When you read advertisements claiming you can get something for nothing and it seems that nothing can go wrong; start looking for things that can go wrong! A popular concept that has gained tremendous momentum and exposure during the past few years, are the "No Win - No Fee" compensation claims. This has brought a lot of business to the companies involved, but is it as good as it sounds?
On the face of it solicitors who offer no win, no fee services seem to provide the market place with a level playing field and ensure that everyone is able to right wrongs that they have been subjected to. Another benefit of no win, no fee claims is that it empowers the man on the street to take on bigger, more powerful organisations in a way that would have been barred to him previously.
A further perception is that the appointed lawyer will make the utmost effort to win the case, because, ""no win - no fee". Unfortunately, this was not the position in the past. The quality of the legal service you received depended on whether you had a good lawyer, or one of the other kinds. The reason for this uncertainty was that the lawyer would be paid irrespective of winning or losing your case.
There are still quite a few cons to actually putting forward a no win no fee claim though. One of the major disadvantages is that many of these companies will only take on cases that are assured of success. Few companies will take the chance of wasting their time on a case that may or may not get a favourable outcome for them since they won't get paid. This can make some cases almost impossible to gain representation for in many situations.
One point that is sometimes not known, or taken into consideration until the event occurs, is that you as a claimant, should you lose your case, be responsible for paying the defendant and the insurance is declined. Instances of this nature have been revealed by people with past experience and is a valuable consideration with "no win = no fee" actions.
The truth of the matter is that no win, no fee claims are of course a good thing but they still need to be treated with caution, if something seems to be good to be true, then it probably is.
On the face of it solicitors who offer no win, no fee services seem to provide the market place with a level playing field and ensure that everyone is able to right wrongs that they have been subjected to. Another benefit of no win, no fee claims is that it empowers the man on the street to take on bigger, more powerful organisations in a way that would have been barred to him previously.
A further perception is that the appointed lawyer will make the utmost effort to win the case, because, ""no win - no fee". Unfortunately, this was not the position in the past. The quality of the legal service you received depended on whether you had a good lawyer, or one of the other kinds. The reason for this uncertainty was that the lawyer would be paid irrespective of winning or losing your case.
There are still quite a few cons to actually putting forward a no win no fee claim though. One of the major disadvantages is that many of these companies will only take on cases that are assured of success. Few companies will take the chance of wasting their time on a case that may or may not get a favourable outcome for them since they won't get paid. This can make some cases almost impossible to gain representation for in many situations.
One point that is sometimes not known, or taken into consideration until the event occurs, is that you as a claimant, should you lose your case, be responsible for paying the defendant and the insurance is declined. Instances of this nature have been revealed by people with past experience and is a valuable consideration with "no win = no fee" actions.
The truth of the matter is that no win, no fee claims are of course a good thing but they still need to be treated with caution, if something seems to be good to be true, then it probably is.
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