A personal injury firm has been fined for taking clients from claims management companies and failing to conduct any identity checks on them.
An SRA notice states that Manchester-based TPC Solicitors was fined £7,500 after breaching the rule requiring firms to identify who they are acting for.
The firm specialised in handling personal injury and RTA claims and on certain matters it received the work through a CMC. However, throughout the duration of the claims, there was no direct contact between the client and the firm – a situation which went on for at least six years.
TPC was found to have failed to take into account the attributes, needs and circumstances of its clients and failed to ensure they were in a position to make informed decisions.
The requirement to identify clients is a key protection against insurance scams, as it helps to ensure the same person is not making repeated claims.
The SRA said the firm showed a ‘reckless disregard’ of the risk of harm and this conduct persisted for a substantial period of time. There was no expression of remorse or insight and no specific remedial action taken or proposed.
The regulator noted that the firm had a clean regulatory record and there was no evidence of any actual harm to clients.
Given the aggravating and mitigating factors, the SRA deemed the breaches to be worthy of a fine between £5,000 and £25,000 but placed the firm’s conduct at the ‘lower end’ of this bracket. TPC must also pay £600 costs.
The firm is still registered with the SRA as an alternative business structure but appointed liquidators in May.
