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What to do if unhappy with a Solicitor services ?

  • 23-08-2008 08:12PM
    #1
    Mucria
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33 ✭


    story is house purchase, terrible service. Did you ever file a complain against a solicitor to the Law Society ?What happened ? ...


Comments

  • #2
    dazza21ie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 992 ✭✭✭dazza21ie


    Have seen quite a few complaints being dealt with from the inside of a solicitors office and usually the result is unsatisfactory for the client. However, if you have a genuine grievance with the service you received then you should complain because this will put the Law Society on notice of the problems you had with this solicitor and if this is a recurring problem they are more likely to take action.
    Can i ask what your particular problem was?


  • #3
    johnnyskeleton
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 14,567 Mod ✭✭✭✭johnnyskeleton


    In a scenario like this where (i'm guessing) that nothing actually went wrong and you didn't suffer a loss, but you felt that you were treated unprofessionally by your solicitor or that your solicitor took too long to do the conveyance, I would suggest that you also confront the solicitor with the problem. They might apologise for any unprofessional conduct, and if there was a delay they might explain why it was. You could try to use the delay/poor service to negotiate a discount on fees, although this is unlikely.

    If you can't go down this route or you try it and it doesn't work, you can complain to the law society.


  • #4
    Mucri
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 22 ✭Mucri


    dazza21ie wrote: »
    Have seen quite a few complaints being dealt with from the inside of a solicitors office and usually the result is unsatisfactory for the client. However, if you have a genuine grievance with the service you received then you should complain because this will put the Law Society on notice of the problems you had with this solicitor and if this is a recurring problem they are more likely to take action.
    Can i ask what your particular problem was?

    Thanks Dazza for you post, really appreciate it. Well to keep it simple, arrogant behaviour, no phone calls or e-mail returned. The job has been done but not completed yet (almost 8months). I asked per update and got back a letter stating they are gonna charge me more because of the unusual revel of queries. Truth is, even the broker was unhappy with the bahaviour and asked me to liase on their behalf asking the solicitor the info they needed to complete the mortgage process. An appart 130Keuro they are asking for 2.1k plus the unknown amount because of my queries. Best part is the published price list mention 0.5 property purchase price. So all in all doing the math the bill should be 1450-1500euro top, outlays included. I asked for a detailed quotations and wrote to Law society to complain.

    Any idea of the response time from the law society Dazza ?


  • #5
    Mucri
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 22 ✭Mucri


    johnnyskeleton wrote: »
    In a scenario like this where (i'm guessing) that nothing actually went wrong and you didn't suffer a loss, but you felt that you were treated unprofessionally by your solicitor or that your solicitor took too long to do the conveyance, I would suggest that you also confront the solicitor with the problem. They might apologise for any unprofessional conduct, and if there was a delay they might explain why it was. You could try to use the delay/poor service to negotiate a discount on fees, although this is unlikely.

    If you can't go down this route or you try it and it doesn't work, you can complain to the law society.

    Johnny I did try to establish comunication with them. Im the customer not their communication consultant. No loss suffered beside the time wasted following up with phone call to Building mgt company and Council to solicit feedbacks to letter sent from the solicitor.


  • #6
    dazza21ie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 992 ✭✭✭dazza21ie


    The Law Society usually acknowledge receipt of the complaint straight away and sometimes ask for more details before sending a copy of all the correspondence to the solicitor in question giving him/her 14 days to reply. They will usually give the solicitor further time to reply after this so it could take over a month to get a response. They will then send you a copy of the solicitors response and ask you for your comments and this could go on for a while before they make a decision.

    This is quite a common complaint against a solicitor. It basically boils down to poor communication with his/her clients. If the solicitor was keeping a client informed at all times then these complaints never would happen.

    There also seems to be a growing trend among certain solicitors to quote a client a price and then look for more money at a later stage for extra work making the original competitive price no longer that competitive.

    But to be fair to solicitors clients are also getting very very demanding and sometimes are so time consuming that they deserve to be hit with an extra bill for the time they needlessly wasted.


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  • #7
    Maximilian
    Legal Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 5,400 Mod ✭✭✭✭Maximilian


    If what sounds like a conveyancing matter took 8 months, then I would hazard a guess that a large part of that delay was due to matters beyond your solicitors control. If your complaint against your solicitor boils down to crappy service, there's not much the Law Society can do about it.


  • #8
    Mucria
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33 ✭Mucria


    Maximilian wrote: »
    If what sounds like a conveyancing matter took 8 months, then I would hazard a guess that a large part of that delay was due to matters beyond your solicitors control. If your complaint against your solicitor boils down to crappy service, there's not much the Law Society can do about it.


    Yes Maximilian it boils down to crappy service, however there are several implications. My request to the law society are 1) to refer to solicitor published legal fees, the price guideline the solicitor sent me...0.5% property sales price which would bring the bill dow from 2.1k up (as the solic advised is gonna charge more because of my queries...) to 1.4 outlay included...additionally I can prove 2) non update as per the staus of the transaction (unprofessional behaviour...it's over one month Im requesting an itemized bill, plus other stuff related to docs)...3) conduct (I mentioned reluctancy to give information...read arrogance). If I change solicitor I wish the law society to waive any money due to the current one, if I stick with the current solicitor ...wish to pay published fees (1.4k not over 2.1) AND more customer oriented service...what do you think?


  • #9
    Mucria
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33 ✭Mucria


    dazza21ie wrote: »
    The Law Society usually acknowledge receipt of the complaint straight away and sometimes ask for more details before sending a copy of all the correspondence to the solicitor in question giving him/her 14 days to reply. They will usually give the solicitor further time to reply after this so it could take over a month to get a response. They will then send you a copy of the solicitors response and ask you for your comments and this could go on for a while before they make a decision.

    This is quite a common complaint against a solicitor. It basically boils down to poor communication with his/her clients. If the solicitor was keeping a client informed at all times then these complaints never would happen.

    There also seems to be a growing trend among certain solicitors to quote a client a price and then look for more money at a later stage for extra work making the original competitive price no longer that competitive.

    But to be fair to solicitors clients are also getting very very demanding and sometimes are so time consuming that they deserve to be hit with an extra bill for the time they needlessly wasted.


    Dazza you are right it is time consuming to deal with a customer like me...I do have an inquisitive mind and wanna know what is going on and why and where there are issues this...to be able to take action, whenever appropriate. I did play the secretary for my solicitor following up on correspondance/info request sent by him ... and gave him feedback on how the transaction was going... I never questioned the fees (would have been happy to pay a few quids more for a good service) but now ingratitude and ask for more...hey Im not Santa! Love this thread :) I usually write very little :p


  • #10
    sh_o
    Closed Accounts Posts: 198 ✭✭sh_o


    I presume you have seen this leaflet from the law society which provides a lot of information. Note that these matters may take time as the society would need all of the information from both sides prior to making any decision as their sanctions can be quite serious.


  • #11
    Mucria
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33 ✭Mucria


    sh_o wrote: »
    I presume you have seen this leaflet from the law society which provides a lot of information. Note that these matters may take time as the society would need all of the information from both sides prior to making any decision as their sanctions can be quite serious.


    Thanks Sh, saw this leaflet somewhere...this is not a matter for litigation eventually Disciplinary Tribunal if the solicitor and myself do not arrive to an understanding. Cannot belive the senior partner I wrote to did not get back to me...Im trying to have a dialog and they are stubborn in refusing to listen...I find this behaviour suicidal, it's a pity as I am sure than they know their job...stress is a bad beast


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  • #12
    dazza21ie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 992 ✭✭✭dazza21ie


    Quite a few solicitors try the ostrich defence when dealing with complaints i.e. burying their head and hope that the problem will go away. Of course this approach just makes things worse.


  • #13
    Rhonda9000
    Closed Accounts Posts: 451 ✭✭Rhonda9000


    Leaving laziness, non-replies and larger-than-expected fees aside, was the conveyance itself deficient?


  • #14
    Mucria
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33 ✭Mucria


    Rhonda9000 wrote: »
    Leaving laziness, non-replies and larger-than-expected fees aside, was the conveyance itself deficient?

    Hi Rhonda, thanks for your post. What do you mean by deficient ? So far not closed that's all I can say. I know nothing about the title (if are there issues or not) for what I know could be a leashold for life. I have not been informed. I only know that the mortgage funds have been lodged (somwhere...interests on the deposit?Who knows??) and we are awaiting reponses when I asked the only answer I got was "it's legal stuff". Sorry I am to much of an imbecile at my solicitor's eyes to waste time giving information...Honestly no clue as per what I am buying "title"wise...do not know if the searches have been done or not ... why did you ask ?


  • #15
    Mucria
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33 ✭Mucria


    Rhonda9000 wrote: »
    Leaving laziness, non-replies and larger-than-expected fees aside, was the conveyance itself deficient?


    Actually I would refer to economic duress if it wasn't for the facts that I did not pay yet and sent a written claim to the law society...addditionally I am limited in my rights as a customer...If I wish to make a claim for specific performance against the vendor I cannot as MY solicitor is holding info


  • #16
    Rhonda9000
    Closed Accounts Posts: 451 ✭✭Rhonda9000


    Unless they botched the conveyance itself, I think -and agree with other posters- that the possibility of receiving any satisfaction from your point of view is unlikely. That's not to say you should not complain about the poor customer experience.


  • #17
    Mucria
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33 ✭Mucria


    Rhonda9000 wrote: »
    Unless they botched the conveyance itself, I think -and agree with other posters- that the possibility of receiving any satisfaction from your point of view is unlikely. That's not to say you should not complain about the poor customer experience.


    hopefully law society will take a different stand. Received a letter today now they wanna charge me 2600euro, not 2100euro anymore.

    I would not get mad for the extra expense (bought the appart cheap, emotionally I do not feel I have a loss) if I lose. But sure will fight against this unfair and outrageous behaviour...next disciplinary tribunal...next EU ( do not know what yet :p any suggestion ?) ...


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