Broke Student Nurse needs help with Cahoot Loan

[Kelly159]

Hi everyone

I am new to the forum and just need some advice. I am a student nurse so the last three years have been really tight. I have a £8000 loan with cahoot which was set up to be paid by direct debit. This bounced on several occassions at the begining of the loan 2 years ago and i always paid up what i owed.

My bank refuses to set the direct debit back up so each month i automatically get charged by cahoot for late payment. My payments are due on the 10th of each month so i was sending cheques 2 and 3 weeks early to make sure they got the payment and i didnt receive any more charges but they still put them on each month and dont cash the cheque till after. I cant win and really cant afford to keep paying at least an extra £40 per month.

Do you think i have a case for getting some of these charges back and if so what do i need to do. I know there is tonnes of info on this site but even if you could just point me in the direction of the best threads to read as i feel a little swamped.

Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated

Thanx ....... Kelly

[100%WHU]

i think the answer to that is yes you can claim back the charges.

The best thread to read is the step by step guide, and just read other cases, to get tips and idea.

Believe me I know where you are coming from. I have been a student nurse too. Good luck, if you need anymore help then just give me a shout.

And have you tried setting up a standing order instead?

[MarkyT]

I have a similar problem - they will not set the DD back up on my loan account. They say it is set up and then the following month, I start getting hounded by cahoot on the phone demanding payment. They usually wait until I don't have enough money in my current account to make the payment.
Also, on 2 separate occasions they have rang to say you need to make a payment to bring this account up to date etc, I have given them my debit card details and then they mention "there was another missed payment a couple of months ago and we need to take this as well". Why didn't they call me up when that one was missed?

Good Luck Kelly, take them for all you can!

[bathgatebuyer]

Had similar experiences with them too re: waiting months before telling me that payments were missed! Problem I've had is that security was never set up on the account so I've never been able to access it in 3 and a half years! As they will not change the date of the direct debit to one that ties in with my pay a wee bit better, I've had about 20 or so late charges applied to this 4 year loan (due up in February and when it's gone I'm having the worlds biggest party - biggest mistale of my financial life!).

Think I might just send off a wee Subject Access Request (given that I can't access these records online because they never wet up the security details!)

[livelylad]

Originally Posted by Kelly159

Hi everyone

I am new to the forum and just need some advice. I am a student nurse so the last three years have been really tight. I have a £8000 loan with cahoot which was set up to be paid by direct debit. This bounced on several occassions at the begining of the loan 2 years ago and i always paid up what i owed.

My bank refuses to set the direct debit back up so each month i automatically get charged by cahoot for late payment. My payments are due on the 10th of each month so i was sending cheques 2 and 3 weeks early to make sure they got the payment and i didnt receive any more charges but they still put them on each month and dont cash the cheque till after. I cant win and really cant afford to keep paying at least an extra £40 per month.

Do you think i have a case for getting some of these charges back and if so what do i need to do. I know there is tonnes of info on this site but even if you could just point me in the direction of the best threads to read as i feel a little swamped.

Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated

Thanx ....... Kelly

Hi, ok firstly as 100%WHU said I would set up a standing order make the date they take the cash from your account at least 5 days before the loans due date 7 if possible.

You can reclaim all the charges that the bank and Cahoot have applied to your accounts. Send the Subject Access Request request with £10 to your bank and Cahoot this will get you a list of the charges.
Read the step by step instructions linked in my signature these will guide you through the process.
1. Data Protection Act, Subject Access Request letter - List of charges

[elliero]

I have often wondered if I am being paranoid (not in general, just about this), but it seems to me that Cahoot tends to slow down incoming payments if your account balance is low.

I obviously don't have any particular proof of this but I have often noticed that just as a payment is really, really needed to come in, it takes so long that you go overdrawn or the DD fails.

Do people think this is just a 'watched pot doesn't boil' syndrome or that there might be an element of bumping up their charges profit?