Novitas Loans - Frequently asked questions
Novitas Loans has ceased lending and is permanently closed. Novitas Loans was a provider of lending for legal costs and is part of the Close Brothers group. Close Brothers will continue to support previous customers of Novitas Loans.
There are two main categories of Novitas loans:
- Family: loans to finance divorce or probate proceedings
- Non-Family: loans to finance clinical negligence or cases where you are seeking compensation from a company
If you have a Family loan, you can contact us by email at enquiries@novitasloans.co.uk.
If you have a non-Family loan, please find answers to frequently asked questions below.
All Novitas loans have now closed. When your loan closed, you will have received written confirmation of the loan closure. You do not need to take any action and you will no longer receive annual statements from Novitas Loans.
Your legal case was set up on a ‘No Win No Fee’ basis. Your Novitas loan was arranged by your solicitor at the time and is designed to fund payments required to progress your legal case - for example court fees, counsel (barrister) fees or expert witness reports.
We understand that your solicitor also arranged, on your behalf, an After The Event (ATE) insurance policy to repay the loan if the legal case was unsuccessful. This ATE insurance was also a condition of your Novitas loan.
Where a legal case was successful, the loan was repaid through the proceeds of the litigation (i.e. the winnings or settlement).
Where a legal case was unsuccessful or the loan was not fully repaid by the proceeds of the litigation, the loan balance was designed to be paid by the ATE insurance policy. All Novitas loans have now closed.
Your solicitor manages your legal case and can provide legal advice. Novitas Loans only provided funding to cover payments required to progress your legal case, for example court fees, counsel (barrister) fees or expert witness reports. Our loan did not pay for your solicitor’s time or fees.
Novitas carried out a soft search and this search does not have a negative impact on your credit score. ‘Soft searches’ are not visible to companies, so they have no impact on your credit score or any future credit applications you might make. Only you can see them on your report.
If your solicitor is insolvent, an administrator or insolvency practitioner would have been appointed, and they can advise you as to the status of your legal case. Please contact the relevant administrator or insolvency practitioner.
An After The Event (ATE) policy is an insurance policy that covers you as the policyholder, in the event your case is unsuccessful.
The policy ensures that payments required to progress your legal case - for example court fees, counsel (barrister) fees or expert witness reports do not have to be paid by you if the case is unsuccessful.
If you are successful in your case, the payments required to progress your legal case will be covered by the proceeds of the settlement and not the ATE policy.
The policy also covers adverse costs, which can also be known as defendant’s costs. This is where a Court orders that you pay some or all of the opponent’s (the defendant’s) legal costs as well as your own.
You will need to raise the complaint directly with your insurer. You can then also refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which provides a free service to review and settle complaints between consumers and businesses that provide financial services. They can be contacted by telephone (0800 023 4567) or email (complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk). It is important to engage with your insurer’s complaints process before approaching the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Who should I contact with a query about my legal claim?
Please contact the solicitor managing your case if you have any questions regarding your legal case, including its status, as they have the most up to date information.
If your case was unsuccessful, the Court may order that you pay adverse costs, which can also be known as defendant’s costs. This is where a Court orders that you pay some or all of the opponent’s (the defendant’s) legal costs as well as your own.
Your solicitor arranged the setup of an After The Event (ATE) insurance policy on your behalf in the event your case failed, which was designed to pay both the Novitas loan and any defendant costs that may be awarded by the Court.
Please contact your solicitor to understand whether a claim has been made on your ATE policy and contact your ATE insurer to understand the outcome of your insurance claim.
As the legal case is in your name, you must engage with your solicitor to understand your obligations to pay defendant’s costs.
For additional information, including contact details for relevant organisations which can provide additional support, click here.