Online conveyancers bill - too high!

chaotic_j

Hi all, read plenty of posts on here about a certain online conveyancing company, (they are backed up by real solicitors apparently) and read much more good than bad so decided to give them a go.

Their original quote was for just over £600, initially they were very good and I was impressed but then they stopped responding to emails, telephone calls, massively stressed me, my partner, my family, vendors and the vendors partner with their antics. There are queries I asked that I still don't have the answers to.

We have found them to be highly unprofessional for several reasons and are extremely unhappy with them.

Want to complete in just over a week from now, I have now received the final bill and it is over £1000 - bearing in mind they originally quoted just over £600!

The purchase should have been very straightforward, cash purchase with no mortgage, no chain. They have had this for 10 weeks with both me and my partner and the vendor and their partner wanting to move ASAP.

They have basically upped their "professional (hah!) charges" from £175 to £210, I think they have written unecessary letters etc to bump the costs up. I also believe this includes an additional fee for completing within 7 days? (bearing in mind they've had this 10 weeks).

They have charged for "arranging" (I believe they only asked for them) two indemnity policies. They are charging £78 for this which I believe is more than the actual indemnity policies cost.

They are charging £95 as a "Defective Title Fee", I think this is may relate to one of the indemnity policies, or the fact the freeholder of the land the house is built upon is unknown, or the fact they have asked for 6 years of the tiny rent sum from the vendors - £95 for this?! far more than the 6 years rent. Also keep in mind no mortgage required.

They have also charged £125 as a leasehold fee which I knew about but was told if it wasn't complicated they would only charge a percentage of the fee.. no they have put the full amount in the invoice.. by the way this is a very straightforward house not a flat etc.

There is a £39 money laundering fee as a family member is lending me some money for the purchase.

They have charged £15 and £43 as disbursements for indemnity policies on the house, when I was led to believe the vendors were paying for them.

There is also a fee of £100 for "Notice of Assignment Fee" - I've no idea what this relates to.

Some of these charges were not listed as potential charges in the documentation I received up front. If the final invoice was higher than originally quoted but not much higher that would be fine, but they have given an absolutely appauling service.

The supplied statement of account states "amount required to complete" and is the purchase price + their fees (minus £200 paid up front on account).

What I would like to know is what can I do about this? I'm intending to tell them that I don't agree with the bill, but if I don't pay their bill in full can they stop completion, or delay completion? As I really really don't want that to happen.

Totally stuck with this, really desperate for advice! And not "I told you not to use those online conveyancers" please.. something constructive..

Thank you in advance.

chaotic_j

Anyone?

Fire_Fox

Are you 100% sure you initially got a quote and not an estimate? What do you mean "lead to believe" and "if it wasn't complicated" do you have an e-mail stating that? You obviously need to query the charges you do not understand or you think are higher than they should be. Did you ever agree to settle the bill on completion? You could try paying the part you think you owe and politely saying you will settle the bill once your outstanding queries relating to the purchase and the final invoice are settled?

I don't think it's necessarily a bad move to use an online conveyancer, I think it's important to get one who comes with a personal recommendation.

Richard_Webster

See comments below:

They have basically upped their "professional (hah!) charges" from £175 to £210, I think they have written unecessary letters etc to bump the costs up. I also believe this includes an additional fee for completing within 7 days? (bearing in mind they've had this 10 weeks).
Ask why this is.


They have charged for "arranging" (I believe they only asked for them) two indemnity policies. They are charging £78 for this which I believe is more than the actual indemnity policies cost.
You need to read their terms and conditions that they presumably sent you - they may well have this in. If it is there then it is typical of some online firms - they attract you with the topline figure and then hope you don;'t read the small print. I certainly wouldn't consider charging extra for this "work". The policies can usually be arranged online in about 5 minutes!


They are charging £95 as a "Defective Title Fee", I think this is may relate to one of the indemnity policies, or the fact the freeholder of the land the house is built upon is unknown, or the fact they have asked for 6 years of the tiny rent sum from the vendors - £95 for this?! far more than the 6 years rent. Also keep in mind no mortgage required.
Again check the t & cs on this. If the freeholder is missing and it is a long leasehold house then an indemnity policy would normally be needed but the cost of the policy itself would normally be met by the seller. It may of course be an extra fee simply for dealing with a defective title - you need to question them closely on each of the items and ask where they are explained in their t & cs or when you were notified about them before they were incurred.. There are thousands of long leasehold houses with missing freeholders and it is generally no big deal and I wouldn't charge extra because of that.


They have also charged £125 as a leasehold fee which I knew about but was told if it wasn't complicated they would only charge a percentage of the fee.. no they have put the full amount in the invoice.. by the way this is a very straightforward house not a flat etc.
Again if it is in the t & cs you are stuffed. It is a rip off charging a "leasehold fee" for a long leasehold house because there is a little extra work compared with a freehold but not nearly as much as if it were a flat. I would charge very little more for a leasehold house - may be £25 but it would be built into the original (higher) topline figure rather than appearing later as a "hidden" extra

There is a £39 money laundering fee as a family member is lending me some money for the purchase.
There is some extra work involved in checking the person lending the money but again this should have been mentioned in the t & cs


They have charged £15 and £43 as disbursements for indemnity policies on the house, when I was led to believe the vendors were paying for them.
Check their statement - there may be a corresponding credit entry showing an allowance from the seller for these amounts.

There is also a fee of £100 for "Notice of Assignment Fee" - I've no idea what this relates to.This could either be a disbursement in that most leases have wording in that requires notice of assignment of the lease to you to be given to the landlord/freeholder and you haev to pay his fee. Possibly the fee is £100 - but if the lease is an old (c1900) one then it will be specified in the lease and will more likely be something silly like 6s 8d! When I act for someone buying a leasehold property I wil l usually include a "guesstimate" of the size of the fee in my original estimate but will stress that it is a guess because until I see the lease or hear how much the fee is from the freeholder I cannot tell them.

Or it could be their fee for preparing the notice - again a good rip off thing that could well be hidden in their t & cs.

However, the really interesting point here is how they are going to serve the notice and why they charging for it if the freeholder is missing! Ask them that!

There are lots of posts on this forum warning people to read the terms and conditions - so please tell all your friends not to be fooled by online firms promising low fees.

Generally if the "fee for conveyancing on your purchase" is low it will be because they make it up with all these extras. I think it will depend on how well the t & cs explain things and how easy they are to read.

Depending on how obscure the explanations are in the t & cs it may be worth threatening to report the firm to their professional body for using deliberately misleading advertising. It just makes me sick that professional firms indulge in activities designed to confuse clients and hide their real charging policies.

chaotic_j

Thank you very much for your advice Richard. I have queried fees on the bill and some were struck off, I made more queries and some more fees were struck off. The bill has been reduced by approx. £300 to £745 total which is a tad more realistic. Although I feel very expensive for what they have (or haven't!) done.

I am still not happy with some of the fees but I have had to pay under duress as they say that they will not complete until the bill has been paid i.e. they are holding me to ransom.

I did read reviews etc on here about this company of solicitors before I instructed them, I should really have paid more attention to the bad experiences as opposed to the good, because everything bad about them I've just experienced!

Most stressful. Should I purchase or sell another house, I'll definitely use a local firm!

timmyt

chaotic_j wrote: »

Hi all, read plenty of posts on here about a certain online conveyancing company, (they are backed up by real solicitors apparently) and read much more good than bad so decided to give them a go.

Their original quote was for just over £600, initially they were very good and I was impressed but then they stopped responding to emails, telephone calls, massively stressed me, my partner, my family, vendors and the vendors partner with their antics. obviously. you can't just visit them...you were lucky they responded in the start. online conveyancers mean clerks with no training wearing headsets. Use a solicitor in an office in your home town. its a legal matter buying and selling, so use a solicitor or qualified/senior conveyancer, not a conveyor belt operation, as you are paying the wrong people to look after you There are queries I asked that I still don't have the answers to.

We have found them to be highly unprofessional for several reasons and are extremely unhappy with them.

Want to complete in just over a week from now, I have now received the final bill and it is over £1000 - bearing in mind they originally quoted just over £600!

The purchase should have been very straightforward, cash purchase with no mortgage, no chain. They have had this for 10 weeks with both me and my partner and the vendor and their partner wanting to move ASAP.

They have basically upped their "professional (hah!) charges" from £175 to £210, I think they have written unecessary letters etc to bump the costs up. I also believe this includes an additional fee for completing within 7 days? (bearing in mind they've had this 10 weeks). ouch, as a conveyancing solicitor they are an embarrassment to the legal work we properly do in this area

They have charged for "arranging" (I believe they only asked for them) two indemnity policies. bad bad bad .....this is exactly what online outfits do if you need policies They are charging £78 for this which I believe is more than the actual indemnity policies cost.

They are charging £95 as a "Defective Title Fee", oh god, you poor thing I think this is may relate to one of the indemnity policies, or the fact the freeholder of the land the house is built upon is unknown, or the fact they have asked for 6 years of the tiny rent sum from the vendors - £95 for this?! far more than the 6 years rent. Also keep in mind no mortgage required.

They have also charged £125 as a leasehold fee which I knew about but was told if it wasn't complicated they would only charge a percentage of the fee.. no they have put the full amount in the invoice.. by the way this is a very straightforward house not a flat etc.

There is a £39 money laundering fee never heard of it...report them to the law society (if they are solicitors and regulated by them) as a family member is lending me some money for the purchase.

They have charged £15 and £43 as disbursements for indemnity policies on the house, when I was led to believe the vendors were paying for them.

There is also a fee of £100 for "Notice of Assignment Fee" - I've no idea what this relates to.

Some of these charges were not listed as potential charges in the documentation I received up front. If the final invoice was higher than originally quoted but not much higher that would be fine, but they have given an absolutely appauling service.

The supplied statement of account states "amount required to complete" and is the purchase price + their fees (minus £200 paid up front on account).

What I would like to know is what can I do about this? I'm intending to tell them that I don't agree with the bill, but if I don't pay their bill in full can they stop completion, or delay completion? As I really really don't want that to happen.

Totally stuck with this, really desperate for advice! And not "I told you not to use those online conveyancers" please.. something constructive..

Thank you in advance.

i can't read on...you have been stitched up.

name and shame them

report them to the Law Society

and....posters DO NOT USE ONLINE OUTFITS TO BUY YOUR HOUSE.....I keep posting this as I keep seeing this time and time again

G_M

For the sake of balance however I'd remind posters that there are lots of people who use online firms who do not have these problems - but we never hear from them here because people only post the problems here, not the successes.

Online firms are cheaper. But it IS important to have very clear quotes from them (indeed from any solicitor/conveyancer), and to be aware of what is included and what will e added as an 'extra'.

For an overview of how to compare quotes, read this article.