Issued a refund a year ago, received letter requesting some of it back.

MrMaple

Hi,

Wasn't sure quite where to post this, and i'm drawing blanks on Google.

13 months ago we completed on buying our house and received a check from our Solicitors for £521 - basically what was left after they'd done searches, etc etc (we sent them a larger amount of money, they do the searches they need to do, then they send back what is left).

We cashed it and spent it on some much needed stuff for the new home.

This week we received a letter (13 months later!) stating that they'd made a mistake and had sent us too much. They're requesting that we send them a cheque for £236.

Now, we've spent the money, we have a baby on the way, things are tight and this feels cheap. It was their mistake, we had no idea there had been a mistake, and it's been quite some time since they sent us the cash.

I can't find much on where we stand with this. The Theft Act states that knowingly spending a credit you know to be an overpayment is unlawful - but we didn't know... and as they're Solicitors I really don't want to even attempt to "fight" this without some concrete information.

Is anyone able to offer any guidance on this?

Many thanks and Merry Christmas.

grumbler

MrMaple wrote: »

This week we received a letter (13 months later!) stating that they'd made a mistake

What sort of mistake? You should have been given a bill that time. If the error was in the bill, you owe them nothing. If they paid you incorrect amount, not that you were actually due according to the bill, you owe them. They can sue you for this money if you don't pay, but whether they will do this actually is a different question.

Ballard

I had exactly the same issue with a solicitor 10 years ago. I wrote to them to say that I had spent the money and wasn't in a position to repay but that I could either pay half there and then if they were willing to write off the rest or pay the whole amount in instalments.

I sent the letter together with a cheque for half making it clear that in cashing the cheque they were accepting my terms. I wrote that on the back of the cheque too. They did cash the cheque but a few months later demanded the balance. I ignored this letter and never heard from them again.

I have no idea where I stood legally but I think that I was on firm ground morally. I was honest as I had spent the money unaware that it wasn't mine to spend.

HHarry

I too had a similar situation with a Solicitor. I eventually agreed to repay 75% of the error (£3k of £4k).

For such a small amount they may write it off if you explain the circumstances, or take a reduced amount, or installments.
My understanding is that you couldn't face a criminal prosecution having spent the money in good faith, but they could still seek to claim it in a civil case (small claims court).

jonesMUFCforever

hmm........who sends more to a solicitor than they ask for - all times I have used a solicitor the bill gets sent out after they have completed the work?

planteria

i wouldn't entirely agree with that jones, but ive certainly never overpaid..

the only circumstances in which i am left owed money is when selling a leasehold property you can finish up being owed part of a ground rent/service charge. i am in this position now, as it happens.

but my main thought would be that sitting down with the solicitor would seem sensible. it depends upon your relationships, i suppose, but i have a property solicitor and a litigation solicitor, both of whom i can sit down with and have a chat, so i can't really imagine having the above dilemma. perhaps sitting down with a view to playing firm but very fair could enable you to build a good relationship that could prove fruitful later on:think:

Ballard

In my case it was extending a leasehold. There were three of us in different properties sharing the cost. I paid the bill in full but was later sent a cheque by the solicitor as they'd said that I' d overpaid. After 10 years I don't recall the minutiae.

patanne

I'm just wondering how many people actually have a 'relationship' with their solicitor unless they are in business. Most people use them once every couple of years at most. I would certainly be asking for an itemised bill and comparing it with the original to see which part they had missed the first time.

LadyDee

I worked for solicitors, including conveyancing, for many years. Final accounting would be accompanied by a "completion statement" and I've never known a conveyancing transaction being finalised without such a statement.
Money is (or was) often paid to the solicitor on account of disbursements, and if those disbursements totalled less than the expected sum then a cheque would be sent for the unspent amount to the client, together with the completion statement, accounting for every penny.

I should add that this was in the time when it was unusual to have fixed sum conveyancing so you usually paid for hours of work done, and I'm sure more traditional firms still do it this way, so it wouldn't be unusual to end up getting a refund from the solicitor, if less hours were spent on the transaction than anticipated.