Lawyers and Dental Surgeons- A call for Displayed Charges

Lawyers; Solicitors and Dental Surgeons- A Call for Displayed Charges

Have you ever had the experience of asking for assistance and not being immediately informed, of what you will be charged for their services. Lawyers will listen to your problem. Dentists will examine your teeth, on first meeting them. They will both invariably commence and provide you with an invoice, way over what you expect, and for immediate payment.

The more aggressive ones maybe with a threat of extra charges, if not paid within a certain time. All with no indication of what they were going to charge and no Printed Basic Price List Displayed!.

Enter any Solicitor or Dentists, reception and there is never a "Price List" displayed, on the desk or wall and the receptionist does not disclose any thing, in spite of probably typing many invoices day in day out, from coded treatment references.

By way of example in this short story, I will give experiences with an Australian Lawyer and an English Solicitor, on a subject of a Probate problem.

The Problem..

.I had a problem of a  Probate nature, regarding my Mothers Will in particular and my Sisters a while later
."I wanted to know, how my Niece and Nephew, were able to access the Estate of my mother and sister  Bank accounts, Building Society, Property and contents". This when I had declared to them certain agreements with my Sister, before she died suddenly of a Burst Aoorta. I believe I have equity in those estates.

I gave all details to a UK Solicitor and an Australian Lawyer (Solicitor). Included the name and address of the UK Solicitor of  them both.

Australian Lawyer.

After taking nearly a month to action my request for a simple ask, for details of the Will of my Sister, I had my mothers. The dear fello did not give the full details of the family to the UK and got a negative reply. I complained a little and I received one of the most detailed invoices I have seen for a long time. It was fit for a D9 Caterpillar Tractor with extras.No indication of their charges were made, after requests, at any time.

UK Solicitor

Given the same information, immediately responded with their charges like Establishment Fee (Identity proof etc) and their Hourly rate, in this case they said it would be a Probate specialist, handling the matter

Call for Displayed Charges

I call on an International basis for the "Display of  Base Charges" on the reception desk and or on the wall in  that area.

This is to put them inline with people such as retail and on-line shops like  Woolworths and say Amazon!. Motor dealers; Hardware Merchants, News agents et al, the list is endless.  
    
 Individual  Reactions - The Mine Field.

What is it about Lawyers (Solicitors) and Dentist's that brings out the suppressed annoyance in people.  
I did not have to go far, before people questioned, got hot under the collar and expressed mainly. "What can you do?".followed by short stories of frustration of being billed much higher fee's than  expected. In the case of one Dentist, always starting a new procedure before finishing the current one, thus committing the client to further procedure and cost, without permission.  
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This without any indication of what is going to be charged.

I will keep this blog short, sufficient to say, most of the comments on the behavoir of of Lawyers and Dentists, charging methods were not good.

For my case, of a missing Will, it was solved partially, by receiving notice the a 'Grants of Probate' was given in London, to My sisters Daughter.  Also came the advice , that I should engage a UK Solicitor and presumably have it sorted out in a Court. Fortunately as I was clearing files for possible sale of our property, wow and behold, I found the missing letters from my sister, indicating her and my mothers intentions and wishes.

Dear sister died so suddenly and unable action matters, after talking to me on the phone. I followed the family trend and suffered the same problem, diagnosed just in time and emergency action taken. An Aoorta at 68mm  no less

I hope they have not spent it all or disposed of the missing Sovereign given to my Mum ad Dad on their wedding day in 1928 and to be passed on to their son (me), as I gather I have equity in the Estate, to be determined by a Court, when I can afford the 'Estate Probate Lawyer' in England.

Well, that was fun. Lawyers and Dentists, don't you love them.

Happy New Year and a Safe and Rewarding 2018.

Malcolm E Mason   On a sunny Sunday morning in a State Forest in Australia.