Inheritance payment bank charges

Sandra71

I was left a fixed sum of £8000 in a dear friends will. Her solicitor is the executor and has finally released the funds to all the beneficiaries. However, the solicitor has charged each of the beneficiaries £30 +VAT for the bank transfer. There was no mention of such charges in the letter I received when they notified me of the legacy I'd been left, nor did they give me an option of how to receive my payment. The letter just states that a bank transfer is the easiest way to receive the payment.
   The solicitor is ignoring my requests for a call back to discuss her charges and has told the other executor that it's "only £36" but to me, it's the principle of the matter that we were charged a fee, that was not drawn to out attention beforehand, and we weren't given a choice on how to receive our payment.
   Have I got a valid argument? I did find a legal forum that suggests the bank charges should come out of the estate residue, not the beneficiaries legacy but I can't find any other information.
Thanks in advance 
Sandra

doodling

Hi,

If you were left a fixed sum then that is what you should receive.

It would only be reasonable to deduct some money for the cost of payment of a fixed sum if the beneficiary specifically asked for payment to be made in a particular way, or there was some other reason why a particular payment method was the only way of giving the beneficiary the money (e.g. if there were additional costs because they were outside the UK).

I am slightly confused as your wording refers to "the other executor" - are you intending to suggest that the solicitor is one executor and there is another, or that you are one executor and there is another, or something else?

Ultimately the £36 is owed to you by the executors.  I'd write a letter and send it to all the executors pointing out that your payment was £36 short and asking when it would be paid.

I don't think that there is any reasonable argument for you to pay a charge to receive your inheritance; "its only £36" is definitely not a reasonable argument!

Hoenir

What options did the solicitor give to you to receive payment? You must have provided your bank details in order to do so.  

Keep_pedalling

Solicitors tend to use CHAPS transfers which come with a hefty transfer fee which has been passed on to you. 

Sandra71

doodling said:

Hi,

If you were left a fixed sum then that is what you should receive.

It would only be reasonable to deduct some money for the cost of payment of a fixed sum if the beneficiary specifically asked for payment to be made in a particular way, or there was some other reason why a particular payment method was the only way of giving the beneficiary the money (e.g. if there were additional costs because they were outside the UK).

I am slightly confused as your wording refers to "the other executor" - are you intending to suggest that the solicitor is one executor and there is another, or that you are one executor and there is another, or something else?

Ultimately the £36 is owed to you by the executors.  I'd write a letter and send it to all the executors pointing out that your payment was £36 short and asking when it would be paid.

I don't think that there is any reasonable argument for you to pay a charge to receive your inheritance; "its only £36" is definitely not a reasonable argument!

Thank you, my friend made the solicitor and her niece the executors of the will. Although the solicitor dealt with pretty much everything she had to liaise with her niece, as the 2nd executor, on clearing the house 

Savvy_Sue

Keep_pedalling said:

Solicitors tend to use CHAPS transfers which come with a hefty transfer fee which has been passed on to you. 

But the question is, should that transfer fee have been passed on to the OP? Or should all the transfer fees have come out of the pot left over for residual beneficiaries? 

Sandra71

Hoenir said:

What options did the solicitor give to you to receive payment? You must have provided your bank details in order to do so.  

We weren't given any options to receive payment. The letter from the solicitor said the simplest way to pay out the legacy is via a bank transfer. I had to go in to the office with my bank details and ID documentation 

Flugelhorn

Sandra71 said:

Hoenir said:

What options did the solicitor give to you to receive payment? You must have provided your bank details in order to do so.  

We weren't given any options to receive payment. The letter from the solicitor said the simplest way to pay out the legacy is via a bank transfer. I had to go in to the office with my bank details and ID documentation 

then definitely ask for the £36 back - you should have been given other options 

user1977

Savvy_Sue said:

Keep_pedalling said:

Solicitors tend to use CHAPS transfers which come with a hefty transfer fee which has been passed on to you. 

But the question is, should that transfer fee have been passed on to the OP? Or should all the transfer fees have come out of the pot left over for residual beneficiaries? 

The latter. And not sure why they were using CHAPS for a relatively small amount anyway, though I know some solicitors seem to just default to it as a justification for pocketing the (inflated) fee. I would just have sent by BACS (for free) assuming no urgency involved.

SiliconChip

Is it really worth wasting any of your time trying to persuade a solicitor to pay you £36 (which they have probably already paid for the service provided even if it wasn't completely necessary) when you've already received more than 99.5% of the legacy you were due?

user1977

SiliconChip said:

Is it really worth wasting any of your time trying to persuade a solicitor to pay you £36 (which they have probably already paid for the service provided even if it wasn't completely necessary) 

A large chunk (possibly most) of it is the firm's own fee rather than their bank's charge. Hence why they are fond of pretending they can't do any cheaper payment methods.