Solicitor's charge - is this normal?

Solicitor's charge - is this normal?

Author
Discussion

uknick

Original Poster:

986 posts

199 months

Yesterday (09:23)
quotequote all
I've just been charged by my solicitor to get an estimate for a barrister to prepare the claim for my case. They've charged me to send an email to the clerk's office and then send an email back to me telling me of the estimate.

Whilst the solicitor's invoice is only about £70, my gripe is the barrister's clerk wouldn't deal with me direct so I have to go through the solicitor.

Before I go back and question the charge, I'd like to know if this is how it's normally done. If the solicitor doesn't get a referral fee, then fair enough. But if they do it seems a bit off.

Simpo Two

88,936 posts

280 months

Yesterday (09:57)
quotequote all
I should have joined a profession where I get £35 per e-mail...

edthefed

791 posts

82 months

Yesterday (09:59)
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And when you question the charge you will get another charge for answering your question

mac96

5,082 posts

158 months

Yesterday (10:00)
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
I should have joined a profession where I get £35 per e-mail...
...especially one that just says 'Please see attached'!!

Mark V GTD

2,642 posts

139 months

Yesterday (10:01)
quotequote all
I remember getting charged by my solicitor preparing their own fee invoice.

Terminator X

17,658 posts

219 months

Yesterday (10:02)
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
I should have joined a profession where I get £35 per e-mail...
Probably on £500 an hour. Legal system for you, mostly for the rich. Just pray you never get sued.

TX.

Runes

5,062 posts

231 months

Yesterday (11:04)
quotequote all
uknick said:
Before I go back and question the charge, I'd like to know if this is how it's normally done. If the solicitor doesn't get a referral fee, then fair enough. But if they do it seems a bit off.
I don't know if this charge is normal, but the barristers wouldn't be allowed to pay a referral fee.

Miserablegit

4,279 posts

124 months

Yesterday (11:26)
quotequote all
Barristers can t pay referral fees.
Your GP gets paid for referring you to a consultant.
The only difference here (beyond it being a legal rather than medical matter) is that you are going private as I very much doubt this is legal aid hence you have to pay.
In order to obtain a fee estimate your solicitor will have had to do some work to explain the case.

Edited by Miserablegit on Monday 30th June 11:28

Panamax

6,116 posts

49 months

Yesterday (11:36)
quotequote all
It's normal. Asking questions on your behalf is chargeable work, as is preparing your bill.

If you want to deal directly with a barrister and cut out the solicitor you need to use a "direct access" barrister.
https://www.directaccessportal.co.uk/

If the barrister charges you £500 an hour for doing preparation work that would have cost £300 an hour done by the solicitor then you won't necessarily get an end result that's cheaper overall.

Simpo Two

88,936 posts

280 months

Yesterday (11:43)
quotequote all
I should have joined a profession where I can charge for preparing the bill...

uknick

Original Poster:

986 posts

199 months

Yesterday (11:46)
quotequote all
Thanks for the information about referral fees. Just what I was looking for.


119

11,630 posts

51 months

Yesterday (12:18)
quotequote all
Charging for preparing a bill FFS.

Alongside estate agents probably the biggest legal scams going.

alscar

6,277 posts

228 months

Yesterday (17:12)
quotequote all
Solicitors seem to charge for even responding to a questioning email where there is no update or progress.
I think I’ve learned that in email’s to them I will ask them not to reply if there is no progress.
Wait until you get the Barristers quote - £70 will be so insignificant then.

Shnozz

28,896 posts

286 months

Yesterday (17:20)
quotequote all
If they spend time undertaking a task, is it that odd or unreasonable to be paid for that time?

If it was a plumber or an IT consultant or any other profession isn’t it the same?

Do people expect these sort of tasks to be done for nothing?

alscar

6,277 posts

228 months

Yesterday (17:23)
quotequote all
Shnozz said:
If they spend time undertaking a task, is it that odd or unreasonable to be paid for that time?

If it was a plumber or an IT consultant or any other profession isn t it the same?

Do people expect these sort of tasks to be done for nothing?
Not odd or unreasonable at all and they are obviously in business.
I think it’s more a case of their minimum hourly charge being applied irrespective of how many minutes within that hour are actually taken is where it gets “ irritating “.

uknick

Original Poster:

986 posts

199 months

Yesterday (17:26)
quotequote all
alscar said:
Solicitors seem to charge for even responding to a questioning email where there is no update or progress.
I think I ve learned that in email s to them I will ask them not to reply if there is no progress.
Wait until you get the Barristers quote - £70 will be so insignificant then.
I've had the estimate, and it's roughly what I expected. And, as you suggest, slightly more than £70 frown.


KTMsm

28,826 posts

278 months

Yesterday (17:28)
quotequote all
Shnozz said:
If they spend time undertaking a task, is it that odd or unreasonable to be paid for that time?

If it was a plumber or an IT consultant or any other profession isn t it the same?

Do people expect these sort of tasks to be done for nothing?
As you mentioned them, Plumbers generally give a free estimate - generally including a free visit to look at the work if it's a big job, they don't charge for their bills either




Panamax

6,116 posts

49 months

Yesterday (17:35)
quotequote all
KTMsm said:
Plumbers generally give a free estimate
Solicitors give free estimates. The plumber will charge you for running to Screwfix to buy parts he could have already have had on the van.

We often have people on PH complaining garages charge for diagnosis when it's "just plugging in the laptop".

Shnozz

28,896 posts

286 months

Yesterday (18:07)
quotequote all
Panamax said:
KTMsm said:
Plumbers generally give a free estimate
Solicitors give free estimates. The plumber will charge you for running to Screwfix to buy parts he could have already have had on the van.

We often have people on PH complaining garages charge for diagnosis when it's "just plugging in the laptop".
Indeed. I give free estimates but once called upon will charge when my time is assigned to what I’m asked to do.

As for the diagnostic comparison, I remember a non-client (I thankfully ditched them first) handing me 2 lever arch files to read to respond to a letter they had received threatening litigation. I quoted her for responding and they were aghast as they wanted it to be the time to write the letter. The fact I’d have to read 2 lever arch files to meaningfully prepare a response was completely overlooked.

Pro Bono

666 posts

92 months

Yesterday (19:20)
quotequote all
uknick said:
I've just been charged by my solicitor to get an estimate for a barrister to prepare the claim for my case. They've charged me to send an email to the clerk's office and then send an email back to me telling me of the estimate.

Whilst the solicitor's invoice is only about £70, my gripe is the barrister's clerk wouldn't deal with me direct so I have to go through the solicitor.

Before I go back and question the charge, I'd like to know if this is how it's normally done. If the solicitor doesn't get a referral fee, then fair enough. But if they do it seems a bit off.
Solicitors normally charge by the hour, and their standard terms of business say that routine phone calls and emails (i.e. ones that don't take more than 6 minutes) will be charged at one tenth of the hourly rate.

£300 an hour + VAT is a fairly standard rate for a reasonably experienced solicitor outside Central London, so two emails @ £30 + VAT = £72.

However, very few solicitors would send an invoice for such a pathetic amount - they'd normally wait until it was at least a few hundred quid, as it's really not worth the effort to send such piddling invoices. Perhaps yours has cash flow problems!