Solicitor forgot to take their fee out of equity

ncfc_123

Evening all 

myself and my wife moved up the property ladder last summer and took equity out our old house to pay for renovations to the new property we purchased. The solicitors we used for conveyance sent us a bill and stated they would deduct the £1300 or so we owed them out of the equity we were due. We were sent the equity money no problems and I did not really query anything. 

We received a a fairly aggressive letter out of the blue from the solicitor last month telling us we hadn’t paid up the fee and if we didn’t pay them in the week they would get a debt collection company involved, this was the first we had heard in regards to the matter. Upon checking the numbers I established the issue would likely be that the solicitors never took the fee out of the equity money and solicitors confirmed this is what happened. They have agreed to knock £200 off the monies owed to them as a gesture of good will. 

However this is still quite a significant  outlay now to pay the money back. We have had to spend more than expected on the renovation and with higher outgoings it will be a struggle to pay off and will either be a case of putting on credit card or a six month repayment plan equating to about £190 a month which will put us on the limit every month. I appreciate i probably should have triple checked the figure that was sent from the solicitors but I kind of figured the solicitors would do their job properly and send the correct figure (especially with the huge sums they charge for their work) 

Have spoken to various friends/family with advice varying from just ignore them, don’t pay them at all they don’t have a right to the money as it’s their mess up just ignore them to try and negotiate a further reduction. From my point of view ultimately we do owe them the money for the service they provided and they will have a legal basis to claim the money and I do not want the threat of bailiffs and further fees and potential interest added to this. I am not sure if arguing hardship may get them to further low the fee.

Can anyone shed any light on what they think the best course of action is and if anyone has been in a similar situation? Another piece of advice is to contact citizens advice but not really sure how much they will be able to do to help. 

Keep_pedalling

You owe the money and they have 6 years (5 in Scotland) to enforce the debt. If you don’t have the money to pay it outright see if they will agree a payment schedule. 

saajan_12

You do owe the money - even if it was 100% their fault and not on you to also check, the result is you ended up not paying £x which had been agreed. They have a right to recover that money in full, except perhaps for any direct losses you face as a result of not being billed correctly the first time (eg say a 2nd bank fee, though that's usually free these days).
However if anything you've saved interest vs if they had deducted the money last summer, its not like you did extra renovation and spent the money because you had it in your account. 

No point in ignoring or playing hardball.. if they give you a reasonable amount of time to pay, then they could file a court claim, which would also incur court fees. Not worth it. 

Re what to do - if the credit card interest will be high going forward, then perhaps try to negotiate an interest free payment plan instead of the £200 reduction (if you can get both then great, but that might be a stretch). 

comeandgo

I suggest you never act on financial advice from your family and friends.  They are all wrong, you are owe the money.  Hopefully the solicitors will allow you some time to pay monthly though they don’t have to.

bobster2

ncfc_123 said:

They have agreed to knock £200 off the monies owed to them as a gesture of good will.

Sounds quite reasonable. Particularly since it sounds like the fee was about £1400??

ncfc_123 said:

Have spoken to various friends/family with advice varying from just ignore them, don’t pay them at all they don’t have a right to the money as it’s their mess up just ignore them to try and negotiate a further reduction.

Your friends/family are wrong.

TheSpectator

Your friends/family work for free OP?

Bookworm225

ncfc_123 

 I appreciate i probably should have triple checked the figure that was sent from the solicitors 

one check would have been adequate, just the same as the wise ask for receipts in shops and check they have been charged for the items they have (and been given correct the change if they are luddites still using cash)

ncfc_123 said:

 From my point of view ultimately we do owe them the money for the service they provided and they will have a legal basis to claim the money and I do not want the threat of bailiffs and further fees and potential interest added to this. I am not sure if arguing hardship may get them to further low the fee.

your POV is correct 
disputing your liability is a waste of time
negotiate payment terms with the solicitors....

ChirpyChicken

£200 is a good offer
Pay it move on.
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