Your Letters – Page 51
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Opinion
In breach of Magna Carta?
Clause 29 of Magna Carta is still in force. You can look it up on www.legislation.gov.uk. The final sentence reads: ‘We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right.’ Does that not mean that the charging of court and tribunal ...
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Opinion
Preparation of wills should be left to solicitors
The article by Marie Granby raised a wry smile.
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Opinion
Low-level claims: pulling in opposite directions
If on my way to work tomorrow I was struck by a car and rendered tetraplegic
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Opinion
Small claims: happy to oblige
The rapacity of the insurance industry is matched only by its effrontery.
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Opinion
Insurance premium woe
After RTA Portal fixed costs were slashed to £500 in exchange for a promise by insurers that motor premiums would be reduced, I was disappointed but not in the least surprised when I received my motor insurance renewal quote today. It has increased by £80.
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Opinion
Surcharge sham
Joshua Rozenberg is right to rail against the swingeing increase in compulsory victim surcharges.
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Opinion
Missing Link
Until recently, periodic surveys revealed overwhelming satisfaction with services provided by solicitors, and dishonesty was reported and hopefully occurred very infrequently – when we were professionals, in other words. Could recent reports expressing contrary views be linked to the commoditisation of our profession – to say nothing of the complaints ...
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Opinion
Profession name change
We share with members of the oldest profession the use of the word ‘client’
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Opinion
Repaying a debt
Armed Forces Legal Action is a nationwide initiative calling on law firms across the UK to provide members of the armed forces community one-third off legal fees. Its aim is to benefit serving personnel and those who have served within two years of engaging the law firm. It also seeks ...
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Opinion
Motor insurance: health checks
I was interested to see AXA’s recent report on whiplash – an issue on which we have submitted evidence to the Transport Select Committee. The insurance industry continually issues figures about how much whiplash claims allegedly add on to motor insurance policies every year. However, no one appears to be ...
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Opinion
Painting by numbers
I need an outside painting job done at my house. It needs to be done in the summer months in the good weather. So I asked two decorators to give me a quote. One came and looked and I never heard from him again. The other came and looked and ...
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Opinion
Legal aid: children suffer
Comments by Charles Falconer QC in The Times law section regarding a tightening of the process in criminal and family care cases are worthy of careful attention. On the face of it, removal of private law family legal aid is serving the same purpose, except that it has produced the ...
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Opinion
PI firms not playing by the rules
In the new personal injury claims environment we all have to play by the new rules. The trouble is that there are many firms which are not. I have seen adverts on the internet offering, without qualification, ‘100% compensation’, but when the firm in question is called the offer is ...
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Opinion
Stop this PI lawyer-bashing
I read with sadness the letter from Rob Barley. I work for a small practice which mainly deals with personal injury claims. I have in the past month received at least five calls to my firm’s telephone number asking me if I am sure I have not been injured in ...
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Opinion
'Posturing' on victim levy
How right Joshua Rozenberg is to pour scorn on the legerdemain of the Ministry of Justice over levying the victim surcharge. This has been brought into effect irrespective of any of the philosophical underpinning or due process safeguards applying to all other financial sanctions. ‘Looking tough’ in this way is ...
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Opinion
Hollow laugh with High Court application
There is still amusement in the law. I delivered an application to the High Court today. Royal Mail had lost my previous bundle and I thought it best to hand over a substitute in person (ironically, the case is about a judge who believed in the efficacy of the postal ...
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Opinion
Standing up to the insurance industry
The Law Society deserves to be praised for at long last standing up to the insurance industry. There are critics who (justifiably) will say all of this is too little too late, but the campaign is something which is very close to my heart. We launched Review My Claim earlier ...