How to get solicitors to get a move on......?

Threaten her with the Solicitor Regulatory Authority.

Some years ago I wanted to buy a truly beautiful house and the vendors told me I had to complete by 24th December, as they had another prospective purchaser. . I told my solicitor this. He agreed to have everything ready before this date. Did he? No. He went on holiday on 23rd December and came back on 4th January. Naturally I lost the house of my dreams.

Thankfully I haven't had too many problems with house moves as the solicitor I used each time was very good, but the last move took me to a completely new area so I'm unsure where I'll take my business when I downsize in the next few years.

However I did have issues with inefficient solicitors when I got divorced. My solicitor was wonderful, and every time she emailed my ex's solicitor, I was copied in. I was therefore very aware of the emails asking for information that was requested x weeks ago! Eventually I had a call from my MiL saying that my solicitor seemed to be taking such a long time and it was costing her DS so much as a result. He was living abroad but using a solicitor in her home town, presumably organised by her! At that point I forwarded all the emails to my ex so he could see that it wasn't my solicitor holding things up! I think his bill was a lot higher than mine in the end. His solicitor was part of a large national chain who advertise on TV. My solititor was part of a small local independent firm and was recommended to me by friends who had used her previously. A good recommendation goes a long way!

I took direct action once when desperate. I was buying a new kitchen (special offer) from a famous department store. They had promised it by a certain date and it clearly wasn't going to be finished by Christmas. I had sent numerous letters. So I made a large placard and marched around the store with it. The kitchen was finished within a week. But I kept the placard and told them I would be outside with it - just in case.

Sadly, in my experience, solicitors do little of the conveyancing - they simply pass it over to their clerks, and then the clerks are overwhelmed. You just have to ‘make a nuisance of yourself’ by phoning daily until they do he work.

Get on to her secretary and tell her you can't afford any further prevarication, and are looking to change solicitors.
It is wearing , as they seem to be a law unto themselves (pardon the pun) but make a nuisance of yourself so you're at the front of the queue.

For perspective, we sold 4 flats in the past year and on average, it takes three months. But we did it all online.

A squeaky wheel gets oiled first.
Polite persistence works for me.

The squeaky wheel gets the oil !!

Keep ringing. She doesn’t have to like you.
When you get the bill refer to the delay of 6 weeks before ordering searches. Ask for discount. They can’t do anything about the outlays but could negotiate their own fee.
I worked in a solicitors office and am aware that it is not always the fault of the solicitor but at the same time they might have kept you in the picture better.
I agree that working from home without benefit of a secretary has probably contributed to the delay. The same goes for the other departments invoked.
Ask for discount.

The longer they drag it out the more they can charge you!! I remember the first house we put on the market Went on for ages the solicitors didn't know what the hold up was!! We found out the same solicitors were dealing with our buyer's buyer!! Should never have been allowed!

I think you should be reassured that you won't lose the new property because the builder won't want to start the process again from scratch because it would mean it takes longer for him to get his money.

This is something DH was worried about when we last moved, thought if we didn't agree to all our buyers demands they would withdraw, they didn't.

No help to you Lucky but for others reading this last time we moved we kept in touch with the people we were buying from. We texted each other when we felt our solicitors' were procrastinating and ensured they knew we were. This kept them on their toes and it all went through quickly.

I don't understand why these days, when it is all done online, it takes longer to do the conveyancing than it did when all done by post!

Good luck with regards to the heading

My sil would agree with you 100%. Having just returned from living in Australia for 8 years, where from start to finish buying/ selling a house is 4 weeks,no need to chase solicitors they just get on with it. My dd and sil are currently buying a house
in U.K. and are amazed at how slow and at times incompetent solicitors are. But luckily my sil is on phone to them every second day if there not available he keeps calling till they are. I hope it all gets sorted very soon as by the sound of it it’s been stressful.

I am in the process of moving. Just about to sign and my buyer pulled out. The property I am buying is ready for me to move to. Luckily, I had another buyer in the wings. It is a para legal dealing with mine. I don't think Solicitors deal with Conveyancing themselves anymore. My previous buyer was using the same office do there was no excuse for delay. My new buyer has another conveyancer. She is s cash buyer renting though so hopefully it will be quick. As my property is still on line as the seller has already been let down twice. Keep your fingers crossed.

I’d say she’s overworked and consequently unable to prioritise properly. You may have to complain higher up the chain. If everyone did the same, the firm should ultimately put in assistance and she’d thank you. Sadly a firm that has allowed this situation to develop will probably only regard it as another failure on the fee earner’s part and give her a rollicking.

I agree you just have to make a nuisance of yourself with solicitors. We moved to Devon 2 years ago and the whole process this time around was a complete nightmare. You have my sympathy.

I really feel your frustration here. Any solicitor I have had to deal with is a nightmare, missing details, not keeping in touch, speaking in legalese when they do. We are still waiting for my solicitor to sort out an admittedly complicated inheritance issue - so far it has taken four, yes, FOUR, years. Any requests for clarification or updates on progress are met with rudeness or obfuscation. No point in going to another solicitor as they would have to start all over again. We have done that once already and all that happened was we had to pay the first solicitor for doing nothing for a whole year except write unintelligible letters. So we are stuck. I find the whole situation incredibly stressful but have no alternative but to sit it out. At least it doesn't involve a house move, which must be really awful. I feel for you and hope it gets sorted soon.

Having moved only a month ago. I found that the only way to get my conveyancer to understand the urgency was to threaten to pull out if he didn't get a move on. Let's face it, they are going to get their (exorbitant) fee whatever pace they work at - and they know it. They also know that they will get that fee before any of the money is passed over to you, so it doesn't matter to them whether they work fast or slow.

I have recently been told that due to Covid most are working from home. Where, if there was no chain to buy a house before the pandemic it could be completed in 3=months it is now 5 months. Most do not have secretaries or clerks working for them any more and actually have to do all the work them selves.

Chewbacca
There is definitely deliberately rivalry and oneupmanship between solicitors even from the same firm. I did make the mistake of using the same firm as the other side, they were so obsessed with Chinese walls it took longer.

Another poster had used insurance instead of searches, it might be OK on a new estate property if you are a cash buyer. If it’s an old property or you need a mortgage, get a full survey and use a solicitor, unless you really know the pitfalls and what might happen, eg - flooding, subsidence, disputes over boundaries etc etc etc.

It's infuriating isn't it? I once asked a tardy solicitor if he could move things a little faster and was told very sarcastically that he supposed, "You want things done properly I expect" like I was an inferior little woman with half a brain. Much gnashing of teeth. We moved house eventually.

Legal wheels grind exceedingly slowly and they don't like being rushed. I was told by someone in an associated profession that they like to put things at the bottom of an in-tray and pretend it takes longer so they can charge lots of money.

Speaking of indemnity insurance, has anyone heard of anyone actually ever making a clain against it? The previous owners of this house had an ancient boiler which had never been serviced and had no certification to show that it had been installed by a qualified gas service engineer. When I'd been in less than a month, it died. I tried to claim on the indemnity insurance but was told it wasn't covered! So are they worth having?

Thank you for that info.

I am currently waiting on her statement that she would get some possible dates to me today................

It is true these days that you have to have every single receipt, piece of paper relating to absolutely everything imaginable - it did not used to be like that.

Luckygirl, we actually got it through our solicitor. It was her recommendation.

When I sold my old house last year it certainly brought home to me the fact that you need to be scrupulous in keeping every bit of paper/certificates pertaining to alterations and refurbishments of houses.
I had lived in that house for 50 years and it had been altered significantly over time. Years ago contractors did not issue any paperwork, you were lucky to get a paper bill. I suppose things changed when building regs came into force.
I did not know about indemnity insurance at that time, it would have helped me cope better with the whole process if I had known.

Good luck Lucky. House selling/buying is stressful at the best of times but you could really do without all this hassle. You’ve had a terrible time & don’t deserve this treatment. Solicitors are a law unto themselves. I’m trying to have my Aunt’s very simple estate tied up after 18 months. Each time I contact the lawyer , she’s either ‘on leave‘, out of the office or off sick. Shes just remarried so pregnancy will be the next excuse. A month ago I was sent a survey by her firm to ask how they’ve done! I’m saving it for a bad day then I’ll let rip . (She doesn’t come cheap either)