Abode/Action Conveyancing not responding - advise required

zarf2007

monquey wrote: »

They were in the process of completing our land registry and sending me our deeds. I've no idea whether anything has gone through, and where our deeds now are. At a complete loss on what to do next...

check online at the land registry (£3 for the title) to see if they have registered you, if not you are likely to have the same fight I will have to get the SRA to sort it.

zarf2007

actually, in this situation where in my case the vendors solicitor (Action) has gone bust before completing the land registry/lenders charge removal part of the transaction how would this be resolved?

as the vendors bank wouldnt listen to my solicitor as they have no relationship with them, the vendors solicitor is bust and if the vendor does not care to resolve the situation (their mortgage has been redeemed as they have bought somewhere else, the land registry has not been updated about this by both the vendors bank and Action)....and in any case what if they tried to stake a claim to my property as their name is still on the deeds?

any solicitors on here who could answer in this situation?

zarf2007

Zolibebe wrote: »

Made 3 complaints with the legal ombudsman but they have now ceased trading according to the SRA
. I hope I can get my money back. I paid Action Conveyancing £750 which I don't think is cheap for a sale only. I wish I hadn't fallen for their fake advertising!!

According to the SRA site today they have closed Actions parent company Abode and seized all documents and client funds.

Yorkie1

zarf2007 wrote: »

According to the SRA site today they have closed Actions parent company Abode and seized all documents and client funds.

The SRA 'intervened' in the practice of Abode Solicitors, trading from Harrogate, on 4 October for failure to comply with accounts rules:
https://sra.org.uk/consumers/solicitor-check/537244.article?Decision-2

Tom Bridge of Stephensons Solicitors LLP, 24 Lord Street, Leigh, Lancashire, WN7 1AB, DX: 22504 Leigh has been appointed as the intervening agent [i.e. taken over all files]. For enquiries please call 01942 777777 or email [EMAIL="tbr@stephensons.co.uk"]tbr@stephensons.co.uk[/EMAIL]

That is the best person to contact in the first instance.

gd311

I have had an ongoing complaint with Action Conveyancing as they did not complete the leasehold part of my purchase which part completed back in May. The legal ombudsman are now progressing all complaints immediately as they are no longer trading, rather than clients having to wait the usual 8 weeks. I have spoken with the interim solicitors who seem quite helpful so far but are dealing with urgent cases first so they have promised to call back when they locate my file. My advice would be to contact them to see if they can progress your transaction and then refer any ongoing complaint to the legal ombudsman.

omark

nav_ wrote: »

Update if anyone else is in the same situation: Actually spoken to an accountancy firm that are based opposite the building Action Conveyancing were occupying, they said there were people in the office and car park yesterday but no one is there today and all the blinds are closed. Assume that means they've wrapped up - hopefully it also means they will cease trading ASAP so the SRA can hurry up and get involved...spoken to a guy from the SRA and he's informed me they have a team looking into the issue as they have had a fair few calls regarding Action/Abode.

Action Conveyancing completed my sale after 22 weeks of very poor service but they have failed to pay me the monies due on my sale or my estate agents fee. Am I now responsible for paying my estate agent?

EdwardS033

From EstateAgentToday.co.uk

Big conveyancing firm is shut down by legal regulator

A legal firm that offered cheap conveyancing in a ‘pile it high’ type of operation has been shut down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Abode Solicitors, which traded as Arc Property Solicitors and as Action Conveyancing, was based in Harrogate and had an office in London.

The firm was named as one of the top ten in the UK in terms of revenue per partner in 2011 and earned its ranking on the back of turnover in excess of £10m. The Lawyer magazine said that at £2.7m per partner, it was the sixth highest earner per partner in the country.

The firm believed it could raise its turnover to £30m, saying that its huge growth had come about because of its use of online technologies.

An alleged failure to comply with the Solicitors’ Account Rules 1998 and the SRA Accounts Rules 2011 has led to the regulator’s intervention.

The SRA initially said that the practising certificate of partner Rajob Ali was also suspended. However, the SRA has since clarified that this is not so and that Mr Ali remains free to practise.

The SRA said it had been necessary to intervene in order to protect the interests of the firm’s clients.

An intervention means the SRA has stopped a firm from operating and closed it with immediate effect. An intervention agent, Tom Bridge, of Stephensons Solicitors, in Leigh, Lancashire, has been appointed to take possession of all documents and papers held by the firm, and take possession of all money held by the firm, including clients’ money.

The SRA said that at this stage no further details can be disclosed.

Earlier, it had been unable to answer a question by Estate Agent Today on the firm’s solvency status. We found that the London number was not accepting calls while the Harrogate number put us permanently on hold.

One estate agent told us that the firm was involved in several of its transactions, where buyers and sellers were complaining of lack of contact.

Comments online include one from someone saying they have “lost my dream house … I’ve never felt so betrayed by a company in my life”. Several warn others against using the company.

The affair could make some agents look hard at their conveyancing arrangements, particularly if they involve call centre or factory-type operations.

On the SRA website, there is also reference to a prosecution of Abode Solicitors, dated October 1 last year and published on August 27 this year. It refers to a decision to take the firm to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. Allegations include failure to act in the best interests of lender and purchaser clients and allowing its client bank account to be used as a banking facility.

Yorkie1

omark wrote: »

Action Conveyancing completed my sale after 22 weeks of very poor service but they have failed to pay me the monies due on my sale or my estate agents fee. Am I now responsible for paying my estate agent?

I *think* so, and get it back from the SRA - but you might want to contact the solicitor appointed to manage the files as clearly the file is not completed. Their details are a few posts back in the thread.

zarf2007

The SRA initially said that the practising certificate of partner Rajob Ali was also suspended. However, the SRA has since clarified that this is not so and that Mr Ali remains free to practise.

Great, roll on Action 2 to be launched and cause untold misery.

galbot

We are in the exact same position. We completed our house move at the end of August. However, things soon began to unravel. Our estate agent has not been paid and this morning we received a demand from HMRC for unpaid stamp duty. The SRA have passed all files to Stephensons Solicitors, who are looking into things on a priority basis. A friend who used to work for them says he spoke to a lady who's house move had fallen through and Action still had £82k of her money, so I'm guessing all of us who have smaller amounts outstanding will be some way down the list of priorities.
Does anyone know whether legal action to claim compensation against the proprietors of the business is viable?