Solicitor I used to sell my flat a few years ago has sent me a cheque for a sum which was showing on my ledger with them which they discovered after just closing my file.
I was obviously chuffed to receive a few hundred quid but then wondered why it took them several years to notice this? Are files only closed several years after property sales?
They should be closed as soon as it is necessary to close them i.e. they have zero balance with no outstanding actions.
What's more worrying is that they were holding funds owing to you on their client account for a couple of years and are only now telling you, which is a breach of the solicitors' accounts rules....
My experience of solicitors and property transactions is that they only ever look at your file when chased to do so.
They did wrong in not closing the file much, much, earlier - however they were at least honest in returning the money eventually. So I wouldn't bash them for it this would just encourage more dishonest practice of covering up and pocketing the money rather than coming clean.
Probably been caught not running a separate client bank account by the Law Society and now had to do a full audit of client monies.
Depending on the values it could even be interest that they hadn't passed onto you as they cannot profit from holding your funds.
cheque for a sum which was showing on my ledger
For the sum on the ledger or the sum less the cost of the letter enclosing the cheque? Some solicitors are right up there with estate agents and double glazing salesmen
I'm a bit puzzled as to how they found themselves with some of your money in the first place.
It was a few hundred quid which I paid them in case there were any issues re me having not paid the last quarters service charge on the flat Id sold. I was pretty confident that I had paid the most recent service charges so this money was kind of a temporary insurance so to speak. Not a huge amount in scheme of house sale costs etc but still welcome and enoigh to make me annoyed why I hadnt received it earlier.
A colleague just received a bill for £2k the fortnight after a house purchase - as the solicitor 'got his sums wrong'....and she still had to pay the solicitors bill of many hundrends of pounds.
I really, genuinely think the legal game of buying houses is a con. They do some searches, they write a short (last one was 4 pages long) contract, and thats about it.
When I rent my flat, it is 32 pages of contract, including numerous legal obligations and requirements, and I do it myself....