Claiming Back Mortgage Fees resulting from arrears

[Claire_1407]

Good morning

I have had a company tell me I can claim back unfair fees - I signed a SAR for them and they have come back saying I can claim and the claim is over £10,000, however, I now have to sign a solicitors agreement.

It is a No Win No Fee agreement where they have 25% plus VAT of the compensation awarded plus a basic charge of £25 per hour and disbursements - is this acceptable or could I end up with very little compensation come the end due to the basic charge and disbursements.

They have said I can take out insurance against the disbursements but not for the basic charge although they said "normally claimed from the lender".

I am just wary of signing such an agreement and would like your opinion please.

[Amethyst]

You are right to check it out properly first.

Have you researched the company fully and checked whether they are authorised by the Claims Management Regulator, the FCA and for the Solicitors the SRA - checked out all reviews of both solicitors and CMC ?

THis is likely to be something you could do yourself if you feel you have been unfairly charged for late payments or arrears on your mortgage. Who is the mortgage with ? ( check they aren't already making payments due to an FCA intervention to begin with ), and you can write directly to them with a complaint requesting a refund of those fees with a view to taking the case to the Financial Ombudsman if they refused. Once you got the ombudsman's decision you could decide whether then to look at taking it to court, but the case needs fully looking at.

What rules/legislation/case law are they basing the claim on to begin with?

Remember that with PPI ending in August the CMCs and associated solicitors may be looking for other avenues to plug the profit hole in the company that will undoubtedly arise.

The SAR is also something you could have sent yourself to the lender. Have you now given them full third party authorisation to deal with your claim/the mortgage company ? Are you still with that mortgage company ?

Also are you now bound to a contract with the Claims firm - do you have the agreement and terms ?

25% plus VAT would be £3000 of a £10,000 refund, and with the additonal £25 charge per hour it could add up to far more. Presumably they'd try to claim costs from the other side for court fees etc. These could get substantial as it is likely to be a fast track case, and there isn't any certainty the court would award them. And what happens if you lose the case ?