Bank smart issues

[Annamaflea]

My dad has been snagged by bank smart.
his online account has over 30 accounts they claim to be trying to get PPI for.

A third of which were added to the account after the ppi date.
a large number of them he has already had the ppi back or he has had it confirmed they don't owe him any PPI.

Sadly he has signed some sort of contract which has 20 accounts listed on it but my dad didn't know what he was signing.

They now want to charge him the cost theyve incurred capped at £400 per account. That is over £12000.
which is frankly ridiculous.

This has all been brought to my attention after he has sent them £458 to try and close the matter and they've said no thank you its £400 per account.

this £458 was for breach of contract as he had failed to return a form they wanted signing.

They have sent me an invoice from one of the accounts which is over £700 of charges for them scanning documents and sending letters out here and there. All work theyve apparently done.

Is there anything I can do to get them off his back?

I have their terms and conditions and a few other documents.

Thanks in advance.

[EXC]

Hiya

As always the best thing to do with Bank Smart is to make a formal compaint. That way if they reject it you can take it to the Ombudsman.

I can help draft a complaint but it would be helpful to see the T&Cs, any documents you have and the invoice.

If you can email them to me at nick@legalbeaglesgroup.com I can get a better idea of what the situation is and what the best grounds are to base the complaint on.

[Thread moved to Claims Management Forum]

[Annamaflea]

Thank you Nick, I have emailed the documents. Apologies for the double email. I didnt send the docs in the first email. Not easy when you're on a mobile. If you need the invoices again let me know.

I appreciate your help so much.

[EXC]

Ok got them, thanks.

There's quite a lot to unpack here so I'll give you my initial thoughts and ask a few questions:

On the Santander claim (Ref 233673) which the letter and fee list deal with there's an entry dated 25/04/2019 that says ''Claim Assigned from Francis Hughes''. We know that Bank Smart bought the customer book of Ascend Finance Ltd T/A Franklyn Hughes on that date.There are potentailly strong complaints grounds with that issue on it's own but too complicated to explain just now!

It looks like a PPI claim was made which was partially successful and for which your dad got a small refund and paid the commision for (around 20 or 30 quid) but Bank Smart wanted more. Tha bank refused and Bank Smart wanted to take it to the Ombudsman. It's the Ombudsman complaint form that Bank Smart say they sent your dad but as he didn't return it, they're claiming he breached the contract hence the invoice.

On the other 2 LOAs (Letters of Authority) there are 20 accounts listed on each. I don't know where Bank Smart got all that account information from, possibly from Ascend, but the way it's listed it looks like it's been copied directly from your dad's credit file.

So, a few questions:

1) Did you dad have any previous dealings with Ascend finance/Frankly Hughes and did he sign anything with them?

2) On all 3 LOAs, is that your dad's signature and handwriting?

3) In your email you indicated that your dad was at sea on the date (22/08/19) of the signature. Can he prove that?

4) When did Bank Smart send your dad the Ascend Trems & Conditions? Was it enclosed with their letter and fee list?

If you could answer those I should have enough to draft a complaint which I'm reasonably confident that even if they don't uphold it, we can go to the Claims Management Ombudsman with a good case for getting the charges wiped and any contractual obligation voided.

[Annamaflea]

Heya
Sorry for the delay. Been working from home.

1) my dad can't remember which firm he originally started claiming through but whoever it was passed it to bank smart.

2) that is my dads signature but not sure he has put the date.

3) we can prove he was away at sea

4) doesn't believe he has had a copy of the terms of conditions sent to him before signing the forms.


Thanks

[EXC]

Ok thanks. I'll work on a draft complaint at the weekend and post it up.

[Annamaflea]

Thank you, my dad and I are extremely grateful.

[EXC]

Draft complaint attached below.

Check it for accuracy and if you're happy with it put in you dad's address and get him to sign it.

I would advise that you send it registered mail (just in case) as well as emailling it to complaints@bank-smart.co.uk

[Annamaflea]

Wow that letter knocks it out of the park. I will have it sent off without delay. We are eternally grateful and will let you know how we get on.

[Annamaflea]

So prior to sending this complaint, my dad contacted them and instructed them to stop trying to claim ppi.

Since this date, my dad has been contacted from his bank cos they're trying to claim ppi on several of his accounts.
other than await for them to respond to the complaint, is there anything we can do to make them stop.

Im guessing they're doing it so they can add more charges to his account and make claims for work theyve done but they've been explicitly told to stop (this was when he paid the £458)

I've asked my dad to ring santander tomorrow and explain that he wants them to have nothing to do with bank smart.

(Hes already been paid out on all his santander accounts as he did those himself)

[EXC]

It wouldn't make any difference if your dad cancelled as the cancellation fee would be the same as the breach of contract fee. I think all you can do it wait for the response to your complaint.

[Annamaflea]

An update for you all. Bank smart finally replied to the complaint with 5 days to go on the timer.

There was a lot in their email and im happy to send it on as they mention this site.

They tried to go heavy and scare us for court action, claiming libel. But basically said they'd cancel if we replied with in 48 hours saying to cancel.

Well cancellation was all we wanted really. They wouldnt issue a refund for the £458 but my dad can put that was a lesson to come to me more often prior to signing this shit.

Im externally thankful to this site for helping us so swiftly and thoroughly.

[EXC]

An update for you all. Bank smart finally replied to the complaint with 5 days to go on the timer.

There was a lot in their email and im happy to send it on as they mention this site.

They tried to go heavy and scare us for court action, claiming libel. But basically said they'd cancel if we replied with in 48 hours saying to cancel.

Well cancellation was all we wanted really. They wouldnt issue a refund for the £458 but my dad can put that was a lesson to come to me more often prior to signing this shit.

Im externally thankful to this site for helping us so swiftly and thoroughly.

Ok but don't reply unti I've seen it. Their complaint responses are famously ambiguous so I just want to be sure.

Please email it to me.