Failure to complete on purchase - what next?

[howdypartner]

We have the most incompetent solicitor in the world. We were due to complete on Friday, all packed up etc and then I get a call at 4.20pm saying they had failed to get a vital bit of paper to the lender so the funds weren't going to be released in time. The paper is now with the lender, I swing from being in floods of tears to wanting to punch the solicitor's lights out. This comes on the back of 4 months of hell trying to get them to do their job.

What actually happens next?

I understand I am now in breach of contract so presumably I need to complete asap? This would mean Tuesday which is hardly convenient. Do I have a choice? Can I leave it until Friday? Can I be fined? And can the vendor have a say in when we complete because I assume Tuesday is as inconvenient for her as us?

And can I get any compensation from the solicitor? I have kept all my emails to them over the last few months.

Thanks

Is there a chain? Did the vendor need the money to complete on another property herself?

You cannot be fined, there's nothing criminal here. BUT if you have caused the vendor loss (she may have had to take out a bridging loan in order to go through with her own completion) you are likely to be liable for that. However, given from what you have written, it is your solicitor's fault, you are likely to be able to recover any monies owed from them.

What did your solicitor say would happen next? When you complete will depend on when the lender gives you the money - and you will need to complete asap to minimise any additional costs.

For now - I would make sure you have both hard and soft copies of all the emails. Then write a clear and concise complaint letter to the solicitors, addressed to both the solicitor dealing with your case and the senior management. Explain how disappointed you are, and that you had instructed them because your thought they would be able to handle a simple house purchase. Ask them to explain exactly how their failure came about, setting out what they told you at 4:20 on Friday. Also list any additional costs you have had so far (re-booking movers, etc) and ask them to please send you a cheque for the full amount within the next 7 days. Note also that any further additional costs will be billed to them.

I once completed on the Friday before a bank holiday weekend as we were the last link in a very long chain our solicitor always warned us there was a risk of failing to complete before the end of the trading day (15 links in chain!).
He warned as we would be liable for interest on the value of the house to the vendor over this weekend he reckoned this could be a couple of hundred pounds and that we would have to spend the weekend in a hotel and old have extra costs to the removal company. This was a risk we choose to take.
However, in your case your solicitor has caused this not yourselves. I would compose a letter to the managing partner of the solicitors practice stating all the time scales, when you became aware of the problem, the financial loss to yourselves (hotel, extra removal fees etc) and send it recorded delivery to the office so they have to sign for it.