FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
We anticipate that you will not previously have made a claim for compensation of this nature. We are happy to answer any questions that you may have. To assist you, these are some of the most frequently asked questions.
Q. What is a financial irregularity?
A. There are many types of financial irregularity, which your Solicitors will be able to advise you about specifically once your claim has been accepted but broadly speaking, irregularities can arise if Lenders fail to properly explain the terms and conditions of the loan or agreement to a borrower or fail to disclose hidden payments.
Q. What types of agreement/loan could be the subject of a claim?
A. By virtue of the Consumer Credit Act 2006 which came into effect in April 2007, claims can be made in relation to credit cards taken out before April 2007, unsecured loans taken out between 1990 and 2007 and car finance direct from a dealer as well as other less common types of financial product.
Q. What sort of information will I need to provide to enable a decision to be made as to whether I can make a claim?
A. As much information and documentation as you can provide. This would include for example a copy of the loan agreement, copy Bank or credit card statements. If you do not have these, we can in certain cases apply for them but this can take time and might delay settlement of your claim. If you have already been in correspondence with the financial institution or their representatives, we would like to see copies of the correspondence.
Q. How long will I have to wait for a decision?
A. We aim to let you know whether you have a claim or not within 28 working days from receipt of the information/documentation that you provide.
Q. What happens next?
A. If we do not believe that you have a case, any original papers that you have provided will be returned to you.
Q. If one or more of my claims is accepted what happens?
A. The first thing that we have to do is to notify the other party of your claim. This will be done in writing. Although there is no set period in which to reply, 40 days is considered to be the minimum period for response. It is that long because the other party will need to instruct a Solicitor who will then need to investigate the claim and reply to our letter.
Q. How much will I have to pay?
A. The audit fee of £275 and £245 for subsequent contracts is the only fee payable. If we accept your case, we will do so under a Conditional Fee Agreement known as a No Win, No Fee Agreement. If we are successful on your behalf, we will recover our legal fees and expenses from the losing party. If you are unsuccessful, we will not get paid anything but that is a risk that we take when we assess whether we are prepared to run your case under a Conditional Fee Agreement in the first place.
Q. Will I have to pay anything at the end of the case?
A. The upfront fee is the only payable cost unless you or we terminate the case before it concludes. Details of when you can terminate the case are set out in the Conditional Fee Agreement and the in the document headed ‘Conditional Fee Agreements: What you need to know’
Q. How long will it take?
A. This depends. If we are successful in negotiating a claim on your behalf without
the need to issue court proceedings, it could take between 7-
Q. Will I have to go to Court?
A. We will endeavour to resolve your case negotiation. If we are unable to do this and recommend that proceedings are issued, this does not necessarily mean that you will have to go to Court and if you do, we will fully brief you before you go and will be present with you when you attend. Going to Court is not as frightening as you may think!
Q. Will my credit be affected?
A. No this is a dispute over the contract not the lending. As long as you keep up your repayments whilst the claim is proceeding the lender will not be able to put any adverse information on your credit file.
Q. Will I be able to obtain credit in the future?
A. Yes as long as you keep up repayments whilst claiming, your credit file will not be affected.
Q. Is it morally right to make a claim?
A. We appreciate that some people may feel uneasy about making a claim but they do not need to do so. At the end of the day a claim will only be successful if it can be legally proven that the financial institution concerned has fallen below the acceptable standard.
Q. If the Conditional Fee Agreement is no win, no fee, then why does it mention about charging me?
A. Under a Conditional Fee Agreement, a Solicitor can only recover the costs they would ordinarily charge straight to their client. This is why fees are mentioned in the agreement. However, as we have discussed, we take out insurance to pay for the claim should you lose, so you have no additional fees to pay.
Q. This is too good to be true isn’t?
The Consumer Credit Act was introduced by the government, amended by the government, and the claims are regulated by the Ministry of Justice/Law Society. Roger Green and Company are following the rules and helping clients.
The legislation can be read independently from Roger Green and Company via other sites – Ministry of Justice, Consumer Credit Act, Office of Fair Trading Introduction to the Consumer Credit Act.