Negligent Solicitor - What to do Now?

martindow

Our house was sold four years ago. There were several acres of woodland with grant money repayable if the trees were grubbed out before fifteen years. We signed transfer forms to the Forestry Commission and a paragraph was put in the sales contract that the new buyers were to take over any rights or responsibilities relating to the woodland.

Last year it became clear that the buyers (who had removed the trees) had not completed the forms, would not repay the money owed and the FC were chasing us for repayment. The solicitor who had handled the conveyancing took this up and suggested that when the FC took us to court the buyer could be joined in the action.

A few weeks ago the court papers were served on me, I called the solicitor who asked me to post them to him and he would deal with it. They were sent by Special Delivery and received the following day.

It appears that he has notr done anything as today I have received a letter from the court saying that as no reply was received an order has been made for me to pay the debt plus a court fee (about 3500 pounds). I am left obliged to pay this debt and with a CCJ against me. I can't contact the solicitor until Monday.

Any suggestions on what we should do now?

clutton_2

""A few weeks ago the court papers were served on me, I called the solicitor who asked me to post them to him and he would deal with it. They were sent by Special Delivery and received the following day"

why did you not chase them up then ?

princeofpounds

Complain to the law society.

Try to contact the court and get the judgment set aside and reinitiate a hearing. Your solicitor may be able to do this by having a word as it would appear to be their fault.

martindow

clutton wrote: »

""A few weeks ago the court papers were served on me, I called the solicitor who asked me to post them to him and he would deal with it. They were sent by Special Delivery and received the following day"

why did you not chase them up then ?

After our conversation I assumed that he would deal with it as soon as the papers arrived.. I checked that the letter had been received and sent an email asking what was happening a week later. There was no reply to this, which I took to mean that he was awaiting a response. It was just over two weeks from me receiving the papers to the court judgement.

In retrospect maybe I should have chased more but the responsibility had been transferred to the solicitors and they assured he that he would do what was needed. They charge a high hourly rate to deal with this.

tbs624

Agree with Clutton - between you sending the paper to your solicitor "a few weeks ago" & you receiving this notification, you didn't think to phone to find out what was going on? Why didn't you drop a line to the Court letting them know that you were passing the papers on to your solicitor?

Did you instruct the solicitor in writing?

Your first step is to make an immediate appointment with the Managing Partner at the practice, and then talk to the Law Society

martindow

Thank you for the replies so far. In retrospect I realise I should have made more contact but I assumed that the process would be drawn out and two weeks hearing nothing did not seem that long.

I had no idea of the procedures involved in this which is why I employed a solicitor.

This is a continuation from the conveyancing which this firm did. It was carried out by the predecessor of the partner handling it now.

There is a written instruction in April asking him to deal with paperwork from the Forestry Commission after his suggestion that he receive correspondence from them which we agreed to. Despite this the FC papers came to me. I am not sure if this is because he did not contact the FC or it is their error.

I had previously written asking why the FC forms were not signed and exchanged at the same time as the sale of the house. We signed the transfer forms and they were sent to the buyers' solicitors. I was told that for minor matters such as this it is normal to merely insert a paragraph in the sale contract.

pinkshoes

I would be writing to the law firm, recorded next day delivery, and insisting that as they f*cked it up in the first place, and then f*cked it up again, that they need to give you £3500 within 48 hours...

(obviously a lot politer than the above!)

Fire_Fox

Send a letter detailing the exact circumstances to the solictors' senior partner by recorded delivery. copy to the court and to the law society. If you have a CCJ you can appeal this but you need to crack on and find out how to go about this yourself. If you hold off you will end up with the CCJ on your record for six years. From now on don't assume anything.