It is normal for a solicitor to charge a scriv fee to give copy documents.
This is a private business, not a public office. In our office we give clients copies of all title documents during and on completion of the transaction. If there is a mortgage, the original documents go to the bank. If there isn't then it is up to the client whether they take their documents or leave them with us.
We don't normally charge clients that stay with us a fee to get copy documents although this can be frustrating at times when we have to continually access our archives to take out documents to copy when we know we have given the clients copies already. We have some clients, particularly farmers, who ask for copy maps every year for the dept of agriculture.But it is part of an overall service.
However in the case of a client who has gone to another solicitor we probably would charge a fee- just for the time it takes to look up, take out and photocopy the document/s.
As for the name- it's generally called a scriv fee in solicitor to solicitor correspondence, where both parties know exactly what it is. If we deal with the client directly they are told what the fee is for so there is no misunderstanding or intent to mystify. I doubt there are too many solicitors who are trying to be impenetrable to their clients but if there are, it's a free market out there- another solicitor won't.