The claims management giant has blamed “media speculation” and “false reporting” for the story, although the justice department has confirmed that the firm is under investigation.

In a statement, the Ministry of Justice said: “The Claims Management Regulator is investigating Cartel Client Review Ltd and associated businesses. We are not able to comment on the specific issues we are investigating as to do so could jeopardise the progress and outcome of these investigations.”

Cartel Client Review is just one of the claims management companies to charge an upfront fee to review customers’ credit agreements, and bring claims against lenders for mistakes made in them.

These companies claim that they can get credit card and loan agreements written off, but the sector has been mired in controversy from the outset, and many firms have been investigated and closed down by the Ministry of Justice.

Cartel Client Review charges customers an upfront fee of £495 and despite claiming that it is refundable if the claim is not successful, many customers have spoken out about being kept in limbo for up to two years with no offer of a refund. 

One customer told the BBC that she paid the fee in 2007 to submit a mortgage claim.
Cartel Client Review told her that she could have a case, and would receive thousands of pounds of compensation, which she wanted to use to visit her terminally ill father in Australia. 

She said: “We were told the risk with this £495 was minimal. If there was no money to come back to us we would get all but ten pounds back, and the paperwork I was told this should go through within a period of about three-to-nine months. I thought, that's ideal - if something came through in three months, we'd be able to go and see my dad.

“Now we're two years on, my father has since died, and we don't have the money.”

Source: Debt Management Today