I really need some advice.

I had a home loan with Welcome finance I was going along fine for about a year until my mortgage went through the roof so I wrote and asked them to take a lower payment until I could sort out a remortgage. They carried on taking the original DD so I cancelled it because I just couldn't afford it. They ignored my letters requesting lower payments and started adding on lots of charges.

They now ring me all the time on my mobile, home and work phone and I spoke to someone today. He said that because the problem had come so far it's been sent to a different office so they haven't got any of my letters as they are addressed to my local office. I said I would forward them to him. He said they are now applying for an attachment of earnings order, I'm really worried am I going to have to go to court? If they take the full amount from my wages I wont be able to pay my mortgage

I really need some advice.

 

I had a home loan with Welcome finance I was going along fine for about a year until my mortgage went through the roof so I wrote and asked them to take a lower payment until I could sort out a remortgage. They carried on taking the original DD so I cancelled it because I just couldn't afford it. They ignored my letters requesting lower payments and started adding on lots of charges.

 

They now ring me all the time on my mobile, home and work phone and I spoke to someone today. He said that because the problem had come so far it's been sent to a different office so they haven't got any of my letters as they are addressed to my local office. I said I would forward them to him. He said they are now applying for an attachment of earnings order, I'm really worried am I going to have to go to court? If they take the full amount from my wages I wont be able to pay my mortgage

firstly, they cannot apply for anything until the debt has been through the courts and a CCJ applied to your debt. the normal result is that you present your income and expenditure to the courts and the judge decides how much you should pay, not the DCA.

This is standard fayre for these "people" they will lie and threaten you in the hope you will panic and pay them something - dont. he know all about your letters, he is simply telling you lies.

dont speak to them on the telephone, it is a waste of time, insist that all communications are made in writing only.

there is a telephone harrassment letter in the templates library, amend it and send it to them, also request a copy of the CCA associated with this account. sign nothing and keep copies of all letters sent and received

Thank you will send letters today. It is horrible how much they scare you. I have young children and I'm divorced so struggling with the mortgage is enough then they tell me they will be taking a chunck of my wages it's so worrying!

This site is really good stops me shaking

Oh god! They just ignored the letters again! Today they sent me a default notice and a letter saying tehy now intend to take me to court! What should I say back to this? They have completly ignored my offers of a reduce payment and now they have defaulted me

The letter also mentioned again that they will be asking for an attachment of earnings order

Please help

I know this can seem difficult but it's only as bad as your imagination allows it to be, these parasites send letters that are specifically worded to cause you distress, scare you so that you will phone them and make a payment that you can't afford.

If you could see these people on the other end of the phone, they are on commission, so when they tell you it's important that you pay now. It's because you're paying for their next holiday or whatever. don't take too much notice of their drivel.

The very very worst case scenario is: they take you to court and go for a CCJ, the CCJ is awarded and the judge asks for youerer income and expenditure details, he/she then orders you to pay the debt at an amount you can realistically afford. this amount is ordered by a court, they cannot demand more and can only change it by taking you back to court. As long as you pay the CCJ on time they can do nothing more to you - that's it, the end. No sky falling down on your head, no bailiffs taking your telly, nobody rifling your bank account, nothing. - Don't panic, this is normal for these "people"

Since the debt is not that old there is a good chance that the agreement is enforceable, however that doesn't mean that you shouldn't request it. Send off a CCA request asap (letter N here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt/20758-creditors-dcas-letter-templates.html ) don't sign the letter, make sure it goes off recorded delivery (registered is better but only if you can afford it) get a proof of delivery from the Royal Mail website, retain copies of all correspondence and don't speak to them on the phone.

then wait and see what they do next.

If they respond with an enforceable CCA, then we can start sending letters to arrange a repayment plan, do not panic, this is normal for these "people"

Since they already have your bank details, it may be worth sorting out another bank account and transferring all of your direct debits and such there, this will remove the worry that they will do something. most banks will allow you to open a basic bank account even with a damaged credit rating. - don't panic, this is normal for these people"

First of all don't panic. They cannot do anything without going through a court first, and they are a long way from that at the moment.

Send them a CCA request enclosing a £1 postal order as a start. In the meantime, if you can post up a copy of the default notice (removing your personal details first) and then we can see if the DN complies with the requirements.

Thank you it's amazing how bad they can make you feel!

I don't have a scanner so I can't put it up I sent off the request just over a week ago when I first posted.

Thank you so much a bit of reasurrance goes a long way

I sent all the letters that were suggested and these have just been completely ignored. Today's post brought court papers. I read through all the threads about defending it but I'm a little confused about where it is, is it possible to get them to change the court?

From the court papers thread on here I gather I have to defend the case but I wont be able to do that if it's bloody miles away!

Help please!

Firstly don't worry about not being able to defend if it is miles away - it will be transferred to your local court. That is IF it ever gets that far.

If you can, scan up the court form, taking care to black out anything which can identify you personally. Also change any amounts to more rounded and generic ones to prevent those being used to identify you.

If you don't have access to a scanner, just type out the Particulars of Claim. It is important to know EXACTLY what they say, because it affects the wording of the letters you will now need to send.

SH

Hi Doninitwrong

The important thing now is to note carefully the court timescales and not to ignore anything. Given that this is likely to end up with a judgement against you, you may as well make it work in your favour as Spamhead says above - get the court to set an amount you can genuinely afford and then stick to it.

Did Welcome ever supply a copy agreement (CCA)? Is your loan secured or unsecured?

You need to file an acknowledgement of service, saying you intend to defend the claim, as that will give you 28 days to reply to the claim - if you don't they can get judgement in default in 14 days. Keep it under your control. You can usually file that via the web site at moneyclaim.gov.uk as long as the claim was sent via the Northampton bulk centre.

I suggest finding out if these court papers are genuine from an actual court - not unknown for these things to be faked & for these companies to pretend to be the courts themselves.

Also - if it does go to court, they have to take into account all your essential outgoings (bills, clothes, food,travel costs etc..) - so chances are you'll repay £1 per month afterwards or something like that & there wont be a thing Welcome can do about that.

I acknowledged the claim (I followed advice from here) No welcome have never replied to any of my letters. They didn't send a CCA and they ignored every letter I sent requesting lower payments. They did take the £1 thou!

Will get someone to scan it on this afternoon for me.

Thanks for replies

Particulars of claim:

Claimant's claim for £5000 being monies due from the defendant to the claimant under a regulated credit agreement made in writing between the Defendant and Claimant under ref -

The Defendant has failed to make payment in accordance with the terms of the agreement and a default notice has been served upon the defendant pursuant to Section 87(1) of the comsumer Credit act 1974

The Claimant Claims the sum of £5000

Sorry forgot to say the loan is unsecured

Do you know what court contacted you?

If you do, then ring them to find out that the claim is genuine - you may well find that it is Welcome pulling a fast one here.

If it is genuine, it will cost Welcome money to get you there.

The court will have to take into account all your essential outgoings like i said & you will repay whatever is left over - normally a £1 per month which is the minimum legal amount.

If you spend £50 per month on food - make sure you put down £100 instead - ive never known any court to require receipts for the food you buy ........hope you get my jist here

I wont need to exaggerate my income and outgoings are ridiculous my take home wage is just over £1,000 and my mortgage is over £900 so I live off my tax credits and I cut it very close ever month! Trying to get a remortgage with a better rate but now I have a default it's not likely that will happen

Yes..but after your mortgage payment is made, you have to have money for other bills, food, clothes & travel costs - all of which are classed as legal essentials which a court has to take into account.

So you may end up repaying £1 per month in this instance or even better still, if there is nothing leftover - the court can order a suspended judgement & Welcome get nothing at all

Try remortgaging with your existing lender, exiting lenders tend not to credit score you when remortagage, or change products in the end you all ready have the money ask them to extend the term from say 19 years back to 25 or 30 years

they WILL score you if ask for more money...

just a thought

Hi there, when you send in your defence, make sure you refer to the fact that Welcome have ignored all the letters you have sent asking for help, and attach copies of the letters and receipts for recorded delivery.

If you need any help with wording your defence, just shout.

Kind Regards

Ell-enn

that said a per mr ton's post, perhas you should wait until after judgment before "freeing up any monies"

ask you post to be moved to "Legal issues" as it now going to court

do you still have a copy of your agreement

can you post on your thread minus personel details

google photo bucket

post the default notice so we can have a look at it

when did you take out the agreement

do you have payment protection insurance

many questions i know

but very relevent

on the court form there will be a section where to send correspondents to

this will be welcomes solicitors

prob howard cohen

please confirm the sols

send this like today to them by special delievery

In the XXXX County Court

Claimant -v- (YOUR NAME)

Claim Number: (CLAIM NUMBER)

Dear XXX

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

I have received a recent court claim from your organisation. In order to file a defence and counter claim I require some information. Given that this matter is now the subject of legal proceedings, you are obliged to disclose under the Civil Procedure Rules, the information and documents detailed below.

The information must be furnished within fourteen days of the receipt of this letter. If you fail to comply, this will be reported to the Court, a copy of this letter will be provided as evidence to the same and an Order enforcing your compliance will be sought.

1. A true copy of the executed credit agreement and any terms and conditions that applied to the account at the time of default and at the time the account was opened.

2. All records you hold on me relevant to this case, including but not limited to:

a. Transcriptions of all telephone conversations recorded and any notes made in relation to telephone conversations by your company, or by any previous creditor

b. Where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have either caused or resulted in that manual intervention, or other evidence of that manual intervention in relation to my account formerly held with *********.(AMEND TO THE COMPANY NAME)

c. True copies of any notice of assignment and/or default notice or enforcement notice that you or the original creditor sent me, with a copy of any proof of postage that you hold.

d.Documents relating to any insurance added to the account, including the insurance contract and terms and conditions, date it was added and deleted (if applicable).

e. Details of any collection charge added to the account; specifically, the date it was levied, the amount of the charge, a detailed financial breakdown of how the charge was calculated, and what the charge covers.

f. Specific details of the fees/charges levied by any other agency in respect of this account and a detailed breakdown of said fees/charges and what each charge relates to and on what date said fees/charges were levied.

g. A genuine copy of any notice of fair use of my data as required by the Data Protection Act 1998

h. A list of third party agencies to whom you have disclosed my personal data and a summary of the nature of the information you have disclosed.

i. Copies of statements for the entire duration of the credit agreement.

3. Any other documents you seek to rely on in court.

I will require this information within the next fourteen days. I must advise you that if the information is not forthcoming, it will be reported to the Court that you are trying to frustrate proceedings and denying me the opportunity to file a defence and counter claim.

Yours sincerely,

XXXX (type, don't sign).

in that letter include this

Full copies or transcripts of any correspondence in postal, email or any other format which you have entered into with any individual, organization or third party which contains my personal or financial, or which pertains to me, including correspondence to the underwriter of any insurance policies and details of the relevant Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) payable on any single premium policies. Please ensure this includes how much tax was payable, who payment was made to and the date of this payment.

also ask for all information regarding commission payments ref all insurancies

to date welcome have never answered these questions

as this is subject to a court claim, they now have to

its in your favour

I agree with postggj about sending the CPR 18 letter above.

You can also send a CPR 31.14 letter which will demand a copy of any document mentioned in the statement of case. As your particulars of claim specifically mention both the default notice and the agreement, I would send this letter.

There is a paragraph which relates to claims under £5000, which you will need to delete if the claim is over £5000.

Dear Sir,

Re: (Claimant's name) v (Your name) Case No:

CPR 31.14 Request

On (date) I received the Claim Form in this case issued by you out of the (Name) County Court.

I confirm having returned my acknowledgement of service to the court in which I indicate my intention to contest all of your claim.

Prior to the issue of proceedings I had delivered a request for the production of the agreement mentioned in the Claim Form and on which you rely. That request was ignored.

Please treat this letter as my request made under CPR 31.14 for the disclosure and the production of a verified and legible copy of each of the following documents mentioned in your Particulars of Claim:

1 the agreement. You will appreciate that in an ordinary case and by reason of the provisions of CPR PD 16 para 7.3, where a claim is based upon a written agreement, a copy of the contract or documents constituting the agreement should be attached to or served with the particulars of claim and the original should be available at the hearing. Further, that any general conditions incorporated in the contract should also be attached.

2 the default notice

[Although your claim is for a sum which is not more than £5,000.00 and will in all likelihood be allocated to the small claims track for determination upon my delivering a defence, at this moment in time I have not delivered my defence and the case has not been allocated to a track. In consequence the provisions of CPR 27(2) are of no effect and you should not seek to avoid compliance with your CPR 31 duties by claiming otherwise]#

# delete if claim for a sum exceeding £5,000.00

You should ensure compliance with your CPR 31 duties and ensure that the documents I have requested are copied to and received by me within 7 days of receiving this letter. Your CPR 31 duties extend to making a reasonable and proportionate search for the originals of the documents I have requested, the better for you to be able to verify the document's authenticity and to provide me with a legible copy. Further, where I have requested a copy of a document, the original of which is now in the possession of another person, you will have a right to possession of that document if you have mentioned it in your case. You must take immediate steps to recover and preserve it for the purpose of this case.

Where I have mentioned a document and there is in your possession more than one version of that same document owing to a modification, obliteration or other marking or feature, each version will be a separate document and you must provide a copy of each version of it to me. Your obligations extend to making a reasonable and proportionate search for any version(s) to include an obligation to recover and preserve such version(s) which are now in the possession of a third party.

In accordance with CPR 31.15© I undertake to be responsible for your reasonable copying costs incurred in complying with this CPR 31.14 request.

If you require more time in which to comply with this request you must tell me in writing. You must tell me before the time for compliance with this request has expired. In telling me you require more time you must tell me what steps you have taken and propose to take in order to comply with this request and also state a date by when you will comply with this request. In addition your statement must be accompanied with a statement that you agree to an extension of the time for me to file my defence. Your extension of time must be not less than 14 days from the date when you say you will have complied with my request and you must state the new date for filing my defence.

If you are unable to comply with this request and believe that you will never be able to comply with this request you must tell me in writing.

Please note that if you should fail to comply with this request, fail to request more time or fail to agree to an extension of time for the filing of my defence, I will make an application to the court for an order that the proceedings be struck out or stayed for non-compliance and a summary costs order.

I do hope this will not be necessary and look forward to hearing from you.

yours faithfully,

xxxxxx (type, don't sign)

SH