Ever seen the film the Invention of Lying, starring Ricky Gervais? It’s a great film; and I think it would be amazing if the concept could actually be true. Imagine a world where no-one can lie? It would be far better and fairer for those of us who live an honest life if all the cheaters and the scammers were unable to do what they do.
But how does this all tie in with a personal injury post?
Personal injury often gets a bad reputation. But to be honest, unless you’ve actually been in an accident and been injured, you probably just think it’s a “joke”.
People getting money for free! For nothing!
Well, it’s not quite like that… Yes, there are unfortunately people who try and cheat the system, but trust us when we say it’s easy to weed them out!
As we are specialists in personal injury law here at The Injury Lawyers, we know there are systems in place to stop those who try and ‘fake a claim‘!
But what about scams with lawyers?
Is this No Win, No Fee offer genuine and true? Will you really receive 100% of your compensation?
The thing is, there are some lawyers out there who will try and convince you that their firm is the best thing going but in reality, without doing your own homework you could end up being stung! Read more on finding a proper injury lawyer to represent you…
Claims companies & insurers!
The easiest way to get stung when making a claim is with claims companies and lawyers who are referred to you by insurers – namely your own insurers through a car or home policy (commonly). Claims companies are everywhere – if you search the net for claims advice, a lot of the websites are just claims companies direct or accident advice help lines.
They aren’t lawyers – just middlemen who will refer your claim to a lawyer, for a fee, just for grabbing your information and giving it to a solicitor.
The problem is that a lot of these companies will tell you that you will “receive 100% compensation” and you will “not have to pay anything up-front” or you will “not have to pay any legal fees”.
But then they sting you with an administration fee that comes out of your payout in the region of £400 to £500. But HOW can they do that!? They promised you that you wouldn’t be charged or lose anything from your payout!
Read the above again!
They say that no percentages will be taken from your case, and you will not be paying legal fees, and there are no upfront charges. But there is an administration fee that comes out of the payout. That’s not a percentage, nor a legal fee, nor an upfront fee. Sneaky wording…
Our Principal Solicitor once received a call from an accident advice service who told him (the Managing Director of a personal injury law firm) that he’d had an accident and they could advise him whether he has a claim!
It was another classic example of companies randomly fishing for information.
Anyway, he decided to entertain himself by chatting to them. They used all the right phrases like the above, but when our smart and savvy leader asked them the direct questions of whether he will be charged, he got the spindled and cryptic responses you see above. But most people wouldn’t think to do that – we know how the system works with these guys, so we know how they operate!
Any solicitor you are referred to by a claims company or an insurer will have paid a referral fee. This could be in the region of £1,000 according to the latest government reports. After all, claims companies have to make money somehow – and they do it by being in the business of obtaining injured victims details and referring them to lawyers. As for insurers? Well, they just like the tidy little profit they make. There’s no other way of looking at it!
Anyway, this referral fee won’t be recoverable from the other side – so it comes straight out the budget for running your claim. This either results in you ending up having to foot the bill, or leaving you with a solicitor who has a huge chunk of their claims budget wasted on a referral fee. So that money won’t be spent on keeping you updated, it won’t be spent on fighting for the highest payout possible, and it won’t be spent on going the extra mile to get you private medical care and recover all of your losses; instead, it’s wasted when it’s handed over to a company or a person for the simple act of giving them your details.
This whole process is being made illegal with the latest batch of justice reforms coming in April 2013 – but for now, it’s too easy to end up getting caught up in the black market of claims referrals and hidden fees. Presently it’s a legal scam in our opinion. So, if you are in the process of getting caught up in referral fees with your insurers or a claims company, we have two words for you – GET OUT!!! Before it’s too late…
To speak to a specialist personal injury law firm who will give you the best service possible then call our free claims helpline on 0800 634 75 75 today.
