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How to Choose a No Win No Fee Solicitor: 8 Questions to Ask Before You Sign
Last updated September 2026
Before you ring any firm, what you need to know:
The problem with choosing
Choosing a solicitor shouldn’t be pin the tail on the donkey.
It usually is, because the information is not there.
Carter and Carter Solicitors checked 94 personal injury firms’ websites in 2026 for the one figure every one of them should publish: what they take if you win. Three did. Fourteen gave the legal maximum, up to 25%, which is a ceiling rather than a price. Seventy-seven gave no figure at all. If the fee is not on the page, neither is anything else you need before you sign: what is deducted from your compensation, who will actually run your claim, what happens if you lose or want to stop, and whether you can read the agreement first.
3 publish a specific fee 14 give only the 25% ceiling 77 give no figure at all
94 personal injury firms’ websites, checked by Carter and Carter Solicitors, 2026. The study, firm by firm.
Why does every no win no fee firm sound the same on the phone?
Two firms, two phone calls, the same three words at the end of both: no win no fee. On the phone every firm in England and Wales sounds alike, because the phrase describes only what happens if the claim fails. The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s consumer guide says the differences are in the agreement: the percentage, the expenses, the insurance, and who actually runs the claim.
None of these eight should need asking. The answers belong on a firm’s website, before anyone rings. When Carter and Carter Solicitors checked 94 personal injury firms’ websites in 2026, only 3 published a specific fee, and a firm that will not publish its percentage is unlikely to publish the rest. The questions exist because the pages do not. This page is the exception: all eight are answered here, in writing, and each comes with what a good answer and a red flag answer sound like from anyone else. The full list of what can come out of a winning claim is on the firm’s page on no win no fee hidden costs.
We Act for Clients Across England and Wales
Based in Whaley Bridge on the edge of the Peak District, Carter & Carter handles personal injury claims for clients across England and Wales. Every claim is managed remotely by phone, email, and post. You do not need to visit the office. Call 0800 652 0586 to speak directly with Chris or David.
What are the eight questions to ask before signing a no win no fee agreement?
Eight questions, put to any firm in England and Wales, show whether its no win no fee agreement is clear or expensive, and Carter and Carter Solicitors gives its own answer beneath each one. Ask them on the first call. Write the answers down. A firm that answers all eight plainly has nothing to hide in the paperwork; a firm that stalls on any of them has already told you something.
Eight questions
Ask every firm the same eight. Ours are answered below.
For each question: what a good answer sounds like, and what a red flag answer sounds like.
Question 1
Ask who will handle your claim day to day, when they qualified as a solicitor, and whether you can speak to them before you decide.
✓ Good answer
A name, a year, and a phone call. A qualified solicitor with years behind them, not a handler, and the same person from first call to settlement.
✗ Red flag answer
“A member of our team.” A case handler, a paralegal or a trainee, however well supervised. No year, or a recent one. Pressure to decide before you have spoken to whoever will run it.
Our answer
Chris Carter, qualified 1993, or David Healey, qualified 2005. The same solicitor from first call to settlement, and you speak to them on the first call.
Question 2
Ask what percentage they take, and whether it changes if court proceedings are issued.
✓ Good answer
A specific figure for each stage of the claim, in writing, with VAT inside it. A reason for the difference.
✗ Red flag answer
“25%, that’s standard.” One figure for every claim, whether it settles in three letters or goes to a hearing. No reason given.
Our answer
10% when the claim settles without court proceedings. 25% if proceedings are issued. VAT included, in writing.
Question 3
Ask what else can come out of your compensation beyond the success fee.
✓ Good answer
A complete list, each item with a yes or a no: expenses, VAT, any insurance premium, any shortfall in their costs. Nothing left for later.
✗ Red flag answer
“There shouldn’t be anything.” Or a list that only appears once you have asked directly.
Our answer
None. No expenses, no VAT on top, no insurance premium, no commission, no shortfall in our costs. The only thing that comes out of a winning claim is our fee, 10% or 25%, VAT included. Every one of the seven possible deductions is listed, with our position against each, on our hidden costs page.
Question 4
Ask whether they will recommend After the Event insurance, and why your claim needs it.
✓ Good answer
An answer about your claim, not a policy for every client. A check first of any cover you already have through home or car insurance. The Part 36 costs risk explained plainly, rather than a policy sold for it.
✗ Red flag answer
An automatic yes. Insurance described as standard, with the premium coming out of your compensation at the end, on top of the success fee. In our experience most firms quote 25% from day one; add a premium and any shortfall in their costs, and the total can pass 40%. Someone asked ChatGPT this month whether it was normal to lose 41% of a claim. That is how it happens.
Our answer
Not a requirement. The firm absorbs the risk of losing itself. If a claim ever needed a policy, you would know before you signed.
Question 5
Ask what you pay if the claim fails.
✓ Good answer
Nothing, including the expenses they paid out, and they will put that in writing before you sign.
✗ Red flag answer
“It depends on the terms.” A hedge about medical report fees. Reluctance to commit to zero in writing.
Our answer
Nothing, including the expenses the firm paid out.
Question 6
Ask what happens if you stop the claim, or want to change solicitor.
✓ Good answer
The 14-day cooling-off period explained. What work could be billed after it, in what circumstances, and how often they have ever done that.
✗ Red flag answer
Silence on it. Or terms about “failing to cooperate” with no definition of what cooperation means.
Our answer
You have 14 days to cancel at no charge. In nineteen years nobody has left a claim with us part-way through, and we have never charged anyone for stopping. If we ever conclude a claim no longer has prospects, we say so and advise you to get a second opinion. Our terms do allow a charge where a client abandons a hearing we have already paid for; it has never been used.
Question 7
Ask whether they have personally handled claims like yours, and what happened.
✓ Good answer
A yes with something behind it: the type of claim, roughly how it went, where the sticking point usually is. Or an honest “less common for us, and here is why we can still do it well”. Specific, either way.
✗ Red flag answer
An answer about the firm instead of the person. “We’ve handled thousands.” “We deal with everything.” Nothing that says whether the solicitor on the phone has run one like yours.
Our answer
Four claim types, nineteen years, and a straight answer on the first call if yours is not one of them.
Question 8
Ask for a copy of the Conditional Fee Agreement to read before you decide.
✓ Good answer
Sent before you sign. Time to read it properly. Questions about it welcomed.
✗ Red flag answer
Sign on the call. “We’ll go through it when you come in.” Reluctance to send it in advance.
Our answer
Sent before anyone signs, to read in your own time. Any question about it is answered by the solicitor who will run your claim, before you sign.
Most firms will not answer these on a website. Ours are answered against each question above. Ask any other firm the same eight if you want to compare; you already have our side.
How to Choose a No Win No Fee Solicitor | Our Eight Answers | No Win No Fee Since 2007
Put the eight questions to us:
No Win No Fee Since 2007. Every Answer In Writing Before You Decide.
No win, no fee. If we can’t help, we’ll say so on the phone.
How do I check a no win no fee solicitor is genuine?
A genuine no win no fee solicitor in England and Wales appears on the Solicitors Regulation Authority register, which anyone can search in under two minutes. The SRA register shows the firm’s name, its registration number and the solicitors who practise there. Many adverts for no win no fee are placed by claims management companies rather than solicitors; a claims management company takes the details and passes the claim to a law firm the person has never spoken to. A regulated firm answers the phone itself.
Reviews are the second check, and the order of reading matters. Recent reviews first, then the ones that name a solicitor, then the ones describing what happened when a claim became difficult. Carter and Carter Solicitors holds 252 five-star Google reviews, and most of them name Chris or David. Some firms also list Law Society or APIL membership. Either is a signal; neither is required to practise, and neither says who will answer the phone. The firm’s reviews are collected on the client reviews page.
What are the pitfalls of no win no fee?
The pitfalls of no win no fee sit on the winning side of the agreement: deductions that were not listed before signing, and a firm that is hard to reach once the agreement is in. The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s consumer guide names the warning signs directly: cold calls, door knocking, pressure to sign quickly, and vagueness about fees. The guide tells people to ask what percentage comes out, who pays the expenses if the claim fails, and to take their time.
The reason the questions have to be asked out loud is that the answers are rarely published. Carter and Carter Solicitors checked the websites of 94 personal injury firms in 2026 and found that only 3 published a specific fee; 77 gave no figure of any kind. The agreement a person signs can lawfully add an insurance premium, unrecovered expenses and a shortfall in the solicitor’s costs on top of the 25% cap, and none of those figures appears in the phrase “no win no fee”. Each deduction is explained on the firm’s page on no win no fee hidden costs.
Five things to be wary of
Each comes down to the same thing: it has not been put in writing.
Nothing in writing before you sign. The fee, the deductions, the loss position and who runs the claim should all be on paper first. If they are not, the call is the only record.
A name without a year. “Your solicitor will be Sam” tells you nothing. Ask when Sam qualified and how many claims like yours Sam has run.
“Up to 25%” and nothing else. That is the legal ceiling, not a price. Ask for the figure at each stage, and for every other deduction with a yes or a no against it.
Pressure to sign on the first call. A good agreement survives being read overnight. One that has to be signed today usually does not.
Insurance added as standard. A premium that comes out of your compensation, recommended before anyone has looked at your claim or the cover you already have.
What should a no win no fee agreement say before I sign it?
A no win no fee agreement in England and Wales must be in writing, and a person can cancel it within 14 days of signing under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. The written agreement should state the success fee at each stage, every other deduction with a yes or a no against it, what is paid if the claim fails, and what happens if the person ends the claim after the 14 days. A firm that is reluctant to send the agreement in advance has answered question 8 without meaning to.
Reading it before signing is not a formality. The Solicitors Regulation Authority inspected 25 firms’ no win no fee practices in spring 2026 (SRA, 2026) and found agreements whose deductions had not been explained to the people signing them. Carter and Carter Solicitors sends its Conditional Fee Agreement before anyone signs, to be read in the person’s own time, and the solicitor who will run the claim answers any question about it before it is signed. What the inspection found, and what to check, is on the firm’s post on before you sign a no win no fee agreement.
Five things the agreement should say before you sign it
If one is missing, ask. If it is still missing after you have asked, that is your answer.
The success fee at each stage, in writing, with VAT inside the figure.
Every other possible deduction, with a yes or a no against each one.
What you pay if the claim fails: it should say nothing, and mean it.
What happens if you stop after the 14 days, in plain words.
The name of the solicitor who will run the claim.
Ours says all five. It is sent before anyone signs, to read in your own time.
Recent: the regulator’s inspection
Spring 2026: the SRA reviewed 25 firms’ no win no fee agreements and client communications. Source: SRA consumer guide to no win no fee agreements.
Why can we put all eight on the page?
Because there are two of us and the answers do not change. The person who answers the phone is the person who runs the claim, so there is no handler to name later. The fee is the same for everyone at each stage, so there is no case-by-case figure to hold back. And the agreement is the same document every time, so it can be sent before anyone signs. A larger firm has to answer differently depending on who picks up and which department the claim lands in. We do not, which is why the answers can sit here in writing rather than wait for a call. More on how we work.
What does choosing the right solicitor look like on a real file?
Mr Bailey chose a national firm first, and the eight questions would have told him in one call what took thirteen months to find out. He was injured at work in Kent carrying a length of steel; he slipped, landed face first and lost several teeth. The national firm ran his claim for thirteen months, then told him the prospects were insufficient and closed the file.
David Healey, who qualified in 2005 and joined Carter and Carter Solicitors in 2009, read the file against the employer’s duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and found the evidence the first firm had not used. He took the claim on in November 2016, issued proceedings in April 2017, and settled it at £24,999 in July 2017: eight months from instruction to settlement, on a claim another firm had given up on. The first firm could not have answered question 1 (no named solicitor), question 7 (nobody there had run one like his) or question 6 (what happens if they stop). Mr Bailey is one of 29 claims other firms turned down that this firm went on to win.
First firm
13 months
Then the file was closed: insufficient prospects. No named solicitor. Nobody there had run a claim like his.
David Healey, Carter and Carter
8 months
Evidence the first firm had not used. Proceedings issued. Settled at £24,999.
Same accident. Same evidence. The difference was who read the file.
Can I change my no win no fee solicitor?
A person can change no win no fee solicitor at any point, but the outgoing firm is usually entitled to its costs from the compensation, which can leave the person worse off than staying. The first step is the firm’s own complaints procedure, which every regulated firm in England and Wales must have. If that does not resolve it, the Legal Ombudsman can look at the complaint. Moving a live claim between firms costs money and time, and it rarely improves the result.
Carter and Carter Solicitors does not take over claims that another firm is still running, and says so on the first call. A claim that has been rejected or dropped is a different position: no other firm is acting, nothing is owed, and 29 of the claims this firm has won were turned down elsewhere first. A person in that position can find out where they stand on the firm’s page on a rejected personal injury claim.
Your claim is still running with another firm
We will not take it over.
Moving a live claim usually costs you money and rarely improves the result. Raise it with your firm first, then the Legal Ombudsman if that fails. We say this on the first call.
Your claim has been rejected or dropped
Ring us. That is different.
No other firm is acting and nothing is owed. Twenty-nine of the claims we have won were turned down elsewhere first. We will tell you on the call whether there is something to work with.
People also ask about choosing a no win no fee solicitor
What is the average fee for no win no fee solicitors?
Is no win no fee really free?
Do I need After the Event insurance?
How long does a no win no fee claim take?
Questions about choosing us
What is the time limit for a personal injury claim?
Do I have to come to your office in Derbyshire?
Who actually runs my claim?
Why instruct a specialist rather than a general solicitor?
What if another firm has already rejected my claim?
How do I start?
ABOUT THE FIRM
Carter and Carter Solicitors, in one place
Carter & Carter Solicitors is a specialist personal injury practice serving clients across England and Wales from its head office in Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire. Founded in 2007, the firm handles accident at work, food allergy and anaphylaxis, public place and needlestick injury claims.
Chris Carter, Managing Solicitor, qualified in 1993 and brings 33 years of personal injury experience. David Healey, Senior Solicitor, qualified in 2005 and brings 21 years.
The firm operates on a No Win No Fee basis under a Conditional Fee Agreement with a published fee of 10% when the claim settles without court proceedings, and 25% where court proceedings are issued. Carter & Carter holds 252 verified five-star Google reviews and is registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority under number 449466.
YOUR CLAIM, OUR PRIORITY
Meet Your Solicitors
Chris Carter
Managing Solicitor, qualified 1993
I started the firm in 2007 to help people properly and stay in touch with them while I did it. Growing would have cost exactly that, so we stayed small on purpose. Ring, and you get me or David. Instruct us, and it is me or David who runs it. And if I do not think you have a claim, I will say so on the first call.
David Healey
Senior Solicitor, qualified 2005, joined the firm 2009
Experience is mostly knowing what to look for. A file that looks ordinary often is not, and the difference is usually a document nobody read to the end or a question nobody asked. That is what I do with every claim, whether it is brand new or something another firm gave up on. Ring me, tell me what happened, and I will tell you straight where it stands.
You already have our eight answers.
Ring when you are ready to talk about your claim, and you will hear straight away whether you have one. You’re in Safe Hands. That’s Our Promise.
This page is general information about choosing a no win no fee solicitor in England and Wales as of September 2026. Every claim is different. For advice on your own situation, call 0800 652 0586 and speak to Chris or David directly.