Contacting Offenders Insurance Company? Not Protocol?

Jelly_legs

Hiya,

I'm pretty much at my wits end. My Husband was killed by a drunk driver in 2012. The driver was charged with DBDD and was sentenced accordingly.

My solicitor requested an interim payment last year for me to cover funeral fees etc.

I wanted to accept an offer from offenders insurance company last autumn but as I have a child, the file went to Court and the Judge said "he was not of a mind to allow me to accept the offer as it was significantly under valued"

So, a Barrister wrote a lengthy report on how she felt the judge has come to the decision that the offer was undervalued.

My solicitor, who is a PI specialist has been off sick since December. My house has "issues" that need to be sorted such as a leaking roof and structural damage to the back porch. Four weeks ago I instructed another partner to request an interim payment but I'm constantly being fobbed off with "it's in hand" "it's in progress" " we're trying to get the payment for you".

The firm Of solicitors I use are not a "no win no fee" bunch. To date they have not charged me a single penny for their probate services, the writing of my own will and the accident claim. I'm really at the stage that I feel that I should contact the offenders insurance company myself BUT I've been told this is highly irregular and frowned upon by solicitors.

What do I do???? I'm signed off with PTSD from my self employed job. I'm in massive mortgage arrears (no mortgage insurance) and my Husband had significant CC debt that as executor I inherited. My solicitor has been fab in keeping these people off my back. My credit record is very bad because of the mortgage arrears so no possibility of taking out a loan.

I've sold what I can of my personal possessions to cut down on expense/raise funds. The car has gone (bought a moped much cheaper to run) I'm claiming what I can but it just isn't enough. I've even cashed in our Gold Wedding Rings which broke my heart but rings are no use when the food cupboards are empty!

If I "upset" my solicitor, I am afraid I will just be given the bill. I imagine it will run into 10's of £1000's of pounds by now.

If it wasn't for my Daughter, I would have given up by now.

huckster

Difficult to advise you here. If the Solicitors are not giving you an update of when they expect to obtain a payment, you have to do something.

I think you should send the Solicitors an urgent letter by recorded delivery explaining your position, asking for their urgent help. Advise them that you will have no alternative but to seek legal help elsewhere and follow up a complaint with the SRA.

http://www.sra.org.uk/home/home.page

You could contact the third parties insurers, but whether this would help you, I am not sure. If it reveals that your Solicitors are not doing very much, it might help with a complaint to the SRA. The third parties insurers may not wish to negotiate with you or if they do try to obtain a reduced settlement, which could cause problems with your Solicitors, as presumably the settlement would partially cover their costs.