Despite a protracted legal saga, he never recovered what he was
owed and became infuriated with the firm he had employed to fight
his case, who seemed to be ignoring him by refusing to answer their
phones.
He called in the regulators, who found in his favour and awarded
him £500. The solicitors, Moss and Coleman of Hornchurch, Essex,
soon became the first listing on solicitorsfromhell.net, a website that Mr
Kordowski designed himself.
Visitors are confronted by a picture of a demon wearing a suit,
and a statement describing the website's aim: to "expose these
shameless, corrupt, money-grabbing, incompetent specimens of
humanity".
"It quickly became clear that there were many other unhappy
clients, not just with this firm but with many others," Mr
Kordowski said. "Most people had been through the formal complaint
routes, as I did, and got nowhere.
"After they've exhausted all other avenues of complaint they
come across my website, have a rant, and get it off their chests.
It makes people feel good."
He receives up to 20 tip-offs a day from the 15,000 unique
visitors to his website each week. But he admitted: "I have to
delete most of them. Only listings that have merit or contain
useful public information get posted."
More than 800 legal firms are now listed on the website, which
Mr Kordowski runs from his home in suburban Essex. Through it he
encourages disgruntled clients, under the veil of anonymity, to
"name and shame" the solicitors and barristers who have let them
down.
One recent listing states: "Avoid this firm of solicitors at all
costs and if you do have appointments with [these] solicitors take
a hidden tape recorder with you to tape everything because they lie
... to cover up there [sic] lies and illegal acts."
Many would consider it foolhardy to willingly pick a fight with
Britain's legal community, and Mr Kordowski's crusade has brought
him his fair share of judicial strife. Lawyer Scott Eason recently
pursued him for damages after two users posted comments questioning
his ethics.
The dispute was settled last month after Mr Kordowski agreed to
remove the "false and defamatory" allegations from the website and
not to publish them again.
"At least once a week a legal firm will get in touch and
threaten me with libel or defamation," Mr Kordowski said. "My
answer is always the same. The best course of action for the
solicitor is to contact the complainant – they can usually work out
who they are by the details of their complaint – sort out their
differences, apologise and ask the complainant to instruct me to
remove the listing.
"But it seems that the preferred course for many is to send me
abusive emails and intimidating letters. This all adds to my
determination to expose the rogues in the legal profession."
Along with the complaints, Mr Kordowski says he receives just as
many testimonials from grateful visitors who have been warned away
from a particular firm.
Many people claim that mentioning the website tends to make
firms more attentive to their needs. He has since established
another site, solicitorsfromheaven.com, to allow people to leave
positive feedback.
Several internet service providers have been unwilling to host
solicitorsfromhell.com. "It's not a problem," Mr Kordowski said.
"There's plenty out there. You just move on."
He has also received several threats from specialist media law
firms hired by those criticised on his website, refuting the claims
and imposing 24-hour deadlines for their removal, backed up by the
threat of legal action.
But Mr Kordowski does not sound like a man under threat. "In
five years I've only had one situation where I've posted
allegations that turned out to be completely false, and I took it
down straightaway," he said. "Normally they just take it on the
nose and threaten me with legal action."
There is, however, another solution. "Lawyers can ring up and
pay to have their listings removed," he says, the first sign that
he may not be Essex's answer to Erin Brockovich. "I charge between
£99 and £299. It doesn't happen very often, though – maybe once a
month."
But the worst offenders are unlikely to be able to get a post
removed. "Listing a complaint is free. But if a client feels
strongly enough they can pay £25 and have the firm added as a
'premium player'.
"In that case, a solicitor or firm cannot pay to have their
posting removed. Some have tried, but they simply receive their
money back," he said.
It is not a very lucrative business, though. "It probably brings
in about £100 a month," Mr Kordowski said. "I have to make a little
bit to keep the site going. It's not much revenue, but there's a
lot of satisfaction."
