Made Homeless during house move due to negligence during solicitor payment

hippocrates1

This is awful sorry for your stress!

is there anyway you could be liable for this mistake?

pinkteapot

hippocrates1 said:

is there anyway you could be liable for this mistake?

Very, very unlikely. OP's solicitor need to pay money to the solicitor acting for the people OP was buying from. OP won't have provided the bank details - the solicitor who was meant to receive the money should have done. 

Either OP's solicitor entered those details incorrectly, or the solicitor who was meant to receive the payment provided the wrong details by mistake, or it's a scam where a fraudster has contacted OP's solicitor and provided alternative details. 

dimbo61

Hope things have been sorted ?
I now always speak directly with my solicitor and ask him/her for the firm's bank account details before transferring one penny 
 usually transfer £10 first and ask solicitor to confirm they have received money and how much have I sent.

ic

dimbo61 said:

Hope things have been sorted ?
I now always speak directly with my solicitor and ask him/her for the firm's bank account details before transferring one penny 
 usually transfer £10 first and ask solicitor to confirm they have received money and how much have I sent.

It reads to me that the mistake with the payment is between the op's solicitor and the solicitor for their sellers - he says the money that's gone missing is his deposit plus the mortgage money - the mortgage will have been released to the solicitor, not the op.

mackolicious12

Hi All,
Thanks for your responses. The solicitor's claim was that the wrong were provided by the seller's solicitor. And no it was not a simultaneous exchange and completion. I will probe the solicitor tomorrow for more detailed information and report any progress here. Thanks.

Mickey666

While clearly upsetting I doubt the OP is going to lose anything as a result of this mistake because the solicitor's insurance should compensate for all their losses.  I can't see how it can possibly be the OP's fault because the money should have been transferred to the seller's nominated account and the OP would not normally know anything about this account, let alone give the details to their solicitor.  This the OP should be totally blameless.

For this reason the OP must keep detailed records of ALL costs incurred as a result of this mistake to calculate future compensation.  

Also, where is the OP and family staying at the moment.  I would argue that their solicitor should be paying for hotel accommodation for all of them - and not Premier Inn either but something similar in standard to the property they were buying.

Good luck - not that they should need it, even though they will require some perseverence!

rik111

Of course the OP is going to lose something.... Firstly he will be stressed out of his mind, has no where to live and probably wont sleep tonight. There is far more to life than money !

Mickey666

A bit dramatic really.

1. The intended house isn't going to be sold to anyone else anytime soon
2. The solicitors on both sides of this deal will be creating merry hell to get this whole thing sorted out, retrieve the money and pay the correct account to complete the purchase
3. The OP isn't going to be out on the streets tonight or any night
4. Being "stressed out of his mind" will achieve precisely nothing

I'm betting the OP will be in their new house before the end of the week.

[Deleted User]

Mickey666 said:

A bit dramatic really.

1. The intended house isn't going to be sold to anyone else anytime soon
2. The solicitors on both sides of this deal will be creating merry hell to get this whole thing sorted out, retrieve the money and pay the correct account to complete the purchase
3. The OP isn't going to be out on the streets tonight or any night
4. Being "stressed out of his mind" will achieve precisely nothing

I'm betting the OP will be in their new house before the end of the week.

Easy for you to say at the other end of a keyboard ! 

Most normal people would be totally stressed, anxious and upset over this - what a nightmare. 

It always terrifies me that money could be sent to the wrong account when I pay someone. The banks at least now have “name checking” to minimise such chances, and like Dimbo, I always pay a token amount to test. 

OP- the solicitors must and will sort this out - ensure correspondence with your solicitor is by email. If they call you, confirm whatever they said to you by a follow up email. Fingers crossed its sorted today. 

Was the house you were buying top if the chain, or have your sellers been stopped from moving as well ? Someone is a law firm is going to get a kicking ! 

Keep us updated x

Sistergold

mackolicious12 said:

Hi All,
I desperately need some help/advice on my options based on the following:
I was in the process of moving with my family out of our sold property into our new property when I was told that we would not be given the keys. It was explained to me by my solicitor that the money had been paid into the wrong account. Me and my family are currently homeless and need help getting the resolved.
Any help would be appreciated.

I am really sorry to hear this OP. What a nightmare? Never imagined this could happen for such a large transaction! Hope it gets sorted out soon!