Survey respondents voted lawyers as providing the poorest quality service and were the most obstructive in the buying/selling process. Assertahome’s managing director, Jim Buckle used the survey to brand lawyers, “…the undisputed villains in the house buying process…”
Richard Barnett, senior partner of Southport-based Barnetts Solicitors, a high volume conveyancing law firm, commented on the survey. He said: “I can’t think of a worse term to brand the legal profession. It is disappointing to hear that consumers have such a bad opinion about the work carried out by lawyers.”
Assertahome’s survey also highlighted that solicitors were hard to get hold of, obstructive and bureaucratic.
“It’s alarming to hear these viewpoints and I would urge the offending lawyers to take the findings and criticism as a wake up call. I can sympathise with the consumer as I am often frustrated with the processes involved but at Barnetts we do things here much differently.Ouroffering is very much based on speed, technology, having the capacity to turn around large volumes of work and a high level of service.
“We are constantly looking at ways to reduce the time involved in the house buying process. We have also scored very highly in client satisfaction surveys and are constantly monitoring working practices to ensure the best service possible is achieved.”
Barnetts has recently adopted new technology to speed up the conveyancing process. The firm also sends out approximately 4000 text messages a month letting customers know at what stage the purchase process is.
