Estate accounts

[HariSeldon]

Hariseldon
After asking SUPERFLUOUS questions ... Their cost for one hours work was £370 + vat

Exactly my point. How many more hours at £370+VAT do you think they should spend contacting your aunt, the pension supplier and yourself conducting a pointless investigation into whether any rules or laws were broken?

[Bomber99]

Hi all

The representatives of the administrator of my uncles estate have offered a goodwill gesture for how they have been dealing with me.
They are now saying the goodwill gesture can only be paid into the estate, is this correct. If it is correct I would receive 1/12.5 of the goodwill gesture.
many thanks for your time given.

[HariSeldon]

The representatives of the administrator of my uncles estate have offered a goodwill gesture for how they have been dealing with me.
They are now saying the goodwill gesture can only be paid into the estate, is this correct.

It's correct if that is what the representatives are offering...

A goodwill gesture can have whatever terms and conditions attached to it that both parties agree to. If you don't agree with the goodwill gesture going to the estate then your choices are to decline their offer and try to renegotiate the terms or pursue the representatives in court.

Of course whether it is appropriate or not for the goodwill gesture to go to the estate or to you would depend on exactly what your complaint was about. If the complaint was that they've overcharged the estate then you would expect the goodwill gesture to go to the estate whereas if the complaint was that they've not acted in your best interests as a beneficiary then you'd expect it to go to you.

[Bomber99]

Hi all
It has now come to light that the administrator representatives had paid the administrator a sum of money without any invoices or documentation being provided. The administrators representative has since left the company and the company are just making the case it was just a mistake and they have said the administrator will pay the money back from their share of the estate. The representative at the time the payment was made, was a senior executive account. Would he have broken any rules under SAR or CILEX
Also the company are to refund some of the fees charged by the senior executive account because according to the company he charged for Unnecessary work.

[Bomber99]

Hi all hope you are all well

I have just received some invoices from the administrator which they are claiming back as administrator’s expenses.
l was charged by the administrator’s representative to forward them onto me as I was querying them.

The invoices are supposedly for work carried out at the deceased property. The invoices carry no information that the work was carried out at the property and the name and address of who ever the invoices were sent to have been redacted. I asked the administrators representative if the name and address on the invoices were that of the administrator but they would only say they had been redacted for data protection. Is there a case to dispute these payments as administrators expenses.?

thank you for your time to read this and any responses given.

[Bomber99]

Has anyone got any thoughts on the above?

[atticus]

I think you can say that without knowing who was paid or what they were paid for, you continue to question the payments.

[HariSeldon]

The invoices are supposedly for work carried out at the deceased property. The invoices carry no information that the work was carried out at the property and the name and address of who ever the invoices were sent to have been redacted. Is there a case to dispute these payments as administrators expenses.?

As a sanity check, what is the total value of the invoices?

Is the 'work' a reasonable expense for an administrator to have incurred? I.e. is it for important repairs or maintenance of the property rather than a brand new conservatory?

Does the accompanying letter from the administrator’s representative state that the invoices relate to work at the property? If it does then pragmatically you either have to accept it at face value or find evidence that that's not the case; you won't have much luck disputing payments without any evidence.

A friendly phone call to the company that issued the invoice may shed further light: 'Hi, I'm trying to reconcile some paperwork and have an invoice from you that is light on details, can you confirm that was for work carried out at <deceased's postcode>?'

[atticus]

Sorry - I misread, thinking that it was the name of whoever did the work that was redacted. I agree with HariSeldon

[bazdvd]

[QUOTE=
I have just received some invoices from the administrator which they are claiming back as administrator’s expenses.
l was charged by the administrator’s representative to forward them onto me as I was querying them.


thank you for your time to read this and any responses given.
[/QUOTE]

They will charge for anything you ask them to do or even talking to you on the phone. Time is money.

[Bomber99]

Hi Hariseldon
total for invoices amount to £2090.00
Invoices were for supposedly upkeep of garden, removal of some damaged property and cleaning of carpets. Carpets were later disposed of.
I find it strange that the name and address on the invoices have been blanked out as if it is the name and address of the administrator all beneficiaries have already been given this information so presume it wouldn’t be classed as a data breach. I believe it’s a possibility that the name and address on the invoices belong to a member of the administrators family.
So I suppose I’m asking is it in the interest of the estate to blank out the administrator’s details on any documents they supply to residual beneficiaries or is it against their fiscal duty?

[Frank1]

,You are right to be suspicious.
There is no good reason why the administrator should redact names and addresses on company invoices.
You should write formally to the administrator requesting copies of unredacted invoices.

[Bomber99]

Hi FRANK1

I wrote to the administrator asking for copies of unredacted invoices.
I received a reply from their solicitors stating: the details redacted are personal details that the administrator does not consent to you having sight of. I am instructed, and satisfied, that the invoices relate to estate expenses and as such, are recorded in the estate accounts.

In none of the invoices supplied does it mention the work/services carried out were at the deceased property.

I have followed up to the response with; unfortunately because the invoices are redacted of personal details with no information to establish a connection to the deceased address it is not possible to verify whether the charge is legitimate.

Any thoughts on this?

I would also like some advice on a supposedly agreement I was meant to have made with the administrator’s solicitor.

During discussions with the administrators solicitors about the poor service and responses to questions I have asked of them, they have offered several goodwill offers which I have constantly rejected.
When I received the final estate accounts to my amazement they had stated within the final estate accounts there had been an agreement with me to reduce their final bill. The wording is as follows: Total final bill was calculated to be £**** plus VAT However an agreement was made with ******** that we would reduce our final bill by £**** plus VAT.

By the solicitors putting this statement into the final estate accounts without my knowledge or permission are they in breech of the SRA rules?

I have wrote to the solicitors stating my concerns but would appreciate any thoughts on this matter.

Bomber99

[Bomber99]

The solicitors have now informed me they have removed the statement and have sent out an amended final estate accounts. I have received them but they have not been signed of by the administrator Should the administrator sign off the accounts.
Also after speaking to one of the other beneficiaries they have said they have not received the amended accounts and they signed and sent back the first set of accounts and the solicitor has acknowledged receipt.

Can you have two different sets of accounts for the estate but with the same monetary outcome only difference is one has an agreement in it the other doesn’t

[Bomber99]

Any thoughts on the last two posts plz I have 5days before I have to agree/reject the accounts.