Hi all Is anybody else getting harassed by nuisance texts from PDL companies?? Worst offenders seem to be: Payday Knight Payday Kong Payday Overdraft You can't even reply with STOP even though they tell you that you can - the message fails to send - surely there must be somebody out there who regulates this, they send 4 or 5 a day and there doesn't seem to be any phone numbers on their websites either! Pain.In.The.Arse

Yeah I know, I love this site and understand it needs the ad's on it, I was just saying it seems a little inappropriate

I did Jamie, they called me on my mobile and left a voicemail, then whilst I was listening to the voicemail (I was on the phone when they called) they rang my work line and left a message on there - they don't give you a chance to return their calls!

Thanks guys!!

Guys I've just had a debt collection company call me and leave a voicemail on my work phone (which we all use) stating where they were calling from and that it was regarding my default on a payday loan with x company. Can they do this?? Surely some discretion should be followed here?? It's very embarrassing

They send their debts to Mackenzie Hall I believe and whilst they are one of the worst DCA's out there for harassing you (they'll send texts to work landline numbers!) they will agree a plan eventually

on a forum for those who are struggling with repaying Payday Loans, there are no less than 10 adverts on the page for payday loan companies I know the sites free, which is great, but maybe a bit more care where ad's are placed?? A bit like advertising cakes on a forum for obese people??

A good start would be if you can list who the companies are that you owe, then those that have dealt with them can give you the best advice? One things for sure, they wont stop calling so once you've got the info you need, you're better off just talking to them and explaining the situation and trying to arrange payment plans, but they're likely to want something before you setup a plan so just remember to tell them the bank have taken your debit card from you so the only way you can pay is via cash/bank transfer - don't give them card details because they'll fleece your bank account

Hi all So, I cancelled my debit card about 3 weeks ago and have had a new one sent out, but today I received a call from Barclays Fraud Dept about several repeated transactions trying to get through. Of course, they are all from loan companies - now Barclays blocked my new card because of this which is very inconvenient and I had to have a difficult conversation with the fraud man about all the loans I have - he was really funny about it, saying if I owe them money I should pay it back etc etc and I told him to mind his own business So my question is, why when you cancel a debit card can companies continue to try and take funds and then get your new card blocked - if a card has been cancelled, I assumed they would just be declined and that's that, but this is proving to be extremely inconvenient - none of the companies have my new card details by the way and the bank confirmed my old card has been cancelled. Anybody got a definitive answer to this and can anyone explain exactly how the card cancelling process works?? Thanks!

Hi everyone Over the last 2 days, I've the most horrific experience with a specific loan company - CFO - I only just set up a payment arrangement with them and the first payment was due on the 27th August for £75 and they took £430 over 6 different transactions. In a nutshell, they're refusing to refund me and have been disgusting with their customer service, so I've taken matters into my own hands and decided it's time to expose these organisations for what they are. I am tired of all these underhand methods and pilfering from bank accounts they do, so whilst I have sent copies of the emails to the Ombudsman and the BCCA I have also decided to go to the News of the World with this. They are really interested in my story - and I've got a few - and I was just wondering if anybody else would also be interested in adding some horror stories if they decide to run a story?? Just putting the feelers at the moment to see what people feel out there..it's time we spoke up!

Hi there First of all, don't panic - you're honestly not the only one in this situation - I've got 12 loans! I was paying the interest off all of them every month, or settling then reloaning the same day and I have now finally reached the point where it's become ridiculous - 700 a month in interest is just madness. My advice would be to first of all take control of the situation and cancel your DD's and debit card - make sure it's properly blocked by the bank though as a partial block will still allow them to push payments through. Once you've done this, you're in the driving seat. The thing you've got to remember is that you did borrow the money so you do have to pay it back - so the problem will be with you for a while yet, but just more manageable. EMail all of the companies and tell them you've got financial difficulties and you'd like to make payment arrangments to clear the debt. Most of them will be ok and freeze the interest as long as you make reasonable payments to them. It's horrible for the first few days with the texts, constant phone calls on the mobile and work lines but you've got to ride the storm, just put the phone down on them - always get everything in writing over email. Be realistic with your offers and most importantly DO NOT give them any of your bank details or card details - tell them the bank have taken back your debit card because you're so overdrawn or something and insist on paying by standing order. Remember, these people share your details with other lenders! From my experience, QQ will threaten and threaten and then send the debt to Mackenzie Hall, who are dreadful to deal with so I would treat this one as a priority - MK Hall will hassle the hell out of you at work and at home. I've also heard terrible things about Cash Genie, but if you're upfront with them they might be ok? Tower Capital were actually really reasonable with me and have stuck to the arrangment and was easy to setup. Lending Stream will offer you a payment plan, although they are terrible at getting back to you and will hassle a bit on the phone, but that soon calms down. PTPD I believe will send the debt to Clarity DCA who are easier to deal with - I'm not too sure about the others, sorry! You don't have to tell them anything, jst say you're in financial hardship due to unforeseen circumstances and stand your ground - please don't let these people bully you with their threats and harassment. I've just had a total nightmare with Capital Finance One breaking a payment arrangement with me because I stupidly gave them my card details - they took £430 instead of £75 and won't give it back, so I am currently speaking to the News of the World about this and will push as hard as I can to get some national exposure about how these companies operate. Wish me luck! Best of luck mate, I hope it all goes well - you'll feel much better when your wages go in on payday and stay there!

Hi All I read this site a lot and now feel that I'm ready to tell everyone about my experiences with these people, as maybe it would help some of you. In a nutshell, I've been an idiot - I got involved with these things 2 years ago and I'm still paying them off and the lenders have increased from 1 to about 12 now, which is so way out of hand it's ridiculous. I'm currently paying around £700 a month in interest alone which is crazy, but luckily I now have a well paid job, but now I've decided to take some action and cancel my cards etc and deal with this problem, so here's who I owe: Quick Quid: £660 - currently with Mackenzie Hall - these guys are ruthless, they call me at work, text me on my work landline, phone my mobile 100 times a day and are really hard to negotiate with - but I'm not paying them anything until they accept my proposal of £75 a month which I don't think is unreasonable Tower Capital: £240 - cancelled my card and they couldn't collect last month, agreed £80 a month repayment and they've taken the first one this month - very helpful infact these guys, no probs at all Cash Genie - £195 - still active, paying £45 a month - heard lots of horror stories about these so not going to cancel these, will pay off shortly MiniCredit - £305 - these people are awful, they text you and call you endlessly, very slow to respond to emails and £75 in charges added within 3 days of defaulting - currently trying to negotiate a payment plan but very difficult Pounds2Day - £400 - defaulted this month, not heard anything from them and they're really hard to contact but willing to arrange a plan Lending Stream x 2 - Around £200 - Have emailed and awaiting a payment plan offer, they do call a lot and email a lot, but it's manageable, have not called at work yet though! Safe Loans- £300 - still active - these seem really helpful and I actually quite 'like' their service, still active but looking to pay off asap FancyAPayday £300 - just defaulted with them, offered payment plan but no response just more emails asking for the money and for me to contact them, and when I do they don't respond, don't seem to harrass to much at the moment! Capital Finance One -£400 - by far the worst of them all, absolutely useless bunch of w***ers, responded to my first email then never replied to any more, until after they'd added £150 of charges! After a week or so, they'll add a charge to your account which is equivalent to 1 months interest on your outstanding loan so be careful. Have since spoken to someone and agreed £75 a month which they seem to be sticking to..be careful, these will call you at work! Helploan - £300 - defaulted on this and gone to Gothia straight away as I think they're based overseas - payment proposal sent and awaiting to hear, have dealt with Gothia before and they were quite reasonable Uncle Buck - £400 - paying back £130 month... So there it is, in all its glory! A proper mess, but I am so glad that I've finally taken control and getting this sorted out. I can't stand getting paid and just having to keep checking my bank to see who's taken what and being £700 down for nothing. I don't mind paying the money back, I have to accept my responsibilities and get my head out of the sand - I borrowed it and if I was them, I'd want it back - I just dont like the methods they all use. The harassment is the worst, call after call after call after text after email - it's very stressful but I'd say to anyone out there who is in this dreadful cycle of reloaning every month, take control and get this sorted out - cancel your cards, take the harassment for a couple of days - it does ease off - and email everyone, don't speak to them on the phone if you're uncomfortable talking to them! Arrange payment plans and in 3 or 4 months time they'll be paid off! Another thing to remember is that even on cancelled cards, somehow they can still collect so make sure the bank put a COMPLETE BLOCK on your debit card, not a partial block. Also, when I defaulted on a couple this month they were trying to collect the payments over 30 times in one day from my old card as it apparently only had a partial block on it, and the transactions were in all different small amounts so be careful of this, the bank then put a fraud stop on my current card and I had to have a difficult conversation with the bank about why there were so many transactions trying to go through. The bank gave me a list of who was trying to take money and there were companies on there who I never loaned with, like Pounds Till Payday trying to get a piece of the action on my debit card, and the guy in the fraud team told me that these loan companies all trade under different names and they WILL share your debit card details with others, so don't apply for any more! They'll also try and take the money very early in the morning and at weekends, so you're never safe from them. I don't even want to think about how much money I've wasted over the years on these, the sleepless nights and constant worry about how much money is being taken out of my accounts, but I've now learnt that you can take control - you have the money they want, so you can call the shots - ignore all the crap about legal proceedings/courts/bailiffs etc - this is all scare tactics (well, for a certain period anyway!) - the honest reality is that sometimes the debt is better with a Debt Collection Agency as they will accept payment plans or reduced balances if you can pay it off in full. So, I've learnt a harsh lesson over these 2 years, but I got myself in this mess and I'll get myself out of it, eventually. I've opened a new bank account (with the same bank) and my salary is going in there, then I transfer £1500 a month to my other account which I use as my 'Bills' account and all my outgoing come from there - including my payday loans payments - there are no direct debits or card transactions on my new account, so I know what's in there all the time and nobody has them card details! If you've never loaned with these type of people before, don't! Borrow the money off your parents or a friend! If you're stuck in the cycle of reloaning, you need to do something about it now, please don't make the mistake I have made and spend 2 years in this hell, deal with it now and you'll be grateful sooner rather than later. I feel a lot better now after writing this, and I know it's long winded and even if nobody reads it, at least I've got it off my chest.

Hi there I have recently defaulted on a loan with these, for a huge £900! Long story.... They passed it onto a debt collection agency, but I can't remember what they are called now. Anyway, the agency are not interested in payment plans at all - they said that QQ customers cannot setup payment plans otherwise everyone would take out loans then default to pay it back over time, which does kind of make sense. They will only accept full payment. The attitude of the DCA stinks though, really unhelpful and arrogant, like all DCA's. However, if you keep telling them you can't afford it, they usually cut the bill right down - they have offered me £590 to clear it, so in one phone call I have almost cut it in half. Sorry it may not be the news you want to hear, but fight your corner and you won't have to pay back the full amount to the DCA - by the way, this only seems to be with the agency QQ use, I have defaulted with another PD loan company and went through another DCA who did accept a payment plan so you never know, you may get lucky

I picked up an Intellicig on Friday, really pleased with it and my 'normal' cigarette intake has been cut in half already. You do feel like a bit of an idiot at first, but people are usually just curious about them. Mine does tend to seep nicotine through the hole onto the lips or tongue which can be quite unpleasant, but overall, a really good purchase - the savings I have already made on cigarettes have paid for it in just 4 days. The carts don't last as long as I would like though...and I am curious about these chocolate flavoured ones!