Warning - do not use wolstenholmes solicitors

Simply_Me_2

And to confirm the five solicitors thus far who have had their practising certificates suspended are:

Mr Imran Hussain (Managing Partner, supposedly joined Wolstenholmes in Sept 2009, he also qualified in 2002 and not 2001 as reported on Wolstenholmes and its associated companies website(s))

Ms Helen Murgatroyd (Complaints and Money Laundering partner (huh!). Joined in 2008)

Mr Nasir Ilyas (Acquired ownership of Wolstenholmes in 2006 having joined in 2001, Qualified in 2004)

Mr Bobby Shabbir (purportedly joined Wolstenholmes in May 2009, he also needs to be reported to the Bar Council if he hasn't already)

Mr Bilal Khawaja (joined Wolstenholmes in 2005 and qualified in 2008).

As the days pass and I continue to be out of funds with no clearer picture as to what has happened to my money or where that whirlwind came from that I find myself caught up in thank you to all my freinds on here who have given me daily support in their continued postings, this has been my life line, thank you.

dfh

opinions4u wrote: »

Look matey, if you are him or you know him or work for/with him then tell us.

Any genuine insights you can add to the debate are more than welcome.

If not, I'd leave it.

If you believe it is racist then please report it accordingly. I don't think MSE would stand for racism. I'm not sure the word "Muslim" is a racist term though.

If you can provide information that suggests the individual in question is being hard done to, bring it to the party.

Mate-Just like you I feel really angry about the PC Leftwingers that want to ban Christmas and discriminate against us.You and me need to think hard about voting for a party that actually will put our interests first and foremost.

rebeccak

I've seen the news report on BBC North West but it's very vague about what the allegations are and how far back the problems go. I purchased my flat through Wolstenholmes a couple of years ago. Do the allegations concern current transactions, where the solicitors are holding onto people's deposits or does the 'dishonesty' concern other things? E.g. will they actually have carried out the searches and checks and other legal tasks that I employed them to do or were they just processing the purchases without doing so? They hold the original title deeds to my home (which I've never seen). Can I check if I am the legal owner? Will I be able to get these deeds and, if not, can I prove that I own my home? I know other people are in much worse limbo than me as I have actually got somewhere to live at the moment but obviously I'm concerned and with the news just talking about 'dishonesty' within the firm with no details or timeline for this, I don't know what to think.

opinions4u

The Land Registry web site has a "Find A Property" section which, for a £4 fee, should confirm who owns your property.

Here's a link to the BBC report online:

A Stockport-based law firm has been closed down and five solicitors have had their licences suspended amid claims of dishonesty. Wolstenholmes, which opened in 1818, is being investigated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
The Legal Complaints Commission (LCC) is dealing with 116 complaints from customers who say they have lost money.

Simply_Me_2

rebeccak wrote: »

I've seen the news report on BBC North West but it's very vague about what the allegations are and how far back the problems go. I purchased my flat through Wolstenholmes a couple of years ago. Do the allegations concern current transactions, where the solicitors are holding onto people's deposits or does the 'dishonesty' concern other things? E.g. will they actually have carried out the searches and checks and other legal tasks that I employed them to do or were they just processing the purchases without doing so? They hold the original title deeds to my home (which I've never seen). Can I check if I am the legal owner? Will I be able to get these deeds and, if not, can I prove that I own my home? I know other people are in much worse limbo than me as I have actually got somewhere to live at the moment but obviously I'm concerned and with the news just talking about 'dishonesty' within the firm with no details or timeline for this, I don't know what to think.

Hi ya, if you go to the Land Registry website and pay you can acquire a copy of your title for your home within minutes. This will tell you who the legal owner is, hopefully you, will also tell you who you have your mortgage with and any other legal charges secured against the property and whether there are any restrictions affecting your home.

As I understand it the allegations seem to have come to light within the last year, however the practice went into new ownership in 2006, so the allegations may date back to then as it was clear that original partners from before the firm was sold were not happy in late 2008 and informed the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) of their concern in early 2009.

Brucer2244

A further "worrying bit" to this saga is the Legal Complaints Service and their mode of operation.I've had the following letter from them and have to rely on updates from this forum and the BBC news for info and progress.

Complaint about Wolstenholmes LLP


Thank you very much for contacting us.

We will pass your complaint to a caseworker within the next 20 working days. The caseworker will then contact you either by telephone or letter to make sure they have all the information they need to progress your case for you.

If you have not provided a telephone number on your initial letter/complaint form please can you provide us with this information as soon as possible?

In the meantime, if you have any urgent issues you need to raise with us, please contact us on 01926 820082 extension 2297.

Your reference number is shown above and it would help us if you could quote this number whenever you contact us.

Yours sincerely

rebeccak wrote: »

I've seen the news report on BBC North West but it's very vague about what the allegations are and how far back the problems go. I purchased my flat through Wolstenholmes a couple of years ago. Do the allegations concern current transactions, where the solicitors are holding onto people's deposits or does the 'dishonesty' concern other things? E.g. will they actually have carried out the searches and checks and other legal tasks that I employed them to do or were they just processing the purchases without doing so? They hold the original title deeds to my home (which I've never seen). Can I check if I am the legal owner? Will I be able to get these deeds and, if not, can I prove that I own my home? I know other people are in much worse limbo than me as I have actually got somewhere to live at the moment but obviously I'm concerned and with the news just talking about 'dishonesty' within the firm with no details or timeline for this, I don't know what to think.

cakinwande

The soundbite I recorded for the BBC yesterday was broadcast on Radio 5 at 9.30am this morning. My mum called me up saying she nearly crashed the car lol. I didnt hear it myself so I'm not sure what was actually said but hopefully the enormity of this case was projected well.

On another note, why do the "planters" think they can say a good word against Wolstenholmes and lead us all to believe they are a ligitmate professional company? The unfortunate people who have been left homeless, angry, devestated and broke dont give a crap about what they say! Would a company with morals and customer values be investigated and subsequently closed down leaving the cuplrits with their licences suspended?! I THINK NOT

Dobloyerdosh

Simply_Me wrote: »

Just to update you all, BBC Manchester's radio show went out at around 08:10 this morning which contained an interview with a solicitor also caught up in this mess so I think its fair to now dispell any myth about the profession protecting its own.

Also it contained an interview with Mr Hussain, yes Imran Hussain himself. In fairness to Mr Hussain he did point out that he had only been with the firm for 3 months and that he was not responsible for the firms accounts, this statement alone is now causing me concern.

He did however apologise unreservedly to those of us who were due to exchange and complete and were not able to due to the firm's intervention. I should like to make it clear as I was believing him until that point that I was due to complete on 22 December, my money went into their accounts on the 17 December, the firm was intervened on 24 and 27 December with their accounts frozen on the 23 December. So you see it wasn't due to the intervention as to why I did not complete it was due to Wolstenholmes that my completion did not take place that's one thing the SRA cannot be blamed for!

The buyers of our peoperty were using Wolstenholmes, we found out on the day that completion was due (16 Dec at Wolstenholmes request), which was actually a month latyer than we had origianlly wanted that there had been an "error" in some paperwork. How convenient, it took them 3 months to find that there was an error at the last minute. We could now lose the property we were buying because of this and the sale of our property was already a month into legal work when we agreed to buy. We were told that the problem would be sorted out in 24 hours but nobody has been able to contact anyone to find out what the situation is. Thank you for a miserable and worrying Chrictmas and New Year. To say bthat Imran Hussain is a decent bloke is a joke, he must have known what was going on and as for Nasir Ilyas's political aspirations it looks as if with the current bunch of fiddlers we have in Westminster he's more than suitably qualified to become an MP. God help us all.

itvnews

Hi I'm a journalist investigating the SRA intervention in Wolstenholmes. If you have been affected please contact us at ITV News in Manchester.
Our number is 0161 952 6002.

Many thanks

Betty123

I.H. has been with WH in Manchester since early June (not September as he claimed) at least and previously at the Birmingham office before, but not sure when. I am surprised that Asma (Nasa Ilyas wife) has not been suspended as she is a solicitor that works there and she along with the other five were aware of what was going on. So I do not believe that this is a witch hunt in any way, just people trying to find out what has gone on.