I didn't set out to build EvenStance. I built it because I needed it.
My name's Dan. I'm not a lawyer, not a tech founder with a pitch deck, and definitely not someone who went looking for a fight. But over the past few years, I've found myself in 8 different consumer disputes across 8 different industries. Not because I'm difficult, but because companies kept getting things wrong, and I refused to just accept it.
Some of these disputes were for myself. Others were for a vulnerable person I'm deputy for, someone who can't advocate for themselves. Some of these stories are so shocking it's barely believable. But they're all real.
It started with a car.
A PCP deal with hidden commission. Thousands in interest I shouldn't have paid. When I raised it, the finance company denied everything. They sent template letters. They delayed. They hoped I'd go away.
I didn't go away.
Then came the new-build property with over 200 defects: structural issues, water coming in, incomplete work. A vulnerable person was living in conditions that weren't safe. The developer called them “snagging items” and sent contractors who made things worse.
Then an insurance claim that sat untouched for months. A telecom provider that kept overcharging. A retailer that refused to honour the Consumer Rights Act. An airline that lied about “extraordinary circumstances.” A care provider failing to meet basic standards. And then, almost unbelievably, the solicitors I'd paid to help with one of these cases turned out to be another problem entirely.
Eight disputes. Eight industries. Every single one of them used the same tactics.
Eight different disputes. Eight different industries. Eight different companies. And every single one of them used the exact same playbook.
They all used the same playbook.
Eight stages, every time. Once you see it, you can't unsee it.
Companies use this playbook to protect their own interests, often not from the right ground. It's a deliberate strategy, not incompetence. They made it hard on purpose because it's a winning strategy against most consumers.
Delay
Ignore your complaint for as long as possible. Make you chase. Hope you give up.
Deflect
Send generic template responses that don’t address your actual complaint. Pass you between departments.
The Fob Off
Dismiss your complaint with a carefully worded response designed to make you feel your case has no merit, when it often does. This is deliberate, not incompetent.
Divide
Make you repeat your story to a different person every time. No continuity. No accountability.
Deny
Reject your complaint on technical grounds. Claim you’re outside the window. Misquote their own terms.
Exhaust
Drag the process out for months. Bet that you’ll run out of energy before they run out of time.
Intimidate
Reference legal teams, threaten costs, use jargon designed to make you feel out of your depth.
Back Down
When none of it works, when you’ve kept records, cited the right legislation, and refused to quit, they run out of moves. They settle, comply, or fold. This is where you win.
The Fob Off: Their Most Effective Weapon
The fob off is the stage most people don't see for what it is. The company sends a carefully worded response that sounds authoritative and final, designed to make you believe your complaint has been properly considered and has no merit. In reality, it's often a template that doesn't address your specific points, cites irrelevant policy, or misrepresents the regulations. Most people read it, feel defeated, and give up. That's exactly what the company is counting on.
The moment it changed
Somewhere around dispute number three, something shifted. I stopped being reactive and started being systematic. I began keeping detailed records, not just of what happened, but of what they did: every delay, every deflection, every contradicted statement.
I learned which laws actually applied. Not from a textbook, but from reading FCA guidelines, ombudsman decisions, and court judgments. I learned that a Subject Access Request isn't just a formality. It's a weapon. I learned that citing specific regulations in your first letter changes the entire tone of the response.
I started winning. Not because I'm special, but because I found the pattern, and once you have the pattern, the playbook stops working.
I started winning. Not because I'm special, but because I found the pattern, and once you have the pattern, the playbook stops working.
When you win, and they still don't comply
Here's the part nobody tells you about. You've done everything right. You've gathered the evidence, written the letters, escalated to the ombudsman or regulator, and they've ruled in your favour. You've won.
Except the company still doesn't comply.
FOS awards that companies ignore. Ombudsman decisions that aren't implemented. Remediation programmes that stall. The enforcement gap is real, and it's a massive blind spot in consumer awareness.
What You Can Do When They Won't Comply
- Court enforcement: FOS decisions are legally binding once accepted. You can register the decision as a County Court judgment and enforce it.
- Regulatory complaints: Report the non-compliance to the FCA, Ofcom, Ofgem, or the relevant regulator. Companies that ignore ombudsman decisions face regulatory action.
- Media and MP involvement: Consumer journalists and MPs can apply pressure that corporate complaints teams cannot ignore.
- Bailiff enforcement: For court judgments, you can instruct bailiffs (enforcement agents) to collect the debt.
EvenStance guides you through the entire journey, not just the complaint, but the enforcement too.
So I built the system.
When I looked for tools to help people like me, regular people with legitimate complaints, I found almost nothing. There were template letter sites that hadn't been updated since 2015. There were forums full of conflicting advice. There were solicitors who'd charge you hundreds of pounds and then do less than you could have done yourself.
Nothing that actually walked you through the process. Nothing that understood the playbook these companies use and helped you counter it at every stage. Nothing that combined real knowledge of consumer law with practical, step-by-step guidance. Nothing that stayed with you when the regulator ruled in your favour but the company still didn't comply.
So I built it. EvenStance takes everything I learned: every tactic I encountered, every strategy that worked, every regulation that matters, and puts it into a system that anyone can use. AI-powered, but grounded in real experience. Not theoretical legal knowledge, but the practical reality of what actually happens when you take on a company and refuse to back down.
Why I'm offering it to you
Because I know what it feels like. The frustration of being ignored. The anger of being lied to. The exhaustion of fighting a system that's designed to wear you down. And the quiet satisfaction of winning anyway, not with threats or aggression, but with evidence, persistence, and knowing exactly where you stand.
Most people give up. Not because they're wrong, but because they don't know what to do next. They don't know which law applies, which regulator to contact, or how to write a letter that actually gets a result. They feel alone, overwhelmed, and outmatched.
You're not alone. And you're not outmatched. You just need the right tools.
Stand stronger.
