Is anyone else being pushed into choosing Reeds Rains conveyancing services?

milkyways

We recently chose Reeds Rains to market our property for sale. During the market appraisal we were given the hard sell for packages being things like a media tour and/ or premium listing etc. Also their no sale no fee conveyancing was mentioned along with mortgage advice.



We chose the standard package for sale, being no sale no fee and no upfront costs, as we feel an estate agent might work harder to sell a property when they are only looking at the end fee should they sell the property. Anyway, when speaking to the manager on the phone and then in shop going through the finer points on another occasion, the conveyancing was mentioned each time.



We were not adamant that we would not consider conveyancing through Reeds Rains, just that we would want to consider them along with other solicitors. So we merely asked for a breakdown of costs, including disbursements. What we received next came as a real shock! An email thanking us for taking out conveyancing through Reeds Rains, and that we would hear from their legal team soon. Well we quickly emailed back saying there must be some mistake, and that we had only asked for a quote.



I spoke to Napthens, who is the acting solicitor and they said it is very naughty if Reeds Rains had asked them to go ahead without our permission. We thought this was the last we would hear from Napthens, as it seemed as if it was a genuine mistake. But no, a couple of days later the same email. “Thank you for instructing Reeds Rains Conveyancing. You will shortly be contacted by your Law Firm”

We have contacted LSL Property Services, as the emails seem to come through them. They say they are looking into this and will get back to us shortly. So we will update this thread as soon as we find out what is going wrong.



My other concern is that as well as Reeds Rains, Your Move is also signed up to LSL Property Services, and Your Move called me the other day to push mortgage advice, and I mean push. I said we are not interested at this point, purely because we prefer to seek advice when the time is right for us. The woman pushing the mortgage advice at me asked if we would be interested in renting our house and buying another. I told her that we are considering this, but it would be two years away and I didn’t see why our house wouldn’t sell in that time.

Then today a letter came through the door from Your Move for an open day for mortgage advice. They are so very pushy.



Is anyone else experiencing this sort of thing with regards to mistakenly being signed up to conveyancing through Reeds Rains / LSL Property Services?

kingstreet

You get it from all the corporates.

Countrywide, Reeds Rains, Your Move...

They are factories, using selling your home as a way of selling all their "ancillary" services.

Countrywide is seeking a stock market listing soon.

What you have to remember, is a typical corporate agent's mortgage service;-

- has a small panel of lenders and isn't whole market
- charges clients a fee and receives commission from lenders
- uses only lenders who supply survey work to their survey arm
- pushes its expensive in-house conveyancing service
- has a single tie for life and health insurance products
- has a single tie for "general" insurances.

They rely on you not really checking how they operate, so you think they must be as competitive as any other broker.

They aren't.

milkyways

Ah! That will be why I have a missed call from Countrywide yesterday, they are all trying to compete.

How annoying they are. We have complained to LSL Property Services, so we will see what happens next.

We shouldn't have chosen Reeds Rains, 11 weeks to go and I'm sure we will have calls from sharks every other day. At least I hope to get a days break between, because it hasn't happened yet! :rotfl:

You have to laugh, or these people would drive you crazy with the sell sell sell sell.

I did make the mistake of enquiring about another property with Reeds Rains, and now they have called me twice to ask if I have the details, and he said he is going to speak to our agent/ branch to see if they can move things along quicker.

I don't want this, did not ask for this, yet I know they will push so hard, they will scare away any viewer with mortgage advice and conveyancing etc... :eek: Waste of 12 weeks I think! It'll feel like a life sentence.

To quote what the woman from Your Move said to me on the phone: 'I can access the whole market, other agents will only sell a few products and will be tied to certain companies!'

I have a letter for an open day, where tumble weed with flow through her office I am sure. Grrrrr

Yorkie1

You'll just need to keep being firm. Repeat constantly in writing that you have not, and are not, instructing their conveyancers.

When you get the email from the conveyancers "confirming that you have instructed them" then again write back. If they refuse to give up, write to the complaints partner (this person must have been identified in the initial client care letter to you from the conveyancers), with a formal complaint that despite repeated communications from you to the contrary, they insist on assuming you have instructed them.

If they still persist, go to the Legal Ombudsman.

And instruct your own solicitor pronto. Good luck!

milkyways

Thank you so much for the replies.

Yesterday I spoke to Napthen's (Reeds Rains acting solicitor) and they said they would make sure this went no further.

LSL Property Services are looking into this for us as well, to make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again. My worry is this could be happening to a lot of people who are selling with Reeds Rains, an elderly person who is not with it might feel pressured into giving into the hard sell tactics and being signed up to everything on their behalf, it make me feel sick to think of this happening to someone else, so I'm keen to try and put a stop to it.

I also spoke to the manager at Reeds Rains and he made no apology for instructing the solicitor on our behalf, just said that it was no sale no fee, so if we didn't want to go ahead, we could cancel without costs to us. The closest he came to making an apology was to say "I probably didn't make myself clear when you were in the office the other day!" But no, that wasn't an attempt at an apology either, just wriggled out of doing the wrong thing.

But that would have left us with paperwork and having to cancel something we did not ask for. I don't think he sees it that way, he just tried to get his £360 commission.

I used to wonder why estate agents got such a bad name, why people say 'never ever trust them or a word that comes out of their mouths'. Now I am beginning to see that there is some truth, not in estate agents, just popular opinion!

I hope this is the last of the deliberate mix-ups with Reeds Rains and that they sell our house. I will still give them a glowing review if they sell our house and probably forget to mention the negative points, after all, if they actually do what they say they will do (sell property) then they have at least done the most important thing right.

I will most definitely update this if more things go wrong, I didn't read reviews before instructing Reeds Rains, if I had, they wouldn't have got through the door.

Thanks again for the replies and helpful advice.

milkyways

Another query relating to selling through Reeds Rains, or any major estate agent.

We have received an offer, and quite a good one, so have accepted. The buyer came soon after our woes with the conveyancing mix up. They say they are cash buyers and want our property to rent. Sounds good!?!?

But, we wonder whether this could be a ploy to rush us into the conveyancing, and mortgage process etc.

Does anyone know if this does happen? It would be very naughty, and we are sceptical for good reason as we have been let down before. But of course we are giving it the benefit of the doubt, as our house is very good for the rental market, especially in the area we are in. So this sort of interest and offer doesn’t come as too much of a surprise.

It is just a query really to see if anyone has had reason to suspect bogus offers or schemes to push you into the hands of their solicitors and mortgage advisors. Perhaps even to find out what sort of offer is acceptable to you, in order to market it to people looking at lower priced property?



This is not really too much about mistrusting Reeds Rains just yet, just a nosey into the murky world of selling property, and whether there is anything of this sort happening to anyone out there selling through large estate agencies.



I am thinking about going under cover now to fish out the potential wrong doings of these estate agents… LOL

Yorkie1

I don't understand your thought process - why would you having a cash buyer, force you into using the EA's conveyancing / mortgage services?

milkyways

Yorkie1 wrote: »

I don't understand your thought process - why would you having a cash buyer, force you into using the EA's conveyancing / mortgage services?

The cash buyer might not exist, just someone to do with the agent. Once you accept an offer, you have to instruct a solicitor, they hope you will use theirs. Also if obtaining a mortgage, you have to get that in place too, they hope they can sell you a mortgage. Two large commissions are what they hope for, more if they can sort your survey and other services.

I don't actually feel sure this is what is happening with our 'potential sale', just that it is a possibility that other estate agents have done this sort of thing. Who knows? Some agents might arrange fake viewings and even fake offers, it certainly has benefits for them.

We will trust Reeds Rains to do the right thing, but the more desperate agent not selling properties might stoop to making money where they can, however they can, even if potentially illegally.

We were just curious to see if anyone knew of such a scam? We have heard stories about estate agents and what lengths they will go to to sell property, why not to sell services and get you commited to a sale, then pull the rug out once they have made some money out of you...or not. It could even make some sellers more desperate to sell once they have paid out some money and it all go wrong first time, some might even drop their asking price to sell quicker...I might be giving ideas. :eek::rotfl:

kingstreet

You have time to pick a mortgage adviser and a conveyancer. There is nothing that urgent you should feel you have to pick something offered by the agent because they suggest it.

They will try anything to get you to take what they offer.

You do not need to do anything until your buyer has had a survey done, other than ask a solicitor to open a file so the agent can issue a sales memorandum.

milkyways

kingstreet wrote: »

You have time to pick a mortgage adviser and a conveyancer. There is nothing that urgent you should feel you have to pick something offered by the agent because they suggest it.

They will try anything to get you to take what they offer.

You do not need to do anything until your buyer has had a survey done, other than ask a solicitor to open a file so the agent can issue a sales memorandum.

Thank you kingstreet.

We will instruct a solicitor of our own choosing. Admittedly we don't have much trust after the conveyancing hiccup, we are very aware of how much they want to make money up front. Because if they didn't sell our house, they wouldn't make a penny from us. But we have to keep the £3000 commission as the incentive for them to get us the best deal and to make sure a sale goes through.

We'll see! I will update throughout the process and report back any funny business.

Parkerfly

Thanks for starting this thread. I am new to this so please forgive my intrusion. I am going through the same things as milkyways. I have just put my parents house up for sale with Reeds Rains, and a solicitor was suggested to me by them. I too have received an email from their chosen solicitor, saying that they have been instructed by RR to act on my behalf. I also have a breakdown of their estimated charges and a request to send them £25. They have also asked for the deeds to the property up for sale.