This review is for a different branch.
Open Law completely failed to provide us with a satisfactory service when dealing with the sale of our property. There were so many problems, here is just a short summary:
Poor Communication - After frequent misunderstandings, I realised that after each phone call I had to ask our conveyancer to send me clarification by email. Our solicitor never once emailed to communicate how much progress had been made, so throughout the entire process we were completely unaware what stage the conveyancing had reached.
Poor Attention to Detail - Our conveyancer forgot to attach Forms to his email to the property management company, creating an additional and wholly unnecessary 6 week delay.
Incompetence - Our conveyancer was asked to make an amendment to the sale contract by the buyer's solicitor, but did not realise that he needed to do this, as he thought our signature on the original contract would "cover any amendments". I had to call him twice to explain to him that it really is necessary for him to amend the contract to progress the sale. I appeared to be doing his job for him and was shocked at the level of incompetence.
Poor Telephone Connection to Open Law - the telephone switchboard did not work properly, as on 3 occasions I called the company, was placed into a waiting queue of about 15 minutes, but when I finally reached the front of the queue, I was simply cut off with the message "I'm sorry we could not talk to you today, call back again". Well, what is the point of waiting 15 minutes in a queue if I'm going to be cut off anyway - just tell me that you cannot cope with the number of calls in the first place. As this was an urgent call to clarify what we needed to do to avert losing the sale, we were extremely stressed and angry with Open Law and the complete lack of telephone communication
Poor Service - I sent an email to the Customer Care Manager complaining about the complete breakdown in communication with Open Law. I explained that we needed to communicate with our conveyancer urgently, as the buyers were on the verge of pulling out, but that we were unable to get through to the company. There was no response at all.
Continuing delays caused High Stress levels - the buyers informed (via their solicitor) that their patience was running out, and that if they could not conclude the transaction within one more week, that they would pull out of the sale. This caused us a great deal of stress, as we were afraid of the whole sale falling through. The buyer's solicitor emailed our solicitor again and I also attempted to call Open Law 5 times in a row, but despite waiting in a queue 15 minutes every time, I was cut off at the end of the waiting time.
In summary, we were shocked at the level of gross incompetency, poor communication, lack of communication and the resulting very poor service of Open Law - they do not seem to care or be aware of how poor a service they are providing, and do not seem capable of doing their job to a satisfactory standard. Do not use Open Law if you want any kind of service or competence.
