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andrew1

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Posts posted by andrew1

  1. Debt counsellors quoted above will negotiate with your creditors what you can afford to pay. £1.00 a week if that's what it is. I have a loan debt of over £20,000 which I have a negotiated agreement to pay £5.00 per month so it can be achieved to a level you can manage. I had a six figure salary and a business which all came tumbling down and I have a big house worth quite a lot of money and would cover all my debt, big mortgage, and life thereafter but I have chosen not to move- I like it where I am . Everyone I know say's the same thing - sell, sell, sell, but some people just don't want to sell as I didn't. You can negotiate your debt repayments and with a steady income you can work your way through it at your own pace. When you are at your witts-end you work at the pace of those chasing you, once you have them in control, just as many are doing now with support from this brilliant forum you regain control and the tail is not wagging the dog anymore - it comes, but you can't see it happening until you take on these people and see you are succeeding. As for phone calls from ANY of these people, remember what Seminole mentioned: you can stop these calls immediately, without having to change your phone number, by writing and telling these companies that you no longer will deal with them by phone - written communication only and if they continue they are breaking the Wireless and Telegraphy Act 1949.

     

    Think carefully before selling - get the debts sorted by counsellors or by careful negotiation to get them under control,then get your charges returned the counsellors won't do that for you and then you can make an informed decision about selling the one asset that you have. Yes it's easy to sell but then the Finance companies would have won wouldn't they?

  2. If I can add a little bit here.. This is all about negotiation and your negotiating skills. Seminole is absolutely right about all he/she said, but if you are looking for the best deal you have to make it look as though this is the ONLY time you will ever have the kind of money you are offering them. In principle, a debt is a debt and should be paid, however I believe that a certain amount needs to be 'knocked off ' for the greif they put you through when you are going through financial difficulties which are often not always of your own making ( job loss, sickness etc) especially when the people giving you the grief are not the original owner of the debt. I had much of this after losing my business through 9/11. Remember that these outfits are there to make a profit, let them see they are going to make some. Take the 12% and add a bit for their profit. Tell them that someone is going to help you get out of your debt ( a friend/family member) with a limited amount of money to stop your health from deteriorating and make an offer for less than you are able to pay them. They will refuse your first offer. Tell them you'll have to go back and see if you can squeeze some more out of another creditor so you can offer them more and get back to them until you have a satisfactory result. It is not always easy because some of these people you are talking to are trained negotiators too. If you are seen to be offering ALL your creditors a similar % to settle then that will be looked upon more favourably too as it will be apparent you are treating everyone the same. As long as you have taken into account that the balance is not made up of illegal penalties and charges then your obligation is to pay your debts, just practice your negotiating skills first!

  3. It looks like I am the first one to see this and I'm not the best to advise, but just hold on. There is a wealth of experience coming to this forum and you've made the first move to getting it. You have been wronged, my experince of Debt collection agencies tells me you can stop this in it's tracks and start making amends. When I was at my wits end once a friend said to me " It will get better " and at that time I never believed it ever would, but it does! - have faith sit tight for a day or two and keep watching this site you will be helped all the way through this one way or another. You are not alone and many people are getting these diabolical agencies back in their place by following the advice of people here. You WILL get back on your feet and very quickly - just have faith and watch this site.. good luck

  4. I have posted another aspect of DCA's on 'Debt Collection Agencies' thread which relates to this and Seminole has responded there too.. You should take a look at the penalties imposed by the DCA but you should also look at the interest aspect. DCA's such as Cabot buy these debts @ about 7-12% of the debt value when they bought them. So for a £1000 debt there's a maximum they pay of £120. However, if you miss a payment they charge you interest of circa 12% on the overall balance of £1000 you owe which to my mind is immoral as it is not a ' loss ' to them. Ask what interest you've been charged and if you can get it out of them ask them what they paid for the debt. Also, you can buy off these debts if you are a good negotiator for a fraction of the debt because anything over the £120 is a profit so weigh that against the charges you are claiming because you might be better off doing a deal with the DCA if you can afford to. The debt is usually in trouble before it is sold anyway so there's a write off value calculated by the seller.

  5. This might be a little late, but I was of the opinion that if the invoices had been factored then a disclosure of the fact on the invoice should have been made as to who the invoice belonged to.I once had this situation where there was no reference to a factoring company on the invoice and the supplier gave me hell to get paid asap so I paid him some £2500 to get him off my case. He went bust a week or so later and I had the factoring company chasing me because they too had paid him for the value of the invoice. He'd effectively pocketed the money twice! I naturally wasn't going to pay twice and sent the factoring company on their bikes. I was told there should have been a stamp on the invoice declaring it was owned by someone else. My expereince of liquidations and liquidators is that you will be able to cut a very good deal given the greif you've had.

  6. Credit Today Magazine published an article quoting tBarclaycard as saying the following in relation to the OFT enquiry

     

     

    .... a spokesperson for Barclaycard said: "No customer has to pay these fees, unless they are in breach of contract with the creditor. In other words, the fees only become liable when the customer has exceded their credit limit or failed to make a payment by the due date." The charges are totally transparent and appeard on all marketing material"....., "Quite simply, providing the customer adheres to the conditions of use no charges will ever be incurred."

     

     

    Where's he been?

    http://www.credittoday.co.uk/magazine/online/index.cfm?action=fullarticle&article=2829&CFID=871

     

    Credit Today Editor Kamala Panday 0207 940 4835 [email protected] Credit Indsutry magazine

  7. Thanks for picking up on this for AnnMarie Seminole, my technical knowledge is a bit arms length. I work in and around the credit industry so know quite a lot but I am not a Credit Professional. What I have been told with some authority from someone in the debt collection industry is that Cabot rarely ever sue anybody. I was told it was best not to pay them anything at all! Wait until they sue. It's almost policy not to although they would tell you different of course. Their income comes from precisely the likes of Anne Marie who they scare into setting up arrangements. I reckon you could start a seperate thread purely on Cabot once the word got around! Debt collection agencies differ considerably, but most take on the debt from the Finance companies acting purely as an agent to begin with, some use quasie solicitors and follow through to litigation. Wetscot being one and some like the Bank of Scotland use Blair Oliver Scot - BOS ( bank of scotland!) and will go to litigation, but after the debt has been hanging around and unsuccessfully collected it will often be sold out to the like of Cabot. Egg won't sell their debt almost in principle I believe, but the likes of Citi Financial and some of the secondary cards do so it's worth finding out if the debt is 'sold' or not before paying them. The charges added by Cabot are the immoral issue I fancy taking up with the OFT if I had the time.

  8. I would suggest ( and I'm not expert ) before the debt is repaid you send a DPA letter (copy in the FAQ's ) enclosing the £10 and ask for a full breakdown of all charges for the full six years. I'd also ask for a copy of any default notices they have, Interest you have paid and from when and at what rate. I'd also write to Barclaycard asking the same information if you feel there have been charges applied. Bear in mind Cabot probably only paid somewhere in the region of 10% of the original debt and I'd hazard a guess that they don't have any documentation to support this account from my experience of them. However, you can be assured there will be penalty charges etc which you'll be able to reclaim. Come back once you have their reply, I can see there are a few of us out here with experiences of Cabot who will help you.

  9. Call me old fashioned, but what about ' my word is my bond'? a very British part of history that people should remember. I've been in business for a good few years and there's something about keeping to your word that still has a value to me and many others should sit and think about that for one minute. If you sign a confidentiality agreement that is exactly what it is 'confidential'. Imagine telling your best mate your inner secrets knowing they would keep them confidential only to find out they told others. I loathe the banks and all they stand for and support this site for all it stands for and the sincerity of Dave and Bankfodder et al for not getting drawn in to taking money, but don't lower yourselves to the levels of the banks by breaking something you agree to. Negotiate? yes, screw them? yes, get as much back from them as you can because they are the ones flouting honesty, but keep your word whatever you decide to do. Sign it - abide by it and keep your mouth shut , or don't sign it and let us all know.

  10. I take it you have some experience of Cabot? Anything tastey that might be of interest here? Debt collection agencies were the bain of my life for nearly two years after I borrowed on personal lending/credit cards to try & keep my buisness alive after Sept 11 and I have had many a run in with them. You might stimulate some unsavoury memories for me to include here for the benefit of others!

  11. A Citi Financial credit card debt got out of hand and was passed to a debt collection agency.

    There were numerous late payment fines and charges made

    - the debt started acrruing charges at about £350.

     

    After various attempts to collect the outstanding sum the charges escalated the debt to £930.

    The debt was 'purchased' by Cabot a collection agency that buys debt from big institutions.

     

    Debts purchased by firms like this are bought at somewhere between 7% - 12% of the debt value

    - in laymans terms that's about £111.00 maximum ( @12% ).

     

    They wrote demanding the full amount of £930 and started charging interest @ 12% on the full amount each month I missed a payment.

    Now that is rip off and immoral.

    How can they justify charging 12% interest on £930 when they only paid £111.00 for it?

     

    Also, Debt collection agencies need to prove a default notice has been issued before they can sue you for the debt - without it don't pay em!.

    They will also negotiate on the balance you owe for early settlement.

     

    Tip: If your debt has been passed to a collection agency always find out if the debt has been purchased by them or are they just acting as an agent

    - make sure you get a firm answer,

     

    if they purchased it you can start negotiating on the basis they only paid somewhere in the region of 10% of the value for it.

    If you have run up charges on the card go to FAQ's and start claiming !!

  12. No win no fee lawyers can be a waste of time. My wife had an accident on her cycle, knocked off by an idiot on his mobile phone whilst driving. We had to lead the solicitor every step of the way - his fee ? 82% - of the final claim ( Paid by the insurers of course ) he told us to settle way before it was time and we would have had next to nothing if we had taken his advice. I took him up to the point of going to court before settling and what did he tell us?

    Well done you should have been a lawyer! I would have been better going directly to the insurance company myself and negotiating a much higher fee directly with them which would have been cheaper for them overall and helped kept premiums down. No Win No fee? Forget it!

  13. I ran an recruitment agency with loads of temps who all now get holiday pay entitlement. It's a good thing for temps as they often went from one job to another and never took a break and often their rate did not reflect the equivelant of permanent staff. However, contractors as they like to be called with their Limited Companies faired alot better with thier reduced tax & NI and higher charges - I don't feel too sorry for Ltd Company contractors I'm affraid, they in the main do very nicely thank you and shouldn't complain too much on a site like this!

  14. Abbey have sent letter following my request for backdated data (without the £10) addressed to DPA Team I might add, stating my request is for specific information and I do not have to ask for it under the DPA and sent my letter to Customer Complaints department who will supply info free of charge. If I do wish it to be a subject access request under DPA write back sending £10 etc.

     

    Does the subject access request under DPA make a difference?

  15. It's interesting reading about all these bank charges from the Abbey, but can you tell me if the same applies to the Mortgage deals they have with penalty clauses if you pull out within a certain period. For example, I have just applied for a new rate having been with them nearly 20 years. The deal I got was 1) 5.1% no penalties - or 2 ) 4.7% over two years with a penalty that equates to about £11000. with the current normal rate of 6.4% the savings I will make if I took the 4.7% is about 6k. Why should I be penalised another £5,000 if I sold my house within the two years - is that not a penalty too?

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