Solictor holding my cheque hostage.

defforirl

Long stroy short, I was recently awarded a sum of money for an accident, Insurance company sent cheque to solicitors office. Solicitor today requested I make an appointment to collect cheque, when I enquired why I needed to make an apointment I was informed I must pay the solictors fee (quite substansal) before they will release the cheque, I explained I dont have access to that kind of money and that I had intened to pay bill from settlement cheque. I can only presume the cheque is made out to me, stuck in a bit of a stalemate at the moment....can the solicitor hold on to the cheque?

P.S - The solictor is aware I am not happy with the service I recieved and had questioned the fee and invoice.

ResearchWill

My goodness both you and your wife having a bad time with solicitors.

If you have problem with the bill solicitor is charging, you are entitled to tax the costs. That is nothing to do with tax it is a official checking the bill and saying if it should be increased or reduced. There is a fee your local circuit court office can confirm all you need to know.

If you agree with the fee your solicitor can tell you how it can be paid out of settlement.

James Jones

Did the solicitor provide you with particulars in writing of—

(a) the actual charges, or
(b) where the provision of particulars of the actual charges is not in the circumstances possible or practicable, an estimate (as near as may be) of the charges, or
(c) where the provision of particulars of the actual charges or an estimate of such charges is not in the circumstances possible or practicable, the basis on which the charges are to be made

He was required to do this in accordance with Section 68.-(1) of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1994

If the cheque is made out to you, it is your cheque. Report him to the Law Society.

defforirl

Thanks for the replies, James Jones - I also would have thought they have no right to hold onto the cheque. No a section 168 was not provided by the solicitor, latest turn of events is that they are willing to hand over cheque if I sign an agreement to pay the fee from my settlement cheque straight away. This seesm like a bullying tactic on their behalf. I fully intend to report the solicitor to the Law society and/or tax master.

jd80

Do not sign anything. You could be giving the opposition a licence to charge what they like especially then if you currently do not know how much the fee is.

You should always pay for the services obtained from anyone.

If you have a genuine dispute then try and resolve that with the solicitor in the first instance.

The route of taxing is also available. However, that will only attempt to determine if the amount charged is fair for the work completed, taking into consideration, the urgency, complexity etc. of the matter.

It will not examine if you were, as you say, happy with the service or not. You do not mention to what extent you are unhappy with same. Note that you will have to pay to have the fee taxed.


That said, if it is in your name, it is your cheque. I see no basis to withhold it.

If a dispute over fees continues, then that is a separate matter. It is open to the solicitor to issue you with a civil action to recover his fees.


It would seem to be that the cheque is made out to you only.

Otherwise, it would have been lodged long ago, the fee deducted and you would have received the balance.

It is also to speculate that the cheque issuer was not amenable to issuing a replacement cheque in the solicitor's name/company name

defforirl

JD80 - I am unhappy with the service because of the unprofessionalism, procrastination, lack of 168, 'bullying' tactics over payment, an absolute joke of an invoice, unreturned calls, solicitor not in office at agreed time of meetings, general bad attitude towards me as their client etc

jd80

defforirl wrote: »

JD80 - I am unhappy with the service because of the unprofessionalism, procrastination, lack of 168, 'bullying' tactics over payment, an absolute joke of an invoice, unreturned calls, solicitor not in office at agreed time of meetings, general bad attitude towards me as their client etc

I have been unfortunate in having had similar experiences. It is very unfortunate when this happens given that legal related problems are usually quite stressful for those involved.

Added problems as described only serve to compound the already accumulated worry and stress.

The law society also has a complaint's procedure. I think it can look more at these aspects of service.

As stated the taxing will probably only look to see if the fee is commensurate with the work done, the complexity of the case etc.

That aside, if the cheque is made out to you, I see no basis to withhold it from you.

Best of luck

deandean

defforirl wrote: »

JD80 - I am unhappy with the service because of the unprofessionalism, procrastination, lack of 168, 'bullying' tactics over payment, an absolute joke of an invoice, unreturned calls, solicitor not in office at agreed time of meetings, general bad attitude towards me as their client etc

As you haven't mentioned it, I take it you are happy with the amount on the cheque.
That is the bottom line for you.
The problems you refer to: maybe you are a very difficult client? Maybe solicitor is as sick of you as you are of him?
You engaged him, there may be some negotiation coming up, but face it you will be paying him for his professional services.

aN.Droid

Same happened to me, what I did was endorse the check to my solicitor and he took his fee from it and then lodged the outstanding amount to my bank account. Seems the easiest thing to do.

jd80

Limericks wrote: »

Same happened to me, what I did was endorse the check to my solicitor and he took his fee from it and then lodged the outstanding amount to my bank account. Seems the easiest thing to do.

However, it would appear that the OP is disputing the fee.

Thus, I cannot see him/her opting to endorse the cheque.

Will banks still lodge a third party cheque endorsed with a simple signature esp if the sum is sizeable as may be the case here?

defforirl

deandean wrote: »

The problems you refer to: maybe you are a very difficult client? Maybe solicitor is as sick of you as you are of him?
You engaged him, there may be some negotiation coming up, but face it you will be paying him for his professional services.

Well I must say the sheer number of conclusions you have come to without knowing any of the facts envolved are staggering. I have dealt with quite a few solicitors in the past and never had any problems like I'm currently having, for example If I take time off work to be at a meeting he arranged, then I would expect him to be there and not at a wedding. If that makes me a difficult client then I must be.

Then again maybe he is as sick of me as I am of him because I expect him act professionally and not speak to me in a condescending manner.
I may not be his most important client but I am A client of his, your right I did engage him but expected a certain amount of work to be done in a timely manner in return. Hopefully I won't be paying him as much as he expects.

Grolschevik

defforirl wrote: »

I have dealt with quite a few solicitors in the past

Really? Again, that's bad luck. I've only dealt with two, and I've never been their paying client.

neil7024

Advise the insurance company cheque was lost and have them void that  cheque then have them issue you a new cheque to your address.

nuac

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