*** WON **** Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - full hearing on 6th August

[ostell]

Re: Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - set aside hearing - 14th May

What's the rest of it like? I had to read that a couple of times. They can't be serious !!

[Amethyst]

Re: Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - set aside hearing - 14th May

Rebecca - could you check your 14th May hearing date letter see if it orders you submit a witness statement ?

[Amethyst]

Re: Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - set aside hearing - 14th May

What's the rest of it like? I had to read that a couple of times. They can't be serious !!

terrible.... it doesn't get better

The WS is 10 pages - 1 page is relevant to the individual case ( same for both WS's we've seen now) and then the exhibits are the contract, letter from asa about appeal, screenshots of BPS tracking contact details, screenshots of website, copy of the 'invoice', list of charges and two letters from HMPO which I'll post next.

[Amethyst]

Re: Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - set aside hearing - 14th May

Letters from Passport Office.

The one with the purple on, I've blanked out a customer name and address, and there is only that one page of it, presumably there's another page which they don't include in their bundle, or the HMPO are just very rude... lol. I'll ask the HMPO for it anyway.

[EXC]

Re: Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - set aside hearing - defence due by 23rd March

Witness Statement received.

Identical barring a couple of paragraphs to QueenofHearts Witness Statement.

I'll sort it out to post on here but thought you might like to play spot the mistakes with the first couple paragraphs....

Well apart from the fact that there are several HMPO offices closer to Cornwall than Belfast' the incoherent sentence at the end of para 1 saying the HMPO confirms that third party websites are not connected with Government is hardly a revelation.

[Rebecca Smith]

Re: Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - set aside hearing - 14th May - rec'd WS - prep skel

Good morning to everyone,

I have just had a chance to browse through your posts since sending the Witness Statement over to you. I was starting to get a bit nervous again regarding the court hearing and have kept reminding myself that I have done nothing wrong. This is reiterated when I read through the way you have pulled their witness statement apart! Gives me a bit of confidence again!!! The letter I received from the Court was very short and I dont remember it making any reference to submitting a Witness Statement. As soon as I have the letter to hand I will email a copy to you.

[Rebecca Smith]

Re: Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - set aside hearing - defence due by 23rd March

Hi again,

Found the letter and I cant see any reference of submitting a witness statement.

I have just emailed this to you.

[Amethyst]

Re: Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - set aside hearing - defence due by 23rd March

Got that, thank you

Nope there's no requirement for you to have put in a Witness Statement so that's fine, the one they have sent is their response to your set aside application witness statement (due to lack of understanding of the court system)

They haven't actually argued why the CCJ shouldn't be set aside - remember this is a set aside application hearing not the full hearing, so it is to see if your defence has a realistic prospect of success.

We can respond to their witness statement with Skeleton Arguments - though that might be a little excessive for a set aside hearing. So maybe just a Witness Statement to court when you get back ( usually Skellies go in 3 days before hearing ).... let me ask someone about this for a set aside hearing and get back to you

but yes, I don't think you'll have much bother combatting their arguments in their 'witness statement'.

[Rebecca Smith]

Re: Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - set aside hearing - 14th May - rec'd WS - prep skel

Thank you. excuse my ignorance but does this mean that there will be more than one hearing?

Also in regard to them saying in the witness statement that the copy letter from Santander was not included. They must have conveniently mislaid this!

[Amethyst]

Re: Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - set aside hearing - 14th May - rec'd WS - prep skel

Possibly.

The set aside hearing is to decide whether the judgment can be set aside and your defence entered, then if that's positive they will book another hearing to hear the defence.

They might deal with it all in one go though so I think prepare for a full hearing but also be ready for a quick in out yes or no to allowing you to set aside hearing.

The Santander letter was in there, and it was in the bundle sent to court so that's absolutely fine. You can just make a positive assertion that is was included, but have a spare copy to hand to hand over during the hearing if it is requested.

[Amethyst]

Re: Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - set aside hearing - 14th May - rec'd WS - prep skel

THE CROYDON COUNTY COURT
CLAIM No: XXXXXX
BETWEEN
UK Services & Support Ltd
CLAIMANT
and

DEFENDANT


WITNESS STATEMENT

1. I, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx will state as follows:
2. I am an Account Manager for a large xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and the defendant in these proceedings. I make this witness statement in support of my Defence in this case.
3. The matters referred to in this witness statement are within my own knowledge, except where I have indicated otherwise. Where any matters contained in this witness statement are not within my own knowledge, I have stated the source of my information.
4. On 6^th October 2014 whilst trying to obtain a VISA to travel to Turkey for my partner xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I realised his passport was due to expire within the next 6 months.
5. I carried out a Google Search for the HMPO in Victoria to make an appointment for my partner to attend their offices the same or next day to obtain a passport as we were travelling to Turkey on Wednesday 8^th October 2014.
6. I telephoned the number given on the website and a lady answered. I asked her if I was speaking with the Passport Office to which she confirmed that I was, and asked if she could assist. She stated her name was Andrea Vassell.
7. I informed her of the situation and the urgency of obtaining a Passport either that or the very next day for my partner in order that we could obtain his VISA and travel to Turkey as planned on Wednesday 8^th October 2014.
8. Ms Vassell proceeded to tell me that to continue I must give her my email address and she would email me some details of forms to complete online and that she would call me back after she had received them. I asked if it would be ok for me to complete the form as the passport was not for me. She said that it was fine for me to fill out the form on his behalf.
9. I received an email and I immediately completed the form although I was unable to sign this as requested on screen. I telephoned and spoke to Ms Vassell to explain I was unable to sign the form she confirmed that this was ok and sometimes it can be difficult to sign the form on screen.
10. My partner soon after telephoned me and informed me that the passport office had telephoned him and advised that he would be sent their bank details and the fee of £117.50 would need to be paid before they could confirm his appointment or start work on his application.
11. My partner came home however could not find his online banking details so made his way to our local branch of Santander in Addington Road Selsdon where he tried to transfer the fee at the counter. My partner said he waited to what felt like a considerable amount of time and was then called into a side room where he was advised not to pay this fee as it was a scam (I believe was the word used)
12. My partner was then invited to make an appointment with the HMPO directly.
13. Further on 10^th October 2014 Santander wrote to my partner to confirm that the transaction had been stopped and offered security advice [EXHIBIT A]
14. When my partner telephoned me and explained what had happened, I was confused as I was convinced I had found and had communicated with HMOP directly. Why would my partner need the services of a 3^rd party when all he needed was an appointment at the official HMOP to obtain a same day passport.
15. My partner was then telephoned by BPS and advised that the payment was urgent as they could not start work until the payment was received. My partner explained what had happened when he tried to make payment at Santander.
16. I then telephoned the number I had used earlier and spoke to Ms Vassell and informed her that Santander had intercepted the payment and that we would not be in need of their services and that we wrongly assumed that we had been speaking and corresponding with the official HMPO. Ms Vassell's tone and attitude towards me was then abrupt and said I would not be able to cancel as they had started working on the application already. However, it was clearly stated to my partner that no work would be carried out until payment was received.
17. On 7th October 2014 my partner attended the official HMPO in London Victoria and was issued with his passport on the same day.
18. My partner and myself now strongly believe we were misled and deceived into understanding that we were dealing with the official HMPO service, contrary to Regulation 27(A) of The Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Misrepresentation Act 1967.
19. The form I had submitted contained my partners details and he was contacted on many occasions by telephone SMS and email requesting payment. He also received an email asking for his legal representation as he was in breach of his contract.
20. My partner then changed his employment and the Claimant was no longer able to contact him as his work phone number and email changed.
21. Around the same time I then received a letter addressed to me from BPS together with an invoice dated 4^th December 2014 [EXHIBIT B]. On this invoice it has a note which gives you the cancellation details. This was not offered to me by Ms Vassell at any time and this was the 1^st time I was aware that a dedicated telephone line had to be used in order to cancel. Also I noted that the form had somehow been signed. This does not resemble my signature and as stated (9) I was unable to sign the screen when filling the original form out online.
22. I telephoned the phone number on the invoice and said that this was harassment and again informed them what happened when my partner had tried to make payment and as they had advised us that they were fraudulent, no work had been carried out and they had been contacted only a couple of hours after the original form had been completed I would not be making payment. I was informed that my payment was still due.
23. I did not have any further correspondence until I received a Claim Form dated 23^rd January 2015 addressed to Mr Kim Russell. For some reason I truly thought I had 28 days to respond. However I tried to respond after the 14 days to find out that a Judgement had already been issued. This is the reason it has now come to a hearing to ask that the Judgement be set aside.
24. When serving the Defence in person at 12 Deer Pak Road, it would appear that this is only a mailing address and BPS (UK Services and Support Ltd) do not have offices there.
25. Since receiving the Claim Form I have been researching this company and have found the following information which I include to validate my Defence further.
26. I have since been looking into the Claimant’s business and discovered that another of the Claimant’s websites ‘UK Passport Offices’ was the subject of an Advertising Standards Authority adjudication (ref A14-273276) [EXHIBIT C] which found that the website breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Qualification) and 3.17 (Prices). The ASA required that the site be removed or changed.
27. That website is still live and although it has been amended now, at the time of the adjudication looked exactly the same as the website BritishPassportServices. Although the ASA Adjudication is under appeal by the claimant I have confirmation from the ASA that the ruling still stands [EXHIBIT D]
28. In March 2015 I read an article in the Mail on Sunday about the Claimant’s company and discovered that many other people were receiving County Court claims and being subject to harassment and intimidation as a means of extracting fees from consumers[EXHIBIT E]
29. By using online research I also discovered a large number of other customers of UK Services & Support Ltd were receiving County Court Claims in a similar manner. There is even a list on the Claimant's website of County Court Judgments obtained by default against its customers though I cannot check the veracity of this list.
30. On researching further I discovered that several consumer websites have numerous testimonials of others who have been misled by the Claimant. These include Which? (Consumer's Association), MoneySavingExpert (Martin Lewis) and LegalBeagles.info (Consumer law help forum). [EXHIBIT F]
31. I do not believe I have any liability to the Claimant. I received no services from the Claimant. I cancelled any agreement I was misled into entering into and had no intention to contract with the Claimant whatsoever.
    
    I believe that the facts in this statement are true.
    
    Signed:________________________________
    
    Date: ________________________________

[EXC]

Re: Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - set aside hearing - 14th May - rec'd WS - prep skel

On 6^th October 2014 whilst trying to obtain a VISA to travel to Turkey for my partner xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I realised his passport was due to expire within the next 6 months.

Blimey that's a coincidence, same day as Ann Thompson got involved with BPS and it's a virtually identical case.

[Amethyst]

Re: Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - set aside hearing - 14th May - rec'd WS - prep skel

Indeed !

[Amethyst]

Re: Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - set aside hearing - 14th May - rec'd WS - prep skel

Bit naughty but I've added this to the WS....to kybosh RH's statement that comments are all about 'other' companies.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EXHIBIT F

Some of the comments across various consumer websites.

Karen
I phoned HMPO with reference number and was told that a Joseph Powell of my address and phone number made the appointment, I told them my name and that I don't know this person living with me. They said they were nothing to do with this UK Passport company and they are fed up with complaints about them.

Lindsey
Since going through the paper work that was sent to me from them, i have noticed that they have stated I was flying out on the 26th April 2014, and then they had booked an appointment at the passport office in London on the 29th April 2014, which would have been impossible for me to attend as I was actually out of the country on the 25th April 2014. I have received abusive calls from them and demanding txt to from early december 2014.

Shari Vahl – BBC Radio 4
Grace is very distressed indeed….may I pass her to you. Judgement has been made against her, but she had no idea she was being sued, otherwise , she says, she would have fought it. She didn’t know the CCJ had been made against her, and will not pay it. She says UKSSltd called her yesterday demanding money…. She is extremely anxious. She says went through the passport process but sat in the HMPO office for four hours because the reference number was ‘fake’ and they knew nothing about her. So she went through HMPO system, then went home and cancelled the payment to BPS.

Marie
I have been harrassed and hounded via text and email, advising that I am going to be taken to Court.

Scammed
Like others got scammed by this copysite and now they are calling me and texting constantly about the outstanding money that I refuse to pay. In their text they said they emailed me but I have not receive anything.
Hendrix
They want to take it to court and we are happy to go. We are furious about the harassment we have had and what a total farce this is.

Enas
Since then they have been aggressively harassing me threating court proceedings with emails, calls, text messages and letters

Ivanidea
I’m getting so many emails, texts, phone calls and registered letters threatening court action against me for the non payment of their £117.60 fee it’s doing my head in.

John
I am now being harassed, by email, text and phone calls, saying I ticked the agreement box, even though this was before payment processing or even getting a confirmation, and owe them £117 !! This has being going on now for 10 months....not sure where to go from here to get them to stop harassment.

Sue
Now i’m being harassed with texts, emails,calls all times of day and night, threatening me with the fraud squad and court action. Not only are they threatening they have also sent me documentation belonging another guy with all his personal details. I contacted the guy who is also having trouble with this company and explained how id obtained all his details. needless to say hes furious.

Fk
I informed trading standards they asked me not to pay which I haven’t . But am bombarded with calls , texts and pre court orders . I am really stressed frustrated and don’t know what to do?


Trigs
I'm not scared by it but find it distasteful and bullying....I'd imagine they would be extremely threatening and menacing to many people.

Caron
My son has just started to be bombarded with phone calls, texts, emails & now a letter all threatening to send out debt collectors if we don’t pay them the £117.60....I find this very upsetting and stressful.

Vic
They are now bombarding me with emails & threatening texts.

Mark
I am not pursuing my money (it's causing me too much stress in retirement!), but am starting to actively campaign to change the legislation that allows this scam / sham business to function. It really is unbelievable. I am shocked at the way they have tried to scare people by using the Met Police (i.e their email) and the fact that Action Fraud are not interested in taking reports (which is probably true, but they seemed to use that as a plus for them, and I'm not sure how they (action fraud) would react to that).

Diane
I have had several phone calls and them saying they have reported fraud to the police etc.

Katy
Thanks for helping me (I’m freaking out a little so sorry if my messages come across panicked) They keep asking me for more personal information by email every day. My bank have promised me my money back as they have hundreds of people scammed by these fake companies and they are on a register now. They are still chasing me and I have had to change all my cards incase they try to take additional funds - which apparently is not uncommon! Why don't the government do something about these scams?

Agnes
I decided to discontinue with the passport application which I had commenced on BPS site. They were ringing me all the time. I also cancelled the trip, losing the trip and accommodation fees.

Angi
Yes, on my prompting he went into the police station at Canterbury where he in uni, they said that as he hadn't paid any money no crime had taken place, they also said that the company had done nothing wrong in advertising their services. They were quite useless, basically said there was nothing they could do and no crime number was given

Jacqui Rolt
I thought it was the passport office. We feel victimised and sad that after a lovely christmas wedding and a surprise honeymoon we got badly scammed and a heavy cost.

[EXC]

Re: Rebecca Smith v UKS&S - set aside hearing - 14th May - rec'd WS - prep skel

To be honest I think you'd need to put the links to the comments as otherwise it's just unsubstantiated hearsay. That's what RH would say and he'd be right. I did post up a load of comments with their links attached on the lunatics thread for the TS if you want to use them, although most were harassment/stress related.