Help with minicredit please

[onlymemyself]

I hope they will- do you think mini credit will deal with or will it be OPOS now? I thought minimuppets and OPOS were one and the same just not sure if I should agree to dea lwith them

[renegadeimp]

Minicredit will pass it on to OPOS, who usually are more willing to arrange a repayment plan. Dont ask me why, cos theyre the same company. Just a different desk in the office. However, they will try adding on various charges and interest to hike the debt up even further. You need to be strong and know your rights so you can counter these charges.

 

For example, They like to try and charge you £200-350 just for minicredit to pass your account to them.

[onlymemyself]

thanks I will stick to my guns until they agree to original amount plus interest. If they go to court I have breakdown of their ridiculous charges to show the judge

[onlymemyself]

reply from mini credit they basically saying they want me to pay reduced settlement figure which is original loan amount plus loads of interest plus two penalties for breaking the loan agreement, i.e. about 3 times what I originally borrowed. They have already waived about £750 of their ridiculous fees.they are now saying I should repay under a payment plan to their Debt recovery and Legal partner Opos Limited.

They are also asking - quote,"You have stated that You are entitled to pay only the loan plus one month interest. Could You please provide me with the exact section in the UK law stating the above so that I could be able to forward this to our Legal team?"

So far OPOS have only text me saying I can make payments online but they have made no reference to what this is for .As I said before I have queried this with OPOS but no reply to date. Ii have looked OPOS website and you need reference etc to make payments which I have not been provided with, anyway they did not even state in their text that it was minicredit account they were referring to.

what next?

[renegadeimp]

Ignore the texts. Unless it comes in letter or email, treat it as if it was never received. Minicredit are basically doing what they always do. Hike the debt up to a huge amount, then remove part of it to look as if they are doing a good thing, even though there is still a huge amount of unlawful charges on the debt.

[onlymemyself]

what do you think my reply to mini credit should be at the moment then? What about their request for me to advise the part of the uk law that says I only need to pay original amount plus 12 month interest?

[renegadeimp]

Theyre trying to make you look stupid and trying to justify adding on a ton of unfair charges. Thats why they they remove some as a discount to try and look good, while still having a ton of unfair charges added on. They also seem to be under the impression that they can add whatever terms and conditions they like to a loan. Sorry minimuppets, it doesnt work like that. You have regulations and consumer law that say different.

[onlymemyself]

thanks for your reply and I understand and agree with what you are saying. I would like to get this cleared up asap though so I think I will pay them original amount and the one months interest by making monthly payments then see what happens. don't know how I will make the payments though unless they give me some account details. I will email them again I suppose

[renegadeimp]

Doubtful you will get any. They literately hide so you have to phone and use a card. Otherwise they pass the debt to their inhouse DCA, and try and had a few hundred quid more onto the debt. It's their favourite trick.

[onlymemyself]

They are priceless tho imagine asking the customer to quote the law totheir legal team :-)you couldn't make it up!!!

will keep the thread updated , thanks again

[renegadeimp]

I think they intended it as a sarcastic remark. If they want though, you could aways quote OFT guidance on debt collection to them, where it says they must take the debtors circumstances into account and not hike up the debt with unfair charges.

[onlymemyself]

I'm sure they did but think they are trying to call my bluff. see if I do know my rights, and make me think I don't have a leg to stand on legally.

They have had an equally sarcastic reply back I can assure you.Maybe I shouldn't have but couldn't resist they are really absolute plonkers

[sillymoo2]

Hi

I have had the same situation

£120 loan escalated to £707.

 

Do not email them they will fob you off saying the have not received anything (tried that)

I have just phoned them with blazing guns and told them their fees were extreme.

 

I said they could put me on a long term plan if i filled in some forms.

 

I didnt want this as I am trying to get a DMP (but I could not get DMP until this was clear)!

 

I told them I would pay £120.00 and one months interest, but they refused.

 

I asked what they proposed and they offered me £500 to pay.

As I dont have that kinds of money, i said I could not afford it.

And suggested if pay £200 now and then £200 at end of month would that be agreeable.

And to my astonishment they agreed.

 

All I can say is phone them and ask to be put on a long term payment plan.

 

After all they offered me a long term payment plan so you should be able to get one set up.

 

Be firm on phone and tell them you have taken advice from CB and they basically said you could take them too court over the extreme fees.

 

Hope you get sorted.... Oh and ps they are not allowed to keep your card details if a one off payment or two like mine.

 

I have to phone them back up at end of month too make a final payment.

Under no circumstances can they clear your bank account as they can get themselves in serious trouble. good luck again.

[renegadeimp]

Not surprised they agreed to it sillymoo. You offered to pay them almost 500% back.

[sillymoo2]

I had too really, if I want to set up DMP dont think I could of waited for someone knocking on my door but they did offer me a long term plan, so there is hope (i think) lol.

 

Just a quick note, if anyone wants to try for DMP and your with minicredit, you either have to pay it off first or wait until its sent to a debt collection agency. I dont have time to wait for debt collection agency as my other debt are screaming out at me too pay. plus after this month I will have a few pennies left after each month never ever again will I go through them again, never going try and rob peter to pay paul again. Its been a nightmare

[renegadeimp]

You know that the "doorstep collectors" have no legal rights. You can simply tell them to bugger off or youll call the police. Theyve basically conned you into repaying an exporbitant amount of money that you do not owe.

 

They are also very low priority lenders. You pay your essential outgoings and secured loans first. If theres only a few pounds left over after that, then thats what the other creditors get.

[onlymemyself]

glad you got a solution with minicredit that suited your circumstances sillymoo2.

 

they are a nightmare.I wouldn't recommend taking their word for anything over the phone

- would make them confirm by email at least.

 

If you persist with the emails they do eventually respond if you ignore all telephone contact.

 

I would never evertrust these lot with my bank details either they will try at random times to take what they can from your bank account.

 

I speak from experience. they will not bother whether they leave you penniless or not.

[onlymemyself]

I have now received another email from mini credit.

they are not backing down regards amount they have offered to settle for.

 

As they have waived most of their charges the amount over and above the original loan is made up mostly of additional interest.

 

I am wondering if I am within my rights to dispute this?

 

I know I can say their charges are extortionate but not sure about interest as I signed the loan agreement.

 

They have said in their email "

The interest charges You have accepted under the Loan agreement which is a financial binding document between Yourself and our compay.

If You did not agree with the Terms set in the Loan agreement You had no obligation to signe the agreement and accept the Terms."

 

Anyway they have said that Opos will be in touch with me shortlly and I can make monthly payments.

 

Should I just accept that I need to pay the additional interest as they don't seem to be budging on this,

I would try to get them to waive the small amount of charges they are still asking for(they waived most of the charges).

again I would appreciate your advice. thanks

[renegadeimp]

Of course you can dispute it. They are adding it on in violation of OFT guidelines.

[onlymemyself]

ok I will try. btw do you know what I can quote to them regarding the OFT guidelines they are breaking.thanks

Edited August 16, 2012 by onlymemyself

[charles34c]

Do not pay the loan shark interest and charges under any circumstances. Make a complaint to all regulating bodies. Keep copy of their threats.

Just to clarify I will contest such charges asbeing unfair and unjust in respect that you have been informed that I am havingfinancial difficulties. (AS PER OFTGUIDELINES)

Here are three OFT guideline breaches:

"Levy charges that are disproportionate to the main debt and which do not reflect the actual, necessary cost of recovering a debt"

"Pressure debtors who have defaulted on an agreement to pay unreasonably large instalments when they are unable to do so"

"Make misleading representations as to the action it might take or might be taking to recover a debt"

Edited August 17, 2012 by charles34c

[onlymemyself]

thanks charles34c - email going off to them this evening with these quotes

[onlymemyself]

Contact by OPOS by email and phone today re mini credit debt.

 

Bottom line is as I will not agree to set up repayment to repay full amount they want £1300+

they will not let me pay monthly payments as I will stop making payments when I have repaid original loan plus one month interest.

Accused me of dictating what I will pay and using stalling tactics.

 

Guy on phone said he is now referring back to minicredit which is fine

I'll keep arguing with them.

Just worried that it will be the action in their email that they go for.

I really cannot face court/ bankruptcy - I would lose my house.

 

Here is what the email from OPOS said

 

"Should this balance remain unpaid we are left with no other alternative than to recommend to our client that we look to secure Judgment (CCJ)

for the recovery of the above amount including any incurred costs.

 

Due your current employment status, and upon receipt of the land registry, we will recommend a Statutory Demand is issued with a view to file for Bankruptcy through **

**** Sheriff Court. Upon receipt of the Statutory Demand you will have 21 days to ‘satisfy’ the debt owed.

 

A Final Notice of Intent will be issues within the next 14 days should you fail to acknowledge this request."

 

Please someone advise me what to do now, there is no way I can even give in and pay I

I don't have this amount of money. I don't even have enough to pay original amount at one time.

Just don't know what to do anymore

[renegadeimp]

They cannot stop you paying. Under UK law, they are not allowed to refuse a legal payment made towards a debt, and they cannot refuse to give payment details.

 

You are well within your rights not to agree payment towards a heavily inflated debt that is full of unfair and unenforceable charges. As for dictating what you will pay, of course you can do that. All payments are to be made according to YOUR financial circumstances. Not whatever random number they make up.

 

If they take ANY court action, we can help you out with it. As for your house, bankruptcy, dont worry, that will never happen. I guarantee it. If it goes to court, and by some very unlucky chance, you lose the case, you will only be made to pay back what you can realistically afford. Minimuppets cannot do ANYTHING without a court order. As long as you have full proof of everything you have done, the court will side with you.

 

Just remember, that minicredit rarely send out any reps to a court case. They prefer to get judgement by default. The cases that they have turned up at, they have lost, as they fail to explain to a judge exactly what the charges are for. Remember, the judges are trained in things like this, and know every single thing possible with them, so its pretty much impossible to pull the wool over their eyes.

 

 

You are falling smack into the middle of their trap by worrying and panicking.

[onlymemyself]

Yes I am feeling a little panicky I must admit, but will keep going with this and stick to "I will only pay original amount plus one month interest" .meantime I would like to be making some payments to show I am serious about repaying the original loan and I want rid of this debt. Problem is how? no bank details for Minimuppets to make direct payments and don't want to phone with payment giving my card details. can anyone help with this? BTW OPOS seem to have premises in Glasgow so are they not actually in the same premises as minimuppets, i.e.not minis inhouse collection team?

Anyway once again thanks for reply and support