Trends in Residential Conveyancing
Costs information in an inappropriate format
In a number of recent complaints, information about the costs was provided but not in a format that was clear or appropriate for the client.
- Overly technical
One example is where the costs information included lengthy references to section 57 of the Solicitors Act. This appeared to hide the true cost of the conveyancing transaction. The client was unable to understand large parts of the information and so did not understand how much the overall cost would be.
- Too lengthy
Important information about further charges was lost within the solicitor's lengthy terms and conditions.
The terms included a section made up of a large number of unrelated issues which caused confusion. In addition, clients were required to cross reference 20 pages of different documents in order to clearly establish the full costs. The documentation included an instruction form, a terms and conditions document and a client care letter. No one document contained all of the costs information and the documents were all provided at different times. It was therefore almost impossible for the client to quickly and easily understand the full level of costs that they might incur.
We take the view that any costs that a client could incur, over and above any estimate or quote for legal fees, should be explained clearly. Providing detailed costs information which does not enable clients to appreciate what the true final costs are likely to be is not sufficient. Failing to provide clear-cut costs information is likely to result in us ordering the firm in question to reimburse the charges in question.
