Taking me to court

louloubell50

Can some one help me   I wont mention the company as I ha e an impending court case   like most companies I found by chance on line a company who was doi g ppi    I have had ppi back before o  some companies but thought maybe this company would find some outstanding ppi not c,claimed   I requested forms which I gave them my details which I sent and they came back and said there was 3 companies that would potentially owe me ppi     I didnt think no more signed the forms and sent off   never heard from them again for months asking they needed more information from me.  In the end I couldn't be bothered as I realised or thought this company was messing me about as the companies they said I could claim I realised I already had.   I didn't bother to send forms back     never heard from them for about 7months of which they sent me a termination invoice for 540.00   I ignored it as stupidly thought it was a scam     8 days later got a court order of them taking me to court.   I called the company and said what is goi g on and they said taking you to court and there is nothing I can do. Anything I got to say I can say in court      they claim they text me loads times and sent me emails but I never received anything other then few forms which I admit I signed.   All of a sudden now I'm getting emails from them which I'm re eiving trying to negotiate with me but are asking for 650.00
The original amount was 510 but all of a sudden it gone up to over 1000   I 100 per cent swear I never received any thing from them  (only the original docs)   they are threatening me saying I will get a judgement .     Thing is if it had gone all the way them saying I will get money then it would not of happened any way as it appears I already had it   they were basing this on no win no fee     PLS HELP SOMEONE

[Deleted User]

I think you're saying that you had already successfully complained, then complained again using a claims company.

If so, it's usual for them to charge you for wasting their time.  Best to settle ASAP.

dunstonh

Firstly, it sounds like the claims company are not acting lawfully and would almost certainly be in breach of FCA guidelines. (based on what you have said).
Here are some bullet points

• If your contract included a termination clause. i.e. you pay them £x if you terminate the process, then that is the amount they are allowed to charge.  They cannot put this figure up unless you actually go to court and they are awarded costs.
• Claims companies became regulated by the FCA in April last year.  That means they have to follow the same complaints process as banks now.   So, if you feel that they are treating you unfairly and acting incorrectly, then you can make a formal complaint to the CMC.   Basically saying the same as you have here but perhaps a little clearer.
• If they reject your complaint, you can refer it to the financial ombudsman service.
• The way they have threatened you with a higher charge would breach the FCA principles.
• Claims companies are meant to check you have a valid complaint before submitting a complaint.   They appear to have failed to do that in breach of their regulatory requirements.   Yet they are trying to charge you regardless.

So, I would make a formal complaint ASAP and take it to the FOS if necessary.    
I would also check your contract to see what it says about termination.

Alpine_Star

louloubell50 said:

Can some one help me   I wont mention the company as I ha e an impending court case   like most companies I found by chance on line a company who was doi g ppi    I have had ppi back before o  some companies but thought maybe this company would find some outstanding ppi not c,claimed   I requested forms which I gave them my details which I sent and they came back and said there was 3 companies that would potentially owe me ppi     I didnt think no more signed the forms and sent off   never heard from them again for months asking they needed more information from me.  In the end I couldn't be bothered as I realised or thought this company was messing me about as the companies they said I could claim I realised I already had.   I didn't bother to send forms back     never heard from them for about 7months of which they sent me a termination invoice for 540.00   I ignored it as stupidly thought it was a scam     8 days later got a court order of them taking me to court.   I called the company and said what is goi g on and they said taking you to court and there is nothing I can do. Anything I got to say I can say in court      they claim they text me loads times and sent me emails but I never received anything other then few forms which I admit I signed.   All of a sudden now I'm getting emails from them which I'm re eiving trying to negotiate with me but are asking for 650.00
The original amount was 510 but all of a sudden it gone up to over 1000   I 100 per cent swear I never received any thing from them  (only the original docs)   they are threatening me saying I will get a judgement .     Thing is if it had gone all the way them saying I will get money then it would not of happened any way as it appears I already had it   they were basing this on no win no fee     PLS HELP SOMEONE

Is this Bank Smart (Symmetric Systems)?

Alpine_Star

dunstonh said:

Firstly, it sounds like the claims company are not acting lawfully and would almost certainly be in breach of FCA guidelines. (based on what you have said).
Here are some bullet points

• If your contract included a termination clause. i.e. you pay them £x if you terminate the process, then that is the amount they are allowed to charge.  They cannot put this figure up unless you actually go to court and they are awarded costs.
• Claims companies became regulated by the FCA in April last year.  That means they have to follow the same complaints process as banks now.   So, if you feel that they are treating you unfairly and acting incorrectly, then you can make a formal complaint to the CMC.   Basically saying the same as you have here but perhaps a little clearer.
• If they reject your complaint, you can refer it to the financial ombudsman service.
• The way they have threatened you with a higher charge would breach the FCA principles.
• Claims companies are meant to check you have a valid complaint before submitting a complaint.   They appear to have failed to do that in breach of their regulatory requirements.   Yet they are trying to charge you regardless.

So, I would make a formal complaint ASAP and take it to the FOS if necessary.    
I would also check your contract to see what it says about termination.

If a court claim has been issued it's too late to take it to FOS as they can't consider complaints that are the subject of legal proceedings.

dunstonh

If a court claim has been issued it's too late to take it to FOS as they can't consider complaints that are the subject of legal proceedings.

If the OP was taking them to court, that would certainly be the case.  However, it is the other way around.   So, I think the OP still has an opportunity.

The OP could put in their court reply that they are using the regulated complaints process to resolve this case and request that the court refuse to consider this case whilst the complaint is handled via the complaints process and the financial ombudsman service.   Judges dislike complainants that jump to small claims without attempting alternative resolutions first.     If the judge knows that the complaints process is in progress, they may well stay the court action.   Even if the judge doesn't, it looks better for the OP as it shows an attempt to resolve it using a free of charge regulated process.

The_squirrell

I appreciate that the op doesn't want to name the CMC here, but they may wish to check out the Legal Beagles forum for some very useful advice on how to deal with this, if the CMC is one of the two companies that I suspect it may be