Why can't my solicitor use BACS to refund my deposit?

scarletjim

tifnstav wrote: »

They have to pay you any interest over £20 which it earns anyway under the de minimis rule.

What? I didn't know this, that would make all the difference, wonder why the solicitor hasn't mentioned it.

To answer your questions, I'm losing basically £23pw interest, and given that I have no reason to believe we won't still be in the same position in a month's time (I've been told we are 'nearly there' or 'only days away from exchange' regularly since June!), that soon adds up...

Andystriker

scarletjim wrote: »

What? I didn't know this, that would make all the difference, wonder why the solicitor hasn't mentioned it.

To answer your questions, I'm losing basically £23pw interest, and given that I have no reason to believe we won't still be in the same position in a month's time (I've been told we are 'nearly there' or 'only days away from exchange' regularly since June!), that soon adds up...

I am sorry to bring you bad news, but don't start celebrating just yet. What tifnstav says is true, but, your next problem will be what rate of interest the Solicitor will pay to you.

They won't pay what you could get on the best buy tables, and it will be the banks that determine the rate. Whatever the bank is paying to the Solicitor is what the Solicitor will pass onto you.

You will find that they are probably earning something like 0.01% interest on their clients account and, that will be the rate they will pass on to you. And they will only pay this to you if it is over £20.00.

Solicitors Clients Accounts have to be on call, and they have large amounts of money passing through them. Banks pay very small amounts of interest to Solicitors on these accounts in this day and age.

You certainly should ask your Solicitor about the Interest earned on monies held by them, but don't expect much more than 0.01%. I suspect your £23 per week would have been earned by a much higher rate than your Solicitor will get from the bank.

scarletjim

Thanks but boo - oh well, I guess that puts me in the same position I was in an hour ago...

JuicyJesus

If it was big enough for you to have to send it over multiple days, chances are they would have to too. And I'm sure they have better things to do than fartarse around sending bank transfers to you each day so you can save £35.

kuepper

Not clear if there was a conclusion to the issue of why solicitors charge for fast money transfer when it seems to be free to us ordinary mortals, I have just been charged £30 plus vat for one

JuicyJesus

kuepper wrote: »

Not clear if there was a conclusion to the issue of why solicitors charge for fast money transfer when it seems to be free to us ordinary mortals, I have just been charged £30 plus vat for one

CHAPS payments cost £30-odd whoever makes them. Even leaving that aside, the reason they charge for it is partly because you're paying for their admin time in making the payment, partly because they can.

catokelly

Most banks who offer Business Bank accounts do charge their customers a fee for sending Faster Payments, however it shouldnt be anywhere in the region of £35, should be £5 at the most. However if the company goes over their daily allowance, they may have to pay the CHAPS fee (most companies have a limit of £100k for faster payments per day, if a personal account the limit is usually £10k a day)!

Regarding interest, most business bank accounts earn hardly any interest, in fact the companies have to pay the banks numerous fees to operate the account!

InsideInsurance

kuepper wrote: »

Not clear if there was a conclusion to the issue of why solicitors charge for fast money transfer when it seems to be free to us ordinary mortals, I have just been charged £30 plus vat for one

You are being charged for a service, simples

The fact it costs the solicitor less than they charge you is of no relevance. When you paid for your car to be cleaned last the car wash company didnt use £5 of water and soap despite they fact they charged you £5 for doing it.

directdebiter

I just had this situation with the solicitor where house fell through - he would only send via Chaps. £35 in the scheme of a big solicitor bill and house purchase of £xxxxxxx I didnt quibble to be honest.

But as far as I know CHAPS is guaranteed by time and available to everyone plus some banks have limits on faster payment values. Plus faster payments is not available to all businesses.

For businesses CHAPS has more reassurance so especially with a large sum of money. They should of course state upfront any costs that may be incurred.