Solicitors - Remortgage

[Exos]

Not asking for legal advice here, just rather somewhere I can try as I'm at the end of my tether.

First and foremost, I have been doing some works on my house the last two-three months (major renovation in my living room, hall landing and stairs and I'm at the stage that I couldn't keep using my credit card to pay for things, plus it makes it wholly difficult to pay a gas fitter, plasterer etc.. Next point before hand is I now have about 10 weeks due to a sofa purchase (non negotiable delivery date so it can't be pushed back as they won't store it). - N.B. This was before the PPI stuff so it does put a slightly different slant to it, but I still have to wait for that cash anyway!

Bottom line is i re-mortgaged in 2006 but i had significant problems with the lease, ground rent etc as the freeholder wasn't contactable/available/dead. It ended up taking me close to three months to resolve but i ended up having to pay the solicitors at the time to indemnify myself against and absent freeholder, plus pay to go through the process of changing it to freehold, in which i was told after the whole process i would never have this issue again.

So I'm re-mortgaging again, and had a call a few days ago to say that they can't process/complete because the leasehold is in someone else name, and I had listed it as freehold. Ironically the very person/company I had the problems with in 2006 that the solicitors where not able to contact.

Anyway, digs out my paperwork, tries to call the original solicitor gets a "we have changed numbers message", calls the new number...ring ring, ring ring, ring ring, ring ring, ring ring, ring ring, ring ring, ring ring.......no answer after several calls.

Speaks to my new solicitor who advises me to talk to the Law Society, finds out from them the company had ceased trading in July 2011, but the good news is that they had handed over to another solicitors.

Calls them yesterday, gets told I need to put it all in a letter, I mean seriously a letter??? Anyway manages to get them to agree to have someone call me back to discuss. Typically, no call back.

Calls them again today, gets told today that the new solicitors are only responsible for the orderly close down of the old company not to resolve disputes, but I can try and email one of their partners.

That is where it is kind of left as of today, but I am at a total loss. I've paid someone that is no longer around to what I thought prevent a future issue but seemingly they had done fook all! and I'm now in a situation where I need to get my mortgage sorted and can't go anywhere with it.

 

[Him Her]

Sorry, but I think you have a long haul whatever you do.

I reckon you'll probably need the new solicitor to liaise with the solicitor who has the paperwork - they won't tell you anything, they'll only speak to other professionals.

If the work was completed (or possibly largely completed) it may just mean the filing of one or more documents. If nothing was done your money may still be in the client account that solicitors are required to hold.

You may have a valid compensation claim which would be processed by the Law Society.

Whichever route(s) are open you'll need a solicitor to pursue it.

Check how long the new lot have been in business...

 

[paddair]

Solicitors rarely cease trading, what is more usual, is that the firm merges with or is taken over by a second firm and transfers clients, files etc. and you see the second firm calling themselves "Second Firm incorporating First Firm"for a while.
The fact that another firm is responsible for "orderly close down" is due to your original solicitor's reputation being sufficiently poor that another firm would not want to be associated with him and buy his firm, his subsequent indefinate suspension as a solicitor (if he is the person that I'm thinking of) led to closure of his firm.
As HH has said, you'll need your new solicitor to recover your files from the firm that has them in their care.
Take a look at SRA | Claim your money and papers from us | Solicitors Regulation Authority for a bit more info, as

 

[Exos]

Cheers guys.

I mailed the new solicitor who is/was responsible for their "orderly close down", so need to see what they say. I did find it a bit odd that they were quite defensive over any previous cases etc owned and managed by them and that they pretty much didn't want anything to do with it (that was the impression i got)

for the record it was Edmunds & Co.