Ripped Off by a Claims firm - Debts 'Unenforceable' Law Change in Scotland ?

TheRealDeal_2

Hey everyone


Last year I signed up to a firm who told me they had a 93% chance of making my debts unenforceable and would get my creditors off my back.

I paid them a 'Review' fee of £324 to look over 3 Credit Cards which afterwards they said they were confident in winning my case for me.

They also said 2 cards had PPI should I want to spend the money on reclaiming that also.

I then got told the cost of doing this would be £1500. Since I was in trouble and had no money, owing out approx. 5x that amount they said they can take monthly payments.

So I agreed to £150 per month for 10 months and stopped paying the Creditors. Eventually after months of harassment with letters and phone calls they accepted the fact I had a claims Firm dealing with it and stopped bothering me.

The silence was bliss and I thought I was getting somewhere...


Anyways after my 10 months of paying my fee had passed I heard nothing so I called my claims firm, they told me 2 out of 3 where now declared 'unenforceable' and the 3rd was still being dealt with.
Also they mentioned they changed Company name.

Positive news at the time ! They then mentioned the 2 cards that had PPI on it and quoted the thousands they could get back, all for a fee of course...

So I went along with this, again thinking positively...

Well today I got a letter saying on of those cards never had PPI !?
Then they put me onto a Legal Team member who told me my debt from the 3 cards was no longer 'Unenforceable' due to a change in the law in Scotland.

They then put me onto another firm who wanted to take the refund I am due of £1500 from my claims company and use it to pay them fees to get me into a Debt management program etc.

I was on the phone for 2 hours being transferred between both companies regularly, they really tried to harass me with Figures, scare mongering and persuade me to join up to this program.

I insisted that it was all too much to take in and need time, I then got so fed up I demanded my £1500 refund and to forget this other offer and I got told No, then told yes but it will be £900 after deductions.

I then got cut off...

I know this is a long post but I couldn't say it in any short lenght, I am in a right bad predicament because of these guys and now they have my money but have left me worse off.

I would like to name them and shame them if it doesn't break any rules on here and would love to hear any advice on what to do here ?
Also can anyone tell me if they have heard of any Changes in Scottish Law that they are referring to ?

I appreciate the help guys.

BoGoF

Short answer is you've been conned and have little chance of seeing that money again.

You still may be able to recover any PPI ig you follow the guidance on this site

TheRealDeal_2

BoGoF wrote: »

Short answer is you've been conned and have little chance of seeing that money again.

You still may be able to recover any PPI ig you follow the guidance on this site

Makes me feel sick to think of it like that, these guys preyed on me when I was at my most vulnerable and desperate for help, surely someone somewhere can stop them from operating like this and refund customers like me who have been ripped off.

The OFT perhaps ? I don't know who but someone must be able to help.

dancingfairy

You need to cancel any dealings with them. I would advise checking any terms and conditions you have and writing to them saying you wish to give notice that from x date you do not require their services. You also need to get them to send any details they have to you as well.
You then need to establish exactly what they have done with the companies- have they paid any money to them? are the debts statute barred or not, what correspondence has been sent etc.
Yes you may also want to write and report them to the authorities as well for misselling etc.
When you know where you stand with your debts you can post on here for help or approach a proper free debt organisation such as a CAB (do you have these in Scotland), National Debtline or CCCS.
df

Fang_3

You can't con and honest man.

TheRealDeal_2

dancingfairy wrote: »

You need to cancel any dealings with them. I would advise checking any terms and conditions you have and writing to them saying you wish to give notice that from x date you do not require their services. You also need to get them to send any details they have to you as well.
You then need to establish exactly what they have done with the companies- have they paid any money to them? are the debts statute barred or not, what correspondence has been sent etc.
Yes you may also want to write and report them to the authorities as well for misselling etc.
When you know where you stand with your debts you can post on here for help or approach a proper free debt organisation such as a CAB (do you have these in Scotland), National Debtline or CCCS.
df

I have told them today I want no more dealings with them, I just want my refund that they promise in the event of them not being successful.

They never paid any money to my Creditors, it was just a case of me paying them and they telling my Creditors that the debt was Unenforceable.

Now that they have failed to do that, they should give me a refund as promised and they are not, instead they are trying to get me to use the money on a Debt management program.

We do have CAB and other places here, they were not much use to me when I asked for help, thats how I ended up with this terrible claims company.

Do you know if its ok on here to name and shame them on here ?

dancingfairy

I do not know if you are allowed to name the dodgy company - probably not to protect this website from libel claims.
Investigating enforceability or whether debts are statute barred are things you will find lots of threads on on here - have a search for them (and it's free). In a nutshell - if you have had no contact from a company you owe money to within a timefame - if you have not written to them or paid them then the debt becomes statute barred if they have not sought a CCJ in that time. I believe that the required timeframe in Scotland is 5 years. If the debt is statute barred then it still technically exists but they are no longer able to chase you for it.
I would get hold of your credit records from the main lenders and go from there.
Oh and whether they are statute barred or not there is plenty of help and advice on here.
Enforceability refers to whether they have sent you the correct legal documents at all points in the process -again lots of threads on this.
df

NorthernLas

OP: I don't know of any change to the law that would make a difference to enforceability (though recent test cases mean that things need to be dealt with more carefully)

I would check your terms and conditions regarding refund. Then I would send a letter recorded post confirming your telephone conversation
- i.e. the debts are enforceable, therefore the company advised you were due a refund and rather than enter a DMP you want them to return your money. Give them a time limit of 14 days to respond and confirm the value of your refund and a list of the charges they are taking out (assuming their terms say they can do this)

I think that you need to assume that you will not get your money back, but you never know.

Then come back and read national debtline (scotland) for information on how to dealt with your debts. Come back on here for help with your budget or for help on working out if your debts are un-enforceble (and what that means to your credit rating - which is probably damaged since you have stopped paying these debts)

PNPSUKNET

This to me is the same, you signed a agreement to pay a card company and you dont want to repay them what you owe. This company has done the same to you, can they find a loophole not to refund you...

TheRealDeal_2

I see what you are all saying and its good advice.

With regards to the company I was paying, there is no paperwork on my part with terms etc. I talked to them over the phone then joined up over the phone and gave them my direct debit details there and then.

Their website claimed that all unsuccessful cases will get a refund but they have since changed name of the company and changed website.

They did however admit to me on the phone today on more than one occasion that they owe me a refund of £1500 but they just tried to impose their will on my to use that money on a debt management program rather than give it back to me.

I refused and demanded it back and was cut off after a heated debate. Their lines were closed for the day after that point.

TheRealDeal_2

Their lines are closed today as well, I will call again tomorrow night and let you all know what happens.