Wednesday, 13 September 2017

House of Lords urged to ban nuisance calls

Peers must seize an opportunity today to put an end to the scourge of cold calls and texts by personal injury claims management firms, say lawyers.

'51 million calls and texts are received in the UK from regulated claims management companies encouraging people to make personal injury claims,' said Brett Dixon, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).

'This is a chance for peers to put that right. They can support an amendment to the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill which would finally put into legislation the end of unsolicited touting for claims,' he explained.

The amendment is due for debate in the House of Lords on Wednesday.

'The Ministry of Justice says the majority of nuisance calls and spam texts come from illegal, unregulated firms. But data from the Information Commissioner's Office shows that regulated claims management firms are responsible for millions of these calls and texts about personal injury claims. They can and should be stopped. We hope that the opportunity is not lost.

'Not only are calls and texts a huge public bugbear, they give the impression that easy money is to be made, which in turn gives rise to fraudulent attempts to receive compensation. It is a tasteless and intrusive practice,' he said.