Are The Claims Guys Legal Ltd. being Underhanded?

HousewifeP

So, back in the day and PPI reclaiming was at it's height, I used The Claims Guys - not to be confused with The Claims Guys Legal allegedly! - to see if I had any claim for PPI on a No Win/No Fee basis. And to be fair, they were brilliant and the amount of PPI I had returned from lenders over several years went to pay for a lot of my wedding. 

Fast forward almost ten years, and I suddenly receive a letter with an offer of compensation and an invoice from 'The Claims Guys Ltd.' for 'work' they have done at 'my' behest for 'Irresponsible Lending'! The letter and invoice received the same day, with the offer clearly having been accepted on 'my' behalf without giving me the 10 day period in which I decided whether to accept or not!

Now, this is where things get interesting. The Claims Guys Legal Ltd. have 'proof' of my signature, which is just my initials in block capitals. Certainly not how I ever sign any kind of documentation. Secondly, the paperwork refers to my previous name as 'Mrs.' Maiden Name, and has no previous address, just Mrs. Maiden Name.

I have complained to The Claims Guys Ltd, who are adamant 'I' have digitally signed the paperwork, which has been proven to be 'correct at the time of signing', and I have offered them copies of my birth and marriage certificates to show they have my prefix wrong on the paperwork, and also a copy of my signature. Each of these offers have been ignored. The Claims Guys Ltd. are still expecting me to pay them £325 and some pennies for work 'I' haven't authorised them to do! 

Where do I stand on this? They are unable to provide any 'read' receipts of emails they have allegedly sent me other than the odd marketing email, they are claiming the paperwork was entirely correct, which is just stupid when there is a legal document called a bloody BIRTH certificate proving it isn't, they have letters dated three days apart and after the refunds had been applied to accounts, so have agreed them on 'my' behalf and the signature clearly isn't mine! 

I have been in touch with the Legal Ombudsman but there is a 10 week wait to hear from them and also Action Fraud, which has another four week wait. Do I wait for The Claims Guys Ltd. to take me to court for the £325 and some pennies and then go swooping in with my birth certificate to prove their paperwork was incorrect or what? I have recently been sent a letter by The Claims Guys Ltd. stating they have approached one of the lenders who they appear to have already settled with, presumably to try and cover their own backs with 'proof' they emailed me. 

Please help!

Brie

Do they say what the compensation is for?  Have they kept the £325+ out of the payment being made so you have no chance to get it back?

Best to check that HMRC haven't had something registered by Claims Guys as one of the add-ons to some claims companies was to get a split of any tax refund you might have for some reason.  (no I don't know how they manage it)

dunstonh

And to be fair, they were brilliant and the amount of PPI I had returned from lenders over several years went to pay for a lot of my wedding. 

On the other hand, personal complaints had higher success rates than claims companies and you ended up gifting a good chunk of your redress unnecessarily.

Now, this is where things get interesting. The Claims Guys Legal Ltd. have 'proof' of my signature, which is just my initials in block capitals. Certainly not how I ever sign any kind of documentation. Secondly, the paperwork refers to my previous name as 'Mrs.' Maiden Name, and has no previous address, just Mrs. Maiden Name.

it  is an e-signature.  so, that bit is explained.

I have complained to The Claims Guys Ltd, who are adamant 'I' have digitally signed the paperwork, which has been proven to be 'correct at the time of signing', and I have offered them copies of my birth and marriage certificates to show they have my prefix wrong on the paperwork, and also a copy of my signature.

The signature is irrelevant.  e-signatures are all about the digital side of things.   You should ask to see the digital certificate that goes with the contract as that would include the email address used when signing the contract, the IP address, dates and times.     You would have been sent an email at the same time as those.

 They are unable to provide any 'read' receipts of emails they have allegedly sent me other than the odd marketing email, they are claiming the paperwork was entirely correct, which is just stupid when there is a legal document called a bloody BIRTH certificate proving it isn't, they have letters dated three days apart and after the refunds had been applied to accounts, so have agreed them on 'my' behalf and the signature clearly isn't mine! 

Read receipts would be unusual.   So, they wouldn't be expected to have them.      Its an e-signature. So, it wouldn't match your wet signature.

I have been in touch with the Legal Ombudsman but there is a 10 week wait to hear from them and also Action Fraud, which has another four week wait. Do I wait for The Claims Guys Ltd. to take me to court for the £325 and some pennies and then go swooping in with my birth certificate to prove their paperwork was incorrect or what? I have recently been sent a letter by The Claims Guys Ltd. stating they have approached one of the lenders who they appear to have already settled with, presumably to try and cover their own backs with 'proof' they emailed me. 

Why would they take you to court?  

Does the lending in question relate to the debt you took out before you were married? (that may explain your maiden name being used - especially if they crated the contract after the event)

Nasqueron

It's highly likely that when you signed up to use them, the Ts & Cs allow them to investigate things like irresponsible lending and tax rebates and they have thus milked you for even more on top of the money you already paid for them to use the same free complaints process that you could have used with PPI