Validity of claims management companies? Moved from "Unenforceability Cases on hold until further notice"

[Wigeon]

It probably is.

 

I bet it isn't this forum, though.

 

 

It depends who the CMC is and the name of the solicitors could any one tell who they are???????

[JonCris]

A contact of mine has recently had a threatening letter from the solicitors representing a CMC concerning some derogatory comments he made about them on another forum.

They are threatening to issue libel/defamation proceedings against him,anyone know if the threat sounds realistic

 

 

How would they know who to contact surely we is all anonymous & NO consumer website would tell them without the order of a court otherwise they would be serious breach of the DPA - furthermore accusing someone of libel who isn't is itself libelous - so perhaps you could tell us more as this is most intriguing in that there are only very few CMC's who would be stupid enough to pull this one - particularly in this climate when the regulators are cracking down on CMC's...... dam fools:lol:

[Tricky Dickie]

How would they know who to contact surely we is all anonymous & NO consumer website would tell them without the order of a court otherwise they would be serious breach of the DPA - furthermore accusing someone of libel who isn't is itself libelous - so perhaps you could tell us more as this is most intriguing in that there are only very few CMC's who would be stupid enough to pull this one - particularly in this climate when the regulators are cracking down on CMC's...... dam fools:lol:

 

My contact made the mistake of offering to help people posting on the forum and gave them his private email address and then when they contacted him and he emailed back he had his phone number etc on the email.

I guess someone from the CMC or solicitors posed as someone wanting information to obtain his details

At this stage he is not happy for the CMC and Solicitor to be named

Edited June 22, 2009 by Tricky Dickie

[diddydicky]

How would they know who to contact surely we is all anonymous & NO consumer website would tell them without the order of a court otherwise they would be serious breach of the DPA - furthermore accusing someone of libel who isn't is itself libelous - so perhaps you could tell us more as this is most intriguing in that there are only very few CMC's who would be stupid enough to pull this one - particularly in this climate when the regulators are cracking down on CMC's...... dam fools:lol:

 

more likely to depend on what the comments were i would have thought

 

people do sometimes tend to think that a screen name gives them totaly anonymity and the world PUBLIC in a forum might give a clue as to what could or could not be said!!

[diddydicky]

and nothing that a full apology on the same forum would put right! (unless of course A/ it wasn't dematory or b/ it was true

[Tricky Dickie]

more likely to depend on what the comments were i would have thought

 

people do sometimes tend to think that a screen name gives them totaly anonymity and the world PUBLIC in a forum might give a clue as to what could or could not be said!!

 

 

What was said was that CMC had been charging extortionate up front fees,had no evidence of successful cases or even evidence that it had ever started an action against a lender.

The letter from them states that if he issues an apology,an undertaking to refrain from making any future derogatory comments and asks the forum team to remove the comments they will take no further action.

If he does this could this be seen as an admission of guilt which they can then use against him or will the fact that he has complied with their request prevent them from being able to do that

[diddydicky]

and if the cmc is serious about a libel petition it is hardly likely to be worried by obtaining the ip address from the website by the same means (who may also be liable for publishing it

 

big can of worms there

 

peversly i think it would do not harm for people to be made to stop and think before slagging companies off and making unsubstantiated allegations about lenders and dca's - not out of any concern for them but because i think it detracts from giving what people really want to hear -which is sound advice on how to deal with them

[diddydicky]

the usual form for dealing with a libel claim is to issue an apology- this can be done WITHOUT admitting any guilt

[Tricky Dickie]

the usual form for dealing with a libel claim is to issue an apology- this can be done WITHOUT admitting any guilt

 

 

Exactly how can an apology be issued without admitting guilt?.Will 'without prejudice' suffice?

[Kraken1]

Y'know, the diddy and tricky dickie stuff can confuse me at times. I thought you were talking to yourself for a moment...

 

i think it would do not harm for people to be made to stop and think before slagging companies off and making unsubstantiated allegations about lenders and dca's - not out of any concern for them but because i think it detracts from giving what people really want to hear -which is sound advice on how to deal with them

 

Not a stupid comment. I think some of these firms are likely to become more writ-happy.

 

Personally I think the site is more at risk from this sort of thing than individuals. After all, who here actually has any money?

[diddydicky]

Y'know, the diddy and tricky dickie stuff can confuse me at times. I thought you were talking to yourself for a moment...

 

 

 

Not a stupid comment. I think some of these firms are likely to become more writ-happy.

 

Personally I think the site is more at risk from this sort of thing than individuals. After all, who here actually has any money?

 

i often talk to myself and i CAN be tricky too- but no connection i assure you!!

[smouk]

the usual form for dealing with a libel claim is to issue an apology- this can be done WITHOUT admitting any guilt

Disagree. In this instance a Fair Comment defence is quite viable IMHO.

[Tricky Dickie]

Disagree. In this instance a Fair Comment defence is quite viable IMHO.

 

 

Can you please explain what you mean by a fair comment defence

[smouk]

Theoretically, any published remark can be defended as fair comment if the remarks were made in an appropriate context and did not resort to falsehood, either by intent or incompetence. Barrister job though - maybe a good chance of pro bono.

[diddydicky]

Disagree. In this instance a Fair Comment defence is quite viable IMHO.

 

don't want to start a war on this- my comment was made not knowing the comment and assuming it was libellous and i was offering a way to avoid proceedings

 

I'm not experienced enough in the laws of defamation to know what does and does not amount to defamation over and above the obvious (ie if it is true it cant be defamatory to say so)

[Tricky Dickie]

don't want to start a war on this- my comment was made not knowing the comment and assuming it was libellous and i was offering a way to avoid proceedings

 

I'm not experienced enough in the laws of defamation to know what does and does not amount to defamation over and above the obvious (ie if it is true it cant be defamatory to say so)

 

In this case the comments made were made in good faith the poster having gleaned the information from what he believed to be a reliable source however there is not actually any proof available to back up the comments

[JonCris]

Like I said to check the validity of your claims let me know the names of the CCM & or the solicitor - alternativley tell your friend to PM me & I'll tell them how to rebut this nonsense;)

[steven4064]

JonCris

 

Preferably, any advice ought to be on the open forum - advice by PM is discouraged as it cannot be checked by others - even experienced CAGgers like yourself need that protection

[mikek]

If the CMC's have enough resources to sue individuals for libel, why do they also not use these resources to write off unenforceable credit agreements? Thousands of people have paid up upfront fees and wait for months on end. Not enough cases seem to be getting written off through courts or even out of court compared to the volumes of clients they have!

 

the whole thing smells a bit fishy to me!

[steven4064]

I am not a great fan of CMCs. I find it difficult to see why anyone should pay out several hundred pounds to do something they can do themselves (and better since they are more commited to the outcome not the money)

[mikek]

The banks will nor write off anything unless they get court papers for a s142 declaration of unenforceability.

 

People go to CMC because they promise they will refer the cases to no win no fee expert solicitors.

 

The reality is that they collect the fees immediately, then take ages to do the audits, and ages to allocate the case to legal firms.

 

The legal firms they choose have little or no experience in CCA. The credit crunch has dried up all conveyancing work and all legal firms are looking to stick their noses in the CCA industry for a quick buck.

 

They seek advice from barristers who usually reject them. How many barristers are experts in CCA really? And how many would risk their reputation for CMC's

 

the customer then waits for longer and longer. I know people with unenforceable agreements with CMC's who have been waiting for over 12 months.

 

Tha banks know all this and refuse to entertain claims from most CMC's point blank. They only acknowledge court claims.

[diddydicky]

In this case the comments made were made in good faith the poster having gleaned the information from what he believed to be a reliable source however there is not actually any proof available to back up the comments

 

again whilst not an expert repeating defamatory comments that originated somewhere else would not be a defence in itself

[diddydicky]

The banks will nor write off anything unless they get court papers for a s142 declaration of unenforceability.

 

People go to CMC because they promise they will refer the cases to no win no fee expert solicitors.

 

The reality is that they collect the fees immediately, then take ages to do the audits, and ages to allocate the case to legal firms.

 

The legal firms they choose have little or no experience in CCA. The credit crunch has dried up all conveyancing work and all legal firms are looking to stick their noses in the CCA industry for a quick buck.

 

They seek advice from barristers who usually reject them. How many barristers are experts in CCA really? And how many would risk their reputation for CMC's

 

the customer then waits for longer and longer. I know people with unenforceable agreements with CMC's who have been waiting for over 12 months.

 

Tha banks know all this and refuse to entertain claims from most CMC's point blank. They only acknowledge court claims.

 

i am sure that there are some good an honourable cmc out there but i rather think that some are in fact nothing more than "sales operations" once they have the upfront money they rely on a raft of small print to prevent the customer being able to get it back if they fail/take too long to perform

 

common sense dictates that NO ONE can give a guarantee to clear the debt and common sense also dictates that once handed over up fron there is NO WAY the customer is going to get all (or any) of that fee back if they fail to get the debt written off

[steven4064]

Their advertising says "your agreement may be unenforceable" - emphasis on 'may'. Having looked at loads of agreements on CAG, my gut feeling is that the number that are really unenforceable is probably around 10%, certainly not more.

[WelshMam2009]

The letter from them states that if he issues an apology,an undertaking to refrain from making any future derogatory comments and asks the forum team to remove the comments they will take no further action.

 

 

Whilst it's a heavy handed approach, your friend has been offered a viable proposition to resolve the situation.

 

The comments should already have been removed from the forum and I would be inclined to write a bland apology headed "without prejudice."

 

If your friend complies and action is subsequently taken, then I imagine any Judge would take a dim view of this.

 

I'm all for free speech but, has has been said on this forum before, whilst you may express views generally about an industry as a whole, or even MP's for that matter!! , you are on very dodgy ground when you start singling out specific companies or individuals.

 

I would accede to their request just to make the whole matter go away as quickly and as quietly as possible.

 

Best of luck whatever your friend decides!!