Hi clipper
it seems they are a law onto themselves alright, when i bought my property nearly two years ago i was advised verbally that €3000 would cover everything (received nothing in writing), before i even got my bill from them i sent a cheque for the €3000, 6 weeks later i got a bill for a further €800.. When i queried this i was advised this was the total amount of the bill and payment was expected asap or he would not complete the deeds of the property..
Within a few weeks of this happening my mother passed away and i totally forgot about this bill, i received a reminder on monday for the €800 that i still owe him reminding me he has not completed the sale and will not be completing it until he receives the €800..
I too am unsure if there is anything that can be done but surely we should have some comeback
As a minimum, I would start by asking him for a breakdown of his fees - land registry, external fees etc plus an hourly breakdown of his time specifying what was done each hour. If he hasn't just made up the number, then he should be able to supply you with a detailed breakdown of the costs.I know law is on his side so to speak so we're in a very weak position, what are our rights here do you think?
Thanks
I had the same service for 1600 euro that included a 125 euro land registry fee.
Be advised,a friend of mine was quoted 300 for obtaining a Family Home declaration from a solicitor.I had one as an email attachment(free) and another solicitor signed it for 14 euro.
You really need to shop around to avoid getting fleeced but the land registry fee is not accurate in your case.
... the fees charged here are on the high side but OP should have nailed the fees down at the start and I'd be pretty certain that the solicitor will negotiate if asked.
...We had given him 4000 initially which he had said himself should cover everything but that he'd work out the total later...
OP said
While that's not exactly nailing it down, it seems to me that if that is a fair representation of the conversation that happened, the solicitor is being quite unreasonable.
, if the total bill was to be 4K then that would be a professional fee of 1.25K for each transaction
In fairness, to charge €300 for a family home declaration is ridiculous, especially considering it is an essential part of the conveyancing process. I have never paid for one, and if any solicitor even suggested that I had to (other than Commissioners fees), I'd change solicitors immediately. There may be the odd situation where the solicitor has to do some research other than "are you or have you ever been married or engaged?", but at the end of the day it's a statement of fact for which the declarant takes responsibility, not the solicitor.As regards the Family Law Declaration - you got it free ( and, as a result, you have no appreciation that someone might have been entitled to charge you for preparing it) and paid someone to witness your signature. I see no reason why a solicitor should draft a Family Law Declaration for someone and not get paid.
In fairness, to charge €300 for a family home declaration is ridiculous, especially considering it is an essential part of the conveyancing process. I have never paid for one, and if any solicitor even suggested that I had to (other than Commissioners fees), I'd change solicitors immediately. There may be the odd situation where the solicitor has to do some research other than "are you or have you ever been married or engaged?", but at the end of the day it's a statement of fact for which the declarant takes responsibility, not the solicitor.
I have to stop you there.
Land Registry fees are fixed. if you only paid €125, then you only had a mortgage to register.
The top level of Land Registry fees is €625 which with a mortgage would come to €750.00 unless there were additional items - e.g. an additional charge/mortgage.
As regards the Family Law Declaration - you got it free ( and, as a result, you have no appreciation that someone might have been entitled to charge you for preparing it) and paid someone to witness your signature. I see no reason why a solicitor should draft a Family Law Declaration for someone and not get paid.
Before using words like "fleeced" and"not accurate" it might be safer to check facts.
And yes, the fees charged here are on the high side but OP should have nailed the fees down at the start and I'd be pretty certain that the solicitor will negotiate if asked.
mf
The Solicitor is obliged under Section 68 of the Solicitors Act 1994 to send a written quote of their fees to the prospective client as soon as is reasonably practical after taking instructions from them. So the onus is on the Solicitor not the OP here.
If you work in this area you should know that it is NOT in fact necessary for the solicitor to send a written letter. It is enough that the solicitor discusses fees with the client and then keeps a memo of that conversation on file for example.
Having said that I think the fees seem on the high side but we do not know the circumstances of the transactions and without knowing that, we really cannot say for definite.
Although I would not charge an existing client, I certainly would charge a stranger in off the street. It means taking instructions as to their marital status, going through the declaration with them as to which one is appropriate, then taking their personal details and adding them in, then printing it off and finally witnessing signature. At least 15 to 20 minutes of my time, my secretary's time, paper, ink etc etc. Not charging would not be good business. Not 300 but certainly not 10 either.
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