Anyone else using Simplify Group for conveyancing - website offline for three weeks...

[dotdotdotdash]

Hi, I'm posting to see if any of you are also stuck in limbo due to their online conveyancers being offline. The Simplify Group, which includes My Home Move Conveyancing amongst a load of other companies, has been affected. I don't know if it is a ransomware attack or what, but my solicitor has not been working for three weeks due to the systems outage.

I thought we had plenty of time and gave notice on my rental (on the advice of my solicitor!) and now I am worried I will be left with nowhere to go. It's a nightmare...

The CLC website (their regulator) will have updates.

Sorry you’ve been caught up in this OP.

I read about this and I'm sorry to say it sounds a bit fishy to me.

Three weeks! Have you had any phone calls?

Hi @MinnieMountain and @DaisyNGO, thanks for your replies.

My solicitor has resurfaced as of yesterday because I reminded him we'd have nowhere to go if they don't get things sorted out!

Surprised this thread is so quiet. Yes, I was (I thought) fairly close to completion with Premier Property Lawyers, who are also using that portal. Cut a long story short, I started digging after getting nothing from them and found out from my vendor that PPL had been sitting on the contract pack since August. I was pretty cross (understatement). With no suggestion of when they’d be back online and nobody to ask about it, I’ve actually just instructed another firm.

I realized I wasn’t even beheld to the sink cost fallacy as they hadn’t actually done anything. And although starting again from scratch was pretty upsetting, I feel better now I know I have proper solicitors. I knew PPL were dimwits straight away but they were linked through the estate agent (Strike) and I was just trying to speed things up (hollow laugh).

What a nightmare. I hope it all gets sorted in time, OP.

I have bought and sold 5 houses now, and would do my best to avoid a buyer or seller using an online conveyancer.

They were hacked but are mostly up and running again now. Good luck with your moves everyone.

Thanks all. Glad you're back on track @SpringSpringTime

@EdgeOfTheSky I've used them before and have nothing against online conveyancers per se. Their systems are often more organised and transparent than bricks and mortar conveyancers. For example, the online portfolio shows all correspondence and documents so you know where you are. However, they are obviously vulnerable to cyber attack. And I have had a very switched on sol last time I used them, but this time, the sol is very much more average, so it's the luck of the draw the quality of service you get.

@StCharlotte thanks. Fingers crossed it's plain sailing now, though we have to exchange this week or next so it's very tight...

@dotdotdotdash

Hi *@MinnieMountain and @DaisyNGO*, thanks for your replies.

My solicitor has resurfaced as of yesterday because I reminded him we'd have nowhere to go if they don't get things sorted out!

I was wondering what happened because the press was unclear

So many firms use the service?

@DaisyNGO officially they realised they were being hacked and took their systems offline in time.

Who knows if there was more too it or not. They’re a big company.

[quote MinnieMountain]@DaisyNGO officially they realised they were being hacked and took their systems offline in time.

Who knows if there was more too it or not. They’re a big company.[/quote]
Oh no, I'm not implying anything more

It's just what I read made it sound like one conveyancing firm was down, whereas this sounds like others use their systems?

So, hoping to move myself, I now need to check that a solicitor I choose isn't using this sort of thing?

God, I miss paper.

Hi @DaisyNGO, you're right there are a number of firms or 'brands' affected:

Premier Property Lawyers
JS Law
DC Law
Advantage Property Lawyers
My Home Move Conveyancing

It would be best to avoid appointing any of those for now, and check that any conveyancer isn't part of Simplify Group operating under a different brand

@dotdotdotdash

Hi *@DaisyNGO*, you're right there are a number of firms or 'brands' affected:

Premier Property Lawyers
JS Law
DC Law
Advantage Property Lawyers
My Home Move Conveyancing

It would be best to avoid appointing any of those for now, and check that any conveyancer isn't part of Simplify Group operating under a different brand

Thanks OP this is really useful

I recently used one of those in a probate sale, they weren't my first choice but High Street solicitor unavailable (too busy).

Hopefully some of the high street ones are still doing conveyancing via council etc.

Just came on to see if there was a thread about this! Our vendors (and theirs) are using PPL.and have done nothing at all since our offer was accepted on 29th October. Purple Bricks got involved this week and managed to speak to them on our vendors behalf at which point they claimed to not have received anything from our solicitors to say they were acting for us until last week. I know this to be untrue as our solicitor has kept us in copy of every correspondence and they started trying to contact PPL on 8th November. I now don't trust them at all but the vendors won't even consider moving to another company.

Anyone had any progress in the last few days or shall I prepare myself for a long road ahead?

As I've said upthread, there are good points about online conveyancers and I think they have been unlucky to have been targetted by cyber attacks (along with many, many other blameless organisations), so I would defend their reputation even though my own purchase has been affected here.

"My solicitor is now back on the case and I'm on target to exchange this week. If I'd just appointed though, I would be hunting for another solicitor. @EnglishGirlApproximately, I would point the CLC's advice to your vendor:

Clients who have not yet exchanged contracts with their seller or buyer must consider whether to progress their transactions with their current conveyancer or to instruct another. This could mean that you would need to start from the beginning, and this may result in your transaction taking longer. You should consider how far advanced your transaction is – how much work has already been done on it – when you make your decision. The CLC expects Simplify’s conveyancers to set this out clearly for each client."

Also, that their is no financial penalty for them appointing another sol so no sunk cost to keep them there. I'd put pressure on them to change sol personally.

Thanks @dotdotdotdash I will send that over. There has been nothing done at all so far so in their position I'd be looking elsewhere but they seem to think that as their vendors are with the sane conveyancer it will be easier to wait. After three weeks of no contact I would have been a bit more proactive but I guess some people just aren't!