Claiming on a Business account? Lets join forces?

[steven4064]

Originally Posted by photoman

They more than likely do not have any more legal training or background than yourself, so cannot offer you anything more than you could simply do yourself (some have even been known to glean info from sites such as this).

One of them PMd a user and asked for a copy of his court bundle, even though claiming on another thread to be a fully qualified professional

[JOSH_IOU]

The court bundles are fre of charge and availableon cag.

But with traces of autism in your dissability one would be grateful of help as I was.

But you would expect some extra training other than cag wouldnt you.

I can use these guides but i cant complete it all at once.

And sometimes 1 month is not enough for me.

I do see where these firms can be useful if only they were reliable.

[TheyrCriminals]

Hi Guys,

Just following on from the above thread, my brother's friend used a claims management company, which I am not going to name, for his bank charge claim and he was very happy with their performance. When I enquired as to why he used them after I had told him about CAG (almost telling him off!) he did give me a valid reason really. I suppose we shouldn't forget that while most, if not all, of us on CAG are perfectly capabale of pursuing our own claims (with the help of CAG) there are some who have difficulty even writing/copying a letter let alone pursuing a claim through the courts. Also I have to admit that I used a claims management company to recover my PPI and overall I can't fault them, yes they took 25% of my money but the reason I used them was that I was just simply too busy and yes you can become that busy!!!

Don't get me wrong I will always advocate people pursue their own claims but claims management companies can be helpful to some I guess. But any claims management company that is trawling these threads to generate business is appalling tactics and needs to be stamped out!!

TheyrCriminals

[TideTurner]

Originally Posted by TheyrCriminals

Don't get me wrong I will always advocate people pursue their own claims but claims management companies can be helpful to some I guess. But any claims management company that is trawling these threads to generate business is appalling tactics and needs to be stamped out!!

TheyrCriminals

These people need to be identified, as do those who browse the site on behalf of the Banks.

All suspect posts / members should be reported.

[Northern Soul]

I have my own experience with a claims management company where i sent them details of a personal account, a credit card and a business account.

Out of the blue I have recieved a full and final offer from Abbey business, which I don't doubt was a result of the company sending them something, however the company seem to have little knowledge of what stage my claim is when I contact them, so I am going to accept Abbey's offer on the basis that it's less hassle to do so even though I won't get all the charges back. Also because I doubt that it will be worth the claims company's while to pursue me for the small amount of costs they may have encountered.

Abbey's full and final offer is about 75% and I'm quite happy to just accept that to avoid any further hassle.

[photoman]

Northern soul
I had already seen your thread, and subscribed (without commenting, as Zoot was giving you some very sound advice, and nothing much anyone else could really add) to see what unfolds.

As a caveat to my earlier post about the use of claims companies, I can understand (in line with Josh IOU's post) that there are some people who need to use such companies. Whether it be due to disability, being overwhelmed by the process, or simply too little time to deal with themselves.
Having said that, if someone needs to go down this route, then finding and choosing the right company must be very difficult, there are a lot of cowboys out there. Also, sometimes understanding the legalities and contractual commitments involved can be similar in complexity and as daunting as dealing with matters yourself.
For those who really feel this is a necessity then don't just jump into bed with some company that has contacted you, that is asking for trouble. Instead ask friends, family etc for recommendations based on experience they may have had regards similar issues, and then ensure they are a proper firm of licensed, accredited and insured professionals.

Anyhow, regards your own case, you really need to read the small print on the contract you signed with them (presuming there was one), and determine what level of control you retained over the case.
In my view, the contract may be considered as one of supplier and consumer. You are the client, and as such should be afforded the privilege of deciding how far the case is taken, and whether or not to accept any out of court offers.
You may find that your agreement is governed by the new 2008 consumer regulations, and that some of it may be of benefit to you ? Others will know better and advise you on this.
Although, not perhaps a serious breach of contract, they have not in my opinion behaved with the due care and attention warranted in such matters. They really should have been aware that it was a Business account claim for starters, and should also have kept you informed of their actions and any progress as they unfolded.
I think Zoot is right when she talked about the uncertain path to currently take with Business claims, and I think that the solicitors should be aware of and advising along similar lines, rather than pushing you along. After all, it is not their money, and I'm sure they have written in some way of recovering their own costs regardless, so they've nothing much to lose by pushing you along.
I would suggest you be upfront with the solicitors, not try to hide what is going on, but at the same time explain your concerns and desire to agree to the banks current offer.
Do not try to do things behind their back, as it could come up and bit you.

I suggest you get some advice from the more experienced members of CAG, and draft up a fax to send them. Try the softly softly reasonable approach first, and try to get them round to your way of thinking. You might find them more agreeable than you fear. If however, no agreement can be reached, then look into your legal rights and options.

PM


PS: If you do decide or find that court is inevitable, have you heard of something called "After the Event Insurance (ATE insurance).
It is a policy that can be taken out which will cover any court fees, costs etc should you end up losing your case.
If you do actually find yourself on the legal road through the solicitors, then ask them all about this first (and get others advice and opinions on it too).
If I recall properly, I think this type of insurance is only available if using a legal firm and is not available to litigants in person.

[Northern Soul]

I've been studying the 2008 consumer regulations as well as Zoot's informed posts and I think that I should accept the banks offer after i have told the claims company that I am going to do so.

I'll call them tomorrow and we'll see what they say, but the easiest option for me now is to just take the money so I'm not going to be coerced into anything else. Thanks to you lot I have plenty of ammunition should the worst come to the worst with the claims company, but i can't see that happening and they can't charge me for work they haven't done (especially when they don't seem to know what they've done).

Thanks for some more valuable advice.

[Northern Soul]

As per my own thread, i have now accepted Abbey's full and final offer and have contacted the claims company to tell them exactly that. They aren't too happy and have asked for 15% of my offer plus VAT as their fee, which they claim compares favourably with the "market rate".

I tried to explain that they were not using due care and attention, they failed to keep me informed of timescales and progress reports were non-existent and that pursuing a court action would not be in my best interest for a business account at this time. I have a few other arguments to back myself up, so I'm quite satisfied that any contract they believe they had with me was made null and void by their conduct.

I'll be starting a specific thread about this shortly. My own thread covers the story so far.

I will agree also that although I had a bad experience with one such company, there may well be reputable companies out there who can and will help.

To confirm the details of my business claim however, I have recieved a full and final offer for approximately 75% of the charges and I'm quite happy to accept that, it didn't take much to get that either I feel as no court proceeding had been started.

The offer stood for 28 days from the 13th of June. The letter cites the OFT case and states "It is possible that this case may inform the approach to be taken by banks in how they deal with business claims such as yours."

Hope this helps.

[TheyrCriminals]

Hi Northern Soul,

Could you post up which company you used or if you don't wish to put it on a post could you pm it to me please?

Many Thanks

TheyrCriminals

[Northern Soul]

I'm not prepared to do that at this time, however I am going to shortly once I have confirmed my position on how to defend myself from the fees they are seeking. I'm not trying to be unhelpful, I'm just cautious as you never know who could be reading this forum.

[kashfat]

just wana say thanks for that info, im gunna do session this weekend and get my n244 off, hopefully the judge will budge.

[lancasterchelsea]

A conundrum................ I initially made my business claim though MCOL, and because of (a) the particulars of claim were too brief/inadequate, and (b) all MCOL business claims were being stayed, I withdrew the claim within 2 DAYS (!!!) of filing the claim on MCOL.

About 6 months later, I made a new claim through my local court with a much more descriptive and much larger POC.
So the first claim was very quickly withdrawn and 6 months later a new claim was started. The new claim is proceeding normally without a stay.

I have now had a threatening letter from the bank's solicitors saying...that it is contrary to court laws and against the court process to issue the same claim twice. They also threaten that I will be charged with all their costs if I carry on.

Do the solicitors think
(1) I have 2 current court cases proceeding for the same claim.... which is obviously naughty.... and I haven't
or
(2) are they saying I cannot make a claim, withdraw it before it has got started, and before it might have been stayed, and reissue the claim later

I haven't done (1)... I have done (2)

[JOSH_IOU]

HI Lancaster.

If the claim was withdrawn by the courts how short was your claim?h

Did you use the templates on this site?

[photoman]

IMHO,

I think they are trying it on ?

Did they actually file a defence to your MCOL claim prior to your discontinuing it ?

Reading the CPR (Court procedure rules):

Discontinuance and subsequent proceedings
CPR: 38.7
A claimant who discontinues a claim needs the permission of the court to make another claim against the same defendant if –
(a) he discontinued the claim after the defendant filed a defence; and

(b) the other claim arises out of facts which are the same or substantially the same as those relating to the discontinued claim.



Your claim would/could come under under part b, as the claim is substantially the same as your prior claim.

HOWEVER..... This part only kicks in if part a (ie: they had filed a defence before your withdrawal) had already occured.

So, I think the relevant bit here is whether or not they filed a defence prior to your withdrawing the first claim.
In which case you should have then applied to the court for permission to re-issue the claim.

If no defence had been filed to your original claim prior to your withdrawal, then you would not have had to apply for permission.

[photoman]

Here's the relevant link:


PART 38 - DISCONTINUANCE