Consultation Claims car finance emails - scam?

Deskjockey1

Been contacted twice by a company called Consultation Claims regarding a car finance claim that they allege I've made with them.  Latest email had contractual documents attached that are allegedly signed by me 'for my records'.  A few points: (1) never heard of them, never had any contact/made a claim with them in the past (2) contractual documents are signed with an electronic signature that isn't mine, and headed with an address I haven't lived at in 3+ years.

Reading the small print of the Letter of Engagement they sent me, if I contact them to cancel their services I will be liable for any work they have carried out to date.  I strongly suspect this is a scam to panic people into contacting them, trying to cancel this non-requested 'service' and paying up to make the company go away.  

I've already reported the company to the Financial Conduct Authority, but I think people should be aware of this unscrupulous, probably illegal, behaviour.

born_again

Have you claimed via any company?

Deskjockey1

No, I haven't had car finance.

Deskjockey1

Further to this (sorry to keep banging on!) I've checked this company out on Trustpilot.  Looks like they've got form for this sort of behaviour, I don't appear to be the only one contacted.

dunstonh

Deskjockey1 said:

No, I haven't had car finance.

have you ever used a claims company in the past? e.g. PPI

I am just wondering if you are on a mugs list and they have used old data.   They have got your info from somewhere, and it sounds like old data.

TYForum

Well I have too received a couple of emails welcoming me for joining, attaching a form with a cross indicating my signature. I just assumed it was a scam and responded accordingly , stating that it was not me and i had never signed up for any claim.
Alas over a week later I got a follow up email reiterating that I had applied.
I am now in the process of replying to that email.
Interesting to read that others are in the same boat.
I believe that there is another page on this forum dealing with the same problem and company.
Will keep you posted .

DCA1111

I did have car finance with BMW back in 2007. When I responded to 3 different adverts, on social media, they all appeared to be linked to each other, stating 'it appears you have already started a claim through our sister company..'.

I went to the same stage with all 3, giving my contact details, address when I took out the agreement, but stopped short each time when they asked for my signature, saying 'this will help track your agreement'. Thay was a massive red flag to me. They could find if I had finance or not with the other details, NOT by having my signature.

My fear is that they could claim I 'signed' an agreement with them to represent me before even getting started. It doesn't seem to be the case with you as you know you never had car finance, but I can see their angle of forcing unwilling, non-legal savvy, people to pay them 'hours worked' on you case and show a copy of your signature.

sassyfitness

I also received a letter in the post from this company. I did begin filling the form online up until they asked for my drivers license to scan in, which I found to be a huge red flag. I closed the page and didn't proceed anymore. Since then, I have received numerous emails saying my claims have been submitted. Also saying I could incur a charge for cancelling. I have not signed anything and they do not have my bank details. Can they enforce me to pay anything when I haven't agreed to sign anything? 

MyRealNameToo

sassyfitness said:

I also received a letter in the post from this company. I did begin filling the form online up until they asked for my drivers license to scan in, which I found to be a huge red flag. I closed the page and didn't proceed anymore. Since then, I have received numerous emails saying my claims have been submitted. Also saying I could incur a charge for cancelling. I have not signed anything and they do not have my bank details. Can they enforce me to pay anything when I haven't agreed to sign anything? 

Signatures dont have to be wet to be valid, you can "sign" online by simply clicking the button that says you agree to their T&Cs - unfortunately its your own fault if you click to agree without actually reading them. 

TwankeeMadre

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81834942#Comment_81834942

I think this is a bit harsh. There is a known scam by a company purporting to be Consultation Claims Ltd and it's not difficult to get caught by one of these. Also, if they are willing to scam you they'll be willing to create fake paperwork suggesting that you voluntarily signed up.

I received random unsolicited communication from these same people claiming that I had signed an agreement with them. When I requested a copy, it had the wrong address (from several years ago), an e-signature which wasn't even close to being correct, and about a million red flags confirming that it was a total scam. Had they managed to get my address and signature correct, I may have had a much tougher time proving that it wasn't something I myself had signed up for.