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 Beware the small print!
“When I at last received my financial settlement my solicitors kept the money in their account and would not transfer it to mine before submitting their final invoice. What a shock! The bill was more than twice their estimate. I protested of course, but there was nothing I could do. They had my money and that was that. Now they have kept back nearly twenty thousand pounds for a final invoice that should have been under ten! They said that this was called a lien. But what it amounts to, is daylight robbery…”
Does your solicitor have the right to exercise a lien?
Have you received a copy of his terms and conditions?
If it isn’t mentioned in the terms of business, then the short answer is NO.
“…I complained of course, but my complaint through the law society seemed to fall on deaf ears, as though they just wanted to keep me happy by sending out a couple of forms. I tried to point out that my solicitors had not followed the Law Society Code of Conduct; that prior notification of a lien had to be given to the client - but the only response I got was that it is common practice to exercise a lien. You can’t help but wonder whose side they are really on… Now that Ellis Jones has got my money in their account, there seems to be no way of getting it back…”
Read your solicitor’s terms of business carefully and know your rights!
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