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Hi all,
I’ve seen some really helpful threads on here concerning issues with Allay Claims and am hopeful for some advice on my own situation.
I’ll try and give an overview, sorry it’s lengthy. In December 2020 I received an unexpected credit into my bank account from the Halifax, the sum was fairly large and I had absolutely no idea what it related to. I immediately called the bank to find out what was going on, my thought being that it must be some kind of scam. After speaking to a few departments it turned out the credit was genuinely from the Halifax, in settlement of a PPI claim made by a company called Allay Claims. This was the first time I’d ever heard of Allay.
I was baffled as to how this situation could have come about, with me knowing nothing of it until a credit suddenly arrived in my account. I submitted a DSAR to the Halifax, which they responded to in Jan 2021. The response indicated that Allay had submitted a Letter of Authority to them in July 2019, but they didn’t provide me with a copy of it as part of the DSAR. The response also contained copies of letters the Halifax had posted out to me in relation to the claim, but the address on the letters was a great many years out of date (despite me still banking with them and them having my correct address on file), hence why I’d never received any communications.
I wrote to the Halifax again, requesting a copy of the missing LOA, which they then provided. To my surprise, the address detailed on the LOA was the same incorrect one mentioned above, and the signature is not mine (looks like some kind of computer generated set of initials). What was also surprising was that they enclosed a copy of a letter they’d sent (to the incorrect address again) stating that the address on the application did not match the address they held on their files, and that until I contacted them to provide the correct details they would not be able to proceed with the claim. I of course never did contact them, because I knew nothing of the situation, and yet somehow the process continued regardless. The DSAR response also revealed that the Halifax had posted me a cheque for the amount owed way back in February 2020, which was of course never cashed, because they were corresponding at the wrong address! These are issues that I’m yet to follow up with the bank, though I’m not sure what next steps to take.
Moving on to Allay. After receiving the LOA from the bank, I submitted a combined complaint and DSAR request to Allay (I can provide a copy if helpful). I outlined the situation, indicating that I’d never at any point instructed them to act on my behalf, that I’d never signed any LOA, that the address used on the LOA was incorrect and the signature didn’t belong to me etc. I also indicated that any contract they incorrectly thought they had would have been in breach of Consumer Contract Regs (after seeing it noted on this forum!) and therefore invalid.
I heard back from Allay swiftly (again, I can provide a copy if helpful). They said they’d respond to the DSAR separately, and then proceeded to respond to my complaint. They said my details were filled in on a site called bank-refund-checker requesting them to conduct a free PPI check, at which point a LOA was signed that had their terms of engagement attached. This they say gave them permission to contact me regarding pursuit of the claim, and that they accepted this as a genuine opt in to their service and went ahead with contacting the lenders. They say the signature “may differ from your wet signature as it has been signed using a stylus, touch screen device or mouse”. I don’t even have a stylus or a touch screen computer, and the signature they’ve got could never have been achieved using a mouse. They go on to say that I was notified of their submission via email, and that they also sent a letter in the post but that as my current address details were not recorded correctly at opt in stage I may not have received it, and that any errors in my address history are not their responsibility!! I have no recollection of ever utilising a PPI checking website, I am very careful of such things, and have never received any correspondence from them.
They go on to say “your digitally signed documents provided us with the authority to pursue the PPI check and therefore, we do retain a valid, signed Letter of Authority and Terms of Engagement, and the same documents are valid to send to the lenders with a formal complaint. As above, following the submission of this complaint, Allay issued notification of this update to you using the details given during your opt in and did not receive any communication to cancel this claim.” They also provide an IP address which they say relates to the device the information was sent from. I’ve looked up the IP address and found it linked to a totally different part of the country to where I am! I’ve even spoken to my internet provider for clarification and confirmed that the IP address is not linked to my internet service / devices.
Allay finish off their response by saying they’re expecting full payment of their fee and attaching their invoice.
HELP!! Any advice on where I should go from here would be hugely appreciated. I cannot believe the terrible way this company are behaving and do not want to give them a single penny for a service I never instructed them to perform. Thank you in advance.
I’ve seen some really helpful threads on here concerning issues with Allay Claims and am hopeful for some advice on my own situation.
I’ll try and give an overview, sorry it’s lengthy. In December 2020 I received an unexpected credit into my bank account from the Halifax, the sum was fairly large and I had absolutely no idea what it related to. I immediately called the bank to find out what was going on, my thought being that it must be some kind of scam. After speaking to a few departments it turned out the credit was genuinely from the Halifax, in settlement of a PPI claim made by a company called Allay Claims. This was the first time I’d ever heard of Allay.
I was baffled as to how this situation could have come about, with me knowing nothing of it until a credit suddenly arrived in my account. I submitted a DSAR to the Halifax, which they responded to in Jan 2021. The response indicated that Allay had submitted a Letter of Authority to them in July 2019, but they didn’t provide me with a copy of it as part of the DSAR. The response also contained copies of letters the Halifax had posted out to me in relation to the claim, but the address on the letters was a great many years out of date (despite me still banking with them and them having my correct address on file), hence why I’d never received any communications.
I wrote to the Halifax again, requesting a copy of the missing LOA, which they then provided. To my surprise, the address detailed on the LOA was the same incorrect one mentioned above, and the signature is not mine (looks like some kind of computer generated set of initials). What was also surprising was that they enclosed a copy of a letter they’d sent (to the incorrect address again) stating that the address on the application did not match the address they held on their files, and that until I contacted them to provide the correct details they would not be able to proceed with the claim. I of course never did contact them, because I knew nothing of the situation, and yet somehow the process continued regardless. The DSAR response also revealed that the Halifax had posted me a cheque for the amount owed way back in February 2020, which was of course never cashed, because they were corresponding at the wrong address! These are issues that I’m yet to follow up with the bank, though I’m not sure what next steps to take.
Moving on to Allay. After receiving the LOA from the bank, I submitted a combined complaint and DSAR request to Allay (I can provide a copy if helpful). I outlined the situation, indicating that I’d never at any point instructed them to act on my behalf, that I’d never signed any LOA, that the address used on the LOA was incorrect and the signature didn’t belong to me etc. I also indicated that any contract they incorrectly thought they had would have been in breach of Consumer Contract Regs (after seeing it noted on this forum!) and therefore invalid.
I heard back from Allay swiftly (again, I can provide a copy if helpful). They said they’d respond to the DSAR separately, and then proceeded to respond to my complaint. They said my details were filled in on a site called bank-refund-checker requesting them to conduct a free PPI check, at which point a LOA was signed that had their terms of engagement attached. This they say gave them permission to contact me regarding pursuit of the claim, and that they accepted this as a genuine opt in to their service and went ahead with contacting the lenders. They say the signature “may differ from your wet signature as it has been signed using a stylus, touch screen device or mouse”. I don’t even have a stylus or a touch screen computer, and the signature they’ve got could never have been achieved using a mouse. They go on to say that I was notified of their submission via email, and that they also sent a letter in the post but that as my current address details were not recorded correctly at opt in stage I may not have received it, and that any errors in my address history are not their responsibility!! I have no recollection of ever utilising a PPI checking website, I am very careful of such things, and have never received any correspondence from them.
They go on to say “your digitally signed documents provided us with the authority to pursue the PPI check and therefore, we do retain a valid, signed Letter of Authority and Terms of Engagement, and the same documents are valid to send to the lenders with a formal complaint. As above, following the submission of this complaint, Allay issued notification of this update to you using the details given during your opt in and did not receive any communication to cancel this claim.” They also provide an IP address which they say relates to the device the information was sent from. I’ve looked up the IP address and found it linked to a totally different part of the country to where I am! I’ve even spoken to my internet provider for clarification and confirmed that the IP address is not linked to my internet service / devices.
Allay finish off their response by saying they’re expecting full payment of their fee and attaching their invoice.
HELP!! Any advice on where I should go from here would be hugely appreciated. I cannot believe the terrible way this company are behaving and do not want to give them a single penny for a service I never instructed them to perform. Thank you in advance.
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