Watchdogs have rapped South Gloucestershire Council for charging a homeowner almost £7,000 in legal and survey fees after initially giving an estimate of just £750.
The woman complained to the Local Government Ombudsman saying the bill, to lift a restrictive planning condition on her property so she could sell it, was “extortionate”.
It was upheld by the ombudsman who ruled the local authority was at fault for causing her an injustice.
The council has now agreed to reduce the costs to just over £3,000.
A report issuing the findings criticised the council for not telling the householder about the huge hike and “not taking into account that Miss B is not a commercial developer, but an individual in difficult financial circumstances”.
The ombudsman also said it was “concerned” that the organisation had “penalised her for complaining” by charging the woman for officer time to deal with it.
The report said: “The council wrote to Miss B in February 2017 estimating the legal costs of the work would be £750 based on an hourly rate of £194.
“The letter said that the actual costs would be subject to review.
“The council wrote to her in May 2019 stating that the estimated legal fees, based on the council’s hourly rate of £226, were £3,729 and the surveyor’s fees were £3,184.”
After she complained to the ombudsman, the authority removed two hours of legal costs but these still stood at £3,258 and the surveyor’s fees remained the same.
The report said: “I accept the council obtained Miss B’s agreement in 2017 to pay its legal fees in respect of the negotiation and preparation of the deed of release.
“But its estimate at that point was £750 and there was no mention of surveyor’s fees.
“The council did not write to her again about the fees until over two years later and charged legal fees of nearly five times the original estimate, including an additional payment of the survey fees over £3,000.
“While I understand the council has only billed Miss B for the time spent on the case, it seems very high and does not take into account that Miss B is not a commercial developer, but an individual in difficult financial circumstances."
It continued: “Given the significant increase in the fees, I consider the council should have provided Miss B with an estimate at a much earlier point to allow her to make an informed decision about how much more to challenge the council.”
After agreeing to review the charges, including reducing them by a further £250 for distress caused, the local authority’s final bill for legal fees in removing the restrictive covenant was cut to £2,272.
“In respect of the surveyor’s fees it has agreed to reduce the charge to £750, the average amount spent on similar commercial transactions, to bring the matter to swift completion,” the report said.
“The total to be paid by Miss B is £3,022.
“I consider this is a reasonable and fair way of resolving the complaint.”
A South Gloucestershire Council spokesperson said: “We acknowledge and accept the findings of the ombudsman.”
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