PPI Fraud

[sez1234]

Hi, my mum received a phone call a few weeks ago(end of August) from credit - hero's asking if she wanting to go ahead with a ppi claim (cold calling) she reluctantly said yes,but she said she thought all her claims had been processed and there was no money left!! They have never sent her any forms to fill in or SIGN any agreement. Then on the 2nd Oct and 3rd Oct she received letter 's they are pleased to confirm Lloyds have acknowledged the complaint .Lloyds then phoned my mum a week or so later and my mum told Lloyds she didin't want credit hero's to carry on with claim as she thought she had already claimed the ppi back.Then on 28th Oct mum received a letter from credit-hero saying she owes them £360 fee revoking the contract. so now I have a copy of the contract which has been signed but not by my mum it has no resemblance to mothers signature it is also dated 18th June I have spoken to credit hero's this morning who have said that an online form was filled in on the 18th June with all my mum's correct detail(mum doesn't do computers) who said they will look into for me IP Address form where it was sent from. This signature is clearly Fraudulent and Lloyds should not have acted on this signature.Is anything that can be done ? Mum has never signed anything to say she wanted this company to act on her behalf.

[Awareness]

Amethyst could you move to the CMC forum please?

Your story is very concerning - sorry to hear you've had so much trouble.

Does your mum have any re-collection of filling anything out online at all? A lot of CMCs use 'electronic signatures' to bring claims because it's quicker so it's not impossible your mum could've signed something, although Credit Hero should still be telling her - clearly - what she is signing.

[Amethyst]

That is ridiculous. Is it these people http://www.credit-hero.co.uk/ ?

Any idea what date in August they called her? before the 29th I'd assume.

Any chance of a look at what they have sent you as evidence? ( admin@legalbeagles.info )

Does the signature look like the kind of thing you find when you sign for a parcel on a dodgy tablet screen?

Ask Lloyds for a copy of the authorisation to deal with "credit hero" too. If they won't just send it to your mum she might have to do a Subject Access Request, but try just asking their PPI team first ( should be their details on that letter from them)
That will also show up what date credit hero first contacted them about your mums account.

[Amethyst]

Just having a look at their terms.




Currently the terms show as this

Our Services

PPI Check

• This Check aims to confirm if you had, or have, PPI with your lender for all products that you advise us of.
• If the status is No PPI, you will be advised and we close the matter at no charge.
• Where PPI is, or may have been, present, we will automatically proceed onto the PPI CLAIM service.

PPI Claim

• Where there is a reasonable belief that PPI is or may have been present, we will complete a PPI questionnaire with you, in order to present your PPI claim as accurately as possible.
• The aim is to determine whether PPI was mis-sold on any and all products taken with your lender by presenting a formal complaint to be investigated.
• We will liaise with you to gather appropriate information relating to your matter(s) before presenting a case.
• If there is No PPI, you will be advised and we will close the matter at no charge.

Your Input

• We need you to tell us if you have a change of details such as name, address or other contact details.
• Let us know if the lender contacts you directly. To avoid delay, please return to us with any information that we need from you as soon as possible.
• Provide us with as much information & documentation as you have about your policy to allow us to process a claim.
• If you receive a rejection, offer or payment directly from your lender, please inform us as soon as possible so that we can advise appropriately.

Cancellation

Your Cancellation Rights


The PPI Claim can be cancelled within 14 days of agreeing to it at no charge. Any PPI check work undertaken will not be charged for however, if you cancel after 14 days of agreement, the following fees will apply: £150.00 will be payable if we have identified you paid PPI but not written a letter of claim to the bank. £225.00 after we have written a letter of claim to the bank but they haven’t acknowledged receipt of it. £300.00 will be payable if the bank have acknowledged your complaint but not made an offer. These fees are to cover the cost of the setting up an administering of your complaints. In the case of multiple lenders the fees are applicable to each lender.

If an offer has been made, our usual fees will apply. You can request cancellation by phone on 01244 683 222, email at info@credit-hero.co.uk or via our online form at www.credit-hero.co.uk/contact, or write to us at Credit Hero, Scotsman House, The Sidings, Boundary Lane, Chester, CH4 8RD.

However before the changeover to the FCA, in

December 2018, confirms they need signed and returned paperwork.

Sadly the takeover from the MOJ to the FCA as regulator seemed to have destroyed a shed load of protections and rules.

Before completing this agreement, it is important that we make clear your options. You can:

• Not sign and return the paperwork we send to you and leave the banks unchallenged. This would mean that all of the money you have paid for payment protection insurance which may have been mis-sold will not be refunded.
• You are free to make a complaint yourself. The Financial Ombudsman Service or the Citizens Advice Bureaux offer a ‘free service’ for your complaint.
• Sign and return the forms to us allowing Credit Hero to use its skill and expertise to challenge your bank and recover what may be owed to you.

They also say...

We will provide this service for a “No Win No Fee”.

A No Win No Fee is a fee that is only charged if we are successful in pursuing your claim. You may be charged if you cancel after the cooling off period at a rate of £25.00 per hour.

as

are free to cancel this contract within the first 14 days after signing it without charge.

[Amethyst]

These are the FCA rules of pre-contract information

CMCOB 4.2 Pre-contract information and advice
Summary document

CMCOB 4.2.1R01/04/2019
A firm must provide summary information (see CMCOB 4.2.2R) to a customer in accordance with this section before entering into an agreement with the customer that relates to regulated claims management activity.

CMCOB 4.2.2R01/04/2019
(1)The firm must provide the summary information:
(a)in a single page document, which contains only the summary information;
(b)in a durable medium; and
(c)in plain and intelligible language.
(2)The summary information is:
(a)a brief description of the services that the firm will provide under the agreement (see CMCOB 4.2.8R);
(b)a brief description of the steps that the customer will need to take in respect of the claim;
(c)a brief description of how the firm will keep the customer updated on the progress of the claim;
(d)a fee illustration or estimate, and explanation (see CMCOB 4.2.5R);
(e)a brief description of the customer’s right to cancel the agreement (see CMCOB 2.1.12R(2)(a)); and
(f)a brief description of:
(i)the customer’s right to terminate the agreement; and
(ii)any fees that may be payable by the customer to the firm if the customer terminates the agreement (see CMCOB 2.1.12R(2)(b) and CMCOB 2.1.12R(4));
(g)if the claim is of a sort which may be made by the customer to a statutory ombudsman or a statutory compensation scheme, without using the services of the firm and without incurring a fee, a statement to the effect that:
(i)the customer is not required to use the services of a firm which carries on regulated claims management activity to pursue their claim; and
(ii)it is possible for the customer to present the claim themselves for free, either to the person against whom they wish to complain or to the statutory ombudsman or the statutory compensation scheme; and
(h)if the firm is aware that the person against whom the claim is to be made is a member of, or subject to, an alternative dispute resolution scheme (other than an ombudsman or a scheme of a sort mentioned in (g)), a statement to the effect that it is possible for the customer to present the claim themselves to that alternative dispute resolution scheme.

A durable medium is defined as

1. 1. (a) paper; or
   1. (b) any instrument which enables the recipient to store information addressed personally to the recipient in a way accessible for future reference and for a period of time adequate for the purposes of the information and which allows the unchanged reproduction of the information stored.
2. For the purposes of this definition, the provision of information by means of electronic communications shall be treated as appropriate to the context in which the business between the
   firm
   and the
   client
   is, or is to be, carried on if there is evidence that the
   client
   has regular access to the internet. The provision by the
   client
   of an e-mail address for the purposes of the carrying on of that business is sufficient

So an email with a PDF / document attached, a part of a website that a customer can access with a password etc and be able to download their documents, body of an email or ( best ) on paper in the post. These must be provided BEFORE entering in to a contract.