Furious with my conveyancer

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ruggedtoast wrote: »

My conveyancer was similarly useless. Impossible to get hold of on the phone, she also didn't even bother to call me to say we had exchanged.

I found out from the estate agent.

That's bad. And the problem is that you cannot withhold part of the fees if there have been major issues with the solicitor/conveyancer as they do not send in a bill later.

Icecold_2

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

The OP appeared on 5 June. A day later contracts were exchanged.

It isn't patronising to have recognised that wolvesman89 was suffering from the all too common house-buying stress that gives rise to the blame game.

The only thing getting twisted is your knickers .

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

No twisty knickers.... Guess we just have different standards

Richard_Webster

I wouldn't have told the client that we would definitely exchange on the day - but that we would try to do so - quite apart from the fact that the fee earner had training there are lots of other reasons why it might not happen that day like other solicitors not being available.

The fee earner probably had a number of other cases to deal with and one of them had some crisis arise that took his/her time.

If clients want an instant service they have to be prepared to pay more so that the solicitor can afford to pay for extra satff to do this.

Icecold_2

Richard_Webster wrote: »

I wouldn't have told the client that we would definitely exchange on the day - but that we would try to do so - quite apart from the fact that the fee earner had training there are lots of other reasons why it might not happen that day like other solicitors not being available.

The fee earner probably had a number of other cases to deal with and one of them had some crisis arise that took his/her time.

If clients want an instant service they have to be prepared to pay more so that the solicitor can afford to pay for extra satff to do this.

This confirms the point I was making...it's a customer care issue. If the OP had been told the firm would try to exchange and had been advised of training in the first instance they would have been prepared for that...however...by giving the impression that they would exchange and then not doing so the fee paying client is being given bad service so has a right to complain


Regarding paying more for a faster service lets be fair and say that conveyancing and solicitors fees in general are not inconsiderable...

I'm not saying they should provide a Rolls Royce service but reasonable customer service with good communication skills and a respect for the fact the fee paying client is in a stressful (for them, at that time) situation could easily be achieved without having to employ a raft of extra staff

Lord_Baltimore

Personally speaking I would much rather my conveyancer did his/her job right rather than fast. If both can be achieved so much the better.

Conveyancing can be intricate and there are all sorts of reasons for delay. People pay a set price and this doesn't include a charge for the mental insecurities of unnecessarily panicky clientele.

Give the legal profession a break; they protect laymen from all sorts of horrible possibilities. Compare their costs with those of your EA or Surveyor and tell me then your conveyancer isn't value for money.

Icecold_2

Oooo you do like to twist my words don't you

I never suggested for one moment that I disliked or was attacking the legal profession, in fact I have worked very closely with top flight firms in several areas of my business, firms who regularly feature at the top of the Chambers and Legal 500 lists and I have the utmost respect for how they work. These firms do offer a Rolls Royce service and charge accordingly

However....when I purchased my house and BTL properties I used a local high street solicitor, I don't expect him to rush, in fact he is very thorough but he is honest and accessible and if he says he will do something it is done, if he has doubts I listen. The OP wasn't asking for therapy or hand holding they were asking for feedback and communication.

all sorts of reasons for delay do not include I went on a training afternoon and no one bothered to do it....this particular exchange was obviously a little more complex than many and should have been handled accordingly.

I feel we will have to agree to differ on our view here LB :beer:

Richard_Webster

As I have suggested, the solicitor may have,thought he would have time to do the exchange before he went off on the training afternoon, but something else intervened to take up his time.

OK he shouldn't have made the promise. I have had conversations with clients asking me to promise to do something that day and I tell them that I will try, but for all sorts of reasons it my not be possible. Solicitor shouldn't have made such a rash statement.

What will OP really gain by complaining? Does OP never make mistake or find he cannot do something that he has told someone else he will do?

Has the contract now been exchanged?

Goldiegirl

The contracts were exchanged the very next day, as per another thread posted, where the OP was all smiles.

It seems no harm was done during the short delay.

It might have been inconvenient and a worry over night, but it wasn't life and death, so in answer to the OP's question, yes you were going over the top! Now that he's exchanged he probably realises that too!

Lord_Baltimore

Goldiegirl wrote: »

The contracts were exchanged the very next day, as per another thread posted, where the OP was all smiles.

It seems no harm was done during the short delay.

It might have been inconvenient and a worry over night, but it wasn't life and death, so in answer to the OP's question, yes you were going over the top! Now that he's exchanged he probably realises that too!

Precisely.

@Icecold: we cool

martindow

There do seem seem to be a lot of threads on here where solicitors are apparently difficult to contact or poor at keeping in touch. People expect more now (maybe too much sometimes) and there is not the deference there once was.

Maybe solicitors should be more aware of this and be better at giving updates and reassurance even if they feel there is little to report. Clients who are getting over-stressed can't make the solicitor's job any easier.