62 reviews (1/5) and information for Countrywide Property Lawyers , Glasgow

09/07/24 - Reviewed by Anonymous

I had the misfortune of being assigned Latham Gadd as my conveyancing solicitor - a person who, to this day, I'm not convinced actually exists as he was so elusive to actually contact.

Latham regularly took a minimum of one week to reply to emails. Even if it was to check I'd signed a document in the correct place before posting - surely a one second job to open a PDF and reply yes/no.

There were times when I did not hear from Latham at all for three weeks and even four weeks on one occasion.

I began to be seriously concerned that there was a problem with my emails, that Latham was sick, or that he'd been given the sack. I called up the office regularly throughout the six month process and only successfully got a hold of him once. On other occasions, I asked for a call back and never received one.

When I brought up these communication problems with his line manager, she replied, "Well, I can ask him to reply to you but obviously I can't make him do anything." Who can then?

I asked if there was a communication policy, e.g. a minimum number of working days in which a solicitor should reply to their client. The call centre staff said this didn't exist. I asked if they thought a week was acceptable - they said no. How about a month? Also not acceptable, yet it happened with regularity with Latham Gadd.

The reason why this review is 2 stars is because Latham went on holiday at the end of the process. We were then appointed Mary Lord who had good communication and got us over the line. I was so thankful not to have Latham at the end or we'd probably still be waiting on a reply right now.

This shows Countrywide is luck of the draw. You might get someone decent, or you might get Latham. Either way, the company needs to put in place a clear communication policy and line managers ought to take responsibility for whipping their team into shape - isn't that what their role is meant to be?

Overall, disappointing and frustrating. I can't believe that professionals can ignore clients for a month despite repeated follow-ups. In no other industry would this be acceptable.

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