no win no fee

Legacy_user

hi..we used solicitors from benefits help website for my wifes esa tribunal appeal.it was on no win no fee basis.
i have to say they were very good and she won.
now i have seen negative reviews about them and they are charging up to 40|% plus vat of her backpay won. i thought it was 25|%max?

Derwent

Did you not agree the terms beforehand ?

wiltsguy_2

im always dubious when i see the words 'no win, no fee', they are not going to work for free, plus the cases they lose need to be paid for out of the ones they win.

40% does seem a bit steep though, do you have a copy of your agreement?

tomtontom

Which website?

System

cant remember signing up for 40 percent
http://www.benefitanswers.co.uk/
is the website
when we signed up we were desperate for help
may not of been the best choice but they were good and they won
googled them yesterday up till 2010 they had terrible rep and a senior employee got jail
now rep is much better

Mersey_2

'No Win No Fee' is the common expression for Conditional Fee Agreements.


They were most common in personal injury matters.


But excessive Costs claimed by some firms of Solicitors led to the 'Woolf reforms' and the new Fixed Costs regime.


Now most firms take 25% of any damages as their costs, but that needs to made clear to you and you would also have had to sign and be given a copy of any agreement.


Some take more, but this is rare.


As far as I know, welfare rights law was never subject to either though ie small firms tended to have one welfare rights advisor and some had legal aid for this work, but civil legal aid is very rare these days.


Please be aware not all offering advice are solicitors. Clearly it's your choice and some non-qualified staff are better as they're specialised. But with a solicitor this is more recourse for you re complaints and so on.


The SRA and Law Society (and CILEX) have lists of all qualified practitioners.

Mersey_2

83 Ducie Street, M1 2JQ (the address listed on their website) is a concern, ie they are not there, as I know the road and you can also see on Streetmap that it's a residential street of apartments (and a few students).


A lot of companies are registered next door, so it may be an error, or the owner lives in an apartment in Manchester city centre, or completely false.


There's also a P O Box in Preston listed.


Trading Standards may be your best recourse, as it's more likely to be a civil complaint rather than something the police would investigate.


Obviously only you know whether their charges were made clear to you and your wife in any agreement.

System

thanks mersey
i do agree the address seems dodgy
the lady on the phone said she was from manchester and the guy that came to court from preston
they have a po box i think its in preston
i had to fax all documents rather than post it cost me 28 quid
as i say they did what we wanted in the end by winning the appeal
but what got me slightly concerned she said they would invoice us an estimate of the backpay won which would be"most of the backpay won" so its going from what i thought was 25 percent to possibly 100 percent deduction
i have commited an error by not checking their small print if there was any before we agreed but as i say we were desperate

MABLE

A friend of mine used of these no win no fee solicitors and the claim started a year ago. Whenever we try ringing the solicitor he is either in a meeting or on the phone. Promises to phone back or send letter according to his secretary but we have not heard anything since.

tomtontom

You need to find your paperwork and read what you agreed to. Scan it and post it here if you're unsure - remember to remove your personal details if you do.

Cap_Hero

I had an injury to my wrists (sprains) and chipped a bone following a bit of a slip up at my workplace. I tried to discuss the issue at work but was basically stonewalled by my boss. The accident was really, in my opinion, down to him making me carry heavy boxes too far, hence the trip up and fall-over necessitating putting my arms out to brake my fall.

I have been looking online at accident compensation companies like https://www.accidentcompensation4uk.co.uk and was wondering if anyone else had used them or any others for any personal injury claims.

The problem I now have is bad feeling in the office as I have discussed making a claim with a manager. I wouldn't call it bullying but I am sure you can imagine what its like! Any thoughts welcome as I need to make a decision.