Am I being ignorant?

darrend2812

I reached out to an accountant to help with IHT and CGT for my late Grandmothers estate. The background story is rather complex so long-story short - a local accountant asked for documents to review and by doing so provided a lengthy in-depth summary of what is required for CGT and IHT. 

My concern is the invoice I am now being charged for the work carried out without my consent or knowledge. I wanted a rough understanding if 1) the accountant could help and if so 2) how much would it be to assist. 

I did not agree nor sign any paperwork for the accountancy firm to carry out work and instead the firm are asking for me to pay. 

What should I do? 

Mark_d

You asked the accountant to look into your grandmother's estate.  You know that they were going through the details as you provided documents for them to review.  The accountants helped with IHT and CGT liabilities for your late grandmothers estate - precisely what you asked them to do.

I expect the accountant has charged you at their standard hourly rate, plus possible extra fees where appropriate.  You now need to pay the invoice.

Keep_pedalling

You asked a professional to review documents, I can’t imagine any professional would not charge for the work they carried out. 

Tucosalamanca

An enquiry would have been free 'I have an IHT & CGT query, can you help and how much will it cost?'

You explained the situation and asked for a service - help with IHT and CGT

Accountant said yes I can help, please provide the documents for me to review.

You supplied documents, the accountant reviewed and reported back with their in-depth summary, along with their invoice.

Why are you querying the bill, did you expect them to take a look for free?

darrend2812

@Tucosalamanca I expected them to say yes they can help or no they cant.. I have had recent firms say they were unable to assist due to the complexities of the case. There's been a big misunderstanding clearly, but shouldn't they have told me their prices before they carry out work?

Marcon

darrend2812 said:

@Tucosalamanca I expected them to say yes they can help or no they cant.. I have had recent firms say they were unable to assist due to the complexities of the case. There's been a big misunderstanding clearly, but shouldn't they have told me their prices before they carry out work?

Shouldn't you have asked, rather than sending them a load of documents and asking them to review?

Savvy_Sue

It sounds as if the fee would be chargeable to the estate, if that helps.

elsien

I understand where other people are coming from in that you did send the documents and that does give a strong implication that you were requesting the service but as someone who doesn’t use accountants regularly I would also have expected some information around costs and terms before work was commenced. 

What sort of figures are you talking about?

Hoenir

darrend2812 said:

@Tucosalamanca I expected them to say yes they can help or no they cant..

Then the answer would have been yes or no. No need to see any documents beforehand. Professional time is expensive in terms of hourly charge out rate. Everything the accountants have done will be logged in minute detail. Fees aren't simply dreamt up. In some instances such investigations are how long is a piece of string............

poseidon1

If the firm was a Chartered Accountancy firm and member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales ( ICAEW), such a firm under institute rules are required to issue an Engagement Letter setting out the scope of services they will be undertaking and the basis upon which fees will be charged ( paragraph R330.5  ICAEW code of ethics ).

If no such letter was provided in advance of the work undertaken, then recourse can be made to the institutes complaint procedure, assuming all attempts to resolve matters  direct with the firm have been exhausted.

If the firm was not a Chartered member of ICAEW ( ie a firm lower down in the  Accountancy professional pecking order), unfortunately I am unfamiliar of your rights and the firm's responsibilities in that scenario.