Law society claim

Duvetdays

Hi all,

I’m not looking for legal advice as I know it’s against the charter but I wonder if somebody can point me in the right direction of where I might find the information I’m looking for.

In 2011 I bought a house and in 2014 I found out that the solicitor was no longer practising and that he didn’t register the mortgage or do the land registry. I found this out through the solicitor that the law society had given my file to. I was told that they would claim all monies back though the law society claim fund and would finish the outstanding work on my file.

I had to pay them €600 to take up my case and this would be claimed back. In 2011 land registry was €375 now it’s €700. Registering the mortgage was €125 now €175. I was told that they would claim for the new higher rates. I received an estimated cost break down of X amount that they reckoned it would take to complete and where claiming for this off the Law Society. In March I got an email off the solicitor to say that the Law Society had sent a cheque for my claim and as it was made out to me could I sign a bill of exchange so that they could lodge the money into their account. After the fee’s and outlays are deducted from the amount the cheque was for it left €600 the amount I paid them that I was told I’d get back.

I was speaking to the solicitor on the phone just after I was informed that a cheque had been received and was told that the law society is now paying out claims based on the old lesser amount ie: €375 for land registry not €700 that it costs to do now. I was told that the law society would have to be informed that they’d paid out too much and wait to get a new cheque issued and the shortfall of €375 in fees would be taken out of the €600 retainer I paid them.

To be honest I’m suspicious of the amount that the cheque was for that it left exactly €600 after their breakdown of costs was deducted from it and I rang the law society to ask are they paying out on the old rates and they wouldn’t deal with me. I only have the solicitor’s word that the cheque is genuinely wrong and that what the law society are now paying.

Is there anybody I can contact to check that what the solicitor is telling me is truthful? If they are paying out at the old lesser rates I accept that I’ve to pay the shortfall and chalk it up to bad luck with original solicitor but at the same time I hate to think the new solicitor could be trying to con me.

Many thanks

Pat Mustard

Tell your solicitor that you'd like to see all of the correspondence with the Law Society that sets out the entire position.

I'm not very familiar with the law society compensation fund but it sounds strange that:

1. The Law Society paid the new rates of Land Registry fees but that was a mistake and it only pays the rates that should have applied if the job was done properly, even though if the job had been done properly, there could be no issue now.
AND
2. Having paid the new rates, the Law Society wants a refund for the difference between what it paid and the rate that used to apply at the time that the property should have registered, which rate no longer applies, even though looking for such a refund would leave you with a shortfall.

It would be interesting to find out the full facts, which may be revealed in the correspondence.