Conduct and service

Warn the client you intend to charge

It has been said before that solicitors should warn clients when they realise that an estimate of costs they have given will be exceeded, even if they have already indicated to the client, when giving the estimate, that this may be the case in certain circumstances.

However, a recent decision from the Legal Services Ombudsman has extended this principle even further.

Mr A had been arrested and was going to be interviewed at the police station.

ZZZ & Co was already acting for him on a separate matter, so he asked the police to contact the firm so that it could help him at the interview.

When the solicitor arrived Mr A confirmed with him that there would be no cost for his representation at the station and that a charge would be made only if the firm were required to do further work outside the police station.

This was then confirmed to Mr A in a client care letter in which the solicitors set out their hourly charging rates.

After Mr A's release from the station, the police wanted further information and chose to write to ZZZ & Co because, as far as they were concerned, the firm was acting for Mr A in the matter.

Without referring to Mr A or telling him that it was doing so, ZZZ & Co dealt with the letters from the police.

Then, when all was concluded, the firm sent Mr A a bill for just over 100.

Mr A protested that he had not known that further work was being done on his behalf and that, had he known, he would have told the solicitors not to do it and that he would have dealt with the police correspondence himself.

The OSS rejected the complaint on the basis that the firm had given proper costs information to Mr A.

The complainant then referred the matter to the Ombudsman, arguing that the solicitors had acted outside the scope of their instructions and that they should have told him if they engaged in any work on his behalf for which they intended to charge him on a personal basis.

The Ombudsman agreed with Mr A and referred the matter back to the OSS for reconsideration.

The inevitable result was a finding of inadequacy of service.

The moral is clear: always ensure, if you intend to render a bill against the client, that the client is aware of the fact; and if you intend to exceed an estimate, even if you have told the client that this may happen, ensure that the client is told as soon as you know this will be the case.

l Every case before the compliance and supervision committee is decided on its individual facts.

These case studies are for illustration only and should not be treated as precedents.

LawyerlineFacing a complaint? Need advice on how to handle it? Get in touch with Mike Frith at LAWYERLINE, the support service offered by the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors,tel: 0870 606 2588.