Premier Property Lawyers: House sale delays persist after IT breach

Premier Property Lawyers, based in Enderby, said hundreds of staff were contacting customers

A man undergoing cancer treatment is among a number of people still unable to complete their house move due to a cyber-security breach.

Conveyancing firm Premier Property Lawyers (PPL) was unable to access IT systems for several days following the incident earlier this week.

It left thousands of property-buyers in limbo with transactions unable to be processed.

PPL said systems had now been restored and customers were being contacted.

'Inhumane'

Geoff Davvis, 63, from Rhyl, Denbighshire, was supposed to complete his property purchase earlier and said the situation had been "a nightmare".

"I am having daily radiotherapy and chemotherapy pills as well as almost ending up homeless," he said.

He said he received a call from Leicestershire-based PPL on Thursday but the firm could not tell him if the move would be happening or not.

"Considering my illness and treatment I find this inhumane," he said.

"Luckily the buyers have been kind and supportive - unlike Premier Property Lawyers who are a disgrace to the legal profession," he said.

Jason Greenwood said all his belongings were in storage while he waits to complete

Jason Greenwood, 42, a DJ from Redcar, Teesside, was supposed to complete on Tuesday but still does not know when it will happen.

All of his belongings - including his clothes - are in storage so he has had to buy new ones to wear to work.

"PPL have told me their systems are still down, even though they tweeted to say they have sufficient access," he said.

"They've told me hopefully it will be back up and running by Monday but they couldn't confirm that.

"The money's gone back to the bank so it will take five days to release again. The stress of it all is causing sleepless nights."

Sarah Woodhall said her father was "stuck in limbo"

Sarah Woodhall, 28, from Newcastle, has her father living with her while he waits to find out when he can move into his new home.

Cliff Woodhall, 59, was supposed to complete on Monday.

"There's no light at the end of the tunnel. We have no timeframe," said Ms Woodhall.

"I was told last night by a manager that they were busy prioritising people who had agreed to exchange before this week as if they don't it's breaching contract.

"I asked when they might get to people like ourselves and we might hear something and they said they can't predict that. It's highly annoying.

"He's feeling like he's stuck in limbo.

"There's just a lack of compassion from PPL. We've not had an apology from them, apart from to say we understand your frustration."

Adam and Anna Graver completed on Wednesday - two days later than planned

One couple have however been able to complete following a two-day delay.

Newlyweds Adam Graver, 24, and Anna, 29, moved into their first home in Kent on Wednesday.

Mr Graver said: "We got a call on Tuesday afternoon from PPL basically saying 'there's a good chance you'll complete tomorrow but we're not 100% sure'.

"Then on Wednesday morning we received a call from the estate agent basically saying 'the money has been transferred, you have completed, come and get the keys'.

"We haven't heard from PPL since Tuesday - they did say they were going to call to confirm we've completed but they never did."

He said it was "a big relief" to finally be in the house.

'Money safe'

A spokesperson for PPL, a subsidiary of My Home Move, said: "We have now restored IT systems sufficiently to enable clients to move.

"The good news is that almost all contracted transactions with a fixed completion date are up to date.

"We are now contacting clients contracted for completion in the coming week to provide them with guidance and support and can assure all our clients that all client monies held by us are safe.

"We had several days with minimal telephone capacity, but we now have around 700 colleagues making outbound phone calls to clients."

The firm said it was not aware of a personal data breach at this time but an investigation was continuing.