Holmes & Hills LLP Solicitors Braintree

I write this on behalf and at the behest of my elderly father, whom Steven Hopkins represented in a suboptimal defence of an estoppel claim. However, I was a frequent witness to much of the defence, and I and my family feel we must share our grave concerns about Mr Hopkinss conduct and suitability. Steve Hopkins did not understand the estoppel issues we faced from a legal claim. He told us explicitly and repeatedly that the claim had no chance of succeeding, and that the claimant would most likely not even turn up to court. He told us that a key piece of evidence (the claimants sole piece of evidence) could not prove estoppel, and thus did not dispute either the authenticity or contents of the document. For two and a half years of proceedings, he belittled my father, calling him a pessimist for showing concern about the outcome, at one point berating, If I tell you 4 positives and one negative, you always focus on the negative. For a four month period in 2021, Steven disappeared and left us with an out-of-office reply, save for two ineffectual replies and a cursory phone call. This was a crucial period in the proceedings as we had a good opportunity to seek a settlement, but Steven wasnt interested in seeking our input on how to proceed. In the end, Stevens lack of action resulted in a further year being added to proceedings, the worst possible outcome for his client, who was already suffering severely from stress and anxiety. At a pre-trial conference little over a month before court, the barrister told us the claim was dangerous and we might lose. Steven called us the following day to tell us that the barrister was merely testing my fathers resolve, and had been playing devils advocate. His clear advice was not to settle and to carry on to trial. His performance at every stage of proceedings was poor, his personal conduct lacking, his command of grammar in all correspondence woeful, and we feel we were thoroughly misled, particularly in the weeks surrounding the pre-trial conference. It must be considered that Mr. Hopkins is ill-suited to advise on any issue relating to estoppel, and in our experience we must strongly urge caution to his present and future clients.
Mar 31st, 2023

Used this company twice if you like chasing people then you might be alright. Not sure why I ever went back to be honest. Never updated Never explained to Always spoken down to
Mar 24th, 2023

Helpful family solicitors
Feb 5th, 2023

All in all an excellent service guiding me through what could have been a difficult transaction. All very smooth. Thank you Vicky & Amy
Jan 23rd, 2023

If I could give 0 stars, I would, but you have to give at least one in order to post! I see I am not alone in the frustrations of the utter lack of professionalism of this firm when it comes to property sales. I was sadly recommended them by the estate agent I was selling through, who when I complained to them, they confirmed to me they were no longer recommending H & H as I was not an isolated incident! I had to constantly chase for information and answers and would receive the most ridiculous, lame and farcical excuses from David Hill for the poor service I was eventually going to be paying for after the countless delays due to their lack of effort and work! Then to top it off, when I think I have finally done with them for good, A COMPANY I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND, I get contacted and harassed because of a mistake they made and they want me to incur costs of calling them from the other side of the world and bank fees, to send monies they incorrectly paid! It was just one error after another and I lost count of the number of times I was promised a call back or response from David - more often than not, I had to chase after more and more assurances and promises were broken with rarely an apology as it was never their fault! Please, if you have made it this far, DO NO EVEN CONSIDER THIS LEGAL FIRM, THEY'RE A JOKE!
Mar 20th, 2023