MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Received a letter from my solicitors this morning saying that I owe them £30.
18 months ago I needed to get a servitude right drawn up to get permission to put a water supply pipe laid onto forestry land. The paperwork all went through fine and I paid my dues.
The letter today says that as the solicitor who did the work has now left and somebody else is going through her files, they have noticed that the fee of £30 was not paid as she ommitted it from the original charge.
My question is, can I just tell em where to go as at the time I paid what I was asked for and as it was her mistake why should I have to deal with it?
I'd contact your Solicitor in this instance.
[i]can I just tell em where to go as at the time I paid what I was asked for and as it was her mistake why should I have to deal with it[/i]
As a solicitor myself, this would be my approach.
If the £30 is a fee payable to a third party (i.e. not part of the lawyer's costs), then I can see why they are asking for it.
If the £30 is a hangover from their costs, then they are just being greedy.
In either case, I suggest you tell them that too long has passed and that they should just write this off.
EDIT: damn, beaten to it. Anyway, I concur with my friend Mr Dummy. If I had failed to bill £30 (whether disbursement or fees) I'd just suck it up.
Send a letter back saying that as far as you are aware the account was settled in full, and you records show that you don't owe them any money. Include a copy of their original invoice and receipt for your payment.
Thanks guys/gals? The £30 is apparently to do with the solicitors themselves and not a third party.
Sounds to me liek they're going back over old files for a reason - either the previous solicitor made a habit of mischarging for stuff or they're short of cash and want to target their existign client base.
Why would you go through an 18month old file if you were pickign up someones current caseload?
yep, show em a copy of your invoice for the work you were given.
can't see how they can charge you extra than the invoice, even if they did make a mistake.
Check the previous correspondence you've received from them. If there's no written evidence of a further charge being due, tell them to go whistle for it. The main places to check are the "client care" letter you should have received when you first instructed them (the one that says who they are, what they are going to do and how much they will charge) or the narrative (if any) of the bill you were sent.
18 months is a long time to wait before chasing you up over a tiddly charge of £30, and even if it is mentioned in correspondence I'd tough it out - the cost of going after you for it will be way more than the amount you owe. Of course, all of the above depends on whether you'd like to use them again.
Of course, all of the above depends on whether you'd like to use them again.
I probably wouldn't if they're chasing me for £30, 18 months after they finished a job for me.
Some solicitors are very good on the legal side, but sh!t at book-keeping. Although if it's for something straightforward like a bit of drafting, I'd be inclined to agree.
Write back saying you charge £30 for any delayed payment requests over a year old 😉