[Finance] Conveyancing fees - Advice please

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

Could the fine folk of NSC advise me of what sort of bill I should have received from my solicitor in regards to their conveyancing fees. Having moved a couple of months ago I sat down and went over the paperwork for their services. I paid £2,400 for what is itemised as Solicitor fees,HM Land registry fees ( not stamp duty ) and search fees. I was led to believe their own fee was £695+VAT via their website. I would like to know if the monies I paid are about right ( can't believe HM Land reg and searches are £1,600 ), before I phone or email and make myself look a plonker. Thanks for your time.

 

[beorhthelm]

searches were couple hundred as i recall. does the service cover the survey?

 

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

searches were couple hundred as i recall. does the service cover the survey?

Survey? The only survery we had done was with our mortgage provider.

 

[Da Man Clay]

Did you sell as well as purchase through the same solicitor?

 

[warmleyseagull]

If bill was 'itemised' that implies you know the breakdown of £2,400. I don't want to believe they sent you an invoice for £2,400 with no breakdown of the constituent elements as that would be very unprofessional, but if so, get the breakdown then revert to NSC. If not, please share for advice/comment.

 

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

Did you sell as well as purchase through the same solicitor?

We did. But the selling fees were paid last year. We moved in with the in-laws for a while, waiting for the new purchase to go through.

 

[Da Man Clay]

We did. But the selling fees were paid last year. We moved in with the I laws for a while, waiting for the new purchase to go through.

Ah right, in which case that sounds a little over the top. We paid similar for buy and sell at the same time.

 

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

If bill was 'itemised' that implies you know the breakdown of £2,400. I don't want to believe they sent you an invoice for £2,400 with no breakdown of the constituent elements as that would be very unprofessional, but if so, get the breakdown then revert to NSC. If not, please share for advice/comment.

A copy of the actual invoice...

 

[Ozymandias86]

Also, the retainer letter should really have given a breakdown of a) the solicitor's estimated fees and b) estimated disbursements - definitely worth checking that over.

 

[warmleyseagull]

A copy of the actual invoice...
View attachment 110846

Ask them for breakdown of £2472.

 

[Ozymandias86]

I think that might be what's known as the completion statement, rather than the invoice - I'd hope there would be an underlying invoice accompanying that?

 

[knocky1]

Their Land Registry and searches fee are around £1,000 over. Check the small print and don’t sue them using the voice of NSC. Your money and pringles will disappear at an alarming rate.

If you are unhappy and they are solicitors rather than conveyancers, you can threaten to report them to the Law Society (I think that’s right). Thieving b*******. Good luck.

 

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

Ask them for breakdown of £2472.

Indeed. That's my intention but hence why I posted this thread. Is £2,472 a normal figure? If so then fair enough, if someone on here with experience in these matters thinks it's OTT then I would like that info to back me up if and when I challenge them.

 

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

Their Land Registry and searches fee are around £1,000 over. Check the small print and don’t sue them using the voice of NSC. Your money and pringles will disappear at an alarming rate.

If you are unhappy and they are solicitors rather than conveyancers, you can threaten to report them to the Law Society (I think that’s right). Thieving b*******. Good luck.

Thank you for the advice. I do have hard copies of the original paperwork somewhere in our new property and I will have to dig them out to see if there was a list of their fees.

 

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

I think that might be what's known as the completion statement, rather than the invoice - I'd hope there would be an underlying invoice accompanying that?

Blimey. The statement came via email and is headed Statement of Account. The email attachment is labelled 'Statement'. This is our first purchase using a solicitor that we appointed.

 

[Ozymandias86]

Blimey. The statement came via email and is headed Statement of Account. The email attachment is labelled 'Statement'. This is our first purchase using a solicitor that we appointed.

Sorry - they use interchangeable names - completion statement, financial statement, statement of account etc. That's what confirms the balance of what you need to pay pre completion, with the various bits then being used as set out. However, it's pretty standard practice to send the client a receipted invoice to show you've paid that 2.4k - I'd check for that in your papers. If it's not there, the lawyer should be able to give you a copy without any fuss.

 

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

Sorry - they use interchangeable names - completion statement, financial statement, statement of account etc. That's what confirms the balance of what you need to pay pre completion, with the various bits then being used as set out. However, it's pretty standard practice to send the client a receipted invoice to show you've paid that 2.4k - I'd check for that in your papers. If it's not there, the lawyer should be able to give you a copy without any fuss.

Thank you. I found the hard copy of the 72 page letter that we got after instructing them to deal with our purchase. It sets out what they will do on our behalf and I found the section on their fees........

They are left blank

 

[Lurchy]

Indeed. That's my intention but hence why I posted this thread. Is £2,472 a normal figure?

I'll echo what others are saying and suggest that you ask for a breakdown.

I moved six months ago and my conveyancer gave me a breakdown that showed what their charge was (and the VAT) and also all of the fees that were owed for any searches, registrations and any money transfers that were undertaken. Within that they charged me a search fee of £162. The Land Registry fee is dependent on the value of the property and is done on a sliding scale. Costs can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees

 

[warmleyseagull]

Thank you for the advice. I do have hard copies of the original paperwork somewhere in our new property and I will have to dig them out to see if there was a list of their fees.

Until we know what it is, difficult to say. Looks toppy but not ridiculous.

 

[lost in london]

Searches would probably be in the region of £600
Land Registry fee for a c.£210,000 freehold purchase price is £135 (assuming they registered electronically which they really should have)
Leaves you with about £1,650 +VAT legal fees

Just ask them for a breakdown of their invoice.

Fees should be on their website: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/news/...e-for-law-firms-publishing-price-information/