Losing all hope in life ...continued

Subsequent to my first and only review on this company I was unceremoniously and without consultation dropped as a client without the services that I had been paying for even being rendered.

I really would like any person considering using Strauss Daly for a divorce matter to seriously consider other options and perhaps request credentials, pricing structures and an official outline of divorce proceedings in writing before you even get into the door for that first meeting. I had to pay R10 000 into their account just to get an initial consultation with these attorneys.

When in the room with them they promised me that they could negotiate for things that I had already mentioned I was having trouble getting with my previous attorney and even expressly stated that I feel we should proceed without it for those same reasons and challenges.

They gave me an outline of what they intended to do(not in writing, only verbally), and drafted work (including a subpoena) that I never saw but was charged for. They immediately changed tact without a proper explanation and without bothering to advise why their initial plan of action was billed and charged but never reimbursed when they decide to s**** that plan of action of their own accord.

You should know that I was dragged on for months being asked the same questions over and over again. If you think you are going to be proactive in following up with your attorneys about work that is due - beware! You get charged for following up. So you will quickly gather that chasing up on deliverables is frowned and negatively reinforced.

You get charged when they read and/or respond to any of your follow up e-mails or texts. You get charged if/when you call them and they choose answer your call. You also get charged when they call you or send you a text or an e-mail. They also charge you to read (they call it peruse) and/or respond to any texts, e-mails or calls from your spouses attorneys.

What I noticed and raised as a query was the fact that before they dropped me as their client I had queried several calls which were made between my lawyer and my husbands lawyer which I was charged for but never given context of. I found this very suspicious.

Even after they dropped me as a client, without providing the settlement letter or even filing in court which they were supposed to have already done months ago, they still billed me a further few thousands in order for my file to be made available for collection. I asked to be given details of an ombudsmen and they conveniently didn't respond on that.

In the end, I have paid tens of thousands of rands for a divorce that never happened. You might find that their bills and statements read topsy turvy. I found them quite hard to figure out at the best of times. The rates at which they bill their time is pretty special. The best part is you are invited to have a consult with one person only to be promptly handed over to work with her second in command and in my experience the 2IC was very unprofessional and moody. This was most especially apparent whenever I queried why they were taking soo long but still allowing my husband's attorney to blame me about dragging my heels as if I needed and or wanted to waste time and money.

In the end I was given the silly excuse that they could not proceed because of the relationship breakdown between myself and them and that I was asking them to proceed on things that weren't in my best interest. My thoughts on that is simple. You were never acting in my best interest because if you were you wouldn't have pursued an avenue that I had already told you would not be fruitful in our first consult. You were happy to sit back and take my money for months. And when I became suspicious of your intentions and queried you then got upset and dropped me because that is what lawyers can do. You also try to sell me a workshop which I never asked for which if I had paid for and attending would have resulted in an application for spousal support which would have needed to be filed in a separate court costing more money wasting more time etc.

Divorce attorneys will happily let their client's fight over jewellery and other things that were already discussed and agreed upon in the initial consult for months just to use you to fund their next sports car. I was advised that I would be contacted by the attorney on record but she never responded when I asked how they could drop me for merely expressing discontent after they took all my money and never delivered what they promised. And no refund either. Law is a brilliant profession, I should have just studied that because I would have been driving a flashy car and living in a mansion by now!!!

I felt the need to come back here just to make sure I share my experience with anybody who might currently be considering a divorce. Perhaps due to the current economic circumstances and the strain which is bound to be placed on marriages as a result of such circumstances. Please do your due diligence when considering who you will enlist for this service.

People are out to make money, divorce is an emotional and turbulent proceeding and there is no shortage of "professionals" waiting for a chance to take advantage of people in bad and uncomfortable situations.

Strauss Daly came very highly recommended to me by a close family member. My thoughts on this is that you should always rather do your own research. I should have seen the red flags when they mentioned that the divorce matter being handled for them was exceptionally long and dragged out for over five years. You might find that is the lawyers that will happily take your money for years while you and your spouse are encouraged not to chat directly with each other and false information gets sent both ways creating tension and hence delaying.

Good luck to you! I sincerely hope your experiences with divorce lawyers are better than mine.