ATM sols / Grassroots Financial / Temple / Legal Ness

[Amethyst]

Re: Hello everyone

Thank you. I was just concerned over this ''We fear losing our home but our solicitor says as we are in a DAS that we should be protected from this '' - as it only covers creditors included in the DAS, and obviously due to the dispute, Grassroots isn't covered in it.

[Jojo1]

Re: Hello everyone

That could be the grounds on which you could defend any action by counter claiming that the advice they're trying to charge you for actually cost you more.

Did Grass Roots do anything further for you after you received the advice to stop paying?

Also is your solicitor intending to represent you in this?

Grassroots and their solicitors left us in "limbo" afterwards. We heard nothing else from them apart from pay up now letters. We have a solicitor representing us here in Scotland, but may need to pull away as his fees are extortionate. Need some help with this desperately as three years on and it's killing us!

[Jojo1]

Re: Hello everyone

Thank you. I was just concerned over this ''We fear losing our home but our solicitor says as we are in a DAS that we should be protected from this '' - as it only covers creditors included in the DAS, and obviously due to the dispute, Grassroots isn't covered in it.

Would you advise us to put Grassroots onto our DAS then?

[Amethyst]

Re: Hello everyone

Have you engaged your solicitor on this Grassroots issue for those three years ? What has he done or is he just responding to letters ? Doesn't sound like a marvellous job if they are now threatening insolvency.

[EXC]

Re: Hello everyone

In the other Grass Roots case the customer signed a 'defended claim' agreement which means that Grass Roots were supposed to defend a claim from the credit card company for not paying.

Did you sign one of these?

[Amethyst]

Re: Hello everyone

I can't advise you on the DAS, 1) because I'm not an advisor and 2) because I don't know anything about the DAS other than what I have just read on the help I'm sinking or whatever it is called gov sponsored website.

I don't know if you can continue a dispute on a debt whilst it is in the DAS or if you can add in further debts when mid way through a DAS. Do you have a DAS advisor/co-ordinator type person ?

I also don't know if creditors (although I personally don't feel grassroots are a creditor in that sense as they are invoicing you for a ''service'' rather than lending you money - although they do hold a consumer credit licence (somehow!).

Sorry that is no help, but I do think you should look in to it.

[Jojo1]

Re: Hello everyone

Have you engaged your solicitor on this Grassroots issue for those three years ? What has he done or is he just responding to letters ? Doesn't sound like a marvellous job if they are now threatening insolvency.

no, we have only just found our solicitor as we only received the threatening letters from Temple and co a month or so ago. He is only just researching the documents we gave him and he has been in contact with Temple and co. Our solicitor says he may be able to muddy the waters on the "jurisdiction" being in Scotland.
So, there's a possibility we could lose our home then, even with equity on our home?

[EXC]

Re: Hello everyone

As this would be a Scottish case you could try and speak to Govan Law Centre (Dailly & Co) for at least some initial advice.

http://www.govanlc.com/solicitors.htm

http://govanlc.blogspot.co.uk/p/about-glc.html

[Amethyst]

Re: Hello everyone

It is very unlikely - they backed down at the first sign of solicitors involvement in the other case where they had issues a stat demand, so it is more likely they would try through the courts, and you would be able to offer installment payments etc before you got anywhere near to your home...and then only if they won in court .... so don't panic based on what I said, I was simply concerned your solicitor advised it couldn't happen because of the DAS and I'm not convinced that is actually the case.

But yes, as EXC says speaking to Govan Law may be an idea, they are strongly on the consumer's side.

Scots law gives individuals certain protections when it comes to forcing a sale of their family home and secondly if sequestration (the equivalent to bankruptcy) is pursued before a court decree is obtained (that is by serving a 21 day demand) a simple denial by the debtor of the amounts due (even if there is no valid reason for it) brings the procedure to an end before sequestration can be applied for.

At the moment though is your solicitor drafting a response to Temple & Co's letter before action ??

[Gorang]

Re: Hello everyone

I don't know if it's still the same now or if it has changed in recent years, but I do know that Mike Daily at Govan Law Centre only used to take cases that were in his area or very close to his area, unfortunately, as Mike is VERY good, as a lot of members here will know of course

Can I ask, what area you live in, or which solicitor you are using now??
(very welcome to pm me if you don't wish for that info to be on open forum)

[Jojo1]

Re: Hello everyone

It is very unlikely - they backed down at the first sign of solicitors involvement in the other case where they had issues a stat demand, so it is more likely they would try through the courts, and you would be able to offer installment payments etc before you got anywhere near to your home...and then only if they won in court .... so don't panic based on what I said, I was simply concerned your solicitor advised it couldn't happen because of the DAS and I'm not convinced that is actually the case.

But yes, as EXC says speaking to Govan Law may be an idea, they are strongly on the consumer's side.




At the moment though is your solicitor drafting a response to Temple & Co's letter before action ??

Yes, our solicitor has written to Temple and co today but says it will go quiet now as offices will shut down for the Xmas period.

[Gorang]

Re: Hello everyone

For others advising, Jojo1 has Pm'd me with which area Jojo1 lives in and the solicitors name

Unfortunately it is well out of the Govan area so I suspect that Mike would not take the case on (unless of course that has been changed in recent years) but if all else fails it could possibly be worth a phone call to Govan Law Centre, you never know

I have asked Jojo to keep us informed of what the solicitor advises


Jojo do you know roughly what your solicitor has said in his letter to Temple and co

[Jojo1]

Re: Hello everyone

Many thanks everyone for all your advice, it certainly has put our minds at ease slightly!! I will certainly keep you all informed with this legal process. Amethyst...how do I chat in the vip chat area you mentioned earlier?:reindeer:

[Amethyst]

Re: Hello everyone - Grassroots Financial

NEWS on ATM Solicitors - http://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/press...y.page?src=rss

[EXC]

Re: Hello everyone - Grassroots Financial

I dealt with someone who got into all sorts of trouble after ATM advised him that his credit card contract was unenforceable and told him to 'cease making any further payments' on it.

Having is contract deemed unenforceable triggered a charge by Grass Roots. It smacked of a conflict of interest.

Of course MOJ weren't remotely interested. This was back in 2010 and it's a shame it's taken nearly 4 years to get this character struck off.