FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financial Co

[Amethyst]

Re: FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financia

The FOS decision was that you are repaid everything you have paid to GRF less the amounts they did pay to your creditors plus statutory interest.

My final decision is that I uphold this complaint and I direct Grass Roots (Financial) Limited
to:
 refund all of the payments that it received from Miss R and Mr W, with interest;
 less the payments that were passed to Miss R and Mr W’s respective creditors; and,
 pay an additional £200 for the inconvenience caused.

Do you have a list of all the payments made to GRF and a list of what GRF did pay to creditors?

[Naptime80]

Re: FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financia

I do but I'm not sure it's correct as their was a discrepancy (in our favour) as to what we were told was paid and what grassroots told the ombudsman

[Naptime80]

Re: FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financia

I've just spoken to someone at the court and they have given me a different form but looking through it it makes much more sense as the first question is about enforcing a decision

[Naptime80]

Re: FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financia

I calculate the amount as £3509.51 plus interest at 8% plus £200 (that's taking the £156 that they say they paid out.

I'm not sure whether I should calculate the interest from the date we first took out the arrangement or the date each payment was made. Also the form asks for a date for interest to end. I'm not sure what date goes in there.

The form I'm using is http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.u...t_forms_id=552 (n322a application for an order to allow enforcement of a decision)

[Amethyst]

Re: FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financia

Interest would be calculated from the date you paid each Sum to GRF to the date you submit the application. Thereafter at £xx.xx per day. Probably best using an interest calculator for this... http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...ffice-versions

[Amethyst]

Re: FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financia

Good find on the N322 form - I haven't come across that before

Good article (that demonstrates how hard it is to work out what to do in FOS cases)

The N322A is for the enforcement of awards where the court’s permission is required to give the effect of a Court Order, which applies to FOS awards as the FOS award does not have the effect of a Court Order until the court so orders. Naturally, I have had clients who (as litigants in person) have fallen at this hurdle, on a procedural difficulty alone.
When making the N322A application, the relevant law allowing enforcement must be referred to; so in the case of FOS awards this is Section 228(5) FSMA, which makes such awards final and binding, and paragraph 16 of Schedule 17 FSMA, which allows a court to order the FOS decision may be recovered by execution as if it were Court Order. At this point there seems to be a significant problem in the court system, with the courts unable to recognise the relevant law allowing FOS decisions to be enforced through court.

http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/practice...041981.article

I'll put it in the library for future reference.

[Naptime80]

Re: FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financia

yeah it completely makes sense. There's even a bit on the form that says what legislation gives you the right to do this. It's £40 for the application

[Amethyst]

Re: FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financia

Once you get this sorted maybe we should put a guide together for consumers (and the courts!) to follow.

In the FOI request 25 cases were referred to 'the OFT and Court' in 2013 so its a rare requirement.

[Naptime80]

Re: FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financia

I think I might print out that article and include it with all the other bumpf that I'll be sending with the court form

[Naptime80]

Re: FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financia

The bloke I spoke to at the court who suggested that form said that he had never known it to happen so I told him this one can be his first.

[Naptime80]

Re: FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financia

odd question. Do I now add interest to the £200 based on the daily rate?

[Naptime80]

Re: FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financia

I think the court are going to hate me.

I'm sending the following documents

1. Form N322A Application for an order to allow enforcement of a decision or ACAS condition Settlement that requires permission to proceed
   
2. Copy of Financial Ombudman's final decision dated 23^rd April 2014
   
3. Copy letter from Financial Ombudsman confirming acceptance of decision dated 6 May 2014
   
4. Copy Email from Grass Roots Financial to the Financial Ombudsmann dated 30^th June 2014 confirming that Grass Roots lack funds to pay this amount. However, they are still trading as Debt and Claims Ltd.
   
5. Companies House Webcheck result to show Grass Roots are still trading as Debt and Claims Limited
   
6. FCA Notice for Debt and Claims Limited (formerly Grass Roots) under which the business are no longer conducting Debt Management business
   
7. Statutory Interest Calculation for amount owed.
   
8. Financial Ombudsman Consumer Factsheet highlighting that the decision is legally binding and enforceable
   
9. Article by Tobias Haynes from Law Society Gazette dated 2 July 2014 highlighting the decision is legally binding and enforceable.

[Naptime80]

Re: FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financia

Received an interesting email today from Mr Eric Fairweather himself. I emailed him yesterday with the following

Today my husband has received a cheque for the sum of £20 to reconcile your client account.

This account has been subject to a Financial Ombudsman Final Decision since April of this year in which it was ordered that your company pay all monies paid to yourselves plus interest plus compensation of £200. We have still not received this money despite being told by the ombudsman that a settlement is being made. Further, the correspondence and cheque for GRF received today is again in my husband's name despite you being told on numerous occassions that it is a joint account and that any monies should be returned to me and not my husband.

I am emailing you to advise you that we will now be taking Court action to get the money which is owed to us.

Mr Fairweather's response was as follows

Thank you for your e-mail and I am sorry that you find yourself in this position. Unfortunately since the FOS made their decision we have voluntarily surrendered our debt licence to the FCA and sold the book. We are thus no longer writing any new business and our only income is from debtors who pay monies due. There is no money on the account and unless the debtors pay, this position will not change.

I do understand that you now have the right to instigate legal action if you so wish.

I have notified the FOS and the FCA that they are still using the excuse of FCA surrender as to why they have not paid us. I'm just waiting for the Ombudsman to send me the information to go with the application to court to confirm monies paid out etc.

I feel like taking this to the press!!

[Naptime80]

Re: FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financia

Just thought I'd update you.

we've sent the court forms off (finally). Hopefully we should hear in the next week.

Today my husband had an email from them saying this

Good afternoon

at the end of August we sent you a cheque in respect of the balance standing to your credit on our Credit Account. At the time of writing this email you had still not presented the cheque for payment. The business is no longer trading and we need to clear these payments as part of the winding down process. Would you please therefore pay the cheque in as son as possible.

thank you

debt and claims limited

i feel like emailing them back and pointing out that one the cheque should be in my name and 2 why should I when you owe me over £3500

[Amethyst]

Re: FCA Requirement Notice: Debt and Claims Limited / GrassRoots Financial – Financia

Gosh naptime you must have been posting in invisible ink ! So sorry to have missed so many of your posts. I'm just going to have a read back through ....