Our property was on the market with a different Melton Mowbray based estate agent for several months in winter so decided to change agents in the spring. We chose Newton Fallowell because they had branches in Melton, Bingham and Grantham, so we thought that we would be marketed to a wider audience. The agent came round, reassured us that it would be marketed through all three offices and said that it should sell immediately.Photographs were taken and the for sale board went up quickly but, after a week, we were not showing online and the social media video hadn’t been taken (apparently a speciality and crucial part of the NF marketing process). We had to ring up to have the listing put on Rightmove and the NF website. A date was arranged for the video but the agent failed to attend. We had to contact them several times for the video to be taken.After a couple of weeks I attended the Bingham office to check whether they were marketing our property but was informed that each branch is a separate franchise and wouldn’t market other branches’ properties unless there was an agreement to share the commission. When confronted, the agent said that there must have been a misunderstanding about this (certainly not by us – we made it quite clear what we expected) although he did say that he would see what he could do.A few days later the manager came round to take the social media video and we asked about marketing at different branches. He reassured us that although separate franchises, any customer registered with any branch will have details sent through centrally as long as the property was within their search area. After a couple of weeks our friends registered for our area at the Bingham branch and, surprise, surprise, nothing was sent though. I asked the agent about this the next time that I spoke to him and he said that nothing was sent centrally. Either the agent or his manager was not telling the truth.As well as these issues, there were ongoing errors with our marketing details and photographs which took several attempts to get rectified. We did get one viewing through Newton Fallowell but strongly suspect that they were a ‘stooge’ set up by the agent due to length of time that they spent at the address with the agent – not enough time to go round the whole house (despite ‘loving’ the property).The only thing in Newton Fallowell’s favour is that they don’t have a notice period so, after a month, we were able to leave and find a competent estate agent. Don’t waste your time selling through this agent – they are incompetent and less than honest!
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