The Fair Trade Practice

NikNox

Hi all

Recently I had a friend contact me as I work in the NHS, asking if I was interested in finding out if I'd ever had any PPI. I was, especially as I had loans many years ago which I have long since lost the documentation, and a guy from The Fair Trade Practice contacted me. I have to say he was very pleasant, and he sent me a pack with documents to sign to authorise them to investigate if I had any PPI. All I had to do was provide basic info regarding the loans I'd had, plus list my mortgage and any credit cards I'd had.

I had a call from them last week saying that they'd identified that I'd had PPI added to my mortgage many years ago, and to a loan - I was unaware of either.

Now, because they charge 25% of any successful claim (which could be a lot of money depending on the award), I am wondering if I can now pursue the claims myself? The original documents I signed were just authorisations for the company to contact my lenders to find out if PPI had been added. I have been sent new letters of authority to sign, which upon signature, bind me to their terms and conditions. If I don't sign them, then I'm guessing I'm not bound and perfectly within my rights to contact the lenders and pursue the claims myself?

I just wondered if anyone else has done this, and even though I have read their terms and conditions, is there any way they could interfere with it?

Thanks in advance.

tomtontom

So you want them to do the legwork for you then you step in and reap the rewards?

A brief scan of their terms and conditions suggests they will charge you a fee for their work in this situation. Which is only fair?

NikNox

Only if you cancel after the cooling off period and before signed letters of authority are returned. The letters I have in my position to sign and return state clearly that once signed the contract is binding.

I don't see why I shouldn't pursue the claim myself, as long as it's legal to do so!

magpiecottage

If the original documents did not commit you to paying them then yes you can.

However, I think it unlikely that this is really the case.

dunstonh

Working for the NHS is not a problem with MPPI. It can be a good reason with loan and credit card but the FOS has been rejecting them with MPPI. It all depends on what audit trail the firm has and how hard they want to fight it.

scotthillier

Also, as I've just found out to my cost, they charge you 25% then they whack VAT on top after, which they don't mention at any way through the process.

I was 50/50 as to whether to go with them or not, in the end I convinced my wife that 25% was just about more acceptable than the time it would take for us to do it ourselves.
The reality now is more like 35% - I wish I hadn't used them.
Very sneaky of them to not mention that.

dunstonh

I was 50/50 as to whether to go with them or not, in the end I convinced my wife that 25% was just about more acceptable than the time it would take for us to do it ourselves.

You do realise that it only takes about 5 minutes to raise a complaint with the bank? Indeed, its probably quicker than using a claims company.

magpiecottage

scotthillier wrote: »

The reality now is more like 35%

25% + (25% × 20%) = 25% + 5% = 30%

30% is no more like 35% and it is like 25%. (It is 5% different from each).