Solicitors bill

themull1

If the solicitor didnt tell us we would need to pay or give us a list of charges etc, how would we know we needed to pay, they kept going back to employer asking them to insert extra paragraphs in the form etc - my question is, can a solicitor charge without any prior warning - surely they should have told us if the amount wasn't enough, and given us the option to continue or not?

themull1

The solicitor told us she was dealing with employers solicitor, and HR wouldnt talk to my husband anymore whilst this was going on.

Mersey_2

themull1 wrote: »

If the solicitor didnt tell us we would need to pay or give us a list of charges etc, how would we know we needed to pay, they kept going back to employer asking them to insert extra paragraphs in the form etc - my question is, can a solicitor charge without any prior warning - surely they should have told us if the amount wasn't enough, and given us the option to continue or not?

Any Solicitor has to list their hourly rate(s) and/or fixed fees. If you didn't receive this that is worthy of complaint itself to the SRA or Ombudsman.


Equally they couldn't sue and enforce any purported debt if they failed to inform you of their charges and you didn't sign these T&Cs/Client Care Letter.

Finefoot

Do you have legal cover with your house insurance? May be worth giving them a ring.

Undervalued

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth wrote: »

Something wrong here. This is a settlement agreement. You need a notary to read through it and sign it. Basically it is not negotiable, after what is discussed between HR and employee. This is what is sometimes paid for.

If you want further advice, you have to pay.

Redundancy is paid at statuary rates. Again, the notary would adise this.

No notary would advise challenging the agreement.

No.

For a settlement agreement to be binding on the employee they must have received advice from a solicitor or a specially trained trades union official. That person must have appropriate insurance and must issue a certificate (normally an extra page in the agreement which they sign).

It does not need a notary.

Proposed settlement agreements are frequently challenged. It all comes down to the strength or otherwise of the employee's position.

As I said before it is customary (not obligatory) for the employer to pay for the minimum amount of legal work the law requires. Few employers will pay for the employee's solicitor to argue against them. However the solicitor should make it clear to the employee that any additional work is chargeable and get their agreement.

themull1

We didnt receive a letter or were given charges or were informed that we might have to pay anything at all, other than receiving a bill. Should we write back pointing this out? the bill just gave a list of what the solicitor did and how long it took at £195 an hour, so we don't even know what was us and what was the employers costing.


Husband is going to fight this, i think the solicitors realised it was taking longer than they thought, and are trying to get us to make up the shortfall.

themull1

I know they had trouble getting in touch with employers solicitor, they kept putting off contacting our solicitor - why should we pay for that?

TBagpuss

The solicitor should have provided your husband with a client care letter and terms of business, including details of the way their costs would be calculated (usually an hourly rate) and the likely total cost.

That letter should also given information about their complaints procedure.

Your husband's first step should be to write to the solicitors, stating that he wants to make a complaint about the bill. Keep it factual.
State that (i) You were informed that the costs would be £x, and your employers agreed to pay that amount (ii) You were not at any time advised that that limit had been reached and were not given any updated estimate (iii) In any event, you were not provided with terms of business and have not signed terms of business.

Then explain, clearly, how you want them to resolve it - e.g. for them to confirm that they will limit their costs to the original figure agreed and paid by your empoyer.

kazzah

ask the solicitor to provide you with a copy of the signed (by your husband) contract stating the costs
when they can't produce it ( if as you say they never provided one)
just say - no contract , no money due.

make sure you check ALL the e mail correspondence to ensure there was nothing about costs mentioned

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Undervalued wrote: »

No.

For a settlement agreement to be binding on the employee they must have received advice from a solicitor or a specially trained trades union official. That person must have appropriate insurance and must issue a certificate (normally an extra page in the agreement which they sign).

It does not need a notary.

Proposed settlement agreements are frequently challenged. It all comes down to the strength or otherwise of the employee's position.

As I said before it is customary (not obligatory) for the employer to pay for the minimum amount of legal work the law requires. Few employers will pay for the employee's solicitor to argue against them. However the solicitor should make it clear to the employee that any additional work is chargeable and get their agreement.

If you want to challenge it, you stump up the money. The company are not obliged to pay for this. The notary us used for signature purposes.

OP challenged their settlement, hence extra costs