Ppi charges

Clivey · 20 May 2017 at 1:15PM

Hi, can anyone advise, I went through a claims company for ppi claims, I have paid their charges when they've been settled.
I have a problem with one claim with lloyds. They said last September 2016 that they felt it was not misold, I appealed and again rejected, I did all the paperwork myself, I was then sent a letter from the claims company saying if not happy go the ombudsman.
Then in march 2017 almost 6 months to the day I submitted a complaint for them to look at online about lloyds. It was upheld and lloyds have now paid, in all that time the claims company have done nothing to help me, they have now sent a bill which I don't feel I should have to pay.
I assumed a letter of authority only lasted 6months so they have no claim.
Could someone advise what to do and am in my rights not pay.

societys_child · 20 May 2017 at 1:22PM

I assumed a letter of authority only lasted 6months

Not sure why you thought that. Have you read the contract you signed?

One thing CMCs are very good at, is collecting their fees (+ vat)

dunstonh · 20 May 2017 at 1:28PM

Could someone advise what to do and am in my rights not pay.

You have to pay the claims company. You have no grounds to not pay them. This is not a old case being reopened (where the CMC is not able to bill you against that). it is the initial complaint, instigated by them, being referred to the FOS as part of the initial process.

I assumed a letter of authority only lasted 6months so they have no claim.

Letter of authorities are permission to communicate between the firm and the CMC. that is all. They are not contracts.

CMCs are a complete waste of money. This is why this section of the site always tell people to not use them

1 - they use the same free of charge complaints process you would use if you sent in your complaint directly.
2 - they use the FOS template or their branded version of that template.
3 - they have no special powers.
4 - Most CMCs do nothing after they put the stamp on the envelope containing your complaint.

The CMC has done the job they are contracted to do. The fact you did a lot of the work is quite normal. When you think about what you did over the whole process, you soon realise you could have done it all yourself.

Clivey · 20 May 2017 at 1:37PM

I just feel they have not provided a service . I've been advised to go to the cmc ombudsman.
How long does a contract last with a cmc

Clivey · 20 May 2017 at 1:55PM

I've been advised to take them to cmc ombudsman if I'm not happy with the service they have provided

IAmWales · 20 May 2017 at 1:56PM

Clivey wrote: »

I just feel they have not provided a service . I've been advised to go to the cmc ombudsman.
How long does a contract last with a cmc

Until either party cancels it.

Why would you assume a letter of authority only lasts six months?

dunstonh · 20 May 2017 at 3:03PM

just feel they have not provided a service . I've been advised to go to the cmc ombudsman.

Legally, they have done exactly what they said they would do. The fact its nothing more than a stamp on an envelope is known and you employed them to do that.

The fact, with hindsight, you now realise that is not grounds for you to not pay.

I've been advised to take them to cmc ombudsman if I'm not happy with the service they have provided

The ombudman is there for wrongdoing. The CMC have done nothing wrong. So, what basis are you using for your complaint?

You are not doing very well are you. Missold PPI. Now you bought CMC services which you think were missold. Starting to spot a trend?

[Deleted User] · 20 May 2017 at 11:10PM

Clivey wrote: »

It was upheld and lloyds have now paid, in all that time the claims company have done nothing to help me, they have now sent a bill which I don't feel I should have to pay.
I assumed a letter of authority only lasted 6months so they have no claim.

The Ombudsman won't (can't) overturn the bill you received simply because you (wrongly) assumed the Letter Of Authority only had validity for six months.

If you wanted to cancel the Authority, you should have contacted the company. You would then have had to pay a cancellation fee.

I wouldn't waste any more time with this. Pay the CMC and be done with it. All you will succeed in doing otherwise is to delay the inevitable.

Alpine_Star · 21 May 2017 at 7:40AM

Clivey wrote: »

I just feel they have not provided a service . I've been advised to go to the cmc ombudsman.
How long does a contract last with a cmc

I think you should go to the Legal Ombudsman.

In ruling on cases about success fees the Ombudsman takes into account not just if there was a valid letter of authority in place but what work did the CMC complete in relation to the disputed claim, whether the successful claim resulted from the work completed by the CMC and was the customer updated regularly throughout the claims process.

See page 5 of the latest CMC newsletter http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/CMC-newsletter-issue6-final.pdf?ct=t(CMC_newsletter_issue_65_15_2017)&mc_cid=8ae237741a&mc_eid=d56d21c4e9

dunstonh · 21 May 2017 at 10:57AM

The case on page 3 (pdf 5) is quite a bit different as it is 5 years. The OP's timescale is complaint response ion Sept 16, referred to FOS in March 17 and outcome in April/May 17.

The key document is likely to be the one issued by the CMC after the rejection by the bank:

I was then sent a letter from the claims company saying if not happy go the ombudsman.

That phrasing needs context. If it explains the rejection and uses wording that along the lines of "if you disagree with that rejection then you can refer your complaint to the ombudsman who will blah blah blah...." then that would still be a continuation of service. Especially if they offer to help on the FOS stage.

If it was a "you failed" response that said you can take it to the FOS if you like then that would have a stronger suggestion that the service was being terminated and the OP was now on their own.

The level of work a CMC does in relation to their fee is not looked at by the LO. If it was, no CMC could stand the scrutiny as the vast majority do nothing after posting the initial letter and then writing to ask for their money. Communication on long-term cases though does now seem to be an issue with the LO. Although sadly, in this case, it is not a long term issue as the FOS response is only weeks after it was referred to them.

Alpine_Star · 21 May 2017 at 11:22PM

The case study isn't relevant to the OP but what Leo says it takes into consideration in complaints about unjustified fees is.

Ppi charges

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