The chair of the Claims Standards Council (CSC), Darren Werth, has spoken out against proposals to ban referral fees.
A report commissioned by the Legal Services Board recommended that referral fees should be prohibited in personal injury cases, while the Law Society Council is pressing for a total ban.
Mr Werth claimed that referrals were important for firms of solicitors looking to make a profit, and the removal of the associated fees would produce a less competitive marketplace where only large firms could survive.
He added that solicitors don't market their firms well, and so were best spending their marketing costs on the most effective provider, which was likely to be a claims management company.
