£10million in Prisoner Compensation Claims

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Criminals have claimed over £10million whilst in prison [27th Jun 2011]

It has been found that claims for compensation made by prisoners in the UK over the last five years have amounted that more than £10 million. The figures were obtained by the Press Association and showed two payments made last year were for more than £100,000. The highest payment was £2.8 million. A spokesperson from the ministry of Justice has claimed that most compensation claims are trivial and are dismissed. All claims are defended however in order to get the best value for the tax payer. Much of the bill for compensation went on legal fees.

A new system of compensation for Southeastern Rail customers is due to be announced in July. It is claimed that the new scheme will make it easier for those affected by delays to claim money back from the company. Those with season tickets will be able to claim half their fare if they are delayed by more than 30 minutes. Those passengers who are delayed for more than an hour will be able to claim 100% of their fare in compensation. In the past the company could avoid paying compensation if they managed to send trains on time in more than 82% of cases. The new system will pay out if there is a delay for the individual, rather than working it out over the year.

An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph has exposed the companies behind the text messages which claim to be able to get compensation for those involved in an accident. The unwanted texts are sent by firms based in India or Eastern Europe and are sent from untraceable mobile numbers. Legal firms and "claims farmers" are also responsible. The industry is said to be worth £175 million and one in three mobile phone users have reported having had one of these texts in the last month. When replied to, the responder is passed to a legitimate claims handling firm. While sending unsolicited text messages is illegal, it has been pointed out by the Information Commissioners Office that prosecution would be very difficult.

In a bid to prevent high compensation claims, the new financial watchdog which is replacing the FSA has said that it will ban "toxic" financial products. It will also intervene sooner to prevent mis-selling. Financial services minister Mark Hoban has commented that Britain needs to learn from the PPI scandal and that earlier intervention could have prevented the compensation claims which are now being made. Customers will be able to provide evidence of miss-selling which will be passed on to the regulator. A time frame will be given and further findings will be reported back.

A technician manager from Halesowen has received compensation due to unfair dismissal after he was sent home for smelling of alcohol. Brian Hicks made the claim against his employer Mapei UK Ltd where he had worked for 17 years. He admitted he had had one pint of beer on the morning in question, but was in complete control. The customer Mr Hicks was visiting had complained of the smell and he was dismissed for gross misconduct. However a tribunal has found that he was not guilty of gross misconduct and that simply smelling of alcohol does not constitute being under the influence. The amount of compensation was not disclosed.

A rogue builder has been ordered to pay £140,000 in compensation to his victims or face 2 extra years in jail. Darryl Glynn was also jailed for 4 and a half years for theft and fraud after a trading standards investigation. His victims will receive money from the proceeds of Crime act. Mr Glynn has admitted that he had hidden assets which will be sold. Glynn had scammed his clients by asking for money in advance for work which being completed. Any work which was done had to be rectified as it was substandard.

Other popular articles related to this one include: Criminal Compensation Claims, Financial Compensation Claims, Claiming Compensation from Employers, PPI Compensation Claims, Overseas Compensation Claims, Radiation Compensation Claims, NHS Negligence Compensation, and . Please let us know if you find any errors.

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