Can I generate and sell Personal Injury & Debt Leads? Legal Questions.

[eBucksN]

Hello forum,

I'm looking for some legal information regarding generating and selling Personal Injury leads.

We have created a fantastic landing page and have PI buyers ready to take on the leads directly. The questions I need answering are basically the legal issues. I'm aware of the need for a MOJ license in some cases, unfortunately I don't currently have a licence, therefor we are not regulated.

Do I need to be regulated to generate and sell the leads to buyers who are MOJ regulated? Since we do not call or speak to the user in any way, we simply receive the details through the website and deliver them to our buyers.

Any help is appreciated.

Regards, Graham.

 

[Adam Loveday]

I'm not a legal bod, however, I do know that if you are generating leads for any claims related activity you will need MOJ authorisation. The MOJ guidance states that 'under the Compensation Act 2006, persons providing a regulated claims management service need to be authorised'.
It is an offence to provide the regulated services unless authorised or exempt.


The only exception is for Small scale ‘exempt introducers 'i.e. those who refer no more than 25 cases per calendar quarter, where this is incidental to their main business and do not carry out any other regulated claims management activity are exempt from the requirement to be authorised.'


The full guidance can be found here:


://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/claims-regulation/application-area/Who-needs-to-be-authorised-Guidance-July09-1.pdf


Rgds
Adam

 

[fisicx]

Have no idea about the legalities but I already get enough junk texts about PI so I would be happier if you don't generate anymore leads thank you.

 

[eBucksN]

Thanks for the info there Adam, I read the same thing on the MOJ webstite but I wanted to be 100% sure.

Have no idea about the legalities but I already get enough junk texts about PI so I would be happier if you don't generate anymore leads thank you.

As for you... I just love it when people post obsolute junk just to increase their post count. If youre getting marketing messages then I suggest you stop adding your number to junk websites, who then sell it on to any company who launch fishing trips for business.

FYI we aren't one of those companies, we only sell to FSA/MOJ authorised brokers who are 100% professional.

 

[WJP]

I just love it when people post obsolute junk just to increase their post count.

To be honest, after almost 12k posts I doubt he's all that bothered with getting one more post in...more likely he had an opinion that he wanted to express. Like fisicx I get texts, although I've never added my personal number to any "junk websites" whatsoever, as you seem to suggest must have happened for me to be getting these.

 

[Legalbeagle]

To the OP, if you are generating personal injury leads then you will certainly have to get MOJ licensed.

The exemption is for small numbers of leads, where the leads are generated in a way ancillary to your main business, which it wouldn't be here.

 

[fisicx]

If youre getting marketing messages then I suggest you stop adding your number to junk websites, who then sell it on to any company who launch fishing trips for business.

That really was a quite fatuous comment and just about sums up the whole ambulance chasing business. The messages I get are from authorised brokers. I checked.

Somebody drove into me and I claimed on the insurance. Within 24 hours I was getting messages from brokers offering their services for my 'injury'. not sure how I got injured - I wasn't in the car at the time.

 

[Adam Loveday]

Hi Fisicx

That is different from what the OP was intending to do.

In your case it seems like the Insurance Company or teh Garage to which your car was taken for assessment/repair could have been the ones to pass on your details to a PI claims company. It's this aspect that the Government was looking at really clamping down on and the fees paid for the referral.

What the OP is looking to do is create either an online platform or call centre which generates leads of people that may qualify for a PI claim, opt them in accordingly and then refer them across to a PI specialist. This type of activity is regulated by the MOJ and hence the need for authorisation. There are clear guidelines included within the MOJ regulations that specify how consumers can be contacted and this requires an opt-in permission.

Here's where it gets murky and the OP is probably quite right - although a little clumsy - in stating that you 'stop adding your number to junk websites.' I'd argue the word 'junk' as a the websites he is talking about could actually be anything from a big name comparison site to an insurance broker to a competition sign-up. What he is suggesting is that if you provide your details on a website, if you don't check the Privacy Statement carefully you could be unwittingly opting-in to their terms and conditions some of which may contain a statement something like 'by agreeing to use this site you agree to your details being used for third party marketing activities via our trusted partners and for providing services which may be of interest'. If that is the case then there is an associated opt-in which could be used for marketing purposes under certain circumstances. Given that we have to provide our details on many sites I would hazard a guess that we don't/wouldn't always know where we have 'opted-in' for additional marketing campaigns.

It can get murkier still since there are lead generation companies operating out there that have no regard for law (not MOJ regulated), are not bothered about having an opt-in against the data (PEC regs) and use RDD (random digit dialing) strategies to increase the scope of their campaigns by generating tlephone numbers to sms. Some are offshore some are onshore.

Hope that gives some background on this.

Rgds

 

[fisicx]

Thanks Adam.

It still doesn't make these nuisance calls any more palatable. They may all be regulated but they are still a right pain in the bum. Especially when the phone rings and there is this pause after I answer while the autodial computer connects me to the callcentre.

BTW: I never give out my personal number when I register for anything. I've got a PAYG phone and a free email I use for this sort of thing.

 

[jimnastics]

Very interesting thread OP, hope you don't mind a mini hijack but have basically the same query. I have a site which simply provides information on medical negligence claims, I'm not a practicing solicitor at the moment, it's just a hobby website. However I get many emails from people with what I think are genuine claims, and all I can do is send them on their merry way to a claims company. Is there any way I can sell these leads on? Or let a claims company have an enquiry form embedded on my website? Or do I need MOJ approval for this?