Solicitor overcharging for probate - any recourse?

Digdug_2

My boyfriend's mother died a few months ago and he employed a solicitor to carry out probate. He was quoted a cost of approx £1,500, which they stated was 'on the high side'. Now probate has been completed, the solicitor is charging a fee of £2,500. She is claiming this is due to the Nationwide Building Soc repeatedly not responding to requests, which necessitated many hours of 'chasing up' by her. She charges £150/hr, so this would mean she had to spend 8 HOURS hassling the Nationwide, which we find hard to believe.

Can anyone advise what his legal position is - does he have to pay the full £2,500? We know we can ask for a breakdown of the costs, but presumably she would then charge a fortune for this too!

Bitsy_Beans

I would ask for a full breakdown, including a narrative that should accompany the time she posted (solicitors post time sheets and a narrative normally accompanies this so they know what they spent the time doing). She she not advise you that costs were exceeding your quote? They are supposed to make contact with the client if the costs are going up and up. get the breakdown and see what she spent the time doing. If you think its excessive then you can complain and see if they will negotiate a reduction in the fee. You can complain to the Law Society if you wish but I would approach the solicitor in the first instance and see what they say.

reggie

I would contact the Nationwide to see if they had records of communication from the solicitor - as a first step. Also if she gave that quote shouldn't she have let you know when it was spiralling upwards? I can understand slightly over, but to be getting on for double the price seems a bit extreme.

Mrs_P_Pincher

Don't panic. There is a procedure for this and someone will come on here and tell you the proper name for it! If my memory serves me right you need to ask for something like a Remuneration Certificate. Maybe give the Law Society - Office for the Supervision of Solicitors in Leamington Spa, a call to clarify.

Cheers

Mrs P P

Shoe_gal_6

Sorry to hear what you and your boyfriend are going through. There is a company which specialises in lowering unfair and high legal bills. I came across it when my firm got a hefty legal bill we weren't expecting and had not been pre-warned of. They're called ab8 - might be worth looking at. I'm not sure of the criteria but we dealt with a guy called Marc who was helpful and cut our bill right down. Hope this helps.