Falcon and Pointer

[Superdude]

Looks like another Princess House resident is under the MoJ spotlight

https://www.claimsregulation.gov.uk/details.aspx/4027

Business Name: Falcon & Pointer Ltd Address: 4th Floor, Princess House
Princess Way Town/City: SWANSEA Postcode: SA1 3LW County: Abertawe
Trading Names: Falcon & Pointer, Falcon and Pointer Sector: Financial products/services Authorisation Number: CRM4027
Falcon & Pointer Ltd is being investigated by the Claims Management Regulator under regulation 35 of The Compensation (Claims Management Services) Regulations 2006.

[Nibbler]

Re: Falcon and Pointer

Not surprising given the amount of complaints they must have had lately regarding their cold calling etc.

[Amethyst]

Re: Falcon and Pointer

Fastest I've seen the MOJ move for a while. lol.

cold call thread is http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...falcon+pointer [MENTION=45427]Superdude[/MENTION].

[EXC]

Re: Falcon and Pointer

Fastest I've seen the MOJ move for a while. lol.

To be fair they only had to walk up 2 flights of stairs from Rock Law.

[SwanDerek]

Re: Falcon and Pointer

Also under investigation by ICO

[Kati]

Re: Falcon and Pointer

Also under investigation by ICO

Tell us more opcorn:

[Amethyst]

Re: Falcon and Pointer

Also under investigation by ICO

Should think so too.

[SwanDerek]

Re: Falcon and Pointer

Tell us more opcorn:

I know a couple of people who used to work for them, from what I understand the firm stopped operating on Friday and took down their website on the instruction of the CRM. The director Ben Winchester only bought the licence a couple of months ago and has been dialling data indiscriminately using voice broadcasting, little of the data had been TPS checked. I'm told that the idea was to gather as many upfront fees for PPI and PBA claims before they attracted attention. ICO are on to them but I would expect the firm to go into administration shortly - that’s how these people keep getting away with it.

[Nibbler]

Re: Falcon and Pointer

I'm told that the idea was to gather as many upfront fees for PPI and PBA claims before they attracted attention. ICO are on to them but I would expect the firm to go into administration shortly - that’s how these people keep getting away with it.

That is pretty much the scenario I had assumed.

[Nibbler]

Re: Falcon and Pointer

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/c...filing-history

15 Oct 2015

Termination of appointment of Ben Michael Winchester as a director on 9 October 2015

View PDF (1 page)

https://www.claimsregulation.gov.uk/...p_Pointer_Ltd/

Falcon & Pointer Ltd is being investigated by the Claims Management Regulator under regulation 35 of The Compensation (Claims Management Services) Regulations 2006.

[Amethyst]

Re: Falcon and Pointer

Same old story.
Do you know where Mr Kissick comes into it? and the ''Consumer Advice Centre' ? which is presumably being lined up for the next wave.

[Amethyst]

Re: Falcon and Pointer

Ahh I see Kissick and Thomas dissolved today too, compulsory strike off.

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08440694

[Nibbler]

Re: Falcon and Pointer

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/l...nuisance-calls

As a result of an investigation, the Claims Management Regulator has decided to cancel Falcon & Pointer Ltd’s authorisation to provide claims management services under the Compensation Act 2006 with effect from 12 January 2016.

Falcon & Pointer Ltd was found in breach of the following Conduct of Authorised Persons Rules 2014:

General Rule 2 - A business shall conduct itself responsibly overall including, but not limited to, acting with professional diligence and carry out the following:
a) Take all reasonable steps to investigate the existence and merits of each element of a potential claim before presenting it to a third party.
b) Make representations to a third party that substantiate and evidence the basis of the claim, are specific to each claim and are not fraudulent, false or misleading.
d) Maintaining appropriate records and audit trails.
e) Take all reasonable steps in relation to any arrangement with third parties to confirm that any referrals, leads or data have been obtained in accordance with the requirements of the legislation and Rules.

General Rule 5 – A business shall observe all laws and regulations relevant to its business.

Client Specific Rule 1b) - A business shall ensure that any service offered is one that meets the needs of the client and satisfies the requirements of these Rules.

Client Specific Rule 4 - Cold calling in person is prohibited. Any marketing by telephone, email, fax or text shall be in accordance with the Direct Marketing Association’s Code and any related guidance issued by the Direct Marketing Association.

Client Specific Rule 11 - A contract between a business and a client must be signed by the client and the business may not take any payment from the client until the contract is signed. The standard terms and conditions of any contract must be clear and also published prominently on the business’s website (where a business operates a website). The business must provide the client with the following information in writing or electronically before a contract is agreed: –

a) Honest, comprehensive and objective written information to assist the client to reach a decision including the risks involved in making a claim, in particular the possibility of losing money and, in the case of legal action, appearing in court.

b) The services that will be provided, in a way that does not misrepresent, either by implication or omission, any term or condition or by whom the service will be provided.

c) The procedures that will be followed

d) Contracts, including for insurance or loans, that the client will be asked to agree to.

e) Any charge the business makes. Where this is a percentage of compensation payable, the percentage must be indicated together with a typical example of the actual cost in pounds, or more than one example if the business makes differential charges.

f) Any referral fee paid to, or other financial arrangement with, any other person in respect of introducing the claim.

Client Specific Rule 16 - A business must permit the client to withdraw from a contract at any time. Any charge to the client shall be limited to what is reasonable in the circumstances and shall reflect work undertaken by the business.

The cancellation means that Falcon & Pointer Ltd may no longer carry out any claims management services.

[EXC]

Re: Falcon and Pointer

Thanks to Nibbler.

UK cold call capital named after more fines issued...

https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-and-events/news-and-blogs/2016/03/uk-cold-call-capital-named-after-more-fines-issued/

Swansea has been dubbed “the UK’s cold call capital” after two further companies in the city were fined by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Falcon and Pointer, which made millions of automated calls about PPI, and Direct Choice Home Improvements Ltd, which traumatised people with nuisance calls asking to speak to deceased relatives, were both based in Swansea.
The Welsh city has been home to several troublesome nuisance call firms in recent years, with the ICO taking action against six companies there since 2013.
This week Falcon and Pointer has been hit with a £175,000 fine after its PPI automated calls prompted more than 5,500 complaints to the ICO.
Meanwhile Direct Choice Home Improvements Ltd, which sells products such as windows, doors and conservatories, has been fined £50,000.
Anne Jones, Assistant Commissioner for Wales, said:

“Our action will send a clear message to callous cold callers operating in Swansea that they must follow the rules.
“We’d previously contacted both of these companies but they showed a blatant disregard for the law by continuing to make nuisance calls. Their action left many people feeling frustrated and harassed.”

She added:

“Both these firms tried to shift the blame by pointing the finger at a third party. This is not an acceptable defence. It is a company’s responsibility to ensure it does not make marketing calls that break the rules.”

The penalties come as the ICO publishes its updated Direct Marketing Guidance, which enables organisations to understand how to comply with the law and follow good practice.

[Amethyst]

Re: Falcon and Pointer

Ben Winchester has now been banned from being a director

The owner of a claims management company fined £175,000 for cold-calling consumers and described as demonstrating “the worst excesses of the industry”, has now been banned as a director for six years.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) received 5,535 complaints between 26 June and 31 October 2015 about automated direct marketing calls made by Swansea company Falcon and Pointer Ltd.

Ben Michael Winchester was its director from June 2015 until he resigned on 9 October 2015, and has given a disqualification undertaking – the equivalent of an order but without the need for court proceedings.

An investigation undertaken by the Claims Management Regulator (CMR) found that the company used automatic-dialling technology to make 40 million nuisance calls about mis-sold PPI in just three months.

The CMR also found that the company had coerced people into signing contracts without giving them enough time to understand the terms and conditions before taking payment, which is a serious breach of the regulator’s rules on conduct.

In January 2016, the CMR removed the company’s authorisation and then the ICO issued a fine of £175,000 but this remained unpaid by the date of its liquidation in June 2016.

At the time, Kevin Rousell, head of the CMR, said Falcon & Pointer had “demonstrated the worst excesses of the industry”.

He went on: “This firm clearly set out to plague the public and rip off consumers. They ignored warnings by us and the Information Commissioner’s Office, and have had their licence revoked as a result of that wilful ignorance.”

Commenting on the disqualification, Aldona O’Hara, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service said: “Directors who breach the rules made to protect members of the public can expect to be investigated by the Insolvency Service and enforcement action taken to remove them from the market place.”