Swift Advances. Secured Loan Charges reclaim

[frettful38]

I would like to begin by saying what an excellent thread this is. I was up to the crack of dawn reading it with such interest. I have been searching for some answers for such a long time and created multiple threads in which I asked multiple questions.

 

It was just by chance that I found this thread and in here I have learned a great deal of knowledge and many answers to my questions. I also have a loan and have found many many things don't add up. Maybe there is a reasonable explanation for this or maybe these late nights are not too good for my eyes, or maybe I am reading upside down, who knows. If its OK for everyone I would like to join in this discussion and debate thread and would like to receive help with the questions I have.

 

Excellent work from everyone. I should tip everyones scales on here but would be here all night:D

 

thanks to all and keep up the good work

Edited August 19, 2009 by frettful38
spelling error

[frettful38]

I know this has probabaly been asked many times before but could someone please explain the difference between regulated and un-regulated please. I wrote to my lender ealier this year regarding a few complaints and they wrote back saying;

 

"As you took out an unregulated secured loan it does not come under the rules and regulations of either the (FSA) or the CCA Act 1974. As it was not regulated by the FSA, or CCA, this falls outside the jurisdiction of Finanacial Ombudsman Servive (FOS); therefore, they will be unable to act on your behalf.

 

Blimey with a reply like that they are basically saying your stuffed and there ain't nothing you can do about it?

[frettful38]

Thanks smarterchick for your response, alot to digest and I am slowly getting there. My thread is all over the place so please bear with me, because I do not understand a lot of things and have been asking many questions in hope of getting some proper answers. Heres the link

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collection-industry/179435-loan-information-figures-not-4.html

 

sorry if it sounds but that's how I am mostly these days

[frettful38]

I agree with you there landy alert but what I would like to know is what has been done or is being done about it. Has anyone had any success in having their repayments reduced or interest rates dropped along side the BOE rates?

[frettful38]

When I wrote to Blemain and asked them to refund me my charges this is what their response was:

 

1st letter they wrote,

 

As you took out an un-regulated secured loan it does not come under the rules and regulations of either Financial Services Authority (FSA) or the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA). As it was not regulated by the FSA, or the CCA, this case falls outside the jurisdiction of Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), therefore, they will be unable to act on your behalf.

 

 

In their second letter they wrote in a paragraph,

 

Our charges do not constitute a penalty under common law and we believe they satisfy the test of fairness under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. We do not accept that the charges require payment of a disproportionatley high sum in compensation.

 

You may be aware of the recent court case at Birmingham County Court where a claim for £2,545 against Lloyds Bank was dismissed. In summary the court agreed that the charges were not a penalty.

 

Also a recent court judgment in the case of Paul v Swift Advances plc we have been advised that the Circuit Judge sitting in the Southend County Court on 29th January 07 dismissed Mr Paul's claim for default costs and charges, which we understand to be in the region of about 33,000. Swift Advances operate in the same secured loans market as Blemain Finance Ltd and the structure and processes of the two companies are quite similar.

 

In that case the judge considered that Swift's charges were justified and did not constitute a penalty either at common law or under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. In particular, the court was satisfied that this sector of the market was different to the credit card or banking sector which has received so much publicity recently because companies such as Swift, when dealing with defaulting customers, employ a great deal of manual operations and there is very little automation. The same can be said for Blemain Finance.

 

You should be aware that although Mr Paul's case involved that there were within the small claims limit, he was nevertheless ordered to pay costs at the end of the case.

 

 

Gordon blimey is all the above what Blemain Finance written true, if so what a load of CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[frettful38]

We have documentary evidence to prove that on a certain Swift loan that the following amount which consisted of Brokers Fees ( Paid by the borrower) Commission paid by Swift and a further "Bung" of £1000 per £10.000 of the loan value was paid to THEIR agent (an agent with a Swift Allocated Agency Number) the Total that this Agency received on this one agreement was over £12.000.

 

Note this completely contradicts Mark Whites statement under oath ..that "Swift do not operate agencies as such"...... we have it in writing by a director of this particular agency, that they do operate agencies and he is willing to go to court and tell the court so ....this will be in the HIgh Court very soon.

 

This man is in for serious trouble......an accountantant has been sent to prison for making false statements in a signed statement of truth.......Mr White swore this on oath......if I was him I would be worried..... as has been stated in previous posts, his bosses will ditch him at the last minute, desite what he is being told.....its a fact, and hazard of ........life in the fast lane.

 

Now who pays all this ....Swift DON'T that's for certain ...the borrower does in the severe high rate of interest charged .....their interest rate is high but not for the reasons they give ...it's to pay the agents their EXTRA BUNG for placing business with them..........not the actions of a transparent, fair company, who conceal all this from the borrowers.

 

This is the reason that their interest and charges for letters etc etc are so high ....that is how they claw this money pack.

 

sparkie

 

Very good information sparkie, I am reading and learning from this thread so much. Swift are similar to Blemain Finance and that is their own words and not mine.

You have a lot of knowledge on these matters and I am sure many of us can learn a great deal from you. Keep up the good work and keep posting any information you have, it is not only helpful but will be very very useful in the future;)

[frettful38]

Hi sparkie should the interest rates have gone down with the BOE rates? I don't know is swift customers had their loan repayments reduced with the BOE. My interest rates and payments with Blemain have stayed exactly the same since Jan this year, no decrease at all.

 

I know that swift and blemain operate similarly, I would be interested to know if anyone knows if payments should have been lowered.

Mine is a variable interest loan rate loan and my payments have not come down a penny.

[frettful38]

When someone has a second secured loan should they be provided with a Key Facts Illustration?

[frettful38]

Thanks Dougal16T that is very useful information, but what I really need to know is that people who already took out a secured loan, then should they have been provided with a Key Facts Illustration?

 

That is good info but I believe it is more to do with the future than the past:confused:

Mortgages and Secured loans have a different set of procedures and rules?

[frettful38]

This is excellent information that sparkie has gathered. I sincerley hope that he wins the battle he has begun. I for one have learned a lot from him. Well done sparkie the work you are doing is great, I know you get ups and downs but believe me in the end it will be worth it.

If you believe you are right then you have to fight, sometimes no matter how hard it gets at times. But upward and forward is the way to go if you want any kind of justice nowadays.

I have been reading this thread with great interest, and I am busy on my own probs at the mo but I am very glad to see how far things are going and progressing.

 

Good luck sparkie and keep up the good work.

[frettful38]

Hi sparkie sorry to go off track with what you are doing with swift at present but I wanted to see if you could shed some light on my interest rate with Blemain Finance. As you are posting about the interest rate that swift are suppose to cover I wandered if Blemain Finance would be similar.

Blemain Finance have stated to me in their letter that they are similar to Swift so I wandered if their interest rate system was similar to.

 

My loan agreement states about interest rate:

 

"This is a Variable Interest Rate loan. The Concessionary Interest Rate charged in the first 3 months will be 0.00%. After this period, there will be a Discount of 2.00% off the Annual Nominal Rate for 12 months giving a rate payable of 7.80%. When the Discount period ends, we will charge interest at your Annual Nominal Rate which is currently 9.80% for the remainder of the loan term. This is a Monthly Rate of 0.82%."

 

I do not have a clue what the above means. Is my interest rate linked to the Bank of England or Libor? My loan repayments have been exactly the same since January 09. Last year I paid the same amount in installments each month. Basically what I mean is since taking out my loan the repayments have never come down. I would be very grateful if you could help or point me in the right direction.

 

Like I said earlier I apologise if I have gone off topic. Thank you for all the help you have given and advice so far.

 

Take care.

[frettful38]

Wicked sparkie I and a lot of people wish you the best, god knows you deserve it after all the head stress you have put in. Hopefully this will be front news headlines. I can't wait personally to see what happens.

I will be watching with great interest.

 

Keep up the good work, we all are with you and support you

[frettful38]

Excellent news sparkie, well done and I hope a victory is near for you

[frettful38]

Excellent work sparkie we all have our fingers crossed for you and wish you all the best. This will be a great xmas present not only for you but for all of swift customers who are with them.

 

It is good that the site team have looked in as CAG is too important to put in to any jeopardy, and we only want to be highlighted as doing good for the consumer and not give anyone a chance to point any fingers at it.

 

CAG has been a life line for many of us, it has for me without a doubt. Back on the subject sparkie I hope you give these xxxxxxx's a piece of their own medicine and good luck in your battles.

[frettful38]

Excellent letter sparkie, that should be on the front newspaper everywhere, then you see what publicity and action happens. This needs to be bought to the publics attention immediately.

This is very important stuff sparkie and everyone should fight this battle with sparkie, as he is doing a very very good and important job here.

 

good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[frettful38]

Good Morning sparkie I was having a read of this and thought you may find it helpful. It was interesting reading and hope it will be of some use, if not then gain a little knowledge,

 

Hidden charges - Challenging unfair loan charges - Your money - Which? Advice

[frettful38]

My MP has written saying:

 

Thank you for your email concerning second charge lenders. . . . I was very concerned about the points you raised in your email regarding Swift Advances. I have written to Mr John Fingleton, CEO of the OFT, and Hector Sants, CEO of the FSA enclosing a copy of your email and asking for thier comments on the points raised. I will write to you again when I have received a reply. In the interim, should you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me." Well, I'm seeing him and another MP this week.

 

Excellent news sweetjane, please keep us posted:D.

[frettful38]

Quote from Dougal

 

PS: Criminal case looms on the horizon for our friends........at last they will be named and shamed!

 

I can assure all that there is a far bigger shock coming to Swift Advances than they could ever dream of very soon.......as I said I will say no more..........but it is a FACT.....even without the OFT and the FSA .......... all the money they have extorted from customers will not be enough to protect them.

 

sparkie

 

Oh sparkie its wonderful to hear such words and have something to look forward to. I hope all your hard work and efforts pay off, rest assured you have a lot of people behind you. I wish you the best and hopefully Blemain will be next on the list.

[frettful38]

Can't seem to read it sparkie, could you possibly use photobucket so that we cn blow it up?

[frettful38]

No probs sparkie I'll just have to get my magnifying glass close up to the screen !

[frettful38]

Boom Boom

 

If we boom boom it then how will we read it andrew1:D

[frettful38]

This is the form 395 from Companies House site,

 

http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/forms/generalForms/395Guidance.pdf

http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/forms/generalForms/395.pdf

 

This is form AP1 from Land Registry Site

 

http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/assets/library/documents/AP1.pdf

 

I hope these are the correct forms sparkie. I have just been reading through them and they may be of great value if needed .

 

BTW, does this relate to secured lending lenders too or is it only with people who have mortgages. If I wanted to find out about Blemain using these forms will it be possible?

[frettful38]

I hope that anyone who has a loan with Swift have just read what you have written above sparkie, because by god that is a lot of mind blowing information to digest if it is proven to be true.

I wish I had a loan with Swift instead of Blemain then together we could blow this company to kingdom come.

Blemain wrote to me a few months ago and said that they operate similar to Swift, now I would hardly see that statement as a compliment would you? especially after what is happening to Swift at present.

 

I believe that something really positive will come out of this, its just a matter of time, and sparkie you seem to be hot on the trail of Swift and by the looks of things I can see another Titanic disaster heading their way very soon.

 

Keep up the good work, I follow with even more greater interest now

[frettful38]

HI fretful,

 

If Blemaim operate the same as Swift then they are also in trouble............but I do not think that Blemaim sell to/ transfer/ securitize with " Invisible" companies.

 

sparkie

 

They don't that we know of;), yet, but who knows what goes on behind closed doors in the financial world today. I mean if Swift do this then how do we know that non of the others are also operating like this. Makes one think hey, and wonder:rolleyes:.

 

I know you must be up to the eyeballs sparkie and hope you had time to read my pm yesterday.

[frettful38]

How you getting on sparkie, not heard anything for a while. Hope your health is fine and things are going good for you