What if their lawyer is a lemon?

Q. A year after we completed on our home purchase in Spain, we still have no Statement of Account, invoice or surplus funds returned to us by our solicitor. I have emailed him several times a week for six months but he responds to about every tenth one. When he does reply, he promises that it will all be dealt with by ‘next Monday’, but the Mondays keep coming and going, with no resolution. On one occasion, he got us to drive all the way to his office. All he had was an envelope with some scribbled figures. He had no idea what was going on and I had to list out the transfers for him, Basically, I need to find a way to get this guy to conclude our dealings in a satisfactory manner and to return surplus monies. So, how can I do this?

P.B. (e-mail)

A. If your Spanish lawyer really turns out to be a ‘lemon’, you have two options available.  ou can go directly to the ‘Colegio de Abogados’, which is the Spanish version of the Law Society, with your complaint. Or you can instruct another solicitor. I recommend this second option. Do not be concerned that one lawyer will not go against another. First you need a new lawyer in any case. Second, you are far more likely to retrieve your papers and any money owed to you in a short period of time.

Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana and Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090.