To think that this was unacceptable from solicitors

[princessposy]

DH doesn’t think this is a hugely big deal but I am really irritated by it.

I am selling a property. Estate agents recommended a solicitor so got a quote, paid them, sent some paperwork off then heard nothing for a few weeks. Probably should have chased it but there has been an awful lot on.

It transpires the solicitors have been sending forms and so on to an incorrect email address. It’s just my name at gmail dot com but my name is similar to a more common one. So as well as not getting the emails, they’ve been going to someone with a similar name to mine.

The solicitors didn’t seem bothered at all and just forwarded the emails to the correct email address.

AIBU to think that’s not acceptable? Or am I overreacting?

Probably should have chased it but there has been an awful lot on.

yup.

Weeks have passed and you haven’t enquired how your house sale is developing with your solicitor?

@Innerearitch i haven’t, no. Tbh, the solicitors are the ones my thread is about, not me. I already know I’m useless but I’m not paying me

Have you looked them up on online reviews, what other customers thought? It’s not a great start but often solicitors recommended by estate agents are a larger firm with huge caseloads.

Yeah - I’m just really annoyed they’ve sent confidential emails to a completely different woman and were so blasé about it. No sort of ‘terribly sorry, will be more thorough in future.’

Do you have GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation ) rules in the UK ? We do in Ireland, via the EU and I think this would be a breach of the regulations.

i understand your frustration - partly as this has caused a delay and partly due to your info being shared to a stranger.

but did anything confidential actually get shared? I’ve just sold a house and initially the solicitors sent me loads of forms to complete, which were generic blank forms that would go to anyone selling a house.

unless some substantial confidential data has been shared I’d accept that it’s mildly annoying and move on

email is never a fully secure method of communication. Unless it’s breaching your personal data, then I don’t think you can complain. What kind of forms did they send?

Only if they actually shared any data that requires protection.

if it was Hi Sue, please fill in this form, then it’s not confidential

Well no… you aren’t going to post about how you are pissed off with yourself are you?!

Solicitor made a genuine mistake
You however, allowed weeks to pass without so much as one email managing your house sale

Nothing the OP has said has suggested they aren’t handling it as a data breach internally.

Human beings make mistakes OP, even lawyers. What exactly do you want them to do, other than rectify the mistake, which they have done?

The forms were attached and included details on the property being sold, the address and so on. It probably isn’t confidential, just frustrating and I do feel a little uncomfortable that someone with a similar name to mine now knows the details of the property I’m selling!

You won’t have been charged for this
you will get everything you have paid for
just a few weeks delayed
but had you emailed them to enquire about progress….

I would never use a solicitor, plumber, gardener etc recommended by the EA for a start. Surely they will be taking their own cut from the arrangement and if not, I still would always go with personal recommendations.

Do the emails contain confidential data or blank forms to complete?

@Gengha i guess in all honesty what I’d have liked is an acknowledgment that they made an error and an apology. I don’t mean a grovel but just a sincere ‘apologies, we had your email address down incorrectly and have now amended it.’ As it was, they were ringing the estate agents complaining that I hadn’t filled in forms I’d never even received! I don’t want blood but sometimes just a heartfelt ‘sorry about that’ mollifies you a lot!

Yes, there were bank details as to where to send the proceeds - so that could potentially have been very risky given it was another Mrs A Smith.

My solicitor on last house sale always requested confirmation of receipt when they emailed something - they could easily have avoided this problem by doing that.

I have to say tho, that Ive dealt with some truly poor efforts by solicitors sadly, including sending info for someone else, with partly poulated paperwork for their porperty, and getting the address of the property we were buying wrong repeatedly! So sadly I'm not surprised...

How do you know email address to which they were sending to is actually another person’s email?
This must happen very often then of literally one “.” Is the difference between you and someone else’s email?

I’d feel more sorry for your buyer they’re probably stressed to the max and now dealing with someone who’s seemingly unbothered.

Walk back through the information, how did they get the incorrect email address, did you provide it to them over the phone and if so did you repeat the email address so as to double check they had it correct.

Or did you fill out initial forms with the incorrect information?

How do you know the incorrect email address is actually in existence?

In all reality, very little would happen other than an apology for human error, if indeed it was their fault. Special category data has not been mentioned in your details, so I would focus on keeping in touch with them and doing all you can to ensure the sale progresses through to completion, i.e. Property Information Form and
Fittings and contents form are completed and returned in a timely manner.

I had such a coincidence when buying and selling a house recently.

Firstly I do not have a common name. Not even remotely common.

I got an email about how the buyer of our home wanted to complete quicker. I was confused because we had agreed jsut a few days between exchange and completion as it is.

Turns out my email and this woman's were different by just .co.uk and .com.

It was so bizarre and they also were so chilled about it. Just oops sorry our mistake! It wasn't even our estate agent either just one we had viewed 1 property with (which is what made me look twice)

I didnt take ot further, dont know if the other woman did (as the email did exist and was a client of theirs) or if they even told her. Probably not....

Learning for next time - get quotes and personal recommendations. Estate agents offer get incentives for referring to local solicitors or financial advisor - that's fine if declared all up front.

Not sure what you've paid up front - fees usually taken from proceeds of sale

As for the emails, I would ask them to report to their Data Protection Officer (DPO) and ask them if this is a GDPR breach. They will investigate and advise if your personal information has been shared and if anything more needs to be done.

Put diary reminders in to check on progress every single week going forward. They are working for you. Ring or email. They need to keep you informed.

Did anyone receive the email? I had one in error about a house sale i replied saying wrong person they apologised and moved on never heard from them again

Well exactly

You have to be on top of solicitors constantly. The best thing to do is just get in the mindset that you're just paying for their signature and do everything else yourself. They really don't give a damn at all. It makes no difference to them.

@Innerearitch - well, if it’s not an email in use it would bounce back. It’s possible it’s an email that’s been taken and never used I suppose but they have no way of knowing that.

@Wowthatwasabigstep - it was 100% their error, putting [email protected] when it’s [email protected] - similar but not identical.

I don’t know who is unbothered, but yes, the buyer will be adversely affected too of course.