Professional Negligence in the UK

Wixted & Co are a firm of solicitors who specialise in pursuing claims for professional negligence against financial advisers, accountants, surveyors and other professional advisers.

As a company we assist people in securing compensation for financial losses caused by incorrect or inappropriate advice given by such parties. We consider and pursue actions against a wide range of professional advisers, but particularly where there is regulation or membership of a professional standards body such as the Financial Conduct Authority, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors or Solicitors Regulation Authority amongst others.

We have a detailed knowledge and understanding of the professional rules, regulations and codes of conduct prescribed for members of these organisations and are able to advise our clients of any potential breaches which may have occurred. Whenever a company or individual uses the services of a professional adviser, they are owed a duty of care by that party. They have the right to expect a competent service and for any advice given to be both appropriate and correct.

Professional negligence may arise if the adviser fails to meet the standard of a reasonably competent adviser in the particular field of expertise. This could breach the duty of care owed and the adviser may then be held liable for any losses caused by their advice.

We have certainly seen an increase in the number of people seeking advice on potential claims for financial losses suffered due to negligent pension and investment advice. We largely attribute this to the introduction of recent pension reforms which give people a greater degree of freedom and flexibility over how to use their pension funds. Unfortunately, this has led to some people being advised to place money into products or schemes which are unregulated and involve high levels of inherent risk.

In regards to what differentiates us from our competitors we have won several national awards for the services we have provided and in several cases we have had our success highlighted in the press. We look to campaign on issues we feel to be of public importance. For example, we have recently been in contact with the Financial Conduct Authority and MP’s to press for changes to the way charges are applied on certain self-invested personal pension plans. Ultimately we provide our services under a no win, no fee agreement and we feel this allows us to play an important role in achieving access to justice for people who may not otherwise be in a position to pursue legal action.

Our dedicated and experienced team of solicitors within our Professional Negligence department achieve favourable outcomes for our clients. We have always acknowledged the importance of the role our people play in our success and are proud to have obtained investor in people accreditation. We are concerned to note that HMRC are currently seeking a crackdown on tax avoidance schemes and are sending an increasing number of payment notices to people who may have been wrongly advised on their tax affairs. This could result in people having to pay significant sums in penalty fees and back taxes. Looking ahead to 2016 and beyond we see this being a particularly challenging issue given the number of people who are potentially affected.

Company: Wixted & Co
Name: Tim Wixted
Email: law@wixtedandco.co.uk
Web: www.neglectassist.co.uk
Address: 57 Putney Bridge
Road, London, SW18 1NP
Telephone: 0208 877 8700