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Howard Cohen, oh dear


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Phone call and email received this afternoon, from S.R.A.:-

 

 

20 May 2009

 

 

 

Dear Mr

Regulating the profession

Your report about Howard Cohen & Co

I write further to our telephone conversation on 20 May 2009. As discussed, in order to deal with the concern you have raised we are passing the matter to Gordons LLP, a firm of solicitors working on our behalf. The firm will be using Solicitors Regulation Authority letter headed paper in this matter, to make it clear that they are working under contract to us. A member of staff from Gordons LLP will contact you soon. As explained, a copy of your initial correspondence has been sent to the subject of your report.

Gordons LLP of 14 Piccadilly, Bradford BD1 3LX, will consider the information that you have provided and carry out any investigation, which may be necessary. The Solicitors Regulation Authority will inform you of the final decision.

If you have any queries in the meantime, please contact me at the above address or on the number below. It would be helpful if you quote the reference number provided above when contacting me.

Yours sincerely

 

 

Joann Ashley

Customer Services Officer

Conduct Investigation Unit

 

 

I have heard nothing from OFT, or Watchdog or You and Yours.

 

 

 

Well, it's a start:)

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PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME TO GIVE ADVICE BY PM - IF YOU PROVIDE A LINK TO YOUR THREAD THEN I WILL BE HAPPY TO OFFER ADVICE THERE:D

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I wonder exactly what these solicitors have been tasked with investigating? Is it just this one issue? Or are they being passed all complaints regarding Howard Cohen?

 

If its the latter, should everyone with a grievance about Howard Cohen be contacting the investigating solicitors to build a bigger and stronger case?

 

Maybe when they contact you regarding the complaint you could ask them for clarification and what others should do who have a complaint against them?

 

I'd be happy to weigh in but my only real complaint against them is the back dating of a letter in an attempt to amend the POC on a claim they made - something which they did with a number of people.

 

Taking down a firm of solicitors, or at least making things uncomfortable with them, will be of great benefit to everyone. Will make other solicitors think twice in future about dodgy behaviour.

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They did this to my sister 3 years' ago, and we have just sat back and accepted it, but now I am going to get out all the paperwork and see what I can find! She never did make any payments even though there is now a CCJ. Still doing the rounds of the DCAs but the CCJ seems to have been overlooked:rolleyes:

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They did this to my sister 3 years' ago, and we have just sat back and accepted it, but now I am going to get out all the paperwork and see what I can find! She never did make any payments even though there is now a CCJ. Still doing the rounds of the DCAs but the CCJ seems to have been overlooked:rolleyes:

 

Yes, find the paperwork and check with the court that it actually happened and it isnt just another (allegedly) "fake" Cohen CCJ

omnia praesumuntur legitime facta donec probetur in contrarium

 

 

Please note: I am not a member of the legal profession, all advice given is purely my opinion, if in doubt consult a professional

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Maybe when they contact you regarding the complaint you could ask them for clarification and what others should do who have a complaint against them?

 

.

 

Will do Blue Boy, it'll be a pleasure.

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It is normal for the SRA to do this - borne out of the fact that Solicitors are ultimately self regulating. The SRA (used to be The Law society) is quite a good regulator but they don't move at the speed of light.

 

I don't think the issue of people using other peoples letterheads is worth pursuing - if business(a) gets business(b) to act as it's agent then there is nothing wrong with that.

 

The big issue here is HC lying to people in writing..

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Howard Cohen sent me some documents reporting to be from another towns county court it had at the top in the court of XXXXX where XXXXX town is my post code. It did’nt have the courts seal on it but did say in the court of XXXXXXX in big legal looking writing and read like a court order of what a must do! ie pay up

Thing is my county court is the next town on it’s just of bit of quirk of geography which is luckily for me making the fakery so obvious.

Shame it didn’t go to court, would of loved to pull that out to show the judge

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Howard Cohen sent me some documents reporting to be from another towns county court it had at the top in the court of XXXXX where XXXXX town is my post code. It did’nt have the courts seal on it but did say in the court of XXXXXXX in big legal looking writing and read like a court order of what a must do! ie pay up

 

Thing is my county court is the next town on it’s just of bit of quirk of geography which is luckily for me making the fakery so obvious.

Shame it didn’t go to court, would of loved to pull that out to show the judge

 

If you believe they have sent you documents which claim to be court papers and they arent.. then you should most certainly be contacting the authorities.

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Uploading documents to CAG ** Instructions **

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Dealing with Customer Service Departments? - read the CAG Guide first

1: Making a PPI claim ? - Q & A's and spreadsheets for single premium policy - HERE

2: Take back control of your finances - Debt Diaries

3: Feel Bullied by Creditors or Debt Collectors? Read Here

4: Staying Calm About Debt  Read Here

5: Forum rules - These have been updated - Please Read

BCOBS

1: How can BCOBS protect you from your Banks unfair treatment

2: Does your Bank play fair - You can force your Bank to play Fair with you

3: Banking Conduct of Business Regulations - The Hidden Rules

4: BCOBS and Unfair Treatment - Common Examples of Banks Behaving Badly

5: Fair Treatment for Credit Card Holders and Borrowers - COBS

Advice & opinions given by citizenb are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME TO GIVE ADVICE BY PM - IF YOU PROVIDE A LINK TO YOUR THREAD THEN I WILL BE HAPPY TO OFFER ADVICE THERE:D

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master woody, dont leave it for someone else to do- we are all in this together

 

 

if they have sent you documents that are on the pretence of being court docs send copies of them to the court and also with a complaint to the SRA

 

I am sure that anne robinson who is taking over watchdog again would like to have a go at something like this and they would keep your identity secret

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It would be interesting to see these 'court documents' that Howard Cohen have sent uploaded here because many people wouldn't know the difference between a genuine one and a 'differently genuine' one.

 

Just a thought.........

Welshwizard QC (Quite Content):rolleyes:

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Let's face it firms like Howard Cohen and C L Finance have been getting away with this for years. We now have a situation where people like us can compare notes and realise that these are not one off's. If we throw as many of these 'indiscretions' at the S.R.A. etc., then perhaps something will be done, and we have far better chance of bringing these firms to their knees this way than pleading unenforcable agreements.

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Here's mine again just to assist:-

 

Howard Cohen pictures by mightyacorn2008 - Photobucket

 

If you were not aware of what is going on about your case, you could be easily fooled into thinking that this was a genuine article. My thanks go here to CAG for giving me the information I need to question and check on these types of letters. This letter caused my wife a great deal of grief, as she opened it first. I was able to convince her that the letter was a down right lie.

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Here's mine again just to assist:-

 

Howard Cohen pictures by mightyacorn2008 - Photobucket

 

If you were not aware of what is going on about your case, you could be easily fooled into thinking that this was a genuine article. My thanks go here to CAG for giving me the information I need to question and check on these types of letters. This letter caused my wife a great deal of grief, as she opened it first. I was able to convince her that the letter was a down right lie.

 

I think there was a thread started a couple of weeks in respect of letters like this. If I can find the link I will pop it on here.

 

I think you MUST tell the SRA, I am not sure whether or not there would be any mileage in also sending a copy to OFT and Trading Standards.

Have we helped you ...?         Please Donate button to the Consumer Action Group

Uploading documents to CAG ** Instructions **

Looking for a draft letter? Use the CAG Library

Dealing with Customer Service Departments? - read the CAG Guide first

1: Making a PPI claim ? - Q & A's and spreadsheets for single premium policy - HERE

2: Take back control of your finances - Debt Diaries

3: Feel Bullied by Creditors or Debt Collectors? Read Here

4: Staying Calm About Debt  Read Here

5: Forum rules - These have been updated - Please Read

BCOBS

1: How can BCOBS protect you from your Banks unfair treatment

2: Does your Bank play fair - You can force your Bank to play Fair with you

3: Banking Conduct of Business Regulations - The Hidden Rules

4: BCOBS and Unfair Treatment - Common Examples of Banks Behaving Badly

5: Fair Treatment for Credit Card Holders and Borrowers - COBS

Advice & opinions given by citizenb are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME TO GIVE ADVICE BY PM - IF YOU PROVIDE A LINK TO YOUR THREAD THEN I WILL BE HAPPY TO OFFER ADVICE THERE:D

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Here's mine again just to assist:-

 

Howard Cohen pictures by mightyacorn2008 - Photobucket

 

If you were not aware of what is going on about your case, you could be easily fooled into thinking that this was a genuine article. My thanks go here to CAG for giving me the information I need to question and check on these types of letters. This letter caused my wife a great deal of grief, as she opened it first. I was able to convince her that the letter was a down right lie.

 

We had the exact same response, but back in February. As yet have not done anything as I am unsure how it would influence their behaviour towards the case which is ongoing.

 

See thread:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collection-industry/182360-c-l-finance-awaiting.html

 

 

Will keep you updated and watch with interest?

 

Regards

-

PLEASE NOTE - I am not a legal expert, my comments are based on information learnt or

obtained and from my own experiences.

-

Case 1 - C L Finance - Court Case 'Stayed' :-). Stay Lifted - N149 AQ Received & Filed. Case Struck Out :grin:

-

Case 2 - C L Finance - Defence Filed. N150 AQ Received & Filed. Case 'Settled by Consent' :)

-

Case 3 - EOS Solutions - No Agreement - Account Closed ~£3500. :grin:

-

Advice & opinions offered freely but informally, without prejudice & without liability.

Use your own judgment and seek advice from a qualified and insured professional if you have any doubts.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Reply received from Gordon's Solicitor, talk about wihitewash. Despite the fact that I pointed out in April that my complaint was nothing to do with Cohen's failings under CPR, but was solely regarding the letter received from them, Owen still refered to it, giving more concern to the CPR than to the letter which just appears to have been mentioned in passing:-

 

Howard Cohen Three pictures by mightyacorn2008 - Photobucket

 

I have emailed him back, indicating that I am not too happy with his reply.

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The problems we have here is that Owen is dealing with just one complaint and it is acceptable that the occasional clerical error occurs, therefore I would be grateful if any other Cagger has received this type of letter from Cohen's ie letters telling downright lies, alleging that CCJ's exist, when they don't, etc., please pm me with details and I'll forward them on to Mr Owen.

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Reply to my email when I expressed my concern over Mr Owen's referal to CPR matters :-

 

Dear Mr

 

Thank you for your email.

 

As my letter of yesterday's date indicates, I am not investigating the issue in relation to the CPR request. If you do have any concerns that requests under the CPR have not been responded to, then you should raise this with the Court as the Court considers matters relating to the CPR.

 

I confirmed in my letter however that I am investigating the circumstances surrounding the sending of the inaccurate letter regarding the existence of a County Court Judgment. As this letter was not sent by an admitted solicitor but an unqualified member of staff at the firm, I am considering this by reference to the supervision structure the firm had in place when the letter was sent. As I have said the firm have apologised for this letter having been sent and have said that this was sent mistakenly through human error.

 

I note that you have forwarded to me the exchange of emails that you have had with the OFT. I confirm that I am not considering any issues relating to the OFT complaint you have made and you should continue to address any concerns in that regard to the OFT.

 

You will be contacted further in due course.

 

Yours sincerely

If he's not investigating it and I've not asked for it investigating, why has he even mentioned it, could it be that without mentioning CPR there wouldn't have been anything to say in his letter.

 

Well at least Howard Cohen has apologised for their "human error", that's all right then................the hell it is!!!

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My 2 pence worths

 

When cohen sent the letter purporting a CCJ been granted...

you should pay ££££££ starting xx date...

 

Is just me or there could be a case of Trying To Obtain Money By Deception?

Of course i may be wrong, and if so, please accept my apology.

Its just a thought

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My 2 pence worths

 

When cohen sent the letter purporting a CCJ been granted...

you should pay ££££££ starting xx date...

 

Is just me or there could be a case of Trying To Obtain Money By Deception?

Of course i may be wrong, and if so, please accept my apology.

Its just a thought

 

I wa sort of hoping (silly, and perhaps naive, I know) that the SRA and OFT might look at all aspects, however:-

 

The Fraud Act 2006:-

Section 2: Fraud by false representation

 

Section 2 makes it an offence to commit fraud by false representation. Subsection (1)(a) makes clear that the representation must be made dishonestly. This test applies also to sections 3 and 4. The current definition of dishonesty was established in Ghosh, R. v [1982] EWCA Crim 2 (05 April 1982); [1982] Q.B.1053. That judgment sets a two-stage test. The first question is whether a defendant's behaviour would be regarded as dishonest by the ordinary standards of reasonable and honest people. If answered positively, the second question is whether the defendant was aware that his conduct was dishonest and would be regarded as dishonest by reasonable and honest people.

Subsection (1)(b) requires that the person must make the representation with the intention of making a gain or causing loss or risk of loss to another. The gain or loss does not actually have to take place. The same requirement applies to conduct criminalised by sections 3 and 4.

Subsection (2) defines the meaning of "false" in this context and subsection (3) defines the meaning of "representation". A representation is defined as false if it is untrue or misleading and the person making it knows that it is, or might be, untrue or misleading. Subsection (3) provides that a representation means any representation as to fact or law, including a representation as to a person's state of mind.

Subsection (4) provides that a representation may be express or implied. It can be stated in words or communicated by conduct. There is no limitation on the way in which the representation must be expressed. So it could be written or spoken or posted on a website.

A representation may also be implied by conduct. An example of a representation by conduct is where a person dishonestly misuses a credit card to pay for items. By tendering the card, he is falsely representing that he has the authority to use it for that transaction. It is immaterial whether the merchant accepting the card for payment is deceived by the representation.

This offence would also be committed by someone who engages in "phishing": i.e. where a person disseminates an email to large groups of people falsely representing that the email has been sent by a legitimate financial institution. The email prompts the reader to provide information such as credit card and bank account numbers so that the "phisher" can gain access to others' assets.

Subsection (5) provides that a representation may be regarded as being made if it (or anything implying it) is submitted in any form to any system or device designed to receive, convey or respond to communications (with or without human intervention). The main purpose of this provision is to ensure that fraud can be committed where a person makes a representation to a machine and a response can be produced without any need for human involvement. (An example is where a person enters a number into a "CHIP and PIN" machine.) The Law Commission had concluded that, although it was not clear whether a representation could be made to a machine, such a provision was unnecessary (see paragraph 8.4 of their report). But subsection (5) is expressed in fairly general terms because it would be artificial to distinguish situations involving modern technology, where it is doubtful whether there has been a "representation", because the only recipient of the false statement is a machine or a piece of software, from other situations not involving modern technology where a false statement is submitted to a system for dealing with communications but is not in fact communicated to a human being (e.g., postal or messenger systems).

 

I am not a legal man so I wouldn't know whether sending a letter implying that a CCJ is in existence and that the person to whom the letter is addressed pay money monthly or face further proceedings, is committing an offence under the Fraud Act. Especially as the SRA has prilimarily ascertained (all be it allegedly) that it was human error. I suppose that if we could prove that this 'human error' occured regularly we could perhaps argue 'system'.

 

Perhaps one of the site time who is more Criminal Law minded would care to comment on this aspect.

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MA You should ask the Mods to put up a sticky notice asking for anyone who has been the victim of these Howard Cohen ''human errors'':rolleyes: to het in touch. If you could establish a pattern then the SRA will be forced to act.

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