SHOOSMITHS LLP

This is Swiitch Law.
Took over 5 months to complete a simple property sale (a flat), No Chain! And that was because of seemed consistently chasing them, via the estate agents. Hope they weren't expensive for the seller, communication was really bad.

Thank you so much to Craig Hinks and Lorna Phelps who supported me and my partner on our first time purchase. Throughout the whole process I have been able to stay in communication by phone and email with Craig, who has always been polite, friendly and supportive. Even though the sale was very challenging and I had given up at one point, Craig was very professional and never made me feel stupid! No question was a silly question and he was always very happy to help. I would recommend this solicitor in a heart beat and can't thank the team enough!

We had a horrendous experience buying a house with Shoosmiths lawyers. The process was extremely slow, and they were consistently unresponsive. We constantly had to chase them for updates. Once they took our money, the after-service was absolutely shocking. Avoid if you value your time and sanity. It's the worst customer service I've ever come across.

Highly recommend Lorna Phelps at Swiitch Law, and colleagues. Our sale was expected to be simple, but ended up being one of the most challenging to complete. Throughout Lorna kept us updated, was very helpful, friendly and super fast to process and send paperwork. If it was not for Lornas persistence and negotiaton skills, I doubt we would be sat in our new home. I cannot be anymore grateful. If you want a solictor who goes above and beyond, choose Lorna!

I sold my property subject to contract in June, it’s now end of October and still nowhere near completion.

First of all, anyone at Shoosmiths is almost impossible to get ahold of. Emails often went ignored - when calling I wouldn’t be able to get through so it would send me to a switchboard which would often just hang up on me. When I did get through, the person would try to put me through to my solicitor and they were never available and the call just ends.

Second, I went months without any contact with them and had no idea what was happening despite chasing. I asked for a completion date of August 16th 2022, it was never acknowledged and I was never told it wasn’t possible. After I complained, they told me the completion date average is 18 to 22 weeks but they did not tell me that at the beginning of the sale and so I had arranged everything needed for the August date. I moved into my new property in August and had been relying on the sale to help me with costs etc of the move plus costs of living - I am now in financial destitution due to the many months it has taken to move even a step forward in this sale. Had I known the sale would take this long, I would not have moved or quit my job, which would have saved me money in these last few months. I am scared the buyer will pull out due to the length of time, leaving me in an even more difficult situation.

On top of this, I was told that they were waiting on one piece of paperwork and the sale could go through. I provided the paperwork only to be told I needed to provide two more things PLUS they were waiting on another piece which they had requested TWO MONTHS ago and simply never bothered to chase up. The only reason they seem to be doing things now is because I am literally badgering them every single day for an update. I’ve even done some of their job for them and called the places the paperwork needs to come from!

I honestly regret choosing Shoosmiths and the amount of stress and anxiety they are putting me through. So please, do yourself a favour and do NOT choose them to be your solicitor when trying to sell a property.