Claiming costs for preparing own case

skivenov

Sorry if this is the wrong section, I couldn't really find one it fits in.

We're currently taking a complaint to an ombudsman. The actual value of the dispute isn't huge, so we've been dealing with it all ourselves to save having to front a solictor's bill.

What startted out as an apparently straightforward complaint has now ended up taking a lot of our time up to research and correspond.

Does anyone know if there are any guidelines out there for what we can claim for this time? We're both self-employed, so don't have an employer's wageslip saying we earn £x.xx an hour.

somethingcorporate

Unless it has actually cost you anything then the cost would likely be 0.

If it's genuinely prevented you from working and you have lost income then surely you can work out your hourly rate? £weekly income / hours worked in week (or variations of such) should give you what you want.

Just because you have avoided costs (by not employing the most expensive solicitor) does not mean you can just add them to the cost of the claim - if it looks like that then no doubt the judge will see through it if it gets that far.

pcombo

Who and what are you complaining for?

InsideInsurance

Ombudsmen are generally designed to be simple and easy to use without the need of a solicitor. The solicitor generally is there for the next step if you want to take it to court because you arent happy with the ombudsman's ruling.

You can certainly add a request for pure compensation on top of the claim for actual losses. The Financial Ombudsman Service does publish its guide which you can find http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/distress-and-inconvenience.htm#15

You do have to be somewhat realistic about these things however, it is highly unlikely you can claim ten grand of inconvenience to try and recover a tenners worth of unfair charges. There needs to be a proportionality between the two.

It would be useful if you gave a better idea what the complaint is about etc for people to bring their experience to assist you

T_T_2

You can put whatever figure you like, it's unlikely that you will be awarded the full amount but you might get a written down value. Even when using a solicitor it's rare for the full associated cost of doing this to be awarded to the winning party.