Solicitor mistakes

[Catz]

I’ve been using a solicitor to get a Certificate of Confirmation (believe it’s called probate in England) for my late Mum’s estate. Today I got through paperwork which lists details of someone else’s estate! Including address and sale price of house along with bank account details. These are listed on a Statement of Intromissions.

Obviously I’ve contacted the solicitor who admits he made a mistake while using a template, he forgot to delete the other person’s details. I know everyone makes mistakes but this does seem pretty negligent. Should I contact the partners of the firm to complain? Or should I just forget about it and be grateful I’ve finally got the Certificate? (This has the correct info on it.)

Edit to add ... I may have posted this in the wrong section.

[SS2.]

You've brought it to their attention and the solicitor 'fessed up to his mistake.

For me, that'd be enough.

[Monkeylegend]

Catz said:

I’ve been using a solicitor to get a Certificate of Confirmation (believe it’s called probate in England) for my late Mum’s estate. Today I got through paperwork which lists details of someone else’s estate! Including address and sale price of house along with bank account details. These are listed on a Statement of Intromissions.

Obviously I’ve contacted the solicitor who admits he made a mistake while using a template, he forgot to delete the other person’s details. I know everyone makes mistakes but this does seem pretty negligent. Should I contact the partners of the firm to complain? Or should I just forget about it and be grateful I’ve finally got the Certificate? (This has the correct info on it.)

Edit to add ... I may have posted this in the wrong section

Made me smile when taken in context with your post

[p4cks]

SS2. said:

You've brought it to their attention and the solicitor 'fessed up to his mistake.

For me, that'd be enough.

Same here. The only other option is to go to the local paper with it, so you'd best start practicing your sad compo face now if you do

[Ham_and_Jam]

Catz said:

I’ve been using a solicitor to get a Certificate of Confirmation (believe it’s called probate in England) for my late Mum’s estate. Today I got through paperwork which lists details of someone else’s estate! Including address and sale price of house along with bank account details. These are listed on a Statement of Intromissions.

Obviously I’ve contacted the solicitor who admits he made a mistake while using a template, he forgot to delete the other person’s details. I know everyone makes mistakes but this does seem pretty negligent. Should I contact the partners of the firm to complain? Or should I just forget about it and be grateful I’ve finally got the Certificate? (This has the correct info on it.)

Edit to add ... I may have posted this in the wrong section.

He made a mistake. He admitted he made a mistake. End of problem.

He who casts the first stone……..

[Ham_and_Jam]

p4cks said:

Same here. The only other option is to go to the local paper with it, so you'd best start practicing your sad compo face now if you do

Quite a good selection here

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/106567153407173...

[pilotoscot]

He made a mistake and said sorry. Move on?

[Catz]

I’m not looking for compensation!

I just think it’s shoddy work and I’ve already had to get him to correct mistakes. What if he sends my Mum’s details to someone else?
Just fed up of folk who can’t seem to do their job. I’ve had dealings with other solicitors in the same firm and they’ve all been great to deal with, it just seems I got the lazy one this time.

[Dave Hedgehog]

sounds like a GDPR breach, report to ICO

[Lonely]

Depends on how thrilled you were by no doubt paying him an absolute fortune for something quite simple. If you felt ripped off by shelling out to resolve a deceased persons estate then take him to the cleaners!

[Tommo87]

Catz said:

I’m not looking for compensation!

I just think it’s shoddy work and I’ve already had to get him to correct mistakes. What if he sends my Mum’s details to someone else?
Just fed up of folk who can’t seem to do their job. I’ve had dealings with other solicitors in the same firm and they’ve all been great to deal with, it just seems I got the lazy one this time.

We are truly sorry, that the first posters didn't respond with the response you wanted. (Or rush to change your mind over the spectre of making a few quid out of the event).

Edited by Tommo87 on Friday 21st May 15:36

[Jonny Wishbone]

Catz said:

I’m not looking for compensation!

I just think it’s shoddy work and I’ve already had to get him to correct mistakes. What if he sends my Mum’s details to someone else?
Just fed up of folk who can’t seem to do their job. I’ve had dealings with other solicitors in the same firm and they’ve all been great to deal with, it just seems I got the lazy one this time.

Why assume he is lazy?

I realise this isn't your problem, but it's important, at least in my view, to understand that you have no idea what's going on in other people's lives. Maybe the dude is a new father and is trying to function on 4 hours sleep a night (I'm definitely not projecting there!). Maybe he's dealing with a bereavement, or relationship difficulties. Perhaps he's under pressure from his colleagues/superiors to get a lot of work done in a short timeframe? Or maybe none of those apply and he simply made a very straightforward mistake, the likes of which, from the limited information available, it appears could be made by anybody, no matter how diligent.

Of course if he'd obviously done something wilfully negligent then perhaps no excuse would wash, but that's not the case here unless for some reason you think he did it deliberately. Otherwise, assuming you have made mistakes in your time, "do unto others..." applies.

[ITR1]

Of course it is entirely up to you how to deal, but this is potentially very serious for the solicitor and his firm.
It is a breach of client confidentiality and of personal data and should be reported by him to his supervisor. The supervisor then has to decide whether or not to report it to both the ICO and the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
If the SRA get their teeth into something it is not good news because contrary to popular belief working as a solicitor is very tightly regulated and the SRA go nuts over anything which can be deemed to diminish public confidence in the legal profession.
Even if you don't report it to the firm, the solicitor should be self-reporting.
In your shoes I'd probably do nothing if I was reassured that it was a one off cock up and none of my own data had been breached, but I understand why you might be concerned about if your mum's details had been sent elsewhere.

[Jasandjules]

I would just move on myself.

[Wings]

I had a similar mistake with a pharmacist, who mistakenly gave my three old son, heart tablets that were intended for an elderly person. When a person recognises their mistakes, then I am ready to accept the same and move on.

[Superleg48]

Presumably you have never made a mistake in your life, so are judging others by your enviably unblemished record of perfection.

[Escort3500]

Monkeylegend said:

Catz said:

I’ve been using a solicitor to get a Certificate of Confirmation (believe it’s called probate in England) for my late Mum’s estate. Today I got through paperwork which lists details of someone else’s estate! Including address and sale price of house along with bank account details. These are listed on a Statement of Intromissions.

Obviously I’ve contacted the solicitor who admits he made a mistake while using a template, he forgot to delete the other person’s details. I know everyone makes mistakes but this does seem pretty negligent. Should I contact the partners of the firm to complain? Or should I just forget about it and be grateful I’ve finally got the Certificate? (This has the correct info on it.)

Edit to add ... I may have posted this in the wrong section

Made me smile when taken in context with your post

[Countdown]

Lonely said:

Depends on how thrilled you were by no doubt paying him an absolute fortune for something quite simple. If you felt ripped off by shelling out to resolve a deceased persons estate then take him to the cleaners!

AFAICS OP doesn’t have any grounds to take anybody to the Cleaners. He hasn’t suffered a loss. If he wants to “teach the Solicitor a lesson” then there are a couple of options but Karma can be a bee’atch.

[Catz]

Without replying to everyone individually ... yes we do all make mistakes, myself included. The main problem I have was that the solicitor didn’t admit his mistake initially, he glossed over it as an admin error, a minor problem. It wasn’t until I mentioned GDPR that he admitted his mistake.

The person whose details I received lived in a tiny community of only about 10 houses so is easily identified. I’m sure their family wouldn’t be best pleased to know I have information about the sale of the property, value of the contents, how much they had in their bank account etc etc.

[joshcowin]

Catz said:

Without replying to everyone individually ... yes we do all make mistakes, myself included. The main problem I have was that the solicitor didn’t admit his mistake initially, he glossed over it as an admin error, a minor problem. It wasn’t until I mentioned GDPR that he admitted his mistake.

The person whose details I received lived in a tiny community of only about 10 houses so is easily identified. I’m sure their family wouldn’t be best pleased to know I have information about the sale of the property, value of the contents, how much they had in their bank account etc etc.

How would you want to be treated, loads of agro for years potentially and possible loss of career or admitted your mistake to someone and they can take it on the chin!

Just move on