Divorced 3 yrs ago - solicitor just sent a £10k bill out of the blue!

[EdgeofGlory]

Can anyone advise on where I stand please. Divorced 4yrs ago and matter was finished in 2020. In March 2021 solicitor rang to see how I was.
This week I have received a bill for over £10k from the law firm stating it is outstanding charges......3yrs after matter concluded. Solicitor has since left.
Can anyone advise on where I stand and also who I can contact for legal advice. This it totally out of the blue, I understood I had paid all my bills.

Do not pay their reduced bill!

Send a letter to the managing partner, include copies of all correspondence so far and also a copy of the costs order.
CC the person you have been dealing with so far.
Continue to say you dispute the entire charge.

@katieak but the billing delay adds a huge layer of complications here. And that the firm.says they lost the costs order.

OP needs a copy of her entire file, and standard terms of business, to get started. Then she needs the complaints procedure to start a formal complaint. She may be liable for some of the bill, but that's not clear from.what she has said.

I'm a solicitor. They can send a bill years later if it is outstanding and they have up to six years to sue you for outstanding fees. Have they been trying to recover it from your ex and not succeeded?

It's clearly not ideal but it sounds as though they are only now closing the file. If you do owe the money (obviously there's a potential issue re the costs order) then you don't stop owing the money just because of the passage of two years. Look on it as interest free credit..

I sit on the SRA discipline panel @HasaDigaEebowai. I hear cases like this often, where client care is very much substandard. The passage of time without communication, if they had led the OP to believe that the costs would be covered by the costs order against her husband, is a huge factor in determining whether she actually still owes the money.

Just thinking out loud here - if the order was made in 2017 was that for the costs of the divorce? The financial costs might be separate. Did you get an Order for the finances? What does it say about costs?

@EdgeofGlory

Can anyone advise on where I stand please. Divorced 4yrs ago and matter was finished in 2020. In March 2021 solicitor rang to see how I was. This week I have received a bill for over £10k from the law firm stating it is outstanding charges......3yrs after matter concluded. Solicitor has since left. Can anyone advise on where I stand and also who I can contact for legal advice. This it totally out of the blue, I understood I had paid all my bills.

I'd be careful in case it's a scam, and use any contact numbers from the firm via eg. The website rather than details on the letter just in case it is a.scam and the details dont match ect, that said also if it's up to your ex to pay the costs then why are they chasing you for them ? It's a bit fishy

Update.... I wrote to the head partner and they reviewed the details and agreed that it was inappropriate to pursue the costs after all his time. They apologised for the distress caused and wrote the £16000 off and closed my file. What a relief after all the stress caused. I’m never getting married again!!!

Thanks for all your advice and support.

What a fantastic update!!!! Congrats, you must be so relieved.

I just LOVE mn when women in difficult positions get such fab advice.

That's a great outcome. I'm really pleased for you.

Huzzah!

I wonder what were the circumstances of the departure of the sol who handled your divorce...