Hello there,
I am just navigating my way through the maze that is the CAG forum! It is a doddle compared to the red tape and horse doo doo that Black Horse use...
I have just spoken with BlackHorse regarding my loan with them and several things of
interest have appeared:
1) although they quote APR the
interest is charged monthly; therefore if you take a 'payment break' you dont pay them any money, but you are accruing an extra months
interest on the outstanding balance.
2) Apparently according to them I have a £1500 loan over 60 months - I thought I had taken it out over less (24 months) than that, but cannot find my paperwork due to house moves etc (and I am - correction was - rubbish at retaining that sort of thing) - Would they have increased the length of the loan to cover the extra charges I have incurred by missing a few payments? (another story entirely!) The figure I pay has not changed so I am even more confused!
3) When I asked for a settlement figure I was given this (paraphrased) response:
"The outstanding amount is currently £960; the settlement would be £936"
When I enquired further:
"the actual amount outstanding is £700 but the extra £230 odd is for 'admin' charges and interest..."
If I pay it off next month the amount will have increased due to the way the interest is calculated.
I took the loan out for a short-term period - I had been working in Spain for about 18 months, so my UK bank balance was 0 and credit history was pretty poor, which is why I put up with the 49% APR, but I feel I am being royally screwed over here. I can imagine I have been quite naive, but I think I innocently assumed that a large company like this would play fair!
I am currently going through the process with Lloyds trying to get my charges refunded etc but have no clue where to start with Black Horse. I think it may turn out that one of the sub-clauses gives them the right to my eternal soul.
Can someone suggest where to start in clearing up this mess? I am now in a position to be able to pay back the loan but which I thought was pretty much paid off - now I find I still have 2/3 of the loan still outstanding after nearly 2 years with apparently another 41 months to go!