A no win, no fee website set up to farm former coal miners’ undersettlement claims is being investigated by the government claims regulator, the Gazette has learned.

The Ministry of Justice is investigating justiceforminers.org.uk after Kevan Jones, Labour MP for North Durham, complained to the claims management regulator.

The Gazette has also uncovered evidence that the site, currently run by claims firm Oracle Legal, has ties to Zuko Legal, the claims company that found itself in the spotlight after it sold 19,000 miners’ cases to Yorkshire firm Raleys for £5.4m. Raleys was later found by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal to have breached solicitors’ rules for buying these claims, some of which resulted from cold-calling by Zuko Legal. The SDT made no finding in respect of Zuko Legal, which was not accused of any wrongdoing.

Many former coal miners are lodging claims for under-compensation of their original awards under the government’s coal health compensation scheme. A number of websites have been set up by solicitors or claims management companies to gather these claims.

Jones said: ‘It is important that people realise this is a claims handling company and not any campaign group for ex-miners or a firm of solicitors. If ex-miners or their families believe that their claim has been undersettled, they should seek legal advice from a solicitor, or contact their local MP who will be able to point them in the right direction. There is no need to involve claims handlers.’

Before 29 October, an authorised business search of the authorisation number cited on justiceforminers.org.uk brought up the name of Bury-based company Oracle Associates. Records showed that the company had voluntarily surrendered its authorisation to act as a claims management company, meaning that it cannot provide claims-handling services.

Some time after 29 October, the authorisation number on justiceforminers.org.uk was changed. As the Gazette went to press, an authorised business search of this number brought up the name of Oracle Legal, which is based at the same address as Oracle Associates, according to Companies House records. Oracle Legal is authorised by the MoJ.

The same Bury address is also home to Zuko Legal, according to Companies House records. These records also show that Ayyaz Ashraf is listed as a director of both Zuko Legal and Oracle Associates, but not Oracle Legal.

The Oracle Associates website says that the company is a ‘specialist financial irregularities marketing company focused on client acquisition, primarily via web-based marketing’. The website adds that Oracle Associates ‘are also experts in the field of personal injury’.

Oracle did not respond to requests for comment.

Soon after the SDT published its decision in February 2009, Raleys managing partner Carol Gill told the Yorkshire Post that the firm bought the 19,000 claims to prevent miners missing the claims registration deadline, and that the firm voluntarily revealed the rule breach to the Law Society.