Lester Aldridge - Solicitors

Editorial Comment:

Andrew John Corke is an interesting character. A company director's report shows that he is not only a solicitor but also a minister of religion who holds a directorship with The Lifesaver Trust. Our research indicates he may be the same Reverend Andrew Corke who preaches at St Barnabus Church, Bearwood, Wimborne which coincidentally is near Mr Corke's home at Silverwood Close, Wimborne, Dorset.

In his legal role, he has contributed to credit control documents produced for the Invest Northern Ireland organisation and advised on suing in a document produced by Business Link.

As Chairman of Lester Aldridge FastTrack, he has given presentations about Collecting Debt with Sensitivity for the Chartered Institute of Housing to local municipalities including Torbay where he was assisted by Karen Savage, CEO of Lester Aldridge FastTrack and Louis Greenblatt, a consultant to Lester Aldridge FastTrack.

And this is where it gets interesting. In his presentation Mr Corke mentions things like:

• prohibiting unfair business practises (presumably that does not include unwarranted harassment?)
• following Office of Fair Trading (OFT) guidelines (which specifically preclude harassment)
• not failing to investigate or provide proper details/records when a debt is queried or disputed (What a joke!)

So it appears Mr Corke does not practise what he preaches. It also appears he does not let his religious convictions get in the way of any temptation in his job to act unscrupulously, make false allegations, or persecute people unnecessarily. The fact is, he works for a firm of parasites who compound the problems of less unfortunate people and he presumably does this for a very handsome salary. The Lord's teachings seemingly do not figure in the Lester Aldridge handbook so we have to assume that the only beneficiaries of Mr Cooke's more humane side may be the members of his congregation in the Lantern Church circuit.

JJ, Poole writes:

I was with Lester Aldridge 1998/2004 and they were incompetent, negligent and failed to release my file to avoid further action. Totally useless!!

Issued "Solicitor instructions to Barrister" without my knowledge or authority and failed to obtain documents essential for Opinion. Mr Shaw (Barrister) advised, "I cannot make opinion without the documents." We are talking here of a divorce in which no financial statements were obtained to determine family wealth for division and an incomplete, misleading copy file was obviously edited to mislead. What a surprise when his Opinion was adverse. Such nonsense by disgraceful lawyers.

JS, Gloucester writes:

I chanced upon your website when I googled Lester Aldridge. They have recently tried to force me into paying them thousands of pounds, claiming I owed the money personally when in fact it was debt incurred five years ago when a company that I was a director of failed.
They were a nasty unpleasant bunch who tried various threats. Fortunately not only did I not succumb to their threats but the case they connoted against me was so clearly dishonest that the Judge saw through it and dismissed the case. The case files were quite clearly doctored, however what does concern me is the distress they could cause to anyone who lacks our determination.
They are a nasty bunch who should be investigated and the judge hinted as much when he stated that the files they submitted caused him serious concern.
Who are they exactly?? Do they purchase old debt from companies for peanuts then try to extort money in any way they can??

Editorial Comment:

The problem is that any investigation would probably clear them. The Law Society (or whatever they call themselves these days) is little more than a trade union for solicitors.

LLT, Harrogate writes:

I am dealing with this company as we speak, and are they not delightful? So kind and understanding.

Editorial Comment:

Many solicitors seem to think they have a right to be rude and threatening even when they are wrong. The trouble is that too many people surrender to their threats without querying the actual rights given to the intended victim under the law.

Rob Hatton, Nottingham writes:

My wife is is dealing with these so called solicitors at the moment for debt on a shop that went bust 5 years ago.

I cannot believe for one moment that the outfit they are running is legal. They don't send receipts for payments, they never answer letters or return phone calls. The only letters they return are court threatening ones at the end of each month. Utter W*NKERS!

Editorial Comment:

No, it's not WINKERS!

Alan, York writes:

I have been trying to sue VW for a car which was delivered with paintwork defects and loads of other defects. LA have taken over from VW. Since I started to sue the dealer and VW I have had major medical problems including the loss of sight.

A court meeting was requested the day of my last operation to save my sight. The court and LA had my medical reports that I could not attend court due to my operation but LA made sure the case went ahead knowing full well I could not attend. They are nothing but rats!

In LA's eyes I should have delayed my operation and risked losing my sight. I would rather die than deal with people like these.

Editorial Comment:

In a just world, the court would have accepted your medical evidence and postponed the hearing. Unfortunately, courts seem unprepared to do anything about dishonest solicitors and LA certainly know how to use the law to make themselves rich while, at the same time, escaping accountability.

JS, London writes:

I am suing a paedophile who abused me when I was a schoolboy; Lester Aldridge is defending him. This solicitor has no shame and keeps making threats to me.

Editorial Comment:

Threats seem to be a tactic that Lester Aldridge use quite often and they don't have any qualms about making false accusations. But then it seems too many members of the legal profession have no integrity and no morals. Just note how many MPs have a legal background.

Richard Colbeck, Huddersfield writes:

This company are despicable! They sued me on behalf of Renault Financial Services for a vehicle which was repossessed and they pushed thru the court hearing within a couple of days of sending me notification. Then they applied for a charging order and now are threatening to have my home sold. They are the scum of the earth!

Mary Wray, Scarborough writes:

This company of so-called solicitors need to be stopped. They work underhand and under the law they are suing my husband for a local VW garage that supplied us with a faulty car.

We took the car back to get it repaired within the stated time scale. They are given 5 chances to put the faults right but they can't. My husband wants to reject the car under the sale of goods act but these animals try to sue my husband.

Nerys, Reigate writes:

It's true that 98% of lawyers give the other 2% a bad name (no longer a joke but a fact) but that may be down to the OSS (Office for the Supervision of Solicitors) which should be known as the OPBCL (Office for the Protection of Bent and Crooked Lawyers). Is it any wonder that Norman Tebbit once said, "Years ago, a bent solicitor was a very, very rare thing. Now corrupt and thieving lawyers are two a penny." (Mail on Sunday Jan 23, 2000).

The bottom line is, never, never succumb to a lawyer's threats - so well done JS, Gloucester. And to JS, London - it is a well known fact that a lawyer will fight tooth and nail to defend a two-year-old rapist if the price is right. Check out Daily Mail edition May 2, 2009 if you want to discover just how far this disgusting profession will go to do just that. Try writing a dossier of events from your school days, JS, London, and don't forget details of the paedophile licking LA threats.

Jean, London writes:

I've had dealing with this firm in my divorce and they were nasty and greedy. But the most crooked solicitor ever is a London-based partner of DLA Piper. He specialises in perjury and perpetrating fraud.

Editorial Comment:

Although our correspondent named an actual person, we have withheld his name and will not reveal it unless we receive more correspondence about this company in general or this solicitor in particular.

Debbie Kendall writes:

In 1995 I was seriously injured when hit by a speeding, drugged up driver whilst riding my motorcycle on the Wessex Way in Bournemouth.

I was taken to Poole Hospital, on a spine board and x'rays were taken. I had many injuries including, spinal and brain injuries and shattered hands. I could not move from the chest down. I now know that this should have caused a MRI of my spine to be ordered to look for a 'Syrinx' which is Highly Probable after a crash like mine, very violent and high speed.

I was supposed to go to Odstock, and told my injuries were far too serious for Poole. I was never seen or examined by a doctor. Later Vinod K Panchbhavi (Registrar) came and told me he could operate on my shattered hands, and he could only set one hand properly so I had to chose right or left.

I had violent convulsions when coming round from the operation. I could not move from the chest down at all for three days. For the next three weeks the nurses kept saying I should see a Neurosurgeon but Dr Vinod K Panchbhavi would not allow this. Then a bad tempered nurse re-broke my already broken wrist, not really her fault they had failed to plaster or pin it. While in the family room we picked up a leaflet for Lester Aldridge advertising Personal Injury claims. When I came home, Karen Thompson, Solicitor, came to see me. We told her that I had not been seen by a Neurologist and that I had had my wrist broken by the nurse.

She told us that she used to be a Nurse. We thought this meant that she would know the relevance of my injuries and who I should see.

We NOW know that she had a huge conflict of interest, and should not have taken my case. She was married to a doctor at the hospital and all the doctors concerned were their friends. Also Poole Hospital were clients of Lester Aldridge, and partners on many boards, charities etc.

I saw Dr Burns Neuro Rehab, 4 months later, on the NHS and told him I could not move etc. I would feel as if my cord had been cut and my legs would give way, I had Double Vision and Very Bad headaches for days, and kept smelling 'burning rubber'. My arms and legs were weak and had very painful feet, etc. I now know that many of these symptoms were due to my Postraumatic Syrinx, but nothing was done.

I was told by Karen Thompson that she would use Dr Ellis, Neurosurgeon, and Dr Burns, Neuro Rehab, as my experts, but I was never sent to either of them by her. No doubt they received payments from my Legal Aid Fund. Over the next five years I saw Dr Nick Moffat and told him all my symptoms thinking he was a Neurologist, he was reporting everything back to Karen Thompson, and the hospital.

Over a year after the accident I was referred back to physio for my spine, and told that my spine was still too tender for any physio to even touch my spine. Again nothing was done. D Sproule, Solicitor for the defendant, at Beachcroft Wansbroughs ordered MRI of my brain and spine as their Neuro specialists said that my weakness in my arms and legs and other symptoms were not explained. I was never sent to a Neurosurgeon or Neurologist by my Solicitor, nor was I sent to anyone for my spine, despite constantly complaining about the pain and walking with a stick.

I never saw my solicitor in five years. The MRI showed the syrinx on my spine. I was not told of this. I was told that my scans showed nothing. I now know this to be a lie as a recent brain scan still showed (10 years later) my brain injury. Instead I found myself suddenly being introduced to Mark Lomas, QC, who wrote a report to the Judge for my case stating that I had Severe Spinal Cord Trauma and Full Body Whiplash, when referring to Dr Burns, report. I thought this covered everything (that I knew of) and told Karen Thompson so. She told me I had to send the report back to her immediately as it had been sent out to me without being copied. She then told me that she had taken advice from Mark Lomas QC, who had advised 'Not to use the MRI evidence'. I asked how this was possible as it was ordered and paid for by the Defendant's solicitor. She then lied to me saying that we had in fact ordered and paid for them. Within weeks I am suddenly receiving an offer from the Defendants to settle my case, whilst getting a new report from Mark Lomas QC, with all references to my spinal cord injury and whiplash removed. It even went so far as to tell blatant lies to the judge that I had not had the Neuro MRI. I phoned Karen Thompson, and said I wanted to change my solicitor and was told that the judge would frown on this and that I could not do that on Legal Aid as she held my Legal Aid Certificate. She told me not to worry and it was just mistakes. I had received an offer from the Defendants at this time.

On receiving the offer and then the new report, I was then told that I had to make the decision whether to accept in the next few days as she was going away and that I (a woman with a severe brain injury) had to make the decision totally on my own with no help from my husband. I was also told that if the offer was 1p more than the amount decided by the judge, should I go to court, then I would be liable to pay everyone's costs.

I thought Mark Lomas QC was just completely incompetent, and that I could not go to court with a Legal Team that was telling all these lies to the judge, as my case would be thrown out. I was forced to settle. Not knowing that I had a 'Syrinx' on my spine and that my legal team were using my Legal Fund to pay themselves to protect themselves and the Dr's from being possibly sued. Had anyone bothered to just tell me that they were sorry, and that they had found a syrinx, and sorry we missed that. Then I would have known not to settle out of court and to have a tie in for when my syrinx, will completely disable me, make me paraplegic or quadriplegic etc.

These people are despicable. They left me to die a horrific death with insufficient funds for my husband to look after me. There must have been a deal done with my solicitors and D Sproule of Beachcroft Wansbroughs to cover up the 'Syrinx' MRI evidence and say that the MRI's were not done, as it was in the best interest of all of them. Beachcroft Wansbroughs would not throw away evidence that said I had no Brain Injury, spinal Injury. It beggars belief. I am a Brain Injured woman who could not hold on to memory let alone work out that anything was wrong. I had to trust, and that trust was horrifically abused. They judged my life as worthless rather than them admitting a mistake.

Editorial Comment:

Solicitors are probably the most dishonest of all professions. They are in the game only for the purpose of feathering their own nests and justice is never a priority for them.

N Snowden, Darlington writes:

I am at present having to deal with Lester Aldridge. The details of the case I prefer not to reveal, suffice to say that I owe money to a third party.
I received communication from them in March 2009. Very threatening. When I spoke to someone there who refused to give me their name, they were equally threatening and downright rude. Nothing further from them was forthcoming until a letter two days ago (June 2010) saying that as I had not responded to their 'recent' letter they would issue proceedings against me within 7 days.
I had received no such correspondence of any description since March 2009, so I telephoned their office. I spoke to a woman, who again did not give me her name, she was curt to the point of being rude to me. She told me that they had written to me in May of this year. I assured her I had not received this letter and this was the reason I was calling. She could not give me any reason why it had taken them over a year to pursue 'Their Clients' claim against me and could give no explanation as to why I had not received the letter supposedly sent in May 2010. Her words were 'make an offer of payment now or we will take you to court which will result in further costs and interest on what you owe'
How do these people sleep at night? Why do they feel the need to be so rude? It costs nothing to be polite! I certainly was. After having Googled their name I came across your site and read the comments of other people who have been unfortunate enough to have had to deal with these people. Surely there must be some sort of regulatory body that lays down standards for companies like this. A complete bunch of ******* in my opinion!!!

Debbie Kendall, Ringwood writes:

I understand that Karen Thompson who is a Partner in Lester Aldridge is employed on a regular basis, by the law society, to go into Bent/Failed/Bankrupt law firms and clear up the mess. Clearly she is eminently qualified to do so!

Shi of Poole writes:

I have worked for Lester Aldridge and i cannot believe what some people are saying. Everyone is entitiled to their own opinion however i have only ever come across caring and hard working indivduals who always do their best for their clients. Dont let these bad experiences taint your image of Lester Aldridge.

I have seen first hand how difficult clients can be and how well the staff handle them. So it is a two week street and its very common to be chasing clients all the time as very rarily do they pay up.

Editorial Comment:

This letter was reproduced exactly as it was submitted - hence the errors. I wouldn't really expect an employee to say otherwise though it would appear good spelling is not an important requirement for employment with Lester Aldridge.

I have never come across a 'two week street' - is that something peculiar to the Lester Aldridge.

But the question is raised that if clients vary 'rarily' pay up, how does the company survive?