Enact Conveyancing (free from lender)

Cortina123

My remortage application to Natwest through broker was submitted last Friday, everything has been checked and ok, just waiting for valuation report to be assesd which was Friday.
So now holding my breath for mortgage offer!
Natwest use enact for there conveyancing which is no cost to me, received some paperwork in post this morning to sign and post back, there on line tracking system looks good and title deed etc has already been checked so looks like things could progress quickly.
However I have just had a look look at enacts reviews on trust pilot and they have pretty poor reviews, saying it could take up to 8 weeks to complete from mortgage offer!!!!
Any body used these for a simple remortage?, if they are going to be slow I would just rather pay to use my own solicitor.

AdKM

I submitted a remortgage application to Barclays back in early July. The process with Barclays was absolutely fantastic. I had a full offer and a visit from the valuer within 5 days of application.
Barclays asked me if I wanted Enact to do the conveyancing for 'free'. I am really upset with them. I still haven't completed nearly 6 months later, but fingers crossed will do so next week. I have found them to be incredibly pernickety. A friend of mine is a conveyancer and it is his opinion that they have been making me jump through hoops unnecessarily. I bought my flat from a housing association with a small discount and there was a restriction on the lease, but not on the title title at Land Registry. Enact have insisted that the title must be updated before they progress further. My last lender did not ask for this to be done. Also they asked me to provide a whole paper trail about how I purchased via 'stair casing' when I didn't purchase in this way. It was infuriating trying to tell them I didn't need to prove something they were asking for proof of. Even now I feel I am being kept waiting unnecessarily. I handed in the final piece of paperwork they asked for last Friday and I was informed that my old lender sent them the redemption statement days ago. It was all there ready to complete on November 24th. I even requested if they could do it by December 1st, but no they still haven't done it and now need to request a new redemption statement as it is month end. My offer runs out in the first week of Jan, so the whole thing has been anxiety producing. Still there is no urgency on their part. Personally, after this experience, I'll never take 'free' conveyancing again and would definitely avoid Enact. They seem to be too big to have a deft touch. It's all too 'by the book' and 'computer says no' despite you being assigned a named case handler with a direct line, I guarantee you'll never be able to speak to that person directly. Sometimes I have wondered if the named contact is actually a real person. Obviously it is, but having a named contact appears to me to be a cosmetic exercise giving the impression that you will get a personal touch, when the reality is very different.

kingstreet

Brokers are forcing the market towards cashbacks and away from 'free legals' due to the kind of service cheap conveyancing warehouses offer to lenders for the kind of money lenders want to pay.

It'll take a while, but we'll get there in the end...

Thrugelmir

Cortina123 wrote: »

saying it could take up to 8 weeks to complete from mortgage offer!!!!

Any such online review needs to be put into context.

ACG

I use Natwest a lot at the minute and I have never really had any major issues with Enact. Sometimes they are mega quick and efficient, other times they are a little on the slow side but I have never had a case where they were so slow I had to call up and give them a nudge, personally as far as free legals go, I would say they are fine.

kingstreet

ACG wrote: »

I use Natwest a lot at the minute and I have never really had any major issues with Enact. Sometimes they are mega quick and efficient, other times they are a little on the slow side but I have never had a case where they were so slow I had to call up and give them a nudge, personally as far as free legals go, I would say they are fine.

Maybe NatWest pays more than ****lays?

AdKM

Today I was finally given a date of completion from Enact, but only after I wrote to Barclays with a complaint and a request to extend the deadline for the mortgage expiration. Barclays got straight on it and actioned my case as urgent whilst requesting an email of explanation from Enact for the delay. It did the trick. Less than 24 hours later completion date sorted. Why Enact couldn't have done before when I was asking them to expedite it I don't know. But phew! Just three weeks short of Mortgage Offer expiration is a little too close for liking, especially as the mortgage rate I got in July is no longer available.

Neutrinno

This is the service that is common with 'free legals', it is just a conveyor belt service.

I always recommend a product without free legals if speed is important, products typically come with cashback to offset the cost of a reliable firms of conveyancers.

haveanicedaynow

Sorry to revive this old thread but as it's the same topic, what the heck.

I'm involved in a chain with Enact right now. Everyone is ready to exchange and has been for weeks.

Enact have 'stalled' completely and gone silent, it's quite obvious they can't cope at all with the volume they are taking on. It's excuse after excuse when you finally extract an 'update' from them. They are AWFUL.

I can really see it taking 6 months or more to complete as nothing at all has moved on for an entire month, and no amount of contact or chasing by estate agents, other solicitors, their client, etc. does anything - it all gets the same response but zero action.

The trustpilot reviews are real.

pcoryat

Sorry to rant but I am posting this everywhere to let people know Enact are evil and manipulative and you should stay clear! My mortgage came up for renewal and my wife and I decided to go with Natwest.  Now we've been living here for 2 years and had changed our address everywhere including Natwest.   The case handler somehow got it in her basic head that she was going to use our previous address to send LEGAL documents for us to sign.  So the first time she sent it , it turns up missing.  When I question a month later she has the audacity to imply I lost it or just being lazy about sending it back.  

The second time she sends it, a week goes by and nothing again.  I chase it and after discussing realise she has sent it to the wrong address.  I told her how could you be doing a mortgage for our current house and not check the mailing address is the same? So I told her straight out- send it to our current address and... guess what?  Yep the incompetent 'case handler' sent it to the wrong address again. 

I was fuming and asked how they could not do their due diligence etc.  

She spoke to my wife on the phone and had the cheek to 1.  not apologise at all for her  gross negligence 2.  Tried to Blame Natwest for her absolute unprofessional bungling of the handling of our sensitive data. 

Luckily I was able to get over to my previous address and retrieve the 2nd and 3rd letters.  THE FIRST ONE WAS GONE!!!!   So either she lied about sending out the first one or someone has me and my wife's private details!

So we launch a complaint and you know what happens?  They blame Natwest and cover up their mistakes.  The online system that they used to share information proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were in the wrong, but they changed the system to cover their tracks- but not before I took screen shots!!  

As a former employee of Natwest who use to work on the front office and back office systems, and still has close colleagues that work for RBS/Natwest- I know Enact are lying.  Hopefully me or my wife's identity will not be stolen thanks to these blundering imbeciles.  And we will pursue to the full extent of the law to get them to admit fault and give us a written and verbal apology

tetrarch

I had Enact with My 2018 Barclays remortgage. I found the paperwork and process actually smooth and efficient. The worst thing however was the deceit and money-grabbing that took place on exchange.

Bear in mind that this was a remortgage with the same lender - Barclays screwed up the allocation of the offset accounts on the switch, but it was only when I was going through the maths that I realised that Enact had actually held on to my mortgage advance for a whole extra day before releasing the funds.

I complained and they tried to hide behind their T’s and C’s, but eventually they caved and gave me a small rebate (not what I claimed, but a gesture)

I then complained to Barclays about Enact and their own problems. To be fair to Barclays they were brilliant and gave me a healthy chunk of my application fee back as compensation.

Regards

Tet