Payday loan refund solicitors have sent a threatening bill.

Lewis_Voce · 20 February 2019 at 6:51PM

Hi all.

I asked a solicitors to look into reclaiming money from my past payday loan providers, which they did for one company getting me back about £200.

This was around a year ago, and recently I emailed them to ask that they no longer act for me, as they had not updated me on any other successful (or unsuccessful) claims.

Today I have been sent a letter by them saying I must pay fees of £475 within 2 weeks or they will start court proceedings against me. I believe this is a) vastly overinflated and b) unjust due to their long period of no correspondence to myself.

They state this is in line with there terms that I must continue with them until all claims are processed or settled.

Please help on what I should do, as I cannot afford to pay this bill within the time, and I feel it is unfair for me to pay at all.

Thanks
Lewis

bertiewhite · 20 February 2019 at 6:53PM

Did they state their fees when you instructed them?

Lewis_Voce · 20 February 2019 at 6:53PM

Not to my knowledge but they are saying it was in the agreement I have signed with them.

k3lvc · 20 February 2019 at 7:13PM

Lewis_Voce wrote: »

Not to my knowledge but they are saying it was in the agreement I have signed with them.

And you have a copy of that agreement to prove them wrong ?

CakeCrusader · 20 February 2019 at 7:25PM

Solicitors can't work for free, there would have been a section in the contract stating that you have to pay any costs up to the date of cancellation if you cancel. Get hold of a copy of the contract and read it, then ask them for a breakdown of the costs. They should supply a detailed invoice, every letter, every phone call, every hour spent. You took the expensive route, you could have done this yourself for the price of a stamp and a letter.

Lewis_Voce · 20 February 2019 at 8:05PM

The agreement does state they can charge if I cancel before all claims have been concluded. I have to admit this was an awful decision by myself.

However, it also states that in there responsibilities they must reply to my correspondence within 10 days and they have failed to reply to numerous emails of mine from November asking for updates. How easy it is to argue this point with solicitors?

sourcrates · 20 February 2019 at 8:09PM

Lewis_Voce wrote: »

The agreement does state they can charge if I cancel before all claims have been concluded. I have to admit this was an awful decision by myself.

However, it also states that in there responsibilities they must reply to my correspondence within 10 days and they have failed to reply to numerous emails of mine from November asking for updates. How easy it is to argue this point with solicitors?

About as easy as knitting fog !!

Unless you can live with a CCJ, I suggest you may want to come to an amicable arrangement with them.

A salutary lesson for the future.

CakeCrusader · 20 February 2019 at 8:10PM

Lewis_Voce wrote: »

The agreement does state they can charge if I cancel before all claims have been concluded. I have to admit this was an awful decision by myself.

However, it also states that in there responsibilities they must reply to my correspondence within 10 days and they have failed to reply to numerous emails of mine from November asking for updates. How easy it is to argue this point with solicitors?

Solicitors are accountable and have professional standards to adhere to so it would be pretty easy to argue your point with them. Just reply with the facts - you've repeatedly asked for updates and they haven't responded so you were left with no alternative but to cancel, so you believe this charge to be unfair. They should have given you a copy of their complaints procedure when they sent you your client care letter. Follow that and see how it goes. If you haven't receive one then you need to ask them for it now.

If the complaints procedure doesn't work then you have the option to go to the Legal Services Ombudsman and they will look into this for you.

bertiewhite · 20 February 2019 at 8:42PM

For what it's worth, I managed to get a reduced fee from a solicitors a couple of years ago due a misunderstanding over something said verbally. They have a reputation to uphold so it's not beyond the realms of possibility to try reasoning with them.

sourcrates · 20 February 2019 at 8:44PM

Is it a solicitor or a claims management company with “solicitor” in its title ?

tlc678910 · 20 February 2019 at 10:08PM

Hi,
Can you retract your request to cancel and allow them to continue to conclusion. It sounds like this would cancel the fee?
Tlc

Payday loan refund solicitors have sent a threatening bill.

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