No paying a Solictors bill?

[middlingmess]

I completed a horrendous divorce with 3 court appearances.
Long after the last court date I ended up with an additional £1,800 bill due (in my opinion) to my barrister leaving a loophole in the final court order (although I obviously signed it, it was a very long stressful day in court and I am not a very book smart person - which is why the Solicitors hired a barrister to represent me in court).

I have been disputing that last bill of £1,800 - the solicitor firm have looked at it internally through their complaints procedure and have found nothing wrong.
Not much of a surprise.

But they haven't been pushing me to pay the bill either (it's been over a year now).
I don't know whether they have decided to let me off (I genuinely feel that I shouldn't have to pay - so maybe part of them does think the bill was unfair too?)

My worry is this unpaid bill will affect my credit score as I need to re-mortgage soon. (Even though I haven't had any demands for the money since the bill was issued).

I've been left pretty skint after the divorce and my ex has gone abroad and not paying the child maintenance he should (but I can survive without - although it's tight) what should I do about this unpaid bill?

Keep a watch on your credit score

I would be inclined to write to them to say that the costs incurred were sue to their incompetence and that you confirm that you are not expecting to pay the costs of their mistake.

Good to have it in writing.

I also disputed a similar amount. I had been told my barrister couldn't attend a particular unscheduled court summons... I prepared and turned up alone... He also turned up and advised me he wasn't charging me. My own solicitor tried to add it to my bill. Never heard anything else about it... A decade ago.
Ask for more information op... Dispute again if you are sure you are correct..

.

I’d personally pay it. You admit you’re not very “book smart” and yet you think you know the barristers job better than they do? On what basis do you think they made a mistake bad enough to justify you not paying them for their work?

Does the bill include solicitor's time or is it just a disbursement bill for the barrister?
It's not the solicitor's fault the barrister made a mistake! It could be that they are disputing the fees with barrister and that is why payment has not been chased from you yet.
If you sign a legal document, you are signing to day you have read and understood the document - saying after the fact it had been a long day etc is not a very good legal reason to give for why you signed it x

It is impossible to say without knowing what the problem with the order was and what it cost to put right.

@FinallyHere

I would be inclined to write to them to say that the costs incurred were sue to their incompetence and that you confirm that you are not expecting to pay the costs of their mistake.

Good to have it in writing.

I would do this also as I like things to be black and white. You could ask them to confirm they have written it off. (Sounds like they have but are trying to save face by not mentioning it).