RMNJ Conveyancing - Solar Panel fees

mikeyp231987

I have now been advised after already instructing my solicitor two days ago (only got paperwork through today) that there is an additional £325 fee for them to deal with any transaction involving Solar Panels.

So two questions here:

1. Is this a standard fee charged by all solicitors?

2. Shouldn't they have included some documentation about these fees prior to me instructing them (along with the initial quote)

Do I have any case to make a complaint here?

davidmcn

Not a "standard" fee (no fees are standard really) but not unreasonable to charge something extra reflecting the complications involved in solar panels.

Did they know about the panels previously? I presume their initial quote would have included some form of caveat about circumstances where there might be additional fees.

thelem

There's probably a term in their quote that states they can charge extra for non-standard work. They don't bother asking about solar panels up front because they are not common enough, but it's reasonable for there to be a charge if they have to do work to transfer the rights for the panels to your name.


Who owns the panels? Frequently they are installed for free, but remain the property of the company that installed them. The homeowner then has an obligation to keep the panels for say 25 years.

mikeyp231987

Is that all the quote has to say? That there may be additional fees but then give no detail? They didn't ask up front about them no, none of the quotes I requested did.

I have been told by the estate agents and the seller that they own the Solar Panels outright, so no lease. I emailed my solicitor hoping this would spare me the additional cost but they said it is applicable to 'all solar panel transactions'

I suppose I'm just looking to find out if all solicitors charge this fee and around the same amount. Hopefully some other buyers will shed some light on this

mikeyp231987

I looked at the quote again...the fees are indeed mentioned in their Terms and Conditions (in very small writing at the bottom but there none the less). I can't believe I didn't look at it properly before going ahead...very unusual for me. Guess the whole process is stressing me out so I'm making mistakes.

I've messaged a few of the others that offered me quotes and one has replied saying they only charge £120...

csgohan4

Good luck with RMNJ, I had to do so much chasing up it was unbelievable considering the amount they were charging

mikeyp231987

csgohan4 wrote: »

Good luck with RMNJ, I had to do so much chasing up it was unbelievable considering the amount they were charging

They were cheap in comparison to other quotes I saw, but if you now factor in the cost for these Solar Panels and another one I missed relating to them dealing with my Help To Buy ISA the fees will now be in excess of £1200.

Initial quote was for around £875, only went with them based on what others had posted about them on here and general reviews I saw elsewhere.

ProDave

If these are solar panels owned by the house, and the house owner is currently collecting the FIT, then all that needs to happen is the remainder of the FIT contract be assigned to you. Most FIT providers have a procedure to assign the contract to a new owner and I can't see why it even needs to involve a solicitor.

You might want the seller to write you a receipt to say the panels and the equipment are bow yours.