bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

[Nicky Bodmin]

Re: bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

Hi Guys,

Its me again. I have had another 50 emails from Bank Smart they have tried to get me to open new claims with them They are thick. I as of 9 May 2011 put my complaint in the hands of the ICO for Data Protection issues.

They have continued without my permission to gain my files from my bank or from the old claims that had been terminated and with an email from them confirming this. I have emailed them 20 times telling them its a breach of sec55 1 of the Data Protection Act This is now a criminal offence and get this I( had a treatening email yesturday telling me to stop with lies that Bank Smart are commiting a criminal offence and if I dont stop I will be in trouble.

They are going to add fee for all my canceled claimes to the charging order and sell my house.
I told them when I canceled all dealings with them this terminates all the T and C and all the orignial contract details so they cannt hold me to any contract terms because they have gone.

I am being threatened on a daily basis.

I have had 150 emails from them

Advise please

[leclerc]

Re: bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

Hi Guys,

Its me again. I have had another 50 emails from Bank Smart they have tried to get me to open new claims with them They are thick. I as of 9 May 2011 put my complaint in the hands of the ICO for Data Protection issues.

They have continued without my permission to gain my files from my bank or from the old claims that had been terminated and with an email from them confirming this. I have emailed them 20 times telling them its a breach of sec55 1 of the Data Protection Act This is now a criminal offence and get this I( had a treatening email yesturday telling me to stop with lies that Bank Smart are commiting a criminal offence and if I dont stop I will be in trouble.

They are going to add fee for all my canceled claimes to the charging order and sell my house.
I told them when I canceled all dealings with them this terminates all the T and C and all the orignial contract details so they cannt hold me to any contract terms because they have gone.

I am being threatened on a daily basis.

I have had 150 emails from them

Advise please

Email filter: Block sender. That will stop receipt of them and should they decide to use pen and quill then job done. You can't respond to an email you haven't received, can you?

[Amethyst]

Re: bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

Have you told the banks you have withdrawn authority for bank smart to act on your behalf ? If not it may be an idea to do so.

[Milliman]

Re: bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

I am in a bother with Banksmart as well. 1st i took out a reclaim with them back 2009 and nothing has happend to i ignored them and left at that. couple days ago i recieved an email asking me to pay for accounts. i have since asked them for a break down but just keep getting a pdf of a letter i signed 2009 and their T&C. they have not provided enough information from beginning only on current events that every knew from the news.

please can any one help. as they are askin for 130 each for two different cases.

[CleverClogs]

Re: bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

Could you possibly scan and post their claimed T&C for people here to study, as well as what they claim to have done that was worth £130, at which people here may guffaw?

[Milliman]

Re: bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

Symmetric Systems Limited trading as Bank-Smart (the “Company”)
TERMS & CONDITIONS (v8.1)
FOR LARGE PRINT VERSIONS OF THIS DOCUMENT SEE Bank-Smart will claim back your Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). Mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance? | Reclaim your bank charges | Bank penalty charges | Credit card charges | Mortgage Penalties | PPI premiums | Council Tax | Financial Ombudsman Assistance | Banking Ombudsman Assistance

1. The services provided by Bank-Smart shall consist of one or more of the following:
1.1) The evaluation of a potential claim due to the client in respect of the unfair charges or excessive fees applied to
their account, insurance or other policy, tax fees, or other credit and finance related products including claims
for financial mis-selling or any other claim(s) with companies authorised by a Letter of Authority or other
claim authorised by you.
1.2) Preparation of a claim valuation, calculation of interest where applicable and/or any other relevant claim
documents required to issue a legal demand for payment to the Third Party.
1.3) Negotiating and settling the claim with the Third Party or providing sufficient assistance for the client to obtain
settlement.
(The Third Party means any person, firm or company that provided the Client with an account, policy, bill, or
other service which is subject to review by the Company, or any party that the Client believes has caused a
personal injury or other disadvantage or financial penalty/mis-selling.)
2. Your obligations and the fees payable
2.1) You agree that the Company is fully authorised to act on your behalf to make a subject access request under the
“Data Protection Act 1998” and/or “Consumer Credit Act 1974” and to act on your behalf to recover all unfair
charges applied to your account, policy premium or other claim/refund over the last 6 years or 5 years for
Scottish accounts or for any period for which is allowable by law and may result in a higher settlement being
provided by the Company. You agree that any fee requested by the Third Party following a request for
information which is allowable by law (and not exceeding a value of ten pounds per account/policy/financial
product) will be recovered from you if paid by Bank-Smart on your behalf initially.
2.2) You agree that once the Company has started the claim process on your behalf with the Third Party, the
Company’s standard fee as set out in condition 2.8 of these terms and conditions will apply to any settlement,
debt write off/reduction or other benefit agreed upon with the Third Party through either the Company or you
personally, settlement direct from your bank/financial institution or through another claims management
company and you authorise settlement to be paid direct to Bank-Smart whether or not any settlement is referred
to as a gesture of goodwill or otherwise.
2.3) Once the Company has started the claim process, in the event that the Third Party issue a settlement directly to
your account or reduces your debt with them by the same amount, or other benefit, you agree to contact the
Company within 14 working days and pay any monies owed to the Company under the terms of this agreement
within 14 working days of said compensatory deposit or acknowledgement of settlement.
2.4) We reserve the right to make a processing charge of up to a maximum of one hundred and fifty pounds (in
addition to our original fees) if we have to take legal action to recover our fees from you. This charge will
apply to each court claim issued against you in the event that you fail to pay our fees and court action is
required to recover them from you.
2.4.1) We reserve the right to charge a fee per invoice (in addition to our original fees) if we have to instruct
third party collectors to recover our fees from you. The fee charged will be based on a sliding scale as follows:
Invoice Value: £0 - £99.99 = Collection Fee: £10; Invoice Value £100 - £249.99 = Collection Fee: £25; Invoice
Value £250- £749.99 = Collection Fee: £40; Invoice Value: £750 + = Collection Fee: £75.
2.5) You agree that you will inform the Company within 14 working days of receiving any correspondence from the
Third Party in relation to the claim that the Company is making on your behalf and that you agree to the Third
Party supplying documents direct to Bank-Smart.
2.6) You agree that if you reach a settlement with the Third Party after the date of signing our letter of engagement
that our standard fee will be applicable plus any legal costs incurred by the Company.
2.7) Subject to the provisions of condition 2.8, you shall pay each invoice submitted to you by the Company in full
and cleared funds within 14 working days of receipt.
2.8) Due to the complicated nature of the claim and the expenses involved, we charge the following fees:
2.8.1) Twenty five percent of the amount the Third Party agrees to pay in settlement of the claim or deduct
from any debt you have with the Third Party plus VAT, subject to the recovery of our processing costs* plus:
2.8.2) costs** which includes VAT, all court costs and legal fees (requested from the Third Party by the
Company where legal action is taken to complete the claim) and such fees will be deducted from the final
settlement payment received from the Third Party, or will be paid to Bank-Smart by you within 14 working
days of receiving settlement should payment be made directly to you or your debt with the Third Party be
reduced by the same amount or other benefit.
2.8.3) Any company you claim against may charge you up to ten pounds for the provision of
statements/agreements and if they are unable to deduct this from your account we may pay it on your behalf
and invoice you for the same amount.
*Our basic processing costs are based on the expenses we have incurred during the process of your claim. We
will always try to mitigate these costs where possible and you can contact us at any time for the up-to-date
incurred in processing of your claims. **Where legal proceedings are required to settle your claim we will
charge for the preparation of the legal documents of between one hundred and fifty and four hundred and fifty
pounds dependent upon the complexity of the claim. If the Company determines that the value of your claim
will not reasonably cover the costs of such preparation we may discontinue your claim after giving written
notice to you. In any event written authorisation will be required from you before such preparations will be
carried out by the Company.
2.9) The costs payable under condition 2.8.2 will either be deducted from the final settlement received or be
payable by you (should payment from the Third Party be made directly to you or your debt with the Third
Party be reduced by this amount). You agree to authorise payments to be made direct to Bank-Smart under
reference EC.2.1.
2.10) You agree that in the unlikely event that your claim is not settled before the date of any hearing scheduled to
address this matter you will attend said hearing in person at the required court. In the event a hearing is
scheduled and required to be attended, the Company will contact you prior to the hearing date to confirm your
attendance. Failure to attend the said hearing will result in a failed claim and you will be responsible for all
applicable costs.
2.11) The Company will deliver invoices during the course of the claim for our fees (as set out in condition 2.8)
whenever a settlement from the Third Party is made (whether or not such payment is in part settlement or full
settlement) and for the avoidance of doubt further invoices will be issued whenever any further settlement is
paid, your debt reduced by way of settlement or other benefit received by you.
2.12) You agree to cover our reasonable processing costs plus VAT per claim plus all court costs and legal fees
(where such fees have been paid on your behalf). A full list of our basic processing costs can be obtained by
request at no cost by emailing claims@bank-smart.co.uk, by writing to 11-15 Betterton Street, Covent Garden,
London, WC2H 9BP, or by visiting the Company website.
2.13) Due to the complicated nature of the claim and the tactics used by financial institutions to delay claims, the
total time taken for claims to complete can vary greatly. For this reason, timescales are given only as a guide
to averages only and you must understand that claims, particularly for personal current accounts, could take a
long time to complete and you agree to be bound by these terms until completion or cancellation having paid
the cancellation fee in full. Success is in no way guaranteed or implied.
2.14) You shall co-operate with the Company in all matters relating to the claim and in particular respond to the
Company’s correspondence as soon as reasonably practicable or you may incur further costs.
2.15) Without prejudice to any other right or remedy it may have, if you fail to pay the Company on the due date for
payment, the Company may:
2.15.1) suspend services on all or some of your claims until payment has been made in full.
2.15.2) forward to a third party debt recovery company at a further cost per invoice (see term 2.4.1).
2.15.3) issue court proceedings for the recovery of the debt plus £150 administration and all applicable costs
and interest.
3. Liability
3.1) This condition 3 sets out the entire financial liability of the Company (including any liability for the acts or
omissions of its employees, agents or sub-contractors to the Company) in respect of:
3.1.1) any breach of this agreement; and
3.1.2) any representation, statement or tortious act or omission (including negligence) arising under or in
connection with this agreement.
3.2) The Company’s liability to you – the Company shall not be liable to you for any loss or damage as a result of:
3.2.1) the Company having acted on your instruction or following receipt of any information from you;
3.2.2) the Company’s services being unavailable through any cause beyond our reasonable control.
3.3) The Company will not be held responsible, other than that carried out by the Company, by any action taken by
the Third Party against you as a result of any claim made on your behalf by the Company.
3.4) You must disclose if you have received any settlement for any claim on the account/policy/product specified
within the last 6 years or any part of monetary recompense or have instructed another organisation to do so on
your behalf. Failure to disclose this information in writing will leave you liable for all reasonable costs incurred
by the Company.
3.5) You agree that any debt or liability incurred by you under this agreement shall be solely the responsibility of
you, the Claimant, unless as a direct result of the actions of Bank-Smart.
3.6) The Company reserves the right:
3.6.1) to apply any monies recovered for you on any claim in or towards satisfaction of any monies due by
you and payable to the Company in respect of that claim and any other claims dealt with or being dealt with for
you by the Company.
4. Cancellation and Termination
4.1) You have 14 days from the date of signing the Letter of Engagement to cancel your claim(s) or 14 days from
the date of signing the original Letter of Authority where subsequent new claims are registered to an existing
contract. This should be by written notice to Bank-Smart, Cancellation Team, 11-15 Betterton St, Covent
Garden, London, WC2H 9PB. Written notification must be received by us within the 14 day period and any
cancellations of claims after this period will be subject to a cancellation fee dependent upon the tasks we have
carried out. The fee may be anything from our basic processing costs up to our full commission and costs,
details of which can be found by clicking the ‘cancel’ link next to your claim within the Bank-Smart client area
of the website or within the help section of the Company website, by email or by writing to us at Bank-Smart,
Cancellation Team, 11-15 Betterton St, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9PB. Cancellations after the demand
for payment has been made to your bank/financial institution are subject to our full fee as stated in condition
2.8. Proof of sending is not proof of delivery and we recommend that cancellation letters be sent by recorded
delivery. You may also cancel or request information on cancelling by emailing cancellations@banksmart.
co.uk. Please ensure that you keep a copy of all cancellation emails.
4.2) If you settle your claim with the Third Party before we have calculated the value of your claim you will be
liable to pay twenty five percent plus VAT of the amount refunded, or our basic processing costs, whichever is
the greater. For a full list of these charges write to us at Bank-Smart, Cancellation Team, 11-15 Betterton St,
Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9PB or email cancellations@bank-smart.co.uk
4.3) This agreement shall terminate upon:
4.3.1) settlement being obtained from the Third Party and full payment of our fees; or
4.3.2) upon the Company giving you notice that no further action in relation to your claim will be taken by the
Company.
4.3.3) upon written cancellation and payment of any relevant cancellation fee.
5. Complaints
5.1) If you are unhappy with the Company’s service you have the right to complain. If you have a complaint please
view our complaints procedure on our website or contact us by:
Emailing complaints@bank-smart.co.uk or by writing to us at Bank-Smart Complaints, 11-15 Betterton St,
Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9PB and we will provide you a copy of our complaints procedure.
6. Data Protection
6.1) The Company will process all information in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. We use the
personal information you provide to assess your position and carry out the services we provide. By providing
your personal information you explicitly authorise us to process your information. If you provide information
to us about another party you confirm they consent to us processing their personal information and that you
collected the information on their behalf. You can request a copy of the information we hold about you at any
time by writing to the Company’s address and enclosing a cheque for £10 made payable to Symmetric Systems
Limited. We may disclose the information you provide to our trusted partners who may contact you about
other relevant services. If you do not want us to do this please let us know when returning your claim pack.
7. Force Majeure
7.1) The Company shall have no liability to you under this agreement if it is prevented from or delayed in
performing its obligations under this agreement or from carrying on its business by acts, events, omissions or
accidents beyond its reasonable control, including strikes, lock-outs or other industrial disputes (whether
involving the workforce of the Supplier or any other party), failure of a utility service or transport network, act
of God, war, riot, civil commotion, malicious damage, compliance with any law or governmental order, rule,
regulation or direction, accident, breakdown of plant or machinery, fire, flood, storm or default of suppliers or
sub-contractors.
8. Variation
8.1) No variation of this agreement or these conditions or of any of the documents referred to in them shall be valid
unless it is in writing and signed by or on behalf of each of the parties.
9.
Waiver
9.1) A waiver of any right under this agreement is only effective if it is in writing and it applies only to the party to
whom the waiver is addressed and the circumstances for which it is given.
10. Severance
10.1) If any provision of this agreement is found by any court or administrative body of competent jurisdiction to be
invalid, unenforceable or illegal, the other provisions will remain in force.
11. Assignment
11.1) You shall not, without the prior written consent of the Company, assign, transfer, charge, sub-contract or deal
in any other manner with all or any of its rights or obligations under this agreement.
12. Rights of Third Parties
12.1) This agreement is made for the benefit of the parties to it and (where applicable) their successors and permitted
assigns and is not intended to benefit, or be enforceable by, anyone else.
13. Notices
Notices given under this agreement shall be in writing, sent to the address or email address provided by you or
in the form of comments through your online secure Bank-Smart account. A notice is deemed to have been
received: if delivered personally, at the time of delivery; in the case of email, at the time of transmission; in the
case of pre-paid first class post or recorded delivery, 48 hours from the date of posting; and, if deemed receipt
under this condition is not within business hours (meaning 9.00 am to 5.30 pm Monday to Friday on a day that
is a business day), at 9.00 am on the first business day following delivery. To prove service, it is sufficient to
prove that the notice was transmitted by email to the email address of the party or, in the case of post, that the
envelope containing the notice was properly addressed and posted.
14. Tax Claims
14.1) Tax refund claims may be passed to a third party Company for processing and any commission due must be
paid directly to them. Bank-Smart reserves the right to invoice you directly for the basic processing costs
incurred plus VAT and the third party Company will reduce their invoice by the same amount should payment
not be made within 60 days from the date of invoice. We are obliged to inform you that where we refer a claim
to a third party Company we may receive a referral fee. We receive from £10 to 50% of the commission
charged by the third party.
15. Personal Injury Claims
15.1) Personal injury claims will be passed to a third party specialist solicitor who will complete your claim for
compensation on a no win no fee basis. We are obliged to inform you that where we refer your case to a
solicitor we may receive a referral fee. This fee only applies on cases where the appointed solicitor is able to
recover their fees from your opponent. The fee we receive is five hundred pounds sterling. We must stress
that this does not affect the way your claim is handled or the amount of compensation you may receive. You
will receive 100% of the compensation for personal injury.
16. Unenforceable Contract Claims
16.1) In the event that you submit an unenforceable claim against any loan, credit card or other regulated agreement
that Bank-Smart are yet to complete the return of penalty charges to you, on completion of the unenforceable
claim, you agree to repay the total commission and costs due to Bank-Smart for the associated Bank-Smart
claim as stated in condition 2.8.
16.2) You agree that on submission of any unenforceable claim the Company will not be liable for any repercussions
as a result of your non-payment of any outstanding existing debt. Please view our website, the OFT website or
write to us at our registered address for further information on the possible implications of submitting an
unenforceable claim. Claims are deemed to be settled in full when either the debt is wiped our, either through
the courts or direct with the loan/credit card provider or other financial institution or the Company is not
provided with a copy of the agreement within the timescales required under the Consumer Credit Act.
17. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
17.1) This agreement and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it or its subject matter, shall be
governed by, and construed in accordance with, the law of England and Wales.
17.2) The parties agree that the courts of England and Wales shall have jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim that
arises out of or in connection with this agreement or its subject matter.


This is the T&C they have sent me. but in the beginning they did not proivide enough information, they told me that what ever money they reclaim they will deduct their fees from there

[teaboy2]

Re: bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

If they have not fullfilled their part of the contract, or you have not received any settlement for such accounts then you are not liable for paying them any fees. As you clearly have not received any settlement to which their fees apply too.

I would simply write back stating that the agreement was that they would reclaim unfair charges and fees etc (or whatever they were reclaiming for you) and as they have failed to actually do so, and no settlement has been received by you, then they have failed to fufill their side of the contract and as such they are not entitled to any monies from you.

See 2.11 which makes it clear you only have to pay per account as and when you receive a settlement on that account. And the same under 2.9 which makes it clear fees under 2.8.2 are payable upon receipt of settlement only.

So really the question is, have you actually received any settlement directly from the banks/creditor the accounts are with or through bank smart?

[CleverClogs]

Re: bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

TERMS & CONDITIONS (v8.1)

Thank you. Was that the version applicable when you signed up with that CMC?

This is the T&C they have sent me. but in the beginning they did not proivide enough information, they told me that what ever money they reclaim they will deduct their fees from there

When did they deign to provide that statement of their terms and conditions?

I am sure that some parts, at least, could prove to be unenforceable.

[Milliman]

Re: bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

Well that T&C was sent to me last week when first recieved the invoices which i must state had not attachment to it just that it said i owe this amount for this unsuccessfull claims. i emailed them asking that i was not aware that i had to pay only that when i reclaimed then they sent me this T&C pdf form.

i dont remember to be honest if this was the original only because i that time i was told it would be quick and easy.
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
[quote=teaboy2;231678]If they have not fullfilled their part of the contract, or you have not received any settlement for such accounts then you are not liable for paying them any fees. As you clearly have not received any settlement to which their fees apply too.]

i have not recieved a single penny from either the banks or them because these invoices are for a unsuccessful claims.

[teaboy2]

Re: bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

Then as i said in an my earlier post, you do not have to pay them anything since you have not received any settlement and they have therefore not fulfilled their part of the contract and as such are not entilted to any monies they alleged are owned as confirmed in the terms i pointed out in my earlier post.

[CleverClogs]

Re: bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

The applicable terms would be those - if any - that were included with the claim pack. Anything they may have sent subsequently would have been too late to form part of the contract.

I do not believe you owe them anything - neither in terms of money nor even in terms of respect.

Complain about the oafs via the Ministry of Justice.

[Robert79]

Re: bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

Hello everyone, I have the same problem with the Bank Smart I got a letter from them given notice to me with one of my four claim is unsuccessful and I must to pay them 118.80 pounds so I think I begin another scam, this time on me. I have 14 days to pay please for help because I do not know what to do

[teaboy2]

Re: bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

When you say 1 of 4 claims being unsuccessful, what happened to the other 3 claims and were they handled by Bank Smart and is it one of those 3 claims they are charging you for, or is it for the unsuccessful claim they are trying to charge you for?

Just been on their website, i wonder how many of their affiliates have consumer credit licenses? - Bank-Smart - Affiliate

[CleverClogs]

Re: bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

When you say 1 of 4 claims being unsuccessful, what happened to the other 3 claims and were they handled by Bank Smart and is it one of those 3 claims they are charging you for, or is it for the unsuccessful claim they are trying to charge you for?

Just been on their website, i wonder how many of their affiliates have consumer credit licenses? - Bank-Smart - Affiliate

I'm not sure they are required (by Wan...^W BankSmart) to hold a current Consumer Credit Licence. Just look at their Terms and Conditions - link; all that seems to concern them is whether the "affiliate" can be considered exempt under section 4 (1) of the Compensation Act 2006 (link). The BSers at BS seem to have the idea (gathered from heaven alone knows where) that someone who refers less than 25 claims per quarter would be an "exempt introducer", which is the term used in the MoJ guidance document - PDF link where it is actually rather more complicated than BS would have one believe.

[Milliman]

Re: bank-smart lose in court over t&c's

i asked them to give me a breakdown of the service charges. and i didnt know they charge you every time they send you an email and every time someone logs on to your information file in their system