Mark Boleat, the former head of the government's claims management regulation unit, questioned how solicitors can afford to pay referral fees last week.


Speaking at a high-level discussion chaired by the former Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, at national firm Russell Jones & Walker last week, Boleat stepped back from calling for an outright ban on referral fees because that 'would simply drive them underground'.



However, he said people should be asking 'why referral fees exist, how they can be paid and what sort of quality advice is the lawyer giving if he can pay upwards of £700 for a case.'



David Fisher, injury claims technical manager with insurer Axa, told delegates that consumers 'would be appalled' if they knew about the relationships between various parties and about 'the amounts of money [changing] hands behind closed doors.'



However, Tony Goff, chairman of the Motor Accident Solicitors Society, criticised widespread 'hypocrisy about referral fees', saying banning them would restrict access to justice for injured people and lead to a shortage of qualified solicitors.



Anita Rice