Robbing fecking solicitors

[dancingqueen345]

Just received a letter from my solicitor today (buying) stating that I've currently racked up £240 worth of charges for queries I've sent to them at £20 a time.

Now inevitably this will be buried in the terms and conditions somewhere but I'm just fuming with how unethical it seems and unfair!!

No point to this really I'm just angry and needed to vent!

Why is it unfair? If they charge on a time basis (and many do) then your queries will have taken up their time.

Do you expect them to work for free?

It's unfair because I expected the fee I agreed to cover a 'normal' transaction. If it had become protracted or some more complex legal title I could understand, but charging me £20 each for requests such as providing the boiler certificate and providing the warranty for the DPC is ridiculous.

Was it a fixed fee arrangement?
I’d have a look at the initial correspondence and paperwork, was it made clear to you that this would apply to queries?

I'm paying them £1800 bloody quid, obviously not expecting them to work for free, I'm expecting them to work for the agreed fee!

So they were making requests of you? Or you making requests of them? In terms of time spent the cost doesn’t seem unreasonable. is that for 12 different requests you made to them?!

All they've done is copy and paste the list of questions I asked into a letter to the vendors solicitor. I could have, and would have, just sent this to the estate agent if I'd know/realised how much they'd charge

That seems a very high fee

Obvious, do it yourself.

Sorry, to clarify, I had a survey done which recommended I ask the vendors to provide things such as warranty's and guarantees for boilers, DPC etc.

I transposed this list into an email to my solicitor, who then copied it in a letter to the vendors solicitor.

I have then been charged £20 for each item on the list.

To be honest all your responses are making me feel a bit better as I was feeling like I was being taken for a mug but if this is fairly standard practice then I accept!

Eh? What is unfair & unethical people charging for their services? Do you not expect to pay when you go to the hairdressers, out for a meal. You must lead a charmed life indeed!

No @Ladywillpower when I go to the hairdresser I expect to pay the advertised price, not get to the end and then have them add on the cost of the shampoo, conditioner, electricity for the hairdryer etc.

I'm a conveyancing solicitor and agree the things you have asked seem to be standard (from what you have described) and should be included in the fixed fee. I'd never dream of adding them on. Queries re: fixtures and fittings are quite common and crop up on lots of transactions.

Ask for a more detailed itemised bill and what was covered in the initial fixed fee.

Good luck OP

Thanks @WednesdayAddams2525 I'll give them a ring in the morning.

I honestly don't mind paying for their time, it just felt to me like what I was asking was part of a normal transaction and so shouldn't be subject to an additional fee!

Having read your update I think they are being very out of order actually. I’d make a complaint about it. They should have a complaints procedure.

Is it a large well-known firm recommended to you by the estate agents, OP?

I'm also a property solicitor and (depending on the value of the property) it seems a bit steep unless you've contacted them a lot with chaser emails and/or phonecalls, or it's a massively complex transaction?We quote a fixed fee based on property value, but reserve the right to charge more if the matter becomes complex or protracted, or if the time recorded hugely exceeds the estimate fee. I think that's pretty common across the board really. But asking for a boiler certificate is standard!

I worked in a solicitor's office for 25 years and never heard of the like. The quoted fee has always covered queries. Some conveyance are more straightforward than others but that's how it goes. Never a charge for queries or phone calls as extra !!
Definitely tell your solicitor you are not happy about this.
And that you were not alerted to this possible extra charge upon the agreement of the fee.

Ask for a more detailed itemised bill and what was covered in the initial fixed fee

Check how much that will cost you first

That’s crazy, if I’d been charged £20 for every question I asked when buying my flat, I’d have had to take out a separate mortgage for the fees.

If it was all essentially one question that you’ve been charged line by line, I’d be querying it.

Sounds scammy. Refuse to pay

1800 plus the items seems an excessive amount for just a purchase to me. Did you get other quotes?

Out of order. I was worried about similar charges with a recent purchase but trusted the fixed fee terms. Reasonable communication and within the scope. Looks like they're hustling you.

Not a property solicitor here but they should have given you a free estimate at the beginning and let you know if they were going over. They can't just bury this in the t&cs from a regulatory perspective.

That said, are these somehow disbursements? That would mean it's not time, it's the actual cost of getting the docs. So for example, courier costs or something similar.

It just sounds odd otherwise. Agreed to ask them why you're being charged this on top of agreed fees.

Can you name them as I for one wouldnt want to use them

Are you actually paying £1800 in fees or does that include the disbursements.
Also are they an online/big chain?

The questions you have raised are standard by the sounds of it and should be part of the standard process.

I wonder if it one of the firms where they quote low and have lots of hidden extras.