over priced solicitor's fees

irish citizen

I am being overcharged by a solicitor i already paid €10,000 for separation now solicitor looking for €19,000 I cannot afford this I am being clearly overcharged what should I do
I agreed with solicitor in question that I would be only charged legal aid rates at the start this is clearly not the case they are threatening me with legal action. to make things worse three orders that were made are not been adhered to.
and I had to finalise the house transfer myself.
help
irish citizen

Muahahaha

If the fees are in dispute you can refer the legal bill to the Taxing Master who reviews the charges and arrives at what the bill should be. Be aware that the Taxing Master can raise the bill as well as reduce it.
You should also have gotten a letter from your solicitor at the beginning of the process which outlined his fees and what you can expect to be charged, I think its called a Section 68 letter. This is your first port of call. If he hasn't given you this letter then he's in breach of the rules and he is in not in a great position to be threatening you with legal action as you have the trump card of reporting him to the Law Society for malpractice.

irish citizen

hia thanks for your reply and help I never got any such letter of that kind from my solictor ever. the solictor asked me to meet up one afternoon. she said she would charge me the same rate as the legal aid services as I was with them initially with this solictor until the solictor in question convinced me to stay with her but do it privately with her and get rid of the legal aid so I did trusting the solictor. what should I do write letter of complaint to law society or do I ask the solictor to have bill of costs taxed.
irish citizen

Muahahaha

From here
http://www.courts.ie/offices.nsf/lookuppagelink/8AFDD6975A6F081380256E7B004D9971

A client wishing to tax his costs should request his solicitor to forward a Requisition to Tax form to him so that the Bill of Costs can be referred to taxation.

On receipt of this Requisition the client should sign and return it to the solicitor who will then set the matter down for taxation. The client will be notified by the solicitor of the date of taxation and should attend same. The client has the option of retaining legal representation at the hearing.

If the solicitor refuses to set the matter down for taxation the client may do so pursuant to Order 99, Rule 33 of the Rules of the Superior Courts, 1986 by:-

(i) completing and lodging the Requisition to Tax form or alternatively lodging the Bill of Costs (pursuant to Order 99, Rule 33(1) of the Rules of the Superior Courts, 1986);

(ii) lodging a Summons to Tax/Notice to Tax (in triplicate), and

(iii) lodging the Bills of Costs.

The Requisition and the Summons are available from most legal stationers and all should be lodged in the Taxing Masters' Office. The client will be informed as to the date of taxation when he should be in attendance.]

Some good info here
http://www.brophysolicitors.ie/brophysolicitors/main/Costs.htm
Also this article says that solicitors not sending out a Section 68 letter are liable to having their costs reduced. If you wish to complain about a solicitor because of this then the Law Society are the organisation who handle it.

http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/a-solicitors-failure-to-outline-fees-could-see-them-breaking-the-law-25891163.html

irish citizen

hi when I look for taxation from solictor should I just look for taxation and not mention reasons why.when do I get my say.

Pat Mustard

irish citizen wrote: »

hi when I look for taxation from solictor should I just look for taxation and not mention reasons why.when do I get my say.

You are looking for legal advice now, OP. The forum charter doesn't allow that.

It could be that the relevant staff in the relevant court office may be willing to give some general advice to you.

Pat Mustard

irish citizen wrote: »

I agreed with solicitor in question that I would be only charged legal aid rates at the start

Are you sure about this?

I've never heard of somebody charging the same rate as the civil legal aid contribution. Those rates, if they are the rates that you mean, are here:

The maximum contribution that could be charged is €1,250 plus 5% of the amount over €54,000.

If that's what you and the solicitor agreed, fair enough. I just don't see why anybody would propose such a fee as nobody could stay in business charging even the the maximum of those rates.

irish citizen

hi unfortunately I was taken in,
if i knew then what i know now i would of stayed with legal aid services, and avoided this situation, but I stupidly believed the solictor I wont make this mistake again you live and learn. I would not of known exact costs of legal aid board at the time but I knew they would be manageable and low enough for my budget. I certainly couldn't afford a private solictor at the time, the solictor was well aware of this.

Pat Mustard

Well, as you have been threatened with legal action, perhaps you could apply for legal aid to defend the claim.

You could also ask about assistance with taxation of costs, as well.