Moneyclaiming expert experience

[Nounou]

I am new to this forum but I thought it might be useful to write down all my experiences with moneyclaimingexpert over the last 2 weeks and anything happening in the future with them.

Firstly they did cold call me but I was interested in getting some money back for the PPI I pay since mine is very expensive. I took it out a with Natwest in 2005 for £23k but then had it extend by another £1k in 2008. Was dismayed to see my flat mate who had a similar lone to me. His PPI at £70 per month cheaper than what I was paying.

They are very hard sell and will claim they can get thousands back for me. They wanted £299.99 admin fee which would be taken off comission if the final win fee is more than £2000. I firstly wanted to check them out on internet so got them to ring me back. I found some critical articles but nothing saying they never got there money back so decided to give it a go. Checked them out on MoJ and they are registered which they are keen to push. They promised me that there would be no other fees needed and they will let me know with 12weeks if I have a good claim and could get money back within 3 to 12months. They also said they will look at key flaw areas within the contract that could cancel out the loan altogether. They sent the pack out quickly and I returned it that day. Not too hard to fill out.

Unfortunately they phoned me yesterday saying that I was to be offered their "premier fast track service" and needed another £352.49 which would be taken off their comission when the claim was complete. They said they would also look at the flaws of the contract only with this premier service. Supposedly only 5% get offered this.

This really annoyed me since the women on the 1st phone call promised me there would be no further fees and also that they would be already looking at the flaws in the contract. They have totally lied to me. Rang them back very annoyed and have not given them this extra fee. I asked to be put through to the non premier departement and they now claim it was a mistake and the was only for mortages and I should not have been offered it. Apparently my claim is progressing fast anyway so should still recieve the same service I was promised at 1st.

So to clarify turned down the offer of premier service but should get was I was promised at 1st. I will write down all my experiences with them good and bad to give an unbiased oponion since there doesn't seem to be other peoples complete experience online. Hopefully they will turn out to be good and quick and if they are will let you all know. Also going to cut and paste this onto moneysavingexpert forum to give them my experiences as well.

Will keep you posted!

[TUTTSI]

Re: Moneyclaiming expert experience

Good luck with this and keep us posted. we do hope you have a good experience with them.

We still have members who paid this company last June 2009 and who have not had any monies returned to them.

Tuttsi

[LittlemissN]

Re: Moneyclaiming expert experience

I was approached by MCE on Wed 16th August 2010, at first I said I wasn't interested but then thought I'd listen for once in my life ! I was on the phone for a good half hour or more to be told I would need to pay £299+VAT administration fee that would be fully refundable if I wasn't able to claim anything back. I was nervous about handing over money, but thought I might as well be hung as a sheep than a lamb given my financial mess at the moment... what difference would another few hundred quid make ?


I received a welcome pack the following day and completed enough agreements to make me feel like I was Katie Price at a book signing ! Gathered copies of all agreements I had saved and rang around previous lenders for the others. Sent the pack via recorded delivery.

Today, 19th August I received a call from Scott at MSE to say that a number of my agreements had been accepted by their Legal Team and there was an option to pursue 'Litigation'. Not only will I receive a minimum of £2k per agreement I can also have my credit debt written off in full. Now I started to panic but thought what the hell and handed over more money. The guy I spoke to was very helpful, reassuring and during my conversation I felt a weight rise from my shoulders... for it to be later slammed back down after reading some of the forums on LB.

I was told the Litigation route was simply a fee for challenging lenders for flaws in agreements and said to be 3x quicker i.e. 1-6 months and everything should be resolved. I was told that my credit card debt cannot be enforced upon me if it had flaws in it, therefore the result is the debt is removed and account closed.

I have told my mum and other half about this, my mum is worried to death and my other half is so sceptical he says he wants a rolex when my claims are successful. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing now. I have read success stories but I have also read numerous negative ones (the negative ones have more impact).

I am 30 weeks pregnant with a business that is falling apart around my ears and I'm in debt up to my eyeballs because of studying to be in a profession I love. What have I got to lose ? To be honest I am past caring.

Admittedly I too am a little sceptical but we'll see. I'll update my experiences if will help others. I don't intend to be negative... just honest. I will do anything I can to see if this weight can be lifted from my shoulders. I have given much of my time to this process and my head is consumed... I might as well try it out.

[WendyB]

Re: Moneyclaiming expert experience

Hi

my first thought is, is there a cancellation , get out clause in this? Because if there is, then I would suggest you use it, quickly. Anything they say they can do for you, you can more than likely do for yourself without parting with 299 quid. It may take a little effort on your part which you may or may not be able to do, given that you will soon have the new baby to cope with.

I often wonder, if people stop paying their debts as being unenforceable, do they not realise that somewhere along the line the companies they have stopped paying due to uneforceability will more than likely issue defaults, pass the debt to DCAs etc and generally trash credit ratings. You should also remember that unenforceability can only be used as a defence, it cannot be used to bring a court claim, and following the Carey case and reconstituted agreements etc even using it as a defence is difficult.

I really hope that I am talking complete rubbish and they come through and get your money back, if so I'll be really pleased for you. It would be nice to hear of soeone who got a success story through a CMC for onc, instead of all the usual horror stories,

Please let us know how it goes.

[Amethyst]

Re: Moneyclaiming expert experience

How much more have you paid for the ''premium'' service ?

And very well done on getting copies of your agreements from lenders just on a phone call

If you are in debted to these companies and anything is ''written off'' it will come off the balances of the loans (ie they will just stop chasing you for it) You may receive payments to you if you are reclaiming any missold PPI.

I have a copy of their contract for the premium service thing through legalredress and gravity financial solutions - it basically says for your (rather large) upfront payment, you won't be liable for their normal 30% of the ''write off''/reclaim once successful. Is that the same as the ''litigation'' service you have signed up for ?

You mention your business, are the loans/cards etc personal or business ?

If you werent sceptical you wouldnt be human, too good to be true often is, and I hope you do keep things updated on here...wonder how nounou is getting along too.

[LittlemissN]

Re: Moneyclaiming expert experience

I had a call back from MCE this morning and was on the phone for over an hour. I must've asked them 50 questions about my concerns.

In a nutshell I submitted 14 agreements (don't gasp, some of these are from years ago and have been paid off!) 8 have been put forward for litigation, 5 remain as 'possible PPI claims' and one I wasn't charged ppi so this isn't worth looking into. I have been told the 8 up for litigation will be dealt with between 1-6 months and the remaining 5 will be 12-18 months, however the latter will be for smaller amounts. The litigation claims are said to be £2k minimum per agreement if successful. I was told the legal team would not accept these if it wasn't worth their while, after all they get 30% of the settlement (fair enough).

I have been told by MCE the PPI payout is what they take their 30% fee from. So for example... a lender has accepted liability. MCE Legal Team write to me and say (for arguments sake) Joe Bloggs Credit Card have agreed to a settlement of 2330.00 a cheque will be sent direct by them to you within the next 14 day. When I receive the cheque and have banked it I then forward a 'redemption voucher' to the Legal Team and from there I am invoiced for the 30% fee. Sounds straight forward to me. Following this, the Legal Team challenge the credit card company with 'unenforcability action'. i.e. they will claim the agreement had flaws in it, therefore I cannot by law be enforced to pay back that debt. This is why they're saying it can be written off. I was told by MCE most lenders have already admitted liability and don't want to go down the court route so they agree and close the account. In the meantime, payments to the credit card company is frozen as is the interest until resolved. That's how I understand it. MCE do not take a % for a balance that is cleared, they only take a % of the cash you receive.

I have also been told by MCE that loans such as Mortgages and unsecured loans are unlikely to be written of because of the way the agreement is written, usually because they are lending you larger amounts. So he told me not to go expecting my mortgage to be written off because that's very unlikely.

Wendy B... I have since learnt that I could have followed this process up myself but I charge myself out at £50 per hour so I might as well pay someone to do it. I wouldn't have the inclination or the know how to start. If my car was broken down I'd take it to a garage I wouldn't get under the bonnet myself! But I see your point. 70% IS BETTER THAN 100% of nothing I suppose. Personally I don't see how you could be defaulted or obtain bad credit if there were flaws in an agreement. If you signed an agreement that wasn't explained to you correctly then why should you pay it as it wasn't what you signed up for? If I just stopped paying for something for the sake of it then I would expect defaults. I have been assured this process will not affect my credit file.

Amethyst... I managed to get agreement numbers and details that I didn't have copies of by ringing up. I was put through to overseas call centres who didn't question, plus they cannot withhold information from you. It was easy and they never questioned why I wanted it. Although one car finance company did ask why I needed it and I said it was personal.

I have paid upfront for each individual litigation case, but have been reassured this money will be paid back in full should my claims be unsuccessful They told me the success rate was 87%. If I hadn't gone for litigation the process would've taken much longer and the any balance outstanding would not be written off. This is what I have been told.

I don't believe you have to pay them a fee for any agreement that is "written off", the litigation fee I believe is so that they can actually go down this route in the 1st place and for the process to be handled more quickly and because the debt to the legal team is worth more than £2k. Does that make sense!! If I hadn't paid for the premium service they couldn't challenge for enforceability i.e. for the debt be removed completely. The 8 litigation cases would be handled as 'ordinary' claims and could take 12-18 months for a resolution.

Anything relating to my business has been funded by me personally because the banks will ot lend to small business. I've been trading 1 year as an Architect.

MCE told me they are regularly monitored by MOJ and didn't seem uncomfortable when I said I would give them a ring.

The pleasant guy I spoke to used this analogy... if someone held a door open for you you wouldn't mention it to anyone, however if someone slammed the door in your face and proceeded to shout abuse at you you would complain and tell the world. So... we are a nation of people who like to breed of bad news. We all focus on the negative and rarely on the positive.

I may have been naive and could possibly be back on here in a few weeks complaining feeling angry with myself. Or I could be back on hear telling you I have received my 1st Cheque ! I have taken so many personal risks in my life and many to do with my business, what's another risk...?

I'll keep you posted. I refuse to be negative about a company I have given my faith to until it's necessary. If it goes wrong, please just don't tell me "I told you so" !! ha ha

[Amethyst]

Re: Moneyclaiming expert experience

Thanks LittlemissN.

Just out of interest is this the same as the agreement you have signed (barring the credit card and cento client review bit) I was going to check the T&Cs on the written off amount completion fees for you but wanted to check if the documents were the same first.

[Amethyst]

Re: Moneyclaiming expert experience

Amethyst... I managed to get agreement numbers and details that I didn't have copies of by ringing up. I was put through to overseas call centres who didn't question, plus they cannot withhold information from you. It was easy and they never questioned why I wanted it. Although one car finance company did ask why I needed it and I said it was personal.

That makes more sense, I read it as you got the actual copy agreements off a phone call in your first post. First step MCE will do is get the true copy agreements off the companies via a CCA request, before they do that they have no idea whether you have any possibility of a claim or not. Unless I'm wrong and you kept all the original copies and they have already assessed those ?

[Amethyst]

Re: Moneyclaiming expert experience

Hi Nora

Have you complained to the Ministry of Justice ( info@claimsregulation.gov.uk ) and followed MCE's complaints process. Once you have done that if no response or joy you can take your complaint to the financial ombudsman.

How much have you paid and for what service ? Its been three months and I think they usually quote 6 weeks to 6 months so they are within that timescale. One way of finding out what they have/havent done might be to contact your card /loan company and ask if they have had contact from MCE on your behalf.

Let us know a bit more detail

Ame
xx

[LittlemissN]

Re: Moneyclaiming expert experience

I was cold called by Life Style Claims in August 2012 and handed over £299 admin fee plus several £10 and £1 cheques in addition over £3000 for the priority services 20 months ago. However I would like to offer some faith to those of you who have fallen for the same mistake as me...

Please read on but first you may want to read my previous thread as it will give you some background of my bad experience with this company.

After 18.5 months - I was informed that none one of my agreements had PPI on them and that I was entitled to a full refund. I received a cheque letter which outlined the total refund due and I was asked to return it. Once they receive the letter they agree to pay you a refund within 1-30 working days (6 weeks).

Almost every day I hounded them to find out where my refund was but I was told it was the finance team who deal with refunds. I was unable to speak to anyone in this department and so another day passed...

On day 26 of 30 I finally received a full refund which I was delighted to get. It has been such a long drawn our battle with these people. They were very quick to take my money from me but extremely lame to pay it back. The most important thing is that they have refunded me and to be truthful I never thought I would see that money again.

I am very grateful for the advice this forum has given me. I wish I could thank a certain person (mentioning no names - you know who you are! for you genuine empathy and understanding of my situation) You really are a diamond and I thank you for all your time PM me over the last few weeks! x

You will get your money back from this company but it will take a minimum 6 weeks

Read more at: Lifestyle Claims - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

[TUTTSI]

Re: Moneyclaiming expert experience

CONGRATULATIONS :cheer2::cheer2:

I think you are one very very brave lady and you deserve to have got back that money. They had no right to hang on to it once they knew there was NO claim, that is in their T&C's that the initial monies paid is refundable if there is no claim as yours was.

My main concern really is how long it took them to refund you hun, because if you had not hassled them you would probably never have got that money back.

Another problem I have not just with this company but all CMC's is that they do not keep you updated and that you have to fight just to get to speak with them.

Also, keeping you waiting 6 weeks for that refund is not right and this is one thing I will bring up at the next MOJ meeting scheduled very soon as I am sure the MOJ would want to know about this type of activity as it was bad enough that they never told you that you did not have a claim - that is appauling.

I hope that you will stay around and help others who come on to this forum seeking help and who need this type of advice.
ps just seen a typo Aug2012 should read 2010

I was cold called by Life Style Claims in August 2012 and handed over £299 admin fee plus several £10 and £1 cheques in addition over £3000 for the priority services 20 months ago. However I would like to offer some faith to those of you who have fallen for the same mistake as me...

Please read on but first you may want to read my previous thread as it will give you some background of my bad experience with this company.

After 18.5 months - I was informed that none one of my agreements had PPI on them and that I was entitled to a full refund. I received a cheque letter which outlined the total refund due and I was asked to return it. Once they receive the letter they agree to pay you a refund within 1-30 working days (6 weeks).

Almost every day I hounded them to find out where my refund was but I was told it was the finance team who deal with refunds. I was unable to speak to anyone in this department and so another day passed...

On day 26 of 30 I finally received a full refund which I was delighted to get. It has been such a long drawn our battle with these people. They were very quick to take my money from me but extremely lame to pay it back. The most important thing is that they have refunded me and to be truthful I never thought I would see that money again.

I am very grateful for the advice this forum has given me. I wish I could thank a certain person (mentioning no names - you know who you are! for you genuine empathy and understanding of my situation) You really are a diamond and I thank you for all your time PM me over the last few weeks! x

You will get your money back from this company but it will take a minimum 6 weeks

Read more at: Lifestyle Claims - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum