does solicitor no longer work for you after completion?

[TruthLedger]

Hello guys

After asking a question today to my solicitor, I received this response below

Our instructions are now concluded in respect of the conveyancing and there is no further correspondence for us to forward to you apart from the completed HMLR registration which will be forwarded to you once received. Any further work is now outside of a normal conveyancing transaction and will incur a fee.

This makes me question, how long after exchange/completion does solicitor no longer work for you? I guess they are still technically working for me until the completed HMLR registration? What's your experience?

[eagle2]

They are acting somewhat prematurely by saying that they have completed acting according to your existing instructions, subject to the HMLR registration, You can raise comments about the existing instructions but anything not strictly covered by those instructions would require fresh instructions and you would be required to pay additional fees.

[TruthLedger]

Yes, I was wondering too so I did inquiry this with them...I'm curious what their response will be. Will let you know.

[JK0]

Yes, I was wondering too so I did inquiry this with them...I'm curious what their response will be. Will let you know.

But expect a bill for their reply.

Any further work is now outside of a normal conveyancing transaction and will incur a fee.

[Lawcruncher]

The wording does not look likely to have been put together by a marketing department. The time to tell someone a further fee will be incurred is when it is likely to be incurred.

I do not know what current practice is, but I think that on the whole most solicitors used to provide some degree of after-sales service if the client has a query. Apart from anything else it is good marketing. There is a balance to be struck between the client who thinks he can keep on getting free advice and the solicitor who wants to charge just for getting the file out and checking something.

You have of course paid the solicitor to secure a good and marketable title. If it turns out there is a problem he ought to have spotted he should not charge for putting it right.

[TruthLedger]

Lawcruncher,

Thanks. You mention "a good and marketable title" and now got me thinking. Does that mean solicitors can secure a bad title deed?What could they do wrong with securing a title deed? EDIT: I started a new topic "securing a good and marketable title deed"

[eagle2]

I suspect that this is connected with your comments on one of your other threads regarding the service charge deficit.

Your solicitor appears to be saying that he has collected the service charge deficit from the vendor on this occasion but if the freeholder raises any further charges which you want the solicitor to collect from the vendor, the solicitor reserves the right to charge you additional fees.

The solicitor seems to be overlooking that he should have made the proper enquiries as to which charges had not been made but which were the vendor's responsibility for paying at the time of the sale.