MJP Conveyancing - My TERRIBLE experience

123free

I am writing this as I wish to share my personal experience with MJP Solicitors. They are cheap BUT....... I have posted reviews online on several places and each time they are removed (they have asked me to remove them, when I didn't they offered me £50 to remove the review and promise not to write another and when I refused they offered me £150 to remove my review.) I understand that you have a right to leave an honest factual review (which mine was) but they do not like this.   

I used them for two transactions at the same time: a purchase and a remortgage on a separate property.

The re-mortgage was a simple task to complete; remove a restriction on the title and place the charge against the house.  They informed me that the conveyancing was complete and I paid them and thought nothing more of it.  It was not until 1 yr later when I had a sale agreed on the the property that I found out that the property still had the restriction on the title it which meant the mortgage was invalid as the charge had never been placed against it and I could not sell it. This left me with a house I could not sell and risked losing my buyers causing a huge amount of additional stress. 

The purchase went smoothly until they added £300 onto my bill. By this point I had transferred £5k for stamp duty to their account to be paid to HMRC.  I disputed the additional £300 and refused to pay it. They took the £300 from the money I had sent to them to pay HMRC, leaving me with a debt to HMRC. I have been informed by another solicitor that this is gross misconduct. 

I personally would never use them again and do not want anyone else to go through what I have been through.    

BlackArrow10

I also had a very bad personal experience of this firm for the past 14 months. I am one of several beneficiaries in an estate that has been in administration for over 12. months. I am hoping to get some general guidance from others who may have had similar experiences with probate and estate administration.

During this time, as considerable finances, property and valuables have gone missing and not been accounted for and executors appear to be abusing their positions I have been trying to obtain what I understand to be the usual financial information beneficiaries often receive, such as:

• An inventory of estate assets and liabilities
• Estate accounts showing money received and paid out
• Supporting documentation such as valuations or statements
• General clarification about the status of certain assets

While it is the lawful rights of a beneficiary to request and obtain this information, and their is stated case law supporting that, So far, there has been obstructions and delays and a complete lack of transparency by the Dorset based solicitors.   I have not received clear or complete information, and this uncertainty has been difficult for some of the beneficiaries. I appreciate that estates can take time to administer and that delays can occur for legitimate reasons, but the length of time involved has raised questions for us about what steps beneficiaries can reasonably take to understand the position.   I believe that difficulties experienced by beneficiaries when executors and solicitors abuse a beneficiaries rights would be a good topic for one of Martin Lewis’s shows.

There are also concerns that the deceased  was coerced and pressured to alter their will by one of the executors so that her relative can obtain a share, against my parents long term intention.

More broadly, this situation has made me realise how important transparency and communication are in estate administration, particularly where multiple beneficiaries are involved and rely on accurate information to understand their inheritance and avoid unnecessary stress or expense which is eroding the estate considerably. .

I would be very grateful to hear from anyone who has experienced delays in receiving estate information, and what practical or constructive steps helped move matters forward.

Any general guidance on the usual expectations around communication, timescales, or ways beneficiaries can request information in a cooperative and appropriate manner would also be greatly appreciated.

user1977

I also had a very bad personal experience of this firm for the past 14 months.

Why are you complaining about the solicitors, when your problems appear to be with the executors (I presume from what you say they are family rather than the solicitors)?