Blemain finance

[chowtzu]

I've also just asked for information from blemain, for a friend of mine

 

They gave him a loan for 5,000.00 consolidated it within 6 months with 2 missing payments with a further advance of 5000.00 and then gave a bridging loan of 3000.00 within 8 months again with missing payments on the other loan.

 

This person was on benefits of appox 390.00 per month attempted suicide due to there threats he has psychological and physical disabilities, he had to sell his home and move elsewhere to an unsuitable property and they charged him in excess of 8000.00 to get out of this loan on top of the capital in approximately 14 months.

 

what do you guys think to this?

[dax]

Shocking, and typical of how they conduct their business and treat customers. Usually people in need of finance that get taken advantage of

by their extortionate rates and as you say, threatening attitude.

[groovycaz]

Check his ts and cs, when he took out his loans and get copies of all his statements if he has'nt got them like us. Blemain have now joined FISA and have a code of conduct to follow, they knew your pals financial situation when offering him these loans and that he would never be able to maintain his repayments on his income thats why these parasites kept offering more money knowing they had his property to fall back on. Im in the process of obtaining my statements showing how they calculated my final figure in laymens terms and i would advise your pal to do the same. Then you can forward all the information to the OFT who Blemain gave an assurance that any loans entered into after 1998 would not contain the rule of 78 which is where all the hidden charges are. The OFT will look at the complaint, work out if the calculations are correct or not and if they have used the rule of 78 'which I believe they have' they will inform you of the correct figure which your pal should have paid and advise you how to make your complaint directly to the company.

I believe considering your pals financial situation they acted very irrresponsibly in offering loans they knew he would be unable to maintain and believe on that basis he has a very good argument, but firstly get your facts and figures together so you know where you stand. BE WARNED this company will mess you about but read through the FAQs on the action group who will guide you and also take advise from the OFT and if you do want to complain the OFT will do this for you and advise you all the way. Logicwill tel you that if you went into a high street bank and said I want to borrow £10.000 and my income is £390 each month they just would'nt entertain you. Blemain are greedy thieving pond life and all they are intrested in is your property. Hope this is of any help or if i can advise you any more im sure me and my bank buddy dax would also be happy to help thats what were all here for

[dax]

The good thing about sharing our experience of Blemain here is we can not only support and update eachother on our progress and their tactics, but be aware that the OFT will have a number of examples through us of how they conduct themselves when dealing with customers.

 

Ive not personally spke directly to the OFT about Blemain (although used their site for info on them) but intend to when I get as far as I can with reclaiming my charges.

 

Im due to take them to Court next for non compliance as theyve ignored a previousletter sent on the 10th December 06 to send the correct info and breakdowns. The LBA was sent out on the 26th and their times up tommorrow. Predictably, I knew that it would be aggro from day one to assume id get my charges back.

 

Havent heard from Gemster whos also dealing with them, but lets see what they do next.

[chowtzu]

It’s a shame there not prepared to answer legitimate enquiries as promptly as they are to chase a missing payments or push that muck they call a mortgage!!!

Good luck

[groovycaz]

Your not going to believe this but I recieved a reply to my letter this morning from Howard Laddin 'Group customer services manager' and a computer print out of my account with them, Im shocked that I recieved a reply at all never mind within 14 days and guess what, they have used the rule of 78 which is what I suspected all along and this is his reply.

The balance outstanding equates to the total payable under the agreement LESS all payments made as at that date. The other charges on redemption are clearly detailed. A rebate is given for early settlement calculated in accordance with the regulations as defined within the Consumer Credit Act 1983.

I attach a printout showing all payments due, payments made and other various pieces of financial information such as balance outstanding, arrears etc. There was no legal requirement to provide annual statements on this loan although a statement would have been provided upon request.

The "Rule of 78" method for the calculation of early settlement figures on regulated loans ISthe as defined within the consumer credit act and still applies to all loans under £25.000 funded prior to may 2005

Im sure that this answeres your queries.

I think he forgot to add the part where Blemain advised the OFT that any mortgage contracts entered into since Jan 1998 would not contain this term [mine was 2001] Blemain then provided documentation confirming they gave the OFT an informal assurance they would stop using the term in 1997. This agreement formaly adds to that assurance. It makes no reference to the amount of the loan being below £25.000.

Ive now got all my paperwork in order and am in the process of writing my letters of complaint to the OFT and FISA, this company makes their own rules up to their own advantage, I'l keep you posted

[groovycaz]

Another financial watchdog that might be able to offer any help is The Financial Services Authority, have a look at their Unfair contract terms and what they do to challenge unfair terms in financial contracts

[dax]

How you getting on Groovy, ive just found out Royal Mail have cocked up with my post so more agg!!

Did you manage to make sense of the printout..was greek to me? Give me an update. I sent a non compliance LBA to Blemain as they didnt come up with the goods, but no word since..or at least, Royal Mail didnt deliver!!...

[groovycaz]

Hi Dax loads of things happening, I got the print out and there was other hidden charges, got an appointment to see the citizen advise later this week, they are going to do the correct calculations for me and when ive got those, im writing one more letter to them and if I get nowhere after 2 weeks im just going to issue an application notice and take it from there. they said they did use the rule of 78 when I redeemed my loan and quoted the assurance they gave to the OFT, however he said that it only applied to loans oner £25k. had a good look for this but could find no reference to it. Im calling the OFT today to ask the question.

On other issues ive had 2 offers silly ones of course so declined,, also ive just discovered that when I remortgaged my house in sept to get rid of all my debt another 2 companies have ripped me off aswell, so im going to be busy, thats 8 banks, credit cards and loans. Il keep you posted

[dax]

I think in my situation what theyve done is used the rule 78 at redemption when i paid all 3 off together, although individually they were seperate amounts not amounting to 25k but amounting to over that figure jointly which is a bit snidy. They should have been seen as seperate items though, which is where theyve diddled it. If your seeing the CAB could you ask them that hyperthetical question out of interest, that is this something they can do. Ive had no response from them.

[groovycaz]

Hi Dax today ive called the OFT they couldnt answer my question if the undertaking blemain gave to them about early redemption penalties were only for loans over 25k, but they are finding out and letting me know. Ive been passed from 1 dept to another all day today and still dont have any answeres to my questions. Ive also got the Trading Standards involved they are making enquiries about this co.

The OFT are sending me an official complaints leaflet regarding the early redemption penalties and the fact that they put into writing that they would not use rule 78 after 1998 yet they used it on my loan in 01.

Ive slso been advised to send in all my information to the FSA [theres also a complaints leaflet you can download from their website] they are going to look at my complaint and what they also said was that blemain were not registered with them as a mortgage supplier but as a mortgage referal co for the lancashire mortgage corporation and the cheshire mortgage corporation which are all owned by blemain finance. The FSA were the most helpful, there advise was get as much info together as you can, complain through the various regulated financial authorities and then issue a claim challenging them to the unfair terms in in their standardised customer contracts which binds you to hidden terms. They told me that these contracts were regarded as penalties and therefore not enforceble as they are unlawfull and were confident that we would have a good legal argument against them. Of course i'l ask the question for you at the CAB, I thought my appointment was today but its next tues . i'L KEEP YOU POSTED THINK POSITIVE , WE WILL GET OUR MONEY BACK. Ive told myself that im not letting them drag this out, If I believe I have a good enough case against them im issuing my court application 4 weeks from today ive taken people to court through my business when they messed me about paying their bill and I got my money each time

[groovycaz]

HI Dax forgot to tell you that Ive given 14 days for Howard Laddin to provide me with proof that the undertaking they gave to the OFT was for loans not calculated using rules of 78 were for the sum above 25k, we'l see if he answeres

[JonCris]

Groovy & when you get that info.............or not...........don't bother with any ombudsman (not unless you plan to get your money just in time for next Xmas)

 

Report Blenain by all means but then issue proceedings to get your money......you'll wait forever if you go the route they suggest

[groovycaz]

Hi, thanks for the info, afrer ive been to the CAB next week and they let me know how much I should have paid in early redemption fees, Im not messing around with this co i'l file my claim in 4 weeks from today which I believe is enough time for them to get their house in order. Ive called about 5 different financial organisations and most just did not have a clue.

[phatram]

Avoid like the plague !!!!!

[groovycaz]

That guy Laddin although replied to my letters, has not answred any of my queries, his replies were complete rubbish diverting away from the questions I wanted answered and im still waiting for him to send me the proof that only loans over 25k were included in the undertaking they gave to the OFT that they would not use the rule of 78 for early redemptions, just gathering everything I need then my claim will be filed

[dax]

Good work Groovy...its gonna be longhaul for us

[dax]

What do you know aboutthem Phatram, Any dealings yourself?

[groovycaz]

Hi I questioned blemain about the undertaking thek gave to the OFT in98 about early redemption and had a letter back stating that, ie not using the rule of 78 refers to unregulated residential loans not covered by the consumer credit act over 25k, help I believed that they agreed not to use the rule of 78 on any loans regardless of amount taken out after 1998, I did not hink blemain offered unregulated loans, they always want your property as security dont they? does any one know if what I have been informed by blemain with regards to the 25k conditions is true or not

[JonCris]

groovy Hi although not having seen the statement you refer to I have seen it mentioned.

 

I suggest you write to Blemain & tell them you are contacting the OFT to request written confirmation of their claims then DO IT

[dax]

Hey Groovy, mine were under 25k and they consolidated the amounts at redemption to use that rule 78, irregardless

[groovycaz]

groovy Hi although not having seen the statement you refer to I have seen it mentioned.

 

I suggest you write to Blemain & tell them you are contacting the OFT to request written confirmation of their claims then DO IT

 

 

 

I wrote to blemain joncris and asked for proof that this was the case and the guy completly ignored the question he made references to the consumer credit act of 78 and stated that I had not been treated unfairly, I will follow your advice and call the OFT for confirmation tomorrow... thanks

[Punchy99999]

Has anyone heard of or had dealings with Blemain finance company? Would be interested to know of your experience with them as mine was that they were complete sharks:!:

 

 

I used to work for them a while back. Only briefly. Not very nice people (which is why i left)

[groovycaz]

hi there, well we all know what complete sharks they are thats why we are here, can u tell us more about them PLEASE

[dax]

Hi punch, not seen you here before, what was your experience of Blemain as an employee?

 

Also have you insider knowledge to share regards their treatment of customers?