Why can't people read the documentation/think the rules don't apply to them

Richard_Webster

....and the time we spend explaining why we need something or we are not ready to client A (who hasn't read our notes or website where a lot is explained...) means that we haven't had time to look at client B's papers to tell them that we have everything we need we need to exchange....

....they ring and they want to talk to me and I haven't had time to look through something that has just come in. If I take the call I can end up spending some time telling them various possible scenarios depending on the contents of the latest letter. I can read it quickly and tell them X is probably the case - but I can't be sure until I have looked at the rest of the file to check things. "If it isn't X what does that mean?", they ask. This sets them off worrying about lots of things that may never happen. Much better to have time peacefully to look at the file properly and come back with something more definite when I know.

So better for my secretary to say that we have had some replies from the seller's solicitors but I have to look at them to see whether the answers are complete and acceptable. Many's the time that the estate agents have told my buyer client that the replies to our questions have been sent back but actually the replies to half of them simply say "To follow..."!

Richard_Webster

So, following my last post, my poor secretary tells them that I have to look at the replies to see if they are complete and satisfactory and the client asks "Will we be able to move next week then?"

[Answer - if she feels she can get it through to them - why have you got yourselves in such a rush? - better to relax and realise that if things are still a little uncertain at this stage trying to move next week will just add more unnecessary pressure on everyone - Mr Webster will look at the papers as soon as he can and get back to you...]

Better_Days

I must admit that the secretary at the solicitors I used was very helpful especially when my solicitor didn't return my repeated calls over a few days. I did tell her somewhat testily that there was no point in leaving voice-mail messages for my solicitor as she never rang me back. I didn't get irate, it wasn't her fault, but I can see how some in that situation would get frustrated to put it mildly.

I do think that not all solicitors keep their clients as informed as they might - and if their clients did know what was going on they wouldn't be ringing up with queries. The lady who picked up the slack when my solicitor couldn't juggle everything she had on her desk was excellent and would copy me into letters so I knew what was going on.

One thing that sticks in my mind is that my solicitor asked me to send copies of FENSA certificates, boiler servicing etc. So I sent her copies. She then rang me up and said she needed the originals. Agghhhh......I think when buying and selling a house if you get a succession of this sort of thing it does get to a point when you want to say 'up with the board' :mad::mad:

The photo ID was an issue for me too - I didn't have one (apart from my Blue Badge - which wasn't acceptable). I did get it sorted but it was a bit of a faff.

jayencee you made a good point - unfortunately some EA's are dreadful at managing expectations and tell buyers and sellers that exchange is near, when it is simply not the case. Incredibly stressful when you are trying to sort out removals, leave from work, utilities etc. When we sold last year we had 'exchange is imminent' every week for 6 weeks.

OP one thing I would say is that solicitors do tend to send great big long letters saying you need to do this, we need xyz, and I can understand how things get missed over say 4 pages of text especially when it is mixed in with the solicitors 'backside covering' paragraphs. And some people simply don't understand what is required - they take a 'common sense' approach which probably serves them well most of the time.

DaftyDuck

My solicitor does exactly what his secretary tells him to.

She is his wife, and very definitely in command. I, too, do exactly what she tells me. I wouldn't dare do otherwise. She would quietly shred me down the phone line.

Outside the office she's the sweetest. Inside.... Tremble, all inferior male beings, we have no chance!

seven-day-weekend

We sold a flat in the UK while we lived in Spain. Everything was done by phone, post and e-mail and all went smoothly. Our solicitor and/or his secretary kept us fully informed.

Since then our son has bought a flat using the same solicitor and although the conveyancing took longer than expected, that is because the solicitor was dotting i's, crossing t's and tying up loose ends, just as we would want him to do. (We did allow him to have two week's golfing in Spain in the middle of it, )

He is the senior partner of his firm so is not the cheapest but we think he was worth paying the extra.

When we sold our house in Spain we used a bilingual English solicitor who practises in Granada and he guided us through the maze of red tape that is Spanish conveyancing, he was very helpful and very professional and not expensive considering there was so much paperwork for him to sort out and it took eight months .

So I personally have never had a problem with solicitors or their secretaries. I'd be your dream client.

Debbie4121

OP - I sympathise. I work a a medical secretary in a GP practice with close to 6,000 patients. Patients are always surprised when they ring up that I don't just know who they are from the sound of their voice (although a lot of them I do), and that I can't quote their last blood test result or magically know when their next hospital appointment is without having to look it up.

TBagpuss

I sympathise as well.

I deal with a lot of correspondence and I very frequently get people who call, and with no introduction or preamble say "I'm ringing about that letter you sent me" and then get huffy because I don't (a) immediately recognise their voice and know who they are and (b) instantly recall the details of one of the 100+ plus letters I've sent out in the last few days..

That and not listening or reading what is provided.

With regard to ID, we provide a list of what we can accept - we prefer photo ID but the only time we insist on it is where the client is someone we are not meeting in person, or whether the nature of the transaction are unusual and we need to do extra checks.

One of the issues is that the Money Laundering Officer at the firm can be personally, and criminally responsible if things go wrong, so naturally there is a tendendcy to err on the side of caution.

CWSmith

jjlandlord wrote: »

Not sure how courts interpret the Money Laundering Regulations, but these regulations clearly state that customer must be identified and his identity verified.
How do you do that without a photo ID is unclear to me.

This is the hypocrisy of the system: sure having a photo ID is not compulsory.
But then if you don't have one, in principle you cannot buy property, open a bank account, or even find a job.

In theory, that is absolutely true, but over the past couple of years I've managed to act as executor to my mother's will and sell a house - both of which required the photo ID which I didn't have.

Now I am about to buy a house and no doubt the situation will arise again. I am wondering if my ability to prove there is no money laundering will make a difference. The cheque received from the sale of my mother's house went straight into a separate bank account, opened specifically for that purpose (receipts carefully saved) and hasn't been touched since, and it is out of this bank account that payment for the new house will come.

Fingers crossed then!

seven-day-weekend

How difficult is it to get photo ID if you don't have a passport or a driving licence? Can you get any?

AlexMac

Congratulations in anticipation Smallsave (meanwhile we get 2 posters for the price of one).

I think some clients might get the service they deserve, so I always try to be a model punter. Having established with my solicitor during the initial 3-quote comparison exercise that they actually pick up the phone, answer silly questions in plain English and are willing to correspond by email...

I then make it my business to respond to things like standard enquires, environmental reports and lease queries by email, instantly or within 24 hours, to gee up my freeholder's responses or service charge statements, to pop in instantly to her office when stuff needs signing and to fill gaps (e.g. popping down the town hall to get a missing map of TPO -protected trees in the garden of the house I was about to buy rather than wingeing that the vendor's solicitor hadn't sent it)...

She reciprocates by acting promptly and generally making a stressful process less so.... and a bit of our halo-effect rubbed off on the kids as she led them patiently through a really tricky recent leasehold buy.

Smug? Moi?