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Lawyer fees
In my experience and I last saw my Notaire on Friday, advice is free.
Of course there is no such thing as a free lunch and the time cost is recuperated in the final fees, but generally in Belgium advice is Free.
You need to find a decent legal practice, there are very many.
When we needed a lawyer, we spoke to about 3 different ones and it was all free; each one heard the case, gave us a strategy of how they would proceed and it was a free consultation. But prior to each consultation, we did confirm that the consultation was free.
I suspect this back and forth emailing meant they thought you were a time waster. So I'd suggest rather than reporting them you write a letter stating that you didn't agree to this and aren't paying because no advice was given
Did you see a lawyer or a notaris?
A notaris should not charge simply for giving advice - they charge when they actually do any work and many of their fees are set by law but different rules apply to lawyers.
However to consult any professional person and expect NOT to get a bill without having first clarified the situation is asking for disappointment. No doubt the 'few back and forth emails' took time to deal with whether or not you got the advice which you were looking for.
It isn't normal because most Belgians would go first to a notaire/notaris who, as has been said, would not usually charge for advice (and who would always warn in advance if there were to be the likelihood of a charge). Speak to a "lawyer" in any country and the cash-register starts ticking immediately. I suspect that not paying his bill will cost you considerably more in the long run than paying it promptly.
Oh stop it! Speaking to a lawyer does not cost money anywhere on the planet unless a contract and charges are agreed.
@BECASSE - I have no iidea where you get the idea that "most Belgians would go first to a notaire/notaris". Notaires deal with property or company transactions, and the legalisation of contracts.
They are not lawyers. If you need legal advice you go to a lawyer.
@S - I would ask the lawyers to provide you with proof that you agreed to hire them. If they can't, then they have no right to bill you. If they insist, you should complain to their "bar". If it is a French speaking Brussels based lawyer, it would be the Barreaux de Brussels. There are a multitude of bars in the country, depending on the language and location. Any communication from a lawyer will probably state somewhere in their letterhead or email signature (or their website) what "bar" they are members of.
@ANON
I get the idea that "most Belgians would go FIRST to a notaire/notaris" from 20 odd years of living here.
A notaris may not be able to help but they will advise where to go for help and their advice is FREE. And, whilst they do the things that you suggest, that is far from the extent of their capabilities. For example, my notaris gave us an extremely detailed briefing on inheritances and, when my wife died some years later, dealt with all the legal aspects of her estate. The total bill was around €200 and didn't arrive until almost a year after she died.
A notaire/notaris should be able to help with almost any matter concerned with civil (i.e. not criminal) law. They are able to give advice for free and they can mediate in disputes (for a standard fee). If the matter needs the intervention of actual lawyers because a dispute can only be resolved by a court, they will also give well-founded advice on whether the matter is worth pursuing, i.e. whether the costs are likely to outweigh the value of any court award (which is seemingly often the case in Belgium). So, yes, most canny Belgians would head straight to their notaire/notaris first.
When it comes to the lawyer, you don't need to have signed anything to have entered into a verbal contract. Since the OP has received a bill from a LAWYER he can be reasonably certain that he did just that, and that if he ignores it he will end up paying considerably more.
