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    • Asset Link filed for a default CCJ against me, in relation to an old Barclaycard debt which I apparently signed an agreement for back in 2000.   I did not own a Barclaycard in 2000 so I know this is not true.  The CCJ notice was sent to an old address so I did not receive it.  Years later when I found out about the CCJ when I applied for credit, I put an application in to have the CCJ set aside.   As part of the set aside case, I was asked by the judge to provide a draft defence, should the CCJ be set aside.   The defence I provided was that I did not admit to the debt as I had not been provided with any evidence of an original loan agreement.   I won the case and the CCJ was set aside.   Link then filed to court again to make me pay the debt.   We both filed directions questionnaires and the judge allocated the claim to the small claims track.   As part of the directions, additional directions given were as follows ' Additional Directions in a claim for an Assigned Debt - Because the claim is in respect of an assigned debt the Court makes the following directions for the management of claim.  The claim shall be automatically struck out at 4pm on 3 April 2024 unless, before that time, the Claimant delivers to the Court and to the Defendant the following documents'  It then listed various documents such as an original agreement, deed of assignment, notice of default, statement of account setting out how the alleged debt accrued under that agreement etc.     The Claimant failed to provide these documents within the deadline provided and instead I received a copy of a bundle of documents provided by them in preparation for the court date, this was received weeks after the deadline.    I have called the Court to ask if it has been automatically struck out and they advised that it is not automatic and that I should still send my witness statement by the deadline provided, which is Wednesday.  This does not give me much time to prepare my witness statement.   I have never done anything like this before and I am unclear what my witness statement should include.  My thoughts were that I should keep it simple and stick to the facts, like the fact thy have not provided evidence of the original agreement, or the deed of assignment of the debt.   They have provided a copy of a default notice from Baclaycard dated 2015, this states a figure of £550 but the debt they say I owe is £10k.   I am not sure what makes a valid default notice?   I have previously requested proof of the debt from Barclaycard directly and have evidence of emails between us where they have been unable to provide me with the agreement or any documents at all relating to the debt.   Should I include these as an appendix?  Are there any other documents I should include in my bundle?    I have also tried to mediate with the claimants, to save the court costs and time, on a without prejudice basis, but the claimants solicitors refused to mediate.   Should i state this in my witness statement too to show the judge that I have been reasonable and they haven't? Many thanks   Louise
    • Right that's exactly why so many drivers got caught, it had been that way for many years then suddenly changes with no warning
    • The hearing is 25th June, I have downloaded items to different organisations previously but they do it a simple way and I just cross out private things with a felt tip and sent to an email address.  I have looked at the instructions for CAG it seems extremely complicated especially this about having to use a system MSPAINT.EXE that removes your personal information. I am hoping one of my Grandchildren understands things to give me help, I have shown one of my daughters she said she does not understand the instructions. I have a PC and I mainly use a lap top, as previously advised I only understand the straightforward things, sending an email and using my scanner to send a document that I save in a file or send it to an email. I will try and find someone to help me, thanks for your help you have given me so far appreciate it        
    • Yes, it would. Especially as they are supposed to put up extra signs to show that parking restrictions have changed, which of course they won't have done.
    • Right would that be grounds for a dismissal right there then, 90 seconds?! Lookingforinfo - you're getting crossed wires buddy, we're in the hospital thread here, the ICO complaint was my other appeal the Locton estate one   Regards
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    • If you are buying a used car – you need to read this survival guide.
      • 1 reply
    • Hello,

      On 15/1/24 booked appointment with Big Motoring World (BMW) to view a mini on 17/1/24 at 8pm at their Enfield dealership.  

      Car was dirty and test drive was two circuits of roundabout on entry to the showroom.  Was p/x my car and rushed by sales exec and a manager into buying the mini and a 3yr warranty that night, sale all wrapped up by 10pm.  They strongly advised me taking warranty out on car that age (2017) and confirmed it was honoured at over 500 UK registered garages.

      The next day, 18/1/24 noticed amber engine warning light on dashboard , immediately phoned BMW aftercare team to ask for it to be investigated asap at nearest garage to me. After 15 mins on hold was told only their 5 service centres across the UK can deal with car issues with earliest date for inspection in March ! Said I’m not happy with that given what sales team advised or driving car. Told an amber warning light only advisory so to drive with caution and call back when light goes red.

      I’m not happy to do this, drive the car or with the after care experience (a sign of further stresses to come) so want a refund and to return the car asap.

      Please can you advise what I need to do today to get this done. 
       

      Many thanks 
      • 81 replies
    • Housing Association property flooding. https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/438641-housing-association-property-flooding/&do=findComment&comment=5124299
      • 161 replies
    • We have finally managed to obtain the transcript of this case.

      The judge's reasoning is very useful and will certainly be helpful in any other cases relating to third-party rights where the customer has contracted with the courier company by using a broker.
      This is generally speaking the problem with using PackLink who are domiciled in Spain and very conveniently out of reach of the British justice system.

      Frankly I don't think that is any accident.

      One of the points that the judge made was that the customers contract with the broker specifically refers to the courier – and it is clear that the courier knows that they are acting for a third party. There is no need to name the third party. They just have to be recognisably part of a class of person – such as a sender or a recipient of the parcel.

      Please note that a recent case against UPS failed on exactly the same issue with the judge held that the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 did not apply.

      We will be getting that transcript very soon. We will look at it and we will understand how the judge made such catastrophic mistakes. It was a very poor judgement.
      We will be recommending that people do include this adverse judgement in their bundle so that when they go to county court the judge will see both sides and see the arguments against this adverse judgement.
      Also, we will be to demonstrate to the judge that we are fair-minded and that we don't mind bringing everything to the attention of the judge even if it is against our own interests.
      This is good ethical practice.

      It would be very nice if the parcel delivery companies – including EVRi – practised this kind of thing as well.

       

      OT APPROVED, 365MC637, FAROOQ, EVRi, 12.07.23 (BRENT) - J v4.pdf
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First step Finance - **BANNED DIRECTORS STOLE +£6M**


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Meanwhile;

 

FSF can appeal the determination. Until such time as the appeal process is at an end, FSF remain licensed to engage in credit activities by the OFT.

 

I don't know what the time-frame is for them to launch an appeal but it could be months before they are actually stopped.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Toff - can you explain in detail how you `pulled the plug`? My partner has been paying FSF £200 for about three YEARS. They did get 2 debts resolved at 50% of amount owed. This was last year. But the big debt (MBNA) is unresolved and as far as I can see he`ll be paying FSF forever unless I can get him to act and do this himself... First Step say that the reason they cant get any further with the larger debt is that MBNA refuse to cash the cheque sent with DSAR request, and therefore are not obliged to give info which can prove whether debt is enforceable. Or they say that a large volume of mis-sold PPI claims has caused a delay bla bla bla. Having found out from this site that OFT has revoked their licence I am panikcing a bit now, as we CANNOT afford to keep paying for nothing, or lose the money they have. Making these monthly payments has caused us quite a lot of hardship as it is. When partner called them last week he said the guy he spoke to was rude and aggressive, saying "we got two debts cleared for you didnt we?" which really sent alarm bells ringing. Which is why I ended up doing a search online to see what I could find re FSF, and found this site! I feel he should stop paying, as we arent getting anywhere. What can we do now?

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Hi Everyone - I realise, being new here, that I probably posted the above incorrectly? :oops:... as it was a question for Toff re his getting Ombudsman to get FSF to give him his money back ( post was dated August 2012). Can anyone out there tell me precisely how we can claim our (considerable sum of) money back from FSF, and how we should go about stopping payments to them ?

I don`t want to do anything that puts that money at risk more than it is already... Is there even any point in continuing with FSF when they have lost their licence? You`ll see that they did indeed get 2 settlements for us, but that was over a year ago, and they seem to have gone from regular contact to no contact , during this year. Last two calls have been my partner phoning them for updates, which always say the same thing and I feel they`ve had their chance to get the job done, they have our money in their coffers earning them interest, and we are still in debt! Any first hand experience on resolving this would be SO helpful as I really have to convince my partner this is getting us nowhere and HE has to do this himself ...Thank you for reading

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello all,

 

I have just come across this thread, I am a customer of FSF along with my partner. We have been with them for about 2 years now, we roughly have £5,000 in 'the pot' between us, though they are separate accounts.

Now I am a bit worried about our money that is in 'the pot' if something was to go wrong with FSF, so far we have had no issue's with FSF I know we pay 8% for their services but it's something we are happy to pay if we get debt free.

 

We we're told at the start that we would be debt free in a 'good' and 'worst' case scenario, unfortunately the good has past due to most debts being enforceable.

 

I myself have been told that one of my debts is unenforceable due to the creditor not proving certain information to FSF, I contacted them today to be told different information.

So I started thinking and then came across this forum, should I get out, if so what happens to our money that is in 'the pot' ? Also I see there are free dmp out there, will I get messed around again or should I stay with FSF?

 

Any advice will be appreciated!

 

Maverick

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  • 3 months later...

Sorry for not being on here for a while but I have been busy both with work etc and with some stuff related to this company.

I don't really know where to start with this and the fiasco they have caused, just to say (and this is just my personal advice from my experience of the service I received from FSF) DO NOT PAY ANY MORE MONEY INTO THIS COMPANY, STOP YOUR PAYMENTS AND CANCEL YOUR PLAN.

If you feel they have not fulfilled their contractual obligations or haven't done for you what you believed they said would do when you started the plan then go to the FOS and register a complaint and make a complaint to the OFT, which is what I did in 2012.

They have an appeal pending with the OFT regarding their credit licence, see link below

http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/tribunals/consumer-credit/current-cases.pdf

When I cancelled my account in Nov 2011 it was because I had realised that I had made a mistake in using them. I felt they had not done anything they said they would do, that they had added extra charges onto my account (which were not in the original signed document) and I was also gaining the knowledge of how to do things myself.

When I cancelled I asked them to return what was left in my 'pot' and I was prepared to walk away and lose 50% of what I had paid in (???!!) for my 'stupidity' (it transpired they had taken this amount in fees I knew nothing about)

I was not fully aware even at this cancellation stage of just how inept, greedy and rubbish they were but I was about to find out.

Even though I had specifically stated I was 'cancelling' the plan and that it wasn't a complaint, THEY decided to treat it as one. They refused to return my monies, which they have to by law and which I specifically asked them to do several times and then made payments to my creditors so they could claim the fees on them.

They lied to me and the quality of their reply letters to me made me despair of how they had been dealing (or not) with my finances.

They told me they had destroyed all my data, they twisted things around, tried to confuse me, refused to send me info I requested with a SAR etc. and generally behaved with disregard for anything I tried to do.

I was absolutely disgusted at their treatment of me and although I had been warned this is what would happen I was still shocked and upset.

Their final report (in response to the complaint I hadn't made) was miss-spelt, inaccurate, full of untruths, the figures/amounts were incorrect and it had obviously 'knocked out' by someone who knew nothing of my case just to get me off their back.

They treated it as a complaint so I then made complaints to the FOS and the OFT. I do also believe they broke rules to do with data protection.

In the January after I cancelled (and after they said they couldn't talk to me as they didn't know who I was as they had destroyed all my data), they send me an email offering the services of a Payday loan company called Pickaday Payday loans, which they said was a preferred supplier, see below.

Dear First Step Finance member.

After speaking to our clients several times in the course of our service, it has become apparent that many of you are seeking advice on best companies. Things like which utility company to go with or which bank to bank with or which mobile telephone packages or internet etc.

Because of this we are going to start a PREFERRED SUPPLIERSlist. This is a list that First Step Finance considers to be a good supplier and where necessary have negotiated a cheaper rate.

The first thing we investigated, and only because of demand, were payday loans.

It came to our attention that 61% of First Step Finance customers, contrary to our advice, have used or continue to use pay day loan facilities.

Whilst not condoning, encouraging or advising our clients to use these facilities we do recognise that there are occasions where clients find such facilities essential.

We understand that the average interest or fee for a payday loan seems to be around £25-£29 per £100 borrowed, sometimes with extra charges of £5 and upwards.

We would like to make it very clear that our advice is never to extend your debt liability through loans or other facilities, while you are in a debt reduction plan.

Nevertheless, where clients absolutely cannot do without such an emergency facility we have negotiated a special arrangement with a short term lender called Pickapayday Loans Ltd. They have agreed a reduced rate for clients of First Step Finance of £22 per hundred borrowed.

Please note, First Step Finance receive no commission or fees from Pickapayday Loans Ltd

If you are interested and need funds for a genuine emergency click on the link below and use the promotional code of FSF02to gain your discount.

Pickpayday Loans Ltdclip_image001.png

After looking at Company House records I saw it had connections with the directors of FSF. I felt this was a huge conflict of interest and not really something a debt adjustment company (as they now describe themselves) should be offering.

One month ago they called me out of the blue and have refunded me the full amount of money I have paid them. As they had already paid nearly half of this to my creditors it has cost them 3 times more than if they had just behaved as they should when I originally cancelled.

I am guessing they do not want any outstanding complaints with the FOS whilst their appeal is pending with OFT, hence their willingness to pay out. I know Lord Tiger Putin had a huge fight on his hands previously and despite my case having a good outcome now I cannot say how much stress and hardship this company has caused. I regret the day I ever made contact with them but I was desperate and panicking. I am usually the kind of person who believes if 'something sounds too good to be true' it is but I made a bad judgement.

PS Without the help of Lord Tiger and a few other people on here I couldn't have dealt with all this.

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That is absolutely appalling. What they put you through is absolutely disgraceful. :-x

 

I am very glad you got all your money refunded. It doesn't make up for all the stress and hardship they put you through, but at least it's something.

 

I'm absolutely disgusted that they have this tie in with a payday loan company. I do hope they lose their appeal and lose their licence.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I never received a penny back of the 1000 pounds or so paid to these leeches just Depression. All this has made me very ill.

Despite contacting and sending the Ombudsman with more than enough evidence of the financial hardship they left me in, after their initial reply and me following their instructions they never so much as contacted me again with any type of follow up or update on any proceedings if any. I am in more debt now than when I started with this lot due to banks throwing the interest on top. When your ignored by the Ombudsman it's not good.

I just give up.

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Hello Beeper5,

This sounds terrible and I am so sorry, these people should realise that everything they do (or don't do) has a consequence on peoples lifes. Maybe they do but don't give a hoot, aslong as the cash is rolling in.

Don't give up, contact the Ombudsman again and give them your case number (you should have got one when you first complained) and ask them them where they are with it. If ypu have made a complaint they cannot ignore it, it has to be persued. Call the Office Fair Trading and register a complaint also. They cannot get your money back but as FSF are currently appealing their revoked licence, any information the OFT can get would be useful I am sure.

I paid a total of £8,000 in to them so I was devestated to learn they had taken £4,000 in fees for not doing anything at all, nothing apart from letting my debts get bigger and making a couple of monthly token gestures.

You can contact your creditors/banks by letter and ask them to freeze the interest whilst you agree small monthly payments and I found most of mine where happy to do so. If any of the debts are small and you get some extra money you can negotiate with the creditor a settlement figure that they are happy with and you can pay off. Before I left FSF I wrote to all my creditors telling themnot to deal with FSF. Within one week M&S wrote and offered me a Full and Final settlement figure which was amazing and I could afford to pay, so that was one debt less within 7 days.

I hope you get somewhere Beepers5

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  • 1 month later...

Hello again

Just a quick note .

 

.I have heard that FSF are selling the company (or going to try to) and the case with the OFT is not going ahead.

 

I believe they were offered millions for it before the OFT got involved but now I don't know as any new owners may have to take on any debts I suppose.

 

The staff were told on Weds

 

so I think if I was trying to make a claim against them if you have a grievance I would do it ASAP.

 

I hope all is going well for you beeper5 and any other people who have had the misfortune to deal with FSF. Nancy

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Hi all

 

not been on for the forum for a while, ill health, work and now I have a grandson.

 

FSF do not destroy your details, the only things they destroy are the debt collector letters

that is when they tell you to send them in which is not very often.

 

They cannot destroy your information and when they tell you they have they are lying.

 

They have paper files as well as the details which they have on their pc's.

 

They are also well known for treating their staff the same way they treat their clients.

 

If they are going it can't be anything but good for all.

 

My friends are still in debt thanks to FSF up I managed to get the creditors to agree to payments from them.

 

Joining FSF was the worst thing they ever did.

 

I do hope that all goes well for all concerned who are trying to get money back from them.

 

DG

I have no legal training my knowledge comes from my personal life experiences

Please help keep the forum alive by making a donation

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Congratulations on the grandson DG :O)

Yes it was the worse mistake I ever made but I cannot complain now as I got my money back plus what they had paid out to my creditors against my wishes.

The hardship they caused though is still there and I feel for people who are still struggling.

I know they treat their staff badly as I have seen comments by a few of them in various places.

I believe they are still doing PPI claims as this doesn't need a OFT licence just a MOJ one but it will be interesting to see who buys the company with it's terrible reputation.

Nancy

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  • 1 month later...

Hello

Just to let you know I was informed by the OFT that FSF are being allowed to carry on with their existing debt adjusting and debt counselling business until the 18th October 2013. FSF have agreed to discontinue their appeal against the revocation of their licence.

Nancy

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  • 5 weeks later...

i understand FSF are no longer taking on new clients etc but felt i must add my story.i was on a DMP when they called me back in 2007. they advised after i told them of my debts it would take 2 years to clear and they should clear most as unforcable.anyway in short it took 4 years but they managed to save me just over 9k from 40kof debt. i understand its not for everyone and they are now in trouble due to hidden charges but i would like to say that they made every effort to help me and my case worker called every month without charging me.

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Hello Barry

Glad they worked for you but I believe FSF did not start doing unenforceable agreements until March 2008.

Nancy

 

really? i still have all my paperwork then sent me once i had finished my plan, the first dcuments are dated 2007??? oh well its irrelavent now as they no longer offer this service.i wish everyone the best of luck with becoming debt free

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Hello Barry69

They may have changed your plan after you started :O)

Just looking at the figures you quote ,assuming you paid £31,000 in 48 months you would have been paying £645 pm...that is a large amount. You also paid back over 75% of your debt level which means, I think, that most of the debts were enforceable. Does that mean FSF took around £10k in charges, is that correct? Having said that they still saved you £9k which as you say, you are very happy with. All these things people can do for themselves if they are armed with knowledge and help but I am really pleased they helped you, you were one of the lucky ones Barry

Nancy

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i paid 550 a month, i was living with my folks so may be it was just over 4 years? in hine sight maybe i should have just stuck it in a pot and done it myself? yeah most were enforcable, just a couple of credit cards which weren't. the other savings were from offering full and final settlements i thin they were called? they also returned a cheque to me with a refund from overpayment.it seems with this thread i was in the minority though so im thankful i don't have to worry about them anymorethanks for taking the time to respond Nancy :)

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  • 3 months later...

Hiya nancysmile, diamondgirl, desperate daniella and others, sorry it is such a very long time since I have posted on this thread, or indeed on CAG at all!! I think it might have been that I didn't click on the link of the latest FSF post I did receive, so didn't get future notifications! You'll be pleased to hear that I have now cleared all of my unsecured debts being managed by first step finance. I first went with them in April 2009, when I thought they were a decent debt reduction company back then. I think they promised that I'd be debt-free in 2 or 3 years, but it has taken about 4 and a half years. Latterly I have been paying £170 per month, but no more now as the plan has finished!

 

I started off with a declared debt of about 14.8 K and, altogether, paid just over 8K into the plan. There have been quite substantial fees, on the way, of course, but in the last six months at least I'd been chivvying them and asking them to be much more proacitve about making full and final settlements. Quite a number of debts have been settled at around 50% of the original debt, some less and some slightly more. But when they paid the last three creditors, FSF gave me a refund of £684 from my 'client pot'. This tool place at the beginning of October this year, but this may have been partly because the comapny were going to cease to trade as a debt management co in mid-October!

 

So they did work for me, albeit leaving a trail of "missed payments" from several cereditors on my credit file. But the ones that are settled should update in the next 2 or 3 months. I do realise, though, as several CAGgers have said, that where they make an exorbitant amount of money is when someone cancels before the end of the plan and especially in the early stages.

 

In early August, though, there was a complication: a lady from their legal department warned me that my debt with Welcome Finance was no longer legally unenforceable - previously they said that the Agreement was defective - as there was recently a new court ruling that I couldn't challenge the debt on that basis. I did, however, decide that they shouldn't start making payments to Welcome Finance, and that I would like my account closed after settling the smaller debts. I heard nothing more, but in the last week the debt has come back to haunt me - albeit in the form of a Personal Loan Statement and not a Demand. I think I'll make make any further comments on the Welcome Finance thread now....

 

Desperate Daniella, well done for gaining Authoritative status/reputation since I was last on the thread - fully deserved!

Edited by Poor-Credit Borrower
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Hello PCB and I am so pleased to hear that you are free!!!

Welcome Finance that has to be the most ironic name ever BTW

I think FSF sorted themselves out in so much as they were trying to sell the company ..there seems to have been some manoevers but at least it meant they got their act together.

Desperate Daniella well done indeed xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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