My

csgohan4

we used a free service for our remortgaging, called optima legal, it was online only and they responded within 1-2 working days of any online query

There's a difference for the OP being paying for top quality service and being ripped off perhaps

coachman12

I am totally with fleur on this particular case. I am  heartily sick of solicitors ( an employee) ignoring the people who are paying them; and, as for reprimanding clients for daring to question them, it is scandalous. My solicitors know that they are working for ME and they take instructions. 
Of course, it is always better to choose the right solicitor in the first place and put in writing exactly what you expect ( assuming no rare complication such as a WWII bomb is found under your house) and get the solicitor to agree to your instructions, especially if you stipulate you wish a quick service.
No solicitor has ever treated me like you have been treated , fleur, without being sacked.
The way you have set out the events above seems totally reasonable to anybody, except your solicitor. The £4000 is outrageous unless you are a house that could be turned into a hotel !
Remind them that they are working as your agent and that you have every right to phone them, go into their office.....and ask anything you wish.
You do sound as though you need to do a bit of research and get a new solicitor ( perhaps based on a recommendation from a friend, colleague, neighbour of family member). 
The number of complaints about solicitors on this Forum ( even allowing for Covid impediments) is so high all the time that the whole issue to be raised in a national press campaign and exposé.
You have every right to be feeling let down, fleur, and I hope you get yourself back on course and always remember that solicitors are generally a profession in deep disrepute.

md258

Does the £4000 include stamp duty? Most of my quotes did first time round (not sure why) and so second time I asked them to break down the quote they were providing into legal fees, disbursements, stamp duty etc sections.

gab3x

Surrey_EA said:

Yeah, it's not ideal! But unfortunately there has been such downward pressure of conveyancing fees over the past 20 years this is the only realistic way of making any money.

Paying close to £5k for my sale/purchase I think I will hardly shed a tear for their fianances

gab3x

I ask my solicitor for updates once per week. I never got a proactive update.
I will have additional questions on top of this.
I can sense that they are annoyed but since I am paying close to £5k for sale/purchase I feel I should be kept informed and have access to information pertaining to biggest personal financial transaction of my entire life.

I am doing everything I can to get everyone to exchange this Friday as this means that I can move early December. If I miss this opportunity then I have to wait until early Jan (due to chain parties). This will be bad for me as I will have much less free time for moving and doing inevitable fixes/decorating after the move. Then there's Brexit and I don't want that chaos to happen mid move.

We had everything done on Monday, searches were back and he had few minor enquiries. We are also waiting for my mortgage lender to approve amount change which should come tomorrow. I asked for contact to be sent in advance plus their draft report pending final enquiries so that I can sign the contract on time and read the report in peace. He refused. I am really upset and frustrated.

To finish off - I know I am annoying everyone but I don't give a darn. My stake in this is bigger then my solicitor's or agent's and i need to feel it is right.

princeofpounds

fleur8 said:

md258 said:

Does the £4000 include stamp duty? Most of my quotes did first time round (not sure why) and so second time I asked them to break down the quote they were providing into legal fees, disbursements, stamp duty etc sections.

Hi no it doesn’t. Nor does it include the fee for setting up a tenants in common agreement or processing a gifted deposit. 

What the...

Did you not shop around for quotes??!!! 

I'm genuinely stunned. Is there a reason it's so expensive?

martindow

fleur8 said:

This solicitor is charging £4000 with £300 per hour for extra work.

How do they define 'extra work'?  I would be worried that they seem to have every incentive to make it as drawn out and complicated as possible.  You could end up paying much more in addition to the already large fee.