Not upheld: Other regulated complaint complaint against Charterhouse Claims Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr U complained that Charterhouse Claims Limited unfairly invoiced him for settlement fees on successful mis-sold pay day loan claims where the refunds were used to reduce his outstanding arrears with lenders, creating an additional debt he could not afford. CCL's terms and conditions explicitly stated that success fees would be payable even where compensation was credited to loan balances. The ombudsman found CCL acted within the contractual terms, gave Mr U reasonable opportunity to accept or reject such arrangements, and that Mr U received a net financial benefit as his total debt was reduced. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that CCL acted within the contractual terms and conditions agreed by Mr U when invoicing fees for successful claims where refunds were offset against arrears. The terms explicitly stated that compensation credited to loan balances would still require payment of the success fee. Additionally, CCL acted fairly because: (1) Mr U was given reasonable opportunity to accept or reject offers involving offset; (2) Mr U received a financial benefit as his total debt was reduced; and (3) the success fee was less than the refund received, so Mr U's overall financial position improved despite the additional creditor.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website