As a reputable firm of personal injury lawyers, we’re proud of the fact that we were never involved in the referral fee systems that were banned in April 2013 (that’s right – we have never paid referrals to claims agents, insurers, etc) and we’re equally as proud to not be a part of the incentive schemes a lot of lawyers offer.
By incentive schemes I’m talking about free technology and huge cash incentives here. But according to news reports, these are set to be banned soon.
I recall writing a blog about this last year where I discussed the downsides of going with a firm offering thousands of pounds in cash incentives or free giveaways – click here for the article. In fact, I did one specifically on “cash upfront” lawyers more recently as well. You can read this one here.
I know it’s tempting, especially in such hard financial times, but as I’ve discussed in the blogs referenced above, it can result in poor compensation payouts for victims and you’re not necessarily getting the best service with a firm who will rope you in with giveaways and cash incentives. It can also tempt people to make a claim where they really shouldn’t be doing so…
But all this is about to stop according to reports from the BBC who confirm that such incentive schemes are to be banned as the government continue their rampage in ripping apart the compensation claiming industry.
I’m quite happy with such suggestions as we have always been against those kinds of things anyway, and I agree with the reasoning behind the bans. However, I will of course denounce the “compensation culture” theory that is referenced in the news report though – the media continue to use this phrase amongst other tired clichés which have already been proven to not exist. Government investigations confirmed that the term “compensation culture” was nothing more than a media fuelled myth years ago; but that being said, I welcome reforms that will change the dark side of personal injury claiming that brings a bad name to reputable lawyers like us and the honest genuine claimants we represent.
The report also goes on to discuss new laws that will stop payouts to claimants who exaggerate their cases as well. Now it’s important to understand that this is a very rare thing, and those in the minority who try and exaggerate their claim are normally quickly caught. New laws will now stop payouts altogether – and I totally agree! We have seen stories of claimants who have been put behind bars for contempt of court when they have been found to have exaggerated their claim.
We always advise people to be truthful and honest, or risk getting caught and ruining your case!
Now for my favourite part of the story – Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has reminded the insurance industry that premiums must fall in response to the new laws of late that will no doubt save the insurance industry millions of pounds. I don’t agree with some of the reforms – one such reform means most accident victims now lose a percentage of their case which is totally unfair – but cutting the fat from the system is always a good thing.
So long as it’s done in the right way of course.
Over the years we have been representing victims for compensation claims, we’re proud that our clients have only ever come to us directly for our reputation. We never paid referral fees, and we have never offered huge cash incentives or free tech that will ultimately hamper service levels!
It’s just another reason why people love to claim with The Injury Lawyers! We also don’t always take the full 25% from claims as well that most other firms do, and there are normally no upfront fees to pay!
