Claim Insurance accident claim company charges

steampowered

Thank you for the additional information - that is helpful.

It seems the parties involved are reporting that the case has already been settled and paid by the insurer. It would be extremely strange for that to happen without your friend's agreement - firms are not supposed to settle cases without their client's consent!

I would definitely push this quite hard with the first firm - ask for confirmation as to whether the case has been settled or paid or not, and get straight on to their complaints policy and Legal Ombudsman if a response is not received within 48 hours.

Cpu2007

Thank you. I am going to ask my friend to send me all the correspondence with the first first firm just to get an idea of what's going on.
My understanding is that he's not getting anything back from the first firm but I'll have to double check this.

As you can see, the second firm asked for the money and I'm pretty sure that if take things with the legal ombudsman it will take some time before we get any concrete response back.

My concern is that whether advising him to wait or take things further might incur in further charges from the second firm waiting for the payment.

In the email, bill, there does not seem to be any deadline being mentioned.

steampowered

Cpu2007 wrote: »

Thank you. I am going to ask my friend to send me all the correspondence with the first first firm just to get an idea of what's going on.
My understanding is that he's not getting anything back from the first firm but I'll have to double check this.

That sounds like a very good idea.

If it is genuinely a case of the first firm not communicating and holding on to the money, your friend may well be able to complain to the Legal Ombudsman - which may well investigate and order the first firm to compensate your friend (perhaps even pay the second firm's bill).

However your friend may need to complain to the first firm before going to the Legal Ombudsman. And he should get his facts straight before starting that process.

As you can see, the second firm asked for the money and I'm pretty sure that if take things with the legal ombudsman it will take some time before we get any concrete response back.

My concern is that whether advising him to wait or take things further might incur in further charges from the second firm waiting for the payment.

In the email, bill, there does not seem to be any deadline being mentioned.

In the first instance, I would suggest writing to (or emailling) the second firm to explain that your friend is not aware that the claim had been already been settled and is investigating the matter further. At least they are then on notice as to what is going on.

The second firm may well pass the debt to a debt collection agency or issue small claims proceedings, but they are unlikely to do that immediately.

I would also ask again for a breakdown of how the costs have been calculated, while stating that your friend does not consent to additional charges being payable for that information - perhaps mention that their T&Cs says that the firm will "give you the best information possible about the likely costs of your claim for damages."

Cpu2007

Some updates on this matter.
The second company is requesting £800 for a full break down despite us asking for clear information on how the charges are being applied.
They have supplied a slightly more detailed breakdown but that doesn't really help.

Upon contacting them,we asked them if they could provide us further information about the insurance that claims to have already paid the first company.

We managed to get the information above and the third party insurance has already paid the first company in august 2017!
The first company asked information at the beginning of august 2017(bank details,proof of address), all of which were supplied but my friend never received any reply back.

He called on several occasions but he was always told that they did not receive any document (despite him using the same email for all the correspondence)
Calls have been exchanged but not really any reply until june the 28th when they asked for bank details again(bank details that were already supplied in august 2017)

Despite having supplied those information, they are still not replying to any email and are useless over the phone.

Another thing I've noticed is that from the third party insurer, we received letter confirming BACS payment.
The insurer also sent another letter, which they received from the first firm requesting the payment.
The letter from the first firm to the insurer says that their client(my friend) has accepted a claim of £2500 and the total cost(plus their expensis) is almost £3500
What I don't understand is that my friend was never made aware of any of the amounts he mentioned above, he was told that he is going to receive £1500
I can understand fees and everything but the first firm received the money in august 2017, seem to be charging fees on top of £2500 to the insurer as well as deducting a considerable amount from £2500 before sending it to the client(my friend)

steampowered

I think your friend should make a formal complaint to both law firms under their complaints policy, with a view to escalating both complaints to the Legal Ombudsman if necessary.

You can find a template and guidance on how to do this here: http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/?portfolio=complaint-form-legal

The basis of the complaint to the first firm would be on the basis that (1) they have held his funds for an extremely long period of time without making effort to return them, (2) they are failing to respond his calls and emails, and (3) they are failing to provide information about costs.

The basis of his complaint to the second firm would be failing to give him proper information about costs or keep him updated about the case.

I have no comment to make on the £ amount as to what your friend expected to receive. There aren't sufficient details in your post to evaluate that and it doesn't sound like your friend knows either.

All I can advise is to go back and read the 'conditional fee agreement' with the first firm to see what it says about payment of legal fees in a situation where his claim is successful. This will tell you what the first firm is entitled to charge - so your friend can then work out what the first firm are charging and whether that complies with the agreement or not.

Cpu2007

Thank you!
just wanted to point out a couple of things, it might have been me who didn't explain it well.

(3) they are failing to provide information about costs.

This is the second firm, not the first one

...keep him updated about the case.

The second firm has kept him updated, their replies didn't take that long,they aren't providing satisfactory details about the cost breakdown
i'm looking at the link you've provided and will do as advised
Thanks