I read with interest your recent article entitled 'beware of the help of third parties' (see [2004] Gazette, 15 January, 33).

You rightly warn solicitors of the dangers of taking recommen-dations from claims farmers in housing disrepair cases.

Our experience at Torfaen Council in South Wales is that a significant number of these claims farmers have neither the interests of the tenants nor the solicitors at heart.

In more than 70 claims against the council, we have examples of tenants who have not understood what they have signed, been promised damages that are grossly exaggerated, and many who have had no real interest in pursuing a claim at all.

In these 70 claims, we have never paid more than 300 compensation to any tenant and not paid a penny in costs.

Indeed, to date we have recovered more than 4,000 of costs from solicitors' firms for taking cases that have had no merit whatsoever, and we have summonses issued against senior partners to attend court and notices to show cause why solicitors themselves should not pay costs awaiting hearing in several other cases.

Some of these firms of claims farmers have solicitors as directors.

The way in which some tout for business is wholly unacceptable and I am ashamed to be a member of the same profession as those solicitors who are prepared to do business with them.

Torfaen is not untypical of local authorities in South Wales in facing this kind of claim, and someone is making a lot of money at the expense of tenants.

Duncan Forbes, county borough solicitor and monitoring officer, Torfaen County Borough, Pontypool