Solicitor Fees

Sophies_Mum_14

Hi there,

I am after advice. Back in October my husband and I saw a house we loved, they said if we put our house on the market and got an offer which we accepted they would take their house off market. We got our house on the market within a week got multiple offers accepted one. I then rang round for quotes on conveyancing services. One local firm sent an email with breakdown of fees. There were some errors in this but it contained what it would cost for searches, etc. The vendors agent asked for the details of which solicitor I would be using, I then got in touch and asked them how to instruct them. They said to give the solicitor name and contact details which I did.

Subsequently I pulled out of the purchase and put the sale of ours on holdand rang the solicitors asking them not to take ang further action. To this point I had received nothing from them. I also avised the estate agent of the same. A few days later I received draft contracts and a client care letter. I did not sign anything. Some 2 weeks later the agent advised me that they were starting searches, etc. I again reiterated we weren't selling and that I had put it on hold and why had they taken any action. I advised I was no longer going to be selling. My solicitor subsequently sent me a bill for £300 for various works apparently undertaken. This bill stated fees should be £529 but had been reduced due to good will. The total fees had we gone ahead were only going to be double that I do not understand how this is so high. As I never signed tje client care letter agreeing am I legally bound to pay this. I called to contest but they said if I did they would make me pay the full £529. Is this right?

Sophies_Mum_14

PS I should perhaps state we pulled out after further viewing on property we found as we discovered damp.

tacpot12

I think it will depend on whether you can "prove" that you instructed the solicitor to stop work via the phone call. Did you make it on your mobile, and if so does the call log show the call and that it was for long enough for you to have spoken to someone? Did you get the name of the person you spoke to?

If you have this sort of evidence, I would suggest that you offer to settle the bill for an amount that is less than the £300 that has been requested - on the basis that the solicitor has jumped the gun in preparing contracts.

If you don't have any useful evidence, then it will be difficult to argue that you instructed the solicitor to stop work. You do owe them for the work they did prior to you "de-instructing" them, but they cannot reasonably charge for work that was not required at the stage you were at.

Tiglet2

Unless you signed up to a no-completion, no fee scheme, the solicitor is entitled to charge for work undertaken up to the time you pulled out. However, you should read the client care letter you have received from the solicitor with regard to chargeable work. While you may not have signed the letter, it appears that the solicitor believed they were instructed - indeed, you instructed them to hold off from doing any further work. Also, searches would not have been undertaken unless you had paid for them upfront. If you had paid for them upfront, it is fair to assume that the solicitor was acting for you and had therefore undertaken work. They often won't charge for an aborted sale/purchase if you are looking for another property and are still committed to the sale/purchase, but if you have decided not to move at all, it is not surprising that they want you to pay for work that they had done.

G_M

Sophies_Mum_14 wrote: »

Hi there,

I am after advice. Back in October my husband and I saw a house we loved, they said if we put our house on the market and got an offer which we accepted they would take their house off market. We got our house on the market within a week got multiple offers accepted one. I then rang round for quotes on conveyancing services. One local firm sent an email with breakdown of fees. There were some errors in this but it contained what it would cost for searches, etc. The vendors agent asked for the details of which solicitor I would be using, I then got in touch
with the agent or with the solicitor

and asked them how to instruct them. They said to give the solicitor name and contact details which I did.
'they said..." Who said? To give who the solicior details?

Subsequently I pulled out of the purchase and put the sale of ours on holdand rang the solicitors asking them not to take ang further action.
Did you note down
* the date and time of this phone call?
* the name of the person you spoke to?
* the exact words you used?


To this point I had received nothing from them.
Errr... not true. You said above " One local firm sent an email with breakdown of fees. "

I also avised the estate agent of the same. A few days later I received draft contracts and a client care letter. I did not sign anything.
and presumably you returned these with a covering letter saying you did not wish to proceed?

Some 2 weeks later the agent advised me that they were starting searches, etc.
Makes no sense. Agents do not do searches. Do youmean the solicitor?

I again reiterated we weren't selling and that I had put it on hold and why had they taken any action.
Reiterated to who? Agent or solicitor?
Reiterate how? Phone?Email? Letter?

I advised I was no longer going to be selling.
Advised who?

My solicitor subsequently sent me a bill for £300 for various works apparently undertaken. This bill stated fees should be £529 but had been reduced due to good will.
Given the ambiguity in your post so far it is hard to say if this is
* unfair
* fair, or
* very generous

The total fees had we gone ahead were only going to be double that I do not understand how this is so high.
Dependswhat they had done so far.
Also it is normal for complete conveyancing to be done on a fixed fee basis, but where it is aborted charges are made on an hourly basis which may, pro rata, be higher than a % of the fixed fee

As I never signed tje client care letter agreeing am I legally bound to pay this. I called to contest but they said if I did they would make me pay the full £529. Is this right?

Impossible to advise based on what you have posted so far.

Sophies_Mum_14

I got an email quote from solicitor. Emailed to asl them how to instruct their firm. They advised me to pass name and contact details to the vendor of the property we had founds agent which we did. They gave a breakdown of costs that would be involved in sale and purchase which were to be £1029 approximately.

They did nothing but the vendors agent chased them a few days before we pulled out. I called a few days later and stated we were pulling out and to do nothing further. I also called our agent selling ours. I have phone bills proving that. I believed they had done nothing at that point apart from had their details given to the other side so was expecting no bill. The draft contracts and careetter arrived the next week but as I had not signed anything or done anything I believed these were just copy paste docs and that they were a formality with no real work involved.

It wasn't until my selling agent said they were giving me a progress update that the buyers solicitor were starting searches and that our solicitor had sent through something that I called again and said why is this progressing I asked all parties to stop and they said we are going to bill you for the work up til now. I queried what work and advised nothing came through until after it all and she said I would receive a bill. When I contested it she stated if I ask for them to prpve costs then they wilm up my bill.

Sophies_Mum_14

Sorry just realised that was full of spelling mistakes. I am a rookie with this and also with selling houses (first time). £300 seems high for sending me what effectively looks like a standard document with my name and address pasted in (probably underestimating the work involved)

babyblade41

It's a bit unclear , well to me anyway.. you said you pulled out when damp was found ..how did you find it as normally I'd expect a surveyor to find it and you didn't pick it up on first viewing.

I think a confusion happened and it wasn't clear to your solicitor you had pulled out.

In my neck of the woods a letter would cost that much

Tigsteroonie

babyblade41 wrote: »

In my neck of the woods a letter would cost that much

Indeed ...

Sophies_Mum_14 wrote: »

I got an email quote from solicitor ... They gave a breakdown of costs ... They did nothing but the vendors agent chased them a few days before we pulled out.

Every piece of work undertaken is chargeable. Even phone calls are chargeable time.

lisyloo

Sophies_Mum_14 wrote: »

Sorry just realised that was full of spelling mistakes. I am a rookie with this and also with selling houses (first time). £300 seems high for sending me what effectively looks like a standard document with my name and address pasted in (probably underestimating the work involved)

You are ignoring the fact that they carry liability for what they do.
That means both initial and on-going research to keep up with the latest legislation and also insurance in case they do make a mistake and you sue them. The responsibility/liability has to be paid for.

lisyloo

Sophies_Mum_14 wrote: »

Sorry just realised that was full of spelling mistakes. I am a rookie with this and also with selling houses (first time). £300 seems high for sending me what effectively looks like a standard document with my name and address pasted in (probably underestimating the work involved)

You are ignoring the fact that they carry liability for what they do.
That means both initial and on-going research to keep up with the latest legislation and also insurance in case they do make a mistake and you sue them. The responsibility/liability has to be paid for.


Even if they did send a standard document someone qualified would need to assess and take liability for considering whether the bog standard document fitted your situation.