Kerobo Claims - any thoughts?

[dazw1971]

I may be one of the luckly ones then??? ATM ARE DEALING with my claim. I musthave been one of the last ones to get throught he Kerobo system intact! I am still making minimum payments to EGG as I am not stupid enough to think that stopping them will not affect my credit rating. Until I receive a solicitors letter telling me to stop paying I will carry on with this.

I have both letters and E mails from ATM without me having to cahse them. So far they seem ok.

If anyone does think they have a claim then why not go straight to ATM?

I will let you know how I get on.

[delicousdawn]

Hi,

Can any one help me i have also been scammed by this company. I have tried to get two credit cards written off and have similarly been fobbed off and had letters saying that they are unenforceable written by Kerobo not ATM solicitors as they did not take my case, so far they have had over £1000 to do this and i have had to make all the phone calls to see what stage we are at. I now cannot sleep at night and feel constantly stressed as i now want nothing to do with them, just my money back. We were quite happy paying back our credit cards and meeting their payments. looking at this forum DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYONE WHO HAS WON THEIR CASE???????????????????? Please can anyone offer me advise on how to get my money back and what to do next i feel like such a fool and £1000 is a lot of money to our family. i am also new to forums so please forgive me if this is muddled.

[Declaration]

Hi Delicousdawn, I haven't heard of anyone who has won their case with this firm, but there may be some who have.

 

It took me a long time to get my money back from them. After repeated requests for a refund came to nothing, I sent an e-mail refund demand over and over again to their 'customer services manager'. After sending the same e-mail over fifty times within the space of a few minutes, they responded and said they would refund the money within 72 hours. When this didnt happen I repeated the process and they paid the cash into my account.

 

Took me a while to get the money though.

[delicousdawn]

Hi Declaration,

Thanks for replying to this how long after your initial payment did you start to demand your refund. i parted with our money at the beginning of decmber 09, obviously its well after the 14 days cooling off period but i think as a atm solicitors (Have letter) did not take my case because Kerobo never passed the information on to them and it was done in house which i could of done for myself for £1 i think i am entitled to it back. They have said that they have audited it and to cease payments which i did miss one on each card but have paid them now as the credit companies had no letters to state it was unenforceable and had only been contacted back in dec 09, am worried about my credit rating. Can you advise me on what you put in your email and how long after the initial payment was this email sent. Was it gail woodhead you sent it to as she has sent me documants to say that she is head of customer care? Sorry to go on but you seem the only light at the end of this very dark tunnel! Also they have now been suspended by the Ministry of Justice because they say a few signatures weren't present on the application- who would do this when your livelihood depends on it!!

[mallers0]

Hi all

 

Sorry to hear of your problems, Can i join in.

I fell for it in april paid 400 plus 10 percent of the card debt plus vat

all in all a whoping 1400 now my credit cards stands at over 9k. I was promised an audit within 30 days and then written off 30 days later of course non of this happened.

Then I got a letter the back end of may from kerobo telling me to stop paying my credit card bill and i got a copy of my credit agreement.They said it was unenforcible and so i did stop paying.

 

I have missed two payments now and the credit card is spiralling by 300 a month and i am getting daily threatening calls and had a few letters telling me the debt will be sold on etc and a default notice served.

 

I have spoken to kerobo on loads of occasions, at least they answer the phone, but each time i get different advice. I have been told my card has 7 breaches then i was told it had 5 then i was told it had 3.

 

I have been told the debt will be written off, i have been told it wont and it will stay but just linger for six years. etc etc

 

Today i spoke to Jordan Dain from kerobo he sounded a nice guy and so i got him to send the audit report to me and he did so by e mail.

 

The report came in two sections and appear to say the same on each but different breaches are listed.

 

Today i also spoke to MBNA my credit card company, the advocate department who deal with this type of thing. The chap was very robotic

but basically said that as far as MBNA are concerned all agreements have been deemed in the courts to be enforcible and so they wont entertain any claims to the contrary.

 

And so what should i do now?

I am in possession of the agreeement and the audit report.

 

Should I pay

 

Are these agreements really Unenforcible or is at a [problem].

 

If they are unenforcible how do i get MBNA to agree this and to get off my back.

 

I feel a bit swamped

 

Any one help

 

cheers

[Declaration]

Hi Delicousdawn,

 

I can't remember how long it was after my initial payment (£800) that I started seriously chasing a refund.

 

I was palmed off a few times as you can see from my other posts on them.

 

In my e-mail, I stated that I had reported them to the Ministry of Justice, and also gave a list of all the promises that they had made to me, and pointed out that they had failed to live up to any of them.

 

I also pointed out that they were in breach of contract as they had not kept their side of the bargain. I was threatening them with the small claims court etc, but even that didn't seem to worry them too much, it was only when I kept sending the same e-mail over and over again that they gave me my money back.

 

It seems that pester power wins, but it took a bit of time.

 

The person I was e-mailing was someone called Niki Forrest, rather than the person you mentioned.

 

Keep at it, and don't give up. Pester them until they give you the money back.

 

Good luck

[Declaration]

MallersO, I'm afraid I'm not in a position to advise you on unenforceability, but my personal view (and I stress it is just that) would be that you should start making your payments MBNA again ASAP and demand a full refund from Kerobo, then use this money to help pay off your credit card debt. It is very important you don't get a default.

 

Please understand that this is what I would do under your circumstances, and I'm not a professional in these matters, I'm just going with my experience in my own situation.

[Declaration]

Just checked their website and it is not operating apart from a new address. No phone numbers etc. You may be too late.

[delicousdawn]

Hi Mallers0,

 

I have contacted Atm who turned down my claim because no info sent to them to audit even though one was ready on 18 dec i have asked them to send a copy of that to me aswell. I have last night just paid the installments and left myself broke for the month with three kids thanks to Kerobos letters. I have contacted Barclaycard and i am going to try and get them to dispute and refund on my behalf, their letter wont arrive for 10 days. But i am going to compose a suitable email from all the listed advice above and bombard them with it. Gail Woodhouse is supposed head of customer care so i am going to try her, i have her email address if you are interested but i think they are definnate [problem] merchants. I am definately going to report to the Ministry of Justice and BBC- Claims Management. I have sent recorded delivery to the old address and they are in receipt of the mail so i think that they are still around. In the terms and conditions- which they never sent to me seemed to twice get lost in the post, i believe it states that if the solicitors do not take the case then a full refund has to be given. I believe they do not have any in house solicitors and because Gail Woodhouse in NOT a solicitor and she wrote my letter to the credit companies, which coincidently they have not recieved so i am now paying a higher rate of interest- thanks on my repayments that i am going to dispute it hopefully get it back. I have never been so stressed out if i here anything else i will report back immediately. Good Luck i am in agreement with Declaration make your repayments or try to part pay MBNA see if they can help you. Good Luck

 

Ps Thanks Declaration for your advice am going to get on the case tonight when kids are asleep.

[mallers0]

well thanks guys

I was also on a naught percent deal and i suppose that has been blown out of the water

 

its a all a bit grim

 

i lost six grand in northern rock shares also

but thats another story

[mallers0]

well its official

I have just had a conversation with a lovely lady from the ministry of justice.

 

Kerobo are [problematic] and have been suspended due to a number of reasons and reading between the data protection lines,

also due to a misleading sales team.

 

Not just because of an admin error as they claim.

 

The lady says they cannot fulfill their contractual agreement to us and therfore are in breach and should refund.

 

She says they probably wont though.

 

One glimmer of hope although slightly quirky

 

is that under section 75 the credit card companies are liable for any purchases made that are faulty and indeed services that are floored.

 

As kerobo cannot complete their contractual obligation as they ar suspended then if you paid their fees on a credit card that company should be liable for the cost and any incurred expenses etc.

 

however they may just try to avoid it for obvious reasons.

 

She also said that the failure to supply a credit agreement has been proven in the courts to be a crock.

 

And the breaches of the 1974 act would have to be put before a court on each case to be challenged.

 

and so the moral is blah blah ....................

 

I am going to apply to mbna for the section 75 refund thingy

 

and i have just paid the arrears

 

But i think i will have to take it on the chin that i have just increased a credit card that i couldnt pay off in the first place by about 1800 quid in

one foul swoop.

 

and my minimum payment has doubled to 140 quid a month.

 

yip bloody eeeee

 

good job i cant afford the paracetamol and vodka and the razors electric.

 

have fun doods x

[Declaration]

I'm really sorry to hear that Mallers. I hope you get your money back.

[owentoast]

I too, have been fighting for a refund from Kerobo, after never receiving any replies to my letters or telephone calls. After advice from the ministry of justice for claims, I am claiming my money back from the credit card company I paid with and they are hopeful for a refund soon. I paid my money for two claims in June 2009 and still have no luck, but hoping it will be soon.

[delicousdawn]

I to have put the wheels in motion to dispute and refund. The Compliance Unit at the Ministry of Justice informed me that each individual credit card/ loan has to go before a court before it can be deemed uneforceacble not just a simple letter from Kerobo Claims, their authorisation has not and will not for the future be re instated even though Kerobo are telling people they were re authorised on Monday. Aparently they have not adhered to many of the Acts in particular the Data Protection Act.

 

The lady gave me a rough template to send to my cc:-

I have been advised by the Ministry of Justice to ask if I could make a claim under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. I entered into a contract for services with Kerobo Claims in good faith and the trader is now in breach of contract, see enclosed letter to Kerobo Claims 05.07.2010 for some of the reasons why I believe that they are in breach of contract.

 

Under Section 75 of the Credit Consumer Act I believe it gives the trader equal liability, when you contract for goods and services over £100 on a credit card the lender will be responsible for resolving the issue if the seller is unable to.

 

This is the basis of what she said to write with a copy of your letters to kerobo Claims. Only down side she said was to expect that they may not want to help you as you were using the company to clear your cards. She said so far the cc companies have helped everyone.

 

I just wish i could turn back the clock to Novemeber last year and not had any thing to do with them. Their marketing was so persuasive, the man even told me to run the card to the max as there was still £4,000 to the limit he was telling me to have a free holiday at least i wasn't that stupid!!!!

[delicousdawn]

Have had a letter yesterday from Kerobo saying that it will go to their "Resolving your complaints" which is handled by a supposed specially trained Compliant Handler- i doubt any training i feel that this is probably a stall and i should have an answer within 4 weeks, but if they dont they would reply again in a further four weeks and then will keep me updated. If it has not been completed by the 8 week mark then it can be looked at by the Claims Management Regulator which is the Ministry of Justice address who have already told me that i should have my money back. Is this the same standard letter that every one else has received???????????

[Declaration]

Thought you might be interested in this judgement by the Advertising Standards Authority, which can be found on their website:

 

ASA Adjudication on Kerobo Ltd

 

Kerobo Ltd

 

Ravenstone House

1A Britannia Road

Sale

Cheshire

M33 2NN

 

 

Date:

 

14 July 2010

Media:

 

Radio

Sector:

 

Financial

 

Number of complaints:

 

1

Complaint Ref:

 

120452

 

 

Ad

 

A radio ad for a debt management company stated “You could be out thousands of pounds and it will only take 1 minute to find out. If you've borrowed any money before the 1st of April 2007 you may have been mis-sold your loan or in limited cases have a legal claim to have the loan written off if the credit agreement wasn't drawn up properly. Kerobo litigating on 23 million pounds of balances last year on wrongly sold and unenforceable credit agreements. They'll assess your loan or credit agreement for free. To claim back money that is rightfully yours call 0800 822 3040 or visit oneminuteclaim.com. Kerobo are regulated by the Ministry of Justice, see terms and conditions apply.”

 

Issue

 

The complainant challenged whether the claims

1. "have your loan written off"; and

2. "claim back money that is rightfully yours"

were misleading.

 

BCAP Radio Code

 

2 - 3.1

Response

 

1. & 2. Kerobo explained that their company specifically dealt with the reclamation of monies from unenforceable credit agreements and mis-sold insurance and said they were the second largest claims management company in the UK. Kerobo said they assessed whether a credit agreement contained any breaches and, in the event that it did, they would pursue the case in the courts to obtain legal confirmation that the agreement was unenforceable so that the claimant need not pay the remainder of the loan, or receive a refund on amounts paid. Kerobo said that 65% of its overall customer base had their debts successfully written off. They explained that the basis of those claims were breaches of the prescribed terms of the Consumer Credit Act; instances where a lender failed to fulfil their obligations under the Act and where a lender had offset an award of payment protection insurance against an outstanding balance. Kerobo sent us examples of letters from lenders confirming that agreements had been written off and they would not pursue the debts through the court. Kerobo said they were the only company to successfully overturn a credit card agreement in the courts.

They said that if a consumer had been mis-sold a product and paid money for it, that money should, in effect, should not have been paid and remained "rightfully" the claimants money. Kerobo explained that the claim "Have your loan written off" was justified because in cases where lenders had misrepresented or misallocated products on a loan, such as payment protection insurance, lenders often chose to remedy the claim by writing off the total balance of the loan, rather than repaying the monies paid for the misallocated product.

The RACC explained that they sought clarification on the factual accuracy of the claims before approving the ad for broadcast. Kerobo was able to substantiate satisfactorily that it dealt with a large number of unenforceable credit agreements with many cases being settled in the consumers favour. The RACC said they ensured the ad included the qualifying date that applied to potential claims for mis-sold loans. Furthermore, they said the ad was carefully worded so there was no implication that the majority of legal claims would be written off and noted that the ad stated "you may ... in limited cases have a legal claim to have the loan written off ..." The RACC went onto state that the reference to Kerobos litigation sought only to highlight how much business the advertiser had generated.

 

Assessment

 

1. Not upheld

The ASA understood that there were two common types of unenforceability in credit agreement contracts; instances where a lender had failed to provide information on request as required by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, and cases where an agreement failed to provide prescribed information. We further understood that evidence of improper agreement drafting or mis-selling alone would not always render a loan unenforceable, and that the legal process for establishing whether a credit agreement was unenforceable was potentially lengthy and complex.

We considered that, in the context of the claim "Kerobo are litigating on 23 million pounds of balances last year on wrongly sold and unenforceable credit agreements", consumers would understand the claim "have your loan written off" to mean that Kerobo had successfully had a number of its clients credit agreements rendered unenforceable, and therefore that listeners had a good chance of having their own credit agreements written off if they fulfilled the relevant requirements. We understood that 65% of Kerobo customers had had their debts written off as a result of their intervention. We considered that the claim "you may have been mis-sold your loan or in limited cases have a legal claim to have the loan written off if the credit agreement wasn't drawn up properly" was phrased conditionally and made clear that listeners may have a claim and did not imply that all listeners could have their debts written off, even if they had evidence of improper agreement of mis-selling. We therefore concluded that the claim "have your loan written off" was unlikely to mislead.

On this point, we investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) Radio Advertising Standards Code section 2-3 (Misleadingness) but did not find it in breach.

2. Not upheld

We understood that if consumers had been mis-sold an agreement, or if that agreement had been misrepresented or drafted incorrectly, the courts could decide whether that agreement was unlawful and whether monies should be repaid or the debt "written off". We noted the complainants concern that consumers understood when they entered a loan or credit agreement that money would need to be repaid and should, morally, abide by that agreement.

However, we considered that, in the context of the ad listeners would understand that the claim "rightfully yours" referred to a consumers legal right to rescind their contract, subject to the relevant legal processes, rather than to any moral obligation they might have. We therefore concluded that the claim was unlikely to mislead on that point.

On this point, we investigated under CAP (Broadcast) Radio Advertising Standards Code section 2-3 (Misleadingness) but did not find the ad in breach.

 

Action

 

No further action necessary.

 

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)

[delicousdawn]

Thanks this does not look too great! Have just received a phone call from another claims management company with all my details of my credit cards and being told that they could be unenforceable- who releases this information to them i wonder???? Obviously i told them that i was under o circumstances interested and he had no idea how they come to have the info!

[Declaration]

Hi delicousdawn, since I managed to get a refund from Kerobo, I have had quite a number of calls from claim companies, one of which sounded quite dodgy as he mentioned the name of a large company which does not undertake this kind of work.

 

I'm sceptical of the whole industry to be honest........

[snowbound]

Another mug who has fallen foul of these [problem] artists. Tried to get a loan and a card over-turned ( seems so stupid now ) back in March. Loan had £5000 and card had £1600 outstanding. I expected them to take around £800 for both but £1680 was taken from my card by these bastards. Does anyone remember how they calculated the fee??? as I'm in the process of taking this through the courts and need more information. Needles to say my 40 plus e-mails are either going un-answered or are replied to with one line evasive answers.

Starting to get concerned now. Anyone had any luck getting money back from them??

[delicousdawn]

Hi snowbound,

Mine was charged at £450 per loan/ credit card plus VAT to a company called Top Spot Marketing which are in the same building as Kerobo but they never told me that they were a marketing company they said that they were Kerobo, so now trying to get the money back through the credit card under section 75 is impossible because they have used a third party!! Kerobo have responded and said that they fuflilled their duties so am now disputing again from all angles. Have you tried Ministry of Justice and complaince Unit very helpful for getting advice and info????

 

I think now that they have limited authorisation back they are being bombarded for their money back. This whole situation with them has made me really ill!!

 

Good luck keep me posted with any news or advice as i may have to go down the court route too.

[Lilz]

Hi,

 

I have just had a read of all the comments...unfortunately I am also a victim of the Kerobo [problem]. Can I ask though, has anyone got a copy of the form which kerobo send out, the one where you fill in your card details to start the claim? It says that the fee becomes non-refundable when

a) there are breaches found

b) when the credit card does not respond within 12 days.

 

I can't believe I missed that piece of information, I clearly remember them telling me that they will refund no matter what once they find no breaches. Which is what happened in my case, except they kept delaying the refund and recently wrote to me syaing they wont refund as my cc did not respond within 12 days. However my mum also made a claim back in february but got her refund back on one of the cards within 2 months.

 

What would be the best thing to do now? Shall I write to Kerobo for the refund or seek help from Financial Ombudsman? Not sure if they will/can help. If Kerobo was regulated by Ministry of Justice, shouldn't they do something about this?

[delicousdawn]

Hi Lilz,

 

I have read through my terms and conditions and i have found nothing on there stating about breaches found or the 12 day lack of response. So far i am still disputing with them to get a refund without much luck but still perservering. As ATM their solicitors at the time did not take my case i am trying breach of contract under section 3.9- worth a try!

 

My cc company is trying to get the money back under section 75 of credit consumer act but kerobo used topspot marketing so i am having to persue it through them, i was not aware the sales man was not from kerobo, they are based in the same building- what a surprise. Another ploy to make getting your money back even harder!

 

M of J can only advise god knows why they gave them their limited authorisation back we would all have much stronger cases if they did not. Sorry i can not be of much more help if i get any further i will post it up.

[Lilz]

Hi,

thank you for replying back....I have just read the message you put up. It seems Kerobo have sent out different paper works to people, because that is what mine says, and I stupidly signed it after they said I should ignore the 2 conditions as they will refund no matter what if no breaches are found.

 

I have not heard from Kerobo..but my cc is trying to see if they can refund me the money under section 75. Also, I think Kerobo are posing under the name of 'Warrington' to take money out of the cc account, because I have just had £199 taken out from a card I had given them details of but one which they didnt take on because the amount owed on that did not meet the threshold.

 

Are people still making their monthly payments to the cc whilst this is being dealt with? I don't know whther I should incase they don't refund all that back later.

 

Has anyone got template letters which I could use to write to the ministry of justice, the cc and BLOODY Kerobo? I need to write them a strong letter......atleast to vent my anger and frustration.