Made Homeless during house move due to negligence during solicitor payment

teachfast

AdrianC said:

teachfast said:

Scotbot said:

mackolicious12 said:

I have now been given the keys to my new property! I spoke to my solicitor and they informed me that the money had been found and had been successfully transferred to the seller's account - so I'm really relieved and happy (and thankful to you all for your support!). I've already begun a claim to get some legal support but I wanted to whether I should start the process of negligence with my solicitor (e.g. asking for evidence as to where fault lies) or should I wait until we've fully moved in and completed 100%?

Fortunately completion was only delayed by 2 days. Whilst nail bitingly ahonising for you financially that is only 2 nights hotel costs, removalists costs and late payment fee to the vendor.  I doubt you will be able to claim more, it seems to have been human error which was quickly resolved, we all make mistakes sometimes. It was almost certainly a simple typo, does it really matter who was at fault? I suspect trying to sue a solicitor for negligence will be more hassle than it is worth.

Does it matter that £600k went astray? Er, yes, a lot.

It matters to the buyer that completion could not happen. That's now been rectified, albeit two days late.
It matters to the buyer that they incurred costs as a result of that delay. Those costs are claimable.
It matters not to the buyer where in the chain the error was caused.
It matters not to the buyer how it was resolved.
It matters greatly to the solicitors, and they will be reviewing their internal procedures to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Unless they do the expected and try to pass the buck amongst each other. Then it matters a great deal to the buyer. 
£600k goes to the wrong place and one person here says it doesn't matter and another says it does matter but doesn't matter who to. Both responses are equally ludicrous.

Imelda

In the firm I work in the bank details for the seller's solicitor is requested by post on their letterhead at the beginning of the transaction. We have to have the exact name on the account to make the transfer (some of the larger conveyancing warehouses have "trading as" names rather than the official name on the account).
If it isn't a local firm or a firm we have dealt with before we then carry out a check using an online service to make sure that it is a legitimate business account and used for conveyancing purposes. 

How awful for you to be on the receiving end of such a mistake but I also feel bad for the solicitor/ accounts clerk who probably hasn't slept all week either.
I am glad all has worked out. I would want answers too and all expenses covered. Good luck.

AdrianC

teachfast said:

AdrianC said:

teachfast said:

Scotbot said:

mackolicious12 said:

I have now been given the keys to my new property! I spoke to my solicitor and they informed me that the money had been found and had been successfully transferred to the seller's account - so I'm really relieved and happy (and thankful to you all for your support!). I've already begun a claim to get some legal support but I wanted to whether I should start the process of negligence with my solicitor (e.g. asking for evidence as to where fault lies) or should I wait until we've fully moved in and completed 100%?

Fortunately completion was only delayed by 2 days. Whilst nail bitingly ahonising for you financially that is only 2 nights hotel costs, removalists costs and late payment fee to the vendor.  I doubt you will be able to claim more, it seems to have been human error which was quickly resolved, we all make mistakes sometimes. It was almost certainly a simple typo, does it really matter who was at fault? I suspect trying to sue a solicitor for negligence will be more hassle than it is worth.

Does it matter that £600k went astray? Er, yes, a lot.

It matters to the buyer that completion could not happen. That's now been rectified, albeit two days late.
It matters to the buyer that they incurred costs as a result of that delay. Those costs are claimable.
It matters not to the buyer where in the chain the error was caused.
It matters not to the buyer how it was resolved.
It matters greatly to the solicitors, and they will be reviewing their internal procedures to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Unless they do the expected and try to pass the buck amongst each other. Then it matters a great deal to the buyer. 

How?

The money has been located, and has been transferred to the correct destination. The buyer has the keys. The purchase has been completed... just two days late.

GDB2222

AdrianC said:

teachfast said:

AdrianC said:

teachfast said:

Scotbot said:

mackolicious12 said:

I have now been given the keys to my new property! I spoke to my solicitor and they informed me that the money had been found and had been successfully transferred to the seller's account - so I'm really relieved and happy (and thankful to you all for your support!). I've already begun a claim to get some legal support but I wanted to whether I should start the process of negligence with my solicitor (e.g. asking for evidence as to where fault lies) or should I wait until we've fully moved in and completed 100%?

Fortunately completion was only delayed by 2 days. Whilst nail bitingly ahonising for you financially that is only 2 nights hotel costs, removalists costs and late payment fee to the vendor.  I doubt you will be able to claim more, it seems to have been human error which was quickly resolved, we all make mistakes sometimes. It was almost certainly a simple typo, does it really matter who was at fault? I suspect trying to sue a solicitor for negligence will be more hassle than it is worth.

Does it matter that £600k went astray? Er, yes, a lot.

It matters to the buyer that completion could not happen. That's now been rectified, albeit two days late.
It matters to the buyer that they incurred costs as a result of that delay. Those costs are claimable.
It matters not to the buyer where in the chain the error was caused.
It matters not to the buyer how it was resolved.
It matters greatly to the solicitors, and they will be reviewing their internal procedures to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Unless they do the expected and try to pass the buck amongst each other. Then it matters a great deal to the buyer. 

How?

The money has been located, and has been transferred to the correct destination. The buyer has the keys. The purchase has been completed... just two days late.

Somebody has to pay for the extra costs. The seller hasn't received their funds, so they may have been late with their completion on their purchase and have to pay their seller's costs, and so on up the chain. Notice to complete will have been served, and most contracts include a few hundred £££ charge for that. There could be a good few thousand pounds involved.  Not life-changing amounts of money, but a fair whack.

AdrianC

GDB2222 said:

AdrianC said:

teachfast said:

AdrianC said:

It matters to the buyer that completion could not happen. That's now been rectified, albeit two days late.
It matters to the buyer that they incurred costs as a result of that delay. Those costs are claimable.
It matters not to the buyer where in the chain the error was caused.
It matters not to the buyer how it was resolved.
It matters greatly to the solicitors, and they will be reviewing their internal procedures to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Unless they do the expected and try to pass the buck amongst each other. Then it matters a great deal to the buyer. 

How?

The money has been located, and has been transferred to the correct destination. The buyer has the keys. The purchase has been completed... just two days late.

Somebody has to pay for the extra costs.

Yes, they do.
All legitimate costs arising from the delay in completion are due, as has been said by several posters - including me - more than once.

The seller hasn't received their funds

Yes, they have. Albeit two days late.

so they may have been late with their completion on their purchase and have to pay their seller's costs, and so on up the chain

There has been no mention of any upward chain.
Even if there is an onward chain, that is not the OP's problem. It may or may not be the OP's solicitor's problem, depending on whose error it was.

mackolicious12

Hi all,
I've submitted my expenses to my current solicitor who has told me that they are going to pursue the seller's solicitor for the compensation. Based on some of your comments I'm starting to believe that my solicitor potentially could have been a bit more diligent because of the amount being transferred. I have also given my expenses to the claim's company working through my insurer so that they are aware in case I don't get my expenses from my solicitor.