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Following a minor boundary dispute with a neighbour, we decided to get a solicitor to clear it up once and for all. In the beginning it was all fine with good communication, emails answered swiftly etc. The problems seemed to have started once we paid our up-front fee. He gave us a deadline for preparing a letter to send to our neighbour, this came and went. We left it a few days, heard nothing so we sent an email, no response. Sent a second email, no response. We called the solicitors office and were told he was ill so we left it 4 more days, no response. Called again to be told yes he was back at work, nothing. We called the office for 5 days on the trot, asking him to call us back, still nothing. Its now over 2 weeks since the last communication.
At this point, we're really at a loss as to what to do next? Do we keep calling and emailing? Should we consider making a formal complaint with the firm? We've never had to deal with solicitors before with this type of matter so looking for some help with what to do next.
Doesn't sound too good a service and they should have got in touch by now but I'd back off a bit with the constant calling/emails to once a week maybe?
We had issues with ours during the Covid period and the poor servive was blamed on Covid, not sure I agee with that entirely but hey ho we got there, in the end.
Hope you get it sorted.
Can't you just go to the office? I'm assuming this is a local company for this kind of issue. If he's not there talk to one of the (other) partners.
Guessing you have paid a small fee and are near the bottom of the list for a trivial matter (not saying it's trivial to you) and will get dealt with at some point, but you aren't a priority
+1 go to their office.
If they've missed the deadline they haven't done their job. Tell them you want your money back.
Guessing you have paid a small fee and are near the bottom of the list for a trivial matter (not saying it’s trivial to you) and will get dealt with at some point, but you aren’t a priority
He's not waiting for minor elective surgery on the NHS. He's engaged and paid for a solicitor for professional services and is entitled to be treated with respect, and that doesn't mean being ignored.
I'd be asking for my money back. I wouldn't trust them to deal with the issue you have if they can't even reply to an email.
While it's more likely to be overworked lawyer or chaotic/weak service there have been a few firms where the SRA has intervened recently. Worth checking that just in case.
Going to the office is one option but if something's up then it won't necessarily yield results.
Send a fax outlining your concerns
No but seriously it sounds like you haven't heard back in <2 weeks or if someone is off sick potentially a few working days? If the matter doesn't have a specific deadline such as a court date, closing date hardly sounds unreasonable, if less than ideal
Unless the delay is going to cost you actual money or other loss I'd hold off a bit and send a letter after 4 weeks if no progress.
Depends a bit on how much has been paid and if there's anything linked to getting the dispute resolved quickly (e.g. building works) but I'd probably visit the office - sure if he's been ill he might have a pile of other work to catch up on but it takes 2 minutes to send an email or answer the phone stating as much. If he's not professional enough to do that (or have anyone else in the office able to) then I'd be questioning his ability to do the more complicated stuff he was paid to do.
They're not the same as the Administrators for Stanton are they? Who also refuse to respond to calls and emails... Sorry for the thread hijack!
then I’d be questioning his ability to do the more complicated stuff he was paid to do.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Regardless they have demonstrated themselves to be of no use to you. If they can't answer correspondence then they are of no use.
Also there is a process and ombudsman.
I resorted to this a while ago son can't remember the details but involves writing to the head of the office.
They overbilled me by a LARGE amount (something like 7-8x the estimate without notifying).. I wrote the letter saying I was willing to pay the agreed amount and reporting to ombudsman and they accepted same day... (called me up saying so sorry... blah blah) they seemed genuinely terrified of the ombudsman
At the minute I'm torn as to what to do. Part of me says keep up with the phone calls etc to try to get some sort of way forward but my stress levels are way too high at the minute. we are going on holiday soon and thats being pushed to the back by this mess and I'm losing too much sleep over this. The problem with pursuing it is you ring in the morning, leave a message, feel better because you've taken some action, then as time wears on and there's no response, your on an instant downer.
I just cant grasp the total lack of response. A simple email would have been enough even if it meant a delay to the case. It just seems since they had the payment, things have gone south. Maybe I'm being naive, a few google searches show without doubt it isn't unusual behavior for solicitors but I just don't get it. Like I said, perhaps its me.
Luckily its not a vast amount of money and there's no absolute deadline (good job).
There is a local office (which he never seems to be at) but honestly I think it would be a total waste of time. Also there's a good chance I may lose my cool which will definitely not help anyone. The longer it goes on, making a complaint will be the only option. But I'm well aware that in the real world that's going to be more time lost and we will be no closer to sorting out the original problem (new neighbor trying to land grab) . Jeez, solicitors, don't ya just love em?
Sounds like you need to get a solicitor involved.
More seriously,
I'd be down at the office. It's unacceptable and you're a lot harder to ignore when you're standing in reception. Prepare what you want to say before you go in, it'll help keep your cool. "I expect a response by [reasonable timescale] or a full refund of monies paid." He may well be off ill but their resourcing issues is not your concern and the radio silence is nothing to do with that.
When I was moving house I was driven to the opinion that if I rang and said "hi, it's Alan" and they replied "Alan who?" then I wasn't calling them enough.
I’d take a look at the professional standards https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/code-conduct-solicitors/
See how they have met or more likely not met these, then I’d draft a letter to the firms managing partner detailing the issue including missed deadlines & times/dates of you contacting them for updates & id be asking them to a ensure your work is undertaken within the next 5 working days & they refund your payment. I’d also ask for a explanation for all the delays & lack of response.
Then I’d do a bit of investigation on if there are any exceptions for legal practices in relation to subject access requests.
If they missed the deadline above, I might give them another 5 days (written notice) & then I’d send a subject access request for all data relating to your case & your attempts to get progress updates, this could take a month or more so I would also advise them that with the lack of progress I was going to instruct another practice & you now expect the refund.
Once I had the information from the sar I’d then report them to the Legal Ombudsman this will generally cost the practice (~£400 iirc) irrespective of your complaint being upheld or not.
While not necessary I’d send the written correspondence via first class signed for or special delivery just to convey to them that you are aware that the correspondence has been received & to help your records.
It might not be the quickest resolution but it’s aim is to either get them focused or clarify that they’re not going to provide the promised service & you’d be better off elsewhere anyway.
Do you have an engagement letter? (You should)
Does it say what to do if you are unhappy? (I would expect it to - probably contact a senior partner)
When you call and he is not available have you asked to speak to someone else who can either deal with your case or deal with your complaint.
Its absolutely true that solicitors can get overwhelmed, even to the point of mental health issues, but that shouldn't mean your case is neglected - if its more than a "one man band" firm then the rest of the firm should be spotting and resolving this. If it's a one man band he may not be in a position to see the wood for the trees and find it difficult to speak up. I've been there with another professional which cost us thousands and a lot of stress when they failed to file things within specific deadlines. The industry has ways of intervening to protect clients when this happens. You almost certainly won't be the only one suffering shit service.
So, Just when we thought we had a major problem on our hands, we get a phone call from a very sheepish sounding solicitor. I won't bore you with the details but it really was like listening to a schoolkid explaining to his teacher why he hadn't done his homework. At this point I really couldn't be bothered trying to hold him to account (think boiling cauldron of rage) as it would have wasted even more time and probably slowed the process even more. We have a draught of the letter and its very good, covering all the points and more.
But still, I'm totally unimpressed with the situation and staggered to learn this is quite commonplace. I'm also really not sure if we'll use him if the future.
Thanks to all who offered an opinion.
We used one of my Dad's old Rugby team mates for our current house purchase after having issues with the solicitor on 1st house purchase, even using an old mate it ended up with my Dad having to go to his house and speak to him and hurry him up as a **** up the chain was threatening to sue us if we delayed his purchase. The 'mate' was basically ignoring us when we called.
Twice I ve had poor service from a solicitor, once just glacial progress on house purchase, second billing loads as miscellaneous.
Tried internal complaints procedure, blah blah nothing.
Mentioned ombudsmen and regulatory body....house purchased and bill as per estimate.
They still write letters to each other.
"You almost certainly won’t be the only one suffering shit service.”
We should be exchanging yesterday/today/tomorrow, just waiting for the last document to check (a one page retention of funds for some service charges) chased yesterday, this lunchtime and this afternoon so we can approve the final draft.
evidently they are 'feeling unwell’
If we don’t exchange by Friday our seller is pulling the plug after the pointless delays mostly caused by our solicitor, it’s been 5 months and several escalated rollockings from us and yet they fail to see the urgency.
It’s just a cash cow system and really should be reformed.
evidently they are ‘feeling unwell’
Suffering from Christmasitus probably. Symptoms including ‘that’s a 2023 problem’.
We completed on our current house on Jan 3rd 2012 and that was an utter cluster-f, two months past our originally agree completion date. Our mortgage promise would have run out on the 6th, I got to the point of going to the solicitors office for both me and the vendor on the Friday before and making it crystal clear that if they both didn’t pull their fingers out, it wasn’t happening as I wouldn’t have any money.