Hi Everyone
Could anyone offer any advice on "logbook loans"
Last year i was facing debt problems and decided to remortgage my house because things were getting worse to the point i had balliffs from 3 different companies calling at the house. Remortgage was approved but was told it would take about 6 weeks to complete. The thought of dealing with the debts for that time was unbearable, none of them would lay off when i told them i would pay when money came through. I was 6 months pregnant and needed cash quick to stop the pressure. Because i had run into difficulty with my debts due to extreame pregnancy sickness and being unable to work (I am self employed) my credit rating went down the pan therefore i was unable to get cash quicker by way of an unsecured loan.
In a moment of madness i contacted a company called "Logbook Loans". I owned my car and it is worth about 16k, i also have a number plate on it which is worth 22k, sounds flash i know but it was my dream number plate and i paid for it over 5 years and that ended last year. They were offering me 10k secured on my car and i was to give them my V5 logbook as security. I talked it over with my husband and because the remortgage had all been agreed and i was told it would be about 6 weeks untill we received the cash it seemed like the best solution to take out the loan, pay off the debts and pay loan back when cash came through. They said they would also give me 5 weeks untill the first payment was due so it sounded perfect. Somebody came out same day with paperwork which i signed, they put a tracker on the car and took my V5 logbook. I felt so relieved when i was able to pay off the balliffs and try to enjoy my preganancy dispite being ill, i was very gratefull to logbook loans for helping me dispite my credit rating and their prompt service. Was just a case of waiting for remortgage to come through or so i thought.
About 6 weeks later as expected the remortgage was ready to complete then i got a call from the remortgage company with the devistating news that my mortgage company had refused consent of the secured loan due to recent mortgage arrears. I called them and explained reasons for the arrears but they would not budge and said i needed 3 months clear payments before they would consider the loan. I did think this was fair enough and they were acting as sensible lenders by protecting themselves but i went into a blind panick. By this time i was recieving income support, my business was ticking over and just making enough to pay the mortgage after i brought it up to date with the loan, but what about everything else????
I contacted logbook loans straightaway to explain situation, i calulated first payment would be due end of that week. I needed a bit more time to sort something out, i had to do something or my business would go down the pan and we would lose everything. Then they dropped a bombshell, they said i was nearly 6 weeks in arrears and they had already started procedures to take my car. I explained about the 5 week first payment agreement and they said they had no record of it and did not even offer that service!!! I was in shock, not only was there no "payment holiday" included, i had not received any notification whatsoever to say i was in arrears let alone they were going to take the car. By this time i was beside myself but the best was yet to come, i decided not to continue arguing so i said i would try and get the money together, the repayments where £220 per month so i asked if i sent that, could they stop action to take my car? Then they dropped another bombshell, they said i was over a thousand pounds in arrears, What???????!!!!! They said the repayments were £220 a WEEK not a month!!!!! I said there must be a mistake because the girl definately said a month and i was sure that was the agreement. The loan was over 3 years, who would take out a loan for 10k and pay £1000 a month for 3 years, they said that was what it was and because i had defaulted i had to pay back £44k
!!!!! I could not believe what was happening. On top of all the shocks they were being very uncaring and abrupt with me on the phone and talking to me as if i was a piece of dirt saying i had to pay up or the car would be taken and it was my own fault etc etc.
The next week or so is a bit of a blur, constant telephone calls everywhere searching for a solution, i tried everything, even borrowed money from my parents but money got swallowed up by my oferdraft when the bank cancelled facility because i was 18 pence over my limit (but thats another story). The phonecalls from Logbook loans were constant and threatning and still had not received any correspondence at all untill i got letter from balliffs. It was then that my frustration and dispair turned to intense anger, these people were making my life a misery, i wasn't sleeping or eating and crying constantly, bearing in mind i was due to give birth at anytime. I was getting to the stage of begging rude, unhelpfull and arrogent people and felt like a criminal. I had enough and decided to take action to protect myself, my husband and my children from these people. I phoned DVLA asked for a replacement V5 logbook and as soon as i got it, i signed the car over to my parents. I didn't care what happened to me or wether it was legal to do it, i would rather give car away than let them take it but obviously my parents still consider it to be my car and i have full use of it.
Following advice from a debt councilling service, i wrote them an email saying i would not stand any more harrassment from them otherwise i would go to police, press, TV etc. I asked them if they were regulated by cunsumer credit act and i would report them to office of fair trading. I said any atempt to enter my house was illegal without a warrant and if they applied for one i would defend the claim on grounds of misleading and unaccurate advice prior to taking out the loan (can't remember the name of the law now). Also my first husband was killed and was an ex-serviceman so i am still protected by them regarding debt issues (only for advice - but didn't tell them that) I did not tell them i had signed car over to my parents either.
Its so scary how this company operates, they prey on people who are in trouble, knowing full well nobody can afford the repayments. Anyone who had £220 a week to spare certainly wouldn't need their services or accept the rate of interest. I struggle to see how anyone but them can win at the end of the day and i am astonished i have never heard any complaints about them before. I truely believe there sole business objective is to "steal" cars and sell them on and i want to let everybody know what kind of people they are dealing with if considering this type of loan. Some websites doing these loans actually advertise cars for sale - its totally sick.
The current situation and the reason for this posting is what i do now??, since i sent the email I have not heard from them once and was receiving calls 5 times a day at one point. Them being so quiet makes me nervous and that is mainly because i have no idea whatsoever how i stand legally with this type of loan because nobody seems to know. The car is in my mums name, was it legal what i did or can they still take it? If they take the car will they have rights to my number plate also which i mentioned previously?. To be completely honest i don't want to give them a penny for what they have put me through, i had a baby in the middle of all this and it ruined that experience for me. I know i will have to pay them back but if i could find out were i stand i can face them again. To raise the money we needed my parents are buying my house from me untill things improve and we hope to buy it back, i have about 40k equity and sale going through in next week or so.
Well if you are still awake reading this i would be gratefull for any advice!! Or if somebody can point me in the right direction that would be great.
Kind Regards
Nellie75
Log Book Loans - Can anyone help??? 
Boobaby
Re: Log Book Loans - Can anyone help???