Conveyancing question

alfa_aficionado

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right forum?

Basically we agreed a price for our conveyancing which was paid ages ago.

Due to the bank being difficult, i.e. hold-ups with several of the stage payments, there has "allegedly" been a lot more work involved than what was envisaged & our solicitor is consequently asking for more money.

I'm not sure where we stand - can this be done? ( TBH I'm not sure how much extra work has been involved; I'm going to ask for a breakdown of the additional costs. As far as I'm concerned he has done nothing to speed up any of the transactions)

Any thoughts welcome and appreciated.

kizzyf

Yes it can be done. If your Solicitor can show that there clearly was more work required than the normal conveyancing transaction that you were quoted for. Their fee probably only worked out at you being charged for only a few hours work e.g. 10 hours. All the extra time spent working on your file would mean that they were working for free so it's understandable that they would want to charge something extra if the matter has taken up a considerable amount of extra time. If you were given a quote it most likely stated this in it. Hop this helps. You should ask them to explain the time and type of work that was extra.

alfa_aficionado

Do they have any recourse if we decide not to pay?

What I can't understand though is how they can do this? In any other business if this happened then surely you would have to finish the job at your expense (& hopefully learn a lesson not to repeat it in the future!)

muffler

Not really for Construction & Planning and Im divided as to where to send it...The legal discussion forum or the consumer issues forum. I'll chance the latter.

maxer68

muffler wrote: »

Not really for Construction & Planning and Im divided as to where to send it...The legal discussion forum or the consumer issues forum. I'll chance the latter.

I think legal discussion is probably better as its a very specialised area and involves terms of contract and not an everyday consumer issue.

muffler

maxer68 wrote: »

I think legal discussion is probably better as its a very specialised area and involves terms of contract and not an everyday consumer issue.

At the end of the day its still a basic question regarding overcharging and that's why I moved it here.

However I'll leave it with the mods here to decide if they want to keep or move it

SerialComplaint

alfa_aficionado wrote: »

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right forum?

Basically we agreed a price for our conveyancing which was paid ages ago.

Due to the bank being difficult, i.e. hold-ups with several of the stage payments, there has "allegedly" been a lot more work involved than what was envisaged & our solicitor is consequently asking for more money.

I'm not sure where we stand - can this be done? ( TBH I'm not sure how much extra work has been involved; I'm going to ask for a breakdown of the additional costs. As far as I'm concerned he has done nothing to speed up any of the transactions)

Any thoughts welcome and appreciated.

What does the original quotation that you got from the solicitor say about the possibility of extra work arising?

Sponge Bob

Seems to me like a fixed price is a fixed price quote ...unless there is a written getout in the quote you were sent. The solicitor should have quoted inclusive of VAT as well unless the solicitor is not VAT registered...which i doubt.

alfa_aficionado

Never received a written quote, if I can remember correctly. Initial contact was made over the telephone with subsequent communication via email. There was nothing mentioned regarding additional work.

Spongebob, all quotes (including this latest request for additional monies) were ex. VAT - does this actually mean anything though or is it simply a difference in semantics? (although this is what lawyers specialise in!)

The request was worded as follows: "While I accept that I am bound by the initial quotation, the actual amount of work that has gone into dealing with the mortgage to date and onwards to completion, has been way beyond what is normal for this type of transaction. It is my view that the initial fee does not cover the scale and extent of the work..."

A lot of this so-called extra work has been down to the bank's delay in issuing a few of the stage payments BUT to be honest apart from extra hassling by the contractor's solicitor, there hasn't actually been anything of material value done by our solicitor to expediate the process.

kizzyf

of course there will be VAT on the professional fee. If they said that it was the set fee and didn't mention that extra work would increase the fee then you will have to get them to give a full breakdown of costs but even making extra phonecalls is time consuming.

alfa_aficionado

kizzyf wrote: »

...but even making extra phonecalls is time consuming.

i agree, but my point is that I didn't request these extra phonecalls - they were from the builder / builder's solicitor enquiring as to the whereabouts of the stage payments!

Sponge Bob

alfa_aficionado wrote: »

g this latest request for additional monies) were ex. VAT - does this actually mean anything though or is it simply a difference in semantics? (although this is what lawyers specialise in!)

If all were all clearly ex vat then that is OK, if not then no. I they said all in or all inclusive that includes vat. Accepting an overcharge that is not inclusive on top of an all inclusive offer leaves you wide open you to accepting vat on the original all inclusive amount too.

The request was worded as follows: "While I accept that I am bound by the initial quotation, the actual amount of work that has gone into dealing with the mortgage to date and onwards to completion, has been way beyond what is normal for this type of transaction. It is my view that the initial fee does not cover the scale and extent of the work..."

A lot of this so-called extra work has been down to the bank's delay in issuing a few of the stage payments BUT to be honest apart from extra hassling by the contractor's solicitor, there hasn't actually been anything of material value done by our solicitor to expediate the process.

The solicitor would have known since 2008 that there was extra hassle with banks and should have quoted accordingly. They are doing the old contractor trick of lowballing to get the business and adding on extra afterwards.

Arguably, and only from you somewhat non specific description, the delays could have been caused by the bank being led to think the solicitor was a pushover.....by the solicitor.

But a contract is a contract is a contract. is a contract and that applies to solicitors too.

Your call.