Rip-off of abuse victims to end

THE scale of some law firms ripping off victims of residential abuse has reached such alarming proportions that the practice of double-charging fees is to be curtailed.

It has also emerged that many British-based victims of abuse will lose means-tested welfare benefits, making the awards to them almost worthless.

An amendment to legislation governing the Residential Institutions Redress Board will, for the first time, allow complaints against solicitors to be fully investigated.

A provision of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Amendment) Bill 2005 will allow the Law Society of Ireland to handle the complaint and, if necessary, discipline any member who mistreated a client.

Some solicitors are demanding huge slices of compensation awarded to victims of residential abuse. The work of making representations before the Residential Institutions Redress Board is proving lucrative for law firms, with awards of up to €300,000 and solicitors getting between 10% and 15% of each award.

While most firms are happy to receive the board’s scale of fees, some double-charge by billing the client as well.

In a statement the Redress Board said it had received a “number of complaints from applicants who are unhappy with fees charged by solicitors.”

The board yesterday declined to say how many complaints it received.

One British-based claimant who was awarded €120,000 was told to sign a document by her solicitor authorising the firm to take over €11,000 of her award on top of the €18,000 in fees allowed by the Redress Board. The firm had originally sought over €36,000 from the board.

The firm then sent their client a cheque for her award less a deduction for their fees. The claimant, a divorced mother on income support of less than £117 (€176) a week, has returned the cheque and is demanding the full amount.

The matter has been referred by a London-Irish Centre’s support service for survivors to John Elliot, Registrar of Solicitors.

“This is greed of staggering proportions,” said John Twomey, co-ordinator of the London Irish Survivors Outreach Service. “This carry-on is a scandal. It is totally illegal. I find it staggering that survivors... can be ripped off so blatantly.”

A Law Society spokesperson was unavailable for comment while the solicitor’s office declined to make any statement.

Mr Twomey also disclosed that some British-based survivors could lose benefits. “In Ireland welfare payments are not affected but they are in Britain. That means that, for instance, in this woman’s case, her living costs could amount to €20,000 a year and the award of €120,000 could be whittled away in five or six years,” he said.

The board continues to receive applications at a steady rate and has received a total of 6,300. The closing date for applications is December 15, 2005.