A legal firm that offered cheap conveyancing in a ‘pile it high’ type of operation has been shut down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Abode Solicitors, which traded as Arc Property Solicitors and as Action Conveyancing, was based in Harrogate and had an office in London.
The firm was named as one of the top ten in the UK in terms of revenue per partner in 2011 and earned its ranking on the back of turnover in excess of £10m. The Lawyer magazine said that at £2.7m per partner, it was the sixth highest earner per partner in the country.
The firm believed it could raise its turnover to £30m, saying that its huge growth had come about because of its use of online technologies.
An alleged failure to comply with the Solicitors’ Account Rules 1998 and the SRA Accounts Rules 2011 has led to the regulator’s intervention.
The SRA initially said that the practising certificate of partner Rajob Ali was also suspended. However, the SRA has since clarified that this is not so and that Mr Ali remains free to practise.
The SRA said it had been necessary to intervene in order to protect the interests of the firm’s clients.
An intervention means the SRA has stopped a firm from operating and closed it with immediate effect. An intervention agent, Tom Bridge, of Stephensons Solicitors, in Leigh, Lancashire, has been appointed to take possession of all documents and papers held by the firm, and take possession of all money held by the firm, including clients’ money.
The SRA said that at this stage no further details can be disclosed.
Earlier, it had been unable to answer a question by Estate Agent Today on the firm’s solvency status. We found that the London number was not accepting calls while the Harrogate number put us permanently on hold.
One estate agent told us that the firm was involved in several of its transactions, where buyers and sellers were complaining of lack of contact.
Comments online include one from someone saying they have “lost my dream house … I’ve never felt so betrayed by a company in my life”. Several warn others against using the company.
The affair could make some agents look hard at their conveyancing arrangements, particularly if they involve call centre or factory-type operations.
On the SRA website, there is also reference to a prosecution of Abode Solicitors, dated October 1 last year and published on August 27 this year. It refers to a decision to take the firm to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. Allegations include failure to act in the best interests of lender and purchaser clients and allowing its client bank account to be used as a banking facility.
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Comments
What is going to happen to all the people who were conned into their stamp duty scheme and are now eligible to pay in full plus interest will they pay it for us
What I don't understand is why when everyone knows how bad these firms are no-one does anything about it till it is too late. We owe it to everyone in the industry who is out there doing a great job day in day out to flag these firms up to the relevant regulators before it gets to this stage.
Lets keep it simple.
League tables = nonsense!
Rob Hailstone: ''Not so Mr Quagmire, the solicitors job doesn't start when the contract arrives, nor does it end on completion and what goes on in between is not always visible. The very reason why the two professions should be working closer together.''
''...what goes on in between is not always visible.''
Oh how right that is. I think half the time its invisible to the solicitor dealing with the file....how often at point of supposed exchange does a solicitor say 'ooh hold on a minute I haven't asked about this' or 'oh I have yet to get an answer on that'
and to have agents and solicitors setting up a league table for each other is a recipe for disaster. As you all know its often the individual within a company that makes all the difference, for better or worse, so to tarnish or big up a particular firm on that basis is pretty unworkable...unless you were to name a particular individual without fear of being sued!
Not so Mr Quagmire, the solicitors job doesn't start when the contract arrives, nor does it end on completion and what goes on in between is not always visible. The very reason why the two professions should be working closer together.
The thing is Rob, an agent see's the solicitors job from start to finish where as a solicitor would see the agents work load from the point of sale only.
A possible starting point Quagmire, would be for you guys to list what makes a good conveyancer and my Bold Group members to list what makes a good estate agent and develop it from there?
@Rob
''of setting up a league table of conveyancers and maybe even estate agents.''
Ohhh I'd love that, A solicitor compiling an agents league.
Why do the SRA close these companies down and just create a mess, can they not appiont a "receiver" to sort them out and maintain the business?
Blakemores, a far better and bigger company, went the same way when they were managing their debts, closing them just cost all suppliers a mass of cash and consumer a problem.
Bold Group member firms started getting warnings about Abode Solicitors some three weeks ago, fortunately that meant that some firms and their client's were able to avoid getting caught up in the mess that now ensues. However, it is difficult to understand why the SRA didn’t intervene earlier. One of our member firms emailed this to me only yesterday:
“A week or so ago the SRA told me by e-mail that Abode Solicitors/Action Conveyancing were ok and trading, seven days later they shut them down.”
I would be interested in exploring the possibilities, with EAT and Trevor, of setting up a league table of conveyancers and maybe even estate agents. It makes perfect sense that these two professions should work closer together in order to benefit and protect the public and each other.
The Best Estate agents are listed here
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/property-power-100/
As for Solicitor Internet Farms a definate NO NO
Saw the CPL comments, made me smile, CPL rebranded as CWPL and are now known as CCS, if you get bad press just change your name!
Hooray! The service they provided to clients was appalling and brought shame to the legal profession.
The lenders also have to take some blame for this. They are the ones that squeezed the small independent law firms out of the property market preferring to use the bigger online conveyancing factories. They should also be held accountable.
Couldn't agree more Mr Kent.
I also wanted to add that any agent that is whoring themselves out for a quick referral fee to one of these firms deserves everything they get.
What are CONVEYLAW like, currently advertising next to this article? Any agents had experience of them?
Perhaps EAT could set up a league table and we could all rate conveyancers' performances. At the same time what about lenders and valuers too!! Our livings are in the hands of some VERY inefficient individuals and firms on occasion.
Big T
Have to say, Action conveyancing were one of the WORST firms of solicitors we've ever dealt with, even surpassing Barnetts and premier property lawyers by some margin.
The people of Britain will be far better off!
oops, sorry two. But that is in some 10 years of exposure to them.
Unfair, I've only had one client die during a CPL conveyance.
They can't be as bad as Countrywide conveyancing
Finally this has gone to the correct authority. It is one of the worst conveyancing firms I have ever had to deal with.
We had some horrific dealings with as they were known NO ACTION CONVEYANCING