How to Handle Incompetent Conveyancing Solicitors
Working with an inefficient conveyancing solicitor can, unfortunately, introduce unexpected delays into a highly time-sensitive conveyancing process. Modern conveyancing relies heavily on technology, such as secure portals, digital ID checks, and online Land Registry filing, to ensure you experience the fastest possible conveyancing transaction.
The best conveyancing solicitors embrace these modern systems to enable rapid, transparent communication with their clients and the wider property chain. However, more traditional, slower methods are still in use across parts of the industry.
Below, we explain how to spot and resolve common communication issues with your legal team, and how to confidently raise a formal complaint if service levels drop. We also explore why using the complaints process simply to 'speed up' your transaction is often counterproductive, especially when the current delay sits completely outside of your solicitor's control.
The Statistics: Just how common is poor conveyancing?
If you feel abandoned by your solicitor, official industry data proves you are, unfortunately, not alone. Statistics from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Legal Ombudsman highlight just how prevalent poor service is within the property sector.
- The most complained-about legal sector: SRA research confirms that complaints most often concern residential conveyancing, family law, and probate. The Legal Ombudsman's recent data show that residential conveyancing remains its most complained-about area. It accounted for 36% of all accepted complaints in late 2025/2026.
- High Risk: Communication Breakdowns: According to the SRA, both legal service users and the firms themselves report that the vast majority of all complaints directly relate to delays or complete failures in communication.
- Critical Risk: Evidenced Poor Service: In their 2023/24 annual insight report, the Legal Ombudsman resolved thousands of residential conveyancing complaints. They found official evidence of 'poor service' in an astonishing 76% of those cases.
- Moderate Risk: Complaint Handling Delays: Even when clients try to resolve the issue internally, the SRA found that 20% of consumers reported their solicitor took more than the mandated 8 weeks to provide a final response to a complaint.
3 warning signs of an inefficient conveyancing solicitor
These are some of the top telltale signs that you are working with an inefficient conveyancing solicitor, and what you can do about it.
I've dictated the response
Back in the eighties and nineties, conveyancing solicitors would dictate their legal responses into a handheld machine and pass the tapes to a secretary to type up and post a letter. Astoundingly, some firms still operate this way—even if it is an email now instead of a physical letter.
Modern, efficient solicitors use comprehensive Case Management Systems (CMS) to generate, review, and send legal correspondence digitally in minutes, rather than leaving files languishing in a typing queue for days. In a modern firm, it is the solicitor who actively does the drafting and sending.
What can you do about it? If you spot this archaic practice during the first week or two of your transaction, the most effective solution is to cut your losses and change solicitors immediately. A firm that relies on dictation queues will inevitably cause severe delays later when handling complex mortgage lender enquiries or fast-paced chain negotiations.
However, if you are already several weeks deep into the conveyancing process and cannot afford the time or money to start again, you must adapt your communication strategy. You should explicitly insist that all correspondence is sent to you via email rather than the post. Furthermore, request a direct dial phone number for your specific fee earner (rather than going through the secretary's switchboard) so you can get verbal confirmation of important updates while you wait for the typed documents to finally clear their internal backlog.
The communication black hole
You call for an update, the receptionist promises your solicitor will call you back, and they never do. This frustrating lack of communication actually creates significantly more work for everyone involved. If you are left in the dark, you will naturally call your estate agent and mortgage broker. They will then chase the seller's solicitor, creating a tsunami of panicked phone calls that could have been entirely avoided with a single, proactive email update from your conveyancer.
Often, this "black hole" occurs because the solicitor is juggling far too many files to offer basic customer service, rather than because they are actively working on a complex legal issue for you.
What can you do about it? If you are calling and not getting a reply within a reasonable timeframe, typically one to two working days maximum, you must immediately change your strategy. Stop leaving unrecorded voicemails and switch entirely to email to build a written record of their unresponsiveness.
If the silence continues, you must escalate the issue to their line manager. Check the initial Terms of Business letter you signed at the start of the process; it will legally state the name of the designated Complaints Partner or the Head of Conveyancing. Copy this senior figure into your next email demanding a status update. You need to definitively ascertain whether your file is delayed by a genuine legal hurdle that requires patience, or if you are simply the victim of an overworked, inefficient solicitor.
They are in a meeting... constantly
Conveyancing is a fast-paced environment, and a solicitor's day often involves balancing active phone calls with intense, focused periods of checking complex legal titles. However, considering most residential conveyancers rarely meet clients face-to-face anymore, being "constantly in a meeting" is often a standard screening tactic used by reception staff. It is usually deployed to avoid putting calls through to an overwhelmed solicitor who simply does not have a positive update to give you.
While it is absolutely true that even the best conveyancers need uninterrupted time to draft complex documents—such as your final Report on Title—a complete refusal to take your call for days on end usually points to a severely overloaded caseload, typical of "factory-style" volume conveyancing firms.
What can you do about it? Do not simply hang up and accept "they are in a meeting" as a final answer. Instead, ask the receptionist to physically book a specific five-minute telephone appointment in the solicitor's diary for later that afternoon or the following morning. Alternatively, tell the receptionist to pass on a message stating that you do not need a lengthy phone call, but you strictly expect a one-line email update by the close of business.
If they still fail to honour a booked time slot or ignore a simple email request, it proves the issue is poor customer service rather than just a busy schedule, and it is time to escalate your communication to the firm's Senior Partner.
Expert Tip: Communicate the issue and explain the timeframes
The most critical part of the conveyancing process is often the one thing solicitors fail to deliver: basic communication. As a client, you deserve to know exactly what the hold-up is and, crucially, how long it will take to resolve.
- Communicate the issue: Often, a client will assume their solicitor is incompetent when, in reality, the conveyancer is simply too focused on solving a complex legal problem to actually pick up the phone and explain it. Many delays sit completely outside your solicitor's direct control—such as complex enquiries referred to a mortgage lender, or slow managing agents failing to provide leasehold documents. These are entirely legitimate legal hurdles, but if your solicitor fails to proactively communicate the problem, it simply feels like they are ignoring your calls.
- Realistic Timeframes: Identifying the issue is only half the battle; knowing how long it will take to fix is what actually helps you manage your stress. Solicitors are often reluctant to provide exact timeframes when third parties are involved. For example, a mortgage lender can easily take 15 working days to reply to a referred enquiry, and an absent freeholder can take months to produce an EWS1 fire safety certificate. However, a competent solicitor should always provide you with a worst-case scenario timeframe, so you can set realistic expectations with your estate agent and the rest of the property chain.
For more examples and actionable fixes for the specific problems delaying your transaction, you should read my complete guide: What can hold up the exchange of contracts?
CEO of SAM Conveyancing
How to put pressure on an incompetent solicitor
If you are struggling to get answers, you need to transition from phone calls to creating a written paper trail. Read our full guide on how to put pressure on solicitors, but start with these steps:
If you cannot get a response by phone, email your solicitor to request a bullet-point update on exactly what they are waiting for. Continue to do this once a day. This applies professional pressure and creates a documented timeline of their unresponsiveness without disrupting their ability to actually work on your file. You can also ask your estate agent to apply pressure up the chain to ensure the delay isn't actually sitting with the seller's legal team.
Expert Tip: Don't be that person who complains when there isn't an issue
There are so many forums online advising buyers that if their conveyancing process is delayed, they should immediately raise a formal complaint just to "get things moving." If you do this frivolously, it is the most counterproductive step you can take.
When you raise a formal complaint, the firm is obligated to follow a strict internal complaints procedure under Paragraph 8.3 of the SRA Code of Conduct. This means your solicitor must effectively put down their tools so your file can be pulled, audited by a senior compliance partner, and formally responded to. Instead of chasing your freeholder or negotiating your contract, your legal team is spending their time investigating your complaint.
Furthermore, if your complaint suggests the solicitor has caused a delay that you could sue them for, it creates an "own interest conflict" governed by Paragraph 6.1 of the SRA Code of Conduct. Under this specific rule, if the firm feels they now have to defend themselves against a potential negligence claim, their interests legally conflict with your own. The SRA strictly prohibits them from continuing to act for you in this scenario, bringing your entire property transaction to a sudden and complete halt.
If you have a genuine, valid grievance regarding poor service, then raising a formal complaint is absolutely the correct course of action. But if you are simply using the complaints process as a tactic in the hope it will speed up a delay that isn't actually your solicitor's fault, you are only going to delay your own file further.
CEO of SAM Conveyancing
Tips for choosing a reliable conveyancer
The best way to handle an incompetent solicitor is to avoid instructing one in the first place. Here are three vital checks you must make before you sign their terms of business:
- Check Online Reviews: Do not just glance at the overall star rating on platforms like Trustpilot or Google Reviews. Take the time to read the detailed, written reviews to see exactly how the firm handles communication, delays, and complex problems. If there is a consistent pattern of clients complaining about being ignored or left in the dark, walk away.
- Check Your Solicitor's LinkedIn: Once you are assigned a specific fee earner, look them up on LinkedIn. Checking their professional background helps you assess their experience and how long they have been with the firm. If a firm suffers from high staff turnover or relies heavily on inexperienced paralegals to manage complex, high-volume caseloads, it will inevitably impact the speed and quality of your service.
- Look for CQS Accreditation: Always ensure the law firm holds the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) accreditation. This is a recognised, industry-standard mark of excellence for residential conveyancing practices, demonstrating adherence to strict regulatory and operational guidelines. Furthermore, most major high-street mortgage lenders will only work with CQS-accredited solicitors.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Andrew Boast FMAAT is a qualified accountant, conveyancing specialist and author with over 25 years of experience in the UK property sector. Since beginning his career in 2000 within established SRA and CLC-regulated conveyancing solicitor firms, Andrew has overseen the legal journeys of more than 75,000 clients.
He is the self-published author of the first-time buyer guide: How to Buy a House Without Killing Anyone, and a frequent contributor to mainstream UK media on legislative updates, property law, first-time buyer guides, conveyancing best practices, and stamp duty changes. Andrew specialises in resolving complex title issues, property conflict disputes, and property tax options, streamlining the enquiry process to reduce transaction times and maintaining a client-friendly focus.
Amanda Ambler is a highly accomplished conveyancing specialist with over 15 years of dedicated experience across residential property law, legal compliance, and practice management. Having held senior roles, including Head of Legal Practice and Head of Conveyancing at established UK law firms, Amanda possesses a profound, hands-on understanding of the technical intricacies of the property market.
As the designated Legal Content Reviewer for SAM Conveyancing, Amanda ensures that every guide, legal update, and resource published meets the absolute highest standards of accuracy, regulatory compliance, and factual integrity. Her rigorous review process guarantees that complex property legislation and industry processes are communicated clearly, transparently, and safely for home buyers and sellers alike.
