Changing solicitor early on

snowqueen555

Hi, I have received paperwork from my solicitor to formally instruct, but the quote on there is £400 more than what they quoted me by email. They are also not replying to emails or calls.

Is it okay to change now. I would have to let the sales team know and also the application that has already gone to the bank.

I would be saving £200 with the other solicitor so is it worth the effort you think?

Also is it normal to have to send paperwork to them by post?

Thanks

K_S

@snowqueen555 Generally speaking -

- it should be fine to change now.

- it's not normal to have to send paperwork through post. Most modern conveyancers can do all the sign up processes online and  verify identity online or using apps like onfido, etc.

- In a small number of cases where their systems aren't able to verify ID online, they may ask you to send certified (by broker or solicitor) copies of documents 

snowqueen555 said:

Hi, I have received paperwork from my solicitor to formally instruct, but the quote on there is £400 more than what they quoted me by email. They are also not replying to emails or calls.

Is it okay to change now. I would have to let the sales team know and also the application that has already gone to the bank.

I would be saving £200 with the other solicitor so is it worth the effort you think?

Also is it normal to have to send paperwork to them by post?

Thanks

simon_or

It looks like very early days, there should be no issue with changing to a new conveyancer.

Yorkie1

Just double check why the fee went up, and what is included in the new conveyancer's fee, to make sure you are comparing apples to apples rather than pears.

It's possible that the disbursements (fixed payments e.g. search fees) may have been left out of the initial quote - and then included in the increased amount. Similarly, it's possible that the new quote omits them at present.

simon_or

That's a good point. It could be that the original quote was a bare bones one (for a freehold house) and the actual quote should have included leasehold costs, gifted deposit, LISA, etc.

snowqueen555

Hi all, thanks for the replies. No they had missed out the leasehold fees on their quioe, but they have agreed to price match the other quote so I've agreed to pay £1800 instead of £2000, their original quote was £1600.