Solicitor Fees (invoiced 2 years later)

Vicky82

I have a very quick question regarding solicitor fees.

Late 2005 and early 2006 (around March) I put in offers for 2 flats (in Scotland) and failed to get either. Yesterday I got an invoice from my solicitor asking for £235 for the work they did for putting the offers in for me.

So I just wanted to ask if they are within their rights to ask for this money after all this time?

tbs624

Vicky82 wrote: »

...........So I just wanted to ask if they are within their rights to ask for this money after all this time?

IMO if they did the work, then yes they are within their rights to ask for payment.The fact that you didn't get either flat is neither here nor there unless you had agreed that nothing was to be paid in that event (unlikely). Yes, the solicitors' firm must lack organisation ( & have a sloppy legal cashier) to not have billed you before now, but if you know that they did the work for you , why not do the right thing and pay the invoice? If you think they have overcharged you, you can challenge the amount with them , and if you need to take it further you can ask for the bill to be “taxed” by the Auditor of the Court - be aware that if the bill is judged to be reasonable you’ll have to pay costs, but if it’s reduced the solicitor will have to pay. More info available from the Law Society of Scotland’s Client Relations Office in Edinburgh

Recovery of outstanding debts doesn’t become statute-barred until after 5 years in Scotland AFAIAA (6 in England & Wales)

Felicity

Are you disputing the fact that they did the work?

If not, then why are you questioning if you should pay them?

Vicky82

tbs624 wrote: »

IMO if they did the work, then yes they are within their rights to ask for payment.The fact that you didn't get either flat is neither here nor there unless you had agreed that nothing was to be paid in that event (unlikely). Yes, the solicitors' firm must lack organisation ( & have a sloppy legal cashier) to not have billed you before now, but if you know that they did the work for you , why not do the right thing and pay the invoice? If you think they have overcharged you, you can challenge the amount with them , and if you need to take it further you can ask for the bill to be “taxed” by the Auditor of the Court - be aware that if the bill is judged to be reasonable you’ll have to pay costs, but if it’s reduced the solicitor will have to pay. More info available from the Law Society of Scotland’s Client Relations Office in Edinburgh

Recovery of outstanding debts doesn’t become statute-barred until after 5 years in Scotland AFAIAA (6 in England & Wales)

To be honest I wouldn't know if they have over charged or not, but I would never have thought to question the amount, nor will I.

Thanks for the information it's handy to know for future. And of course now I know that I will be paying the bill.

FELICITY: The reason I questioned it was because of the length of time they took to invoice me, and I know for some things there are time limits and as I couldn't find the information of that time limit on google I decided to come here and ask for it instead.

benood

TBH - I think it's unreasonable for them to come along two years later and expect you to pay up just like that - if they just put offers in an didn't do anything else then £235 sounds expensive in any case.

If you think their fee is unreasonable you should query it - if you think you were lucky to get off for two years then pay up.

immy

Most solicitors do not charge for making offers in scotland. Were you advised they would or would not be charges when you instructed the solicitor?

Vicky82

I can't really remember what they adivsed at the time with regards to payment. I had in my head that you didn't pay for the first so many offers you put in. But I would need to dig out all the info they sent me back then to be sure.

I am slightly annoyed that they have waited this long to send a bill through, but I will make them wait until after pay day before I send a cheque to them though. Afterall a few more weeks can't make that much difference to them since they have waited 2 years already.

NB: The price also includes them instructing surveyors (bill for survey paid at the time) as the offer I put in for the second flat was accepted but the sellers pulled the flat off the market, so I guess the amount the are asking for is reasonable taking that into account.

minigirl

You could always ask for a breakdown as to how they worked out the figure. In my experience £100 to £200 plus VAT is about the average bill on a sale or purchase that has fallen through.

With regard to the bill being so late it may be that seeing as the market is so quiet at the moment they are going through all their filing cabinets and seeing what old files they can find to bill. That's doesn't mean that the bill isn't justifiable though. But you didn't hear that from me!