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

BAZZA

Im positive i wouldn't use them !!!

BAZZA

I have just cancelled the sale. After six months I have had enough. Lost the house of our dreams because I cant take anymore of !!!!rywide. We should have moved in by now. My wife's heart is broken and tomorrows our wedding anniversary. Do not use these cowboys !!!

law111

This company has taken incompetence to a higher level. You pay them over £1400 for conveyancing, far higher than others, thinking you will get a better service, but a shocking service. Can't get to speak to the lawyer handling your case, have to chase them up every time to act. too much headache. Pls don't use them

riledclient

unfortunately i did not research this company before i agreed to go through with them doing the conveyancing on my property.

i viewed the property on wednesday the 30th of july, then put in an offer which was accepted the same day. We then used countrywide as we were told even though it is a little more expensive than other conveyancers, they give a superior service. lovely property no chain no issues whatsoever with mortgage or survey or searches.

This company is completely incompetent and don't seem to do any work unless i continually get on to them. i have now way of contacting my solicitor i dont even know their name. there is no confirmation to any emails with evidence that i have sent and even though i requested it they have not sent any emails to me.

every time you call country wide you will be talking to a call centre. so even though yes they are open 7 days a week don't expect any work to be done out of the 9-5 weekdays. i would complain directly to them but i dont want this to compromise the current purchase.

currently as far as i can tell we are now waiting for nothing more than them to send an email or letter with the bank details so that i can forward the deposit. can sombody that has dealt with this company tell me how long i should expect to be waiting now till completion?.

fabnurse

Incompetent is the only way to describe this lot. I doubt there is a qualified lawyer amongst them. After 2 months of difficult communication and lost documents they have decided the sale is too complicated for them to handle. Have probably lost my sale and my dream house never mind the money spent so far. I intent to make a formal complaint to the regulatory body and continue a SoMe appalling customer service campaign for a long time to come. Organisations like this should not be allowed to practice

Sues48

I'm quite concerned reading these posts as my son, who's a FTB has just had a offer accepted on a house and the EA is part of the Countrywide group.

He already has a recommendation for a local firm of solicitors and has an AIP for a mortgage through another mortgage broker. He has however been "persuaded" to go for an appointment with the EA to "discuss if they can find him a better deal" I'm worried that they will push him into using Countrywide for his conveyancing.

betmunch

For Sues48 - Nothing wrogn with seeing if they can offer him a better mortgage, although its highly unlikely!

Just stand firm, check what they offer in comparison to what hes got and remember to add in their fees when comparing.

With regards to the idea of using Countrywide Conveyancers, just tell them you have read this thread and will be using someone local.

They cannot MAKE him do something he doesnt want to

Sues48

Thanks very much, I'll be pointing him in the direction of this thread, and just hope he doesn't get sucked in by their slick sales patter!

Dorset_sheep

In what must be one of the shortest chains in house buying, our purchasers house is being bought by someone buying to let, we are selling a house that they are buying and we are not buying elsewhere as yet, countrywide solicitors have so far taken five and a half months to not even reach exchange on a trouble free set of sales. Once our sale is complete we are using the money to cash buy a flat - should the estate agent or the prospective vendor use this set of incompetents we will walk away and look elsewhere, they bring a whole new meaning to the word 'useless'.

Pheelo79

I'm currently using CWPL to purchase a property (on the recommendation of Bairstow Eves Estate Agents) and I have to say that I'm quite happy with the service they've provided. We had an offer accepted and started using CWPL in mid-March and we are due to complete the purchase next week - so the whole process has taken about 2 months from start to finish. We were actually due to complete on the 15th May, but the sellers had a few issues with their removal company!

There have been a few issues with some of the documentation that has been sent to them (saying that they haven't received things and having to resend them) but nothing too frustrating.
The only other negative comment I could make is that one of the call centre staff sounds like she's in a permanently comatose state - I kept raising the pitch and volume of my voice (mostly for my own amusement) to see if she'd perk up a bit, but it didn't seem to have any affect. Maybe she needs to drink more:coffee: or maybe it's just me!