Government to Ban Referral Fees
17th Oct 2011
James Burnett reports on the governments intention to ban referral fees.
Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly MP has announced that the Government intends to ban referral fees in personal injury cases in an attempt to bring down the costs of motor insurance premiums.
Calling referral fees a ‘symptom of the compensation culture’, Mr Djanogly said that the government would look to include a ban in the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. Andy Slaughter, Shadow Justice Minister, said that the Labour Party supports the ban on referral fees, but said that there was no universal definition of what a referral fee is.
It is BHP Law’s position that any ban would only drive referral fees under ground, providing no transparency or protection for injured people. The real mischief is the passing on of people’s details without their consent, cold calling by both claims management companies and insurers, and a lack of cooperation from insurers on divulging suspicions about fraud.
Author: James Burnett, Partner (JamesB@bhplaw.co.uk)
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