It’s a lucrative business and there are claims management firms and lawyers out there who will not leave you alone until you use their services. They will call, and call, and call, and call, and call, and call etc. Our advice about this is simple – don’t panic, and just ignore them, and block their numbers.
How they get your information
It can be from anywhere. You may have used an online calculator to see how much your claim is worth. All it takes is a name and a phone number and you’re on their system. Perhaps you called a company to ask for some advice and they traced your number and they have passed your details around as well.
But what if you haven’t told anyone about making a claim for personal injury compensation? How do they still manage to get your information?
It could be somewhat of a mystery as it’s hard to prove exactly who gave your details away. But we know from research and previous news stories that garages might pass your details on when you use their shop for repairs. Insurers, including your own, might pass your information around. Even the police have been involved in passing details around, allegedly. Essentially, anyone who knows you have been in a none-fault accident potentially holds the key to legal fees that can be claimed for pursuing your case. Sometimes, though, they just take a punt.
Should you instruct them?
My advice is to avoid them. We have never been involved in buying claims from companies at all – all of our clients come to us direct. We have never believed in the practising of buying peoples information and trading claims. So first things first, you can rest assured that advice from us is safe.
You should always find your own lawyer. Never let some rabble of cold calling bandits get you in to an agreement as these guys somehow get your information and then hound you until you use their services. I would be very surprised if they had valued your claim without knowing anything about your injuries from a medical perspective, and some of them just get information and take a punt that you might have been in an accident.
Take the company that called me yesterday. I could name them and give you their number but to be honest I wouldn’t want people using search engines for information about getting harassed by these numbers and stumbling on our website thinking it’s us! I’ll tweet it later.
They asked to speak with Marc Jowett, which is my brother’s name, and even knew the first line of my parents address. They said I’d been involved in an accident two years ago and had unclaimed compensation. How they got that information is quite scary – but I suppose they can look at 192 or social media to see where people live, and if you’re number is on any public forum they could match it up. That way they look like they know what they’re doing – like they have genuine information about you so they can reel you in to using their services.
I have just settled my claim for compensation but that’s by the by. My brother hasn’t been in an accident, and then given my number to anyone. That would be crazy.
My advice – avoid these cowboys. My understanding is that companies shouldn’t even be cold calling for personal injury, and it’s also illegal to pay referral fees so how they are marketing themselves is probably underhanded. But they care little about the law and regulations – which tells you a lot about the sort of people they are.
If you have genuinely been in an accident and you want to make a claim for personal injury compensation, it’s totally up to you if you want to make a claim and it’s totally up to you whom you choose to represent yourself. But the best advice I can give, is find your own law firm and do it your own way!