Please feel free to let me know if I am being unreasonable...

rrtt

pops5588 wrote: »

Well we currently live in Winchester and are moving to Chandler's Ford. I asked around and a lot of people gave me the advice that it was best to get a solicitor who is local to you so you can access them easily.

Can we get a new conveyancer at this stage?

Absolutely not necessary to get a conveyancing solicitor who is local. When I commenced the process of buying in Yorkshire, I used the same London based solicitor who'd done the conveyancing on my late mother's house (in London) sale and probate on her estate because he was absolutely brilliant in those matters - very on the ball, speedy, sensitive at a sad and stressful time.

He was no less brilliant re the Yorkshire house conveyancing - fast, competent, on the ball. It was complicated too because of various covenants and rights of way that came with the acre of land. In these days of electronic communication, google maps etc, there's absolutely no need for a conveyancing solicitor to have local knowledge, and anything you feel s/he might not be aware of such as local gossip about a possible application for change of use for a nearby building next year, are things you can make him/her aware of yourself.

As to the op's complaint - my immediate reaction was that this could well be down to personal or family illness. But there's no excuse for the firm not sending out a brief letter of explanation and apology to the clients being affected, along the lines of "owing to family illness..." and "we will do our best to ensure that your transaction is attended to by another member of staff asap..." This shouldn't be left to the secretary/PA, another senior member of staff (if there is one) should have thought to do or supervise it. One reason why it's probably not a good idea to go with a 1-man-band firm.

zzzLazyDaisy

That was my question - is this a 'one man band'?

Even if it is, he should have got a locum in to cover his absence, but it sounded to me, from OP's posts, that this is a larger firm. In that case the solicitor's workload should have been covered. In any case the secretary's approach in the e-mail is completely unacceptable.

It sounds like the solicitor has been on leave attending/caring for a family member who was dying and has now passed away. None of this is his fault (assuming he is not a sole practitioner). The fault lies with the firm who have failed to provide adequate cover (even the secretary, while unprofessional in her approach, may have been struggling to field calls/work in the solicitor's absence without adequate support).

I would definitely bypass the secretary and contact the person who deals with complaints - the name should be on your client care letter which you would have been given at the start of the process. This does not mean that you have to go in with big boots making a formal complaint, if you don't feel that is appropriate in the circumstances, but it is perfectly reasonable to seek that person's assistance in the circumstances.

pops5588

It isn't a one man band, they have about 5 firms dotted around down south, one of which is in winchester.

Now a week and a half down the line. Secretary told me on Friday that my solicitor would be back in on monday. I was surprised, but if so great. After all I only have her word to go on.
Monday came.....heard nothing from solicitor. I assumed that he was still not in the office (which I don't have a problem with) and I called the office to confirm this. He is still away and they don't think he will be in for the rest of this week.
I then emailed his secretary. Heard nothing. Yesterday I emailed again asking what is happening with our property purchase. Heard nothing.

Finally this morning I come into the office and see she has sent me an email saying "would you like us to ask another solicitor within our firm to take on your file in Nick's absence?"

Erm.....yes?!?!?!?!

The amount of chasing I have had to do is unbelievable. Nobody showed any interest in contacting me or reassuring me. As it stands I still have no idea who is now handling our case, or when they are going to get in touch. I tried asking. No response. I just want to weep.

I completely understand that this is a sad situation for our initial solicitor which could not be controlled. But I cannot believe that this is the firm's big contingency plan for emergencies. Shocked to say the least.

Went over the client care letter. The person I am meant to complain to is the solicitor who is away on compassionate leave. He is the head of their residential property department. So that's pretty much a no go.

zzzLazyDaisy

Okay, then I suggest that you go on the website and find the name of one of the managing partners, and write a brief letter (no more than one sheet of reasonably font and spacing) explaining that you have been informed by Mr x's secretary that Mr x is currently away from the office for personal reasons and whilst you appreciate the difficulties this must create, it is very clear from the secretary's communications over the past two weeks that no solicitor has been allocated to monitor the files in Mr X's absence and the secretary is clearly out of her depth. Enclose the two e-mails from the secretary, and make it clear that you find this poor level of service unacceptable from a large and respected firm of solicitors, and tell them that you trust they will intervene and ensure that your queries concerning the transaction will now be responded to without further delay.

pops5588

Thank you, zzzLazyDaisy. Hugely appreciated.

JennyW_2

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

Okay, then I suggest that you go on the website and find the name of one of the managing partners, and write a brief letter (no more than one sheet of reasonably font and spacing) explaining that you have been informed by Mr x's secretary that Mr x is currently away from the office for personal reasons and whilst you appreciate the difficulties this must create, it is very clear from the secretary's communications over the past two weeks that no solicitor has been allocated to monitor the files in Mr X's absence and the secretary is clearly out of her depth. Enclose the two e-mails from the secretary, and make it clear that you find this poor level of service unacceptable from a large and respected firm of solicitors, and tell them that you trust they will intervene and ensure that your queries concerning the transaction will now be responded to without further delay.

have just read this post and agree with what LazyDaisy is suggesting. Dont waste anymore time waiting for return calls.

Poor service in my opinion and needs to be sorted out, especially the secretary's awful attitude.

DaftyDuck

Ditto the above two. A very polite, precise letter requesting that, moving forward, the transaction is completed in a most timely and efficient manner. I wouldn't, at this stage, request/demand a reduction in fees, but I'd consider wording a line in the letter to open the concept. Something along the lines of ...

"..as I am disappointed such service is considered acceptable, when I am paying a premium sum for your services, and where you originally placed such an onus on customer service that we decided paying a bit extra was worth it if it meant the experience was less stressful/complicated". The last bit is ungrammatical, because I've copied & pasted it from your OP, so it's using (mostly) your own words... which might reflect what they wrote in their service guarantee... if you see what I mean...;) .. rewrite something along those lines.

Do mention that your... "thoughts are with the solicitor in question at this most difficult time, but that I had hoped and expected the firm to be able to manage such occurrences that must occasionally occur"... Otherwise they may just play the "you unsympathetic bar steward" get-out-of-jail-free-card...

Lord_Baltimore

Forget all this nonsense about stabbing him in the back with a complaint. Simply contact another partner and ask if they will take your case forward.

Seriously, you have no idea what this man has been through and it does no good to cause him professional pain on top of his personal stress. He's lost a loved one.

As for the secretary and her all-too-apparent loyalty to her boss, well, are you so sensitive that "you're not going to let her speak to you in that way"? Life's too short.

Besides, you want your case dealt with not delayed further.

banwa

If it were me, I would be finding out what costs had been incurred so far and weighing up whether or not to instruct another solicitor instead. Especially if this firm have not progressed your progress very far .

His personal circumstances aside, the lack of communication from his secretary is unacceptable. No suggestion of anyone else assisting with your queries is unacceptable. And above all the tone of his secretary's email was totally unacceptable.

pops5588

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

Forget all this nonsense about stabbing him in the back with a complaint. Simply contact another partner and ask if they will take your case forward.

Seriously, you have no idea what this man has been through and it does no good to cause him professional pain on top of his personal stress. He's lost a loved one.

As for the secretary and her all-too-apparent loyalty to her boss, well, are you so sensitive that "you're not going to let her speak to you in that way"? Life's too short.

Besides, you want your case dealt with not delayed further.

Woah woah woah woah woah! Where have I said that I intend on stabbing him in the back?! I've already said I understand why he isn't there and don't expect him to be! It is 100% fine that he isn't! My issue is that I don't know what is happening with our property purchase and for the last 2 and a half weeks we have been left in the dark about what is happening even though we are getting ready to exchange. I have tried to be as reasonable as I can on extremely limited information.

I don't know what thread you are reading but it can't be this one because you seem to be imagining things i've said?