Wards specialist solicitors

Disputes and how to solve them

Unfortunately, despite all precautions and best intentions, disputes do occur. What can you do if you are dissatisfied with a service that has been provided, with building or repair work of any kind, or if you have bought a faulty product? At Wards, we are here to explain your legal rights and outline what can be done to help you.

When you are involved in any type of dispute, it is better to seek advice sooner rather than later, as you are more likely to get it resolved.

Who should I contact?
Our specialists are based in central Bristol but they are happy to meet you at an office local to you.

Elizabeth Fry on 0117 929 2811or email her
Ian Williamson 0117 929 2811or email him
James Taylor on 01454 204880 or email him
Emma Kerry on 01275 850470 or email her

Types of dispute
We can help you with most types of dispute, including:

Money and debts
Do you want to collect money owed to you or are being chased for payments?
Faulty goods and poor service
Have you been sold a faulty item or received poor service?
Holidays
Have you had a nightmare holiday, for example, where holiday brochure promises were not met?
Building disputes
Have you had building work done which is shoddy or unfinished?
Land and boundary disputes
Do you have a problem with a neighbour over a boundary, or is there a dispute about a problem with your land - for example, flooding, trespass, or rights of way?
Landlord and tenant
As a landlord, are you having difficulty in recovering rent, dealing with disrepairs and obtaining possession? As a tenant, are you having problems in enforcing compliance with the landlord’s repair obligations and with possession proceedings?
Joint property
Are you unmarried but own property jointly and are separating? Are you living as a couple but your home is in one person’s name only? Joint does not mean equal - are you aware of your rights?
Mortgage disputes
We can advise on proper compliance by lenders with fair terms and conditions, issues on mortgage accounts (such as over charging of interest), proper procedures for enforcement of possession and compliance with the regulatory codes surrounding mortgage sales.
Will disputes
Have you been unreasonably excluded from a Will, especially as a dependent of the deceased? Do you think a Will has been made under pressure or the circumstances warrant investigation? Click here to view our probate and trust dispute services.
Professional advisers
Have you employed advisers (e.g. architects, surveyors, accountants or solicitors) who have let you down?
Insolvency/bankruptcy
Do you jointly own property with someone who is or has been bankrupt? Discharge from bankruptcy does not restore property ownership to your co-owner and the Official Receiver might – many years later - be able to force the sale of the property against your wishes.

If your particular problem is not listed above, we may still be able to help, so please contact us.

Can I get compensation?
If you incur financial loss or suffer personal injuries as a result of defective workmanship or any other breach of contract, then the answer generally is yes. Often, you will be awarded compensation for the costs of putting the work right or the replacement value of any goods supplied. If faulty goods are supplied, then you may have the option to reject the goods and claim a replacement or your money back. We can advise on all of these situations.

However, it may not always make sense for you to pursue a claim. If the financial value of the dispute is below £5,000, your legal costs cannot be recovered from the other side. In these cases, our fees will be deducted from any compensation you receive. If this is likely to be the case, we will tell you and you can then make an informed decision about whether or not to pursue the claim.

Will I have to go to court?

Negotiating a successful solution
In the vast majority of cases, this will not be necessary. Wherever possible, we seek to resolve disputes without going to court. Some cases may be appropriate for mediation, in which case we will advise you at the outset.

We will obtain the background on your case to assess its strength and merits. This may be easy if you are able to give us all the evidence we require. In other cases, we may need to spend some time obtaining that evidence from other people.
We will correspond with the other side, setting out your case in full and asking for their comments and responding to their proposals for settlement of the case.
If you are making a claim, we will push the other side hard to get you the best possible offer. If you are defending a claim, we will assess the chances of success and negotiate the best settlement possible.

Taking court action
Going to court raises the stakes, since losing at trial can mean you pay the other side's legal costs. However, once court action starts, the other side will be under much more pressure to negotiate a solution.

It is essential to be prepared early - there is a very strict court timetable to be followed after you have issued proceedings. If you are not prepared, costs could be imposed against you or the case dismissed altogether. Therefore it is important to instruct solicitors who are efficient and well-organised and to then co-operate with them fully. If you go to court, we will:

start court action for you or file a defence, as appropriate.
prepare the evidence to be used at court. This involves obtaining documents, witness statements and experts’ reports.
continue to seek a negotiated settlement - if that is in your best interests. If the case becomes more involved, we may use a specialist barrister to advise you further.

If court action is necessary, we have the skills and experience to manage your case efficiently, with access to a wide variety of specialist experts in various fields, as well as to barristers to provide more specialised advice.

As holders of the Law Society’s Lexcel quality mark, you can rest assured that we will prepare your case thoroughly and professionally to maximise your chances of success.

Enforcing the court's decision
If you are successful, the other side usually has to pay any compensation owed within 14 days. If they do not, there are still many ways to get your money - such as sending in bailiffs or forcing their company into liquidation.

What will it cost?
Litigation can be an expensive business - especially for more complex cases such as building disputes, where expert evidence is often required. However, there are various ways in which your claim can be funded and we will advise on all the options at our first meeting.

Legal Aid - whether or not you qualify for legal Aid depends on your financial circumstances. There are strict qualification requirements based on your disposable income that are imposed by the Legal Services Commission, which manages the Legal Aid scheme. If eligible, the Community Legal Service Fund will cover your legal costs and you seldom pay legal costs for the other side.

No win - no fee/conditional fee arrangements - this means that if you do not win your case, you will not usually have to pay our costs. The idea is, that if successful, these fees will usually be paid by the insurance company acting for the other side.

However, if the claim is not successful then you may be required by a court to pay the other side's costs. Most conditional fee arrangements require you take out insurance to pay the other side's costs in the case of defeat.

Legal expenses insurance - you may already have this insurance within your house or motor policies or have legal expenses insurance linked to these policies, which could cover the cost of litigation or you can take out insurance just to cover the risk of losing your claim.

A word of warning however. You should check the small print very carefully, as most policies limit the type of claim covered and often have a limit on claim value. Such policies also usually require that you use one of its panel solicitors, who could be located anywhere in the UK. You are still free to instruct a local solicitor of your choice, but you must generally write to the insurance company giving reasons for your choice.

Paying privately - we can provide a realistic estimate at the outset and can agree set staged payments for each part of the litigation process, so that you know what you will have to pay when and can budget accordingly.

How you can help us
The more information you bring us about your dispute, the quicker we can help you and the less time (and therefore cost) will be involved in obtaining the information we need. It will help if you are able to bring the following to our initial meeting:

Your name, address, telephone number etc
Proof of identity (passport and utility bills) for anti-money laundering purposes
If you are receiving state Benefits, we would like to see your benefit book, so that we can advise you on how you might qualify for Legal Aid and how any compensation may affect your entitlement to benefit.
Notes of what has happened from the first time you had a problem, with dates of each incident.
Any documents or photographs relating to your claim, such as a contract or estimate, receipts or other proof of any expenditure you have incurred as a result of the claim.

Your questions answered

How much will it cost? Don’t be put off because of worries about funding your case. The main reason for litigation costs rising is the other side being difficult - but as a result of changes in the court rules, this is much less likely to happen. Similarly, it will help us to keep the cost down if you provide us with all the information we need at the outset and promptly, during the course of the case.

How long will it take? The typical time to reach a negotiated settlement is 2-3 months for small claims below £5,000 and around 30 weeks for a trial in a fast track case between £5,000-£15,000. If you proceed with court action, then a court date will be set within 30 weeks of the issue of proceedings.

Contact us
Our specialists are happy to meet at an office local to you.

Elizabeth Fry on 0117 929 2811or email her
Ian Williamson 0117 929 2811or email him
James Taylor on 01454 204880 or email him
Emma Kerry on 01275 850470 or email her