Has anyone used James Barnes - solicitor service in W13?

Richard_Webster

The colleague who said " because we are buying from housing association, it is pretty standard and straightforward." clearly has never worked in property law. Housing associations matters can vary enormously, and in many cases the cheapest HA flats can take more work than houses costing ten times the price. I had a housing association matter take over a year once, due to the slowness of the HA. :-)

This is very true - HA transactions are usually more complicated.

NO_NAME_4-2

Hi i know this thread is old but i just stumbled upon it ,

We used this so called solicitor 2 years ago he made selling my hose the worst experience of my life
Im not going to right a massive thread about him because i dont ever want to waste my time on this person again !
He made selling my home hell ! didnt answer the phone ever had to call 20 times a day ! his staff are the rudest people i have come across and so unprofessional it is a joke ! changed his mind on fees halfway through sale
took 6 months to sell a no chain property and most of the leg work had to be done by me and the estate agent,lastly constantly told me that my buyer the other solicitor and both the buyers estate agent and mine were liars
wouldnt recommend him to my worst enemy !!

recentcase

James E Barnes is the worst solicitor/conveyancer I have ever met. He took way too many days to respond to my emails, was never available on the phone (had to leave messages to which I had no responses or responses came after nearly a week't time), didn't remember details of my case (probably because he cared only about the money and took too many cases without considering the time needed to work on them) and never kept his promises. He was brilliant at taking about nothing and taking my money - that's all. 3 months after finally the exchange of contracts took place, I'm still chasing him for the outstanding documents and money. You'd be better off with anybody but him.

pcgtron

Isn't it interesting to hear lots of other peoples views on 1 person or group.
I've used Jim twice now, and have just instructed him for a 3rd time on a remortgage we're doing. He is reasonably priced, asks all the right questions, and does respond to answers.
Our house sale nearly fell through on the day of exchange, and was actually saved by Jim.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him.
By the way, the 1st time I bought, I used Convey Law who were without a doubt the worst, most expensive waste of time I've ever come across

pearLondon

Have just been using Jim Barnes for the fourth time and this time I have been very disappointed. He has never returned ANY of my calls and takes days to respond to queries. He is either surrounded by incompetent people (I am sure he relies heavily on trainees to keep costs down) or he is just loosing it. Don't know what to think anymore but he is painfully slow and takes ages to even respond to to the simplest of questions/requests.

Zwanesh

On a recommendation from my boss, I engaged Mr. Barnes to buy my first house. I put in a bid which was accepted and started the process. At first, it seemed fine - I did not know what to expect - and everything progressed nicely.

After circa a month (early March), I called the office to see what the next steps were. I specifically asked if we were ready to exchange and I was told (not by Mr. Barnes, by Adam - a trainee) that there were no obstacles to this.

What followed was a three month marathon of me being promised exchange "next week" or "in a couple of weeks", but for some reason, things not happening.

In the end, after three weeks in a hotel with my wife and newborn son (since my rental agreement had expired and I could not extend), I decided to pull out if there was no progress.

Suddenly, everything seemed to fall into place and I exchanged in the middle of May.

The extra cost I have had of Mr. Barnes and the heart-ache is enormous. Please, please do not go there! Pay a bit extra, get a local solicitor with good ratings and do yourself an enormous favour.

Kind regards,

Zwanesh

JimmyAaja

Totally agree with your comments, foul bunch of crass lawyers / secretaries

NO_NAME wrote: »

Hi i know this thread is old but i just stumbled upon it ,

We used this so called solicitor 2 years ago he made selling my hose the worst experience of my life
Im not going to right a massive thread about him because i dont ever want to waste my time on this person again !
He made selling my home hell ! didnt answer the phone ever had to call 20 times a day ! his staff are the rudest people i have come across and so unprofessional it is a joke ! changed his mind on fees halfway through sale
took 6 months to sell a no chain property and most of the leg work had to be done by me and the estate agent,lastly constantly told me that my buyer the other solicitor and both the buyers estate agent and mine were liars
wouldnt recommend him to my worst enemy !!

Dunree

Tum tee tum

Rubytruestar

I have never dealt with such an unprofessional and incompetent so called solicitor in my life. He doesn't take client instructions, is behind on all paperwork, only when you threaten to withdraw does everything suddenly fall into place. He should be avoided at all costs...people there is a reason he is the supposedly cheapest...you get a third rate ( and that's being generous) job....DO NOT USE THIS MAN...he is a liability and will make your house selling/moving a nightmare! You have been warned!:mad: