A common question when making a claim is:
“How much will I have to pay?”
Generally, the answer should be nothing! No Win, No Fee should mean exactly what it says; If you lose the claim, you don’t pay any legal fees!
The formal name for No Win, No Fee is the Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Apart from Family or Criminal matters, many types of claim can be suitable for CFA’s. It’s at the discretion of the solicitor whether they will take your case on this basis.
The general idea behind a No Win, No Fee agreement is that you’ll not be charged by your solicitor for their time spent working on your case unless you win the claim. If you do win, the solicitor is entitled to charge you for their time plus an extra fee called a Success Fee.
Before you panic – both of these fees are recoverable from the losing party!
There are often other costs incurred when making a claim, which are known as disbursements. This can include court fees and medical report fees. Again, these can be recovered from the losing party.
If you lose the case, you may still be liable for the costs that the other party has incurred. Usually an insurance policy known as After the Event insurance is taken out to cover you from these risks. Before you enter any type of agreement, you must check the terms very carefully for hidden costs!
Essentially, the idea of a good No Win, No Fee agreement should mean you keep 100% of your payout if you win and pay nothing if you lose.
Upcoming changes
April 2013 marks the change of such agreements under Legal Aid, Sentencing, and punishing of Offenders Act 2012. The success fee will no longer be recoverable from the losing party and successful claimants may be deprived of up to 25% of their compensation in order to pay the solicitors this fee.
By instructing a solicitor and entering into this agreement before April 2013, you may be saving yourself a deduction from your compensation.