SSB Law - failed cavity wall insulation claims - anyone in the same boat?

Joto2

dailypray said:

ANOTHER SSB LAW VICTIM!!

SSB Law company has given me the biggest shock of my life when I received an enforcement letter through the post asking me to pay over £15000.

These people came knocking to my house telling me I shouldn’t have had cavity wall insulation in a terraced house and they entered me into a No Win No Fee agreement and advised me that they have an ATE insurance which would cover the defendants costs in the event the claim was unsucessful or if they advsied to discontinue.

They sent their expert surveyor to examine inside the walls with their devices and said there is a lot of damp in wall and I will have a strong claim, 3 years had past and they then claimed they lost the report and sent another surveyor to come and this time they said i don't have much damp inside my walls and told me I need to discontinue the case due to insufficient evidence. 

I still stayed calm and said ok thinking since it’s a no win no fee the matter will stop here but then I received this enforcement letter. 

I found out they've got a CCJ on me. They hid all the collection letters from me (that the claimant would have been sending them) and the only thing I got was high court enforcement letter. The claim handler at first was saying the finance director is aware and they are waiting for funds to come in and  that they will pay before the enforcement deadline, they surpassed that deadline and didn’t even attempt to liaise with the enforcement agency like they said they will. 

I will now have enforcement agents at my door ready to take my car and house goods. These people should be locked up, they obviously filling their pockets and getting ready for administration as seen on the news. We need to sue these corrupted people.

There are many people who have been SSB’s victims. Thousands are now likely to be owing tens of thousands of pounds in costs from defendants because they have discontinued so many cases. I am now part of a WhatsApp group that are all victims of SSB LAW. I have complaint to the company house they are registered to. I have reported them to Legal ombudsman, SRA, The Law Society and sent an email to my Local MP.

I have applied for N244 and managed to get the writ of control stayed which pauses the enforcement action till the 8th December when I have a hearing at the court. Then the judge will decide if the judgement needs to be set aside. You guys also have an option to ring CAB and get breathing space for 60 days.

How did you get on in court? My Parents story is the same as yours. They received the Notice of Enforcement yesterday. What do we do???

Joto2

Dear OldPunk

I am very sorry for the distress your mother is going through at this time.  I would like to offer a different perspective on this mess.  I work for an insulation company which has been defending these false cavity wall insulation claims for several years.  Like your mother, it has been a very distressing time for the staff fighting these claims and worrying about the amounts involved and the impact on the family business.  The difference is, we didn’t choose to be involved, we haven’t done anything wrong, and we didn’t choose to sue anybody.  We are a decent company just insulating peoples homes to make them warmer.  None of the claimants suing us contacted us to say they were concerned about damp in their properties and whether it could be caused by defective cavity wall insulation.  If they had, we would have responded, sent out a surveyor (for free) and if there were any defective areas, we would have remediated them.  We also work with a company that specialises in damp and mould treatment and we could have advised on how to improve any issues.  But that is the point isn’t it and the problem with the claims culture of today.  People do not stop and think about the merits of the case – someone knocks at your door and says they can get you £50k or £60k or some ridiculous sum, and you just sign the paperwork.  Yes SSB Law is a horrific business with highly dubious business practices, and I hope the directors are held accountable.  But shouldn’t some responsibility be held on the part of the claimant?  We have one case where we have been awarded £13,000 in costs by the court, for the claimant to pay us.  We have paid out £26,000 to our solicitors in defending the case.  Is it not fair for the claimant to pay half of the costs – or why should we suffer them all?  I just think people should think before they sign up to one of these claims scams, be it cavity wall insulation or diesel claims or japanese knotweed or whatever.  In the case of your 77 year old mother, I assume she obtained advice from family or someone before signing all the legal documents – perhaps they should pay the court costs for her, then pursue a claim against SSB or their insurers or the SRA.

It seems that most of the people signed up for these claims have been vulnerable people who have been given the hard sell and forced into signing up.  Once costs have started to be incurred they've been told they can't back out without paying those costs and the only way to avoid costs is to continue with the claim.  They are victims in more ways than one.

Tuxes

ykhan16 said:

Tuxes said:

Was this a payment on account of costs? Or the final costs? Have you contacted the defendant solicitors to see if these are the final costs via your legal representation?

Not really sure what you mean. These are the defendants legal costs which you have to pay since you didnt win the judgement.

So on the County Court order I received it states these are payments on account i.e. it’s an interim payment the court has granted. The final bill of costs could be more, you would expect SSB to let you know but there is no communication from them at all at present. SSB and the defendant solicitors will have agreed a budget of costs and sent over a breakdown to the court - your best bet is to try and get the info from the court as it should be a public record. Otherwise you pay the interim payment on account and then could possibly get another nasty shock when the defendants come back for the remainder. Whatever the situation is you have to get decent independent legal advice ASAP 

AtifAwan430

Tuxes said:

ykhan16 said:

Tuxes said:

Was this a payment on account of costs? Or the final costs? Have you contacted the defendant solicitors to see if these are the final costs via your legal representation?

Not really sure what you mean. These are the defendants legal costs which you have to pay since you didnt win the judgement.

So on the County Court order I received it states these are payments on account i.e. it’s an interim payment the court has granted. The final bill of costs could be more, you would expect SSB to let you know but there is no communication from them at all at present. SSB and the defendant solicitors will have agreed a budget of costs and sent over a breakdown to the court - your best bet is to try and get the info from the court as it should be a public record. Otherwise you pay the interim payment on account and then could possibly get another nasty shock when the defendants come back for the remainder. Whatever the situation is you have to get decent independent legal advice ASAP 

Tuxes said:

ykhan16 said:

Tuxes said:

Was this a payment on account of costs? Or the final costs? Have you contacted the defendant solicitors to see if these are the final costs via your legal representation?

Not really sure what you mean. These are the defendants legal costs which you have to pay since you didnt win the judgement.

So on the County Court order I received it states these are payments on account i.e. it’s an interim payment the court has granted. The final bill of costs could be more, you would expect SSB to let you know but there is no communication from them at all at present. SSB and the defendant solicitors will have agreed a budget of costs and sent over a breakdown to the court - your best bet is to try and get the info from the court as it should be a public record. Otherwise you pay the interim payment on account and then could possibly get another nasty shock when the defendants come back for the remainder. Whatever the situation is you have to get decent independent legal advice ASAP 

On mine it says interim charging order for 6k.

GNK67

My parents have exactly the same story and this blog is very useful. They are 80 and 84 years old and received the notice of enforcement for almost £36K, an astonishing amount, with payment due next week. For my parents the claim was issued through Burnley County Court. We called the court (01282 855300) and spoke to the clerk/judge's office handing the SSB Law enquiries. There are already a lot. They were sympathetic and very helpful. We completed the N244 document online at Gov.uk and sent by email to Burnley County Court. They take the fee over the phone and cost for the N244 application for 'Stay of the Writ' (first action) is £14. If approved this will buy some time and hopefully keep the baliffs away from the door long enough to consider a hearing to 'set aside the judgement' and understand if there are other options open to us. Hope this is useful if you're in a similar position right now.

Kab78

Hi am in the same boat as many others here. Had an enforcement notice come through for £32k for money due for a Cavity Wall Claim handled by SSB LAW. I've called the Burnley County Court and they were helpful in directing me to completing the N244 application for 'Stay of the Writ' (first action) which is £14. Apparently there are lots of people effected many just in the Burnley Crown Court let alone nationally.  This only however will buy some time until we can seek legal advice. I will also be writing my MP. 

Is there strength in numbers? any particular solicitors that people are recommending? are there grounds to get a judgement set aside?

Kab78

jcrooke said:

Pointless trying to get out of it you would need to prove you never signed up to the action. And they will have that covered. Costs follow the event (i..e you claim discontinuing, being struck out or being lost at court) so not many judges are going to listen to arguments about why you don't owe it. 

My claim was struck out due to SSB law not submitting papers on time, will I have a case?  they blamed the Surveyor refusing to carry out the work in time. 

darksky12

Has anyone got any legal advice yet?

Some of the solicitors I've spoken to are claiming that it is a negligence case against SSB LAW and can be easily won. However, I don't trust any solicitors anymore. They all seem to be in it to make money. Signing up for another no win no fee litigation case seems like stupidity right now.

Anyone with any advice ? Should I just pay the defendants costs and go through SRA or is a negligence case the only way? It could potentially take years to complete judging by the Pure Legal scandal. The defendants will no doubt be charging significant interest on the debt.

Kab78

darksky12 said:

Has anyone got any legal advice yet?

Some of the solicitors I've spoken to are claiming that it is a negligence case against SSB LAW and can be easily won. However, I don't trust any solicitors anymore. They all seem to be in it to make money. Signing up for another no win no fee litigation case seems like stupidity right now.

Anyone with any advice ? Should I just pay the defendants costs and go through SRA or is a negligence case the only way? It could potentially take years to complete judging by the Pure Legal scandal. The defendants will no doubt be charging significant interest on the debt.

Hi have you filled in an N244 form and asked for a 'Stay of the writ' to buys some time before seeking legal advice? speak to the court in which the CCJ was issued. Hugh James are looking at a class action lawsuit and says they have hundreds of cases. Specter solicitors are taking on cases also. I am not sure if we will have to pay the costs then put in a claim of negligence against SSB Law or whether time can be bought to defer payments until any negligence case is settled. 

darksky12

Some background information on SSB LAW and how people may have been affected...

https://www.apjsolicitors.co.uk/ssblaw/

11/12/2023

SSB Law has recently featured in the news after giving notice of its intention to appoint administrators and following recent court claims in which abuse of process and limitation were considered by the court in a number of its litigated claims.

Overview

A few months earlier, in July 2023, the court found that SSB Law had underestimated the value of a significant number of claims leading to multiple findings of abuse of process.

The Judgment of District Judge Dawson was handed down in July this year (‘the July Judgment’), and was highly critical of SSB Law including its conduct, however the District Judge opted not to penalise the claimants it was representing, by allowing those affected cases to continue albeit, subject to caveats and costs sanctions.

The ultimate fate of these claims is still unclear and clients of SSB Law will no doubt be desperately worried about what will happen to their claims.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in these claims brought by SSB Law or any other law firm and you require independent legal advice, APJ Solicitors are available for you to discuss your concerns on our freephone national helpline on 0800 028 9791 or alternatively you can email your enquiry to enquiries@apjco.co.uk.

Abuse of Process – Failure to Pay Correct Court Fees

As of April this year, SSB Law confirmed it was on record for 1,428 litigated claims. The July Judgment followed the Defendant’s application for abuse of process in relation to a handful of test cases out of 143 issued through the new Damage Claims Portal.

The court heard that SSB Law declared the value of the claims to be no more than £10,000, which permitted it to pay a fixed court fee in the sum of £455 in respect of issuing each claim at court. Several months later, SSB Law amended the value of the claims, four of which were re-valued between £82,000 – £104,000, figures significantly higher that its initial assessments of the value of each claim. Therefore, the fees due to the court were significantly more than had originally been paid upon issue by SSB Law.

The District Judge determined the average underpayment for each case was £4,179, meaning SSB Law should have paid almost £600,000 in total to issue the claims but paid considerably less. The court heard there was at least a four-month delay in paying the correct fees and stated:

“The abuse of process perpetuated by the claimants in not paying the proper court fee at the issue of each of the four claims before me by mis-stating the expected value of the claim, is very significantly increased in terms of seriousness given the consequence that the appropriate court fee was not tendered at the time of the amendment.

‘This has had significant ramifications both in terms of the significant delay in paying the fees and also the amount of court resources that have additionally had to be utilised”

Lack of an Independent Expert

In three of the four test cases, the Defendant also raised concerns about expert evidence relied upon by claimants provided through initial reports from Charles Millar. At the time of producing the reports, Millar was a Director of a company called Eco Serv Surveyors Limited, which had been responsible for initially approaching the claimants about their potential cavity wall insulation claims.

The court heard that SSB Law had also acted for a claimant in May 2022 when the same defendant set out concerns about Millar and Eco Serv in considerable detail. That court found Millar was never independent as he was a Director of a company connected with a claims management company which would receive a percentage of compensation upon a successful claim. This connection created a conflict of interest.

The District Judge concluded it was an abuse of the court’s process to issue claims based on expert evidence from Millar when SSB Law had been informed there were significant concerns, supported by a disclosed document, as to his independence in a previous case. The District Judge stated:

“Whether that is indicative of a systematic and significant mismanagement is a question which the claimants’ solicitors need to consider,”

SSB Law was ordered to obtain fresh expert evidence ‘as a matter of urgency’ and given three months to obtain new reports. They were also ordered to pay the costs of any application that was based on an abuse of process and was debarred from recovering any costs incurred at the date when the claim was issued.

Normally the Claimants solicitor will ensure adequate insurance is in place before issuing a claim at court, in order to protect a Claimant from legal costs in the event their claim is unsuccessful, that is, when the claim is either lost at trial,  abandoned or settled after the Defendant has incurred costs which the claimant is liable to pay.

Given the uncertainty surrounding SSB Law it is not known whether those claimants will be exposed personally to adverse legal costs which are often significant.

Limitation

The District Judge stated that many of the claims were issued on the very cusp of the limitation period which is the period within which a claim must be issued at court otherwise the claim is statute barred and as a result, potentially losing out on significant damages, compensation or relief form the court. SSB Law have been engaged in an appeal to the Court of Appeal in relation to limitation cases upon the issue of limitation, the outcome is yet unknown.

Not sure if these APJ solicitors are reliable but they seem to know what's happened with SSB Law. Anyone had any experience with them or is it better to go with the previously named solicitors in this thread like Spectres or Huge James?