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Company details

  1. Legal Services & Government

Information provided by various external sources

Howells Solicitors South Yorkshire. We provide expert legal services for you, your family and your business across Sheffield, Rotherham and Barnsley.


Contact info

2.5

Poor

TrustScore 2.5 out of 5

16 reviews

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Replied to 100% of negative reviews

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Howells Solicitors Barnsley Sheffield

Let down by my solicitor at my first hearing and I was represented by another who clearly did not read the case file going into court without all the facts but he did the best he could which still left me having to speak out during representation to defend myself to the court because this was clearly not being done.My emails after this was ignored completely having me contact receptionist after two emails sent and ignored. The sentence hearing was a complete waste of time with no defence from my solicitor and I might aswell of had a duty solicitor leaving me worse than my first hearing & losing a agreed driving course. My advice is to try and find a Different Solicitors Firm that will do the job they are paid to do as this was not the case for myself leaving me to take the full penalty which clearly should not have happened.

November 14, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Howells Solicitors

Thank you for your review. We do not discuss any legal matters online. If you wish to discuss your feedback please call us on 0114 249 66 66 o email info@howells.law

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Completed the house purchase

Completed the house purchase, all was relatively smooth just took a long time and a lot of pestering and re-iteration.

However, the kicker and reason for the 1 star review is over a year after the fact the "land registry fee" was more than expected so they slapped us with an extra £180 fee charge, despite an email claiming we had paid the account in full a year prior. Awful practice. Avoid and go with a company that can do accounting properly.

October 3, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Howells Solicitors

Thank you for your review. We do not discuss any legal matters online. If you wish to discuss your feedback please call us on 0114 249 66 66 o email info@howells.law

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Highly recommend Howells - Barnsely

Highly recommend Wendy Bailey from the Barnsley Branch, who dealt with a very difficult situation concerning an ex partner who refused to engage in selling the matrimonial home.

Wendy was fantastic! Very knowledgeable on family law and explained everything to us, kept us upto date with all developments, responded quickly to emails / telephone calls.

The court paperwork was always filed on time and in depth. Which couldn't be said for my ex partners legal team.

My experience with Wendy was nothing but positive.

Would I use Howells again? Absolutely!!

May 2, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Howells Solicitors

Thank you for your review

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Chris Wong is the man e he got my case…

Chris Wong is the man e he got my case dropped. I was facing driving ban. And a large fine. He sorted promptly and efficiently. I have used Howells. Since the nighties have always been satisfied. Job well done and it didn't cost the earth thank you Chris have a great Christmas and a prosperous new year. You are the best Ian clancy a very happy customer

December 24, 2024
Unprompted review
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Reply from Howells Solicitors

Thank you for your review

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Couldn't help advice was rubbish you…

Couldn't help advice was rubbish you might aswell stop trading

November 27, 2024
Unprompted review
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Reply from Howells Solicitors

Thank you for your review. We do not discuss any legal matters online. If you wish to discuss your feedback please call us on 0114 249 66 66 o email info@howells.law

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

AVOID AT ALL COSTS

Looking like they will cost us our purchase due to a complete lack of interest. They seem to be just a factory process with very junior staff who just don't care. We were cash buyers for a property where the vendors were prepared to move out immediately. Should have taken 6 weeks max, but 14.5 weeks later still no replies to any of my queries I raised and no sign of any contracts. I escalated 6 weeks ago to their directors who also just don't appear to care. Complaint now raised. I could go on and on but PLEASE JUST AVOID UNLESS YOU WANT A WORLD OF PAIN.

October 29, 2024
Unprompted review
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Reply from Howells Solicitors

Thank you for your review. We do not discuss any legal matters online. If you wish to discuss your feedback please call us on 0114 249 66 66 o email info@howells.law

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Update on the previous 2 reviews from…

Update on the previous 2 reviews from service provided by Stephanie cundy family law . Bmbc offered £500 compensation for my daughter after they intentionallyplace my daughter with a man they knew were high risk to women and children, my complaint is now with lgsco, as I previously said misrepresentation by Stephanie failure to complete a proffesional investigation by this firm which has allowed Stephanie to still act for people who think she is actually there to represent them.

December 4, 2023
Unprompted review
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Reply from Howells Solicitors

Dear Becca, Thank you for taking the time to leave us feedback. We’re sorry that you are unhappy with the outcome of your case. As we have previously told you in your complaints, most of your complaint seem to be with your social worker and social care in general, which we sadly do not have control over as they do not work with Howells. We cannot discuss private legal matters or the circumstances of your case online but please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about your case and we will happily discuss this with you.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I would not use this company

I would not use this company
I would not recommend this company for potential medical negligence, especially more so after now reading how many 1-star ratings they have!

July 22, 2024
Unprompted review
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Reply from Howells Solicitors

Thank you for your feedback. We can see you have left the same review on other law firms trust pilot profiles, leading us to believe you may not have been a client of ours. There are multiple firms called Howells which you may have us mixed up with. If you have a genuine complaint we suggest you call us on 0114 249 6666 where we can resolve this.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

House conveyance

Having said that I would never approach a different solicitor if I needed one after a previous unrelated issue, having received a first class service, I am happy to reaffirm that statement.
During the sale conveyance of my father's house Tina and Jessica were outstanding. If I called Jessica with an issue she was nearly always available to speak and when she wasn't she would always call me back, even if I hadn't left a message.
If there was a legal inquiry Tina was always happy to discuss and explain this and if she wasn't available she would always call me after receiving my request.
Add to this the extremely helpful front of house staff at the Sheffield office, I have no reservations in recommending Howells for any legal assistance required.

October 31, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I would give them less if I could .so…

I would give them less if I could .so give them a wide berth useless company full of work shy phone dodgers .I used the barnsley branch avoid Harriet bissell and Rosamund twambley at all costs there are lazy ignorant. Never answerd any phone calls and actively swerved all questions regarding my sale .honestly there must be better out there go look :)

March 6, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Disgusting Firm, liars and bullies

WOW where do I start with this lying disgusting firm, first of the woman on the reception called Sophie has an attitude problem and lies about what you say. She also breaks gdpr and doesn’t seem to have a clue about the process and upon telling her about appointments I’d previously had got snotty on the phone saying well you can tell me again won’t you with a vile attitude. Told her if already had an appointment only to be told all my personal intrusive information was said to a receptionist and that the individual wasn’t even a solicitor, told her how upset I was and then told there was only one solicitor I could have and she wasn’t available till the 22nd but for only 30 minutes which I’d already had so then when asking to speak to a superior then comes on the phone with an absolute disgusting attitude saying that I’d been swearing and abusive to the other person which I wasn’t at any point. Upon him saying that they won’t take my case and him getting aggressive, swearing and trying to threaten me on the phone. this firm needs reporting and I will do my best to let people know what this firm acts like to potential clients that also have mental health issues and disabilities and for them to act like this is unprofessional and not acceptable. I have Reported this company!!

December 13, 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Bad legal advice, lack of expertise

This firm offered me very unprofessional and incompetent service in 2018 to me. This firm failed to put the client's interest first and caused many damages. I received very incompetent legal advice on discrimination case in education sector in April 2018 from Claire Fowler who said was employment discrimination expert. Surprisingly, they have no discrimination division anymore in this firm. They have no expertise in discrimination area developed in this firm and no expertise in education sector and yet they proceed with advising on cases they should refuse to advice. I think they mainly lack knowledge and can miss the trees in the forest. This firm discriminates against legal aid clients. No private paying client would accept such. They lack legal knowledge.

The case was funded by Legal Aid and I needed a solicitor who specialises in the education sector since I was a student at the University. This woman wrongly proceeded to advise me on my case causing only damages and distress. Totally irresponsible person. She was a totally unsuitable solicitor for the case. Even though she had zero experience in the education sector and zero experience with student matters, she proceeded to offer me legal advice. Her profile indicates she is only for employment matters and not education. As a result, she failed to identify a single discrimination in my case even thought many things were discriminatory and there was very strong discrimination case. My case was analyses by education barristers from top chamber 3PB and they identified very strong discrimination on disability grounds. This solicitor Claire Fowler failed to see anything. Her analysis was all wrong and her report was written in a very unprofessional tone. This is not a job that respected people offer. Totally incompetent from this firm. I was traumatised and left with no help that the legal aid paid for. The firm justified her work as normal. I am unsure how they can find clients if you communicate in such an unprofessional style and proceed with cases that they have no expertise to take on or lack in knowledge to analyse or are not good in things they do.

The legal aid pays for various cases and she refused to help claiming it would be a waste of money. In fact, she wasted taxpayers money by the act of taking on the case she should refuse to take on! Her advice under the legal aid was a total waste of taxpayers money and if she had any decency, she would not proceed with the legal advice because a specialist solicitor was needed in the education sector because I was a student and not an employer. I think she abused tax payer money because she had no qualifications to take on my case. They can't accept their own mistakes and lie to your face. Read how Graham Hogarth handled my complaint. For him, an arguable argument and arguable claim is to be interpreted as weak! He refused to accept the analysis by top barristers in the education sector in the UK and denies all facts.

I submitted a complaint to this firm and yet again the way they handle complaints reflects badly on this firm and shows who they are. They deny obvious facts and distort the truth to justify their wrongful actions. Graham Hogarth dealt with my complaint and he produced false statements in every line of his review of my complaint denying the most obvious things. Such people have no decency and lie to your face.

April 10, 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

liars and bullies

wendy bailey from howells in barnsley is nothing but a liar who tries to bully and threaten people to cover up her lies. people like her should be investigated thoroughly and jailed for the lies they try and use against people. she will also try and drag divorce cases out for 2 years while she screws the legal aid system for thousands. so if you are looking for a quick and peaceful divorce, do not use howells, read other reviews on various platforms, one lady said they asked her to lie so they could get her legal aid, shes also reported them to the SRA who i will also be passing lots of information about wendy baileys lies and bullying tactics

May 2, 2021
Unprompted review

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