Legal Services - Commoditised or Local Specialist Advice

Anne Maguire asks can supermarkets and insurance companies provide a service that is better than your local specialist personal injury lawyer?

In 2011 Tesco’s Law will become a reality and Legal Services can be provided by supermarkets and large corporate brands such Marks and Spencers.

They will sell legal services along with the weekly shopping. But will it really be the case that supermarkets can provide better legal services than your local specialist qualified lawyers?

Recently, a client came to us who had been involved in a road traffic accident. Her insurance company insisted that her claim be dealt with by their panel solicitors in Leeds. The client - who lives in Milton Keynes - never met her solicitor. When she tried to contact him she had to relay messages through a Claims Handler, and she found their letters impersonal and communication difficult. In short, it was a frustrating and stressful experience.

Despite having been badly injured she felt that she was being treated as a “commodity”.

That client came to us at Geoffrey Leaver Solicitors and she was was able to sit down face to face, discuss her issues, understand how the claims process worked and the timetable set out to progress her claim to conclusion. We were able to organise local physiotherapy that was convenient for her and we found a local medical expert to examine her, so that she did not have to travel.By engaging in the claims process together we were able to present her claim in the best possible way and obtain a settlement that she was happy to receive.

And did it cost her anything? Not a penny!

Insurance companies and now Tesco’s Law will lull you into a false sense of security by guaranteeing that you will receive a “better deal”. Surely there can be no better deal than using a local specialist Personal Injury lawyer that you know and trust and who you can choose, safe in the knowledge that it will not cost you anything?

As consumers you have a choice – are you going to be part of a commoditised, impersonal legal service or have the support and accessibility of a specialist Personal Injury lawyer, local to you?

If you would like to discuss either an existing claim being dealt with by another solicitor through your insurance company or if you think that you might have a claim contact Anne Maguire by calling 01908 692769.