Gilson Gray LLP reviews in Edinburgh and Dundee

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Not to be recommended. I've been a landlord in Edinburgh for over 10 years - Gilson Gray took over the management a couple of years ago but have been nothing but trouble every since. They are sadly incompetent, with no attention to detail and I would advise you stay away. If I could give a no star review then I would. They managed to let the HMO on the property run out without realising, and let the council tax bill which they had received go as far as a court order before telling me it had not been paid. They are very difficult to contact and communicate with, and do not follow through on simple management tasks when asked, requiring you to constantly chase them up. Their lack of attention to detail can be demonstrated by the example that if a paper document is received they will only scan the front page of it rather than at the entire document, meaning you will need to chase them up to ask them to send through the complete document. Simple small things like this sum up Gilson Grays approach to lettings. Lettings should be about making things easier for you as a Landlord. Sadly Gilson Gray does the opposite and will create more work for you. Despite Gilson Gray's response to this review - I am still struggling to get in contact with them or to get any sort of resolution.NegativeResponsiveness, Professionalism

Rob · 27 August 2021 · Gilson Gray LLP Edinburgh (29 Rutland Square)

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Not to be recommended. I've been a landlord in Edinburgh for over 10 years - Gilson Gray took over the management a couple of years ago but have been nothing but trouble every since. They are sadly incompetent, with no attention to detail and I would advise you stay away. If I could give a no star review then I would. They managed to let the HMO on the property run out without realising, and let the council tax bill which they had received go as far as a court order before telling me it had not been paid. They are very difficult to contact and communicate with, and do not follow through on simple management tasks when asked, requiring you to constantly chase them up. Their lack of attention to detail can be demonstrated by the example that if a paper document is received they will only scan the front page of it rather than at the entire document, meaning you will need to chase them up to ask them to send through the complete document. Simple small things like this sum up Gilson Grays approach to lettings. Lettings should be about making things easier for you as a Landlord. Sadly Gilson Gray does the opposite and will create more work for you. Despite Gilson Gray's response to this review - I am still struggling to get in contact with them or to get any sort of resolution.NegativeResponsiveness, Professionalism

Rob · 26 August 2021 · Gilson Gray LLP Edinburgh (29 Rutland Square)

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

An excellent service from highly professional staff

An excellent service from highly committed staff in the North Berwick Office. Selling our house and buying another proved to be very straightforward processes with excellent advice throughout. Queries were addressed quickly by Gill and Dawn, both of whom are customer-focused. I would have no hesitation in recommending the legal services of Gilson Gray.

James · 22 August 2021 · Gilson Gray LLP Edinburgh (29 Rutland Square)

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Dundee Office are excellent

I used Gilson Gray Dundee Office and found the solicitors and admin staff to be very helpful and attentive. I am happy with how the process was explained to me - it has been awhile since I last sold an bought a property. They took good care to ensure the property I was buying was all sound. Although I was buying and selling during the summer holiday period - and this involved some changes in staff because of holidays - the transition was seamless and I was very happy with the experience. I had been a bit worried because I had read these reviews after I had signed up but my experience with the Dundee office has all been positive and there were no hidden costs. I am delighted with my property and believe the skills of the team helped me successfully purchase at a good price.

Isobel · 10 August 2021 · Gilson Gray LLP Edinburgh (29 Rutland Square)

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Not to be recommended - incompetent and no attention to detail

Not to be recommended. I've been a landlord in Edinburgh for over 10 years - Gilson Gray took over the management a couple of years ago but have been nothing but trouble every since. They are sadly incompetent, with no attention to detail and I would advise you stay away. If I could give a no star review then I would.

Dr · 2 July 2021 · Gilson Gray LLP Dundee

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Property purchase

Property purchased in October absolute shambles of a firm to deal with try to bill me an extra 3k as they assumed I owned property I was in before purchase. If I hadn't noticed they were still going to take the money!! Not interested solicitor was horrendous and didn't get things done I ended up doing most of it myself. Also when I got the keys to the property they were major things missing kitchen units , doors curtain poles, bathroom cabinets which I had paid for with purchase and the response they gave me a can't get hold of the sellers solicitor?? Not good enough stay well clear a total con of a company.

Mr · 19 June 2021 · Gilson Gray LLP Dundee

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolute shambles

Absolute shambles. Horrendous communication, have to ask repeatedly for updates and then be told they have somehow lost basic information. Never ever again. Nightmare They don't even seem bothered, it must be easy money

Gail · 18 June 2021 · Gilson Gray LLP Dundee

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

House purchase

Bought a house last October and I now realise going cheaper isn't always best . Could never get in contact with staff about any matter regarding purchase of property, attempted to con me of and extra 3000 pound and when a asked why this was ? Response from solicitor was "these things just happen". If I hadn't noticed they were quite happy to take the money from my back account absolutely no morals what so ever. Moved into the property and items were removed actual kitchen units bedroom doors and bathroom cabinet so I phoned and sent pictures and the response again was "nothing we can really do just one of them things" . Would never recommend and have told people to stay well clear as there nice to start but once payment is agreed they are not interested in the slightest shocking company!!!

Mr · 10 June 2021 · Gilson Gray LLP Dundee

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Currently renting from them since April and since then I can't fault them enough especially our senior property manager who's also made sure that we and many others have the help we need especially throughout the covid times.

Adam · 10 June 2021 · Gilson Gray LLP Dundee

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

I’m so happy that I decided to go for a place a little more expensive than I was initially looking at. The professionalism and integrity that this firm has shown over the past year has been exemplary and I urge anyone in need of their services to get in touch. It’s just a phone call, and I genuinely believe they just might change another person’s life for the better like they have mine. My agent specifically was Pauline and I’ll never be able to thank her enough for everything she’s done to make my life that much easier. Thank you, thank you so much 😊PositiveResponsiveness, Quality, Professionalism, Value

Pasha · 10 June 2021 · Gilson Gray LLP Dundee

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Incompetent - led to an unexpecte £4k payment

Awful experience. I really wish we had seen these reviews before signing up with them. We were referred to Gilson Gray by First Mortgage, who were so fantastic, which must be why we didn't even think to Google Gilson Gray. We just assumed they would be as good as First Mortgage but we were incredibly wrong. We'll be logging a claim with the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC).We called up in Feb 2021 and made our introductions, explained we're purchasing a new-build home that was expected to be ready in May-June 2021, just as we were instructed to by First Mortgage. We were given a quote for services and assigned a solicitor, Emma. We checked and confirmed the fee twice with Emma via email. Emma didn't seem very interested at all so we did all the chasing and she would eventually reply when my husband phoned their offices and she had no option but to respond.Once things started really rolling in April 2021, we contacted Emma and got zero responses. We were using the First Home Fund which has VERY tight deadlines surrounding it as soon as you're provisionally given an award so we were quite nervous given how little interest Emma had shown. Eventually, we got someone at the office who put us in touch with Sarah Anderson. Apparently, Emma had suddenly left, which I now see is the standard practice at this place given the reviews I've read. In fairness, Sarah was really helpful and informative and tends to reply to emails immediately. So if you're somehow stuck with this company, try requesting Sarah. It was a huge relief to speak to someone so well-informed and efficient. Then came the bill at almost £4k higher than what they had quoted! It was very difficult to stomach as we had just given the go-ahead to pay for flooring across the whole house the day before and couldn't afford both. We just happened to cancel it in time with the flooring company. Otherwise our entire sale would have fallen through! we were so upset. It ruined the whole experience for us as we then started to wonder if we could trust this company at all with getting our sale over the line. When challenged, we were told the first quote had included the LBTT discount as it was given to us in Feb 2021 when it still applied. I explained that we had always been clear we would be buying between May/June 2021 so they made the mistake. I requested that they at the very least reduce or waive their fee given the position they had put us in but it was declined. Instead they suggested we change our move-in date which, if they'd read the paperwork from Cala Homes they would know comes at a cost for each day that is delayed. Also we had already given notice to our landlord and could only extend our stay by a whole month, which would cost £725 - money we didn't have to burn thanks to Gilson Gray anyway! I pointed out all of the above and the response I got was that I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN about the cost as I could have always Googled LBTT! I was astonished! As technically the same thing could be argued about any job that requires specialist knowledge. I can always Google pieces of it but that doesn't make me a solicitor. I had relied on them and trusted them to do their job and not give me misleading quotes.So there you go - we're out by £4k, had lots of stress at what should have been a most exciting time, but it was apparently our fault according to Gilson Gray as if you deal with them, you need to make sure you Google all the legal advice they tell you as it might be wrong... I've been advised by the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission that we can raise a compensation claim against them, even though it's concerning payments for LBTT as they misled us. I wasn't aware of this and wanted to share it with everyone else that's been misled.

Yäzmiń · 7 June 2021 · Gilson Gray LLP Dundee

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

A shockingly bad firm. Stay well away.

Gilson Gray is by some margin the most incompetent, dishonest and ill-mannered legal firm I have ever had the misfortune to come across. Incompetent: the firm was unable to grasp simple terms of engagement that should have been clear to a pre-pubescent child. Their task was to complete some papers in relation to a loan. Somehow Gilson Gray was unable to understand that there was no property purchase requiring their input and repeatedly sent documents, including draft engagement terms, quoting conveyancing and loan documentation.Dishonest: Gilson Gray quoted around £950 for the combined conveyancing and loan work. When they finally grasped there was no conveyancing to do they reduced the fee by only around £100 and, when questioned, jokingly responded by describing fees as a “movable feast”.Having charged me the majority of the original quote for the minority of the work, Gilson Gray then deducted their fee from the transaction proceeds without us having first signed engagement terms.Not only did Gilson Gray overcharge me for the work done, they then overcharged me by a further £100 and only owned up to that once I had complained to the solicitors regulator. Ill-mannered: As others have experienced, Gilson Gray repeatedly ignored correspondence. It says all you need to know about the firm when even the so-called client service /complaints partner doesn’t bother to respond to client service requests and complaints. A shockingly bad firm. Stay well away.

Martin · 11 May 2021 · Gilson Gray LLP Dundee

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

Good experience both times

I’ve used Gilson Gray’s services twice now, for both buying and selling (once in 2015 and again in March 2021).Both times there have been unexpected bumps in the road during the process but GG went above and beyond to help smooth it all out.Leslie and Callum in particular were very good. I’ve given 4* instead of 5 as at the beginning the person who was dealing with us went AWOL with no response to emails or phone calls and no explanation from anyone about what was happening or who would be taking over. I had to keep phoning the offices and was on the verge of going elsewhere. But once someone else took over it was Ok and overall my dealings with GG have been positive.

Sofianite · 11 April 2021 · Gilson Gray LLP Dundee

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Excellent Service

I just concluded on a property through Gilson Gray. I had the most wonderful experience and cannot say enough about Debbie McCathie and the team there. Professional, knowledgeable, considerate and definitely a 5 star experience. She worked to a tight timeline during a very busy time and it was a very positive experience. Excellent communication every step of the way!

Sandi · 3 April 2021 · Gilson Gray LLP Edinburgh (29 Rutland Square)

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Avoid like the plague.

Avoid like the plague.Was recommended as part of the estate agents package.Before documentation was signed they were lovely.Once signed I was literally bounced between 3 lawyers as each previous had "left the company".Eventually I was dealing with a paralegal who I honestly felt like they were the customer and I was providing them with the service (as an oppose to the opposite).I constantly had to chase and attain updates and it was stressful and should be the last thing you're stressing about when moving house. In the end I had problems with the house which should have been covered/fought for compensation by the legal team, they kept bouncing me to different departments and then told me the basic fee would be £600 if I decide to go ahead and fight.Avoid at all costs.No idea how companies such as this are still in business.

Tristan · 24 October 2020 · Gilson Gray LLP Dundee