Problem With iSmart Consumer Solutions

adam_thedon

Gordon_G wrote: »

Before reading these articles, I entered a cliaim with I Smart in Dewc 2012.
Any communication received has only been forthcoming after I chased!
Finally this morning I sent a terse email referring to the "bad publicity" on this and other sites - lo and behold, within an hour I received a telephone call from them. Not much help though with comments like they are still waiting for the lender to respond!
Steer clear.

what do you expect them to do if they are waiting for the lender to respond? they can't force an answer. it's people like you that are too lazy to reclaim yourself so you get a CMC to do it for you then moan about the service.
they do adv 8-12 weeks to get an offer and update every 4 weeks via email, i know this because i claimed with them and had success.

Stupid_Question

adam_thedon wrote: »

what do you expect them to do if they are waiting for the lender to respond? they can't force an answer. it's people like you that are too lazy to reclaim yourself so you get a CMC to do it for you then moan about the service.
they do adv 8-12 weeks to get an offer and update every 4 weeks via email, i know this because i claimed with them and had success.

Apologies, this started as a general comment on your post and descended into somewhat of a rant! I realise most of you are already aware of the uselessness of CMCs, hopefully someone who isn't sees this and thinks twice.

While they may not be able to force a response they could speed up the process by adopting some semblance of professionalism.

I honestly can't believe that CMCs make such a mess of such a simple process. If they sent all of the information requested by a lender first time, to the correct address / department in the correct format they would be paid quicker, surely that's what they want!

I am also tired of receiving letters from them quoting various irrelevant legislation and threatening all sorts of nonsense. I recently dealt with one, not iSmart, who were repeatedly writing to us requesting information on someone who wasn't nor had ever been a customer of ours. We had written back and forth with standard letters and they had responded with standard letters. Eventually we wrote them a letter in the clearest possible terms explaining that this person had never had any relationship with us and to please leave us alone, we don't have time for your continued idiocy.

Obviously they missed the point and replied stating they were sending this complaint to the FSA. I decided to call them, thinking they may just have a correspondence escalation process that had no process in place for this situation and was being blindly followed.

What followed was a 20 minute argument where the CMC accused me of breaching the Freedom of Information Act, which I glossed over however they then repeatedly asked me why I was referring to the Data Protection Act!

They then quoted various non relevant parts of DISP at me, mainly regarding reporting of complaints, became increasingly irate and demanded to speak with my manager, to which i refused, they then advised they would be reporting this to Watchdog, and that they would be taking a recording of the call with them. I advised that they cannot do that as they had not informed me that the call would be being recorded. They swore and hung up.

They have the easiest job in history, they are a glorified mail forwarding service yet still manage to make a complete and utter hash of it. They have no access to any other channels of complaint, they cannot demand more money for you. They may even harm your complaint with lies in their template letters/consumer questionnaires.

There is absolutely no need to use them, even the argument that they make it easier is a nonsense. You do all of the work and they forward it on!

As an aside related to this topic, where I work iSmart sent in a large volume of complaints around 2-3 years ago and escalated the majority to FOS. Neither us nor FOS heard from them for a year or so and the complaints were closed. Attempting to explain to them that they need to be communicating with FOS and not sending us continual threats of escalating their previously escalated complaints to FOS is not really working. Absolute jokers!

[Deleted User]

adam_thedon wrote: »

i claimed with them and had success.

But you could have claimed without them and had even more "success".:p

Is anyone else suspicious when someone registers with the forum only to post in support of a Claims Management Company?:D

Brains64

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

But you could have claimed without them and had even more "success".:p

Is anyone else suspicious when someone registers with the forum only to post in support of a Claims Management Company?:D

Blimey, well if it is a CMC undercover promoter then they're not exactly making me want to use one, comments like "it's people like you that are too lazy to reclaim yourself so you get a CMC to do it for you then moan about the service" are hardly going to inspire anyone to want to use a CMC:rotfl:, had they said something like "there's nothing wrong with people using a CMC I've used one myself with great success" then that might be more like someone who's supporting them and encouraging others to do so, that aside, things can go wrong when making a PPI complaint anyway, whether through a CMC or the DIY route a bank or any other kind of lender can decide to play hard ball, this particular CMC iSmart sound especially bad though, if anyone is really determined to use a CMC then choose carefully.

[Deleted User]

Brains64 wrote: »

Blimey, well if it is a CMC undercover promoter then they're not exactly making me want to use one,

I said nothing about promoting them.

Joining the forum only to speak in such defensive terms of this company just makes me suspicious, especially when the company in question has had such bad press.

picky123

They are all just as bad.

The only bright side.......... by the end of this year the whole thing will have ended, we must be getting close by now, and all those idiots on the phone / failing to reply to letters etc will all be in the job centre looking for new jobs.
Roll on 2014

Gordon_G_2

adam_thedon wrote: »

what do you expect them to do if they are waiting for the lender to respond? they can't force an answer. it's people like you that are too lazy to reclaim yourself so you get a CMC to do it for you then moan about the service.
they do adv 8-12 weeks to get an offer and update every 4 weeks via email, i know this because i claimed with them and had success.

Sorry Adam - the last thing anyone could call me is lazy!! Worked for 60 years without a break and was in office work for most of that time. I'm now 76, on dialysis three times a week and frankly not up to chasing faceless people at Banks, Building Societies etc!
As I said in my earlier post, I put a claim in with I Smart before I read this discussion page!
Latest info is that I had a fourth request for an account number when I told them five months ago I didn't have one. I have answered what few emails I have had from them within 24 hours!
No, not lazy, just don't like innefficiency.
Incidentally, they don not send updates every fpur weeks or so - I have to chase them.

yamaha450f

i am new to these forums and having read about ismart i can honestly agree with the complaints i entered into an agreement in 2009 about ppi i sent documentation registered post from various banks of which they lost after 3 months i cancelled any further dealings i then contacted the bank and the fos after a short period i was given an offer of which i accepted then in december 2013 over 4 years later i received an email from ismart along with an invoice for work done on my behalf i contacted the ministry of justice and the case is ongoing i have since received a phone call from a debt collection agency requesting payment along with threats how a company of this nature can survive go it alone its easy

Steve_Perry_2

I have just recieved a letter from solicitors acting on I smart's behalf threatening a Bankrupcy Petition. The last dealings I had with them was back in 2010 when they tried to claim a commission for a claim that I made direct to the loan company who I had taken out PPI.

The amount they are claiming is outrageous and bears absolutely no relevance to the amount I recieved .

Luckily I kept a copy of the letter I sent to them with proof from the Financial Ombudsman and from the Lender outlining the fact that I had dealt with them direct.

Personally I found them a complete waste of time hence the fact that I dealt direct .
I do wonder if they think you would have no reference and either mislaid any correspondence as it was such a long time ago ?

jack1234567

I agree with the last post, a waste of time and to be honest should be reported but who to?

I have just received a threatening email from them, well their collectors, about costs that have not been paid yet were paid back in 2012. After a very annoying phone call I was told that this is my problem and I have to prove that I paid o, lucky I don't trust any one and kept the paperwork. I have sent the associated company Wilson Rose the information and guess what, no response or reply from them.

It seems that ismart do not keep their information current and will constantly pester you. As the post before, they didn't do a thing, I did it all and they have the here to call themselves helpful and professional.