Help needed-Metropolitan and Lloyds

[DDWales]

Morning all. Any advice very much appreciated.

 

Ive been paying back two overdrafts (so cant CCA ethier ).

Both are by DD-one to Lloyds directly and Metropolitan (passed on by HSBC)

-both on a one payment a month basis and all add up to £135 a month.

 

I have recently finished my job and will be starting a new post in September so money is very tight at the minute until then.

 

Phoned Metro (i know i shouldnt have bothered but nothing ventured...).

 

they obviously werent interested and stated that i could make a token payment and then what ever the shortfall would be would then be added to the following month which would almost double the amount .

 

I expected the same from Lloyds so didnt phonethem :

(. Any ideas? The amounts will be taken out of my account on the 20th so need to resolve quickly as i cannot afford this.

 

Cheers!

[PGH7447]

Offer them what you can afford if they wont play ball then stop the payments or just pay what you can. MCS are not very nice so I am not suprised at their response.

 

if these are overdrafts are there any charges you can reclaim?

[DDWales]

Offer them what you can afford if they wont play ball then stop the payments or just pay what you can. MCS are not very nice so I am not suprised at their response.

 

if these are overdrafts are there any charges you can reclaim?

 

Cheers PGH7447! MCS are lovely arent they!!! I have no money to offer at the moment until payday on the 20th-things are that bad at the minute. I obviously dont want to wait until then though before cancelling as the cash will go out anyhow. Shall i cancel my DDs now then phone them on the day and make an offer then?

 

The other thing i need to know is that if i do this what will be thier next step? They will probably want the money in full, increase the payments threaten court etc? Just want to get a clearer picture.

 

I will be going down the bank charges route with them as i know theres charges (from memory)but cannot afford the £10 to SAR them at the minute though.

Thanks again

Edited July 10, 2009 by DDWales
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[cerberusalert]

Make a token payment of £1 if you can. You must cancel all the DDs and standing orders otherwise you'll be slammed for penalty charges.

 

They'll moan for a couple of months, but hopefully you'll be earning before they can do anything serious.

[cerberusalert]

It would be wise to open a 'parachute' a/c with an unrelated bank because they will more than likely offset from one a/c to another & if you have benefits being paid into it things could become very difficult.

[DDWales]

Thank you. Will phone them and do that. What happens if they wont accept the £1 i offer though?

 

It would be wise to open a 'parachute' a/c with an unrelated bank because they will more than likely offset from one a/c to another & if you have benefits being paid into it things could become very difficult.

 

Not sure i understand. Sorry its a stressful day today:eek: I have another account but with the same bank-Halifax. One account for the DDs (the one mentioned) and another for my pay (although theres nothing in that ethier!). When paid, i allocate amounts to the DD account to cover things. Its worked well until now. Is that the sort of thing you mean?

[Bazooka Boo]

A parachute account is simply a separate bank account you use, so if you bank with Halifax then open a 'parachute' account with Lloyd's.

 

That way then when your money goes into the new account, Halifax can't swallow it up and leave you with buttons to eat off for a month!

[PGH7447]

They will accept the £1, cause that is money to them,

 

A parachute account is a bank account in a different bank to these overdrafts, so that they cant "creep" into your account and take the money to "Offset" the debt, which is what they do.

 

So before the 20 cancel your DD's to these firms, open another bank account and get paid into that, then you control where the money goes

[DDWales]

Brilliant. Thats great news. Takes a lot off my mind. Will do that today.

[DDWales]

Just another question. I was thinking-could i change my DDs to say £5 instead of the amount that they (Lloyds and Metro) originally would take? The logic being that i wont have to speak to Lloyds and Metropolitan over the phone to offer a token amount or go through the process of cancelling the DDs?

[cerberusalert]

You would be better off creating Standing Orders, in that way you control the amount you pay. With DDs you are giving them permission to take money from your a/c and they can take as much as they want as often as they want.

[DDWales]

Thank you. Just checked. The Lloyds one is S/O :oops:so alright to change to £5?.. looks like i'll just have to cancel the other DD? Never knew they could take what they wanted by DD though!

[cerberusalert]

Yes just change it to £5.

 

DDs are nasty things in the wrong hands, too many people are unaware that they can be used as an 'open sesame' to someones a/c.

[DDWales]

Ok will do. Thank you very much. Will keep posted of any forthcoming 'events' that may arise from this!

[cerberusalert]

You'll have to emphasise the point to your bank that you want the DDs canceling & tell them under no circumstance are they to allow any further DD payments.

[DDWales]

Thank you again. Cancelled the DD today with no problems at all. Changed the S/O to £5 also. Just got to phone Metro now and offer the same amount also

[PGH7447]

dont phone - write

[DDWales]

To update. Lloyds S/O changed to £5. Havent heard anything from them as yet...

 

Now for the next step...

Cancelled the DD with Metro. They have started the calls though so need to get the ball rolling. As its still with HSBC (Metro thier in- house collections?) i guess i can pay into the account by hand so to speak? At least then im putting something in regardless so they cant argue the toss? (even though im sure they will!). Shall i then write to them as suggested above offering £5 a month and take it from there? Im sure i'll get a negative response but worth a go to start with?

[mr.ton]

Dear Sirs

 

I am writing in relation to the quantity and frequency of telephone calls that I have received from your company, which I deem to be personally harassing.

 

I now require all further correspondence from your company to be made in writing only.

 

I am of the view that your continued harassment of me by telephone puts you in breach of Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

 

If you continue to harass me by telephone, you will also be in breach of the Communications Act (2003) s.127 and I will report you to OFCOM, Trading Standards and The Office of Fair Trading, meaning that you will be liable to a substantial fine.

 

Be advised that any further telephone calls from your company will be recorded. (**Even if you don‘t yet have recording equipment!!**)

 

 

Yours faithfully,

[DDWales]

Cheers Mr T. This will be winging its way shortly. Need to address the other points in the last post though too (although this will be a great start). Just trying to get an angle on things. I dont mind paying them back whatsoever- just not the £80 a month they were getting. Cant afford it at present

Read a few of the other threads and believe i am right in stating that i can SAR them (i know there will be charges!), start the reclaiming process, and then place the account in dispute over these charges?

Edited July 29, 2009 by DDWales
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[cerberusalert]

Just pay what you can afford & see what their reaction is.

[DDWales]

Ok. Will pop £5 in the account tommorrow and take it from there. Cheers