Co-op Legal Services – Probate Delays After Grant Issued – Anyone Else?

Beckz1205

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone else is having/had major delays with Co-op Legal Services in handling probate?

I’m both executor and beneficiary of my late nan’s estate, and Co-op Legal have been dealing with it. The Grant of Probate was issued on 13th March 2024, and they confirmed they received the copies in their office by 19th March. We also know they had received all the funds from her bank accounts and life insurance policies by the end of March.

Since then, communication has been extremely poor. We’ve had to chase repeatedly for updates. We were told that a cyber attack in April had affected their systems, but were later informed things were more or less “back up and running.” Despite this, we’re still waiting with no clear timeline, and they haven’t responded to our most recent email which was sent over a week ago.

My mum and I are becoming really frustrated – not just because of the delay, but also because this is financially affecting us, and emotionally exhausting. We’re now considering making a formal complaint, though we’ve seen reviews suggesting even complaints go unanswered.

Is anyone else in a similar situation with Co-op Legal Services, particularly around probate? Did you manage to get it resolved, and how? Any advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks so much.

Keep_pedalling

I am afraid that handing over the probate process to professionals, without exception leads to delays, which is why most of the regulars on here will encourage executors to keep control and do it yourself. 

Time for you to make an official complaint. 

https://www.co-oplegalservices.co.uk/about-us/complaints-procedure/full-complaints-procedure/

Beckz1205

Thank you for your reply. We wish we had done it ourselves now as it’s a fairly simple estate however we felt a bit out of our depth as this is the first time having to deal with anything like this and we were worried about getting messing it up etc. We used the co-op funeral care who were brilliant so expected the same from their legal services. How wrong were we! It just feels like the money is being held hostage at this point now. 

Lilio8

Hello

Yes, their communication after Grant of Probate is poor and the cyber attack seems to be their most plausible excuse. They also have a bad habit of holding onto funds (see the numerous posts on their Facebook page). I can sympathise about the stress and the financial strain as I know exactly what you mean! Their sale pitch is brilliant, it's downhill once the contract is signed. I'm afraid they take advantage of inexperienced executors. I've no idea how they are actually allowed to operate as they do.