FISHER JONES GREENWOOD LLP

Many thanks to Alex and Angela for completing on my elderly mother's flat sale. Brilliant service carried out with care.
Following on from this experience we employed Anastasia to write an updated Will. Very prompt and professional service under quite difficult circumstances.

Frustrating Experience – A Call for Fairness and Transparency

We approached this company with high hopes, asking for clear and transparent costs from the outset. Despite our efforts to ensure we understood the full financial commitment, we were initially quoted £1700 but ultimately charged £3000 without any prior warning or explanation about the potential for additional fees. This lack of communication has been extremely frustrating, especially given that we asked for clarity on the costs from the very beginning.

At present, we’re in negotiations to clear the debt, but it’s been a stressful and unnecessary situation that could have been avoided with better transparency and communication. If you choose to work with this company, we strongly advise you to get all fees confirmed in writing and ensure you’re fully aware of any potential changes to costs.

On top of this, our solicitor, Andrew, seemed unfamiliar with my wife’s file and misrepresented her in court. We ended up having to fire him and represent ourselves, which, surprisingly, we found to be more effective. He also kept our file as ransom even though he was overcharging us for a very poor service.

We sincerely hope that by sharing this feedback, the company will recognize the need to be more transparent, fair, and consistent in their dealings with clients. It would be reassuring if they reconsidered their fees and worked towards a fairer resolution for those who may have been similarly affected.

We have used this company to oversee our late mother's will. The whole process went smoothly and we were kept informed the whole time.
I would just like to say a big thank you to Anastasia Packman and her PA

Of all the expenses of moving house FJG is the only one I resent
as we got no value out of them at all for the price. All they did was pass on surveys which we could have sourced ourselves and their operation is far from professional.
Firstly, they used being short of staff due to demand as an excuse for poor customer service. In the six months to move house no phone call was ever put through, even out of lock-down going in person was not allowed and when our solicitor went on holiday (without letting us know) her out of office firmly declared that her inbox would NOT be monitored.
We had expected a solicitor to provide advice. They refused every time. What should we interpret from the surveys provided? FJG cannot comment. What do people normally do in these circumstances? FJG cannot comment. All they did for us was get the surveys done. So they get 2 stars for doing that but even then the date the survey was returned to them and the time it was sent to us was weeks apart so a failure to simply forward promptly delayed our move.
When our buyer's solicitors were saying they should pull out over a lease FJGs response was to say that, as out of Colchester solicitors "they didn't understand that half the land has a nominal lease from the army". We had to TELL FJG that if they had that local knowledge THEY should share it with the other solicitors and only then did they contact them... and only over email rather than picking up the phone.
Lastly, there were the mistakes. When I called out that the numbers on my P0 letter (about what money goes where at exchange) were wrong a more senior solicitor wrote back - clearly without having read the letter themselves to check - and patronise me by explaining how it was calculated. I had to write back to show how their calculations were wrong. All of which took days longer than if they'd just looked in the first place.
Now, I see positive reviews so it may come down to the individual solicitor you get. If you're selling with Harris & Wood ask them as they seemed to know that the one we'd got was awful from past experience.

Used Fisher Jones and Greenwood to update our wills and for making a Health Power of Attourney.

The advice was superb, fees very reasonable. At no time did we feel rushed or that we could not ask for additional explanations. We were dealt with by Diane Rudd & would not hesitate to recommend her.