My previous review was removed because I named the solicitor that handled my conveyancing, weirdly they don’t seem to mind other people naming their solicitor in positive reviews, but I suppose it’s a way they can remove negative reviews, so I’ve removed the name. They also claimed they couldn't find my case in the system, presumably in another effort to get TrustPilot to remove my review so here are the last few characters of my case reference with Simply: ******0424138
I do not recommend that you use this company, I went with them to purchase my first property based on previous positive reviews and even though my expectations were fairly low going in (first time buyer, in no rush) getting through the conveyancing process with Simply was like drawing blood from a stone and in my opinion far more stressful and time consuming than it should have been.
Positives:
Initial sales call (before I was assigned a solicitor) was pleasant and re-assuring
The client portal you can log into for status updates/overview was a nice touch
Negatives (oh boy here we go)
Tasks completed in the portal (e.g., declarations, info gathering) still show as outstanding, creating confusion about what's required.
After the sellers sent draft contracts, my solicitor ignored them for three weeks. I only found out when the seller contacted me directly to ask if my solicitor was alive. When challenged, there was no explanation or apology, just "I'll review these shortly."
The "book a call" feature appeared to work, but I never received calls as my solicitor "didn't get notifications," wasting my time off work.
I uploaded all proof-of-income documents through Thirdfort, only to be told months later they weren't received. Screenshots confirmed the documents were sent, yet I was told to redo everything. My solicitor refused to contact Thirdfort, making it entirely my problem.
They won't provide a target completion date, even after all requirements are met, making planning impossible and risking the chain collapsing. A contingent target date would prevent so much stress as the sellers kept asking me but I was unable to provide one.
Questions are avoided. Simple ones like "Are these restrictive covenants unusual?" are met with "You need to read them carefully," leaving me feeling like I'm paying for a document relay service rather than legal advice.
So here I am, now finally in my first home which I should be celebrating but instead I'm reflecting on how much stress and lost time could have been avoided as a direct result of this company. I hope you think twice before engaging with them, and I hope they reconsider their processes. Good luck.
