The five most common conveyancing complaints usually come down to silence, delay, unclear costs, poor advice and avoidable mistakes. Do not wait. Put it in writing. Ask for a risk update, a deadline, and the exact action you want the conveyancer to take.
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Why Conveyancing Complaints Are So Common
Residential conveyancing is high-volume, document-heavy and deadline-driven. The Legal Ombudsman accepted 7,203 new legal-service complaints in 2024/25. Residential conveyancing had a 78% evidence of poor service rate across 658 complaints, and the SRA says residential conveyancing now accounts for over a third of complaints accepted by the Legal Ombudsman.
The 5 Most Common Conveyancing Complaints
Complaint | Realistic scenario | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|
Poor communication | You email twice a week and only get vague replies saying the file is with the team. | Ask for one named contact, a weekly update day and a list of outstanding items. |
Delay or failure to progress | Searches, enquiries or mortgage conditions sit unresolved while your chain gets nervous. | Ask what is blocking exchange, who owns each task and the next deadline. |
Failure to advise | You receive a lease, title restriction or search result but nobody explains why it matters. | Ask for a plain-English risk note: low, medium or high risk, and why. |
Costs and surprise extras | The quote looked cheap, but leasehold packs, gifted deposit checks or bank transfer fees appear later. | Ask for a revised costs schedule and where each extra fee was disclosed. |
Mistakes in documents or completion handling | Names, dates, mortgage details or completion statements are wrong at the last minute. | Ask for correction, written confirmation and any loss caused by the error. |
How To Challenge A Conveyancer
Start with a calm written complaint to the firm. Keep it practical: what happened, dates, what you asked for, what went wrong, what loss or stress it caused, and the remedy you want. Ask them to treat it as a formal complaint and send you their complaints procedure.
For poor communication: ask for a timeline, named handler and weekly written updates.
For delay: ask for the exact blocker, who has been chased, and when the next chase will happen.
For poor advice: ask them to explain the risk and whether they should have flagged it earlier.
For costs: ask for the client-care letter, quote, updates and a breakdown of extras.
For financial loss: explain the amount, evidence and how the conveyancer’s service caused it.
Possible Remedies
Useful remedies are often more practical than emotional. You might ask for an apology, urgent action, a named senior reviewer, fee reduction, correction of an error, reimbursement of avoidable costs, or compensation for loss, inconvenience or distress. The Legal Ombudsman can direct remedies where poor service is found, but it is not there to punish firms.
When To Go To The Legal Ombudsman, SRA Or CLC
The Legal Ombudsman usually deals with poor service, such as delay, unclear communication, lost documents or billing problems, after you have complained to the firm. The SRA is more about solicitor misconduct, such as dishonesty or serious rule breaches. The Council for Licensed Conveyancers says poor-service complaints should normally go through the practice first, then the Legal Ombudsman if unresolved.
How AI Can Help Before Things Go Wrong
AI will not complain to your conveyancer for you, act as your solicitor, exchange contracts or handle client money. But it can help you understand the legal pack, spot confusing points, draft a clear email, organise evidence and ask better questions before a small issue becomes a late-stage crisis.
For auction buyers, an AI auction pack review can flag title, lease, search and pack risks early after you upload files or a zip. It is not a replacement for a conveyancer or solicitor, cannot act for you, exchange contracts, handle client money, register title, or provide regulated legal advice. It is a first due diligence layer before bidding or paying for deeper solicitor review.
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