fair charge?

Hello all. Recently visited a local solicitor to discuss drawing up a Consent Order. I had the last appointment on a Fri afternoon. The guy took a few notes , gave me an idea of the cost (500 quid or so)and asked me to bring in some papers. Over the weekend it dawned on me that the consent order would be useless if ex refused to cooperate so decided not to proceed and informed the solicitors office of this and asked them to invoice me for cost of appointment. Today i got a bill for 234 quid plus vat !!!!! I think that''s extortianate . Views please and any advice on next step
thanks

Welcome to Wikivorce.

On the face of things, £280 (inc VAT) seems expensive, but it depends on how long you spent with the solicitor, and what their charges are, both in terms of hourly rate and in terms of what, if any work undertaken.

Where you advised of the cost of the appointment when making it? £234 (+VAT) is about average for an hour''s time with a solicitor.

Hi ruby. 20 minute meeting no advice of cost beforehand . I still think its a p take. Remuneration certificate apply to this?? Personally i think the guy got cheeky with bill after found out how much money involved in estate

The remuneration certificate process was binned years ago.

The would imagine that the solicitor limited their time to an hour at £195 + VAT hence the £234.00.

This seems entirely reasonable. You don''t say how long the appointment took and you don''t mention whether the solicitor looked at the papers following the appointment although I expect that this is the case as you left the papers.

If you were not told how much the hourly rate was you may be able to challenge the bill but presumably you did not expect to see the solicitor for free?

Charles

Firstly it''s 234 + vat . 282 in total
secondly it was a twenty minute meeting (as detailed in my reply to ruby above . As i was the last appointment on a friday and deinstructed them on the following Monday i would be surprised if he spent the weekend reading a Petition letter and my handwritten summary of the financial arrangement i made with my wife
234 + vat for a maximum 30 mins work?? Reasonable ?? Really . Rural south lincs solicitors ??

If you have issues with the amount you have been billed for, you should in the first instance contact the practice manager of the firm involved, and ask them to explain the figures to you.

High Street solicitors can be expensive, and it is always wise to ask first what the cost of an appointment will be before making one.

My mistake, you did mention plus VAT in your post.

The hourly rate might explain the costs if it were known - if it was £400 per hour that would explain the costs entirely although you should hae been made aware of this.

You also mention that as the appointment was last thing on a Friday you question the likelihood of the solicitor doing work over the weekend. Quite a few solicitors carry out work after hours and at the weekend which might explain how the work was done in such a short timeframe.

It is certainly worth raising the issue if you are unhappy.

Charles