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Hi all, it's been a productive year for legal disputes which LB has successfully helped me with and just as I was getting close to ending the year on a high note, another one pops up! 
Thankfully this one isnt a c/card claim! Sorry, its a bit of a long story...
I'm in the process of selling my home and it turns out that there is an interim charging order registered with the Land Registry from 2007 that i was unaware of. Ive tracked down where/why it was applied and it relates to my later mother's estate. When she passed away i was one of the executors. During the probate process it appears that a local builder that she had a dispute with had issued a County Court claim in her name and obtained judgement by default. We didnt know about this for about a year and when we found out we had a hearing and managed to get the judgement set aside and an order that the claimant would drop his claim and any future claim and both parties would bear their own costs.
10 years later, i found out about the interim charging order and have spoken to the land registry, who confirmed the claim number that the order referred to. Having spoken with the court that issued the judgment, it is apparent that the claimants solicitor used the original default judgement as proof to obtain the interim charging order against my personal property, yet this judgement has subsequently been set aside.
I have called the solicitor concerned and their attitude has been disgusting. I had left several messages before I finally got to speak with one of the partners. On the first phone call the partner was, at first, argumentative and unwilling to assist, arguing that I was in error and they dont make mistakes. When i told him that I'd spoken with the court and what the court records showed he calmed a bit and agreed, somewhat begrudgingly, to help. I told him that it was quite urgent and that it could potentially affect the sale of my property if not dealt with asap. I'm also really worried that if my buyer finds out about this they might use the information to lower their offer.
I called back again today, 9 days later, to see if anything had been done. The partner told me that he had spoken with the claimant's wife (the claimant has since died) and asked her to go back over her records. I suggested that asking a very old lady to go through her later husbands business records perhaps was a bit insensitive and wasnt the quickest and most efficient way forward; we have the claim number, the court have the records, they've confirmed what I told him, so he should speak to the court directly. Immediately the partner flew into a rage, blaming me for ignoring the problem for 10 years. When i pointed out, calmly, that it was his firms failure to correct their records in 2007 that has caused this problem he accused me of threatening and bullying him and said he would refuse to take any of my calls in future.
Im baffled. This firm have made an obvious schoolboy error and i would have expected that they'd be more than willing to quickly correct it, but instead they seem to be avoiding the problem or delaying.
I've called the SRA but they say they can't help. I know there is a legal ombudsman but this is quite urgent and i dont have months to wait for a hearing and a decision. What can i do?
As usual, thanks in advance for any replies.
ADD
Thankfully this one isnt a c/card claim! Sorry, its a bit of a long story...
I'm in the process of selling my home and it turns out that there is an interim charging order registered with the Land Registry from 2007 that i was unaware of. Ive tracked down where/why it was applied and it relates to my later mother's estate. When she passed away i was one of the executors. During the probate process it appears that a local builder that she had a dispute with had issued a County Court claim in her name and obtained judgement by default. We didnt know about this for about a year and when we found out we had a hearing and managed to get the judgement set aside and an order that the claimant would drop his claim and any future claim and both parties would bear their own costs.
10 years later, i found out about the interim charging order and have spoken to the land registry, who confirmed the claim number that the order referred to. Having spoken with the court that issued the judgment, it is apparent that the claimants solicitor used the original default judgement as proof to obtain the interim charging order against my personal property, yet this judgement has subsequently been set aside.
I have called the solicitor concerned and their attitude has been disgusting. I had left several messages before I finally got to speak with one of the partners. On the first phone call the partner was, at first, argumentative and unwilling to assist, arguing that I was in error and they dont make mistakes. When i told him that I'd spoken with the court and what the court records showed he calmed a bit and agreed, somewhat begrudgingly, to help. I told him that it was quite urgent and that it could potentially affect the sale of my property if not dealt with asap. I'm also really worried that if my buyer finds out about this they might use the information to lower their offer.
I called back again today, 9 days later, to see if anything had been done. The partner told me that he had spoken with the claimant's wife (the claimant has since died) and asked her to go back over her records. I suggested that asking a very old lady to go through her later husbands business records perhaps was a bit insensitive and wasnt the quickest and most efficient way forward; we have the claim number, the court have the records, they've confirmed what I told him, so he should speak to the court directly. Immediately the partner flew into a rage, blaming me for ignoring the problem for 10 years. When i pointed out, calmly, that it was his firms failure to correct their records in 2007 that has caused this problem he accused me of threatening and bullying him and said he would refuse to take any of my calls in future.
Im baffled. This firm have made an obvious schoolboy error and i would have expected that they'd be more than willing to quickly correct it, but instead they seem to be avoiding the problem or delaying.
I've called the SRA but they say they can't help. I know there is a legal ombudsman but this is quite urgent and i dont have months to wait for a hearing and a decision. What can i do?
As usual, thanks in advance for any replies.
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