We are receiving reports from our residents that Housing Disrepair Claims Farmers are active in the area.
They often impersonate St Leger Homes of Doncaster or City of Doncaster Council employees (or claim to be working in partnership with), to gain access to your home and trick you into signing a contract with a solicitor. Claims farmers work on a finder’s fee and commission, they will pretend to care about you but they don’t, and they are in it for their own financial gain.
Unfortunately, when entering a contract, you are putting yourself at financial risk. Even when advertised as ‘No Win No Fee’, they are often hidden fees you could be liable for. Some of our tenants have been pursued by solicitors for thousands of pounds when they have tried to cancel their claim.
Law firms are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Currently the SRA are investigating over 50 companies for using aggressive, misleading, or non-compliant marketing tactics to attract clients.
All employees of St Leger Homes of Doncaster and City of Doncaster Council carry an ID badge. Make sure you ask for ID, and if in doubt, contact our Customer Access Team on 01302 862 862 for advice.
Claims farmers will say your claim is worth thousands of pounds, but very few housing disrepair claims are successful. For those that are, the tenants receive a very small percentage in comparison to what is paid in legal costs and profit to the solicitor.
As an example, a recent case saw the Judge find minor fault on behalf of the landlord, the tenant was awarded £62.50 after the tenant spent a full day in court and costs of £13,500 were paid to the solicitor. This tenant was told their case was worth in the region of £2,500 and it is likely that the solicitors would have taken a cut of around 30% from the awarded £62.50 compensation! It is clear, that the only winner here was the solicitor.
We are observing that in most housing disrepair cases we receive, there are repairs listed in the claim that have never been reported to us. If any repairs are required to your home, please report them at your first available opportunity. This can be done by phoning our Customer Access Team on 01302 862 862, by emailing tenantrepairs@stlegerhomes.co.uk or through our online tenant portal.
If after reporting your repairs, you are unhappy with the service you are receiving, don’t put yourself at financial risk, there are FREE services available to help escalate your concerns, including:
• St Leger Homes complaints procedure.
• Making a complaint to your Councillor.
• Making a complaint to your MP.
• The Housing Ombudsman.
We are here to listen; we are here to help. The more money that is paid to unscrupulous solicitors and claims management companies, the less money is available to invest into our housing stock, your homes.
If you do decide to enter a contract with a claims management company or a solicitor, please make sure you know what you are signing for and read the small print.