Any Suggestion or Help on How to Deal with This Lawyer

On 19th July at the notary, I was told by my lawyer that I couldn't officially complete the villa purcahse as he couldn't obtain the NIE in time for it & so it got to be a preliminary completion till he got the NIE & he would do the official completion.

Now in Sept, I've been chasing the lawyer to get the LFO, the NIE certificates (3) & the official title deeds documentation. I emailed him several times & he ignored me. So I phoned him & he said he would reply my emails but I'm still waiting for his response as to how or when he would give me these certificates/documentation. The worse thing is that I've signed a contract to use his service for the Spanish/English wills & filing yearly tax return. I told him that I want to withdraw the contract as I can't possibly work with him as he doesn't communicate with me & I need him to send me those papers ASAP.

Can anyone please suggest what I should do as I'm running out of time to find another lawyer to do my taxes which will be in Dec & the wills? How can I make him send me those important papers & allow me to withdraw the contract ?

I should have listened to many people in this & other forums to USE an independent lawyer for the villa purchase instead of letting the agent talked me into using his lawyer. Now I'm  in deep trouble to get out of this lawyer.

Please help. Thanks.

Find yourself a new Lawyer ( be very careful!) and they will deal with your old lawyer re your "contract".  If you owe them any money, you will probably have to settle this before they will release your paperwork. Good Luck.

Hi

Where are you based? If you tell us maybe someone can recommend a lawyer.

If you are in the same as area as Tish I would ask who she used. She has just had a brilliant result to her complaint against her original lawyer.

Jean

I'm not finding another lawyer till I can get out of this contract. I don't owe any money. All I want to to withdraw the contract not to use his service & I need all those certificates & documantation. I can't even get on the padron as I need the NIE certificate. I was told that my villa is now officially completed without owing anything but I haven't got anything to prove that other than a  preliminary title deeds which I think is not valid till I got the oficial one. I still have to get the LFO from him.

Hi Forhotspot,

It looks like your situation is quite tricky, but I am sure there will be a way to get out.

1. Check the contract for the termination paragraph. There must be a clause with regards to this. Usually it has to have a period to send him a notification for the contract´s termination. You follow this and you should be out, if you settled your payment, etc.

2. NIE. I am sure that if you go to the local police and say that the lawyer who handled your NIE  does not want to give it to you, they will issue another copy, its just a piece of paper. What is the area you live in? I have done mine in Estepona and the lady there is really nice and speaks English.

3. Also, I know is not the best and nicest choice, but you should tell him you will put his name in all the websites, etc and make him bad publicity. We should all know about this lawyer to try and avoid him.

I hope somebody can give you some more advice, also we all know Maria de Castro on this website and we  think she is very good and might give you a hand.

Good luck!

Valentina

Hi Valentina,

   The contract is for 1 year & will automatically be renewed unless I give him notice but I don't want to use his service not even for the 1st year since he refuses to communicate with me. I don't want to expose anyone & no names will be mentioned. All I want is the LFO, oficial title deed & withraw the contract.

Thanks.

Hi,

I understand is for one year, but it must have a termination clause and a notifcation period to terminate. Usually is because of a reason, not complying with a clause, etc. There must be a way to terminate the contract, send him a notification that due to the fact that you did not receive the requested documents, etc you want to terminate the contract and receive your documents back and don´t require his services any more.

Also, you can do it through an oficial burofax, you can send it from the post office.

If it does not work, just go to his office personally and get your papers back.

Again good luck and I hope we can hear good news!

Valentina

Forhotspot,

You say you went to the Notary on the 19th July. That gave your Lawyer 11 days before all things legal close down for the month of August.  If you contacted your Lawyer during August, you would get no response. From experience, you need to keep on the lawyers tail to get things done.  They don't appear to recognise the urgency of a situation in Spain  like we do  in the UK. Manana, manana !!  We are now the18th Sept.  Unless you have contacted him recently,  I would suggest you go into his office and say you will not leave until you get your paperwork. It gets their attention. If you make an appointment, turn up at least an hour early for it. Play them at their own game.

I think Tish's advice is probably what I would do.  I would also demand a sheet from their compaints book "una hoja de reclamaciones" so that you can make an official complaint about him.

In fact in many instances, if you demand the hoja de reclamaciones, which by law they have to give to you, they tend to perk up a bit and seem a bit more helpful.

Worth a try too.

Justin

I've contacted him in Aug & Sept & even called him & he said he would reply my emails but I'm still waiting. I really need my NIE to get on the padron quickly. I don't really want trouble & complain about him. All I want is to get all the docs I need & get out of his contract. I even told him on  the phone that I cannot use his service as he doesn't communicate with me.

I would have to rely on someone to take me to his office & that's what I'll most likely do.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

"una hoja de reclamaciones"  .   Thanks Justin .I was going to mention that but couldn't remember what it was called. 

It has been our experience that a lawyer will only communicate with you when they have something specific to tell you.  They will not automatically "update you".  On 1st September we emailed our Lawyer to say/ask that the embargoes he had placed be actioned. We heard nothing until this week when he emailed to say the law firm had placed the money into the Court.

Every email/ phone call they make costs us, the client, money!  It is very frustrating as the client though as you have no idea as to whether or not they received your correspondence or not and are dealing with it.

Hope you get results soon Forhotspot. Good Luck.

Thanks Tish. I'll give it a few more days otherwise I've to get my neighbors to take me there.