Homeowners face huge legal bills after SSB law firm collapses

Sean Wilkes' mother was sent a letter demanding £18,000 in fees

Hundreds of clients of a stricken law firm are facing huge legal bills after their compensation claims collapsed despite being assured their cases were taken on a no-win, no-fee basis.

Many of those who have received demands for costs - some up to £40,000 - said they had no means of paying.

BBC North West has been told more than 1,400 people could be affected after SSB Law went into administration.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said it was investigating.

Administrators FRP Advisory said the cases had been transferred to new solicitors who would "advise on any adverse cost claims".

Yusuf Patel, a civil engineer from Blackburn, said he felt "broken" after receiving a bill for £27,495 through the post before Christmas which he had "no hope" of paying.

The 54-year-old had cavity wall insulation installed in 2014 which he believed led to mould and damp in his terraced home.

'Sounded a good deal'

He said in February 2020, someone "knocked on his door" and said they could help him pursue a compensation claim on a "no-win, no-fee basis".

He signed up and his case was taken on by SSB Law, who were based in Sheffield.

"They said I was not liable for any costs and if they lost the case they had insurance to cover all the fees. That's the reason I signed the documents," he said.

"It sounded like a good deal."

But when his case was dismissed at court, he received a demand last year to pay the insulation firm's fees.

In December, a court issued an interim charging order on his home, meaning his creditors will receive a share of the proceeds when he sells it.

In some cases, courts can order a home to be sold if the debt is not paid back.

"I can't think, I can't sleep. My life has stopped at the moment," he said.

"It's scary to me because I've never ever been in this situation in my lifetime. I've never owed anyone a penny. I don't know how I can deal with it."

Yusuf Patel says he feels "broken" after after receiving a bill for £27,495

Sean Wilkes, from Burnley, and Qurrah Ahmed, from Leigh, have parents who have received demands for thousands of pounds.

Mr Wilkes's mother, who is 77, has been told she needs to repay £18,000 in fees after her cavity wall insulation claim failed.

"My mum is on pension credit, she has no savings. I don't know what they think the chances are of getting this money from my mother and it's just causing an immense amount of distress," he said.

"I never thought that I'd see the day that my 77-year-old mother would have to be given the advice of 'don't answer the door' in case the bailiffs might come round. It's outrageous.

"Three days ago we had a call from a family friend who has just this week received a notice of enforcement for £13,500. She's a 73-year-old lady on her own and is very distressed by it.

"Right from the outset this was explained at every stage that it was no-win, no-fee. That there was no comeback was it not to be successful."

Mrs Ahmed's 70-year-old father was told he owed £13,000.

"When we opened the letter, our hearts were just palpitating," she said.

"My dad, he wasn't functioning. He suffers from a number of health conditions including a heart condition and the impact this has had on him is absolutely devastating.

"The entire family couldn't eat, we couldn't sleep, we couldn't function. Every single day this matter was consuming us."

Mrs Ahmed, 32, formed a support group after being contacted online by other householders who have received demands for money.

She said "dozens and dozens" had joined and that many of those affected are elderly or non-English speaking, making their situation "much more difficult".

Sean Wilkes (pictured with Qurrah Ahmed) says the demand for £18,000 was causing his mother "an immense amount of distress"

BBC North West has seen emails to clients from SSB Law telling them the firm would take out an insurance policy to protect them "from paying the defendant's fees".

Solicitor Erich Kurtz from law firm Hugh James is now looking at many of the cases and said there could be more than 1,400 people who have received shock legal bills.

"The scale of this is incredibly large.

"The hotspots seem to be in the North West, North East and Wales.

"What we've seen to date is that a lot of those adverse costs are in excess of £20,000, £30,000, £40,000 per claim.

"The best advice we can give to people is to try to engage as soon as they can with insurers, try to reduce those costs and then seek legal advice."

The Solicitors Regulation Authority said it was "aware of the concerns of clients" who have made no win, no fee, claims through SSB Law.

It added: "We are investigating these concerns to find out what went wrong with these claims.

"We also understand a number of clients have already contacted both the Legal Ombudsman and Financial Services Ombudsman to complain about the standard of service they have received."

The BBC has tried to put the allegations to the directors of SSB Law but it has not been possible to reach them.

Administrators FRP Advisory said in a statement: "While SSB is no longer trading, we've secured the transition of all live case work to new providers and have notified clients".

It said JMR Solicitors would look at "any adverse cost claims" by clients.

'Unrealistic promise'

Insurance company QBE, which is taking action against Mr Patel to recover fees, told the BBC: "Our role is to support our customers, whether that's paying valid claims quickly or defending them from claims that have no merit. 

"Unfortunately, as is reported, some legal firms have been encouraging homeowners to bring unsubstantiated claims relating to cavity wall installation with the unrealistic promise of financial recompense.

"Encouraging individuals to take cases to court that have no merit can have serious consequences for those involved, a fact that is often not made clear to them at the outset. 

"We understand how upsetting this situation is for those who took these claims to court and we would encourage them to speak to the SRA about what their options are and to ensure the solicitors involved are held to account."

Royal and Sun Alliance, which is trying to recover costs from the parents of Mr Wilkes and Mrs Ahmed, said: "Over the past few years, SSB Law has represented individuals in claims against ourselves as the insurer of now insolvent cavity wall insulation businesses.

"Where a litigated claim has failed, this has resulted in the individual becoming liable to meet RSA's court awarded costs."

It added it had "paused recovery of unpaid costs" when SSB Law "failed to respond to their clients' concerns" and was working to "find a way forward for all concerned".

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