Whilst it could vary between who is advising you, the purpose of this article is to address the latest trend amongst lawyers and claims management companies who are increasingly using the term “100% no win no fee” for what may be somewhat misleading reasons.
The sentence has the connotation, for some, that you are being offered 100% compensation. This, however, is normally not the case.
Since the government changed the law in April 2013 most personal injury victims will have to pay a Success Fee deduction of up to 25% from their payout. On top of that many are having to pay for insurance premiums and additional costs and expenses . Why? The government stopped the recoverability of all of your legal fees from the opponent.
Whilst the actions of our government have arguably quashed access to justice and left the innocent victim with less than what they are entitled to, the whole thing is entirely out of our hands. They even drastically reduced what fees can still be recovered which has really left lawyers with little choice than to pass this cost on to the client.
You may have noticed that the telly and radio adverts rarely state that you keep all 100% of your compensation now. The reason is simple – because you don’t.
But you should never underestimate the ability to market a service to make it look to be something it is not, and the “100% no win, no fee” tagline is often just that. Winning the claim and losing the claim are two very different things. The no win, no fee element is normally designed to cover what happens if you don’t win.
So what does 100% no win no fee even mean? That you will 100% have no fees to pay if the claim loses? That it is guaranteed to be literally a no win, no fee situation? Therein lies the ambiguity.
You will likely find that you will be told to pay a deduction if the claim wins where the tagline that grabbed your attention was 100% no win no fee. If you ask them how this is so, they may simply explain to you that it means you will 100% have nothing to pay if the claim loses.
100% no win no fee does not mean 100% compensation – they are two very different statements. By the fact that you see the 100% element and hope for a real deal agreement that offers you 100% of your compensation is probably the exact intention of those who are marketing their services to you in this way.
Our advice is simple – don’t be fooled; take nothing for granted; and ask the question clearly as to what you have to pay, or what you have deducted, if the case wins. Make sure you get a clear answer because there are clever ways of still giving you the impression that you will receive 100% of your payout.
For example: “you have nothing to pay” or “nothing comes out of your pocket” does not mean that you will not have something deducted from the payout. Speak to a real law firm like us who will advise you in plain and simple English.
We’re here to help you – not dupe you in to a deal that is not the best for you.
