Teacher ‘held to ransom’ by legal firm over her divorce
A TEACHER who has paid out more than £25,000 to Glasgow lawyers for a “straightforward” divorce says she is still married six years on and being “held to ransom” by the firm for further payments.
Susan Smith claimed the firm had achieved “virtually nothing” for her in that time and she has been left financially ruined with a poor credit score.
The 43-year-old approached insurance and dispute resolution law firm BLM following the break-up of her 20-year marriage in 2017, and claims she was badly advised over the sale of her house and pension.
The couple had been living in Belfast but she returned to her home city of Glasgow, with her two children, after the separation. She did not want to go into details about the reasons for the split but says the divorce was not contested by her ex.
She says she discussed her case with a female solicitor at the firm, which merged with Clyde & Co in 2022, who “promised me the moon and stars” and said she didn’t foresee any difficulties with her case.
“She said I would be entitled to 75% of the proceeds from the house,” said the teacher, who lives in Glasgow and teaches at a school in Bearsden.
“I said I was concerned about my pension being protected, because I had a teacher’s pension and I wanted to keep that if possible.
“She said she would ‘keep that out of everything’ which I know now looking back is not possible. That is a matrimonial asset and no lawyer should have said that.
“She also said the company had people in other offices in Northern Ireland who could help them out with the sale of the house. But what transpired over time was that they [the firm] had no jurisdiction over this.”
She claims she was clear with the lawyer that she was in “financial dire straits” and payment of legal fees was dependent on the house sale.
“She said it wasn’t a problem and they could wait until I’d sold it,” said the teacher.
She claims the sale of the house was largely handled by her and she was liaising with conveyancing solicitors in Belfast.
“When the papers were to be signed, I went into the offices at BLM to do this,” she 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 nearly there, we just need to get over this hurdle.
“But this went on and on. Basically I have paid out since 2018 just over £25,000 [her ex got the other half of the house money], I’m not divorced yet, my pension isn’t protected and the firm was not instrumental in the sale of my house.”
She said she was forced to default on the mortgage payments to pressure her ex into selling.
“You can imagine the implications that had on my credit and I’m just trying to get out of that.”.
She says the legal fees accumulated over a period of one year and six weeks after the sale of her house another bill came through from the lawyers for £14,000 “after they had taken every penny of my money from the sale”.
She says this was later reduced to £6,000 “with no real explanation” but was on the condition she did not lodge a formal complaint.
In one of the last communications, seen by The Herald, the company said it would have no option but to raise proceedings against the teacher if she fails to pay the money.
She claims she asked for a breakdown of the work done by the firm and says the company “listed phone calls and emails”.
“I don’t know what they are or what they are for,” she said. “The truth is, not only have they achieved nothing but they have put me in a worse position, in default of a mortgage with a poor credit score. Because I’m not divorced, he is still legally entitled to half of my pension.”
She says she is now pursuing a divorce herself through the courts as her children are both over the age of 16 and is considering lodging a complaint with the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC).
She said the stress of the process had taken a toll on her mental health and she appealed to the firm to “draw a line under things” and let the remaining fees go.
“All communication to try to come to an agreement has been met with hostility and demands for fees with threats of court action,” claimed the teacher.
The Herald asked Clyde & Co for a breakdown of all the work carried out for Ms Smith and a response to her complaints.
A spokesman for the firm said: “As Ms Smith has advised us that she is taking the complaint to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, we’re unable to comment on the matter.”