There are so many websites out there to browse through when it comes to deciding who you want to represent you for your claim for compensation.
The bad news is that a load of them are NOT actually lawyers; they are just Claims Management Companies and Accident Advice Services that often like to appear as if they’re lawyers to draw you in.
What’s the difference?
A REAL Injury Law firm is an actual firm of solicitors that can not only give you advice, but represent you for the compensation claim. This is because the firm employs actual qualified lawyers to represent you for the claim. They will have their practising certificates and the firm should be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority.
A Claims Management Company or Accident Advice Service is NOT a law firm, and would not normally employ solicitors because these chaps will not actually represent you for your claim. They may well have “legal trained advisers” and can offer some form of “legal advice” but ultimately they will not handle your claim for compensation.
OK – so, erm, what on earth will they do?
They will refer your case over to a lawyer. They will often tell you this – but the law firm they refer you over to is an external company and the decision as to which one you end up with can be based on a number of things; perhaps which one is the closest to you, or perhaps which one pays the most for your claim.
Wait, what!? Pay for my claim?
Oh yes, the Claims Management Companies and Accident Advice Services do not work for free; how could they? They are a business after all, and have overheads to meet, and profits to make. The core of their business is to make money from referring accident victims over to lawyers. They are essentially a middleman – like an estate agent – in the process of getting you a lawyer – for a fee, of course!
However, you do not actually need to go through one of these companies to get a lawyer.
They are essentially, in my opinion, a useless middleman. In fact, they can actually have a negative impact on you and your claim. There are well known televised Accident Advice Help Services that charge you an admin fee of around £400 for their services.
Trust me – I’ve seen the paperwork!
If they don’t charge you, then your solicitor must find a way of recouping the money they waste on the buying of your case. This can either be met by a percentage deduction from your claim, or by skimming down on the service levels they offer for you. At the end of the day, the solicitors firm must also make a profit.
So – whilst the solicitors your claim is sold to are real lawyers, they have wasted money on buying your case through a referral fee system which can have a negative effect on you and your claim.
What you really need!
What you want to get is an INDEPENDENT 100% real injury lawyer. By going to them direct, you avoid the middlemen and the potential of having to pay out for you case when you really shouldn’t have too.
The best way to spot a 100% REAL injury lawyer is to either speak with them or see who regulates them. Real injury lawyers are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority.
If their website says something like “… is regulated by the Ministry of Justice in respect of regulated claims management activities; its registration is recorded on the website www.claimsregulation.co.uk. Authorisation number : CRM0000” or similar, they are a claims management company.
It may even mention the Solicitors Code of Conduct when it comes to the referral of lawyers as well.
We are, in full, Your Lawyers – The Injury Lawyers. We are an actual firm of specialist personal injury lawyers with years and years of experience in dealing with personal injury claims.
We are not middlemen; we are not a claims management company or accident advice service. What we are is a firm who can not only provide you with free, no obligation legal advice, but we can actually represent you for your claim.
We are, therefore, REAL 100% injury lawyers. Not only that, but we reckon that we do a fine job with our clients through the service we offer and the agreement we have in place.
We also like to assist our clients as much as we can – we endeavour to keep our clients up-to-date about their claim, and try to return calls on a same day basis. We are open until 10pm on all weekdays, and from 9am – 5pm weekends.
If you want any advice from a real law firm, then don’t hesitate to get in touch by calling 0800 634 7575 and speak to one of our expert claims team today.
