Adam
Efficient, quick and responsive.
Steph managed the purchase of my first property. She is truly a lovely and patient human being! A majority of my phone calls were answered at the time I called and emails often responded to on the same day, if not at the start of the next day. There were many delays from the third party solicitors (verified by the statements of account where the seller had not paid for the management pack until 4 and a half months in and failed to provide documentation when asked stating that her parents were abroad and dealing with the sale) However, Steph, chased the other solicitor relentlessly and kept me updated throughout. Telephone calls with Steph explained everything clearly. Steph sent me documents through as they were sent from the seller, which was really helpful. Lilac Law as a company do have a few things they need to improve on, which is why I have only given 4 stars. The first is billing management and being made aware of extra charges. Everything at completion happened very quickly and not wanting to delay my purchase anymore I paid the extra fees without questioning. However, a week later, I have realised that there was not any consent given to undertake any extra work, which ended up with over £500 of extra fees to be paid, that I was not aware of. I do feel these fees are legitimate, however, it is a requirement from the Solicitors Regulation Authority that any additional charges are explained and consent gained for any extra work on top of the initial quote, which did not happen. The extra charges were explained when the confirmation statement had been sent, but at this point the additional work had already been undertaken. It therefore would be nice if there was a client portal to track the progress, have access to documents and see real time billing information. I did ask twice for a summary so far in the last month before completion, but I was told that I would get a confirmation statement itemising charges after exchange. This left me a little shocked at the bill. I also felt that company policy was to be very cautious about legal advice given, and as a result I had to do a lot of my own research, before instructing my conveyancer on how to proceed. However the one particular problem this affected was resolved within 24 hours of my instruction. I also spoke to Lorna Ferguson, a company director at the beginning of the process about stamp duty. She very confidently told me that I would have to pay an extra £1500. After seeking independent tax advice, which cost me £425, it turned out the advice and reasons for the advice given by Lorna were incorrect. On this occasion she sounded very confident in her advice and her reasoning, but this turned out to be incorrect.
from Lilac Law Ltd
Hi Adam, we are pleased to hear that Steph provided such consistent support and clear communication throughout your purchase, particularly when delays arose outside her control. We also appreciate your detailed comments regarding the wider service. Your feedback is valuable and will help us identify areas where we can improve our processes and client experience.
