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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think nobody else would get away with this in their job?

52 replies

ChickenLegs7 · 23/09/2021 17:13

Jesus, what's wrong with them? I know their busy but seriously...

In the process of buying a property and they've all been shit as far as I'm concerned, including the vendor. It seems that I'm the only one that's been trying to get this done in a timely manner. My solicitor has been ok but she's so rude. I don't harass her but every time I've rang for an update, I get told that she'll ring me back but she never fucking does!!! We've been waiting over two weeks for the other side to come back with some paperwork (baring in mind all searches have come back, we are literally waiting for this one thing and it's holding everything up now) and I rang my solicitor today around 3:30 and asked if she'd heard anything. She explained no but that she would ring them herself and ask what's going on, she said she would ring me back today before closing but.... NOTHING!! I couldn't ring before they shut as I was on a teams meeting. It actually makes me wonder if she even phoned them at all...

Don't get me wrong, I know moving is stressful (done it once before) but their all useless and I've honestly done more work than any of them put together. I work in a customer facing role myself (for far less pay might I add) and I would never dream of telling someone I'd ring them back but not bothering to and just shutting up shop!!! I'm pissed off at the other side too as they've seriously just taken the piss from day one. They haven't even sent the draft contract yet and and even the EA told me that's the first they normally send over...

Feel like telling them all to piss off and stick the house up their ass... Angry

OP posts:
YoComoManzanas · 23/09/2021 17:15

I really think property solicitors do nothing all day. Perhaps one could come on and explain why you all take so long to file a piece of paper you've had to hand for weeks?

Original poster
ChickenLegs7 · 23/09/2021 17:22

I agree @YoComoManzanas it's just ridiculous and I have no idea why everything is taking so long. I get the feeling that she doesn't even want to sell the property! So frustrating and bloody draining. Even the EA is frustrated I think!!

OP posts:
PinkiOcelot · 23/09/2021 17:26

In the same boat. Currently selling my mam’s house. We were due to complete on 10 September but she emailed me on the Tuesday before to say we wouldn’t be as some of the paperwork wasn’t right - this is paperwork that she’d had for 6-8 weeks previously.
Also the buyers solicitor needed to see the POA. They could have asked months ago.
Totally not impressed.

THisbackwithavengeance · 23/09/2021 17:31

We are selling a property. No chain. No issues with survey.

Property sold June, we are still waiting for a date to exchange whilst occasionally fielding random questions from the buyer's solicitor about whether or not 25 year old windows have a guarantee (they don't) or whether the shed required planning permission when it was built 20 years ago (couldn't swear to it but don't think so)

They are fucking useless.

Blahdyblahbla · 23/09/2021 17:32

I wonder how many cases they are handling at any one time, as the process of them filing / faxing /stamping a piece of paper seems to take weeks in some cases.

CorrBlimeyGG · 23/09/2021 17:36

This is pretty common in high volume work environments. Think of how many times you've called a call centre and they've not called you back.

I'm more surprised that it is a solicitor you're speaking to and not a legal exec or assistant. Most conveyancing work is done by junior staff with a sol supervising them.

CayrolBaaaskin · 23/09/2021 17:42

Conveyancing solicitors do an extremely high volume of work and get paid not a lot. Actually most of the work is dealt with by legal assistants/paralegals. If you want a conveyancer who will phone you back and chat with you, you need to pay for it, but most people don’t want to.

sst1234 · 23/09/2021 17:42

Conveyancers are not exactly at the top of the lawyer heirarchy to begin with. Basically anyone with a vague interest in Law and not much capability can become a conveyancer, hence the quality in this profession is so low.

CayrolBaaaskin · 23/09/2021 17:45

@YoComoManzanas - I’m not a conveyancing solicitor but worked with lots. The reason things take time is that they have thousands upon thousands of transactions to run at any one time. You can have a solicitor who will run after you but you will need to pay about five times the price of the volume shops

FireworkParrot · 23/09/2021 17:45

I think it's a volume issue as others have said, they just have so many cases on at once but having been where you are now it is immensely frustrating, especially when you don't feel you can do anything to move the situation along.

icedcoffees · 23/09/2021 17:46

I suspect they're massively rushed off their feet. I know SO many people selling/buying at the moment and nothing seems to stay on the market for long!

Hunkydory99 · 23/09/2021 17:49

We had the same problems 4 years ago. In our case I think the poor solicitor had too many cases so her firm could make ££££££ that she literally couldn’t do any more than she was which was basically firefighting.

YoComoManzanas · 23/09/2021 18:20

[quote CayrolBaaaskin]@YoComoManzanas - I’m not a conveyancing solicitor but worked with lots. The reason things take time is that they have thousands upon thousands of transactions to run at any one time. You can have a solicitor who will run after you but you will need to pay about five times the price of the volume shops[/quote]
This makes sense however it was the same when we bought our 1st house 10years ago. Dh did most of the legwork taking paperwork to and from the solicitors and agents.
I assume the reality is that interns or work experience kids are doing a lot of the work if it's low paid. It's frustrating because the process is mostly obvious and presumably usually simple for most transactions so should be more streamlined.
Dh reckons it's ripe for being completely automated and cut out the humans. Wink

Fairyliz · 23/09/2021 18:24

I expect they are all wfh. Hmm

Bostonbullsmumma · 23/09/2021 19:12

I'm having an absolute nightmare at the moment- instructed a firm that doesn't reply, respond to messages on their portal or get any thorn right if they actually look at my file. The response to the buyers enquiries was completed by them simply by forwarding our email in response to some of the points the buyers raised! My caseworker has left and not a clue who is handling my case- probably no one! Happily name and shame at this rate!!

LaPampa · 23/09/2021 19:18

I guess I would be looking at how much you’re paying for the conveyancing. If it’s a reasonably low amount the conveyancer is likely dealing with thousands of clients and if she spoke to all of them every time they called her she would literally get no work done. It’s a bad situation all round, conveyancers exhausted from working all the hours for small fees and high stress to get things completed before the stamp duty holiday expired and I doubt they’re caught up yet. Sadly if you want the service where a qualified person actually speaks to you, it’s going to cost you (and if that is the case and you’re paying handsomely I guess that’s what the firms complaint process is for).

Allmyarseandpeggymartin · 23/09/2021 19:30

It doesn’t make any sense to be so inefficient though, it just generates shit loads of rework in answering the call when the customer calls back chasing.

The whole conveyancing system needs a digital overhaul.

Bostonbullsmumma · 23/09/2021 20:12

@LaPampa

I guess I would be looking at how much you’re paying for the conveyancing. If it’s a reasonably low amount the conveyancer is likely dealing with thousands of clients and if she spoke to all of them every time they called her she would literally get no work done. It’s a bad situation all round, conveyancers exhausted from working all the hours for small fees and high stress to get things completed before the stamp duty holiday expired and I doubt they’re caught up yet. Sadly if you want the service where a qualified person actually speaks to you, it’s going to cost you (and if that is the case and you’re paying handsomely I guess that’s what the firms complaint process is for).
After the experience I'm having, I couldn't agree more and wish I'd paid more!
Lurcherloves · 23/09/2021 20:18

Having worked in conveyancing when I was training and witnessing my colleagues after that, it is a seriously stressful and underpaid job. It is high risk, high stress and frankly awful. Conveyancing solicitors will have been working stupid hours and 7 day weeks to deal with the stamp duty holiday. Clients think their matter is the most important and urgent (when it often isn’t as much needs to be done before it is close to exchange, by other parties usually) and think that people who are working flat out literally often without lunch are doing nothing all day! Plus none of you want to pay much yet your solicitor will be doing much more and much more important than the estate agents whom you happily pay more. If something is later wrong it will be the solicitors and their insurance policy that takes the hit, meaning that premiums are so high many small firms simply can’t afford to carry on.
But carry believing they are being deliberately obstructive and do nothing all day!!

PinguTheLion · 23/09/2021 20:32

I had the same with my solicitor, first one left the company so got passed over to the 'senior partner' dragged on for months and months zero communication. Eventually managed to exchange on the Tuesday to complete on the Friday.
Friday comes and we are at the storage unit filling it with all our stuff and nobody had been able to get hold of the solicitor.
An hour later we find out he has been shut down by the SRA and was more than likely in a police station being asked where all his client's money had gone!
That was a fun day 🤪

OP hoping yours hasnt been doing dodgy dealings and is just snowed under!

Smashingspinster · 23/09/2021 20:42

Just moved - the experience was so much worse than 10 years ago when I last bought a house. No one seemed to do anything until way after the last possible moment. My favourite was that she went on holiday for 2 weeks at the end of the process (no problem with that) but no one covered for her (despite pretending that they were).

Original poster
ChickenLegs7 · 23/09/2021 20:45

I am more than happy to pay extra if it means things will be dealt with quicker, It's definitely not because I'm cheap or trying to save money. I understand they have lots of different cases but perhaps they shouldn't take so many on if it means they don't have enough time for each case? Just a thought. I definitely don't think I'm more important than other people but I would say that my situation is urgent and I need an answer. After 13 weeks we've just found out that the house might not be mortgageable. My solicitor can't even report back to the lender until the other side comes back to us (which isn't my solicitors fault of course, they've been shit too) but it's the fact that she doesn't do the things that she saids she will which annoys me. She said last Wednesday that she would contact the lender to find out what would be needed if the lender granted the application but hasn't. She said she would chase up the other solicitor but hasn't (I've done this already via the EA). It's just frustrating and I'm just sat here every single day wondering what's going on and every time I ring I'm told there is no update and I just have to be patient. Easy for them to say. I'd be a little more patient and understanding if I knew that the mortgage would be granted but that's just not the case.

OP posts:
PenguinWings · 23/09/2021 20:47

Our solicitors have been excellent. They're a small local firm who remember me when I ring up, are friendly, call me back when they say they will and are transparent about costs. They were more expensive than the online ones, but not dramatically so.

Original poster
ChickenLegs7 · 23/09/2021 20:48

Same here @Smashingspinster. My solicitors assistant went on holiday for a week a couple of weeks ago and I know that it delayed everything because the other assistant didn't take over (even though she told me that she did) but when the other one came back she confirmed that nothing had been done whilst she'd been off.

OP posts:
Original poster
ChickenLegs7 · 23/09/2021 20:51

I have to say though that the estate agents have been fantastic throughout this whole thing and have tried to help as much as possible (even though they don't work for me)

OP posts: