Honest views, please

NB nothing in this post is in respect of anyone on here.

Some time ago I started preparing some wills for a client and wife, personal friends. I then discoverd that their affairs were actually rather more complicated and that an IHT saving will was neded, so I drafted a revised will that inlcuded discretionary trusts.

I originally sent an estimate of £150 for both. Now, the costs rules are that as soon as I become aware that the bill will be higher I have to notify clients. In this case I didn't, don't know why - probably forgot.

Anyways, when it finished I sent an invoice for £300 for everything. I would normally charge £350 for a discretionary trust will. The £300 included the original, simpler drafts.

Client has cut up rough and challenged me. His rather blunt letter says that there was nothing complex about the wills and that they don't contain anything like a discretionary trust. Which made me wonder whether he had listened to a word I said or actually read the will before he signed it...

So. Admitted, I didn't send a revised estimate but I did do a lot more work of which he has had the benefit. Should I issue a credit note and a reduced invoice, or insist on payment of the £300 one? Bear in mind the personal friend aspect. Should I be offended? Is friend out of order? Should I accept that it's my fault cos I didn't follow the costs rules?

Please say it as you think, please be candid.

Ed

[Mr Speirs]

To be honest Ed I would accept that I made a mistake. I would expect to be notified if I was expecting a higher bill.

Say if you put your bike into the Garage asking for 1 new tyre. And they then decided you needed 2 and did the work without notifying you how would you feel?

That's what I read it as. Sorry if it isn't the answer you were looking for.

[BoltonSte]

TBH i's a difficult one as they are known and it's probably come as a surprise to them as a step up from 150.

If it were explained to me, I'd pay it, but sounds like they don't really listen, Me, I'd probably go through it again, saying how it took you X times longer than a normal will due to the complexity and stick to the 300, or even charging 250 as 'mates rates' as you say you didn't give them a heads up, which is probably what the gripe really is as it's a shock.

Get them to phone another solicitor asking for a discretionary trust will (or get prices yourself) and see what they think then.

Main thing is not to let a missunderstanding like this cause any real grief between you all.

Take it on the Chin Ed and chalk it down to experience .

It's a bit snotty of him to write a letter like that if he's a mate - If I were him I'd maybe have mentioned when talking to you, and then you could have explained that it was still *mates rates*.

I'd chalk it up to experience and not try and do him a favour again, IMO.

The key word you kept saying, in my mind, was "friend."

Now, do you mean friend, or acquaintance?

If this person/couple really is a friend, then I'd personally sit down with them over a coffee (probably something stronger in my case), and have a chinwag about it. I'd probably end up settling somewhere in the middle, if they're friends, and costs incurred are covered, then I wouldn't care much for profits.

If they are an acquaintance, I'd play hardball, maybe giving a small discount (£50 ish?) by way of apology for the mistake. I'd also highlight what competitors sell the same service for.

I know that the company i work for wouldn't accept an increase in cost if you didn't say so, but if you're talking about friends, then there's room for haggling.
+1 for Baph anyway.

[Shellywoozle]

Ed,

I would explain to him you made an error but as you are friends you will be happy to go half way to seeing him good and split the difference. If he is a friend he will respect the work you have done for him/her and go halfs seeing you have done him a favour.

He will be happy to utilise your services again and you will be happy to work for him.

At the end of the day times are hard for all, try this before giving in totally.

Good luck ! xx

None of this is critisism or judgement Ed, it's just me being straight and honest with you, answering your question as I see it, based on the limited information you've given.

Looks liked you've fallen into a trap which I have a bit of experience with myself, mixing business with pleasure, now I just don't do it wherever there is money involved. If there's one thing that can cause friends and families to fall out it's those bloody little green notes!

I'll do favours, but if something needs so much work that it has to be chargeable I'll say it's not something I am able to or have time to do myself, but I can recommend a colleague who'll do it at a good price. Then you've still done a favour and got them a better price then they would have got out of the yellow pages, but protected what you have in your friendship.

What I'd have done in this circumstance would be a phone call before the bill went out to explain what went wrong and that you forgot to notify them, but you have actually done a lot of extra work and the bill would be £350 if they weren't a mate, but would you be able go half way on it at £250? A friend would recognise that you've put in the extra and are still saving them £100 compared to the bill from another solicitor and agree. If they didn't they are being a bit selfish and greedy and want to get extra for nothing, which you should never do with friends, so they are probably not that good a friend anyway.

As it is receiving the bill being double the estimate probably ****ed them off and hence the blunt letter back. But again if they were a true friend they wouldn't have wanted to risk loosing you as a friend and posted that letter, again they should have picked up the phone.

So what to do now depends upon how much you value the friendship.

Friends are there to be patient, stick by you and put up with sh!t and support you when theres an extenuating circumstance, so if for instance his mother just died, excuse his conduct, let him pay the £150 and move on.

If you think he wrote the blunt letter in haste and will now regret it, and recognise that maybe you shouldn't have surprised him with a £300 bill, phone, apologise, explain why it was £300 and see if he offers to pay it.

On the flip side though, if friends fall into the category of "who needs an enemy with a friend like you?", then charge him the £300 quid and cut ties. The family you don't choose can cause enough heartache, you don't need it from the friends that you do choose to spend your leisure time with.

Originally Posted by xXBADGERXx

Take it on the Chin Ed and chalk it down to experience .

+1

You accept that your friend/client should have been informed of any change in your costs, as far as they are concerned your gave them an estimate for £150 and that is what they expect to be charged.

Unfortunate, but not worth falling out over and loosing friends

Were you to pursue them for the £300 and they refused to pay, what could you do anyway? Probably not alot (contract etc), but your the expert in that field.