Lawyers have welcomed new plans to regulate claims management companies (CMCs) in Scotland, but say only a ban on cold calling will provide proper protection for consumers.
“Government plans to regulate the activities of claims management companies in Scotland as well as in England and Wales are very welcome,” said Gordon Dalyell, vice president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).*
“It is important that there is consistency across the different jurisdictions so there is no place for unscrupulous CMCs to hide.
But regulation in itself is not enough, Mr Dalyell explained.
“Many people have received unsolicited calls or texts encouraging them to claim compensation for personal injury when they have not even been injured,” he said.
“Regulation is welcome, but it will not deal with the whole problem. An outright ban on spam calls for personal injury by CMCs would protect consumers properly. It would help to correct the perception that suffering an injury makes ‘easy money’ and prevent companies from encouraging people to make claims for injuries they do not have,” he said.