1st March 2010
Claims management company Cartel Client Review are being
investigated by the Ministry of Justice following a rash of
complaints from unhappy customers.
The company offers to help consumers write off debts on credit
cards and loans by claiming to lenders that the credit agreement is
"unenforceable".
The firm charges customers an upfront fee of up to £495 for its
services which they say will be refunded if the claim is
unsuccessful, but thousands of customers say they have been left
out of pocket and seemingly ignored by Cartel.
Cartel told customers - some of whom had paid it thousands of
pounds to get their debts written off - that their claims would be
resolved in six-to-12 months, however many have been left waiting
for over two years for a result.
An investigation by BBC Money Box revealed that one customer
paid £495 to Cartel in 2007 and was made to believe their claim
would take months to settle, and in the event of an unsuccessful
claim all but £10 of the upfront fee would be refunded.
Thousands of customers say they have been
left out of pocket and seemingly ignored by Cartel.
However, a year later and with no sign of success Cartel refused
to pay a refund. The client eventually managed to get their money
back after contacting the BBC about the unscrupulous firm.
Cartel blamed the delays customers are reporting on pending
court judgements and said that there have never been any issues
with refunding customers.
Industry experts are concerned that firms such as Cartel are
targeting vulnerable individuals.
Brad Askew, Managing Director of ethical claims management
company Claims Financial, said: "We remain of the view that a
company helping consumers should put its money where its mouth is
and offer to work for free unless it wins the claim.
"I have been scrutinising the practice of 'debt write offs' for
two years and remain concerned that vulnerable people in debt are
being encouraged to pay huge sums of money in upfront fees."
Cartel denies that is being investigated by any regulators and
claims they have "always maintained a strong relationship with the
Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Ministry of Justice."
However, sources have confirmed they are being investigated.
Claims Financial
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Mr R Evans 11 Nov 2010