FA, I've had a lot who claim to be 'specialists' but, as you say, none from anyone claiming to be a solicitor. That said, in most peoples minds, anyone who goes through the legal system on their behalf is a solicitor, right or wrong.



I'm plagues by these locusts, regardless, and I've never actually had an accident that has caused me an injury - the call usually goes through a lot of scenarios; work, travel, tripping over a paving stone in decreasing order of likely injury.



Every now and again I like to let them run towards the end and then try and get into an argument about personal culpability and clumsiness. My record is a little over three minute.

Try it some time.

I've never had a phone call, i've just had texts. But on occasions I have had calls from "Microsoft engineers" telling me my PC has reported issues. If I'm in the mood I love wasting their time, my record to date is about 20 minutes before the guy told me to go f**k myself and hung up



The sort of fun you can listen to if you type "Call Centre IT Support Scam Prank Phone Call" into a well nown video site.

Not for some time, but I have been cold called, more than once.



My response was that, as a member of trade union, I had access to such legal advice if I needed it. Which shut them up.

Only tangentially relevant ... how do I stop the two phone calls I get every evening between 6pm and 7pm, one of which says that "we believe" that I am entitled to £xxxx for mis-sold PIP and the other of which says that "our records show" that I am entitled to £xxxx for mis-sold PIP ?



I have not been mis-sold any PIP by the way.

Has anyone had the newest one



"The Government has recently discovered that your energy supplier may not have advised you as to the best available tarrif for your needs, press 1 to speak to an advisor"



I pressed 1, and asked "which bit of Whitehall are you calling from" and then said if they call again I would speak to the Data Protection Registrar and seek clarification from my local MP that this is in fact a government sponsored activity"



-click-



no more calls

Basically, you don't.

The reason you get them is because somehow your number has found its way on to some database of likely victims, and will henceforth do the rounds amongst those who use these lists to cold-call. Even if you got the particular mobile numbers barred or blocked, there'l be many more where they come from. Soz.



[urlhttp://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1689600/How-to-stop-the-cold-call-menaces.html#axzz2KENIittq[/url



[urlhttp://ask.ofcom.org.uk/help/telephone/stop_sales_calls[/url

Solicitors do cold call.



One summer holiday during my university years I took a job at a firm of solicitors. One of my many duties was to get employment tribunal listings off the internet and cold call respondents to see if they wanted representation.



In addition, I was also told to surf internet forums and message people who posted with employment law issues, particularly if they had been dismissed or were alleging discrimination. If they responded my next step was to get their details, 'for a chat'. They were then called by a solicitor. Good cases were signed up on a no win no fee, with the firm taking 35% of whatever the claimant got.



Most cases settled shortly after we issued in the employment tribunal. Over one summer holiday I generated the firm £15,000 through claimant leads alone. I was paid next to nothing for doing this.



I do not believe for one moment that we were the only firm doing this sort of thing.



At the time I had no idea the practice was against the Solicitors' rules.



I also remember going to court on PI cases and seeing what I can only describe as 'client coaching' by the firm, basically telling the client what to say to maximise the chance of a successful claim. I later discovered this was because most clients were on a conditional fee agreement and the firm would only get paid if the claim was successful.

Sounds like you seriously need to do the right thing and shop this firm to the SRA and get them all struck off.

I have had a shed-load of text spam over this. Now it's just possible that I [imight[/i been miss-sold PIP. However, why would I ring back some scummy profiteers who spam me about it – and want me to ring them back at [imy[/i cost?



If I made a bad call I made a bad call. I actually find myself thinking that I'd rather just let something go than actually give spammers some money.



Actually, let's make it clear: I f••king hate spammers of any variety, even when I might actually [ibe[/i interested in the product/service they're trying to sell.



I regularly get spammers on my blog – and I don't want to pre-moderate comments, so I just continue to delete their spam on a several-times-a-day basis. Price worth paying etc. But they wind me up – trying to profit from what is, at the end of the day, my work.



~rassin frassin~

My business is plagued by PI vultures; we had an individual injured at work recently and she appointed a local firm to represent her - 48 hours later, they had one of their admin staff parked outside our site at shift change times, stopping people on their way in and out, asking if they'd been involved in an incident in the past x years and handing out literature.



Just like vexatious Employment Tribunal claims, it's almost always easier to settle these things early - that can create a culture however, when said claimant returns to work with a cheque in their pocket and blatantly breaches the terms of the confidentiality agreement/COT3, by blabbing to their work-mates; next thing you know, everyone's at it.



It's bloody infuriating.

Mintball - you can easily claim back PPI yourself without using an agent or solicitor.



A quick letter to the firm who mis-sold you it will usually suffice.

One of the terms of any decently drafted confidentiality agreement / COT3 is that the amount paid by the firm to 'buy off' the claim instantly becomes repayable if the employee blabbs to their mates.