How to challenge a solicitor's bill

First: was the bill a surprise it should not have been?

Before choosing a route, look at what you were told at the start. SRA regulated firms must give clients the best possible information about cost at the outset and as the matter progresses, and for certain common services the SRA Transparency Rules require prices on the firm's website. A final bill far above the estimate, with no warning along the way, may itself be grounds for a service complaint, separate from whether each hour was properly charged.

Gather the client care letter, the estimates, and every invoice. Note whether the bill is itemised or a single figure: you can ask the firm for a detailed breakdown of a gross sum bill, and it is much easier to dispute specifics than a total. Do this early; the statutory right to require a detailed bill is subject to conditions, including asking within three months of delivery.

Route 1: the free route, through the firm then the Legal Ombudsman

Billing problems count as poor service, so the standard complaints route applies:

• Complain to the firm in writing, saying which charges you dispute and why, and what outcome you want. The firm has up to eight weeks to give a final response.
• If the response does not satisfy you, or eight weeks pass, take it to the Legal Ombudsman: free for consumers, and it can direct the firm to reduce or refund fees. Fee reductions and refunds sit outside the Ombudsman's 50,000 pound cap on compensation, which applies to awards for loss and distress.
• Time limits: normally within one year of the act or omission (or of when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint) and within six months of the firm's final response. The six-month clock only starts if the final response prominently signposted the Ombudsman; the complaints guide covers the detail.

For most disputes, especially smaller ones, start here. It costs nothing, you do not risk paying the other side's costs, and firms resolve many billing complaints at the first step.

Route 2: a detailed assessment by the court

Under section 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974 you can ask the court (usually the Senior Courts Costs Office) to assess the bill: a costs judge goes through the charges and decides what is fair, and the bill is reduced if it is unreasonable. A section 70 assessment carries real weight, and the one-fifth rule below works in your favour if the overcharge is substantial. The time limits are strict and run from delivery of the bill:

• Within one month: you are entitled to an assessment as of right; the court must order it.
• Between one and twelve months: the court can order an assessment at its discretion, possibly on terms such as paying part of the bill into court.
• After twelve months, after the bill has been paid, or after a judgment on the bill: only in special circumstances, and more than twelve months after payment, not at all.

Two things to weigh before starting. First, the one-fifth rule: if the assessment reduces the bill by one fifth or more, the solicitor normally pays the costs of the assessment; if the reduction is smaller, the client normally pays, subject to the court's power to order otherwise in special circumstances. Second, interim invoices during a case can turn out to be final "statute bills" whose one-month clocks started long ago; if the position is unclear, take advice quickly rather than waiting.

The government's overview at gov.uk/challenge-solicitors-bill covers the application itself.

Choosing between the routes

• Dispute about communication, estimates or the overall service rather than line items, or where keeping costs and risk low matters most: the Ombudsman route, free and low risk.
• A bill you believe is substantially overcharged, where you are within the one-month window: a section 70 assessment puts a costs judge through every line, and the one-fifth rule protects you on costs if the overcharge is confirmed.
• The routes are alternatives for the same issue: the Ombudsman will not normally investigate a bill that is before the court, so pick the route that fits the dispute. Note that complaining to the Ombudsman does not stop the firm taking its own action to recover an unpaid bill.
• Whichever you choose, act promptly. Paying the bill restricts the court route in particular (see the section 70 limits above), and the Ombudsman has its own time limits, so referring early keeps both options open.

This guide is general information for England and Wales, not legal advice about any specific bill. Time limits have exceptions and traps; where sums are large, get advice promptly.

Quick answers

Next time: check the prices before you instruct

Clear cost information at the start is the best protection against a dispute at the end. The solicitor prices guide shows where prices must be published and has a template email for getting a full written quote, and the conveyancing quotes guide lists the costs firms leave out. You can also check any firm's website free to see whether it publishes the price information the SRA expects, and the statistics page shows how rare that still is.