Just under two weeks ago a number of conveyancers and conveyancing firms arrived at their offices, switched on their computers and saw nothing but a blank screen. Initially they thought that there must have been a problem with their hardware or systems. However, after many hours of looking for a needle that wasn’t even in their haystack in the first place, they were eventually told that the problem emanated from company called CTS. A company that provides cloud hosting solutions for law firms’ applications.
Many business owners rushed out and purchased new lap tops etc and after a while they managed to access their emails and some of their documentation but not (in most cases) their case management systems. They then began the arduous task of creating a manual workaround so that transactions could once again proceed. The next concerns they had to address were, was client data and lender and client money safe. It appeared and still appears so, thankfully. For a few days though, and understandably, lenders were very cautious about sending mortgage money out.
I suppose the questions at this time for estate agents, as well as buyers and vendors hoping to exchange and complete before Christmas, is will they, can they? I think in the majority of cases yes. The statement below was posted on LinkedIn in this week:
“Exchanges and completions are still going ahead, most firms have found a way of progressing them, but it is accessing our client’s data and CMS which are the issues. Trying to reply to enquiries or raise enquiries by trawling through hundreds of emails just to find the contract packs and then having to do everything manually and not having easy access to the accounts systems to check how much funds are in the client account is frustrating. It is taking more than double the time to do anything.”
Another firm added: “To be honest the comment on LinkedIn is not exactly how I would have put the current working conditions, but it does, in basic terms, sum up what we are having to do. It doesn’t really explain what we are trying to do for our clients and the lengths that we are going to. That said, for firms like ours who do currently have such work arounds in place then there might be some small delays but nothing that would impact a person’s wish to complete before Christmas if they wanted to.”
A number of questions now arise of course. For example, could this have been prevented? Should firms have had better back up? Is being a paperless firm the right thing to do, or should they just be paper lite? Can compensation be obtained for people who have had to go into temporary accommodation and store their furniture for a while?.
Those questions will be addresses and hopefully answered at a later date. What needs to be done now though, is for all parties to pull together, in order to get as many people in their new homes before Christmas as is possible.
Rob Hailstone is founder of the Bold Group, a network of conveyancers
If you are still stuck, move to another conveyancer, TODAY
1. Pick one who will help (they will guide you through opening an urgent file with them)
2. Tell the estate agent of your new conveyancer who will notify all parties
3. Have your mortgage offer reissued to your new conveyancer
4. Your conveyancer speaks to the other conveyancer to agree a plan (adoption of the existing contract papers and searches should be easy enough to secure if the conveyancer ‘thinks outside the box’)
5. Your conveyancer will circulate the contract for you to sign and their written report if you are purchasing.
It’s being done. Find a conveyancer who can help.
Good luck.
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My sympathies are with all those affected.
However today I spoke to a client who has a buyer affected by this.
Now advised to plan to simultaneously exchange and complete on Friday 15th.
We explained that full payment for the move would be needed due to the risks.
‘my solicitor told me to ask you to waive that in case it collapsed the day before’
‘err, sorry but if your solicitor is going to put you in such a position of risk you should go back and ask them to carry it it’
Now, like I said. I have sympathy for the firms and most importantly the public affected.
The story above though is both true, and daft.
Common sense needs to prevail.
Conveyancers reading this, stop and think before suggesting this type of work around. This client is now £3.5k deep into moving costs, non refundable if it fails within 3 days of completion day.
It’s the conveyancer causing this. Client understands our position as movers. Ended up saying ‘yes, I agree the she was wrong to imagine you’d just shoulder the risk’
This post might be construed a critics, but it’s more a plea.
Don’t expect to pass on risk. Think about the entire situation in the round.
And even if your client is one for whom delays at the last minute may not matter (BTL investor for example) think about the chain above.
This chap, today left the phonecall to go back to the conveyancer to point out how unfair it is that they just assumed they could pass on massive risk to another firm they don’t know. And to inform them how unreasonable it is.
A plea.
Not a dig.
A plea.
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Wrong Matt, the conveyancers did not cause this, the hackers and CTS did.
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That’s not what it meant.
The conveyancer caused the situation the client is now in with regards uncertainty and being into thousands of pounds of potentially wasted expense.
Moreover the conveyancer definitely caused the situation whereby they imagine other firms will carry immense risk imposed by them.
If they choose to do this, then they should put on their big boy pants and shoulder that risk themselves
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You have lost me Matt, and I don’t have the time and inclination to continue this discussion. My article is pretty clear, even if to your mind daft.
Have a great Friday. I hope the completions you are involved in go well, and I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happier New Year.
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Rob,
I’ve not said your article is daft. Quite the opposite!
I have no idea how you’re misinterpreting quite so much.
Go have a coffee
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Rob hailstone was less nice about this situation 2 years ago when a large form had similar issues… he was out for blood…. What’s changed Rob?
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Really truthspeaks (what a contradictory pseudonym)? A lot of the firms caught up in the situation 2 years ago were BLG members. Please point me in the direction of any posts or comments I made that show I was “out for blood.” And if you are going to make accusations like these, please use your real name, or are you worried about a defamation claim, because they just aren’t true?
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Claim?
Grow up for gods sake
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Wouldn’t normally worry Jan if like you and me they used their real name. Anyway that comment they made is completely untrue. If it isn’t, let them prove otherwise.
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