Warning - do not use wolstenholmes solicitors
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Hi Moonbeam2, quite a few people left Wolstenholmes as soon as they saw the shady business practices. Waseem Siddiq, a declared bankrupt and main owner of Wolstenholmes has fled the country with the cash but before he did so he started threatening ex employees. This guy walks around with a huge thug to back up his threats.
Those ex employees that left to work elsewhere are now being subjected to libellous slurs by an ill informed agitator called Cakinwande on here.... if Cakinwande would like to substantiate their lies I'd like to see it on here otherwise they should concentrate their vitrol on the main staff of Wolstenholmes and stop taking cowardly pot shots at decent hard working people.. all of whom left Wolstenholmes to get away from the swindling culture.
Keep an eye on Cakinwande's posts - I expect them to be removed from this site very shortly once the report for their libellous posts has been submitted and they fail to substantiate their lies
cakinwande is not a liar, she has spoken out against WH outright in the press, she is not afraid to say who she is. Her post back in May made me realise there was someone who I could complain to. Nice one cakinwande :T0 -
Keep an eye on Cakinwande's posts - I expect them to be removed from this site very shortly once the report for their libellous posts has been submitted and they fail to substantiate their lies
I dont understand why you wrote like this...i believe you know Cakinwande and your problem is something else....
i have gone through Cankinwande's posts and its really useful! What you have done to this forum?????0 -
I have heard of this thread and only today have taken the time to read this complete thread. Only because I am snowed it like the rest of us and cant get to work.
I think I should enlighten you all. Yes I have had the misfortune of working at Wolstenholmes and what a mistake that was. Thankfully my name does not appear anywhere on this thread.
Before you ask, I did report what I knew to the SRA back in August and left (I’m sure you would do the same thing) and so did many of my colleagues who left and went on to work in properly run law firms, who are being unfairly tarnished on this forum. The question you must ask is why did they leave? Why so many clients will have had their files passed to so many conveyancers/Solicitors? It is because we did not want to be apart of this mess and lose our careers not for any amount of money! As to why it took so long ask the SRA.
It amazes me of how clients can come up with their own theories, link things together, quick to criticise and play with the livehoods of innocent victims (employees- front line staff) in this scandal.
Naisr Ilyas acquired the practice back in 2006 and end of 2008 the firm was three weeks away from bankruptcy until such time NI enlisted the help and investments of Waseem Siddique and Mario Cardinalli who were non- lawyers management.
They made all the decisions and not a phone was answered without their consent! They hired and fired everyday and within my brief period of employment I saw 75 people leave or be sacked!
Imagine all the clients on this forum being represented by one person- that was Reality! Unbearable working conditions, extreme pressure, no support and very bad structure. Management gave no regard to Law Society rules, procedures, practices it was just simply a business to them – they did not care about clients at all they just seen the £££.
If you spoke our you were sacked if you didn’t commit your life to the firm i.e work till 10pm and weekends then you were also frowned upon and your job in jeopardy.
The sad fact is that we all have to work in this life and earn a living and this is how I earn my living and I have done so in firms large, medium and small for the last 10 years. If it wasn’t for the recession then most of the people at Wolstenholmes would never had been there – but desperate times (10 months out of work – no work) and mortgage arrears catching me forced the decision for me. For the record I am not a solicitor but a Conveyancer and perfectly able to my job thank you very much! If I couldn’t I wouldn’t have lasted in this cut throat industry as the conveyancing circle as will have noticed in this thread is very small. You recognise names and almost always end up working with someone who has worked at the same firms as you or knows someone there. Ask yourself this question- do you really know what your employer is doing behind the scenes? Do you the whereabouts of the company you work for investments? Connections? Do you know where there money is the account goes to and from? Answer is probably No – so neither did the employees – Fact! The employees used to gossip about the firm similar to this forum and found out information this way.
The sad fact is that the solicitors higher up (non- management) knew what was happening and failed to report this and let it continues really saddens me. Also solicitors who handed in their notices were persuaded to stay with significant salary increases even though they knew and were prepared to stay quiet because of the money. This makes me question the morals of some solicitors myself!
Please re-read the posts by Catwoman, Moongate, Moonbeam as they seem to be on the right track in terms of WH. Anything else is just hear say including posts.
As for Gavin Wall and his firm that is completely independent of WH the only thing is he took all the fine employees with him and is running a practice how it is supposed to be ran by all regulations. Waseem Siddique doesnt like Gavin for setting up as direct competition and is trying to create bad publicity for him.
As for Striling Law - all I know is that all files were 'passed' to them prior to the SRA intervention.
Waseem Siddique is beleived to be the person behind the mobile connection scandal (please google) this also made it to the papers, radio and television. He thought he could do the same but with a law firm and actual qualified solicitors let him, why don’t they speak up?
Towards the end of last year there was a SRA visit and that week there was an email to employers to confirm that NI had sold the firm to IH. Who also again knew exactly what he was getting himself into he knew the set up and I felt sorry for him for allowing this to happen because when everything hits the fan it would all be him to blame. NI never actually left WH he was there everyday and so was his wife. His wife is a qualified solicitor, employee of the firm, knew everything and said nothing too!
NI has in my opinion a fair part to play and he should just explain why he allowed non lawyers to run the practice and those decisions going against the any rules should have fought tooth and nail for.
So in that firm in was put up and shut up or be unemployed in a dead market. That is why we all left, because what was happening we didn’t agree with, we take pride in what we do and we cared for clients but couldn’t deliver to my clients in those working conditions
You should also note that this is a sign of things to come there are changes in the law that allow for ‘non-lawyers’ to own law firms. This I feel should be reviewed given this saga. There is no stopping this duo WS and MC from doing this again with yet another qualified solicitor to front it all and take the wrap, they haven’t yet but watch this space.
I am not planted or defending anyone just simply sharing what I know. If I dont respond it is not because I have something to hide. To the solicitors on here commenting - you would have done the same thing and walked from there too.
As for reviews every company cant keep everybody happy (just google) and if you don’t get negative feedback you cant improve but in the case of Wolstenholmes it had already hit the iceberg from 1 month of taking on conveyancing files.
I feel sad for all the clients affected it should never have got this far at all, never base a life affecting decision on price. Blame the management only – as we all do what our employers tell us and if you don’t like it you leave. Instruct a Local solicitor with immediate effect with or without the file – it can be reproduced just duplication but it can be done. Give DWF time the have a mamouth task you really don’t appreciate how much.1 -
Many people on the verge of completing their property purchases were left in limbo, so the Solicitors' Regulation Authority (SRA) has made £3m available to help the most urgent cases.
A spokesman for the SRA, which has appointed Manchester lawyers DWF to handle all client files, said: “The SRA has sent £3m to DWF to enable them to help clients who exchanged contracts on house purchases but were unable to complete before Christmas.
“If more is needed it will be made available. We now have about 4,000 live files that we have recovered from the firm.”
Full article:-
http://www.stockportexpress.co.uk/news/s/1188141_law_firm_probe
Finally some good news!!!0 -
I think I should enlighten you all. Yes I have had the misfortune of working at Wolstenholmes and what a mistake that was. Before you ask, I did report what I knew to the SRA back in August and left
It amazes me of how clients can come up with their own theories, link things together, quick to criticise and play with the livehoods of innocent victims (employees- front line staff) in this scandal.
This is a really good post, thanks. But can you blame us for linking former clients and people to WH? If only all the employees and former employees were like you, then we wouldn't have to come to our own conclusions. There were people who were high up in WH, such as Sean Daly, who are just as guilty as the 5 who have had their licences suspended. I never heard a single thing from him but he is free to get a job somewhere else and maybe do the same thing.0 -
Kudos to Wiseman52 for his honest and informative post. I worked in a corporate environment for more than 30 years and know exactly what he is talking about. Employees often have to do exactly what their employer or boss tells them to or their lives will be made hell. Sad, but true. I know for a fact that several WH employees walked out due to the extreme pressure they were put under. I also think that those employees lower down the food chain would not have felt comfortable with reporting WH to the SRA as they may not have been able to substantiate or prove the allegations.
I have worked for 3 companies who were forced to close down (not for the same reasons as WH, I might add) and all the staff made redundant. At one of those companies I was PA to the boss and I knew for months what was going to happen but I had to keep that information to myself. Believe me, it was hard but I had no choice.
In my view, the blame for the demise of WH lies squarely with the management and owners. They subjected their staff to the most intolerable conditions.0 -
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NI has in my opinion a fair part to play and he should just explain why he allowed non lawyers to run the practice and those decisions going against the any rules should have fought tooth and nail for.
Isn't Gavin Wall running his business on the same principles...?? As cakinwande said earlier, there are only 2 register solicitors at HS. Sounds like double standards to me0 -
I have heard of this thread and only today have taken the time to read this complete thread. Only because I am snowed it like the rest of us and cant get to work.
I think I should enlighten you all. Yes I have had the misfortune of working at Wolstenholmes and what a mistake that was. Thankfully my name does not appear anywhere on this thread.
Before you ask, I did report what I knew to the SRA back in August and left (I’m sure you would do the same thing) and so did many of my colleagues who left and went on to work in properly run law firms, who are being unfairly tarnished on this forum. The question you must ask is why did they leave? Why so many clients will have had their files passed to so many conveyancers/Solicitors? It is because we did not want to be apart of this mess and lose our careers not for any amount of money! As to why it took so long ask the SRA.
It amazes me of how clients can come up with their own theories, link things together, quick to criticise and play with the livehoods of innocent victims (employees- front line staff) in this scandal.
Naisr Ilyas acquired the practice back in 2006 and end of 2008 the firm was three weeks away from bankruptcy until such time NI enlisted the help and investments of Waseem Siddique and Mario Cardinalli who were non- lawyers management.
They made all the decisions and not a phone was answered without their consent! They hired and fired everyday and within my brief period of employment I saw 75 people leave or be sacked!
Imagine all the clients on this forum being represented by one person- that was Reality! Unbearable working conditions, extreme pressure, no support and very bad structure. Management gave no regard to Law Society rules, procedures, practices it was just simply a business to them – they did not care about clients at all they just seen the £££.
If you spoke our you were sacked if you didn’t commit your life to the firm i.e work till 10pm and weekends then you were also frowned upon and your job in jeopardy.
The sad fact is that we all have to work in this life and earn a living and this is how I earn my living and I have done so in firms large, medium and small for the last 10 years. If it wasn’t for the recession then most of the people at Wolstenholmes would never had been there – but desperate times (10 months out of work – no work) and mortgage arrears catching me forced the decision for me. For the record I am not a solicitor but a Conveyancer and perfectly able to my job thank you very much! If I couldn’t I wouldn’t have lasted in this cut throat industry as the conveyancing circle as will have noticed in this thread is very small. You recognise names and almost always end up working with someone who has worked at the same firms as you or knows someone there. Ask yourself this question- do you really know what your employer is doing behind the scenes? Do you the whereabouts of the company you work for investments? Connections? Do you know where there money is the account goes to and from? Answer is probably No – so neither did the employees – Fact! The employees used to gossip about the firm similar to this forum and found out information this way.
The sad fact is that the solicitors higher up (non- management) knew what was happening and failed to report this and let it continues really saddens me. Also solicitors who handed in their notices were persuaded to stay with significant salary increases even though they knew and were prepared to stay quiet because of the money. This makes me question the morals of some solicitors myself!
Please re-read the posts by Catwoman, Moongate, Moonbeam as they seem to be on the right track in terms of WH. Anything else is just hear say including posts.
As for Gavin Wall and his firm that is completely independent of WH the only thing is he took all the fine employees with him and is running a practice how it is supposed to be ran by all regulations. Waseem Siddique doesnt like Gavin for setting up as direct competition and is trying to create bad publicity for him.
As for Striling Law - all I know is that all files were 'passed' to them prior to the SRA intervention.
Waseem Siddique is beleived to be the person behind the mobile connection scandal (please google) this also made it to the papers, radio and television. He thought he could do the same but with a law firm and actual qualified solicitors let him, why don’t they speak up?
Towards the end of last year there was a SRA visit and that week there was an email to employers to confirm that NI had sold the firm to IH. Who also again knew exactly what he was getting himself into he knew the set up and I felt sorry for him for allowing this to happen because when everything hits the fan it would all be him to blame. NI never actually left WH he was there everyday and so was his wife. His wife is a qualified solicitor, employee of the firm, knew everything and said nothing too!
NI has in my opinion a fair part to play and he should just explain why he allowed non lawyers to run the practice and those decisions going against the any rules should have fought tooth and nail for.
So in that firm in was put up and shut up or be unemployed in a dead market. That is why we all left, because what was happening we didn’t agree with, we take pride in what we do and we cared for clients but couldn’t deliver to my clients in those working conditions
You should also note that this is a sign of things to come there are changes in the law that allow for ‘non-lawyers’ to own law firms. This I feel should be reviewed given this saga. There is no stopping this duo WS and MC from doing this again with yet another qualified solicitor to front it all and take the wrap, they haven’t yet but watch this space.
I am not planted or defending anyone just simply sharing what I know. If I dont respond it is not because I have something to hide. To the solicitors on here commenting - you would have done the same thing and walked from there too.
As for reviews every company cant keep everybody happy (just google) and if you don’t get negative feedback you cant improve but in the case of Wolstenholmes it had already hit the iceberg from 1 month of taking on conveyancing files.
I feel sad for all the clients affected it should never have got this far at all, never base a life affecting decision on price. Blame the management only – as we all do what our employers tell us and if you don’t like it you leave. Instruct a Local solicitor with immediate effect with or without the file – it can be reproduced just duplication but it can be done. Give DWF time the have a mamouth task you really don’t appreciate how much.
Thank you for shedding some more light on this mess and bringing some comfort to those of seriously affected AND tarnished by this mess. I am the subject of an investigation by Abbey bank who was to provide my mortgage who will now not tell me what that investigation entails and has withdrawn their mortgage. This whole debarcle has cost me much financially and emotionally it is an effort some days to get out of bed, the stress is unbelievable.
People need a way to vent their frustration those named were those who did and said nothing but if what you say is that you and others took your concerns to the SRA in August then I and countless others urge you to get in contact with your Law Society Council Members and your MP and share what you know in respect of your dealings with the SRA. You can do this anonymously if you wish. Some awkward questions are now being asked of the SRA and I for one do not want to see them getting off lightly as if mine and others ordeal could of been prevented because people like you were brave enough to speak up then the nation wants to know why nothing was done sooner and why the government is not rethinking opening up ownership and management of law firms to non regulated persons such as the case here. Thank you.0 -
Has anyone got the deposit back already? I phoned the DWF solicitor who is in charge of the intervention this morning. He has not checked my file but he told me if there is no search been done to my purchase, I may get all my money back. I need to fill a form which can be downloaded from Solicitor Regulation Website to claim the compensation.
Is there only one DWF solicitor who is dealing the intervention or you may have different DWF solicitor checking the file?
If you paid the deposit via a credit card, I thought you can claim it back from the credit card company.
You may even be able to claim via your debit card0
This discussion has been closed.
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