Solicitor holding onto house sale funds.
Discussion
Hello people.
Currently selling a property. Contracts signed last Friday and due to complete tomorrow.
The solicitor, on our side, works part time and has said she needs to 'prioritise' her clients that she is dealing with tomorrow.
Due to this funds will not be transferred to us from the sale until Wednesday next week.
There are only two of us the chain. The buyer and us and the money will end up in a bank account not to purchase another property.
Is this allowed?
Regards.
Currently selling a property. Contracts signed last Friday and due to complete tomorrow.
The solicitor, on our side, works part time and has said she needs to 'prioritise' her clients that she is dealing with tomorrow.
Due to this funds will not be transferred to us from the sale until Wednesday next week.
There are only two of us the chain. The buyer and us and the money will end up in a bank account not to purchase another property.
Is this allowed?
Regards.
Drumroll said:
Once it is all over I would certainly be formally complaining to the Law Society.
Er, no. That's their Trade Union. The correct channel for complaints is here - https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-s...Red Devil said:
Drumroll said:
Once it is all over I would certainly be formally complaining to the Law Society.
Er, no. That's their Trade Union. The correct channel for complaints is here - https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-s...You'll get short shrift from the SRA/Ombudsman if you issue a complaint that wasn't put to the solicitors' firm.
SystemParanoia said:
she wants to pocket the interest accrued
Yeah, right. Qualified professional wants to pocket the interest....all 0.001% that she'd get on a business deposit account. OP, if you really want to make an issue of this (and you'd be a massive t
t if you do), ask said solicitor for a cheque for a quid. With a pound in your grubby mitts you'll have made more from that than she would have done by delaying payment for a week.{edited to add: you're talking about the sale of a house here. How the f
k can you be even remotely worried about a few pounds here and there. If the only complaint about your solicitor is that you've lost one week's interest on X quid, then the problem is not with your solicitor....it's with you. Get a fking grip OP)Edited by Hungry Pigeon on Thursday 26th January 18:31
Hungry Pigeon said:
SystemParanoia said:
she wants to pocket the interest accrued
Yeah, right. Qualified professional wants to pocket the interest....all 0.001% that she'd get on a business deposit account. OP, if you really want to make an issue of this (and you'd be a massive t
t if you do), ask said solicitor for a cheque for a quid. With a pound in your grubby mitts you'll have made more from that than she would have done by delaying payment for a week.king finger out and get it sorted, or yes, her motives will be questioned and possibly complaints sent to the law society for misconduct.It isnt really a question of whether it is "allowed" - the money will be held in a segregated clients trust account but it is poor. I assume the amount of interest in question is negligible (assuming 1% instant access on £1m before tax it would be about £140) but the solicitor should act in accordance with your instructions and there really is no reason to wait. As AGTlaw says, complain, tell her to treat it as a formal complaint and I suspect you will get your money on Friday.
SystemParanoia said:
then she should pull her fking finger out and get it sorted, or yes, her motives will be questioned and possibly complaints sent to the law society for misconduct.
She has got it sorted, albeit it with one weeks delay. Good luck with the complaint. OP hasn't lost anything. He's just being the typical tking finger out and get it sorted, or yes, her motives will be questioned and possibly complaints sent to the law society for misconduct.t of a lay client that thinks that his work is oh so very bloody important as compared to everything else that this particular solicitor has going on (the details of which the OP knows nothing about).Edited to add: this is why I won't work for lay clients any more. The time vs. reward equations just don't work out. Lawyers aren't a charity. If you (lay clients) think you can do better, then you're welcome to go ahead and have a good old crack at it. When (n.b. not "if") you f
k it up, don't come crying to the folks who could have helped you sort things out. Life is not free, and if you think it is then you deserve everything you've got coming to you.Edited by Hungry Pigeon on Thursday 26th January 18:43
Hungry Pigeon said:
SystemParanoia said:
then she should pull her fking finger out and get it sorted, or yes, her motives will be questioned and possibly complaints sent to the law society for misconduct.
She has got it sorted, albeit it with one weeks delay. Good luck with the complaint. OP hasn't lost anything. He's just being the typical tking finger out and get it sorted, or yes, her motives will be questioned and possibly complaints sent to the law society for misconduct.t of a lay client that thinks that his work is oh so very bloody important as compared to everything else that this particular solicitor has going on (the details of which the OP knows nothing about)....i guess only the OP can answer that
SystemParanoia said:
would she be sending the OP the £140 of interest that she accrued? or discounting that amount from her fee?
...i guess only the OP can answer that
Seriously! 140 pounds....on the sale of a house! Get a grip!...i guess only the OP can answer that
Edited to add....where can you get 140 quid interest on a million pounds in a week? I've got 650K cash in an account and I've received about 45 quid in interest in 4 months. If you could point me towards this mythical account that pays 140 pounds a week in interest on a 1M investment, I (and many others) would be delighted to hear from you.
Edited by Hungry Pigeon on Thursday 26th January 18:47
Hungry Pigeon said:
SystemParanoia said:
would she be sending the OP the £140 of interest that she accrued? or discounting that amount from her fee?
...i guess only the OP can answer that
Seriously! 140 pounds....on the sale of a house! Get a grip!...i guess only the OP can answer that
TheLAW said:
A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it
fergus said:
Is the issue here not about the tardiness of the solicitor, rather than any argument over the opportunity cost of a few quid potentially foregone in accrued interest?
both.the tardiness leads to missed interest that would otherwise have been added to the capital sum of the OP's bank balance instead of the solicitors
SystemParanoia said:
Hungry Pigeon said:
SystemParanoia said:
would she be sending the OP the £140 of interest that she accrued? or discounting that amount from her fee?
...i guess only the OP can answer that
Seriously! 140 pounds....on the sale of a house! Get a grip!...i guess only the OP can answer that
Your clumsy reference to theft is unhelpful.
hp, the thread is a good question as the sale of the house cannot complete until the funds are transferred. If the date is set for tomorrow then it should be done tomorrow. Regardless of the interest, this is extremely unprofessional conduct. You may disagree with us lay persons but I bet you would be the first in the queue to bh if you were in a similar position.
h if you were in a similar position.fergus said:
Is the issue here not about the tardiness of the solicitor, rather than any argument over the opportunity cost of a few quid potentially foregone in accrued interest?
It is indeed, but it's an issue that will have disappeared before the OP has even had time to pen a letter to the Solicitor to complain. It's a massive non-event.Forums | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff