Claims Financial?

[andynsue]

Hi Caggers,

 

Had a form through the post this morning from Claims Financial re: no win/no fee bank charges claim.

 

Has anyone any experience of this company. Their website looks ok.

 

Would be nice to hear about successes!!

 

Thanks.

[bennyowen]

andynsue,

 

There are many companies out there, such as Claims Financial, wanting to cash in on the recovery of bank charges. The companies know they will always win hence they are offering 'no win, no fee' arrangement.

 

You do not need any solicitor or company to help you with recoverying your bank charges, if any.

[johnnymitch]

Hi andysue , welcome to the forum

 

As bennyowen says, there are umpteen firms out there, all trying for ashare of your claim when it gets paid. There is a Court Case going on at the moment which is keeping all claims which have been lodged in court 'Stayed' i.e. on hold ... until the judgement is handed down.

 

Claims Financial will set up your claim , and get it to the 'stayed in court' stage along with all the thousands of others who did it for free using this site ... only difference is , it'll cost you .

 

With a little bit of effort on your part and unlimited guidance from this forum you can do the same - and it'll cost you nowt! LOL!

 

If you have bank charges to reclaim have a look at some of the links on here :

 

Links for new starters

http://www.consumerwiki.co.uk/index.php/Step_By_Step_Guide

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/31460-example-step-step-instructions.html

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/25457-guide-reclaiming-bank-charges.html

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/faqs-please-read-these/

Templates library

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/

If you decide to go for it , come back at any stage and ask for guidance - someone will always answer - and we're a friendly lot on here

[johnnymitch]

Just to give you a bit more info andynsue , the following is courtesy of Mr Lex one of the site team members on here :

 

Why you should start claim (courtesy of Mr Lex

 

Remember, you need to get your claim to court

 

When you start to send off your letters, they will probably try to tell you you can't claim because the case's are 'stayed' It is important that you ignore this and carry on, only the courts can put a 'stay' on your claim.

 

Although the banks have a ongoing test case with OFT there are a number of reasons why you should start to claim at court now:

 

Any older charges (coming up to 6 years) could be lost if you wait for the OFT case to end. Start your claim now and those charges are protected.(

 

you are supposed to be protected by the 'wavier', we now know you are not

When the stays are finally lifted, you will be one of the first in the queue to get paid

Once the courts are involved, you get the 8% interest

 

While the banks are protected by the stays, we the consumer, have no such protection and charges continue to mount up.

 

For some people this may mean going into default. If it is clear that the default was made in respect of charges and that it was lodged after a charges claim was begun then these users have a really excellent chance of having it removed.

 

So, to put it in a nutshell , the quicker you start the ball rolling the better, really .....

Edited February 6, 2009 by johnnymitch
removing font marks

[andynsue]

Hi everyone,

 

Thank you all for your advice. It will be taken :grin:

 

Andy n Sue

[johnnymitch]

Go get 'em Andy n Sue ......... it's your money! lol!

[frazzledfrau]

Hi I used claims financial on the basis of no win no fee. They sent my husband a bill for £88.13 as they said they recovered £155.24 for him so after £88.13 was deducted he received £67.11. I then received my bill again for £88.13 as they recovered £97.95 but after deducting £88.13 i was left with £9.82.

We did not see the money they recovered it was used by TSB to pay into the credit cards account we have with them. I telephoned Claims Financial and asked for time to pay they said it was fine but the set up fee would be £30 each.They are aware we are in a DMP so in the next few days i have to find £176.26 to send to them as i wont pay another £60 on top. It will be very hard to find this money but CF have now threatened action to receive in 7 days or .We will never aproach those kind of firms again. CF could have charged a percentage of any win instead of their full whack. Oh well my fault i should have known it was too good to be true,Their saying should be Small win still big FEE:-o

[bennyowen]

frazzledfrau,

 

It is unfortunate that you accepted their 'no win, no fee' arrangement from the start. You could have been able to sort it out yourself using simple letter templates in this forum.

 

I am not sure what else you can do to get out of their trap without paying their fee.

[consumer_champ]

Frazzledfrau,

 

I am sorry to hear your experience of Claims Financial was not a positive one.

 

The £88.13 you were charged represents the minimum fee of £75 + VAT which kicks in when our normal 25% + VAT does not cover the operating cost of a claim. This was all stated in the terms and conditions. We charge the minimum fee on smaller claims such as yours with a heavy heart but ultimately we are a business with costs, overheads etc.

 

The T&Cs also state that where you have an outstanding balance with a company (in your case TSB), they will use any refund won to reduce that balance.

 

I wish you success in any bank disputes you may have in the future. We're all in this together!

[johnnymitch]

We're not all in this together Consumer champ ..... I take it you are representing Claims Financial ............. so you're in it for the money ..... charging exorbitant fees to people who are in financial difficulties in the first place .......

 

But thanks for the explanation of your fees .... we can now warn unsuspecting punters that there is a (heavy) price to pay .....

[consumer_champ]

Thanks for your response johnny. All our fees are explained in the terms and conditions and several times on our website so you don't need to warn anyone of them, but thanks for offering!

 

Yes it's true we do offer a paid service but many of our customers have come to us after trying to fight their bank or lender on their own only to be fobbed off or bogged down in intimidating legal jargon. Our service makes it easier for people. Say you were going to Scotland on holiday. You could walk there for free, but I'm sure most people would pay for the convenience and comfort of a train. Clumsy analogy I know but hopefully you get my point.

 

We are well aware of the "evils" of claims management companies and we do strive to be different from the C***els of the world (which is why I came on here to address a customer's experience of us). Which is why our fees are explained clearly and do not charge upfront fees, which is why our clients can call us and be put straight through to the person who is dealing with their claim.

 

And in addition to our paid services we also offer many free guides on our website on various consumer issues such as how to reclaim mortgage arrears charges, mis sold GAP insurance, how to make a school admission appeal, flight delay compensation and many other things I'm sure a lot of Caggers would find useful.

 

So yes, our business is to help people, guilty as charged. But we're very emotionally invested in consumer justice too (I've been dealt harshly by a bank in the past myself). Many of us here really are not that much different from people who use this forum.

[johnnymitch]

I take your points consumer champ ..... thing is , you have to make money out of it to survive ... and by your own admission do not charge 'up-front fees' ..... which is why extras 'kick-in' as you say ... to the detriment of the customer who wasn't expecting it ........

 

However, the main point is that the vast majority (if not all) of the services you are providing can be obtained on CAG for free ... the customer only has to ask, follow advice /template letters /instructions .....

 

But we'll no doubt have to agree to differ on this ...............

[Jewels_1408]

Hi All i am after some help/advice with regards to Claims financial and the whole PPI recliam process and really hoping someone on here can help.

 

My mum put in a PPI reclaim well over a year ago with claims financial against a Capital One account she had been mis-sold PPI on years before. She filled all their forms out sent them off and didn't hear anything from them for almost a year. In the meantime i successfully reclaimed my PPI myself and told her to try and do it herself however that week she finally heard something from Claims financial saying that after almost a year of no contact they are progressing her claim with Cap One. Thinking this may be alot less hassel (as my step-dad had used a similar company to get is back with no problems) she told them to progress.

 

In Dec 2009 she rececived a letter stating Cap One had agreed to refund her PPI almost £1,600. Great she thought almost sorted. The later stated (as in line with their website) that my mum had to send them a chq for their fee, over £400 and then she will receive her chq for the remainder of her payout within 28days however 3 months on and she's still waiting and is £400 down

 

When she contacted them after the 28days they told her there was an issue with Cap One releasing the payment as the account she held with them was in her Maiden name and she has since married. She provided them with a copy of her marriage certficate and thought this would sort it however still nothing. The next time she called Claims Fianacial they told her to call Cap One direct and give them a push which she did but they advised because she is dealing with this through Claims Fianancial they couldn't deal with her. She called Claims Financial back and advised them that Cap One wouldn't talk to her and to get it sorted but they haven't and still everytime she calls they tell her to call Cap One.

 

As my mum correctly stated to them the last time she spoke to them why should she call Cap One to sort it when thats what she's paid them £400 for!!

 

This has been going on months and is really getting my mum down i so desperatly want to help her but were stuck cause we just get pushed from pillar to post

[johnnymitch]

Right consumer champ ...... your chance to shine ....... how about sorting this one out ???????? .....

[Arc Eye]

Johnnymitch I really understand your problems with Claims Financial:sad:, they are very obstructive I have found until they are paid off. Sorry its another tale of woe.

 

My situation is that they didnt complete the claim for me yet still demanded payment as per the small print Terms and Conditions, website etc etc, all things they never tell you about BEFORE you agree for them to act for you.

 

I mean, what else does no win, no fee mean?

 

To them it means if they have an awareness of a claim and you get paid out for it then they want a slice. The worst of it is you cant cancel with them unless you pay a hefty fee, again NEVER EVER NEVER pointed out, once they know you can make a claim, your theirs for the taking.

 

I ended all links to them as they wouldnt respond to my questions about why they wouldnt complete my claim (which is breach of contract!!!) and claimed my money back another way. Now they relentlessly pursue me for payment for a claim they never completed. Its unbelievable really...

 

When I wrote to them saying I wanted to complain and could they advise me on how to do it, I didnt get a reply, not even a how can we help you.

 

All I wanted was a nice easy claim, believed their advert card I got in the post, and now its just another problem.

 

All I can say is be wary of there customer service and start to write to them as emails go unanswered, phone calls cost a fortune as its an 0845, and should you ever call up they ask you to email in to a person that never responds, [email protected]. The only time they started to take me seriously was after I started to send registered post as the first 2 letters I sent went unanswered!

 

Just address any and all letters to The Compliance Manager of Claims Financial, send it registered for a signature and follow it up after a week or so. They must respond to these.

 

And like the claims industry themselves always advise, dont take the first response from them as being the end of the matter:)

 

In the end its up to you really as there are only 2 choices to follow:

 

Option A: take the No Win, No Fee route (which may be harder and less rewarding than you think)

 

or

 

Option B: take your chances and do it yourself....

[johnnymitch]

Hi Arc Eye , welcome to the forum

 

Yep ! it looks as if the intrepid 'consumer champ ' has gone to ground ..

 

Of course there is always Option C Arc Eye :

 

Come on here and ask , someone will help you through the procedures .... and it won't cost you a bean .......unless you want to contribute ....

[Jewels_1408]

Hey all just thought i'd post a progess report up on my mum's ongoing battle with Claims Fianacial.

 

End of last week after i put up my post my mum got a phone call confirming that at last they had the chq from Cap One!! However it was in my mum's madien name as that was her name on the account at the time. Claims Financial advised my mum this was not a problem they would simply send the chq to their accounts team and get them to raise a new chq in my mums married name, great she thought finally over however................

 

On Monday she got home from work to find yes the chq had arrived but it was the one Cap One sent them still in her maiden name when she called them she was advised she would need to send it back to them and they will resend in her married name however this will take upto 2 wks!

 

My mum has sent the chq back recorded delivery today, enclosed a letter explaining again the situation and giving them 14 days to get it sorted.

 

She has also spoken to the Ministry of Justice who where very helpful in telling her what to put in the letter and advised if after 14 days she has not received her new chq then to contact them again and they will step in.

 

Once sorted my mum is also going to go ahead with a complaint to try and get some of her fee back due to the time taken taken from her giving them their 25% to her actually getting the money plus the fact they kept telling her to get in touch with cap one so hopefully she'll get some sort of compensation.

 

For all those looking to deal with companies to get you PPI money back i would strongly suggest you think twice.

 

My mum only went down this route cause my step dad had done the same with no problems but never again.

 

I have successfully claimed back my PPI from Welcome Finance with the help of the moneysavingexpert website letter templates and in total it took no longer than 2 months from me sending the first letter to me receiving the chq so i would urge you as Arc Eye said below do it yourself and there will always be people on forums like this to lend a hand for free

[Castlebest]

There is one big difference between CAG and all of the other web sites and the claims "consultants". We have been there, know what it feels like, and can tell you in simple terms what to do to get everything sorted.

 

Claims "consultants" have found a way to make a living from doing exactly what we can tell you and like all businesses they dont really care that much if they win or loose... its not their money.

 

I'm sure people like consumer champ believe they are the next best thing to sliced bread but the truth is companies like his are a lottery, you may get someone who knows what they are doing dealing with your claim but the chances are you will get a desk jockey clerk who hasnt got a clue and just does what they are told.

 

I know some people would prefer someone else to sort it for them and thats fine, just try to find people who have successfully used whichever company your considering using before you let thyem take over.

 

pete

[blueeve]

About 3 months ago I instructed Claims Financial to act for 3 PPIs. I got a letter from Nat West that they would not pay the compensation. The second company was Southwark Credit Union, about two weeks ago I got an invoice from Claims Financial that the information I gave them was not correct therefore they attached an invoice of £129 to be paid by me. Since then they have been calling me on the phone, texting and emailing chasing me for money. I wrote to them to explained where they got it wrong, I wrote Southwark Credit Union on the PPI form sent to me but they have been writing HSBC instead. Up till today they continue to text and phone me to pay their invoice. Is it possible for me now to send another letter to Nat West directly for the PPI and the third company. Can you please help me with the letters.

[johnnymitch]

Hi Blueeve , welcome to the forum

 

To get the best advice on this I'd say re-post this request in the PPI forum ....there are a lot of clever people on there who can give you specialised advice ....... (just open a new thread and copy and paste your post from here ........... )

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?111-Payment-Protection-Insurance-(PPI)

 

if you have any further problem with it by all means come back and ask , someone will answer .....and we're user-friendly on here .....

[MAHLULI2]

CLAIMS FINANCIAL DANGER PLEASE KEEP AWAY This is a company that you should never go near if you can not claim for yourself using this forum's help do not make the mistake i made by going to claims financial. I am getting more calls, e mails and text messages from them than from all the people I know. They are threatening me everyday demanding payment for money that i have not received they also took money from my bank account without appropriate authorisation. Frankly there they are conman. They carge up to 50% in some instances meaning if you win £1000 they will charge up to £500. Stay sane and health and Please keep away from claims financial.

[MarRec]

hi,

you can always make complaint against unfair charges to claimsregulation, because Claim Financial's charges are unfair.

 

Thanks

[MarRec]

hi,

All complains against Claim Financial should be made to Claims Regulation office of Ministry of Justice.

[JayJayBee]

Few...had just filled in my claims financial form, but decided to research them..glad i did. They sound worse than the banks.

[johnnymitch]

hi jay jay bee

 

They sound worse than the banks.

 

Takes a bit of doing ..... but they are ..............LOL .. always better to research first ....... saves a lot of grief with these sharks .....