“Absolutely disgraceful company. Totally unavailable to discuss anything to do with my RTA that occurred nearly 2 years ago. I have never experienced such unprofessionalism. Refused to send paper copies of the ongoing claim- I had no option but to instruct another solicitor to act on my behalf. Hoe this company survives is beyond belief. Complaint to the ombudsman has been made. Avoid Avoid Avoid”
“Should be 0. Disgusting service, never update or contact you. Claim going on since August 2022. How this company has got away with the service they provide baffles me. Be warned, wish I had.”
“Avoid!!
WARNING! If your insurance company advises you to use carpenters after an accident then please DECLINE.
I can’t understand how carpenters are aloud to operate and deal with such sensitive cases.
After an accident suffering with mental health illness from mental scarring (which was diagnosed by a psychiatrist) they do not show any empathy, compassion or support. They simply do not care for their clients and will not in any way help you achieve what is rightfully deserved and they do not value your claim correctly from the FACTUAL evidence that has been gathered. They make up their own valuations. And UNDER VALUE your claim. Then when challenged they changed the valuation (which was higher than previous) they still under valued my claim. ALOT of mistakes has been made by my file handler and I practically done her job for her. The file handlers do not know what they are doing and they do not care for their clients mental health. They will break you down and drag your claim out until you simply do not have the energy to deal with them anymore. Disgrace of a company who lack the capacity to offer basic genuine support to their clients. I would never pay for their service and I’m sending a warning out to anyone thinking of doing so to please trust the bad reviews and avoid this company like the plague. Awful experience with carpenters and one I would never want to go through again.”
“Hi I had a non fault crash in a motability vehicle it was the august of the year we were in and out of lockdowns like a yo yo. We were not in lockdown when we crashed but we’re back in lockdown by the time I had to have a medical. I asked for treatment with a chiropractor for myself and my 2 children and for some X-rays or MRI scans to be done because I could barely walk due to the pain in my head, neck and back. My 2 children also had back and neck injury’s. Our treatment was arranged for by the insurance company via carpenters. My children didn’t get any at all and I was treated by the same physiotherapist a week after I had been treated by him via the nhs. This was done via video due to lockdown and all I was given was exercises to complete, the same exercises he had given me a week beforehand. If I had been treated within a quicker timescale I might have been able to see someone in person. The solicitors were called carpenters. They sent my daughter a child letters to go for a medical at a certain address and when I queried it because we were in lockdown I was told to make sure I went to the appointment or I would be billed for a missed appointment. When we arrived at the address everywhere was obviously locked up as we were in a lockdown. I was then told her appointment was actually a video appointment and I was not to miss any more or I would be charged. She missed the next video appointment due to me being taken to A and E in an ambulance and she had to come with me. She was a child at the time and I didn’t even think about the appointment until we got home the next day. I did phone the solicitors to tell them but they said I should have let them know at least 24 hours before. I explained that it was an emergency. The next appointment again for her was missed due to not getting the appointment letter until after the appointment date. Again I explained but they implied I was falsifying facts due to me forgetting about the appointments, when I told them I didn’t receive many of the letters they sent about my daughter I was again called a liar. I reminded carpenters that they also had a file for me and a file for my other daughter and we had not missed any appointments so it was out of the ordinary for me to miss any. I am an Army Veteran, I arrive 15 minutes early for most appointments and consider it very rude to just not turn up. I welcomed the appointments for all 3 of us as it gave me something to do other than school by zoom. When Carpenters wrote to my daughter to tell her they would not represent her any longer I didn’t have a choice but to also change my other daughter and myself to another solicitors too, I had been extremely poorly with what I now know to be occipital neuralgia caused by the crash so I couldn’t cope with much especially an insurance claim which should have been quite straightforward. The other side admitted fault and agreed to pay for medicals etc. I had no choice but to use Carpenters because it’s the one the motability scheme insist you use. Please if you are given a choice do not use them.”
“AVOID AT ALL COSTA, made a claim, other side admitted liability, no responses now for maths from Lee Denny or his manager, complaints gone to be ignored. A simple claim has taken well over a year now, their customer service is lacking. Initially allowed physio treatment then stopped leaving me in pain. Next step law society and ombudsman”
“No communication from my handler I was in a car crash last year June was sent for accupunter for weeks and on 4th September last year went to see a doctor for medical in Bellevale Dr Mattel since then I have heard nothing from my handler I have rang sent emails got no reply wrote 2 letters got no reply my handler libby is a joke as is this company my husband last year was paid out before Christmas and yet I am left now with neck and shoulder damage due ti crash as I was in back seat wen car speeding ran into the back of us all I can do now is get in touch with ombudsman of carpenters and see if he can be bothered to help or get a solicitor to sue carpenters for neglect it has also made my ptsd worse I am a pensioner and not in good health because of this anybody wanting a solicitor please do not use carpenters there a joke a disgrace”
“My daughter and I had a non fault accident over a year ago, third party accepted liability straight away, should of been a straight forward case, however 3 claim handlers later very little communication, they don't answer phone calls or emails, there website where apparently you can track your claim is rubbish, appointment dates which we apparently attended in 2024 which should of said 2023, absolutely useless, avoid at all costs as they just leave you feeling very frustrated.”
“There is no communication from this company, I have called on at least 20 occasions and have given up as no one answers and no ability to leave a message. I have also sent many e-mails and instant messengers with no luck.
They have incorrect information on my account but no way to rectify as you can not contact anyone. DO NOT USE if you have a choice, this company was issued to me by my car insurance company Hastings under my legal protection.
I have made a complaint to the company of which they have come back no fault found which is a joke as I have still not been able to speak to anyone. I have now referred to the legal Ombudsman to try an gain some communication.”
“I would like to leave a review for Thomas Sutherland who has been acting as my Solicitor on a case for me and I truly can’t thank him for the support he has provided me, he has explained everything in great detail in a way that I can understand also rather than just emailing me he took time to call me which made me feel better due to having vision impairment many thanks again”
“Is there a reason that RAC use this company?
They have caused me more stress than the accident.
Never respond to me
Tell me they'll respond in 10 days, when it goes over and I ask a question they are rude.
I had a phone number for them and it ended up been a fax machine.
I think don't get done, get dom needs a visit.”
“They have caused me more stress and anxiety than the accident! I’m on the third case handler and like the other two, this one doesn’t respond either! I’ve got a no fault claim which the third party has accepted liability, I’m desperate to settle so I can get away from Carpenters. My insurance company should never have recommended me to this unresponsive firm, I hold them responsible for appointing these solicitors knowing clients can be vulnerable after an accident . Avoid this firm or endure inevitable stress , anxiety and frustration”
“I wouldn’t pay these in milk buttons absolute joke of a company no reply from
Emails for 6 weeks an over 1 hour on the phone with no answer how they still exist I’ll never know”
“this company is a joke! were at the end of November and i try email and i get a reply saying my case handler is away until 25th September. i have been calling them for 2 months 3 times a day but today has been 7 times trying different ways to speak to a human but still nothing. I'm spending hours on the phone weekly. nobody ever contacts you. stay away from this company at all costs!! I've never had a call back yet since January.”
“Awful awful company they lied to me and told me they are working on behalf of my insurance company. Now they are trying to send letters saying I owe them £1100 or they will put a ccj against my name. Do not use this company they will blackmail you and try and ruin your life. Avoid guys.”
“If I could leave zero
Stars I would.
Absolutely shocking company, staff are incompetent. They ignore every email and phone call you make. Avoid at all costs. Had 6 weeks of physio for a car crash and they closed my claim without paying me anything for my injuries and didn’t bother telling me after over a year of chasing! No letters phone calls or anything.
An absolute cowboy company.
DO NOT USE!!!”
“What an absolute joke this company is. They cannot and do not communicate. I emailed a number of times asking for someone to call me as I didn’t understand what information was required and guess what, no one called me. I spoke to an agent today who became aggressive, abusive and tried to threaten me. At first said I hadn’t then had then hadn’t, sent information over to them. The staff are awful not proper solicitors and the company is an embarrassment. I felt so threatened and when I asked for help, I got shouted at. The agent I spoke to today said he didn’t care about previous phone call, when I asked for them to be listened to. I would advise anyone to stay away and anyone with ongoing issues to immediately contact the SRA. Not worth the stress, anxiety or belittling they cause. Incompetent and rude staff who don’t care.”
“I would never recommend Carpenters to anyone, in fact, I would advise you to avoid them like the plague. They are slow, fail to keep you informed, unproffesional and worst company that I have ever had to deal with. If you are put thier way by your insurance company, may God help you, cos Carpenters won't”
“The Carpenters Group has been nothing but traumatic for me! (long review but had been a customer since September 2022).
Throughout this process I have felt discriminated against and felt some laws haven’t been met by The Carpenters Group. I have also felt that the Carpenters Group have not been accountable and have taken an easy option of not addressing the severe issues associated with my complaint.
I felt that the treatment from my case handler was awful, there was a lack of communication to a point, where I was really struggling. I was told by this handler “I have 500 cases and I can’t meet the needs of everyone”. I wasn’t receiving responses for weeks/months. I raised that I had disabilities and required adjustments to be made within the service, of which, they were not made, and I found I was at a disadvantage the entire time I was a client of The Carpenters Group, the nature of my disabilities were made clear from the start of my involvement, I felt the adjustment elements were not met and by all accounts I felt that The Carpenters Group not responding in accordance with reasonable adjustments was discrimination especially when they decided to remove me as a client due to my complaint. They resulted to emailing only, despite continued requests that due to the nature of my disability, phone calls are needed. However, this request got refused/ignored time and again.
Decisions were being made surrounding my treatment relating to prognosis dates. Treatment was stopped because the case handler decided there was a prognosis date, when there was not and treatment should have continued. The doctors did not put a prognosis date to some of my injuries but The Carpenters Group decided to stop treatment anyway, this could play a huge effect to my case moving forward, and this finally lead to a complaint process.
I then raised a formal internal complaint, I found that everybody new each other within the Carpenters Group, and as such, complaints are solely dealt with by the team that you are connected too. Meaning, there is never any response. It took near on 7 months to get my complaint heard, and the complaint handler never even spoke to me via telephone, despite the requests for reasonable adjustments (they went ignored). The complaint handler did agree that she would re-investigate the complaint after she concluded without even speaking to me. After this conversation took place, and the re-investigation took place, I was left 7 weeks without a word from The Carpenters Group. I put trust into this complaint handler (stupid I know), and as such, she or her manager didn’t follow the adjustment plan.
By the end, I decided that I would instant message the director of the firm, who responded and said that the Chief Legal Officer would be in touch. He certainly was in touch and stated “I feel the process has been handled well” despite parts of the complaint being upheld. It appeared to me that he decided that he would end my relationship with the company before the call even started. The CLO was very clear in the 1h 26m phone call? that he was not interested in what I had to say, and spent the first 30 minutes continually talking over me. I tried to explain parts of my complaints, but he had decided the complaint was dealt with. I was under the impression the CLO would be investigating my complaint, however, he appeared barely familiar with any aspect of my complaint. He also decided not to recognise the conversation I had with the complaints handler about her re-investigating the complaint. He confirmed he wanted it in writing even though I pointed out there is call also. This then moved to the CLO stating that the ombudsman can sort the situation out, which leaves very little confidence that Carpenters Group has the ability to rectify issues.
The CLO traced this call on their system where the complaint was to be looked at again, but stated “it is not reasonable for me to listen to a 2h a 7m call” I confirmed to him, before entering into a conversation about my complaint, would it not be best to have investigated. But this did not seem to bother him in the slightest. The CLO decided that the relationship had completely broken down, even though, me and the road traffic accident handler had started to amend our professional relationship (please note, the complaint was actually raised 7/8 months ago, a lot had happened since then, and me and the road traffic handler had been alright over the last few months). But he was just not interested and tried to ball-doze his way through the situation with terminating the agreement, knowing that this would be a detriment to the case since we are so close to the finish line.
Furthermore, a Subject Access Request, had been requested many months ago. The company has 30 days to comply, and the (LEGAL FIRM) has not complied. The CLO seemed disinterested about it to me, but that aside, Carpenters Group clearly did not feel there was need to supply, despite my request. This remains on going.
I felt extremely oppressed by this legal company, the way they handle their complaints, the way they communicate, Along with this, threatening legal action against me if I publicise my complaint, charging huge amounts of fees should a new firm take over my case etc, going directly to the director for the complaint to be investigated (which was clear by the call from the CLO response) but instead removing the customer as the client without trying to resolve. It is my view that as soon as you stand up and speak up, they accuse you of being rude and attempt to turn the table onto the customer. That was my feeling, and they just cannot act accountably from my experience.
I was also accused of libel by the Carpenters Group regarding statements surrounding discrimination, oppression and breaching the law. This shows their lack of understanding of the law surrounding GDPR and not honouring a Subject Access Request, This shows their lack of understanding surrounding Equalities Act and when you set someone up at a disadvantage through a protected characteristic that this is discrimination, this further shows, that when you hold someone down within the complaints process, that becomes oppression. These are my experiences within The Carpenters Group, without them sorting the their internal problems, I won’t ever use The Carpenters Group again.”
