Conveyancing solicitor tactics

chrisgeller

Hi

We put an offer on the flat we hope to buy at the end of May, and it seems the process hasn't went much further since then.

It's hard to understand who's causing the slowdown, but we're pretty sure it's our lawyers. They are really bad at returning calls and are vague about what progress is being made. They claim they're missing bits of info, but don't seem to be trying very hard to obtain the rest.

It took us weeks to actually get her on the phone, and in total two weeks for our lawyer to fax a list of necessary documents to the vendors solicitors. She didn't check they'd received it so we had to do extra work ourselves to iron that out.

It's all very frustrating! Has anyone got any advice or past experience in getting lawyers to prioritise your case?

dfarry

Luck of the draw it seems Chris....

As my latest comments here prove.... http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=244806

Hassle them about this, you are paying for their service and it should be to a high standard (these are supposedly "professional" people)....if things are bad now when you are starting out it may not get better so you need to be more forceful with them, or take your business elsewhere.

BarmyBubba

Glad you said supposedly, because mine is certainly starting to get under my skin now.

Am struggling to concentrate at work because I am that annoyed.

clutton_2

Law Soc rules say that every partnership has to have one partner who is responstible for dealing with complaints of this sort - find out which partner at your firm deals with complaints and book an appointment with him/her. if necessary ask for another partner to deal with your file. you are paying for this - and not getting good customer service. If the person dealing with your file is only a conveyancer or legal exec, insist on one of the partners taking it over. good luck

dfarry

As you may have read in some of the posts I have written, I am having problems with my sale/purchase that stem from solicitors....

I lloked at the website for one of these solicitors and the inflated opinion they have of themselves is laughable.

If you company has a website or corporate material then maybe quote a few passages to them and see what they say.

CB1979_2

is there not a name and shame part to this forum?

cos I for one would love to add Sheridan Wall of Antony Hodari & Co, Manchester in there! lol

she was plain awful and a complaint is going in shortly to the law society & their own complaints "dept"!

Worried

I am having the same problem. Offered at end of April and things have not progressed very far. A particular conveyancing exec. was recommended to me by friends, so I asked that she undertake my conveyancing. Was told that she could, so signed contract paid for local searches etc. She acted for me for all of a week and I was passed to another conveyancing exec. She wasn't great at communicating, but not too bad to start with, but then went very quiet, couldn't get to speak to her. Sent her an email to chase her to find out via automatic reply that she was now on maternity leave, so I had to ring up and find out who had taken over my conveyancing! Shouldn't they keep you informed of that sort of thing, or is that asking too much? Any way now have a trainee sol. who is useless! She doesn't return calls respond to messages I leave her or emails! I am having the lease extended on the flat I am buying. The other sides sols sent her a fax over two weeks ago to asking her to confirm my wish to proceed with it, which I told her to confirm to them a month ago and I still don't think she's done it. I have been chasing her relentlessly to get her to do it, as has the E.A. When I spoke to her tues, she assured me she had the file on her desk and would be dealing with it that day or the following day. I had still not heard anything from her as to whether she got round to it, so rang again this morning to get her voicemail saying she is on leave for 2 weeks! Spoken to the general conveyancing assistant to see if the fax has been sent and whether anyone is taking over my case whilst this woman is on leave, or whether it's just going to sit on her desk and she didn't seem to be able to give me any information, so is having to call me back! Is it just me, or is this really bad? I am in the same situation as chrisgeller, they say they're still waiting for replies to their enquiries, but not sure what they're doing about it. Is it worth making a complaint to a partner? I am just worried about delaying things further by my case being moved yet again?

jooles5a

Maybe this'll help:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_rights/legal_system/using_a_solicitor.htm

Given my terrible experiences with conveyancing solicitors for the last 15 years over a piece of land (£45000 to date legal costs and rising !!!!!!!), if I was purchasing an existing residence, I would avoid solicitors and go for a licensed conveyancer - they know what they're doing and are specialised in it for obvious reasons.

Good Luck

WestonDave

Make an appointment to go in and see them in person, sit in front of them and ask them to show you the file and what they have done to keep this moving. If you phone up they can fob you off, likewise with emails, but its a lot harder if you are in their office breathing down their neck. Agree the next steps and make another appointment for a week later to come back and see what is happening - if its all moving along nicely you can always cancel the second meeting.

You might initially think this is a waste of time etc, but this is a big transaction and cutting corners here isn't really saving you anything.

dougk_2

You can always sack them and go elsewhere. If they haven't done much so far then there shouldn't be much of a bill.

hazeyj

or if you have a no sale no fee contract you wont have to pay a penny. I sacked my sols after 4 months of getting nowhere. Instructed another one and exchanged and completed two weeks after. Put in a formal complaint though first. Good luck