Fuckwit, Arsewipe n Cockdrip LLP

[spygirl]

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/extra-cash-call-for-axiom-ince-compensation-looking-likely-says-sra/5117785.article

The SRA has said it now looks ‘likely’ that solicitors and firms will have to pay extra to plug the financial black hole created by the collapse of Axiom Ince.

In an update, the regulator confirms it is continuing to pursue disciplinary investigations. The SRA said sole shareholder Pragnesh Modhwadia, who was suspended by the SRA in August, is suspected of misusing ‘significant’ amounts of client money, resulting in a shortage on the client account estimated to exceed £60m.

[spygirl]

Anonymous#CommentAvatarLabelCommented on:3 November 2023 3:36pm

There is a good and detailed article on the Axiom Ince fiasco in this week's Private Eye which I recommend. It has researched the properties bought by Modwadhia's companies and they are all mortgaged so that recovery may be limited. It concludes that most of the money has gone but highlights the absurdity of a firm of that size having a single shareholder who was able to be both COLP and COFA

[spygirl]

Rumbling on.

Major feature on SFO n Axiom -

New UK fraud agency boss vows faster action as it carries out law firm raids

Nick Ephgrave drives fresh approach at Serious Fraud Office in bid to repair agency’s reputation

https://www.ft.com/content/4147cd46-0bea-4f83-a83f-dafbcfd21b5c

The new head of the Serious Fraud Office has vowed to move more quickly on investigations as the agency carried out a series of dawn raids and arrests in connection with the collapse of law firm group Axiom Ince.

The SFO arrested seven individuals and raided nine sites around Bedfordshire on Tuesday morning as it announced a formal investigation into allegations of fraud at Axiom and £66mn of missing client money.

In his first interview since taking office in September, SFO director Nick Ephgrave told the Financial Times that Tuesday’s operation highlighted a new approach to investigations under his leadership.

 

Seven arrested as UK Serious Fraud Office opens probe into Axiom Ince

UK white-collar crime agency has been investigating the misuse of $82m in collapsed law firm’s client funds

https://www.tradewindsnews.com/law/seven-arrested-as-uk-serious-fraud-office-opens-probe-into-axiom-ince/2-1-1554571

[spygirl]

https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/yorkshire/news/2116607-seven-arrested-as-serious-fraud-office-investigate-law-firms-66m-black-hole?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Yorkshire_14th_Nov_2023_Breaking

The Serious Fraud Office has arrested seven individuals and carried out searches across nine sites, as part of a criminal investigation into collapsed law firm Axiom Ince and £66m of missing client money.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority shut Axiom Ince in October when £66m in client money was found to be missing from its accounts and spent.

The collapse came just months after two major acquisitions which increased Axiom Ince’s workforce to more than 1,400 people.

It bailed out shipping law specialists Ince in a pre-pack deal in late May, and rebranded as Axiom Ince. Six weeks later it rescued Leeds-headquartered Plexus in another pre-pack deal that saved 540 jobs.

The firm was previously known as Axiom DWFM following the merger in 2021 between Axiom Stone and DWFM Beckman, with bases in Birmingham, Bristol, Swindon and Edgware.

Nick Ephgrave QPM, director of the Serious Fraud Office, said: “There are a number of significant questions that need to be answered: clients from this law firm are missing many millions of pounds and more than 1,400 of its staff have lost their jobs. The impact on those affected is extremely serious.

For those not familiar, Leeds pitches itself as a Norther legal hub - 

Leeds legal tech sector worth £374m a year

https://www.uktech.news/legal/leeds-legal-tech-sector-20231018

Last 10+y have had a ll sorts of Leeds council flannel n BS - biggest outside of London, fastest growing sector, 1000s of jobs

Usual booster stuff.

A large part of that is to create a better picture as Leeds/area took a *massive* hit wit hthe collapse of all the Northern BS in 2008 - Halifax, BRadford N bingley, even Northern Rock.

Finance sector created a huge amount of legal work, most of which was fed into Leeds.

Then - Poof! all went.

Leeds is centre of fair few new legal business, mainyl ambulance chasing.

There appears to be massive problem, as they all go to the wall, even the ones where the CEO hasnt stolen all the client money.

 

 

 

[spygirl]

All threads lead to one -

https://www.rollonfriday.com/news-content/modhwadia-allegedly-forged-bank-letter-trick-pinsent-masons

Pragnesh Modhwadia, the former Managing Partner of Axiom Ince, allegedly forged bank letters to conceal from his firm, the SRA and Pinsent Masons that millions of pounds were missing from its client account.

Axiom Ince went into administration after a £65m black hole was discovered and the SRA intervened. It is now suing Modhwadia in the High Court, where it has alleged that he doctored a letter to give the impression that £57m was being held across 200 client accounts at the State Bank of India.

In fact, there was an £18m debit in the account which related to an outstanding loan, claims the firm. 

Modhwadia presented his forged handiwork to Axiom Ince when it began probing rumours that money had gone astray.

This is looking more n more like a British Indian, scamming Indian Indians, who thought they were scamming the UK

[spygirl]

A very telling comment that confirms my suspicions, and some 'observations, made by many people, in and out of of the legal sector - 

Anonymous 10 November 23 09:09

The story of Prags driving up to the Birmingham branch of the Bank of India with a whole bag full of altered bank statements and a forged letter from the Bank of India account manager is now a comic chapter in an otherwise tragic episode. That was how he got caught.
As a "brown" solicitor who works for a modest salary and who keeps well within the rules, I feel my heart sink every time I see a Prags or Vinay Veneik and I worry about the effect on the perception of South Asian Solicitors in the UK.

 

[spygirl]

Prags Math 10 November 23 09:53

Ok, , Big Daddy Prags' cack-handed attempt to account for £18m makes for bewildering and highly amusing reading, but...

Why was nobody asking about the remaining FORTY SEVEN MILLION POUNDS that he seemingly hadn't even tried to account for?!?!

This is a particularly pressing question, given that it was immediately obvious to me during one short Teams call that Mr Modhwadia is as clear an unscrupulous grifter as one could possibly imagine.

I understand that it was a desperate time for both Ince and Plexus - it was not fun to be there in the run up to the sale - but the partners are not stupid people (far from it). Certainly, in the case of Plexus, I find it hard to accept that nobody turned around to the SRA and said "actually, we think we should sell to the other bidder, because this man is brazenly a con artist". Maybe they did.

Maybe it really is entirely the SRA's fault. Will we ever know?!

One day, I will leave law to write a six-part drama about this. Everything about it is completely mad.

Lydia 10 November 23 09:53

The SRA is rushing to make solicitors fund presumably their lawyers and accountant fees for starting the investigation as presumably nothing is yet ready to be paid to those claiming on the compensation fund. Yet there is supposedly a cap on claims the SRA can impose so why not apply the cap? If this first big claim means the cap is not imposed why have a cap at all?

Secondly a lot of people need to be sued before asking low paid solicitors to pay £500 which will be half a month's rent for many. Pinsent's investigations into its client's source of funds should be looked into as they or their insurers may be liable. Then look at claiming every Ince partner's assets/ homes/ pensions/ cars who made a profit on the sale to Axiom etc. The money went somewhere. Private eye says that the fraudster's properties are all mortgaged to the hilt. So look into all that in case they were mortgaged to release cash and trace that cash. If most of the funds went to buy Ince and the other law firm then those who benefited from that should be losing what they were paid long before ordinary solicitors have to pay.

I do think there are a lot of grounds for solicitors to litigate against the SRA if it makes a claim for the £500 per solicitor including application for an injunction to stop that payment having to be made.

Also I never approved of the Clementi reforms. I practice as a sole trader. My word is my bond. I don't even have a limited company, am not an LLP. I don't see why I who has never had a complaint in nearly 40 years should pay for a situation which has arisen because the regulator foolishly allowed a wide range of changes which have been for the bad.

[spygirl]

Claims firm saddled with £48m debts set for administratio

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/claims-firm-saddled-with-48m-debts-set-for-administration/5117988.article

ASheffield firm which took on thousands of cases from the collapsed Pure Group has itself filed for administration. According to court records, SSB Group Ltd gave notice of its intention to appoint an administrator on Monday. It is understood the business is in talks over a pre-pack sale as it seeks to avoid an intervention by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. 

In a statement, directors revealed that they are seeking to put the business into administration, saying it had suffered 'ongoing financial challenges and has been marketed for sale in order to secure fresh investment'. Practitioners from specialist business advisory firm FRP are the proposed administrators.

...

The authorised alternative business structure, which trades as SSB Law and incorporates four other brands, practices in personal injury, medical negligence, data breach, business energy mis-selling and financial mis-selling claims.

It was founded in 2007 but expanded considerably after November 2021 when it acquired around 13,500 cavity wall insulation cases and a share of the unresolved mortgage mis-selling work in progress following the administration of north west firm Pure Legal

 

Comments -

Pete Balchin#CommentAvatarLabelCommented on:22 November 2023 12:49pm

Will this involve the Compensation Fund?

[spygirl]

Anonymous#CommentAvatarLabelCommented on:22 November 2023 1:06pm

"Have you been saddled with a £ 48 million claim? You may be entitled to compensation..."

Anonymous#CommentAvatarLabelCommented on:22 November 2023 1:11pm

Hardly a shock.

Another ABS firm peddling CWI claims has gone under owing a shed load of money others. Unlike others it does not appear to have moved the files over prior to administration. That maybe where it gets a bit more interesting if SRA are forced to step in.

But another one bites the dust I assume no lessons will be learned by the SRA on their failings to regulate properly.

[spygirl]

 

https://www.cts.co.uk/solutions/cloud-infrastructure/

 

Managed Cloud

Be as tech savvy as the next generation of fee earners

[spygirl]

Thats a Not very then.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67543838

Property buyers have said their home completions are being left in limbo after a company providing IT services to law firms was hit by a cyber-incident.

The firm, CTS, was hit by the problem last week and said it still did not know when services would be restored.

Buyers have expressed their distress on social media after a number of completions were delayed.

The regulator said law firms needed to work together to avoid disruption.

 

[spygirl]

Oh ffs

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news-focus/news-focus-meet-the-claims-firm-boss-who-owes-1bn/5118020.article

Collective action firm Pogust Goodhead can take on huge cases – thanks to big loans. While founder Tom Goodhead confides that potential $1bn debts keep him awake at night, he is relishing the fight

For a man with debts of $1bn, Tom Goodhead looks remarkably relaxed. In the boardroom of his 11th-floor City of London offices, the 41-year-old founder of collective action firm Pogust Goodhead told the Gazette of his enthusiasm for taking on corporate defendants, why the English courts need to up their game on complex cases – and how trainees at his start-up can earn £150,000 a year.

In just five years Pogust Goodhead has come from nowhere to 700 employees and offices in five jurisdictions. It has ‘26 or 27’ group litigation claims currently active, Goodhead said, ranging from a competition law claim against guitar maker Fender Europe to the mammoth England and Wales lawsuit against mining giant BHP over the Mariana dam disaster in Brazil, which the firm says could be worth £36bn. 

All this is done on the back of commercial loans, including a $552m (£454m) deal negotiated last autumn with US-based emerging markets investment manager Gramercy. The investment raised so far is the basis of the description of Pogust Goodhead as the legal sector’s first ‘unicorn’ – investment-speak for a startup valued at more than $1bn. Goodhead declined to use the term. However he said the firm’s performance had been more like that of a fintech startup than a conventional legal practice. ‘We’ve ridden the wave of litigation funding,’ he said. ‘We’ve grown and grown and grown.’

While he admitted that the prospect of being potentially liable for $1bn sometimes keeps him awake at nights – he is the firm’s only equity holder – he is confident that his investors are on to a good thing. The firm takes on claims only when the essential facts are not in dispute: the Fender claim, for example, is on the back of a £4.5m fine imposed by the Competition and Markets Authority over the company’s attempt to block discount sales.

The claims have also survived scrutiny by after-the-event insurers, he said. ‘These claims have gone through multiple magic circle assessments.

https://pogustgoodhead.com/team/tom-goodhead/

[spygirl]

Err..

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/pogustgoodhead.com

[spygirl]

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6456125/pogust-goodhead-aka-mydieselclaim-com

I've just received an email from Pogust Goodhead solicitors who are managing claims under the "mydieselclaim.com" banner.  It appears that there were errors in the original conditional fee agreement signed by all current claimants:

Upon review of our correspondence previously sent to you, it has come to our attention that there are two typographical errors in the conditional fee agreement, as follows:

(i) First, in paragraph 4.3 on page 8 of the retainer pack, we mistakenly referenced ‘35%’. Instead, paragraph 4.3 should have included a reference to ‘50%’; this would have been consistent with our intention at the time and with all of the other references to a ‘50%’ cap, including the explanation in the Plain English Summary that there was a cap of ‘50%’.

(ii) Second, in bold on the signature page of the conditional fee agreement, there is text that specifically draws your attention “to clauses 10.1 & 10.2 below concerning the success fee” (which we shall call "the success fee cross-reference"). Paragraphs 10.1 and 10.2 are cross-referenced in error as those paragraphs do not relate to the success fee. Rather the correct cross-references should have been to paragraphs 9.3 and 9.4, which appear in Schedule 1. These paragraphs 9.3 and 9.4 specifically relate to the success fee.

Essentially, Pogust Goodhead want claimants to retrospectively allow a change to the signed agreement allowing them (PG) to claim up to 50% of any award in fees rather than up to 35% as originally agreed and signed off.  As far as I'm aware the "Plain English Summary" was not part of the signed agreement and what if the "other references to a 50% cap" were the ones in error and they should have stated "35% cap".

Could anyone with legal expertise clarify claimants' position on this, please

Imagine that!

Of all the words n letters to fuck up they fucked up the fees percentage..,,

[leonardratso]

2 hours ago, spygirl said:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6456125/pogust-goodhead-aka-mydieselclaim-com

I've just received an email from Pogust Goodhead solicitors who are managing claims under the "mydieselclaim.com" banner.  It appears that there were errors in the original conditional fee agreement signed by all current claimants:

Upon review of our correspondence previously sent to you, it has come to our attention that there are two typographical errors in the conditional fee agreement, as follows:

(i) First, in paragraph 4.3 on page 8 of the retainer pack, we mistakenly referenced ‘35%’. Instead, paragraph 4.3 should have included a reference to ‘50%’; this would have been consistent with our intention at the time and with all of the other references to a ‘50%’ cap, including the explanation in the Plain English Summary that there was a cap of ‘50%’.

(ii) Second, in bold on the signature page of the conditional fee agreement, there is text that specifically draws your attention “to clauses 10.1 & 10.2 below concerning the success fee” (which we shall call "the success fee cross-reference"). Paragraphs 10.1 and 10.2 are cross-referenced in error as those paragraphs do not relate to the success fee. Rather the correct cross-references should have been to paragraphs 9.3 and 9.4, which appear in Schedule 1. These paragraphs 9.3 and 9.4 specifically relate to the success fee.

Essentially, Pogust Goodhead want claimants to retrospectively allow a change to the signed agreement allowing them (PG) to claim up to 50% of any award in fees rather than up to 35% as originally agreed and signed off.  As far as I'm aware the "Plain English Summary" was not part of the signed agreement and what if the "other references to a 50% cap" were the ones in error and they should have stated "35% cap".

Could anyone with legal expertise clarify claimants' position on this, please

Imagine that!

Of all the words n letters to fuck up they fucked up the fees percentage..,,

i got some money back from vw for cheating diesel, was some other firm handling it and they funded it from someone who wanted 30 or so % back on their investment to take VW to book, they said that very early on, which i thought was reasonable since the risk was quite big fro them i suppose, still took 2 years and i came away with maybe £300 or , which i wasnt really expecting anything to be honest since i only had the cheating car for 9 months and then got shot of it years before any of this relly kicked off, was a 2013 car and i got shot of it in 2014, thing was falling apart and poor quality is why i got shot of it, not cos it was a cheater, which wasnt even a thing at the time. Funnily enough i swapped it for a 2014 same car which was strangely much better built than the 2013 one, still got it in fact. But anyway, yes they said 30% fee and stuck with it all the way thru. Didnt matter to me i wasnt paying anything if it won or lost.

 

[spygirl]

Millionaire 'magic circle' lawyer faces losing his £4m London house after being sued by Saudi princess for 'splashing her money on £17m super-yacht which he sailed around the world and £2.8m flat in Montenegro'

• Princess Deema claims Ronald Gibbs has 'not paid a penny' of what he owes

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12822669/millionaire-magic-circle-laywer-sailed-17m-superyacht-faces-losing-4m-home-sued-saudi-princess-failing-hand-19m-fund.html

[spygirl]

Daft BBC article, on behalf of the legal aid lawyers.

 

The legal scammer who cost vulnerable clients thousands

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68141649

In early 2023, Phil was involved in a legal battle with his ex-partner over custody arrangements for their teenage daughter. Facing the prospect of reduced access, Phil and Jenny (not their real names) sought legal advice.

Jenny came across a company called Totally ADR Ltd, which promised expertise in family law. It had a slick-looking website with beaming models in stock photos and five-star reviews from apparently happy clients. One of the directors of Totally ADR was Craig Johnson.

After a face-to-face meeting, Mr Johnson agreed to take on their case. The couple took out a loan and paid him £2,400.

Jenny says that Mr Johnson was unclear about his job title, but they thought he was a qualified solicitor when they hired him, and they expected him to represent Phil in court.

 

Nothing illegal there.

Most divorcing people need heads knoc king together rather than a solicitor.

 

Over the next few months, he told Phil and Jenny about five hearings he said had taken place without them, or had been postponed. He also told them about a social worker who had found evidence that helped their case.

Phil became suspicious, and contacted the family court about his case.

Now thats dodgy.

 

[spygirl]

SSB Law collapse: Plea for help over homeowners' huge legal bills

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-68215645.amp

 

Hundreds of people who are facing huge legal bills after a law firm collapsed have pleaded with the government to step in and take urgent action.

Clients were assured their cases were taken on a no-win, no-fee basis but have been hit with bills up to £50,000.

Antony Higginbotham, MP for Burnley, raised the issue in Parliament after a BBC investigation exposed the matter.

Commons leader Penny Mordaunt said she would write to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

More than 1,400 people could be affected after Sheffield-based SSB Law went into administration.

Many have told the BBC they "cannot sleep" because of the bills and were frightened to answer their doors in case they were visited by bailiffs.

Their compensation claims against cavity wall insulation companies were taken on by the firm, which assured them they would not have to pay if the cases failed.

But huge bills landed on their doorsteps from the insulation 

[spygirl]

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/collapsed-ssb-faces-up-to-1400-negligence-claims

Consumer claims firm SSB Law, which went into administration earlier this month owing six litigation funders £200m, faces up to 1,400 professional negligence claims, it has emerged.

Erich Kurtz, a senior associate at Welsh firm Hugh James, has been contacted by more than 75 former SSB cavity wall insulation clients.

He said although they had conditional fee agreements and after-the-event (ATE) insurance in place, in some cases the insurance had been repudiated.

[spygirl]

https://www.thestar.co.uk/business/ssb-law-clients-advised-of-best-chance-to-pay-debts-sheffield-4497298

SSB Law: Clients advised of 'best chance' to pay huge debts after Sheffield firm goes bust

Specters is one of several law firms keen to launch professional negligence claims

[spygirl]

https://www.thestar.co.uk/business/ssb-law-sheffield-bosses-fines-no-win-no-fee-cases-regulator-warns-4473464

That's the CEO.

 

[spygirl]

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/my-legal-life/my-legal-life-jeremy-brooke-ssb-law/5108167.article

My motivation to pursue a legal career was kickstarted when I saw an advert for an outdoor clerk in a criminal department of a Sheffield law firm. I had served as a police officer, it looked like an interesting role, so I submitted an application.

I entered the legal profession later in my career, first studying for the Institute of Legal Executives alongside full-time work. Fitting studying in around work commitments meant it took me four years to complete the necessary modules. Afterwards, I attended a distance learning course at Nottingham Trent University to achieve my Legal Practice Course qualification. It took nearly eight years in total to qualify.

I initially specialised in criminal litigation at Rogers & Howe before moving to Graysons in Sheffield to join a slightly larger and busier criminal department. I was involved in a few cases that made it to the Court of Appeal and one that progressed to the House of Lords and then the European Court of Human Rights. After a while, I became a little jaded with criminal law so I moved into the industrial disease department at Graysons where I worked on industrial deafness and vibration white finger (VWF) claims.

 

[spygirl]

Ah, let the crossed armed piccies begin ...

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13052071/Lawyers-promised-win-compensation-dodgy-cavity-wall-insulation-face-homeless-Hundreds-families-face-losing-houses-signing-controversial-no-win-no-fee-legal-firm-collapsed-owing-48million.html

Now I dont know if its due to the idiots advertising in various northern ex mill towns, or the draw of he scam ££££ but there sure is a lot of brown people caught out on this.

Ms Lord (pictured) holding toys belonging to her children, as she is worried bailiffs will come and take everything in her home

 

 

'Everything that is keeping my children in a stable way of life is going to go. It's beyond devastating. There's no aspect of my life it doesn't touch.'

Sharon said the firm had approached her four years ago after targeting residents with cavity wall insulation in terraced properties.

And she was heartbroken when a surveyor they sent to her property reported that without substantial corrections, her £65,000 home would be rendered 'worthless'.

....

Sharon, who lives in Burnley, Lancashire, said her cavity wall insulation work was completed on her home in 2014 as part of a government-funded scheme.

But within a few years, she had a serious damp problem in the property, which left water 'running down the walls' of the converted gable end terrace.

In 2020, she said a canvasser from SSB Law, part of SSB Group Ltd, knocked on her door and asked if she wished to pursue a claim for the removal of it and repair work.

And she had felt 'pressured' into going ahead with it when a surveyor declared it would cost £65,132.21 to correct the problem - more than the value of her house.

 

[spygirl]

More SSB.

The moron bizzyness reporter is on the case.

'Dad, I don't want to be homeless': The anguish faced by honest people facing massive legal bills

Taxi driver Jamil Zafar is still haunted by memories of the day the bailiff came calling and the terrible emotional impact it had on his family.

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/dad-i-dont-want-to-be-homeless-the-anguish-faced-by-honest-people-facing-massive-legal-bills-4531483

Oh a special name.

He said his son later told him: "I don't want to end up homeless".

In common with hundreds of people across the North of England, he became embroiled in this saga because he was trying to protect his family’s health and wellbeing.

Mr Zafar said that in 2019, a representative from a law firm visited his property in Halifax and told his wife that insulation which had been installed a few years earlier in the building’s cavity walls was unlawful and potentially harmful to his children’s health.

He told The Yorkshire Post: "In response, I sought guidance on finding a resolution, and they suggested either pursuing legal action against the insulation company or having them rectify the issue by removing the insulation or compensating for external damages. I agreed on a ‘no win no fee’ basis.

Im pretty sure he didnt say that.

I bet he said - How much can I can out of them?

Scammer, scammed by scam legalfirm, joisted own petards.

He said his case was subsequently transferred to SSB Law Solicitors who handled the matter for nearly two years.

He added: "During this period, I intermittently responded to their correspondence and, at the time requested the closure of my case.

He said: "On January 30 2023, I received the initial enforcement letter demanding £2,973.36. I contacted SSB Law Solicitors, and was assured via email that the payment had been made to the High Court Bailiff. Despite this assurance, on November 28 2023, I received another enforcement letter, this time for £18,988.75.

"Disturbed by this unexpected demand, I learned that SSB Law Solicitors had gone into administration. In response, I contacted Leeds High Court, requesting the suspension of the enforcement order and the unwarranted payment.”

A few days before Christmas 2023, an enforcement agent visited his home while he was at work.

"My wife, who was terrified, showed him the hearing letter,’’ he said

"I can't work properly and me and my wife can't sleep. The amount (of money) in the enforcement notice is always on my mind. Wherever I go, I have on my mind the fact I must pay between £18,000 and £19,000."

“My kids asked me, 'Dad, have you done anything wrong? Why are you paying this amount? I just want to release my family from this stressful and horrible situation."

Jayne Battye, who is another of Ms Lynch’s constituents said that in 2017, someone knocked on her door telling her about a Government grant that could pay for cavity wall insulation to be installed in my home.

She said: “I was told this would improve heating costs and would also be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. I had the insulation installed believing I was doing the right thing."

However, in the following months, she started to notice damp and mould appearing in her front and back bedrooms.

She added: "Following on from this, in 2020, someone came to the house and asked whether there was any damp in the property. He then proceeded to explain how the cavity wall insulation should never have been installed in the first place and this had now caused extensive issues at my property which would be very difficult to rectify, as well as expensive for myself, which I cannot afford.

She added: "He advised me to submit a claim for damage done to the property through a no win no fee claim. I was assured I would not have to pay anything and this was the best way of rectifying the problem I was now faced with. Over the last four years, I have received letters from SSB compiling a case.”

She said the the last correspondence she received from SSB was in October 2022 stating that the claim had been concluded, and the law firm had been unable to recover any damages from the defendant on her behalf.

"Out of the blue, just before Christmas I received a letter from the high court enforcement to say I was liable to pay £32,000 to the defendant's solicitor. I live on my own and work for the NHS, earning a modest salary. I have no means to pay this money and I am worried about bailiffs coming to my house and getting a CCJ or a charging order on my property.”

A female constituent of Ms Lynch's, who asked to remain anonymous, said she and her son had contracted pneumonia because her house was suffering from mould, despite work being carried out by cavity wall installers on her property who said the work was being funded by the Government.

She added: "I kept changing my wallpaper and house decorations to cover the mould."

She said a representative from SSB Law later visited her property and promised to pursue a legal claim on her behalf.

She added: "Because SSB Law was a big company, I believed they were definitely going to help us."

She said SSB took on her case on a no-win, no-fee basis and she was told she wouldn't have to pay anything.

"On December 5 2023, I came home and there was an enforcement letter in my house. I thought it might be a prank, maybe it's not true. It said I must pay more than £17,000 otherwise bailiffs will be called in. That was so shocking.”

After conducting frantic searches online her family concluded that the demands might be linked to the cavity wall insulation claim.

"We started ringing SSB Law and they were not answering their phones,'' she said. "Can you imagine this? I was a defaulter. My entire credit history had been demoted. My credit card has been suspended. For 10 days, I couldn't sleep. I borrowed some money, I thought about selling my jewellery."

She rang the court to try and gain more time to pay, but she was told she must pay because the debt was in her name.

"My daughter went on Facebook and she saw so many people in the same situation,’’ she said. “One lady was 70-years-old. She needed to pay £38,000. In my street another person paid £15,000.

"It’s really hard for me. Every day, I’m thinking, ‘How am I going to be able to pay this money back?’ It's affected my mortgage and affected my credit history. It's affected my daily life."

Nige Goodey, who also lives in Ms Lynch’s constituency, said that in early 2016 he was cold called about cavity wall insulation under a Government scheme. Mr Goodey said that, within a few years of work being carried out, the house was starting to show signs of damp in the walls with flaking plaster and mould spores.

He added: "We were again contacted by a legal firm SSB Law based in Sheffield to handle a claim against the installation company to put right the damp problems. After four and a half years of letters, backwards and forwards, SSB Law’s chances of winning the case dropped below 70 per cent. I received a letter dated on August 8 2023 stating SSB had stopped the case even though I had a court date of the December 5 2023.

"I had an ‘After the Event’ insurance policy with SSB Law, which was supposed to cover any liability from the defendant’s costs of the legal action. However, in August 2023 the court ordered the payment of £13,208 in legal fees. I had no knowledge of this, as the letter was sent to SSB Law. The debt was finally settled on October 31.

He added: "My credit scores were badly affected as I discovered I now had a CCJ in my name which will be against me for the next six years after a lifetime of good credit history."The amount of stress this has put myself and my family through is grossly unfair. The construction and age of my property is unsuitable for expanding foam cavity filling and should never have been used in the first place. I'm a widowed sixty five year old who is due to retire this year with an eighteen year old son who will inherit the house eventually. I do not want him to inherit this problem."

The Yorkshire Post made efforts to contact the former directors of SSB via the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the administrators. The directors did not respond to our requests for comment.

 

 

Government urged to cancel legal debts of SSB clients

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/government-urged-to-cancel-legal-debts-of-ssb-clients/5118760.article

 

ABradford MP has urged the government to set aside wasted costs orders against former clients of the collapsed firm SSB Law.

Imran Hussain, MP for Bradford East, said the large sums being demanded of his constituents by defendant lawyers were ‘simply impossible’ to meet.

These were among the estimated 1,400 clients who instructed Sheffield firm SSB Law to run cavity wall insulation claims on their behalf. The firm went into administration last month. Many clients have come forward to say they are being pursued by lawyers representing the defendant wall insulation companies for thousands of pounds in incurred costs.

 

Stephen Larcombe#CommentAvatarLabelCommented on:16 February 2024 7:18am

One Christmas somebody gave a book - the King of Torts by John Grisham. For the most part it was an entertaining novel about ‘industrialised litigation’. When I read this article I was reminded of this novel.
What puzzles me is why the SRA so supportive of the ‘liberalisation’ of legal services post 2007 has not developed strategies to regulate ‘production line law’?

It is surely demoralising for the vast majority of hard working solicitors to see yet another legal services ‘entity’ go bust especially when employees of the company concerned have been knocking on doors to sell a ‘risk-free service’ to a ‘consumer’. Litigation carried out by more traditional law firms hopefully would not stoop to such unprofessional depths.

The behaviour described in the article represents a betrayal of the ethical principles most solicitors thought still regulated the practice of law.

Some may argue does any of the above still matter in 2024? I would argue that it does because the public still values solicitors because most do adhere to an ethical code. Moreover solicitors are seeing the true cost of allowing ‘production-line’ law firms to practise law by the government and/or the regulators.

AxiomInce, PureLaw a pattern is emerging here.

[spygirl]

Anonymous#CommentAvatarLabelCommented on:16 February 2024 10:35am

This is a call for a bail out from the public purse. Why should the public bail out those who chanced their arms pursuing highly speculative and risky claims?
If they were not advised properly, they can bring negligence claims.
These are matters for the SRA (another significant regulatory failure) and professional indemnity insurers. It is not appropriate for the public purse to bail out claimants who have chanced their arms and lost.