Case study: Pogust Goodhead

Pogust Goodhead specialises in collective action claims with a conviction that everyone is entitled to justice. Their lawyers are dedicated to fighting the good fight on behalf of those wronged by some of the world’s largest multinational corporations.

“Without Shieldpay we would not be able to manage our high volume of payments with the same level of service quality, fraud protection and speed. By using Shieldpay’s litigation fulfilment solution, we have been able to reduce the cost of processing compensation funds and been able to seamlessly comply with regulation. Our ongoing relationship with Shieldpay will enable us to scale our operations and pay out more claimants the compensation they deserve.”

Rich Hill Chief Marketing and Technology Officer

THE CHALLENGE

Finding a way to quickly and securely pay thousands of claimants

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Pogust Goodhead represents claimants around the world on cases ranging from data breaches to environmental damage. For each case, there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of claimants affected by the wrongdoings of big corporations.

As increasing numbers of collective actions are proceeding in UK courts, and around the globe, the firm needed to source a means of managing the compensation award payments in a secure, efficient and cost-effective manner.

THE CONSIDERATION

Adopting technology to build efficiency, reduce costs, and increase speed

Pogust Goodhead has grown rapidly and expanded across the world. Their focus is to build their company with the consumer in mind, developing ways of working and using technologies that will not only reduce costs and speed up processes but also deliver excellent customer service that gives claimants peace of mind and trust in the legal industry.

Pogust Goodhead is on the cutting edge of the evolving legal industry. The UK legal system is evolving, making way for increasing numbers of claims to be trialled in court and more consumers compensated for the wrongdoings of big corporates. The firm is leading the charge, developing an optimised, automated and technology-driven process, including Shieldpay’s solution, that will ensure all affected are not only granted their deserved compensation but that they receive it quickly, with minimal disruption and maximum security.

THE SOLUTION

How Shieldpay pays out compensation awards

Shieldpay offers a comprehensive payout solution for distributing compensation funds, facilitated through our litigation solution. For Pogust Goodhead’s class action cases, there are three key stages to paying out compensation awards:

1) Shieldpay conducts due diligence and real-time bank account verification checks on the claimants, facilitated by our open banking partner DirectID.

2) The total compensation award is paid into a safeguarded bank account where Shieldpay holds the Relevant Funds pursuant to the Payment Services Regulations 2017, Art 23 (3).

3) The firm uses the digital platform to authorise payments out, transferring funds directly to the claimants’ provided bank accounts, swiftly and securely.

Tackling Class Action payment complexity

KYC and AML Robust due diligence checks to ensure the right person received their compensation award

Digital payments Removed the need for old fashion paper cheques that are subject to high levels of fraud.

SRA compliant

Money held in-line with the specifications set out by SRA, including accurate client records and robust reconciliation.

Fully digital platform Complete payment records for regulatory reporting and management of residual funds.

Improving the claimant payout experience

Pogust Goodhead is an innovative and forward-thinking law firm with a strong belief that the industry must be adopting new technologies to constantly improve the efficiency of legal services, ultimately delivering an enhanced customer experience. For a firm that represents vast numbers of customers, their ability to deliver work quickly, accurately and securely is critical.

For claimants, a bank transfer is a simple way to gain access to their entitled compensation. The end recipient benefits from a smoother and much faster payment journey. In the words of a claimant from a recent 5-star Trustpilot review:

“[This was] one of the easiest, fastest and most secure transactions I have completed online.”

As the final step in the litigation procedure for the claimant, this process greatly affects client satisfaction and can shift perceptions and the reputation of the law firm. With Shieldpay’s ‘excellent’ scoring on online review platforms and overwhelmingly positive feedback from claimants, this is not a concern for Pogust Goodhead.

Rich Hill, Chief Technology and Marketing Officer, Pogust Goodhead, commented:

“Without Shieldpay we would not be able to manage our high volume of payments with the same level of service quality, fraud protection and speed. By using Shieldpay’s litigation solution, we have been able to reduce the cost of processing compensation funds and been able to seamlessly comply with regulation. Our ongoing relationship with Shieldpay will enable us to scale our operations and pay out more claimants the compensation they deserve.”

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