Wonga.com 2334% Apr Help

[clarkyac1]

Hello peeps not sure if i'm posting this in the right place but here goes.

 

In May i took out a payday £300 loan with a company called samedaycash, now changed its name to Wonga.com. I couldn't make my payment of £388 due on 20th June, i called them to advise of this and they said if i can't pay i will get a default on my credit file and a £40 fee would be added for this which they applied 3 days after my payment due date. They advised then that the debt would be passed to their collections partner although they kept trying to take the money from my bank account every 3 days for a month, the money was not in my account so they did not get paid. They still have the debt and have not passed it onto a DCA. I have since started a DMP with payplan and they are aware of this. Interest is accruing daily on the loan at a rate of 2334% apr, the amount is now at £630. I have begged them to pass it to a DCA or start legal proceeding in the county court but nothing is happening, they have been in touch asking for payment and i have told them numerous times i am with payplan, they just say it will be sent to court but give no date. This is really worrying me now as i don't know how long they intend to keep adding the interest, i'm thinking that they want to get it to a certain amount so it will be worth their while taking me to court. It could be a thousand pounds by that time just for an amount of £300. I have advised payplan of this and they just say contact the CAB.

 

Can anyone advise me what to do, if i can force them to take me to court and stop interest or send it to a DCA or can i claim these charges back as unfair interest, also the £40 default fee for passing it to their collections partner when they still infact have the debt. I'm at my wits end with these people i've had nothing but grief, rude people calling me saying they are sending bailiffs without a warrant as their solicitors have advised them its ok to do so, i have since had email from their collections manager as i sent an email making clear that what they were saying was complete rubbish and misrepresentation, the manager confirmed that the advisor was speaking bull. The main thing i need help or advice with is this extortionate interest. Please can someone help.

 

All help or comments are greatly appreciated.

[clarkyac1]

Just one more note. I have received the default notice on 23rd July advising that i need to pay £528.56 by the 6th August 2008, if i don't pay they will consider my agreement is terminated and i will not be able to borrow from them again. My account will be referred to their solicitors or a DCA. Alternatively where the debt is great enough they will instruct solicitors to commence bankruptcy proceedings against me. And stating that all of the above actions will involve additional costs of at least £45 which will be added to the amount outstanding. If my agreement was to be considered terminated from that date do they still have a right to keep charging the interest? And why have they not took the action outlined in their default notice?

[sillygirl1]

They are too scared to take you to court - their little 'game' would be spotted by a judge. To bankrupt you would cost them about £1500 in total, and the debt would need to be £750 for them to serve a 'Statutory Demand - the first step in the process. This can easily be defended due to their extortinate interest rate and repeated attempts to take the money from your bank account.

 

Get another bank account with either Natwest or the Halifax, both basic accounts you can have your wages paid into but they won't know the details.

[clarkyac1]

Thanks for the reply silly girl. I have already got a new bank account and they have stopped trying to take the money. I thought the same that they would not want to make me bankrupt.

 

Do you know if it is legal that they are still whacking the interest onto the account daily after the default notice and the fact that they have said that if i didn't pay by the date on the default notice my agreement would be ended? I assume that if they have advised this how can they still be charging the interest under the agreement when it has now ended. Also why have they not taken the action outlined in the default notice? Is it still all legal what they are doing. If they keep the account with them for much longer then it will no doubt be over £750 anyway and in that case they could start proceedings. Is there any way i can force them to transfer it to a DCA or take me to court and get a CCJ issued? Surely this can't be right them keeping the debt and making me accrue all of the extra interest. I am sure that if the default notice is a legal document and it states that if i didn't pay the debt by the date on it and they advise the agreement would be ended from the 5th August it is unlawfull for them to keep adding the interest as they are not doing what they have stated. They advise that the agreement would end on 5th August, does that mean that any interest that has been applied after this date is unfair?

 

Thanks once again.

[ukaviator]

How did you apply for this loan / card?.

 

I would write to the Office of Fair Trading, Trading Standards and the Financial Services Authority for this type of account. That interest rate is way too much for anyone to pay.

 

Under the new Unfair Trading Guide, these rules may apply to your case:

 

Aggressive commercial practices

 

7.—(1) A commercial practice is aggressive if, in its factual context, taking account of all of its features and circumstances—

 

(a) it significantly impairs or is likely significantly to impair the average consumer’s freedom of choice or conduct in relation to the product concerned through the use of harassment, coercion or undue influence; and

 

(b) it thereby causes or is likely to cause him to take a transactional decision he would not have taken otherwise.

 

(2) In determining whether a commercial practice uses harassment, coercion or undue influence account shall be taken of—

 

(a) its timing, location, nature or persistence;

 

(b) the use of threatening or abusive language or behaviour;

 

© the exploitation by the trader of any specific misfortune or circumstance of such gravity as to impair the consumer’s judgment, of which the trader is aware, to influence the consumer’s decision with regard to the product;

 

(d) any onerous or disproportionate non-contractual barrier imposed by the trader where a consumer wishes to exercise rights under the contract, including rights to terminate a contract or to switch to another product or another trader; and

 

(e) any threat to take any action which cannot legally be taken.

 

(3) In this regulation—

 

(a) “coercion” includes the use of physical force; and

 

(b) “undue influence” means exploiting a position of power in relation to the consumer so as to apply pressure, even without using or threatening to use physical force, in a way which significantly limits the consumer’s ability to make an informed decision.

 

Do you have any kind of a Credit Agreement with this lot?

[clarkyac1]

Hello ukaviator, thanks for the reply.

I took the loan online, applied for and signed the credit agreement online although i do not have a copy of it. I called them today to see if they will send me a copy but the girl who has been dealing with me previously answered the phone. I requested a copy of my credit agreement be sent to me and also enquired about the interest that is still being applied, she advised that as i had previously made a complaint about her she will no longer deal with me and said i have to wait for the person who now deals with my account to come in as he was not in untill the afternoon.

I contacted consumer direct by telephone and they gave me the telephone number for FSA, they advised i need to speak to OFT who advised me to write a letter to them about wonga.com and what they have been doing. I did advise what you have said about the unfair trading guidelines and they said i should write a letter to them about it which i intend to do.

In the meantime i logged onto my account with wonga.com today and my balance has gone up again. I'm in despair with this company, they know i can't pay and payplan are dealing, they have issued the default notice which said they will pass it to a DCA or start proceeding in the courts if i didn't pay by 6th August but they have done nothing, just keeping the account and accruing interest all the time at an apr of 2334%, i have begged them to stop and take me to court or pass the debt on but its falling on deaf ears, in a few months time i will no doubt owe nearly a thousand pounds just for borrowing £300, so far i owe £330 extra in interest charged and its going up daily. I don't know what else to do, any of the regulatory bodies don't seem to be able to help with individual cases so all i can do is sit back and watch the balance rise up and up and up, i think they want it at a certain level so it will be worth taking me to court either for a CCJ or bankruptcy, surely this can't be right. I simply don't know what else to do now other than reporting them to regulatory bodies, and they are not able to help me individually. Sorry for going on with such self pitty i realise its my own fault for being in this situation but i'm just angry and feel helpless now.

[KER]

why oh why oh why would you take out one of these awful things when you knew that you were struggling and wouldn't be able to pay it back?

 

Online application would be irrelevant now since the new Act, you will have been deemed to have accepted the conditions by pressing the "accept" button, would they have sent you anything by email confirming? or is there some sort of "blank" terms on the site?

[KER]

Well this is what their website says:

 

Transparency

 

We'll always tell you upfront what the cost of your cash advance will be. There are no catches or extra costs to worry about, providing you stick to your side of the deal. Whether you are borrowing £200 or £500, you’ll pay interest of 1% per day (£1 per £100 borrowed per day). That's an official APR of 2334%, but bear in mind that APR is a measure of annual interest and a Wonga loan is only for between five and 30 days. It's a bit like trying to plan a short hotel break and being told the theoretical cost if you were to stay all year!

Failure to stick to your side of the deal

 

The only way costs will mount beyond our initial calculation is if you don’t keep your promise. In other words, if you ask us to change your repayment date, or don’t ensure sufficient funds are available for the automated collection.

If we can’t collect payment from your debit card on the day you selected you'll have broken your promise and will incur a £10 administration fee towards the cost of a failed collection. Interest will also continue to accrue.

If we are declined by your bank a second time and haven't heard from you, you'll have failed to honour your loan agreement. We will hand your account to a debt collection partner and may add additional default charges, totalling up to £80, towards the costs of our collections efforts. Sustained failure to repay a loan will also lead to a black mark on your credit record and potential legal action, both of which could make it very difficult to gain credit in the future.

None of these things are worth risking over a few hundred pounds, so if you have doubts about whether you'll be able to repay a loan within 30 days, please don't apply in the first place.

[blowing bubbles]

Can anyone advise what the outcome was of their dealings with Wonga.com - has anyone managed to arrange an affordable repayment?

[blowing bubbles]

Hi I am now having trouble with these people. They are adding nearly £100 per week to my original loan. Can you advise your outcome?

 

Thanks

[EBOY]

I have had similar problems repaying a loan with them.

 

Tell them you want to make installments but they must freeze the interest. They should agree to this.

 

I also made a complaint to the FLA there is a link on their website.

 

My complaint was that one of my installments was £40 instead of £45 so they kindly added £126 interest in less than a month.

 

Anyway once obama gets in he will sort these ripoffs out once and for allow.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Sector-Snap-Payday-lenders-apf-13992097.html

 

btw their solicitors i believe are wonga themselves so they won't take you to court.

[EBOY]

I too told them to take me to court they seem extremely reluctant to do so.Of all the payday loan companies out there wonga is by miles the worst.

[EBOY]

got an email back fla just saying they had past complaint onto company Quickbridge uk. Will let you know what happens.

[troughmonster]

have you had any further hassle from Wonga since your complaint?

[EBOY]

They have another week to reply to the fla regarding complaint. Think they are waiting to see if I will pay another installment this weekend.

What I found totally unfair is the way they just keep trying to take money out peoples bank accounts.

I think I will pursue this to the FSA. However Obama wants to finish these payday loan rip offs and what happens in US ultimately happens here.

 

Have you phone and asked for a payment plan?

[troughmonster]

No - I will try this today and let you know what they say

[troughmonster]

Hi

 

When you setup your payment plan, did they insist on you giving them your card number, or were you able to agree to make payments in another way?

[shelly161]

tell them what you can afford and ask their bank details. I think I sent them to you? I have refused to give my card details. With their details you can set up a standing order which you can control. I intend to do this but I am making sure I dont keep to much in my account just incase.

Edited January 24, 2009 by shelly161
error

[jackiestandley]

Hi,

I had a loan from wonga and got in the same situation as many, paid back then had to re borrow as it kept on leaving me short.

Had a problem this month and did not have enough in bank to repay them. I only realised it yesterday so never had time to contact them.

I am dissabled so my benefits are paid straight in to my bank account. Got a shock today, went ot check my bank account to find it EMPTY and in the red. Wonga had got there first thing and taken all of my money, even gone up to my overdraft limit.

I also had email from them telling me that they are going to try to take the remaining £95 plus interest plus fee's on 1st Feb.

 

They have left me with NO money for the next month!!! What do I do, I am pulling my hair out with worry. I can not get any more money until the end of next month. Are they going to just go and take it all from me again then.

 

HELP!!!!

[sillygirl1]

Firstly you need to have your own thread on this, and secondly as you are disabled and on benefits I'd get your local MP involved... they won't like seeing a vulnerable person being milked.

 

I would also ask your bank for a new account number and tell them what has happened. Wonga really do take liberties and need to have as much adverse publicity as possible thrown at them.

[jackiestandley]

Thankyou, I will start a new thread on this. Not sure how this site wrks yet as only been on a couple of times.

[Dichotomy]

jackiestandley - I'm curious...when you applied for your Wonga loan, did you list yourself as "On Benefits" and the actual income that recieve from your benefit cheque?

[mum2one]

Hi, also had the same with this company, phoned them to start a payment plan and unless i was going to pay 100 per month they were not interseted. so i dont know what to do now as they keep putting charges on. i am also on beniifts.

 

Any advice great and hope everyone gets there loans sorted as these people are a joke. and are not helpful at all.

[EBOY]

Raise a coomplaint with FLA it is simple procedure ask them to negotiate on your behalf. If all fails complain to FOS.

[sequenci]

Raise a coomplaint with FLA it is simple procedure ask them to negotiate on your behalf. If all fails complain to FOS.

 

What can the FLA do?