Help - Solicitor trying to charge me over 2k more than quotes

skintlass

As the title says - the invoice from the solicitor has come in at 2.2k more than the quoted amount for my sale/purchase (this includes a missing payment from my building society of £225). What can I do apart from query the bill - is there any body I can go to to get these charges refunded?

Gwhiz

Are the "fees" more expensive or is it for "other" disbursements? Quotes are normally/sometimes only for fees!

becky2011

We had exactly the same problem when we bought our house, were told that everything had not been included in the quote only the fees.

Troubled_Joe

There will be a section (probably on the reverse of the bill) advising you of your rights in this respect. Ultimately if the matter cannot be resolved the legal complaints service would assess the bill.

Richard_Webster

As the title says - the invoice from the solicitor has come in at 2.2k more than the quoted amount for my sale/purchase (this includes a missing payment from my building society of £225). What can I do apart from query the bill - is there any body I can go to to get these charges refunded?

To make an intelligent comment I think we need to see some breakdown - to compare what OP was told against what actually was produced.

The bit I've marked in red suggests that there are figures here that have nothing to do with the solicitor. Was the amount required to pay off the mortgage more than expected or perhaps the estate agent's commission account been included in the figures?

skintlass

Thanks guys,
The missing payment from the buiding society was a refund on my mortgage survey - I paid £300 in advance and then when the mortgage is completed they refund me £225 of that money.
The original quote for the sale of my property was for £950 which included the land registry fee - they have billed me for £1175 and then billed me £280 separately for the land registry fee.
They have added £336 for an engrossment fee - no explanation of what that is.
They have added £200 for searches - is this about standard (no none-standard searches were done).
My original sale fell through at the last minute and the builders stepped in with a part-ex offer so instead of the original fee of £540 they have charged me £1384 - while I do expect to have to pay more than the original sale quote they have done very little extra work as all the questions they just passed on to me and couldn't even get the guarantee documents for things such as windows out to the builders solicitors that they had in their system, instead I had to send copies off to the builders.

Richard_Webster

The original quote for the sale of my property was for £950 which included the land registry fee - they have billed me for £1175 and then billed me £280 separately for the land registry fee.

You do not pay Land Registry Fees when you are selling. What was their explanation for why you were charged this?

Or is it actually your purchase because you go on later about "my original sale fell through...so instead of the original fee of £540 they have charged me £1384"?

They have added £336 for an engrossment fee - no explanation of what that is.

Haven't you asked them? This does seem very high. If you were buying from a builder that is beyond your solicitor's control and there is nothing you can do about it - your solicitor should have pointed it out to you before you exchanged contracts. It is very common for builders to put wording in their contracts that you have to pay an engrossment fee - these are typically between £75 and £150, so £336 does look high.

Did you read all the small print in/with their terms and conditions? This may have explained that searches may need to be done and they would be extra. (Some local authorities charge over £200 just for the local search!)

I am constantly warning people not to accept conveyancing estimates without reading the small print because extras can be hidden there. If the small print was exceedingly turgid and difficult to understand you might have a complaint, but otherwise they may be able to say that it was all clearly set out and you just didn't read it. If none of it was set out in their small print then you may also have a legitimate complaint, but as I said in my earlier post I would need to see the original estimate and the final account with all the details to be able to make a fair comment.

skintlass

Sorry - the land registry fees were part of the quote for my purchase. I have made a spreadsheet of all my queried items but the solicitor has not come back to me as yet.

Mike_Teas

Do let us know how you get on. I am sure that if you ask for a detailed explanation they are obliged to respond in full to you.

skintlass

I will do - cheers. They're not back until 4th Jan so nothing until then anyway.

Fire_Fox

Check whether what are thinking of as a quote was actually a quote and not an estimate - should be stated clearly on the initial paperwork you received.