Bank-smart now charging me!

Hastings69

I have this morning received an email from them saying they have received my complaint, and that they will get back to me ASAP.

I also contacted the legal ombudsman and told them the whole story, they have it on file also, so fingers crossed both our situations will be resolved to our satisfaction soon.

As they also haven't got my full name (Middle name is missing) i am going to state that the bill be discharged as the person named on it isn't me.

Let's see if that works, Good luck and keep in touch

7yearnightmare

Just spent more precious time on the phone thanks to Bank-Smart. Contacted Claims Regulation who took details then put me in contact with the Legal Ombudsman and finally Credit Services Association to lodge a complaint against MIL Collections. The Legal Ombudsman told me that they have had several complaints in the past few days about the very same thing. Bank-Smart randomly contacting past clients making demands for random amounts. £2461.50!! From what I can see on this thread that is the highest fee mentioned. Just my luck! Add to that a collections agency threatening me with bankruptcy just as I'm coming to the end of an IVA that has lasted for 7 years.

I'm off to yoga before work. I definitely need it today.

Best wishes peeps. I'll keep you updated on events.

Smiles :-)

LittleAcorns

Hi all,

I've received a letter from Bank Smart saying I owe £267 for Breach of Contract.

Not sure whether I should be paying it or not...?

[Quote from the letter: We are currently awaiting the return of at least one document which is required for us to complete your claim reference XXXXX against XXXXX

As you have not yet returned this document to us you are in breach of your agreement with us. This is a minor breach of one of the terms and we are entitled to recover damages in relation to this specific claim, amounting to work we have completed to date ... ... Our T&Cs confirm that we charge commission on a successful settlement, subject to agreed terms. We don't charge a fee unless your claim is settled successfully, however you may incur a charge should you decide to cancel your claims or breach your agreement with us]

I have emailed them to ask for a copy of my LOA, but I don't know whether to pay the £267 or not

ricardo274

LittleAcorns wrote: »

Hi all,

I've received a letter from Bank Smart saying I owe £267 for Breach of Contract.

Not sure whether I should be paying it or not...?

[Quote from the letter: We are currently awaiting the return of at least one document which is required for us to complete your claim reference XXXXX against XXXXX

As you have not yet returned this document to us you are in breach of your agreement with us. This is a minor breach of one of the terms and we are entitled to recover damages in relation to this specific claim, amounting to work we have completed to date ... ... Our T&Cs confirm that we charge commission on a successful settlement, subject to agreed terms. We don't charge a fee unless your claim is settled successfully, however you may incur a charge should you decide to cancel your claims or breach your agreement with us]

I have emailed them to ask for a copy of my LOA, but I don't know whether to pay the £267 or not

Hi Little acorns, I received exactly the same worded letter , they told me they were sending out a document to sign but still not received it.How can they bill you for work if they need a signed document to proceed with your claim. Don't pay as this company is trying to scam loads of people in to paying for work which they are not actually carrying out.

magpiecottage

You MUST make the complaint to Banksmart immediately you get this letter. This can be done by e-mail to support@bank-smart.co.uk

They then have eight weeks to respond to it. You have from when they respond, or the end of the eight weeks if sooner, until six months from the date of the response to go to the Legal Ombudsman.

If you do not get the complaint to the Ombudsman within six months of the response from Banksmart, they can timebar it. Given the reports that they claim to have sent letters people have not received, if I were you I would get straight on to the Ombudsman as soon as the eight weeks have expired to ensure that they cannot timebar.

Dougie678

I too have the misfortune of dealing with Banksmart.
I contacted them a few years ago & in the last year I began receiving settlements from Lloyds.

I was then invoiced by Banksmart & settled a couple of them.
Then I was contacted by Lloyds to say banksmart were attempting to deal with a claim & that they couldn't provide a LOA.

On checking my records I found I still had the original loa unsigned & that they were never authorised to deal with this in the first place.
Lloyds then blocked banksmart on the claim & since this Banksmart have invoiced me for a cancelled claim??!


I have received a number of invoices one around £1500 & various other ones & can not find any records that I signed to support these.
Including ridiculous fees also.

Last week I recieved an invoice £1300 from MIL collections regarding a Banksmart claim.

Reading the online t&cs I have notice one LOA per claim is needed, this certainly was the case with me. I also do not know where the t&cs I must have agreed to are.

I believe Banksmart are fraudently making claims on my behalf, I have read that my first port of call would be to make SAR against them.

How do I do this?

I would appreciate any feedback & advice to help me deal with this company, thanks in advance.


Dougie

magpiecottage

No - just start by making the complaint to the e-mail address I have given.

That way it will cost you nothing unless they can come up with the goods.

LittleAcorns

magpiecottage wrote: »

You MUST make the complaint to Banksmart immediately you get this letter. This can be done by e-mail to support@bank-smart.co.uk

They then have eight weeks to respond to it. You have from when they respond, or the end of the eight weeks if sooner, until six months from the date of the response to go to the Legal Ombudsman.

If you do not get the complaint to the Ombudsman within six months of the response from Banksmart, they can timebar it. Given the reports that they claim to have sent letters people have not received, if I were you I would get straight on to the Ombudsman as soon as the eight weeks have expired to ensure that they cannot timebar.

Hi magpiecottage, thanks for your reply.

I emailed BS and asked them for a copy of my LOA... sadly (for me) they have emailed me back with a copy of document A2890 (Third Party Authorisation and Agreement) signed by me almost three years ago

I guess it's not worth me contact the Ombudsman???

Alpine_Star

LittleAcorns wrote: »

I emailed BS and asked them for a copy of my LOA... sadly (for me) they have emailed me back with a copy of document A2890 (Third Party Authorisation and Agreement) signed by me almost three years ago

I think the Third Party Authorisation is the LOA.

LittleAcorns

Alpine_Star wrote: »

I think the Third Party Authorisation is the LOA.

Yeah I thought it might be...

Dangit. Oh well, looks like I'm £267 out of pocket (annoying when I have just been made redundant, but hey)

Thanks for your help.