Upon receipt of a letter from an increasingly ubiquitous conveyancing factory inviting me to exchange contracts, I telephoned, only to be told after holding on for ten minutes that the letter was 'only a standard letter and didn't mean anything' and that the factory itself was not ready and would not be ready for at least a fortnight (see [2003] Gazette, 11 September, 15).

I am regularly told in social situations of people who, having used such services, would never use them again.

But if every client in this country used them just once, all of us high street conveyancing solicitors would all be driven out of business.

A conveyancing factory recently rejected a purchase transaction on which I was acting for the vendor when it discovered it was leasehold and slightly complex.

Who will then deal with such matters when we are no longer here?

Rachel M Mason, Beviss & Beckingsale, Seaton, Devon