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[Finance] Conveyancing fees - Advice please



The Andy Naylor Fan Club

Well-known member
Aug 31, 2012
5,143
Right Here, Right Now
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

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
35,239
searches were couple hundred as i recall. does the service cover the survey?
 

warmleyseagull

Well-known member
Apr 17, 2011
4,197
Beaminster, Dorset
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

Well-known member
Aug 31, 2012
5,143
Right Here, Right Now
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...
IMG_20190604_230310.jpg
 


Ozymandias86

Active member
Jun 24, 2011
120
Kanazawa
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.
 

Ozymandias86

Active member
Jun 24, 2011
120
Kanazawa
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

Well-known member
Jan 20, 2010
12,938
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

Well-known member
Aug 31, 2012
5,143
Right Here, Right Now
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

Well-known member
Aug 31, 2012
5,143
Right Here, Right Now
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

Well-known member
Aug 31, 2012
5,143
Right Here, Right Now
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

Active member
Jun 24, 2011
120
Kanazawa
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

Well-known member
Aug 31, 2012
5,143
Right Here, Right Now
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........
IMG_20190604_234047.jpg
They are left blank :eek:
 

Lurchy

Well-known member
Jul 2, 2014
2,338
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
 
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