News Email your opinions to
editorial@barkerbrooks.co.uk
Ombudsman to take on CMC complaints
Te Government has finally begun the process of transferring claims management company complaint handling to the Legal Ombudsman, opening up the possibility of CMCs having to pay compensation to dissatisfied consumers
T
he third reading of the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Bill in the House of Lords on 9 December included the long-awaited inclusion of the transfer of claims management company (CMC) complaints handling from the Ministry of
Justice (MoJ) to the Legal Ombudsman. With the switch expected to take place later this year, CMCs who find complaints
upheld against them can expect to be forced to pay compensation to disgruntled clients by the Ombudsman. The change will also allow the Claim Management Regulation (CMR) unit at the
Ministry of Justice to dedicate more resources to tackling bad practice by companies in the sector. These will include a new power to issue fines against CMCs that use data sourced through unsolicited calls and texts, or who provide a poor quality service. Justice Minister Shailesh Vara said that any CMCs engaging in poor practice should be
in no doubt that the Government was bringing in "tough new powers across the board". “This latest change will make sure people who get a bad service can get redress,” he said. Legal Ombudsman Adam Sampson described the change as great news for
consumers and CMCs. "It will boost confidence in the services provided by the sector," he said. "The Legal
Ombudsman will be ready to start accepting complaints as soon as legislation allows.” Added to these changes, CMCs dealing with payment protection insurance (PPI)
claims are bracing themselves for further upheaval after the MoJ released proposals to amend the Conduct of Authorised Persons Rules in November. The consultation on the alterations closed on 9 January and centred around three main areas. The first was a requirement that companies make sure that the PPI claims they are submitting have a realistic chance of success, as well as ensuring that sufficient evidence is provided to back up any allegations they make against a bank or financial services provider. The second is the continued use of unsolicited calls and texts, and the third was
misleading advertising. Vara said the Government would not tolerate companies which waste hardworking
people’s time and money through "their own laziness, incompetence or frankly dubious practices". "We are already making sure rogue companies are shut down – and now we are
ensuring those who are wasting everyone’s time will pay for it," he said. Financial Secretary to the Treasury Sajid Javid said the new rules would "put PPI claims
pests in their place". "Cold call companies that bother the public will now have one less reason to do so.
This will also help free up the banks to pay legitimate claims more quickly," he said. According to the Government, more than 1,100 claims companies specialise in
helping people make claims for compensation for mis-sold financial products. It says that its measures have already seen the number of claims firms operating drop by more than 1,000 since a peak of 3,400 in 2011 to 2,300. ●
AMV Law adopts Eclipse's Proclaim Practice Management
solution AMV Law, a prize winner at the Law Society Excellence Awards 2013, has implemented the Proclaim Practice Management Software solution from Eclipse Legal Systems. Established in 2006, AMV Law is a niche
London-based practice specialising solely in Personal Injury cases. The firm caters for the full range of injury and claimant types, ranging from straightforward RTA cases through to catastrophic injury cases. AMV Law is taking the full Proclaim Practice
Management solution, integrating firm-wide accounting toolsets with the Personal Injury Case Management desktop. In addition, the firm is taking advantage of Proclaim's A2A (Application-to-Application) functionality to process low-value RTA (Road Traffic Accident) claims through the Government's Portal system. Prior to implementation, Eclipse carried out a
migration of data from AMV Law's existing case management solution. Anna Theordorides, Principal of AMV Law
(and winner of the Highly Commended prize in the Legal Business Woman of the Year category at the Law Society Awards 2013), says that in an ever changing landscape, it is essential to find new ways to compete and survive the new costs regime. "It was imperative that the system we
invested in would allow us to carry out work as efficiently and cost effectively as possible within the Portal and outside, whilst maintaining excellent client care,” she says.
For further information, please contact Darren Gower (Marketing Director) at
darren.gower@eclipselegal.co.uk, or call 01274 704100.
Alternatively, visit :
www.eclipselegal.co.uk
Claims Magazine/Issue 11/ 11
Industry pioneers are crowned at the PI awards NEWS ➔
12 Promotional feature
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60