Poor service from solicitors

[pt2537]

I cannot understand why on earth they would have advised the way they did. If a creditor breaches s78 then i make it clear from the outset that it will never result in the debt being written off, it will simply lead to the creditor not being able to enforce. However on the point about contact, they are barking up the wrong tree, harrasment is a high bar, and there is a much better way to take them to task, using s140A CCA you can bust them bad, and as we proved in Harrison v Link, PRA v Gavin, Swift v Daley the Courts will be quite happy to slap a creditor who unfairly contacts a debtor.

It seems to me that the "world class" statement was anything but.

[Bomber99]

Hi PT2537
sorry for late response had on going emergency in family

I actually didn’t realise what poor service they were actually giving me until I started to look around this forum and finding answers on how to challenge debts. The firm I am with seemed to accept anything the creditors were telling them or making stuff up just to finalise my retainer. It got so bad that the head of the department was asking an apprentice to just send out unenforceable letters just to satisfy me lol
I will have a look at s140a
I am just in the process of completing their complaints procedure before I move on and take my complaint to the legal ombudsman and the SRA
I might just need the brilliant help on this fantastic forum when I start that process

[Bomber99]

Hi Amethyst

could i I take the solicitors to the small claims court for reimbursement of the fees I paid plus the £800 I have paid out due to their improper advice and at the same time report them to the SRA for breeches of the code of conduct

As you know they have offered a full refund in the full and final settlement offer but as I have already mentioned I will be turning it down because I believe they need exposing to the public for being the crap company they are, and by doing it the way I am asking about may get me my money back and expose them too the public at the same time.

Thank you for all your advice so far it is very much appreciated
Bomber99

[Amethyst]

As you have been offered a full refund plus all you paid out due to the Lloyds case, plus two lots of £500 ... it's a better idea to accept the offer. It would end up damaging you on costs if you 'won' less than their offer and really, legally, it's minor - the service was crap, you overpaid because they let you think it was worth it, but it's not misdescribed.... and then a junior sent out the 'wrong' template letter which they have apologised for and offered full recompense. There's no confidentiality clause attached to the offer ( so far) so you could speak with press potentially ( Andrew Penman probably best bet )

Sadly, don't put too much store in the SRA, FCA, LEO either. But still make your complaints - even if it just goes on file there ARE other complaints and one Day they might look into it.

The Solicitors firm do look to be decent overall and cover a lot of other areas so I think probably some paralegals had their head turned by this compare finance / Jonas financial bollocks. They do need a slap from sra/fca as it is debt counselling. But you aren't going to get much of a better outcome for yourself - and you can still publicise that it's a bad idea.

for interest
https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/gu...ctivities.page

[Bomber99]

Hi all just an update. I have now sent my complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

I do have a question regarding the DSAR I received from the firm. The DSAR was sent to me via a workshare programme. According to the firm it was using this program to store all my data. I was informed any correspondence coming into the firm would be placed into the workshare program and also any internal emails would be stored into the program as well. I have been in contact with some of my creditors and the documentation they have said has been sent to my firm of solicitors are not showing up in the DSAR The solicitors are saying they did not receive all the documents that my creditors are saying they sent out.
Also the internal emails sent between the Challenge debt team members in the DSAR say they have attachments to the emails sent. but the problem I have is the emails do not show the actual attachments so therefore I cannot view what was in the attachments.I have asked to see these attachments but the firm seem forever finding them.
Also what I find confusing (not being very computer savvy) is emails were sent on 26th, 28th and 31st of the same month and the emails were link to a letter being written up by the person handling my complaint. Each of these linked letters had his full response letter to my complaint which was dated 31/02/2019. I know this letter could not have been fully written up between the emails sent on 26th -28th because something happened after these dates which he mentioned in his letter dated 31st
So I suppose my question is; can the letter dated 31/02/2019 be linked in some way to the previous emails ie, 26th/28th after he had written up his completed response letter and can the firm remove/change information within the DSAR before sending it out to you. Also out of interest do the firm need to keep any sort of phone records, of calls that they make or receive to and from my creditors or myself.
bomber99

[Amethyst]

The emails included a link to a letter which was a work in progress ? like a google docs link ?

[Bomber99]

Hi Amethyst
I have now received another full and final settlement offer from the firm which I intend to accept.
once I have accepted this offer and payment has been made I intend to fully disclose on as many forums and social media sites as possible that this firm may have given their many clients wrong information regarding the enforceability of their debts. The firm said advice could have caused people to pay out many thousands of pounds when they declared their debts enforceable when in fact they were probably unenforceable as was proven regarding mine. When they challenge a debt and find out the debt is still with the original creditor they say because the debt has not been assigned ie sold on they cannot challenge the debt any further and the debt needs to be paid, with or without an agreement. I told them this was utter bull s*** They also told me they are not engaged to challenge the validity of any agreements provided by the creditors. If this is the case then why do a s77/78 especially if you are not prepared to check what the creditors are sending in reply.
Also in an email I sent early in my complaint I asked the question, would the firm still be representing me if the creditors came up with an agreement or until the debts go statute-barred in six years time. In their response letter a partner in the firm explained his fear they would have to continue representing their many clients which would put an extra strain on their challenge debt team This situation he feels was not taken into consideration when taking on this type of work. I also believe they are very worried that the cost to the firm could be considerable if all the clients they have informed their debts are payable due to the debt not being assigned start to question their advice as I did.

one last point I would like to mention in regards the manager asking a junior member to ‘just send out unenforceable letters to me’ in the hope it would satisfy me, the partner in the firm has now come back with his response to my disgust at this suggestion, when he says The manager was just jesting about sending out the unenforceable letters with the junior member.