solicitors fees and bills

ritchie

going thro a divorce and got some bills from my sol thro. I dont dispute the bills but want to query for information purposes a few things. If i do ask my sol shall i make sure they are not going to charge me for asking a few questions about the bill.
e.g. why they charge for 20 mins travel when it should only be max 10mins?

do they charge for phoning others even when calls not answered?
do they charge if i request a copy of any letters they send to other party?

do i sound unreasonable in asking my sol questions on charging. i am happy with service, albeit costing more than £2/min.

martinpike

I understand where you're coming from ritchie, as I've been there myself. But my advice, if you're happy with the service otherwise, is to accept it. You can't prove anything.

In principle you can query it, for which you'll probably be charged, but the regulatory system that oversees all this stuff is notoriously self serving - I've read loads of articles in the press and Which? magazine about incompetence going unpunished.

All I can say is that if a few 10 minutes fees here and there will make much of a difference to your bill, you're a luckier man than I was!!!

Cheers.

Bossyboots

in answer to the first part of your question, if their bill is faulty, they cannot charge you for discussing and amending it.

Is the travel 10 minutes both ways? By whose stride are you measuring the distance and the time it takes?

I would check carefully as to whether you are being charged for calls that are unanswered. They should not be charging you for these calls but they could charge you a small amount for the time spent overall.

They can charge you for sending you copy letters as obviously there are overheads involved in this and I would expect you be charged at the "letters out" rate.

Not sure where you live, but you wouldn't get a qualified solicitor handling your divorce in my area for less than £3/min

ritchie

thanks for the tips...i have not confronted my sol yet...like i said i am not questioning the amount or even all the time just curious how they make things add up...such as each and every phone call..made AND received? or just made?

i will ask and hope sol does not charging me to ask a question ..after all i am their customer and paying them a wage..you dont get charged in kwik fit or elsewhere is you want to get something checked...different ball game..but i will see tommorow.

Savvy_Sue

Isn't there somewhere you can get a solicitor's bill reviewed free of charge anyway? There was a thread about it a while back, but I can't remember any more details than that ...

Bossyboots

Savvy_Sue wrote:

Isn't there somewhere you can get a solicitor's bill reviewed free of charge anyway? There was a thread about it a while back, but I can't remember any more details than that ...

You mean obtaining a remuneration certificate. http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/choosingandusing/payingforservices/gettingbillchecked/certificates.law

As ritchie is only querying particular things at this stage, he does not need to take it that far.

When you ask for a remuneration certificate, the Law Society will assess the solicitors' files and issue a certifcate as to whether the costs are fair.

You can only do this for matters on which there have been no Court proceedings.

ritchie

met my sol this morning..and then asked if i can have a few mins 'unchargeable time' to ask about bill.....they were more than happy to discuss as teh bill is set by someone else in the company.

in fact sol agreed that i was charged 30mins time for something that did not happen on a recent meeting..so some success! just hope they take it off next bill. but otherwise no complaints with my sol.

Bossyboots

Good result. That is a much better way of handling matters if you can do it.

Most firms these days use electronic time recording and billing and it only takes a slip of the finger on the keyboard to throw the figures out. Fortunately though this same system makes it easier to spot an error if records are being kept correctly.

Savvy_Sue

I knew BossyBoots would know what I was talking about ...