Solicitor & Ombudsman - help!

jo1967

Sorry if this is on the wrong board!

Looking for some help for my sis who is at her absolute end now & doesnt know where to go.

Basically she & my BIL had to take his company to court to get wages rightly owed to them. It was done on a no win no fee basis. The case went to court & they won, the solicitor told them the money was paid at the very last minute it could be & when clear it would be paid over. This was the end of July 07.

Despite monumental amounts of calls etc etc (cutting long story short!) to solicitor they were either promised payment or ignored. Desperate they went to the Ombudsman who ended up going to the solicitors offices to check them or audit (not sure). It seems there was more than their case amis & again to cut the story the Ombudsman said he had procedures to follow & they would have payment in 6 months.

This has passed & nothing. Not even a single piece of paperwork from the ombudsman. My BIL is trying to get some written info but is just being promised emails - nothing. The solicitor involved isnt some small town office either.

We are talking about £1000 here - my sister had a final iva two years ago so they are desperate for the money now.

Who do you turn to when the Ombudsman you turned to for help isnt helping??!!

Any ideas anyone?

ParadiseKidd

Solicitors can be an absolute nightmare of corruption - we have been in contact with many over an employment tribunal which has taken years to culminate in a 2 week hearing in a few months, and I have been disgusted by the level of corruption and the complete failure of the country to provide an alternative (unless you are RICH!)

Anyway there are a few things you can do - write formally to the solicitors firm outlining why you are dissatisfied. Send it by Special Delivery and make sure you state that if they don't send the money within the next 14 working days you will have no alternative but to seek alternative advice from where ever you can get it, even if this means consulting the national press. That might worry them if they rely on their name.

Leave the letter go straight to a popular national newspaper like the Daily Mail or The Sun, maybe even Which? Magazine. Which? Legal Services is about £20 for 6 months solicitor advice on the phone, including employment matters, so this might be a cheap way to seek an answer - in fact I have used them myself and found them really useful.

Consult another solicitor in a different town and ask for a free half hour consultation. If there is no legal aid available for this type of case, ask the solicitor what they would charge to send a single letter on your behalf outlining your position in law (i.e. that they are breaking xx law by not giving you the money). You're probably looking at up to £200 though, as they will charge at least one hour I would imagine.

Unfortunately ombudsman's for all areas are notorious failures.

Good luck, let us know how it goes!

jo1967

Thanks, that is food for thought.

Its dreadful that Joe Bloggs can get ripped off by the Solicitor & the Ombudsman. My sis has thought of the papers but only the local one, however if she did that a link can be sent to the other papers (Sun etc) this happened when a less than positive story was in the local about her kids school - a link was sent to the Sun who picked it up - no idea who did that !!.

She really is that desperate at the moment.

floss2

Can your SiL not go donw the Small Claims route to get her monies from the solicitor?

Or can the Law Society not help?

jo1967

floss2 wrote: »

Can your SiL not go donw the Small Claims route to get her monies from the solicitor?

Or can the Law Society not help?

Ah thats a thought.

Thanks for the info I will be passing it on, speaking to her later to see if they have any joy from the Ombudsman - I know the money hasnt arrived today or I would know about it lol!

StaceyAKelly

Hi!!!

Contact the Law Society, they are very helpful and will go through the situation over the telephone. They will then send out a form to complete. The Law Society will also tell you whether or not you are entitled to Compensation for the way in which your case has been handled.

Small Claims Court, although it is an option isnt really a good option because that would cost money up front (which I am guessing they dont have) and any costs incurred could not be recoverable.

Do ring the Law Society they will help a great deal, trust me I've been there! xx

jo1967

I have bumped this as I am desperate for help again with this matter.

My sis went to the Law Society & they again said payment would be on the way, dont worry, give it a few days etc etc. Nothing.

In pure desperation they issued a small claims summons against the solicitor
and the Law Society.

The solicitor has responded stating they have no idea who my BIL is & they did not act for him, yet he has been for meetings at their offices!

At no time have the Ombudsman & Law Society come to him to state he was not known.

One huge negative (that I nagged & nagged about) is that he he has not kept a timeline of events (who & when he spoke to etc etc) and has been unable to get any paperwork. So he will be going through his diary to pick up any info.

Is there any kind of site we can go on to search for cacses heard at Court?

That & any other info HUGELY appreciated.

mookiandco

Contact the court by telephone. If the solicitors acted for him in proceedings they would have had to file a 'notice of acting' with the court. court will be able to confirm this.

contact details for courts are here:http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/HMCSCourtFinder/

The court can also provide copies of papers on the court file, although there is likely to be a photocopying fee.

jo1967

Thank you mookiandco - I will pass this on & see what info we can get.

eira

Totally agree with ParadiseKidd- the no of people ripped off by solicitors are legion.It's a national scandal. .

I did do a lengthy reply as to ways ( but I accidentally deleted it) I've found of getting at least some help-and it isn't through other solicitors. And it's all totally above board and either free or very little money. The Law Society can be helpful but the key is whether the issue is ruled as 'poor service' opr 'negligence'. If it's poor service they have the power to make a solicitor re-do the work, if it's negligence -which they usually say it is then you have to 'seek further legal advice' (and the chances are you can't afford it and that's that).But they do have the power to give you a free session with one of their panel solicitors.

(As a sample of what you get though I went to one of their panel solicitors who ruled mine a 'horrific case' of negligence. But----the mess was such that the charge would be £20000 to look through the messy paperwork alone never mind sorting it out. )

The first thing is GET THE DOCUMENTATION-that is the basic principal always.Collect everything you have, and if you have none of it get the documentation from the court. as suggested by another poster.
In my experience solicitors rely on -brinkmanship (will the other party go away because of delaying tactics/despair/lack of funds); the other party's lack of knowledge/inexperience/fear; the other party's lack of funds. They know that a lot of people are afraid of solicitors, and that the vast majority of people are disenfranchised because they have insufficient funds to access the help they need. Think of the number of banks/debt collectors who have 'pretend solicitors' and who generate threats that aren't legal. A true win- win situation especially when you add emotional involvement vs indifference to the individual.

There are ways of beating them at their own game as their arrogance can be their downfall.
1) Iron rule-get the documentation and timeline it-always have evidence
2)If that money was due in July 2007 you can claim interest (I think it's 8%) from the date that it became due.
3)Write a letter to the senior partner for complaints at the firm outlining the events/the complaint/what you want and give them a date for a reply.This must be the basis for any further action- a deadlock letter The letter must be sent singed for with a tracking number. Once you get the tracking number you will then have proof of delivery with a signature.Print it off/save it. (I've used this document in court)
4)Don't agree to any phone 'discussions' it must all be in writing-everything. In my experience the shiftier the situation the less prepared people are to write it down.

Trust me !-the 'X Files' has nothing on the legal system in this country

jo1967

Thank you eira - interesting reading. The key is the documentation so we will work on that.

The Law Society have not responded at all to the small claim, my BIL rang MCOL & they are contacting them on Monday. Just got to wait & see what they say now.