Allen & Harris- Conveyancing Warning!!

dottiepeas

Hello!

Just thought I would post a mini warning about conveyancing fees! We got a quote off Allen & Harris for their conveyancing services (house purchase). The sales person, said their solicitors were offering a "fixed fee" of £649 plus vat for the fees, which was one fee- no other fees will be added. I specifically asked the agent face to face- does it include the land searches, telegraphic transfer fees etc.. to which she replied- YES, it's all included in the "fixed fee". We go ahead and paid £295 to the agent/their solicitor which goes towards the total costs (like a deposit)....

Then letter from their solicitor arrives today, with breakdown of fees..and you've guessed it, DOES NOT INCLUDE anything in their fixed fee of £649- that is just their legal fees......nothing else included!

We have been totally mislead by the agent about the fees- if we had known that it didn't include everything (which she said it did), we would have chosen a local company who are far cheaper. Even anticipating the loss of £295, and going with a cheaper local company, we will still be £300 better off, than going ahead with Allen & Harris's extortionate fees!!!

When I got back to the agent about this- she said she thought it included everything!! Not sure if she was genuinely unclear herself, or she was just getting her commission in for the month and playing dumb. If she was unclear of the actual fees, surely she should have checked first? You wouldn't sell a veggie burger to a vegetarian if she's not 100% that it didn't have meat in it!????

I am currently seeing if I can get the £295 back of Allen & Harris. If they don't refund it, I think I will make a formal complaint to the manager, and then the regional manager if needs be.

But just a warning to others!!!...If you are getting a quote off the agent for their conveyancing, check what they say is true before handing over any money!!!! Or speak to their conveyancing company direct for queries, as they will know exactly what the fees are!!

dottiepeas

Also- does anyone know what "fixed fee" actually means, if things like land registry fee, transfer fees, land searches, etc are not included??.....

wysiwyg78

Hi,

I work for a firm of solicitors so have a bit of knowledge about fees. The 'fixed' fee that any solicitor will charge is for their own time in dealing with the matter and if you're lucky other incidental fees such as copying and postage. These fees are set by the solicitor.

All fees that the solitor incurs for searches aren't set by the solicitor but the agency carrying out the search, such as the land registry and local authority. The solicitor has no control over these fees as different loacl authorities charge different fees, so they can only offer you an estimation of the search fees.

What I have done is get quotes from 5 different solicitors and have gone through and added all the charges up to come up with a 'worst case scenaro' cost to make sure that I can afford it.

Watch out for other extra fees if your sale isn't a bog standard one, such as for buying a shared ownership or leasehold property. We nearly went with Shoosmiths when we bought out current house as their 'fixed fee' was the cheapest, then we saw that they also charged a £300 'shared ownership fee'. Needless to say we changed our minds!

Good luck
wysiwyg

pipo

To the OP - why did you pay the £295 before getting things confirmed in writing? Unless the agent you spoke with admits the error on her part, then there's likely to be no recourse for your complaint if you made one. She can always play the "plausible deniability" card.

Of course I might be wrong, but if there is a lesson to be learned in this, then it's making sure that you get things in writing before handing over the cash.

dottiepeas

Thanks for your reply about the "fixed fees". I hope we can get the £295 refunded, as I don't think the agent should have said it included everything, if she wasn't fully sure of the fees.

I also got quotes from afew companies too, but as the agent's solicitors price was similar to what was being quoted by others (or so we thought!!), we listened to her thinking it probably would be easier if we went with her recommendation!

dottiepeas

pipo wrote: »

To the OP - why did you pay the £295 before getting things confirmed in writing? Unless the agent you spoke with admits the error on her part, then there's likely to be no recourse for your complaint if you made one. She can always play the "plausible deniability" card.

Of course I might be wrong, but if there is a lesson to be learned in this, then it's making sure that you get things in writing before handing over the cash.

Hi Pipo- that was an oversight on our part, that we didn't get things in writing. I did however ask for this initially which she said she would give to us when we go into the office to do our ID checks, but then when we were there, we forgot about it. As we were reassured verbally that everything was included, then took our card details and said everything will be sent in the post. I also contacted the solicitor they use directly and apparently we should have been given their fees pamphlet to take away, stating all fees etc, which we were also never given.

But yes- definately a lesson learnt!! Being FTB, we are not totally familiar with the buying process, but you live and you learn!

It may have been an oversight on our part to not get her words on paper!!....but then again, she shouldn't mislead people like that! As you only give your company a bad name!

pipo

Hi, as a FTB myself i understand your pain - you want all the money you can have (mine's for a rainy day fund). We've just switched our conveyancing firm from Countrywide to a local firm as we've been dissatisfied with the way they're doing things. But we've been quite lucky as one of my best mates is well versed in the business.

Good luck with getting back your cash. If you can somehow make a good case as to how you have been misinformed (i'd mention the documents they should have given you prior to you parting with your cash, like the pamphlet, remittance, etc) then you may just have a leg to stand on. Basically you don't want your complaint to be a case of "your word against hers".

Cheers

dottiepeas

Thanks Pipo! Good to know that there are other ftbs currently in the process too! Hope everything goes smoothly for you!! These are tense times!! heehee!!...

wibble68_2

Unfortunately I decided to go with an Allen & Harris preferred solicitor.

Big mistake. As the OP said, Allen & Harris only quote the legal fees and nothing else in an effort to make it sound cheap.

And yes, they are very slow. I have no chain and I'm paying cash, yet 9 weeks later I still haven't been given a date for exchange or completion.