Two thirds of homebuyers and sellers are dissatisfied with the service they have received from their conveyancing solicitor, a recent survey has found.
Bad communication, unexpected additional costs and the amount of time it took to complete, shared top spot for customer dissatisfaction from readers of What Mortgage magazine, with 66 per cent saying they did not feel they had received quality service and value for money.
The survey found that 66 per cent of respondents wanted to see a clearer breakdown of costs while 50 per cent would like to be able to choose the method of communication with their solicitor, such as e-mail, text, phone, online or letter.
Half of the respondents were concerned about mortgage fraud and 17 per cent were unaware fraud even exists in the conveyancing market.
With the fall in the property market due to the economic climate and mortgage lenders reducing their panels to help improve the conveyancing process, a number of smaller conveyancers are under increased pressure.
The Law Society has introduced the Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS), a kite mark for legal firms designed to drive up standards in conveyancing.
In order to qualify for the CQS solicitors must adhere to a robust assessment to show they follow ’best practice’ in residential conveyancing. This requires legal firms to undergo a strict assessment, compulsory training, self-reporting, random audits and annual reviews in order to maintain CQS status.
More than 1,600 conveyancing solicitors have already gained CQS accreditation since it was launched in December 2010 but clearly many more firms are not up to scratch.
Customers need absolute confidence in the service they receive, especially when making such a huge decision in their life, such as buying a home. This survey goes to show that the service provided by many conveyancers need to improve if consumer confidence is to rise.
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