Using claims management companies

Claims management companies (CMCs) handle a range of claims for compensation or other benefits. Find out what to expect if you decide to use one.

First published: 07/03/2019 Last updated: 02/12/2024 See all updates

Make sure the CMC is authorised

CMCs must be authorised by us if they provide services for claims concerning:

financial services and products
personal injury
employment matters, eg unfair dismissal
criminal injury
housing disrepair
certain industrial injuries benefits

But some CMCs, or other firms that provide claims management services, are regulated by a legal regulator instead. The legal regulators are:

the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
The Bar Standards Board
CILEx Regulation
the Law Society of Scotland

If you use a CMC, make sure they’re authorised by us, or one of the other legal regulators by searching the:

CMCs might provide services on other types of claims (such as aviation), but those services aren't regulated by us. If you're contacted by a CMC that you believe isn't authorised by us or the legal regulators, please contact us[7].

Fees for using CMCs

It’s important to remember that, if you use a CMC, you’ll need to pay a fee. To make sure you get fair value for money, we introduced a cap to the fees you can be charged for financial services claims.

For claims started on or after 1 March 2022, the maximum fee you pay will depend on the value of your claim.

How much you're awarded	Maximum % you can be charged	Maximum fee you can be charged
£1 to £1,499	30%	£420
£1,500 to £9,999	28%	£2,500
£10,000 to £24,999	25%	£5,000
£25,000 to £49,999	20%	£7,500
£50,000+	15%	£10,000

If a lead generator is involved in your claim, they may also be paid a fee by your CMC or lawyer for passing on your case.

FCA explains: Making financial services claims and using claims management companies

Transcript[8]

Making a claim yourself

If you want to make a complaint or claim compensation yourself, you’ll have to follow the right process. If you’re concerned, organisations like MoneyHelper may be able to help you.

Making other types of claims yourself 

Personal injury claims

You can make a personal injury claim yourself without using a CMC. You can do this by contacting the relevant insurer or other party directly, or by using a lawyer.

If you suffered a minor injury as a driver or passenger in a road traffic accident and it wasn’t your fault, you may be able to claim compensation using the Official Injury Claim[13] service.

The Official Injury Claim service is free, and you don’t need legal or CMC representation to use it.

Employment claims

If you have a claim against a current or previous employer, you can get in touch with the employer directly.

You should look to the employer’s staff handbook to familiarise yourself with the employer’s grievance procedure, as you will be expected to have followed relevant internal procedures before bringing a claim.

You could also make a claim to the Employment Tribunal[14] through the Government website. The Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service[15] (ACAS) can give you free advice on your claim.

If you belong to a trade union, they may also be able to help with your claim.

Criminal injury claims

If you’ve suffered a violent crime, you may be able to claim compensation. There are different ways to make a claim, but you may be able to do so via the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority[16] (CICA).

CICA is a Government-funded compensation scheme. It can pay compensation to people who’ve been physically or psychologically injured because of another's crime.

For CICA claims, you can use a CMC or a lawyer, or you can make the claim yourself for free.

You don't have to wait for the outcome of a criminal trial to submit a claim. In fact, you shouldn’t wait for the outcome if it means that your claim wouldn’t be submitted within the 2-year application period.

Housing disrepair claims

You have the right to live in a safe and well-maintained property. If your house or flat is rented, your landlord should carry out repairs you've told them about in a timely manner and to a satisfactory standard.

If your landlord hasn’t done this, you may be eligible to claim compensation.

You can make the claim yourself or you can use a CMC or lawyer to help you. A housing complaint service may also be able to help you. The organisation you should contact will depend on whether you're in England, Scotland or Wales[17].

If you’ve reported repairs to your landlord, and they haven’t fixed them, you might also consider taking the landlord to court. Given the expense involved, this will often be a last resort.

Citizens Advice sets out a list of steps[18] you might want to take before court action.

Certain types of industrial injuries claims

If you became ill or disabled because of an accident at work or on an approved training course, you might be able to make a claim for industrial injuries benefit, or a related benefit or allowance.

Claims are submitted to the Department for Work and Pensions.

Some CMCs offer help making these claims, but you can also make the claim yourself for free.

You might also consider making a personal injury claim if you’ve been injured at work.

ACAS[15] can give you advice on a potential claim.

What to expect if you decide to use a CMC

CMCs that are authorised by us must follow our rules. They must:

provide you with a 1-page summary of all the key information, before you sign a contract
supply a detailed breakdown of how they will charge you, including examples (this may be called a 'cost illustration')
offer a 14-day cooling off period during which you can cancel your contract without being charged
update you on key developments with your claim
tell you clearly about schemes such as the Financial Ombudsman Service or the FSCS, or any other official ways you can claim
ask you to confirm that you don’t want to make a claim by yourself for free, if you’re making a financial services claim
clearly explain how to complain if you’re unhappy with the service they provide

They must not:

send you emails or texts (unless you’ve agreed to receive them)
make marketing calls to you unless you’ve specifically agreed to receive them 
approach you in person
use any form of high-pressure selling such as asking for on-the-spot decisions
charge you more than 20% plus VAT of your claim if you're making a PPI claim which you started after 10 July 2018

Please check the individual legal regulators’ websites for information on what rules CMCs authorised by them must follow.

Complaining about a CMC

If a CMC is authorised by us and you're unhappy with how it’s handled your case, find out how to complain[9].

If the firm is regulated by a legal regulator, visit the relevant website for information about making a complaint.

20/03/2023 : Editorial amendment Page update as part of the website refresh

29/11/2021 : Information changed Content updated to after publication of PS21/18

19/07/2021 : Link changed Money Advice Service updated to MoneyHelper

13/04/2021 : Link changed Broken link updated.

22/09/2020 : Information changed Editorial and style amendments.

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[1] https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/contact-us/money-guidance
[2] https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/fca-firm-checker
[3] https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/register/
[4] https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/for-the-public/search-a-barristers-record/the-barristers-register.html
[5] https://crlportal.cilexgroup.org.uk/CRL-Directory
[6] https://www.lawscot.org.uk/find-a-solicitor/
[7] https://www.fca.org.uk/contact
[8] https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/transcripts/transcript-making-financial-services-claims-using-claims-management-companies.pdf
[9] https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/how-complain
[10] https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/claim-compensation-firm-fails
[11] https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/making-complaint
[12] https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/pension-problems/getting-compensation-for-a-pension-problem
[13] https://www.officialinjuryclaim.org.uk/
[14] https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunals/make-a-claim
[15] https://www.acas.org.uk/advice
[16] https://www.gov.uk/claim-compensation-criminal-injury
[17] https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/glossary/G3332h.html?date=2021-01-01
[18] https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/repairs-in-rented-housing/repairs-what-are-your-options-if-you-are-a-social-housing-tenant/taking-court-action-because-your-landlord-wont-make-repairs/
[19] https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/warning-list-unauthorised-firms
[20] https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/using-financial-services-register