Mcol (?) / court or Financial Ombudsman - idiot's guide please?

willtheywontthey

there are so many abbreviations I'm getting confused. Is the mcol the online 'court' or just a fast-route which you start online and then probably have to go physically to court?

the ombudsman - that's a complaint route only I suppose and am I right to believe they will take many weeks to come to a decision and that will most likely be to agree on 12 pounds charges being acceptable?

Which are the avenues to use in your experiences? Which route(s) are best - costs?

My main issue with going the court route is that I cannot ever get time off work to go to court so that's not an option - not to mention the idea of going to court would terrify me! (never been I hasten to add!).

lindilou39

first of all...mcol is money claim online, you will pay fees for this depending on the size of your claim, some have issued claims on mcol and not had to go to court as the defendants have either failed to defend or defaulted in some other way.

Financial Ombudsman will log your complaint but as far as i know, new claims are not being dealt with.

angelwillow

The FO are still taking on credit card claims but bank claims are on hold. It does take awhile in some cases but I think it also seems to depend alot on the credit companies that you are claiming from.
The FO will try to claim the full amount (or close enough) to the amount that you ask for and NOT just the difference between what you have been charged and £12. Bear in mind tho that you are not 'entitled' to interest unless you go via court - claim for it,some will pay up and some won't ie Barclaycard paid all my claim plus interest but I've heard that in atleast one case Capital One didn't.
Hope this helps and good luck!

big_chief_2

Ive Just Got My Reply Back From Fo.they Have Said They Cannot Go Ahead As I Have Let It Go Past 6 Months After I Was Sent A Final Offer.
The Reason I Did Not Do Anything For That Period Is.i Couldnt Afford Court Fees.
This Is With Capital One.i Need To Know,if I Need To Go To Court,now That The Fo Cant Help Me.or Do I Just Give It All Up As A Bad Job!!!!!!

willtheywontthey

Having read a bit more of the threads on here it seems that you will at best get partial offers unless you actually have a court date??? If you have court date only then will the credit card companies consider paying full amount?

Does anybody actually use Ombudsman option at all???

angelwillow

willtheywontthey wrote: »

Having read a bit more of the threads on here it seems that you will at best get partial offers unless you actually have a court date??? If you have court date only then will the credit card companies consider paying full amount?

Does anybody actually use Ombudsman option at all???

Read my post above and you will see the answer is yes..........have been successful via FO twice now,all money claimed back including interest,and have another 2 in the process.
Seven successful claims between me and the other half and only filed with court once.

willtheywontthey

thanks - had read it just wanted to see if I could get more replies to see what the proportion of courts vs ombudsman are.

Does the ombudsman take months?

angelwillow

To be honest yes it can take awhile,probably on average about 3 months depending on the company claimed from as some seem to drag things out longer than others.

moonflower_2

I have 2 claims with the Fo since the end of July and beginning of August. In OctoberI changed my claim to Financial hardship and also wrote to the banks involved NO reply. At last a reply from 1 bank, the wanted details of incomings and outgoings, I had already sent these figures in August!!

Called the FO and they said to return the forms asap. Which I did by special delivery as I wanted proof that it had been delivered.

has anyone any idea how much longer this could take? I would really like settlement before Christmas. Any thoughts.