Anyone had dealings with Birchall Blackburn sollicitors?

ajayre

We used them this summer to buy a house. Awful, incompetent and useless. No attention to detail, no double-checking, just "do-the-minimum".

We had to hound them for anything to happen.

Our solicitor had two "assistants" who didn't know anything about our case when we called.

There were endless typographical errors and mistakes in documents - for example using our surname as the seller's surname on the TR1 and sending it to us to sign!

Even had the address of the house we were buying in a different town.

If we sent the solicitor a direct email with an answer to a question or confirmation to proceed we would wait a week, call up, and they would have no knowledge of it. A week wasted. But then another time they would respond immediately to an email (so they were receiving them).

Like someone else mentioned - if our solicitor went on one of her multiple "annual leaves" then nothing happened. Everything ground to a halt. Then you have to deal with the "assistants" who appear to have gone to the same school of customer service training...

The *only* thing that helped in our case was that the estate agent had a "sales progressor" who was like a rabid dog we could set on our solicitor to get things moving...

Andy

tommie1shunt

Would not touch any "remote" conveyancer with a barge pole. We had one based in Bradford, it was like phoning a call centre, different person everytime, constant hold ups, different story as to why it was being held up, extra charges and nothing happens at all unless you ring them and badger them. My advice get someone local.

autumnleaf_2

I wish I had read this, or any reviews for that matter, before I got this dreadful company for my house move. The only place where there are consistently good reviews of Birchall Blackburn is reallymoving.com, and that's hardly surprising since they get commission for everyone they refer!

My solicitor has taken ages to do anything and keeps making up the most ridiculous excuses for why we haven't yet completed. It is now December and only now has she remembered to request the valuation report. We put an offer in for the house in August! We used to phone her every 2 weeks and she told us for months (up until the end of November) that she has everything she needs and is just waiting for the other side. Then from the middle of November she seemed to actually look at our file and only then started working on things like requesting ID and looking at the local searches! What has she been doing for the last 4 months! I have stopped ringing her myself because she is so rude to me, my husband now does it, and the estate agent have put a note on their system to about how rude and unprofessional she is toward them. She acts like she is doing us some kind of favour by doing this work, she seems to have forgotten that we are paying her! It's an absolute disgrace.

nickeightyseven

Im using Birchall Blackburn for my conveyancing at the moment they have been nothing but trouble. Search results took ages to come through, they keep claiming they are waiting for things that they aren't, reply's to emails are slow and it seems they only do anything when I complain that nothing is happening.
Pay the extra and go elsewhere!

They_are_muppets

well this is no surprise to me about this firm.

I am currently dealing with them on another matter and just as described by previous above post they are completely useless.
If you are not happy with them complain to them with your grievance
and wait for the usual bs reply saying that they have done everything right.
Then take your grievance to the legal ombudsman (this will cost you nothing for them to look at your grievance) They are impartial and can give a judgement in your favour which can result in a refund of costs and compensation.
This is the only way that we the public can make these firms sit up and take notice that we will not tolerate this type of service from so called professionals.

ILikeAdvice

I wished I'd seen this thread before going with them - They're slow, rude, they only work or act when prompted. They give no update's, and when you ask for an update or any information it's like you've asked them something ridiculous.

If you go with them don't expect to actually speak to the solicitor your apparentlly paying. You'll only ever speak to their assistant.

I won't use them again, and I would not recommend them.

spark_deals

ILikeAdvice wrote: »

I wished I'd seen this thread before going with them - They're slow, rude, they only work or act when prompted. They give no update's, and when you ask for an update or any information it's like you've asked them something ridiculous.

If you go with them don't expect to actually speak to the solicitor your apparentlly paying. You'll only ever speak to their assistant.

I won't use them again, and I would not recommend them.

Thank you very much for the review. I almost went with them..... but saved by not signing/ replying anything.
I have anyway sent an email to them to confirm cancellation of instruction in case they assume telephonic conversation as instruction.
Thanks
Spark

Newby101

Awful, awful company, no regard for customers and customer service is non existent. Avoid!!

snifflette

Ha, I haven't had a problem with them!!

Dondaddyd

If I could sack them without risk of losing the property I would even if it meant losing the money already paid to them.

Given that this is likely to be one of the most important and single most expensive purchases my partner and I will make, their service is not just poor it is disrespectful.

Employed them in August, I've yet to have a verbal conversation with anyone but the Coveyancing Assistant.

It must be an office policy that no one except her answers the phone because I've called a range of numbers for the Chorley branch and no one else answers their phone.

Emails are sporadic. We have to find out information from the Vendor, Vendor's solicitor or the Estate agents sales progressor.

We are constantly fobbed off with an endless string of excuses:
"The case is on the solicitors desk"
"He can't speak to you he is dealing with completions [on a Tuesday]"
"He is on annual leave and will be back in X weeks"
"I haven't received anything from their solicitors"

Their unprofessional behaviour knows no limits, they lost the paperwork for the sale and had to contact the vendor's solicitor for a duplicate.

And they lie, constantly. We have been in constant communication with the vendor, he tells us when he answered their questions or sent a key document over. We chase them and they claim they haven't received it.

I'm paying these people £1000 and the service is not only disgraceful, it is embarassing as it makes us look unprofessional/incompetent.