Claims company charging fees

Katemoz_2

Hello,

I'm hoping someone can shed some light on my current standing with a PPI Claim Company.

I was contacted by a PPI company over a year ago. It was a company that called me on my mobile and after being pestered by various companies, I thought I would give it a go and see if I could get anything back from an account I had.
The company were informed of my bank account type (not account numbers) and relevant addresses. I was told that the process was on a NO WIN NO FEE basis. At no point were any costs mentioned.

I then received a couple of letters and phone calls from the company stating that they were unsuccessful in finding the account with the bank and that I needed to provide more information, i.e bank documents etc. After failing to find any correspondence from the bank, in relation to the account, which was now a several years old, I informed the claims company that I didn't have any more information to provide. I explained this over the telephone and told them that they may as well just leave the claim as it obviously couldn't be progressed any further.

I have since received letters from them, again asking for more evidence of my bank account. I have ignored these letters and assumed they were sent out in error as I had already informed them during the previous telephone call. Then this week I received a text from the company stating that there were fees still outstanding (first time this had ever been mentioned) and that £20 had been charged to my account as an admin fee and that I should call the company. I tried to call the company the next day and conveniently, the number goes to an answer machine straight away, or rings and then goes to an answer machine that you can't leave a message on.

Yesterday I returned home to find that I had received another letter from the company, stating that I owe them £120 as a cancellation fee and a further £20 for an admin fee. The letter stated that I had not responded after a reasonable period of time. The cancellation policy was never discussed with me and the fees were never mentioned over the telephone or in any previous letters. The company website does refer to terms which include a cancellation fee however the actual fee is not disclosed anywhere.

If I had thought that there were costs involved then I would have never taken an interest into finding out if I could claim PPI. No where in any of the previous mail I have had from them, does it state that if I do not reply to them, that I will incur charges.

I don't understand how a company can charge a person £140 for a service they haven't even provided.

dunstonh

The cancellation policy was never discussed with me and the fees were never mentioned over the telephone or in any previous letters.

There is only one place that matters. The contract. What does your contract say in respect of charges.

I don't understand how a company can charge a person £140 for a service they haven't even provided.

The contract will have the answer to that. There is probably an admin charge for work where the individual cancels the service.

Take a look at the contract and if you disagree with them, then write to them with a complaint

And, to be blunt, be more sensible about these things in future. First mis-sold PPI. Now mis-sold claims company. One bitten, twice shy but not in your case. Never act on cold calls. Always understand contracts you enter into.

Katemoz_2

Thanks for your reply.

I have found some further letters from them, and they have actually sent me a letter stating that I had won £3 odd. I didn't respond to this letter as it clearly wasn't worth cashing in, especially after they take their 39%

Even though they have claimed money for me, which is now 100% theirs, I have never cancelled anything. Also the letters asking for further evidence, was received after the "win." Surely they can't be serious in trying to charge me £140 when they have clearly sent the letters out in error!!!