Are these fees legit?

[dadof3]

I have a chp 13 plan that has been confirmed over 3 yrs ago and had various times during my plan when i consulted with my attrney by email , phone call for appt during my case, recently i received a motion frm my attorney billing me for all contact on my case from after confirmation thru current day for 2700 is this normal?

[HHM]

Totally legit. All the attorney is doing is taking money that would have gone to your unsecured creditors.

[Licoriceky2]

Hi dadof3,

I work for an attorney and although many clients do not realize this, but every time you call, email, fax, or come in to see the attorney, you are being charged for their time. We bill by the quarter hour, thus it gets pricey quickly. Go through your bill and make sure the secretary billed you correctly. If not, call their office and kindly point out the error and I feel confident they will fix same. If you are paying the attorney directly, ususally they will work out a payment plan for you as long as you show good faith that you intend to honor the debt.

Hope this helps!

It is rare that I have a client call me regarding an error, however I almost always agree to fix the issue and give them the benefit of a doubt.

[godeep99]

I am in my 54 month of 60. I paid my attorneys office $1000 upfront and I paid $1000 through the plan. There has never been any mentions to me of any extra charges. The firm I went through I think I'm on my sixth attorney through them (they go elsewhere). Alot of communication I have with them through out the years were never replied to. I assumed no news is good news. Keep us posted to these fees. I am curious.

[klandsb]

Wow, I never realized about the extra charges... I have only called a few times to ask how my hearings (that I didnt have to attend) went. Guess as the previous poster said before no news is good news and I wont be calling anymore

[justbroke]

Debtors need to read and understand their fee agreements! It's spelled out clearly what the increment is (15 minute, 30 minute, 60 minute billing), what's included in the initial retainer, what's included in the filing up to confirmation (or 341 Meeting), and at what rate additional services are billed.

[Flamingo]

I have a chp 13 plan that has been confirmed over 3 yrs ago and had various times during my plan when i consulted with my attrney by email , phone call for appt during my case, recently i received a motion frm my attorney billing me for all contact on my case from after confirmation thru current day for 2700 is this normal?

It's normal if you agreed to it...when you retained your attorney, you were given a retention letter/agreement which spelled out services, fees, etc. A good attorney will go over everything at the outset as to what is in that letter/agreement before you both sign. We had a flat fee and the only extra fees would be any fees for the filing of any motions during our Plan. We had to file one Motion - to refinance and pay off our Plan; the fee was $400, the amount listed in the fee agreement for filing any motions; no more, no less.

I am assuming you did not read what you signed nor did your attorney go over fee arrangements, etc. at the outset. Whenever anyone signs any contract, agreement, etc., read the entire thing and if you have any questions as to what is in there ask before signing.

[NoTomatoCan]

My attorney put in about $800 per year in our plan for potential charges to deal with any unforseen issues. If we need to use it, that means less for unsecured creditors. If not, oh well - it goes back into the pool for the unsecured creditors. At least it is in the plan and will cover any potential changes we need to make in the future.

I sort of think it is a good way to deal with the costs. We get access to our attorney and don't have to worry about breaking our budget (especially since we will likely only need our attorney if there IS an issue with our budget!)