Conveyancing Solicitor Negligence / Claim
Discussion
Morning all,
I will try and keep my post as brief as possible.
Put our house for sale which was bought in 2019 as a new build, conveyancing done by the builder's recommended solicitors - a conveyancing warehouse - lets call them Solicitor A.
Our buyer's solicitor and our current solicitor then discovered that
1. The estate management deed had not been registered by the conveyancer
2. They added an unnecessary restriction onto our title.
After much aggravation I finally managed to speak to the original case handler in Solicitor A and asked them whether they had a fully executed copy, which they didn't have. Neither did the estate management company, their solicitor, or the builders solicitors. Note: I have a letter from the builder's solicitor to Solicitor A stating that they must provide an undertaking to register the EMD within 3 days of completion - they failed to do so.
Since Solicitor A was very slow in responding or even chasing up the right people, my current solicitor and I did not have confidence that Solicitor A will resolve the matter quickly and took matters into our own hands and started chasing relevant people in the estate management company and their solicitors to get a new copy executed and registered.
We also had to go through the process of removing the registration from the title.
Due to the above issues, exchange of contracts was delayed by 7 to 8 weeks.
I raised a complaint with Solicitor A and they came back with an apology that essential said that they are sorry that I "feel" they let us down. From the beginning of the complaint I was steadfast that they cover any costs incurred due to their cock up as well as a small compensation for the 50 or so hours I spent in trying to chase people up and resolve these issues. They offered to fix the issues with the land registry after my current solicitor had already done so.
They came up with an offer of £200, but I rejected it on the basis that our current solicitor is charging us an additional £320 in their fees and land registry fees for dealing with the above matter. All I am asking for is £320 costs incurred and £200. Solicitor A has now rejected it and said the original offer of £200 still stands.
I sent them a final comm saying either pony up the £520 or I will escalate to the Legal Ombudsman or raise a claim via small claims court.
I want to make them pay, mainly for their fecklessness, apathy and not jumping in to resolve the issue in my best interest. And when I say pay, I dont care what the monetary settlement is, as far as it covers just the costs incurred. I want to drag them through the mud if possible.
This is where I ask for help - how do I best do it?
Do I pursue a claim via another solicitors for professional negligence (apparently failing to register deeds is) or do I go via one of the toothless organisations such as the SRA or the Legal Ombudsman?
Thanks.
I will try and keep my post as brief as possible.
Put our house for sale which was bought in 2019 as a new build, conveyancing done by the builder's recommended solicitors - a conveyancing warehouse - lets call them Solicitor A.
Our buyer's solicitor and our current solicitor then discovered that
1. The estate management deed had not been registered by the conveyancer
2. They added an unnecessary restriction onto our title.
After much aggravation I finally managed to speak to the original case handler in Solicitor A and asked them whether they had a fully executed copy, which they didn't have. Neither did the estate management company, their solicitor, or the builders solicitors. Note: I have a letter from the builder's solicitor to Solicitor A stating that they must provide an undertaking to register the EMD within 3 days of completion - they failed to do so.
Since Solicitor A was very slow in responding or even chasing up the right people, my current solicitor and I did not have confidence that Solicitor A will resolve the matter quickly and took matters into our own hands and started chasing relevant people in the estate management company and their solicitors to get a new copy executed and registered.
We also had to go through the process of removing the registration from the title.
Due to the above issues, exchange of contracts was delayed by 7 to 8 weeks.
I raised a complaint with Solicitor A and they came back with an apology that essential said that they are sorry that I "feel" they let us down. From the beginning of the complaint I was steadfast that they cover any costs incurred due to their cock up as well as a small compensation for the 50 or so hours I spent in trying to chase people up and resolve these issues. They offered to fix the issues with the land registry after my current solicitor had already done so.
They came up with an offer of £200, but I rejected it on the basis that our current solicitor is charging us an additional £320 in their fees and land registry fees for dealing with the above matter. All I am asking for is £320 costs incurred and £200. Solicitor A has now rejected it and said the original offer of £200 still stands.
I sent them a final comm saying either pony up the £520 or I will escalate to the Legal Ombudsman or raise a claim via small claims court.
I want to make them pay, mainly for their fecklessness, apathy and not jumping in to resolve the issue in my best interest. And when I say pay, I dont care what the monetary settlement is, as far as it covers just the costs incurred. I want to drag them through the mud if possible.
This is where I ask for help - how do I best do it?
Do I pursue a claim via another solicitors for professional negligence (apparently failing to register deeds is) or do I go via one of the toothless organisations such as the SRA or the Legal Ombudsman?
Thanks.
LuckyThirteen said:
Litigate.
Don't f@#k about.
They deserve it. And will lose or settle
Don't even think about it and do this instead - this from one of my clients.Don't f@#k about.
They deserve it. And will lose or settle
What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint
If we are unable to resolve your complaint, the Legal Ombudsman may be able to help you. The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about service issues with lawyers. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.
The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one year of you realising there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.
If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them using the following contact details:
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Call: 0300 555 0333
Postal address: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH
The Legal Ombudsman will not accept complaints where the act/omission/date of awareness was before 6 October 2010.g that you made a formal complaint, through their complaints procedure, and that are unhappy with the outcome, let them know and
Edited by rlw on Tuesday 9th December 09:54
rlw said:
Litigate and it will cost you a lot more than you want to recover.
You should have their T&C so make a formal complaint through their complaints procedure first. If you are then not happy with the outcome you can take the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.
A formal complaint is a pain in the arse as it has to be investigated properly by the firm and will be flagged up on their record come insurance renewal time.
Do it the approved way and you will get a result. If there is negligence, let someone else pay to find it.
The complaints procedure will be found on the website, probably on the first page.
Hi RLW, I have already gone through their formal complaints process. They done their internal investigation. You should have their T&C so make a formal complaint through their complaints procedure first. If you are then not happy with the outcome you can take the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.
A formal complaint is a pain in the arse as it has to be investigated properly by the firm and will be flagged up on their record come insurance renewal time.
Do it the approved way and you will get a result. If there is negligence, let someone else pay to find it.
The complaints procedure will be found on the website, probably on the first page.
First they offered a apology because I "felt" they let us down. I rejected it.
Then they offered £200. I rejected it and said that I will put it to bed if they offer £200 plus £320 costs my current solicitors is charging. I shared the email from our current solicitors as evidence.
They then rejected my offer and said the original £200 offer still stands. I rejected it and said that I will escalate.
kv85 said:
Morning all,
Do I pursue a claim via another solicitors for professional negligence (apparently failing to register deeds is) or do I go via one of the toothless organisations such as the SRA or the Legal Ombudsman?
Thanks.
The SRA and LO are not toothless they have substantial powers. In your case to go the LO, they handle bad service, the SRA is for regulatory matters.Do I pursue a claim via another solicitors for professional negligence (apparently failing to register deeds is) or do I go via one of the toothless organisations such as the SRA or the Legal Ombudsman?
Thanks.
Just for info, I am going through a complaint against my conveyancer at the moment.
Mine won't give me their formal complaints procedure - I assume they think that will stop me complaining!
It hasn't - I have just gone to the Ombudsman (after waiting the 8 weeks).
All I wanted was a single letter setting out the conveyancer's position on something, but no, they won't do that.
Ombudsman have been provided with all the information... I think it said it could be something like 16 weeks before you get a final answer.
They seemed interested in helping me.
Mine won't give me their formal complaints procedure - I assume they think that will stop me complaining!
It hasn't - I have just gone to the Ombudsman (after waiting the 8 weeks).
All I wanted was a single letter setting out the conveyancer's position on something, but no, they won't do that.
Ombudsman have been provided with all the information... I think it said it could be something like 16 weeks before you get a final answer.
They seemed interested in helping me.
As others have said. If it is a service failure first, then you have followed the correct path.
1. Formal complaint
2. Secondary complaint (e.g. to managing partner)
Their initial instruction you signed will have their specific process but as you’ve exhausted that, they should advise they have exhausted and point you to the Ombudsman.
The Legal Ombudsman will only deal with service complaints, not negligence. So if you can demonstrate that the service failures were real. E.g. in my case the solicitor never set out a letter of instruction or charges, then the LO can find and fine for that and you would get some funds back.
However, negligence is another matter. You would need to prove that you have incurred costs/losses that would not have happened ‘but for’ the actions of the other solicitor.
The cost of your new solicitor is one such cost but…your old firm could argue (remember litigation is an argument) you were impatient and didn’t need to get a second solicitor, so it was ‘but for’ your impatience, not theirs.
Your time lost would need clear recording to be quantified but it isn’t worth a lot (regardless of however many companies you direct).
Litigation requires court fees to file, recoverable if won, but usually parties bear their own costs and so you need to decide on principles versus payment.
One silver lining could be that if the LO find service failures in your favour, a structured but speculative letter from your solicitor to theirs as a letter before action, may just get pushed to their professional indemnity insurer and assessed.
That assessment may lead to a cheque being written to end it all quietly, or not.
1. Formal complaint
2. Secondary complaint (e.g. to managing partner)
Their initial instruction you signed will have their specific process but as you’ve exhausted that, they should advise they have exhausted and point you to the Ombudsman.
The Legal Ombudsman will only deal with service complaints, not negligence. So if you can demonstrate that the service failures were real. E.g. in my case the solicitor never set out a letter of instruction or charges, then the LO can find and fine for that and you would get some funds back.
However, negligence is another matter. You would need to prove that you have incurred costs/losses that would not have happened ‘but for’ the actions of the other solicitor.
The cost of your new solicitor is one such cost but…your old firm could argue (remember litigation is an argument) you were impatient and didn’t need to get a second solicitor, so it was ‘but for’ your impatience, not theirs.
Your time lost would need clear recording to be quantified but it isn’t worth a lot (regardless of however many companies you direct).
Litigation requires court fees to file, recoverable if won, but usually parties bear their own costs and so you need to decide on principles versus payment.
One silver lining could be that if the LO find service failures in your favour, a structured but speculative letter from your solicitor to theirs as a letter before action, may just get pushed to their professional indemnity insurer and assessed.
That assessment may lead to a cheque being written to end it all quietly, or not.
As someone who has complained to the sra I feel you pain but for £300 just move on.
The complaint will take years ( I got my mp involved ) and the frankly protect their own. For £30k I would go for it but for £300 life is too short.
I lost. The standard expected is that of an average solicitor and average solicitors don't do much.
The complaint will take years ( I got my mp involved ) and the frankly protect their own. For £30k I would go for it but for £300 life is too short.
I lost. The standard expected is that of an average solicitor and average solicitors don't do much.
Jeremy-75qq8 said:
As someone who has complained to the sra I feel you pain but for £300 just move on.
The complaint will take years ( I got my mp involved ) and the frankly protect their own. For £30k I would go for it but for £300 life is too short.
I lost. The standard expected is that of an average solicitor and average solicitors don't do much.
That sucks. The complaint will take years ( I got my mp involved ) and the frankly protect their own. For £30k I would go for it but for £300 life is too short.
I lost. The standard expected is that of an average solicitor and average solicitors don't do much.
Its odd, the dangerous driving law tests you against a competent driver- not an "average" driver.
I can't believe solicitors hold themselves to a lower standard, but it obviously suits them.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff