Finding a solicitor

[price1367]

I'd like to thank everyone for their input and update on the outcome of my case.

Against all advice I did get a specialist driving offence solicitor as I thought I might have a better chance at a lesser sentence.

In hindsight I really believe it was a huge waste of money and the firm really only told me what I had already been advised and researched on this forum. They simply took a statement from me and advised me to collect character references which I did. They then sent a lawyer to represent me in court who actually did a good job and was very helpful, the lawyer was really like a subcontracter and cost the firm a small fraction of what I paid to them.

He was not from the firm and wasn't even sure who had sent him to represent me so I really should've gone directly to him.

The people I dealt with in the firm were not great and often late with replies and on "leave" although they were quick prior to this asking for payment before they could represent me.

For anyone else in my position I would say that the advice given on this forum was the best and to seek your own lawyer rather than pay hefty commission to others for barely any input where they simply just send someone to represent you.

I was given a 40 months ban along with a requirement to attend courses and a long unpaid work of over 200 hours.

If anyone needs help or more information you are welcome to contact me.

A specialist drink driving solicitor has no advantage whatsoever if you are pleading guilty. Mitigation is mitigation and any competent solicitor can mitigate a case.
The statement they took from you was simply used to brief the solicitor they ‘sub contracted’ to. You could have done this directly.
Then they advised you to get your own character references.
So in reality they only acted as the middle man in this….. how much did they charge you and feel free to name the solicitors involved. that way we can check them against those who claim a 95-100% success rate in all their cases.

 

[Pinkesh]

A specialist drink driving solicitor has no advantage whatsoever if you are pleading guilty. Mitigation is mitigation and any competent solicitor can mitigate a case.
The statement they took from you was simply used to brief the solicitor they ‘sub contracted’ to. You could have done this directly.
Then they advised you to get your own character references.
So in reality they only acted as the middle man in this….. how much did they charge you and feel free to name the solicitors involved. that way we can check them against those who claim a 95-100% success rate in all their cases.

I fully understand now that they were only middle men and a huge cost to pay for just one or two emails and a couple of phone calls. If anyone else has such a situation as mine exactly as you said there is no need for such a third party involved especially if you have accepted that you are guilty. The cost to me was 2500. In an invoice it stated the acting solicitor who was actually the only person I needed and the most helpful was only paid 500. My case was delayed by hours he was very reassuring and remained after the case to ensure I had understood the next steps/ penalties moving forwards. I will name both of these parties soon or if you send me a message I'm just not sure yet if I should be naming shaming anyone as I think this is pretty much standard practice for these 'specialist lawyers' they make a good living from your desperation and do try to make you feel better when you talk with them,

Possibly just giving you false hope and reassurance to get a payment?

but to be Frank they won't really be able to help your case in terms of sentencing and punishment. The court had pretty much decided from their suggested guidelines what was going to happen and the solicitor tried his best and may have reduced it slightly but who knows.

 

[Recovered22]

I fully understand now that they were only middle men and a huge cost to pay for just one or two emails and a couple of phone calls. If anyone else has such a situation as mine exactly as you said there is no need for such a third party involved especially if you have accepted that you are guilty. The cost to me was 2500. In an invoice it stated the acting solicitor who was actually the only person I needed and the most helpful was only paid 500. My case was delayed by hours he was very reassuring and remained after the case to ensure I had understood the next steps/ penalties moving forwards. I will name both of these parties soon or if you send me a message I'm just not sure yet if I should be naming shaming anyone as I think this is pretty much standard practice for these 'specialist lawyers' they make a good living from your desperation and do try to make you feel better when you talk with them,

Possibly just giving you false hope and reassurance to get a payment?

but to be Frank they won't really be able to help your case in terms of sentencing and punishment. The court had pretty much decided from their suggested guidelines what was going to happen and the solicitor tried his best and may have reduced it slightly but who knows.

You definitely should be naming and shaming them so when other desperate drivers google their name this forum post may appear if they look past the first page of results. You lose nothing by giving your experience on a public forum, you are within your right to incase you are worried about falling into the libel area. As long as you give an honest account of the company you can say what you like. Many of these companies as price has pointed out boast a massive success rate, it would be very interesting to know which one of them it was.

 

[Pinkesh]

You definitely should be naming and shaming them so when other desperate drivers google their name this forum post may appear if they look past the first page of results. You lose nothing by giving your experience on a public forum, you are within your right to incase you are worried about falling into the libel area. As long as you give an honest account of the company you can say what you like. Many of these companies as price has pointed out boast a massive success rate, it would be very interesting to know which one of them it was.

Motoring defence solicitors is the firm. I didn't want to name and shame them as they may be able to help others more than they did me. Also I'm not sure what more they could have done and I already knew that it wouldn't be cheap to hire a so called specialist. I was given the correct advice by many on this forum and it was my own fault and cost me more than it should have.

Which is why I would like to repeat what I was already told multiple times in case others are in my situation.

A normal solicitor is more than sufficient, they will simply talk on your behalf based on what information you have given them.

if you are comfortable/confident talking with the majistrates then you can go it alone and it may even look better for you. And of course you might save some/lot of money.

 

[price1367]

Thanks for the information. At least they didn’t steer you down the not guilty plea route with the attendant raise in prosecution costs, only to advise a guilty plea at the last minute……..

If it was MOTOR DEFENCE SOLICITORS, they advertise their fees, which is nice, but they do not seem to accord with what you were fleeced for:

All prices are exclusive of VAT, which will be charged at the standard rate:

Fixed Fee Services

Telephone Advice Only (20 mins Advice with a Lawyer) £50
Further Telephone Advice (per 6 minutes or part thereof) £16
Sentencing – Written Mitigation £450
Sentencing – Personal Mitigation £900

Criminal Defence Lawyer Costs - Motor Defence Solicitors

All prices are exclusive of VAT, which will be charged at the standard rate: Fixed Fee Services Telephone Advice Only (20 mins Advice with a Lawyer) £50

www.motordefencesolicitors.co.uk

 

[Wilbur2015]

Thanks for the information. At least they didn’t steer you down the not guilty plea route with the attendant raise in prosecution costs, only to advise a guilty plea at the last minute……..

If it was MOTOR DEFENCE SOLICITORS, they advertise their fees, which is nice, but they do not seem to accord with what you were fleeced for:

All prices are exclusive of VAT, which will be charged at the standard rate:

Fixed Fee Services

Telephone Advice Only (20 mins Advice with a Lawyer) £50
Further Telephone Advice (per 6 minutes or part thereof) £16
Sentencing – Written Mitigation £450
Sentencing – Personal Mitigation £900

Criminal Defence Lawyer Costs - Motor Defence Solicitors

All prices are exclusive of VAT, which will be charged at the standard rate: Fixed Fee Services Telephone Advice Only (20 mins Advice with a Lawyer) £50

www.motordefencesolicitors.co.uk

I think it might be these https://www.drinkdrugdriving.co.uk/ that Pinkesh used who unfortunately do claim to be 98% successful

 

[Pinkesh]

Thanks for the information. At least they didn’t steer you down the not guilty plea route with the attendant raise in prosecution costs, only to advise a guilty plea at the last minute……..

If it was MOTOR DEFENCE SOLICITORS, they advertise their fees, which is nice, but they do not seem to accord with what you were fleeced for:

All prices are exclusive of VAT, which will be charged at the standard rate:

Fixed Fee Services

Telephone Advice Only (20 mins Advice with a Lawyer) £50
Further Telephone Advice (per 6 minutes or part thereof) £16
Sentencing – Written Mitigation £450
Sentencing – Personal Mitigation £900

Criminal Defence Lawyer Costs - Motor Defence Solicitors

All prices are exclusive of VAT, which will be charged at the standard rate: Fixed Fee Services Telephone Advice Only (20 mins Advice with a Lawyer) £50

www.motordefencesolicitors.co.uk

Hi it was motoring defence solicitors. I was told fixed fees on the phone and email. I do not believe they have prices on their website.

 

[Polly3]

You definitely should be naming and shaming them so when other desperate drivers google their name this forum post may appear if they look past the first page of results. You lose nothing by giving your experience on a public forum, you are within your right to incase you are worried about falling into the libel area. As long as you give an honest account of the company you can say what you like. Many of these companies as price has pointed out boast a massive success rate, it would be very interesting to know which one of them it was.

I agree. There is nothing wrong with naming at all , any shame has been self inflicted. Shame on them indeed. How anyone can bear to work for such an outfit is beyond me .

 

[Polly3]

Hi it was motoring defence solicitors. I was told fixed fees on the phone and email. I do not believe they have prices on their website.

Well it’s over now. A lesson learned . You can move on. They will continue to be charlatans. Shame on them and their ilk .

 

[price1367]

Hi it was motoring defence solicitors. I was told fixed fees on the phone and email. I do not believe they have prices on their website.

They do, The figures I showed is from their website which is why I queried what you were charged (I believe you, but not how they portray their costs online!)

 

[Pinkesh]

Thanks again everyone for your help and input. I would just like to point out I think these are two different firms, motor defence solicitors vs motorINGdefence solicitors. One will produce a sponsored ad via Google and the other is based in Finsbury Park london and had 43 good Google reviews which is why I decided to go with them.. Of course reviews can not be fully relied upon these days and I can only give my own account and experience so others can make thier own informed decision regarding using these firms.

I would like to reiterate these two firms mentions I believe are different and I just want to provide an honest account regarding the firm I used not another which has a similar name.

 

[Recovered22]

Thanks again everyone for your help and input. I would just like to point out I think these are two different firms, motor defence solicitors vs motorINGdefence solicitors. One will produce a sponsored ad via Google and the other is based in Finsbury Park london and had 43 good Google reviews which is why I decided to go with them.. Of course reviews can not be fully relied upon these days and I can only give my own account and experience so others can make thier own informed decision regarding using these firms.

I would like to reiterate these two firms mentions I believe are different and I just want to provide an honest account regarding the firm I used not another which has a similar name.

Ah I managed to find their website, they don't even have a .com/.co.uk for the name of their firm. Rather drinkdrugdriving . co . uk. Sorry to say but those Google reviews can be bought online for less than £5 a go. Many of the accounts leaving 5 star reviews have posted 1/2 reviews. The kind of people who leave Google reviews generally do it often. They don't have a trust pilot or a solicitors review account which is a massive red flag for a supposedly national firm as their website claims.



As expected, their website shows no fees and claims an overall 98% success rate and 100% for blood and urine cases. Honestly impossible, they get these figured by changing the plea of those with no hope to guilty at the last second in court. That way with dead cert cases they can always win, I would be interested to know how many cases the 100% claim applies to. I would hazard a guess of less than 10 in those 10+ years of experience but that might be generous. Sorry you were taken for a ride by con artists like this, the only good thing that comes from it is that your post will be able to be linked to when new users come looking advice on "specialist motoring firms"