Warning - do not use wolstenholmes solicitors

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  • 2010nodebt wrote: »
    Just received this
    In response to your email below, on matters where we did not receive consent from clients to act for them, these files have been sent to DWF Solicitors in Manchester as they have now been appointed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to act on behalf of Wolstenholmes, therefore your file has been sent to them, a member of their team collected the files from this office late yesterday afternoon.

    If you would like to collect your file and the deeds you will need to liaise with DWF and they can be contacted on 0161 603 5000, the person that you need to contact is

    With regard to obtaining a refund from Wolstenholmes, you will need to get in touch with the Solicitors Regulation Authority on 0870 606 2555 and you can also email them at [EMAIL="contactcentre@sra.org.uk"]contactcentre@sra.org.uk[/EMAIL]

    This has come from Stirling Solicitors - would you mind saying who he author is so that anyone having trouble locating their files can have a contact name so if they wish to make a complaint re missing files to the LCS, SRA or Law Society they can do so.
  • The LCS exists primarily to reimburse money that has been nicked by solicitors. Compensation for stress and inconvenience is a separate matter, and is more properly part of a negligence claim against WH, which falls to be deal with by their insurers. Unless you've actually suffered a nervous breakdown, the awards under this head of damages, are usually pretty small, and you're hard pressed to get more than say, £1,000.
    Whilst I've not had a nervous breakdown, being homeless for a number of weeks with no indication of when it might be resolved is not something I would want to wish on anyone. Particularly around Xmas time.
    I wonder whether I can put a claim to the compensation fund for a few years supply of "Just for men" to cover the numerous grey hairs that have sprouted on my head since this whole debarcle started ;)
  • Exactly 4 weeks to the day since my original scheduled completion date.
    The original WH file still hasn't come to light, and my new solicitors have informed DWF that they are re-creating it. DWF have asked for a copy of it when it is complete.
    My new solicitor has now received all of my searches back and given the undertaking to the seller's solicitors that I will pay their costs of £500+VAT to photocopy their half of the file and send it over to my new solicitors. DWF now require certified copies of my ID to be sent over to them. My application to the emergency compensation fund went in last Tuesday, but still no news yet on a timescale on when those funds will be released. I'm told that all my other expenses (storage costs, hotel costs, solicitors fees etc) need to go to the "normal" compensation fund and will be treated seperately.
    Will keep everyone updated when I find out how the new completion process will happen and when I get a revised date for my funds to be released to my new solicitor such that completion can happen.

    You may need to check with your mortgage company that their offer is still valid and that they are happy to complete.
  • mjmal51 wrote: »
    Must admit that the SRA/LCS are confusing me re. Compensation
    http://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/wolstenholmes.page

    So the SRA will pay, if they deem it proper, to compensate for money lost to WH and hopefully the cost of a new solicitor to sort everything out.
    Then if any of us feel we have been stressed and inconvenienced by this whole shambles we have to make a separate claim to the LCS for compensation!??

    Your guess is as good as mine as I am equally confused but take heart as I think the SRA and LCS are confused also!
  • mjmal51
    mjmal51 Posts: 591
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    The LCS exists primarily to reimburse money that has been nicked by solicitors. Compensation for stress and inconvenience is a separate matter, and is more properly part of a negligence claim against WH, which falls to be deal with by their insurers. Unless you've actually suffered a nervous breakdown, the awards under this head of damages, are usually pretty small, and you're hard pressed to get more than say, £1,000.

    The SRA link I posted says the claim is to the SRA compensation fund for money lost to WH. LCS is for the nervous breakdown!
    That is the confusion.
  • Simply_Me wrote: »
    You may need to check with your mortgage company that their offer is still valid and that they are happy to complete.
    Thanks for the advice. I think they are. It's First Direct, so any experiences anyone else has had with them would be welcomed. I rang on the day of the original completion and they were not entirely helpful or even bothered that their money may have gone "walkabout" and they advised that I contact the LCS. Subsequently I've advised them who my new solicitors are, and they have approved them and sent over copies of the offer and various other bits and bobs to my new solicitor. I'm pretty much leaving it in the hands of my new solicitors now though who, in fairness, seem to be doing a reasonable job but I will double check with them.
  • mjmal51 wrote: »
    The SRA link I posted says the claim is to the SRA compensation fund for money lost to WH. LCS is for the nervous breakdown!
    That is the confusion.

    To explain it a little more - LCS deals with complaints of poor service and has power to order the solicitor to pay compensation of up to £15,000. This is similar to, but not exactly the claim as negligence claims which are deal with by the solicitors insurer.
  • To explain it a little more - LCS deals with complaints of poor service and has power to order the solicitor to pay compensation of up to £15,000. This is similar to, but not exactly the claim as negligence claims which are deal with by the solicitors insurer.
    So is a solicitor failing to complete on a purchase, despite having all funds available in the solicitor's client account, poor service or negligence?
  • So is a solicitor failing to complete on a purchase, despite having all funds available in the solicitor's client account, poor service or negligence?


    It's often both. Although poor service and negligence are not exactly the same, there is a substantial area of overlap.
  • Hi - At what stage should one put in a claim for a second soliciters fees and the land registry fee? I have already paid WS but the property is not registered. I have paid another soliciter to try to sort out the registration (this will be done with great difficulty as the sellers file and the sellors have long gone) So far I have paid £400. but I suspect that it will cost a lot more. So should I put in a claim now or wait untill it is sorted. If it ever gets sorted and where do I claim from. Thank you
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