Thread: Welcome Finance Question.

I have a secured loan which is only one month in arrears and last week Welcome called me and said I cannot pay by direct debit anymore as my account is in arrears and I must now pay by debit card by calling my account holding branch, this is new company policy !! Has anyone had this happen to them ? I also had this loan re-written last year to benefit me apparently, would it be a good idea to ask for access to the previous loan agreement paperwork ? Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Originally Posted by pwg6565

I have a secured loan which is only one month in arrears and last week Welcome called me and said I cannot pay by direct debit anymore as my account is in arrears and I must now pay by debit card by calling my account holding branch, this is new company policy !! Has anyone had this happen to them ? I also had this loan re-written last year to benefit me apparently, would it be a good idea to ask for access to the previous loan agreement paperwork ? Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Yes, absolutely. You need to CCA them for both agreements. Send recorded, don't sign it, print your name, and use a postal order for the £1.

They want 2 things - you to call them so they can bully you into paying more, and your debit card details so they can take payment earlier of an amount they choose.

Rules of thumb: Never speak to them on the phone, if necessary send the telephone harassment letter. All communications in writing to: Welcome Finance, Compliance, Mere Way, Ruddington Fields Business Park, Ruddington, Nottingham NG11 6NZ.

Always keep receipts for recorded postage (and use track and trace) and PO's.

Also, do you have PPI etc.? Additional charges on the account? What is the loan secured on and when was it first taken out? If you have any paperwork, post it up via photobucket, after removing all identifying information.

Be aware, they may also call from various mobile phones - they don't want the calls recorded.

If you need links to th template letters post back and I or someone else will post them up for you.

Good luck!

T2

Originally Posted by PGH7447

you can pay how you want if they are stating no dd then set up a standing order, they are safer anyway

Good call.

I have always paid the loans in full until I asked to pay a half payment back in Jan which was agreed by my local branch prior to the payment being due. The half payment went through in Jan and by the endd of the month I had the branch manger phoning me telling me I was in arrears and had to pay the full amount or they would default me and re-claim my house. I complained to head office and recieved a letter of apology shortly afterwards. So in July I informed Welcome in advance I would have trouble paying the full amount and they said that they had been told by the F.S.A that they could not accept half payments and people in financial difficulty must pay the full monthly amount !! And that is now Welcome company policy. I again compalined and was told it was up to me if I wanted to put the account into default by only paying half a payment and they would not help me. So again I recieved a letter of apology for bad customer service. At the end of July I recieved a call re-setting the direct debit and I recieved confirmation early last week. Then I recieved the call telling me that they had cancelled the direct debit and I had to pay by debit card from now on. I am sure in previous agreements I have had PPI but not on this current loan but have never recieved copies of any agreements I haver had with them and as I said the re-write last year was Welcomes idea ? Also I have only ever recieved one yearly statement in approx 7 years as a customer. Lastly the re-write which is a secured loan on my house is for approx £20,000 and the statement a year later was still £20,000 after 12 months of payments. I am sorry I do not have any paperwork to post at the moment as I do not have any !!

Originally Posted by pwg6565

I have always paid the loans in full until I asked to pay a half payment back in Jan which was agreed by my local branch prior to the payment being due. The half payment went through in Jan and by the endd of the month I had the branch manger phoning me telling me I was in arrears and had to pay the full amount or they would default me and re-claim my house. I complained to head office and recieved a letter of apology shortly afterwards. So in July I informed Welcome in advance I would have trouble paying the full amount and they said that they had been told by the F.S.A that they could not accept half payments and people in financial difficulty must pay the full monthly amount !! And that is now Welcome company policy. I again compalined and was told it was up to me if I wanted to put the account into default by only paying half a payment and they would not help me. So again I recieved a letter of apology for bad customer service. At the end of July I recieved a call re-setting the direct debit and I recieved confirmation early last week. Then I recieved the call telling me that they had cancelled the direct debit and I had to pay by debit card from now on. I am sure in previous agreements I have had PPI but not on this current loan but have never recieved copies of any agreements I haver had with them and as I said the re-write last year was Welcomes idea ? Also I have only ever recieved one yearly statement in approx 7 years as a customer. Lastly the re-write which is a secured loan on my house is for approx £20,000 and the statement a year later was still £20,000 after 12 months of payments. I am sorry I do not have any paperwork to post at the moment as I do not have any !!

The FSA said that?! I hope you have that in writing!

I think you also need to SAR them, it takes longer and costs £10 but provides a lot more ammo.

They don't like to send statements, even though they are obliged to, just in case you read them and realise what they are doing (In my opinion...).

I'm wondering if they are trying to "encourage" you to default... might be worth asking Postggj or another of the Welcome gurus to take a look at this....

As a matter of interest, do you have the written apologies to post up? Again minus any and all identifying info....

I would definitely check the Dd is cancelled. Im waiting on a CCA from them, and just by chance I called my bank and asked if the DD was cancelled, and it wasnt, this was after the local branch telling me it was. My local branch also told me they didnt do SO, it was DD, CHQ, Debit Card or cash!!

Thanks for all of your advice and I am still not sure what a CCA or Subject access request is. I have been reading this forum for ages so should really know. I have got letters of apologies but do not have a scanner. The last was recieved 30th July from Nick Morgan and read.
Final Response to your complaint.
Thank you for bringing to our attention your complaints regarding the secured loan agreement you have with Welcome Finance.
I write in response to the email you sent dated 8th July 2009 where you raised several points which I would like to address.
Initially you stated that you had contacted your local branch inAshford to make a long term payment arrangement to clear you current arrears. You then went on to state that you were advised you were not allowed a payment holiday and that the FSA had advised Welcome Finance not to allow customers to have payment holidays on their loans.
I can confirm that the FSA did not make this recommendation to Welcome Finance, and that it is both an internal business decision and change in company policy to no longer allow our customers the option of a payment holiday. You signed a legally binding contract confirming that you would pay the agreed monthly payment of £246.44 by the 12th of each month.
After reviewing your account I can confirm you have recently made a payment arrangement with your local branch to pay £270.00 per month which commenced from the 15th July 2009.
You then questioned the account fees that have been applied to your account. The account fees that have been applied to your account are correct and within the terms and conditions of your agreement.Welcome Finance apply fees to a customers account where a payment is returned or cancelled, as well as if anaccount is in arrears with no long term payment arrangement in place. Details of these fees are shown on your credit agreement.
In regards to your request to lower payments further on your account, as your account has already been rescheduled to the maximum term length of 300 months and has been reduced to the lowest interest rate possible to our customers of 1%, we are unable to consider your request to further reduce your payments.
I would like to apologise for the poor level of customer service that you feel you have recieved from your local branch, however I do hope that I have been able to reassure you and that you experience no further difficulties.
If I do not recieve any further contact from you regarding this matter, I will close my file on your complaint 8 weeks from the date of this letter.
Yours Sincerely
Nick Morgan.

I did not ask to lower my payments, I asked to pay half a months payment in July.
I notified them two weeks before and asked not to be charged and for my direct debit to be adjusted so I did not get charged cancellation fees, this was denied. I was told by Jack Boorman the accounts manager at the Asford branch the FSA had advised them not to help people having financial difficulties !! I have always paid my loan on the 15th of the month yet Mr Morgan says the agreement is for the 12th of the month ?? I did not have any contact from Welcome about clearing my aarrears and I did not contact the branch as stated to clear them either ?
I am completely confused with Welcome company policy.
Can an arrangement fee be charged monthly for the term of the loan ??

You really need to get all the facts (from a WF angle) on this.

I strongly suggest both CCA and SAR letters. It will cost £1 for CCA and £10 for SAR but will give you all the argument you need (assuming they respond - and that is 50/50 and dropping).

CCA is here: http://www.consumerforums.com/resour...request-letter

SAR is here: http://www.consumerforums.com/resour...est-debt-a-dca

Adjust both to suit your needs.

And remember - do not sign your letters, print your name. Use PO (crossed) to pay, recorded delivery only.

Once again, thanks for your suggestions. Do I have to send a £1 for each CCA I think I have had because I may have had a top up or re-write many times over the years I have been stung by this company ?? Can I claim on old agreements or is it only the current loan and agreement that was a re-write ? I am sure that originally this loan started as a unsecured car/personal unsecured loan. How far can I ask Welcome to look back ??

You Can Go Back Six Years Ref Agreements, Statements,

Send The Cca And Enlose A One Pound Postel For The Curent Agreement

As You Have Had Meny Agreements I Recomend Sending A SAR Request

That Will Cost Ten Quid

Remember Recorded Delievery

Thanks again for all of your help with this. I sent recorded delivery today CCA and Subject access request so will be very interesting to see how they have lied to me over the years. I also telephoned Nick Morgan in complaints and told him I am very unhappy with the DD being cancelled and I will not pay by card or talk to my local branch anymore and I want all communication in writing. He told me as I was in arrears I could not pay by DD until a payment plan was in place to which I replied it was in place but you cancelled it and I have that in black and white. I have had half a dozen messages on my phone since from the local branch but I am not answering any of them. They also told me my agreement was for the 12th of each month all of a sudden and I have always paid on the 15th ?? I have recieved a complaint form to fill out from the F.O.S. today so I shall continue to complete that as well. That cannot do me any harm can it ?

Thanks again. I will keep you posted but dont hold out much hope of recieving these documents after reading other threads !!!

Some very strange goings on at Welcome. Sent Subject request yesterday by recorded delivery but recieved a letter today from compliance dated the 10th Aug and posted 2nd class thanking me for my Subject request which is being prossesed ??? What is going on ??