Solicitors trying to reclaim £330 6 months after house purchase completion

[Movinondown]

We bought a house last year, paid all fees on completion statement no probs, 6 months later our solicitors say they undercharged us for land registry as they had to do the more expensive postal application. They say their system missed it and then the solicitors didn't pick up on it either, so they have admitted double fault and it's taken 6 months for them to notice.

I'm really annoyed, I know it's not a huge amount but it's enough to impact us.

I've gone back to ask them where in our contract they say they can reclaim money after completion when it's due to their negligence.

Any other advice here?

I do have up my sleeve the fact that during the process the director of the solicitors emailed me a completely different clients contract full of personal and financial details, so a GDPR breach. I informed them at the time but I bet they didn't report it. I haven't brought this up again... Yet..

All advice welcome!

I might start by making a complaint and asking for a full explanation of why you were not billed for the work at the time.

You could possibly add that you would like confirmation that the GDPR breach has been reported and to see the appropriate documentation.

Hopefully they will never reply........

If they still insist on payment there is the Legal Ombudsman

I'd ask for a breakdown of the actual cost and why it was deemed necessary to apply for a postal application.

Is the land registry application fee listed on their final completion statement

Hi thank you for the replies, they back up what I was considering (but wanted to know if I was just being ridiculous!) the postal application was legitimate (first registration) and obviously they knew this and applied for it prior to completion but it was never listed on the completion statement, the previous non postal application price was there on the initial statement and the final one they sent through. So we paid everything that we were billed for at time of completion.

If this had happened a week or so after completion I'd be a bit more of the opinion that I should pay but over 6 months later?

I also didn't want mentioning the GDPR breach to sound blackmaily ! More to show that I could have kicked up a fuss and didn't so now they can return the favour!

6 months post completion to get the fee confirmed by land registry on a first registration isn't actually that long it takes at least that and longer usually for the application to reach a case worker at land registry. The omission seem to be not trying to work it out and factor it into the completion statement at the time, but it's a third party cost and I would be amazed if the engagement paperwork you accepted at the outset doesn't provide that you have to pay for all third party fees and that they can vary as that not a cost within the control of the solicitors and it's not their fees.

Ultimately if you don't pay you risk not getting your property registered and if you have a mortgage the lack of registration will breach that too.

But.... I would try to do a deal with the solicitors to see if they will cover some of it by not getting the fee from you on earlier on account

And the postal application goes in after completion not before and the fee is charged by land registry post completion

Have you already paid for the non postal application fee,

@Movinondown
I could have written your OP.
Exactly the same happened to me three years ago.
I checked the land registry, all good then I told the solicitors that I wasn't paying it, I haven't heard a peep from them since.
Maybe worth a try?

I'd just pay them. 🤷‍♀️ Mistakes happen, it's not ideal but there's no need to get arsey about it.

Yeah I've paid the non postal registration cost and can see from the receipt that they were charged by land registry in November but I have an email from 4th July (prior to completion) where my solicitor says that the property is unregistered in relation to the attached documents being difficult to read. So they knew it was unregistered and subject to the higher fee prior to completion they just didn't update the completion statement.

Yeah of course I could just pay up, but it's frustrating as £330 at point of completion is nothing in the grand scheme of things, but in January 6 months later mid renovation it's a lot.

@onwards2025 has it on the nose. They should have picked it up earlier but you are almost certainly on the hook for it legally. This is a billing oversight, you are not paying for their “negligence” nor would the contract have to provide for that - it is an amount you reasonably owe. Irritating, yes, and they could have done more to preempt it or flag it so you may get somewhere complaining but it would be a goodwill gesture not reflective of it not being money you owe them.

As a solicitor, if you don't pay they are really unlikely to sue you for that sum, particularly given it has arisen due to their negligence.

When we got our final conveyancing bill I knew immediately they had got their maths wrong by several hundred and rang them up to tell them we owed more than they asked for.

Your solicitor has obviously just been updating their accounts, it’s an oversight, you owe the money, It’s annoying but just pay it.

Don't ask for a breakdown of the cost. Your reply should be something like:

"You provided me with an account of all the transactions and fees at the time of completion and I paid everything that you said at the time that I owed. If due to incompetence on your part you miscalculated that is not my responsibility and I consider my account with you to be settled in full. The miscalculated amount is the responsibility of whoever made the miscalculation, and is not for me to settle. I have been throroughly dismayed with this further evidence of lack of professionalism from your staff, having received a large amount of personal details of a different client of yours when you emailed me the wrong information on (date) which shows me that my data is not safe with you as who knows which other clients you are sending my own details to. I trust that you will write off this miscalculated amount and make sure that the relevant staff learn from this unfortunate experience."

If they discovered six months down the line they had overcharged you, would you accept the refund? I think you would. They quoted you for their services, a clerical error was made, pay them what you owe them.

They pay the fee to the land registry when they submit the application. If they dont submit the fee, the application is returned to them. If the application is rejected, the fee is refunded. They dont pay it once the application is completed.

I'd write and ask them why it wasn't charged at the time. No harm in trying your luck. Then if they persist Id pay it. As someone above said, you'd accept a refund after 6 months.

If it will cause hardship, ask for a payment plan as it's their fault.

Our solicitors forgot to pay the land registry. There was then a fine, which they paid because it was their error.

Thanks everyone, yeah I have asked them why it's only been uncovered now and not caught at the time in either statement, especially as they have listed 'unregistered fee' on the completion statement as part of their fees.

Their response was 'the system missed it, then we missed it we are only human and we also sent the completion statement to you to check"

Um yes I checked it and was fine with it and paid it! I'm not a solicitor I wouldn't know the land registry fee was wrong.... That's ironically what I'm paying them for 🤣'

I haven't mentioned the GDPR thing yet... But I might if they keep hassling me

I would raise a case with the law society.
years ago my solicitor sent me a cheque for interest accrued on my house funds in their account.
they then stopped the cheque and said they had made a mistake. I complained and they gave me the money back and compensation. Not The same scenario. But definitely worth a complaint.

Easpecially as the OP has received the benefit of the service anyway.

Re the GDPR breach, contrary to what many seem to think businesses do not have to report all breaches to the ICO. It only has to be reported if there is a likely risk to people's rights and freedoms. You don't know if they reported it to the ICO and, even if they didn't, given that you told them about it promptly, there is a good chance that they can justify not reporting it. In my view, this is not some kind of ace in your back pocket that you can use against them.

You used an external service which cost £330, which they will have to pay. Just pay the fee.

You’re welcome to ask for a discount given it was an oversight on their side and you want to make a complaint and have it investigated. Perhaps worth whatever they (might) give you off or you’ll still need to pay but at least you tried.

As a lawyer and DPO, you being sent a letter of another client isn’t something to report to the ICO and isn’t something you have in your back pocket. (I agree they are wrong on the fees front and as a solicitor, I’d be asking for a discount for the inconvenience to chance it, but you’d lose any ground with me if you tried to threaten me with that….. it’s a good will gesture if they write it off or not. Ask for it to be escalated to a manager.)

They've not contacted me about it in a few weeks now so I guess I will just leave it and see what they say.

I'm surprised sending full contract paper work including contact details, bank details and financial documents isnt seen as a data breach, I hope my details weren't emailed round willy nilly!
I did ask them for a partial waiver and they declined despite admitting their fault several times.

I'll see if they come back or not