HCR Law Reviews 

63
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TrustScore 2 out of 5

1.9

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

HCR Law, specifically HCR Cheltenham’s Banking & Financial Services team, is worse than useless and should be avoided at all costs. Despite tens of thousands in fees, they not only failed to cont... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

We are having the same experience dealing with my father’s estate that many others have described. Incredibly slow to respond, rude & out to make as much money from the estate as possible. We have ha... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Sarah Loveridge at HCR Law Cheltenham is a first class solicitor for all your residential property matters. Sarah is a fantastic lawyer with top tier comms. She has approached everything exceptionally... See more

Company replied

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Slow and expensive, with unclear billing. From our experience their main focus during probate is identifying additional cost and not on getting the job done. We didn't choose HCR Law, my mother made... See more

Company details

  1. Law firm

Written by the company

As an award-winning Top 50 UK law firm, HCR Law provides a full range of services to organisations, business leaders and individuals. Our sector experts are leaders in their field, recognised with industry award nominations and for their contributions to national conferences. Our passion for people extends beyond our office doors and into the communities we work in. Our work in the community ranges from supporting local causes to helping new and established businesses thrive. In addition to the charities supported by our own charitable foundation, our employees regularly raise money for projects and charities in the communities where they live and work. With more than 1,000 people across 13 locations, the impact of this care and energy is tangible. We’re part of key moments in your life, whether buying or selling a business, a change in your relationships, a marriage or divorce, your expansion into a new area, or the purchase of a new home.


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1.9

Poor

TrustScore 2 out of 5

63 reviews

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1.9

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(63)

13 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Arrogant & Obnoxious

The worst and most obnoxious bunch

The worst and most obnoxious bunch in Worcestershire. Arrogant, self-righteous, rude and totally unprofessional. An absolute disgrace to the legal profession. Self obsessed with their pretentious parking rights in the car park at the rear of their property. Shame on them. Their private parking permits are totally UNENFORCEABLE, please ignore requests for ANY payment. Lobby local MP and Council for abuse of power@ Utter disgrace !!!!!

5 May 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Big issues, smoke and mirrors service

Poor overall experience, accuracy issues which is really poor offering a service like passport/visa applications. Lack of accountability, still waiting on a resolution. Paid £400 for a service I ended up fixing personally due to their miscalculation…

13 March 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Expensive and very very slow

Expensive and very very slow. Important legal documents sent in by regular mail and ended up being slung in next doors' porch - very poor. They would not be my choice.

1 November 2022
Unprompted review
HCR Law logo

Reply from HCR Law

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review of your experience with Harrison Clark Rickerbys.

We are sorry to hear that your experience of our service has left you feeling dissatisfied.

Please do contact us at complaints@hcrlaw.com where we will be happy to help you.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

House Purchase

My first dealings with buying a house left me empty and disappointed with the service this company provided.
Started with the Ross-on-Wye branch losing our first payment,
6 weeks later the files for our purchase and sale were sent to two other offices instead of keeping them together. No apologies forth coming, just excuses.
Various excuses for missing deadlines and even got the taxes wrong at the end ,and had to come back to us to bail them out of the mire to claim it back.
Ì wouldn't recommend them to buy or sell a wheelbarrow..

18 October 2022
Unprompted review
HCR Law logo

Reply from HCR Law

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review of your experience with Harrison Clark Rickerbys.

We are sorry to hear that your experience of our service has left you feeling dissatisfied.

Please do contact us at complaints@hcrlaw.com where we will be happy to help you.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Expensive and unpleasant to deal with (Acting Solicitor: Caroline Cowley, Cheltenham who has since moved to Foot Anstey)

Response to HCR review reply: an official complaint was made to your firm at the time. I had to send you a copy of SRA rules 3 times to get you to understand your own basic compliance obligations before you would even look at it. You then just denied it with a nonsense response.

The executor of my late mother’s estate hired this firm after making what he insisted were a no of “honest mistakes” while administering the estate. HCR was 1 of a long line of firms of solicitors the executor had used for estate matters and knew this.

The executor’s “mistakes” inc paying money to one of his close family members from estate funds when this recipient was not a beneficiary and adding an entry in subsequent published estate accounts that falsely advised he had paid this money back when he hadn’t

As beneficiaries were told HCR fees would be paid for out of estate funds I reasonably understood that HCR’s role was to steer the executor on the right path and that their role was to ensure the estate would be finalised in an honest, fair and impartial manner in line with the deceased’s wishes and the law

However, another “mistake” - a financial understatement of a further few thousand pounds, was submitted on a later accounts’ summary while the executor was working with HCR, and this accounts submission was actually sent to beneficiaries by HCR themselves. It seems after close scrutiny that this submission failed to show that more money had gone astray and had somehow made its way from the estate to the executor’s own bank account. So, once again the executor ended up having to pay money back to the estate. HCR didn’t pick any of this up, despite knowing the executor’s history of misappropriation and had actually stated in the letter to beneficiaries accompanying this incorrect accounts submission that all mistakes were now rectified.

This erroneous accounts submission was not just sent by HCR but was also compiled while the executor was receiving HCR’s advice on preparing the estate accounts. HCR ignored beneficiary requests for an explanation. It seemed at times that HCR were working with the executor to cover up and distract from his financial errors that had deprived beneficiaries of their rightful inheritance, while also happily depriving beneficiaries’ further themselves by taking their fees for doing this from beneficiaries’ inheritance

HCR then attempted to “persuade” a beneficiary, by advising them the executor would take court action against them if they didn’t comply, to sign a release relinquishing the executor from all liability for his past (and any potential future) actions, inc any fraudulent or criminal acts.

This nonsense agreement was of course refused and their attempt instead ended up causing a different agreement to be created (written by a beneficiary) and signed that conversely holds the executor totally liable for any past or future fraudulent acts, non disclosures or criminal acts in relation to his administration of the estate for the rest of his life

The fees HCR charged totalled approx £6,500 and apparently included providing the executor with advice, inc on curating and compiling the accounts and their repeated attempts to fruitlessly persuade a beneficiary to give up their legal rights of recourse under repeated threats of court action.

HCR also handled the communications with beneficiaries re these deductions informing them HCR’s invoices were being paid out of their legacies. So in summary, it would appear to many perhaps that HCR essentially charged a beneficiary they were coercing for this coercion

I didn’t think an executor was legally entitled to use estate funds on legal fees to defend these types of personal actions, but as this was done while he was taking HCR’s advice on the matter, I must be mistaken. as I can’t believe a regulated law firm would give legal advice that’s biased by their own financial gain…

I’ve read some of the other reviews on this firm across various sites. The ones that indicate experiences of unnecessary ‘dragging things out’ or deliberate ‘stoking of the fire’ to worsen disagreements between parties to increase legal fees, I find particularly interesting

HCR showed no compassion for the death that had occurred and their approach seemed to me to be very immature and a bit desperate

I find it interesting too that the solicitor’s firm representing a beneficiary in this same matter over the same time period, charged a total of just over £700 inc VAT in fees, for representation/advice.

HCR charged 9 x the fees of another solicitor for comparable work on the same case at the same time without, as far as I can tell, providing meaningful value to anyone except to their bottom line

3 August 2022
Unprompted review
HCR Law logo

Reply from HCR Law

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review of your experience with Harrison Clark Rickerbys.

We are sorry to hear that your experience of our service has left you feeling dissatisfied.

Please do contact us at complaints@hcrlaw.com where we will be happy to help you.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Very expensive

Very expensive! from the get go I asked for an idea of costs, to say they had a wide range was an understatement, so I pushed them more, and guess what? The final bill was right at the top of their 'estimate' even tho only 2 days before, I had a fixed price and seemingly little other work was completed after that point.
Had a zoom call where the contract was wizzed over very quickly and I was told I should do some of the work to keep costs down! Hello? you are the legal advisors here?

7 September 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Aled Owen and Ann Morgan totally…

Aled Owen and Ann Morgan totally hoodwinked me. I spent over £20k to take my ex husband to court for perverting the course of justice. worst bit Aled Owen was protecting his DI friend in DPP for forging a forensic report which basically got the case thrown out by CPS. I cannot understand why Aled Owen referred a private prosecution to the CPS!!!!! this is now being investigated by the Legal Ombudsman. would I recommend this company, .no, never. No wonder Aled Owen was told to leave his last solicitors practice for bringing the company into disrepute.

21 August 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Natalie Payne has promised me to send…

Natalie Payne has promised me to send me C100 to my home address. What very lark of support. Mandy jones who takes care of financial services she's very good. Has of Natalie, avoid her she's not helpiful at all.... It's been 4 weeks now since I have asked nothing in return.

3 June 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Do not use this company for any divorce matters

Used this company for my partners divorce, absolute disaster ! . We were given a written estimate and the final cost is double this and would be still climbing without us saying stop. We had very poor advice and instructions were not always followed. I would strongly advise against using this company . They have wasted a lot of my money

20 May 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

They just want your money

I should have heeded the negative online reviews I read about HCRLAW before proceeding to instruct them. They couldn’t care less about my case. All they care about is taking as much of my money as possible. I have had far better clarity as to my case from Royd’s Withy King over a couple of emails without even paying them yet.

14 December 2021
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Katie Hurst HCR - Would not recommend to anyone!

Katie Hurst – Worcester HCR, the most immature and unprofessional solicitor you could ever deal with. States outright lies and sends threatening and intimidating communications to create pointless arguments, to waste time and money – Avoid this company at all costs, official complaint being processed shortly. If you want an amicable, sensible or swift divorce, do NOT use this person or the company she represents! She clearly does NOT help either side on a divorce, except to create an ongoing stream of pointless communication. HCR should really take a look at all her communications for review!!!

2 October 2021
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Absolute joke of an organisation

Absolute joke of an organisation. Sent me a letter trying to collect money that was not owed - as confirmed by the client that they were acting on behalf of. Spoke to someone called D Perry, possibly the most unhelpful person to ever exist.

29 September 2021
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great service and highly recommended!

Samantha Houlden at Harrison Clark Rickerbys has provided excellent and efficient service during the process of purchasing the freehold titles for my properties. She was patient, responsible, informative and very hard-working. She was the best legal professional that I have ever come crossed. I am waiting for the title registration to be completed by the Land Registry. But I am sure Samantha will continue to assist me with this. I highly recommend her and have no doubt to use her service again in the future.

10 May 2021
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Efficient, Friendly and Unwavering

Laura and the team from Harrison Clark Rickerbys are first class. I had an extremely tight timeline for my purchase and a tricky 'failure to complete' situation with my buyer. Laura and her colleagues sorted everything AND STILL STAYED ON TIME! They filled me with confidence, kept me informed and seriously looked after my interests. I cannot thank them enough but I can certainly recommend them.

11 February 2021
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great service

Recently instructed Victoria Baker of the wills, trusts and estates planning team to draw up a declaration of trust. She was easy to approach and very professional, responding promptly to any questions and completing the work quickly. I would recommend her services.

10 January 2021
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

this law firm is a joke

this law firm is a joke, from the senior partners down to associates. they are slow, add delays and generally seem to enjoy dragging out issues. i would avoid getting involved with this firm. look elsewhere!

4 November 2020
Unprompted review

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