Do I have to pay claims company if I reject the compensation offer

Dubai_Chariot

I have used a claims company for my PPI claims.

One claim was rejected for PPI but I did receive a Plevin compensation offer. I felt the bank's reasons for rejecting the PPi claim were easy to challenge so I asked the claims company to do so. They said they had done their bit and that if I wanted to challenge it, I had to go through the Financial Ombudsman. I have done so.

Whilst this challenge is ongoing, I have not accepted the Plevin offer as that would waive my right to challenge/further claim. The claim company have been chasing for their fee and so far have accepted me saying that I haven't accepted the offer yet. However I have received this now:

"Please be advised as your claim has reached PPIQ stage we are legally entitled to our fee even if you do not accept your offer as we have carried out the procedures to enable you to find out if you had PPI to claim."

I cannot find any info online so please can someone offer some guidance? Thank you.

SonOf

You do not need to pay the CMC whilst the complaint is still outstanding at the FOS. Mainly as the complaints process is still ongoing and has not concluded.

if you feel the CMC are breaking the rules or acting unethically, then you should complain to them. They are now covered by the FCA and that means you get access to the same complaints process used for the PPI for complaining about CMCs.

brettcta

Accepting the Plevin element won’t waive your right to further redress if FOS uphold your complaint, the lender will just send you a cheque for the additional.

You’ve also discovered how useless the CMCs actually are - no interest in doing anything to help you appeal just after their cut. No doubt if you do get a result with the FOS they’ll be back with their hands out.