We at Geoffrey Miller Solicitors take great pride in our
bank of online client testimonials. We have collected over 100 testimonials since the
firm started to request them back in 2005. All of the people providing testimony
to our services as expert motoring lawyers are real clients of the firm (even
when names have been withheld.) It may be surprising to see that last sentence.
Of course they should be real but we know from first-hand experience that some law
firms are less than truthful in their marketing materials.
Stolen Testimonials
Back in 2008, we were made aware of a firm that used details
of our clients’ cases without permission from the clients and they also sought to pass them off as their own clients rather than clients of Geoffrey Miller Solicitors! We
successfully pursued the firm and we
and our clients succeeded in recovering a donation to charity and damages
respectively.
Fake Testimonials
Now in 2014 we have been made aware of another firm using
the powerful tool of client testimonials in an unscrupulous manner! The image
used on the personal injury law firm’s website came as a bit of a surprise when
it was sent to me by a colleague! I had morphed into a Mrs Barnsbrooks who sued
her employer for an accident at work. Not really, my image had been lifted off
the internet by a law firm and they held me out as one of their clients!
It was a shame really as when they received a letter from my
lawyers, they tried to justify the clear case of “passing off” as an honest
mistake and tried to argue that the damage was not significant as they were
actually a brand new firm and had not yet commenced trading! Begs the question how
they were able to have testimonials in the first place and claim to have been a
leading law firm?
Again, not motivated by personal gain, I sought to have my image
removed from the offending firm’s website and they have agreed to make a
charitable donation. This time to a charity that is close to our hearts set up
in memory of our Operations Manager’s brother who died in 2013 following a long
history of mental illness:
Geoffrey Miller
Solicitors’ Interactive Testimonials
I have known for several years that testimonials are one of
the best ways to successfully market a business. However, I have also known
that the consumer (quite rightly it would seem) can be a cynical “so and so!”
This is why in 2010 I devised a unique interactive testimonial scheme where not
only can the prospective client read about our (real) client’s experience of us
from their written description published online, but they can also make direct
contact with the referee to verify what they have said and ask any questions
they want about us. We are not involved in the process and don’t even know when
a prospective client makes use of the “Ref Me” scheme. I wanted to create a
tool that was the next best thing to asking a trusted friend for a
recommendation because when a client comes recommended, their suspicion and
fear is massively reduced.
We are in the business of selling solutions and
providing relief to clients who often sorely need this. The last thing they
want is to be duped by the lawyer who uses fake or stolen testimonials to
capture their clients!
Hopefully, our “Ref Me” scheme reassures
clients that we are what we say we are, and, even more importantly, what our
client Julie
says we are – the best motoring solicitors in this country!
Assault Charges
ReplyDeleteTry and find an attorney you trust will do right by you. Does he or she answer your questions? If not, look elsewhere. Attorneys who discourage or avoid your questions, or fail to answer them in a straightforward way, may lack experience to handle your case.