ITC Legal Services & Barclays Bank - Dodgy

portlandboy

This thread refers to my thread in the section "House Buying, Renting and Selling", titled "ITC Legal Services - Avoid Them" and should be noted by any one whos relatives hold accounts with Barclay's Bank. The article below was featured in the Law Gazette. The name "ITC Legal Services" ought to strike fear into anyone who has ever used them for probate work and now that they can get hold of the details of deceased Barclays customers, I worry. They are UNREGULATED.

Probate services company ITC signs deal with Barclays


Thursday 24 September 2009 by Jonathan Rayner

A probate services company which has signed a deal to ­handle Barclays customers was the subject of criticism this week.
ITC Legal Services (ITC), which according to its website has a transparent fixed-fee policy which makes it competitive on price with solicitors, has agreed a third-party arrangement to run Barclays Bank’s deceased case management activities.
As part of the arrangement, ITC has access to all of a deceased person’s Barclays Bank account details, and may refer the bereaved friend or relative to its own, commercially independent probate services division to arrange a home visit. Staff operate from a call centre, where there are four qualified solicitors.
Jeremy Groeger-Wilson, head of the wills and estates team at Kent firm Clarkson Wright & Jakes, questioned ITC’s claims of price competitiveness. He said he was also concerned that vulnerable people may feel under pressure to sign up to the probate service.
A spokeswoman for Barclays Bank said it had come to an official outsourcing arrangement for ITC to become a third-party supplier of deceased case management services on its behalf. ITC, therefore, had access to paperwork and other details relating to the deceased’s bank accounts and other relationships with Barclays Bank. The connection between Barclays Bank and ITC was made clear to customers, she stressed.
ITC chief executive Martin Trees said he was unable to respond to queries put to him by the Gazette, but endorsed the comments from Barclays Bank.

Paul_Herring

Linky to thread to save anyone looking for it.

Troubled_Joe

That story was on the front page of this week's Gazette. I read it the other day and thought of your original thread.

portlandboy

Troubled_Joe wrote: »

That story was on the front page of this week's Gazette. I read it the other day and thought of your original thread.

A big worry I think. Glad I haven't got an account with Barclays...I'd be frightened to death of dying!!

portlandboy

Paul_Herring wrote: »

Linky to thread to save anyone looking for it.

Thanks a lot. Did have a bit of bother trying to do that myself.

boldminer

I am in the midst of a complex and bitter complaint process with ITC; I'll post a full report when and if I get a result. I have gone through their complaint process via Martin Trees who referred me to their Customer Complaints Manager which was ironic because much of my concern was based on her in - action and misrepresentation. ITC have misled me and their appalling lack of communication and have caused me more distress than I could have ever envisaged.
i've discussed it with my solicitor who says that I have a strong case but it would be a long and expensive process to take them to court.
Has anyone had any sucess with their own solicitor or trading standards officers?:cool:

portlandboy

boldminer wrote: »

I am in the midst of a complex and bitter complaint process with ITC; I'll post a full report when and if I get a result. I have gone through their complaint process via Martin Trees who referred me to their Customer Complaints Manager which was ironic because much of my concern was based on her in - action and misrepresentation. ITC have misled me and their appalling lack of communication and have caused me more distress than I could have ever envisaged.
i've discussed it with my solicitor who says that I have a strong case but it would be a long and expensive process to take them to court.
Has anyone had any sucess with their own solicitor or trading standards officers?:cool:

Sorry I cant be of any assistance regarding the solicitor side of your problem but I just wondered if you had also read my other post/thread regarding ITC's practices. There are more people who are getting close to involving solicitors posting there than on this thread. Here is the link:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1935955&highlight=itc+avoid

Do keep us up to date on your progress, thanks.
Regards

Super09

boldminer wrote: »

I am in the midst of a complex and bitter complaint process with ITC; I'll post a full report when and if I get a result. I have gone through their complaint process via Martin Trees who referred me to their Customer Complaints Manager which was ironic because much of my concern was based on her in - action and misrepresentation. ITC have misled me and their appalling lack of communication and have caused me more distress than I could have ever envisaged.
i've discussed it with my solicitor who says that I have a strong case but it would be a long and expensive process to take them to court.
Has anyone had any sucess with their own solicitor or trading standards officers?:cool:

House of Horror indeed.....I worked for ITC Legal Services for almost a year and unfortunately what you are experiencing is pretty much the norm there

angrygirlie

portlandboy wrote: »

This thread refers to my thread in the section "House Buying, Renting and Selling", titled "ITC Legal Services - Avoid Them" and should be noted by any one whos relatives hold accounts with Barclay's Bank. The article below was featured in the Law Gazette. The name "ITC Legal Services" ought to strike fear into anyone who has ever used them for probate work and now that they can get hold of the details of deceased Barclays customers, I worry. They are UNREGULATED.

Probate services company ITC signs deal with Barclays


Thursday 24 September 2009 by Jonathan Rayner

A probate services company which has signed a deal to ­handle Barclays customers was the subject of criticism this week.
ITC Legal Services (ITC), which according to its website has a transparent fixed-fee policy which makes it competitive on price with solicitors, has agreed a third-party arrangement to run Barclays Bank’s deceased case management activities.
As part of the arrangement, ITC has access to all of a deceased person’s Barclays Bank account details, and may refer the bereaved friend or relative to its own, commercially independent probate services division to arrange a home visit. Staff operate from a call centre, where there are four qualified solicitors.
Jeremy Groeger-Wilson, head of the wills and estates team at Kent firm Clarkson Wright & Jakes, questioned ITC’s claims of price competitiveness. He said he was also concerned that vulnerable people may feel under pressure to sign up to the probate service.
A spokeswoman for Barclays Bank said it had come to an official outsourcing arrangement for ITC to become a third-party supplier of deceased case management services on its behalf. ITC, therefore, had access to paperwork and other details relating to the deceased’s bank accounts and other relationships with Barclays Bank. The connection between Barclays Bank and ITC was made clear to customers, she stressed.
ITC chief executive Martin Trees said he was unable to respond to queries put to him by the Gazette, but endorsed the comments from Barclays Bank.

Trading Standards come in here as the 'transparent fixed fee' is utter deceit. Fixed fee PLUS legal charges to the firm of solicitors who do the legal work for ITC and are the third party so they (the solicitors) are paid as a disbursement (thats extra charges to a third party by us ), so all the necessary 'legal' work that HAS to carried out for probate is not part of the fixed fee ITC claim to charge.

ITC's fixed fee for professional charges are for not responding to your requests, not communicating correct information, mis leading you, brow beating you, not returning your calls, losing your paperwork, requesting you resend paperwork again and again, not sending anything you request without you constantly phoning and phoning, telling you that it won't happen again and when it does, telling you that the company has made improvements by learning from your misery etc ect ect

I was charged £120 for Probate application (a necessary requirement but does not come into ITC's 'fixed charge')
My solicitor told me what a solicitor does for the application. He writes ONE letter!!!!! yes folks ITC charge you that much money for a solicitor that they farm the 'legal' work out to and then charge it as a disbursment because no one actually employed by ITC are solicitors because if ITC did actually employ solicitors, then the company would have to be regulated.

Hence how they get away from being 'unregulated' as the solicitors they appoint to do the work for you and me and all the other victims, are appointed by ITC so if one of those solicitors (who would be regulated by the Law Society) does anything that would be professionally incorrect, the only person that can make a complaint to the Law Society would be ITC because ITC have appointed the solicitor, not you, I or any other victim. Could I be wrong in piecing this company together on how they operate or does anyone want to correct my conclusions? Please someone put me right if I am wrong.

And if you go to the other thread 'ITC Legal services Avoid Them', there are already posts from people who used ITC Legal Services on the advice of Barclays Bank and have been ripped off, and suffered at the hands of this unregulated company

Helpful_soul

ITC do employ solicitors - go to the Law Society website, click find a solicitor, change the settings to organisation search, then search for INDEPENDENT TRUST CORPORATION. They are registered under organisation ID 450577. This still doesn't make ITC regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority but it does make the individual solicitors they employ are regulated. Those ITC solicitors have to comply with the guide to Proffessional Conduct of Solicitors.

Use this as you need to

portlandboy

Helpful_soul wrote: »

ITC do employ solicitors - go to the Law Society website, click find a solicitor, change the settings to organisation search, then search for INDEPENDENT TRUST CORPORATION. They are registered under organisation ID 450577. This still doesn't make ITC regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority but it does make the individual solicitors they employ are regulated. Those ITC solicitors have to comply with the guide to Proffessional Conduct of Solicitors.

Use this as you need to

Quite right, ITC do employ "real" solicitors. They use a company called GPB and I have spoken to them directly regarding problems with their effeciency in dealing with my case at ITC. GPB blame ITC and ITC blame GPB. The problem is that, as a customer of ITC, you have no right in law to complain about their solicitors' conduct as you have no contract with them and you have no official body to complain to regarding ITC!

The only ones that can question the performance of GPB are ITC and they aren't likely to complain about their own solicitor because if they do, ITC will lose the interest they earn by keeping estate values in their own accounts for far longer that reasonable and have to find another solicitor that is happy to be the whipping boy for ITC!

I do wonder why a reputable solicitor would even begin to think that being connected with ITC was a good advert for their company. It must have its benefits though...;)