Victory over cold callers: Homeowner winsright to claim ££10 for every minute he wastedanswering phones to firms

Richard Herman billed firm promising PPI compensation ££10 for every minute theywasted of his timeThe Surrey businessman recorded the calls to ensure he had enough proofAAC, which sells referrals to management companies, agree to pay ££195 plus a ££25 courtfeeVictory for the 'little man' gives hope to millions of other pestered homeownersHerman owns call recording company Retell Recorders - and this experience aided theprosecution

By David Wilkes and Emine Sinmaz

PUBLISHED: 22:00, 26 October 2012 | UPDATED: 07:58, 27 October 2012

A cold-call firm has been forced to pay compensation to a businessman after he took it to courtfor wasting his time.

The stunning victory could open the floodgates to further claims from the millions ofhomeowners plagued by similar unwanted and infuriating calls.

Richard Herman vowed to hit back after he was targeted by firms promising compensation formis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI).

Victory: Richard Herman at his home Sunbury-on-Thames in Surrey invoiced a 'coldcaller' for his time and they paid up

The 53-year-old turned the tables by invoicing one of the firms for £10 for every minute hewasted answering their telephone calls.

He also recorded the calls, meaning that when the unscrupulous company denied ever havingrung him, he was armed with incontrovertible proof to the contrary.

He offered to send the firm the recordings but they ignored him, so he took his case to the smallclaims court.

The claim stated: ‘Invoice is for the use of time, phone and electricity for receiving telemarketingcommunications’.

Richard Herman's Court Claim against PPI Claimline

In a victory for the little man, marketing company AAC, which sells referrals to claimsmanagement companies, agreed to pay the full £195 for 19-and-a-half minutes of calls, plus a£25 court fee.

Yesterday, Mr Herman said: ‘I was feeling oppressed that I was getting called by thesecompanies. Once I sent the company the invoice, I felt as though the boot was on the other foot.I wasn’t the victim any more.’

He is urging others targeted by cold-callers to follow his example.

The nuisance calls – often using a pre-recorded voice message to set out an initial sales pitch

– try to convince you that they can secure thousands of pounds in refunds of PPI, insurancesupposed to cover debts if you fall ill or cannot work.

HOW TO USE THE SMALL CLAIM COURT

The county court has a ‘small claims track’ to handle claims for less than £5,000, or £1,000 forpersonal injury or housing disrepair. The process is designed to be cheap and quick and shouldnot require a solicitor.

1) When it’s worth making a claimBefore you make a small claim you need to show you have given the other party a clearopportunity to pay up. Write a letter saying how much they owe and what for, and a warning thatyou will make a court claim if you do not receive the money beyond a reasonable deadline. It isworth seeking advice from a Citizen’s Advice Bureau or law centre before starting your action.

2) How to get the ball rollingIf the debtor does not respond in time, you can submit your small claims forms. These areavailable online – search for form ‘N1’ at hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk – and cost £25 forclaims up to £300, rising to £100 for claims up to £5,000. If you are successful in your claim, theother party will be liable for this fee.

3) What next?The defendant has two weeks to respond to the court. Hopefully they will not contest the caseand pay up. But if they do, the court will allocate a hearing date, which often takes months.

4) In courtThe two parties present their cases to a judge. Your main aim is to prove the debt exists. Youcan take a ‘lay representative’ to speak on your behalf – it could be a relative or a friend. But ifyou decide to hire a solicitor you will probably have to foot the bill yourself – even if you win.

They try to get hold of your personal details then pass them on to greedy claims-managementcompanies desperate to grab a share of a £9billion compensation pot made available afterBritain’s banks were found to have routinely mis-sold PPI.

The claims firms typically pocket a third of the compensation paid out. This means they standto make £80million this year from a record 165,000 complaints about PPI.

Mr Herman, of Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, said: ‘They told me I had had a £3,500 loan withHalifax which was astonishing to me because I had never had an account with Halifax.’

He described the disruption caused to him and wife Ruth, 67, as they rushed to answer thephone so as not to miss a chat with friends or their three grown-up children.

Mr Herman said: ‘Once I was out in the garden eating and picking raspberries and had thetelephone with me in case the children called. I was sat in the sun enjoying myself but one ofthese blasted companies called me – it was infuriating.

‘We’re all busy rushing around all day long, so when we snatch four minutes by ourselves for abit of peace and quiet, the last thing you want is to be intruded upon by these irrelevantcompanies.’

His annoyance was doubled because he was registered on the Telephone Preference Service,intended to block nuisance calls.

So the next time Mr Herman was harassed on behalf of the same claims managementcompany, PPI Claimline, he said: ‘I’m fed up with you calling me. If you call me again I’ll chargeyou £10 a minute for my time.’

He recalled: ‘I hoped and presumed that that would be the end of it, naturally. But to myastonishment, a couple of days later, they called me again.’ Mr Herman, who ownscall-recording company Retell Recorders, sent PPI Claimline an invoice for £195 but thecompany denied it or any marketing company acting on its behalf had called him.

But as he had recorded the calls, Mr Herman had proof. Marketing firm AAC, which made thecall on PPI’s behalf, settled Mr Herman’s claim on September 14 before the case appearedbefore a judge.

Yesterday PPI Claimline said: ‘PPI Claimline and its suppliers only contact people who haveopted in to such approaches. We have audited the details regarding the calls to Mr Herman andhave found that he had indeed consented to be contacted.

‘We would like to draw a clear line between the two calls to Mr Herman made on behalf of PPIClaimline and any other calls he received, which were nothing to do with PPI Claimline or itssuppliers.’

Mr Herman has now set up a website – www.saynotocoldcalls.com – to help other victims, andis appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Money Box programme at midday today.

Happy days! Herman, who owns call recording company Retell Recorders, used his experience inthe trade to provide a foolproof prosecution

MOST READ NEWS

Previous123Next

UK's coldest spring since 1963 claims 5,000 lives:...

My nurses paralysed me for life because they thought I was...

New immigrants told: You must pay to see a GP – and...

Stripped naked and made to perform a sex act on her boss's...

The £5m cut: Vidal Sassoon leaves adopted son out of will...

Another Kremlin enemy dies: Exiled Russian oligarch Boris...

The wealth gap on your doorstep: Study reveals Britain's...

Man, 27, discovered entombed in deep snow as dozens of...

I thought rapists would kill me, reveals Brit tourist as she...

Revealed, the secret plan to airlift stranded Britons from...

Drug dealers' ebay selling ecstasy and HEROIN doubles its...

A web of intrigue: Tarantula skin found contaminated with...

Comments (469)

NewestOldestBest ratedWorst rated

View all

My wife & I get calls & texts on our work mobile phones from these PPI companies who say we are owed moneywhich isimipossible for them to know because the phones aren't registered to us so this blatantly illegal as they canonly be cold calling us.

- David , Dunmow, United Kingdom, 27/10/2012 15:32

Click to rate Rating 198

Report abuse

I think there should be a way to bar all 'number withheld' calls! - Christopher Cope, Cannock. Staffordshire. UK, UnitedKingdom, ___________________ This is possible - you just contact your phone provider and ask them to block witheldnumbers from contacting you. When a person subsequently tries to call you, they will get a message saying 'Theperson you are trying to contact does not accept calls from witheld numbers' Then, if it is a genuine caller simplyredials, putting the code 1470 in front of your number to un-withold theirs and be connected. This wouldn't be veryeffective to stop these PPI calls though, because in my experience, and I get a lot, they rarely withold their numberand ring from a different number everytime.

- Law Abiding Citizen , United Kingdom, United Kingdom, 27/10/2012 15:24

Click to rate Rating 58

Report abuse

Survey and research calls are as frequent as well .You can't buy a toilet roll without having an e-mail or call toanalyse it to death.I had a call yesterday about my visit to my bank.That was just to pay in a cheque.

- betty ms , london, United Kingdom, 27/10/2012 15:24

Click to rate Rating 64

Report abuse

I use caller display and my answering machine to screen my calls. If it is a number that I do not recognise I leave it tothe answering machine to deal with. Cold callers do not leave messages, they soon stop calling.

- Anne , West Midlands EU, United Kingdom, 27/10/2012 15:24

Click to rate Rating 105

Report abuse

I just phoned Richard to congratulate him on his win. That's ten quid I'll never see again

- AgentEvolve , Crawley, United Kingdom, 27/10/2012 15:20

Click to rate Rating 117

Report abuse

My house phone, I believe it's a digital BT one allows you to block calls from individual numbers plus I pay extra toblock anonymous callers, its worth every penny as I'm disabled and due to medication I sleep a lot. It's nice to be ridof them but they still her me via email GRRR

- Eyup me duck , East Anglia, United Kingdom, 27/10/2012 15:14

Click to rate Rating 40

Report abuse

I am getting calls almost every day from a health vitamin company i have been rude to them every time they call yetthey still insist on calling the other day i was so mad i slammed the phone down on the call and yet they had theaudacity to call me straight back in the end i lost my cool and swore at them i have had 10 calls in 9 days and i say

enough is enough.

- debbie , norfolk, 27/10/2012 15:09

Click to rate Rating 83

Report abuse

If you don't opt in you won't get the calls

- just chill , somewhere in the UK, 27/10/2012 15:05

Click to rate Rating 282

Report abuse

He is my hero!

- Bird Brain , Surrey, 27/10/2012 15:00

Click to rate Rating 134

Report abuse

Well done this man

- Reginald , England, 27/10/2012 14:55

Click to rate Rating 162

Report abuse

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views ofMailOnline.

Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd

Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group

© Associated Newspapers Ltd