defaulted car loan with The Funding Corps

[little_evo]

Hi all, relatively new here..sorry, With regard to a defaulted car loan with The Funding Corps for which i currently make monthly payments on...

 

Just got off the phone with said company who intends on calling up to and beyond 15 times a day, whether it be by text, mobile calls or land line calls, i just called them to say stop calling and all further correspondence to be done in writing from now on. They pleasantly informed me that they were (and quote) a "telephone company" and that's how they do business. Every time they call they add acumlative charges on a late payment and send out letters at £40 a pop inclusive of call & text charges they apply to the £40 (if that makes sense) i have asked them kindly if they could send a breakdown of the charges, and they said (and quote), "well we have to provide a chair for the person to sit on whilst they type a letter to you, pay their wage, buy a Pc for them to work from" etc, that's how they work their £40 letter charge....apparently. The calls do not stop and even though i am late paying they still call and send letters (2 letters last week at £40 a pop!), i quoted the The Breech of Communication Act etc also if they continue by phone they would be in breach of the Comm Act 2003 etc, but they said it does not apply to them as i owe them money, so they every right to call me and ask for their money.

 

I hate not to answer the phone, but it has now become a habit becuase i know who it is and would rather not give them the time of day. And silly as it sounds my workplace permits me from answering my mobile at work as it is against their Health and Safety conditions imposed by the HSE, but when i explained this to the person they just glossed over it saying (and quote)

"if it was someone calling to say you had won £1000 you would answer it", i explained

"well no i wouldn't as i wouldn't have a job by the end of the shift"

 

Again this comment was ignored by the "monkey"

They informed me that they will continue to persue monies owed to them via telephone and text.

Any ideas would be of great help!

Thanks in advance!

[notsoevil]

This DCA is harrassing you, I would write to them stating that you do not wish to be contacted by telephone, state that they are harrassing and CC your letter to the OFT.

There is a sticky at the top of the forum about DCA rules and regulations, have a quick read. That should help you.

 

As to the DCA charges! I have never heard of such a thing!! Complain STRONGLY to the original creditor (they dont like that!!) about the charges and about the harrassment.

 

As you can see on this forum you are within your rights to ask for a copy of the credit agreement and a statement detailing the charges.

 

Personally I would not want to deal with a company that treats people like this, so I would insist (if it was my debt) that if you do wish to continue paying the debt then then pay the horses mouth, so to speak. Cutting out the DCA's. I hope that makes sense, my head is spinning from 2 hours of history project with my children!!

[fuzzybobble]

If possible change your mobile number and set up choose to refuse on your landline. That should stop them dead in their tracks.

 

I had a simalar problem with Halifax a few months back. I made a note of each call, time and date. Told them each time I would only communicate in writing and hung up. I sent them a copy of the call log and a formal complaint threatening legal action if the calls continued. They soon got the message.

 

Also the £40 charges they keep adding to the account, they can't do that. If you follow the advice on this site, you can start claiming those back.

[little_evo]

Apparently when i questioned how they got their £40 charge, they have no "means" of how it is broken down...say £10 for a chair, 3p wages to the monkey,£2.50 per headed letter etc. They said it was an accumlative amount that is either £30/40 in which i have accrued £1040 to date, whcih i find embarrassing and also outrageous at the same time.

[fuzzybobble]

If they said that in writing they would get laughed out of court. It's always best not to speak to these people on the phone. They'll tell you anything to try and get you to pay more. If you do speak to them, tell them you're recording the call. They'll soon start obeying the proper laws and guidelines they're supposed to be working to. If you can actually record the call and they say all this and the telephone act doesn't apply to them. Send them a copy of it, with a formal complaint. Also tell them you'll be complaining to the OFT.

 

Time to get a few letters sent off, and put them in their place.

[Woozel]

Regardless of whether or not they are a "telephone company", to call you 15 times a day surely amounts to harrassment! That is illegal - even for DCAs! If they continue, I'd certainly take Fuzzy's advice & complain to the OFT. If these threat monkeys are anything like the ones I've been dealing with, they'll poop their pants at the mere mention of them!

[little_evo]

Well i did make mention but the lady i spoke to didn't seem to be too bothered by it, however i have just sent the telephone harrassment draft letter to them via e-mail and will print one or 2 off and pop them into the post. The account is held by the Funding Corps and is in default with them and according to them still has 9 or so years left to pay on an original 48 month term contract of which i have paid 40 months (18 of which have been in default), i currently owe over £10000 on a £14000 car loan of which the car was purchased at £7,500 of which is now worth a pack of polos if i am REALLY lucky! they seem to have charged £30 for every late payment, plus additions to calls, letters and texts i have received, to a sum of £1040 in charges accrued to the account. Of which they had no obligation (or so she said) to break down those £1040 charges for which i had asked for, so i could see where my penalty money was going to, and where to, whether it was added to the total sum that i owed or not, and if so would interest be charged on top of that as well

[blipvert]

Regardless of whether or not they are a "telephone company", to call you 15 times a day surely amounts to harrassment! That is illegal - even for DCAs! If they continue, I'd certainly take Fuzzy's advice & complain to the OFT. If these threat monkeys are anything like the ones I've been dealing with, they'll poop their pants at the mere mention of them!

 

Like FuzzyBobble says, record all calls, a digital recorder with an input lead from a phone doubler works fine for me. I got mine from Aldi and it was just over 20 quid. A great bit of kit.

[Woozel]

Well, I'm no expert in the field, but this sounds to me like classic DCA scaremongering (?sp) Get those letters posted, and I bet they will start being bit more reasonable (if one can use that word with regards to a DCA )

 

Once they start to think you're not some clueless pushover, I'll bet they'll toe the line a bit better!

[fuzzybobble]

Like FuzzyBobble says, record all calls, a digital recorder with an input lead from a phone doubler works fine for me. I got mine from Aldi and it was just over 20 quid. A great bit of kit.

 

So, we should be seeing some of your DCA calls on the cheekiness thread soon then? :grin:

[little_evo]

You most certainly will, although dealing with the debt i am in, i guess there really is light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how deep the tunnel seems to be...i have a very dry sense of humor and i will certainly try my witt on the various DCA i am dealing with right now!

[huggy41]

little evo check this song out

 

YouTube - DCA's are pitiful By Huggy

 

it was made for all of us on here

[little_evo]

Good evening all.

I Hope someone can shed some light on the situation i have.

 

Firstly i purchased a car through Carcraft, not the greatest moment in my life, but i guess we were desperate at the time and needed a car for work.

Anways, the car credit (and not HP, if there is a difference?) is through a company called The Funding Corporation. We were having a relatively quiet time with them until i could not afford the payments, they informed us we could go into default to reduce payments of which i did, we agreed on a a lower sum of which we followed until i was made redundant 4 weeks ago. I called them up a few weeks ago explained my situation and asked if they could take the car back, as i could not afford any payment to them, they said no, as the car is only worth "£800" to them and it would not be viable for them to take it back, put it in an auction, come collect it etc. I am currently trying to figure out the PPI i was paying for the car at £42 per month, to see if this will pay fo the payments of the car.

However...

Earlier today i was involved in an RTA, i have called relevant people to get it fixed etc.

But...will the garage fix the car, if the Funding Corps reckon the car is only worth £800 (As i have believe it or not still £10,000 owing on the car!!), my question is according to The Fund Corps, it's worth £800, will they make the garage fix the car, so i keep my payments, or will it be written off if the cost of repair is more than £800. (I believe it may run into a few thousand as it doesn't look good from the back end of the car).

 

What are your thoughts? Any hlp would be greatly appreciated, as i don't know what will really happen.

 

Thank you all for taking the time to read my thread.

Regards

Edited December 3, 2008 by little_evo
new title

[Conniff]

It will be up to your insurance company to write the car off or authorise repairs.

[little_evo]

Hi thanks for the reponse, i do understand it will be up the the insurance company to authorise any repairs etc, but my question is.

 

if the Funding Corps reckon the car is only worth £800 (As i have believe it or not still £10,000 owing on the car!!), my question is according to The Fund Corps, it's worth £800, will they make the garage fix the car, so i keep my payments, or will it be written off if the cost of repair is more than £800. (I believe it may run into a few thousand as it doesn't look good from the back end of the car).

 

 

If they write the car off am i still going to pay for it even though the car is a write off? Will the Fund Corps still want any of the outstanding balance of up to £10,000 for the car even though by their own admission it is only worth £800 to them.

Thanks again!

[Conniff]

They could on a personal level instruct a garage to repair it, but it would be at their expense.

 

Have a look in autotrader and your local paper and see what others are asking for the same car. That will give you a better idea of the true value but may not be exact for your car.

[little_evo]

Well the car is going or about £1800-£2400 in the trader, but i was told over the phone it was only worth £800 to them. But i still have an outstanding debt of about £10,000 owing to them, inclusive of fees, interest etc.

 

If the repairs are going to cost more than the car is worth to them at £800, the insurance company could write it off, what is done with the outstanding debt? Is that also written off as well?

[ReasonableRon]

Well the car is going or about £1800-£2400 in the trader, but i was told over the phone it was only worth £800 to them. But i still have an outstanding debt of about £10,000 owing to them, inclusive of fees, interest etc.

 

If the repairs are going to cost more than the car is worth to them at £800, the insurance company could write it off, what is done with the outstanding debt? Is that also written off as well?

 

The £1000 difference will be a) because they will also incur recovery costs and auction fees and b) they will sell it to the trade, which will be for a lower price. They will not sell it to the public even if it gets them (and you) more money for it because they then incur S.O.G.A. liabilities to the new buyer.

 

Sorry to hear that you've got such a shortfall between the car's value and the amount you owe. If the car is written off then the insurance company will probably pay their settlement to the funding corp.

 

Have you got GAP insurance? This is supposed to pay the difference on your account, so you could come up trumps after all.

[little_evo]

I believe i do have GAP insurance, but not too sure to be honest, i know i have PPI on the payments though, not sure if this is one or the same, and i didn't know about the PPI until i was made redundant a few weeks ago.

 

You said that if the car is written off, the insurance will possibly pay a settlement fee? Which means? (sorry to sound so dumb)

 

The reason for asking the questions is simple though i guess, although the car is only worth £800 to them, if it is fixed i understand the repayments etc will be the same, but what happens if the car is wrote off, do i pay the £10,000 i owe, even though i don't have the car anymore? Or is it all just wiped clean, as it were?

[ReasonableRon]

I believe i do have GAP insurance, but not too sure to be honest, i know i have PPI on the payments though, not sure if this is one or the same, and i didn't know about the PPI until i was made redundant a few weeks ago.

 

You said that if the car is written off, the insurance will possibly pay a settlement fee? Which means? (sorry to sound so dumb)

 

The reason for asking the questions is simple though i guess, although the car is only worth £800 to them, if it is fixed i understand the repayments etc will be the same, but what happens if the car is wrote off, do i pay the £10,000 i owe, even though i don't have the car anymore? Or is it all just wiped clean, as it were?

Sorry if I wasn't clear in my last post - the insurance settlement means the amount they will pay to settle the claim, which in their eyes will be the actual value of the car (although they often try and lowball this figure). You will still remain liable for the differences, but if you have GAP insurance then you seriously need to get on to them about this, as this could be the answer to your prayers because this type of insurance is designed to pay off the rest of the finance in the event of your car being written off.

 

In fact, I would recommend speaking to the funding corp and giving them the full picture. I know they don't figure too highly in many peoples opinions on this forum but if you have got GAP then I would have thought that it would be in their own interests to help you get this sorted out.

 

If your car is repaired instead then you are correct in saying that your payments would simply continue, but you also need to follow your PPi claim through as well - that is supposed to be the reason that these insurances are made available, to give you cover when you need it.

[little_evo]

It seems i have the PPI, but not the GAP insurance, i guess at the time i did not want to pay for (in effect) 2 insurance policies on the car when i puchased it, (the PPI & GAP), as you have mentioned TFC are not the greatest of listeners when one has a problem, and sadly i have spent far too much of my time talking to them and basically getting nowhere fast in the past.

[sickovit]

How much did you insure the vehicle for ?

[little_evo]

Well i insured the vehicle for £2,500, but according to TFC it is only worth £800. Similar vehicles are selling for anywhere between £1800-2500. But i do have a lot of mileage on the clock which will depreciate it even more.

[ted7781]

Hi

Are you still having problems? I used to work for TFC and I may be able to help you.

[nish40]

Hi

Are you still having problems? I used to work for TFC and I may be able to help you.

Hi Ted sorry to sound a bit blunt, but if you USED to work for TFC why have you only just registered here? it is known TFC come on these pages.

 

Evo, i can sympathise with you but what has been said on this thread is true im afraid.

The TFC say the car is only worth £800, but that is to them, a private sale would get what would be nearer the true value, but obviously you cant sell it cos of the finance etc.

 

Wether this will work i dont know, but give the paperwork to a debt solicitor, i know a very good one if you email me ill give you their details, if anything happens to be wrong with the paperwork, you can dispute it, and once these solicitors get hold of the case, you can stop paying them altogether (ill add that it may not happen so pay till told otherwise, i am currently in that situation, i have not paid my agreement for 4 months now, and as papers have been filed they cannot contact me and cannot take action).

I hate these muppets at TFC, I am so close to wiping the smile off their faces i cannot wait, just for the record i owe £15000 and they are being sued to write off the debt and for the £5500 ive already paid, happy days