Nightmare with sellers solicitors - Quality Solicitors

[cherry17]

Hi all, I'm a first time mumsnetter so apologies if this isn't in the right forum. I've been looking through other threads for support as am in a nightmare situation with my my house purchase.

The sellers are lovely, but their solicitors are Quality Solicitors (Lockings) and they are an absolute nightmare. We were pushed by their solicitor in to getting everything ready (e.g funds) two weeks ago and have been waiting to exchange ever since. We were meant to exchance 31 July and are meant to complete tomorrow (7 August) and I know its just not going to happen now. Incredibly frustrated as the Paralegal there won't answer phone calls or respond to my solicitor. It needs to happen this weekend as seller is going on holiday and we need to move from our rented house.

Interestingly, I cannot find any reviews online about this solicitor. None at all. That in itself makes me very suspicious as most conveyencers these days get complained about online. Has anyone any experience in dealing with this firm??

have you been back to the estate agent handling the sale/purchase because one of their jobs is to follow up things when it gets close to exchange and completion and to 'make it happen'. What about your solicitors? Are they chasing as well? Hope you get it sorted out - it can be a nightmare. The trouble at this time of year is people start going away on holiday and aren't contactable and don't leave proper instructions behind. The estate agent or your solicitor should be making a fuss.

I don't think its usual for complaints about law firms and individual fee earners to be online so I wouldn't worry about that being suspicious.

Secondly, is it because the seller's purchase is holding things up? The seller might be stuck in a chain and can't do much about it unless the purchase above is ready.

I think the only thing you can do is be patient (if you're committed to the purchase) or alternatively give the seller a deadline or you withdraw. Seller can always go into rented / stay with a relative if they don't want to lose you as a buyer.

Hello there. We have been in contact with seller directly, estate agent and our solicitor. Our estate agent says she never wants to have to deal with their solicitor again! Our solicitor has been chasing but gets no response to emails/calls. It's just an awful, badly run business.

I did wonder if I could ask my solicitor to escalate the case and copy in a senior person at the sellers solicitor (if they have any contacts, that is). But wasn't sure if that was pushing it. I think she is fed up of me emailing every day as it is.
I doubt I am the only one who has been in this boat, but its just horrible. Feel sick most of the time, and quite helpless.

Hi Mandy,
I only know that our seller is moving into an empty house so can't see many reasons why there would be delay on their side. But I don't know this to be the case. Our estate agent has had trouble getting hold of the estate agent selling that house as well. To be honest, I feel that quality solicitors lockings has been really incompetent. They pushed us to get ready without being remotely ready on their side. I don't think this is the sellers fault. They have had to drive documentation to them this week when it should have been sent to them weeks ago.

I think the stress has just got to me. I really just want it over with now. I can't afford for them to go on holiday and me pay the cost of moving into temp accomodation to complete when they get back. I suspect tomorrow we might have a difficult conversation about what is going to happen...

Even if its empty, it is still owned by someone and it might be that they are causing the delay (or more likely, if the fee earner is slow to deal with the sale, she is probably slow to deal with what needs to be done for the purchase). It does sound stressful but it could still happen (if you have simultaneous exchange and completion tomorrow - but that is still quite rare). I think you need to be prepared for it not to complete tomorrow.

What do the sellers say?
Are you ready to play hardball? Then you tell them that your offer at this price is only on the table until x date. After that, if you have to pay for temporary accommodation then you will require them to cover it as a term of the contract. If you are taking out a mortgage you will need to clear it with your lender. This strategy will highlight that if exchange is delayed it will cost the seller, who will then have have a tangible complaint against their solicitor, if indeed the delay is the solicitors fault.
But I suspect there's something else delaying - if everything is ready then the no reason for the solicitors not to exchange, in fact my experience is most solicitors prefer to get it off their desks asap. If there is a delay, its usually for a reason.
You can't speak directly to your sellers solicitors, but you can contact their sellers solicitors to check whether there is a hold up at the top of the chain. Your solicitors can make that call, or you or the estate agents can.
I think you need to be careful what you are saying in the public domain when you don't have the full story.
I can't see how you could exchange and complete tomorrow if anyone in the chain is buying with the aid of a mortgage- it is highly unlikely that you could draw down funds in time.

you need to do a lot of telephoning. If you gave notice on your rental before exchange I'm afraid that was unwise.

your solicitor needs to go up the chain of command at the other solicitor and try to get an answer.

but I fear there may be something else going on.

Thanks all. Will be on the phone tomorrow as much as I can but also recognise that it seems unlikely to happen. Am not sure will plan B will be as yet to have those conversations. I am just frustrated that all, I know that no one will be intentionally delaying on purpose and house buying rarely goes smoothly. Am a first time buyer so with hindsight there are many things I would have done differently.

Oh my goodness.... I am having exactly the same experience with QS Lockings - they've turned a simple sale into a living nightmare! Gross incompetence.

I would seriously ask anybody using this solicitor in Hull for a house move to reconsider I too am having a nightmare and it is still in process 5 months later

Quality Solicitors seems to be a nationwide network of different law firms. I would never use them again. We had an unqualified trainee conveyancer who appeared to be entirely unsupervised, which became clear when he dropped the ball multiple times and created extra expense for us. I would never ever ever ever use them again.

Hi all out of curiosity is it the branch in Hull your having / had issues with or is it a number of branches? Did you choose these sols or were they recommended by an estate agent?
They're holding up our house move in Doncaster at the moment we were trying to complete this Friday but now Lockings have comeback to say they're missing info, but Ive been assured they've had it from the party involved. We're at the other end of the chain so have no leverage! We've resulted in contacting the estate agent to chase it up because they won't answer the other sols involved.

These are my sellers solicitors and his estate agent and my solicitor has vowed never to do business with them ever again!!!!