Worried by possibility of costs, would like advice

[dp77]

Am facing a SJ hearing for a debt (regulated by the CCA 1974), which I think is winnable but I am a LiP and I'd like a second, professional opinion. My fear is that if I make a mess of the hearing, or come up against a Judge in a bad mood I could get costs awarded against me - for far more than the claim itself - an SJ hearing is trackless, so the costs could be anything.

 

Can anyone recommend a Solicitor in the London area (preferably West / Central London) who is knowledgeable about consumer law, consumer friendly and who will not charge an absolute fortune to look over my case. I don't want a claim's management company, nothing against them but I'd like someone's full attention. A personal recommendation, i.e. a firm who has actually represented you, or someone you know, would be preferable to 'I've heard they're good' - although I would take 'I've heard they're good' if I had to!

[empowered]

Don't want to alarm you, but we approached sols in local area to represent OH at his trial next week - they quoted at least £4K:eek: Once they are in the loop, you cannot get rid of them, and if the trial is adjourned etc, the costs go up and up. As the sols said "you cannot cherry pick which bits you want"... so we're going it alone:rolleyes: They also warned us that even if you win, you don't automatically get 100% of your costs back - usually 50%, if very lucky 75%, so you really have to weigh up how much your claim is worth:cool:

[dp77]

Blimey, £4,000! That is a bit more than I was expecting.

 

All the (possibly apocryphal) stories on here about the claimant being awarded huge costs when a LiP loses, are these knocked down to 50% also? Because it reads like they get 100%, so why do LiP only get 50%, or 75% if they're lucky, do you know?