81 Fountain Street, Manchester, M2 2EE
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Google's 5 most relevant reviews. The rating is Google's average across all 204 reviews.
I would strongly advise anyone considering this firm to think very carefully before using them.
Our house purchase took 2 years and ultimately never completed because the sellers pulled out. While not everything was within the solicitor’s control, the level of delay, poor communication and lack of basic case management throughout was frankly shocking.
We were passed between multiple solicitors, which meant constantly repeating information and never having consistent oversight of our case. At one point our assigned solicitor went on indefinite leave, something we were never informed about. We only discovered this when we received an out-of-office email with no return date, and had to chase the firm ourselves to find out who, if anyone, was now dealing with our case.
Response times were extremely slow. On one occasion I was actually “told off” for chasing within their two-working-day response window, despite the fact that the sellers had informed us the solicitors had been sitting on important paperwork for 4 weeks. Clearly, our concern was more than justified.
There were two major legal issues with the property: a boundary issue and a defected lease. While both were eventually identified, the handling of them caused huge delays. The boundary issue took months to resolve, and once that had finally been sorted, the firm then revealed the lease was still a problem but failed to explain how it could be rectified until this point. This caused yet more delays. During this period, we went around three months with virtually no communication at all from our solicitor.
They also held our Lifetime ISA funds for five months, despite the legal limit being 90 days. They were not even aware they were holding the funds until I specifically asked. When I raised concerns about lost interest and potential investment growth, I was told they would investigate with their accounting team but then never heard back.
To top it all off, when the sellers finally pulled out, we were not informed by the solicitors at all. We found out via the estate agent. It has now been weeks since then and we still have not heard a single word from our solicitor.
Overall, this has been an exhausting, stressful and deeply disappointing experience. Poor communication, lack of accountability and prolonged delays made what was already a difficult process far worse. I would not recommend this company to anyone.
View this review on GoogleTotally rubbish and would not recommend. Currently acting for me on a house purchase and already regretting instructing them. Communication is non existent and when they do finally respond they tell me the same thing they told me 3 weeks ago. Only thing they are quick to tell you is when there will be extra fees but in terms of progression they couldn’t care less. Avoid at all costs
View this review on GoogleA really terrible conveyancer, they cost us huge amounts of time and money by being generally incompetent. The worst part is they weren’t even acting for us so we were unable to influence anything directly, but because they were acting for our buyers they had a huge impact on our house move and contributed to it taking over 5 months, for a chain of only 3 houses. They did not seem to know what they were doing and I constantly found myself chasing up information that they were supposed to be doing, and getting the result quicker. Their communication with our solicitor was extremely poor and they cost us almost £1,000 in avoidable mortgage interest by saying they were almost ready for exchange of contracts, and then not actually being ready for another 2 months. I didn’t switch my mortgage deal as I didn’t want to cause any delays for others, and ended up being stung because of this firm. Strongly recommend to avoid at all costs.
View this review on GoogleMy experience with Birchall Blackburn Law was very exhausting. From the start, I never felt welcomed as a client or valued; it often felt like we were being served as a favor rather than a paying customer. The team’s attitude was frequently rude, and there was a significant communication gap. It was nearly impossible to reach our solicitor, and updates were scarce. Note that it was chain free transaction, freehold property, but it took almost 3 months to complete after taking priority service.
The work was slow, which forced us to pay for priority service to actually get responses and progress. Even then, while things improved slightly, the delays caused frustration with our buyer, and we only managed to complete the deal by chasing the solicitor and involving the estate agent.
I would only recommend Birchall Blackburn Law if you have plenty of time, can pay for priority service (£480 extra approximately), or don’t mind receiving very few updates. Overall, the service was poor and stressful.
Note the priority service costed as an extra £480 which was completely wrong to take. We had to give in to their demand so that the file could move forward, otherwise the deal would have fallen through.
Update: The client service team looked into my dispute, they took the full 8 weeks and responded on the last day of the 8 week timeline which was hugely expected. The completely rejected my complaint and are not willing to refund my priority service charge. I have continued to dispute the £480 fee that they charged wrongly. If they continue to be dismissive of my compliant, I will be proceeding this dispute to the Legal Ombudsman.
View this review on GoogleThis firm is representing my buyer and is a total shambles. They do not reply to my buyer or my solicitor, my solicitor has now raised it to mangers. They are slow at everything. We have been kept waiting and unable to move due to this. This is my experience and looking at previous reviews it seems the norm. I was informed someone had left the firm and the file was left and not reallocated for two months. This is my experience, although I am not their client, my buyer is, and that affects my sale and the time it takes for the process to take place so I am affected by their poor customer appreciation.
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