Woodford compensation and No Win No Fee fees

Still_Do_Not_Like_Fridays

thetrainengineer said:

After trying to contact them three times over the last two weeks, and failing to get a response, I decided to pay their invoice as I was getting too stressed out with worry.
I will be leaving 1 star trust pilot review though.

That's interesting, I can't get their link to work so can't see what they are trying to invoice. How much are they charging per share?

nakie999

Several people are in the same position.

If your compensation came solely via the FCA redress scheme and not through court action, many argue no win no fee firms have no entitlement to a cut. The key point is whether your agreement ties fees to any recovery, or only to damages obtained through litigation they actually ran.

Most people who refused to pay asked for a full contractual breakdown and evidence of involvement in the FCA outcome. In many cases, firms did not pursue it further. The Times comment you quoted lines up with that experience.

Your next step is to request the exact clause they rely on, in writing, and ask how fees apply when compensation was FCA led and paid into a pension. If the contract wording is weak, complaints to the Legal Ombudsman have worked for others.

spidyspanx

I've received 3 emails from Harcus Parker since Sept 2025 requesting payment via a magic link whereby I would need to inform them of the number of shares I had held so they can calculate the invoice amount...

Last email received was 12th Dec 2025

I don't recall signing up to the HP action. Several yrs back I was interested in what service they were offering and hence that's how they had my contact email address. Neither did I sign a contract or agree to engage them to act in any way.

I don't intend to engage with HP or assist them in calculating and generating an invoice for services I did not sign up to.

Their activity needs to be kept in the public eye and in doing so hopefully be picked up by the media.

We should organise together to collectively rebuff them

masonic

spidyspanx said:

We should organise together to collectively rebuff them

So much for once bitten, twice shy.

Palawan

I have been acting on behalf of my mother regarding the Harcus Parker group litigation against Woodford.  I have just received the final email that Harcus Parker have said they will send regarding payment of fees and that they will the pass the names of non payers to the “funder”.

I am really keen to hear others thoughts on this situation. 

I am completely ignorant of the law but I do not understand how Harcus Parker can claim they won and thereby demand fee payment.

MapsterUK

Nice bit of Christmas cheer from Harcus Parker this morning. 

” I hope this finds you well.

As we have previously alluded in our correspondence, Harcus Parker must use its best endeavours to obtain payment of the invoice for our contingency fee as per the Damages Based Agreement (‘DBA’) on behalf of Augusta.

This will be the last time we remind you to complete payment of our invoice. As a reminder, we have also been asked to provide the funder with a list of people with outstanding invoices and payments, and Augusta and the insurers might wish to pursue payment directly. This would not be something Harcus Parker would be able to influence.

We have previously mentioned that following the implementation of the Scheme of Arrangement, through which Link were able to settle all claims against it, and the court’s refusal to grant permission to appeal its decision to sanction the scheme, we have discussed a fee reduction with the third-party funder and the insurers. They have agreed for the contingency fee to be calculated on the basis of your share of the first distribution only.

Update on Fee Reduction

Our contingent fee (which will then be payable to the third-party litigation funder), plus the cost of the deferred and contingent premium for the insurance in place to protect you from any court orders to pay Link’s costs can be paid by clicking on the link below.

Your case had been funded by Augusta, a third-party litigation funder, who in turn raised investment for which they must seek repayment. Without Augusta’s contribution, we would not have been able to finance the third-party costs, such as barristers’ fees and the upfront insurance premium.

My firm does not stand to gain from invoicing you, as we are contractually obliged to pay the fees straight to Augusta and the insurers for their contributions to this matter.

Invoice for DBA Fee and Insurance Premium

We have been setting up the infrastructure to be able to send to you a bespoke invoice based upon the information you have provided to us.

To streamline the payments process, we have also provided a payment link below through which you can review your invoice and pay it quickly and seamlessly.

In the event that we do not yet have all of the information we require in order to calculate the fees due, the below link will take you to a short form through which you can provide that information. A payment link will be generated shortly afterwards.”

I wonder what rights they have to pass on our personal information to a company we don’t have a contract with. 

It’s probably buried on page 72 of the contract. Still

Not received a copy of the contract. Can someone who has it see if we have given consent. 

MapsterUK

spidyspanx said:

I've received 3 emails from Harcus Parker since Sept 2025 requesting payment via a magic link whereby I would need to inform them of the number of shares I had held so they can calculate the invoice amount...

Last email received was 12th Dec 2025

I don't recall signing up to the HP action. Several yrs back I was interested in what service they were offering and hence that's how they had my contact email address. Neither did I sign a contract or agree to engage them to act in any way.

I don't intend to engage with HP or assist them in calculating and generating an invoice for services I did not sign up to.

Their activity needs to be kept in the public eye and in doing so hopefully be picked up by the media.

We should organise together to collectively rebuff them

We should organise yes or at least coordinate. There must be thousands of disgruntled HP clients out there. Try and contact the financial press. Consumer action groups and of course give a one star on Trustpilot. 

MapsterUK

Worth noting that the solicitor regulation authority SRA are investigating ambulance chasing firms with a view of possibly banning the practice especially if the terms aren’t clear regarding fees. They have written to 500 checking for compliance. Harcus Parker is bound to be one of them. 

I would write to HP. Make a complaint then if outcome unsatisfactory get the Legal Ombudsman involved.  

flourhead

Like others, I am on email 3 from HP. I don't recall entering into a contract with them  and certainly not with Augusta or anyone else. They seemed to not know how many shares I had, and the whole tone of their communications has a "phishing" smell about it. I intend to ask them for a copy of all the data they hold on me and any contract that might exist. I can then decide what to do. Meanwhile happy to join any PR campaign to raise the profile of the issue. "No win  no fee" does not seem to me to need interpretation, and since there was no case fought in court, there can be no such thing as a "win"

Knarf01

thetrainengineer said:

After trying to contact them three times over the last two weeks, and failing to get a response, I decided to pay their invoice as I was getting too stressed out with worry.
I will be leaving 1 star trust pilot review though.

That is unfortunate, I hope that is the end of the matter for you. If anyone else feels inclined to do the same, submit a Subject Matter Request instead. That is like pressing ⏸️ on what they are threatening to do and substantially strengthens your position going forward