Holden Smith Law Limited

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.

Absolutely the worst people I have dealt with. If you are looking for honesty and a trustworthy team to get you through the house-buying process, then please avoid these. I had the worst experience ever, and the Branch Manager in Elland is an horrendous person to deal with, who was mainly anonymous and when he was present, either ignored or misled things. I can honestly say that the whole company just want the money. I have made complaints, and nobody even responds to these. Awful Awful Awful!!!!! If you want to feel at ease during the purchase of your property, these are not the people to use.

Legal experts tagged in
this review

Daniel Cox

Martin Crenshaw was excellent in dealing with out house sale.

I have been attempting to purchase a flat since September 2025 and was referred to Holden Smith by the estate agent, Thornley Groves in Manchester. At the outset, Holden Smith appeared professional and competent. Although updates were infrequent, I was not overly concerned as the transaction seemed to be progressing. Once the mortgage offer was issued in October, everything appeared to be on track. On 26th January, I was advised to propose a completion date, which I did—6th February 2026. I then arranged everything necessary in preparation for moving into my new home. Then, on 30th January, I was informed that the lender had recorded a completely different firm of solicitors—one I had never heard of. To Halifax’s credit, they corrected the error and re issued the paperwork within 48 hours. However, the following week I was unable to obtain any updates from either my solicitor, Ahsan, or his assistant, Alexandru. Emails and calls went unanswered. On Monday 9th February, I finally received a response from Brittany, who advised that she would be taking over my transaction going forward. I also informed her at that point that I wished to make a formal complaint regarding how the matter had been handled over the previous weeks. I was advised that I should allow the transaction to proceed and that a complaint could be raised at a later stage, as submitting one now would only cause further delays. Brittany then identified additional enquiries and notified the lender of issues that should have been picked up much earlier in the process. We are now approaching April, and we are still awaiting a response from the sellers’ agents regarding the EWS1 form. I attempted to obtain an update, only to receive an out of office reply from Brittany stating she is not expected to return until mid April. I am once again left at a crossroads, trying to understand whether anyone is progressing my transaction in her absence. I have emailed Alexandru, but as usual, no response has been forthcoming. At this stage, I genuinely do not know whether this transaction will ever complete, or whether I will simply find another property and withdraw altogether. Regardless of the outcome, I will ensure that I make the public aware—via social media and formal channels—of the standard of service provided by Holden Smith. I also intend to raise this matter with the Law Society of England & Wales so that your practices are properly scrutinised and the general public are made aware of the level of customer service you provide.

Brittany Clark dealt with a property transfer for us and she was great - very responsive and really seemed to care about what she was doing

The worst experience with a solicitor I have ever had. 1. It took 7 different iterations of a Completion Statement before they got it correct, they even got the MORTGAGE AMOUNT wrong, which is the most important part so I don't know how you can mess that part up. 2. Despite zero chain by both buying and seller, took years to finalise, seller's solicitors were more responsive to me, Holden Smith would avoid my calls and only respond (sporadically) via email. 3. Took too long to determine BSA status and then charged a very high fee very late on in the day which was not featured in the original quote. Which was done on purpose so that I couldn't possibly pull out in time. 4. The main solicitor assigned took too much holiday and didn't tell the seller's solicitors so there were masses of emails sitting in their inbox with nothing being done on them, before initially being replaced by a different solicitor on my case, likely due to incompetence. 5. Took over a year extra following (supposed) completion to finalise property transfer between Holden Smith and the property management company because they did not get their finances correct and failed to disclose fees for the transfer by which time the service charges had been piling up as it had been so long. Had to raise an official complaint to get them to cover the fees and after arguments, had to raise it further so that they would agree. Overall a really poor experience and could not recommend them any lower.

The worst experience with a solicitor I have ever had. 1. It took 7 different iterations of a Completion Statement before they got it correct, they even got the MORTGAGE AMOUNT wrong, which is the most important part so I don't know how you can mess that part up. 2. Despite zero chain by both buying and seller, took years to finalise, seller's solicitors were more responsive to me, Holden Smith would avoid my calls and only respond (sporadically) via email. 3. Took too long to determine BSA status and then charged a very high fee very late on in the day which was not featured in the original quote. Which was done on purpose so that I couldn't possibly pull out in time. 4. The main solicitor assigned took too much holiday and didn't tell the seller's solicitors so there were masses of emails sitting in their inbox with nothing being done on them, before initially being replaced by a different solicitor on my case, likely due to incompetence. 5. Took over a year extra following (supposed) completion to finalise property transfer between Holden Smith and the property management company because they did not get their finances correct and failed to disclose fees for the transfer by which time the service charges had been piling up as it had been so long. Had to raise an official complaint to get them to cover the fees and after arguments, had to raise it further so that they would agree. Overall a really poor experience and could not recommend them any lower.

The worst experience with a solicitor I have ever had. 1. It took 7 different iterations of a Completion Statement before they got it correct, they even got the MORTGAGE AMOUNT wrong, which is the most important part so I don't know how you can mess that part up. 2. Despite zero chain by both buying and seller, took years to finalise, seller's solicitors were more responsive to me, Holden Smith would avoid my calls and only respond (sporadically) via email. 3. Took too long to determine BSA status and then charged a very high fee very late on in the day which was not featured in the original quote. Which was done on purpose so that I couldn't possibly pull out in time. 4. The main solicitor assigned took too much holiday and didn't tell the seller's solicitors so there were masses of emails sitting in their inbox with nothing being done on them, before initially being replaced by a different solicitor on my case, likely due to incompetence. 5. Took over a year extra following (supposed) completion to finalise property transfer between Holden Smith and the property management company because they did not get their finances correct and failed to disclose fees for the transfer by which time the service charges had been piling up as it had been so long. Had to raise an official complaint to get them to cover the fees and after arguments, had to raise it further so that they would agree. Overall a really poor experience and could not recommend them any lower.

I had a very positive experience with Haider Tarique at Holden Smith during the purchase of our first home. Haider was professional, approachable and supportive throughout the conveyancing process. He kept us updated, answered our questions clearly and helped guide us through the paperwork, exchange and completion. Whenever we needed clarification or documents, he was helpful and responsive. Buying a home can be stressful, especially as a first-time buyer, but Haider helped make the process much easier and gave us reassurance at important stages. Our purchase completed successfully and we received the keys as planned. Thank you, Haider, for all your help and support. I would happily recommend him and Holden Smith to anyone buying a property.

We recently purchased our new home through Holden Smith Law. Francesca and Tiarny were noting short of excellent. The purchase was completed very quickly and efficiently. Communication was superb, and despite me being a pain in the backside towards the end, they handled everything very professionally. Would 100% recommend.