No response from Law Society re deeds

Hannaho

Hi! Sorry for posting about not being able to get back my Deeds again! But the Law Society has not responded to any letters beyond my first letter of complaint - the solicitor refused to return my Deeds, though I don't owe him any money, then only gave me a portion of my Deeds, and then we discovered that he had sold all of the property and not a portion of it as was supposed to be - so I have to get the title rectified - but Law Society doesn't seem to be responding - do they normally take a long time/are they particularly slow at dealing with things. I'm currently stressed and upset about this.

Marcusm

Find another solicitor and explain the position to him/her. Ask whether they are willing to take on the case in return for the prospect of payment from the Law Society Compo Fund. The Law Soc itself won't rectify the problem for you. At this stage, they may be slowing you down (unintentionally and unknowingly).

Hannaho

Thanks for your reply. So what will the Law Society actually do? I have a solicitor who is willing to take it on, but surely the Law Society needs to respond and let me know that compensation is in order. Also, the solicitor in question has the Deeds of my own private residence and won't return them either, though I know that these have been correctly registered in my name - how can my old solicitor actually get away with this when I don't owe him any money and there is no mortgage on the property. Does the Law Society not tackle these solicitors, or make them hand over Deeds, or rectify matters?

Marcusm

Hannaho wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. So what will the Law Society actually do? I have a solicitor who is willing to take it on, but surely the Law Society needs to respond and let me know that compensation is in order. Also, the solicitor in question has the Deeds of my own private residence and won't return them either, though I know that these have been correctly registered in my name - how can my old solicitor actually get away with this when I don't owe him any money and there is no mortgage on the property. Does the Law Society not tackle these solicitors, or make them hand over Deeds, or rectify matters?

These sound like questions best answered byt he new solicitor.

Grolschevik

Ring the Law Society complaints department. Don't rely on a letter.

They get dozens of letters a day, most of which is crank mail.

Ring them and talk to a human.

However, between first complaint, to investigation, to determining if there was negligence or fraud... will take months.

It's an investigation. They can't just take your word for it. They have to contact the solicitor to get their side of it, there may be non-cooperation from the solicitor etc etc.

Bottom line, it can be a lengthy process. Don't expect resolution within weeks, or even months. Unless there was gross wrongdoing that is crystal-clear evident that requires immediate intervention (like the Byrne case), they have to follow their own due process. And if the solicitor drags his heels, that will delay things considerably.

Hannaho

Thanks all for your replies. Sorry to be still asking for comment/advice. I still can't get the remainder of the deeds for my rental. property deeds or any of the deeds to my own home from my old solicitor. I have now had two solicitors writing for the deeds, and have had to pay both of them - the second solicitor I asked to write for them was a local solicitor who looked at the deeds of the rental property and told me they were incomplete. I have written to the Law Society, but they appear really slow to do anything. I have been ringing them recently, and no one will accept a phone call - they keep promising me that letters will be in the post in a day or two, but I'm still waiting for another letter from them. They seemed to be just concerned with the deeds of my rental property, even though my old solicitor has refused to return the deeds to my own home also. I have sent them all the correspondence of both solicitors who were involved in trying to get my deeds from old solicitor. I have a buyer for the rental property - is there anyway I can progress this. The Law Society don't really seem that bothered - even though I don't owe the solicitor any money at all, and there is no reason for him to keep the deeds to my two properties. Advice/comment to the next step would be really appreciated - Do I write to the Senior Solicitor in the Complaints in the Law Society; or do I write to the independent adjudacator down the line if I don't get anything resolved with them. They say they are dealing with a large amount of complaints re solicitors every day!

blueythebear

Hannaho wrote: »

Thanks all for your replies. Sorry to be still asking for comment/advice. I still can't get the remainder of the deeds for my rental. property deeds or any of the deeds to my own home from my old solicitor. I have now had two solicitors writing for the deeds, and have had to pay both of them - the second solicitor I asked to write for them was a local solicitor who looked at the deeds of the rental property and told me they were incomplete. I have written to the Law Society, but they appear really slow to do anything. I have been ringing them recently, and no one will accept a phone call - they keep promising me that letters will be in the post in a day or two, but I'm still waiting for another letter from them. They seemed to be just concerned with the deeds of my rental property, even though my old solicitor has refused to return the deeds to my own home also. I have sent them all the correspondence of both solicitors who were involved in trying to get my deeds from old solicitor. I have a buyer for the rental property - is there anyway I can progress this. The Law Society don't really seem that bothered - even though I don't owe the solicitor any money at all, and there is no reason for him to keep the deeds to my two properties. Advice/comment to the next step would be really appreciated - Do I write to the Senior Solicitor in the Complaints in the Law Society; or do I write to the independent adjudacator down the line if I don't get anything resolved with them. They say they are dealing with a large amount of complaints re solicitors every day!

You need to get a solicitor to deal with this. It's not enough to hire a solicitor to write a letter for you unfortunately. You will need to threaten legal proceedings and follow through with that. The matter is now becoming urgent with a prospective purchaser.

It could well be that the solicitor realises a mess has been made and he is hoping to run the Statute of Limitations out. Or it could just be something innocent.

It's not clear if you have applied to the Solicitors compensation fund. If you have not done so, you will note that the Law Society applies strict time limits to such applications.

Pat Mustard

OP, you had a previous thread in relation to this same matter, where you mentioned missing deeds and a complaint to the Law Society about your old solicitor.

The Law Society was unable to resolve the matter for you.

You say that your old solicitor sold land that he should not have, and that matters will have to be rectified now.

A solicitor needs to assist you to resolve this matter. You need to decide whether you believe that your new solicitor is competent and hardworking enough to get this done, or not.

If you have faith in your new solicitor, you should direct all of your queries towards him. You should ask him how he intends to get around the problems that now present, how much it will cost to fix all of those problems, who should have to pay for all of the work, and you might consider asking for advice in relation to any losses that may have arisen.

If you do not have faith in new solicitor, you should get another solicitor. A trusted family member or friend should be able to direct you to somebody who is competent, hardworking and honest.

If you have a good solicitor, you should not have to look for advice on the internet.