Come together to fight Swift Advances

[barneyand1]

I have a loan with swift it was 50,000 but is no over 70,000.

 

I have told them to stop chasing me or I would go bankrupt, result, they no longer chase me!

 

Under GAAP rules they should now take this loan off their balance sheet, ie it should be written off. Does this mean their trading practices are questionable?

[andrew1]

Don't take your eye off the ball. You're not bankrupt until you are bankrupt, just think of them as plotting.

[determindator]

Came across this http://www.consumersinternational.org/media/715456/a-guide-to-developing-consumer-protection-law.pdf

 

Very interesting and I will be reading with intent.

[andrew1]

Has anyone on here got a Barclays bank account/mortgage as well as a Swift loan?

 

If so, have you ever done an SAR on Barclays and kept the details?

 

Can you let me know please asap? Thanks

 

A1

[Gasanii4]

Hi I thought I was the only one? I borrowed £9000 in 2007 and I still owe £9000 may be a little more. I pay £100 per month. I cant understand this? Where am I going wrong?

I will join anyone thats wants to fight Swift Advances

[determindator]

Hi I thought I was the only one? I borrowed £9000 in 2007 and I still owe £9000 may be a little more. I pay £100 per month. I cant understand this? Where am I going wrong?

I will join anyone thats wants to fight Swift Advances

 

You're not going wrong, it's Swift who's going wrong! Well, welcome to the fight for freedom. It's worth requesting an early settlement figure, a usual request for a lender. If it's not what you expect, tell them to explain their calculations. Put your complaint about Swift to your MP and have a look at this thread http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?394477-Inportant-info-required(1-Viewing)-nbsp Keep us updated.

Edited June 19, 2013 by determindator

[determindator]

They are now adding a little foot note to letters under 'Help and Guidance' which says you should strongly consider seeking independent advice on debt and housing issues from an organisation such as the Citizens Advice Bureau or the charity Shelter. You may also consider contacting your local housing authority to discuss your accommodation requirements. They've decided the house is theirs for the taking before it goes to Court!! I don't think so:-D

 

I bet the CAB, Shelter and housing assocs are not impressed to say the least. These organisations want to see the likes of Swift help the customer, not put the burden onto already pressured groups.

[John 1963]

the government has chopped the budget for our local CAB so they are going to have to close down. More good news for swift

[faststream]

My experiences relating to Swift 1st Limited are 3rd hand,

 

however, I have had to front them on various issues.

 

My brother took out a 2nd mortgage on the family property in Dec 2007, jointly owned by him and our mother (83 yrs young @ the time of lending).

 

Within 3 months of initial loan, the fees and other spurious charges put the account into arrears,

and my brother was never able to meet the increasing monthly repayments and all of their additional charges and fees.

 

Despite all of the payments the loan figure increased year on year, and is now 50% more than the original 2007 loan.

 

My brother passed away late 2012, my mother went into care, and I am dealing with all of his affairs, including the property.

 

I made Swift aware of the circumstances and explained to them I was selling the family property to settle all 1st and 2nd mortgage/loans.

 

Despite my notification and regular communications with Swift,

without informing me,

they slapped a notice on the empty family property in early June 2013 and 7 days later re-possessed the property as the 2nd mortgagees.

 

They then put the house on the market and have accepted an offer which is £50k less than I had negotiated with a local agent.

 

I am still awaiting confirmation as to the costs and additional fees that Swift will be adding to the original agreement to cover their re-possession and associated costs.

 

I called Swift and spoke to various people and then wrote to Swift after taking legal advice,

complaining about their unethical and immoral activities and actions.

 

I then had their Property Director call me back,

very apologetic,

said they would take property off market immediately and hand over the sale to myself, if I so desired.

 

Without doubt the decision makers @ Swift are back street wide boys and no better than loan sharks,

and will take advantage of any and every opportunity to screw borrowers, irrespective of their circumstances or age.

 

If they know their assets are a safe bet, a property or similar, they will do all in their power to maximise the fees to secure high profit margins,

leading to bigger commissions and bonuses.

 

I am very happy to come together to make a stand against this company and key individuals.

[determindator]

Thank you for your post Faststream.

 

I'm sorry to hear how you and your family have been treated by Swift.

 

The loans are toxic and designed to fail.

 

I hope you are still receiving legal support as you can feel lonely and vulnerable dealing with Swift. I

 

think it needs investigating how they made their decision

 

this was responsible lending by them in the first instance, considering it was the home of your elderly mother.

 

Was PPI added?

 

The charges added to the account since the loan started need to be challenged.

 

There also shouldn't be costs associated with the repossession as you were not given the chance to sell the house yourself.

 

I hope the FCA will become involved with unregulated and reg second charge loans asap,

although it looks like early 2014 when we will know more.

Edited October 16, 2013 by determindator

[determindator]

The sentence above should read 'irresponsible' lending.

[fed up sid]

hello fellow sufferers.swift dont care about anyone but profit.they gave us a first mortgage on benefits alone which is illegal.they get away with this because they only deal through brokers,who melt away when the heat is on time to act before it is too late

[determindator]

hello fellow sufferers.swift dont care about anyone but profit.they gave us a first mortgage on benefits alone which is illegal.they get away with this because they only deal through brokers,who melt away when the heat is on time to act before it is too late

 

Hi Fed up Sid. Have a look at this it may be of use. It concerns mis-sold mortgages and 2nd charges. http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/i-think-ive-been-mis-sold-my-mortgage-what-can-i-do

 

The Consumer Rights Bill is also up for a shake up.

 

I recently saw The Wolf of Wall Street. Unscrupulous dealings, using people to feed their greed. Sound familiar?

[determindator]

Hi Fed up Sid. Have a look at this it may be of use. It concerns mis-sold mortgages and 2nd charges. http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/i-think-ive-been-mis-sold-my-mortgage-what-can-i-do

 

The Consumer Rights Bill is also up for a shake up.

 

I recently saw The Wolf of Wall Street. Unscrupulous dealings, using people to feed their greed. Sound familiar?

 

Posting this link here also http://www.fca.org.uk/firms/firm-types/mortgage-brokers-and-home-finance-lenders/mcobs/scope-of-regulation Click on Q1 and Q2 for answers to the questions.

[ccrl14]

I have asked Swift to refund me the excessive charges they have added to my loan over the past few years..over £2000.....they offered me £18! I declined their very kind offer! I am going to complain to the financial ombudsman...any one else had any luck?

[John 1963]

no and I don't think anyone ever has

[andrew1]

I have asked Swift to refund me the excessive charges they have added to my loan over the past few years..over £2000.....they offered me £18! I declined their very kind offer! I am going to complain to the financial ombudsman...any one else had any luck?

 

If they offered £18 what was it for?

[coxiek]

Dear Swift Loan sufferers, I two have struggled to understand the charges applied to my loan account, i really would a solicitor to look into this matter to see if there any way out and pursue this company, did anyone get anywhere in this area? or if you could send me any information which might help? did any collective group get up and running?

[wendy1512]

My wife and I entered an agreement with Swift in April 1995 for the sum of £20,000.

Due to her contact MS which had a rapid decline on her i gave up employment 4 years later to care for here 24/7

This had a dramatic effect on our income and the extra expense in special equipment, alterations to the house and the expenses of outside care and in her last years the expense of nursing care.

She died in 2008.

During this period Swift where also kept informed of our situation the account fell into arrears they should no sympathy what so ever and continued hounding us with threatening letters and reposession action and continued adding charges.

Bearing in mind the orginal loan was for £20,000 £80,000 has been paid and within the last weeks I am informed by Swift the current balance is over £154,000. therefore my calculation a £20,000 is costing me £234,000.

Also they are now threatening me with loosing my home within weeks.

I am 68 years of age. talk about making money out of misery and ill health

Any help or advise would be of great help.

[dx100uk]

if you have received threats of repo you should ideally start a new thread

 

of your own

 

you might get ignored/missed on this thread here

 

dx

[andrew1]

My wife and I entered an agreement with Swift in April 1995 for the sum of £20,000.

Due to her contact MS which had a rapid decline on her i gave up employment 4 years later to care for here 24/7

This had a dramatic effect on our income and the extra expense in special equipment, alterations to the house and the expenses of outside care and in her last years the expense of nursing care.

She died in 2008.

During this period Swift where also kept informed of our situation the account fell into arrears they should no sympathy what so ever and continued hounding us with threatening letters and reposession action and continued adding charges.

Bearing in mind the orginal loan was for £20,000 £80,000 has been paid and within the last weeks I am informed by Swift the current balance is over £154,000. therefore my calculation a £20,000 is costing me £234,000.

Also they are now threatening me with loosing my home within weeks.

I am 68 years of age. talk about making money out of misery and ill health

Any help or advise would be of great help.

 

Wendy, whatever you do, keep coming on here and checking and letting us know, by posting something, you're okay.. There's a lot going on all around which you won't see on the open forum, keep coming on and checking.

 

get ALL your data from Swift by issuing a Data Subject Access Request - it'll cost you £10, but you will receive all the records they hold on you. It takes 40 days (or that's how long they have to supply it.) You need to get your original documentation, agreement etc and a copy of your Actuarial Account Summary sheets (in A3 or you won't be able to read them - ask for them in A3) - that'll give you a vast amount of data relating to payments and charges made to your account. They don't supply that unless you ask.

 

If you are being threatened with possession this information will be vital for you and I'd suggest you contact your local CAB office too as things are hotting up.

 

As dx100uk says, if you can, open up a new thread and copy your above post onto it...I'll keep an eye on your posts, just ask away....you are not and never alone on here. There's a whole crowd of us on Swift's case and have been since 2007 and some of us have gone through hell and back and still are, but we are getting there.

 

Try not worry, it's hard, but come on here and we'll try and help you.

 

A1

[John 1963]

also if possible try to keep paying them even if it is only the interest, as you are aware they compound the interest and charges

[kirby34]

I have only just come across this web site as I was searching for "COMPLAINTS ABOUT SWIFT ADVANCES"

as I am one of the unfortunate" SWIFT VICTIMS"

 

 

I was not surprised to see how many people have complained about this company,

 

 

I have had years of stress and upset dealing with them over my late mothers account

especially this last twelve months since she passed away,

 

 

reading the threads on various issues people have endured

I have now booked an appointment to see my local MP to hopefully try and help with this matter

 

 

I would be very interested to hear if there is still any campaign's ongoing

or any information that could be relevant that we are still trying to take action against this company

and to get a petition to Parliament abut the despicable manor in which this company conducts its self.

[andrew1]

Hi kirby34 & welcome.

 

There are still folks working on this Company's antics, could you perhaps expand upon the problems you have encountered and what it is that is driving you to your MP..much ground has already been covered so a little more information may assist us in helping you...

 

There's a lot more going on than you might imagine.

 

andrew1

[kirby34]

Hi andrew1

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

Where do I start with Swift?

Just the spelling of the word makes my blood boil!

 

This is just a short? story about the ongoing issues I am having with them,

 

 

my late mother took a second charge out with them in 2006

she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2008

I informed them of the situation but they weren't the slightest bit sympathetic.

 

 

I became power of attorney,

I tried to maintain payment but

fell into arrears

 

 

eventually the interest and charges stared to spiral to the point where the monthly payments were not enough to cover the interest,

 

 

I made several complaints of which they did not uphold.

 

 

I became very stressed and angry that even though they were aware of mum’s condition

they continued to apply the ridiculous charges and interest and threatening repossession.

 

 

Mum became very ill and sadly passed away last year but

 

 

they continued to pursue me for the payments

 

 

I was grieving for my mum and still being harassed by this despicable company.

 

 

The house had been on the market for two years with no potential buyers until

 

 

June this year I offered them a settlement figure as their balance was ludicrous at nearly five times the amount initially borrowed!!!

 

 

they decided to take repossession proceedings,

which they adjourned twice and of which the next hearing is in three weeks.

 

 

I took them three months to decide to refuse three offers of settlement that I proposed to them it,

they have messed about with asking for the same information from all parties concerned in the sale

and now I fear the sale could be lost.

 

 

This has been a total nightmare!

Thus causing my health t suffer greatly,

 

 

I have spoken to the F.S.A twice who logged my complaint

but said they could not discuss the investigation,

 

 

whom directed me to the Financial Ombudsman

whom I filed my complaint to but

 

 

in the adjudicators decision I could not personally complain about Swift as it was not my debt! But

 

 

the only agreed that they should refund a SMALL amount of unfair charges in comparison, between certain dates. But

 

 

yet I am being taken to court?

 

 

I was not impressed

I applied for the Ombudsmen to look at this and still no joy

 

 

again I am taking this further with them too.

 

 

My life has been consumed with this dam company but

I feel so strong about the way they have treated me and my mum

and seeing all the other people that have been effected by them

and their life's destroyed and homes taken away by greedy selfless companies like these

that I will peruse this matter as far as I can and if that means going to Parliament so be it.

 

 

That’s when I found The Consumer Action Group and all the forums against Swift

and saw your thread about them and

 

 

I was not surprised to read all the stories

 

 

if you could provide anything that I could take to my local M.P for tomorrow would be greatly appreciated,

 

 

we must fight against this kind of treatment!!

 

 

Why should these companies be allowed to rip people off?!

 

Sorry to drone on i hope you are still awake! as I said this is only a small version of events!

Edited November 4, 2014 by dx100uk
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