Rude Solicitors

[tsunami]

I hired some solicitors that live near me to help me buy my first home way out in the country which is quite cheap compared to homes in this area I currently live and at first they seemed quite friendly etc but after I signed their contract to hire them my solicitor has been very rude and arrogant to me. I have always remained polite and held back from expressing my dislike for the way I'm treated but I'm starting to lose sleep and I feel disappointed I hired this outfit now.

For example when I called the other day just to let them know that the bank contacted me to tell me my loan is approved and they will get the final paper work finished this week. My solicitor said " I just don't understand why they are taking so long" with a very sarcastic tone, sought of like making out that I'm an idiot.... She then went on to say that she will let the current owners solicitors know. I said you can if you like but I will have the all the paper work this week. She then said "They are always calling me, with some sarcastic chuckle.... She has already mentioned this several times. She is not even a real estate solicitor and the other woman is but it seems I have been assigned to her. I wish I could just get rid of them and get some more professional and helpful solicitors. But I already signed the paper for them to act as my solicitor and I can't afford to pay them and then go and pay another solicitor to do it all again

 

[BayView]

I find that if you come straight out and confront people about their rudeness to their face (and they usually feign ignorance to this behavior) then one of two things will happen:

1. They are all apologetic and back down immediately and the relationship improves.

2. They are aggressive and argue that you are way off base and the relationship will still be not great, but they are aware you are on to them and will tone it down a lot.

Either way, you get it off your chest and feel better, but most times they are apologetic, which is nice and things improve.

Mind you, I have had a similar experience with solicitors - not so much the solicitor, but the receptionists - very terse and frosty attitude as though they are more superior for some reason. Maybe it's the industry?

Next time you are in a conversation with her, say something like; "you are the rudest, most arrogant person I have ever met. Where do you get off treating me like this?" and so on.

Or; "are you always this rude and arrogant to all your clients; where do you get off?" etc.

Very blunt, and usually a big surprise to them.

This usually works.

Don't be walked over - YOU are paying them.

 

[PrimeCommercial]

but after I signed their contract to hire them my solicitor has been very rude and arrogant to me.

I have never had to signed a contract to engage a solicitor. Maybe other people have thought they were rude also and took their business elsewhere half way through doing the work, so now they make their cleints sign a contract to stop them walking. Who knows

If your loosing sleep over it, just tell them up front your not ahppy and you would like to take your business elsewhere, I'm sure they would charge you for work already done but at least you can sleep at night.

 

[Collector]

I hired some solicitors that live near me to help me buy my first home way out in the country which is quite cheap compared to homes in this area I currently live and at first they seemed quite friendly etc but after I signed their contract to hire them my solicitor has been very rude and arrogant to me. I have always remained polite and held back from expressing my dislike for the way I'm treated but I'm starting to lose sleep and I feel disappointed I hired this outfit now.

For example when I called the other day just to let them know that the bank contacted me to tell me my loan is approved and they will get the final paper work finished this week. My solicitor said " I just don't understand why they are taking so long" with a very sarcastic tone, sought of like making out that I'm an idiot.... She then went on to say that she will let the current owners solicitors know. I said you can if you like but I will have the all the paper work this week. She then said "They are always calling me, with some sarcastic chuckle.... She has already mentioned this several times. She is not even a real estate solicitor and the other woman is but it seems I have been assigned to her. I wish I could just get rid of them and get some more professional and helpful solicitors. But I already signed the paper for them to act as my solicitor and I can't afford to pay them and then go and pay another solicitor to do it all again

From your description of the conversation "They are always calling me" and "I don't know why they are taking so long" has given me a picture that the process has been drawn out.


You signed a contract with your Solicitor - was this fixed cost contract that did not allow for extra cost - i.e. addition contact, requests, time with phone calls etc.?

If you signed a contract with your Solicitor and the matter has been drawn out - taking considerable time between your offer and the exchange of the sales contract - I can see why your solicitor may have the attitude she has.


Now that you have loan approval the process to exchange is almost over, unless the DD inspections haven’t taken place. Bear with it - and after the process is over learn from the experience and move on.

 

[Raddles]

Hi there
can I say that sometimes it is the younger solicitors - perhaps with a chip on their shoulder who sometimes don't have the people skills they should
as you get older - people seem to get it a lot better.
I must admit the worst experience I had was with a conveyancing clerk who thought she knew it all - in the particular situation I am thinking of she was just talking through her hat and showed her ignorance - once I indicated that I would be speaking with one of the senior partners about her attitude - things changed considerably.
thanks

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

I've found many solicitors and conveyancers take a very arrogant approach to people they work with. The prevailing attitude appears to be that as they are legally qualified, they are right and everyone else should do what they're told.

Granted, they don't often make mistakes (in conveyancing), but when they do they generally refuse to take responsibility for them which I've found has cost clients and myself time and money. They are strict rule followers and often refuse to go outside of the box to get something done. Whilst following rules is a good trait in the legal world, it can be frustrating to deal with sometimes.

I've had to deal with a lot of solicitors and conveyancers over time. Most are fine. A few are absolutely terrible and I never want to deal with them again. A few are also fantastic and these are the ones I happily recommend to clients.

I do know conveyancers in most states that I'd happily recommend on the basis that they have good processes, know what they're doing and they solve problems rather than complain about them. The person I recommend in NSW is regional, but location isn't an issue for most conveyancing as long as it's in the same state.

 

[The Y-man]

I must be very lucky to have the solicitors I have - if I can't get them on the phone for a quick question, they always respond to my emails....

The Y-man

 

[Nucha]

Next time this person is rude to you simply say "I do not appreciate your attitude, please do not speak to me in this way" then say nothing and wait for their reply. You may be surprised. My experience is when you stand up to these rude bullies they back down very fast when confronted. You don't need to be rude yourself or even strongly challenging. Simply stand your ground.

If I'm wrong then definitely speak to a senior partner. You can be sure this person does not own the business.

Regarding switching solicitors, I would not do this at this late stage. It will end up costing you more in fees. (Been there, done that and it cost me dearly.)

Good luck.

 

[tsunami]

thanks for the feedback everyone, it has helped a lot. I think I will confront her next time she is rude, I will be speaking to them again to arrange a meeting when I get the bank loan documents.

If I'm wrong then definitely speak to a senior partner. You can be sure this person does not own the business.

Regarding switching solicitors, I would not do this at this late stage. It will end up costing you more in fees. (Been there, done that and it cost me dearly.)

Good luck.

Yes the other older woman who is the real estate specialist is the actual owner so I might end up telling her I'm not happy with the attitude of the other person.

Yes it might be better just to get it done and move on.

 

[tsunami]

Well I ended up not buying my first property that I nearly signed for. So after several months and a larger budget I finally found another property to buy. I had also dropped into the solicitors a couple of times in between to let them know I was still intending to buy a home and was looking for one in case they thought I wasn't interested anymore and sent me an invoice.

So once I found the place and my verbal offer was accepted I contacted the solicitors to let them know the details etc. The woman that was previously a bit difficult as I wrote about in earlier posts has been better but now it is the older main solicitor that has been difficult.

I had an arranged meeting with her a couple of days ago to go through the contract and I also brought a copy of the pest & building inspections and gave her that. She started to go through the inspection reports first and highlighted parts that were of interest as she was reading it out. I politely interrupted her and asked her if I we should discuss these highlighted parts as she read them or if we should go over them when she is finished? Anger soon was expressed on her face and she threw a bit if a hissy fit so to speak and just stood up and said, "NO, YOU CAN GO THROUGH THIS YOURSELF LATER" and she walked out to get a stapler and planted the reports down in front of me and then proceeded to go through the contract. I told her that I'm very sorry for interrupting her but was only trying to ask if we should discuss the points as she highlighted them or after she finished but she still insisted that it was not anything they should be dealing with and it is up to me to sort all that out about the inspection reports and it's got nothing to do with them and it is up to me to contact builders etc and get quotes on repairs that should be done. If you can imagine as a kid been interviewed by a crabby, strict, head teacher then you might know a little about what it was like but I was always quiet, polite and punctual.

So she then proceeded to read the contract as if everything was fine. She mentioned a couple of times that it is a good idea to get a survey which I already know but I told her I was not going to get a survey as I wanted to keep my expenses down for now but I might consider it in the future. She proceeded to mention it a few times and I said to her I'm not interested in it but I might look into it at a later date and I said "do you have an idea on the cost anyway?", which was a wrong thing to say, I realize now. She said she could find out easy enough, but I said it's not really necessary. She then proceeded to make several phone calls and it took around 10 minutes while I sat there waiting. She then finally got a phone number and name of a company I could contact in my area about surveys. She then asked me again if I wanted to get one, I said "NO I DON'T" firmly. So after that she read the contract out and it all took nearly 1.5 hours. Throughout the meeting she was ok most of the time besides the above but constantly mumbled about why the vendors are using such a big company to handle the sale of a cheap home like mine (under $180,000). I'm not sure what all that meant but it seemed to be important to her.

I then dropped into see them today briefly to tell them I had signed the bank loan and FHOG and gave them the documents from the bank. I also asked her about the results of the inspections as I had got a list of costs and quotes on repairing a couple of things that would need to be done before I lived in the home and were not expected. I asked if they could discuss these with the vendors solicitors. She said no, this is something I need to do myself and I then said "I thought this is what I hired you for". They also told me the vendors solicitors would not let me move in before the official day that I get the keys (can't remember the term) which was disappointing.

I then contacted the real estate agent who has been very helpful from the start and I told her about my solicitors not wanting anything to do with the inspections and also about not been able to move in earlier. She obviously didn't want to get involved in that but she agreed it seemed unusual as it was something that solicitors would normally handle and she said she would send my report about the costs of repairs to the vendors solicitors to see if the vendor will give a price reduction and she seemed very positive about it all which was a far cry from my solicitors. She also said she was very surprised to learn that the vendors solicitors would not let me move in earlier as they had given approval on other properties she has sold recently for early occupation. She is going to follow all that up for me tomorrow so it will be interesting to hear back from her about all that.

There are a few other things that the solicitors have been difficult with as well but I won't complicate this anymore. I'm just annoyed at the way they have treated me and their arrogance and rudeness. They can be friendly and even come across as nice sometimes but I'm still finding them a bit of a nightmare to have as solicitors but the problem is I'm so deep in this now that I can't afford to back out with hiring them as I'm sure the bill with be huge enough plus I'm hoping to get this sale completed as soon as possible as I have to move out of my apartment soon.

I never thought that your own solicitor would end up been the biggest hurdle in buying a house.

 

[Perp]

I had an arranged meeting with her a couple of days ago to go through the contract and I also brought a copy of the pest & building inspections and gave her that.

It's hard to be sure, tsunami, but I think perhaps you're not really clear on your solicitor's role, and unfortunately, they're not doing a good job of leading you through this process. I also get the impression that you think they do a lot more than they do... Their job is to transfer the property from the vendor's ownership to your ownership, as per the contract you've presented them with.

They won't read building & pest reports, nor will they "discuss" them with the vendor. They won't help you analyse the reports, or advise upon the implications of the reports - that's up to you to decide.

But if you want to ask to be released from the contract because of a poor report, or demand certain rectification works be performed, or request pre-settlement access, then they'll relay those requests to the vendor's solicitor.

Be aware that the request for pre-settlement access, if it wasn't written into the original contract, is a contract variation and probably will cost you extra on top of the standard conveyancing fee.

Good luck in establishing a more professional and friendly rapport with your solicitors.

 

[tsunami]

It's hard to be sure, tsunami, but I think perhaps you're not really clear on your solicitor's role, and unfortunately, they're not doing a good job of leading you through this process.

That's a good point and made me think a bit. Maybe I have misunderstood their role. I did think though that they would negotiate a lower price if I had shown documentation to prove this. Anyway I will take your advice and maybe I will back off a bit and let them do their thing and just get this finished and I'll have to deal with the vendor's solicitors and agent on my own if required.

Be aware that the request for pre-settlement access, if it wasn't written into the original contract, is a contract variation and probably will cost you extra on top of the standard conveyancing fee.

Yes I was aware of that and I'm expecting to pay a fee similar to rent for the time occupied.

Well I hope to get better news tomorrow

 

[nhb74]

I dont really have that much to add as ozperp has already mentioned it all, but you are being wayyy too nice to someone who was being very rude and talks to you like a little kid (you are the client after all and paying them for a service) . Maybe after this is all done you can set her straight and tell her to pull her head in as you probably won't be using them again in the future?

 

[tsunami]

I dont really have that much to add as ozperp has already mentioned it all, but you are being wayyy too nice to someone who was being very rude and talks to you like a little kid (you are the client after all and paying them for a service) . Maybe after this is all done you can set her straight and tell her to pull her head in as you probably won't be using them again in the future?

Yes I just don't want to make it any harder than it is and I only care about getting my home and not giving them a lecture which I know they deserve. I probably will let them know that I'm glad to get rid of them once this is over though. I'm not even going to contact them anymore now anyway, I will wait for them to contact me to say the contract is completed and will go in there and sign it and then leave immediately.

 

[The Y-man]

I did think though that they would negotiate a lower price if I had shown documentation to prove this.

Definitely outside the scope of a conveyancer or solicitor.

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[Perp]

I did think though that they would negotiate a lower price if I had shown documentation to prove this.

As Y-Man has said, this is definitely outside their scope.

I'll have to deal with the vendor's solicitors and agent on my own if required.

I don't really understand why so much is still being "negotiated" when you seem to have already signed a contract. This may be why the solicitor's annoyed; once you present them with a contract, this should be done and they should just execute the contract.

The pre-settlement access, for example, should have been negotiated and written in to the original contract. And I'm wondering if you're trying to do what many buyers do, and use the building inspection as a tool to negotiate price. In the absence of major and/or hidden defects, that's poor form.

If you have contract change requests, they go through your solicitor, but anything short of that - eg discussions, negotiations, opinions, etc - should go through the agent.

Yes I was aware of that and I'm expecting to pay a fee similar to rent for the time occupied.

Yes, you'll probably have to pay this to the vendor (if they grant permission), but I meant that you'll probably also have to pay your solicitor extra for the work involved in varying the contract - and that may be hundreds.

Do you have a fixed-price agreement with your solicitor? I'm a bit concerned that if you're seen as a high-maintenance client, that you may be in for a horror bill...