Professionals' fees

Solicitors are required to tell you up front how their fees will be calculated. If it’s a matter which will be charged on the basis of time spent, for instance litigation, it’s often not possible to predict how much of the solicitor’s time will be taken up - it will depend on how things pan out, how awkward the other side are, and remember that every time you phone or email for a progress report that will cost you money. Add VAT at 20%, which obviously the solicitor doesn’t keep, and any disbursements (sums paid on your behalf such as court fees, search fees, Land Registry fees) and the bottom line can look steep. Some people try to economise by using a cheap firm - it doesn’t work because not only may they not be much good, a more expensive firm will generally have higher calibre lawyers who will work more quickly and efficiently.

Most professional bodies publish their fees and I do not think that, as a whole, they set out to trick or cheat you. Like everything else, you get what you pay for

DD is moving house and she was specific aabout finding a local frim of solicitors. Last time she moved house she used a conveyancing factory that advertised preferential rates in her trade union magazine and had endless problems.

Not sure who you are complaining about, but I would say question anything you think of as overcharging. Write a polite letter to them, if they don't respond or explain, look up who is the partner responsible for complaints and write to them, explaining why you think they have overcharged.
I had problems with the firm handling things when I moved. Phone calls not responded to, emails ignored. The woman handling things was not a solicitor but a conveyancing person. After my complaint the charges were looked at and the bill considerably reduced.

In 1971 me and my ex husband bought a house.

Naturally we got the solicitors bill. We didn’t have the money so you did what you did back then: you went to the bank manager for a loan.
Naturally he asked to see the bill. He then pointed out to us that, that, and that and that were exactly the same procedure but written in a different way.
He asked if he could call the solicitor on our behalf.
He not only got the double billing removed but told them to reduce it even further for what they had done.
I learnt a valuable lesson that day: if you don’t understand something on a bill, ask.

If you employ an Architect you should get a fee quote and contract set out before you enter an agreement.
DH’s contracts are set out in stages, with the relevant fees paid at the end of each stage.
Should he or the client be unhappy at the end of each stage they can then end the contract.
If you felt that you have been overcharged or have not had the service that you paid for there is an arbitration service. A qualified Architect must be professionally insured in order to be able to make recompense for substandard work.
In all areas it’s about doing your homework and employing the correct professional and not necessarily going for the cheapest.

Thanks for all the replies. I am reading them all carefully.

In the latest case, I think our problem was, we had used the same firm for years, and had got complacent.
We probably were not up to date with their current fees.
Plus they went back over work that we had already paid for. We didnt think they had needed to, so wasnt expecting the extra bill.
DH did go in in person. But they did not budge on the fee at all.

In a previous incident, about 10 years ago, a different firm, and different professionals, took so long to do something, that we lost money because of it.
We did learn from that one not to use someone who is only working 3 days per week.

All in all, we are probably naive on current costs. Plus underestimate how long things take.
And that firms have to wait to hear back from other firms.

I never mind spending on professional fees. It takes a lot of training to become an advisory professional, that plus fees to this and that society, insurances etc.

It is what we pay for, the knowledge, work and paperwork to be able to hand over a worry so that someone else can lift a load in a safe manner

I only used the best house surveyor, the best dentist, the best solicitor, the best estate agent, plumber etc. Wrt the surveyor, it cost me £2000, thanks to his report I pulled out of a house purchase. Money very well spent and why I instructed him, he saved me lots of money and future problems

My late Mum’s GP sent me a bill for £250 for going to her care home about 6 years ago. It was just 2 miles away. Yes I asked him to visit to check her mental capacity and he said there would be a “small charge”. I nearly collapsed when I saw the bill. I wrote to him and told him it was far too much, he replied and said it was his normal fee. I said had he told me that I would have brought her to the surgery. I offered to pay something but not £250 and I never heard from him again.

small charge - £250!

In our small rural town, all the professionals complain about each other[with the exception of the financial consultant, and undertakers].

Which leaves me to wonder whether city professional practices are better?

And doctor practices. People are not complaining about them either. Thankfully.

In the case of solicitors, you are more likely to find good firms in cities. However there’s always an exception and amongst the dire offerings in my local market town I found an excellent sole practitioner who had moved to Norfolk from a highly regarded City firm which I knew well when I worked there. He is my type of lawyer, very thorough and highly experienced. I was so lucky to find him.

Good to know. Thank you.

Lawyers in small towns tend to be cheaper. You get what you pay for - the good ones go where they can command more money. My solicitor might be a one man band (wills, probate, trusts and property only) but his charges reflect his experience. He doesn’t seek to compete with the locals, who are way below his calibre. He gets all his work by recommendation, doesn’t advertise - unlike the rest.

My husband is a Consultant and when he puts in a bid for work he’s usually already spent at least half a day examining what’s needed for a project and his prices reflect his (fairly unique) knowledge and his more than thirty years experience.
He occasionally tenders for work and loses out to big firms who put in a lower bid, but then will use a graduate to do the work. Fortunately his reputation within his industry is excellent, so most of his work comes by word of mouth.

If you think you’re being overcharged then ask for a breakdown of costs, but don’t be surprised if the time spent doing that is then added to your bill. My son is an accountant and I think the billing system his firm uses is the industry standard.

I appreciate that some on here are retired solicitors but oh my gosh their charges are off the scale. £350 per hour plus VAT i was charged and he was hopeless yet supposed to have years of experience in his field.

A few years ago a friend lived near the second home of a London lawyer. He told me his charges were about £250 an hour back then. The lawyer’s wife brought round an antique table lamp for my husband to repair. He completely rewired it and put a new switch on.

She turned up to collect it and asked the price and I told her £15. Her face dropped and she actually said “I think that’s a bit steep.” I could not believe it, knowing what her husband charged! I told her most people wouldn’t even bother with a small job like that so she was lucky he did it. She grudgingly paid it and stomped off in a bad mood.

I found this with an optician. It gave the price of the glasses frames and the price of the lenses I wanted so I knew what the total price would be. When it came to paying, I was told that there would be extra charges because the lenses were a special order, it would also be more expensive as there were no lenses to fit the frame so it was a specialist order the list went on. I told them that they had just quoted the price of the frames and lenses and there was no mention of any extra to pay. I told them where they could stick their glasses, went to the opticians across the street and got what I wanted for the price I was stated by the other opticians. I think every one tries to rip us off if we are not on our toes.

Solicitors have overheads to pay before they pocket a penny of the fees. Rent, rates, heating and lighting, compulsory indemnity insurance, annual practising certificate, staff salaries, IT equipment and maintenance, phones, subscriptions to textbooks, compulsory courses to keep up to date, I could go on. I won’t tell you what my hourly rate was when I retired ten years ago but getting on for £1k. Now it would be a great deal more. That was for specific expertise not found on the high street.

Turtledove One always knows that businesses will quote the lowest possible price for something and that the chances you will get it for that is minimal. This sort of thing is notorious in the travel undustry, althoygh the government is about to ban adverts that do not include any compulsory extra charges.

As someone who, before cataracts, had very strong lenses, I always knew that whenever an optician quoted a frame and lenses package, it wouldn't apply to me.

£1k!!

Mr K complains constantly about the solicitors that he has to use for leases and contracts etc, “they spend so much time on leave no work gets done”. The solicitors that I used for my divorce and mums estate were exactly like that as well, neither were complicated either.

Depending on your definition of professional, all the tradesmen I have used recently have been very skilled, professional in their dealings with me and stuck to their quotation ( not estimate) for their work. In particular a tree surgeon did more than he quoted for with no extra charge. Reputation is everything, whatever the field.
My dealings with a funeral director last year were made so much easier by their professionalism and attention to detail. Expensive but worth every £.
On the other hand the firm I had to deal with in connection with a commemorative plaque were appalling. They have not yet sent me a bill - perhaps they daren’t - but I will certainly challenge it.
I was not impressed with my local solicitor but his bill was quite low. However I am going to a different one in a big city firm for some of the more complex matters. I don’t yet have their charges but they will not be cheap.

Germanshepherdsmum

Solicitors have overheads to pay before they pocket a penny of the fees. Rent, rates, heating and lighting, compulsory indemnity insurance, annual practising certificate, staff salaries, IT equipment and maintenance, phones, subscriptions to textbooks, compulsory courses to keep up to date, I could go on. I won’t tell you what my hourly rate was when I retired ten years ago but getting on for £1k. Now it would be a great deal more. That was for specific expertise not found on the high street.

I am sure we understand that gsm but don’t most businesses have the same overheads?

No, not at all. The expense of indemnity insurance, practising certificates for all qualified solicitors, subscriptions to textbooks and compulsory continuing education is very high.

Katie59

Mr K complains constantly about the solicitors that he has to use for leases and contracts etc, “they spend so much time on leave no work gets done”. The solicitors that I used for my divorce and mums estate were exactly like that as well, neither were complicated either.

You’re not using the right firms.