On 27 August, I began searching for a conveyancing solicitor to assist with my purchase of a new property. I made a point of saying that I was looking for a solicitor who could act quickly, as both the seller and I were hoping for a speedy transaction. Your firm was one of the ones I contacted. From the beginning, Ben was responsive and helpful. He was the reason I decided to engage your services and it should be known that he is faultless in this matter. None of my complaint is directed at him. Frankly, from what I can see, he's too good for this company.
On 29 August, I signed the instruction document to engage your services.
On 30 August, I took my identification documents to the post office to have them notarised. That same day, I sent them via recorded delivery to the address Ben provided.
On 3 September, I contacted Juber, my solicitor, to confirm he had received my ID. He did not reply.
On 6 September, I received a series of forms to complete. On the same day I also received a letter from the estate agent confirming the contact details on both sides of the transaction. A copy of the same letter was also sent to Juber, and should have arrived on or around the same date.
On 12 September, I emailed Juber to confirm I had sent the forms back by post. I also provided (by email) additional documents that were requested. I received no reply.
On 16 September, I emailed Juber to ask for a date of when he thought we'd be in a position to exchange and complete. I received no reply.
On 18 September, I sent a message to Juber expressing my disappointment at the fact he'd yet to reply to a single one of my emails. At long last, I finally received my first message from Juber saying he hadn't replied to my messages because he was waiting for the forms I sent. I asked him to confirm that he hadn't received: the ID I'd sent by post on 30/8; the forms I'd sent by post on 12/9; the documents I'd emailed directly to him on 12/9; or the letter the estate agent had sent him on 4/9. He did not reply.
On 19 September, I sent another email to Juber asking him to confirm (in writing) whether he had received my documents; whether he had received the estate agent's letter; and when he'd be in a position to provide an indicative date of completion.
At last, on 19 September Juber replied to my email. He addressed me by the wrong name, advised he'd received none of the above documents sent to him by post or email, and confirmed he'd done nothing with my case as he was waiting on the documents. I resent all the required documents by email so he would have them immediately. I asked Juber to confirm receipt of the documents as soon as he received them.
At this point, I decided that if he confirmed receipt of my documents that business day, then I'd hope for the best and stick with this firm.
The end of the business day came and went without a peep from Juber.
Whether Juber is disorganised, incompetent, or the victim of incompetent post room staff and email service is, I do not know. I do know that this firm wasted three weeks of what was meant to be a speedy transaction and put the whole purchase at risk.
I am unimpressed. I have now engaged the services of another solicitor. Hopefully they are capable of delivering.