No win no fee; the idiom is spreading

Driving home form work last night, I noticed that the little independent computer shop owner, just round the corner from my house, had put up shiny new signs in his windows. Their proud proclamation was:

No Fix No Fee

Now, that sounds like a good idea, doesn't it? I wonder if it'll catch on?

I can't see my local garage mechanic following suit though. It doesn't matter how many times I ask for the constant tippetty-tappetty noise in the engine to be fixed, or the dash board warning light that comes on for no apparent reason to be put right; he says he's "sorted it", and charges me extortionate amounts of pounds for the privilege, but approximately two days later, both are back and I'm out of pocket.

And what about washing machine repair men. They'll partially flood your kitchen floor, ruin three tea towels by mopping up the greasy mess with the first dry items they can grab; they haul a conker, two paper clips and an elastic band out of the thingummy reservoir and then they say, "Nope, it's a goner!"

And just as you're reaching for the Argos catalogue to see how much a new washing machine will set you back, he wipes his filthy hands on yet another tea towel and says, "That'll be 85 quid for the call out, love."

Now I don't know about you, but it galls me to have to pay for something that hasn't actually happened.

If I get into a taxi and ask to go to the train station, and the driver then demands £12 after arriving at Tescos, I would refuse to pay. I would ask to be taken to the place I had requested to go to in the first place and I would argue that the fee should be reduced as a result of his inability to navigate correctly. In short I would not pay until the service I had originally asked for had been delivered.

So, why do some professions seem to be able to arbitrarily get away with charging us for things that don't happen?

Of course, I understand the assertion that if a mechanic or engineer didn't charge when he went to repair a product that had reached the end of its serviceable life, then they would not make any money. But I would argue that, as a consumer, I am very wary of being diddled by dubious repair men and so am much more likely to just go out and replace the old product without investigating the possibilities for repair, thus denying the humble repairman the chance of ever getting his greasy hands on my money in any case.

It's all about trust, isn't it?

So, I feel that my friendly neighbourhood PC repair guy has got the right idea; it's along the same lines as no win no fee litigation. No matter how long he spends looking at your computer, if he can't get it to work, you won't be charged.

And that's just what happens in no win no fee compensation claims. If the no win no fee solicitor doesn't win you compensation then he doesn't ask you to pay his legal fees. And the great thing is, that in 100% compensation cases, even when he does what he says he will do, that is, get you compensation for your suffering, he still doesn't charge you; you get all the money that the court has awarded. The solicitor gets the insurers of the at-fault party to pay his bill. Now that sounds like a great idea, doesn't it?

No win no fee, an idiom that's worth considering. I hope that no fix no fee, catches on with the same success.

Can I claim?