Problem with Solicitor - What are my options?

I am remortgaging from NIB to UlsterBank. NIB transferred the money to the solicitors account but he didnt transfer the money to Ulster bank for a month until I contacted NIB and told him that Ulster Bank has not received the money yet. Meanwhile I had to pay an extra monthly payment to Ulster Bank. Also I have to do monthly payment to NIB as well for the last month.

Solicitor says he was not told by the bank when to pay ulster bank while NIB says he was informed the same day the money was transfered to his account.

Who should I believe. What should I do?

It's hard to know. From my own experience banks have lodged funds to my client account without telling me. However normally my clients are so anxious for the funds that they will be well informed and will actually ring me to tell me the funds are about to come through. Usually my own bank will send me a notification of funds transfer within about a week also that these funds have been lodged. However I have seen a few files where my bank hasn't done that. Some banks will ring the solicitor before releasing the funds and ask the solicitor if it is in order to send the funds, but again not all. Therefore it seems to me that it is entirely possible that the funds could have been lodged to your solicitors account without him/her knowing. Did you get on to your solicitor about these funds straight away? Did the bank say how they notified your solicitor about these funds being transmitted- ie do they have a written record of the notification?

What you are really at a loss of is the interest on the original mortgage which is probably relatively small. You made a monthly payment but this will have reduced the capital outstanding so you are not at a loss of all of this.

Thanks for your response Vanilla.

Bank told me that they sent a mail to the solicitor the same day the funds were transferred. I have been trying to contact the solicitor by email and phone for the last 3 weeks to get any info. But he is never there and never called me back until the bank called him.

The bank was telling me that solicitor should have transferred the money the next day itself. He should give me double interest for keeping the money for a month, they tell me.

Vanilla said:

What you are really at a loss of is the interest on the original mortgage which is probably relatively small. You made a monthly payment but this will have reduced the capital outstanding so you are not at a loss of all of this.

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Interest is the main part of my original mortgage payment because I am only in the second year of my payment.

littletom said:

He should give me double interest for keeping the money for a month, they tell me.

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What are they basing that on?

Certainly I agree that your solicitor should have repaid your original mortgage within a reasonable time ( as soon as possible) IF he was notified that the funds were in his account. Did you notify him? These were after all your funds, you had a duty to keep him informed also. I find my clients know exactly when loan cheques issue and usually ring me before issue.

If I were you I would ask the bank for a copy of the letter that they sent him to notifiy him. Then I would make an appointment to see your solicitor and show him the letter. If he did receive this letter I would expect him to ensure you are not at a loss because of his delay. But that is all.

Vanilla said:

Did you notify him? These were after all your funds, you had a duty to keep him informed also. I find my clients know exactly when loan cheques issue and usually ring me before issue.

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I was trying to contact him for the last 3 weeks as I said, but he wouldnt return my calls or reply to my email. Only when bank contacted him he called me.

Maybe the OP didn't know that the money had been transferred by NIB to the solicitor's account. I'd have assumed it was the solicitors job to do the transfers immediately - isn't that why he/she received the money. I'd get a copy of the letter from NIB if I was you. I'm guessing that what they mean by double interest is that the solicitor should pay the interest he received on the deposit of the money in his account for a month plus the months mortgage interest.

Can I just second the comment from Vanilla about loan money issuing by fund transfer and solicitors not being notified. Many solicitors do not yet use online banking, and it can be days or even a couple of weeks before they get the written notification of the funds transfer. Also, when a loan cheque is issued, many lenders only charge interest when it is cashed, so you can order it ahead of time. With a funds transfer, you have to plan to a tighter timetable, and the potential for error\extra costs\ extra frustration is greatly increased.

Also, online banking, while avoid some problems, can create others - sometimes the time savings are more apparent than real.