Warning - do not use wolstenholmes solicitors

anxious_24

shocked_solicitor wrote: »

glad to have been of help anxious 24 hope it all works out for you

just got to keep fingers crossed SL thinks going to continue with purchase thru them till i get my money from sale (promised tomorrow hope so but time will tell ) then can instruct to send to sra and new solicitor request files from sra/dwf . then next worry is starting from scratch for new mortgage offer coz wh still got mortgage money from abbey so could take too long for my final deadline of end january .hopefully broker promised we will get another mortgage from another lender while they sort that mess out if sterling send files back quickly :eek: this rollercoaster ride i am never doing again !!!

redruby

Hi all,

I have just found this thread and have read the last few pages and I am a bit :eek:, my solicitors are sterling law, who were reccomended to me, we are due to exchange contracts on Monday 11th (next week) and I am going to have to transfer £1000 to sterling law tomorrow, I am now a bit worried about doing this, I have £96 k from the sale of my house going into my new property, will this money (and the extra £1000 ) be safe with sterling law ??

I must admit I don't really understand how the whole process works, but I assume that the proceeds from my sale will go to sterling law before completion, is that right ?

Should i continie with them, and send them the extra money ? I must admit they have so far been very good with me, and until i came across this thread I was not worried at all.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

just_me_

Another "Newbie", not defending or slagging anyone off however.

Read in an earlier post that Nasir may be the same person who was involved in the dodgy purcahse of Pilsworth Industrial Estate.

Can someone clarify whether Nasir was the same person and what the case was.

I have dealt with Imran Hussain, and he comes across as an articulate, well dressed person.....However, I understand he was involved in a couple of now defunct law companies "Edward Mardale Solicitors" & AIM Legal or AIM Ltd.
Surely it's too much of a coincidence that any law company he is involved in, suddenly goes under (& from what I understand, just disappear without paying the rent, etc)

In Relation to Wolstenholmes, I work for a company that purchases properties, and unfortunately we used Wolstenholmes. Having purchased a block of properties over a 6 month period, we were supplied with various Completion Statement (through the sale taking longer than expexcted).

To cut a long story short, when our accountant was preparing our accounts, we had a dispute with our bridging lender stating that we had paid £x of interest & only £y remained.

The bridging company gave us figures, but we requested complaetion statements on 13/02/09 for the properties.

Having gone through Nasir, Bilal, Tracey, Pat, Kevin, Sheila, finally Alexandra was able to provide us with the completion statements. However, these were received at end of November 2009.

In the meantime, we paid extra interest to our lender (which we get back), but also couldn't complete our accounts, and hence have been penalised by Companies House.

Can we pursue Wolstenholmes for these??
If so, couldn't individuals pursue Wolstenholmes to pay for the Stamp Duty.

Finally, putting personal details online I disagree with, but understand why some people will defend posters posting address' & family history online

FraudBuster

Finally, putting personal details online I disagree with, but understand why some people will defend posters posting address' & family history online

Some information is in the public domain.

Here

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/

and here:

http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/

rfsp

shocked_solicitor wrote: »

ok I am a solicitor and I have spoken to the Solicitor Regulation Authority (SRA) today. The official solicitors acting in the intervention of this firm is DWF LLP tele. 0161 603 5000. Contact name Mr Walshe. I would advise that you do not instruct any of the firms that are mentioned on this site to do your work due to the various links that have been made. These are as follows:-
1. Helen Murgatroyd (HM) one of the suspended solicitors from Wolstenholmes (W) was a member of Chartbridge Law LLP (C) until it went a while back. She was in business with a man called Schofield (RS).
2. RS was made bankrupt for £1.1 million in June 2009 at the Oldham County Court - this is on public records and is also on the SRA website as he now has a restriction on his practicing certificate - he is not allowed to run a firm. Look him up on the SRA site!!
3. C traded from Greengate Business Centre, Greengate Oldham OL4 1FN until it went into administration
4. RS is listed on the Law Society website as working at Megsons LLP - trading address Greengate Business Centre, Greengate Oldham OL4 1FN (same as old address for C)
5. Stirling Law trading address is Greengate Business Centre, Greengate Oldham OL4 1FN (sound familiar?? - yes same address again)
6. Assistant Solicitor at C was Abbie P (shown on Law Society page under Stirling Law), was then an Assistant Solicitor at Megsons LLP and is now listed as being with Sterling Law

so we have Stirling claiming the files of Wolstenholmes with HM being one of the suspended solicitors from that firm having been a partner of C with RS. The trading address for all these firms is the same (except W of course) - draw your own conclusions!!! All of this information is available on public websites so feel free to check the accurancy of this information.

Another link is the phone number posted for Stirling being 0161 624 5777 - someone has traced it to a firm called Ramsdens Firthwhitehead...... this firm was RSs firm before it became C

I repeat my advice - only use the firm the SRA have appointed to intervene for your own protection.

Not all solicitors are bad - people like these give the profession a bad name and I am sorry for everyone who has been affected by this!!

ALSO SEE BELOW PART OF THE EMAIL I HAVE RECEIVED FROM LCS......


Thank you for email about Wolstenholmes.

As you are aware we have recently received a large number of reports, and concerns, concerning this firm.

Both the Legal Complaints Service (LCS) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) are actively monitoring the situation and as a result of this the firm have now been intervened into by the Law Society (this means that the firm has closed down). The intervention will protect the immediate position and preserve documentation and any client monies.

The agent in charge of the intervention is Kieran Walshe of DWF solicitors. Their details are:

Centurion House,
129 Deansgate,
Manchester,
Lancashire,
M3 3AA

Tel: 0161 603 5000
Fax: 0161 603 5050
Website: http://www.dwf.co.uk

If you suffer financial losses, or additional expense, as a result of any poor service provided by Wolstenholmes, we have power to direct the payment of compensation - for this and any distress and inconvenience you may suffer.

If regulatory action is required, this will be initiated as soon as possible by the SRA.

In the meantime, we understand that customers are clearly concerned about the situation, and what they should do.

If you need your file for matters that are ongoing, you have two options:

1.DWF has taken possession of all Wolstenholmes files. You can either contact DWF for your file (but will need to provide ID) and then seek independent legal advice about progressing your matter.
2.You can wait for DWF to contact you for instructions on what they would like you to do.

Files which have been sent out to other firms (e.g. Sterling Law, Dar & Co) are also currently being transferred to DWF although there may be a delay in DWF taking possession of them.

For customers concerned about deposits paid, Wolstenholmes accounts have been frozen. DWF will need to do a reconciliation of accounts, but if you need these funds again you should contact DWF.

The LCS cannot give legal advice, but we hope this may be of some practical assistance to you:-

If you haven’t exchanged contracts

If you haven't yet reached a stage of your transaction where you are financially committed, for example, you haven’t exchanged contracts – we would recommend that you instruct a new solicitor to complete the transaction - with or without Wolstenholme's file.

You can complain later, provided that you do so within six months.

If you have already exchanged contracts and are about to complete

If you have particularly pressing concerns, for example you have exchanged but now need to complete your sale / purchase imminently, you will need to urgently decide how to proceed. The best course for you would be to take independent legal advice. There may still be a means of completing with the assistance of a new solicitor, particularly if no mortgage is involved - but it will not be possible in all cases.

rfsp

Originally Posted by shocked_solicitor
if your file has gone missing Wolstenholmes can be fined and forced to reproduce missing documents where possible. The SRA will have to do that. Contact DWF in the first instance - if they do not have the file try Sterling as i suspect they will have it. Give them 7 days in which to confirm possession and get your file to you or report them to the SRA.

Horrified_Solicitor wrote: »

Excellent advice. Putting my hat on from when I used to prosecute for CPS, I suggest that if Sterling do not respond, then tell them that you are reporting them to the police for receiving stolen goods. Solicitors are more frightened of the police than the SRA.

Yes! excellent! also make sure you do this in 'WRITING'...

rfsp

Jan 5 2010 by Ben Schofield, Liverpool Daily Post
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Rees Roberts’s Phil Rees-Roberts calls for a rethink on bulk residential conveyancing
THE closure of bulk conveyancing firm Wolstenholmes, by regulators, has brought home my misgivings about the profession’s thinking on residential conveyancing.
The industry tries to match the consumer lobby’s expectations of low cost and high service levels by doing everything for nothing.
Lenders exacerbate the problem by putting work through auctions, rather than setting a realistic market price.
Notional fees of £50 are then paid alongside interest on client money. This is a substitute for a proper professional fee, which is unsustainable for the profession, escalating cost of PI premiums for solicitors. The increasing scope of lenders’ requirements in certifying property as a good investment runs contrary to what the client and banks are willing to pay for the reassurance.
There is a strong political lobby for the profession not to be “defensive”. This results in the acceptance of low prices which forms the common starting point for the provision of conveyancing services, the erosion of standards and, in the Wolstenholmes case, a litany of complaints and – heavily denied – dishonesty allegations.
The industry should concentrate on lobbying for protection for its higher-value services, charging reasonable fees, so that it better reflects the importance of its role in meeting lenders’ and clients’ standards.

wolstenholmes_client

Librachick wrote: »

I have just had a call returned by DFW, who seemed very nice. They are in the process of cataloguing all the files they have, they are still receiving more each day. They are trying to get through these, and if they have your file, you then have to have your new solicitor send a letter asking for the file (more money for writing a letter to them!!) and utility bill and certified copy of your passport. Then they will send it to your solicitor.

This will all take time, which some of you poor people don't have. I am fortunate, I was due to complete 18.12.09, so they only have my deposit.

Good luck to everyone.

Thanks Librachick - I've left two messages with the DFW over the last two days but still no news. It sounds like it will take atleast a couple of weeks before the file can be sent to our new solicitors. In my case, I'm going to ask my new solicitor to request searches again, this may prove quicker. I am going to be homeless by the end of the month!!

If anybody does have a positive response from DFW please let us know.

Good luck to all!

Catwoman8950

rfsp wrote: »

ALSO SEE BELOW PART OF THE EMAIL I HAVE RECEIVED FROM LCS......

Files which have been sent out to other firms (e.g. Sterling Law, Dar & Co) are also currently being transferred to DWF although there may be a delay in DWF taking possession of them.

Dar & Co? Who the h*** are they? OK, I already know the answer to that. Things are just going from bad to worse....

RobS77

sloughflint wrote: »

Perhaps not. But intrigued by this thread, I've picked up on similar themes from various posters and it doesn't look terribly positive for Home solicitors.

I still stand by what I put in my post. If that new firm is squeaky clean, it needs to get the SRA to make an announcement.

I wouldn't personally feel like instructing a firm who had been associated, however indirectly, with this quagmire anyway! I suspect that if you instructed an independent firm they could approach DWF and get the file released reasonably promptly? There are plenty of good firms in the NW (and no I am not tendering for business here- I'm not a conveyancer!)- who should be able to sort out the mess pretty quickly: fingers crossed for all concerned.