Barings Law Newsletter – February 2023

As we embark on a new year, the team at Barings Law is committed to making 2023 a successful and fulfilling one for our clients. Read this quarter’s newsletter to find out how we plan to do that, and for claim updates.

We recognise that we may not have always communicated effectively with some of our clients. Still, we have been working hard to improve in this area, and our top priority remains to provide excellent service to you.

We are proud to report that some of our claims have already begun implementing more frequent client updates, and we are striving to raise our standards across the board in the coming months.

In addition to our efforts to improve communication, we are excited to announce the launch of four new claims. Our Data Breach team is taking action against Arnold Clark, South Staffs Water, and FatFace, and we are also pursuing legal action against landlords who fail to protect their tenants’ deposits as required by law.

We are also pleased to announce the upcoming launch of our Immigration Law department. This new department will be dedicated to helping clients process their applications, and we will also be offering pro bono* support to Ukrainian refugees seeking asylum. We look forward to sharing more information about this department with you soon.

Thank you for your continued patience and support as we process your claims. We are committed to providing you with the best possible service and look forward to a successful year ahead.

Best regards,
Barings Law

*Pro bono will be offered on a case-by-case basis.

Important Claim Updates

We continue to progress our clients’ undisclosed commission claims through the Birmingham Courts. These multi-claimant actions represent the largest group of actions being brought in this area of law across the UK.

Having issued eight separate multi-claimant actions in November 2022, we attended a hearing in mid-February 2023 to determine the number of case management directions applying to all eight-multi-claimant actions. 

Following the hearing, we were directed by the court to agree with the defendant’s finance providers on what the common issues are between all of the claimants. Once agreed, this will help both parties decide which issues are to be represented in the multi-claimant action. A further hearing is to take place in April 2023. 

Separately, we are preparing further litigation against those defendants not party to the multi-claimant action and have been liaising with legal counsel to finalise our preparation for those proceedings.  

FatFace LTD 
On January 13, we received correspondance from FatFace’s legal representatives confirming their involvment in this matter. We have issued our letter of response to them and are currently awaiting their next response which should help us make the next decision in progressing claims. 

South Staffs Water
We have received correspondance from South Staffs Water’s legal representatives seeking further details from us. We have issued our letter of response with a schedule of claimants affected by the breach and we are currently awaiting their response to us. 

Curry’s Retail LTD
We have submitted distress statements on behalf of our clients to the court and to the defendant’s solicitors and are currently awaiting the court’s instructions.

Due to the large number of claimants involved in this case, there may be a short delay from the court when providing us with their instructions. 

On February 2023, we issued a court application to ask for directions from the court on how the case is going to proceed forward. 

All Funeral Plan clients should have now received a questionnaire to find out more information about their plan.  As we receive this information back, we are continuing to process the details and see which legal argument will stand the strongest for all clients based on what has been provided to us.

In the meantime, we are keeping a close watch on any legal changes made from judicial reviews and will make adaptations when required to ensure we can proceed as quickly and as smoothly as possible. 

We are continuing to help and support small businesses where we can by accepting new claimants for this department. 

We are now in the process of engaging in open dialogue with the energy suppliers involved. This will allow us to build our case to be stronger and move faster through the pipeline due to having an understanding of the suppliers’ standpoint. 

While we await the responses from the suppliers we continue to maintain the pressure on them to ensure we can work with them and negotiate as soon as possible.

The legal argument for our diesel emissions claim has had a significant change. The changes made are to ensure claims have a higher chance of success based on recent judicial precedents that have been set. 

We are now in the vetting stages of building a final report to pursue group action. Group action means that we have a stronger chance of succeeding with your claim and ensuring compensation costs are maximised. Instead of taking each case forward individually, we will take all clients forward in a group against each manufacturer. 

Business Interruption claims have gained momentum with an increased number of cases issued in court. This is primarily because of the insurance companies refusing to deal with, or rejecting the policyholders’ claims. 

At present, Barings Law has more than 30 litigated cases in the High Court, and are one of five law firms that represent six lawsuits in respect of “at the premises” cases at the High Courts of Justice, which is to be heard in April 2023. 

The test case specifically addresses several variations of “at the premises” clause, while we will also be addressing an issue of the “Medical Officer of Health” which adds a level of complexity. The determination of this point would be the first in the UK and will set a precedent for other cases. 

We are pleased we are now seeing significant movement and more judicial guidance is handed down. We share our Counsel’s (KC) optimism and are hopeful for a positive outcome. A decision in favour of this combined action should assist over 800 claimants currently represented by Barings Law. 

For claims against Curry’s Retail LTD for the mis-selling of phone insurance, we have received 229 settlements this year so far for our cohort of clients who have had upheld complaints. 

As the year continues, we look forward to more positive outcomes for our clients. 

Barings in the News

Ukrainian-born solicitor offers pro bono help to war refugees

The Law Gazette

Ukrainian-born solicitor offers pro bono help to war refugees

Rapid expansion for Manchester Law firm as it creates 20 new legal roles

Business Manchester

Rapid Expansion for Manchester law firm as it creates 20 new legal roles

North-West Law firm turns up the heat against energy suppliers whose mis-sold contracts leave businesses on the verge of closure

Business Manchester

North-West Law firm turns up the heat against energy suppliers whose mis-sold contracts leave businesses the verge of closure

What's new to Barings Law?

Arnold Clark Data Breach

Arnold Clark has confirmed that client data was stolen in a data breach. Data stolen may include bank details, ID documents, National Insurance numbers, dates of birth and vehicle details.

The car retailer which sells more than 300,000 cars annually alerted their customers on Tuesday 21 January 2023.

If you have been affected by the breach, you could be eligible for compensation and we want to help you claim that.

Click the button below to register your claim.

Rent Deposit

When you secured your tenancy with a deposit, your landlord had a legal obligation to protect the money you entrusted to them.

They are expected to use one of three Tenancy Deposit Protection schemes (TDPs), and they must inform you where the deposit has gone, providing proof in the form of a deposit protection certificate. Deposit protection is a legal requirement - failure to comply means that the landlord cannot terminate the tenancy or regain possession of the property.

If a landlord has failed to protect your deposit you could be eligible to claim compensation - up to 3x your original deposit.

Click the button below to register your claim.
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Inside Barings Law

Here at Barings Law, we pride ourselves on giving back to the community that has helped shape our firm. When we heard about the local charity, Better Things, struggling to stay up and running due to rising energy bills, we wanted to help.

Better Things is a small charity, run by volunteers who offer support to people living with learning disabilities. It is a safe environment for them to socialise without the fear of being targeted due to their disability – they receive housing help, mental health support, skills for employment and somewhere to kick back and relax. They also love their sports and have their own Football club, these sports activities have improved the well-being of many who attend.

Better Things set up their own charity day where employees from businesses taking part had to wear a sports shirt and pay a small donation. We went a little step further and did some activities to help raise as much as we could. Thanks to the efforts of our team, we managed to raise a total of £204.00!

Thanks to the efforts of every business involved, Better Things can remain operational for longer without the worry of closure.

Barings Law

If you have any queries relating to your claim, we are available on 0161 200 9960 or on our webchat (the button at the bottom of this page) between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. 

For more information and news about the claim types we cover, click the button below to visit our knowledge centre, or follow us on social media.