Ripped off!!!

rugbyleaguer

I have an Aunt who went to a Solicitors to make a will and now she has a bill for over £500 for doing it!!! I think this is ridiculus does anyone know if we can do anything about this????

PasturesNew

£500 is pretty normal for a solicitor, unless you're there for a fixed price deal. Did she ask how much it'd be before she started?

What did she get for that? Often there's more than just the will, there are other things she might have set up too, as part of executing it. And if she changed her mind, or spent a long time chatting it through, it'll really have added up.

PasturesNew

I just googled some random price lists:
http://www.coatessolicitors.co.uk/wills-power-of-attorney.html
http://www.hmswills.com/pricelist.html
http://www.fwdlaw.com/will-writing-services-south-wales.php

Maybe she set up a trust or two, or a power of attorney?

wary

rugbyleaguer wrote: »

I have an Aunt who went to a Solicitors to make a will and now she has a bill for over £500 for doing it!!! I think this is ridiculus does anyone know if we can do anything about this????

I haven't received a quote in recent years but that's far inxs of what I'd expect.

For anyone contemplating getting a will drawn up, some solicitors are offering a free service during November: http://www.willaid.org.uk/. You are expected to make a charitable donation in line with the value of their service though, which they quote as £75 for a single will or £110 for a pair.

So if your aunt just had a basic will drawn up, the charge would appear to be somewhat excessive.

Mortgage_&_debt_free

If they do not outline their scale of charges (in writing) at the outset you are likely to be able to challenge it. Google Legal Complaints Service for more info.
Many will settle for less rather than go through the formal complaints procedure as it's not worth their time to do so.

I recently had appalling service from a solicitors who took 19 months to sort my Mum's will out. They made numerous cockups and then presented me with a bill for £7300. I wrote to them with an official complaint, which has to be dealt with by their complaints handling partner.

In seven days and two phone calls I got £2300 back, which I felt was fair value. I could have possibly got more by going down the official route but it would have meant more of my time and I didn't feel it was worth pursuing further.

Good luck.

dunstonh

What type of Will was it?

Making a Will is not the same for everyone. It's not unusual to see Wills costing £2000-£3000 depending on the estate and the requirements.

I think this is ridiculus does anyone know if we can do anything about this????

£500 is about the going rate for using a solicitor. If its was Will Writer then you would expect it to be cheaper but qualifications and experience cost more.

rugbyleaguer

As far as I can tell its just a will detailing who the executors are etc etc although some of what she asked to be put in has not been included. When they went to pay the bill they said about the Charity donation thing (£75) to which someone replied they had stopped doing it even though it was still displayed on the door saying it was on offer for the month of November.

I dont see why this sort of thing should cost £500 seeing as you can get will services online for £30 that are legal. All she wanted was detail who she was leaving what to, so there was no confusion. The vast majority of the bill was when according to the bill she had a meeting that lasted an hour which totalled £200 which apparently was when the will was being explained to her.

It also said on the bill that they sent her a letter giving her a quote but she doesn't remember seeing one otherwise she would not have done it.

dunstonh

I dont see why this sort of thing should cost £500 seeing as you can get will services online for £30 that are legal.

The £30 online Wills come with no advice and generalised wording. A solicitor will come with years of building qualifications and experience and liability for the advice they have given.

It also said on the bill that they sent her a letter giving her a quote but she doesn't remember seeing one otherwise she would not have done it.

Solicitors issue a guide to the cost of their services in advance.

rugbyleaguer

I understand what you mean about Solicitors have qualifications etc etc but surely even if the wording is more general with the £30 online version there are only so many ways you can say "I leave 25% to son a, 25% to son b and the rest to my sister" for example.

Looking at the flowery wording they used on my aunts (which she cant understand as its not in laymans terms (which I'm sure the DIY one would be seeing as you do it yourself), it still more or less says the same thing.

As long as you have a document details where you want things to go and how and its registered and all above board what does it matter who it is written by??

Btw judging by the way you defend them, you're not a Solicitor are you lol?

Btw the site I found does offer a lot of advice and they will contact you if you need any questions asked.

look up ten minute will this is the site I found through google.

dunstonh

I understand what you mean about Solicitors have qualifications etc etc but surely even if the wording is more general with the £30 online version there are only so many ways you can say "I leave 25% to son a, 25% to son b and the rest to my sister" for example.

If that is the wording you want then its simple.

However, the solicitor doesnt want to waste hours of work and admin and liability for just £30. In the same way a Heart Surgeon doesnt get called upon to administer a plaster to a cut but if you asked one to it would be expensive.

Looking at the flowery wording they used on my aunts (which she cant understand as its not in laymans terms (which I'm sure the DIY one would be seeing as you do it yourself), it still more or less says the same thing.

The flowery wording as you call it would suggest there is more to it than just a basic DIY Will.

As long as you have a document details where you want things to go and how and its registered and all above board what does it matter who it is written by??

It doesnt matter who writes it. What matters is how it is written.

Btw judging by the way you defend them, you're not a Solicitor are you lol?

It doesnt matter what I do. If you ask someone to do a job and they publish their fees in advance, as solitors do and you then choose to employ them then its not a rip off.

I had a plumber round not too long back and he charged about £150 for a job I probably could have done myself with a bit of research and reading up. That £150 is not a rip off because thats what was agreed and I got the job done for me.

rugbyleaguer

Not being funny but being charged £200 for part of the bill where she was being told about the will (and then she didn't understand it anyway) is hardly value for money. Plus the fact she was late for my aunts appointment is hardly professional.

You cannot compare this to a Surgeon as its not life threatening, if things are kept simple then people understand exactly where they stand instead of filling it with too much techinical babble, after all thats how loopholes are created.

I work in IT and I could blind people with science but I prefer to explain things in simple terminology that way it avoids confusion. We have no record of the solicitor giving a so called "estimate" just the bill which says she has received one.

You obviously thought what you paid for with you plumber was value for money which is all fine and well, but in my opinion what my aunt got was far from that.

Its just funny that the more sites I look at which give figures on will writing (solicitors included) this seems excessive. And the fact you can get one done by donating to charity speaks volumes.