The Referral Code and Solicitors
If your case is considered to be incapable of resolution by normal methods and we consider you require legal advices, we will advise you accordingly. Before any referral is made, we must provide an oral explanation of the relationship that exists between ourselves and the referred lawyer. Where requested by a client, we will confirm that process in writing.
We wish to restate the recommended paragraph from The Law Society:
“We comply with the Solicitors’ Introduction and Referral Code published by the Law Society, and any solicitor [or registered European lawyer] to whom we may refer you is an independent professional from whom you will receive impartial and confidential advice. You are free to choose another solicitor [or registered European lawyer].”
Many people ask how is HolidayTravelWatch funded. We consider this to be a fair and reasonable question. For many years, HolidayTravelWatch existed purely on donations, media research fees and sponsorship. HolidayTravelWatch has had to adapt to the changing reality of the travel and legal markets. We have reviewed other funding options and concluded that the limitations that would be placed on our activities would not be in the best interests of the holidaymaker. Regrettably we considered that there was no option but to subscribe to a referral fee process for holiday claims.
We take the view, that the work carried out by HolidayTravelWatch, assists the beginning of any claim, as it removes the initial work that a travel lawyer would be required to carry out.
HolidayTravelWatch has advised over 140,000 people over the last eleven years, directing many holidaymakers to specialist travel lawyers, many of whom have gone on to win damages for their claims. However, we have also guided and assisted 46% of all those who contact us, with information that will assist them to resolve their own claims. Many such holidaymakers advise us of their success!
We assure all clients that any income received is ploughed directly back into the organisation. The modest fee we achieve in each case, is used to pay staff wages, the website, our office and for our campaigning activities.
The Referral to a Travel Lawyer:
The Process adopted by HolidayTravelWatch:
Referrals are governed by the Referral Code within The Solicitors Code of Coduct which is produced by The Law Society. This is the organisation that regulates the legal profession. As we are providing a link with a member of the legal profession we must also comply with that code.
The reason that a referral is being made is that it is considered appropriate that you should receive legal advice on your travel complaint.
HolidayTravelWatch has worked closely for 12 years, with a number of lawyers who specialise in travel law. HolidayTravelWatch has an established panel of travel lawyers, to whom we refer appropriate cases, for their consideration.
Your holiday complaint is recorded by us. This record contains your personal contact details and a record of your holiday complaint. Where you have sent an e mail we sometimes include this within that record; on other occasions we provide a summary to the lawyer of your complaint and also send to them your e mail. Where you have posted material to us, we forward that onto the lawyer at the time of the referral.
A referral is effected by electronically transferring your record to that lawyer. They simply extract the details they require to consider your case.
Where e mails or post are additionally provided, they will also use that material to consider the issues in your claim. This is known as the ‘Referral Information’.
The lawyers we refer cases to, provide each person with initial free legal advices. In group claims they will assess the individual claim and its place within the group claim. If the lawyer agrees to accept your case, they will advise you accordingly and thereafter explain their process and funding options. If the lawyer decides not to accept your claim, they will advise you with their reasons for not doing so.
If a referral is offered to you, and you do not accept the terms of the referral, then HolidayTravelWatch will not make that referral. You will then be referred to The Law Society where you can obtain details of a travel lawyer
It must be made clear, the offer of a referral to one of our panel solicitors, does not preclude you from choosing your own solicitor. You do not have to accept our recommendation. Your solicitor could be one that is known to you. If you are not clear which solicitor to use, then we would recommend that you speak directly to The Law Society, they will provide you with details of your local travel lawyer.
HolidayTravelWatch will not add any further opinion beyond the fact that it believes that the claim is worthy of taking further legal advice.
HolidayTravelWatch cannot make any guarantee or representation that you will win your claim, only qualified legal advices can advise you on that point.
We do not charge you for this service.
The Process adopted by the Travel Lawyer:
Once the referral is made we cannot intervene or discuss matters concerning your claim, as this would be a breach of the Referral Code. This is designed to ensure that HolidayTravelWatch does not become involved or seek to influence the skill of the solicitor or indeed your own free choice. HolidayTravelWatch strictly adheres to this rule.
Once they have considered the ‘Referral Information’, they will either write to you, or contact you by phone.
The lawyers will provide to you a free initial opinion as to the merits of the claim, and how they believe they can help you. If they cannot provide you with help, they will advise you directly.
If they can assist you with your claim, they will discuss how that can be achieved. At this stage they will also discuss funding to help you to bring a legal action. There are many options but we must advise you that HolidayTravelWatch cannot get involved in any discussions concerning funding as this would be contrary to the referral code. It would be seen as interfering with the skill of the solicitor and your own free choice. HolidayTravelWatch strictly adheres to this rule.
It would always be the view of HolidayTravelWatch, that if you have any initial questions about your case, you should contact the referred lawyer and discuss your concerns with them directly.
Once you have had the opportunity to digest what the lawyer is initially advising, it is you and only you, who can make the decision as to whether you wish to progress your claim further. You are under no obligation to instruct the referred lawyer. Remember, if you decide to enter into a contract with the referred lawyer to represent you for your travel claim, this will be a contract between you and that lawyer; HolidayTravelWatch will not be party to that contract. Following any instruction ofthe referred lawyer, you then wish to withdraw, then you would have to examine the detail of your contract between you and that lawyer. HolidayTravelWatch cannot get involved in that process or accept responsibility for any contract that exists between you and that instructed lawyer.
If you decide to instruct the referred lawyer it would always be the view of HolidayTravelWatch that if you have any ongoing questions about your case, you should contact the referred lawyer and discuss your concerns with them directly. All lawyers are required to have a process whereby clients can address their concerns during the progress of the case.
Do you have to pay for this referral?
No.
The services provided by HolidayTravelWatch are provided freely to the travel consumer, we do not charge you for our services.
We are required to advise you that we have a contractual relationship with the referred lawyer. We make a charge to the lawyer for the referral. This referral is not just about providing your name and contact details, we provide a valuable initial administrative service to the referred lawyer, and information on your claim.
It is a general rule that the lawyer does not pass this charge onto you. Each referred lawyer may have a different approach on this point and only they can advise you on that issue. At the time of writing HolidayTravelWatch is unaware of any referred lawyer passing this charge onto the referred client. If you are unsure, you should ask the referred solicitor what their position is with regard to you and any referral fee.
Important Guidance for Solicitors can be found in The Practice Direction, issued by The Law Society in December 2005. Itprovides advice to solicitors on how they should deal with this issue. It states the following:
“Question 4: Can I pass on the cost of the referral to my client (we have underlined relevant passages)?
Referral fees are simply part of the cost of running your practice, in the same way as other marketing costs. They may be taken into account in calculating the fees to be charged, either generally or in respect of particular clients, but they may not be charged directly to the client. You may, for example, charge a higher fee for clients referred by a particular source, to take into account any referral fees payable; or you may choose to spread the cost of referrals across all of your clients. Either way, all referred clients must be informed that a referral fee is being paid and, where appropriate, the amount of the payment.
A referral fee is not a disbursement and may not be charged to the client as such, nor treated as such for accounting purposes. It is not a liability that you have incurred on the client’s behalf in the course of acting for the client. It is your liability, incurred by you before the client instructed you. By including the referral fee as a separate item on the client’s bill or in a quotation (whether or not it is described as a disbursement) you would be suggesting that the client is responsible for paying the referral fee, when this is in fact your liability under whatever agreement you have entered into with the introducer.
The client will probably have no idea that this is an unusual charge, and something their solicitor would be expected to fund. You could be said to be taking advantage of the ignorance of the client, even if you tell the client that you intend to charge for it and the client agrees. This could amount to a breach of Principle 12.09 which states that solicitors must not “abuse the solicitor/client fiduciary relationship by taking advantage of the client.” It could also be damaging to the reputation of the profession, in breach of Practice Rule 1”.
From the perspective of HolidayTravelWatch, this is an arrangement between this organisation and the referred lawyer. It is a private contractual arrangement.
Does HolidayTravelWatch receive a share in any potential damages?
No.
Once the referral is made and paid for by the lawyer, we receive no further funding or payment. This would be considered to be in breach of the referral code and could be said to interfere with the skill of the referred lawyer and your ability to choose. HolidayTravelWatch strictly adheres to this rule.
Can you still choose your own lawyer?
Yes.
You can obtain your own lawyer through the services of Law Society or by using a lawyer known to you. If you decide to take this route, before choosing a travel lawyer, we would recommend that you visit our advice page on the website under the section marked ‘Resolve’.
Complaints:
If you have any complaints about this referral service then please either e mail us through the contact form on this website or write to; The Managing Director, HolidayTravelWatch, PO Box 12768, Birmingham B28 1AQ
Useful Links:
The following are useful links to The Law Society on the Referral Code. These links provide further information on the requirements of all the parties involved in the Referral Process:
Tags: holiday claims, holiday complaints, Holiday Food Poisoning Claims, holiday illness, Holiday Sickness, The Referral Code
HTW has noted that amongst the submissions to the Committee on Toxicity (COT) it has been suggested that the symptoms highlighted by crew and passengers were akin to the condition of hyperventilation.
HTW has for many years received reports from concerned holiday makers or independent travellers as to the safety of their aircraft, ship or boat, train or road transport.
