Overcharging Still Rife: Report

14 August 2009 | by Olivia Collings

The legal industry still has some work to do on the practice of overcharging, with a new report claiming the act is rife. Consumer organization Choice has released a report claiming consumers are getting a “raw deal” from legal practitioners. In one case examined by Choice a lawyer charged $750 for typing a three-page document and $40 for receiving a message to return a phone call.

In another case Russell, who engaged a lawyer acquaintance to handle his mother's estate , received a bill for almost $8000, with a costs disclosure document he claims he was not shown or told about previously. And these cases are not alone. In the 2007-08 financial year, 827 complaints were lodged with Victoria’s Legal Services Commissioner relating to overcharging, while in South Australia almost 40 per cent of cases at the state’s Legal Practitioners Conduct Board related to overbilling.

In the same period, complaints about legal costs comprised 23.5 per cent of all written complaints received by the NSW Office of the Legal Services Commissioner (OLSC). 

"The generalization that lawyers over charge is the perception out there- it’s the challenge for lawyers to educate their clients and bring to the fore their value proposition,” said Mills Oakley Lawyers partner, Warren Scott. “I think often while a client may raise it in a joking fashion there is some seriousness to it.” Scott understands the concerns of consumers who are often unfamiliar with legal billing systems, but said consumers were starting to become more informed about the value of some legal services.

“I think people are seeing that paying a reasonably high hourly rate is acceptable as long as the practitioner has experience and is not learning on the job,” he said. “I think that they have a better understand these days of value for service.”

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Comment:

With this unscrupulous  practitioners going around, overcharging unsuspecting clients, getting a  Legal Service plan would be the best choice, but never forget to  always be vigilant when checking through the contract's details and coverage.