Hi Everyone
I was hoping someone could help.
In brief my situation is that I have paid over fees to reserve properties to eventually buy, paying the money into the vendors solicitors client account. The properties were initially brought to my attention by a finder, and I have a copy of the Heads of Terms between the vendor and the finder.
The Heads of Terms stated that a £1,000 res fee per property was to be paid into the vendors solicitors client account. The Heads of Terms also stated that res fees would be refunded should the vendor fail to proceed with the transaction. All appeared OK ,so I reserved 5 properties (£5,000) and sent my money to the vendors solicitors in November 2008. Anyhow come mid-Jan I got a phone call off the finder saying that he believed the deals were not going to happen - he thought it was all a scam. He had a meeting with the vendors Solicitors to try to get the res fees back, but they said they no longer had them as they had passed them all over to their client.
Given this information, I contacted the solicitors, and they said yes the properties were still going to complete, and gave me the vendors phone number. I phoned the vendor and he confirmed this would happen in 7 to 10 days (this has now become a magic number). You only get 30 seconds on the phone with each of them. Solicitor always says they will phone the vendor for an update and get back to you, which they never do. Vendor always says he is currently in a meeting and will phone back but never does. Anyhow this constant 'mess-around' went on until the middle of February until I asked the solicitor for my money back. Vendor then called me (!) saying he had new build flats and did I want them instead of the money. Well I hate new build - so I said no just my money back. I had already supplied the solicitor with ID, copies of the Heads of Terms to get my money back. The vendor then said he would send the money via solicitor, in you've guessed it, 7 to 10 days. Why 7 to 10 days when a bank transaction takes 3 to 4, lord only knows. I asked him to put this in writing. I relayed this back to his solicitor, and promptly received an email from his solicitor confirming I would be paid by vendor in '7 to 10 days'. I quizzed solicitor over why he could not simply send the funds back to me as they were holding them in a client account. Solicitor told me by email that 'we are not holding any funds'
Well the 10 days was last Thursday. I emailed solicitor to ask were my money was, they said they had not forgotten and had left messages with vendor already asking what was happening. Apparently vendor has a 'deal' going through next week, so would be sending the funds then, and to contact him directly. I have emailed solicitor back saying this is not good enough, that if this 'deal' does not go through, what then?, and that I intend to seek legal advice, and report matters to the Law Society of which they are a member.
I believed by sending the money to the solicitors client account it would be held in 'escrow' until the properties completed, or a refund was requested. He has emailed me back to state that if the funds were being held to order, which they were not, this would have been stated in the Heads of Terms which is was not, and they will await to hear from my solicitor.
Apologies if I have not been that clear - I am just so frustrated by it all that it is hard to relay the situation clearly sometimes.
Can anyone advise were they think I stand in this, and what my next step should be? Also can anyone explain why you would pay funds into a solicitors client account if they were not to be held to order (surely if this was the case I would have just sent the money straight to the vendor?)
Many thanks for any help in advance.
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