Review: M. Rose & Co Solicitors of Ashton-Under-Lyne

THIS IS PART TWO OF THE STORY OF 10 MORETON CLOSE IN DUKINFIELD – FOR PART ONE >>>>CLICK HERE<<<<

We continue this story of 10 Moreton Close – the house that isn’t really for sale – at the point Elizabeth Noble instructs a solicitor.

Enter her conveyancing solictor: M Rose & Co of Ashton-Under-Lyne.

Recommended by her estate agent, so assuredly a good chap one might hope. If you are looking for a review on Rose and Co solicitors, you might want to read this.

Rose and Co did um…… absolutely NOTHING for an agonising FOUR WEEKS following instruction. This was to be a very fast sale remember. At the outset, as a reply to all of the memorandum of sale, the buyers sent this email to both solicitors:

I would like to remind both solicitors that the stamp duty holiday for first time buyers – which we qualify for – ends on 24th March 2012 so it is imperative we complete before then; subject to funds being in place – which looks likely.

Accordingly, it is politely requested that both solicitors utilise email and telephone rather than the postal service to deal with minor issues and questions in order to expedite the process and tie this up much faster than might be usual if at all possible.

Following that email, M Rose and Co of Ashton-Under-Lyne did um…… absolutley nothing. They totally ignored it. It seems the woman at Rose & Co who does ‘everything’ was on holiday. The man himself, Michael Rose must have deemed it below him to do any actual work that month, so he did.. um nothing! He didn’t reply to letters, emails, telephone calls. Zip. Nada. Four weeks of ZERO!

The end of February comes around, and the buyers funds are now in place and the searches done. But still no contracts even from Rose and Co……. Did these vendors want almost a quarter of a million quid or what? What was the lawyer playing at? Was everyone involved in this transaction on Mogadon perhaps?

Eventually, after many phone calls, emails and letters from the buyers solictor, and some agent intervention and some expletive-laden angrygrams from the buyer by email, contracts are eventually mailed from amidst the feather quills, cricket chirps, cobwebs and snoring that is Rose & Co. Later than claimed, but early March they arrived…..

Oh, but what’s this? Two property information forms? Both filled in differently? Which one is the real one? Why did Rose & Co send both? You may very well consider that incompetence – we here at Real Deal couldn’t possibly comment…..

The sellers were “confused” by the questions apparently. What, after doing it so many times? One might imagine they could do this stuff in their sleep by now.

Incomplete property contents forms? Does a solicitor not check this stuff before they send them on? Not at Rose & Co in Ashton-Under-Lyne they don’t!

Ahh, Ground Rent! No last receipt of payment? Letters must written asking for this? If you are a conveyancer, this stuff is ABC. It is needed – everyone knows that. Why send an incomplete package?

By now, there is no exchange date even – never mind a firm completion date. They were heading through March with a planned March 24th completion with no contractual obligation by Elizabeth Noble. Rose & Co were blissfully ignoring emails and communication. Perhaps those 18th century quills went dry? These people don’t seem to be in the digital age.

The very concept of speed, returning calls and email evades them completely. Silence is golden at Rose & Co.

Rose & Co then eventually convey to the buyers solicitor – a week before – that a March 24th completion is “absolutely impossible”. Hmmm.

The Nobles were going on holiday for three weeks on march 24th (as you do when in the middle of selling a house), but assured the buyers that a son would be left with Power of Attorney to deal with any details and 27th April was a ‘cast in stone’ completion date. That stuff was simply made up nonsense by Elizabeth Noble. She did neither. She never had any intention of doing so.

Predictably, the 27th April came and went. No exchange; no proposed date even. No word from Rose & Co either.

At the end of April, hushed murmurings from amongst the apathy, feather quills and cobwebs at Rose & Co suggested that they were waiting on some paperwork being returned by the Nobles. What still? After almost four months? Perhaps they considered firing up the horse and cart and sending word on a rolled up parchment sealed with wax? Remember, this is Rose & Co, conveyancing at their speed.

It was now becoming clear that the Nobles had absolutely no intention of selling this property. Normal vendors don’t clear off on holiday for a month mid transaction to quaff margaritas on a beach in Australia leaving everyone in the lurch, fail to return paperwork and delay buyers hoping to throw almost a quarter of a million quid at them do they? Now alarm bells belatedly started to ring with the buyers. Ding dong – messer alert.

Early in May, after no discernable signs of life from Rose & Co or the seller, and the agent having pretty much washed their hands of it by now with embarassment, the buyer decided to track the vendor down by telephone to ask a very simple question. She caught her on a Friday, but guess what? Yup, the Nobles were doing an Alan Whicker impersonation again and going away for the weekend.

“Try to call me on Monday” Elizabeth Noble tittered down the phone (if you have watched the video in part one, you will have heard the silly titter as she belittles her husband).

Monday morning: The buyer devoted a full day to pinning Noble down; knowing it may take that long. Today would be make or break. She started calling the messer from 9am every hour. Noble, knowing she was on the ropes by now, blurted out various excuses as to why she “couldn’t speak right now” each time she was called. She was “at work” for example (although she had previously stated she didn’t work). You get the idea………

Around 3pm on what was maybe the sixth or seventh attempt, she was hit with one question before she made an excuse to hang up. She was requested to answer with a simple yes or a no. “Is this house actually for sale?” she was asked. “No, sorry” she replied and terminated the call.

There you have it. Elizabeth Noble had strung along this buyer since late January, and it took until early May, not to mention the loss of thousands of pounds for her to admit her hobby; that she was playing. This isn’t simply messing. This is prime time messing! This is playing with peoples lives and likely getting some kind of peverse kick out of it.

The buyers highlighted here lost over £5000 at the hands of Elizabeth Noble: Lost stamp duty relief, rent in temporary accomodation, searches, surveys and legal fees. Not to mention three months of their life.

How many agents has she wasted the time of this way? Well, at least two have billed her for selling that house as they had done their job and ‘sold’ the house.

How many buyers has she strung along like this? Quite possibly double figures over the several years she has been marketing this house as a hobby.

How many poor saps has she agreed to buy a house from and then backed out? Again, likely double figures. During research for this article, we unearthed five!

If you are a hopeful buyer, pass over 10 Moreton Close in Dukinfield. It isn’t really for sale as you have read.

If you already think you are buying 10 Moreton Close in Dukinfield, quietly bail now lest you be her next victim.

If you are one of the few estate agents who havent yet marketed this house and are approached by Elizabeth Noble to market the house, politely decline. You will pour hours and hours of your time into photographing and marketing a house that isn’t for sale.

Apathetic old-school solictors like Rose & Co enable people like Elizabeth Noble. Don’t use them. Rose and Co should be avoided by anyone who doesnt want to go grey waiting week after interminable week – months even – for each and every step. Getting any action whatsoever out of Rose and Co is like pulling teeth.

Have you any experience of 10 Moreton Close or Rose & Co? Do the house hunters, house sellers and estate agents of Tameside a favour and tell us and others using the comment box below.