Rock Law - Can I go back now?

magpiecottage · 18 April 2015 at 10:08AM

Sitting_target wrote: »

How is this company allowed to operate? I think I've been scammed by this company they call themselves rock law but run from the same offices as ARB advisory. I foolishly handed over £495 on my credit card to be told I would get this back on completion of my PPI claims. I've received one claim back but have now been billed for 30% of this. I did write to cancel within the 14 days but was called back by a very heavy sales welsh salesman saying he had checked and I was entitled to £6,000 compensation. It has been 6 months now and only £100 back. Any ideas of where I should go for advice? They said if I cancel now I will have to pay £75 per hour for the work they have completed!

Send to following to customercare@arbadvisory.com and cc consumer@claimsregulation.gov.uk

FORMAL COMPLAINT AGAINST ARB ADVISORY LIMTED

Last you, your company told me told me it had access to my financial details and persuaded me to apply for it to seek compensation for missold payment protection insurance.

I have now learned that if it has access to such personal data it has breached the Data Protection Act 1998 and therefore committed a criminal offence.

If it did not have such data then it has made a statement which it knows to be untrue in order to make a gain for itself. This is in breach of the Fraud Act 2006 and therefore also a criminal offence.

You have also taken £495 from my credit card account.

At no point do your terms and conditions say you will do this up front and your regulator requires that I am given a proper opportunity to consider your contract and 14 days to cancel it BEFORE being charged.

Furthermore, when I called to cancel within the 14 day cooling of period, you dishonestly and fraudulently told me that I was entitled to £6,000 compensation in order to dissuade me from exercising my legal rights. I have only now learned that this too was a lie.

I therefore consider you to have breached its rules by taking a payment from my account which you were not authorised to do.

I demand immediate reimbursement of my money. Failure to comply fully with this demand within eight weeks will result my complaint being referred to the Legal Ombudsman.

A copy of this e-mail is being sent to your regulator.

Sitting_target · 18 April 2015 at 10:21AM

Many thanks for your advice these companies need to be closed!

HAL_9000_2 · 28 April 2015 at 8:42PM

I have spent an interesting hour perusing the internet at the horror stories that are Rock Law. Whilst all are probably not 100% true, the sheer weight of volume of bad news stories would suggest they are an unsavory company.

Marty...

Trollydollydaydream · 29 April 2015 at 7:26PM

On a particular vulnerable day in August 2014 when everything was going wrong, I stupidly paid this company £495. I have had no correspondence from this company unless I have phoned, and the last email reply I had was February. I have emailed [EMAIL="consumer@claimsregulation.gov.uk"]consumer@claimsregulation.gov.uk[/EMAIL] to explain. I did try and cancel immediately after I read all the horror reports but was talked out of it. I have asked in my email if I would be in a position to get the money back after 8 months as in the contract it states about a refund if there is a total claim fail. I also asked if I would be within my rights to write to them stating that I no longer want them acting on my behalf and put the loss of £495 down to experience and try not to do anything stupid again. I will keep in touch on here with the outcome. Would love to know how anybody else gets on with them.

Trollydollydaydream · 29 April 2015 at 7:29PM

Hi Sitting Target - I did the same back in August last year. Please see my post below. Would be interested to see how you get on

Alpine_Star · 30 April 2015 at 7:20AM

Trollydollydaydream wrote: »

On a particular vulnerable day in August 2014 when everything was going wrong, I stupidly paid this company £495. I have had no correspondence from this company unless I have phoned, and the last email reply I had was February. I have emailed [EMAIL="consumer@claimsregulation.gov.uk"]consumer@claimsregulation.gov.uk[/EMAIL] to explain. I did try and cancel immediately after I read all the horror reports but was talked out of it. I have asked in my email if I would be in a position to get the money back after 8 months as in the contract it states about a refund if there is a total claim fail. I also asked if I would be within my rights to write to them stating that I no longer want them acting on my behalf and put the loss of £495 down to experience and try not to do anything stupid again. I will keep in touch on here with the outcome. Would love to know how anybody else gets on with them.

See here http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/showthread.php?64452-Charlie58

magpiecottage · 30 April 2015 at 11:10AM

Rock Law explain how to make a complaint against them here.

Download the Conduct of Authorised Persons Rules 2014 or, in the case of Trollydollydaydream, the Conduct of Authorised Persons Rules 2013. (They changed on 1 October last year).

Go through those rules and see what, if any, have been breached. Complain about any and all of them. The most likely ones are failing to establish whether you could make the complaint yourself and failing to unambiguously explain that the FOS service is free and easy for you to DIY.

If they took money from you without you signing anything, complain about that. If they interfered with you exercising your right to cancel within 14 days (including misleadingly talking you out of it complain about that as it is pressurised selling).

Michaelf_2 · 26 August 2015 at 5:04PM

Hi
Just to update the Rock Law situation, I have been contacted this afternoon by two " agents " of Rock Law promising me £6k -£8k as PPI compensation against my Barclaycard.
I was told that I could expect to be paid within 12 weeks.
I was told to view the email link which shows that have a CMR number 30794 and are approved by the government to act on behalf of PPI claimants.
The first guy was called Ashley Heaven the second was Chris.
I was taken to the signature box on the email and asked to " sign" it electronically.
After I queried the £495 up front payment for solicitors fees they wanted to deduct from my Barclaycard and said I would not sign nothing until I have read their terms and conditions thoroughly Chris put the phone down on me!
I then googled Rock Law and found this forum.
So beware of Rock Law, more should be done to point out this scam to members of the public.
What is of concern is that they get hold of your phone number and purport to know your financial background .

dunstonh · 27 August 2015 at 9:57AM

Just to update the Rock Law situation, I have been contacted this afternoon by two " agents " of Rock Law promising me £6k -£8k as PPI compensation against my Barclaycard.
I was told that I could expect to be paid within 12 weeks.
I was told to view the email link which shows that have a CMR number 30794 and are approved by the government to act on behalf of PPI claimants.

If that is the case, then a number of things you were told there are a breach of guidelines and you should make a complaint (and send a copy to the legal ombudsman.

1 - they cant promise any amount. What you paid is not in the public domain. So, any figure is made up.
2 - they are not allowed to give unrealistic timescales.
3 - The govt do not approve any CMCs.

After I queried the £495 up front payment for solicitors fees they wanted to deduct from my Barclaycard and said I would not sign nothing until I have read their terms and conditions thoroughly Chris put the phone down on me!

If you are lied to in the call and an advance fee is payable then its possible you are a victim of advance fee fraud.

Insider101 · 27 August 2015 at 6:52PM

Michaelf wrote: »

Hi
Just to update the Rock Law situation, I have been contacted this afternoon by two " agents " of Rock Law promising me £6k -£8k as PPI compensation against my Barclaycard.
I was told that I could expect to be paid within 12 weeks.
I was told to view the email link which shows that have a CMR number 30794 and are approved by the government to act on behalf of PPI claimants.
The first guy was called Ashley Heaven the second was Chris.
I was taken to the signature box on the email and asked to " sign" it electronically.
After I queried the £495 up front payment for solicitors fees they wanted to deduct from my Barclaycard and said I would not sign nothing until I have read their terms and conditions thoroughly Chris put the phone down on me!
I then googled Rock Law and found this forum.
So beware of Rock Law, more should be done to point out this scam to members of the public.
What is of concern is that they get hold of your phone number and purport to know your financial background .

This is utter drivel. They are not "approved" by the government. They are authorised by the Ministry of Justice, which simply means they are permitted to carry on business. This does not imply any form of recommendation of government endorsement. They are in no position to "promise" you anything as ultimately whether you are offered compensation or not is not their decision.

As regards knowing your details, a lot of it is guesswork (a lot of people will have had accounts with Barclaycard). However, some of the (even) less scrupulous ones have been known to illegally obtain personal data via stolen databases or bribing lender employees to try and obtain it. As a last point, despite the deliberately misleading name (which should be illegal IMO), they are not a law firm and nor is any law firm involved in the complaints process so to say it is for "solicitors fees" is flat out lying!!!

Looks like you've had a lucky escape to me.

Rock Law - Can I go back now?

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