Cheeky Solicitors

BB.

Hello,


We are about to exchange contracts on the house we are buying and just got the final contract to sign and return. In the letter attached to this, our solicitor informs us that it is "as a general rule, 2 weeks are reqd between the date Contracts are exchanged and completion". It then goes to say that if we wish to complete within two weeks of exchange there will be an additional charge of £125 +VAT :eek:


This was not mentioned to us in any correspondence or conversations before. And I did speak to them about a potential completion within a week time from exchange as the sellers are pressing and if we have known about that then we might have chosen to exchange sooner.


Is it legal for them to impose this charge without informing us of this earlier? The information pack they sent us says that it is advisable to allow 2 weeks in between, but does not mention any additional charges if completion happens sooner.


Has anyone here had a similar experience before?


Your comments will be appreciated.


BB.

G_M

Yes, a bit cheeky, but I guess as they are advising you of the cost before you make the decision they are complying with requirements.

Why not just go with a 2 week gap - it's easier all round anyway.

BB.

Unfortunately the Sellers are pressing to complete asap


I will have no choice but to leave a review about this firm online so at least other clients are aware in advance...

alumende27

BB. wrote: »

Unfortunately the Sellers are pressing to complete asap

So tell them ASAP is two weeks after exchange of contracts.

Miss_Samantha

Solicitors are regulated.

You can complain formal then raise the issue to the SRA.
You can have a look at their code of conduct. If you find a breach, I'm suspect the solicitor will offer a refund before you go to the SRA...

glentoran99

G_M wrote: »

Yes, a bit cheeky, but I guess as they are advising you of the cost before you make the decision they are complying with requirements.

Why not just go with a 2 week gap - it's easier all round anyway.

Since when is two weeks between exchange and completion a requirement?

alumende27

In answer to your question about it being legal for them to do this.

Code of conduct for the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (UK regulatory body for conveyancers):
http://www.conveyancer.org.uk/Handbook/Handbook.aspx

" r) Before or when accepting instructions, you inform Clients in writing of the terms on which the instructions are accepted, a complete, accurate estimate of fees and disbursements to be charged and if and when they are likely to change."

BB.

Thank you all, this is very helpful!


Dsdhall, so since they did not made us aware of this charge when they accepted our instructions, we have grounds to challenge it with them and if unsuccessful, complain to SRA as suggested by Miss Samantha.


I think I will wait with my complaint until we exchange contracts as they may try and make it difficult for us by delaying the responses on the last 2 queries that we raised with them.


Thanks again...

Mickygg

My solicitor had a week between exchange and completion, anything less and they would charge £200 plus vat! They did make me aware of this upfront though.

BB.

I am so annoyed with this particular Solicitor because this is the 3rd time they are trying to charge as extra.
First they were trying to add the second fee of £120 + VAT for acting on behalf of the lender, once the mortgage offer was received from the bank (the fee listed on the mortgage offer was £120 inc VAT and not + VAT), and this was in addition to the originally quoted amount of £99 + VAT for the same service. They removed the second fee after I questioned it and upped the original charge by £30 to £150 inc VAT.


Then, they wanted to charge us £45 + VAT for obtaining a chancel insurance on our behalf. I got the insurance myself via the company which did the chancel search and didn't pay that fee just the insurance premium (unless they will still add it to the final bill).


And now this! and none of these fees were mentioned to us before they starting to act on our behalf.

alumende27

I would point out to them, in writing, that they did not indicate that there would be an additional charge for doing completion within two weeks, and that you don't expect to pay such a fee that wasn't outlined when they provided their terms and conditions in line with the CLC code of practice.

That said, the sellers of my house were going absolutely frantic about completing as soon as possible and the process happened when it happened (we were delayed by trying to a company that would provide buildings insurance - a process that took a couple of months). What choice do they have, suck it up and wait two extra weeks or tell you to sod off and start the entire process again from scratch with someone else?