Investor Compensation

scholesy555

Hi All,

I recently got into some financial difficulties, i sought advice from the forums and decided the best thing to do was get a debt management plan. I opted to do this through the Debt Advisory Line who have been very helpful.

When i first took out the DMP, the DAL asked if i had PPI on any loans which i had. They referred me to Investor Compensation who contacted me for details of the loan etc.. In October my claim was succesful and £2,500 was refunded (YIPEEE) this of course after i paid the fee of £460 (which i thought was quite high at the time). I paid the fee and as far as i was that was the end of it.

I received a letter from Investor Compensation last week saying i owed them £298 in unpaid charges and they're threatening court action! I rang them and asked why, they said they had claimed another £1,020. I said i didn't think that was right and rang the bank who advised i wasn't entitiled to anymore compensation.

I then rang Investor Compensation who said that the money had already been refunded to me and that the additional fee was for that!! I hadn't recieved anything from them so asked if they could send me a breakdown of everything they have done since my original claim was sucessfull since October to warrant this extra money. The girl i spoke to said she would, but today I recieved another letter stating i now owed them £302, again threatening court action.

I have rang them again today and they are demanding payment in full within 7days.

Surley if they cannot give me a valid exlenation as to why they want this money im within my rights not to pay?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

pablo007

I have dealt with this company and to say they are thieves would be an understatement, I did raise a claim with them, a year later I had heard nothing, I contacted them again and they said they would try again, I again heard nothing, then out of the blue the bank contacted me and after a 15 min chat, they said they would let me know, I told the bank they should talk to investor compensation, they said they can't be bothered, 2 weeks later they sent me a cheque for over £6300 I rang IC and told them, they said to send them a copy of the letter which I did, then they sent me their invoice for 30% plus vat, fair enough but it was for the gross amount which was £400 higher than what I had received, I wrote them a letter saying that I was going to charge them 30% of the amount they charged me for the time I wasted doing there job, they said they had not received it 5 days later I told them it was sent registered and that when they had seen it to contact me, they did and said they were shocked by the amount I was closing and that where did I get the figure from, I laughed at the person on the phone and said he should know because the company he works for charge it, I had the money already so what are they going to do about it, he said that if I did not pay the amount they would take me to court, I paid them the amount and then contacted them again and said where was my money..... They tried to say that they did not owe me anything, but I said that as per the letter if I did not get the money in 14 days I would take them to court. ..... The matter still continues but I would recommend to never deal with them again, send them a registered letter detailing what you said and leave it as done. ......

[Deleted User]

pablo007 wrote: »

I told the bank they should talk to investor compensation, they said they can't be bothered

Your contract with Investor Compensation really had nothing to do with the Bank. I doubt any Bank staff told you that they could not be "bothered" to talk to your claims management company.

magpiecottage

What a surprise

Benjamin George Richard Farrar and Mark James Mitchell are directors of both.

The OP does not say when they were referred to Investment Compensation. If it was after 1 April, the case is slightly stronger but I suggest they send the following. Take a copy for yourself and get proof of posting (free from the Post Office)

Debt Advisory Line
Unit 1C, Riparian Way
The Crossings Business Park Cros
Keighley
West Yorkshire
BD20 7AA

[date]

Dear Sirs

Account number [number] - COMPLAINT

I engaged your services to assist me with managing my debts.

However, I wish to complain that you referred me to Investor Compensation Limited in respect of Payment Protection Insurance.

I have now learned that your directors Benjamin George Richard Farrar and Mark James Mitchell are also directors of Investor Compensation Limited.

I therefore wish to complain that you concealed this conflict of interest from me.

I further wish to complain that you failed to inform me that I could easily make a complaint about Payment Protection Insurance myself at no charge, if necessary using the Financial Ombudsman Service.

I put it to you that you concealed this information from me in order to refer business to your directors' other business.

I have now learned not only are businesses selling Payment Protection Insurance bound by the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority but so are all businesses conducting Consumer Credit activities, including Debt Advisory Line Limited.

I therefore require you to meet ALL charges incurred as a result of you failing to disclose your directors' conflict of interest or that I could have made my own complaint free of charge.

I would remind you that you must now issue a written acknowledgement of this complaint and that you must issue me with a final response within 8 weeks of receipt of it. You must also explain how I can take my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service and provide a copy of its booklet.

You must do this at no cost to me.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully.

Notanexpert32

Hello


I am really looking for some advice regarding this topic, I too am a client of Debt Management Line formally Debt Advisory Line, I was referred to Investor Compensation by them several years ago. I was won an amount of money by them from Lloyds TSB, when they contacted me to inform me of the money they said they would have to put the money back into the back account they had won it from and where not able to send a cheque I advised them that if they did that the money they had won would be swallowed up by my overdraft and that as I was on a debt management plan I was in no shape able to pay the charges they said I owed.

They informed me it was the only way and as a result Lloyds quickly took the money back and Investor Compensation sent me a bill for their charges. I had no choice but to add them to my debt management plan which they had no problem doing they have been there ever since getting a total of about £1.20 back per month. This off course has added to my already awful credit rating but after having a conversation with a family member over this I am wondering if in fact I can complain after all these years and refuse to pay the charges?

It must have been somewhere from 2008 - 2010, I would really love some advice on this do I have a legal standing if I have already started paying them back.

dunstonh

but after having a conversation with a family member over this I am wondering if in fact I can complain after all these years and refuse to pay the charges?

The general rule of thumb is to not use a claims company when you are in arrears, defaulted or a have a debt that is near limit. CMCs were not regulated back then either.

Refusing to pay your debt to because you used a CMC is unlikely to be beneficial to you.

magpiecottage

You can indeed complain. You should make clear that you are complaining that they have deceived you into believing you had to complain via their associated company, that they deceived you by failing to disclose that association - and that they misled you by leading you to believe this would make matters better when, in fact, it has only made things worse.

pfhowe

I have been dealing with this company in relation to a claim I made over three years ago, and during that time I have had:

• multiple requests for the same info
• only one call to update me, requesting more information that I have already provided
• about 12 months ago I contacted them again asking for an update, shortly after which I got an email from them explaining the claim was with the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman wanted more info, and guess what, you got it, it was a request for the same info I had already sent them.
• Shortly after they copied me in on an email from the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman stated the company that sold me the PPI had no record of my purchase of the vehicle to which the PPI claim related, which it wouldn't because the registration of the vehicle the Ombudsman stated was not that of the vehicle I purchased. I cannot say whether this was a mistake by IC or the Ombudsman.

A couple of days ago I sent another email to Investor Compensation and have not yet had a response, and I don't expect one.

I can only describe my experience with this company as the worst example of customer service and competency I have ever had. I have resolved myself to expect nothing.

If anyone asked me if I could recommend them I think you can guess what my response would be.

pfhowe

Well, I'm absolutely amazed. I received a letter yesterday from Investor Compensation (IC) with a copy of a letter from the Ombudsman attached advising me that my claim has been upheld. The cover letter from IC advised me that no further action was needed at this time but it became clear that, after reading the attached letter from the Ombudsman, a response form had to be completed, sent to, and received by the Ombudsman, by the 21st August, to make their decision legally binding on the company that sold me the PPI. Of course, I signed the acceptance form and sent it directly to the Ombudsman. Had I not done anything, as IC had instructed, I don't know what the consequence would have been, so I chose not to take a risk.

The letter IC sent me had an handwritten address on the envelope that looked like a child had written it, not very professional, the cover letter from IC was on blank paper, it should have been IC letterhead, and the attached letter from the Ombudsman had been copied to IC letterhead obscuring some of the information on the Ombudsman's paperwork, all very, very wrong.

I am now waiting for the company that sold me the PPI to make an offer. Having signed a contract with IC I will have to pay them 30% plus VAT, which is likely to be in excess of £1000. I will be insisting IC provide me with a detailed VAT invoice before I agree to pay them anything, they are legally obliged to do so.

In my experience it seems these claims management companies (CMC) are making false claims as to how fast they can win compensation for you. Furthermore, once you have commissioned them they simply ask you for information and send it to the company that sold you the PPI and, if necessary, the Ombudsman, all of which you could easily do yourself. I admit I made a mistake employing a CMC, thinking it would be faster and easier. How wrong I was!

Although the outcome of my claim has been positive I would urge anyone making a PPI claim to do it themselves.

jkg1066

I used to work for this company in 2014 and I can tell you it is a rip off and a horrible place to work they are horrible to staff (i got In to trouble as I emailed a director about a call they had I didn't know he was a director) they charge 30% + vat on the gross amount so you pay more than you should they harass customers with text and phone calls a regular complaint I had and if you decide you don't wa t to go ahead they will charge you for time waisted on the case so people get ripped of which is worst for old people , you can get fired for trivial things like not cross selling pba, customers are treated like dirt and staff work in stressful conditions which most could be avoided if managers cared a little more, I would never suggest anyone use this company as they will use underhanded tactics to gain money and if you apply you will be harrased by calls and text which they will not stop sending you so even if you say you will send something the diler will send you calls and text till it is received this can be as little as 30 mins after your call.

I would also suggest to anyone to avoid at all costs

pfhowe

I was notified in August 2015 that my claim had been upheld by the Ombudsman; I did receive notofication from Investor Compensation of this, with a letter attached from the Ombudsman. I commissioned Investor Compensation in 2011, which was a big mistake, and I am still waiting to be notified of any offer. This just goes to show that Investor Compensation do nothing for you; I can only presume that they are waiting for an offer to be sent to me and Investor Compensation are quite happy to sit on their butts, do nothing to chase a settlement, and wait for their 30% plus VAT of any offer I am made.I can only reiterate that no one should use this company, or any CMC for that matter; you can easily do it yourself. I wish I had!