Countrywide Property Lawyers - are they as bad as I've read?

kingforaday77

Jorgan wrote: »

I have to deal with them on a fairly regular basis, nightmare each time. You never get to speak to the same person twice, sometimes you get the name of the solicitor dealing with the case but usually its red team or yellow team or something along those lines.

I have used these guys twice now and have had no problems I hadn't experience with a solicitor on the other occasion. They have been efficient and helpful and only once have they annoyed me but that was someone being a bit think rather than a major complaint. For the several hundred pounds it saved me vs solicitor it has been worth it both times. However that is not to say everyone has the same experience!!

steevo_h

I'm a first time buyer using HSBC for my mortgage. Glad I googled CPL instead of just accepting their recommendation of using them. I had to stick to my guns robustly as they gave it quite a hard sell. Additionally I have to pay £200 for their legal costs as I am not using their approved solicitor. Am now 100% convinced this was the right thing to do, as there have been a couple of obstacles I've needed to overcome and being able to phone my solicitor and discuss things, knowing he will action them on the day I speak to him has helped an awful lot.

It turns out though, that the £200 in legal fees is to pay CPL to check my solicitors work and now everything has come to a grinding halt, and small details are taking a week at a time to resolve. It's becoming a nightmare to chase anything up or have a clue how long the whole thing is going to take. Although HSBC offered the cheapest mortgage, the forced involvement of CPL is now making me regret I applied through HSBC in the first place. The few pounds a month I am saving on my mortgage is not worth the stress. The extra delay they have added has already meant that I am going to miss the stamp duty deadline.

So first of all - DO NOT USE CPL!

Secondly, if you're using HSBC for your mortgage be aware, that even if you appoint you own solicitor, you won't escape CPL. Unless they are significantly cheaper than the next best option I would say give this some very serious thought, because the stress, delays and chance of your purchase falling through as a result have to be weighed up carefully!

MTH

Bit of a newbie so apologies if this has been asked a million times! Things moving very fast at the moment as a FTB!

If Countrywide are the recommended solicitor from HSBC & they give me the details for the actual solicitor dealing with my request am I still likely to have the issues highlighted in this topic? Or do the problems occurr more when you can't get past the call centre call screening?

In my case it would be MAson Baggott & Garton -lawlincs.co.uk/

Thanks

kingstreet

Countrywide is the panel manager for HSBC and is also one of the 43 firms on the panel.

You don't have to choose Countrywide. You can pick one of the other firms on the list and avoid Countrywide altogether.

If the firm you mention is a local firm to you which is on the list, you appear to be dodging the Countrywide bullet.

Oxbro

I have had the worst experience with Countrywide and missed out the home I wanted to buy because of them. I would avoid them and HSBC for a mortgage.
I took a mortgage with HSBC who told me I had to use Countrywide and not my solicitor. I did, naively, what they said. I wish I had checked.
I put an offer in on the house, all seemed to be going well, then the seller went with someone else. The agent told me it was because Countrywide were taking so long that the seller went with another buyer who actually made a lower offer. The agent admitted that as soon as they see HSBC on the mortgage they know it is going to be a hassle, so if there is another buyer they hope the seller goes with them.
I went back to HSBC who admitted I could have used my own solicitor. Maybe I would have got the house I wanted. It turns out HSBC are only using a few lawyers to do their mortgages, Countrywide is one of them. So in answer to your question - yes Countrywide are as bad as you have read.

betmunch

Oxbro wrote: »

I have had the worst experience with Countrywide and missed out the home I wanted to buy because of them. I would avoid them and HSBC for a mortgage.
I took a mortgage with HSBC who told me I had to use Countrywide and not my solicitor. I did, naively, what they said. I wish I had checked.
I put an offer in on the house, all seemed to be going well, then the seller went with someone else. The agent told me it was because Countrywide were taking so long that the seller went with another buyer who actually made a lower offer. The agent admitted that as soon as they see HSBC on the mortgage they know it is going to be a hassle, so if there is another buyer they hope the seller goes with them.
I went back to HSBC who admitted I could have used my own solicitor. Maybe I would have got the house I wanted. It turns out HSBC are only using a few lawyers to do their mortgages, Countrywide is one of them. So in answer to your question - yes Countrywide are as bad as you have read.

You could have used another solicitor, but you would have to pay HSBC £192 to have Countrywide, or one of their panel conveyancers, check the work your Solicitor is doing so you would still have the hassle and delay of using them, even if you hadnt instructed them!!!!

I feel the agent is right to warn his vendors about people buying with an HSBC mortgage, I no longer recommend them for purchases because of this issue.

rudi08

Countrywide aren't even proper lawyers/solicitors. They r a big company/call centre who do conveyancing. I took an HSBC mortgage and insisted on using my solicitors. Even then, Countrywide are holding things up at the other end. The simple solution - don't get an HSBC mortgage. I plan to go to the Financial Ombudsman about it. Didn't like the way HSBC tried to get me to use Countrywide - they lied and said I was obliged to. It was only when I kicked up a bit of a stink that they said I could use my own solicitor. I thought the banks were supposed to be playing by the rules now. Clearly not

Rikki2609

Incisor wrote: »

I tried to buy from someone using them. The experience was so bad that Mrs I and I decided that we would not buy from anyone who used them.

Nothing but bad quality of service from CW. We have bought a house using Fulfords Estate Agents and unfortunately the sellers have been advised to use Countrywide! Our Solicitors have had numerous problems even getting through to them and even receiving the correct paperwork from them. Countrywide has delayed us purchasing the house by nearly two weeks and when we wanted to avoid the Stamp Duty this is now not possible!!

If they advise you that you HAVE to use them, SAY NO AND GET A LOCAL CONVEYANCER THAT YOU CAN GO AND SPEAK TO FACE TO FACE!!!

chorkyboy

The simple sale of an empty property to a first-time buyer has taken four months, because the buyer was strongly advised by the agent to use Countrywide to act for her. My solicitor is hinting at being unable to keep to his quote because of the ridiculous amount of time he has been obliged to spend waiting for these incompetent people to answer the telephone or reply to letters. The buyer has had the same problems, forms she was told had been sent to her never arrived, phone calls took an age before anyone answered, usually a different person each time, and although contracts have finally been exchanged there will be a further delay before completion.

It seems there is some kind of deal between this firm and a number of estate agents, which obliges them to recommend them even though they know what the outcome will be.

Soup27

We still haven't gotten over the stress and trauma that Countrywide put us through with the purchase of our house. Like others, we were taking out a mortgage with HSBC. We chose our own solicitor for various reasons rather than one from the panel and everything and everyone was on target for beating the stamp duty exemption in March '12 until Countrywide's involvement. We missed the exemption deadline. I can't begin to tell you the categorical failures to deliver that they caused in our case and the lies they told us were phenomenal. I could write an essay on the failures they made but I think to go back into it here will only make my blood pressure soar! In our situation we found Countryide to be unprofessional, incompetent, irresponsible etc etc etc and they cost us money as a result of fines for not completing on time as well as the devastation of being faced with losing everything, our deposit (life savings), the house etc. We felt it important to log our complaint formally. I did hear that other solicitors have tried to get the Office of Fair Trading interested in Countrywide however apparently they are not receiving enough complaints to investigate - have no idea on the authenticity of this information though. Perhaps someone on this forum knows? If true it seems somewhat contrary because we've read hundreds of negative reviews from people online but perhaps they are not taking the time to make a formal complaint?! It's worth logging a complaint with the Conveyancing Association, Law Society, Financial and/or Legal Ombudsman as well as direct to Countrywide themselves and HSBC (if you've taken a mortgage out with them). Our solicitor has now stopped taking on new clients who are taking out a mortgage with HSBC who in turn use Countrywide. I'm aware many other solicitor firms have followed suit. Whilst I appreciate this covers their own back it does also mean that the result will potentially be that people have less and less choice and will need to use the panel and Countrywide. Before this year Countrywide simply managed this panel and now they are on it - I would be interested to know if their application to be on the panel was objectively and independently reviewed? Plus there aren't 'that' many solicitor firms on the panel, there are only 43 nationwide. I was told there was only one solicitor on this panel in my county alone - I have no idea if there are higher numbers of firms in other counties - therefore in our locality there is a higher probability of ending up with Countrywide (was this a strategic move of theirs??). Anyway, we feel we have come out of it older and wiser (and battered and bruised!) and would never wish Countrywide on anyone.