Life is becoming increasingly difficult and I am still not back home following the December floods. You may recall that I went into acute urinary retention after the River Humber flooded my home and have since been diagnosed with prostate cancer. I now know that the cancer has metastasised and that it cannot be cured. As it is a very aggressive cancer (Gleason score: 4+5) my lifespan is somewhat limited, probably less than 3 years. There have been two failed attempts to wean me off the catheter, but I just go into acute urinary retention again. The hormone therapy has some side effects. I am now growing man-boobs which are somewhat tender and also have the odd hot flush, similar to a menopausal woman but it is the mood changes that are difficult to cope with, especially as the contractors who are reinstating my house, following the floods, have flooded the house twice with water leaks! Anyway, I hope to be back in my house by early May. The decorators were in the house today, but could not do their work because of failings by the joiner in fitting the skirting boards. The kitchen units, wardrobes, sanitary ware, shower, electrics and radiators still have to be done, but at least the house is fully plastered. My immediate neighbour moved back into their house today, before they even got any carpets, bed, washing machine, fridge, table or chairs. I have loaned them a few items until they get sorted. Sorry, if I cannot engage in the activities on the forum but life really sucks at the moment and each day seems to get worse. I am due to be referred to an orthopaedic specialist as the cancer seems to have spread into my right leg. That could case fractures, particularly as I am on hormone treatment and my leg is severely weakened by Polio. I have also just learned that I have eyes problems, which will require another referral to hospital. this could be caused by metastasis of the cancer too. I am communication with a 39 year-old Filipina following the debacle with my now ex-fiancée who married someone else without telling me. But I see it coming to nought given my health problems. Sorry, if I seem to be moaning but, as I say, life really sucks at the moment!
Sorry to hear your woes Howerd, sounds like you're really getting put through it at the moment. I know words aren't much help in situations like yours but chin up and battle on. By the sounds of it you can't catch much more so that must be a positive!
I don't really know what to say Howerd - except that I am thinking about you. Stay strong and God bless mate. Al.
I don't know what to say. What would I do if I were you? I don't know.. Live lift to the full people, you never know when the ride ends. Howerd, I wish you all the best. I hope you find some happiness soon.
Things just got ten times worse today. Two days before the flood I got a claim from a solicitor saying I had harassed him on the internet. I knew nothing of this until I got court documents on 3 December (two days before my house was flooded in a tidal surge) I contacted a solicitor to deal with the matter but the documents were lost in the flood before getting them to my solicitor. I thought it was relatively minor matter until today. I have just found out today that the solicitor is claiming damages (up to £50,000) plus costs and interest. That would leave me homeless. Although I had instructed my solicitor on 12 December, 2013, it transpires he never told the solicitor suing me that he was acting for me. He did tell the Court but only on 3 January. The solicitor suing me is looking for a default judgement on 11 April as I have not submitted any defence. But the solicitor I employed to assist me was unable to get any documents from the court that were lost in the flood (at least that is what he claims). There may be some truth to that claim, but I also note that my now ex-solicitor has 7 judgements against him from the Legal Ombudsman for failing to progress, failing to advise etc. On that raw statistic he appears to be one of the worst solicitors in the country - he is just a solicitor in a small market town just 3 miles away. I am at a complete loss as to what to do. The solicitor suing me refuses to have the case adjourned and he refuses to allow transfer of the case to a court local to me. He has written to the court claiming I am 'fit and well'. I suspect he hired a private detective as I saw someone photographing me when I was in my driveway a few weeks back, but he has not produced this as evidence as it would only go to prove that I am seriously disabled, which he does not want to admit. I though life was bad after my fiancée got married to someone else without telling me. But now I am about to lose everything to a rogue solicitor.
Howerd, I am very sorry to hear of the cancer, but I think I can perhaps put your mind at rest on the default judgement - your solicitor can have that set aside quite easily - I mean your NEW solicitor because I doubt if you want to continue with the old one! Start with the Citizens Advice Bureau; three days should be quite adequate to stop this nonsense. And I think you need to make TWO complaints to the Law Society's Disciplinary Panel - one for your dilatory solicitor and the other for the creep who is pestering you.
I have been thinking about making a complaint against the solicitor who has been dilatory. There is the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) and complaints can be made directly to them but that course of action is not the normal route. The other way is make a complaint to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) who may investigate and impose some form of sanction. If the matter was serious enough, the SRA could refer it to the SDT. The other route would be for me to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. Seven such complaints by others about the practice have all been upheld in a single year. The practice is also part of a franchised network of over 200 solicitors practices and no other franchise in that network has a single upheld complaint against them. As for the solicitor suing me, he is an absolute rogue. I believe he is out to make a name for himself in the field of litigation at my expense. He has concocted a very elaborate story and used a string of aliases to bolster himself on the internet as well as to take swipes at me. He took action against me without the usual Letter Before Action and he has produced no evidence to show where the internet posting he complains of, were posted from. By that I mean he has not sought any IP evidence whatsoever. I believe he wrote the posts himself even though they mirror what I said about this solicitor in a complaint to the SRA in 2009. He claims I used a pseudonym of 'Stevie Campbell' when signing for a Special Delivery item, producing evidence from Royal Mail of this. But his suggestion is absolute nonsense as the Special Delivery item was delivered to an address in Dunfermline from Dunfermline Delivery Office. The last time I checked, Dunfermline was still in Scotland and not in North Lincolnshire, where I live!
Also. There is the Law Society. They are quite good at policing themselves. As I discovered a few years back. Give them a call. They do take genuine complaints against one of their fraternity very seriously.
It never ceases to amaze me how long it takes to get a solicitor barred. A couple of examples are: Giovanni Di Stefano and Shahrokh Mireskandari. Di Stefano was never admitted as a solicitor but represented high-profile clients. It took more than a decade to investigate him but he now does have a 13 year jail sentence. Mireskandari was admitted as a solicitor based on bogus qualifications. Again, it was 10 years before he was disbarred. He is now in USA where he has launched a £100 million lawsuit against the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
The law Society is now just a trade association. All regulatory duties it once had have passed to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
The court case is going ahead on 11 April even though I only got the documents (that were lost in the flood) two days ago. The judge has ordered that it be heard by video conference. Not sure how this can be arranged in less than two days, but the other party party has been ordered to make the arrangements for me! I think the court order is probably a mistake and that it should have been me required to organise the video conference. It probably means the case will now be deferred and that will give me a chance to get a new solicitor. No solicitor would take the case on at short notice, especially without documentation. I am really struggling to walk now and have to walk 'sideways'. The combination of hot flushes with cold feet is a bit odd and I sometimes shiver in bed even though the room should be warm enough. I guess these are pretty much like the menopausal symptoms women get. But as my breasts are also growing a little and rather tender it is like a female puberty too! Male libido is at an end I guess so it is a male menopause too! It looks like a second MRI scan is to be ordered as it was not clear from the first scan if the cancer has spread to my right leg. That will just delay any further treatment.
The solicitor suing me made a big mistake today! Instead of sending me a copy of the order that requires a hearing by video conference, he sent me a copy of a fax from his bank, containing 3 months worth of bank statements for his business! Interestingly, his witness statements says he has ceased all advertising because of the posts he asserts I wrote about him on the Internet. Yet, the bank statement shows he is paying Google Adwords each month! I think he is telling porkies. Most of the time, his bank account is £1,000 - £2,000 in overdraft.
Is that for sure? A quick glance at their website suggests they still self regulate.... " Making a complaint At the Law Society, we aim to provide the highest standards of service. However, there may be occasions when you feel that we have failed to meet your expectations. We want the opportunity to put things right for you as quickly as we can and take steps, where appropriate, to make sure that any mistakes don't happen again. Our internal complaints process If at anytime you have cause for complaint, the first step is to contact the relevant unit manager, either in writing or by telephone. We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days of receipt and will provide a detailed response within 20 working days of the acknowledgement. Some complaints may take longer to process, but we will keep you informed of this, reasons for the delay and revised time scales. We will aim to resolve your complaint at this stage, and we hope that you will not then need to progress beyond this first step. However, if you remain unhappy, we want you to let us know so that your complaint can proceed quickly to the next stage. If you remain unhappy with the response provided, you can ask for your complaint to be reviewed by a head of business unit. The executive review will look at any additional concerns you have and a response will be provided using the same timescales as above. We treat complaints seriously, and we expect that this final stage will bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion. We appreciate feedback and are committed to resolving all complaints quickly and fairly." http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/get-in-touch/complaints/ I used them a few years ago when a solicitor was trying to overcharge me over and above a quote he had given me. Owing to Law Society intervention I had a written apology from the solicitor, the difference paid to me by the solicitor and ultimately he was struck off for malpractice.
You are a little out of date, John, by at least seven years! The Law Society is the professional body representing Solicitors in England and Wales and it used to have a regulatory function. However it lost that in 2007 following a review of legal services and now the Solicitors Regulation Authority, although a Board of the Law Society, operates completely independently of it. All Solicitors are required to have a line at the foot of their correspondence which reads "This firm is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority Registration No xxxxxxxx" whereas that used to read "This firm is authorised and regulated by the Law Society".
If that fax contains client confidential information you should alert him to the fact, and report him to the data protection people!
I was able to successfully file a complaint, through them, about one of their members, a practising solicitor. It was a few years ago, now, so it may not be the same these days.
