Key Takeaways
- A solicitor can sue for unpaid fees, but generally must wait one month after delivering the bill before starting proceedings.
- If you apply for assessment within one month, the solicitor generally cannot start a debt claim until the assessment is complete.
- Ignoring a solicitor’s claim can lead to default judgment and enforcement through enforcement agents, earnings deductions, charging orders or insolvency action.
- Check your retainer, costs estimate, VAT, disbursements and time records, then promptly ask the firm to clarify every disputed charge.
- You can pay the undisputed balance while challenging the remainder, which can reduce your exposure to interest and costs.
- Negligent work does not automatically cancel the bill, although you may raise quantified loss as a defence or counterclaim.
- After twelve months from payment, the court’s power to order assessment of your solicitor’s bill is restricted.
- Go Legal is rated Excellent with over 300 five-star reviews and 5/5 on Trustpilot and Google, placing our solicitors among the best-reviewed litigation lawyers in England and Wales.
Can My Solicitor Sue Me for Unpaid Fees in England and Wales?
Yes. A solicitor can bring a civil court claim for an unpaid bill, but under section 69 of the Solicitors Act 1974 they generally must wait at least one month after delivering a compliant bill before starting proceedings. If you apply to the court for assessment within that month, the court must order the assessment, and no action can be started on the bill until it is complete. After that month, the court may still order assessment, but conditions can apply, and its power is restricted once twelve months have passed since payment.
Refusing to pay does not make the debt go away. Equally, you do not have to accept the bill as issued. You keep the right to have the charges tested, and the timing of what you do decides how strong that right is.
Under section 70(1) of the Solicitors Act 1974, an application made within one month of delivery means you do not have to pay money into court first. GOV.UK’s guidance on how to challenge your solicitor’s bill also says the bill should be challenged within one month by asking the Senior Courts Costs Office to carry out a detailed assessment.
Assessment, formerly called taxation, is the court process for testing whether a solicitor’s charges are valid and reasonable. It is not the same as refusing to pay, negotiating with the firm or complaining about poor service.
How and when the bill was delivered matters. Section 69 sets requirements about how a bill is signed and delivered, and a bill that does not meet them may affect whether recovery proceedings can begin.
Do not ignore a demand, claim form or enforcement notice. Our London-based solicitors can review the bill, identify the disputed charges and explain your options. Call 0207 459 4037 or book a free consultation.
What Can My Solicitor Do If I Refuse to Pay Their Bill?
If you refuse to pay, your solicitor can pursue the unpaid bill as a civil debt. A demand for payment does not, however, make the bill correct.
The usual sequence is:
- The firm sends reminders or a formal demand.
- It may send a pre-action letter complying with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct.
- Once the one-month statutory waiting period has passed, it may issue a county court claim, or a High Court claim if the sum and circumstances warrant it.
- If the claim is not settled or defended, the firm may ask the court for judgment.
- If the judgment is not paid, enforcement action may follow.
A firm may also stop acting for you. A solicitor may withdraw from acting, after reasonable notice, if a client fails to pay a reasonable sum requested on account of costs. The retainer, which is the agreement governing the solicitor-client relationship, the stage your matter has reached and the risk to any ongoing case all affect how and when the firm can end it.
Practical problems can arise where the firm holds your papers or money. A solicitor may retain documents or money in their possession under a lien for unpaid costs, although the exact position depends on the retainer, the material held and the solicitor’s professional obligations. A lien does not remove your right to challenge the bill, but it can cause real difficulty if you need the papers urgently.
If you have received a demand or a threatened claim, our commercial litigation and dispute resolution solicitors can review the bill, the retainer and the response routes open to you.
What Laws and Deadlines Apply to Unpaid Solicitor Fees?
Unpaid solicitor fees are mainly governed by sections 69 and 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974. Together, they control when a solicitor can sue and when you can ask the court to assess the bill.
Three separate routes run alongside each other:
- A debt claim is how the solicitor seeks payment.
- Assessment is how the bill is tested.
- A service complaint deals with how the legal service was delivered.
The statutory wording of section 69 is that “no action shall be brought to recover any costs due to a solicitor before the expiration of one month from the date on which a bill of those costs is delivered”. The High Court can allow earlier proceedings if there is probable cause to believe the client is about to:
- Leave England and Wales.
- Become bankrupt.
- Compound with creditors.
- Otherwise act to delay payment.
In Alberto Joseph Safra v Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, the Senior Courts Costs Office stated that section 69 prevents recovery proceedings until one month after delivery of a compliant bill, and that delivery also allows the client to apply for assessment under section 70.
Section 69(3) gives the county court the relevant High Court powers for a bill relating wholly or partly to contentious business in the county court, where the bill does not exceed £5,000.
| Stage of the bill dispute | What the client can do | What the solicitor can do | Why the timing matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Within one month of delivery | Apply for assessment. The court must order it, with no payment into court required. | Cannot start an action on the bill until assessment is complete. | This is the strongest protection available under section 70(1). |
| After one month | Apply for assessment. The court has discretion and may impose terms. | May start or continue a debt claim, which the court can stay pending assessment. | The automatic protection has gone, and section 70(2) applies instead. |
| After judgment or payment | Apply, but restrictions apply and special circumstances may need to be shown. | Can rely on the judgment or payment already made. | The hurdle for the client is significantly higher. |
| More than 12 months after payment | The court’s power to order assessment is restricted. | Can rely on the statutory restriction. | A challenge this late is unlikely to reach assessment. |
Three facts usually decide which row applies to you: the delivery date, whether you have paid, and whether proceedings or a judgment already exist. These deadlines are strict, and missing them can cost you the right to challenge the bill through assessment.
How Do I Challenge a Solicitor’s Bill and Dispute Legal Fees?
You can challenge a solicitor’s bill where the charges do not match what was agreed, the work was not authorised, or the bill appears unreasonable or inaccurate.
What Are Valid Grounds for Challenging a Solicitor’s Bill?
Common grounds for disputing legal fees include:
- The bill exceeds an agreed fixed fee, estimate or costs cap.
- The solicitor charged for work outside the retainer or carried out without your authority.
- The hourly rate differs from the rate agreed or notified.
- The bill includes duplicated work or excessive time entries.
- Counsel’s fees, disbursements or VAT appear to be wrong.
- Payments made on account have not been credited.
- The bill does not clearly explain what work was done.
- The firm failed to give required costs information or warnings.
- The bill is procedurally defective or statute-barred.
- The solicitor failed to provide the service promised.
Assessment tests whether the charges are reasonable and valid. A complaint about poor communication, delay or service standards follows a separate route, and the Legal Ombudsman may deal with eligible service complaints. The Administration of Justice Act 1985 also contains mechanisms dealing with inadequate professional services, which can lead to a reduction or repayment of costs.
How Do I Check a Retainer, Costs Estimate and Bill Breakdown?
Compare the bill against the documents you received when you instructed the firm:
- Find the client-care letter and retainer.
- Gather any fee estimates, fixed-fee agreements and later costs updates.
- Mark each disputed entry on the invoice.
- Compare the hours, rates, disbursements and VAT against what was agreed.
- Ask the firm to clarify anything unclear.
- Confirm in writing what you accept and what you dispute.
- Consider paying any undisputed amount while reserving your position on the balance.
The type of work affects what you can ask for:
- Contentious work: If your case went to court, you can ask for a detailed bill within three months of receiving a summary bill. The detailed bill then replaces the original.
- Non-contentious work: You receive a summary bill and can ask for more detail, but the solicitor is not obliged to provide it.
What Happens If I Ignore a Solicitor Debt Claim or Court Papers?
If you ignore a solicitor’s debt claim, the firm can obtain judgment against you without your objections to the bill ever being heard.
A claim form requires a formal response by a set deadline. If you do not respond in time, the solicitor can apply for default judgment. Once judgment is entered, the debt is enforceable. Depending on your circumstances, the solicitor may:
- Instruct enforcement agents (bailiffs).
- Apply for an attachment of earnings order.
- Seek a charging order over your property.
In more extreme cases, where the sum and circumstances meet the thresholds, a creditor may use insolvency procedures such as a statutory demand, a bankruptcy petition or a winding-up petition.
You can apply to set aside a default judgment if you have a real prospect of successfully defending the claim or there is some other good reason. You must act promptly, and the court will consider why you did not respond in time.
The risk is greater if the same solicitor is still acting in a live case. A firm that stops acting must still meet its professional and court obligations, but you may need replacement representation quickly to protect hearings, limitation dates and court deadlines.
Can I Refuse to Pay My Solicitor If Their Work Was Negligent?
Negligence does not automatically entitle you to withhold the whole bill. The amount of the bill and the quality of the work are legally separate questions.
- A bill dispute asks whether the amount charged is valid and reasonable.
- A professional negligence claim asks whether the solicitor breached their duty and caused you financial loss. If it succeeds, it leads to damages for that loss.
Withholding everything can backfire where part of the bill is properly due. You can raise negligence as a defence or counterclaim in the solicitor’s debt action, but you need evidence that the negligence caused you quantifiable loss and that the loss meets or exceeds the amount claimed.
Assessment does not decide whether the work was negligent. Duplicated, excessive or plainly unreasonable work may reduce the bill on assessment, but a missed deadline raises a separate question about the loss it caused.
Keep evidence relevant to both issues, including:
- The retainer and client-care letter.
- Advice given by email or letter.
- Court orders, hearing notices and key deadlines.
- Evidence of any missed step.
- Attendance notes and billing records.
- Evidence of financial loss, such as a lost settlement or additional legal costs.
Time limits apply to negligence claims. They are usually six years from the date of the negligent act or, in some cases, three years from the date you discovered or should have discovered the loss. Our professional-negligence solicitors can assess how the debt claim, the bill assessment and a claim for your loss fit together.
What Should I Do If I Receive a Demand, Claim, Judgment or Enforcement Notice?
Your next step depends on the document you have received and the stage the dispute has reached.
What Should I Do If I Receive a Demand for Unpaid Solicitor Costs?
Check the bill against the retainer, estimate and later costs updates, and note the date it was delivered. Then write to the firm confirming:
- The sum you accept is due.
- The sum you dispute, and why.
- Any documents or explanation you need.
- Whether you are considering assessment.
If you are still within one month of delivery, decide quickly whether to apply for assessment. Paying the undisputed balance narrows the dispute and can reduce your exposure to interest and costs.
What Should I Do If a Court Claim Has Already Been Issued?
Respond within the deadline shown on the papers. You will typically have 14 days to acknowledge service and then a further period, usually 28 days, to file a defence.
Set out your grounds of dispute clearly in your defence and take advice on whether a counterclaim is appropriate. An assessment application can still affect the claim. Under section 70(2), the court may order assessment and stay the existing action until the assessment is complete, on terms it considers appropriate.
What Should I Do If Judgment or Enforcement Has Begun?
Check the judgment, the balance claimed and the authority of any enforcement agent who contacts you. Your options may include:
- Applying to pay by instalments, with the court considering your income and outgoings.
- Challenging the enforcement.
- Applying to set the judgment aside.
- Relying on your rights under the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, which exempt certain goods from seizure.
A statutory demand or other insolvency threat needs immediate attention. You may have only 18 days to apply to set aside a statutory demand, and a 21-day period also applies in the winding-up context. The grounds for challenge are narrow. Our insolvency and statutory demand solicitors and our CCJ and court-claim defence team advise at each of these stages.
How Go Legal Can Help With a Solicitor Bill Dispute
Go Legal is a London-based commercial litigation law firm acting for individuals, directors, professionals and businesses across England and Wales. Our solicitors advise on solicitor debt claims, bill assessment applications, court-claim defence and professional negligence counterclaims.
We start with the documents that decide the strength of the dispute:
- The retainer, client-care letter, costs estimate and later updates.
- The bill, time records and disbursements.
- Correspondence about authority, scope and payment.
- The work completed and any alleged service failures.
- Court papers, judgments and enforcement notices.
From these, our solicitors advise on your prospects of challenging the bill or defending the claim, and whether negotiation, assessment, a defence or a counterclaim is the right route. Where the work itself went wrong, our professional-negligence specialists can assess the merits, quantify your loss and pursue a claim alongside or instead of the debt defence.
Timing decides much of this. Acting within the one-month window preserves the strongest route to challenge unreasonable charges, while a missed court deadline can leave you facing judgment and enforcement on a bill you never had the chance to dispute.
Go Legal is rated Excellent, with over 300 five-star reviews and a 5 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot and Google. To discuss your bill or claim, call 0207 459 4037 or book a free consultation with one of our qualified lawyers.
