Poole Alcock Solicitors Reviews 

Dreadful on all counts.

In the last 7 years we have spent around £75000 with Poole Alcock - personal house sales/purchases, and many, many business transactions.

They have steadily gone downhill in their service, communication - and support for their client

They are now so bad, I cannot even rate them. Just don't even contemplate using Poole Alcock

Our experience with Poole Alcock for our property conveyancing was unfortunately disappointing. The process, which should have been straightforward with a cash buyer and no significant chain, dragged on for six months.

Communication was a major issue throughout. Emails often went unanswered and phone conversations frequently left us confused rather than informed. There was an assumption of knowledge on our part that we simply didn't possess, making it difficult to know what questions we should be asking. Updates on progress were rarely provided without prompting from our side.

The departure of our senior conveyancer midway through the process added to the complications. While the staff seemed knowledgeable, we were often left questioning whether we were receiving the best advice, as explanations for delays and issues were vague or not forthcoming.

Perhaps most concerning were the errors made during crucial stages of the process. Our stamp duty was incorrectly calculated, potentially leading to financial implications. More seriously, our mortgage wasn't properly closed by the completion date, resulting in us having to make two mortgage payments and incur a significant penalty fee from our building society. While we now understand this is largely the fault of our mortgage provider, our solicitor did very little to help us through this hump other than to absolve themselves of responsibility.

While we had a friendly contact who attempted to address our concerns, we frequently ended conversations with more questions than answers. The lack of proactive problem-solving and clear communication made an already stressful process even more challenging.

While Poole Alcock may have the necessary legal expertise, their service fell short in crucial areas such as communication, attention to detail and client care. For a process as important and potentially stressful as property conveyancing, we expected a higher level of service and support.

My daughter has been struggling through the divorce process, with an uncooperative husband, for almost twelve months. She instructed Poole and Alcock Wilmslow, to help move her divorce proceedings along. She paid a few hundred pounds for their services, ie. sending emails to her husband (who ignored them) and telephone calls, etc. However, this did not get her anywhere further with her divorce, so she deinstructed the solicitor in order not to pay them any more money.

My property purchase has not completed yet and the fact that I'm still waiting 10 months in warrants me flagging this to prospective new buyers. I have had nothing but delay, incredibly poor communication, and the feeling that, as my purchase price is quite low, I'm not that important. I would not recommend them unless you're a big spender. You'll get forgotten about, or passed between the various departments they have that don't seem to communicate well between themselves.

Poor, 1of 5. Unless by some miracle my property purchase actually goes ahead in 2024... This has caused huge long term stress to me and the seller.

Quick easy great help. excellent service

I had an excellent experience working with Poole Alcock Solicitors. They were professional, knowledgeable, and handled my case with care and attention to detail. Their communication was clear, timely, and the mae the entire process stress-free. I felt well-supported throughout, and their expertise resulted in a successful outcome. Highly recommend!

The staff were very supportive, quick to answer and they made the process very straightforward.

Friendly, helpful and efficient service

VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE, SYPMATHETIC AND EXCEPTIONAL SAME DAY TURNAROUND

I CONTACTED POOLE ALCOCK SOLICITORS FIRST THING ON A MONDAY MORNING FOR A LETTER THAT HAD TO BE ACTIONED THE SAME DAY.

FROM THE OFFSET JACKIE WHO WAS MY FIRST POINT OF CONTACT WAS VERY REASSURING, LISTENED TO MY CONCERNS AND SENT THE FIRST EMAIL WHILST I WAS STILL ON THE PHONE.

KELLIE TOOK THE LEAD AND WITHIN THE HOUR ALL THE INITIAL PAPERWORK WAS IN ORDER.

I HAD MY MEETING WITH JAMIE A FEW HOURS LATERS AND MY MATTER WAS CONCLUDED.

I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS FIRM HIGHLY ENOUGH

IT IS NOT JUST A MATTER OF ACTIONING DOCUMENTS FOR THEM ITS A MATTER OF ENSURING THAT THEY DO THE ABSOLUTE BEST BY THEIR CLIENTS.

NOT WITHSTANDING ANY OF THE ABOVE THE FIRM WERE ALSO VERY COMPETITIVE.

Don’t rely on this company to do a complete local search. They use a company in Scotland and don’t check the council’s granted planning permission instead advise that you as the client could have done it ourselves! Also beware if a developer is recommending them, choose your own

Don’t use this company would be my advise. We are the vendors and still waiting on completion over 2 months later. They often won’t take phone calls from our solicitors who has tried to establish the reason for the delay, and when they do respond they contradict and back track when all we want is an open and honest explanation of what is going on. We are in the verge of losing our sale and relisting our property.

We have been left extremely frustrated by the service we've received from the James Williams team during the current sale of our property. We have experienced a lack of clarity on timelines with no progress for weeks on end. We've now surpassed our original target deadline by a month and have no idea how much longer we will be waiting

I was asking for help with an uncontested, amicable divorce. I had a short, initial phone call and was allocated a solicitor from the Folkestone branch. I was then advised that someone, not the nominated solicitor would call me. I assumed this would just be a fact-finding call and was very relaxed with the process. I was encouraged to give full details, which I did. This call cost £294.
A couple of follow-up emails to my wife's solicitor for some figures cost £42 each.
An email with a summary of my phone call and some legal information documents and some forms to fill in cost £126. In fairness to the company, they did send a list of costs associated with their contact with the client and they charge £350+VAT per hour for phone calls and £35+VAT for emails. The calls are charged in 6 minute blocks, so minimum charge is £42 for a call, £7 a minute!
I have challenged the costs, saying that had I realised the phone call would be charged, I would not have proceeded with them, but I have been met with a solid rebuttal of my claims as I did receive a free consultation call first. I suppose it's a case of buyer beware.
I have now closed my file with them and have paid a total of £546 for one call, 3 emails and a letter, phew!
Are they any worse/better than other solicitors, I'm not sure, but with my new solicitor, I am asking for any contact to be prefaced with possible charges before I proceed, and I am doing so with great caution from now on.

Were not transparent enough about costs, service (an contested divorce) too far too long. Expensive. Didn't take my complaint and the end seriously. Credit control team are vicious and unprofessional.

Dealt with the Alsager office a couple of times recently and always found the staff there extremely helpful, friendly and approachable.

Was assigned Victoria as my solicitor.
I have been waiting for over 16 weeks now since I started the process of buying a relatively newly built flat which is still under warranty. I still do not know when I will be exchanging contracts.

The receptionist always says that the team is busy whenever I call then for an update, take my number and then never call me back. Have to call over 5 times to be able to talk to anyone for the solicitors time. They blame the sellers solicitor for delaying responses, but when they respond to enquiries, poole alcock takes 2 weeks to even review the responses and don't even return phone calls during this time.

I had to extend my tenancy 3 times every month as it keeps getting delayed every single time. Would not recommend this company to anyone.

Great communication and kept fully informed.

A shambles of a company run by amateurs. From one debacle to another when using this company to purchase our new home. We went with these as they were local, but not the cheapest, big mistake. Incorrect paperwork, don't listen to instructions, send out final settlement invoice then follow with further payment requests later due to forgetting to add charges. Send out important legal documentation without prior communications, not tracked or signed for, but standard second class, in a cheap envelope that was torn completely open during transit, we were lucky they arrived complete. Constantly chasing them, their internal comms are useless. Stay clear of these circus folk, and save yourself stress and time by going else where.