Should I take my Solicitor to an Ombudsman

Sl0tH

To put things into context i will bullet point everything as there is a lot of information. We are near completion, fingers crossed it will actually be this week as i have already booked the annual leave off work.

- My partner and I are buying a new build home with a shared ownership scheme

- We started the process early February this year

- From other parties involved (Mortgage Broker, the housing association who owns the other 50% and the estate agent) all agree the process shouldn't be taking this long

- The solicitor at the firm who is supposedly acting on my behalf was very rude, so i contacted the practice owner and asked for a complaints procedure

- The Senior Solicitor who owns the firm ignored my request and asked that i called him, presumably because he works in law and didn't want any evidence in writing

- We're now approaching 6 months down the line since i started the purchase of a new build property, which as far as all other parties were aware, was ready to move in to.

- The original completion date was March 25th, then May 13th and now they won't even tell me an estimate

From the whole process i have learned that everything is everyone else fault, no one wants to accept the responsibility. The real kicker in this whole case is the fact that the Solicitor who is supposed to be acting for us was so rude and abrupt to the point where it feels awkward and now don't want to call them. When you're paying someone for this service it is the last thing you would expect.

As we're so close to a completion now i think we will just get everything done and signed off and get our keys for the property then look at escalating this.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

agrinnall

What makes you think you're close to completion when you've said "The original completion date was March 25th, then May 13th and now they won't even tell me an estimate"?

How did you find the solicitor, were they by any chance recommended by one of the involved parties? If they were then that recommendation may have been given on the basis of a kick back.

Information about the complaints process using the Legal Ombudsman here.

http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/

Sl0tH

I also forgot a key piece of information, so my apologies but i will also fill you in and also answer your above questions.

- After checking on forums such as this one it was to the advice of many i found a conveyancing solicitor online as i wouldn't need to go to the office as you would have a few years ago and i didn't opt to go with a solicitor the estate agent suggested as they were more than double the cost

- I only instructed the solicitor to go ahead and do the searches once i got an agreement in principle back from my lender

- Once i got the agreement in principle i informed this solicitor who the lender was etc to which i was asked to pay the money for the searches

- It was only as we got close to the original completion date that i was told the company wasn't on the panel of lender and couldn't handle the mortgage side of things

- They then pulled in another solicitor who were on the panel of the lender and as a result has been taking even longer as i didn't have contact with this solicitor, nor did any of the other parties involved

- It was only close to the second completion date that i decided to try and get in touch with the second solicitor as i was told i wouldn't be able to speak to them as they are acting on behalf of the lender

- Last Monday (13th June) i managed to finally get through to a solicitor at the second firm who had sent some enquiries off to the lender

- I spoke to them again on Friday (17th June) and they were awaiting correspondence from the lender after sending out what they believe to be the final bit of paperwork before we can sign everything off

- I spoke to the lender this morning (20th June) and whilst they said it can take up to two days for the underwriter to get it sent off, in regards to releasing funds they are in most cases getting them released on the same day but up to 24 hours

Kind Regards

booksurr

so you went cheap and have got cheap service ?

Sl0tH

Went cheaper not cheap, there were other cheaper services that we could have opted to use. We chose the solicitor on the basis of reviews on a conveyancing comparison site. I think everyone can agree that no solicitor is cheap.

Kyresa

LewisG7 wrote: »

Went cheaper not cheap, there were other cheaper services that we could have opted to use. We chose the solicitor on the basis of reviews on a conveyancing comparison site. I think everyone can agree that no solicitor is cheap.

For the work they have to undertake for some clients who seem to think that for a fixed £400 fee they should be working on nothing but their case conveyancers are actually VERY cheap!

You can bet if conveyancers charged per call or piece of correspondence there wouldn't be so much "I'm just calling for an update" every day and then wondering why no work gets done!!!!

You go cheap, you get high volume no personal service conveyancing. Simple as.

Sl0tH

I have never implied that they shouldn't be working on only one particular case and never said i call up every day and I understand that you are probably generalising what it must be like from the solicitors side of things.

The word cheap has been thrown about in the last couple of posts when there has never been a mention of the price charged nor does there need to be. At the end of the day you pay for a service and expect the agreed deadline to be adhered to. Its actually laughable that word is used on a "money saving" forum.

If you went into a restaurant and paid for food you'd expect it on at least the same evening.

AnnieO1234

There are few if any deadlines with regards to residential conveyancing.

Online conveyancer generally means low cost, high volume, no local experience, no real client care (because they don't represent you for other legal matters).

The best advice imho is go with a local firm and use a partner not just a conveyancer or ILeX member.

You need to ask your solicitor for a specific update on where you are at.

Xxx

Sl0tH

As a first time buyer no one gives you any of this information in the beginning and we have certainly learned from the experience.

Like in the original post the advice i am seeking is because when i contact now and ask for any correspondence i am met by a very rude and abrupt solicitor. I therefore contacted the senior solicitor who owns the firm, told him of the treatment i was getting and asked for his complaints procedure, to which he responded via email and asked me to call him. I am guessing so they didn't have anything in writing.

It is my understanding that if you ask for the company complaints procedure, they are supposed to give it you. All of which is why i am here; if you are paying hundreds of pounds you don't expect service like that.

martinsurrey

comments in red

LewisG7 wrote: »

I also forgot a key piece of information, so my apologies but i will also fill you in and also answer your above questions.

- After checking on forums such as this one it was to the advice of many i found a conveyancing solicitor online as i wouldn't need to go to the office as you would have a few years ago and i didn't opt to go with a solicitor the estate agent suggested as they were more than double the cost

cheaper solicitor, cheaper service

- I only instructed the solicitor to go ahead and do the searches once i got an agreement in principle back from my lender

this causes delays, your fault

- Once i got the agreement in principle i informed this solicitor who the lender was etc to which i was asked to pay the money for the searches

- It was only as we got close to the original completion date that i was told the company wasn't on the panel of lender and couldn't handle the mortgage side of things

not the solicitors fault, you can check this before you instruct a solicitor, a delay caused by you

- They then pulled in another solicitor who were on the panel of the lender and as a result has been taking even longer as i didn't have contact with this solicitor, nor did any of the other parties involved

as above, you instructed a solicitor who's not on panel, not lenders fault or your solicitors fault, your fault, now the work needs to be done twice

- It was only close to the second completion date that i decided to try and get in touch with the second solicitor as i was told i wouldn't be able to speak to them as they are acting on behalf of the lender

your solicitor also cannot hurry the second solicitor along, not their fault.

- Last Monday (13th June) i managed to finally get through to a solicitor at the second firm who had sent some enquiries off to the lender

- I spoke to them again on Friday (17th June) and they were awaiting correspondence from the lender after sending out what they believe to be the final bit of paperwork before we can sign everything off

- I spoke to the lender this morning (20th June) and whilst they said it can take up to two days for the underwriter to get it sent off, in regards to releasing funds they are in most cases getting them released on the same day but up to 24 hours

Kind Regards

The crux of the mater is that the delays are caused by you, you instructed a solicitor who couldn't act for your lender, the lenders solicitor has no need to hurry along, they work for the lender and can go at their own pace, you, and your solicitor are at their mercy.

My guess is that you've been berating your solicitor for the delays, and they're sick of it.

Next time, find a local solicitor, who is on the panel of your lender. you'll pay more, but the cost is peanuts in the scheme of the biggest purchase of your life.

Sl0tH

The delay for the searches was at the request of the solicitor on their advice, so it was their fault.

I have only been in touch regularly since the second date 13th May passed, certainly not berating them. Again as a first time buyer, no one gives you this information and it isn't as though it is readily available.

For a solicitor who is in the trade, who's job it is to do it day in day out, not making "the biggest purchase of their life", surely they should have some sort of obligation to say "you know what, i'm not on the panel for this lender you'll need to find someone else" rather than asking you to pay the money for the searches.

Again the word cheap used in this context is laughable, let alone on a money saving website, not once has there been a mention of cost.

If you paid someone for a service they had advertised, regardless of the cost for the sake of this thread, you'd expect to receive what was advertised am i right?

I am asking the question because the other parties involved, who are all professionals and do it for a living, all agree that it shouldn't have taken this long. One of them saying that knowing that they (the solicitor) shouldn't have accepted the case knowing they weren't on the panel.