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Beresfords refutes fee deduction claims
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Beresfords refutes fee deduction claims
25th, May 2007
The Chief Executive of Beresfords solicitors has spoken out against claims that the firm unlawfully deducted fees from miners’ compensation
Mark Farrell, Chief Executive, said: “In 1999 the Government set up the world’s biggest ever compensation scheme to support former British Coal miners who had suffered chronic lung disease and vibration white finger as a result of working in the pits.
“Beresfords has been proud to represent more miners and/or their families in their fight to receive compensation than any other solicitor in the UK.
“However the factually inaccurate information that has recently appeared in the media regarding this scheme has been very damaging to the legal profession as a whole and to the particular firms named.
“Beresfords has been featured in a number of inaccurate articles regarding the scheme which are very damaging to the reputation of the company and naturally we view the matter extremely seriously.
“To set the record straight, we would like to clarify that Beresfords has acted wholly in accordance with the DTI scheme as overseen by the Courts. We have received payment of our fee from the Government and we have not deducted our fee from the compensation of miners.
“We can categorically state that Beresfords do not profit by retaining any monies from compensation due to the miner and/or his family.
“We have and continue to act in accordance with the fee agreement that was freely negotiated between the claimants' solicitors and the DTI. The fees payable to Beresfords and other solicitors for handling these cases were fixed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) following negotiations with the Claimant Solicitors Group, a national representative body. Exactly the same fee per case, dependant on the category, is paid to every participating solicitor in the UK. The level of compensation paid to the miners is determined by the Courts.
“Importantly there are two issues that have not been fully addressed in the debate to date. Firstly, the voluntary agreement some solicitors, including Beresfords, have entered into to top up clients compensation from their own pocket, as the Government has refused to agree such a minimum payment under the scheme. Secondly, the practice of Agreements between Unions and those they support where, historically, payments have been made by claimants to Unions (a practice that was expressly recognised as being appropriate by Sir Michael Turner at a British Coal Hearing on 5th July 2005).
“Now is the time for our representative bodies to speak up on behalf of those law firms wrongly accused in this matter and together to put a stop to the factual inaccuracies that are being perpetuated regarding the scheme and causing unnecessary damage to our profession.
“Beresfords will continue to work diligently and to the highest professional standards on behalf of our mining scheme clients to secure compensation that is rightfully theirs, which we repeat, they will receive without any deduction of solicitors’ fees.”
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