No win no fee scam

[Hugsandsmiles]

Hi,

I was called by a no win no fee person from a call centre telling me he can get me compensation for personal injury and it will not cost me anything and its a free service. I didn't want to make any claim but he kept on hassling me. I spoke to someone stating they were from a law firm only once and didn't pursue it any further. I received a bill from the company stating I need to pay them £1,500 for doing absolutely nothing. They are threatening to take me to court as well. This is affecting my mental health and wellbeing.
I would be very grateful for any help and advice please?

If they are genuine then why were they cold calling me and putting me under pressure to make a claim. I was not told I would Pay anything and it was a free service. I'm on medication for mental health and take 200mg sertraline tablets a day. I find it hard to concentrate and understand things and suffer from severe mental health and cannot focus and this situation is making me feel worse.

It's how they get clients.

Do you have a copy of the form you signed? It will say somewhere in the literature that there is a cancellation period but outside of that you will be responsible for costs if you decide not to continue. The "no fee" thing only applies when you make a claim.

I think people don’t understand that no win no fee doesn’t mean free if you back out. They don’t make this explicit when they’re cold calling you. But the OP sounds vulnerable, and it’s a very bad look for a legitimate firm. I’d recommend Citizens Advice and ultimately maybe get your MP involved. They need to be sure people are fully informed and competent to engage their services.

That's a good point and something I wasn't really aware of before I started my claim. Our solicitors did make it very clear that there would be charges if we backed out later on though, to cover time spent on the case.

OP, it doesn't sound like they are 'cold calling' you. Cold calling is 'a form of sales solicitation from businesses to customers who've never interacted with the salesperson making the call'.

You HAVE interacted with this company...more than that, you actually appointed them to act on your behalf, then ignored them for almost a year simply because you'd changed your mind.

This isn't how contracts work...they don't go away just because you've changed your mind, unfortunately. So the upshot here is that you owe them money because you didn't uphold your part of the contract.

Mental health issues don't negate your contract...you should have properly terminated their services the second you no longer wished to proceed. You would still have owed them something for the work they'd already done, but not as much as you do now.

You can try to negotiate a work-around, but as other posters have suggested, it might be wiser to get help with this due to your mental health being an issue at this time. CAB will help but you may need to wait for an appointment as they are incredibly busy...give them a call today and get things rolling.

No win, no fee is only free if the claim fails. If you signed any paperwork for them to act on your behalf you may have inadvertently agreed to pay a fee if you chose not to pursue it and a % of any award if it succeeded. You could try Citizens Advice to check through whatever information you have and advise you if /how to take it further.

It'll give you more to go to court it CAB with. Do get a SAR request OP they have to give it to you by law. If they don't, they haven't got a leg to stand on.

Thank you so much for your reply. They' didn't even do anything for me and told me it was a free service. I was misled by the company. Please help. I really appreciate all your help and support 🙏

You will have signed a Letter of Engagement. Ask them for a copy, say you wish make a complaint about their conduct and fees and ask for a copy of the complaints policy. Their complaints process is linked below, but asking for a copy of the policy should kickstart their process. Then go to CAB for help in how to respond.

equitassolicitors.co.uk/complaints

@Hugsandsmiles if you have signed a no win no fee agreement, usually called a conditional fee agreement, then it is likely there is a term within that which says if you do not proceed with the claim then they can bill you for the work done. That is because you are removing their ability to bring your claim to a successful conclusion and recover their costs from the defendant. They are therefore billing you for their charges because you haven't engaged with them and have ignored them after appointing them to act on your behalf. Does that make sense?

I had one of these. I say this gently, take it to Citizens Advice because it was made quite clear that once I signed, if I did not pursue the claim I would be liable financially.

Yes, if it's this OP then you'll have to pay. Always read what you are signing.

I was harrassed on 3 occasions buy a man claiming to be a person calling from a call centre. He was putting me under pressure and was reassuring me it was all free and no fee will be charged. I have just checked and I didn't sign any form apart from sending them an email with my bank details and stating I only want to claim for personal injury. The man working at the Solicitors company said I signed a retainers document but when I checked, I wasn't signed and it was blank. It said on the top FORM OF AUTHORITY and below there was a column to sign but it was blank. They are fraud and scammers!

Don't ever send your bank details in an email.

Where is the form you say is blank?

You sent your bank details in an email to a company you say we're harassing you? Have you checked your bank accounts to make sure all is ok there? I am fairly certain that I've not given my bank details to my solicitor, although it's a claim for a minor, so has to go into trust and maybe works differently.

Did they post the form to you? I signed the contract but then they sent me a blank one later on for my records too

There is a complaints process on their website which you can escalate to the legal ombudsman, if you believe that they have been fraudulent/scamming. Given that they're threatening court action, you probably want to get that process started as soon as possible.

Hi, no he sent me the form by email and said I needed to sign it and send it back to him and he told me to send him my bank details, sort code and account number and name of bank. I didn't sign the authority form he sent but I replied back and sent him my bank details and stated in the email I only wanted to make a claim for personal injury. He emailed me a couple of days ago, and he sent me that email I sent him with my bank details and me stating I only want to make a claim for personal injury, he was showing me I've signed a retainers agreement but I haven't signed it.

You don’t seem to be engaging with any of the replies here. People are giving you good advice. Carefully read it, make a list of things to do - SAR, contact Citizens Advice, speak to your bank to make sure that if it’s a scam that they haven’t taken any money.

It doesn’t sound like a scam, but it does sound like you’ve been misled so you have a good chance of not paying, but only if you go into this calmly and deal with the facts, not if you flap about your mental health and keep calling it a scam. If you agreed to their terms - unwittingly or not - then it’s not a scam as such.

Well then maybe the first thing on your list should be to reply to that message saying “I clearly haven’t signed it”

And also mention that the phone numbers he’s given you aren’t working and you’d like the details of a FREE number you can call to sort this out (make sure it’s not a premium rate number as they’ll get money out of you that way if you’re not careful).

Did you read it?
If you signed it and agreed to pay and you have mental capacity then you may well be liable for it

Why do you say you 'only wanted to claim for personal injury'. What else would you be claiming for? I'm not sure why you are using the word 'only'?

Is there anything about your email reply with bank details which implies you are accepting their terms and conditions or to go ahead with a personal injury claim? Why did they say they needed your bank details at that stage?

Because he asked me if I wanted to claim for income loss? But I said I only wanted to claim for personal injury.

There was a form of authority he attached with the email and told me to sign and return it back to him. No he didn't give me a reason. He just told me to send him my bank details. He didn't say why he wanted them.