Valerie Holmes Property Lawyer a trading style of PM Law Ltd

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Reviews

1. R F ★☆☆☆☆

   Absolutely appalling service – avoid at all costs. I was referred to this firm through a broker and, having now seen the reviews, I can confirm every single one of them is spot on. The communication is non-existent. My allocated caseworker has never once contacted me directly, answered a call, or replied to an email. I paid their initial fee on 25th September, completed every bit of paperwork immediately, verified my ID, and paid everything on time — yet here we are on 10th November with zero progress. My case is a relatively simple one (all that is required of them is to draw up the transfer documents to send to my ex husband and myself to sign); however it’s urgent and serious, involving a court return because my ex refused to sign transfer paperwork for my mortgage lender’s legal team - instead of helping, this company has made a stressful situation so much worse for me. Tomorrow I’ll be demanding a refund and taking my case elsewhere if I cannot speak to my caseworker Stephanie and get an update on the situation. I’ll also be contacting Homeward Legal to tell them they should stop referring people to this firm altogether. I’m absolutely disheartened and exhausted by this experience — it’s been nothing but wasted time, anxiety, and frustration. Do not use this company. You will regret it.

   almost 2 months ago
2. Isabella Baylis ★★☆☆☆

   We used this company as our conveyancer for our recent house buy. We were first time buyers and honestly we would not recommend this company. Initially they seemed great and we got paperwork sorted but then they slowed down due to a lot of pto and not responding and our conveyancer abruptly left the company. Then it got even worse for communication and it didn’t improve until after we had to make a formal complaint. Our final conveyancer Naheed did do a better job but still did not answer emails a lot of the time. While we did eventually complete the process was 6 months in total.

   almost 3 months ago
3. Jodie Burton ★☆☆☆☆

   I would definitely not recommend this firm to anyone, and I wouldn't even give it a one-star rating. My husband and I decided not to proceed with the transaction because of this company. Their absurd lead times, poor communication, and lack of professionalism were terrible. After 14–15 weeks, we were informed that it would take an additional 15 weeks because our files needed to be transferred to a sister firm that was better equipped to handle leasehold property sales. In addition, our three-month contact abruptly left, and when we were given a new contact, they were unreachable and appeared to be on annual leave each time we called. A complete embarrassment of a company, and I have thought about reporting them.

   almost 6 months ago

1. Tom Bombadil ★★☆☆☆

   Unfortunately my experience with Valerie Holmes Law was an abysmally slow and unresponsive service. They have no online or automatic email system in place to keep you updated on the key milestones of the house buying process, which is for many people the biggest purchase of their lives. No timeframes were given. They had to be chased in many cases and responses were hit and miss. Forms weren't laid out clearly so you would know where to sign at a glance. All these oversights add up. I strongly suspect they have bitten off more than they can chew by taking on too many clients, and as a result they undoubtedly overstretch their staff to maximise their profits. This comes at the expense of the quality of the service.

   almost 6 months ago
2. Jordan Grubb ★★★★★

   We had an amazing experience with Valerie Holmes. Our conveyancer Stephanie Boocock was incredible. We had an extremely tight deadline that seemed impossible, in a market where your average house move seems to be >6 months. And yet Stephanie performed the miraculous and we moved in to our house in record time, beating the stamp duty deadline. She was extremely helpful and informative throughout the process, keeping us up to date with all news and providing us with all the tools we needed to get the move done swiftly. She fought for us, got all other parties moving quickly and was a pleasure to work with. We can only recommend! Thank you very much, Stephanie.

   almost 10 months ago
3. Lemuel Williams ★☆☆☆☆

   Absolute worse solicitors i have ever experience. I wont name drop anyone but if you want to be ignored, be rude to and going bald before your 30’s from stress then i think this firm is the right place for you. Firstly i was recommended by another firm but reading all the bad reviews i give the benefit of the doubt and still decided to give them a go but they do say “its always good to experience things for yourself” and omg was i in for the ride of my life! I would honestly say if and when i decide to buy or sell a house and i see “valeries holmes property lawyer” on any document/file ill tell seller or buyer to change or ill just pull out of the sale. Half of what is shown below is not half as bad compare to what i wont mention. 7 months of absolute rubbishes excuses,lies,rude behaviour,delays etc •not responding to emails •going on annual leave and don’t have the courtesy to at-least inform their clients • having a go at me because i was right •lost a good deal of a mortgage offer and as a result had to pay £999 for a new mortgage offer because they took 7 months to complete •blame the seller and their solicitor for delaying when he/she doesn't reply when asking for an update •they do not answer the phone or when the secretary does he/she informs you that either they on another line or they not in the office(i fail to understand how someone who informs you of their working hrs on their email)is never ever in the office. Or he/she will say let me check if they are in today. Now Surely that office isnt the westminister abbey so u wont know if they are in or not. •spoke to my solicitor 6 times in 7 months (secretary went on to say they don’t like speaking on the phone as they rather email) Never heard something so comical in my life, if so then whats the sense in having a landline 1st time i spoke to my solicitor was to introduce him/herself 2nd was to pay fees 3rd was to have a go at me because what i was saying was right 4th was to lie on the phone (saying we can complete on a certain date) but when i asked for that in writing,she responded that he/she will email me,never did and went on to say he/she never said that, its the vendor pushing for that date 5th was to inform me of the balance needed to pay 6th was when the keys was available for collection And further more i went through 7 months of hell and didnt even received a courtesy email congratulating me on purchasing my new property nor even a thank you for choosing them. Absolutely gutted. Lol But safe to say it will be the first an the last ill be choosing them. I wouldn't wish this on my worse enemy. They should count their blessings that google reviews starts from 1 star. Just do not want anyone to make the same MISTAKE i did.

   almost 2 years ago

1. Fiona Lunt ★☆☆☆☆

   Repeatedly contacted to fulfill a commitment to refund some initial costs. They don't even have the decency to respond to emails, would be quite the different story if it was a client being asked to make payment.

   almost 2 years ago
2. Kevin McCann ★★★★★

   Delighted to have had VHPL recommended to me, and I would happily recommend the firm to others – indeed I have already done so. My solicitor was very responsive, spent a lot of time talking me through various points of law relating to my purchase, and was clear on what her legal guidance was and the matters relevant to the decisions I needed to take. VHPL guided me through the buying process from start to finish, and document signing and other relevant administration was all swift and straightforward. Thanks again for a great service.

   almost 4 years ago
3. Richard Corcoran ★★☆☆☆

   AVOID! We were suggested this firm by our estate agent as they gave the pitch that they were "in-house", which obviously isn't true considering it's another company called Live Conveyancing which passes our case on, probably at random to any solicitors they have on their books. We had both our sale and purchase through Valerie Holmes, and for the first 2-3 months, we didn't feel the need to reach out to them much apart from providing any paperwork or answering enquires, while also knowing that searches would take a while to come back. When it came time to start discussing an exchange/completion date, we were told our purchase was a lot further behind our sale, no other information. Eventually, after constantly emailing and phoning up we were told that due to missing building regs on our purchase, we would need an indemnity policy. This process then took 7 WEEKS to be resolved, with constant back and forth emails between solicitors and with finger pointing at our vendors solicitors at being slow. At the same time never even suggesting that we cover the costs of this insurance until i made it clear we would pay just to put an end of 7 weeks of no responses, being ignored and to finally move forward with our purchase. They say moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do in your life. It sure is, if you use a firm like Valerie Holmes. - We missed the September stamp duty (even though we had an offer on our sale in APRIL). - The entire process took SIX MONTHS to get to completion. - At some points being completely ignored by email and phone calls for over 8 days. The only reason i haven't given a 1 star review is due to our case being moved over to Stephanie during the final few weeks before completion. She was the only person who replied quickly to my emails and finally got our sale/purchase completed. If we ever decided to sell again and i saw either our buyers or vendors were using Valerie Holmes, i would either ask them to change solicitors or i would pull out!

   almost 4 years ago

1. Simon B ★☆☆☆☆

   Since selling out to pm law in mid 2021 VHPL staff have completely changed. On previous sales they showed interest and a positive attitude with getting the deals completed. Now they are utterly uninterested and see their clients as revenue sources for their new umbrella company. My sale went dead when the agent in charge of the file took an unannounced two week holiday two weeks before completion was due. Despite repeated appeals to progress the sale all we got was the odd patronising speech or were totally ignored. Predictably they were utterly unaware that the sale was due when the buyers conveyance called them on the day, and the sale was delayed as a result. No apologies or explanations, not that any explanation was required as the cause was obvious. VHPL have handed their accountability over now to pm law, who, despite being contacted on three occasions for complaint, have yet to even acknowledge. This case will eventually have to go to the ombudsman. So.. if you want your sale or purchase handled by an agency of jobsworths overseen by an umbrella company who have no interest, then VHPL are the company to go with. Personally I would look elsewhere.

   almost 4 years ago

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