It has been suggested that a ban on cold calling for claims management companies, would be an effective alternative to the Ministry of Justice’s personal injury reforms. However, this week the government has discredited this proposition with accusations that such a ban would have little effect as those responsible are unregulated anyway. [i]
Justice Minister Sir Oliver Heald, faced questions from shadow justice minister Christina Rees in which she asked whether he would consider the merits of banning claims management companies from making PI cold calls. However, he rebutted the proposition and stated:
‘Claims management companies (CMCs) are already banned from introducing claims, or details of potential claims to solicitors if these have been obtained by an unsolicited approach by telephone or in person. The majority of unsolicited calls for personal injury claims are made by illegal unregulated businesses. Regulators are working together to tackle illegal activity where identified’.
The Claims Management Regulator has released data this week which shows that 29 CMCs engaged with direct marketing were audited and issued with written advice between October and December 2016. Issued advice is provided to a CMC regarding compliance issues, if this is ignored the next course of action is an official warning. Additionally, new investigations were started into five companies and 12 formal investigations were progressing in relation to possible breaches of rules around nuisance calls, texts and emails.
[i] John Hyde, ‘Minister Lukewarm About Cold-Call Ban For PI Claims’ (The Law Society Gazette 1 February 2017)< https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/minister-lukewarm-about-cold-call-ban-for-pi-claims/5059650.article> accessed 2 February 2017.