Campaigns

Solicitors who failed victims of financial miss selling

At the beginning of the decade the big news in the financial retail sector was the miss selling of financial products known as “Split Capital Investment Trusts”. These high risk products were often presented and sold to investors as medium to low risk financial products but in fact were extremely high risk and ultimately lost a substantial amount of money. The inevitable wave of litigation against financial advisors who had recommended the schemes has long since subsided, but unfortunately it did not all end well.

We are instructed in relation to an action against solicitors who sought to bring class actions against financial advisors in the civil courts. Litigation was often unsuccessful and in some cases abandoned at great costs to litigants who had already lost out on their investment which often meant their life savings. We say that rather than sue, these victims should firstly have been referred to the Financial Services Ombudsman who has the power to investigate claims and make awards of compensation up to £100,000 completely free of charge and risk. Instead they were drawn into complex and costly litigation which bore little fruit except for the lawyers.

We are interested in hearing from anyone who unsuccessfully tried to sue financial advisors for miss selling of these products, whether it was through a class action or otherwise, so that we can assist them in finally recovering some of the money they lost.

Contact Stephen Hill if you want to get involved.

Insurers using dodgy tactics to under-settle claims

Bolt Burdon Kemp's specialist road traffic accident compensation team is concerned at reports that some insurers are using dodgy tactics to under-settle claims. We know from our own experience that one insurer in particular, Quinn Direct, is door stepping victims of accidents caused by their policy holders, offering money in return for them agreeing to halt their claim, even where solicitors have been instructed. This happens before medical evidence has been obtained so that a proper assessment of the true value of the claim can't be understood, and in some cases insurers are targetting vulnerable people and children, sometimes within hours or days of an accident, pressurising them to drop their claims. The insurers say they are trying to speed up the compensation process but in fact their whole reason for doing this is to save money. Evidence shows that once a solicitor is instructed, claimants get more money because their claims can be properly assessed. Bolt Burdon Kemp are working with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and the Motor Accident Solicitors Society to highlight these practices, and bring pressure on the Financial Services Authority and MP's to regulate this practice, known as 'third party capture'. We need to stop victims of accidents getting victimised twice.

To find out more, or join our campaign contact Lee Champion or Peter Snee.

Court Fee Rise for Care Proceedings

In May 2008 the Government increased the fees local authorities have to pay to take court proceedings to protect abused children and take them into care. The fees rose from £150 to £4800 per case. We helped to co-ordinate an MP lobbying campaign to question the Government’s rationale, particularly in the light of the distressing Baby P case, and Jonathan Wheeler gave an interview live on Sky News on 18th November 2008 to publicise this problem.

Contact Jonathan Wheeler if you want to get involved.