Legalcare or Aska Professional Ltd file court claim **Claim Dismissed + Wasted Costs Order**

[BankFodder]

Do you know if the Court have received anything ?

Yes, this is an important question. Although our county courts are great and the staff are very nice, they are extremely inefficient and documents get lost, misfiled or not sent out.

 

I'm afraid that if you are expecting documents to be filed then it is worth phoning the court every couple of days just to double check. You don't want to be caught out simply because the Court somehow hasn't sent your copies out to you. I'm afraid that this is not uncommon

[Eversir]

Sorry, should have added about that!

 

Yes, checked with the court also and they have nothing on file. Haven't a clue if the other side will file anything; not entirely sure what they COULD actually submit, if anything.

 

N.B. (post 272): http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?388765-Legalcare.co.uk-BEWARE-Sting-In-The-Tail!!!!&p=4564518#post4564518

[BankFodder]

Fancy that

 

IAIN SHOVLIN, an individual,

 

Plaintiff,

v.

PAUL CARELESS and others

[Eversir]

So, first of all many apologies for not posting back here sooner but it wasn't without reason!

 

A final update on how things went...

 

I arrived at court on the 14th July 2014 to discover that Aska Professional Ltd (aka LegalCare) had sent a last-minute fax to the court, stating that the claim had been settled with myself. Which was news to me. I advised the usher as such, and the hearing went ahead in their absence.

 

I put my case to the judge, explaining the business practices of the company as evidenced not only in my own circumstances, but also by the sheer volume of similar (if not identical) complaints that exist on this very forum. I asked the court to consider that the company had attempted (and succeeded) into misleading consumers via their website, explaining the sign-up process in detail with corresponding screenshots of their actual website.

 

Whilst the above is merely a quick summary of our discussion, the upshot of it was the judge agreed the company had behaved unreasonably. I was awarded £179.50, with the company being ordered to pay by the 28th July 2014.

 

But wait: it doesn't end there!

 

The 28th came and went; no payment was forthcoming from Aska Professional. After researching various ways to enforce an order, and bearing-in-mind their registered office appears to be a forwarding address (i.e. it was unlikely they would have any assets at there) - I decided to file a third party debt order on the 7th August 2014 to recover the funds.

 

Now unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be as much information freely available regarding third party debt orders as there does instructing bailiffs. I'm sure this could be better explained by someone else, but it involves freezing the funds of a person or business (i.e. a bank account). Sadly it costs £100.00, but it's quick; and if you know the bank account details of the company, they don't know anything about it until the order has been applied.

 

Very fortunately, I had their bank account details from the invoice they had sent me last year. How kind of them. An interim third party debt order was granted on the 14th August; their account was frozen shortly after; and a hearing was schedule for earlier this morning (10th October 2014).

 

No sign of Aska Professional Ltd this morning; the judge was not impressed. Their bank will be releasing £279.50 to me in the coming days. Hopefully this sends the message that what they are doing is unacceptable; I also hope it goes some way to reassuring others that these guys can be successfully challenged!

 

I'll pop up my witness statement shortly, in case that is of any use to people in future.

 

Thanks to everyone that provided support, least not of all the site team. The wealth of knowledge on this forum is invaluable, particularly those with no legal background!

[BankFodder]

What an amazing story. Thank you very much indeed for keeping us informed.

 

I'm not aware that we have had any instances of people on this forum applying for third-party debt orders – so if you have an opportunity to let us know about it and also to link to some useful information, then we would be very interested indeed.

 

Additionally, I expect there are other people who might have judgements against this company or who might be considering taking actions against them. In view of the difficulty of enforcement, it would be very helpful if maybe you could email their bank details to us so that we can hold them privately and provide them to anybody else who has the same problem.

 

I think in view of this experience and the difficulties that you have had with them, it is safe to say that this company are not trustworthy and that nobody should go to them for help or spend any money with them.

 

Furthermore if anybody has spent money with them or is being chased by them, they should not worry about it and they should take courage from your experience. This is not the kind of company that anyone would want to do business with.

[AndyOrch]

Excellent result Eversir

 

Thread title amended to reflect the out come.

 

Well done.

 

Andy

[BankFodder]

We now have the bank details of this company in our possession.

 

We are prepared to release them to anybody who has obtained a judgement against them.

[BankFodder]

It also crosses my mind to wonder what kind of company is it that can go for two months or more with its bank account frozen.

 

Maybe it has another bank account as well. Who knows.

[slick132]

Hi Eversir and Big Congrats on your win !!

 

Well done, not only for seeing the case through to the hearing date but for then taking assertive action to recover the Judgement amount from Legalcare.

 

They had some balls, to fax the court saying the matter had been settled on the day of the hearing. If this is how they conduct their own own legal cases, it's little surprise folk that have sought advice from them have been unimpressed !!

 

Let us know when you've rec'd the funds ..............

 

Edited October 10, 2014 by slick132
typo

[Eversir]

Thank you BankFodder and andyorch! (edit: and also Slick!)

 

Regarding the third party debt order:

 

1) You need to have obtained a judgement (kind of obvious). Your then known as the "judgement creditor".

 

2) You ideally need to know the bank details of the person or company ["the judgement debtor"] you are trying to enforce the order against (or as much information as possible). If you don't, I believe the application can either be rejected by the judge or at best, a hearing is arranged where the debtor has to provide their financial information. Which is kind of pointless, because they then have the opportunity to withdraw funds from their account.

 

3) Fill in form N349, making sure everything is completed. If you know the debtor owes money to someone else (i.e. an unsatisfied CCJ), you HAVE to provide that information. If you don't know, don't worry about it. Send that to the court your judgement was made at: DO NOT send a copy to the debtor.

 

4) The judge makes a decision regarding an interim third party debt order. This happens pretty quickly, usually the same or next day the court receives the application.

 

5) If an interim third party debt order is granted, you receive a copy and the debtor's bank receives a copy. The debtor doesn't get notified until 7 days after, so the bank has time to freeze the account.

 

6) The debtor's bank has to inform the creditor and the court whether the funds in the bank account cover the value of the order. If it doesn't, they have to state what value is in the account. The order comes into effect on the day it is received by the bank. Timing is crucial because if the order is served when no or few funds are available, the freeze will only be applied to the account at that point. New funds going into the account after this date are not affected by the freeze.

 

7) A hearing is scheduled for a final decision on the third party debt order. I believe individuals can sometimes request a hardship payment is made from the frozen account if they can show it beyond all reasonable doubt, but I don't think this applies to a company.

 

8) At the hearing, the judge makes a decision about whether the final third party debt order should be granted. I don't really know what significance this hearing has; I think it's just a formality for debtors that are private individuals (i.e. suffering financial hardship) or else if a judgement has already been satisfied.

 

9) If granted, the judge orders the frozen funds are released to the creditor. You should get the costs of the order back from the debtor too!

 

 

 

 

Obviously the process is not without it's risks; you might not get your money back if they have no money. But the same might be said for charging orders (property) or instructing bailiffs (possessions)

 

 

C.P.R. Info on Third Party Debt Orders: http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part72

[caro]

Thank you eversir and congratulations. As BF has said it does make you wonder how a company can manage with a frozen bank account for so long. I wonder what the SRA would make of it.

[laura12]

Congrats Eversir,

 

Totally inspired by this story and hope you enjoy having this experience behind you

[honeybee13]

Well done from me too, Eversir, I've been following your thread. You must have done really good job in front of the judge.

 

HB

[havinastella]

Well done Eversir. Thank you for updating the thread, excellent result.

[citizenB]

Well done from me as well.

 

[Ganymede]

I wonder what the SRA would make of it.

 

Probably nothing as Legalcare are neither a law firm nor regulated by the SRA.

[caro]

Probably nothing as Legalcare are neither a law firm nor regulated by the SRA.

 

I've clearly missed something crucial as I've not read every post, but how can they give legal advice or call themselves professionals?

[citizenB]

I've clearly missed something crucial as I've not read every post, but how can they give legal advice or call themselves professionals?

 

I have obviously missed the same, Caro. It definitely says on their website.. "Ask a Solicitor a Question"

 

The statement on the Website further says.. "One of our experienced solicitors will respond to your question via email"

[citizenB]

http://behindmlm.com/companies/legalcare-review-recruitment-driven-legal-service/

 

It has a very strange recruitment system - apparently if you want to be "employed" by Legal Care, you have to sign up to the package they offer. The more subscriptions you sell, the higher up the ladder you go and the more commission you earn ! That's the way I read it anyway.

[slick132]

http://behindmlm.com/companies/legalcare-review-recruitment-driven-legal-service/

 

It has a very strange recruitment system - apparently if you want to be "employed" by Legal Care, you have to sign up to the package they offer. The more subscriptions you sell, the higher up the ladder you go and the more commission you earn ! That's the way I read it anyway.

 

Wow, I didn't realise this is basically described as a MLM (or Pyramid) operation.

 

Perhaps this explains why folk have often commented that they were getting poor quality advice that they suspected did NOT come from qualified solicitors.

 

[citizenB]

Pyramid .... That's the word I was looking for - thanks Slick

[Eversir]

Thank you everyone

 

------

 

Pyramid Schemes are illegal in the UK, are they not?

 

But the one of the key differences behind an MLM and a Pyramid Scheme is that the MLM is supposed to offer items or services of actual value. So who determines if the MLM is offering something of value? I'd imagine many consumers would argue the "service" provided by LegalCare is infact, worthless!

[Ganymede]

I've clearly missed something crucial as I've not read every post, but how can they give legal advice or call themselves professionals?

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

1. What is LegalCare?
    
   LegalCare is an online legal platform which provides access to legal advice from a panel of solicitors and legal advisors.
   

1. Are your solicitors regulated?
    
   Yes, all of the solicitors on our panel are regulated by the SRA, additionally any solicitor that we recommend to you will be regulated by the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority).
   

 

http://www.legalcare.co.uk/faqs

[citizenB]

I've clearly missed something crucial as I've not read every post, but how can they give legal advice or call themselves professionals?

 

Probably nothing as Legalcare are neither a law firm nor regulated by the SRA.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

1. What is LegalCare?
    
   LegalCare is an online legal platform which provides access to legal advice from a panel of solicitors and legal advisors.
   

1. Are your solicitors regulated?
    
   Yes, all of the solicitors on our panel are regulated by the SRA, additionally any solicitor that we recommend to you will be regulated by the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority).
   

 

http://www.legalcare.co.uk/faqs

 

 

Gannymede, you said in an earlier post that they were not regulated by the SRA ? So, if they are, can people complain to the SRA ?

[Ganymede]

Gannymede, you said in an earlier post that they were not regulated by the SRA ? So, if they are, can people complain to the SRA ?

 

Legalcare themselves are not regulated by the SRA.

 

All they do is act as a portal and introduce you to a law firm on their panel that is appropriate for your needs. They are just a middle man.

 

If you had a problem with the law firm you were introduced to by Legalcare then the law firm would be regulated by the SRA and you could complain about the firm but not Legalcare.