any one heard of of used Pro-active-legal to reclaim ppi???

woodgirl

New on here but wondered if I should use this company to reclaim my ppi back for me. I have had at least 10 credit card/loans and had 4 addresses but do not have any paper work as I am now debt free. Pro-active-legal phoned me today and said I was entitled to money but they want £299.99 + vat up front, just wondered if anyone has used them or if its a scam

Thanks

Rachel

dunstonh

I have had at least 10 credit card/loans and had 4 addresses but do not have any paper work as I am now debt free

A claims company wont help you there. You still have to give them the information for them to send in their one-size-fits-all template letter that takes about 30 seconds to generate.

Pro-active-legal phoned me today and said I was entitled to money but they want £299.99 + vat up front, just wondered if anyone has used them or if its a scam

First of all you are not entitled to money. You are entitled to complain and that complaint may or may not lead to redress. No cold calling company knows what you have or whether you were mis-sold or not. If they start telling you that you are entitled to money or you were mis-sold despite having no facts given to them then you can assume it is a scam.

Advance fee fraud is a very common scam with dodgy claims companies. I dont know if it is the case here as I didnt hear your call. However, you can decide for yourself. If the cold caller got little or no information from you about your debts, how they were set up and sold, what documentation you have etc but then tells you that you are entitled to £xyz but it will cost you £abc first then that would suggest advance fee fraud.

woodgirl

Thank you for taking the time to reply, I think I will avoid this company then. I will attempt to get the money back myself, that is of course like you say if I am entiltled to any. I was of the view it would be a lot less faffing for me if a ppi reclaim company did it for me but shelling out in excess £350 before I even start does seem to defeat the objective...Pro-active-legal did however say that I would get that back once the owed ppi had been claimed. They did also state that they were approved by the Ministry of Justice but again I'm not sure if this means they are not fraudsters, pro-active-legal.co.uk is their website which they include a link to a .gov website?!?! I did give them quite a lot of information but no account numbers etc

dunstonh

Pro-active-legal did however say that I would get that back once the owed ppi had been claimed.

All the scammers say that as well. Cartel took about £38 million of people before they went under taking it all with them. Kerobo did millions too.

They did also state that they were approved by the Ministry of Justice

The ministry of justice does not approve any company. They are authorised but not approved. Also, both you and I could get set up and authorised by the MoJ within a couple of weeks. It requires no knowledge, experience, qualifications or anything other than a promise to abide by a small number of rules.

woodgirl

Thanks again and I'm glad I asked on here.

magpiecottage

If you think that being regulated by the Ministry of Justice is a worthy endorsement do a search for Lifestyle Claims on this website.

And if you think claims chasers are competent or ethical look at some of the posts by an idiot calling himself ppidisgrace and my responses to them.

woodgirl

magpiecottage I have just looked up Lifestyle Claims, sounds like they are very similar to the company that contacted me...total sharks! In regards to what I think about being regulated by the MoJ, its means absolutely nothing to me, hence why I asked on here. The same goes for PPI claims companies too but thanks for your reply, I will definately look into claiming PPI myself.

murphyslaw1953

Could anyone help me and let me know if they know if the company Pro active Legal is above board. I received a call from them today and they said they could let me know within 2 - 3 weeks if we are entitled to any refund and if we were we would receive the money within 8 weeks. I really dont know if I should go ahead as Im afraid it might be a scam.
Thanks in advance if anyone can help me.

dunstonh

I received a call from them today and they said they could let me know within 2 - 3 weeks if we are entitled to any refund

Claims companies are not allowed to say things like that. It is against MoJ rules to suggest unrealistic time-scales.

What are they telling you they could get back?
What are they charging you?

murphyslaw1953

dunstonh wrote: »

Claims companies are not allowed to say things like that. It is against MoJ rules to suggest unrealistic time-scales.

What are they telling you they could get back?
What are they charging you?

Thank you so much for your reply. They asked me how much I had paid for my mortage and then said it could be a few thousand I might get back. They are'nt charging anything up front but if I do receive a refund they would take 30 per cent plus vat. They have sent me 3 emails from a company called Real Times Claims with some updates also 1 for my electronic email signature but also say they are sending me pack in the post which I should receive Saturday or Monday to sign and return. I am just so confused and unsure of what to do. Thanks again for your help.

dunstonh

They asked me how much I had paid for my mortage and then said it could be a few thousand I might get back.

That is a fake reason. For example, independent mortgage advisers are required by law to offer a fee option. There is no issue regarding up front fees on mortgage advice. Indeed, it is probable you paid little or nothing to a broker in up front fees as most rely on the commission from the lender. How much did you pay the broker? Did you even use a broker? When did you do it? (brokers did not become regulated until Oct 2004)

They are'nt charging anything up front but if I do receive a refund they would take 30 per cent plus vat.

What normally happens on these as they charge nothing initially and then come back 4-8 weeks later saying that they feel you have a case and would get back £made-up-figure but for their solicitors to proceed they need £x off you. You are so enticed by the made up figure you are getting that you willingly pay the smaller fee. There are no solicitors and you dont have a case.

I am just so confused and unsure of what to do.

You are putting in a complaint against what is likely to be a small mortgage broker/adviser firm. The individual adviser/broker is going to have to deal with your complaint and it will go on their personal record. It will give them sleepless nights with stress and anxiety and incur them costs even if they reject it. So, you should not do this lightly. This is not some big faceless bank you are complaining about. There are consequences to the people you are complaining to.

So, before you proceed and lose your money, think about what you are doing. How much did you pay the broker? You know now that brokers can be paid and indeed, many by law are required to charge. You may not have paid a penny. However, even if it was expensive (compared to others) there is no grounds for complaint as the fee is agreed. No different to say when you get three builders in to quote a job and one says £10,000, another says £8000 and one says £20,000. If you choose to go with the £20,000 one then that is your choice. Nothing wrong with it legally.