Hi
I have recently had a very bad experience with a negligent Family solicitor who did not act in my interest, with regard to my divorce which resulted in poor advice and colossal and unnecessary bills. I refused the advice, took the matter into my own hands, came to an agreement with my husband which was in both of our interests, since it mean the end to future litigation.
Fortunately I have not paid the entire bill and so I have a chance of getting the bill reduced. But I have realised that most people who are dissatisfied with the advice they receive from a solicitor have effectively no recourse, since suing a solicitor is very costly and if by any chance you do lose the combination of the fees you have already paid and paying the other solicitor's cost promises to be crippling. Plus even if you do win, you are unlikely to get all your costs back. The SRA seems to me to be a toothless dog which is there as a safety valve to stacks of complaints about negligence which if successful are reward with a max pay out of £300. So it seems, to me that financially speaking there is no incentive for a solicitor to provide good advice at a reasonable price.
This used to be the case with financial advisors (including banks) but eventually the situation was abused to such an extent that the public got the better of the offenders.
It's now time for us to do the same with solicitors. The regulatory framework needs to be changed so that solicitor's are penalized for not acting in their client's interest, for providing bad advice etc. Why should the normal consumer law apply to the provision of goods and services and not to them. Looking back to a s much feedback as possible on the subject.
I have recently had a very bad experience with a negligent Family solicitor who did not act in my interest, with regard to my divorce which resulted in poor advice and colossal and unnecessary bills. I refused the advice, took the matter into my own hands, came to an agreement with my husband which was in both of our interests, since it mean the end to future litigation.
Fortunately I have not paid the entire bill and so I have a chance of getting the bill reduced. But I have realised that most people who are dissatisfied with the advice they receive from a solicitor have effectively no recourse, since suing a solicitor is very costly and if by any chance you do lose the combination of the fees you have already paid and paying the other solicitor's cost promises to be crippling. Plus even if you do win, you are unlikely to get all your costs back. The SRA seems to me to be a toothless dog which is there as a safety valve to stacks of complaints about negligence which if successful are reward with a max pay out of £300. So it seems, to me that financially speaking there is no incentive for a solicitor to provide good advice at a reasonable price.
This used to be the case with financial advisors (including banks) but eventually the situation was abused to such an extent that the public got the better of the offenders.
It's now time for us to do the same with solicitors. The regulatory framework needs to be changed so that solicitor's are penalized for not acting in their client's interest, for providing bad advice etc. Why should the normal consumer law apply to the provision of goods and services and not to them. Looking back to a s much feedback as possible on the subject.
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