PAYING THE PRICE ; ;My practice conducts exclusively claimant personal injury work.

;I like to think we provide an excellent service for our clients.

I also believe that we should be properly paid for that service.

;Our costs usually fall to be paid by the defendants insurers.

If those insurers, or their solicitors, disagree with the level of these costs they can be assessed by the court.

Increasingly, over the past few years, the insurers have taken the question of costs away from their solicitors and have passed them to so-called costs negotiators.

These organisations operate in an unacceptable manner.

In most, cases they are paid based on a percentage of what they are perceived to save their insurance employers.

This is entirely wrong.

Even the most reasonable of costs bills must be reduced by these assessors in order for them to stay in business.

;Defendants solicitors have done themselves no favours by acting as paperboys for these assessing companies, often going on the court record and acting ;as mere puppets.

Claimants solicitors, my firm included, have added to the problem by negot-iating with these companies.

;I have no problem at all in negotiating my costs with other solicitors or indeed their insurers which are, after all, footing the bill.

What I will no longer tolerate, and I urge all other claimant solicitors to follow suit, is negotiating my costs with some muppet.

;My firm has made a decision.

At the beginning of November 2000 we will no longer deal with these organisations.

We require to be paid properly for the professional work we carry out.

That cannot happen when negotiating with these people.

If a defendants insurers will not pay reasonable costs then let the level be assessed by the court.

;Martin J Cockx, Amelans Solicitors, Manchester