Solicitor's fees dispute

bjl1953

I've just exchanged contracts and have received a Statement of Account from my solicitor. The "legal fees" on this statement are far in excess of those quoted when I engaged him (although, of course, the small print said it was an "estimate", not a "quote"). I want to dispute these fees but I'm concerned that the statement says the whole account must be settled before completion. If I refuse to pay more than I believe he's entitled to, can he legally prevent or delay completion until we reach agreement?

chewmylegoff

bjl1953 wrote: »

I've just exchanged contracts and have received a Statement of Account from my solicitor. The "legal fees" on this statement are far in excess of those quoted when I engaged him (although, of course, the small print said it was an "estimate", not a "quote"). I want to dispute these fees but I'm concerned that the statement says the whole account must be settled before completion. If I refuse to pay more than I believe he's entitled to, can he legally prevent or delay completion until we reach agreement?

the first thing to do is to politely enquire why the fees are so much higher than the quote: ask them to explain how many hours they spent on the matter and what specifically caused the increase. if there is no real reason for the extra amount, they might agree to write off some of their fee. if they had to do something that wasn't included in their quote, the extra could be justified.

bjl1953

Thanks for the advice, Chewmylegoff. I intend to ask for a breakdown of the charges (politely, as you suggest!) but what happens if we can't agree? Can he prevent completion until I've paid what he's demanding?

timmyt

so many variables, but if the lawyer has had to do more work them it may be a fair charge, you don't really go into detail.

he cannot delay completion no. but just ask why the fees are more...and remember, name and shame afterwards if they play up.

bjl1953

Thanks timmyt. I can't give any more detail at the moment because there's just one rather large lump sum for fees, although the disbursements appear to be about right. I was just interested to know how far I can push for agreement on a reasonable fee without jeopardising the purchase. If the solicitor is legally bound to complete, I can continue any argument after completion, if necessary.

Richard_Webster

I tell my clients that I require the payment of my fees before completion so if it really came to it I could refuse to complete. So it will depend on how they word their terms and conditions.

I keep saying on this forum that people should read all the small print about possible extras and ask the circumstances in which those extras will be charged as in many cases they will find they are inevitable and are not really anything but a way of disguising a higher fee than appeared as the topline figure on the "quote".

Richard_Webster

I think the second reference should be:

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/productsandservices/practicenotes/headlineprices/4550.article#hp3_2

If you are getting a RBS or Nat West mortgage beware if your solicitor says he will charge for mortgage work the amount indicated for this in your mortgage offer because the figures given by the RBS group in mortgage offers for the legal work on the mortgage are very high so it is a disguised scam by the solicitor in my view.

Most solicitors ignore the figures in the mortgage offer (section 8) and give a single fee for the work on both the purchase and the mortgage.

ttd14

Failing a sensible or favourable discussion, any non-contentious work can be submitted to the Law Society and you may request a certificate of remuneration. The only condition is that you pay all disbursements including VAT and half the bill. This will - in effect - determine how reasonable the bill is.