Bank-smart now charging me!

LindaTy · 17 May 2011 at 11:01AM

I'm surprised that you are having these problems with them. I thought they were pretty good, especially as they handled more claim types than anyone else I looked at.
I've just gone back to them for some PPI claims, so let's see how those go.

akadawny · 28 July 2011 at 11:56AM

Hi everyone

I hope someone can help, scanner is on the fritz but this is what the letter I recieved today says.

This claim has not been successful and we have invoiced for costs capped at £99 = VAT as you do not have a nop win no feecontract with us. The actual costs are likely to be significantly more than what we have invoiced today. Please ensure payment is made within 14 working days so we can continue to provide you with settlement(s) of any remaining claim(s) If payment is not made within 14 working days wereserve the right to re-issue the invoice for the full amount of costs incurred.

Help!!! They have billed me for £118.80 which I do not have, and they are still doing claims on two other banks. They told me I would not have to pay anything as it would come out of what fees they claimed back, they didnt say what would happen if they couldnt get any fees back. There t&c say if they dont get results Im not obligated to pay. What do I do, I dont have this money.

Thanks in advance

Dawny

nicola-w_3 · 29 July 2011 at 3:43PM

Hi

Yesterday i received a letter from Bank smart, stating that they have been informed that a loan i took out on my mortgage was sold to me with PPI, even though I may not realise it. Apparently I could be entitiled to a £7380 refund should i persue a claim through them. GREAT! I am struggling for money currently, with a part time job, two small children and a self employed husband. Therefore I was keen to take this further. I checked my original Alliance and Leicester loan documentation, which has -NA- in the insurance section. I rang bank smart and asked how they knew I had PPI on my loan, as i didnt think i had. They said they couldnt confirm how they knew officially but that the ministry of justice has asked them to work on their behalf and that I did have PPI. So I checked with mortgage lender by telephone. They have no record of PPIU on my account. They gave me the number for their PPI company (pinnacle) who also confirmed that they had no details for me whatsoever, currently or from the past, and that I would have seen it going out of my bank account each month as a seperate payment, not part of my mortgage. Which I havent.

SO.... all in all - im quite sure I do NOT have any PPA on my loan. Despite what bank smart say.

Having read this forum, I now see that it is NOT no win, no fee, indeed that was an assumption on my part, so I could have ended up paying their costs without actually being entitled to a payout. I also believe that people who are already in financial difficulty are the people most likely to fall victim to this scam, as I could have.

SCARY. Surely this is illegal?

Nicola.

froz333 · 2 August 2011 at 4:11PM

:mad: has any one recently had contact with bank-smart about claiming bank charges back AND now being told about a test court case ??
bank-smart have now written to me requesting i pay 180.00 for each case (i have 3 cases going on) they would like to sent to court and on top of that through a solicitor which would involve further costs to me, i started claims with bank-smart back in 2009 and have had nothing but them asking for a fee for this!!! a fee for that !!!:( i have been sent three options given either 1.prepare my/our file for solicitor for the issue of legal proceedings against my/our bank i/we enclose payment of the legal preparation fee. i/we would like you to arrange a solicitor to provide representation and i/we understand this will bring closure to my claim once complete and that providing there is a successful judgement that this fee will be refunded to me/us.2.keep my claim on hold and continue only in the even there is a future opportunity to settle the claim without legal action. I understand that bank-smart have attempted this previously without success and my claim maybe withdrawn if the claim expires. or 3. Cancel my claim and i/we understand that we will be invoiced for costs to date and that upon payment my claim will be closed Costs will be reduced by 50% providing payment is made within 14 working days from the date of issue of the costs invoice....
I just want to know if anyone else out there has had the same thing, and if so what action did you take i really really can not pay fees and not in a position to pay a solicitor his/her fees as well please HELP

Lyndalpip123 · 3 August 2011 at 1:04PM

Hi,
Sorry I cant help but wanted you to know that I have just recieved the exact same letter,not sure what to do either.
I have never recieved any payment and presumed it was "case closed" as they didnt win anything. i have emailed Banksmart to find out whats going on but I can already guess they will fob me off.
i first thought about option 2, to put it on hold in case of being able to settle out of court but I presume when they realise this wont happen, they will withdraw the claim and charge me anyway!

I just spoke to a friend that did this years ago, after claiming she could get over £2000 she won a measly £6 and are trying to land her with an approx £100 bill. last month she recieved a debt collecting letter, which she promptly binned in the hope it was just scare-mongoring and will go away!

God knows what we should do but this needs sorting asap!

Lyndsay

froz333 · 3 August 2011 at 2:39PM

Hi Lyndsay,
Thanks for your reply i think i will carry on ignoring bank-smart.. and i shall also log a complaint against them with claims regulations .gov.uk. must just keep a level head in all this

Lyndalpip123 · 4 August 2011 at 11:37AM

I have just had a reply stating it was NOT a no win no fee agreement. they have emailed me the agreement and it looks like they are right but I am no good with this sort of thing so dont know what to do.i have requested a breakdown of all fees in the event that I withdraw the claim

akadawny · 4 August 2011 at 11:42AM

Just so you all know they have now got a completely different set of terms and coinditions on the website, and guess where most of the changes are, ironically in the fees!!

I luckily have a copy of the previous ones which I took off the website on 27th July, and have told them as much. Surely this cant be legal?? I am going to citizens advice!!

akadawny · 4 August 2011 at 12:09PM

They have emailed me a copy of my fees now, and say the terms and conditions they emailed me are the "relevant ones and ones I signed" and that "we change the terms and conditions regularly"

Highly suspicious that the previous t&c on the website supported my case and now have been replaced. They cant prove which version I signed, and until they produce a set with my signature on them they can whistle for it. Probably gonna end up with a huge debt, but they keep getting away with this and someone has to take a stand!

akadawny · 4 August 2011 at 1:08PM

I visited Consumer Services complaints and filled in their online form. (wont let me post a link!) Tried ministry of justice but they just direct you to Consumer Services anyway, and financial ombudsman tell you to contact ministry of justice! Maybe I should just email some newspapers!

Bank-smart now charging me!

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