Solicitor chasing 'debt'

[Keepyourconversationsboring]

Firs time poster, appreciate any similar experiences 😀
Completed our first house sale in July. All very straightforward, all fees settled upon completion. Today receive a very apologetic letter from the solicitor claiming a recent audit has left us with a £200 outstanding fee to be paid on our file. There were lots of 'our apologies', 'our error, 'our oversight', 'our discrepancies' within said letter. There's no question this is their mistake, it's there in black and white. However, equally not keen to go to war with a law firm over £200. Would I be unreasonable to respond with a 'your mess, you sort it' type response? Or suggest meeting them in the middle? Bear in mind this has been sent 8 months after completion. What would you do?

Also check the engagement letter about how to complain. There should be specific instructions about this.

your mess, you sort it' type response?

They are sorting it, they’ve sent you a bill.

I would write back asking to repay in installments

Easy for me to say, but I think you should pay it

Of course you should pay it.
You owe it, you pay it.

You can complain and say it's their lookout, but afaik there's a limit of around 6 years to claim back an underpayment.

I'd ask for a thorough breakdown in your case regardless, and if you pay get a 'Full and final settlement' declaration signed.

This is interesting as I had similar (although much sooner after completion),something to do with the Land Registry.
In my case, they phoned me and told me I owed £80 I think it was. I asked for something in writing and never received anything. It's never been chased either. It's been probably 6 months since they phoned.

(For anyone thinking it was a scam, it was 100% my solicitor)

I’d go back and say I’d like to pay it but I don’t have £200 at the minute, if I’d known at the time then I could’ve paid it but because I thought your fee was paid I spent all my spare money on house renovations.

I can offer you £100 or £200 when it is convenient to me.

Sorry, last sentence should be £100 now in full and final settlement or £200 at some undefined point in the future when it is convenient to me.

Might it be worth contacting the Law Society for advice?

They must have agreed procedures that solicitors have to agree to regarding payment of fees.

@TulipsTulipsTulips that’s not at all true. The clue is in the word “estimate”.

I would negotiate. They will be able to write off their fees at least. (I’m a lawyer).

@paris

It’s a conduct issue. Generally, if a law firm gives a fee estimate then it’s the firm’s responsibility to update the estimate before incurring additional fees. If the additional fees were above the estimate and no further authorisation was given, then the firm is stuck with the original fee estimate. Obviously it would be necessary to check the engagement letter too b

@Reginabambina If I picked up a bottle of wine not knowing how much is was, the cashier told me how much I owed and I paid, I would not be going back to pay more because they changed their mind on how much they wanted for it.
However, the land registry needs paying. The solicitors didn't charge the client for that but it still needed paying. So I would pay 50% of the total of what they asked. The land registry fee only. They screwed themselves out of their fees.

Sometimes you make an application to the Land Registry that you think costs x amount and they raise a requisition and say you need to apply in y way and it now costs z amount. Sometimes it cannot be helped. I would pay it on the basis that they may withhold registering your ownership of the property.

@Tulips. The estimate is a factor in recoverability of fees, but whether the additional fees were reasonably incurred is also considered. If it were a fee quote it would be different (and I suspect that is more likely in a conveyancing transaction).

What Francis said.
It’s not because they are a sollicitor that they can flaunt the rules.
Like any business, mistake about price calculation are their issue, not the customer’s

@Keepyourconversationsboring

Legally if the bill was mistaken and the correct bill later submitted the full amount is still payable. For £100 which is all that is at stake I would certainly suggest paying the LR fee in full and final settlement. It's pretty unlikely that they will go to court for £100. Write pleading sensible poverty!

Please remember that if they wish to enforce a debt they must have been to court.

Thanks @FrancisCrawford that's really interesting and handy to know. I'll call them tomorrow. And thanks for all of your replies 😀

I wouldnae be paying that. Maybe the land registry but if they fucked up their own fees that's really their own fault.

I wouldn't take mixed advice from the internet. I would ring the Law Society for advice before doing anything.

Posted too soon. A few years ago I got a bill from a solicitor that had been dealing with a probate issue that was more than they had quoted in their initial fees estimate. I rang them and they said tough, that's what it cost. I rang the Law Society and they said not true - the solicitors are obliged to notify the client if there is an increase in previously notified costs. I quoted this in a letter and ended up paying the original amount.

I then made a complaint about the way they had conducted themselves during the work they did, which was something else I wasn't happy about, and they had to pay me a few £100 in compensation.

In lieu of paying I'd mail them a calculator and/or a step by step guide to using the calculator function on a smartphone but then again I'm just petty as hell

@EKGEMS not petty but childish.

vhs95 Yes,true,that as well