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Possible Scam First Plus Claims Ltd?
sws1973
Posts: 2 Newbie
Hello,
The other day I received a cold call form First Plus Claims Ltd saying they had been pursuing a case in the County Court with LLoyds Black Horse Finance due to a Loan with PPI I had previously taken out. They said that this is because they approached Black Horse Finance who had denied liability, so they had taken their case to court - and now won. They said that the 'regress' I was due was about £4k (me generalising not them), but that in order to pay it to me, I had to pay their solicitors fee of £469. I have certainly had loans with Black Horse Finance, so I agreed they could email me further details. What they sent was a permission to proceed form with terms & conditions. I read them & interpreted that I had nothing to lose if I signed the form as they would send the 'regress' to me by Cheque, then I would settle their fee within 7 days. They have now rang to reiterate, their standard form covered a variety of circumstances and that in my case, because they have already done their work, my 'regress' lies in an 'ESCROW' account & my payment of their fee is required in order for them to release it.. So I have told them I am not prepared to do that without doing further investigations & I have pointed out that there is a 14 day cooling off period - so they are calling me back later this week. They do seem keen for me to check things out so have emailled me their CRM registration & company number - both of which check out fine.
As I write this I can feel myself flushing with embarrassment - however, I have seen other threads in this forum suggesting First Plus Claims Ltd are legitimate. I've been scouring the web for known scams, & this one - if true, seems a new one as their upfront fee is not the common scam to begin a claim process. They say the regress would be paid by bank transfer on the same day as I pay their fee.
As I'm not keen to part with any money up front, I was wondering if there is anything legal that backs up their assertion that their fee terms are legitimate due to the county court involvement, I've rang a local solicitor, but they want to charge £300 for advice, Citizens Advice referred me to my local office - where I am continually on hold, and anti-fraud bodies only seem to be interested if I become a fully fledged scam victim.
I've not parted with any money or bank details, the only thing they have on me is my signature & address on their form on which clearly has the 14 day cooling off period. Which now the mists of greed are subsiding - I am inclined to invoke.
I'm not expecting legal advice here, but I would really appreciate any opinions or stories of similar experiences.
Thank you in advance.
The other day I received a cold call form First Plus Claims Ltd saying they had been pursuing a case in the County Court with LLoyds Black Horse Finance due to a Loan with PPI I had previously taken out. They said that this is because they approached Black Horse Finance who had denied liability, so they had taken their case to court - and now won. They said that the 'regress' I was due was about £4k (me generalising not them), but that in order to pay it to me, I had to pay their solicitors fee of £469. I have certainly had loans with Black Horse Finance, so I agreed they could email me further details. What they sent was a permission to proceed form with terms & conditions. I read them & interpreted that I had nothing to lose if I signed the form as they would send the 'regress' to me by Cheque, then I would settle their fee within 7 days. They have now rang to reiterate, their standard form covered a variety of circumstances and that in my case, because they have already done their work, my 'regress' lies in an 'ESCROW' account & my payment of their fee is required in order for them to release it.. So I have told them I am not prepared to do that without doing further investigations & I have pointed out that there is a 14 day cooling off period - so they are calling me back later this week. They do seem keen for me to check things out so have emailled me their CRM registration & company number - both of which check out fine.
As I write this I can feel myself flushing with embarrassment - however, I have seen other threads in this forum suggesting First Plus Claims Ltd are legitimate. I've been scouring the web for known scams, & this one - if true, seems a new one as their upfront fee is not the common scam to begin a claim process. They say the regress would be paid by bank transfer on the same day as I pay their fee.
As I'm not keen to part with any money up front, I was wondering if there is anything legal that backs up their assertion that their fee terms are legitimate due to the county court involvement, I've rang a local solicitor, but they want to charge £300 for advice, Citizens Advice referred me to my local office - where I am continually on hold, and anti-fraud bodies only seem to be interested if I become a fully fledged scam victim.
I've not parted with any money or bank details, the only thing they have on me is my signature & address on their form on which clearly has the 14 day cooling off period. Which now the mists of greed are subsiding - I am inclined to invoke.
I'm not expecting legal advice here, but I would really appreciate any opinions or stories of similar experiences.
Thank you in advance.
0
Comments
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If it's true just avoid these cold calling scammers and approach black horse direct again.
There is no county court case.
Avoid cold calling scammersEx forum ambassador
Long term forum member0 -
Clearly a scam.
Most of your data is not in the public domain. How did they get a case to go to court about you, where you would have been required to give you side of the story without you even knowing about it?
A court case like this would actually cost more than £469.because they approached Black Horse Finance who had denied liability, so they had taken their case to court - and now won. They said that the 'regress' I was due was about £4k (me generalising not them), but that in order to pay it to me, I had to pay their solicitors fee of £469.I have certainly had loans with Black Horse Finance,
And if these were secured loans then lender information is in the public domain. This is how scammers can make it look like they know about you. They know the lender and the address but thats about it.
Surely the easiest solution here is to speak to Black Horse. Ask them to verify.
The whole thing stinks of scam.I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.0 -
Thank you for your comments much appreciated.0
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Proof that some people are actually taken in by such ludicrous cold calls. Why did you even entertain their spiel? You should have put the 'phone down before they appealed to your greed with promises of free money.I can feel myself flushing with embarrassment
Did you not wonder why they couldn't simply take their fee from the "regress"? Did you not wonder how a court had already ruled on your behalf without any input from you?They say the regress would be paid by bank transfer on the same day as I pay their fee.
No. Did you not think to ask which County Court the "case" took place? You could then have enquired directly of the court concerned.is there is anything legal that backs up their assertion that their fee terms are legitimate due to the county court involvement
Regardless, there is no county court involvement and there never was.
Why?I've rang a local solicitor
You've spent entirely too much time researching and following up on this obvious scam I'm afraid.Citizens Advice referred me to my local office - where I am continually on hold, and anti-fraud bodies only seem to be interested if I become a fully fledged scam victim.
What does your signature agree to? :eek: Cancel immediately and do not have any more to do with them.the only thing they have on me is my signature & address on their form on which clearly has the 14 day cooling off period.
You don't need legal advice, what you needed to do was exercise some common sense from the outset. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it generally is.I'm not expecting legal advice here
You'll now be on a "mugs list" and can fully expect to be bombarded with other such cold calls. I recommend you ignore them all.
Indeed.I can feel myself flushing with embarrassment
At least you haven't parted with any money.0 -
Google Advance Fee FraudNon me fac calcitrare tuum culi0
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Definitely a scam call for all the reasons given by others and here are two more:
1. Claims Management Companies were banned from making cold calls in September 2018 unless given prior consent. You apparently gave no consent. The call most likely came from overseas (which gets around the ban on cold calls) even though a UK number was probably showing.on your caller display.
2. I don't think any solicitor can act on your behalf in any court without your authority.
I very much doubt you were called by the company they claim to be, even if they did email you a company registration number and CMR registration details. I would be more interested in the email address and IP address in the email they sent you and how they might want payment if it ever got to that stage - most likely by Western Union or even iTunes gift vouchers - which is indicative of a Advance Fee Fraud rather that a PPI Reclaim scam.
It is worrying if they apparently knew you had a Black Horse Finance loan and where they got such information from, so you may want to pursue that aspect with Black Horse Finance but they could just be 'guessing'.
You have had a close shave - just ignore all cold calls in future.0
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