Tweet
Hello, I am new to the forum. However, I write as somebody who has been assisting a family member for over 12 months with a claim by Banksmart (BS). I also write as somebody who ran a Claims Management Company (CMC) for several years s I have some knowledge of the rules and regulations.
In the case of my family member, BS claimed that they were entitled to a not insubstantial sum of money for commission and also for breach of contract (north of £2,000). These claims were heard before a County Court Judge last week and were all dismissed. The Judge also made an Order for loss of earnings in respect of my family member. When the Judge handed down his decision, BS (as did we) had an opportunity to appeal. BS did not ask the Judge for his leave to appeal so that is the end of the matter.
The outcome of the hearing last week was that all claims were dismissed. One of the defences that we ran (there were several) was that BS claims' for money were 'out of time'. The Judge agreed. It was astounding to me that a Company in the business of starting 'legal action' on behalf of consumers did not understand the most basic of concepts that claims are 'time barred' after 6 years.
In correspondence, BS told my family member that "we maintain that you cannot successfully defend the case at court". That plainly was not true - because we did. Not only did we win every aspect of the case, we demonstrated that we should never have been in court in the first place. Moreover, so confident were BS in their case, that they wrote to my family member and told him that they "strongly recommended" the use of the "Mediation service to avoid incurring a County Court Judgement" (yes, that is a direct quote including the incorrect spelling of 'Judgment'.
I have seen many posts on different forums about BS. I am increasingly concerned that BS are well aware that their claims have no basis, legal or otherwise. My family member is a case in point, there was no basis for BS claims to make any claims against him. Had I not advised him not to pay, he would paid invoices totalling something north of £2,000.
I am genuinely concerned that there are other people out there who may not have the capacity (financial or otherwise) to stand up to BS. It is reasonable to suggest that BS may be pursuing many claims without any legal basis. Since this is a numbers game, there may also be other people in the UK who have paid invoices to avoid action because they were told that their claims were not capable of being defended and also to avoid a County Court Judgment (CCJ).
In circa April 2019, responsibility for CMC's moved from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). I have noted that almost 2 years' after the FCA took over from the MOJ that BS still have 'temporary permission' to conduct Regulated Claims activities. Pandemic aside, I recall from experience that 'temporary' permissions were granted to ALL CMC's and that it was expected that the full permission would be grated during the following c.6-9 months. During the hearing last week, I asked their representative whether the 'permissions' issue had anything to do with the raft of public complaints and concerns about her Company. She did not provide a straight answer.
Over the coming weeks, I will be sharing more about this case so would be pleased to hear from any of you with your own experiences. I am keen to give you the benefit of our experience so that you can defend any claims that BS try and bring against you.
I also intend to refer BS to the FCA. I shall also be referring it to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) because I have identified several breaches of data protection legislation from this case. Based on what I have seen, it is highly questionable whether the necessary work was undertaken before the Data protection Act 2018. I also believe their website contains misleading information so a referral to the Advertising Standards Authority may also be appropriate.
In the case of my family member, BS claimed that they were entitled to a not insubstantial sum of money for commission and also for breach of contract (north of £2,000). These claims were heard before a County Court Judge last week and were all dismissed. The Judge also made an Order for loss of earnings in respect of my family member. When the Judge handed down his decision, BS (as did we) had an opportunity to appeal. BS did not ask the Judge for his leave to appeal so that is the end of the matter.
The outcome of the hearing last week was that all claims were dismissed. One of the defences that we ran (there were several) was that BS claims' for money were 'out of time'. The Judge agreed. It was astounding to me that a Company in the business of starting 'legal action' on behalf of consumers did not understand the most basic of concepts that claims are 'time barred' after 6 years.
In correspondence, BS told my family member that "we maintain that you cannot successfully defend the case at court". That plainly was not true - because we did. Not only did we win every aspect of the case, we demonstrated that we should never have been in court in the first place. Moreover, so confident were BS in their case, that they wrote to my family member and told him that they "strongly recommended" the use of the "Mediation service to avoid incurring a County Court Judgement" (yes, that is a direct quote including the incorrect spelling of 'Judgment'.
I have seen many posts on different forums about BS. I am increasingly concerned that BS are well aware that their claims have no basis, legal or otherwise. My family member is a case in point, there was no basis for BS claims to make any claims against him. Had I not advised him not to pay, he would paid invoices totalling something north of £2,000.
I am genuinely concerned that there are other people out there who may not have the capacity (financial or otherwise) to stand up to BS. It is reasonable to suggest that BS may be pursuing many claims without any legal basis. Since this is a numbers game, there may also be other people in the UK who have paid invoices to avoid action because they were told that their claims were not capable of being defended and also to avoid a County Court Judgment (CCJ).
In circa April 2019, responsibility for CMC's moved from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). I have noted that almost 2 years' after the FCA took over from the MOJ that BS still have 'temporary permission' to conduct Regulated Claims activities. Pandemic aside, I recall from experience that 'temporary' permissions were granted to ALL CMC's and that it was expected that the full permission would be grated during the following c.6-9 months. During the hearing last week, I asked their representative whether the 'permissions' issue had anything to do with the raft of public complaints and concerns about her Company. She did not provide a straight answer.
Over the coming weeks, I will be sharing more about this case so would be pleased to hear from any of you with your own experiences. I am keen to give you the benefit of our experience so that you can defend any claims that BS try and bring against you.
I also intend to refer BS to the FCA. I shall also be referring it to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) because I have identified several breaches of data protection legislation from this case. Based on what I have seen, it is highly questionable whether the necessary work was undertaken before the Data protection Act 2018. I also believe their website contains misleading information so a referral to the Advertising Standards Authority may also be appropriate.
Comment