Can we avoid paying The Claims Guys for PPI reclaim fees?

[FifiTrix79]

My husband recently engaged The Claims Guys to do a free PPI check for him (much to my horror) and surprise, surprise, they are now demanding payment of over £2000 for the first compensation pay-out (30% plus VAT).

 

 

I object strongly to paying these jokers anything at all,

but despite interrogating my husband,

I can't seem to work out how they got from free check to binding contract.

 

 

I believe he only signed letters of authority for 2 companies (he can't remember which ones) but we have already been contacted by 3 companies so I really don't know what is going on.

 

Is there any way we can get the contract cancelled?

 

Is it worth me trying to fight it?

(On the grounds that they did not make it clear to my husband that he could do it himself or that he signed it under duress)

 

Is there anything at all I can do, or do we just have to pay up and find some way of keeping my husband away from all paperwork in future?

 

(For what it's worth, my husband is quite a successful professional - he is just hopeless at admin and anything financial...)

[BankFodder]

I think your first step must be to try and find out where the contract is and how it was concluded between you. If they say that it was simply a telephone agreement then I think you need to find out if there is a recording of the call. I would suggest that you send them an SAR. Do it now and accompanied by cheque.

 

I suggest also that you start looking around the Internet and see if you find that there is a trend in people complaining that they believed that they were simply getting involved in a free check and that they are mystified is how they got into a contract. If you can find other people in exactly the same boat then that will prove to be very useful support for your position.

 

If your husband actually signed something then you need to find out what he signed. Did you also provide other information relating to your account – and maybe an authority to act on behalf of yourselves? If you did then this is going to weaken your position.

 

I don't think they have any duty to make it clear that your husband could do it on his own. However, if you had come here first we would certainly have pointed this out to you. It's really not at all difficult. You say that there might be a question of duress. I think that this would be very difficult to prove to the satisfaction of the court. Can you tell us a bit more about the duress

[FifiTrix79]

Thanks for your reply BankFodder.

I was thinking about doing an SAR so I will get straight on to that.

Hopefully that will answer a lot of the other questions you posed,

e.g. what he signed and what was agreed.

 

With regards to the duress,

I have a letter from them which arrived this morning containing a questionnaire and letter of authority for yet another company (Capital One).

 

 

In a big red box halfway down the page it says:

Important: we require an individual Lender Questionnaire and Letter of Authority for each PPI policy we locate; therefore please complete and return every document we send you.

 

To me, that doesn't indicate that by completing and returning the paperwork you are entering into a contract and also suggests that now they have located a policy (as part of the free check) they *require* the paperwork for it so you *must* sign the forms.

Does that sound right, or it is wishful thinking on my part?

 

Just a quick question

- the SAR info could take up to 40 calendar days to come back.

Am I right in thinking that we shouldn't pay The Claims Guys anything until we get the info?

 

Should I submit a complaint to them as well to try to stall the chasing process?

 

 

They are ringing every couple of days at the moment and it has only been a week and a bit.

Or should I just put in the SAR letter that we won't pay until the info is received?

 

Thanks

[dx100uk]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?467506-Claims-Guys-want-Fees-regarding-PPI-reclaim-no-contract-**WON**

[dx100uk]

don't pay anything until proof of signed contract for THAT card.

[FifiTrix79]

Thanks dx100uk.

I saw that thread earlier and it gave me a little hope that we might be able to do this.

Her situation was a bit different so we'll have to see what happens I suppose.

 

Either way, I'm pretty much thinking that we will stall them as long as possible, SAR, complaints through their own process and to the FOS or Claims Management Regulator, until they actually take us to court or back down and offer us a discounted figure or write it off like the other thread.

 

The only thing I'm concerned about is what they are entering on our credit file, although the damage is probably already done on that one so maybe there's not much to lose.

 

Thanks again for you help.

[dx100uk]

don't think they can trash a credit file?

[ThedaBara]

Perhaps if the PPI is attached to a joint loan, they would need both signatures to enter into a contract? TB

[dx100uk]

ppi is usually only covering one person

[cjcregg]

The Claims Guys contracts are, in my view, not compliant with the regulations.

 

 

http://theclaimsguys-wordpress-prod.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/app/uploads/2016/11/03094535/TCG-TOE.pdf

 

 

Clause 3 © states that the contract is formed after you have completed and returned the Lender Questionnaire or have completed the Lender Questionnaire over the phone. However if your husband did the latter then, in my view, the contract isn't valid because of the regulatory requirement for CMCs to have a written contract signed by the customer.

[FifiTrix79]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for your advice so far.

I have submitted an SAR along with an initial complaint letter to The Claims Guys

(I won't post here but happy to share the text of the letter with anyone by direct message/email).

 

I listed 5 issues/factors where I felt we had legitimate complaints

(including Clause 3c as above - thanks cjcregg)

 

 

have received a reply from them summarising our concerns and asking for time to investigate them.

 

I believe that they have 8 weeks to investigate according to the Legal Ombudsman

and I have informed them that we will be raising the complaint to the Ombudsman if we're unsatisfied after that.

 

We've had several letters from them in the meantime regarding other financial institutions they reckon my husband had PPI with.

 

 

Looking at them critically now,

the paperwork is not designed to make it clear that you are entering into a contract at all.

I might try to post an example so you can see what I mean.

 

thanks again for your help and I'll provide updates as and when.

Support, advice and encouragement always welcome!

 

Cheers,

 

FiFi

[dx100uk]

hows this going?

[dx100uk]

hows this going?