Achi news desk-
The 43-year-old contacted BLM insurance and dispute resolution after her 20-year marriage ended in 2017 and claims she was given bad advice about selling her house and her pension.
The couple had been living in Belfast but returned to their home city of Glasgow with their two children after the separation. She did not want to go into details about the reasons for the split but says that the divorce was not contested by her ex.
She says she discussed her case with a female lawyer at the firm, which merged with Clyde & Co in 2022, who “promised me the moon and the stars” and said she did not foresee any difficulties with her case.
“She said I would be entitled to 75% of the profits from the house,” said the teacher, who lives in Glasgow and teaches at a school in Bearsden.
“I said I was worried about my pension being protected because I have a teacher’s pension and I wanted to keep that if possible.
“He said he would ‘keep that out of everything’ which I know now that looking back is not possible. That is a marital asset and no lawyer should have said that.
“He also said that the company had people in other offices in Northern Ireland who could help them sell the house.
“But what happened over time was that they were [the firm] he had no jurisdiction over this.”
She claims that it was clear with the lawyer that she was in “dire financial trouble” and that the payment of legal fees depended on the sale of the house.
“He said it wasn’t a problem and they could wait until I had sold it,” said the teacher.
She claims she was largely responsible for the sale of the house and is contacting conveyancing solicitors in Belfast.
“When the papers were to be signed, I went into the BLM offices to do this,” he said.
“On several occasions, I asked her if this was going to come to a conclusion soon and a few times she said yes. It was always, ‘It’s almost there, we need to overcome this hurdle.
“But this went on and on. Basically, I’ve paid just over £25,000 since 2018 (her ex got the other half of the house money), I’m not divorced yet, my pension isn’t protected and I’m not the company was the key to selling my house.”
She said she was forced to default on the mortgage payments in order to put pressure on her ex to sell.
“You can imagine the ramifications it had on my credit and I’m trying to get out of that.”
She says the legal fees which have accrued over a period of one year and six weeks after selling her house came through from the lawyers for £14,000 “after they took every penny of my money from the sale”.
She says this was later reduced to £6000 “with no real explanation” but it was on the condition that she had not lodged a formal complaint.
In one of the last communications seen by Yr Herald the company said they would have no choice but to bring proceedings against the teacher if she fails to pay the money.
She claims she asked for an analysis of the work done by the company and says the company “listed phone calls and emails”.
“I don’t know what they are or what they are,” he said.
“The truth is, not only have they not achieved anything but they have put me in a worse situation, defaulting on a mortgage with a bad credit score.
“Because I am not divorced he is still legally entitled to half my pension.”
READ MORE:
Explained in five minutes: mortgages and divorces
Edinburgh was named the most expensive city to get a divorce
She says she is now pursuing a divorce herself through the courts as her children are both over 16 and is considering lodging a complaint with the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC).
She said the stress of the process had affected her mental health and she appealed to the company to “draw a line under things” and let the remaining fees go.
“All communication to try to reach an agreement has been met with hostility and demands for fees with threats of court action,” said the teacher.
“I trusted this one person that she would solve this for me. I was completely and utterly naive.”
A legal source told the Herald: “Family law disputes are always a bit problematic because there’s usually more to them and many threads as human relationships tend to be.
“My intuition is that the lawyers have probably done a bit of work but nowhere near the value they seem to be claiming for.
“They may also have given bad advice, which would be a problem with the SLCC.”
The Herald asked Clyde & Co for an analysis of all the work done on Ms Smith’s behalf and a response to her complaints.
A company spokesman said: “As Ms Smith has told us she is taking the complaint to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, we are unable to comment on the matter.”
