Hi guys I had a debt of 400 with Wonga which I didn't repay and after a 15 months of hearing nothing I received two phone calls to my work from mackenzie hall debt now 920 can I get the debt moved back to Wonga and go down the capital plus one mth interest route

Are the additional 400 plus in charges enforceable

Thanks for your advice

Any advice out there please?

Thread moved to the Wonga forum.

Now that you are in the right place you will get some help soon

Ahh Mucky hall. They are very VERY well known for inflating debts with bogus charges.

We're going to need more background info, such as how much have you paid. Why didnt you pay the rest etc.

It also sounds like you need to send the telephone harassment letter as them phoning your employer is a very big mistake on their part.

Thanks for replying it was a loan of 400 plus 100 interest which I had rolled over 3 times I set up a repayment plan and didn't stick to it - didn't hear from Wonga again until 15 mths later the dca sends me a letter for over £900 and today phone calls started . By reading other threads

1. Do I need proof they have bought the debt

2. Can I get the acc put back to Wonga and set up a repayment plan based on loan plus one mth interest

3. Are the £400 plus charges on the acc enforceable

Thank you

Hi dadsmada,

I doubt that Wonga will take it back, as they probably sold it if it is that old (15 months).

As renegadeimp rightly pointed out we would need additional background info, and then depending on that (especially how much you already paid, and how much you have available to repay), you can probably try to make MacKenzie hall a full and final settlement offer, e.g. 40%.(368 GBP).

Hi dadsmada,

You replied while I was typing...

So have you made any repayments to Wonga under the repayment plan, or did you already missed that first repayment 15 months ago?

Should I contact Wonga firstly to see if they are still involved in the process - want to clear the debt but damned if these parasites get £900 outta me

Sorry pdl I made no payments was in a phase of paying nothing have only 3 pdls left to sort now ( all on repayment plans ) and wish to address this one as cost effectively as possible

If Mucky Hall have bought the debt from wonga, then they would only have paid 7-10% of the original debt. This gives you a lot of room to negotiate, even though they will try and say otherwise. If you get ANY discount letters from them, then you know for sure. The best bet is to ignore everything unless it is in writing. Once you get something of substance, post it in this thread minus any personal info.

I received a letter about 2 wks ago but gf binned it by mistake - no offers on it just stating the amount owed 920ish and ways to pay

Is it possible to come to a settlement arrangement amount with them and pay in installments - gonna be a winner for them especially if they only paid £50 max for the debt

You have to be very careful when negotiating with mucky hall. They love to add on clauses and conditions to agreements. These clauses only ever benefit them.

Remember, they bought the debt for peanuts and are trying to get the full amount. if you agree to it, then theyve just made approx 1000% profit. If not more.

Where do I stand legally with them ? Can they not just force this down the court route for full payment if we cannot come to a mutually agreeable settlement?

Thanks for your time

They can, but since theres most likely unfair charges on the debt, they will start offering discounts as i said before. This means that the debt is bad and they are looking to get anything they can.

Hi Dadsmada,

No worries.

Renegadeimp is absolutely right that Mackenzie hall is known for inflating the original debt with charges, etc. The issue I see with playing hard ball with them until it ends up in court/mediation is that in your case Wonga offered you a repayment plan and you did neither make payments under it nor contacted them. So they might be in a stronger position should it come to court (They still might withdraw shortly before any court hearing or go into mediation, though).

On the other hand they have not heard anything from you in 15 months so they probably started a "last attempt" in desperation (and in hope that you just pay anything to get rid of them).

So I think the best option would be to make Mackenzie hall a full and final settlement offer of 40% - 368 GBP (to start with, in future negotiations I would go up to a max of 50% - 455 GBP). Obviously offer this in writing only and "without prejudice". I still do not know if you would be able to afford e.g. 368 GBP, but there would also be the option to

a) set a late date (e.g. say in your letter "full and final settlement of 368 GBP to be paid into your account by 31 Oct 2012") or

b) pay the full and final settlement in e.g. 3 instalments instead of one.

To answer your questions from above for completeness:-):

1. Do I need proof they have bought the debt:

Well, this is up to you. If you know that you owe it, no need. Usually you would ask for prove of debt to

a) gain time and

b) hope they cannot deliver the prove and wipe it off

2. Can I get the acc put back to Wonga and set up a repayment plan based on loan plus one mth interest

I doubt this. If you cannot or would not like to follow the full and final settlement route, then I would rather "fight" with Mackenzie hall (renegadeimp can probably better advice how best to "fight" them). But again, I think they are in a slightly better position.

3. Are the £400 plus charges on the acc enforceable

Again, depends if they actually let this end up in court itself or not and what your "defence" is, I think

I hope this helps

So should I speak to them when they call me tomorrow telling them of their obligations re phone harassment - give them my email address for correspondence and state that I am willing to settle for a lesser amount (in installments ) at a figure we both find mutually acceptable

Or get their bank details and make a token £1 / mth payment as willingness to repay

Should I ask for email confirmation that they now own the debt as well?

Cheers

Hi Dadsmada,

Do not speak to them And do not make a token payment for now Send them a letter or an email with your offer instead.

Sounds good advice I will email them tomorrow with a settlement offer ( due to my other pdl repayment plans it will have to be in installments ) and see what they say - bound to be a no but might be a starting point anyway - should I ask them also for a breakdown of how the bal is over £920??

If they point blank refuse to budge where does that leave me though?

Actually, before you make ANY offer whatsoever, you need to get a breakdown of the debt.

ALso, IGNORE THEM. Dont do ANYTHING at all until you get something of substance through the post. If you start replying, they will consider you a cash cow and start with their barrage of threat letters and constant harassment. Their plan is to start draining you of energy so you give in.

Again, do NOT call them, or write to them, or even respond to them until something solid in writing gets sent.

If they call you on the phone, do NOT answer any security questions or confirm your name. Simply say "in writing only" and hang up. Overtalk them if you have to.

Hi Dadsmada,

Send them the full and final settlement offer in installments first and wait for the reply. Depending on the reply then you can start either to negotiate further or go down the usual route of prove of debt, break down, etc. But first I would just send the offer and see what they say. As renegadeimp already said, they probably bought this debt for 50 GBP, so there is a chance they might accept your offer...

Hi renegadeimp,

I thought probably a breakdown is not needed so urgently because the offer will be below the original loan amount anyway...

Well if you are going to send them a full and final settlement offer first, you should maybe post a draft of it here so it can be checked if it is watertight and you don't leave the impression you end up as a cash cow for them...

A breakdown is the first thing you get once something of substance comes in. As the OP has only had 2 phone calls and Nothign in writing, its much better to simply ignore them for now, until they start putting things in writing. As i said, they do this to thousands of other people. If you give in to them right away after theyve only made phone contact, then theyve marked you as a potential cash cow.

That is one of Mucky halls trademark tactics. Other DCA's use the same tactics, but Mucky Hall are relentless. So relentless in fact that their local Trading standards have a HUGE file open on them.

Again, if you offer then a settlement now before you have any kind of communication in writing etc, then you are opening yourself up to a world of potential problems.

Absolutely correct, but the OP posted that he actually did receive a letter. I am just wondering if it might be worth a try to just send the offer first and only if they do not accept start playing hard ball with them...