Numerous complaints have been made by Simpson Millar’s clients after the firm closed its conveyancing department, leading to the firm making a public apology
Simpson Millar has apologised to clients who were affected by the firm shutting down its conveyancing department after the firm received a number of complaints.
The firm has been bombarded with complaints on social media and review sites after clients claimed they were neglected and kept in the dark over their ongoing transactions as many have stated the firm is refusing to answer calls and emails. One stated:
“We (and others) have basically been left high and dry with no support or alternatives.
Nobody is contactable there and all their clients have been ignored, no contingency plans have been put in place to deal with this fallout. All their staff are leaving and we as clients are the ones that are suffering.”
A reviewer on Trust Pilot claimed their transaction was in danger of collapsing because the buyer for their property was a client of Simpson Millar. They added:
“We are now in the awful position that three days away from our expected completion date, nothing can progress and we are nearly homeless with huge expenditure being lost on removalists/builders deposits.”
Simpson Millar admitted its customer service was below its usual standards, but had offered to try and rectify the situation by outsourcing the ongoing transactions in a deal with Conveyancing Expert Limited who will help with these client’s cases. 16 Simpson Millar staff will also transfer to Conveyancing Expert.
Simpson Millar said Conveyancing Expert will help their clients speed up their transactions and provide a better standard of customer service.
Greg Cox, chief executive of Simpson Millar, stated:
“Over the last few weeks, we have seen the service provided to some of our conveyancing clients dip below our usual high standards. This is a result of circumstances beyond our control, which meant that we had to prioritise the transactions our teams worked on.
While I should stress that during the same period, we have helped hundreds of other clients successfully move home, the agreement with Conveyancing Expert will help get us back to providing a high standard of service for all of our remaining conveyancing clients.
We understand that buying or selling a home is an extremely important milestone in a person’s life. We are very sorry to those clients, and to any fellow professionals, who might have been affected whilst we addressed the unforeseen issues. We are grateful to those clients who have had to bear with us.”
Simpson Millar have closed several other departments besides its conveyancing group after the firm announced it was downsizing last month. The closure resulted in 16 Simpson Millar staff transferring to Conveyancing Expert.
Gavin Wall, Conveyancing Expert chief executive, said they have been working “non-stop” to keep clients informed and complete purchases. He added:
“Many of the team generously worked over the weekend, and by a herculean effort have reviewed nearly a third of all live case matters in just two working days.
We have now allocated even more resource to the transactions with one simple aim; to get the valued clients of Simpson Millar updated, and their home move progressed in a meaningful manner.”
Chris Johnson, Simpson Millar’s director of injury and private practice, has also reiterated the firm’s apology to clients for any inconvenience or stress caused. He stated:
“While we have helped hundreds of people successfully move home over the last few weeks, including many clients whose property transactions completed on Friday of last week, we acknowledge that we have seen the service provided to some of our conveyancing clients dip below our usual high standards.”
Comments sourced by The Law Gazette.
Join nearly 5,000 other conveyancers – sign up to our newsletter
