Solicitor costs and fees

Whirl_wolle

My mum needed some help from a solicitor a few weeks ago.

I accompanied my mum to the appointment and sat in the waiting room. My mum's appointment was about 40 minutes long. My mum got her business done which included a letter to be sent.

The part of fees came and my mum was told there is retainer fee of 300 euro. The letter fee was separate and that was 80 euro.

My mum wasn't expecting those costs. She was expecting the first consultation would be free or 80-100 euro. I offered to pay by card but the solicitor didn't take card. My mum paid 80 for the letter and 50 towards the solicitors fee and asked for the solicitor to send the remainder bill in the mail.

My mum got a letter a few weeks ago from the solicitor stating the outcome of the letter. The ending paragraph was about the fee owed. The paragraph said

You paid 130 euro. My fee is 300 euro plus vat at 23%. Total 369 euro.

The paragraph of fees wasn't very clear at all.

The vat added on in the letter didn't sit right with me. You would think it would have been mentioned at the appointment or it would have been included in the 300 euro fee my mum was quoted.

So by my calculations here:
300 euro fee
69 vat = total 369 euro
80 euro for letter

= 449 euro.

My mum paid 130 euro

449 - 130 euro = 319 remainder.

My mum went to pay this to be told the total of what she owes is 450. My mum already paid 130 euro previous at the first and only appointment. The solicitor claimed my mum owes 450 more.

My mum paid 100 euro towards the bill. She got a receipt saying 100 paid. Balance is 269 euro.

To date my mum paid
50 euro
80 euro
100 euro = 230

So by these calculations, taking 449 euro into consideration, and 230 euro paid, the remainder should be 219 euro.

Does any of this make sense? Is my mum being swindled here?

3DataModem

300 plus vat for a detailed consultation is not unreasonable. Pricey, but not crazy.

80 for a letter on top of this is a bit much, but again not unheard of.

Whirl_wolle

3DataModem wrote: »

300 plus vat for a detailed consultation is not unreasonable. Pricey, but not crazy.

80 for a letter on top of this is a bit much, but again not unheard of.

My issue here is that all these sums are adding up.

By my calculations the total fee would have been 449 euro. My mum paid 130 at the appointment. By my calculations she would have owed 319 euro.

My mum paid another 100 euro and the new balance on the receipt is 269 euro.

If my mum was to turn around and pay this without looking further into this it's coming up to 499.

3DataModem

How much have you been billed? How much does solicitor say you owe?

Whirl_wolle

3DataModem wrote: »

How much have you been billed? How much does solicitor say you owe?

In it's my opening post. At the appointment my mum was quoted 300 euro retainer fee. There was nothing mentioned about vat. A letter needed to be sent which was another 80 euro.

At that meeting my mum paid 80 euro for the letter and 50 towards the retainer fee and asked for the bill to be sent to her.

The letter my mum received stating the outcome of the solicitors letter had a final paragraph about the fee owed. It said:

You have paid 130 euro. My fee is 300 euro and vat is 23%. Total 369. The 80 for the solicitors letter in the original meeting wasn't included here in the paragraph.

So by my calculations it should be:
369 euro (solicitors retainer fee + vat)
80 euro (letter)
= 449 euro

My mum paid 130 euro at the first meeting with the solicitor. I would have presumed my mum owed 319 euro
(449 - 130 = 319).

My mum went in to pay this to be told she owes 450. My mum paid a further 100 euro towards this and on the paper it said - 100 euro paid . Balance 269.

In total my mum has paid 230 euro. If she was to pay the balance stated of 269 it would all total up to be 499 euro.

It seems to me the solicitor is picking sums out from his arse.

Carawaystick

you could mention that the solicitor seems unaware of section 4 of the S.I. No. 9/1973 - Prices and Charges (Tax-Inclusive Statements) Order, 1973
which states
" Where, for the purposes of or in connection with the rendering of a service by a person, the charge for the service is stated orally by the person or by a servant or agent of the person or is stated in any catalogue or advertisement or in a notice or other document (other than an invoice), the charge so stated shall be stated as a single amount inclusive of any charge made by the person for any tax payable in respect of the service"

Whirl_wolle

Carawaystick wrote: »

you could mention that the solicitor seems unaware of section 4 of the S.I. No. 9/1973 - Prices and Charges (Tax-Inclusive Statements) Order, 1973
which states
" Where, for the purposes of or in connection with the rendering of a service by a person, the charge for the service is stated orally by the person or by a servant or agent of the person or is stated in any catalogue or advertisement or in a notice or other document (other than an invoice), the charge so stated shall be stated as a single amount inclusive of any charge made by the person for any tax payable in respect of the service"

Wow, thank you for this information. From reading your reply "inclusive' means include. So whatever my mum was quoted originally should have included the tax.

When my mum went in to pay, she was shocked to hear that she owes much more than what she was originally told or thought she owed. My asked for clarification on just how much she owes and what she told me doesn't sit well with me. She told me she didn't like the solicitors tone that he used with her asking what? Can you not see? It's down there on paper.

It appears to me as if the solicitor thinks he found a soft touch and he's deliberately trying to twist things or whatever. There's definitely something not right. To be told 300 originally just to discover there's more and more.

So where do we take it from here? I'll have to accompany my mum next time. I will definitely mention the section in law that you have here. I'm not looking forward to the next time. I didn't like him or his tone and not looking forward to dealing with this but I will have to.

myshirt

If you can't afford this small fee, try a FLAC. The solicitor has professional indemnity to cover, they won't be pocketing much from your 400 quid.

Anyway, tell the solicitor you'd like it sent to the taxing master. They'll automatically knock off 20%. He will back down. 200 all in will do him. No point putting good money after bad. But ask for a written quote in the future and make sure you understand it all.

jimmycrackcorm

3DataModem wrote:

300 plus vat for a detailed consultation is not unreasonable. Pricey, but not crazy.

As per post #6., prices for consumers should include VAT.

You don't pay a euro for a mars bar and then get asked for VAT on top.

However, always shop around. Gig to a solicitor in this case is very similar to going to a doctor directing on the ailment. A letter being like a prescription.
Different if you need to go to a consultant.

Mr. Incognito

That seems a bit crazy to me.

300 for a "retainer"? What retainer.

Tell him you will pay him for the consultation and the letter and to send you a written invoice for this.

I would be taking my business elsewhere.

ichabod

According to the OP, his ma had her business dealt with an only then was told about a retainer fee. Now, a retainer fee is not a consultation fee. The clue is in the word retainer. She should have been told about these fees up front. However, as she has not disputed this and as it seems from the OP's post, she is willing to pay but he is querying the amount, my own view on this is that the max invoice payable is €380 ( highway robbery anyway for 40 minutes and a letter) and that is what he gets inclusive of VAT. After that he could pog mo thoin.

Mod
Language! Be nice ( Bígí cneasta )

You are forgetting the vat on the letter, I think? so it's 80 plus 23%. I think you have a fair point about the vat not being included when it was quoted but I have heard of such prices being (for example) 80 plus vat, so depends if the solicitor said that or not. I'd be asking for an itemised invoice all the same.

Without knowing the complexity of the letter it's hard to know if the fee is fair or not, I'd have thought. I would have thought that consultation was probably a small bit expensive, but the letter was likewise fairly cheap.

Fakediamond

Don’t forget the charge for sending her the letter telling her how much she owes (plus vat at 23%)

percy212

So helpful.

myshirt wrote: »

If you can't afford this small fee, try a FLAC. The solicitor has professional indemnity to cover, they won't be pocketing much from your 400 quid.

Anyway, tell the solicitor you'd like it sent to the taxing master. They'll automatically knock off 20%. He will back down. 200 all in will do him. No point putting good money after bad. But ask for a written quote in the future and make sure you understand it all.