Holden Smith Law Limited

The process began in May 19th and received notice of 'completion' on 29th July. While taking a little longer than expected were were reasonable happily and would have give a 3-4 star review. During this time Joe Furness from Holden Smith was not that forthcoming in his communication style and his phone manner was at time too 'relaxed'. We would have liked more efficient and regular updates and more energetic approach but I would have recommended Holden Smith especially considering their quote was on the lower end of the spectrum. That being said it appeared to be a very straight forward process of paying off a help-to-buy loan with cash savings. After 'completion' we would have assumed : 'no more to do'. However we were selling our house shortly after and that solicitor informed us there was no note on the Land Registry documents. We were starting to think the worst that we'd been scammed or something. We contacted Joe who said 'it was completed' just waiting on land registry and claimed that not his fault is the fault of land registry. Joe took over 2 weeks to reply to emails after which we called him and eventually got an answer in which he claimed it was down to HelptoBuy . After calling Help to Buy we found out Joe did not complete the 'DS1' form properly and seemed like pretty easy information to find out. This took a few days to sort and was eventually sorted , with Joe being more forthcoming (probably because we were so annoyed) . We would have not known about this error/oversight if it weren't for the other solicitor noting this. After all of this we eventually 'actually completed', having our account closed with Help to buy almost a month later. This could have been avoided had Joe not acted as previously mentioned. Because of this I will not be recommending Holden Smith and would not use them again. I sent them this email during the time and they never replied

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Joe Furness

We instructed Holden Smith (via SAM Conveyancing) for our property purchase and experienced a complete failure in basic service standards. As first-time buyers, we expected clear guidance, but were instead met with weeks of unanswered emails, vague updates, and a complete lack of urgency. Communication was so poor that the seller’s solicitor and estate agent had to contact us directly to get updates because our conveyancer was completely unresponsive. Updates routinely consisted of unannotated forwarded email chains without context, and crucial documents—like a Deed of Surrender—sat untouched for weeks, even while our handler went on leave with no active cover. We have been forced to submit a formal complaint and escalate to senior management just to get basic progress on our file. Avoid if you value transparency, efficiency, or responsive legal support.

A truly, truly frustrating experience with Abena Boateng. Communication has been extremely poor throughout this transaction and my questions and concerns were routinely dismissed. My offer was accepted six months ago and I still have no certainty as to when this purchase will complete. Months of delays and practically begging for updates that should have been provided proactively. The lack of clarity and communication has made this an unnecessarily stressful experience. I have now lodged a formal complaint with the Legal Ombudsman. Avoid this firm for your own sanity.

I found them very professional, knowledgeable and trustworthy.

Martin was very helpful and explained everything simply and completely.

Absolutely fantastic service, Alex really listened to what we needed and it was all sorted promptly and efficiently. Will definitely be our go to solicitors if we need anything in the future. Highly recommend.

I cannot speak highly enough of Holden Smith Law and in particular Francesca Graham & Tiarny Leahy who facilitated the sale and purchase. Having not moved for c24 years, as you can imagine the whole process had changed significantly, yet the care and attention by both these colleagues and in particular Francesca was exemplary. The dedication (often working extended hours) in order to get both sale and purchase over the lines cannot be underestimated - a real can do attitude and when faced with challenges / obstacles, they would put forward solutions / options. - Anyone looking for top first class conveyancing, look no further than Holden Smith Law

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Francesca Graham

​Do not use Holden Smith. We are currently trying to sell our house, and the entire chain is being delayed because of errors Holden Smith made when we originally purchased the property. ​They failed to obtain a Building Control Completion Certificate and missed a clear defect on a Transfer Deed that we now have to pay to rectify. Rather than resolving their mistakes urgently, they have dragged their heels for over a month, ignored emails, and missed multiple deadlines. The aftercare is non-existent, and the initial conveyancing work was clearly negligent. Avoid at all costs.

Tilly and Lucy were brilliant in supporting our home purchase. We were kept in the loop when needed, and were assured that everything was ticking on as expected in the background when there wasn't anything else to do from our side. We were working to quite tight timelines with our sellers and Tilly and Lucy were so quick and professional that we never had cause to worry. Emails were nearly always responded to same day, and were always polite and friendly. We were dreading this whole process and Holden Smith have made it stress-free. Would not hesitate to recommend and we will be using again in the future. Thanks.

I’d just like to say a big thank you to Francesca from the Huddersfield office. She was amazing while I was selling & buying my house. She kept me fully informed about what stage we were at & answered my emails nearly immediately & sent out paper copies for me to sign when I was struggling online. Francessca is a credit to your company. Thank you again