Appearing to be professional, but never actually giving help when you need it.

I have been a platinum member since December 2021, paying the top rates and therefore expecting the top service. I have tried to use Law for All 3 times during this period. Each time it has been a frustrating process which ended in me having to find another Law firm, and costing me an insane amount of money as a result.

1. The event that prompted me to take out the Law for All policy was our intention to purchase a house, and the potential reduction of transfer fees etc. When we bought the house, Law for All referred us to Parker Attorneys, who agreed to give us a 50% reduction on fees (not 60% as stated in the policy). However dealings with Parker were so frustratingly slow that after several months (and almost losing the house as a result), we went to another company instead and just paid Parker's invoice for R1000 for the services they had apparently given to date--not that we were aware of what those were! It was quite clear that they did not want our business or intend to do anything about our transfer. In the end we derived no benefit from Law for All only a lot of frustration and stress and an invoice of R1000 to add to that.

2. The next time I engaged Law for All for legal services was when my tenant in Durban defaulted on payment and I had to initiate eviction proceedings. The partner company I was referred to (Francois Medalie & Co) also did not help me at all and sometimes I waited weeks to get a response to an email, after several months of no action (during which time I continued to lose rental and the house went downhill fast), I eventually gave up and went to another attorney. I lost over R70,000 in unpaid rent and damage to the house during that time.. Once again the company LfA referred me to simply did nothing to assist me. The delay cost me a great deal of money and put me in financial crisis--at least I wasn't changed anything this time!

3. The most recent episode is in response to my wife filing for divorce. 10 days before the deadline for filing my plea and counterclaim I was informed that LfA would not be handling the case because they believed the matter had originated during the waiting period (which had ended 17 months before!) This has left me scrambling to find another attorney (all of whom are extremely expensive) and at risk of missing my deadline with the high court.

To make matters worse, I have received no response to my appeal to Absa Insurance except an automated message telling me I would receive receive feedback within 2 days and a resolution withing 3 days. After 4 days I emailed to ask what was happening, and received the same automated message. To date still no response!

Thus, despite being a Platinum member and paying the highest subscription rate, Law for All has been unable or unwilling to help me at every single point that I have needed legal assistance in almost two years. Although the company is fairly quick and professional in its responses, actual assistance has never been forthcoming. My subscription has been a costly lesson that the commitments of the company are smoke and mirrors and that membership gives a false sense of security. In the end it actually leaves me in a worse position than if I had never taken out insurance. With only a couple of days left to submit my appeal I am struggling to find an attorney with availability!