Legal help anyone please?

[old_girl]

Hi all,

I am hoping someone here is legally trained and may be able to tell me where I stand in a situation. its not related to horses, but to money...

2 years ago I bought my house. THe solitcitor invoiced us, we paid it. 7 months later, he sent a letter, which basically said "oops, I got my accounts wrong and under-charged you, so now you need to give me another £1000."
We ignored the letter, essentially because this was his mistake, and we thought that in law he could surely not ask us to sort out his bad accounting. After all, if you bought something in a shop, they couldn't call you 7 months later and say they'd undercharged, and you need to pay the difference!

I arrived home today, 2 years after buying house, to find he has filed a county court judgement against us. I am not convinced we should have to pay, it was his mistake, but I cannot afford to get a CCJ against me if we lost the case. And him being a solicitor, he'll defend himself well!

Does anyone know anything about the legal position here?
I would be extremely grateful for any advice,
Thanks

 

[Nic74]

You can contest the CCJ and then IF you lose, as long as you pay up within x amount of days, the CCJ is not registered.

 

[Nic74]

This tells you the process

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/ManagingDebt/CourtClaimsAndBankruptcy/DG_10013083

 

[the watcher]

As a matter of interest did you get an estimate of costs before you engaged the solicitor, and is this in writing? If the final bill was significantly less than the estimate then it would be reasonable for him to try and reclaim the balance. If he had to go to extra costs and had to clear these with you in advance, again it would be reasonable to recover them. If you had no idea about this extra sum and you haven't had a breakdown of where it came from then I would be tempted to fight it.

County courts are all about what is reasonable and evidence - so dig out all your letters and scrutinise them carefully

 

[old_girl]

THanks for that link.
So if we lost it and paid up straight away then I would not need to tick the box on websites that says "have you ever had a CCJ against you"?
The reason I'm worried is that my fixed rate mortgage ends in 2 months and I need a new one!!

We have an estimate letter, and a final bill letter, but the amounts are confused because the final bill includes money for deposits and stuff.

 

[Nic74]

Yes. If you lost and paid up, you would not have a CCJ against you. Anybody searching your credit file would not see a CCJ. You could probably stall for time anyway and you could avoid the case going to the courts before your new mortgage is arranged, if it really worries you.

 

[mistymorning]

hello, am sorry to hear of your difficulty and my first advice to you is to contact a specialist solicitor to start proceedings for you to counteract their CCJ claim. I would be confident that if they billed you a final bill that you have fulfilled your side of the contract, it is not your fault they didn't charge enough for their services and it is very bad practice to contact after this timescale to demand more money.

The first action your solicitor should take is contacting them to ask for a detailed invoice for the amount they claim is owed to them, and also to ask why this amount was not on the final bill you received as you had paid that in the understanding your contract was then at an end.

Good luck.

 

[Frances28]

Doe the invoice and/or attached letter state 'full and final settlement'?

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Ask the solicitor to send you a copy of: their Customers Charter, their internal policy on incorrect billing, their complaints procedure and the original contract that you both agreed to at the start of the transaction. As Frances28 also says, check the final invoice to see if it says "full and final". I think this firm needs to recognise that it is their own crass incompetence that has led to them undercharging you. The elapsed time and final payment having been made in good faith releases you from any further obligation. Many years ago, I was in a similar position with a statutory body and, due to the elapsed time (3 years for god's sake) and it being their compound error they did not pursue it further. So it can be done!

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

As you can see from the replies on this thread you have been given several different answers. The only sure way for you to know exactly where you stand is to go & seek your own legal advice. You can go to Citizens Advice or a solicitor. Either way as the solicitor has commenced action against you it would be advisable for you to seek advice sooner rather than later.

 

[Tinypony]

Yep. You don't need to consult a solicitor yet, but you do need advice. As well as CAB, the Law Society can be very helpful in cases like this. I made a successful complaint about a solicitor using their procedure, and got a bill reduced by £1000. In that case the solicitor had exceeded their original estimate of costs without talking to me first.
It's not too hard to see if your solicitor has done this. Their original estimate of costs will give you a figure for the cost of their work. Then just pick that out on your completion statement.