Solicitors failing to follow instructions

e00c

Hey chaps,
No idea what section to put this under....

Basically, My partner has a claim going on.. not a huge one.

She instructed her "no win no fee" solicitor to make a counter offer which was less then £1000.

Her solicitor then refused to make that offer because: "Any offers below £1000 we don't charge legal fees... we have to write them off. I'll offer double the ammount instead"

As frustrated as my partner was, she had no option but to go with the flow.

The responsible party came back with another counter-offer. This was less then £1000 and INCLUDED / INCLUSIVE of legal fees.

This was the amount I originally wanted to ask for and was happy to accept. However, to my understanding - I don't have to pay the legal fee's out of that money just offered... because it BELOW £1000.

My solicitor has stated that is incorrect! Because part of the offer was "including legal fees".... but my argument is: it's below £1000 - there's no legal fees..

He then proceeded to call me weak and was rather rude!

Where do I stand with this? Everytime I mentioned the "less then £1000".... he asked "You wouldn't go into a shop and buy something for free".



Sorry for the long winded post!! Thought it was best to put all the info there.

(edit: I used "I" instead of "SHE"... she is rude :P and she'd slap me... ! lol )

di3004

e00c wrote: »

Hey chaps,
No idea what section to put this under....

Basically, My partner has a claim going on.. not a huge one.

She instructed her "no win no fee" solicitor to make a counter offer which was less then £1000.

Her solicitor then refused to make that offer because: "Any offers below £1000 we don't charge legal fees... we have to write them off. I'll offer double the ammount instead"

As frustrated as my partner was, she had no option but to go with the flow.

The responsible party came back with another counter-offer. This was less then £1000 and INCLUDED / INCLUSIVE of legal fees.

This was the amount I originally wanted to ask for and was happy to accept. However, to my understanding - I don't have to pay the legal fee's out of that money just offered... because it BELOW £1000.

My solicitor has stated that is incorrect! Because part of the offer was "including legal fees".... but my argument is: it's below £1000 - there's no legal fees..

He then proceeded to call me weak and was rather rude!

Where do I stand with this? Everytime I mentioned the "less then £1000".... he asked "You wouldn't go into a shop and buy something for free".



Sorry for the long winded post!! Thought it was best to put all the info there.

(edit: I used "I" instead of "SHE"... she is rude :P and she'd slap me... ! lol )

Hi there

Sorry to hear of your issues here.

I do not understand how this works to be honest, but did you use a claims company who then found you the solicitor?
If you did, you can always contact the Minsistry of Justice (MOJ) here:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/contactus.htm

Good luck with this and hopefully someone will be along soon.;)

marshallka

e00c wrote: »

Hey chaps,
No idea what section to put this under....

Basically, My partner has a claim going on.. not a huge one.

She instructed her "no win no fee" solicitor to make a counter offer which was less then £1000.

Her solicitor then refused to make that offer because: "Any offers below £1000 we don't charge legal fees... we have to write them off. I'll offer double the ammount instead"

As frustrated as my partner was, she had no option but to go with the flow.

The responsible party came back with another counter-offer. This was less then £1000 and INCLUDED / INCLUSIVE of legal fees.

This was the amount I originally wanted to ask for and was happy to accept. However, to my understanding - I don't have to pay the legal fee's out of that money just offered... because it BELOW £1000.

My solicitor has stated that is incorrect! Because part of the offer was "including legal fees".... but my argument is: it's below £1000 - there's no legal fees..

He then proceeded to call me weak and was rather rude!

Where do I stand with this? Everytime I mentioned the "less then £1000".... he asked "You wouldn't go into a shop and buy something for free".



Sorry for the long winded post!! Thought it was best to put all the info there.

(edit: I used "I" instead of "SHE"... she is rude :P and she'd slap me... ! lol )

Who did you sign any contract with? As Di says if you used a claims management company its best to report this issue although nothing can be done if the contract is with the solicitors. You really need to check the terms and conditions of the contract you have signed (or your partner) and see what it states. If they are not following their terms and conditions and its unfair then you can make a complaint about solicitors here

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/choosingandusing/redressscheme.law

Providing of course they are regulated by the law society.

zzzLazyDaisy

If an offer is stated to be 'inclusive of legal fees' then, IF accepted, it is accepted on that basis and any fees must be paid out of the compensation received. It is worth asking the solicitor for a final written statement of the costs that would be deducted if the offer were to be accepted (it might mean that she would end up with the amount she was asking for in the first place, in which case there's no harm done).

But if this means your OH will be worse off, she must make a counter offer stating that legal fees are to be the subject of a separate agreement. To do this she should instruct her solicitor IN WRITING that she wishes to make a counter offer of the amount she previously wanted, which the solicitor refused to make. At that point the solicitor has two choices - to make the offer, or to refuse to continue to represent her (but only if this is provided for in the terms and conditions of acting - OH should have had a letter about this right at the beginning).

If the solicitor refuses to carry out instructions, but insists on continuing to act and does something else, then they are acting without instructions which is a serious matter. In that case your OH should ask for the name of the partner who deals with complaints and make a written complaint. You have to go through the solicitor's own complaints procedure before you can make a complaint to the Law Society.

One further point - if she decides to dump the solicitor without going through the complaints procedure, she is likely to end being responsible for the solicitor's fees to date anyway, so she needs to proceed with care.





To be honest it sounds like the value of the claim is fairly low, and with hind-sight it would have been better if the solicitor had refused to act, as they were probably always going to have this problem.

e00c

The contract is with the solicitor them selfs..

As for the T&C's... I've read them through - and it's rather one sided... aimed at them... nothing stating how they should act, what they can and can't do.

Just aimed at my partner (you can do this, you cant do that, we'll charge you IF...)

As I mentioned above - a few weeks ago, the Solicitor actually said "If the offer is below £1000... this means they are NO legal fees to pay"...

The offer was... but now he's saying because legal fee's where included in the offer - they now stand.

Thanks anyways