Can You Really Receive All Of Your Whiplash Claim Compensation And Pay Nothing?

"I have been totally satisfied with everything you have done and wouldn't hesitate to use or recommend you if a situation arose in future." Mr Pittam

How Most Claims Companies Make Money

Most claims companies make money in two ways, the solicitor will pay them a marketing or referral fee for each client they introduce to them (to cover the costs of advertising, marketing etc) and in addition the company will charge the whiplash claim victim (i.e. you) an administration or handling fee. This is often as much as £500 and will come out of your compensation even though you might believe that signing up for "no win, no fee" claims assistance means that you pay nothing. Whilst this is true if you do not win your claim, if you do win the £500 administration fee becomes payable and is usually deducted from your compensation. On top of this, some solicitors will also take an additional sum from you.

"I'd highly recommend using a company like 1stClaims to find the solicitor with the most experience in dealing with your particular claim - better than sticking a pin under "S" in the phonebook!" - Mrs W, South Wales

How 1stClaims Runs As A Business

1stClaims is run differently from most claims companies. One of our Directors is a former personal injury solicitor so he knows a lot of excellent Whiplash Claim solicitors. When he stopped practising personal injury law to run a marketing business for solicitors, these solicitors asked him to help them to reach more clients that needed their expert help. Whilst he was more than happy to do this, what he could not accept having helped whiplash victims for 14 years whilst practising, was to win compensation for them and then take some of that from the victim. This did not in any way sit comfortably with him.

It took sometime for us to find a way that ensured that the whiplash victim received all of their compensation and 1stClaims could be run as a viable business. Two things have to happen to protect your interest and these are both in place now:

• We only take a payment from the solicitor if your claim is successful, meaning that they do not pay for any claims that cannot proceed (not always the case with other claims companies)
• We charge less per referral than nearly every other claims company
• Our Solicitors agree to ensure that you receive all of your compensation with no deductions

This way ensures that our solicitors can run a sustainable business and means that you are dealt with by legally qualified staff. In other companies, if large referral fees are paid often junior non-qualified legal staff are used to allow the business to be run profitably. It also means that we run 1stClaims with a limited marketing budget and so rely on our clients to spread the word about our excellent service rather than spend huge marketing budgets on television and in the newspapers. 100% of 1stClaims clients have said that they would recommend our service.

"The 1stClaims solicitor was extremely helpful - she guided me in the right direction with the claim and I would definitely recommend 1stClaims. The solicitor was brilliant and thought of things to claim for that I had not even considered."
Mrs D, Essex.

Should I Make A Claim For Whiplash?

The next question you are probably asking is "Is it worth making a claim?". There are several reasons why you must make a claim for whiplash compensation. The most important one is that if you do not claim and subsequently your whiplash pain deteriorates (as sometimes happens) it will be harder to prove that the pain has stemmed from the car accident you have just been involved in. If you feel that the whiplash pain you are experiencing now is not too significant but still put in a claim for compensation, there will be a documented chain of events linking the pain to the accident. Failing to take any action now could break that chain and make it much more difficult to link the pain and the accident at a later date.

Other concerns clients often have relate to the time involved in making a claim. Whilst some claims can take many months, the vast majority of claims are now settled well within six months with much faster claim procedures in place. Also, once you have asked one of our whiplash solicitors to help you they take care of everything else for you. You do very little except wait for the claim to settle and receive your compensation cheque (and remember that you will receive all of it with no deductions).

The compensation is the final reason we believe you should claim. The average whiplash claim settlement is around £2,000 to £5,000 but many claims are worth significantly more. Most people can make good use of the extra money in tighter financial times.

"I am very happy to endorse your website for it's ease of understanding and use. I would also like to say how impressed I was regarding the very prompt reply from the solicitor who contacted me regarding this matter." Mr G Kay

Try Our No Risk Service

"We charge you nothing, you receive all of your compensation and you are connected with an expert whiplash claim solicitor that I have personally selected for you, so you have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. Please try our service and let me know what you think."
Nicholas Jervis, Personal Injury Solicitor (non-practising).

Call us free on 0800 2888 693 (8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 6pm Saturday or 9am to 6pm on Sundays) or complete our Whiplash Claim form.

"1stClaims rang me within the hour and by the end of the day I'd instructed a solicitor to take my case on! I thought it was going to take forever to get things sorted. Thank you!" Anonymous