Neilsons Reviews 48

Very poor communication, miscalculation of due taxes, not paying Revenue Scotland within the 30 day period resulting in Revenue Scotland sending us penalty notice and fine. Just some of the issues.
Others have had similar issues and interestingly the negative reviews are mostly recent. Has something gone very wrong with this company in past few months?
I would never use again

The sales team at the Corstorphine branch were incredibly helpful and informative, as were all the staff I dealt with in the office.
The receptionist at the front desk also was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable.
Unfortunately the conveyancing side of things was a much different story.
If you want the stress and cost of having to engage your lawyer and solicitor, plus checking and for the many mistakes they made, and trying to get them to communicate and keep you informed of delays and updates, then these are the guys for you.
I believe they had to sack the head of conveyancing around May of 2025, which caused problems.
The current head means well, but his 40 years of experience still led to major mistakes and nothing short of incompetence.
I travelled from Australia to Corstorphine to deal with these issues as I was selling my late father's house on Drumbrae South.
Even at settlement the money from the sale was sent to my own excellent legal team at Glenorchy House to sort out was wrong. They transferred to much money to my own solicitor, then didn't answer her emails. They had to contact another person at Neilsons they had dealt with before to sort it out. As too much money doesn't balance the books, this added yet another 3 weeks delay to a simple sale.
The original sale was supposed to be settled on the 20th of June 2025. It was the 30th of July 2025 when it was signed off by both solicitors, then four more weeks of delays due to the transfer of funds being incorrect.
Yes, people make mistakes, but this many.
I also have a paralegal cousin help me wade through the documentation and advise me on the best course of action.
This was not a good experience for me or my family to deal with.
I would give sales 10/10, but the conveyancing team let the rest of the team down very badly.

I wouldn’t use them. They got the figures wrong for conveyancing and are now demanding more money for their mistake after completion.

They make unsolicited phone calls. Unimpressed. Unprofessional.

We had a flawless experience with Neilsons when selling our flat. It couldn't have gone any better. Thanks to Megan, Stephanie, Denise, Eileen and Eve for all their hard work!

I booked viewings for two properties and even received helpful reminders the day before—great start! Unfortunately, that’s where the good service ended.

I arrived early at the first property, got into the building, knocked on the door—no answer. I waited well past the arranged time. No agent. No explanation. Nothing. Thinking this might be a one-off blunder, I went to the second property. Exact same experience. No agent, no viewing, just a complete waste of time.

After raising a complaint, I was eventually graced with a call the following evening from David Easton, Director of Property Services—from his car, on his way home, no less. I’m absolutely thrilled he could squeeze me into his busy schedule. His response? A simple “sorry”, as if that magically fixes everything. No accountability, no explanation, nothing. And then, just to top it all off, he had the audacity to ask, “What do you want us to do for you?” Ah yes, because it’s my job to come up with solutions for your company’s incompetence.

Meanwhile, my wife and I had taken time off work for these appointments—but I suppose our time isn’t quite as valuable.

Overall, I’m disappointed—but at the same time, I made it clear that I will not be using Neilsons to sell my property or purchase another. Of course, since we’re still looking for a property, we know we’ll have to deal with them again—because apparently, disappointment is just part of the home-buying experience.

Looking forward to the next round of no-shows.

Neilsons Corstorphine. Asked them to represent my mum. Lawyer left whilst acting on her behalf and Neilsons never told us. We were waiting for a reply and messaged them after 2 months to find out that he had left and they advised that they don't tell clients when lawyers leave?! It took over 2 weeks and multiple calls to eventually speak to another lawyer.

Exemplary support and guidance from Neilsons with selling my property. Their professionalism, expertise, patience, helpfulness exceeded my expectations. I am ever so grateful to the team. To name a few, Jamie Robertson, Siobhan and especially Stephanie Morice who has been amazing in helping with the conveyancing process. Full credit goes to her to make my experience so smooth and well informed. Thank you.

I can’t thank Robert Andrews and the team at Neilsons enough for their exceptional support throughout the process of purchasing our first property! From the start, Robert’s responsiveness, knowledge of the law, and understanding of the conveyancing process made everything so much easier. He was always on hand to guide me through each step, ensuring I was informed at every stage. A big thank you to all the staff at the Picardy Place office for their excellent client care and teamwork. I truly couldn’t have asked for better service. Highly recommended!

Thank you so much to Ashley at Corstorphine for all their help updating our wills. So helpful and made the process very straightforward. Thank you.
Kerry

I can't thank all the crew at Neilsons enough. Selling under challenging circumstances, and managing it on my own, David Easton and Kirsten Grant made the process smooth and made sure I kept on track. Personable and professional they ensured I had all the information to make the right decisions. Sale complete and moving onto buying, Dave Marshall guided me through the process and was happy to spend time chatting about the pros & cons of offering. I am so happy to be settled in my own place, right where I wanted to be. Approachable, supportive, answered endless questions, kept my overwhelm at bay . . . . I will recommend them in a heartbeat! Also thanks to Ben Ramsay, Shiela Batten, Lorne Dundas, Diane Slessor - teamwork and all very much appreciated

As a first-time buyer I had very little understanding of the process of buying a property. Neilsons were on hand every step of the way to guide me through, answer any questions, and provided me with valuable advice and information. The whole process went smoothly, and I was always kept up to date with what the next steps were. Overall, I couldn’t be happier with the service from Neilsons! Thank you so much to Katie P, Suzie J, Danielle, Lynda, and Claire, for making buying a property such an easy and enjoyable process.

A great firm to work with for both selling and buying properties. We received excellent help and service from Neilsons Solicitors and Estate Agents for first, the sale of our property and then, the purchase of our new property. We thought the promotional material for the sale of our house was great. It made a major contribution to the sale going through very quickly. The advice we received from Neilsons on the Estate Agency and the Legals side helped us to secure very successfully both the selling and purchase of our properties. Equally, we were updated with information regularly on progress, and our questions answered very promptly by the teams we worked with on the Estate Agency and the Solicitors sides of the Neilsons. It was a pleasure working with the staff and we would have no hesitation in recommending Neilsons to our family and friends.

A more painful process than necessary

We decided to use Neilson’s to sell our Edinburgh flat and subsequently buy our next property as we'd had a reasonable experience in the past.

The sale side went relatively smoothly until it was passed from the sales team to the legal department. That's where hope goes to die. To illustrate, our buyers had also engaged Neilson’s to conduct their business. You'd think this might grease the wheels of communication. It did not.

Communication was not up to scratch. Phone calls not returned and extremely slow at responding to emails. At one point a senior partner was going to call me regarding the frustratingly bad communication. Even that did not happen. A hassled sounding para legal eventually phoned me at 6pm while I was out for a family event.
After accepting an offer on my flat, I was passed on to several different people whilst the process was ongoing. This was quite unsettling. From Claire to Kara to Anne (to Robert and back to Anne due to annual leave). An out of office automatic email informed me that my solicitor was now on maternity leave. I had to contact the office to ask with whom I was now meant to be dealing as it really wasn’t clear.
Errors were made. An email regarding our buyer’s offer contained a letter of offer for a different property and client. Just a ‘sorry for that’ and an explanation that I would not receive an offer letter due to the buyers also using Neilson’s.
I was almost overcharged by £650 had I not repeatedly questioned my paralegal regarding the Land and Building Transaction Tax (LBTT). I was purchasing a house that was currently office premises (to be reverted to residential). She was insistent that the amount due was dependent on what the building would become rather than what it was currently. This is not correct. It was a trainee that checked with a senior partner and came back to me swiftly saying that I was correct. On the day before the removal van turned up (29/07/24), a Neilson’s FOR SALE sign appeared outside our main door, joining the existing 'SOLD' sign WITH OUR FLAT NUMBER ON IT. My partner immediately removed the sticker. A heart stopping moment. A call confirmed this was an error and it would be removed. We moved out of the property on 31/07/24. At time of writing this review (8/10/24) BOTH signs are still there!

Six weeks after we had accepted an offer on my flat, an email arrived at 9pm advising the buyers were asking us to reduce our price (their offer) by £5k. 9pm! No sleep took place and then a frustrating Friday and a weekend waiting for business to supposedly recommence on the Monday morning (when there was silence). As stated before, the buyers were using Neilson’s. This should have been easier as it was 'in house', but trying to communicate in order to negotiate with the buyers was extremely frustrating and took longer than it should have. Being some way into our own purchase, we had no palatable option but to take a £5k hit.

In the end the sale and purchase went through, but what a massive headache along the way.

Great service from start to finish with no hidden surprises. I was kept fully updated in the sale process without having to chase. I would recommend them for buying and selling, my negotiator Jade was informative and friendly but professional.

I was selling one property whilst purchasing a new home, Neilsons helped immensely as stress levels did rise , as they do, yet we survived the ordeal. Anti-laundering rules were new to me yet once completed we could settle down until a week before moving. Everything went without any hiccups. We would recommend them highly and their fees were transparent and fair. Many thanks Neilsons 👍👍👍

I recently used Neilson’s solicitors in Edinburgh to sell my property in Livingston and I was very impressed with their service. Eileen who I worked with was professional and helpful and made the entire process as smooth as possible. They were always available to answer my questions and kept me updated throughout the process. I would highly recommend Neilson’s to anyone looking to buy or sell a property in and around Edinburgh.

I recently sold and purchased a property having experience of selling and buying previously with other estate agents. I can honestly say Diane and her team based at the Bonnyrigg branch truly do provide a great integrated legal and estate agency service.

From my first initial contact with Neilsons by telephone that led to a home visit, planography, survey, viewings and transactions. All staff I communicated with provided a smooth purchase and sale journey experience who are incredibly professional, informative, dedicated and exceptionally organised and knew I was in safe hands.

The estate agent Megan who I spoke with was a great support, she explained step by step the sale and purchase process, backing the information up by e-mail, so relieved she did as you forget all information you discussed as there is so much to take in that you tend to forget it’s a working partnership where information is required from you about you and the property. The information I received was informative and helped me prepare in advance the information I needed to gather. I also found it helpful to receive tips on how best to plan for the sale, viewers and purchase.

The property I purchased came with a couple of queries relating to the survey report requiring clarification. Diane (Solicitor) was quick on mark to deal with any discrepancies to ensure a satisfactory response was received and that all I’s were dotted and the T’s were crossed. Being kept updated throughout the process is key and Diane kept me informed of any updates big or small through every stage of the process, answering questions I had quickly and efficiently.

I can genuinely write that my experience working with Neilsons has provided a positive long-lasting impact on how a solicitor and estate should be run.

My final words are Diane and her team are truly a real credit to the Neilson’s Firm and why they deserve a 5 stars rating and more from me!

Janice

Gillian Linton very helpful and quick to respond . bonnyrigg branch

Be careful when buying a property from Neilson's that the information you are given is correct. At present the firm has a flat on the market in Edinburgh which states there is a garden to the rear. This is incorrect - the area is a 'drying green' which makes a huge difference to the use/non-use of this area. You have been warned ...