Solicitor changed agreed fees price, can you do anything?

[NorthernSky]

hi
went to a solicitor to do the conveyancing for a house buyout.
asked them for a quotation and they replied with an email with the breakdown/cost
fast forward 6 months and they have sent me a bill that is a lot higher than the quotation
i showed them the agreed price , no reply yet but i expect some BS about some other costs they factored in
do i have a leg to stand on? probably not, they are solicitors after all

 

[BrumJim]

1. No they can't
2. They will argue that they can.
3. You will need to find another solicitors who can argue your case in court. This will cost more than £300.
4. These solicitors will also put up their prices without any notice and charge you more than they quoted.

 

[Drago]

Provided they haven't deviated from the work described in the quote, and you're not beyond any stated time limit then no.

Im sure they'll come up with a really good excuse for the extra cost though, and an even better excuse for why they didn't seek your agreement before committing to whatever caused the extra cost.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Pay them the agreed amount and invite them to raise an action for the difference.
It’ll cost them more than £300 in time, staff and fees.

 

[NorthernSky]

Provided they haven't deviated from the work described in the quote, and you're not beyond any stated time limit then no.

Im sure they'll come up with a really good excuse for the extra cost though, and an even better excuse for why they didn't seek your agreement before committing to whatever caused the extra cost.

yeah it's a breach on contract and they never informed me of the extra cost at any point, but again they can come up with whatever they want .

 

[SpokeyDokey]

yeah it's a breach on contract and they never informed me of the extra cost at any point, but again they can come up with whatever they want .

If the original figure is a quote, it is legally binding unless both parties have agreed to a subsequent change. If it is an estimate it is not.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Was there anything on the quote that stated how long the quote was valid for? IIRC for other stuff it's usually 3 months; so they can increase it after 3 months if you haven't taking them up on the quote? I doubt if it applies to this though, given the length of time these things take

 

[Emanresu]

It must be an ongoing issue is the Government has a specific page on it.

https://www.gov.uk/challenge-solicitors-bill

 

[Drago]

What's the update on this @NorthernSky ?

 

[Hacienda71]

See if the Solicitors Regulation Authority can assist.

 

[markemark]

I would check the wording again carefully the original quote. I would be surprised if it was fixed. They usually put in something about it being estimated and may change if the amount of work changed or if presented with unexpected external fees.

 

[NorthernSky]

update: got the fee reduced slightly after pointing out the issues i had with the increase. was ready for being fobbed off but there you go..

 

[Arjimlad]

Formal complaint, then the Legal Ombudsman if they don't back down. They are bound by their estimate.

 

[DCLane]

Been watching this thread; Son no. 1 signed a conveyancing contract with what he thought was a solicitor but turned out to be a dodgy sales agent masquerading as a solicitor. I've reported them and he will do so once the purchase is all through.

They in turn sold the contract to a third party contractor with abysmal reviews who then had an entirely different price hidden in the contact, with significant additional charges. He managed to get that cancelled under Distance Selling Regulations and we'll report them once the property is purchased.

He's now using our solicitor who insisted on seeing him in person with an agreed price. The only minor additional extras were discussed and agreed with all of us before added (two additional searches).