COOK TAYLOR WOODHOUSE LIMITED

So we’ve completed on a property purchase in mid May. There was no chain, so should have been quick - I was expecting 2-3 months. We instructed ctw in mid December. So 6 months it took. Khatab Ali was our solicitor. Initially he was responsive, but quickly ignored all emails from me, weren't answering the phone to me. Didnt return calls. I was literally unable to get through to him for about 2 full months or more. I emailed ctw directly to witch they never replied either. I rang them, they said they'd get him to call me which he didn't. The portal was updated once early on. I asked for this to be updated, but obviously wasn't, so I was always unaware what stage we were at. He weren't communicating with the estate agent, they kept ringing me saying did I even still want it as its taking too long. The seller was threatening to pull out. Then I decided to badger them daily so just kept ringing until I finally go answer. It then started to progress slowly. When we were close to exchange he was promising exchange for 4 weeks, then he'd ring me later and say oh It didn't happen today, hopefully it'll happen next week. They already had all my funds in there bank days before the '1st attempt to exchange'.

It all seemed like he literally had no clue about any of it. In fact they all seemed clueless.

I certainly wouldn't use ctw ever again for anything. Absolutely abysmal service.

Thanks for nothing.

Katie and her assistant Rosie were so responsive and helpful with all of our questions as first time home buyers. They worked together to make sure the sale kept on track and were always willing to provide an update when we asked. Thank you both for making our experience less stressful!

I had a very positive experience working with CTW, and especially with Brook Illing, during the sale of my property. From the beginning to the sale's completion, Brook maintained excellent communication and kept me informed at every stage of the process.

There were some challenges along the way, particularly with the buyer’s solicitors, but Brook handled the situation very professionally. Brook promptly addressed the issues and ensured that everything continued to move forward smoothly.

I truly appreciate Brook’s support, efficiency, and dedication in successfully completing the sale of my property. I highly recommend CTW's services to anyone seeking a reliable and professional solicitor.

Professionally incompetent - 2 month delay

CTW are acting on behalf of our buyer and as of today we have reached a point where we have been advised that we have grounds to complain to the Legal Ombudsman.

On 2nd December CTW requested a Deed Of Variation regarding minor internal changes that were made to our property prior to our purchase. We asked multiple times in the weeks that followed for guidance on its contents and received nothing. Over the Christmas period, our solicitor worked out of hours to draft a DOV and we paid a surveyor to produce an updated floorplan; both were sent to CTW for approval. Over a week later they replied with two amendments, quite valid points that we added and sent back that same day. After another 8 days of silence, even being chased every day, they replied again with a further amendment request. We sent the DOV on a word document for ease; they returned scanned PDF, written on in pencil requesting that a set of brackets were removed around a postcode in the document but then asked that its returned to them a third time for approval.
The DOV has to be signed by ourselves and the management company via their solicitors firm prior to submission to Land Registry. We proposed an undertaking regarding submission of the document one completion (common in 90% of sales) which CTW refused.

We are working to a tight deadline due to school selection, moving from a London Borough to Kent and have been completely open with those deadline since October when we accepted our offer.

Our conveyancer has over 150 jobs running and years of experience and has never come across such professional incompetence. Our sale is days from falling through or we lose all control over where our daughter goes to school.

I have recently moved house and Brook Illing was my recommended and allocated solicitor. Brook kept me updated and helped professionally throughout the process from start to completion. He was always ready to respond to communications in a timely manner. I am happy to say that i am now in my new home and would recommend the services that Brook provided for me.