HCR Law Avis 

Wldnt give 1 star but have to
Can only repeat previous reviews
BEWARE, UNPROFFESSIONAL
CHARLETONS

Charlatans. Timewasting. Moneygrabbing. Unprofessional. What should have taken 6-8 months took 4 years.

Laughing all the way to the bank.

Well. They were.

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

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?

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.

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.

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

Property purchased in 2020, failed to update the title with land registry and then failed to communicate it to me. Come 2022 failed to remortgage the property as title not updated. Its a disgrace to see them practising as property solicitor.

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.

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!!!

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.

Absolutely appalling service. These guys are the ones to go to if you want your house sale to fall through! Seriously a playgroup could do better!

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.

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.

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.

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!