Which is better Legal Ombudsman or No win no fee lawyers?

[carboy2017]

One of my friends was let down by his solicitor and spent about 7 grand solely due to lack of professionalism from the law firm which my friend believes is professional negligence

He has raised his complaints with the legal firm and they have ignored it for 8 weeks now as such he is qualified to approach the legal ombudsman,however he had approached a no win no fee law firm in the meantime if they can take up his case and they had said yes they can as he has a good case and if he wins he will pay them 50% + VAT and if he loses the court can impose a penalty of £ 450,but the lawyer wont charge any fees in this case

As he is unsure of which option to take I wonder if anyone here would be able to give their views as to which is the more effective option,can the legal ombudsman force a firm to refund the money taken by them and has anyone here ever gone via either of these options and won?

[BertBert]

I think the normal course of events is to exhaust the regulator complaints route first.

The no win no fee lawyer sounds ghastly. If he wins he could get 40% of the 7k back and be even further down if he loses (taking your description of events).

The nwnf lawyer is unlikely to be unbiased in their advice. If they want the case (for whatever reason) then they'll say he has a good chance of winning.

Bert

[carboy2017]

BertBert said:

I think the normal course of events is to exhaust the regulator complaints route first.

The no win no fee lawyer sounds ghastly. If he wins he could get 40% of the 7k back and be even further down if he loses (taking your description of events).

The nwnf lawyer is unlikely to be unbiased in their advice. If they want the case (for whatever reason) then they'll say he has a good chance of winning.

Bert

Thank you Bert you do have a valid point

[Red 4]

Bert there with his glass half empty advice.

Look at it another way - he potentially stands to lose £450 or recoup £2800.

I think I'd take a punt on losing £450.

Just accept that some solicitors are vultures. It's the nature of the beast.

[Captain_Morgan]

I this small claims court? And what’s the advice he’s been given about the other parties costs should he lose?

[ElectricPics]

Your friend needs to have a look at the Solicitors Regulatory Authority website before he starts instructing another solicitor.

https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-s...

[A205GTI]

Having used the SRA recently,

1, it takes up to six months due to there case load, we had a great lady who was on our side over our complaint (Leasehold extension)

however she went ill, went to her colleague who clearly just wanted the case of her desk, solicitor fine was £750.00 for unprofessional service

(It could have run to over £50k) if I had the funds I would have instructed another solicitor (the reason we couldn't get the £50k she advised ,was although it was the difference between selling with low lease and full lease was that we had no figure from the leaseholder who is a complete see you next tuesday nordid we extend!

[Pro Bono]

carboy2017 said:

One of my friends was let down by his solicitor and spent about 7 grand solely due to lack of professionalism from the law firm which my friend believes is professional negligence

He has raised his complaints with the legal firm and they have ignored it for 8 weeks now as such he is qualified to approach the legal ombudsman,however he had approached a no win no fee law firm in the meantime if they can take up his case and they had said yes they can as he has a good case and if he wins he will pay them 50% + VAT and if he loses the court can impose a penalty of £ 450,but the lawyer wont charge any fees in this case

As he is unsure of which option to take I wonder if anyone here would be able to give their views as to which is the more effective option,can the legal ombudsman force a firm to refund the money taken by them and has anyone here ever gone via either of these options and won?

I'd be inclined to go down the LeO route. It won't cost him anything, he may get a reasonable award in his favour that's a better return than the deal offered by the lawyers, and even if he doesn't he still has the option of suing them.

[RichardDastardly]

Pro Bono said:

I'd be inclined to go down the LeO route. It won't cost him anything, he may get a reasonable award in his favour that's a better return than the deal offered by the lawyers, and even if he doesn't he still has the option of suing them.

My thoughts also. The limitation period for court action for negligence/breach of contract is a few years, and I’m not aware of a finding by the Ombudsman meaning that you are then precluded from pursuing a damages claim for any actual loss suffered which remains uncompensated (though the OP’s friend should double check that specific point).
Also, the percentage that the other lawyers are offering suggests that they aren’t convinced that the court case would be a cert.