Reclaim HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

[ketsudo]

Re: HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

So are you going to mine my site to put info on here now?

[Amethyst]

Re: HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

I wasn't intending to, it's entirely up to you.

[ketsudo]

Re: HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

I don't understand! What do you mean? I've spent years researching, doing FoIs, taking MoJ to court etc. your last post was taken from my site

[Amethyst]

Re: HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

Which one?

The letters were from http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...es-and-Charges, there's plenty of them across here too, they just were the clearest ones on google images.

[Guest]

Re: HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

This is very interesting to me , something i was completely unaware of, and I do like to think /i keep my ear close to the ground.

Ketsudo, if your only concern is helping people who have had dealings with theses people, why would you care if the information was given on here on cag or anywhere else?

Surely the only important thing is that the issue is being discussed and in the public arena.

[Amethyst]

Re: HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

Ah ha, found my original thread from May 2006, I sound like such a noob lol.

Spoken to litigation dept.
Basically the £1000 collection charge is a contracted amount of 16.3% to cover the expenses of passing it on to a DCAicon (which is what Restons are essentially) They will not give me a breakdown of this so I am writing to them to chase my Data Protection Act reuqest and specifially requesting that breakdown, and a refund of late payment charges applied to the account.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...lection-charge

[Amethyst]

Re: HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

This is very interesting to me , something i was completely unaware of, and I do like to think /i keep my ear close to the ground.

Ketsudo, if your only concern is helping people who have had dealings with theses people, why would you care if the information was given on here on cag or anywhere else?

Surely the only important thing is that the issue is being discussed and in the public arena.

Exactly

[ketsudo]

Re: HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

Because the best outcome for people is to do a group action. I have been dealing with this for 10 years, since I told HFC's solicitor charge was illegal. I lost my job over it and have been campaigning ever since. I don't care where the info comes from but it's better that claims are coordinated and I worked at Leigh Day & Co preparing a group action, which only didn't proceed because of a conflict of interest. If there was a groundswell of claimants a group action could be launched at no cost to claimants.
I have also recovered money for people through FOS, at no charge. That is a possibility for people on here but they need to know what they're doing and I have the information and am prepared to help people. But I object to being portrayed as a self-seeking publicist. I am about to lose my home, whistleblowers don't find work again. Helping people may also help me get a job at another firm of solicitors to do a group action.

[ketsudo]

Re: HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

All I ask is if my information is used then I am credited, preferably with a link to the source. Amethyst has already said things which are wrong because reference hasn't been made to my site. I am a poacher turned gamekeeper. Half of the claim forms prior to 2006 have my name on them, from when I was head of debt recovery at Weightmans solicitors.

[ketsudo]

Re: HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

One further point is that a lot of the information on my website I am revealing in breach of a gagging clause and I could be sued for a great deal of money by me ex-employers, so I would like to know the information is understood and used properly.

[Amethyst]

Re: HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

Because the best outcome for people is to do a group action. I have been dealing with this for 10 years, since I told HFC's solicitor charge was illegal. I lost my job over it and have been campaigning ever since. I don't care where the info comes from but it's better that claims are coordinated and I worked at Leigh Day & Co preparing a group action, which only didn't proceed because of a conflict of interest. If there was a groundswell of claimants a group action could be launched at no cost to claimants.
I have also recovered money for people through FOS, at no charge. That is a possibility for people on here but they need to know what they're doing and I have the information and am prepared to help people. But I object to being portrayed as a self-seeking publicist. I am about to lose my home, whistleblowers don't find work again. Helping people may also help me get a job at another firm of solicitors to do a group action.

I agree with you and hence why I was trying to help you get the information out there publicly. You got banned from CAG already, you are being ignored by Which? and I can see you have a good campaign, and one I agree with, you have to just find the way of getting that out to the people it affects without coming across as you have done.

The first three or four responses you had to your posts were suspicious and I explained why that was. I understand your frustration but you do come across that way.

I hope you can see I am just trying to help - you don't need to direct people constantly to your website to get the message out and help people, you have the chance of a board here to put across the arguments and attract attention from people who have been taken in by this charge in the past and who might want to reclaim - that can move over to a possible group action.

As I said my defence was way back in 2006 when I was an utter newbie to all this and a housewife with three young children, and used what I could find out. I'm not putting it forwards as what to do now, but it we can use it as a starting point to sort out the law and the grounds of claims then it will help.

I suggested putting it all together in a simple form (people really won't read 70 pages of information and most people don't care much about your personal circumstances, they care about the possibility of reclaiming some of their hard earned money in the easiest way possible) then we can promote it and see what interest is actually out there.

I appreciate your honesty and it is what I thought, I'm just trying to help you see why you aren't getting further with the campaign - there's no point having a group action available but no group.

As I mentioned have a look at the MSE campaigns and Which? , and how ITV and the Daily Mail promote their campaigns... simple to understand for the layman and straight instructions what to do to get their money back.

I hope that makes sense and you get what I'm trying to do.

I have had similar problems in the past - I tend to go into far too much details that people don't care about and the message gets lost...particularly when I'm trying to get input for consultations....

so basically a guide like...

1) you can reclaim HFC collection charges ....

2) why..... they are unlawful because of xxxxxxxxxxx , the OFT has told them off etc, they are unlawful contingency charges, SRA told them off, etc

3) how ... write to HFC wait 8 weeks, complain to ombudsman... if you have a CCJ that includes the charge do X, y, z .... etc

4) if enough interest poss group action

[ketsudo]

Re: HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

Thank you, yes, I know you're trying to help and I know about the problem of appearing like a CMC. Perhaps you could help promote me so that it doesn't appear that way. But, as I said above, a lot of the information on my site is highly confidential, nobody else has revealed it and I have done so at great personal cost. I am a trustee of the charity, Whistleblowers UK who help people with principals and life is extremely difficult for all whistleblowers. Of course I have put that information in the public domain, and it's a chance I take that I could be sued or people just take the information half-baked and screw up any claim they may have.
Please don't delete my account just yet. If we can work together then we can help people. As I have said, the ONLY reason I seek publicity is for the cause, not me.

[Amethyst]

Re: HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

Okay good thank you.

Let's work on something easily digestible for the masses then. For example it may be of use to look at some of your previous FOS claims or letters that have resulted in refunds from HFC etc ? The charges are all approx 16% across the board and all named as being a collection charge so it should be a case of creating a blinding template to assist people reclaiming.

I don't believe we need the confidential stuff just the legalities, OFT and relevant to actual claims stuff rather than anything showing the firms up for being to$$ers - everyone here is pretty well aware of that already

So we can discuss it and knock a guide into a shape here then do a separate campaign thread etc once it's sorted?

Of course you will be referenced but we'll put that element to one side from now on until we have it cracked okay?

[wales01man]

Re: HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

They can sue you for a lot of money? but your losing your house so you don't have much money/

[ketsudo]

Re: HFC / HSBC / Restons / Collection Charge

OK I'll put something together this week. One problem with FOS - if the debtor has paid the debt off in full the bank will repay. If there is still an outstanding balance on the account FOS allows the bank to knock it off the balance. This is wrong and I asked them to escalate it to an Ombudsman but he also agreed with the adjudicator. I advised people to reject the Ombudsmans ruling (they still got the charge knocked off) so that they could go to court if the wished. Technically the bank has no right of set off. For there to be a right of set-off there must be "mutuality of contract" between the parties, but the solicitors add the charges, they collect the charges and they keep them for their costs. The debtor has no contract with the solicitors, so there is no right of set off. How can the bank have a right to set-off something they were never entitled to in the first place?
i mention this just as a warning, anyone with an outstanding balance is only likely to get a credit on the account, not a refund if they go through the Ombudsman - if the want money back when they've got an outstanding balance, they may have to go to court. Hence why a group action with 2 types of claimants (paid/unpaid) is preferable.