New BBC documentary exposes harms of the no-win, no-fee claims market

The number of housing disrepair claims is rising, as revealed in “No Win No Fee... No thanks?” by BBC File on 4 Investigates.

I joined forces with the BBC to explore this growing market for unscrupulous NWNF lawyers.

I’ve been investigating the market for two years following the collapse of solicitors’ firm, SSB Law, which left numerous Burnley and Pendle households with devastating legal debts. Two residents, Sharon Lord and Nina Lofthouse, spoke in the programme about being door-knocked by canvassers, then chased for thousands of pounds – despite being promised they wouldn’t pay a penny.

I’d long wondered what could be the next big thing for claims. As a reporter interested in housing issues, I’d also wondered how tenants on lower incomes could ever afford to take their landlords to court over outstanding housing repairs.

Reporter Adrian Goldberg, producer Jim Booth, and I soon discovered evidence of NWNF housing disrepair claims, sourced using banned practices, such as cold-calling. The team spoke to a 74-year-old pensioner living in a housing association flat about how a canvasser knocking on his door tried to pressurise him into pursuing such a claim.

The documentary also examines the role of England’s regulator for solicitors. It asks whether the Solicitors Regulation Authority has learned its lessons from the collapse of SSB. It also questions whether the regulator is equipped to protect vulnerable social housing tenants from potentially risky NWNF claims, or whether it has, as critics say, “been asleep at the wheel”.

You can listen to the episode at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002ppxq