PLEASE HELP - Poor Conveyancing service received

conyvonne007

I purchased a 3 bedroom house in March 2004 for £289,050. At the time, as I was heavily pregnant (I literally delivered my first baby a day after we completed and moved into this house) so all correspondence was done either verbally or by fax. Prior to this, I sold my two bedroom maisonette towards the end of January 2004, and the funds (£170k) were kept in the solicitor's client account, to accummulate interest.

However, when I received my final faxed bill from my solicitor in March 2004, I queried the amount several times as it was not an adequate billing. However, I was told on each occasion of calling him (three times), that the faxed bill sent by the solicitor was correct & final. On the fax itself, it also stated that a final bill of summary would be sent out shortly. This was never received (nor were any outstanding papers relating to the property) so due to time constraints, the bill was paid from the monies held in the solicitor's client account in March 2004.

Towards end of May 2010, I received a letter from the mortgage bank saying we were not the legal owners of the property we were living in (despite paying the monthly mortgage payments of £603 & never defaulting), as I found out to my dismay on doing a land search, that the solicitor concerned had never registered the property in my husband's and my names. I was also informed by the bank that when our mortgage deal comes to an end next year we would not be able to look at potential new deals. I have since receiving this letter from the bank been trying to contact the solicitor (& on numerous occasions despite leaving messages never receiving a response) responsible for the conveyance to sort out why this has happened. Having finally spoken to the solicitor in June 2010, I understand that as the solicitor billed us (his words) 1% for stamp duty instead of 3%, this was the reason the property has never been registered in my husband's & my names. Please note that the solicitor's final bill of summary was finally received by me by the beginning of July 2010, despite completing on the 3 bedroom house in March 2004. I was also told by this solicitor that due to clinical depression that he suffered, he had continued to work and "buried his head in the sand" when problems arose and he realised he had charged the wrong amount for stamp duty well after we had completed. (FYI The same solicitor who is registered with the SRA has been practicing since 1976.) In June 2010, he asked me if I could find the the outstanding amount due for the Stamp Duty when I explained, under duress, we would be able to contribute £2000, which he reluctantly said he would try to find the outstanding amount to pay the Stamp Duty with. I also asked him at the time for the bill of summary, which had never been received in March 2004 as promised (but was finally received in July 2010) and to tell me what the rate of interest was on £170k that had been kept in the solicitor's client account. I found out recently in October 2010 that the interest accumulated in Barclays, to his calculations, amounted to 1.75% over 44 days, or @ £364 which has still not been sent by the solicitor.

The bank (A&L) who holds my mortgage has had the same problems that I have encountered with him with non return of messages left and have finally resolved to sending him letters in the post, the final one stating that if a response was not received by 27 October 2010 legal proceedings would be taken against him. I've now been informed that this same solicitor has taken legal advice and been advised that the Stamp Duty needs to be paid by me, despite his !!!!-up, which has been going on for over 6.5 years. He actually had the audacity to say to me yesterday that he had spoken to the bank where my mortgage is held and said they would consider adding on the outstanding Stamp Duty amount to the mortgage. However on calling them this morning, I found out that this cannot be forced onto the mortgage as the bank needs to consider the viability of such an action according to their stringent procedures. I was also informed that this would need to be taken as an additional loan, rather than added onto the mortgage. In addition, I also was informed by the bank that it is the solicitor who is legally responsible for the Stamp Duty, which makes me wonder, do I need to pay the outstanding amount over 6.5 years after the date of completion. I'd truly appreciate any legal advice you can give, as I feel this matter has been ongoing for far too long which is now affecting my health.

I have spoken to Legal Ombudsman, who have advised me to send a letter of complaint by registered post to the solicitor with a summary of my complaint. I however feel the solicitor will not respond to any of my queries due to my previous correspondence with him. Could you please also advise if there is any other way of pursuing this complaint and likewise if there is an association that I can report this solicitor's gross negligence to?

jbrown104

Sorry to hear about your trouble.

Personally, I believe that the law is in your favour here. The solicitor was obliged to register the title properly, and has failed to do so.

What happened that he did not receive notification that it was not registered in your favour? If he 'buried his head' at this point, then it's completely his fault. This fact doesn't help your situation very much though.

In Scotland, a solicitor warrants that the title will be free from defects for 14 days from completion, in order that any of these little niggles can be resolved. I don't know what the situation is down south, as I have only trained up here.

Basically, though, his failure to get it registered because he hasn't asked for the correct amount of SDLT from you is where it's all fallen down. If he'd asked for the correct amount then the title would have been transferred.

I don't think that he can pay the difference in SDLT directly, however, I can't see any reason why you couldn't claim this amount from him, due to his negligent actions, and then use this money to pay the difference in SDLT which is due.

Also, what kind of firm was this? Is it a one-man band? If not, what's the practice's complaints procedure, who is the managing partner? Go down the formal complaint line and if you get nowhere then contact the Law Society directly for advice. They may direct you to another agency, an 'ombudsman'-type quango, or whatever; but follow the steps and see where that leads.

Do you have home insurance with Family Legal Protection? If so, speak to the Legal advice line they usually provide. Explain your issues and see whether you are covered for legal fees in order to bring an action against him.

fthl

if you've not paid it then I expect you will need to, had everything been done properly in the first instance you would have had to pay it.

How much did you pay and how much (have you be told) you should have paid?

It also sounds like you have a pretty good claim against the solicitor for any losses you incur (i.e. the costs of another solicitor to sort it out) and a small amount of comp for the hassle.

skintmumofone

I would say the same contact the Law Society as they will fine him and possibly take his practising certificate from him - I work with Scottish Solicitors and I know the LS up here do come down heavily if they have breached any of their rules and by all accounts he has breached every single one. Customer Satisfaction and providing a service is not on his list of things he has achieved!

I wouldnt stop there I would go straight to LS hope you get this sorted as he was negligent him or his firm should be liable for this error not you!

T

conyvonne007

According to the solicitor, I paid 1% in SDLT instead of 3%, but as I never received a proper itemised billing from the solicitor until July of this year, despite requesting several times a proper breakdown in March 2004 (and querying the amount charged) and in turn, only receiving a fax from him.
I found out recently this week from A&L, who have taken legal advice on this, that even though the solicitor cocked up held onto what he had calculated as SDLT and hadn't bother to register the land, I would still need to pay the outstanding SDLT due (i.e. 2%). I've been advised by them that they will look into whether their Lending Team can take this as an exceptional circumstance. If so, it will be added as an additional separate loan to the mortgage. If not, I don't know what I'm going to do. They also intend, as do I, to write to the solicitor concerned and ask for a fully itemised bill on what he's holding in his so-called "solicitor's client account" (i.e the stamp duty already paid plus the interest accumulated on @£170k which was held in this account but was unaccounted for in his so-called "final bill" in July 2010.) Considering this solicitor has been practising for over 30 years, it makes me wonder if anyone else has been in the same position as myself.

As an aside, the solicitor in question explained to me, when I spoke to him in June 2010, that the reason he "buried his head in the sand" was because he'd been suffering from clinical depression. As to whether this is true or not remains to be seen. Irregardless, of whether this is true or not, I personally feel due to his gross professional misconduct, I'm been put in the position I'm currently in. What really angers me is when I spoke to him, the time its taken from June of this year to the present date I've been on at this solicitor, and constantly been told everything will be sorted at his end and to date it still hasn't.

I have now absolutely no faith or trust left in the solicitor resolving my problems even though I will pursue the inhouse complaints process, as I feel nothing will be resolved especially as he's a one-man band. I will certainly check if my home insurance covers legal expenses and if not any legal fees incurred will be certainly be charged back to this incompetent solicitor, especially for all the aggravation, stress and strain he has caused.

By the way, the Transfer of Deeds papers were never sent by this solicitor to me until July 2010, and despite being completed immediately and returned to him, has still not been submitted to the Land Register. In addition, I understand A&L reported this solicitor (who incidentally used to be on their Approved Conveyancing Panel list but has since been struck off) to the Law Society but because they were a bank and not the customer, the LS could not do anything. Knowing this, I will now proceed down this route as well as I don't want anyone else to suffer the same fate.

skintmumofone

yes i would complain to LS as they will look into this it is gross profesional misconduct and he has taken advantage of his client when he is there to be instructed, I would be interested to find out what they do with him good luck x

Equaliser123

Forget about the Law Society.

Speak to a professional negligence solicitor. Ask for them to take the claim on a Conditional Fee Arrangement. They will then pursue the previous sol'r and his insurers.

However, if you underpaid SDLT at the time, then you will have to pay it now.

vuvuzela

Equaliser123 wrote: »

Forget about the Law Society.

Speak to a professional negligence solicitor. Ask for them to take the claim on a Conditional Fee Arrangement. They will then pursue the previous sol'r and his insurers.

However, if you underpaid SDLT at the time, then you will have to pay it now.

This thread is over a year and a half old and has been unnecessarily resurrected...

Equaliser123

vuvuzela wrote: »

This thread is over a year and a half old and has been unnecessarily resurrected...

Oh yeah. Well spotted. Wonder why it was resurrected.