The Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned firms that they could risk breaching the code of conduct by contacting individuals directly on behalf of clients if those individuals are represented by Citizens Advice.

National firm Weightmans this week apologised for writing by mistake to a vulnerable adult on behalf of a bank seeking to recover a debt of £4,300. The letter told the 34-year-old, who was suffering from the language disorder dysphasia after a stroke, that the firm had been instructed to obtain a charge over his property. The man was already paying a token £1 a month towards the debt, under an agreement with Weightmans and the bank.

The man was given 14 days to comply, during which time he would need to gain the consent of the joint owner of the property, his estranged wife.

The Citizens Advice bureau (CAB) in Uckfield, East Sussex, which had advised the man for two years, complained to the SRA that Weightmans had breached SRA principles and the solicitors’ code of conduct.

A spokesman for Weightmans confirmed that it had written the letter ‘in circumstances where we knew that he was represented by the CAB’ and said it had apologised to the CAB for this mistake.

‘The purpose of the letter was to attempt to negotiate a conciliated settlement - we were certainly not attempting to take advantage of the individual. Indeed, on the same day that we wrote to the individual, we also sent an email to the CAB telling them that we had done so and in our letter we indicated that the individual may wish to seek legal advice.’

The SRA declined to comment on the case but observed: ‘There would be a risk of breaching the code of conduct and principles if a firm contacted a client who was being represented not by a "retained lawyer", but by a CAB.’