ILC ARTICLE

ACSO slams failing CRU

1st August 2022

The Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO) has slated the lack of progress made by the Compensation Recovery Unit since its introduction.

A Freedom of Information request revealed that claims figures actually decreased in the second quarter of 2022, while quarterly figures remain about 60,000 down on those recorded before the pandemic, and before the new Official Injury Claims processes were introduced.

ACSO Executive Director Matthew Maxwell Scott said, “Motor claims recorded for April to June 2022, at 93,113, are slightly below the previous three months’ figure of 97,099, but more significantly are down on the equivalent period in 2020, which was the height of the Covid lockdown. Given there has been a bounce back in UK traffic levels since then we would expect the number of RTAs largely to mirror these, but it is simply not the case. 

“We’ve now had a whole year’s data for motor claims where every quarter shows the number recorded by the CRU to be below 100,000. As the three-month average before the pandemic was around 160,000, this means some quarter of a million claims we might have expected to be recorded have disappeared. 

“While people’s driving habits have changed, one explanation must be that genuinely injured people are not claiming when they could. This might be because the new Official Injury Claims process is too complex, or simply because they don’t know about it. Ministers might count this as a success, but those with an interest in preserving access to justice will think otherwise.”

His verdict was echoed by Managing Director of Essential Legal Services, Slater and Gordon, Jenni Baldwin.

She said, “These latest figures show that claims are decreasing despite road traffic use not decreasing at the same rate; a clear indicator of the fact that the government portal is not working anywhere near as well as it should be. 

“We have continued to see claims management companies exiting the market as a result of the portal being set up, which has also led to the drop in the figures.

“It is clear that the customer experience is a world away from what it should be; the inefficiencies remain and it is deterring people from making claims.”