hfc is it legal ??

[feelinglow]

Hi All

 

joined experian 2day to check my credit file... and I found 3 entries on there that should not be there 1st was HFC...??? THIS WAS THEIR ENTRY..

 

 

Company name: HFC BANK PLC

Account type: Loan

Special Instruction Indicator: Credit Protection Insurance Claim

Special Instruction Start Date: 01/12/2006

Special Instruction End Date: 01/05/2009

Started: 21/11/2001

Default Balance: £10,195

Current Balance: £8,677

Repayment Period: Monthly Payment: £200 over 140 months

Defaulted On: 30/06/2009

File Updated for the Period to: 16/08/2009

 

 

Now this was my story...

 

I had a loan in 21/11/2001 with a free period - start paying backin 2002

HFC for £12.5k with interest at APR 20.9% total payback was £22.781.

 

on top of that was the PPI with interest total £6651.

 

Payback was £350 a month for 7 years.

 

Just over a year into the loan I had unforseen work problems and asked if I could reduce payments to £200 a month which they excepted.

(The arrangement was made over the phone no forms were signed)

 

In March 2003 I became ill and had to go on the sick.

I made a claim on the insurance 2 weeks later..

 

In 2007 I had to take medical retirement after being told to do so by the hospital because they said I would never work again due to the nature of my illness.

 

Now because I was only paying £200 a month at the time of becoming ill the insurance only paid the same amount.

The loan came to an end the last payment was made 27 dec 08 and now the bank are chasing me for £10,195 which was not paid because of the shortfall in the loan repayments.

 

I sent them an SAR on the 18/05/09 recorded delivery.

They responded by asking for my passport/driving licence..

I did not send them in

I sent the 7 day follow up letter still got no response.

I never got the SAR results and they kept my ten pound.

 

They are saying above that the Special Instruction Start Date was 01/12/06.

I became ill 05/03/2003 and made a claim 2 weeks later..

 

and the Special Instruction End Date was 01/05/2009

the last payment was made by the insurance on the 27 dec 08 according to a yearly statement they sent me the other day 1st 1 ever.

 

they are saying the default balance was £10,195 which is on the statement that i owe

so where has the current balance 0f £8,677 come from ??

 

can I just say before I carry on I have NEVER been served or sent a default letter by them..

 

I did in fact send them a Personal budget sheet showing my circumstances and making a monthly offer.

.after 2 weeks of hearing nothing they sent me a payment book with no letter.

 

then today a week after getting book I received a letter thanking me for my communication

and for them to assess my ability they want Proof of my household income

i.e 3 most recent payslips copies of Benefits Awards letters, a full list of balances of all other creditors.

These must be sent to them within 7 days. and then I will be assessed for pro rata payments.

 

Again I have not been given a default notice and the info in the 1 above on my credit file is false.

 

what made me laugh was the reason they gave me for not sending SAR was they wanted proof of who I was..

guess they wanted my signature.. yet the last letter I just got off them was PP signed not even the proper person signed it

 

lol..

 

Can some1 advise me about this please is it legal ?? thx in advance.

[feelinglow]

As anybody got any ideas please ???

[feelinglow]

Guess it must be legal for them to put false info on your credit file then.. Thx Guys

 

Rgrds

[pedross]

This does not appear too straightforward but that does not mean that all is lost.

Do you have a copy of the credit agreement you can post up after covering up your personal details.

 

The PPI has been paying out so that would limit a claim for mis-selling

but I am unsure about the fact that although you have paid a single premium of £6651 to protect the whole payment

they have restricted you to lower cover.

That needs looking into.

 

Regards

 

Pedross

[feelinglow]

Thx Pedross for your response...this is the loan agreement as you can see nothing like what they have entered on my credit file,

as i mentioned before also i have never been sent a default notice either.

loanagreement.pdf

[feelinglow]

Hi I was thinking since they have put a default on my credit file which is clearly not true

 

should i send them a CCA since they are never going to be able to produce an agreement that matches their false info on my credit file above.

 

. would it mean they can still enforce it.

 

also since they refused to send me the info from my SAR because they wanted signed proof who i was..

(mmmm signed makes me wonder what there intensions are) would i still have to send the £1 fee as they have already kept the £10 fee i sent for the SAR ??

 

Rgrds

[citizenB]

You sent the 7 day letter ie LBA. However, if you havent continued with the next step ie court then all I can suggest you do is make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.

 

HTH

[feelinglow]

Hi citizenB i'm at present getting all my info together and writing to the ICO will write to FO as well.I did ask how to go about next step in an earlier post but got no response.. so was stuck on what to do for the best.

 

Rgds

[feelinglow]

Hi... Could you just clear something up for me please according to the default on my credit file above the default date was (Defaulted On: 30/06/2009) would this be the date it was actually put on my file or would it be the date where (File Updated for the Period to: 16/08/2009) because it says file updated i'm assuming its the earlier or am i wrong ?? thx

[citizenB]

Hi... Could you just clear something up for me please according to the default on my credit file above the default date was (Defaulted On: 30/06/2009) would this be the date it was actually put on my file or would it be the date where (File Updated for the Period to: 16/08/2009) because it says file updated i'm assuming its the earlier or am i wrong ?? thx

 

TBH, defaults on CRA files is not something I really understand. However from what you have posted. I am assuming that the original default was placed on file on 30th June 2009 and then updated as at 16th August.

 

There is a link to post below, made by one of the site team, car2403 regarding Defaults and defaults that might answer some of your queries.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/show-post/post-2060317.html

 

HTH

[feelinglow]

Thx citizenB

 

The reason I ask is I received this letter off hfc..

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp94/badger1964_2008/defautletter.jpg

the date on it is 1st of july and it goes on 2 say 7 days after the date so to my reconin that would make it the 8th of july now i never was issued with a default even tho they have threatened it yet on my cred file they had already put an entry on there on the 30th of june...

 

Rgrds

[citizenB]

Ok, I see what has happened.

 

On June 30th, they registered a default at the Credit reference Agencies.

 

On July 1st they sent you the above letter saying they would issue a Default Notice if you did not respond to the above letter.

 

They also say they will be adding £50.00 to your account if they send a default notice. Are they allowed to do this, I dont know. You need to have a look at your terms and conditions, if you have them.

 

You have not received a default notice. So you dont know if that is in the correct format and gives you the legally required 14 days from receipt to remedy any default.

 

But it would appear the main issue is that they have placed a default on your credit file BEFORE even issuing a Default Notice.. yes ?

[feelinglow]

Hi citizen

 

But it would appear the main issue is that they have placed a default on your credit file BEFORE even issuing a Default Notice.. yes ?

 

That is correct yes

also

The fact that they have said on there that it was a loan for £200 amonth over 140 months when it wasn't it was £350 amonth over 84 months and the ppi started in March 2003 and ended Dec 2008 not 2006 ending 2009. and of cause the balance owing £8,677.. they told me that i still owed £10,195 none of it makes any sense they just seem to be making up the dates and figures..

 

Rgds

[pedross]

Hi

 

I have been watching this thread but have not posted because I was not at all sure what is actually happening. It now appears to me that the default registered is regarding the alterations which were made to your agreement.

 

However, thats about as far as I have got because you are claiming that your PPi started in March 2003 as far as I can see. But your agreement shows that it started when the loan started in 2002 and you claimed on it in March 2003.

 

You also stated earlier that they asked for your signature to confirm a previous request but you would not send it because you were suspicious. Was your signature on the agreement you posted up or was this your copy. This does not look like a customer copy to me.

 

In addition, have you recieved the pack of documents relating to your SAR yet.

 

It looks to me that HFC have somehow changed the terms of the agreement in the past and in their files it must show 140 months at £200 a month as per the default.

 

Please confirm if they have sent the SAR docs, if the agreement posted up was enclosed with your signature showing and if there was information regarding the alteration.

 

The fact that you did not receive a DN makes me more suspicious.

 

Pedross

[feelinglow]

Hi Pedross

 

However, thats about as far as I have got because you are claiming that your PPi started in March 2003 as far as I can see. But your agreement shows that it started when the loan started in 2002 and you claimed on it in March 2003.

 

I took out the loan with the ppi in november 2001 but did not have to start paying my 1st payment till jan 02 : £350 for 84 months. near the end of 2002 ( not sure of exact month ) my job circumstances changed so i rang hfc and asked if i could pay a reduced payment of £200 till my circumstances changed for the better ..They agreed with this. In march 2003 i became very ill and phoned them for a claim form after 2 weeks because you have to wait 2 weeks after your illness before you can make a claim on your ppi and that is when the ppi took over the payments for me but at the reduced rate of £200. I assumed this was because thats what i had been paying at that time.

 

You also stated earlier that they asked for your signature to confirm a previous request but you would not send it because you were suspicious. Was your signature on the agreement you posted up or was this your copy. This does not look like a customer copy to me

 

That's correct they would not send info because I did not sign form on sar request just printed, they wanted me to send in my driving licence and passport as well.

the 1 I posted up was my copy with no signature, they had the signed version of the same paperwork.

 

In addition, have you recieved the pack of documents relating to your Subject Access Request yet.

 

No because of above.

 

It looks to me that HFC have somehow changed the terms of the agreement in the past and in their files it must show 140 months at £200 a month as per the default.

 

if they did change anything it was not done in writing has i did not sign anything to this affect. i just phoned them and ask if i could reduce the payments only as a temporary measure and they agreed.

 

Please confirm if they have sent the Subject Access Request docs, if the agreement posted up was enclosed with your signature showing and if there was information regarding the alteration.

 

No they refused because of above answer.. no signature it was just my copy..no info regarding changes just a phone call by me.

 

Hope this makes more sense to you now. thx again.

 

Rgrds

[pedross]

Ok its starting to make sense.

 

You took out a loan on 21/11/2001 and agreed to make payments of approx £350 pm which you did until the end of 2002 and then reduced payments of £200 pm. In March/ April 2003 the PPI policy started making the payments.

 

Did you miss any payments up to when you started paying the £200 pm and did you pay the £200 until the PPI paid it.

 

The next relevent point is how long did the PPI actually payout for. Did it continue right up until it ran out in December 2008 or was there a break.

 

What I am trying to establish is how many months missed payments there has been from January 2002 to January 2009.

 

Hopefully, I can understand the full picture with a few more questions. I am not convinced that HFC have handled this correctly but it is rather complicated so we must take a step at a time.

 

You will get support on here so there is no need to worry. cB is very helpful and I notice is involved. Once we have a full picture I will provide you with a letter to send to move it forward a step.

 

Pedross

[feelinglow]

Did you miss any payments up to when you started paying the £200 pm and did you pay the £200 until the PPI paid it.

 

The next relevent point is how long did the PPI actually payout for. Did it continue right up until it ran out in December 2008 or was there a break.

 

No all payments were made till ppi kicked in and then ppi paid all the way through there last payment was on the 27th of dec 08 infact 2 payments 1 for £200 and another for £133.

The ppi was with hamiltons..then it change to aviva for the last 4 months.

 

Thankyou i appreciate all the help here... I have purchased SignGuard yesterday so will be using that with them in future...

 

Rgds

[citizenB]

HFC have been a bit cunning if I read this correctly. You had a loan (with PPI) on which you had to pay £350.00 per month. When you started to struggle you were allowed a reduced repayment of £200.00 per month.

 

Then PPI kicked in but only paid the £200.00 not the original £350.00.

 

Should they not have been paying the original £350.00 per month on which the PPI was based ?

[feelinglow]

HFC have been a bit cunning if I read this correctly. You had a loan (with PPI) on which you had to pay £350.00 per month. When you started to struggle you were allowed a reduced repayment of £200.00 per month.

 

That's correct...That's exactly wot as happened, at the time i never challenged this because i just thought that is wot they were allowed to do with all the stress of my illness and that they never contacted me again untill this year i never gave it a second thought stupid on my part i now know.

 

Rgds

[feelinglow]

What would be my next step do I send them a cca ??

 

Rgds

[pedross]

What would be my next step do I send them a cca ??

 

Rgds

 

I will provide you with a letter to send them before the end of the week. I need to spend some time on this to make sure we get them into the position we want them, so I do not want to rush it.

 

Unfortunately, I am very busy at the moment and will be tied up in a meeting most of Thursday but I will do it before the weekend.

 

Do not panic, I believe you are in a strong position, more haste less speed.

 

Pedross

[feelinglow]

Thankyou Pedross much appreciated

 

Rgds

[pedross]

Thankyou Pedross much appreciated

 

Rgds

 

You are welcome, I thought you needed assistance and I felt that something was not right. Until we get a full reply from HFC we will not be sure if I am correct or not. I can only offer my support based on what I understand about the situation and although I am going to try and help you resolve this in your favour as I said before we must take it a step at a time.

 

The next step is to send the letter that will appear in my next post. If you can copy and paste it into a word document making sure that you add your address, name, account no. and your name again at the bottom. You can print your signature or use a handwriting font. If you do not have a printer let me know.

 

I will post it on its own to ensure there are no mistakes.

 

Pedross

[pedross]

(Your address)

HFC Bank

PO Box 1520

Birmingham

B1 3PR

04 September 2009

Dear Sirs

Re: Name Account Number ACCOUNT IN DISPUTE

I am in receipt of your letter of 01 July 2009 in which you claim that payments on the above account have not been made in accordance with the credit agreement. I would be obliged if you would send me a copy of the credit agreement to enable me to be clear about the point you are referring to.

In addition, I would be obliged if you could supply me with a full schedule of all payments due for the full term of the agreement and all payments made to date, details of any charges applied to the account and a breakdown of the balance outstanding.

I would also point out that I sent a Subject Access Request, under the Data Protection Act 1998, on 18 May 2009 by recorded delivery and I sent you a payment of £10.00 which you cashed. I requested all of the information that you hold on your files about my account. You have failed to supply the information within the time allowed of 40 calendar days.

I do not accept that you are in any doubt about my identity as you are sending regular correspondence to me at my known address. Under Data Protection rules, only if you have good cause to doubt the requester’s identity should you ask them to provide any evidence you reasonably need to confirm it.

Until I can clearly understand my liability to you I would point out that you should consider the Account in Dispute. While the dispute continues, you should not register any adverse information about me with a credit reference agency, or take any other enforcement action.

I trust that you will now supply me with all of the information requested and I look forward to receiving this information in due course.

Yours Faithfully

Feelingglow

Feelingglow

[citizenB]

This should leave them in doubt as to what is required of them.

 

Nice one Pedross:)