Good
solicitors are efficient, move reasonably quickly,
study the lease carefully and alert you to any potential problems.
For
example they'd spot the clause in the lease which says carpets
are compulsory in the upstairs flat - so will you have to
pay extra for them or - if you live below - what action can
you take when your upstairs neighbours go for the pine floorboards
look which makes them sound like a herd of wilderbeest when
they go to the potty late at night. (Their bad solicitor didn't
tell them they had to have carpets).
Good
solicitors are available. They return your calls
and listen to your concerns. (Don't treat them
too much as a therapist though).
When
this writer bought a flat the solicitor we used was a godsend.
She was instrumental in helping to move the deal along and
was very aware of potential issues about the type of place
we were buying (a flat on the middle floor of a city house).
She alerted us to several potential pitfalls. Being based
in the country, she was much cheaper than her city based counterparts.
Bad
solicitors move slowly, possibly jeopardising
your deal if you need to move fast. They don't read the
documents carefully, and will lie that they told you about
the £2,000 annual service charge hidden in the lease
when you're trying to sue them.
Your phone calls won't be returned, your questions won't
be answered and your instructions will be ignored.
They won't alert you to any potential problems and will
probably charge you more as well.
The
third type of solicitor are the mediocre majority,
who are somewhere in between.
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Conveyancing
problems are one of the most common official
complaints made about solicitors. About half
of people who had problems when buying or selling
their home apparently say it was due to unnecessary
delays by their solicitors.
If
you are unhappy with your solicitor's service, you
can challenge their bill with them directly.
The
Law Society is the body to complain to about solicitors.
However,
bear in mind that - like many similar bodies in Britain
- the Law Society is really just a group of professionals
regulating themselves. It's little more than a Trade
Union for solicitors.
It's
certainly a poor regulator of them.
The
reality of making a complaint against a solicitor
is that you're not likely to get very far.
For
example the Law Society will only look into a complaint
if it has already been upheld by another body eg
a small claims court.
The
Law Society may deny this officially, but this writer
has anecdotal evidence that backs this up.
As
a result of general disatisafction with their performance,
the government keeps threatening to take this self
regulation away and put solicitors into the hands
of a genuine independent body. So it might be worth
taking any complaint to your local MP and / or writing
to Tone in Downing Strasse.
The
Law Society has a brochure, Working With Your
Solicitor, which gives information about fees
and protocol and confirms that all firms must have
a complaints procedure.
Law
Society: 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1SX, 020 7242
1222.
