New house under 120,000 - why did I have to pay out stamp duty?

twisty

Thanks. I didn't want to admit it but I'm afraid you are right. The solicitor has now admitted it was their mistake and that the money should not have been paid out. We demanded that the money be put into our account tomorrow or we will make a formal complaint (in the same way that they demanded for the completion funds in cleared funds with only a days notice). He said that the money could take 2 months to get back from the Inland Revenue and that we'd have to wait. He's phoning back soon so I'm just working out what I'm going to say to him but I know I can't wait two months. And anyway, it's our money!

Paul_Herring

twisty wrote:

The solicitor has now admitted it was their mistake and that the money should not have been paid out. We demanded that the money be put into our account tomorrow or we will make a formal complaint (in the same way that they demanded for the completion funds in cleared funds with only a days notice). He said that the money could take 2 months to get back from the Inland Revenue and that we'd have to wait. He's phoning back soon so I'm just working out what I'm going to say to him but I know I can't wait two months. And anyway, it's our money!

If it's not in your bank tomorrow, start the complaints procedure like Daisy said - they've surely had long enough now to sort out whatever it is they've mucked up. (Personally I'd be doing it today if it were me. And I'd be expecting something for the inconvenience/being lied to etc.)

Bossyboots

Actually, I don't think is something suitable for the complaints procedure now. You need to go straight to the senior partner and report what is happening, bypassing the complaints system.

You in fact do not technically have a complaint in the normal sense of the meaning of that system. You have been illegally deprived of the money which is bad enough but to now expect you to wait until they recover it is simply not on. It is their error, they have to pay you back now and pay you interest from the date on which you deposited the money with them.

twisty

We're getting a cheque tomorrow (allegedly). I'm still going to report the firm anyway as we weren't mislead, we were actually lied to. Outwardly and blatantly. I'm very grateful for all your help, especially yours bossyboots and am relieved that (hopefully) the matter is, financially at least, resolved

Bossyboots

twisty wrote:

We're getting a cheque tomorrow (allegedly). I'm still going to report the firm anyway as we weren't mislead, we were actually lied to. Outwardly and blatantly. I'm very grateful for all your help, especially yours bossyboots and am relieved that (hopefully) the matter is, financially at least, resolved

Glad to hear they appear to have seen sense. I wouldn't pop that champagne yet though.

I absolutely agree you should report the firm anyway. This is a major error on their part and I suspect you probably aren't the only one.

Glad to have been of help.

dooj

The opposite thing happened to me, we bought a house last year (before threashold was raised) and no stamp duty was in our solicitors fees so we just assumed we didnt have it to pay, paid solicitors fees and moved in the house when all of a sudden 9 month later the solicitor contact us to say we now owe the stamp office £1000.00. Though there must have been some mistake so just ignored it untill second letter came... phoned solicitor she said no argument it had to be paid and it wasnt there fault. contacted the stamp office and it turns out the solicitor had filled in the form wrong and had made an excemp claim, stamp office had then opended a enquiry which lasted 9 month (hence us not being contacted untill then) the stamp office had sent us a letter direct but the address on the stamp duty form was that of the house the solicitor helped us sell (how stupid). Anyway we eventually got a bill from the stamp office for £1000.00 with immediate payment + an interest charge of 7% for everday it wasnt paid. I was sooooooo angry i feel we have been totally ripped off as we paid the solicitors fees for a job done properly not a half arsed attempt (sorry im still angry). Do you think it is worth complaining? Who do i complain to and what should i say. Ideally i would like them to reinburse the interest we paid and also to get some of my solicitors fees back. I am shocked that a solicitor can call themselves an expert in convayncing and then fill a simple form in wrong (especially wen you can get guidance notes from web site) l
Someone please advise me i dont want to let them get away with this.

Need2Save_3

Georgia,

You should complain (as per Bossyboots) to the firm and also to the law society (not that this is always effective).

Also, speak to another solicitor (outside your area, as sometimes they're pally) and see if you would have a valid claim for reimbursement of costs and interest. I would expect that their failure to provide a satisfactory service (under the Supply of Goods and Services Act) would enable you to recover some money.

The solicitor you speak to should offer a free consultation to assess the likelyhood of sucess and the likely cost of any action. This can usually be done over the phone.

Hope this helps.

GDB2222

Georgia

It is obviously a balls-up, but apart from the interest on late payment of the Stamp Duty you have lost nothing. I am surprised that the solicitor did not offer to pay that himself, and I suggest that you contact the senior partner of the firm and request payment of the interest plus a modest sum, say £50, to cover inconvenience and upset. If you have any extra direct costs in finding the £1,000 such as loan fees I suggest that you add these on.

It might be a good idea to draft your complaint to the solicitors complaints bureau and enclose a copy with your letter to the senior partner. Ask for his comments on its accuracy and say you will send it off in 10 days if you do not hear from him.

There is an argument that you might run along the lines that you have disadvantaged yourself because of their negligence. In other words, you had the £1,000 at the time you bought the property but have since spent it on things you would not otherwise have bought. This is an argument that has been run when for example a bank pays money into your account by mistake and you believe it belongs to you and spend it. I have not heard of it being used in a case like yours, so this is highly speculative.

Bossyboots

If we can draw our horns in a little bit here.

You cannot complain to the Consumer Complaints Service (what was the solicitors complaints bureau and the arm of the Law Society responsible for these matters) until you have gone through the solicitors' own complaint resolution procedure first. You have to give them a chance to put things right otherwise your complaint will just be returned.

There was a scheme whereby you can make a complaint and they would note it, send you form to complete and send to your solicitor. If the solicitor resolved it after receiving that form, the file was closed and no record retained. I understood that that scheme became defunct when the new rules came in about each firm having to have its own complaints procedure in place as those new rules do exactly the same thing.

Otherwise, I agree with GDB2222 that you need to activate the complaints procedure with the firm asking them to pay your interest as it was their negligence that has led to the costs being incurred. You could also ask for return of some of your fees as you have not been provided with the professional service you paid for. Enclosing a copy of a letter to the CCS will be a waste of time because the complaints partner will know you cannot do that until all the stages of their firm's procedures are complete.

What should happen is the following:-

1. You notify the firm in writing of the nature of your complaint and your suggested resolution (this part would not always apply but in this case it is clear what needs to be done to put things right).

2. You must then receive a letter from the complaints partner within so many working days. This will depend on the firm's procedure, a copy of which should be sent to you on request. If I recall correctly, you must receive this letter no more than seven working days after they receive your letter. This letter will be to acknowledge your complaint and confirm who is dealing with it. They do not have to give you an answer at this stage as obviously it needs to be looked into although they may if they have been able to make enquiries in this time. If they send you the letter of acknowledgement, they must state in that the maximum time frame in which you can expect to hear from them further. They have to keep to this time span.

3. You should hear from the solicitors within the set time giving you an answer.

4. You can choose to accept their decision as final or you have the right to a free meeting with the complaints partner to discuss the position and try to negotiate terms.

5. If this fails, you then need to make your complaint to the CCS sending them copies of all the correspondence including (hopefully you still have it) your completion statement and any other paperwork where it is clear you were given an expectation that stamp duty was not payable.


In relation to Need2Save's remark, there is no onus on another solicitor to give you a free consultation in relation to this matter. You might find one that will but they are fully entitled to charge for it. However, at this stage the procedure is in the hands of the OP.

For what is worth, my own opinion is that the interest and a small amount of costs refund would be awarded if this case went the whole stretch and the firm would be foolish to risk a formal complaint (which affects their indemnity insurance fees next year) over what is to them a comparitively small amount of money.

Need2Save_3

Just to clarify: I did not mean to imply that there is an ownus on any solicitor to give a free initial consultation. However, this is standard practice in most large reputable firms (and in all I have encountered); justified on the basis that they need to do a risk assessment in order to establish whether a client has a case to persue and what the chances of success are, prior to them comitting to large fees.

It is often helpful to get this free advice as it can give you a good indication of whether you have a case to persue or not.