What can I do about my unresponsive conveyancing solicitor?

Tommo99

Hi,

I am buying a house at the moment and am due to complete late this month. The seller and estate agent are very good at communicating with me but my solicitor (Optima Legal) are atrocious. She will never respond to my e-mails and offers only a premium rate phone number. Luckily I have a direct local rate line number I found on some documentation and can bypass that but she is rarely in the office.

I would never have used them due to their appalling reviews but my broker assured me that they had never had a problem due to their close working relationship and direct line. I fell for this and it has turned out to be untrue.

I am now in the position where exchange and completion dates have been agreed by myself, the seller and the seller's solicitor, but my solicitor isn't replying to e-mails. I spent a week chasing her for some basic information recently. All the searches and signatures actually get done fairly quickly, it's just the communication that is lacking.

I want to put a complaint in and negotiate a discount on their fees as I am shocked by their incredibly bad service, but fear that if I do this my exchange and completion will just be delayed.

Is there anything I can do except warn others by adding to the pile of bad reviews?

Thanks in advance!

da_rule

Write a letter of complaint setting out exactly what you want and by when, and also say that you are considering withdrawing your instructions to them and appointing another firm to handle the matter.

Also, if your broker has misled you then complain to them as well.

eddddy

Tommo99 wrote: »

...
I am now in the position where exchange and completion dates have been agreed by myself, the seller and the seller's solicitor, but my solicitor isn't replying to e-mails. I spent a week chasing her for some basic information recently. All the searches and signatures actually get done fairly quickly, it's just the communication that is lacking.
...

Hi Tommo99

Just a note of caution...

Who told you that "everyone is ready except you"?

EAs often contact both buyer and seller (and anyone else they can think of) and say "everyone is ready except you", in the hope that it will speed things up somehow.

And I recently had a cash buyer who kept phoning me saying he was ready to exchange, and that my solicitor was holding everything up. It turned out that he didn't really have a clue where things were up to, and my solicitor was way ahead of his.

So be a little careful about winding-up your solicitor - in case it turns out that someone is misleading you.

I suspect solicitors can be inundated with emails and phone calls from anxious clients asking for updates. If they replied to them all, perhaps they would have no time to deal with the actual conveyancing.

mp86

I would suggest you keep calling and trying to get in touch, if no response Ask to speak to a partner or senior solicitor who can update you as you can't get hold of your solicitor and you need to know what stage your solicitor is up to. Explain you are the client and you are paying so you need to have answers.
Just make sure you keep communication professional and not emotional, emotions can rub people up the wrong way and you definitely don't want to do that with a solicitor who has all the power!