No Win No Fee: What's the Catch?

You’ve probably heard of a No Win No Fee legal claim funding agreement. They are a common way of paying for a solicitor’s work to get you the compensation you could be entitled to.

But many may wonder what the catch with a No Win No Fee agreement is. Nothing can come for free so how exactly does it work?

No Win No Fee: What’s the catch?

With a No Win No Fee agreement, it’s understandable that you might think there’s a catch. After all, a funding agreement that means you don’t have to pay anything if you’re unsuccessful sounds almost be too good to be true.

But there is no catch with a No Win No Fee agreement. It is as straightforward as its name suggests.

A No Win No Fee claim is a kind of conditional fee agreement. This means that your solicitor’s fee is conditional on them winning your claim for you.

If your solicitor thinks you have a good chance of a successful claim, they will usually take on your personal injury claim on a No Win No Fee basis. In these circumstances, your solicitor won’t ask for any payment before they begin work on your claim.

They will also not receive any payment for their services if your claim is not successful. This means that you will only pay your solicitor for their work if you are awarded compensation for your accident.

If your claim is not successful and you do not receive any compensation, you won’t have anything to pay. This means there is no financial risk involved in making a claim. That was set up to allow everyone to pursue justice for accidents that were not their fault.

Not everyone can afford to pay a solicitor for their work, but No Win No Fee agreements can open up justice for everyone. This means everyone can take legal action if they’ve been hurt through someone else’s negligence.

Are there other costs?

When you make a No Win No Fee personal injury claim, there may be some costs to pay. This could include an insurance policy, known as After the Event (ATE) insurance.

This policy covers the cost of a claim. It means your solicitor can do the work necessary in putting your claim together. It covers the cost of getting hold of certain pieces of evidence, such as medical assessments. It also covers the cost of court fees – but don’t worry because very few personal injury claims ever end up going to court.

But as with your solicitor’s success fee, nothing is taken until after your claim is proven to be successful and you are awarded compensation.

What is a success fee?

Your solicitor will receive a success fee if you are awarded compensation. This will be explained to at the beginning of the process so you won’t come across any surprise costs.

A success fee can be up to 25% of your compensation. This is true for claims involving accidents at work, slips and trips and most other injuries.

However, there have been some changes to the law around road traffic accidents, which has affected how much a success fee will be for those claims. If you’re making a road traffic accident or housing disrepair claim, your solicitor will typically receive up to 35% of your final compensation amount plus VAT.

If you have any questions about your solicitor’s success fee, don’t hesitate to ask them about it. They’ll be happy to talk you through it and explain how there’s no catch with No Win No Fee claims.

To find out more about how First4Lawyers can help you make a No Win No Fee claim after a personal injury, just get in touch. You can give us a call, request a call back or start your claim online.