Factory Warning

In Roger Wilson's letter (see [2002] Gazette, 5 April, 16) we have the view of the conveyancing factory manager.

Let me put the view from the high street.

The factories cannot be surprised that high-street solicitors are a little short on sympathy when one of their number collapses.

They do not endear themselves to the high street.

It may be that they do employ competent people.

I imagine they have many people concentrating on client care.

Unfortunately, the people with whom the solicitor has to deal do not seem to know what they are doing half the time, especially in this area of the country where much land is still unregistered.

We are often asked to do their jobs for them.

The factories do not compete on a level playing field.

While this is a commercial world and I do not gripe about that, the fact remains that most instructions are received by the factories as a result of hard sell by their tied firms of estate agents.

Agents are placed under great pressure from above to deliver as many referrals as possible.

After a market appraisal is carried out, the potential client will receive a telephone call to ask whether the agent offered the factory's services.

All good business sense, but it would be interesting to know how many of the 32,685 sales Countrywide Property Lawyers (CPL) completed last year were for repeat clients.

The real goal is a mix of the factory approach and good old- fashioned personal service.

For instance, access to an on-line database may be the received wisdom as to the way forward, but what does 'local search received' really tell the client? What they want is to know is what that means and no computer or tele-sales person looking at a screen hundreds of miles away can tell them that.

We are no doubt supposed to be in awe of the 10 million investment CPL is to make in its IT.

At an average fee of 500 per case it will take 20,000 cases to recover this.

Perhaps the profit may not be so good next year.

Daniel Sproull, Sproulls Solicitors, Bodmin, Cornwall