ELM Legal Services Reviews 8

Genuinely seemed to care about helping with my situation. Straight to the point, and didn't cost a fortune. Some of the things we discussed were incredibly complicated, but they took the time to help me udnerstand, and we had 2 meetings before I signed or paid for anything.

Recommended for sure!

Bunch of bullies please don’t use them especially you become terminally ill and they tell you changing your will will lead to contestations . Use a real solicitor who has done their training regulated by SRA

I recently had an extremely disappointing experience with this company. Not only did the services provided in my view fall significantly below expectations, but more concerning for me was the conduct of Jim Elmsey, the Managing Director. He disregarded the company’s own complaints process, failed to respond within required timelines so it was then referred to the IPW the regulator, and also ignored the initial Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) which was then referred to the ICO. In my view, his handling of the complaint demonstrated clear bias and a lack of impartiality. If this is the standard set by someone in his position, it raises serious concerns about the conduct and accountability of the wider team under his leadership. One of the team members I dealt with came across as inexperienced—comparable to an apprentice—making unsolicited amendments to sections of the draft that I had not requested. Basic information was repeatedly missed or recorded incorrectly, which further undermined my confidence in the competence and attention to detail of the service provided.

I felt—and the IPW appeared to agree—that the company demonstrated a dismissive approach, which is deeply concerning given they deal with highly sensitive and critical matters of life and death. For an organisation that has chosen to serve the public in such a serious capacity, investing in professional training in customer service and complaint handling would, in my view, be highly beneficial.

I strongly recommend that anyone engaging with this company independently records all calls for their own protection. During a call in which I provided will instructions, I was explicitly informed that the conversation was being recorded. However, when the ICO contacted the company as part of a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR), I was told that no such recording existed. While this raises questions, I will accept the company’s position that the call was ‘never recorded’. Nonetheless, it’s difficult not to suspect that, had the recording been available, it may have supported the concerns I originally raised.

IPW Findings of failures of ELM.
Errors in Drafting:
Comments made between the Complainant and
the Firm while draft documents were being processed imply that content which was correct was changed to
being incorrect during the process of changing content that was incorrect to being correct.

Failure to Accept Responsibility:
The Firm appear to have made a ‘mountain out of a mole hill’
with this transaction

Dismissive Approach:
I accept this point. I have picked up the same ‘vibe’ in the responses made by the Firm to the Complainant
and in the responses made by the Firm during the information exchange part of this Complainant.

I find that the Firm was wrong to require a fee to make further amendments within the 30 day period after
the original document was sent to the Complainant

Conclusion
I find that the Complainant should receive a full refund.

I don’t usually leave reviews, so it takes a lot for me to call out a company—but honestly, I’d recommend double-checking everything they tell you. When it came down to it, a lot of what they claimed didn’t actually match reality. They seem helpful at first, but whether their advice holds up is a different story. We had a pretty bad experience and even found some of their advice to be completely off when it came to legal matters. As far as I can tell, they’re not even a legal firm and not regulated, despite their name making it seem like they are. That’s something to keep in mind!

Excellent service, nice man worked hard to deal with Wills writing and POA. Home service went well with him and my friend who supported us for communication with the man through on behalf.
I recommend anyone can contact him or his work team.

Having just read that negative review - I concur the sentiments - Although thankfully I did not proceed with them in the end, they are shockingly bad and different members provide contradictory information. The number of errors that were noticed in the drafts and repeated instructions was quite alarming hence we did not proceed. It should be the client making the errors and the 'professional' company rectifying them, not the other way around ! My STRONG advice as these matters are extremely important is use a firm of Solicitors who are regulated, have legal knowledge, pay that bit more but ensure your PROTECTED for when you have to rely on whatever you have set up ! Finally, they are very slow in acting.

I would NOT recommend this company. they do not know what they are talking about. They set trusts up for families and clearly are just processing them for the money. They expose families to inheritance tax un-necessarily. We have spent thousands unpicking the miss they have left my father's estate in. Now having to sell the asset to clear the IHT they have exposed us to. They lied, where unprofessional, when challenged more than once by other professionals they refused to agree. The costs of the trust is inflated and not worth the money. They are unregulated and do not give any Tax advise. Trusts expose you to various tax implications and not once have they discussed, confirmed or share information on this. So be careful do your research. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY

I spoke with Chloe P today and Tammy from Elm Legal services in Bristol.
I found both Chloe and Tammy to be endearing, funny, and a very professional people.
Both Chloe and Tammy were genuinely interested in helping me.
I have also spoken with Lyn at reception on a number of occasions.
Lyn is simply amazing. She gave me excellent advice and supported me.
I would be very honoured if Lyn was an employee/friend of mine.
Thank you Lyn for always going above and beyond. From start to finish, your initiative exceeded all my expectations.

I hope Lyn, Chloe and Tammy are given the recognition they so rightly deserve.
Thank you so very much. You are all true stars.

Kind regards
Linzey Le-Luan