Being threatened with court action to pay back commission

magic_bloke

Hi, in 2013 I took out 3 insurance policies through a broker called Mortgagepro UK Ltd. I signed a client agreement that stated if I cancelled the policies within 4 years I would be liable for any lost commission clawed back by the insurance company.

In January 2015 I found I could not afford the premiums and cancelled the policies. I had forgot about the client agreement & heard nothing from Mortgagepro UK Ltd.

Last week I received a call from a director of a company called Mortgage & Insurance Professionals. He claimed I owed his company the money and said he was willing to go to court if I didn't pay. I have since received 3 texts. I then got a letter stating the debt had been sold for £1 to another company called Fast Reclaims. I noted the director who contacted me had signed as a director of Mortgage & Insurance Professionals AND Fast Reclaims.

I wrote to Mortgage & Insurance Professionals asking to provide proof I owed them the money because they were not the company (Mortgagepro UK Ltd) that I had originally done business with. I received a text from the director saying he will prove I owe the money in court. I don't see how anyone would pay nearly £1,200 on the basis of a telephone conversation & a few texts.

This is where the plot thickens and I thank you for sticking with me so far. I searched the Company House website. It showed that Mortgagepro UK Ltd were in liquidation and a new company called Mortgage & Insurance Professionals had been set up at the same address & the director who contacted me was a director for both companies. Also, these companies sound very alike, but are not the same.

I am really REALLY worried. I always pay money I owe, but so far I have not received anything in writing requesting this money. I can not afford legal advice & the thought of going to court scares me.

I am not going to pay until I receive proof I owe the money, but this director seems very keen to go to court rather than supply the information I am requesting.

What am I to do? I am writing this after 1am because I can't sleep because of the worry. I hope someone can help.

Thanks in advance.

dunstonh

I wrote to Mortgage & Insurance Professionals asking to provide proof I owed them the money because they were not the company (Mortgagepro UK Ltd) that I had originally done business with. I received a text from the director saying he will prove I owe the money in court. I don't see how anyone would pay nearly £1,200 on the basis of a telephone conversation & a few texts.

Going to court doesnt work that way. They have to supply evidence in the court documents and you get to see that evidence before you go to court. At that point, you can agree to pay up without going to court.

BTW, stop using texts. You will be asked for your evidence and you cannot print off text messages.

You need to ask for a copy of the agreement that shows how much you owe and a breakdown of that cost as you dispute the amount. Send it be signed for post and keep a copy. This will build your evidence that you are not refusing to pay but want to verify what it is that you are paying for. Judges dislike people that go straight to court to get money and if you can show you have been trying to find out what it is for and they have not co-operated then the judge may even throw it out before it gets to court. Everything you do now must be logged and copies kept.

Quentin

magic_bloke wrote: »

....I signed a client agreement that stated if I cancelled the policies within 4 years I would be liable for any lost commission clawed back by the insurance company.

In January 2015 I found I could not afford the premiums and cancelled the policies. I had forgot about the client agreement & heard nothing from Mortgagepro UK Ltd.......

From what you say, assuming the client agreement covers the amount being chased now, then you do owe the money.


As advised you do need to get the £1200 itemised, though don't use "signed for" post. (Just get a free proof of post from the post office - using signed for isn't recommended apart from the cost it allows the recipient to refuse to accept a signed for letter)


Be prepared to have to pay this, though not until you get a proper statement of the amount you owe, and consider asking to pay on the drip rather than let them proceed to a court hearing as that just adds to the amount you will owe.

magic_bloke

In my letter I specified I only be contacted by letter, but he ignored this and sent me a text after 9pm on Friday night.

I have a copy of the client agreement. My concern is that it was taken out with Mortgagepro UK Ltd and not Mortgage & Insurance Professionals, so why are they demanding this money & selling the debt on when it is not even clear there is a debt and, if there is, that it belongs to Mortgage & Insurance Professionals?

As Mortgagepro UK Ltd are in liquidation, if the money is owed, surely it should be the liquidators asking for this money so it can be paid to any creditors. According to documents I have seen on Company House, the liquidation was forced by creditors.

If an insurance company has clawed back the commission is would surely be against the luquidated Mortgagepro UK Ltd and not the new company, Mortgage & Insurance Professionals.

I am going to bypass the director and write a letter of complaint. My understanding is the company has a strict time limit to respond and they do not comply I can refer my problem onto FOS.

Quentin

The liquidator may have acted on your debt and sold it on (as you have been told).


You cannot use this defence (that the original creditor has gone bust) if you owe the money.


You do need to respond to the chase you have been sent (though in writing asking for a breakdown, not by text!)

eddddy

Hi magic_bloke

Just an additional thought.

You have mentioned 3 company names in your post. Small business owners are very likely to Google their company names periodically. The director may see this and guess who you are.

So don't say anything in this thread that you would not want the director to know about.

(Also, the director would know that you are magic_bloke, so be cautious about posting on other threads with that user name.)

Keep_pedalling

Quentin wrote: »

As advised you do need to get the £1200 itemised, though don't use "signed for" post. (Just get a free proof of post from the post office - using signed for isn't recommended apart from the cost it allows the recipient to refuse to accept a signed for letter)

I would still say signed for is the better option as it does actually provide proof of receipt, and even if the far end refuses to sign you have documented evidence for that which will stand up in court. The cost is negligible.

This sounds a company to be avoided like the plague, and it is more than likely that you were sold specific policies tailored not for you benefit but to earn them the maximum commission. The company chasing you certainly did not buy the debt as they just seem to have liquidated themselves and reformed under a new name. They are still using the Mortgage Pro URL, and no doubt have still been receiving the commission payments from policies sold under the old company.

I wonder if you have the possibility of a counter claim for selling you unsuitable products?

Quentin

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

I would still say signed for is the better option as it does actually provide proof of receipt, and even if the far end refuses to sign you have documented evidence for that which will stand up in court. The cost is negligible.

This is a money saving website - the cost is an extra £1.10 on top of a 53p stamp.


But as previously posted using signed for is a waste of money as recorded/signed for delivery proves no more than does the free proof of posting issued by the post office. (ie. that you sent a letter on a particular date to the claimant).


Note that the courts use normal mail (not signed for) when issuing you with a summons as well as all other docs!

InsideInsurance

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

I would still say signed for is the better option as it does actually provide proof of receipt, and even if the far end refuses to sign you have documented evidence for that which will stand up in court. The cost is negligible.

The law assumes all post is received and only if the recipient can prove they didnt can it be disputed. Obviously its hard to prove you didnt receive something and really the only way to do so is by address being wrong.

The problem with signed for is (a) they can refuse to sign for something thus they never receive it and (b) it gives them a new way of disputing it if they claim the signature is not theirs or anyone they know.

Unless you need insurance on the contents, in which case use Special Delivery, the best thing is to send by regular post getting a Certificate of Sending from the Post Office

Keep_pedalling

OK I stand corrected, although I don't think refusing to sign for something provides any defence for claiming you did not receive it, because you clearly did but refused to accept it.

Quentin

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

... I don't think refusing to sign for something provides any defence for claiming you did not receive it....

The "defence" wouldn't be that!


For those that "use" the system it would be simply that you didn't receive any communication. (If you don't sign then you don't "receive" it)