Ombudsman or Court?

Thrugelmir

bris wrote: »

Small claims court is the last place you want to be, they just look at the facts and they are simple.

Unless the case is legally complex in which case it will get referred to a higher level.

quaybab

The FOS process is completely arbitrary so no guarantee of an outcome in your favour.
You could ask to skip the adjudicator opinion and ask for an Ombudsman’s decision.

However, with a court you've got the law and contract regarding your dispute to contend with and then Civil procedure rules (in England and Wales). The loans provider will engage a solicitor (paralegal) who knows CPR inside out and could possibly get your claim struck out if your case is not water tight and you don't comply with timelines and service requirements. You could be down by £2k in costs at your first hearing having been struck out before allocation to the small claims track.

This video has a good tip in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4VPVFIqLC4 which recommends sending your final demand and a separate without prejudice letter offering to settle with a figure. You then give the loan provider 2 weeks before using MCOL.

In my experience, I will only go to court where a company admits owing money and has not paid it along with another compelling argument in favour. For example, claimant is disabled and can't deposit cheques, is deaf and can't ring up to go on the call
centre merry go round etc.

Regarding legal advise, its usually about £1k up front for a solicitor to look at it when you approach them cold.

[Deleted User]

unforeseen wrote: »

And also a judge would probably throw it out because you haven't exhausted the mediation/complaints process.

If the company owes the OP money, the Judge can't throw out the case.

Aquamania

MikeMouse wrote: »

Advice needed please!

I have what I consider to be a straight forward case against a loans provider. I will give the company full opportunity issue their final response to my complaint.

Following their final response it would be quicker and easier for me to simply bypass the ombudsman and the delay's associated with waiting for an adjudicator and simply fill in a MCOL (Money Claim Online), pay the small online fee and make the lender either file a defence or simply pay up.

Has anyone any experience of taking this approach? There is no legal requirement to go to the Ombudsman as the courts are at everyones disposal should they believe they have a case?

Thanks in advance

Go to the ombudsman service first
(a) because it's free (for you)
(b) hopefully it will get you the same result as court, if not better
(the ombudsman will not only consider the legal position, but should also consider how you were treated, so may add a few quid for time & trouble you experienced)

To answer your later questions, the resolution that the proposed ombudsman service will come up with will be made in conjunction with you and the finance company. So it would be rare for the finance company to object. The initrial resolution will be put forward by an adjudicator, so if the company do object, it can then be reviewed by the ombudsman.
That will be the final resolution as far as the ombudsman service goes. If you accept, the companyt must comply; if you do not accept (you are under no obligation to) then the matter falls away, and you will have to make a claim through another avenue (i.e. court)

You can go straight to court if you wish, but courts do not take kindly to people rushing to court with a claim - you are expected to make reasonable endeavours to settle the matter out of court first.
So if you do go straight to court, and you do win your claim, the court may decide you are not entitled to the court costs (or allowed expenses) that you would normally get if you made the claim in court as a last resort (and won) - the court may even order you to pay the defendent's permitted expenses despite them losing

glennstar

MikeMouse wrote: »

A few years ago I got into debt and took out a lot of payday loans to survive.

And you can't wait a few months for the due process to take place, even though you have managed to wait a few years?

MikeMouse wrote: »

When I say a lot I mean a lot!!!
...
My case is clearer than those I have followed. My financial situation when I was approved was worse than most.

You fail to substantiate why your case is clearer than most... something I doubt very much, given the information you have provided thus far. My initial reaction is that you are saying you should, obviously, be refunded the Fees and Interest because;

1. the Lender knew you couldn't pay them back but lent the money to you anyway?
2. both parties entered into a contract in good faith and now you have reservations?
3. you were not entirely honest during the application process?

Care to elucidate a little?

newtothis141414

I know you've made up your mind about going to the fos first, I'd just chime in here to say it's the right decision. If you were to go to court and it didn't end in your favour you can't then go to the FOS. This is because the dispute resolution rules say that the ombudsman can dismiss cases that have already been looked at elsewhere. On the flip side, if the FOS found against you, you do not have to accept that decision and would be free to launch legal action.

FYI, an adjudicatior looks at the case first, if both parties agree happy days, otherwise either party can ask for a final decision. The decision is legally binding on the business if the consumer accepts it within the time frame stipulated in the decision. If the consumer doesn't accept it, or accepts it too late, the business doesn't have to adhere to it.