Sampson hits out at 'bureaucratic nonsense' over CMC complaints

Adam Sampson, chief executive of the Legal Ombudsman, has hit out at the delay in transferring complaints about claims management companies from the Ministry of Justice to LeO.

"Six years after parliament said consumers should have redress, there is still no immediate prospect of it happening," Sampson said. "It's a very dull piece of bureaucratic nonsense."

In her introduction to LeO's annual report published in June, Elizabeth France, chair of its governing board, said ministers had backed the move, under Section 161 of the Legal Services Act, and told her it would happen this year.

Speaking at the Westminster Legal Policy Forum this morning, he went on: "What we're inclined to forget is the needs of consumers. The claims management industry has a good record in giving people access to justice who would not normally get it.

"It is a proud record but it comes at a bit of a price for those who fall victim to the rogue industry. Under these circumstances it is patently right that someone should have access to redress, and that's what they don't have."

Sampson said that, if given the task of handling complaints about CMCs, LeO would systematically bear down on those who broke the rules and charge case fees to "push out of the industry those people you don't want in the industry".

He appealed to delegates to put as much pressure as possible on the government and the LSB to "sort out the mess".

During a panel discussion, he said that customers needed to be motivated to complain, but there was "nothing in it for them" at the moment, unless they were "motivated by revenge" and wanted to get a CMC fined.

"The customer is the best source of information," he said. "If we can persuade them to complain, we can pass it on to the regulator."

Sampson said the only concern he had was dealing with small CMCs which disappeared.

Admitting that he was "getting a little bit impatient" about the delay, Sampson said staff at LeO were "literally at our desks waiting" for the new work to arrive.

"Ask me again in three years' time, but I'm not making any promises."

Kevin Roussel, head of the Claims Management Unit at the MoJ, responded by saying: "When this change happens, because it will happen, you will find dealing with complaints about CMCs very different to dealing with complaints about lawyers."