Claiming for industrial hearing loss.. Hearing Clinic

A question about : Claiming for industrial hearing loss.. Hearing Clinic

My husband has some hearing loss due to a noisy workplace many years ago. We were cold called by a company calling themselves the Hearing Clinic. They offer No win, No fee and are calling next week to arrange for him to have a hearing test at home. After googling them, it would seem that there is more than one Hearing Clinic and this one, I think is a company called Central Claims Group from Bury. Has anyone made a claim with any company for industrial hearing loss, or know anything about this company. Any advice would be very welcome.

Best answers:

• The thing is, you'd have to prove that the company were negligent.
  Long before the Health and Safety at Work Act, responsible companies were aware of this and did their best to alleviate it.
  Years ago now, in the 70s in fact, I was shown around a paper mill. The industrial nursing sister told me what problems she had in getting the workers to use their ear-defenders which were provided for their use. They just didn't like wearing them and preferred to risk their hearing. That far back.
  A hearing test at home? Better to go to the audiology clinic in hospital, or even the local SpecSavers. I don't know how they can test hearing at home. You need a sound-free environment.
• Harvesting personal data? After numerous similar calls, I decided to "humour" these guys (CLI. 01564 634364) to try and get to the bottom of whatever they are up to and, perhaps foolishly, let slip my DOB., at which point they became very interested and I swiftly ended up speaking to someone else calling himself "Peter Jones" who made me an appointment, for which I subsequently got a confirmation letter, to attend one of their "hearing clinics" locally; before the end of the call he also stressed that they need my NINO!
  The letter has the logo of "Zebra CLAIMS" and "LOCUM Unit NIHL Clinics" - Anchorage House, 252 The Quays, Erie Basin Salford Quays M50 3SD Tel:0161 814 0016. (NIHL = Noise Induced Hearing Loss).
  Apart from confirming the appointment, it also says
  "Please bring with you 2 forms of ID this could be:
  a) Passport
  b) Driving License
  c) Utility Bill
  and then "Please also remember to bring your National Insurance Number"
  I was called again by "Peter Jones" (0161 786 0912) the day before the appointment to make sure I was still coming and also on the day, just an hour beforehand, when NINO. was again mentioned and he said I should ask for him on arrival.
  I dutifully turned up at a local chain hotel but armed only with the appointment letter, to find a piece of paper taped to the front door reading "HEARING CLINIC THIS WAY" and was then ushered into a "reception room" by some bloke who wouldn't have looked out of place "working" outside the door our local nighttime trouble spot!
  I asked for "Peter Jones" but the permanently sickly smiled "lady receptionist" said she was aware of him but he was not available and then proceeded to "register" my attendance for "our Audiologist", on some sort of form and once she had got past writing my N&A details from the letter, predictably moved onto asking for the more sensitive stuff, at which point I refused point blank, at least until it was satisfactorily explained to me how this data would be used.
  There was a steady stream of people there, I would say mostly much older than me (58), freely brandishing their Passports & Driving Licenses etc., so they clearly wouldn't want a "scene" and I was hastily "ushered" into the corridor and introduced to "a Manager", a female dripping cheap jewellery, who explained that I couldn't "see the Audiologist without satisfactory registration". (I did see a woman through another room door window with what seemed like a white coat on.) I proceeded to protest that it was totally unreasonable to constantly harangue people by 'phone and expect them to divulge personal information and particularly mentioned NINO. She retorted that they were only "helping people get the compensation they deserve" and needed NINO. to look it up on something like "The National Workers Register to make sure they worked where they say they did", before they hand the data over to solicitors at Zebra Claims.
  I expressed my doubts over their legitimacy and that any such register exists and that even if it did, that they would have authorised access to it without proper data protection restraints; I insisted that my data be expunged from their system and this was supposedly satisfied by the receptionist retrieving the original half-completed form from her waste bin and writing "REMOVE FROM SYSTEM" on the top. I was then ushered out; as I left, I wanted to scream out "don't do it" to the poor unsuspecting oldsters sitting waiting to be seen, who seemed to be mentally drooling over the amount of money, supposedly soon to be “won for them"!
  "Peter Jones" (from 0161 786 0912 again) yet again called my home at about 18:30 that evening "to ask how I got on". When I expressed surprise that I had not met him, he said that he had to urgently attend a "complaint in Birmingham" (about 15 miles from the hotel) but that he was now "back in the office" (Manchester?). When I related my story and conclusions, he described my attitude as "bizarre" and said he had never heard anyone express such thoughts before "after 18 years in this industry"! I told him that what they were doing, especially persistently calling demanding personal data, at least amounted to harassment and was probably criminal; he retorted that there were other unscrupulous people doing similar things and causing problems but that his company would never be responsible for such behaviour. I told him that if they are legitimate they should get their act together, explain better to people what they are really about and generally behave in a more professional manner and put the ‘phone down.
  I know this will be a bit controversial but everyone I have came across in this saga all have similar broad “regional” accents (I am from the north, so keep your hair on if you have one too!) and an air of what I would describe as "slightly thick cockiness" . My overall impression is that there may be SOME legitimacy here but the feeling I get is that these people are verging on petty criminals at best and I would not trust any of them people to take my rubbish to the bin without doing something untoward. I strongly suspect that the real exercise is harvesting personal data for criminal purposes like identity theft! I will let other people investigate further and draw their own conclusions.
• This time from 01332 895906; if these guys really are genuine then they are not clever enough to realise how much business they are losing by seeming to be scammers!
• So there I am at home this morning when I get a call from the National Advice Clinic asking to speak to my husband. I ask a few questions as my husband is ill, with cancer, in bed. They assure me it's an ongoing conver sation and I go to my husband and ask him if he's been talking with the National Advice Clinic. He shakes his head so I go back on the phone and explain that he's unwell, can't take calls and has never heard of National Advice Clinic. The woman says 'you haven't asked him have you. You're a liar!' and hangs up.
  Now had an automated call, 15 mins later. Who can I complain to? They have no head office! Help.
• It is possible to have a hearing test at home. It's not ideal but the audiologist we use at work does home visits for housebound people. I think she measures the hearing in a quiet room and then re-calculates the loss using a formula for background noise. Obviously it's not ideal but if someone is so frail or mentally ill that they can't leave the house then you don't want to leave them to lose their hearing too.
  Apparently correcting the hearing loss can rehabilitate in a way, some people get a home visit for their initial fit and checks and 6 months later manage into the shop with a companion for the review.
• Thank you for your replies. Still not sure who we should trust regarding this. We did not go any further with the northern company calling themselves The Hearing Clinic. We are happy to pay the NO WIN, NO FEE, fee. But how do we find a trusworthy one?
• These companies are generally just lead generation firms, though have no explicit experience of this particular company. I get daily calls from similar firms about my "recent accident" even though my last accident was 6 years ago (so statute barred) and was me driving into a police car.
  They are generally pure cold calling, they've no idea if you have been in an accident or worked somewhere with a risk of latent disease (which hearing loss comes under) etc. Once they've bled some details out of you they can then sell your details on to others who will actually then take on the case.
  Remember that "no win, no fee" doesnt not equal "win, no fee". Since legislation changed a few years ago the firm can keep up to 25% of your winnings. It is however up to and some firms are willing to take less.
  If you feel you have a case then you really have one of two options. If you have Legal Expenses cover on your Home insurance they most likely will cover a claim made using one of their panel solicitors. Alternatively find a local or national firm that you trust and deal with them directly but ensure you check what percentage they'll be keeping.