If a BS (in this case Britannia) tries to evict you and loses, are they entitled to claim their legal costs against you. On three occasions Britannia tried to evict and lost each time. On each occasion they have levied legal costs. We were not made aware of what these costs amounted to until we sold the house. The settlement statement was a shock. The subject of costs was not addressed by either party or the judge at any of the hearings and the judgement documents say nothing about charges. Any advice???

-- A and G (STARG99@hotmail.com), January 10, 2002

Answers

The mortgage deed allows the BS to add on the costs of any legal proceedings, and this includes taking possession proceedings.

Do I guess right if you have had arrears, had a summons issued, but paid up before the hearing? If this is the case, the BS are still allowed to charge their costs even if they failed to get a possession order solely because you had paid the arrears.

If you think these costs are unreasonable, pay them under protest and then have them examined, and if necessary, taxed by the court.

-- David J. Button (davidjohnbutton@supanet.com), January 11, 2002.

Thank you for the information David. I guessed that somewhere there would be a "clause" which would allow them to charge. I don't understand what you mean by having the charges checked and made subject to taxation. Can you explain this please?

-- A and G (STARG99@hotmail.com), January 13, 2002.

You need to ask the BS for a bill showing the legal costs which they have charged to your account. You need to then compare those with what would be the norm. A lot of solicitors charge £140 or more per hour these days. If the bills show that a lot of "unreasonable" charges have beenm made, then you can apply to the court to have the bill examined (i.e. taxed) and the court can order it to be reduced.

-- David J. Button (davidjohnbutton@supanet.com), January 13, 2002.

Thanks David. Some of these bills are 3 to 5 years old and I had no idea of there existence until I eventually got the "final" settlement figure. They have never been added to my annual mortgage statement and no notification of the charges was forthcoming at the time the expense was incurred. Will a court be able to investigate this far back?

-- A and G (STARG99@hotmail.com), January 21, 2002.