Collective Actions Regime Review: Our Response to the Call for Evidence
It is crucial that collective actions in the UK deliver access to justice. For this reason, the Access to Justice Foundation has responded to the call for evidence by the Department for Business & Trade (DBT) as part of its review of the UK’s opt-out collective actions regime.
Ensuring the regime fulfils its purpose through unclaimed funds
The Access to Justice Foundation is the nominated charity to receive unclaimed damages from opt-out collective actions under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. However, there is no statutory mechanism for the destination of unclaimed funds from settlements.
It is important that these funds deliver real benefits to the public. Therefore, our response includes the recommendation that The Access to Justice Foundation be designated in the legislation as the recipient of a reasonable proportion of unclaimed settlement funds.
We have already been recognised for this role by the Tribunal in settlements from both the Merricks v Mastercard and Gutmann v SSWT cases.
Amending the legislation in this way would:
- Relieve pressure on the Competition Appeal Tribunal by providing a clear mechanism for distribution and avoid it making invidious policy decisions,
- Ensure effective and transparent use of funds in line with Parliament’s original intent that collective actions promote access to justice, and
- Mirror the approaches taken in jurisdictions with more established collective action regimes, where there are provisions for undistributed sums to be paid to charities that align with the regime’s purpose.
As a grant making charity, the Access to Justice Foundation is the vehicle that can ensure undistributed settlement sums get reinvested to support UK consumers, the justice system, and the wider economy.
We’ve developed a collective actions grant making strategy in collaboration with industry partners to ensure that any unclaimed settlement funds deliver meaningful, long-term impact.
Supporting take-up and raising awareness
We are fully committed to doing our best to ensure that take-up rates for claimants are as high as possible. We recognise that our country-wide network is a great opportunity to improve consumer awareness and participation in collective actions. Our networks are able to reach those in most need of the money from these cases and those who may be less aware of their right to claim their share.
The Foundation has therefore been working closely with Citizens Advice and the Law Centres Network on how to increase public awareness of money from collective actions. We are also working with these partners to ensure any money the Foundation does receive is deployed as efficiently as possible.
In our call for evidence response, we have also proposed the creation of an official government portal where consumers can securely claim their share of damages from collective actions. In our opinion, a centralised hub for ‘official’ information would improve trust, accessibility and take-up rates.
Through actively engaging with collective action cases and working alongside key industry partners we’re ensuring the regime fulfils its purpose – helping more people access the legal advice they need.