Mariknub v Swift - 2nd charge loan up to age 88!!

[Mariknub]

Hi everyone!

Am new to this and not sure if this is where I should be writing for a first contact, but need to get advice a.s.a.p.!

 

I am yet another victim of Swift Advances and they are yet again hounding me and threatening legal action/repossession etc if I can't pay arrears of about £6000 and up my reduced monthly payments (£130-89) to the agreed monthly payments in 2007 of £366-17 !The arrears built up since 2009 when I could no longer keep up these payments as my son had been helping me and his business had to close due to recession etc.

 

Swift agreed reduced payments of £88-28 plus £94-80 from DWP as I turned 60 and luckily got Pension Credit then.In Dec.2010 my DWP payments went down to £52-20 and so Swift insisted I pay more or they'd start proceedings, so since then I have been struggling to pay the required £130-89p.m. but, of course the arrears have been going up all this time plus charges, interest and compound interest etc and Swift have never agreed to stop this in order to slow all this down!

 

I have talked to them many times about this and put in an official complaint which resulted in a few charges being cancelled but in the official response from the Complaints Officer I was told they could not freeze interest "at this time"!!! I had also requested an affordable payment plan which he rejected on the grounds that i had had financial difficulties since late 2008, when they agreed reduced "forbearance" reduced payments but "it is clear that this loan is unaffordable" for me, based on my incoming/outgoings in the long term!

 

He also kindly pointed out that during this forebearance period I "have been made aware the consequence is that the arrears on your account increase as does the interest accrued on the arrears as well as the loan balance.This means that the level of available equity decreases and your overall debt increases."!!!!!!He mentioned complaining to the FOS if not satisfied but pointed out they are not regulated by them as taken out before 8/4/ 2008 and for more than £25000 (.I did try but he was right, unfortunately!

There are some other issues like in some threads about Swift I have read since discovering your brilliant forum which may be helpful :

 

1.Loan was £30,000 on 14/11/07 on original "Unregulated Credit Agreement - Capital and Interest Repayments",(NO APR HERE IN BOX)

 

2.Monthly repayments : £366.17

 

3.Number of repayments : 300

 

4.In Note 3 below signatures (mine and S Bailey)"We will take from the Total Loan Amount- Broker's Fee,Loan Admin. Fee, Title Indemnity Fee,Any PPI (none) and any other deductions requested by me (None)" AS IN SIMILAR CASES NOTED BY SPARKIE, THESE WERE IN FACT ADDED NOT DEDUCTED! (So making the loan go up to £32,230 and quoted on statement on 18/2/11, as below :

 

"Original Loan" £32,230.00

 

"Interest charged to 18 Feb. 2011" £14,860.23

 

"Fees and charges incurred " £997.00

 

"Less payments received" £9,121.52

 

"OUTSTANDING BALANCE AT 18 FEB 2011 " £38,965.71 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Swift have been threatening me with repossession, forced sale etc since 20010 but I have fought to stay in my home until now but the massive stress at my age is taking its toll....

 

I got this loan from a seemingly NICE financial advisor guy as supposedly a temporary measure prior to getting it added to my mortgage at a much better rate but it never happened.....it was through brokers called Personal Loans. I needed the money partly to pay off some debts I had accumulated over the years when I never quite managed to support us and pay all bills etc (me & 2 sons since my divorce 10 years ago) and also to fund a start-up business for my elder son) which did not survive the recession.Both my sons live with me in this house and are trying to make a new business venture succeed! I have to pay all bills etc from my £120 per week pension - with huge difficulty but hope their business will succeed this time! I can't envisage selling the house as it is old and needs lots of work doing which we can't afford now. My mortgage is up to date at present, largely due to low interest rates.

 

Swift has caused me so many problems but I also think it was wrong for me to be able to get a secured loan like this at my age.....up to age 88, I think!!!

I am not sure the repayment/interest issue is not also at fault but I'm not good with Maths!I asked Swift several times about lower interest rates like Bank of England etc and was also told they are not regulated by that....or some story, I can't remember....

 

I recently contacted,( in new desperation to avoid repossession etc,) the COMMUNITY LEGAL ADVICE EAGA plc, Newcastle upon Tyne, to see if they could help me fight Swift.After explaining it all over the phone, I got a letter saying I would have to maintain contractual payments + something off arrears or put house on market ! (like Swift say)!

 

Since finding your forum and reading lots of similar Swift stuff, it has given me a little hope ! I spoke to someone again at that place and explained about certain irregularities which MIGHT work against Swift but I need to send them back forms about my eligibility for legal help (fine) but also a scarey declaration saying I haven't had any advice from a solicitor about this paid for by the Legal Services Commission and that they are the only organisation helping me currently (not sure about this???)and a form of authority (Is all this O.K.? Do any of you know this organisation? Can they help or am I better to do something different???

 

SO SORRY THIS HAS BEEN SO LONG !!!!!CAN ANYONE HELP ME SAVE MY HOME AND BEAT SWIFT???? PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks in advance everyone!

Edited January 1, 2012 by citizenB
formatting to make reading easier.

[maybelline]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8332124.stm

 

hope ok to link here? see blemain v bentley, which appears to be about how you came to sign up for such a poor deal and how treated once in difficulty

[maybelline]

check the fsa register for the broker, is it possible to approach the fsca if they are found to be in default?

[maybelline]

http://www.fscs.org.uk/what-we-cover/search-for-companies-in-default/

 

also - you would have been badly advised to sign up to something going into retirement secured on your home?? is this misselling, you need to contact a legal aid solicitor, the advisers you have used will be able to tell you which solicitors where you live offer legal aid scheme.

Edited May 21, 2011 by maybelline
add on

[Mariknub]

Hi Maybelline.

Thank you for getting back so quickly with your suggestions. Have just read Bentley v Blemain with interest....Looks like I should get a solicitor on to all this but still not sure if I should go through Community Legal Advice service I mentioned already or go it alone with legal aid???In their info. sheet it says they may not always assist if outcome doesn't have "reasonable prospects of success". ALSO it states they "cannot represent me at court or in a tribunal hearing but may be able to refer me to another organisation who can provide legal representation if required".Not so good perhaps.....????What do you ,or anyone else, think?

Very grateful for any advice,

Thanks in advance!

[Mariknub]

check the fsa register for the broker, is it possible to approach the fsca if they are found to be in default?

 

Hi Maybelline,

Please excuse my late reply to this thread, after the next one I did reply to, as I'm still learning how to do this stuff!

Have started process with Community Legal Advice to prepare for when things get nastier with Swift so I should be able to get Legal Aid and find a good local solicitor.

Have searched the broker with FSA and my paperwork says Personal Loans(UK) Ltd with no default but when I searched for Personal Loans this was what came up

Uk Personal Loans Limited

Declared in default 27th September 2010

I then discovered that both Personal Loans and Personal Loans (UK) Ltd are in same building, on different floors! May be dodgy!!!!

 

Personal Loans

Loans (Other) based in the Aztec Centre area of Bristol

Tel: 01454 629629

Address: Aztec Centre, Aztec West, Almondsbury Bristol Avon BS32 4TD

View Personal Loans's profile

 

Personal Loans UK Ltd

Credit & Finance Companies (Head Office) based in the Aztec Centre area of Bristol

Tel: 01454 203366

Address: First Floor Aztec Centre, Aztec West, Almondsbury Bristol Avon BS32 4TD

View Personal Loans UK Ltd's profile

 

 

 

What do I do now ?Any ideas?Anyone?

Thanks again

[maybelline]

http://www.fscs.org.uk/what-we-cover/search-for-companies-in-default/

 

see this

[straftat]

ive just been emailed back by he FSCS and they say they can look at PPI but they wont deal with the secured loan as they are unregulated

 

is this right?

 

my secured loan is UNDER 25k

[straftat]

Maybelline , unfortunately its true the FSCS wont handle any unregulated products i.e 2nd charge mortgages of any kind

 

they can however look at the miss selling of PPI on those products

[maybelline]

hi and thanks for reply. wow, its a shame, if fos and fsa wont touch unregulated loans then who does???? whats the point? what about trading standards and the Enterprise Act, dont know much about this but feel sure there is a thread. (or websearch)

[Mariknub]

Is "Sparkie" still around for advice on my Swift situation, or Andrew, or any other expert on such things ? Please !

[caro]

Mariknub, I've moved these posts to your own thread and quoted a post from another thread here to get the full story.

 

Hi everyone,

I posted about Swift back in May and had a little contact by PM with Ell-enn (Thank you) and Maybelline (again thanks) but not sure what happened since then but failed to have any more comments or suggestions at all....as I'm still new to this I probably did something wrong!

 

Anyway, I am another Swift victim of terribly unfair charges, fees etc. with a default dating back to their illegal period from 2004 - Nov. 2010, dated 29/1/09.

My broker fees etc. were also added onto the original £30,000 not deducted like it says on the contract, and so accruing even more interest etc.

 

When I took out this dreadful loan secured on my house, my financial advisor gave me no advice about the dire consequences of such a loan and it was supposed to be a temporary measure to be later put onto my lower interest mortgage, but it never happened.... I was 58 at the time and the term goes up to age 88! I didn't realise the problems I would have once retired and only surviving on £120 per week for everything!

 

When I turned 60 and retired due to lack of supply teaching in my area, I could no longer continue paying £366-17 per month and got Swift to grant me reduced payments of £88ish p.m. but never realising the consequences of arrears building up so fast with daily interest and charges, fees etc! This ended up with many many months of threats and trying to force me to sell up.(Enormous stress!)

 

Finally, I got a solicitor's letter from Rosling King informing me proceedings were about to start for repossession due to arrears of approx.£6000, unless I paid them immediately and resumed full payments.

 

I got legal help from a solicitor to suspend this, pending their investigation for unfair treatment etc and this is where I am at right now.

 

I have no money for legal court fees etc and this initial help is free but very limited.in time/money allowed.I think I would get Legal Aid if Swift do try for repossession anyway, but not sure best way forward in the light of latest brilliant news about OFT etc.(Sounds like some sort of Karma to me!)

 

Some figures: Original loan in 2007 - £30,000

Plus broker fees etc -£32,230

Interest charged to Feb18 2011 - £14,860.23 !!!!!

Fees +Charges - £997

Less payments received - £9,121.52

Outstanding balance at 18 Feb.2011 - £38,965.71!!!!!!!!!

(This will be even worse since this last statement!!!)

Sorry this is so long! Any suggestions? I have lodged my complaint with debbie kitcher @oft.gsi.gov.uk as suggested and really hope they get their just deserts! Thanks all... M

 

What is the letter you've had from Rosslin King? Have they started court action?

[caro]

I've just re-read your post and see that you have managed to get possession suspended pending the OFT enquiry.

 

What is the situation with this now? Are you able to make any payments? Are court proceedings still hanging over you?

[Mariknub]

Mariknub, I've moved these posts to your own thread and quoted a post from another thread here to get the full story.

 

 

 

What is the letter you've had from Rosslin King? Have they started court action?

Hi! Rosling King LLP, 10 Old Bailey, London wrote to me on behalf of Swift on 9th June informing me if I did not pay £5624.39 of arrears, plus their costs of £16 up to then, by 5.30 on 17th June,they would "commence proceedings for possession and sale of my property and recovery of arrears and costs, without further notice"!!!!!!!

Obviously I was horrified and immediately got back in touch with Community Legal Advice team I'd already been in touch with as they had told me if things moved into talk of repossession, they would pass me on to a law firm to help me fight.

This they did and so I am with a solicitors company up north, who are helping under the Legal Help scheme which gives a very limited amount of assistance, initially met by the Legal Services Commission.

They contacted R.K. to suspend the repossession action pending their investigation.They have just sent a letter to Swift attacking them on "unfair treatment/ mis-selling etc" If Swift do not co-operate my solicitors will not be able to continue representing me with no money from me!They tell me it is very difficult now to get Legal Aid for cases like this.(Estimated cost if it goes to court is £12,500) !!!!I would need to put £500 deposit down to continue! BUT I HAVE NO MONEY!!!!!Just my £120 each week pension which I struggle to pay everything from!(This is making me feel sick as I write about this...) This is where I'm at for now...Swift has 21 days to reply apparently.

Am in panic mode but fighting still! Any suggestions/advice anyone?

Also, I keep wondering about implications of the illegal use of trading licence during 2004-Nov 2010 affecting defaults and even contracts??? please does any legal expert know about this??

Thank you.....Yours, in desperation M.

[caro]

Ok, don't panic.

 

So are you expecting the reply from swift to go to you or the solicitors? Did they send you a copy of what they sent to swift?

 

Many people have come to CAG and fought off repossessions without the help of solicitors and I don't see why you should be any different.

[Mariknub]

Ok, don't panic.

 

So are you expecting the reply from swift to go to you or the solicitors? Did they send you a copy of what they sent to swift?

 

Many people have come to CAG and fought off repossessions without the help of solicitors and I don't see why you should be any different.

Hi Caro! Just read your response- thank you for replying quickly.

They did send me a copy of letter, which is long and typical legal speak all about unfair treatment, mis-selling without checking affordability etc.

I believe they will reply to solicitors rather than me - they have 21 days I think.

Will send a copy if you like but need my son's help as not too good with computers!

Am less panicky as trying not to anticipate the worst....Will fight on with your help at CAG!

Many thanks,

M

[caro]

Positive thinking Mari!!

 

I've PM'd you my email addy, so please do forward the letter, and let's see what we can sort out.

[caro]

Letter received and read.

 

What concerns me is that if that letter is sent and you don't have the money to pay the solicitors, what then?

 

Frankly mariknub, I would be inclined to read up on the advice on CAG and just deal with claiming back the charge yourself.

 

Regarding the trading licences etc, I'd have to leave more knowledgeable peeps than me to advise you on that, but it doesn't stop you dealing with claiming back the charges yourself. You don't mention PPI, so I take it that you didn't take that out?

 

Are you still able to meet the necessary payments at the moment?

[determindator]

Hi M, If you will advise how much you have repaid to date. I've been in Court with Swift more than once. Which point are you at now with Swift? Court date, on going negotiations? Please PM if you prefer.

Edited January 1, 2012 by determindator

[Mariknub]

Hi M, If you will advise how much you have repaid to date. I've been in Court with Swift more than once. Which point are you at now with Swift? Court date, on going negotiations? Please PM if you prefer.

 

Hi Deterindator,

 

Thanks for your interest. Please P.M. me and I will reply today and remind me how to reply to a P.M. as I still know how to access P.M's ....all very ongoing and urgent!

[determindator]

Good to see you Marik. PM sent.

[caro]

Hi Deterindator,

 

Thanks for your interest. Please P.M. me and I will reply today and remind me how to reply to a P.M. as I still know how to access P.M's ....all very ongoing and urgent!

 

Can you post what's happening please Marik. There may be people on the site who can advise you.

 

Have you tried contacting National Debtline? http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/index.php

 

They may be able to give you some guidance. We have a rep on the site too if you can advise what help you need on your thread.

[determindator]

You are still paying Swift money which shows you can afford to pay towards the principal amount lent. Swift were not responsible lenders knowing you were vulnerable to income fluctuations, firstly because of your age and secondly your son (second signature to the loan?) was self employed and the business may not be successful. It is never explained you will have to pay an extortionate amount in redemption at the outset and therefore now feel imprisoned. The agreement is not transparent. It is predatory lending and bad for this country. Have you heard from your solicitors regarding representation?

 

If you will update so we can all get on board to help.

 

You have mastered the PM sending:-D

Edited January 11, 2012 by determindator

[Mariknub]

Hi Determindator,

 

You are quite right about it all ...Sadly, my" new hope" solicitors can't or won't help with the limited funds of Legal Aid They also said they could initially but once in possession of paperwork from me, they all seem to shy away from Swift!

 

My son was not signature to the loan - just me.

 

Any thoughts much appreciated - you or anyone...

 

Regards,

 

Mariknub.

[caro]

Can you please post the particulars of the claim and your defence please Marik.

 

Did you mention that you would be 88 when the loan is due to end? When my OH and I renewed our mortgage they wouldn't allow it to go beyond his 75th birthday, so I can't help wondering why they let you have this loan.