Finding Legal Help When Things Go Wrong

Hopefully you'll have seen the dozens of articles on our site telling you to be wary of the Legal Assistance addons many insurers stick on your policy as already having opted into rather than asking you if you want to opt in like the pretty much do for everything else such as breakdown cover or a courtesy car. It may sound like a good idea at the time when you see costs of a couple dozen pounds in order to secure the services of a solicitor if you need one. Considering solicitors cost hundreds of pounds per hour this sounds like a great deal. However remember that insurers are already making much of a loss on car insurance policies and are not really going to give away more stuff if they can help it. For most car insurance related matters, solicitors work for free. In other words, all that no win no fee and 100% compensation stuff you see on the adverts. In other words, you're paying the insurer for a service that is free and the majority of people don't bother to use their insurance appointed solicitor when something goes wrong anyway because it feels like a conflict of interests:

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Law (aka All Law Ltd) Solicitors in Preston: Common variants such as www.law.co.uk or www.alllaw.com are being used by other firms. However, there are no 200-year old lawyers out there waiting to take your case. getting you the best outcome possible and delivering a brilliant service."< div>. For example, with Law (aka...

Eve Lake Conveyancing & Legal Services in Hope Valley: Also, while you may have gone through a dozen websites today of 'Conveyancing' firms - not all are the same . There have been tens of thousands of people across the UK https: www.lawsociety.org.uk public for-public-visitors common-legal-issues payment-diversion-fraud" ha...


Youngs Solicitors - Young & Co Solicitors Ltd in Longton (Stoke on Trent): We also hold CQS, The Law Society's quality mark for legal experts in buying or selling property and are trusted by some of the UK's biggest lenders."< div> To most people that list of accreditations may mean nothing, but it will still sound quite impressive. clas...


Woodstock Legal Services Ltd - Solicitors Law Practice in Poole: Woodstock Legal Services is a trading name of Woodstock Legal Services Limited so not too much confusion there. class="infoquote "Our lawyers are highly skilled specialists in their areas. You'll see Peter Fowler qualified in 1974, Roger Clayson in 1981, Nichola Turp...


Wolf Law Solicitors Ltd in Wirral: We've seen some firms with full staff profiles on every solicitor with direct contact details for each. So the information doesn't actually help you separate this firm from the thousands of others you could use. We've seen many firms with negative reviews from buyers telling...


Wilford Smith Solicitors in Sheffield (Meadowhall) & Rotherham - WS Strategic Ltd: Clearly there is not a 200-year-old solicitor sitting behind the desk. We are your trusted advisor."< div> If you've already been through a dozen law firm website's today, you'll maybe have noticed many of them use similar words such as 'modern', 'efficient', 'friendly...


Wildcat Law Ltd Solicitors in London & Southampton: However if you think about it no firm is ever going to claim to be the opposite - i.e. So what can? class="infoquote "When reviewing the performance of a firm or department we use various criteria; our focus is on the bench strength of the team"< div> That quo...


WH Law Ltd - Immigration Solicitors in Woking: They are all very positive, mention Waleed by name and often discussed what the case was for. If there is only one or two solicitors in the practice and they say they specialise in three dozen types of law - certainly be cautious. The law and requirements are complex and t...


Waterstone Partnership Solicitors Ltd in Bradford: For example, for Waterstone they list solicitors Rayhan Ahmed who qualified in 2009, Akeel Hussain (2015), and others right up to Akaash Hussain who joined the profession in 2021. Today's article is based on the firm Waterstone PS or Waterstone Partnership Solicitors to give...


Walker Foster Ltd Solicitors in Skipton, Barnoldswick, Silsden, Settle, Ilkley, Northallerton & Harrogate: For example at Walker Foster they show solicitors with qualifications spanning the past four decades including Keith Hardington who qualified in 1995, Maxine Heppenstall in 2002, Danielle Harps in 2015, right up to Lee Kirby who joined the profession in 2022. The Law ...


UVS Law Immigration & Visa Solicitor in Burton-on-Trent & London: The Act replaced previous immigration laws and introduced new regulations regarding immigration and citizenship. UVS Law is a more recently set up branding than others, but it should be pointed out that the age of the firm bears no indication about the experience of th...


The Law Partnership Ltd - Solicitors in Coventry: So a conveyancing solicitor with a high rating is actually a rarity. The age of the firm's branding does not really tell you anything about the experience of the solicitor you'll get. Abdul Khan who qualified in 1999, and Rashminder Sarai in 1997. Some of the largest convey...


Thomas and Thomas Solicitors Ltd in Maesteg, Bridgend & Port Talbot: How on earth can you decide which firm is right for you? There are some resources you can use and we'll use the following firm's website as an example: class="infoquote "Welcome to Thomas and Thomas Solicitors, your trusted legal partner in South Wales. People http...


The Legal Practice Ltd - Solicitors in Rickmansworth & Wembley Park, Greater London: You can end up with a 1-year-qualified lawyer from a 300-year-old brand name the same as you can end up with a 40-year-experienced lawyer from a 2-year-old firm. But 'the law practice' or 'the lawyer practice' (if you've not remembered quite correctly) bring up different fir...


Stephanie Heijdra - The Lady Barrister & Clerksroom Chambers in London: As she works on her own her website is therefore much more focused in providing information about her. As you may have gathered from the network setup and other articles across our site, our goal is not just to provide a directory of the most common law firms. Barristers a...


Thaxted Legal Ltd Immigration Solicitors in Chislehurst, London: So you'd think we'd always have an arsenal of tools to research any firm we come across. The absence of negative information isn't the best indicator of a positive choice. So what indications are there that this firm is a better choice than others? class="infoquot...


Swain & Co Solicitors Ltd in Southampton, Liverpool & Havant: Entering such will bring up an error or redirect you elsewhere depending on what browser you are using. So are Swain & Co Solicitors part of a law group seeking strength from both? class="infoquote "A quality personalised service from a law firm based in Portsmouth Hav...


Summerfield Browne Solicitors in London, Birmingham, Cambridge, Oxford, Market Harborough & Leicester: Hopefully we will see all law firms offer free initial consultations in the future, even just 30 mins over video chat. However if you actually read through the comments you see one reviewer stating "I have provided them with amazing pension advice" which seems like an advert...


Stowe Family Law - Divorce Solicitors in Harrogate, York, Beverley & Other Locations: So you can't just go on Google, type the firm name, and see all reviews in this instance. So what are people saying about Stowe Family Law? class="infoquote "very supportive during otherwise difficult times" "She tells it like it is so I always know where I stand" ...


Sternberg Reed LLP Solicitors with Offices in Romford, Barking & Grays: There are always websites to tell you the "10 best" of something or you'll have your own brand loyalty already. The site is HTTPS secure for submitting your details on their contact form. You have to enter 'sternberg reed solicitors romford' or 'sternberg reed grays office...


Smith and Graham Solicitors in Hartlepool, Peterlee and Middlesbrough: They also have actual prices listed on their website which is rare and great to see . Since Covid hit we've seen a lot of law firms go under and a new wave of single proprietor practices has started pushing across the UK. We've seen law firms with 5 star reviews for their f...


Rose Fendlen Law - Solicitors in Wigan (Formerly LRose Law): Make sure to listen carefully to the options provided and don't assume both will apply to your case.. Employment Law ... Many firms use the same sales language, offer similar services, make similar promises, and even use similar images on their websites of people looking ste...


Oakwood Solicitors Ltd & Oakwood Property Solicitors in Leeds: But while these terms sound wonderful, they are not really helpful for consumers in their search to tell firms apart. It sounds great, is clear about their location, and indicates that they offer services for both private matters and commercial ones. You could get a 1-year...


Nicholson Jones Sutton Solicitors in Macclesfield: Currently www.njslaw.com takes you to a US firm and variants such as www.nicholsonjonessutton.co.uk are owned by other firms as well. But our opinions are not bought and no firm gets to tell us what to write. If you https: solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk organisation pe...


My Law Matters from Fentimans - Solicitors in Wolverhampton, Manchester, Solihull & Waltham Cross: Of course, even when firms do this they typically only copy the positive reviews to paste on their own website. According to the law society website, the solicitors behind My Law Matters have a range of entry dates into the legal professional. Seasoned expert hands alongsid...


SG Murphy & Co Ltd - Solicitors in Newtownabbey, Belfast: class="infoquote "Our expert Lawyers bring a level of expertise and customer service that sets us apart and ensures your complete satisfaction."< div> This means there is no easy way to independently verify the experience levels or practice areas of individual l...


MJV & Co Solicitors Ltd - Law Firm in Thornton-Cleveleys, Blackpool: But it should be noted that some firms use less than clear language for such statements. It dawned on us straight off the bat with this statement on the front page of the firm's website: class="infoquote "MJV Co is a firm of Blackpool Solicitors working across the Fyl...


McCarthy + Co LLP Solicitors in Dublin, Cork & Clonakilty: class="infoquote "At our last Q9000 quality assurance audit we were rated 99%."< div> They have accreditation from various organisations such as APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) as well as a quality assurance stamp from LQSI (Legal Quality Standards...


Mark Croft Driving Offence Solicitor in Derby: This statement is clear as it means Mark Croft himself has 28 years of experience . It's a shame the Scottish and Irish do not have such a resource. In fact, you could easily end up with a 1-year qualified newbie solicitor from a 200-year old firm, but a 40-year veteran la...


Mackenzie Jones Solicitors in St Asaph, Menai Bridge & Chester: People simply aren't as quick to discuss their divorce, criminal defence, bankruptcy, etc. So here are some of the things we noticed and why they stand out to us as a firm that has worked in the industry for over 20+ years. Because whilst a fairly new legal practitioner can ...


Lyons Solicitors - Law Firm in Kingswood, Westbury-on-Trym & Chew Magna (Bristol): That may sound like wasting time, but we've been doing this for over twenty years now and can tell you it is highly common to see people reviewing the wrong firm or complaining about something that is out of the company's control. The same issues arise for positive reviews a...


LS Legal Solicitors Ltd: However there's a big difference between a solicitor that takes on too many varied types of cases and a legal practice with several specialists within the firm. class="infoquote "LS Legal Solicitors is a multi-service, specialist, diverse and dynamic law firm"< div...


Lefevres Law Firm - Litigation Solicitors in Edinburgh, Glasgow & Aberdeen: That can make them sound a little more formal: class="infoquote "the best possible service is given and best possible result is achieved for the clients" "they have a fantastic ability to handle high value, complex claims" "one of the most thoroughly professi...


QualitySolicitors Large & Gibson - Law Firm in Southsea, Portsmouth: A quick note on navigation. class="infoquote "QualitySolicitors is the largest network of law firms in the UK, with local law firms spanning the whole of England and Wales and customer service at the heart of everything we do. The brand could be 120 years whil...


Kee Solicitors Ltd in Glasgow & Aberdeen: The firm does link to a testimonial page on their site, but it looks as though it has a built-in display of their Trustpilot reviews. It was all relevant stuff such as a pop up box to click to see those Trustpilot reviews, a chat dialogue pop up, a scrolling intro header sec...


JPS Walker Solicitors Ltd in Manchester: Again, a very rough example but to make a geniune point. We aim to maintain our traditional values whilst offering an effective and first class no win no fee service."< div> Again these statements from the JPS Walker website are types which practically every firm will m...


Horsley Law Solicitors in Stafford aka Horsley Holdings Ltd: They are a limited firm and https: www.sra.org.uk consumers register organisation ?sraNumber=629429#headingFirmNames" registered with the SRA< a> (Solicitor Regulation Authority). The snippets above are from testimonials posted on the firm's own site but many prefer to us...


Hill House Chambers - Barristers Based in London: Hill House Chambers have been recommended across our network for some time now so, as we do with many firms, we'd like to give a few insights into things that stood out to us about a firm, how that compares across the industry, and things you can do when searching for the ...


Heritage Park Family Law Ltd - Barrister Chambers in Ampthill, Bedford: The main source people turn to when investigating any new firm is of course the public review boards such as Google, Facebook, Trustpilot and so on. Some firms say 'established in 1881' but that doesn't mean a 150-year-old solicitor is sat behind a desk somewhere. Sinc...


HCR Legal LLP Solicitors Law Firm incl Medical Accident Group in Worcester, Birmingham & Hereford: So you have to look up "hcr legal cheltenham reviews" to see comments about that office while "hcr solicitors worcester" will bring up completely different feedback. The database states Paul Broad qualified in 1979, Simon Biggin in 1983, Julie Acock joined the profession in ...


Harrison's Solicitors - Conveyancing in Reading, Caversham & Woodley: It did for "caversham" and "woodley". There are no firms claiming to be unprofessional and bad value for money are there? So these statements don't help much. It provides a huge wealth of data to users on the firms and individuals registered with the organisation. So what c...


Guardian Law Ltd - Employment & HR Lawyers in Nottingham: This brings up an extra point about reviews - i.e. That's a good four decades of combined experience between them. class="infoquote "We have been around since 2006 but recently rebranded from Your HR Lawyer to Guardian Law"< div> A quick note on navigation as ...


Goldsmith Bowers Debt Recovery & Litigation Solicitors in Bradford: The answer isn't completely black and white, but certainly there is enough anecdotal evidence from our 20+ years in the industry to make the claim that people have found better results with specialist Motor Offence, Divorce, and Medical Negligence firms. We've seen variant...


Girlings Solicitors LLP & Girlings Personal Injury Claims Ltd in Sandwich, Ashford & Canterbury: The main one is www.girlings.com which covers Family Law, Wills, Property, Commercial matters, etc. As I said, this became common practice after the law changes in the 90s which stripped the nation of many Legal Aid helps and dumped all the burden onto the legal industry. Bu...


Frei Solicitors Ltd - Luxury Asset Law Firm in London: So a lack of reviews is not a negative sign when it comes to companies that deal in legal matters. For any given area we might displays results for a general high street solicitor next to a direct access barrister or a specialist non-solicitor solution. Because when you targ...


Frazer Coogans Ltd - Solicitors in Ayr, Prestwick & Glasgow: Making sure you're on the correct website to avoid phishing and only discussing payment arrangements over the phone through the official contact channels - is massively important. But on a law website it can look to some as almost brand new. (Very, very, tenuously worked out...


Foster & Coleman Ltd Solicitors in Bromley, Greater London: It's common for solicitors to make huge claims about ancient founding dates such as 'established in 1881' or even older. Many even have the same images of people smiling and shaking hands. There are several similarly named firms such as 'foster & foster' and 'foster law' tha...


EMD Law LLP Solicitors in Staplehurst & St Leonards-on-Sea: That's not for the same reason many of you stated in our poll last year - i.e. So what are they saying about this firm on the web? class="infoquote "at the end of the phone most of the time when you need help" "may not be the cheapest solicitors around but you get w...


EDC Lord & Co Solicitors in Southall: Their website, www.edclord.co.uk, is an excellent representation of the firm's commitment to professionalism, expertise, and customer service. Also you cannot use an ampersand in web addresses so www.edclord&co.co.uk is not possible. Far too many people https: www.theguard...


Eatons Solicitors in Bradford, Bingley, Yeadon & Leeds West Yorkshire: Eatons don't use any actual wording tricks that we saw. Many firms have testimonials on their websites, but that's not what people want to see. Flicking through the https: solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk organisation offices 389365 eatons-solicitors" staff of thi...

WYM Legal Ltd Conveyancing Solicitors in Watford: The official site is HTTPS secure though for submitting your details via their contact form. It's a curse that comes with the job. Tens of thousands of pounds being transferred to a fraudster's bank account simply because someone didn't check with their appointed solicitor...


Drummond Miller LLP Solicitors in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bathgate, Musselburgh, Dalkeith & East Kilbride: class="infoquote "Drummond Miller is a leading firm of solicitors with offices in 5 locations throughout central Scotland and comprises 14 Partners and over 100 staff."< div> Unfortunately potential clients seeking legal help in Scotland don't have one of the gr...


Defank Solicitors in London: As you go through the hundreds of law firm websites available for legal services in the UK, you've probably noticed a lot use the same sort of wording, images, and make the same claims such as being the 'best' or 'leading' at various things. The firms official website addres...


David Stinson & Co Personal Injury Solicitors in Aylesford, Kent: class="infoquote "We have a proven track record of success with our clients and we cover a wide area of the county, including:"< div> Many firms claim long periods of experience with statements such as 'over 20 years experience within the firm'. 9 times out of 10...


Cullimore Dutton Solicitors Ltd - Conveyancing & Legal Services in Chester: If you are interested in a firm that doesn't provide this information though, there is a wealth of data on law firms on the website of The Law Society of England & Wales including years of experience of each professional they list. class="infoquote "Our team are focus...


Cooks Solicitors in Newcastle under Lyme & Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire: But if you would like to look up the individual experience and expertise of a solicitor within any firm, you can often get the information at the local law society website. All trading names, office locations, languages spoken, case types handled, solicitors' qualification d...


Calio Claims Ltd - Personal Injury in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth & Dundee: class="infoquote "All of the solicitors and support staff at Calio Claims are personal injury experts."< div> Unfortunately the Scottish Law Society is still behind it's English Welsh counterpart in user-side offerings. Being aware of what you're typing and what...


Buchanan & Co Ltd Solicitors in Staveley, Chesterfield, Kiveton Park & Sheffield: This is hugely important because of the immense number of scams involving property matters. But according to our poll a few years back only 8% of you put any stock in company provided reviews. class="infoquote "Our friendly and approachable team are here to he...


Brown & Co Solicitors in Greenwich, London: A quick note on navigation due to the number of firms out there with 'brown' in the name. It's clear someone didn't do that because one of the law firm's reviews states 5 stars and: class="infoquote "really upped it's game on the food recently"< div> The...


Bridge McFarland LLP - Solicitors in Grimsby, Hull, Lincoln, Louth, and Market Rasen: 8 staff x 5 years experience = 40). One thing to remember though is that when a firm has multiple offices you often have to type in the company name and location to see any reviews. Always bear these sorts of things in mind. The first means the firm or the solicitor within t...


Brian Barr Solicitors Ltd Chronic Pain & Fibromyalgia Compensation in Manchester: is to get a wider range of opinions but also to see if there are any themes in the negative feedback too such as not answering the phones, https: www.lawgazette.co.uk commentary-and-opinion prosecute-the-firms-that-force-junior-solicitors-to-cover-up-mistakes 5107928.artic...


Bell Lax Ltd - Solicitors in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham: Many of which probably wouldn't interest members of the general public though unless it related to their actual case. The first is merely how long the firm's brand name has been active. The firm's name is quite unique so even common variants such as 'bellax solicitors' bring...


Backhouse Solicitors in Chelmsford, Essex: We would have thought by now that all law firms would offer free consulations but it's still something many resist. These redirects are an important service we think not enough lawyers pay attention to in order to protect their clients. Not only is that an extraordinary nu...


Amy King Legal - Personal Injury & Litigation Solicitor in Gillingham, Kent: If it was an award for best logo design, then that's not really helpful towards picking them as a legal representative. class="infoquote "... For example, if you ever see a statement such as '30 years of experience within the firm' , that usually means they have add...


ACSL Solicitors Ltd in Liverpool: This sort of thing is hugely important these days especially if you're using a law firm for a property matter. So you may look at this firm's claim of starting in 2009 as indicating much less experience. We've also seen a negative review of a criminal law firm because they...


A City Law Firm Ltd in London: It's more likely for firms to just say they are 'award winning' and make no reference to what that award might be. The most obvious way to check up on those claims is through the public review boards https: www.google.com search?q=a+city+law+firm&rlz=1C1CHBF_en-GBGB926G...


Two Harcourt Buildings Chambers - 2HB Barristers in London: Such as one law firm we saw claiming a 150 year history in their town simply for moving into a building previously occupied by a much older firm. Thankfully the legal industry is modernising and progress is speeding up in some areas. That's because whilst the head office is ...

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