It really was

FaceHead

What if all of the solicitor's clients pay to be prioritised?

This sounds person sounds more like a theme park ticket salesman than a respectable professional.

Seashell517

fleur8 said:

MysteryMe said:

I certainly wouldn't pay it, the solicitor sounds more like a wide boy than a member of a regulated profession. A reputable professional would manage their workload so that those tasks that need attending to first are actioned first. The process is not solely in your hands so you could be paying Mr/Ms Money Grabber for nothing. 

This particular solicitor has been very unprofessional in many ways. He’s either very burned out and doesn’t care about his job or he’s an awful solicitor. 

I think I would be raising a complaint rather than paying the extra fee, tbh...

Thrugelmir

FaceHead said:

What if all of the solicitor's clients pay to be prioritised?

People who let's say are comfortably off are unlikely to use a factory conveyancing outfit in the first place.  In same way that they'll happily pay a premium to travel business or even first class on an airplane. 

Sistergold

I would not use such a solicitor! Pay more for what? As I would expect he will let every new client know of this “expedited service” and if you all then pay to be first then whose work will then be prioritised? From what I see they offer this service so you all know then they let your papers sit unnecessarily so that you all get stressed into “just paying for priority service” then they now add you to the queue and start working on your papers at the speed they could have done in the first place if they were honest people! They should just charge what they think they are worth rather than giving a false low charge, sit on your papers then tell you the real charge glamourised as priority service. Once you pay for the priority service they can continue to be slow and pretend they are waiting for replies for instance how will you know?  I don’t see how you will win with such people! 

I would not pay this fee, keep all this communication and threaten if it now drags for longer than it needs to. Let them take their time until it becomes embarrassing how long it has taken and threaten to report them? Surely even their “normal service” has to finish eventually? 

Good luck but this is so ridiculous! 

Sistergold

FaceHead said:

What if all of the solicitor's clients pay to be prioritised?

This sounds person sounds more like a theme park ticket salesman than a respectable professional.

Really well said! All clients should be priority for the quoted fee! This is truly a comedian of a solicitor! The OP will pay extra and nothing will move any faster! 

davidmcn

Thrugelmir said:

FaceHead said:

What if all of the solicitor's clients pay to be prioritised?

People who let's say are comfortably off are unlikely to use a factory conveyancing outfit in the first place.  In same way that they'll happily pay a premium to travel business or even first class on an airplane. 

But the OP is already paying a "premium" level fee from a non-factory firm, for which it would be reasonable for them to expect a decent level of service. 

[Deleted User]

Sistergold said: All clients should be priority for the quoted fee! 

There's just one subtle flaw in that...

lr1277

Wow just wow, reading this thread and some of your other thread. Here is my experience of selling that is now 2 years old. Make of it what you will. According to this forum I did everything wrong but it worked out for me.
I was selling a central London flat and it was on with 2 agents. I got an offer in Sep ‘18 through one agent. So I went with the agent’s solicitor process and was assigned a solicitor in Wales. So I paid their initial fee of £200-£300 I think. Then I got a higher offer through the other agent Foxtons. They recommended I use a lLondon solicitor who might be familiar with the ownership structure and the complications that could cause. Essentially I was a sub-leasee of a leaseholder. Oh and I was a landlord living nowhere near the property.
I was considering using a firm local to me but I went with a solicitor on Foxtons’ panel, who were based in central London.
I had 2-3 face to face meetings with the solicitor to show her my ID and hand in documents. She or one of her staff did the photocopying etc. I got replies to questions within a day or two. She also knew the buyer’s solicitor and said they were good.
The transaction completed on Friday 21st December. The only downside was that she did not provide a statement saying that my mortgage had been paid. I had to check with the building society for this confirmation. She also answered some query I had possibly from the buyers a couple of months after the sale. At the time I paid either £1500 or £1800 + VAT. Don’t remember exactly. On top of that I paid fees for the leaseholder management pack of £200 or £300.  At the time reading around the forum I thought I had paid too much as other people were paying £300-400 for conveyancing. But now I see I got a good deal.

Tiglet2

Thrugelmir said:

FaceHead said:

What if all of the solicitor's clients pay to be prioritised?

People who let's say are comfortably off are unlikely to use a factory conveyancing outfit in the first place.  In same way that they'll happily pay a premium to travel business or even first class on an airplane. 

Actually, you'd be surprised how many comfortably off people don't want to spend their money on conveyancing.  I guess one of the reasons they are comfortably off is because they do not like parting with money!  But doesn't sound like this is the case with the OP.

AdrianC

If you prioritise speed, then find a solicitor who is happy to work to your timescales.
If you prioritise price, then find a cheap conveyor-belt conveyancer.

Do not try and persuade a conveyor-belt outfit to change their processes.