Our buyer's solicitors refusing to talk to ours re: exchange. Can I put in a complaint?

[mussinboots]

Our buyer has been pushing us to exchange for weeks saying everything is good to go at her end and how long will we be (delays because of surveyor report). We've since signed everything and have been waiting for exchange since Monday but the buyer's solicitors are now refusing to take our solicitor's calls or return emails. When the EA got hold of them yesterday, they told her the file wasn't complete and needed checking to be countersigned. Our vendor has now threatened to withdraw if we don't exchange today. I've chased everyone I can think of and sent as many emails as I could. Am I in a position to put a complaint in against her solicitors? Their incompetence is threatening our purchase and I'm so, so worried and upset.

"Our vendor has now threatened to withdraw if we don't exchange today"

and what does her solicitor say about that?

i'm sorry, this is a nightmare.

We don't know because they're not answering their phone or replying to emails :(

To make matters worse, our buyer is on a work trip in China so there are time-zone issues in case she needs to be contacted for anything.

So did they email saying "buyer threatening to pull out" or was that EA?

Our solicitor received a call from the solicitor above but says his hands are tied until he hears what's going on below.

I think the OP means their vendor is threatening to pull out due to the holdup down the chain. So OP faces losing the house she wants to buy.

I'm sorry, it's all so bloody stressful, there HAS to be a better way to buy & sell houses!

you say your buyer has been pressuring you, directly or through her solicitor?

if you have your buyers contact details I'd be on to her to get it sorted!!

i don't know what else you can do, but I'd just do more if the same. If I hadn't heard by 11, I'd send another round of escalated emails and RING RING RING

SOMEONE needs to shift arse!!

best of luck!

Not much you can do. If the buyer was around, she could contact her solicitors to ask them to exchange today, but if the file hasn't been signed off, presumably they haven't reported formally to her. Has she signed the contract in readiness and paid the deposit to her solicitors?
You could ask your solicitor to email them and say that the chain might fall through if exchange does not happen today, so that they have been warned, but at this point do you even know if they do have everything they need to exchange? Has a completion date been settled? You need an agreed completion date in order to exchange, or at least a formula by which it will be agreed, and the buyer needs to give instructions on this. If contact with her is an issue, this will affect progress too.
If you or the estate agents can contact her, you can arrange a completion date between you and she will need to contact her solicitors ( I say solicitors, but sound like they are conveyancing paralegals with one person overseeing once the groundwork has been done.. it's a horrible way to work, as that person needs to go through the whole file, which can take hours, depending on the issues.)
The vendors have a choice in all this, they should be told that that your buyer is awy and so won't be able to instruct her legal team to exchange today, but ask them to agree dates and get the agent to try to mollify them for a few days.

Honestly wouldn't speak to buyer other than to say that she has to contact her solicitor to instruct your solicitor. They sound pushy and I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

Just so you know, they are probably not refusing to answer calls or emails, they just don't have the staff to deal with things in a proactive way. They probably will reply to emails, just not in the timeframe you want. I'd bet that the small print in their terms of instruction talks about replying within 5 working days or similar. It is peak holiday season, and conveyancing locums are really difficult to find at the moment, so I'm told. I really think your vendor needs to swallow their frustration and wait.

Your vendor won't pull out. What would they gain? They would be back at square one rather than at 99% which they currently are.

I know through bitter experience that the whole thing is beyond stressful though, just keep mithering everybody, constantly. Good luck!

The buyer signed all documents and the contract weeks ago which is why she was asking why things were taking too long. She forwarded her deposit to her solicitors last week and was told everything was good to go but since then, there's been silence and they've not been in touch with anybody. When she- as their client- has queried what's happening, they've told her everything is good to go but not act on it with our solicitors, ie. Pick up the phone or reply to their emails!! Waiting to see what else today has in store... I will never put myself through again. It's torture.

Your buyer has already caused delay due to one professional - the surveyor. How do you know that they are not using the cloak of another professional - the
solicitor - to delay again? Are they really as keen as they are making out?
Send your buyer a stroppy email because only they can make the solicitors act faster - you have no route for complaint against your buyer's solicitor because you have no contract with them

When the EA got hold of them yesterday, they told her the file wasn't complete and needed checking to be countersigned.
The EA should have called their bluff and asked for an estimation of how long this checking and countersigning would take. Are they talking hours, days, weeks ...?

Maybe you should be thinking about Plan B and getting the house ready for a Bank Holiday open viewing (or, at least, let your EA and buyer think that you are thinking that).

Oh it’s a nightmare op. We had similar in our chain. Our buyers buyers were threatening to pull out because our vendors vendors solicitor was completely incompetent. They were an online firm and we’re just shocking. It was so very stressful- you have my sympathies. Fwiw, the people threatening to pull out were just saying it to get things moving which I think is often the case. I hope it gets sorted for you soon

Unfortunately you can't put in a complaint against your buyers solicitor as you don't have a contract with them. They have no obligation to even respond to any complaint you might try to submit. If your buyer is out of the country and hard to get hold of you're unlikely to exchange today. Most decent solicitors won't exchange without express permission from their client on the day, even if everything has been previously signed off and agreed

WE HAVE EXCHANGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hurrah!

Yay!
Now you can panic about moving.

Hahaha! I'm actually looking forward to this process believe it's or not, it'll give me a much needed opportunity to declutter and send half of the DCs clothes and toys to the charity shop!