Lloyds Action Now - are they genuine?

blaven · 15 December 2011 at 8:39PM

I initially signed up with LAN on-line and then, on receiving advice, decided within 24 hours not to go ahead. I found it impossible to contact them but as I had not signed any paper I assumed I was not liable. I have now received the demand from LAN. My first thought was to phone them and explain, however communication does not appear to be one of there preferred options as they have no telephone number on their letter heading. All appears rather sharp practice for a group sopposed to be representing those who have already paid the price for being trusting. Advice on the legal way forward would be appreciated.

katy_the_second · 15 December 2011 at 8:57PM

i have also recieved a letter in the post this morning the same as the email petersteve recieved i thought i was making a enquiry when i registered i looked at all the things they needed to be filled in then there was the fee they would require and thought this is not for me so i did no more i for one cannot remember reading anything that said if i registered i would be commiting myself to make any payments i recieved several emails asking me to send my membership fee in the end i returned one of this emails saying that i no longer wanted anything to do with Lloyds action group and to remove me from there registar i would also like to know can they legal make poeple pay up if we never signed any documentation also seems a strange time to send a letter like this giving us 21 days to pay when on the bottom of page two it states that our offices are closed from midday 23rd december to 3rd january 2012 the letter is dated 12 december 2011

sysardman · 17 December 2011 at 2:00PM

talexuser wrote: »

Anybody got a copy of the original online sign up page?

If it was not clearly stated in simple language that you are signing up to pay £XXX immediately then it can be thrown out as an unfair contract.

This threatening letter sounds like as big a scam as the original action group.

dew423o01j wrote: »

My 90 year old father has received the same communication. He can't remember signing up for this (online) although he is certain he didn't send any signed (physical) forms back. Can anyone advise what he should do?

My father who is 85 also got one of the threatening letters which is basically the way LAN are trying to make up their subscriber shortfall. The point LAN are using is a tick box on the 2nd page of registration that says you 'accept irrevocably' the terms and conditions of the contract etc. My father says he did not check the box but instead closed the browser because he was unsure. The problem is that LAN are using the fact that they have your details by that stage and are trying to scare people with threatening legal looking documents hoping they will pay up out of fear.

Having looked at their website it is no better than a Nigerian scam site, it avoids giving out contact information, it has no ID checks to ensure the person filling out the form is who they say they are (hackers delight), it does not work well with some browsers, but there are no warnings and is full of lies and mis-truths ie "The response was very gratifying and there is no reason for the committee to take any steps to recover outstanding dues" - well what about browbeating terrified pensioners with official looking legal letters!!!!!

Also I noticed that LSEdwards was slipping into threat mode when he challenged those who disagreed with him to reveal themselves and suffer the consequences. Well you show me yours and I'll show you mine, if you want to settle this like men I am not afraid of a face-off.

Anyway to those who are in receipt of these offensive pieces of trash, I would advise not paying because they cannot take you to court on the basis of a poorly designed website where there is no proof that the accept box was checked or not. There is no legally binding contract made and their paperwork even states that you are not considered a registered member until the fees are paid. Recipients of these letters should actually be forming a group and taking these creeps to court for harassment and emotional distress.

dew423o01j · 17 December 2011 at 3:09PM

I have looked at my father's computer and followed the steps to sign up to see what information he would have been presented when 'registering'.

At the screen with the tickbox (about irrevocably accepting terms etc), when I clicked to open the document with full T&Cs I just get a blank screen. My father has Firefox browser rather the IE - I don't know if this is the issue.

I clicked on 'next' but was just presented with a load of server errors.

I have no intention of letting him pay the money, but am wondering what evidence I need to collect in case of further harassment. Do I need to capture a video of this process with missing information?

One other thing - on reading the main screen of the LAN website there is an update saying:

"We have made great strides in taking this case forward. A full report will be published shortly. As LAN moves to a funded and insured methodology it was necessary to complete the formalities of the membership of LANA before 3rd January 2012 to pave the way for Lloyds Action Now Funded Association (LANF) being established.

Thank you to the members who paid their outstanding dues in response to the request for payment.The response was very gratifying and there is no reason for the committee to take any steps to recover outstanding dues. Membership of LANA will close on 3rd January 2012 and after that shareholders will only be able to join LANF; those few who are still not paid up and who on 3rd January 2012 are still not paid up will have their LANA membership rejected but they may then join LANF. We urge those who have yet to pay to do so as soon as possible. Remember LAN is by LTSB shareholders for LTSB shareholders and we are now on the march to get compensation for what was done to our hard earned investments."

Is this a recent update? The part I've highlighted in red seems to suggest that they won't go after anyone who doesn't pay up and that their membership will just be cancelled. Good news if that's the case, although it really upsets me to think of the people who have been bullied into making payment, especially at this time of year.

I'm disgusted by the whole thing.

sysardman · 17 December 2011 at 4:08PM

dew423o01j wrote: »

I have no intention of letting him pay the money, but am wondering what evidence I need to collect in case of further harassment. Do I need to capture a video of this process with missing information?
I'm disgusted by the whole thing.

I am only too happy to provide you with a corroborating statement should you need it. Their site is pathetic to say the least, I mean they claim it forms a legally binding contract - with who????? there is no ID check as stated in my last post so it could be anybody using your details to fill the form in.
I'm sure the LAN concept had good intentions but the people in charge seem to have the same lowlife moral scruples of the banks and government people they are complaining about. If their cause was so just why aren't the ambulance chasers queueing up so help them???

Gillywrinkles · 17 December 2011 at 8:56PM

RE the LAN threat, we have also received all of the above e-mails and recent letter, and as a result of contacting the Telegraph, it does look like we have a saviour PLEASE EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY THIS GET TOMORROW'S (18/12/2011) COPY OF SUNDAY TELEGRAPH. With luck the threat has been withdrawn. We also feel if there is any way we can all group together and react accordingly, we are in.

sysardman wrote: »

My father who is 85 also got one of the threatening letters which is basically the way LAN are trying to make up their subscriber shortfall. The point LAN are using is a tick box on the 2nd page of registration that says you 'accept irrevocably' the terms and conditions of the contract etc. My father says he did not check the box but instead closed the browser because he was unsure. The problem is that LAN are using the fact that they have your details by that stage and are trying to scare people with threatening legal looking documents hoping they will pay up out of fear.

Having looked at their website it is no better than a Nigerian scam site, it avoids giving out contact information, it has no ID checks to ensure the person filling out the form is who they say they are (hackers delight), it does not work well with some browsers, but there are no warnings and is full of lies and mis-truths ie "The response was very gratifying and there is no reason for the committee to take any steps to recover outstanding dues" - well what about browbeating terrified pensioners with official looking legal letters!!!!!

Also I noticed that LSEdwards was slipping into threat mode when he challenged those who disagreed with him to reveal themselves and suffer the consequences. Well you show me yours and I'll show you mine, if you want to settle this like men I am not afraid of a face-off.

Anyway to those who are in receipt of these offensive pieces of trash, I would advise not paying because they cannot take you to court on the basis of a poorly designed website where there is no proof that the accept box was checked or not. There is no legally binding contract made and their paperwork even states that you are not considered a registered member until the fees are paid. Recipients of these letters should actually be forming a group and taking these creeps to court for harassment and emotional distress.
PS I have now passed on the LAN bank account numbers and sort codes to our Nigerian friends for their perusal.
PPS IF my father gets any more of these threatening letters I will show you what threat really means

katy_the_second · 17 December 2011 at 10:56PM

the thought went through my mind to send a cheque for £240 pounds and a covering letter to state that if the cheque is cashed i will take them to a small claims court to retrieve the money the thing is am just a simple sole nad that would be a big commitment it would be to expensive to take proper legal advice and with christmas here there is very little time anybody got any thought on this
just would like to know if by not signing any document can we still be held liable

finally i think we should all send a email even a copy if of the letter if you can to which ever national paper we read read the name of a reporter and take a chance for instance [EMAIL="joe.blogs@dailywhatever.co.uk"]joe.blogs@dailywhatever.co.uk[/EMAIL]

sysardman · 18 December 2011 at 6:42AM

Gillywrinkles wrote: »

RE the LAN threat, we have also received all of the above e-mails and recent letter, and as a result of contacting the Telegraph, it does look like we have a saviour PLEASE EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY THIS GET TOMORROW'S (18/12/2011) COPY OF SUNDAY TELEGRAPH. With luck the threat has been withdrawn. We also feel if there is any way we can all group together and react accordingly, we are in.

I'm sorry I'm not allowed to post links but the article can be found on the telegraph.co.uk website under the Finance setion