Hundreds face huge legal bills after collapse of 'no win no fee' law firm
- 2 months ago
Hundreds of householders face losing their homes after signing up to a controversial 'no win no fee' legal firm which has collapsed owing £48m.
Around 1,500 residents were offered free legal representation by SSB Law, which said it would help them win compensation for dodgy cavity wall insulation.
However, the Sheffield-based firm fell into administration in January leaving them liable for huge court fees.
The firm also faces a probe by legal and financial watchdogs.
Devastated Sharon Lord, 47, fears she’ll be left homeless after becoming liable for £17,000 in court costs.
The company's collapse left her footing the bill for their failed attempts to win her case - and she now faces threats from bailiffs and County Court Judgements (CCJs).
Lifting the lid on SSB Law's tactics, which she said made her feel she had 'no choice' but to pursue a claim, she said: "All I can think about is I’m going to lose my 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”.
Mum-of-two Sharon said she felt she had "no option" but to pursue a no win no fee case through SSB Law to claw back the cash for the removal of the insulation and repairs.
But in January, she received an email saying it had gone into administration, and she was liable to pay the costs of opposition solicitors who took on the firm.
Sharon, who was hoping to go to university next year so she could change careers, now lives in fear that her kids' possessions will soon be targeted by debt collectors.
She said: “I am terrified that the bailiffs are going to turn up at my door.
“My children have things but I don’t have things. They have things that I’ve bought them, things that their dad bought them, presents mainly.
“I’ve spent two and half years at college, trying to build a new career for a better life for me and my family, and it’s gone because I won’t get student finance.
“I feel like I’ve had the carpet swept from underneath me. I’ve had to come out of work. I can’t even remember my name most of the time at the moment.
“The money we do have is not going to cover this, so I risk the house - and there's the fact that if I’ve got a CCJ on there, I can’t even get out of this.”
Antony Higginbotham, MP for Burnley, blasted the firm for leaving many of his constituents "palpably distressed".
He added: "It cannot be right that a law firm promises to take a case on a no win no fee basis, only then to go bust, leaving people facing huge legal bills.
Around 1,500 residents were offered free legal representation by SSB Law, which said it would help them win compensation for dodgy cavity wall insulation.
However, the Sheffield-based firm fell into administration in January leaving them liable for huge court fees.
The firm also faces a probe by legal and financial watchdogs.
Devastated Sharon Lord, 47, fears she’ll be left homeless after becoming liable for £17,000 in court costs.
The company's collapse left her footing the bill for their failed attempts to win her case - and she now faces threats from bailiffs and County Court Judgements (CCJs).
Lifting the lid on SSB Law's tactics, which she said made her feel she had 'no choice' but to pursue a claim, she said: "All I can think about is I’m going to lose my 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”.
Mum-of-two Sharon said she felt she had "no option" but to pursue a no win no fee case through SSB Law to claw back the cash for the removal of the insulation and repairs.
But in January, she received an email saying it had gone into administration, and she was liable to pay the costs of opposition solicitors who took on the firm.
Sharon, who was hoping to go to university next year so she could change careers, now lives in fear that her kids' possessions will soon be targeted by debt collectors.
She said: “I am terrified that the bailiffs are going to turn up at my door.
“My children have things but I don’t have things. They have things that I’ve bought them, things that their dad bought them, presents mainly.
“I’ve spent two and half years at college, trying to build a new career for a better life for me and my family, and it’s gone because I won’t get student finance.
“I feel like I’ve had the carpet swept from underneath me. I’ve had to come out of work. I can’t even remember my name most of the time at the moment.
“The money we do have is not going to cover this, so I risk the house - and there's the fact that if I’ve got a CCJ on there, I can’t even get out of this.”
Antony Higginbotham, MP for Burnley, blasted the firm for leaving many of his constituents "palpably distressed".
He added: "It cannot be right that a law firm promises to take a case on a no win no fee basis, only then to go bust, leaving people facing huge legal bills.