let the customer tells what they expect for what they will pay.

I wouldn't trust these guys at all. I got them to rent out my property but not only did they fail to place a rental payment into my account...making me miss a mortgage payment! Luckily, the bank was OK with it and allowed me to make the payment a few days after. I learnt after that the tenant had actually made the payment in time, it was Christopher Russell that failed to pass this on! The last draw was charging me for the renewal of a rental contract that had not even happened. Our tenant had never been approached for renewal or signed any renewal contract. They kept the money though and to date still haven't returned it. Needless to say, we decided to ditch them and deal directly with our tenant, who also didn't like them much either. It's a shame but totally lost trust in them.

Extremely untrustworthy agency

We have had a very unpleasant experience while dealing with the branch manager for Sidcup / Bexley. We have been looking for properties to buy in this region and found that the agency carries out the entire sale operation deceitfully. They try and create a bidding war amongst the people who are interested in a purchase. They conceal the highest bid and ask all bidders to keep raising the price till the end without revealing the price to owners. This blind bidding pattern is misleading the buyers and they end up offering much more than the evaluated price. The strategy is harmful for the market in general, leading to future fail in the sale process and wasting of people's valuable time. Manager came across a bit rude and impolite during the entire handling and phone conversations. I suggest the partners of the firm look into this. Also the prospective buyers, don't fall into the trap of blind bidding. It is your right to know what you are bidding against. No other agency I have encountered carries out the sale process so dis-tastefully.