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    • Heres a point, while we wait for @theoldrouge to condemn rather than promote and support right wing bigots spouting genuine and clear monstrous antisemitic rhetoric ... Isn't it actually specifically unlawful to promote violence against politicians on top of laws to criminalise such things? ... As is reported happening in these closed facebook groups run by Tory staff and where a Tory police minister and the Tory London mayor candidate are members and post?   .. or do the Tories (seemingly like tor) only promote laws for protecting the hate spouting hard right ?   "“Some of these (Tory facebook groups) posts constitute the most appalling racism and I would urge the Conservative Party to swiftly distance itself from these hate-filled groups and urgently investigate what role any Conservative politicians and officials have played within them. “Susan Hall and the Tory MPs who have belonged to these groups need to come out and explain why – and to denounce the content they have tacitly endorsed by their membership.” "Reporters found widespread racism and Islamophobia as well as conspiracy theories and celebrations of criminal damage on the pages, including sharing the white supremacist slogan and antisemitic videos. " "Unearthed found that 46 out of the 82 admins have clear links to the Tory Party, including a recent digital campaign manager for the party and a conservative activist. Conservative councillor for Haywards Heath, Rachel Cromie, is an admin on all the groups. "     Also interesting that Facebook groups opposing 20mph speed limit in Wales are being run by English Tories   Conservative-run anti-Ulez Facebook groups hosted racist and Islamophobic posts - Unearthed UNEARTHED.GREENPEACE.ORG Tory staff running Facebook groups described as 'cesspits of vile racism' WWW.THENATIONAL.SCOT TORY staff and activists are running Facebook pages which are riddled with white supremacist slogans and Islamophobic attacks... Conservative-run anti-ULEZ Facebook groups are rife with racist and violent posts   Conservative-run anti-ULEZ Facebook groups are rife with racist and violent posts - London Post LONDON-POST.CO.UK A coordinated network of 36 Facebook groups opposing London’s ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ), run by Conservative councillors and...  
    • Morning dx and thank you for your message.   With regards to your comment about them not needing to produce the deed, the additional directions ordered by the judge included 'a copy of any assignment o the debt or agreement relied upon'  so that is why I thought that point was relevant?
    • Sorry for the long post but I don't want to miss out any relevant information: My wife bought a car from Trade Centre UK and have been having nothing but trouble with it. Unfortunately we paid of the finance used to buy the car as we weren't expecting this much trouble with the car as we we though we would have protection as buying from a dealer. We are wondering if we can still reject the vehicle since the finance plan has been paid off. Timeline is as follows: 13/12/2023 -15/12/2023 Bought car from Trade Centre UK for £10548 £2000 deposit paid on credit card on 13/12/2023 £8548 on finance from Moneybarn (arranged through Trade Centre UK). picked up car on 15/12/2023 Also bought lifetime warranty for £50/month 25/12/2023 Engine Management Light comes on. The AA called out and diagnosed the following error codes: P0133 - Lambda sensor (bank 1, sensor 1) Oxygen Sensor. Error Message : Slow reaction. Error sporadic P0135 - Lambda sensor heat. circ.(bank1,sensor1) Oxygen Sensor. Error Message : Component defective Due to it being Christmas took a few days to get through to them but they booked me in for 28/12/2023 to run their own diagnostics. 28/12/2023 Took car in to Trade Centre so could check the car – They agreed it was the Oxygen Sensor and Booked me in for repair on 30/01/2024. I was told they had no earlier slots, and I would be fine to carry on driving car when I said I was afraid of problem worse. During diagnosing the problem, they reset the Engine Management Light. During drive home light comes back on. 29/12/2023 - 29/01/2024 I carry on driving the car but closer to the date, engine goes to reduced power every now and again – not being a mechanic I presumed that this was due to above fault. 20/01/2024 Not expecting any more problems paid off the finance on the car using personal loan from bank with lower interest rate. 30/01/2024 Trade Centre replace to O2 sensor (They also take it on a roughly 60mile road trip which seems a bit excessive to me – I can’t prove this as something prompted me take a picture of milage when I handed car in but I forgot take one on collection – only remembered next day.) 06/02/2024 Engine goes in reduced power mode again and engine management light comes on – Thinking the Trade centre’s 28 day warranty period was over I booked the car the into local garage for the next day to get problem fixed under the lifetime warranty package. Fault seems to clear after engine was switched off. 07/02/2024 In the Morning, I take it to local garage who say as the light gone off – the warranty company is unlikely to cover the cost of the repair or diagnostics and recommend I contact them when the light comes back on. In the evening the light comes back on and luckily I manage to get it back to the garage just before it shuts for the day. 08/02/2024 The Garage sends me a diagnostics video showing a lot error codes been picked up by their diagnostics machine including codes for Oxygen sensor and Nox Sensors, Accelerator pedal and several more. Video also shows EGR Hose not connected to the intake manifold properly, they believed this was confusing the onboard system as it is unlikely this many sensors would trigger at same the time but they couldn’t be certain until they repaired the hose. 13/02/2024 Finally get the car back as it took a while to get approval and payment for the repairs from the Warranty company. Garage told me to keep an eye the car as errors had cleared with the hose but couldn’t 100% certain that’s what caused the problem. 06/03/2024 Engine management light comes on again. Fed up I go into Trade Centre as I was just around the corner when it happened and asked them how to reject the car or have the problem fixed. They insist that as it’s over 28 days I need to get the car fixed under the warranty package I purchased and they could no longer fix the car as it was over 28 days. When I tried telling them it appeared to be the same or related problem they said they couldn’t help as I hadn’t contacted them earlier. I asked them if they were willing to connect the car to the diagnostics machine and tell me what the problem was, as a goodwill gesture, which he agreed to do and took the car to the back He came back around 30 minutes later and said they took a look at the sensor they replaced previously and there was nothing wrong with it and engine management light went off when they removed the sensor to check it. When I asked what the error code he couldn’t give me an exact fault but the said it one of the problems I told him earlier (Accelerator pedal). I have this visit audio recorded on my phone – I informed the reps I was recording several times. As the light wasn’t on, local garage couldn’t book me for a repair under warranty. 07/03/2024 Light came on so managed to book back into local garage for the 12/03/2024 Whilst waiting to take car into garage, I borrowed a OBD sensor and scanned for errors on the car. This showed the following errors: P11BE – Manufacturer specific code (Google showed this to be NOX sensor) P0133 - Oxygen (Lambda) Sensor B1 S1: Response too Slow 12/03/2024 Took car to local garage and the confirmed the above errors. This leads me to believe that either Trade Centre UK reps lied and just reset the light or just didn’t check properly (Obviously I am unable to prove this) 22/03/2024 Finally got the car back as according to garage, the warranty company took a long to time to pay for the repairs 28/04/2024 Engine management Light has come back on. Using the borrowed OBD scanner I am getting the following codes: P0133 - Oxygen (Lambda) Sensor B1 S1: Response too Slow P2138 - Accelerator Position Sensors (G79) / (G185): Implausible Correlation I have not yet booked into a garage as I wanted to see what my rights are in terms of rejecting the car as to me the faults seem related. I can’t keep using taxi or train to get to work every time the car goes into the garage as it is getting very expensive. Am I right in thinking that they have used up their chance to repair when they conducted the repair end of January or when they refused to repair it in February ? If I am still able to reject the vehicle could you point to any sample letters or emails I can use. Thankyou for your advice on my next steps.
    • Ok noted about the screenshot uploads. In terms of screwing up I had one previous ticket that defaulted and ended up in a CCJ from Southend airport because for some reason during COVID I didn't receive their claim form just a notice of default. This hospital ticket was the 2nd ticket that went to CCJ due to a lack of knowledge of the process. Maybe it's easier just to pay them in future I'm thinking though, I don't get them very often anyway
  • Our picks

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    • Hello,

      On 15/1/24 booked appointment with Big Motoring World (BMW) to view a mini on 17/1/24 at 8pm at their Enfield dealership.  

      Car was dirty and test drive was two circuits of roundabout on entry to the showroom.  Was p/x my car and rushed by sales exec and a manager into buying the mini and a 3yr warranty that night, sale all wrapped up by 10pm.  They strongly advised me taking warranty out on car that age (2017) and confirmed it was honoured at over 500 UK registered garages.

      The next day, 18/1/24 noticed amber engine warning light on dashboard , immediately phoned BMW aftercare team to ask for it to be investigated asap at nearest garage to me. After 15 mins on hold was told only their 5 service centres across the UK can deal with car issues with earliest date for inspection in March ! Said I’m not happy with that given what sales team advised or driving car. Told an amber warning light only advisory so to drive with caution and call back when light goes red.

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    • Housing Association property flooding. https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/438641-housing-association-property-flooding/&do=findComment&comment=5124299
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    • We have finally managed to obtain the transcript of this case.

      The judge's reasoning is very useful and will certainly be helpful in any other cases relating to third-party rights where the customer has contracted with the courier company by using a broker.
      This is generally speaking the problem with using PackLink who are domiciled in Spain and very conveniently out of reach of the British justice system.

      Frankly I don't think that is any accident.

      One of the points that the judge made was that the customers contract with the broker specifically refers to the courier – and it is clear that the courier knows that they are acting for a third party. There is no need to name the third party. They just have to be recognisably part of a class of person – such as a sender or a recipient of the parcel.

      Please note that a recent case against UPS failed on exactly the same issue with the judge held that the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 did not apply.

      We will be getting that transcript very soon. We will look at it and we will understand how the judge made such catastrophic mistakes. It was a very poor judgement.
      We will be recommending that people do include this adverse judgement in their bundle so that when they go to county court the judge will see both sides and see the arguments against this adverse judgement.
      Also, we will be to demonstrate to the judge that we are fair-minded and that we don't mind bringing everything to the attention of the judge even if it is against our own interests.
      This is good ethical practice.

      It would be very nice if the parcel delivery companies – including EVRi – practised this kind of thing as well.

       

      OT APPROVED, 365MC637, FAROOQ, EVRi, 12.07.23 (BRENT) - J v4.pdf
        • Like

How to deal with Swift Advances....


Caz72
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Hi All,

 

I have been reading through all the Swift threads with interest as I too have the same issues.

 

Swift have obtained a possession order on my property, which is currently suspended. Having been made unemployed twice in the last 2 years I have built up arrears on my Swift Advances loan. Taken out in 2006 for £12000, this now stands at almost £22000. Despite having previously agreed to pay over and above the monthly installments to attempt to clear the arrears, I now find out that the monthly repayment doesn't even cover what they are charging me in fees and interest!!

 

I am now trying to re-negotiate with Swift on what I should be paying each month as I am back in work. Is it worth asking to have the loan re-financed to stop the charges being added? Or should I proceed like Jon in trying to claim back the charges?

 

Any additional info or help would be greatly appreciated.

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Hi Caz and welcome to CAG. I've moved your post to your own thread.

 

I would be dubious about re-financing with Swift. I presume that they haven't been notifying you about the charges or you would have realised the problem.

 

I suggest that you start off by sending a Subject Access Request which should provide all the information Swift have regarding you and your account with them. You can adapt this template to suit your circumstances. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?552-Data-Protection

 

Did you go to court when they got the possession order?

The Consumer Action Group is a free help site.

Should you be offered help that requires payment please report it to site team.

Advice & opinions given by Caro are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

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Thanks Caro.

 

I have today sent the SAR and have also logged a complaint with the FOS as Swift are now threatening to enforce the possession order. Having been back through the charges they have applied, they have even charged me £35 each month for paying by standing order! I hadn't realised the extent of the charges until I queried why the loan balance had all but doubled.

 

I did attend court for the possession order and agreed a revised payment plan to assist in clearing the arrears at that time. All was fine until I was made unemployed in Sept of last year and struggled to meet those payments.

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How come a loan of £12,000 was secured on your property?

 

I suggest that you also complain to the Office of Fair Trading who I understand are very interested in what Swift get up to.

 

I've not heard of charging for standing orders, but it doesn't surprise me.

Edited by caro
The Consumer Action Group is a free help site.

Should you be offered help that requires payment please report it to site team.

Advice & opinions given by Caro are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

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Unfortunately, a secured loan was the only option open to me at the time. Had I have known then just how shocking Swift were I wouldn't have even contemplated borrowing from them.

 

What was a 10 year term at 168.07 per month is now turning into a 21 year term of 250.00 per month. We have sent a letter of complaint showing itemised charges that we would like reimbursed. When I paid by direct debit they didn't feel the need to charge me but when I paid by standing order the charge was applied, for what is primarily the same process!

 

Will put in a complaint to OfT as well, the more we can do to damage this company the better.

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On the OFT website, it is suggesting that individual consumer complaints should be directed to the FoS. Is there another way to make a complaint to them? I would be keen to include a copy of the letter we have just sent to Swift showing all the charges.

 

Are there any areas of the Consumer Credit Act that can be quoted where Swift may be in breach, i.e. minimum standards of behaviour or traders fitness under section 25?

 

Another thought - all of my paperwork has always been produced using 'Mrs', despite having my identity checked and repeatedly requesting that they amend correspondance to say 'Miss'. Anything I can do here?

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ok, have just found this contact for OFT in another thread. Is it still applicable?

 

Sam Bragg

Secured Lending Team

The Office of Fair Trading

Fleetbank House

2-6 Salisbury Square

London

EC4Y 8JX.

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ok, have just found this contact for OFT in another thread. Is it still applicable?

 

Sam Bragg

Secured Lending Team

The Office of Fair Trading

Fleetbank House

2-6 Salisbury Square

London

EC4Y 8JX.

 

Yes it is. His email address is sam.bragg@o ft.gsi.gov.uk (without the gap between the o and the f)

The Consumer Action Group is a free help site.

Should you be offered help that requires payment please report it to site team.

Advice & opinions given by Caro are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

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Great stuff. The more evidence they get the better! :wink:

The Consumer Action Group is a free help site.

Should you be offered help that requires payment please report it to site team.

Advice & opinions given by Caro are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Acknowledgement received today from the FOS that my complaint has been lodged with Swift. Now need to wait the 8 weeks and see what Swift come back with.

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Swift have now replied to the SAR - including a copy of the original signed agreement, account summary and charges sheet. This is all I got back from them. Should I have had more detailed info on notes etc that they hold about the account?

 

In addition, have had a response to my letter requesting charges to be refunded. No breakdown as to how they have arrived at their figure, whether it includes interest or why it is less than what was requested!!!

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Also had email back from OFT :-D

 

Thank you for your email sent on 27 June 2012.

 

We welcome information received from consumers about the conduct of licensees. The information you have provided will be considered by the OFT as part of our role of monitoring the behaviour of licensees. We are not able to tell you, unfortunately, whetherwe are, or will be in the future, investigating Swift Advances Plc (Swift). Whilst the OFT aims to be as transparent as possible in notifying its actions and decisions, it is subject to restrictions on the disclosure of information as are set out in Part 9of the Enterprise Act 2002. Breaches of those restrictions would be a criminal offence.

 

I’m pleased to see that you have contacted FOS, as unfortunately the OFT is unable to intervene on behalf of individual consumers who are in dispute with traders. I have attached a list below of other organisations that may be able to help you.

 

You may be aware that the OFT imposed requirements on Swift in 2010. Details of any formal licensing action taken by the OFT are made publicly available on the OFT's consumer credit public register and a copy of the requirements imposed on Swift has beenpublished on the public register www2.crw.gov.uk. In addition, details of the action taken against Swift are also available on the OFT's website oft.gov.uk/OFTwork/credit/enforce-action

 

The OFT monitors licensees’ conduct against, and compliance with, requirements. The OFT will therefore continue to monitor Swift's conduct, particularly in respect of the requirements that have been imposed.

 

I would like to thank you again for taking the time to contact us, and for the information you have provided us.

 

Kind regards,

 

Katy Galbraith

Secured Lending Team

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FOS Complaint form filled in and sent yesterday regarding excessive and unfair charges levied onto my account (£13000) by Swift Advances Plc along with supporting evidence.Email also sent to Office of Fair Trading secured lending team (OFT) informing them a complaint has been lodged against Swift.Now time to sit back for atleast a year while the Fos unravel this one.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Still awaiting a final decision from Swift regarding refunding charges that should never have been applied. In total, I have requested almost £1500 be refunded and we now have letters bouncing back and forward as they put in their counter offers. We're up to approx £1200 currently.........

 

Today I also found out that my mortgage company have charged me £35 for a redemption statement which Swift requested. That'll be another £35 they can reimburse me!!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Make sure you get a full redress on charges with all compound interest applied. It is the compound interest which multiplies the debt with Swift. We were successful with FOS getting charges reduced to monthly arrears charges only. Watch their litigation charges though, they are keen to get to court, even if for a suspended possession order. The litigatiion charges also attract compound interest.

Make sure any litigation work is actually carried out by their litigation department.

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  • 1 month later...

!! UPDATE !!

Decision received today from FOS regarding excessive charges levied by Swift Advances and despite all the evidence i sent including OFT recent court case with Swift,They have decided to NOT uphold my complaint. Any ideas on what to do now? Appreciated.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Following my recent knock back from the adjudicator at FOS i was given the option to have them reconsider there decision so i ask for this to be looked at again.In the meantime i have requested a copy of the Actuarial Account summary (A3) and have received this promptly but in A4 format,it is however legible just in small print.What is it i should be looking for on the summary that would make my case stronger against Swift? If anyone knows,that would be appreciated.Thanks.

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  • 3 months later...
Could you come back and give us an update please Trucker ?

Yes sure can.

Basically my complaint has gone to the top level with the Ombudsman and is now awaiting a final and binding decision from the Ombudsman. My case Fos adjudicator did find that my complaint was valid and that there were a number of charges that should be refunded as they were found to be excessive and unfair,however Swift refused to comply with the fos adjudicator so the case has now been passed for case review so the actual ombudsman can legally force Swift to comply with there findings.

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Yes sure can.

Basically my complaint has gone to the top level with the Ombudsman and is now awaiting a final and binding decision from the Ombudsman. My case Fos adjudicator did find that my complaint was valid and that there were a number of charges that should be refunded as they were found to be excessive and unfair,however Swift refused to comply with the fos adjudicator so the case has now been passed for case review so the actual ombudsman can legally force Swift to comply with there findings.

Also just to add, i have done some more looking into the charges in relation to payments made by myself year on year from 2005 - 2009 and have come up with the following.

2005-£237.50 in credit-------£497 in charges

2006-£523.22 in arrears------£1606 in charges

2007-£278.22 in arrears----- £2166 in charges

2008-£302.71 in arrears----- £742 in charges

2009-Home repossessed---- £4182 in charges

Total of £9193 in charges plus the interest.

So looking at that if it weren't for the charges plus interest my home would never have been repossessed for being just a little more than a months payment in arrears.

Needless to say the Fos and Oft have all this information!

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