Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

[Ranger]

Re: Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

I have contacted my credit card provider disputes dept, they tried to call Lifestyle Money to enquire about their T&C's, Lifestyle Money hung up on them!
MY Credit Card provider have put this payment on hold with no interest accruing and will now seek to reclaim under section 75 of Consumer Credit Act. I did ask if they could block any further transactions but they can't. I have been told should any further transactions appear from this company to call the credit card provider and they will reclaim these too.

[Paul210]

Re: Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

I have contacted my credit card provider disputes dept, they tried to call Lifestyle Money to enquire about their T&C's, Lifestyle Money hung up on them!
MY Credit Card provider have put this payment on hold with no interest accruing and will now seek to reclaim under section 75 of Consumer Credit Act. I did ask if they could block any further transactions but they can't. I have been told should any further transactions appear from this company to call the credit card provider and they will reclaim these too.

To avoid the incovenience of trying to claim back any future monies lifestyle may take it would probably be safer to cancel the card with your issuer due to anticipated fraud and ask for a replacement. This way the card details will be different and any future payments they try to take will be declined.

[Guest]

Re: Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

To avoid the incovenience of trying to claim back any future monies lifestyle may take it would probably be safer to cancel the card with your issuer due to anticipated fraud and ask for a replacement. This way the card details will be different and any future payments they try to take will be declined.

GHi
Just to repeat this, ensure that you tel the bank that you need a replacement card because you suspect fraud.

I sent for a replacment card once in an attmpt to stop a repaeat request by AOL, the bank continued to honour the requests despite the card details being different.
Peter

[TUTTSI]

Re: Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/...n-13-dec11.pdf


In this quarter’s bulletin we focus on a range of key topics, including BBC Watchdog and Which?’s investigation into PPI claims businesses, refunding customers who have paid an upfront fee, cold calling in person, and ensuring that any agents and/or representatives you use comply with the rules.
We have also taken the opportunity to remind you to start preparing your turnover figures for the next ‘renewal’ process.
CMR business bulletins aim to highlight current developments and provide an update on issues that are of interest or affect claims management services.
PPI auditing programme
The PPI claims market has increased significantly during 2011, and now accounts for a large number of complaints, malpractice and consumer detriment.
In response to this, a dedicated team has been established to tackle the most serious and common problems in the PPI claims market.
This work is now underway and will include an intensive programme of audits that will review business marketing, pre-contract paperwork and consumer contracts. As part of this work we are also closely monitoring complaints from consumers, financial institutions and other organisations.
Which? & BBC Watchdog Features
Consumer campaigners, Which? and BBC Watchdog recently ran a feature respectively on PPI claims management businesses.
Both consumer campaigners carried out "mystery shopping" exercises on a selection of businesses and the results raised serious concerns.
Businesses were found to be in breach of several rules and had made misleading or factually incorrect statements to the mystery shopper. As a result we have obtained further details, and have started enforcement action against businesses where there is evidence of rule breaches. Further information is available in the above item on PPI auditing.
Advance Fees & Client refunds
If it is your business’s practice to take a payment or fee from a client before providing the service, you need to be aware of the rules relating to refunds.
We have received a number of complaints regarding businesses failing to act in accordance with the rules on providing refunds, and/or causing unwarranted delays in providing refunds.
We are also aware that some businesses refund clients by a different means from which they were paid – e.g. payment was taken by credit card, but refunded by cheque. Please note that such conduct could be in breach of General Rule 1 (honesty and integrity), Client Specific Rule 1 (acting fairly and reasonably with clients) and Client Specific Rule 11 (providing clients with written information before a contract is agreed). Businesses which breach these
requirements will be subject to investigation and appropriate enforcement action.
Agents and representatives
In accordance with Client Specific Rule 9, any marketing that you have instructed another party to undertake on your behalf (including emails, tele-sales, SMS text messages, data farming, website design, etc) remains the sole responsibility of your business.
You must ensure that you have measures in place to monitor the activities of your agents or representatives so that they are compliant with the rules.
If somebody acting on your behalf breaches the rules, you are responsible for those breaches and your authorisation will be at risk. You cannot delegate this responsibility and claim that the fault lies with the agent or third party.
Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) Cheatline number change
The free and confidential telephone number for reporting suspicions or knowledge of insurance fraud has changed to 0800 422 0421. You can also submit information online at: Report Insurance Fraud - Insurance Fraud Bureau.
This facility provides information relating to fraudulent claims activity and is managed by the IFB.
Unauthorised businesses – websites
We continue to receive and investigate around 25 reports each month about businesses providing regulated claims management services without authorisation.
Since August 2011, we have successfully removed the websites of more than 30 unauthorised businesses. As a first step in this process, we contact the website host if we are unable to contact or obtain the business’s co-operation, and point out that the unauthorised business is likely to be breaching the terms of their internet service provider agreement.
Cold-calling in person
You are reminded that Client Specific Rule 4 (CSR 4) prohibits cold calling in person. We have regular contact with town centre managers and local trading standards throughout England and Wales, as well as information and leaflets being sent to us by members of the public.
We treat breaches of this rule (CSR 4) seriously and if you are found to be approaching people in the street or in town centres, enforcement action will be taken.
Fees paid by claims management businesses
Fees Consultation 2012/13
We have published a consultation paper on proposed fees paid by claims management businesses for the regulation year, 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013.
Views are invited on proposed revised fees scales and on whether all businesses should be required to provide an audited statement of turnover.
Details can be found in the consultation paper at: Regulation fees paid by claims management businesses
. The closing date for responses is 23 December 2011.
Annual Fees Renewal 2012/13
In early February 2012, we will be requesting information in order to issue annual fee invoices to all businesses.
You will be informed when you can access and complete the online form – the password you created this year will remain valid.
We will ask for your claims management related turnover for the 12 months to 30 November 2011. If this information is not easily available, we advise that you begin the work now to have this information ready by the beginning of February.
If you have made any changes to your business which you have not updated us about (for example your contact person or address) please inform us as a matter of urgency.

Call us on 0333 200 1320 or 01283 233349,
or email business@claimsregulation.gov.uk

Please have a read at the latest MOJ bulletin which has been distributed to all CMC's.

Note they are in breach of regulations if you pay by credit card and refund by cheque this s NOT acceptable and they will be dealt with accordingly.

[Aviator|Chris]

Re: Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

Unfortunately I have fallen into the same trap that Ranger fell into (below).

I am now scrambling to work out what to do as my card has a their stupid fee on it!!!!

Asked for a refund via e-mail today, can't believe I fell for it either!!!

I received a call completely out the blue on my mobile from Lifestyle Money a fortnight ago. At first, I challenged the fellow making the call as to where he got my number, as this is a business phone. He provided quite a plausible answer and continued with a very tempting speel of how I could reclaim at least £2500. He continued to ask me if I had ever had a credit card with ........? "yes" i replied, amazingly he stated, "they are one of the worst" he proceeded to ask if I had ever had a mortgage with .........? again I replied "yes" again amazingly when he had established the year, went on to tell me, at that time the mortgage provider employed students to load the details interest rates etc which in their experience had been loaded wrongly and there was a good chance I'd have a significant claim. At the time it all sounded good but in retrospect, pretty fishy. He took my details and asked if I wished to proceed. He passed me through to another person who he stated would check if he had conducted himself properly. The second person did not ask me anything with regard to the first persons conduct but proceeded to reiterate everything the first person had said and then "closed" the deal by asking for my credit card details. I did challenge him, stating, I did not know who they were and they had just called on spec. He assured me If I paid by credit card I had the security of the credit card terms, if all was not well. Stupidly, I agreed. Having now done an internet search of Lifestyle Money and finding this forum. I have sent them an e mail, telephoned and from advice on an earlier post have written to them, sent by registered mail, all within 14 days of payment. Only upon receipt of the registered letter advising of my cancellation, did they acknowledge my request. The acknowledgement came by way of a phone call, which went to my voicemail. I attempted to call them back on the missed call number 01792482444 which had a rather strange ringtone, it rang out and went to a standard computer style ansaphone with American accent. I hung up. The following day I received a further call by someone introducing themselves as the Team Leader, who deals with cancellations, during this call I was asked why I was being Awkard? Clearly, exercising my right to cancellation translates to "Awkard" for Lifestyle Money.
The person finally relented but told me it would take 60 days to refund my payment, as they have to claim it back from the company who collected it on their behalf, of course my case could be dealt with within this period, should I wish to continue. At this point my apparent "awkwardness" turned to rage, I told him, "as they had collected the money directly from me it should be them who refund it" "Nonsense" I was told. I advised them I would inform my credit card company and ended the call. I then received a voicemail message from the same person calling from a mobile number, stating he had spoken to his team leader and in my case the funds would be refunded within 30 days.

I cannot believe I have been so naive.

[TUTTSI]

Re: Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

Have you received the pack from Lifestyle Claims and you written to confirm that you do not want wish to proceed - you must return the pack within specific time limit as set out in their T&C's as soon as you receive it and I would send it back by special delivery to ensure that it is signed for. I would also immediately send them an email advising them that you want to cancel as well.

Also you should call your credit card provider and report that you have paid for services from a cold call and that you do not wish to proceed. This will alert them that if you do not get your money back within a reasonable time frame that they will intervene.

The paragraph below is from the Ministry of Justice and if they do not adhere to this rule they will be in big trouble.

Advance Fees & Client refunds
If it is your business’s practice to take a payment or fee from a client before providing the service, you need to be aware of the rules relating to refunds.
We have received a number of complaints regarding businesses failing to act in accordance with the rules on providing refunds, and/or causing unwarranted delays in providing refunds.
We are also aware that some businesses refund clients by a different means from which they were paid – e.g. payment was taken by credit card, but refunded by cheque. Please note that such conduct could be in breach of General Rule 1 (honesty and integrity), Client Specific Rule 1 (acting fairly and reasonably with clients) and Client Specific Rule 11 (providing clients with written information before a contract is agreed). Businesses which breach these
requirements will be subject to investigation and appropriate enforcement action.

[Aviator|Chris]

Re: Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

Had a call from them today asking why I wanted to cancel.

Told them that I dont want their services and asked for a refund. They kept giving me reasons why its best to stay with them.

At the end I said, "just give me the refund" and the guy (Steve) said "ok i'll book you in" and hung up.

Still going to send the pack back as you stated, via special delivery tomorrow.

Cheers for the advice.
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
By the way, I had my credit card company cancel my card so they couldn't take any more money.

What happens if they should try to refund my money now?

Cheers.

[TUTTSI]

Re: Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

Are you sure the payment went through?

I agree return the pack by special delivery.

If they pay you by cheque they are in breach of the MOJ rules.

Keep us informed please.

Had a call from them today asking why I wanted to cancel.

Told them that I dont want their services and asked for a refund. They kept giving me reasons why its best to stay with them.

At the end I said, "just give me the refund" and the guy (Steve) said "ok i'll book you in" and hung up.

Still going to send the pack back as you stated, via special delivery tomorrow.

Cheers for the advice.
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
By the way, I had my credit card company cancel my card so they couldn't take any more money.

What happens if they should try to refund my money now?

Cheers.

[Aviator|Chris]

Re: Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

Hi there,

I checked my account and the amount on the card has been transferred to my new card by the looks of things.

I have yet to receive my new card to check its balance but the old one has now been cleared down as Lost/Stolen.

[Mr L]

Re: Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

Hi Everyone, another new member here.
I've had an interesting time with Client Cento Review / Lifestyle Claims / Client Connection Limited. They first contacted me in February 2010 via cold call to my mobile. Foolishly I agreed to the immediate £300 fee. I placed 2 claims with them, one a credit card , one a loan. The credit card I got £76 pounds for unfair interest charges. The loan claim went on and on and was finally referred to the FOS. I have just received a substantial cheque from the loan company which I'm obviously very pleased with. However , since starting this process it has come to my attention that these claims companies are a) not supposed to cold call and b) not supposed to insist on upfront fees. Just would like to get any thoughts on whether there is a path to formally complain regarding the breach of the code of conduct. I've spoken to the Claims regulator who say if I signed a contact then thats it ..... no right to complain. Any thoughts ?

[TUTTSI]

Re: Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

No they are not supposed to cold call and neither should they take upfront fees. But as you well know there are ways and means of them getting around this.

For instance if you have ticked at anytime on a loan application that you are interested in other products, your name and phone number could have been passed on from this.

With the upfront fees, they call it a deposit or something like that which is refundable.

The Ministry of Justice is the place to complain and it appears that you have already done so. If you want to PM me your details name and reference with Cento we can certainly bring this to their attention and say that you wish to have this complaint revisited. Also do you have a claims reference number with the MOJ?

If for instance you are exdirectory and registere4d with the TPS (not sure that they have this for mobiles) you have never ticked any boxes for receiving such information.

We will be happy to take your complaint to the top and request that this is looked into again.

Hi Everyone, another new member here.
I've had an interesting time with Client Cento Review / Lifestyle Claims / Client Connection Limited. They first contacted me in February 2010 via cold call to my mobile. Foolishly I agreed to the immediate £300 fee. I placed 2 claims with them, one a credit card , one a loan. The credit card I got £76 pounds for unfair interest charges. The loan claim went on and on and was finally referred to the FOS. I have just received a substantial cheque from the loan company which I'm obviously very pleased with. However , since starting this process it has come to my attention that these claims companies are a) not supposed to cold call and b) not supposed to insist on upfront fees. Just would like to get any thoughts on whether there is a path to formally complain regarding the breach of the code of conduct. I've spoken to the Claims regulator who say if I signed a contact then thats it ..... no right to complain. Any thoughts ?

[ronaldo]

Re: Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

This is laughable!

let me get this right. Mr L paid for a service. He got the service he was sold ie: "substantial cheque" from his lender which he is "pleased with". Correct?

The next bit baffles me. Mr L wants to COMPLAIN about being cold-called and paying an upfront fee!!!

It seems even the customers with successful claims will still try and damage the reputation of a CMC. I'm guessing to try and get out of paying the fees they have signed and agreed to, or maybe compensation of some kind.

Also note £76 quoted for one claim (because its low), no mention of how much the "substantial" amount is.

Two words spring to mind. GREEDY. UNGRATEFUL.

[ronaldo]

Re: Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

TUTTSI could you point me in the direction of the website address for the MOJ? Particularly the section where it says CMC's should not be taking upfront fees.

You say there are "ways and means" of getting around this. The "ways and means" you refer to are simply to follow the correct procedures regarding taking upfront fees. These are set out by the MOJ but you make them sound like some underhand loophole that is being deviously exploited.

[EXC]

Re: Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

This is laughable!

let me get this right. Mr L paid for a service. He got the service he was sold ie: "substantial cheque" from his lender which he is "pleased with". Correct?

The next bit baffles me. Mr L wants to COMPLAIN about being cold-called and paying an upfront fee!!!

It seems even the customers with successful claims will still try and damage the reputation of a CMC. I'm guessing to try and get out of paying the fees they have signed and agreed to, or maybe compensation of some kind.

Also note £76 quoted for one claim (because its low), no mention of how much the "substantial" amount is.

Two words spring to mind. GREEDY. UNGRATEFUL.

There's nothing greedy in complaining about the misconduct of a CMC.

In allowing the OP to immediately agree to an up-front fee during a cold call is in contravention of MOJ rules. Lifestyle were even sent a reminder about this very issue just 2 months prior to the OP's post. And it's little wonder that they are currently under investigation by the MOJ.

[Aviator|Chris]

Re: Money Claiming Experts/Lifestyle Claims

Just an update on this.

Contacted my credit card company (Virgin Money) and declared that a refund was due. So i sent back all my evidence (Signed Delivery of returned Document including POD) and my covering letter with their reference numbers.

Had a refund direct from Virgin and told Lifestyle Money have 45 days to challenge my refund.

Heard nothing since and its into 3rd week now. I hope Virgin laid into them good and hard! Looks like spending the money on the Signed Delivery was worth it to clean this up! Fact still remains that they are crooks!

Chris.