Conveyancer not answering phone

Jami74

Haven't been able to get hold of my conveyancer this week by phone or email. Nor has the estate agent. I was hoping to exchange/complete as a buyer next week. They were just waiting for some information from the sellers conveyancer last time I spoke to them a couple of weeks ago.

Would it be too late to exchange/complete next week if I can get hold of them this week? Are end of months especially busy for them and might that be why they are not answering the phone? Not sure whether to just accept that I won't be buying a house this month and leave them be or whether I should keep trying.

Hoenir

Is there just one person in the office? 

Not answering the phone could be down to annual leave or sickness. 

loubel

If they haven't told you the information has come in then it probably hasn't yet. Have they already reported to you and have you signed and returned the contract and deposit funds?

Jami74

Got a brief reply. They are still waiting for information from sellers solicitor. I will wait patiently.

ognum

I have recently exchanged on an ex rental property I am selling to a first time buyer.   He choose the cheapest conveyancer he could find and we have both suffered because of it.   They answer the phone to no one, they never replied to my solicitors emails, they asked the same questions over and over again.   It came to a point where I told the buyer exchange within three days or I remarking or putting it back on the rental market.  They exchanged but are taking their case to the solicitors Ombudsman.

I hope OP that you have chosen a decent law firm not a conveyancing factory.   They should always answer the phone, call back and reply to emails.

propertyrental

cheap conveyancing firms are cheap because they deal in high volumes. Hence no time to deal with wueries....

ognum

propertyrental said:

cheap conveyancing firms are cheap because they deal in high volumes. Hence no time to deal with wueries....

Thanks for stating the obvious.  I hope the OP has not gone with one, the problem is they would have time to answer if they were efficient.  They simply are not, they ask for the same thing over and per again, they never keep complete records of what they have in their files already

Jami74

Thanks. I probably have gone with a cheap one.

The estate agent wanted me to go with their one who the seller is using because it would 'be much quicker' and I pretty much went with the first I could to get out of sharing with the seller. Everything seemed to progress at a reasonable speed until this most recent hitch.

As much as the delay is frustrating it is because my conveyancer is asking questions about some 'free' work the seller has had done and the seller/sellers conveyancer is being slow providing paperwork/evidence to show that I will not be on the hook for it. 

I know they're busy, I just wasn't sure whether to keep bugging them or trust that they're doing what they're supposed to. 

ognum

Keep bugging, they are not necessarily doing the work you are paying for.

Hoenir

ognum said:

Keep bugging, they are not necessarily doing the work you are paying for.

They are providing the service that people ask for. If you are happy to pay by the minute rather han a fixed fee there are firms out there. In this walk of life people don't waste their time unproductively. 

ognum

Hoenir said:

ognum said:

Keep bugging, they are not necessarily doing the work you are paying for.

They are providing the service that people ask for. If you are happy to pay by the minute rather han a fixed fee there are firms out there. In this walk of life people don't waste their time unproductively. 

Totally untrue.
My buyer had a cheap conveyancer firm, they wasted lots and lots of time.   They asked questions totally irrelevant to the purchase and they sent questions multiple times that had been answered multiple times, they wasted a lot of time both theirs and my solicitors.
It wasn't until I had had enough after again being gasked the same questions that I said exchange in the next five days or I will remarket that they then exchanged two days later.
My buyer is taking them to the solicitors Ombudsman for the quality of the service, he also feels they wasted time.