garetheves Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Bloody solicitors!!! Sorry if there are any on this board but the one we are deling with seems to be completely inept at his job. As some of you are aware, me and the missus are in the middle of buying first house, which is stressful enough im sure most of you will agree. Anyway, had the offer accepted about 8 weeks ago now and we got the house because we had no chain and could move quickly (Vendors did have higher offer than ours but went with us for those reasons). Our solicitor knows this and assured us we would be able to speed things up. Had first meeting with ages ago and left his office having produced, between us, a list of 6 things he had to do/check out before we could sign, but gave us a probable date of completion of the May bank holiday weekend. 3 weeks later still not heard from so we give him a call. He says that everything is in order, hes recieved the contents list for us to check and that we could go in that week, sign all documents and set a date for exchange. Went in and how many of those 6 things had he actually done...0!!!! on top of that he hadnt recieved the contents list and made no effort to get it from the other solictors!!! so back to square one, left this office with the same 6 things for him to check out. Eventually get them sorted last week, contents list turns up 5 weeks after being filled in and signed by the Vendors. There are one or two issues with it but we go along with it cos still pressing for quick sale. Phone him up and explain that we are happy and want to proceed and he says that everthing is done, just waiting to hear from their solictors about their exchange date and then we can proceed. We then phone the vendors yesterday to get an update and they tell us they are exchanging this week and we should be able to by the end of the week. Phone our solicitors to see if he is aware of this and if so why he hasnt contacted us and we find out hes gone on holiday. Now dont get me wrong i know everyone is entitled to holidays but this guy, in six weeks, has never once contacted us, we have had to phone him everytime, hes made no effort to contact their solictiors to get updates and hes not done half of the things asked of him!!! Surely it doesnt take long out his day to take a phone call to their solicitors and then to us to left us know where we are up to, after all we are paying him £650!!! GRRRRRR, sorry about this, it prob makes no sense to anyone but i just had to get it off my chest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom S Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Gareth, Feel for you mate !! Only 4 more posts and you will hit the 666 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 They're a nightmare. Just keep ringing them every day, they'll start to feel an ounce of the annoyance hat you're feeling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garetheves Posted June 14, 2005 Author Share Posted June 14, 2005 We are ringing them every day now and to be fair, now hes on holiday we have been speaking with the secretary and she has found out, and told us more, in one day than he has donw in 6 weeks or so, simply by making a few phone calls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terawua Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 hey I work in the NHS... nothing happens unless I am on the phone hassling and pushing for stuff get done. Plus, if you hate your solicitor, I can recommend a good one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garetheves Posted June 14, 2005 Author Share Posted June 14, 2005 I also work in the NHS mate. I know exactly what its like. Thanks for offer but no point changing now, might as well just complete the move then try and get money knocked off for him being usless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terawua Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 hmmm..... hope this doesnt happen to me I am looking for houses right now... if I find one it will need to be a very quick sale (within a month as I am moving hospitals!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_M Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Moved houses a few times now and all the conveyancing solicitors seem to be the same. Recommend chasing them all the time. It's less hassle in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kosmic Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Mate, im an estate agent and this is an all too common story. i feel for you too, probably one of the most stressful things you can do is buy/move house. Just be persistant and keep calling and keep all contacts well documented. Ive worked for a conveyancing firm too but this solicitor of yours doesnt seem to value your custom. Usually in these scenarios we have had in the past buyers/vendors change solicitors because they have failed to get any work done...usually if all the searches are done then they can be transferred over. Good luck, i hope you exchange/complete and your solicitor gets sunburnt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 James May wrote an article in the Telegraph Motoring section comparing buying a car to buying a house. It was very funny. Similar to your phone problem, he got a bill for £140 from his solicitor for phone calls yet May always had to phone the solicitor himself. In our last move, it was the bank that cocked up by not transferring the money when they were supposed to. Their excuse was that it was the end of the month, What you didn't see that coming then eh? Not a big user of the calender are we?. Our solicitor actually paid for the house themselves to enable completion, then took repayment from HSBC the next day. CBA Law, I recommend them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garetheves Posted June 15, 2005 Author Share Posted June 15, 2005 Cheers for replies guys. Gonna keep phoning the secretary this week an really start hastling the solicitor next week when hes back, like you said, hopefully sunburned. haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveRex Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 £650!! bloody hell ! For that price he should be working all night !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wez_p Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 the sooner you start mentioning that you're unhappy with the service and would like a reduction in costs, the sooner he may start trying hope it sorts out soon mate if not, gis a shout & i'll come round with ya to 'have a word' Wes (2 foot shorter than Gaz) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garetheves Posted June 15, 2005 Author Share Posted June 15, 2005 lol cheers Wez. We are phoning them tomorrow to make it known we arent happy, hopefully when he gets back from hols he will ge tthe message and pull his finger out, cos yes 650 is a hell of a lot of money! Its practically a bodykit (hope the missus doesnt read that she'll kill me) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveRex Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 A friend of my parents (well their solicitor) quoted me £900 for conveyancing on the house I am buying at the moment I went with a fixed price solicitor for £350, touch wood they seem ok so far Not always best to go with the cheapest quote though as we all know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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