How to give your Spanish Lawyer a kick up the @

Hi everyone,

Is there any way of giving my lawyer a swift kick up the arse?

Completed with lots of outstanding problems on the 11th August 2006. Person dealing with our 'file' left said lawyers late October, since then am getting nowhere.

Last email sent to lawyers and ignored 2nd February 2007, last telephone message to lawyers, fobed off and ignored same date. Last email received from lawyers fobing me off 17th November 2006.

Surely lawyers in Spain can be smacked on the wrist by someone? Maybe I need to employ another lawyer to take over the file and sue the arse of these lawyers for there incompetence?

Any suggestions?

Rixxy, thanks! Have PM'd you details of Lawyers

Gail, Not a bad idea!

Thanks both

Update!

Telephoned the Lawyers again today, got fobbed off for 30 mins, rang again, may get an email from them telling me who is dealing with my file!?!?!?!?

I just want to fricking now 'who is dealing with my file?'

B@LL@CKS - It's word slurring time - where's me beer!!

hi tECHNOAPE:

jUST ONE SUGGESTION... INSTEAD SPEND THE DAY IN THE CHAT, WHY YOU DO NOT SEND ANOTHER E-MAIL TO YOUR LAWYER AND EXPLAIN YOU ARE UNHAPPY WITH HIM?

You could also try asking for a complaint form - Hoja de Reclamacion. By law all businesses must have these available. Many lawyers and developers will try and tell you that they do not need to keep these forms - it's not true. In fact you can report them for refusing to issue a form.

The form is in three parts and must be completed in the office of the business you are reporting - it can be completed in English. You will need to have either your NIE number or Passport number.

There is a section for the business to make a reply.

They keep one part of the form, you keep one and you send the third to the local OMIC, Oficina de Municipal al Consumidor which is in the local Town Hall.

TECHAPE: Have you paid them all of the fees... or only 0,5%? If you still owe them money then u can change lawyers... & see whether the new ones will charge you only 0.5%. ...humm.. only an idea..  This will annoy your old lawyers. You can also make a complaint to El colegio de abogados... Anyway off to see the football.. getting interesting!   XX

I guess you fear the "better the devil you know than the devil you don't" syndrome that exists with certain lawyers here.

I had a client with a wholly justifiable dispute with a Madrid lawyer and the local Collegio were not interested. Malaga may be the same. They are simply not set up as the English Law Society who have a regulatory role over Solicitors -for the publics benefit - as well as being their "Trade Union."

Changing lawyers is entirely possible but in my experience arse kicking is best done face to face .....if you see what I mean.

M

The problem with arse kicking face to face ( don't get me wrong, I believe it 's brilliant) is that you will see an initial response but experiece tells me that problem will probably continue... And do you want to have a lawyer in Spain who is completely useless?

 There are many proffessional lawyers around who are willing to give a good service & provide you with refferences of their clients. My advice is that if you are not getting a good service, you must definately change. Or at least I wouldn't put up with it...If you happen to put a denuncia to the Colegio de abogados make sure you change lawyers beforehand!

Anyway good luck.!

Anyone who has read my articles about a year in the life of the president will remember that we were having some problems with one owner. Always very late paying her quota, and her apartment is rented to a filthy tennant who has brought an infestation of cockroaches to the building, affecting the immediate neighbours who have had to pay for fumigation of their apartments. She rarely answers any of our calls or letters, and when she does, she says she is not interested in the problems caused by her tennant since they are "good payers". She told us if we want to denounce her tennant, feel free, but she refuses to divulge the name of said tennant, so it's difficult for us to take any action. And she's late again with her community dues, and no amount of letters or phone calls make a blind bit of difference.

Reason I'm posting this here?

She's a bloody lawyer.

Crikey Roberto!

A Lawyer, owner, with tennant, not playing ball, don't think you are in a "win win" situation there mate!

Good luck to you as Presidente and to your committee..................

Quote from our Spanish lawyer: "We just wait for the last licence and then we know all the others must be in place."

What is he being paid to to if not check that the licences that should be in place are already there?

I think he needs a bit of 'encouragement'!

Many years ago the Sur in English reported a most interesting case involving a Spanish lawyer. A Brit was buying a property here and he asked his English solicitor for help. Quite rightly the English solicitor said it was outside his field but he would help as best he could. The solicitor did what was and probably still is the normal practice of getting from the seller's lawyer an undertaking from that lawyer to clear any financial charges against the property that might be revealed after completion and not yet registered. This was duly done.

You know what's coming. Yes, three months later a jumbo monetary charge appeared against the property. The buyer consulted his UK solicitor who wrote to the Spanish lawyer asking him to honour his undertaking. Tough life, innit, said the Spanish lawyer, so the solicitor complained to the Malaga Colegio of Abogados.

You guessed it. Tough life, innit, they said.

Things are changing. I will tell you more on this soon... by the middle of April.