Poundstillpayday

[Ocelot0411]

Hi

 

I hope I am OK to post this here as this is more of a 'cautionary tale' rather than a request for advise / assitance (although any helpful tips or hints will alway be appreciated).

 

I will try to keep this very sorry story short and sweet, here goes. The above company 'poundstillpayday' aka Northway Financial Brokers, Sonic Payday and goodness knows what else (they have various names in the US and Canada) are, just as it says on the tin, a payday loan company. Now before you all go 'oh foolish girl, these people are awful and charge ridiculous interest rates', yes you are preaching to the converted but there is an old saying about horses bolting and stable doors if you know what I mean. So we are where we are.

 

Anyhow, I stupidly got a loan from them and was paying it off until last month I had a major 'blip' in my finances and was unable to pay them back (you have to pay off the whole lot each month and then reloan). So I wrote to them before the payment was due to explain, offer them what I could afford that month and also said that I hoped it would be a temporary situation which I would resolve as soon as I was able.

 

Well since then I have been bombared with agressive and abusive calls from the states, they have threatened to contact my employer and told me thet will take the money out of my salary (which I know is illegal and they can't do, also I work for a law firm so if they did contact them they would get short shrift) refused to communicate with me in writing and have basically said that they will continue to harrass me by phone at work, home and on my mobile untill I pay the lot and the interest / charges (which are huge and I won't pay - I am aware of the unfair contract regulations).

 

I have been quite shocked and appalled at this as I have never come across such behaviour in all my days, so I decided to do a bit of reseach and googled their various company names. Well, oh my lord, I was aghast. There are some awful horror stories about these people and their bullying / intimidation techniques.

 

So to get to the crux of the matter, I am now on top of my finances again and these people are the only people I have an outstanding issue with. I have however taken extreme umberage to their bully boy tactics and have decided to go in all guns blazing, as fortunately, I am not easily spooked and know my rights, but they have made other peoples lives a hell and I don't think they shoudl be allowed to get away with it.

 

So I have done the internal complaints bit (they ignored my letter of complaint and continued to call me), so last night and today, I have reported them to the Office of Fair Trading, the Financial Ombudsman, and the Consumer Credit Trade Association. I have emailed them copies of my letters to each of these associations and as yet no response.

 

So the point of this post is as follows, to anyone who has been a victim of this company or who is currently being harrassed by them, stand firm. I will NOT be bullied and neither should you! If anyone has a legitimate complaint about this company, now is the time to make it. Also I now have accumulated rather a lot of info about them so if I can be of any assistance to anyone else, please pm me and I will assist in any way I can.

[mich7k]

Hi there well i have had to leave my job and my final salary was not where near enough to pay off my loan to ptp. i have told them i will pay nxt month 25/4/08 can they enforce the loan? As my only income is now benefits?

 

Any advice would be well appreciated

[Conniff]

No mich, in the generic meaning of the word 'enforce' they cannot send collectors to your door or get bailiffs to take your possessions or take your benefits

.

Their choices are to harrass you with threatening phone calls and letters hoping you pay, ask a debt collection agency to try and get it for them or issue a court summons.

 

The harrassment is illegal, the debt collectors can only do as ptp can and that is harrass. The third way, a ccj, if they win, will mean they will probably get less per month than they would hope for as the court would want to see your income and expenditure and set a payment you could afford.

 

You should write to them and explain your situation and hope they see sense and work out an agreement with you that you can afford.

 

Whatever happens, do not agree to make payments that you know that you will not be able to meet. If they will not come to any agreement, send them what you can afford each week.

 

If you start to get phone calls, I would refuse to answer them unless you can tape the call.

[mich7k]

thank you for that, i asked them to wait until the 25 but they have been calling me this week even though they agreed to it. Do we have a uk address for them so i can write and make an offer in writing?

[Mrs_Ryan]

I had a load of grief with them which, to cut a long story short, was ENTIRELY their fault.

 

I threatened to blow their cover and basically expose them and they sent me the most brilliant grovelling, bum-licking email I have ever seen (I like to complain so I have seen several but none as brilliant as this) to add to the extreme bum-licking they gave me on the phone... just threaten that youre going to blow their cover and just sit back and watch

[Conniff]

wrong address.

[Conniff]

edited.

[Mrs_Ryan]

Hi Conniff, Payday UK are a totally separate company from this shower...

 

This is the only address they have I think

 

Northway Broker Limited

trading as Pounds Till Payday

Level 8 Suite 3,

Plaza Commercial Center,

Bisazza Street,

Sliema

SLM15, Malta

Phone:

08000 32 76 55

Fax:

08000 66 45 27

Email:

[email protected]

 

That doesnt actually sound like such a bad idea... it was a while ago I threatened to do it in which time they have upped my loan limit (hmmm... coincidence???) may just do it if I have any more grief with them!!! Daresnt tell them I've changed my name cos God knows what sort of mess they would make of it would probably be end up being known as Minnie Mouse or Wilma Flintstone

[Conniff]

Your right Mrs R. I clicked on the pounds till payday that came up in google but didn't notice when the site opened it was a diff com. Will edit it out.

Thks.

[Mrs_Ryan]

No problem

[Ocelot0411]

They do indeed have a UK address which is:-

 

Suite 39, Unit 4, Old Down Business Park, Emborough, Radstock BA3 4FG

 

Although I suspect this is more of a post box simply for the purposes of getting a UK credit licence. Mind you the Malta address is exactly the same because they are actually a Canadian company and only have a few staff in the Malta office. They farm out their 'customer service' to a company in Dublin which is who you get if you call the customer care line on the website, but the threatening calls come from either Canada or free lancers in the US.

 

Re enforcability, their credit agreement is a joke and they do not want to be bothered with taking you to court, its much easier to bully you by phone. After reporting them to the Financial Ombudsman they 'disappeared' and have never contacted me since. The trick is though to email the ombudman using the address on the website and cc them in so they can see a) that you have done it b) exactly what you have said.

 

OP if you want a copy of what I sent to the ombudsman I will forward it to you, I still have all of the email addresses, credit agreement etc. So if there is anything else I can do to help give me a shout. Despite their bully boy tactics they are actually pretty easy to get shot of if you go about it the right way. So relax

[borisbeaver]

Suite 39, Unit 4, Old Down Business Park, Emborough, Radstock BA3 4FG

 

Care4mail Ltd

Old Down Business Park

Emborough

RADSTOCK

BA3 4FG

 

It's a mailbox.

 

If these people are offering credit, then surely then they cannot use a po box or Suite

[vickylm]

Hi all,

I am having similar problems with pounds till payday. They added a £69 charge to the account for late payment, when they did not try to get my repayment in the first place ( i had the funds in the account on the date due). I have explained to them that i cant afford to repay in full but will pay what i can afford, and they have refused to let me do this. They consistently called me at home, at work, and on my mobile, and left threatening answer phone messages on all of these numbers.

 

Since i contacted the Ombudsman (by email cc ptp in) they have offered to remove the charge but still insist that I pay the amount in full. They have, however, stopped ringing me. Any advice? I really dont know what to do -

 

Should i pay the amount in full? (which will leave me with little money) Should i proceed to ask the Ombudsman to investigate - and if so, can PTP pass the account to debt collectors if the Ombudsman is investigating?

Do you think they will resume persuing me for this money? (heard nothing for two or three weeks from them)?

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Vicky

[Mrs_Ryan]

It never fails to amaze me the lengths this lot go to. The first time I made the mistake of getting tangled up with them they needed some info I didnt have on me, so I said I would call them back when I laid my hands on it.

 

Then my mum's brother died suddenly so I had to go back home, and they rung me the next day, somewhat rudely demanding the information! i was like hang on a minute, Ive not even had a loan from you yet, I dont owe you any money so why do you have to be so rude??? I then said that Im sorry, Ive had a family bereavement so please dont ring me till next week, they apologised and I gave them a date and time that would be best to call.

 

Lo and behold... they called the next day! i cut them off so they rang again...when I rang them back I was livid, saying I had very good reason to ask them not to call me and they ignored this and did anyway! If theyre like this when you dont owe them a penny, I really feel sorry for those of you who have had run-ins with them when you do owe money!

[mich7k]

hi all sorry i havent got back to you all just reading your emails, just checking which address to write to.

[mich7k]

hey ocelotto411 could you post what you sent to then pls much appreciated

[Ocelot0411]

Hi all,

Should i pay the amount in full? (which will leave me with little money) Should i proceed to ask the Ombudsman to investigate - and if so, can PTP pass the account to debt collectors if the Ombudsman is investigating?

 

Do you think they will resume persuing me for this money? (heard nothing for two or three weeks from them)?

 

Vicky

 

I wouldn't give them squat. Yes ask the Ombudsman to investigate, I have so that will be two strikes against them. I would strongly suspect they will not pursue you any further, as their agreement is more than likely unenforceable anyway. Either way though, let them make the next move. This may just take a bit of nerve but I am sure you will be victorious!

 

Re the mailbox thing, as I suspected! I will be passing this info on to the ombudsman.

[Ocelot0411]

mich7k, here is my email to the ombudsman.

 

Dear sirs

I am contacting you to complain about an internet payday loan company I am having problems with, the company in question is 'poundstillpayday'.

Due to a change in my financial circumstances I was unable to repay this loan in full on 31 January 2008. As such, on the advice of the National Debt Helpline, I wrote to the company in advance of the due date advising that I could not pay the full amount and making a reduced offer of payment. I also included a budget sheet which I got from the National Debt Helpline website.

Since then I have been bombarded with phone calls from this company, at home, at work and on my mobile. They have point blank refused to correspond to me in writing or read any of the written correspondence I have sent to them. They have stated that this matter can only be dealt with by telephone which I assume is quite simply because they do not wish to put anything in writing to me which I may use as evidence against them in leagal proceedings. They are highly aggressive and have threatened to contact my employer's payroll department to have the money I owe them deducted from my salary if I do not make immediate payment in full. Fortunately as I am training to be a solicitor and work for a large UK law firm, they would not get very far with this approach,

They have suggested that I take out loans elsewhere in order to give them the money I owe them in full and have told me categorically that they will not accept anything other than the full amount plus the ever increasing and extortionate charges. I am fully aware that their suggestion that I get into further debt in order to pay them back, breaches the UK banking code.

I have written to them to make a formal complaint and to tell them to stop contacting me by phone, as I will not tolerate their abusive and bullying tactics. I attach a copy of this letter for your information. However, they have ignored my letter of complaint and continue to telephone me on a daily basis, sometimes several times per day.

The company's address is:-

 

Northway Broker Limited

Trading as Pounds Till Payday

Level 8 Suite 3,

Plaza Commercial Center,

Bisazza Street,

Sliema

SLM15, Malta

 

Their website is www.poundstillpayday.co.uk

 

And their telephone number is 08000 32 76 55

 

 

These people have no respect for UK law and will employ any tactics at their disposal to intimidate customers who they assume have no knowledge of the law or their consumer rights. I feel that this company should be fully investigated at the highest level in order to assess whether or not they should continue to be licensed in the UK, when they refuse to adhere to its law. For your information I have today also reported this company to the Office of Fair Trading and I am awaiting their response,

Yours faithfully

 

And my letter of complaint which was attached to this email read

 

Dear Sirs

Poundstillpayday – Reference ************ – Formal Letter of Complaint

 

I am writing to advise you of the frankly shocking way in which I have been treated by two of your employees from your 'Payment Services' department.

I have a payday loan with you which I was not able to make full payment on, as due on 31 January 2008. As such I emailed your customer care department on 30 January 2008 to explain:-

1) that I would not be making payment

2) why I would not be making payment

3) offering to pay what I could afford to you this month and each month from here on in until my circumstances improve and

4) requesting details of how to make such payment.

I expressly requested that you respond to me in writing so that I have a copy of all correspondence for my records and also as this is quite a stressful situation which is only exacerbated by phone calls, which serve no purpose but to reiterate what I have already put in writing to you.

 

The first time I heard from you in relation to this matter was 7 February 2008 when I was called at work and one of your agents left a message on my voicemail asking me to call 'Payment Services'. I have since had two very heated conversations with your 'Payment Services' department who have been rude, aggressive and threatening towards me. They have advised me that they will not accept anything other than full payment immediately and advised me 'you are not getting out of this'. They point blank refused to read any of my written correspondence and told me that they would not send me any 'personal emails' nor did they have any intention of writing to me. I was advised that unless I pay the amount in full they would continue to call me at home and at work and would also be calling my employer to have the monies owed deducted from my salary.

As I am sure you are aware under UK law the only way in which anyone other than myself or Her Majesties Revenue and Customs can instruct for any monies to be deducted from my salary is after the obtaining of a valid UK court order. Therefore, this threat is of course complete nonsense.

I cannot understand why I have received any telephone calls from you, as I contacted you in advance of the due date to advise you of the situation and also to make an offer pay, let alone such an abusive one. These are hardly the actions of someone 'trying to get out of this', as your agent suggested.

 

As such I am writing to you to advise you that I will not deal with any of your representatives by telephone again and if I receive any further calls I will be contacting the Financial Ombudsman, the Office of Fair Trading and the Financial Services authority to make them aware of the situation, as I will regard this as harassment.

I would also like to remind you that under UK law any attempt by your company to discuss any matter relating to myself or my personal details with my employer or any other third party would be a direct and flagrant breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 (as amended).and would also result in my filing a formal complaint with any or all of the authorities referred to above.

 

As previously stated, in my original letter to you (sent via email on 30 January 2008), I wish to do everything in my power to settle this outstanding amount as soon as possible. I would therefore be grateful if you could respond to my original letter, in writing to my home address, to confirm whether or not my offer is acceptable to you.

 

I will await your further advices.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Feel free to reproduce any bits which are relevant to your case or you feel would be helpful.

[vickylm]

Hi all,

Thanks for the advice and support - I think i will pursue this through the Ombudsman.

 

Ocelot, did you fill in the official forms which you can download from the Ombudsman website (through which they begin the investigation) or did you just email them? If you emailed the Ombudsman which address did you use?

 

Vicky

[mich7k]

that letters fantastic so have you heard anything back from the Ombudsman? Have they gone quite since you sent them this then ptp i mean?

[Ocelot0411]

Ooooh how strange, I thought I had replied to this earlier, but now its not here??? Oh well if it suddenly appears again then you know why I have answered twice

 

Vicklylm - I emailed the Ombudsman direct at the following email address

 

[email protected]

 

You do have to fill in the complaint form which I did realise when I sent the email to this address, but I emailed first as I wanted ptp off my back and I also wanted them to see that a) I had contacted the Ombudsman and b) so they could see what I had said. I am sure they appreciated my consideration there ;-)

 

The Ombudsman replied saying I had to fill in the form from the website (as they need a signature from the complainant) and also that in order from them to investigate I had to have complained to ptp first and given them 8 weeks to respond.

 

If you have not already done this (which I had) then you need to write to ptp asking for your complaint to go through their internal disputes proceedure (hysterical I know, as they don't have any procedures that I can ascertain). They then have eight weeks to respond in writing. Frankly I think you have more chance of winning the lottery than you do of getting a letter out of them, but still you have to ask

 

Mich7k - after my letter I never heard from ptp again. Fancy.

 

I think the secret is with letters like this, especially with con artisit firms like ptp, is to make it clear that you know your rights. If you also threaten legal action they soon back off.

 

So get your pens out both of you and lets get these sharks shut down if we possibly can!

[mich7k]

Bless u i will go down that route your post has made me smile, thanks for your help i will keep you posted!

[mich7k]

Hi all, just thought i'd update you got a call today from Mark my acct manager(arent i lucky) i explained that i had arranged to pay back on the 25/3/08 so why is he calling? He said he had no knowledge of this and who did i speak to? i told him i ddint recall started to try to be intimidating so i asked for his address so i can make an agreement in writing (stalling i know) he told me we dont accept letters and to send everything via email as it is quicker, anyway he gave me the Malta address and i asked where he was calling from he told me canada! i asked for the uk address there isnt one! he said surprise eh?

 

He told me he would give me £20 discount if i pay in full and make sure i dont use a maestro or solo card just visa electron and that he will call me next week, i told him he dosent need to call me next week and i will speak to him on the 25/3/08 as agreed. He told me he has to call me each week to remind me i told him that this is harrassment and not to call me next week and i ended the call.

 

He told me if i dont pay it will go to a debt collection agency in uk and it will go on my credit report!

[Ocelot0411]

mich7k, they don't accept letters?? Never have I heard anything so amusing As for not having a UK address they do and they have to in order to get a UK credit licence. They do have a UK credit licence and are also licenced with OFT. I have these licence numbers should you need them.

 

This just goes to show the calibre of people you are dealing with. Personally, I would not take any further calls from them and give them nothing AT ALL. If they do appoint a UK DCA (which I would very much doubt) the first thing you do is send off a letter asking for the original credit agreement. This is unlikely to be forthcoming.

 

This is blatant intimidation tactics and this guy is lying through his teeth to you to get money out of you. Be strong and call his bluff.

[mich7k]

Thanks mate i think i will as he started off so nice! Now I'm gonna call his bluff thanks. thanks for your support giving me strength to be bold!