House buying - solicitors... do I have redress?

GDB2222

user1977 said:

GDB2222 said:

BelugaWhale said:

Tokmon said:

That's why it's a good idea to know exactly what everyone's job is who's involved in the process so you can push back if any party starts overreaching.

But isn't that the job of my solicitor to push back on any overreach? A solicitor is employed as your advocate after all?

I think you are expecting too much. They are paid to advise you about things within their expertise. It's your job to negotiate the price and other terms of the sale.  

The details of gas and electricity regulations aren't within their expertise, but whether it's the norm for a vendor to provide/pay for certificates certainly is within their expertise. There seem to be lots of threads here about solicitors just acting as postboxes and not actually offering the advice they're being paid for.

Clearly, if the OP asked whether it's normal to do this, the solicitor should have explained. However, the OP doesn't appear to have asked any questions about this. The solicitor isn't a mind reader.

user1977

GDB2222 said:

user1977 said:

GDB2222 said:

BelugaWhale said:

Tokmon said:

That's why it's a good idea to know exactly what everyone's job is who's involved in the process so you can push back if any party starts overreaching.

But isn't that the job of my solicitor to push back on any overreach? A solicitor is employed as your advocate after all?

I think you are expecting too much. They are paid to advise you about things within their expertise. It's your job to negotiate the price and other terms of the sale.  

The details of gas and electricity regulations aren't within their expertise, but whether it's the norm for a vendor to provide/pay for certificates certainly is within their expertise. There seem to be lots of threads here about solicitors just acting as postboxes and not actually offering the advice they're being paid for.

Clearly, if the OP asked whether it's normal to do this, the solicitor should have explained. However, the OP doesn't appear to have asked any questions about this. The solicitor isn't a mind reader.

The solicitor ought to be proactively guiding their client through the process, not just passing on a full list of possibly absurd requests and sitting on their hands until their client actually asks "do I need to give them this?".

GDB2222

user1977 said:

GDB2222 said:

user1977 said:

GDB2222 said:

BelugaWhale said:

Tokmon said:

That's why it's a good idea to know exactly what everyone's job is who's involved in the process so you can push back if any party starts overreaching.

But isn't that the job of my solicitor to push back on any overreach? A solicitor is employed as your advocate after all?

I think you are expecting too much. They are paid to advise you about things within their expertise. It's your job to negotiate the price and other terms of the sale.  

The details of gas and electricity regulations aren't within their expertise, but whether it's the norm for a vendor to provide/pay for certificates certainly is within their expertise. There seem to be lots of threads here about solicitors just acting as postboxes and not actually offering the advice they're being paid for.

Clearly, if the OP asked whether it's normal to do this, the solicitor should have explained. However, the OP doesn't appear to have asked any questions about this. The solicitor isn't a mind reader.

The solicitor ought to be proactively guiding their client through the process, not just passing on a full list of possibly absurd requests and sitting on their hands until their client actually asks "do I need to give them this?".

Is there a service level you can point to on the Law Society website/  Legal Ombudsman?   

fiveacre

This one seems to boil down to - 

• Did the solicitor provide a great level of service? It sounds like they could have done better, although they've progressed the sale they probably could have helped a bit more with some of the technical aspects.
• Therefore, would it be reasonable to request a partial refund of fees by means of a complaint? Quite possibly, there seems to be a high level of dissatisfaction with the solicitor.
• Is the solicitor liable for the additional stamp duty payable? I can't see how, unless they guaranteed to complete in a certain timescale.