Avoid at any cost
I cannot stress enough how unhappy I am with services provided by this office. They describe themselves as "Property Solicitors - low cost fees" on their webisite, but the costs are not low. There was an additional charge not included in the quote and I was also charged for a sale that could not be completed due to the withdrawal of buyers. I have not been informed by the solicitor that withdrawal just before signing the agreements is even allowable by the low.
I was unemployed and on a small Illness Benefit payment. As a consequence of the withdrawal I went into debt, having to continue paying mortgage for an apartment I no longer lived in. The solicitor, knowing the details of my situation, demanded immediate payment of almost 1k.
In addition, he made the preparation of the contract for the new buyer conditional on the payment of the said amount, i.e. he delayed the sale, knowing how much I needed the funds from the sale of the apartment to pay off the debt that had already accrued.
I negotiated debt rescheduling with two other companies at the time and considering my situation they agreed to do so, but not this solicitor. He showed a complete lack of understanding and empathy. The payment was postponed after the real estate agent intervened. It added an enormous amount of stress to an already stressful situation.
At times, they were no acting promptly. Some of my emails and phone calls were left unanswered. When the solicitor was on holidays or was working from home, the case was barely progressing. I was the person who sent queries to the management company. I was also the person who made sure they stick to the set closing date. To my amazement, after the closing date, I learned that the mortgage had not been paid. Due to the delay I paid mortgage for a few days the following month, when the apartment already belonged to the new buyer!
The sales proceeds were to be paid to my bank account on the following working day and they were not. I insisted that the payment be made without further delay. Only then they queried the format of bank account details provided a week earlier, which further delayed the transfer. After finalising the sale I contacted the bank only to learn that they created an overpayment of over 900 Euro! In order to get it back, I had to make few phone calls send a letter. This should have been all done by the solicitor’s office. I should not be dealing with this. This is what they got paid for. They had one job to do…
Every day of the delay on their side was costing me money and as the sales proceeds were transferred to my bank account after the set date, I am also loosing lots on FX differences. They could have reviewed my bank details on the day I emailed them and request the final figures from the bank as at the closing date. They did not stick to the closing date and repaid a random amount to the bank. This is disgraceful. I still haven’t received the refund cheque from the bank.
They don’t act in the interest of their clients. They act in their own interest only.
The man who should be acting in our interest acted to our detriment.
