We are delighted to announce that, in February 2020, both Praetorian Legal and Mercantile Claims were granted ‘full authorisation’ under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (“FCA”) new role as the UK’s Claims Management Regulator.
Since 31 March 2019, when the FCA took over the task of regulating Claims Management companies from the Ministry of Justice, anyone applying for FCA authorisation was granted ‘temporary permission’ to undertake Claims Management work, pending full authorisation. Any company failing to fulfil the FCA’s rigorous vetting and examining process will not be fully authorised and will lose their temporary permission status, preventing them from undertaking regulated work.
Only those businesses operated by directors who are deemed to be ‘fit and proper’ will be granted ‘full authorisation’ by the UK’s largest and toughest financial and insurance sector regulator. Fully authorised businesses must demonstrate their ability to deliver and maintain very high standards of customer service, fairness, operating systems, procedures, and, integrity. Senior managers are appointed upon full authorisation and are held personally accountable for any failings of the business and its staff.
As a leading player in claims management and timeshare services, we welcome the much-needed regulation of an industry plagued by unethical, unregulated companies and, rogue traders. The eleven-month application process has been robust, but this is to be expected to elevate standards. Only those who are suitable and proficient can now operate within a professional and regulated industry, while the unscrupulous operators who are unwilling, or unable, to operate compliantly are excluded.
What does this signify for our clients moving forward?
Mercantile Claims and Praetorian Legal boast a 5-star rating from our customers and our full authorisation serves to further promote confidence and trust in our brands. Our FCA authorisation showcases our integrity, trustworthiness, fairness, and, professionalism.
This implies that we are answerable to the UK’s largest regulator, who oversees us, to ensure the customer journey is consistent, fair, and, compliant, with the tried and trusted principles set forth by the FCA to safeguard consumers against unethical and unscrupulous trading practices.
Our position as a leading player in an unregulated sector has now been acknowledged, and our FCA authorisation underscores our dedication to our clients. Although timeshare remains unregulated, the reasons for engaging with Praetorian Legal and Mercantile Claims are now unambiguous for timeshare consumers.
In contrast to numerous other entities in the timeshare industry, whose personnel and leadership consist of ex-timeshare salespeople, Mercantile Claims, and Praetorian Legal are comprised of legal experts who are legally qualified and trained in the field of operation.
Under our authorisation, we have to commit to treating our clients with fairness, which also prohibiting us from taking any money upfront guaranteed.
We are delighted to share that our persistence in pursuing your consumer rights has now been recognised. We have recently received legal determinations on fractional timeshare products and certain financed traditional timeshares. Consequently, we can now offer timeshare owners, who purchased fractional and timeshare products with a linked finance agreement with any of the following:
- Barclays Partner Finance;
- Hitachi Finance;
- Shawbrook Bank;
- Clydesdale Bank; or;
- any other directly financed timeshare;
at no cost to you, our timeshare services. We will pursue a financial recovery under your credit agreement which, in most cases, will result in termination of your timeshare.
Typically a positive determination may include any, or all, of the following:
- Repayment of the loan(s) amount(s) (this will apply to however many linked loans you have taken out to fund timeshare purchases)
- Any upselling of another timeshare product, i.e. trade-in values (this may be subject to past usage and cannot be guaranteed)
- Refund of maintenance fees (this again may be subject to past usage.)
- Statutory interest at 8% per annum calculated from commencement of loan(s)
A positive determination is usually where a timeshare owner is ‘put back into the position they would have been in had they have not purchased the timeshare’, less any benefit they have received throughout the contractual term.
All of our determinations to date have led to our clients receiving a significant amount of money returned to them; money they thought they would never see again.
The procedures and arguments we have formulated have been very successful, and you should not entrust this crucial task to just anyone. You only have a single chance to execute it correctly, and you must choose the appropriate representation. We now have a proven track record of bringing your claim to a successful resolution.
If your claim is turned down because it hasn’t been correctly presented, you will have lost the opportunity to get your money back forever.
