Unable to pay solicitor fees - what can I do?

hoggiebear

Hi all

Today I received a final bill from my solicitor for an employment legal matter, which I required help with. The solicitor helped me very intermitently over a 4-5 week period, only to write a few letters, make a few calls and send some emails. There was no court time involved.

The bill came to £900 - this was a restricted fee (reduced by 20% from the actual figure of £1124 due to me being a disabled person). I was quite shocked at the overall cost of the work he claims to have completed. The bill demands that payment of the amount due be made in full within 28 days or they will waive the restriction, charge me the full £1124 plus interest and late charges!!!

For clarity, I signed no agreement with the solicitor, I just verbally instructed him to act on my behalf.

The crux of the matter is that I cannot afford to pay the full £900 within 28 days, due to essential living costs.

How likely is it that if I propose a repayment plan of say £150 per month for the next 6 months, will it be accepted? Do solicitors ever agree repayment plans?

This will effectively be classed as a debt if I do not pay, hence posting my question in this section of the site.

Any advice and support would be welcome.

stevemLS

Yes, solicitors do agree payment plans.

Law Society rules say that after you had instructed him, he has to send you a client care letter setting out the terms on which he accepted your instructions. That should have contained an estimate of costs.

sourcrates

Just make your payment proposition in writing explaining your circumstances, there should not be a problem with this, but if there is, post again for further advice.