When would you prod solicitor?

[lilyruin]

I got an email from my solicitor exactly a week ago to say that he had received the draft contract from the vendors solicitor, and he would need a few days to mull it over.
It's been a week now, and I'm really inpatient, and just want to know what's going on. When is a good time to send an email saying "just wondering if there is any news?".
Would this piss him off? I don't want to do anything that makes the process even slower.
Why does this take so bloody long? Arrrrrggghhhh.

[PurpleWithRed]

If you want things to move along fast phone first, email after, and don't leave anything more than 3 days.

[MissingMySleep]

would call or email to prod!

[RosesandRugby]

My solicitor always marks it in the diary to follow up the letter/contract in 7 days from day of receipt so you should hear in a day or 2.
If I contact them to ask what's going on they add the cost of that phone call/email onto my bill. I learnt very quickly just to leave him alone and eventually he will get back to you.

If you really cant wait to hear from him then give them a quick call and when you speak to him just ask roughly how long does contact usually take from him. If he's dealing with dozens of clients all dealing with the same thing then he may not get back to you for up to a month.

My big tip would be to speak to his Secretary. She is the one who reads and types all the letters/replies and she may not add anything onto your bill if you ask her a quick question such as are you expecting a reply in the post today/tomorrow.

[ChunkyPickle]

I'm with Purple, and towards the end, don't hesitate to step it up.

The greasy wheel gets the grease and all that.

It's beyond me why they don't have decent systems to let them get this stuff through faster (well, it isn't.. they do it the way they've always done it).

A few years ago I had the misfortune of having to chase some money through small claims, and the courts and the bailiffs had their shit sorted - I could log on to see the current status of everything, it was all done in a timely fashion with excellent efficiency. Of course no lawyers were involved or that wouldn't have been the case I expect.

[icklekid]

Contact them- by phone ideally, every day. If you annoy them they will want to get rid of you quicker by finishing the job. I called estate agents (mine as seller and those I was buying from) every day and they would speak to buyers solicitors too. Redicilous but got things moving!

[specialsubject]

as often as you like. You are paying.

sounds like you have a dozy one, so call daily. If calls aren't returned step it up. If still no action, sack and replace.

my solicitor turned things round in a day and was efficient and conscientious. It's not hard.

[Spickle]

Hmmm, I'm slightly on the other side of the fence here. My solicitors are so busy that clients constantly phoning just delays things. They much prefer an email especially at the earlier stages of the transaction. If they have a case tracker, you can often see the stage they are at on that. If you change solicitors, there will be a delay in the transaction while the old solicitors return all paperwork and there will be the usual introductory letters sent before any work starts.

[specialsubject]

er, no.... if the solicitors are too busy to do things quickly, they are inefficient/understaffed/have taken on too much work. NONE of these things are the paying client's problem.

do the job in time and guess what? You don't get chased!