No win no fee

hammers1970

Hi

Just lately I’ve been reading a few worrying stories regarding No Win No Fee and it has made me question my case and it has raised a question.

I had received 3 interim payments of £5000, I then received a final out of court settlement offer of £7000 (£22000 in total). I was told of the offer over the phone from my solicitors, I never see any proof or paperwork detailing the final settlement offer from the other sides representing solicitors. The money was paid to my solicitors and then paid to me. 

Q1. Should my solicitors have shown me proof of their offer?

Q2. Seeing as I was only told of the offer by phone and did not see any proof of the offer, could it have been possible that my solicitors told me a lower settlement figure than what was offered?

 Thank you.

Diamandis

I assume they took their fees too? I'm sure if you asked to see the paperwork they would show you. It would be very stupid for them to break the SRA code of conduct in such an obvious way as they could jeopardise their career completely. 

Sandtree

hammers1970 said:

Q2. Seeing as I was only told of the offer by phone and did not see any proof of the offer, could it have been possible that my solicitors told me a lower settlement figure than what was offered?

They would be struck off if they were committing fraud... how much do you think they have taken from you to warrant never being able to work again?

bris

You need to read your contract. Their fee is usually paid by the losing side so their fee has probably been paid by them and will be substantial. 

Their may be a term in the contract which allows them a fee from you too but thats for you to find out.

I am a little confused though, did they not tell you how much you had been offered before you were paid anything? Surely you need to know what you are being offered before they accept, is it not your choice if it's acceptable or not ?

born_again

I would have thought to agree with the settlement you would have had to sign to say it was a full and final settlement. As such that should have had the amounts on there. Might not have your charges on there, that should come in a invoice of the settlement.

Sandtree

bris said:

You need to read your contract. Their fee is usually paid by the losing side so their fee has probably been paid by them and will be substantial. 

With conditional funding (aka no win, no fee), it is normal that the solicitor can retain a proportion of the settlement in addition to any fees from the other side. The fees from the otherside are exceptionally limited until you get into Multi-track level of cases.

hammers1970

All I signed was a final settlement, which showed that I had received 3 interim payments of £5000 and a final payment of £7000 (£22000 in total). There was no details outlining how much the solicitors took.

Manxman_in_exile

What does your NWNF agreement say they were entitled to from the settlement as their fee?  I find it hard to believe that they haven't provided you with some sort of account or statement itemising the work they've done and their expenses, the gross amount of the final settlement, and what amount (or %age) they've taken from that as their fee.

If they haven't done that, have you actually asked them for such an account/statement?  I'd be surprised if they've refused to do so as it's a perfectly reasonable request from a client.  They have a duty to account to you for all the figures.

If they won't, make a formal complaint in accordance with their published complaints procedure and if no satisfaction there, complain to the SRA.

(I'm not as certain as some of the posters above that they wouldn't dare try to cheat you in some way - there'd be little need for a regulatory body if all solicitors were scrupulously honest - but if they are they'd certainly be taking a bigger risk by not giving you the requested (accurate) financial details.  It demonstrates you might pursue it further)

Jord11

Hi,
Please forgive me if these questions have already been answered somewhere on this thread;  I am about to sign a NO WIN, NO FEE agreement, but need to check over all the fine print first... what do I need to look out for to make sure I am doing the right thing... I have not signed any paperwork yet..

Many thanks
Tom

Sandtree

Jord11 said:

Hi,
Please forgive me if these questions have already been answered somewhere on this thread;  I am about to sign a NO WIN, NO FEE agreement, but need to check over all the fine print first... what do I need to look out for to make sure I am doing the right thing... I have not signed any paperwork yet..

Many thanks
Tom

Much better to start your own thread but 

1) If unsuccessful what will you have to pay, you wont have to pay your lawyers fees but you may need to pay their disbursements
2) If you are successful what will they take from your award... if its not for injuries then is there a risk it could exceed your award including disbursements
3) What would you have to pay if you decided to discontinue the action against the advice of your lawyer - the ATE insurance they buy wont cover their fees in this scenario  
4) What is the definition of success... if you get an award but its 20% of what you were claiming is that success or not etc

Jord11

Thanks Sandtree,

Yes, I may post a new thread with more detail, but this has given me some points to look out for... Many thanks.... Basic agreement is they take 30% if successful, which is supposed to cover all disbursements etc...