Can you trust the ‘no win no fee’ personal injury compensation claims process?

If you have suffered a personal injury and want to make a claim for compensation, you will want to make sure that the company you choose to manage and run your claim can be trusted with such an important and personal matter.  You will also want to ensure that you are not signing your claim over to a firm that is not authorised to offer such services in the regulated personal injury claims marketplace.

Once you have decided that you wish to pursue a claim for personal injury compensation and have developed an understanding as to what the phrase ‘no win no fee‘ means, you need to ensure that you select a reputable company to assist you with the process of gathering evidence and sourcing an expert Solicitor to advocate for you.

Regulated Industry

As a result of the Compensation Act 2006, numerous changes were made to the process of claiming personal injury compensation.  One of the biggest changes (and one that was welcomed by us at Direct2Compensation) was that for the first time, the non-solicitor element of the claims sector, claims management companies, were to become regulated.  Therefore, all companies like ours have to apply each year for a 12-month regulatory authority to work in the personal injury claims sector.  As a result of this, all companies given authorisation by the Financial Conduct Authority have to abide by certain protocols and rules.  One of which is to state that we are “regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Our authorisation number is 830395.  Details can be found on the Financial Conduct Authority financial services register”.

Below is a simple checklist that you can use to ensure that the company you have chosen to run your claim can be trusted to do so professionally, honestly and properly.

• Make sure the company you select are authorised to act and regulated by Financial Conduct Authority.  (Double check that the company has a valid and up-to-date authorisation number).
• Make sure that the company you select fully explain how they make their fees, who pays them and what liabilities will be placed upon you as the claimant.  Any self-respecting company with nothing to hide will do so before you ask, but you should always ensure that you are given two copies of ANY document you are asked to sign, before signing it, so that you can keep a copy for your file.
• How did the company you have chosen come in to your consideration?  Claims Management Companies are held to strict rules by the regulator as to methods of operation, marketing practices and transparency.  We are banned from cold calling – therefore if you simply had your door knocked by someone ‘selling’ a claims company, received an unsolicited telephone call or letter regarding a claim, the company that you are considering are operating outside of the regulations, even if they are currently appearing to be legitimate.  If so, you should consider selecting a different company.
• The Financial Conduct Authority does not allow regulated companies to offer personal injury claimants incentives to make them select the firm to run their claim.  Therefore, if you are being offered cash, a free gift or other incentive, the company are operating outside of the regulatory rules and should not be trusted.

The vast majority of claims management companies and solicitors offering personal injury compensation claim services to the victims of non-fault accidents are honest, decent people.  However, as with all walks of life and people, there are dishonest people out there.  At Direct2Compensation we feel strongly about protecting our industry.  The access to claiming personal injury compensation is a vital part of our society, enabling people to seek compensation and justice when they have been disadvantaged through no fault of their own.  Therefore, we want to spread the word about how to trust your personal injury claim provider to ensure that companies operating outside of the rules are reported and closed down.

With us, you can be sure of our No Win No Fee credentials.  You will have no contract with us directly, but may choose to instruct one of our specialist independent Solicitor practices to act for you.  If so, your claim will be pursued on a No Win No Fee basis.  You will pay nothing whatsoever should your claim not succeed.  Should your claim succeed, you will contribute up to 25% of any award made to you along with the cost of any ATE insurance premium provided by your Solicitor.