PPI reclaim company - payment dispute

Dodge63

In a nutshell, a PPI company wrote to me recently asking me to confirm contact details as that were trying to contact me, found this odd as they wrote to me...anyway, I had not heard a thing of them since the middle of last year when they sent me some letters of authority to sign...since then is heard nothing, no progress updates, not a thing which I think is pretty poor tbh. I emailed them to inform them that I no longer wished to use their services. The following day i received an invoice asking for £595 "cancellation charge"....there was nothing to explain how this figure was arrived at, it wasn't quantified in any way. After consulting the financial ombudsmen they advised that I submit a formal complaint regarding the fee....my question is do i withhold the payment as I dispute the amount? My concern was regarding any late payment fees or a debt recovery agency getting involved...just unsure of the legalities of it all really. The company in question is Brazier Consulting, who it appear have form for this sort of thing....many thanks.

[Deleted User]

What did their terms say? £600 sounds about right for a cancellation fee.

Dodge63

That might be the case although i believe it's excessive....although it doesn't address my ultimate question.

[Deleted User]

It addresses the real ultimate question though.

For your penultimate question, I wouldn't pay it if you plan on putting in a complaint.

dunstonh

there was nothing to explain how this figure was arrived at, it wasn't quantified in any way.

It doesn't need to be.   They should be using the figure stated in the contract you agreed.   However, looking at the website that displays their terms, it says £40 per hour plus VAT providing the cancellation occurs before the complaint outcome.  In that scenario, its the 20% plus VAT (logically as the service effectively ends at that point and its too late to cancel).

If you are attempting to cancel before the complaint has had an outcome then it would be reasonable to be given a breakdown.   It takes about 5-15 minutes to make a PPI complaint.   So, £40 per hour plus VAT doesn't really fit £595.  

Are you attempting to cancel after the complaint outcome?  That would explain the higher amount.

 After consulting the financial ombudsmen they advised that I submit a formal complaint regarding the fee....my question is do i withhold the payment as I dispute the amount?

You should have sufficient time to raise the complaint and get an outcome before payment becomes necessary.    Whilst using the regulated complaints process, it would not be considered right to start legal action against you.  They should wait until your complaint is rejected.   However, it is often recommended you pay them if they start getting heavy in the threats.

The_squirrell

As has been said, put in a complaint. It's a shame you have learned the hard way from this one. This firm were / are priceless. The work they did involved replacing someone else' name with yours at the top of the form and then submitting exactly the same details and then the cost of a second class stamp of course.Every PPI complaint that I saw from this firm stated that the mortgage started on 1st January 2000. Literally every single one. Good luck with reducing that amount though!