What if solicitor runs away with my deposit???

hikarukenji

Hello all,

I'm wondering that what if my solicitor runs away with my deposit to the seller. Is there any organization that I can claim it from? Is it Lawyer Society?

I've been trying to find out some info for a while but I couldn't find information about this.

Many thanks in advance.

FraudBuster

The Legal Complaints Service should be able to help:

http://www.legalcomplaints.org.uk/home.page

Troubled_Joe

If you don't trust your solicitor enough to let them hold a deposit for you then I'd suggest changing solicitors.

If something does go wrong though the Solicitors Indemnity Fund will usually cover it.

sarah_elton

As I understand it, deposits etc are held in a client account. This is separate to the solicitor's company accounts, so even if they were to go bust, your money should come back and not go to their creditors.

hikarukenji

Thanks for all the info.

I just would like to be on top of everything (almost everything) as I'm buying a house quite soon.

I do trust my solicitor. They seem to have a good reputation.

Once again, thanks for everything.

Gwhiz

Don't worry - your solicitor won't run away with your deposit, he'll (she'll) wait for the balance to come in for completion and then do a runner

hikarukenji

ah.... that's comforting.

LandyAndy

hikarukenji wrote: »

Thanks for all the info.

I just would like to be on top of everything (almost everything) as I'm buying a house quite soon.

I do trust my solicitor. They seem to have a good reputation.

Once again, thanks for everything.

Once you get going this will be the very least of your worries.

beccam

Gwhiz wrote: »

Don't worry - your solicitor won't run away with your deposit, he'll (she'll) wait for the balance to come in for completion and then do a runner

Or do what our first one did and request your mortgage money before any completion date has been set then hold it in their account earning interest on it for 2 mths until I got my first letter requesting payment......while I was still living in my parents house and the house hadn't even been signed for!!! :rolleyes:

Cheesedoodles

beccam wrote: »

Or do what our first one did and request your mortgage money before any completion date has been set then hold it in their account earning interest on it for 2 mths until I got my first letter requesting payment......while I was still living in my parents house and the house hadn't even been signed for!!! :rolleyes:

That's illegal. Any interest earned over £20 has to be returned to you! You can sue them for that! I would contact them and ask for the interest back!

beccam

Cheesedoodles wrote: »

That's illegal. Any interest earned over £20 has to be returned to you! You can sue them for that! I would contact them and ask for the interest back!

In my niave youth I didn't realise WHY he had done it and believed him when he said it was a genuine mistake.
3yrs later when he was jailed for various fraud/deception/money laundering offenses it was explained to me by a solicitor friend!:rolleyes: