Hi BankFodder. I have not sent the email response to them as yet, so I can amend before I do. Their email response was to the same letter which I sent in the post originally as per #34. Do think I should i just return as per pages 1 and first half of page 2 and remove "The pack I returned, I believed, was for you to search for PPI not acceptance of you to submit a complaint on my behalf or any fee associated" and thereafter? Regards DJC

Hi I have an email respinse from TGC complaints which I have attached along with my drafted response. Any comments, as always, are greatly appreciated. Thanks and Regards DJC S_TGC_Response 2.pdf

Hi BankFodder I don't think anyone can save me from myself. I just seem to always make things difficult for myself. I have not received anything other than what I have posted so they have not supplied me with any of the full information as part of the SAR. They have basically ignored that request as far as I can tell and only sent that one photocopy of the LOA and the demand for payment that came with it.

Basically the only thing I ever sent them was the pack in September. Insteady of putting 02/09/18 on the forms, like an idiot, I put 02/07/18 (or they have doctored the forms but it looks like my writing...) So I made a mistake on the date, and I'm not quite sure what I can do about that now, but the forms were signed, sent and received by them early september.

Hi After going over it and trying to figure out what happened as I couldn't understand how I had sent them anything before the pack I returned, I now realise I had put the 7th instead of the 9th on the forms. I completed them in early september and then sent them off. I am pretty stupid on 2 levels. Putting the wrong month down as well as going with a CMC in the first place. I am going to dispute the date in the form as it was put in incorrectly and the fat they received it in september should prove that but I don't know how that will go. Any Ideas where I would stand in that? I made a mistake on the forms and if I had put the proper date on them (2nd September 2018) I would be protected by the new law. You can bet your bottom dollar that a mistake that meant they couldn't benefit from they would dispute till they are blue in the face, but the other way round.... I'll let you know how I get on. Regards DJC.

Hi guys. So I have had a response from TGC and it doesn't look like good news. The pack I sent back to them looks like I did sign a letter of Authority for the Halifax, and dated 8 days before the Guidance and Claims Act 2018 was enforced. In the attachment we have: page 1 - The LOA, this must have been in the pack and I didn't realise this was an LOA, I'm not sure what was in the pack but I thought it was just details to agree for them to search for PPI. Page 2 - Their letter saying that I am still tied into paying them the high percentage fee.... Page 3 - Texts showing that they received the pack on 14th September 2018 and that they located the PPI on the 22nd September 2018. Page 4 - Email dated 22nd September 2018 showing they located PPI for Halifax. Page 5 - Email 12th October 2018 showing they submitted complaint to Halifax. So my questions now are 1. If they had a letter of Authority for Halifax already, why did they send me an LOA for each of the claims (Credit card x 2 and Loan x 1)? These are the ones in the attachment in post #15 pages 3 + 4 (this was just a scan of one of the 3 x letters of authority for each Halifax claim, which I never sent back to them). 2. Even though they have an LOA signed by me dated before the 10th July 2018, Discovery of PPI, submission of the complaint and their request for payment fall after this date, does this still tie me into paying the full requested payment? Really gutted if this means I now have to pay them the full amount. Any advice on this would me much appreciated. Thanks and regards DJC. TGC_3a.pdf

Hi I haven't spoken to them since the intitial contact (before I realised I was being connecd) other than today on the landline, and previoulsy I have not recorded any calls. I only have the facility to record calls on my mobile, which i will do if I do speak to them on my mobile at any time in future. Regards DJC

Hi Just sent again recored delivery. After speaking to the Lady in the post office she says that you cannot track signed for, you just see an entry in the tracker for them accepting it and then when it is signed for. Sometimes if there is no one there to sign for it, it will simply just be posted (they shouldn't do this but it happens). So it is possible that they have the first letter, or that it will turn up (probably at the same time as the second letter....). Moral of the story is, if there is anything in their valuable, sensitive etc, you should pay the extra for special delivery..... On another note, just had a call off TGC on the landline, just told them that I have sent letter / email and I am awaiting a response for that before politley hanging up . Regards DJC

Hi BankFodder. I have all the texts they have sent me, and the call logs from their attempted phone calls to my mobile. I have just now emailed them to their payments and complaints email addresses. I will get another copy of the letter sent to them, last time I used one of their return envelopes, this time I’ll just use a normal one. Thanks, and regards DJC TBC_2a.pdf

Hi Just an update. I sent the letter on 19th December, when I track the item with Royal mail on the website or phone it still hasn't been delivered, I guess there is a delay with the Christmas deliveries and all In the meantime I have been ignoring their calls to my mobile and landline, but this morning I have had a text of them saying "Reminder: Payment is now overdue. To arrange payment and avoid any further action please click **** or call us on ****. Regards DJC

Hi guys Thanks again. I agree with you BankFodder. I do not see how a contract that has an element within it that is illegal not rendering the whole contract invalid and unenforceable. Also here you need to remember that I have not signed anything and at worst is a contract based on a verbal agreement where what I was agreeing to was never cited. If they had read out all the terms and conditions and then I agreed then maybe that would be a different matter, or even asked if I had read and understood and agree to the terms and conditions in the paperwork they sent me. But this never happened. I will send the letter as originally and kindly suggested by By BankFodder in post #21. As soon as I hear anything back I will update the thread. It It would certainly be interesting to see what they say about why they think they can charge 30%. Thanks as always DJC

Does this sound OK? Regards DJC

Hi BanFodder Thanks for this, I will get this letter out ASAP recored delivery and let you know the outcome. The only thing I would say is that there is no mention here of my querying that I have actually signed and returned any kind of contract to them whereby I agreed to their fees in the first place. Should I not mention that in this letter as it sounds like I am accepting that I have agreed to their fees, just disputiing the ammount. Regards DJC

Thanks DX. So where it says they can charge you when PPI was identified as being there, as I never engaged with them until well after 10th July 2018, I take that for the black horse finance claim they are still bound to the 20% cap and to also provide evidence that this 20% of whatever that payment will be should reflect a reasonable rate for the work which has been carried out? In terms of the Halifax claim, I am not sure if I specifically said to them that I am happy for them to act on my behalf (I was shopping in Aldi when they called, and they fielded a lot of questions) so if I did where do I stand on that? I know for a fact they did not read out any terms and conditions or the amount of any fees, but I could have well agreed to them acting on my behalf over the phone. Regards DJC

Hi Bank Fodder. Thanks for the response. I will send today the below: -------------------------------------------- To whom it may concern With regards to your letters dated ********* with relation to the references ********* Can you please provide evidence of the following: What I have signed that states I agree to this 30% fee. That you explained to me that a 30% fee was applicable. That you informed me that this is something I could have done myself. Also, can you explain why you are purporting to levy a charge well over the statutory 20% cap - and in any event well over the requirement of the Act that CMC PPI reclaim fees should reflect a reasonable rate for the work which has been carried out. In addition to the above I require you to provide me with a complete detailed schedule of works that you have carried out including any correspondence sent and received relating to my claims and any internal correspondence. Yours faithfully ********* Please let me know if you think this is ok. Again, really appreciate the support on this Regards DJC

Hi DX Thanks for the reply. I have attached the sanitized documents. Page 1 - This is the questionaire about one of the Hlaifx claims, this is side 1 and the same as for the other 3 claims. This came with the letter of authority (pages 3+4) for each claim. They called me and I answered the questionairre detail over the phone so i never actually sent these questionaires or signed letters of authority back to TCG. Page 2 - This is page 2 of the questionaire, as above I never sent these back as completed over the phone. Page 3 + 4 - The first page and second page of the letters of authority that I never returned to TCG. pages 6 - 10 - These are the request for payment letters for each of the 3 claims. As I mentioned before i did sign and send back an LOA for the Black Horse Fince claim, I have received a questionairre from them which I have not yet filled in and returned, I do not want to do so until I know where I stand with that and TCG. What I would like to know is that as the letters of authority, which I know now have a detail of the charges on the back, state these charges over 30% and I received / signed after the date of enforcement (10th July 2018) of the Interim fee cap of 20%, then does this not make any contract based on this form illegal and therefore null and void? Kind regards DJC TCG_1a.pdf

Hi guys Many thanks for posting, some very useful information here and I appreciate it. I am sorry I haven't got back to the thread as I have been busy with work and the whole Christmas thing. I have drafted a letter to send which based on my original draft but also now on the useful information you guys have put out there If you can let me know if this the below reads ok or you think there is anything I need to add/remove/change it would be much appreciated. I have scanned the relevant documents which I will post later as I need to spend a bit time to redact them before I can post. Also, if you can let me know the best way about sending this as to be able to prove that I did, such as recorded/signed for delivery, sending a copy to myself at the same time etc. Also, if you think I should make a complaint as I have mentioned in the below letter. ================================ To whom it may concern With regards to your letters dated XXXXX with relation to the references XXXXX I had no idea your ask on this was 30% which is excessive in the extreme. Therefore, can you please provide evidence of the following: What I have signed that states i agree to this 30% fee That you explained to me that a 30% fee was applicable That you informed me that this is something I could have done myself Why you are stating 30% when the Interim fee cap enforced on the 10th July 2018 that prohibits fees of more than 20%, exclusive of VAT, being charged for Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) claims. Even though I dispute that I have agreed to your fees, I find it hard to believe that you do not know about this legislation and as such have enclosed a copy of the Claims Management Regulation Interim Fee Cap Guidance document in case you somehow missed it. Provide evidence that the charges you are applying are reasonable and provide me with an itemised bill setting out details reflecting the work undertaken and how the fees have been calculated. Until you can supply the above evidence and information I am not able to consider any kind of payment. In the meantime, I will pursue complaints with the financial ombudsman and the Ministry of justice about your withholding of information and flagrant disregard for the law I also ask you stop calling me on my mobile and home telephone numbers or I will also add harassment to the complaint. I wish you to no longer act on my behalf for any matter, so I hereby withdraw any permission for you to do so as stated by the law whereby you must permit a client to cancel a contract at any time. From my knowledge I have not signed any contract, other than the letter of authority for the Black Horse Finance claim which I did not realise was any kind of acceptance of these extortionate fees and feel I was misled into signing, and a claim which has not yet been confirmed for any kind of payment from said organisation. So unless you can prove I have signed a contract, then I am not willing to pay any charges, which should be limited to what is reasonable and must reflect work undertaken by your business, again a full itemised bill outlining any work you have done for any contract I may have unwittingly signed and how the fees have been calculated. I also enclose a cheque for £10 as payment for my request for any personal data you hold on me, such as telephone recordings and any documents pertaining to me personally that you hold. Yours sincerely XXXXXXX ============================================= Again, thanks for the support, guidance and information Many thanks DJC PS this is the document I will print off and send with the letter

Thanks for the replies. @ honeybee13 - I don't know if the Questionnaire or the letter of authority determines a contract, if it is just the letter of authority, then no, if it is the questionaire then yes. @ dx100uk - The letters of authority are specific to each claim (ie the halifax ones, they sent me forms for each of the finds (ie, credit card account, Loan account etc). Not sure what you mean by take it from my BH claim. I have been paid direct so unless you mean that I won't be able to challenge their charge then I'm a little unclear. Also what do you mean by the claimforms? Basically if I refuse their 30% untilk they provide the evidence, am I in a good position or not? Do I make them an offer of 5% or something? I am aware they may start sending me their "scary letters" with big red writing on it saying I'll go to court etc, but I just want to be confident that these are empty threats and the legally I have to pay them and their is no way out.

Hi I resppnded to a claims guys advert about finding out about PPI. I know now that I could have done this myself etc, and in hindsight I would have researched more. Any to cut a long story short, the following has happened: I filled in a questionaire about the providers i have used etc I have had a response from Halifax, but I did not send a signed letter of authority. Halfix have now paid me circa 6k and the claims guys want 30% of this. I had no idea they were going to charge this much and was never told in advance how much their charges were. I did however send a letter of authority for a black horse finance cliam that is still in progress so i have no idea how much is coming from that if any as yet. I am trying to find out what my position is and what i can do about it as 30% is a massive amount to pay for something that I could hve done myself had I only researched it more beforehand, which i am obviously regretting now. I am think of sending a letter in regards to the Halifax claim to the effect of: --------------------------------------------------------- With regards to your recent letters I had no idea your ask on this was 30% which is excessive in the extreme. Therefore can you please provide evidence of the following: What I have signed that states i agree to this 30% fee That you explained to me that a 30% fee was applicable That you informed me that this is something I could have done myself Until you can supply the above evidence I am not in a position to consider any kind of payment. --------------------------------------------------------- Any advice would be greatly appreciated Regards DJC

Hi Thanks for the replies. I received the following in email: =================================== Further to your email below I have looked into your account to review the administration fee charged. You are aware that under the terms of your lease your service charges are due annually in advance on 1st January each year. Administration charges are not added to the account straight away, an original application for payment is issued, then if a payment is not received 28 days after the issue date a further chaser letter is sent out warning that the next letter (letter before action) will incur an administration charge if payment is not received promptly. After a further 10 working days the final chaser letter is issued which incurs an administration charge of £120.00 plus vat, then after a further 10 working days the account is referred to our solicitor which incurs their referral fee of £165.00 plus vat. An initial application for payment was issued to you on 16th February 2015 as per the attachment which you sent. We are made aware when these have been dispatched. An initial reminder letter was then issued to you on 24th March 2015 which at the point had given you 36 days to make the payment. A further 22 days past before a second letter was issued on 15th April 2015 which incurred the administration fee of £120.00 plus vat. Payment was not received until 20th April 2015. The credit control procedure has been followed correctly and it is for the above reasons that on this occasion the administration fee will not be refunded to your account. ==================================== Now I did not receive said letter they say was issued on 15th April 2015. I feel that this admin charge is well over what would be considered proportional to the original fee. Is there anything I can do here? Many thanks. DJC

Hi DX thanks for the reply. I said to them that I thought that this was surely unlawful, but they said not stating they had won numerous court cases about it, I was very dubious. Is there any information I can read regarding legalities of administration charges? Something that I can quote and refer them to in my defense ? Regards DJC.

Hi I am not sure if this is the right place for this query. However I have a question i hope someone can help me with. My house is subject to HLM Property management, they are responsible for the maintenance of the estate and I get a bill each year as a service charge. I had cash flow problems so was late paying the £152 fee, this was due on the 1st of January, but I received the letter, apologizing for the delay in issuing the charge, dated 16th February. I was informed that the balance owing was over £290, the extra £140 odd pounds is an administration fee. I was gobsmacked but I have sent a mail to them regarding that and have paid the £152.31 I owed pending the outcome of what will happen with the extra administration fee. I paid the £152.13 today , 20/04/2015. Now if 28 days are allowed from receipt of the letter, which at the earliest would be 17th, then I am 27 days late in paying. 28 days late if 28 days from the date of the letter. Can an administration charge of this amount really be justifiable? I have put my case to them but I am banking on them being unsympathetic but I do feel an administration charge that almost doubles the original fee is somewhat disproportionate and would appreciate some advise as to what I can do in this situation. Many thanks in advance. DJC.

Hi Slick. Still nothing from Zinc nor CRS/Harlands. Could it be that they have finally seen sense and given up?? Regards DJC

Hi Slick. Just thought I'd post to say that I have not as yet had a reply to either my email to Zinc nor my letter to CRS/Harlands. Regards DJC

Hi Slick. I sent email to Zinc last Friday and not had a reply as yet. Letter was sent to CRS on Monday so they should have had it by now. So do I now need to make a formal complaint to the guys at the OFT and what are my options in term of taking action for harassment against CRS? Many thanks DJC