What you should know...

Information on claims management companies and how we investigate claims.

What is a claims management company?

Claims management companies, or CMCs, are firms that can make a claim on your behalf against a lender. This is usually for things like irresponsible lending. When a claim is made, a lender will investigate your complaint. In some cases, the outcome of that might mean they refund your fees and charges. If you use a CMC and get a refund, the CMC will charge you a ‘commission’ – a percentage of whatever you’re refunded.

You can also make a claim yourself for free without needing to use a CMC.

Are all CMCs the same?

No. There are two different kinds of CMC:

CMCs regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and
Solicitors who act as a CMC, regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

There is no difference in the service they provide, but there are differences in how Vanquis deal with them, and who you can contact if you have a problem. They may also calculate commission differently. On this page we say ‘CMC’ to cover both types, and we’ll explain if there are any differences in the way we’ll deal with them.

What is a Letter of Authority?

If you want a CMC to make a claim on your behalf, they’ll ask you to sign a ‘letter of authority’. This gives them the right to ask your lender for all the information they hold on you. This may include all your personal details and full transaction history.

Can I still claim if I’m no longer a customer?

Yes, you can. To do this, complete the online form with your details. We’ll then carry out the same investigation as we would for an existing customer. A CMC can also make a claim on your behalf if you’re no longer a customer.

Will the CMC get me more money?

No. We’ll investigate your claim in exactly the same way, whether you raise it yourself, or through a CMC. So the outcome of the investigation will be the same, and this won’t make a difference to the amount of any refund you may get. The CMC will charge you a percentage of any refund you’re paid, and this can be as much as 30%. If you submit your claim directly with us, you’ll receive the full amount.

How is my refund paid?

If you’re an existing customer with an outstanding balance, any refund will first be applied to the outstanding balance on your card. Anything over that will then be paid to you or the CMC.

If you don’t have an outstanding balance, the whole refund will either be paid directly to you or the CMC:

If you’re represented by an FCA-regulated CMC, we’ll send any refund directly to you. You’ll then be responsible for paying the CMC any commission you owe them. They’ll let you know how much that is.
If you’re represented by an SRA-regulated CMC (i.e. a solicitor), we’ll pay them directly. They’ll then pass the refund on to you, minus their commission.

If you do have an outstanding balance on your card, you won’t directly receive a payment if the refund due isn’t enough to clear it. The full refund amount will go towards reducing the balance on your card. If this happens, you may still be liable for the commission payment to the CMC. They may send you an invoice telling you how much you need to pay them.

As an example, if you have an outstanding card balance of £1,200 and you’re refunded an amount of £1,000 – that will be applied to your card balance. This will leave a balance of £200 still on your card, so you won’t get any money paid to you directly. If the CMC’s commission is 30%, you may still have to pay them 30% of the £1,000 refund amount, which would be £300.

Not all CMCs charge commission in this way. It’s important to check with the CMC and read their Terms & Conditions, so you know what they’ll charge in your individual circumstances.

Can I withdraw my claim?

If you’ve submitted a claim with a CMC, you have a 14-day cooling-off period to cancel your claim.

If you’re outside of the cooling-off period, you can still withdraw your claim and you’ll need to let the CMC know. If you do withdraw your claim outside of the cooling off period, the CMC can still charge you their commission amount for any refunds you get within the next 6 months. This is regardless of how the claim is submitted.

If you’ve submitted a claim directly with us, you can withdraw that at any time.