Why we discourage the giving of private advice off-forum

[BankFodder]

We are often asked why we discourage the giving of private advice off-forum

 

There are many regulars here who are a great asset to the Caggers on this forum. These people are highly regarded and it is great that they are prepared to spend so much of their time helping others.

 

This forum is run in a way so that everyone’s experiences are published.

 

This means that the forum material is available to everyone – and everyone should understand that there are a huge number of people who read the threads without contributing and without even registering. We have about a million unique visitors per month.

That is fine by us. We merely want to empower people to be able to take responsibility for themselves. This leads eventually to a more challenging and more confident consumer-base. (I’m sure that we are only making the very slightest of dents – but we are doing something).

 

Where advice is given off-forum it has two effects.

Firstly it removes a source of good up-to-date information from others. It is only the minority of people who register onto the forum. This means that there are a hugely significant number of people who are deprived of the information and the encouragement that they need to stand up for themselves.

 

Secondly, on many threads, there are often a number of contributors, all lending a hand and being community minded and selfless with their time and their energy.

Suddenly they find that the person who they are helping has stopped responding to the thread. This is because that person is now dealing directly with someone off-forum. The other helpers, who have been content to do things publicly, feel frustrated. They don’t understand what has happened. They don’t get the satisfaction of knowing that there has been a victory which they have contributed to. They have a sense of not being appreciated and there is a possibility that as a result they decide not to help anyone else anymore and they go away and find something else to do – to the loss of everyone on the forum, present and future.

[MostUncivilised]

I'm guessing this is a response to the thread I posted, so thought I'd clarify myself and apologise for being so strident.

 

I take your points entirely about ensuring that everyone benefits from seeing the information and tactics used in cases and what results they render. And I see what you're saying about all the people who have contributed being able to see the results of their help, and making available that information as widely as possible. I wasn't trying to have a go at the individual mod or the forum generally (or rather, I jumped the gun and could have thought about what I said more carefully).

 

But I was very disappointed as the two colleagues/friends I had in mind are very good lawyers, and would be doing it on a purely pro-bono basis. It also upset me a little to be labelled a possible tout or troll as my only motivation was to help the OP, and that with more people on the case, including legal professionals, they'd really be able to obtain the best possible outcome.

 

I suppose I'd be keen to know whether it is permitted to put an OP in touch with particular lawyer/s for pro-bono help on a one-off basis (on the understanding that they provide all the information about the outcomes to the forum)? Also, whether it is okay to provide people with caselaw and extracts of legal texts from legal databases that they otherwise cannot access.

[BankFodder]

My post was prompted by you but wasn't in response to it as this is a problem we have been dealing with for years.

I should have posted something like this a long time ago.

 

I think that the basic rules is that if you have contributions or suggestions then they should be posted on the forum.

I don't see why you can't post extracts here so long as there aren't copyright issues. Whether you post them here or supply them privately, the same copyright issues apply.

 

There is a probono unit and if people want to go there, they are welcome to. I don't think that we would be prepared to host specific recomendations on this forum and we wouldn't want to see this being done by PM.

 

Let me say that this forum is provided freely and out of goodwill to all our fellow consumers.

It is a hard job and time-consuming to keep it running smoothly.

People who flout our rules are merely making it more difficult and stressful to run the forum.

[MostUncivilised]

There is a probono unit and if people want to go there, they are welcome to. I don't think that we would be prepared to host specific recomendations on this forum and we wouldn't want to see this being done by PM.

 

Thanks for the comprehensive reply, much appreciated.

 

I just wanted to clarify the above, sorry if I'm coming across as a bit thick. Would it be permitted for me to PM an OP and say "I spoke to a friend of mine about your case, and he's happy to give you 100% pro-bono advice / representation on this matter. Just call John Smith QC at ABC Chambers, tell him you're the person MostUncivilised discussed with him, and he'll take it from there".

 

The OP would tell the thread that a certain lawyer has offered their services for the case, and keep the thread updated with all the aspects of the case, the details, the outcome, and so on. I think the reasoning behind PMing instead of putting it on the public channel is that sometimes a lawyer may not want their name put out on the internet in connection with a particular case.

 

Is this within the rules?

Edited June 21, 2012 by MostUncivilised

[dx100uk]

so what does John Smith QC at ABC Chambers get out of this?

 

dx

[MostUncivilised]

"so what does John Smith QC at ABC Chambers get out of this?"

 

What does anyone on here get out of helping someone? Why do any lawyers or doctors ever act pro-bono?

 

Frankly, I think this forum's management should be taking a long hard look at itself for blocking an OP getting real, professional help for free where it was in fact offered, because of their own suspicious attitude and belief that the OP is not an adult who could evaluate an offer of help made on its merits.

[MostUncivilised]

The same question could be posed back, what do you get out of keeping someone on these forums rather than allowing them to take advantage of an offer of pro-bono representation?

 

Perhaps it appeals to your vanity, to feel like you're the saviour and the expert, and the "responsible adult", rather than allow an OP to be the one to consider whether an offer of free representation is in their best interests.

 

Do you think a QC would be making money by forbearing to do their usual work on corporate tax so they can help someone with a piddly county court consumer credit recovery? Do you really think that's a net gain for them financially?

[ims21]

Two threads merged