Back in April of 2007 a new law was passed to help protect the UK Public from Claims Management Companies / Agencies. This was to help eradicate some of the underhand marketing and hard sell tactics that Claims Management Companies performed in trying to persuade customers to sign onto their services.

Nowadays, the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) carry out strict authorization and regulation against Claims Management Companies in a bid to stamp out their unscrupulous behaviour. But there are still scandalous stories making headlines from people who have dealt with Claims Management Companies / Agencies a year on since the new laws took effect.

What You should Know!

A Claims Management Company is a company that has a pool of solicitors / lawyers that run under the Claims Management Company banner. In its ugliest form it is quite simply a claims lead generator. They source a person seeking to claim, hook them up with a registered lawyer within their pool then charge a handling fee for their part in the process.

What You Should be Aware Of!

If you are dealing with or thinking about dealing with a Claims Management Company / Agency then here are a few pointers to be wary of:

• The staff that you may be dealing with may have no formal legal training or qualifications.

• They will overcharge to compensate for their fee.

• You get unexpected calls or even hospital visits from someone representing a claims management company

• Cash advances on your claim

• Pesters you into signing a contract without having it first checked out properly

• If an independent solicitor / lawyer has advised of an amount to expect, a claims management company / agency will NOT get you any more of an amount no matter what they claim

What You Should Do Instead!

There are simple steps to combat claims management companies / agencies - deal directly with a personal injury lawyer. If you want proper advice about taking steps for a personal injury claim then contact an independent solicitor / lawyer to get experienced informative advice without the sales pitch or the pressure to sign-up quickly.

When your considering making a claim do your homework correctly when you are in research mode. There are plenty of helpful and respectable injury claims firms that will be only too happy to talk through your claim with you offering professional and sound advice drawing from experience and not from call centre staff reading from pre-prepared scripts.