Provident doorstep loans advice

[MrDrunk]

Hello this is my first ever post, i am looking for some advice regarding a provident loan i recently had (yes i know they have very high apr). I had a loan previous and always paid up on time, so when i finally paid off the balance i decided to get another loan for £600.

The agent called to my home and the first thing i asked was "what are the terms?" the paperwork said 56 weeks @ £12 per week, i thought ok i can afford that and i took out the loan. Anyway the agent called today and as always i leave her a cheque in my shed for her to collect because i aint at home the time she calls. So i was very suprised to recieve a text message from the doorstep agent saying "you are £6 short the payment should have been £18" i immediatly text her back saying according to the paperwork it says £12 per week, she then replied "oh i must have made a mistake filling in the forms but the payments will be £18".

My question is what can i do regarding payments? i would not have taken out the loan for £600 if i knew i had to pay £18, £12 is probobly my limit, as i said before the credit agreement written out by the agent say's £12 per week, is that legally binding? can i refuse to pay £18 per week? I dont really want to get the agent into trouble as she is a lovely person, but this had put me in an awkward situation. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance

[SOD'EM]

I would argue with them and explain you would not have agreed to the loan if you had to pay £18 per week. Stick with what is on the paperwork. You will still be paying them interest anyway. Even at £12 per week you will still be giving them £72 more than what you have borrowed.

 

Mistakes by Provident agents have occurred many times before as once was shown on a BBC Documentary program. They work on a commission basis. The more they lend out, the bigger the commission. I am not saying that this was a deliberate mistake but as I said, it was proven in the past that agents for then have lied to get people to take out loans.

 

Stick to your guns and quote both what the agent has told you and what is on your agreement.

[odds]

the credit agreement written out by the agent say's £12 per week, is that legally binding? can i refuse to pay £18 per week?

That is your written contract to pay £12 per week, no more no less. Of course it is legally binding. Both parties agreed at the time of taking out the contract. If she made a mistake on the repayments that's her problem.

 

I dont really want to get the agent into trouble as she is a lovely person, but this had put me in an awkward situation. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

I'm not being funny but do you think that agent would give you a second thought if you fell behind trying to pay what you can't afford each week ? I would doubt it cos her bonus is already in the bank. Or she may come back and offer to lend you even more money that you can't afford to pay off her mistake.

As said before stick to your contracted payments.

 

Pete.

[SOD'EM]

Provident will probably try to get technical as well by stating that the APR% would obviously make the payments more than £12 per week. Explain to them that you are not a mathematician and obviously, neither is they're Agent.

 

All agents are nice people when they arrange loans. As I said, they work on a commission basis so just work like most sales reps when it comes to getting you on board. I can assure you that she will not lose out unless she has made the same mistake on several occasions. The best time of the year is coming up for her as many people who cannot afford the basics for Christmas will be relying on her to let them have a good Christmas, then leave them skint all next year with their typical 183% interest, only to have to get another loan next Christmas.

 

It sucks, but sh*t happens. You only borrowed £600 so £72 interest should be enough. They shouldn't cry over spilt milk.

[surprise]

Its not only her fault it's the branch she works for aswell as they make the payment books out in the office so they should know how much you borrow and they should have been on the ball and realised the mistake. Its a costly mistake for them but its about time a Provident customer was the beneficiary, so tell them their mistake, they have to live with it as you agreed to £12.00 pw and that is what they are getting for the next 56 weeks.

 

I can't believe how crafty Provident are getting, they are still charging £3.00 per £100.00 but what they have done is to keep extending the payment weeks. A few years ago it was 51 weeks, and it has now progressed to 56.

[MrDrunk]

Provident will probably try to get technical as well by stating that the APR% would obviously make the payments more than £12 per week. Explain to them that you are not a mathematician and obviously, neither is they're Agent.

 

All agents are nice people when they arrange loans. As I said, they work on a commission basis so just work like most sales reps when it comes to getting you on board. I can assure you that she will not lose out unless she has made the same mistake on several occasions. The best time of the year is coming up for her as many people who cannot afford the basics for Christmas will be relying on her to let them have a good Christmas, then leave them skint all next year with their typical 183% interest, only to have to get another loan next Christmas.

 

It sucks, but sh*t happens. You only borrowed £600 so £72 interest should be enough. They shouldn't cry over spilt milk.

 

Thanks for your help, funny thing i recieved a text from the agent today saying that someone in head office is going to contact me and her job is now on the line?? she signed off by saying thanks a lot, i sort of feel guilty but i am not going to let it go.

[SOD'EM]

Her job isn't on the line (unless she is a serial error maker). Her commission for that sale is. She will more than make up for up for it in the run up to Christmas.

[MrDrunk]

Her job isn't on the line (unless she is a serial error maker). Her commission for that sale is. She will more than make up for up for it in the run up to Christmas.

 

Cheers sod'em i dont feel so guilty now

[surprise]

When you are contacted you should state that the agent cannot be held totally responsible as the office staff are just as guilty, they have to sign off the loan aswell as make up the payment books.

 

Also, she is quite happy to make you suffer by taking a further £6 a week off you when you can't afford it. No need to feel guilty. If the situation was reversed they wouldn't be feeling guilty.

[MrDrunk]

When you are contacted you should state that the agent cannot be held totally responsible as the office staff are just as guilty, they have to sign off the loan aswell as make up the payment books.

 

Also, she is quite happy to make you suffer by taking a further £6 a week off you when you can't afford it. No need to feel guilty. If the situation was reversed they wouldn't be feeling guilty.

 

i have just checked my payment book and in there the details are what the loan payments should be(£18). But when i took out the £600 loan the agent took the book away and said she will bring it back when my first payment is due, so perhaps its not a fault with the office but solely the fault of the agent? I am still going to contest this plus i will visit my local CAB on monday. i will keep you posted

[surprise]

Don't waste your time. There is nothing Provident can do you signed an agreement where payments are clearly shown as £12.00. They will not go to Court, they don't like Courts, ever since they lost a case where the judge halved the amount of interest as he considered it to be extortionate. Visit CAB if necessary after the visit and see what is said to you. Basically I would be saying tough luck to them.

[MrDrunk]

just an update, i cant believe the utter cheek on provident, i recieved a phone call from the branch manager and she said yes the agent made a mistake but you will still have to pay the £18 or they can lower the payments to £14 but it will be spread over 81 weeks and in her own words she said "YOU WILL PAY MORE INTEREST" i was totally flabbergasted by her rudeness. I have now written to the financial ombudsman complaining about how they are operating.

[stuscfc]

Well they can try it on but pay the 12 quid for the 56 weeks you dont owe anything else after that there fault there problem.They may try the threats but they know that they havent got a leg to stand on as its a contract which has already been signed.

[surprise]

First of all FOS will only deal with a complaint when you have received a final response. You need to write a letter to Provident - headed OFFICIAL COMPLAINT. State that your agreement signed is for £12.00 for 56 weeks and you will abide by this. I will not be paying £14 for 81 weeks as suggested by you, this is your mistake and you must live with it.

 

I await written confirmation that you intend to abide by the terms of the agreement signed by both myself and Provident. Should you not be willing to do this then I shall proceed with my complaint to the Regulatory Bodies.

 

See what they say to that.

[MrDrunk]

First of all FOS will only deal with a complaint when you have received a final response. You need to write a letter to Provident - headed OFFICIAL COMPLAINT. State that your agreement signed is for £12.00 for 56 weeks and you will abide by this. I will not be paying £14 for 81 weeks as suggested by you, this is your mistake and you must live with it.

 

I await written confirmation that you intend to abide by the terms of the agreement signed by both myself and Provident. Should you not be willing to do this then I shall proceed with my complaint to the Regulatory Bodies.

 

See what they say to that.

Thanks for that, i am going to send off what you suggested tomorrow.

[surprise]

Tell them they have 14 days in which to respond and should you not hear from them then you will proceed with your complaint without entering into any further correspondence.

[SOD'EM]

just an update, i cant believe the utter cheek on provident, i recieved a phone call from the branch manager and she said yes the agent made a mistake but you will still have to pay the £18 or they can lower the payments to £14 but it will be spread over 81 weeks and in her own words she said "YOU WILL PAY MORE INTEREST" i was totally flabbergasted by her rudeness. I have now written to the financial ombudsman complaining about how they are operating.

 

Hmmmmmmm, yes.

 

You (the customer) pay for our mistakes. Sounds about right.

 

We are all paying for the Banks mistakes, so why not Provident. I'll just go and get my cheque book.

[The GodMother]

Sod'em make sure u spell my name right. LOL

 

Hi Mr Drunk.

 

I cant believe this is still happening.

 

I use to have provident but i refused to pay them after a while as the agent was fiddling me i think.

 

She took the book away from me to 'sort the errors' whilest she was on a 4 week holiday.

 

To this day i have never recieved the book back. In those 4 weeks i had paid back over £300.00 and for the 10 weeks after that i had cleared the balance more than once.

 

I was given recipts but the local office refused to accept the money was given to the agent as it was not in the book. As far as i am concerned i have recipts to say the balance is clear twice now and as far as i am concernd they owe me money but as we expect they are not going to give it back.

 

The agent is never wrong. Like when the cashed a cheque that was given them from a cheque books that had been stolen by a ex lodger the cheque that the ex lodger, who gave the cheque to a fill in provvy agent, was for the full amount. as far as the local office were concerned the agent was given the chequ and they had a right to cash it.

 

 

Stand up for your rites your Agreement states the repayments should be £12 and that is what a court would see and agree to IMO. Anything else would be there fault.

[MrDrunk]

Sod'em make sure u spell my name right. LOL

 

Hi Mr Drunk.

 

I cant believe this is still happening.

 

I use to have provident but i refused to pay them after a while as the agent was fiddling me i think.

 

She took the book away from me to 'sort the errors' whilest she was on a 4 week holiday.

 

To this day i have never recieved the book back. In those 4 weeks i had paid back over £300.00 and for the 10 weeks after that i had cleared the balance more than once.

 

I was given recipts but the local office refused to accept the money was given to the agent as it was not in the book. As far as i am concerned i have recipts to say the balance is clear twice now and as far as i am concernd they owe me money but as we expect they are not going to give it back.

 

The agent is never wrong. Like when the cashed a cheque that was given them from a cheque books that had been stolen by a ex lodger the cheque that the ex lodger, who gave the cheque to a fill in provvy agent, was for the full amount. as far as the local office were concerned the agent was given the chequ and they had a right to cash it.

 

 

Stand up for your rites your Agreement states the repayments should be £12 and that is what a court would see and agree to IMO. Anything else would be there fault.

hi godmother, i will not be giving into provvy's demands i will be fighting them all the way, when i have paid my 56 weekly payments of £12 i will be saying thank you but do not call anymore, what can they do? i will have done nothing wrong, i would love them to take me to court but i doubt they will go down that avenue.

I have sent them an official letter of complaint today so my next course of action will depend on what they say.

[pt2537]

just an update, i cant believe the utter cheek on provident, i recieved a phone call from the branch manager and she said yes the agent made a mistake but you will still have to pay the £18 or they can lower the payments to £14 but it will be spread over 81 weeks and in her own words she said "YOU WILL PAY MORE INTEREST" i was totally flabbergasted by her rudeness. I have now written to the financial ombudsman complaining about how they are operating.

ah now then that sounds like an unfair relationship to me

 

See section 140 a & b CCA 1974, inserted by the CCA 2006

 

may have something of interest to you in there

[pt2537]

Consumer Credit Act 2006 (c. 14) - Statute Law Database

[surprise]

One thing you should also be aware of after you have made so many payments Provident will send you an offer to apply for a top up loan. As they have made this mistake the offer may come quicker in the hope that you top your loan up and thereby correcting their error.

 

My daughter got into dire straits with them because of them using this ploy. They knew she was on benefits and her weekly amount was about £18 for 2 years. When she couldn't afford to pay I CCA'd and because they couldn't read the signature on one of the carbonised copies she had £1,000 written off. She now pays them £5 a month on the balance. With interest it amounted to about £2,000 of which she said she only saw about £500.00. This is how they get you, low income, need ready cash and you'll sign anything.

 

Good luck with the letter, personally I can't see how they can wriggle out of it, so please post again with their response.

[MrDrunk]

Just an update, i have had the area manager of provident on the phone today, he told me that this will be dealt with very soon and i should just keep on paying the £12. Sounds like they are backing down to me, i will keep you posted.

[MrDrunk]

One thing you should also be aware of after you have made so many payments Provident will send you an offer to apply for a top up loan. As they have made this mistake the offer may come quicker in the hope that you top your loan up and thereby correcting their error.

 

My daughter got into dire straits with them because of them using this ploy. They knew she was on benefits and her weekly amount was about £18 for 2 years. When she couldn't afford to pay I CCA'd and because they couldn't read the signature on one of the carbonised copies she had £1,000 written off. She now pays them £5 a month on the balance. With interest it amounted to about £2,000 of which she said she only saw about £500.00. This is how they get you, low income, need ready cash and you'll sign anything.

 

Good luck with the letter, personally I can't see how they can wriggle out of it, so please post again with their response.

i couldnt agree more with what you say about provident, i to be honest cannot afford this loan, but when there is cash being waved in front of you not long before xmas all them thoughts dont enter your head. They are a ruthless company who prey on the vunerable, it shouldnt be allowed to happen in this day and age but sadly it does all too often.

[surprise]

The trouble is it was a phone call. I would be inclined to write to them again and say further to our telephone conversation when you agreed that I should continue to pay £12.00, please be advised that as far as I am concerned the agreement is for £12.00 per week for xxxx weeks which commenced on xxxxx after which time you will expect your loan to be signed as settled.

 

Please ensure that any further communication is in writing.