Solicitors Client Account Interest Rate and Comparison with a UK Current Bank Account

KJones2023

Hello,

I wondered if I could ask if anyone can point me in the right direction please?

In 2021 I completed on a house sale, the proceeds of which are in dispute with my ex- partner and as such I am currently in legal proceedings against him, for which I have Solicitor B.

Since that time, the money has been held in a client account of the conveyancing solicitor (Solicitor A) and I have been assured throughout this period by solicitor B that the money is safe, and will be earning a standard, albeit low rate of interest.

Since Dec 2022, as interest rates rise and as the legal case is now estimated to take another 2-3 years, I have been requesting from solicitor A to provide me with 1. The rate of interest being applied on the funds and 2. The current balance.

This information has not been forthcoming until this month, having gone down the formal complaint route, I received a statement from my solicitors Insurers stating that "they wanted to co-operate with me" after I said I was referring the lack of forthcoming information to the Ombudsman should this information not be forthcoming. The statement simply gave the balance and interest credits, to which I was horrified to learn that the balance had only very slightly gone up, representing approximately 0.0037%

I have also recently been advised by Solicitor B that the money could (and still can) be held in the court account, and having checked with them at a relevant point in 2020, the rate was 1.13% rising todate to 3.188%

Before I send all of the information to the Ombudsman, I need (for my own sanity as much as anything else) to look at

1. Historical interest rates for a standard current bank account (Lloyds prefererably as we banked with them and the mortgage was with them) to compare (I cant find them online)
2. Historical court rates (I spoke to the courts funds office who said the rates are online but I am struggling to find them)

Can anyone help me find the above information? I need Jan 2021 todate (I can easily get the current rates)

Has anyone else come across this please? (I am calculating that the potential loss of interest is thousands of pounds and worth me following this up)

Thanks in advance,

KJones2023

MultiFuelBurner

Firstly is 2-3 years more of your life not moving forward worth the hassle (not knowing the details of course)

user1977

Can't your own solicitor give you this information based on e.g. their own accounts? I would agree that where funds are being held for a lengthy period they ought to be moved to a (higher) interest-bearing deposit account (i.e. another client account administered by the solicitors - I'm not sure what a court account is or whether interest rates would vary).

MultiFuelBurner

If you follow this link then select table rather than chart that might be what you are looking for

https://www.finder.com/uk/inflation-vs-savings

KJones2023

MultiFuelBurner said:

Firstly is 2-3 years more of your life not moving forward worth the hassle (not knowing the details of course)

Hi MultiFuelBurner, I completely agree with you but it is a bit more complicated. (I am dealing with and trying to reason with a sociopathic narcissist who is representing themselves legally............)  

KJones2023

user1977 said:

Can't your own solicitor give you this information based on e.g. their own accounts? I would agree that where funds are being held for a lengthy period they ought to be moved to a (higher) interest-bearing deposit account (i.e. another client account administered by the solicitors - I'm not sure what a court account is or whether interest rates would vary).

Thank you so much, yes I think that is a blinding flash of the obvious I truly hadnt thought of. Thank you for that - I will ask the question of my solicitor The court account I have only just learned is for this type of thing exactly. The rate of interest varies if it is to do with a child/ vulnerable person or a property etc like mine. The standard rate has been 1.13 during the time and is now 3.188. Thank you again for this idea!

KJones2023

KJones2023 said:

MultiFuelBurner said:

Firstly is 2-3 years more of your life not moving forward worth the hassle (not knowing the details of course)

Hi MultiFuelBurner, I completely agree with you but it is a bit more complicated. (I am dealing with and trying to reason with a sociopathic narcissist who is representing themselves legally............)  

Perfect, MultiFuelBurner this is exactly the type of information I need. Thank you so much!!

TripleH

I know with client money that firms should not be holding onto it any longer than they should. Were they aware of the timescale of the dispute before you challenge over it not being in a higher interest account? If it was 'reasonable' to expect the matter would be dealt with in a short space of time then they may /could not be expected to have moved it but if early on everyone knew or were told it was going to drag on for a long time then steps could be expected to be taken.

Who has 'control' of the money, you, your ex or both? Consent from both parties might also be required depending on who 'employed' the solicitors holding the money.

SiliconChip

KJones2023 said:

1. Historical interest rates for a standard current bank account (Lloyds prefererably as we banked with them and the mortgage was with them) to compare (I cant find them online)

The vast majority of UK current accounts do not pay any interest and historically have rarely done so. Some of the new challenger banks do pay interest on their current account but mostly at miserly rates, the only one I have is with Starling that pays 0.05%.

HobgoblinBT

OP, why not Google “Solicitors Client Account Interest Rate xxxxxx bank” where xxxxx is the relevant bank.

Banks usually publish their standard credit and debit interest rates including for Solicitors Client Accounts.  Some banks negotiate the interest rates on client accounts with their clients so may receive a rate different to the standard published rate.  Some firms will receive interest on client accounts and will have a policy on what proportion is paid to a client as opposed to retained by the firm itself. No doubt the Solicitors firm will be able to tell you.

KJones2023

TripleH said:

I know with client money that firms should not be holding onto it any longer than they should. Were they aware of the timescale of the dispute before you challenge over it not being in a higher interest account? If it was 'reasonable' to expect the matter would be dealt with in a short space of time then they may /could not be expected to have moved it but if early on everyone knew or were told it was going to drag on for a long time then steps could be expected to be taken.

Who has 'control' of the money, you, your ex or both? Consent from both parties might also be required depending on who 'employed' the solicitors holding the money.

Thank you, I think it is fair to say that it was expected to go on a long time, due to issues the solicitor is aware of. But thank you that is a good point that I will put to them. The money can only be moved by court order, which my ex is purposely dragging out, or by agreement of both. The latter will never happen with him, I have made offers (even though it is clear who put what in and we were never married.) Any offers are met with more demands and he has flatly refused mediation. The solicitor knows this. Thank you again for taking the time to help me.