Over the last couple of years, we have received hundreds of letters from solicitors and claims management companies stating that our members have mis-sold finance agreements and alleging there was a “secret” commission involved.
Whilst we have been fairly successful in keeping the “wolves at bay”, we currently have approximately a dozen cases where court proceedings have been issued. Now, the reason I am providing this information, is recently I received one of these letters from a member who was unsure of what to do and wanted some advice. Our member had been informed by a reputable finance company representative that they could ignore the letter as it was a scam! Fortunately, our member checked with us as to the best course of action required.
The majority of the cases where court proceedings have been issued about commission disclosure are because our members have either ignored the correspondence or just decided not to engage with these fine upstanding companies.
Our advice is to send the letters over to Lawgistics as soon as possible so we can deal with them in a timely and efficient manner.
As yet, none of our court cases have gone to a final hearing, so I am unable to provide you with any insight as to which way the decisions will go. As most of these are being dealt with as small claims, we are hoping that if a member was to lose there wouldn’t be any additional legal costs charged by the claimant’s solicitor.
Based on their out of court settlement offers, our current information suggests these solicitors are looking to claim approximately £3000 in costs and disbursements, which is totally disproportionate to many of the commissions earned by our members.
These solicitors are also quoting completed court cases in an attempt to settle before issuing proceedings. However, as these cases are being completed in the County Court, they do not set a precedent, and therefore, can be distinguishable. Each case is assessed on an individual basis and the judge presiding on the day will ultimately decide on the outcome.
We will keep you updated on any further developments in this space. And, if you are unsure or need any advice regarding such matters, please do not hesitate to contact Lawgistics.
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