Earlier this week, a chap popped into my office without appointment.
He asked if he could speak with someone about his Dad who’s died.
He was taken to my meeting room, offered a cup of tea, and then I joined him.
We went through the brief details of the estate, we spoke about when the funeral’s arranged for, and then moved on to understand what needs to be done with the estate, how many banks we need to deal with, where the property is, whether it’s now unoccupied.
Then the chap blurted out “You’re not charging me for this, are you?”
I smiled and told him we don’t charge to chat.
We charge to do proper work, and achieve a result. We certainly don’t charge to talk things through and help a family understand what needs to be done.
In this case, there’s a property which needs to be insured differently, as no-one lives there anymore. The son is geographically quite far away, so it’s unlikely to even be visited very often. There’s a transferable Nil Rate Band, which if claimed properly, will eliminate the Inheritance Tax which would otherwise be payable. It’s not a dodge, just an allowance that’s worth claiming.
As he was leaving my office, he said he liked the fact I’d explained so much, and he’s going to encourage his elderly Uncle to come here for our service, rather than the Solicitor holding the Will, who charged the family £300 for an initial chat. I told him that we’ll happily visit his elderly Uncle at his home. He’s in his eighties for goodness sake. Of course we’ll do that. And of course we won’t charge extra.
I thought he was going to cry. I nearly cried myself at how grateful he was.
We do our absolute best, to offer the service that I’d want for my own family.
The chap left his details with me, as he seemed to be on a strictly timed break from work, and once back at work, he can’t take calls. He’s now received a fixed fee quotation from me by email, because that’s how he wanted to receive it. We can chat it through when he’s ready.
If you need help, whether that’s a fixed fee quotation that you can rely on, or some pointers so that you can deal with an estate yourself, get in touch with Jane on 01727 840 240. It’s what we’re here for.