Completion - sudden change of completion date?
My solicitor sent me the Transfer document to sign, but the completion day is suddenly delayed without any notice.
That will cause an enormous inconvenience and financail damage.
Ofcourse I will make a compalint to my solicitor but does this sort of thing commonly happen?
If I can go nowhere by speaking to them where should I make a complaint. I'm in England.
I'm devastated. I can't even trust solicitors who are supposed to protect me...
Answers:
You did not say whether you were buying or selling
Completion dates can change for various reasons and is very common in buying and selling properties but your Solicitor should have told you the reason why the completion date has been changed
You should ask the person you are buying from/selling to the reason for this change
The main reason for the change in completion dates is when a "chain" is involved - whereby the person you are selling to has to sell their house and so on - all the dates for everyone have to correspond on the same day - your Solicitor should have informed you if there is a chain
Unless you have signed a contract with an fixed completion date you have no recourse I am afraid
Do not sign the Transfer if you are selling until the completion date is fixed in the contract
I really think the only complaint you can have against your Solicitor unfortunately is him not explaining everything to you and not keeping you informed better on the completion date and the reasons for the change in date.
I have seen this happen on a number of occasions - some people have even lost the sale/purchase of another property due to being in a "chain" - until the law is changed whereby a definite completion date is put into a contract and if that date is not adhered to then the buyer/seller has to pay an interest rate daily until completion if it does not complete on that day then this will keep happening . You can have a contract with the date stated which is the best contract to have if possible but in a lot of circumstances this is not viable for various reasons depending on the circumstances of the seller/buyer involved
Hope it all works out for you soon
As the great P.G. Wodehouse might have said in the case of a trust relationship gone somehow awry:
YOICKS!
Yes, date of completion changes with or without notice indeed changes the contract, sometimes fundamentally, esp if you have a clause stating something like, 'time is of the essence.'
Write a one-page email to the British law society complaints dept. (see links below), explaining how you were informed of the changed completion date, whether the contract stipulated any procedures in the event of a change, what instructions you gave to solicitor to indicate your displeasure with change, the solicitor's response, and MOST IMPORTANT what the change has cost you in money, inconvenience (esp lost business opportunities as a result of the change - any provable $$$ loss. Include a word or two about retainer agmt with solicitor if appropriate. Indicate, at least, that there is no dispute about the legal bill... yet.
This will certainly get their attention. They investigate all of these complaints as a matter of course, so expect a reply. Wouldn't plan on ever using this solicitor again, though. Having the law society breathing down one's arrogant, superior, overpaid neck is a discomfort known only to the lower acquaintances of Dante and hence not easily forgiven.
Good luck!
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