Solicitor HELL!! EXCHANGED AT LAST!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!

Windsorcastle

I am having a total nightmare with both solicitors in my house sale. The buyer's solicitor has lied several times about things he has or hasn't done, to the point that I don't trust a word he says now. I won't even go into the catalogue of errors and untruths over the past few months.

The last thing holding up exchange is apparently that he is waiting for the lender to confirm that they are still willing to proceed due to the previous subsidence problem, which has all been remedied and sorted - buyer has arranged his insurance etc.

The solicitor apparently 'forgot' to tell the lender this until last week, and he has said he faxed (why??) the lender last Thursday to inform them of the subsidence and request drawdown of funds for this Friday. I don't believe he has done this because surely they would have answered yay or nay by now regarding the release of funds.

My conveyancer is no help, I think she is a bit scared of him because he has been really rude to her a couple of times. She is basically just sitting back and audibly sighing when I phone her to appeal for some action. I swear it's almost as if they are in league!

The EA is brilliant and is chasing several times every day but he refuses to take her calls or call her back. He is also not responding to the buyer, who is his own client!

I am sick with worry and frustration and I just don't know what to do. My conveyancer says I can't email him directly as it would be a conflict of interests, but why can't I email him to explain my frustration and beg him to at least co-operate with my conveyancer?

This solicitor has now caused 4 weeks' delay in total, costing me mortage, CT etc on an empty property and there is no end in sight.

Any advice before I have a breakdown PLEASE???

loubel

Windsorcastle wrote: »

The solicitor apparently 'forgot' to tell the lender this until last week, and he has said he faxed (why??) the lender last Thursday to inform them of the subsidence and request drawdown of funds for this Friday. I don't believe he has done this because surely they would have answered yay or nay by now regarding the release of funds.

He will have faxed because it's quicker than sending it in the post. He is likely not responding to requests for updates because he is waiting to hear back. The lender will likely have forwarded the information on to their valuer for comment before they do so. This could take some time so I'm afraid you'll just have to be patient.

Windsorcastle

loubel wrote: »

He will have faxed because it's quicker than sending it in the post. He is likely not responding to requests for updates because he is waiting to hear back. The lender will likely have forwarded the information on to their valuer for comment before they do so. This could take some time so I'm afraid you'll just have to be patient.

Thanks Loubel, I just can't believe anyone uses fax in this day and age - don't understand why he didn't use email; there's far more chance of a fax going missing or not reaching the intended recipient.

However, you've given me an idea now - maybe I can contact the surveyor who did the valuation report and see if they have responded yet. It was a really nice lady and I'm sure she wouldn't mind me asking if I can track her down.

Moonraker71

I really feel for you Windsor, you are having a really tough time. The fax thing is unfathomable in this day and age. Documents can be scanned and emailed instantly. Can you imagine this kind of service speed being acceptable in any kind of commercial industry? It's total !!!!.

Richard_Webster

Thanks Loubel, I just can't believe anyone uses fax in this day and age - don't understand why he didn't use email; there's far more chance of a fax going missing or not reaching the intended recipient.

...and you happen to know the e-mail address of the underwriter dealing with the matter? (Not the person in the branch office that corresponded with initially - they won't have a clue about this level of detail...) Lenders don't give out any useful e-mails - that's why we have to use fax.

Some lenders seem to have a special machine that randomly loses 10% of all faxes - so generally if we send a fax we wait about 6 working hours (that's how long it takes large lenders to read their faxes) and then phone again with "have you got our fax?" In about 50% of cases we get "Send it again on 01XXX XXXXXX..."

Windsorcastle

Moonraker71 wrote: »

I really feel for you Windsor, you are having a really tough time. The fax thing is unfathomable in this day and age. Documents can be scanned and emailed instantly. Can you imagine this kind of service speed being acceptable in any kind of commercial industry? It's total !!!!.

Thanks Moonraker for the sympathy; it does help me feel a little bit better!:) And I was very glad to hear your own situation is working out well this week too.

You're right - who the hell else uses fax these days? No other organisation or profession I know of...

Windsorcastle

Richard_Webster wrote: »

...and you happen to know the e-mail address of the underwriter dealing with the matter? (Not the person in the branch office that corresponded with initially - they won't have a clue about this level of detail...) Lenders don't give out any useful e-mails - that's why we have to use fax.

Some lenders seem to have a special machine that randomly loses 10% of all faxes - so generally if we send a fax we wait about 6 working hours (that's how long it takes large lenders to read their faxes) and then phone again with "have you got our fax?" In about 50% of cases we get "Send it again on 01XXX XXXXXX..."

Thanks Richard - you sound like you use some initiative though in following it up with a phone call. This solicitor in question seems not to have doing so, because how else would there be no further progress to report after a full week???

Are lenders really so backward that they use a fax number for sending and receiving such crucial paperwork? Most organisations have a general email or an admin email inbox set up...

Windsorcastle

I've now emailed my own solicitor yesterday and today and have had no response whatsoever. Am I being unreasonable to even expect an acknowledgement?

I am very close to emailing her senior partner tomorrow morning to express my dissatisfaction and see if that gets me anywhere, but I'm worried she will just get really angry and somehow put a spanner in the works.

I asked the EA to contact the buyer's solicitor's senior partner today - I even supplied the email address, but they said they can't do that as it won't help the situation.

So basically my sale is going to s**t because some lazy over-paid over promoted cocaine-snorting solicitors are too arrogant/stupid/incompetent to do their jobs and/or display the basic level of customer service that you would even get in Lidl. Really really angry now. :mad:

RAS

Windsorcastle wrote: »

Are lenders really so backward that they use a fax number for sending and receiving such crucial paperwork? Most organisations have a general email or an admin email inbox set up...

Yes because the law regards e-mail as an unsafe form of communication.

E-mail can be edited after sending or receiving without real scope for detection. Faxes are harder to amend and you get the sending "receipt".

So if everything goes pear-shaped and the case ends up in court, a fax is good evidence of the communication whilst an e-mail is not accepted.

Yorkie1

Windsorcastle wrote: »

I've now emailed my own solicitor yesterday and today and have had no response whatsoever. Am I being unreasonable to even expect an acknowledgement?

I am very close to emailing her senior partner tomorrow morning to express my dissatisfaction and see if that gets me anywhere, but I'm worried she will just get really angry and somehow put a spanner in the works.

I asked the EA to contact the buyer's solicitor's senior partner today - I even supplied the email address, but they said they can't do that as it won't help the situation.

So basically my sale is going to s**t because some lazy over-paid over promoted cocaine-snorting solicitors are too arrogant/stupid/incompetent to do their jobs and/or display the basic level of customer service that you would even get in Lidl. Really really angry now. :mad:

I can see that you're angry and need to let off steam but frankly if you behave as you outline you intend to, you're only going to make matters worse.

You have consistently said that it is the buyer's solicitor who is at fault. Why then are you proposing to complain about your solicitor's actions? You've doubtless been emailing and ringing her non-stop recently, and doubtless each time she has said that she has nothing more to report because of the buyer's solicitor's actions. You are not her only client and if she had to drop everything on all her other client's cases, just to email you back each time to say she had nothing to report, then I think your expectations are rather unreasonable.

You will also get nothing out of trying to contact your buyer's solicitor. They are not allowed to communicate with you directly. It is a breach of their professional rules, whatever else you think they may - or may not - have done.

You need to calm down and stop alleging criminal activity including drug-taking by all parties. If your behaviour towards your solicitor is anything like you've displayed on this thread, then you are not going to encourage them to drop everything else they do, and neglect other clients, in favour of you to give you what you think you are entitled to and thus demand.

Windsorcastle

Yorkie1 wrote: »

I can see that you're angry and need to let off steam but frankly if you behave as you outline you intend to, you're only going to make matters worse.

You have consistently said that it is the buyer's solicitor who is at fault. Why then are you proposing to complain about your solicitor's actions? You've doubtless been emailing and ringing her non-stop recently, and doubtless each time she has said that she has nothing more to report because of the buyer's solicitor's actions.

You need to calm down and stop alleging criminal activity including drug-taking by all parties. If your behaviour towards your solicitor is anything like you've displayed on this thread, then you are not going to encourage them to drop everything else they do, and neglect other clients, in favour of you to give you what you think you are entitled to and thus demand.

Hi Yorkie, I really haven't been contacting my solicitor non stop. I last spoke to her on Tuesday and then sent her an email yesterday asking her to clarify the buyer's position and another email today because she didn't respond at all. I have only actually phoned here 4 times in 12 weeks, that's very restrained in my book!


Although it is mainly the buyer's solicitor at fault, I don't believe that mine is being assertive at all in pursuing him or even in updating me as to her efforts. That's why I'm fed up with her.


In my job, I am expected to have the courtesy to respond to emails and phone messages, no matter how busy I am, and I don't see why solicitors (who are very well paid by comparison to most professions) should be excused from offering the same courtesy.


Ok, the coke-sniffing reference was more in exasperation than a serious point, but I do find them a singularly arrogant bunch of people.