Claims firm made 2.5m cold calls… and one got you
Probes a world of scams and scandals
A.E.G. writes: In August last year I received a call from claims firm Falcon & Pointer Limited. It assured me it could get me money back from my bank because my bank had missold Payment Protection Insurance. I was aware of negative publicity about no-win, no-fee offers but foolishly I gave my card details and £238 was taken that day. It then requested more information, and after some time I received a letter from my bank rejecting my claim. I asked Falcon & Pointer for a refund, but have had no reply. YOU may have thought you signed up to a no-win, no-fee deal. After all, Falcon & Pointer advertised: ‘Claim back 100 per cent of your money today’, with ‘no hidden or back end charges’.
The company charged a flat fee of £238, but did not tell you that if your claim failed, there would be no refund. This may have been explained on the firm’s website, but it has been deleted. So, the firm could have told you almost anything to get you to part with £238, whether you had a strong claim or not, and then when your claim was unsuccessful it could just pocket the cash.
Falcon & Pointer started life as a call centre business, making sales calls for other firms. It only operated briefly as a claims management firm. It held a licence from the Ministry of Justice, but this was withdrawn in January when the Ministry found it had committed a long list of offences.
The firm was cold calling, taking money from clients before they had signed a contract, and was failing to make necessary enquiries into the merits of any claim. The only thing that counted was raking in the £238 fees.
Protests about sales calls flooded into the Information Commissioner’s Office, which received 5,535 complaints. Falcon & Pointer told the ICO it had ceased cold calling in June last year – but it lied. Investigators found that between June and September it made nearly 2.5 million automated cold calls. The ICO has slapped a £175,000 fine on the business, though I would be surprised if it receives a penny.
Separately, Falcon & Pointer has failed to file accounts due at Companies House in January. This is an offence and officials began moves to have the firm struck off. But last month those moves were suspended, which may indicate a bigger investigation has begun.
At the time you did business with the company, its directors were Ben Winchester and Andrew Kissick. I invited both of them to comment, but neither did. Both live in Swansea, which the ICO has described as ‘the cold call capital’ of Britain.
They are also directors of the Consumer Advice Centre Limited, based in Princess House in Swansea, just like Falcon & Pointer. However, it has also failed to file accounts, and is likely to be struck off. Previously, Winchester was a director of Save Britain Money Limited, which he quit just before it folded.
I am afraid your £238 has gone. The Ministry of Justice has never set up a compensation fund for victims of the claims companies it licenses – something I have called for repeatedly. And I suspect the ICO will have to whistle for its £175,000.
A legal system which allows this is a bad legal system. But who will put it right?