Forster Dean

I would not recommend Forster Dean at all.

I used them back in 2007 on the purchase of my property (Leigh branch). On the day of exchange/completion, my funds were not transferred from my mortgage provider to the solicitor which caused problems for everyone in the chain who were waiting to go! Lucky for me I was at the bottom of the chain it didn't have a huge impact other than having to deal with an extremely irate seller. However, it transpired that the solicitors had provided my mortgage lender with details for a client bank account that had been closed so the funds were lost for 3 days!!!

Accidents/mistakes happen of course and so I gave them the benefit of the doubt and used them again for my property purchase this year (Runcorn branch). Surprise surprise on completion day funds were not transferred from my mortgage provider. The reason conveniently was that the bank had never received the funding request from the solicitor.... When I asked for the delivery receipt showing that the solicitor had sent the fax when they claimed to have sent it they couldn't provide it. They dragged their heels for weeks (after completion finally happened) and I was advised in a letter that after a completed case they don't hold records. Cods wallop!!

Legal firms build their business advising on law and are supposed to be specialists with detail however, something as fundamentally as simple as keeping a copy of a fax delivery receipt makes me question how diligent they are in dealing with the technical issues of buying and selling properties.

7 months and counting to purchase an unoccupied property. Kafkaesque. Forster Dean was apparently the 'top rated' conveyancing firm that my mortgage provider had on their books. I think that possibly they had their list upside-down!

When I was buying my house I went in search of a Solicitor I would trust enough to carry out the conveyancing. I got the numbers of several local firms and on calling Forster Dean, felt an immediate sense of trust. They were knowledgable, courteous and prompt throughout the whole process. They provided an accurate quote at the access and they stuck to it. I was informed at every step along the way of my house purchase and would recommend Forster Dean Solicitors. I have no experience of dealing with them for any other matter, they also deal a lot with compensation claims and operate a no win no fee service.

Awful. Dragged their feet with everything. Were instructed in January and got told at the end of May that they didn't want to represent us any more due to the location of the property. They didn't even ring to tell us-it was the estate agent chasing them that lead to us finding this out. Their communication overall was dreadful. In all that time all they achieved was the searches.