Solicitors Bill

lastbigspender

Hi

Wee bit of advice with this one, I got a solicitor to involved in a boundarydispute in September 2012 which was resolved very quickly. I asked thesolicitor to issue me with the bill once we all agreed the issue was closed. Thebill never arrived so as I had asked them for it was up to them to furnish mewith it.

I got home yesterday from work and low and behold bill arrived to the costof £700+VAT £840 in total :eek::eek::eek:. They detailed it was for 4hrs work reviewing/corresponding the issues at hand @ £175 perhour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does this seem reasonable considering it’s over 3 yrs late and the amountthat has been charged per hour?

Thanks
:mad::mad::mad:

jellynose

I am not sure if I would say that any charge from a solicitor could be described as reasonable. However, a solicitor does know how to charge. A good solicitor that helps sort out your issue to your satisfaction is great.

The last time I used a good solicitor, I asked in advance how much they charged per hour. I was told upfront that it was £185 per hour, it did shock me but I needed the help and was willing to pay.

Getting such a bill 3 years later would be a shock but if they did they work, I don't think that you have any other option than to pay it and in future ask in advance (hopefully you won't need it) what they charge per hour.

You could seek some advice from the Solicitors Regulation Authority:

https://www.sra.org.uk/home/home.page

Hope you get it all sorted out

saverbuyer

lastbigspender wrote: »

Hi

Wee bit of advice with this one, I got a solicitor to involved in a boundarydispute in September 2012 which was resolved very quickly. I asked thesolicitor to issue me with the bill once we all agreed the issue was closed. Thebill never arrived so as I had asked them for it was up to them to furnish mewith it.

I got home yesterday from work and low and behold bill arrived to the costof £700+VAT £840 in total :eek::eek::eek:. They detailed it was for 4hrs work reviewing/corresponding the issues at hand @ £175 perhour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does this seem reasonable considering it’s over 3 yrs late and the amountthat has been charged per hour?

Thanks
:mad::mad::mad:

If it was a partner dealing with the case, £175 is reasonable enough. The length of time issuing a bill would be more concerning but if the work was carried out, you're expected to pay.


Did you receive a fee estimate at the time?


Best bet would be to call the solicitor and ask to come to some sort of discounting arrangement.

saverbuyer

jellynose wrote: »

I am not sure if I would say that any charge from a solicitor could be described as reasonable. However, a solicitor does know how to charge. A good solicitor that helps sort out your issue to your satisfaction is great.

The last time I used a good solicitor, I asked in advance how much they charged per hour. I was told upfront that it was £185 per hour, it did shock me but I needed the help and was willing to pay.

Getting such a bill 3 years later would be a shock but if they did they work, I don't think that you have any other option than to pay it and in future ask in advance (hopefully you won't need it) what they charge per hour.

You could seek some advice from the Solicitors Regulation Authority:

https://www.sra.org.uk/home/home.page

Hope you get it all sorted out

SRA doesn't deal with NI. The Law Society NI is the local regulator.


They won't deal with a complaint until you contact the firm direct.

jellynose

saverbuyer wrote: »

SRA doesn't deal with NI. The Law Society NI is the local regulator.


They won't deal with a complaint until you contact the firm direct.

Hi saverbuyer

Ooppps sorry I didn't know that

Thanks for the update

lastbigspender

saverbuyer wrote: »

If it was a partner dealing with the case, £175 is reasonable enough. The length of time issuing a bill would be more concerning but if the work was carried out, you're expected to pay.


Did you receive a fee estimate at the time?


Best bet would be to call the solicitor and ask to come to some sort of discounting arrangement.

I did not receive a fee estimate at the time.

Thoughts as much with everyones comments, thank you!!

I understand I have to pay but was just concerned with the cost and length of time for bill!!

And yes it was the one of the directors dealing with my case!

saverbuyer

lastbigspender wrote: »

I did not receive a fee estimate at the time.

Thoughts as much with everyones comments, thank you!!

I understand I have to pay but was just concerned with the cost and length of time for bill!!

And yes it was the one of the directors dealing with my case!

Boundary disputes can be very complicated. To be honest for £840 you might have got off lightly. It also sounds like the problem was resolved with the help of the solicitor.


I'd call the solicitor, explain that 3 years is a longtime for any outstanding bill, be reasonable, bare in mind that you could have requested the bill at any stage, and ask can you come to some sort of arrangement.

TBagpuss

The amount per hour seem reasonable, however, it may be worth raising a complaint (using the firm's internal complaints process) about the fact that you were not given details ofthe charging rate at the outset, and about the delay in the bill being received.

4 hours doesn;t seem unreasonable - boundary disputes are complex so spending that time opening a file and reviewing the documents etc, so I think any complaint would be on the basis of poor service relating to the delay and the lack of information, not to the hourly rate or the time spent.

Do bear in mind however that the delay does effectvively mean they have given you an interest free loan of £840 for the past 3 years. And if you had asked them not to send the bill until you were happy things were completed - did you ever tell them that you were happy things had been resolved? They should have reviewed the file earlier but it shoulds as though they were holding off, at least initially, at your request, so it does seem somewhat unfair of you to then criticise them fror doing what you asked them to!

Golden_Anemone

Perhaps you could pay the bill in 36 monthly instalments as it took them so long to issue it.

springdreams

Could have been worse

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/justice-costs-fury-as-lawyers-fees-top-850-an-hour-8965339.html

http://lawspark.org.uk/business-law/how-much-do-business-lawyers-charge/

Mistral001

Many businesses just do not realise how annoying it is to get a late bill. It took me 4 years to get a bill out of my plumber. I rang him up and told him it was causing me sleepless night which was true as I did not have much money and I was afraid that if the bill arrived, I could not afford to pay it. On the face of it you are getting a few years credit and the business sending the bill might think that you should be thankful for that, but it just does not work that way as far as the recipient is concerned.

BTW the legal profession works very, very slowly. Much of there work involves court cases which can take several years if not decades to come to a conclusion. Thus solicitors are used sending bills out for work done several years previously.