Solicitors Mistake - options ?

metal675

Hi,

I had instructed a solicitor for a family related matter. On an application to the court they made a mistake on the form in the name.

This led to the court rejecting the application and asking to reapply. I had paid hourly fees to the solicitor. This also made me loose 4 months.

This is no fault of mine.
Do I have any grounds for compensation or refund of fees in this matter? What remedies do I have against my solicitor here? Can someone please advise regarding what options I have?

Is it advisable to continue with the same solicitor or change to a new one?

Thanks

Aylesbury_Duck

What has the solicitor said?  They should be picking up the cost of this, perhaps through some sort of professional negligence cover if that's how they choose to.  I'd have thought you should be able to get them to repeat their work to the same stage, free of charge, and any compensation should be any genuine costs you incur from the delay.

Jenni_D

Have you raised a formal complaint with the solicitor company? If it's as clear cut as you say then you should raise a complaint, thereafter (assuming they disagree and won't offer a resolution) you can raise a complaint with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Whether you use the same solicitor again or a new one is really your choice - it doesn't impact your complaint or subsequent claim against the first solicitor if necessary.

davidmcn

Depends what costs you've actually incurred because of the delay. Obviously they shouldn't be charging you for their time in sorting out the mistake, and probably at least a discount on the original fee for providing an inadequate service.

If you want independent advice on your rights then you will of course need to consult a different solicitor.

metal675

Thank you for the replies so far. I have not yet spoken to my solicitor as I wanted to understand what options I have first.

Just to give a bit more clarity -

They used the spouse pre-marital name in one form and a post marital name on the other form. The court rejected saying there is a disrepancy in the name. They did send me both the forms before submitting to the court, but I never knew this could be an issue and I never looked at the names being different.

Is this a ground for "professional negligence" ? I can ask them to repeat the work for free of charge OR refund the fees charged plus compensation for delay.

Also, I found out about this mistake when I called the court and not through my own solicitor.

To answer some questions - the costs is the solicitors and court fees plus another 3 month long wait.

Thanks

williamgriffin

So you knew about the error when they sent to forms for checking?

metal675

williamgriffin said:

So you knew about the error when they sent to forms for checking?

There were 2 documents which I had seen at different times but prepared by my solicitor. I was not aware both are to be sent to the court together (I am not legal expert, my solicitor is) and certainly did not notice the difference in names on the two documents.

davidmcn

metal675 said:

To answer some questions - the costs is the solicitors and court fees plus another 3 month long wait.

Well, the costs you can claim are the additional costs incurred because of the error, and you would have been paying solicitor/court costs anyway. Like I said, you ought to at least get a discount on the solicitors' fees if they haven't done a good job. As for the 3 month wait, has that resulted in a monetary loss?

It does sound a bit picky of the court to throw it out because of that discrepancy, but I don't know the extent to which that ought to have been anticipated by the solicitors.

lincroft1710

metal675 said:

Thank you for the replies so far. I have not yet spoken to my solicitor as I wanted to understand what options I have first.

Just to give a bit more clarity -

They used the spouse pre-marital name in one form and a post marital name on the other form. The court rejected saying there is a disrepancy in the name. They did send me both the forms before submitting to the court, but I never knew this could be an issue and I never looked at the names being different.

Is this a ground for "professional negligence" ? I can ask them to repeat the work for free of charge OR refund the fees charged plus compensation for delay.

Also, I found out about this mistake when I called the court and not through my own solicitor.

To answer some questions - the costs is the solicitors and court fees plus another 3 month long wait.

Thanks

This reads as if you could be equally culpable, as you saw the names were different, but didn't question it

Jenni_D

lincroft1710 said:

metal675 said:

Thank you for the replies so far. I have not yet spoken to my solicitor as I wanted to understand what options I have first.

Just to give a bit more clarity -

They used the spouse pre-marital name in one form and a post marital name on the other form. The court rejected saying there is a disrepancy in the name. They did send me both the forms before submitting to the court, but I never knew this could be an issue and I never looked at the names being different.

Is this a ground for "professional negligence" ? I can ask them to repeat the work for free of charge OR refund the fees charged plus compensation for delay.

Also, I found out about this mistake when I called the court and not through my own solicitor.

To answer some questions - the costs is the solicitors and court fees plus another 3 month long wait.

Thanks

This reads as if you could be equally culpable, as you saw the names were different, but didn't question it

I guess you posted before seeing the OP's update?

metal675 said:

williamgriffin said:

So you knew about the error when they sent to forms for checking?

There were 2 documents which I had seen at different times but prepared by my solicitor. I was not aware both are to be sent to the court together (I am not legal expert, my solicitor is) and certainly did not notice the difference in names on the two documents.

It would not be reasonable to expect the OP to be aware of different contents in documents presented to them at different times, or at least to expect them to understand the significance.

williamgriffin

Jenni_D said:

lincroft1710 said:

metal675 said:

Thank you for the replies so far. I have not yet spoken to my solicitor as I wanted to understand what options I have first.

Just to give a bit more clarity -

They used the spouse pre-marital name in one form and a post marital name on the other form. The court rejected saying there is a disrepancy in the name. They did send me both the forms before submitting to the court, but I never knew this could be an issue and I never looked at the names being different.

Is this a ground for "professional negligence" ? I can ask them to repeat the work for free of charge OR refund the fees charged plus compensation for delay.

Also, I found out about this mistake when I called the court and not through my own solicitor.

To answer some questions - the costs is the solicitors and court fees plus another 3 month long wait.

Thanks

This reads as if you could be equally culpable, as you saw the names were different, but didn't question it

I guess you posted before seeing the OP's update?

metal675 said:

williamgriffin said:

So you knew about the error when they sent to forms for checking?

There were 2 documents which I had seen at different times but prepared by my solicitor. I was not aware both are to be sent to the court together (I am not legal expert, my solicitor is) and certainly did not notice the difference in names on the two documents.

It would not be reasonable to expect the OP to be aware of different contents in documents presented to them at different times, or at least to expect them to understand the significance.

You like to think the wrong name on paperwork is worthy of further questioning.