Sarah
Probate services from LCF Law Limited Harrogate Branch
My siblings and I used this firm for probate services for my late mother. Initial impressions were favourable, however, they were found to be slow and inefficient throughout the 11 month process. Our initial assigned solicitor left the company without us being made aware, and only when I contacted them to chase progress, was I made aware of this. Emails were often ignored, resulting in us having to chase them frequently. A mistake was made when a final bill was left unpaid, (after the estate was settled), even though information provided, clearly stated this was a debt against the estate. This mistake had to be pointed out to the solicitor, after which she acknowledged her error, arranged to pay the bill, and deduct the amount from her fees as a measure of goodwill. Had we had a more positive experience with this firm, we would have appreciated this gesture, but sadly, this goodwill was tainted by a poor customer experience overall throughout the process. Update June 26: Several months after the estate was settled by LCF and they had shared and released the estate funds , we had a need to clarify something further. My brother emailed LCF, and a new member of staff looked into the closed file to try to respond to the query. It came to light that an additional £1,300 of estate funds, (interest accrued), was found in their client account for our mother, which we knew nothing about. This income has subsequently been paid out directly to us, outside of the estate, but will now require declaring for individual tax purposes. An email explanation was requested recently from LCF as to why we were not made aware of the existence of this money, months after their involvement had ceased and came to light purely by accident. So far, there has been no response to this direct question, so no explanation has been provided. As a result, I would definitely not feel able to recommend LCF Harrogate to others.
