Client confidentiality - solicitor and estate agent

[vinoandbrie]

Hi there.

I'm in the process of purchasing a house.

The estate agent has made clear that he is being bcc'd (or else being forwarded) emails between myself and my solicitor.

Is this legal? I have been tempted to email my solicitor re client confidentiality, but obviously don't want the solicitor to then come back and say 'actually I've only been forwarding the estate agent emails that are of relevance, and this is completely normal' or some such.

Any help from a legal perspective much appreciated.

I'm in the process of buying house, too - if my solicitor was copying in the EA without letting me know, I'd be dumping them.

Have words ASAP. It is highly likely that the EA will call the solicitor for updates, but beyond that I'm sure that this is a breach of client confidentiality. Was the solicitor recommended by the EA?

Solicitor is one we've used for conveyancing before, but was not one recommended by the ea. I'm pretty annoyed to be honest, it's the principle of the thing, and makes me wonder what else has been shared. V anxious-making I must say!

This does not sit right with me atall. The solicitor works for you! It sounds underhand to me.

I'd call the solicitor first thing tomorrow and express your concerns. Follow up with an email reminding them that they work for you (and that you are paying the bill). Also don't forget that lots of EA's will say anything to make you think they are "in control" of the purchase. Good luck, it's a tough time house buying, and things like that can make a tense time worse.

It's quite common for solicitors to cut and paste relevant comments to send on to other professionals.
If you're concerned they have a conflict of interest (ie they are passing on information that would negatively impact the sale) then ask for your paperwork to be passed to another solicitor in the firm.

Thank you all, much appreciated.

If the information was relevant to the EA, I would expect the solicitor to be cc-ing them, not bcc-ing them on the email. Otherwise you would assume that the EA was not, in fact, in receipt of information relevant to them? It seems somehow underhand. Do you know what kind of information has been passed on to him?