Hewitson and Harker Solicitors Avis 

AVOID THIS FIRM AT ALL COSTS - ABSOLUTELY USELESS

UPDATE 09.01.2026 - The aggressive response from this firm should tell you everything you need to know.

I used Hewitson & Harker for my house sale and purchase and it was a disaster from start to finish. What should have been a straightforward process dragged on for over six months, and we didn’t complete it until February 2025, despite being told we’d be in before Christmas.

I was six months pregnant by the time we moved, and the stress they caused was unbelievable.

The worst part? Their team consistently failed to chase anything or move the process forward. Our buyer's solicitor was just as useless and between them both I wish I had stopped the process sooner and found another Solicitor.

Between Georgina, Emily and Daria I can’t tell you who was the biggest waste of time. “Chasing,” but nothing ever actually got done. Weeks of no progress and constantly “awaiting replies” instead of actually pushing for them. Between them, they managed to turn what should’ve been a routine sale into a months-long nightmare.

Rather than reaching out for documentation required from Gateshead Council, Highways Agency, Local Authorities - this was all pushed back to me to source (so no idea what I was actually paying for?)

Failed to mention to us that after ONE MONTH the searches had not been completed and our buyers had not paid for the searches at their end.

Had to send documentation directly to our buyer's solicitor as Georgina and Emily didn’t understand how WeTransfer works…

I ended up reaching out to my previous solicitors to check I wasn’t losing the plot and he absolutely agreed they should have been doing much more and this should not have been put onto me.

On the day of exchange we hadn’t heard anything by 2pm…so I asked Emily to chase all teams in the chain. She advised she had emailed them earlier that morning and that she had other things to do so there was nothing more she could do…. AT 2PM????? One email between 9am and 5pm is frankly a JOKE when we were at the finish line.

Despite us completing every task immediately — paperwork, ID, payments — the solicitors repeatedly stalled. From August to December 2024, the same excuses appeared over and over in the case notes: still waiting on searches, still waiting on enquiries, still waiting on updates, still chasing, still nothing. The amount of time wasted is shocking.

They knew we needed to move before Christmas. They even acknowledged this in their own notes. Yet they still failed to push anything forward with urgency. The incompetence was unbelievable.

We ended up moving in February, exhausted, stressed, and after months of preventable delays caused almost entirely by their poor handling of our case.

If you value your time, sanity, or money: do NOT use this firm.

I don’t want compensation, I don’t want an apology — I just want to warn others before they make the same mistake.

Absolutely wonderful experience with the sale of my house. My conveyancer was very efficient with frequent communication on the progress of the sale. All queries answered the same day. Would highly recommend them for conveyancing.

Would highly recommend these solicitors. Received friendly professional advice and kept up to date with progress on our sale and purchase.

I wanted to thanks particularly to Daria Kaczmarek and Emilia Plant. They were very professional, helpful and quick in resolving different matters. Our house purchase went swiftly and under 3 months, which is great achievement. Highly recommended!

We had some issues with communication to begin with, however this resolved itself and our conveyancer was good! The rating is brought down, as we recieved a wildly incorrect completion statement, then another still not right and then a chaser for money even after saying it had all been completed… a sour taste in our mouthes.

Claire Strawford dealt with our conveyancing and was absolutely fantastic.
She was incredibly responsive and pulled out all stops to get everything through by the stamp duty deadline on 31st March, despite numerous setbacks.
I cannot rate her highly enough.

Not a single fault. All questions and actions were resolved swiftly. Would not hesitate to recommend or use again. A special thanks to Lily for her continuous support and professionalism.

William was always available, helped explain the process, only service improvement I would recommend is a welcome call at the start. Portal was easy to use, communication was fab from Will and the team

It has been a smooth journey ever since I got introduced to Hewitson & Harker Limited and especially @Emma Loh and Emily who had both been solicitor and conveyance assistant respectively. They have both been very swift in responding to every email sent across with not act of rudeness but with robust professionalism throughout till the completion date.

It would be a pleasure to subsequently recommend them to colleagues who might be interested in using them to achieve mortgage goals.

With joy in our hearts, Victoria and Olumuyiwa says thank you and to every members of your crew...

Outstanding service from start to finish. I have just completed my sale and purchase in the most difficult chain you can imagine! Everything that could go wrong did. The whole team at Hewitson & Harker have been fantastic. Very responsive, professional, knowledge and friendly, they guided us through the whole process. One particular member of the team who absolutely went above and beyond is Victoria Hawcroft. She had to deal with some particularly terrible solicitors within our chain, and really held the whole chain together going the extra mile, her efforts are so appreciated and she's a real credit to the company. I would absolutely recommend Hewitson & Harker to anyone.

All the staff I either met or had contact with were both pleasant,proffesional and very helpful with the sale of my property in every way. I have already recommended them and will continue to do so.

Emma and Emily were incredible on the purchase of my property. As a first time buyer, they explained the process and assisted with anything I needed help with. What a credit they are to the firm. Would highly recommend Hewitson and Harker.

I am currently in the process of a property sale and purchase (within a very long chain) and I cannot fault Vicky Woodhouse and her team at Hewitson and Harker.
Whilst I haven’t needed many direct communications with Vicky herself, when I have, she has always been available for advice and guidance.
I must highlight the outstanding service provided by Molly (conveyancing assistant) who has been an absolute superstar throughout the process so far- personable, friendly and communicates regularly throughout the process. I openly will admit I am the client who will chase for updates but Molly has always approached these in a ‘nothing is too much trouble’ attitude.
This is my 4th house move in 6 years and the whole team at H&H Rotherham provide a personable and knowledgeable service, from reception, to assistants to conveyancers- everyone is very helpful and by far the best conveyancers I have used!
Whilst we are not quite at the end of the process, I can confidently say I would 100% recommend Vicky, Molly and the rest of the team at H&H.

Victoria and Chelsea have been flipping flopping brilliant. They gave the personal touch even though you know they are pulled out with it

Dealt with Amy and Samantha on the sale of my home and purchase on another. Super friendly, very helpful and they got us completed quickly and mostly painless! Thanks for your help. Would recommend.

Recently sold a house and can’t fault the team enough. Tas kept me informed and made it a smooth service!

I had an excellent experience working with Daria and Emilia on my property purchase.
They were efficient and organised at every stage of the process.
Communication was clear, proactive, and reassuring, which made everything smooth and stress-free.
They handled everything on time and with great attention to detail — I’d highly recommend them for anyone looking for a reliable and responsive conveyancing team.

I recently purchased a property with the support of Hewitson & Harker, and I couldn’t be more impressed with their professionalism, dedication, and care throughout the process. From start to finish, the team made what could have been a stressful experience feel smooth and manageable.

A special shout-out to Claire Strawford and Tasnia Khandaker, whose expertise and responsiveness were truly exceptional. Claire’s clarity and calm guidance kept everything on track, while Tasnia’s attention to detail and friendly approach made me feel supported every step of the way.

If you're looking for a solicitor firm that genuinely puts your interests first and delivers with heart and precision, I wholeheartedly recommend Hewitson & Harker. Thank you for helping me to purchase my home with confidence!

Low fuss, concise conveyancing. They did everything that we expected them to do and in a timely and professional manner.

We have just used this solicitors for our conveyancing. Victoria Hawcroft was unbelievably brilliant, she worked tirelessly to achieve our (probably optimistic) desired date for completion and we completed yesterday in perfect time. She was amazing throughout and answered all our questions quickly and was reassuring and supportive. I would 100% recommend this solicitors for conveyancing and hope if you use them you are lucky enough to get the team that Victoria is on.