If you’ve ever searched for a “no win, no fee solicitor” to chase compensation, a complaint, or a personal injury claim, a change at the regulator now affects how those deals are run. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has issued a formal warning notice telling solicitors to clean up how they market and manage no win, no fee arrangements in what it calls “high-volume consumer claims” – the mass-market end of the business, covering things like personal injury, flight delay compensation and group claims against lenders or retailers.
What the SRA actually found
The warning followed a thematic review the regulator carried out in August 2025, which turned up what it described as concerning levels of poor practice across firms handling these claims at scale. Two problems stood out. First, some firms weren’t doing proper due diligence on the third parties who refer clients to them – the claims management companies, comparison sites and lead generators that feed a lot of this work. Second, some firms weren’t managing the financial safeguards around no win, no fee agreements properly, leaving clients exposed to costs they hadn’t been told about or didn’t expect.
By the end of April 2026, the SRA said it had 109 open investigations involving 76 firms working in this part of the market – a sign of how widespread the concern is, not an isolated case or two.
What it means if you’re the one signing the agreement
The notice is aimed at firms, but the practical effect lands on clients. The SRA wants solicitors to be far more careful with how they use the phrase “no win, no fee” in adverts and marketing, and to make sure anyone signing one of these agreements actually understands how it works before they put pen to paper – not just that it sounds free. In practice, that means being told clearly: what happens if a claim is only partly successful, what you might still owe for disbursements such as court fees or expert reports, whether an insurance policy covers those costs if you lose, and how much of any payout the firm takes as its success fee.
A genuine, well-run no win, no fee arrangement can still be exactly what it sounds like: a sensible way to pursue a claim you couldn’t otherwise afford to risk. The warning isn’t a reason to avoid these agreements – it’s a reason to ask more before you sign one.
A quick checklist before you sign
- Ask what happens if you only partly win. Some claims settle for less than first hoped – find out up front how that changes what you owe.
- Ask about disbursements. Court fees, medical reports and expert evidence can cost money even on a “no win, no fee” basis – check whether insurance covers them if the claim fails.
- Check the firm is actually regulated. A genuine solicitor will have an SRA number they’re happy to give you, and it can be checked on the regulator’s own register.
- Be wary of how you were referred. If a claims management company, a text message or an unsolicited call pointed you to the firm, ask directly how that referral is paid for and what it adds to the cost.
Finding a solicitor you can trust
None of this means no win, no fee is a trap – most firms run these agreements properly, and for people who couldn’t otherwise afford to bring a genuine claim, it’s often the only realistic route to justice. It’s simply worth doing the same homework the SRA now expects firms to do themselves. Searching for a solicitor locally – whether that’s in Holbeck, Westminster or Wimborne Minster – and asking the questions above before signing anything is the simplest way to make sure a genuinely useful type of agreement works the way it’s supposed to.
