Issues with solicitors, ombudsman?

frenchfry

I've just sold my house (Friday) after a divorce and obviously the whole experience has been a bit rubbish as you can imagine.

Anyway, the solicitors we instructed for the sale have been absolutely terrible, not replying to emails, ignoring questions, not returning phone calls and then the final nail in the coffin on Friday, the sale proceeds money was delayed because they didn't submit the decree absolute to whoever they needed to, then said they couldn't find it.

So... is it worth complaining about them or is it likely to be a pointless waste of time?

Comms69

House sale and divorce is always going to be difficult. It's done with now, move on

elliemet23

I would say more hassle than its worth.... Draw a line under the whole thing and move on with your life.

Good Luck
xxxx

eddddy

frenchfry wrote: »

So... is it worth complaining about them or is it likely to be a pointless waste of time?

What would be your goal in complaining?

If it's just a way to vent your frustration and anger, it may be counterproductive. You might get even more frustrated and angry by the response to your complaint.

AylesburyDuck

It's all well and good telling people to move on with their lives, but at the end of the day if these people continually get away with bad service then they are free to give the same bad service time and time again to others.
Surely better advice than the above two posts can be given!

eddddy

AylesburyDuck wrote: »

It's all well and good telling people to move on with their lives, but at the end of the day if these people continually get away with bad service then they are free to give the same bad service time and time again to others.
Surely better advice than the above two posts can be given!

I think you must have misread my post!

Anyway, if your hypothesis is correct, and the OP's goal is to save others from receiving a poor service, the OP could do the following:

1. Never use those solicitors again (if all their customers did that, they are likely to go out of business).

2. Mention to friends, family etc that the OP received a poor service from them

3. Review the solicitor's service on an internet site for others to see. (But being solicitors, they may be very likely to threaten litigation, if they think they have been defamed.)

If your hypothesis is wrong, and the OP has a different goal, then perhaps the options would be different.

(As I said, my hypothesis is that the OP wants to vent his/her anger and frustration. But I may be wrong as well.)

MEM62

frenchfry wrote: »

So... is it worth complaining about them or is it likely to be a pointless waste of time?

As a nation we are sometimes too reluctant to complain.

You could complain to the partners directly and, if you feel that you concerns have not been addressed appropriately, make further representation to the Law Society.

TBagpuss

By all means complain.
The firm should have a formal complaints process. Often this will be set out in your original client care letter, if not, it should be available on request.

In your letter of complaint, set out specifically :
- what was done wrong / badly
- what you want them to do about it (e.g. formal apology, reduce the bill)

For future reference, it is often a good idea to complain at the point you become unhappy, rather than waiting until you matter is finished - if you raise concerns when they become an issue the solicitor (or other professional) may be able to address them, if you wait until it is over then they can't do anything to improve your experience.

You can't go to the ombudsman unless you first make a complaint to the firm itself, and either don't get a response or are unsatisfied with their response.