Changing Solicitor

esubbs

Has anyone any experience of changing their conveyancing solicitor part way? What was the process and was it a good decision?

Long story but, we got to the point of discussing exchange last August only for our buyers to drop out last minute. We now have new buyers (ftb) and have completed the chain with the same purchase and vendors going into a ready to go new build.

Our solicitors have been atrocious, caused delays initially which contributed to the previous buyer dropping out and generally refuse to communicate with anyone. We told them three weeks ago that we had accepted an offer and to un-pause the files with MOS confirmed the day after. I, our EA and solicitors on both sides have left messages/sent emails without response and I just keep being fobbed off by the receptionist with "she has your file on her desk to look at". Mortgages sorted and surveys have been done in that time and buyers are chomping at the bit to organise searches but can't do so until our solicitor pulls their finger out and sends them the draft contract. I have told the receptionist this morning that they have until Friday to update us all with what they've progressed in the last three weeks or we will have to go elsewhere.

I know it can be a long, slow process and I left them alone to get on with it up until this week when the EA began chasing me as both our buyer and our seller were chasing her. They've already been paid over £1400 for work done so far and I'm loathe to have to repeat both the time and money already spent but I can't see another solution to their dreadful service.

saajan_12

How much was the total quote? If they got to (just before) exchange, then I expect the lions share of the fee would be due.

However as you're effectively starting again with a new buyer, there aren't really files to transfer between solicitors, so process wise it should be the same as just contracting a new solicitor and paying the final balance for this one.

theartfullodger

Who chose this "atrocious" solicitors for you?? I'd start by complaining to them.

Good luck & Best wishes to all.

EssexHebridean

Go back to the Terms of Retainer (Terms of Business) document you signed at the start - there will be a complaints process in there including the responsible Solicitor to escalate to - follow that process as a starting point.

Tiglet2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6656838/changing-solicitor

Your conveyancing transaction is starting again with your new buyer. As you are at the beginning of this new transaction, it might be best to change solicitor now rather than be frustrated with how long they took on the previous transaction and risking them doing the same again.

Just note though that a new solicitor will have to wait for your current solicitor to forward them all the paperwork they are currently holding.

EssexHebridean

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81899245#Comment_81899245

The OP could simply request any documents they have left with the solicitor be returned to them - indeed, if they are close enough, I'd suggest they would be behaving reasonably to set a date 5 working days hence on which they will collect the same - assuming that is that the solicitor in question is local enough to do so.

That said, there might not be much if anything that will actually be delaying a new transaction.

Jaynorth_2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81899180#Comment_81899180

I agree with this. I am currently going through conveyancing in a chain and the seller's solicitor of the place that I am buying has been absolutely terrible especially in providing responses to simple enquiries. The seller made an internal complaint at the solicitors firm and all of a sudden things started moving quicker, so you may find that if you initiate the complaints process at your solicitors firm, things change for the better at least in the short term which may be enough to just get you over the finish line.

esubbs

Although the conveyancing for the sale is starting again with a new buyer, all the initial paperwork required was already done. Plus the conveyancing for the purchase is not starting again, its the same property and the same vendors but, three weeks on I'm yet to get a reply as to whether anything in that process needs repeating or renewing either. The vendor's solicitor sent an email to mine asking if we are happy to continue as previously agreed ten days ago but has not received a response.

So although it appears fairly straightforward for the sale side of things to pay up and move on, not so much for the purchase side if we would have to start again.

The total quote is £3.5k and they've yet to respond to my query as to what has been paid for and what remains to be billed. We've paid four invoices so far, itemised simply into conveyancing fee charge and VAT.

Of course, we were the ones to choose them, but that doesn't mean that they have no accountability for not providing the service we're paying them for. They were our third choice after our first did not have capacity and our second was already acting for the original buyer so would have been a conflict of interest. I took all the advice to go for an established local firm rather than a cheap online conveyancing factory but that looks to have backfired.

The complaints process is long and drawn out, although I have initiated a complaint to the fee handler as per their policy. I just want them to get on with the task in hand rather than waiting 21 days to escalate to someone more senior and then another 6 weeks to review before escalating to the ombudsman. I don't see how that will help us progress really.

I was just hoping that someone on here might be able to share their experience of changing their solicitor.

Tiglet2

It's best to keep your sale and purchase transactions with the same solicitor, so as your purchase is the same property and work is already advanced, I would stick to this solicitor.

A new solicitor will raise their own enquiries and essentially duplicate a lot of the work already done and they won't accept the work done from another solicitor.

I wonder why the solicitor hasn't yet sent the draft contracts as most of them are now sent by email so it can be quick, especially when just forwarding to a new buyer's solicitor. Of course, they will need to change the Contract to the new buyer's name and any other differences between the last transaction and this one and obtain up to date copies of the title.

EssexHebridean

Some forms might need updating, where a transaction has fallen through and been re-started with a new buyer, but if that was the case one would expect that the seller would have been made aware!