Wonga Repayment & Other Debt Payment Plans Advice Required!!

[J2012]

Morning all first time poster.

 

First of all I would like to say how helpfull this forum has been with reading peoples experiences and also peoples input and encouragement in overcoming their debts.

 

I now require some help of my own.

 

My current debts are as follows

 

I currently have a loan with Wonga for £1500 which is due for collection on August the 1st.

 

I owe a debt collection agency £900 for the remainder of my Orange mobile contract

(I have written to them offering £20 per month 5 days ago and have heard nothing back since)

 

I also owe £340 in upaid council tax (My direct debit is active but my last 3 payments have not come out,I have yet to contact them regarding this but have recieved a letter...I live in a rented property)

 

The money I have clear/spare at the end of each month is around £150 that is with paying my normal council tax and all other bills.

 

 

I emailed wonga explaining that I would not be able to pay the amount of £1500 in one payment and would need to arrange a payment plan with themselves.

 

Today I recieved this reply

 

Our aim is always to help you settle your loan as quickly as possible. Acknowledging difficulty in repaying is actually half the battle, so we really appreciate you getting in touch and discussing a repayment plan.

Whilst we appreciate your current difficulties, in order to help, we need to get a much better understanding of your current financial situation.

 

To do this we need you to fill in the attached income and expenditure form and return it to us as soon as it is complete.

 

Please note: Incomplete income and expenditure forms will be returned to you for further information, and interest, charges and attempts at payment will not be suspended during this time.

 

As soon as we acknowledge receipt of your complete income and expenditure form, we will suspend interest and charges and all attempts at payment. When we have assessed your income and expenditure form we will reply to you, via email, with our decision.

We are here to help, so if you have any queries regarding this email, please contact our friendly assessments team at this email address: wonga etc etc

 

I have read on previous threads that people advise against summiting this form? I do not wish to come across as awkward from Wonga's perspective but also would not want to hurt myself by submitting this form if it is not advised?

 

I would really appreciate some advice on the next steps forward for myself,My main concern right now is Wonga but any advice with my other debts would be very much appreciated.

 

 

Many thanks for the assistance and taking the time to read my post.

[J2012]

Cant see my thread (found it)

[renegadeimp]

First of all. Council tax takes priority over your other debts. No ifs, ands or buts about that.

 

DO NOT fill out the creditors income and expenditure form. Instead, do the following:

 

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/pdf/personal-budget-sheet/your-personal-budget-sheet.pdf download that and fill it in. Do NOT give it to any creditors. It is for YOUR use only.

Once you have spent some time filling it in, download http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/pdf/personal-budget-sheet/budget-summary-for-creditors.pdf and fill it in.

 

THe second form is the only one you send to a creditor. Ignore their attempts to get other info. If they start to request wage slips/employers info/bank statements/utility bills, tell them to take a running jump. Only a court can order you to release more info than what is on that budget summary, and even then the PDL will never get to see the information. It will be used solely by the court to determine a repayment plan.

 

As for them "assessing" your forms, it is not up to them how much you repay. What you repay is what you can actually afford. Not what they think you can.

 

If you need any more help, feel free to ask

[J2012]

Thank you so much Renegade,I will download the forms when I get home from work and take a look at them and get them filled in asap

[J2012]

When I fill these forms out and send them to Wonga should I tell them that this is the only form I am willing to send them and I will not be completing the expenditure form that they have sent etc??

 

Or any better way to reword that??

[renegadeimp]

Nope. Just send a cover letter with it saying something like:

 

 

Blood sucking PDL.

 

Reference number: xxxxxxxx

 

In regards to your recent communication with me regarding the above account.

 

Please find enclosed my complete and up to date budget summary. The contents of which are factual and my current circumstances. I will not be providing you with any more information than what is contained on said form.

 

My offer of repayment at £xx per week/month still stands.

 

I feel i must remind you of your obligations under OFT guidance on debt collection in regards to this debt.

 

Please reply accepting this repayment offer within 7 days.

 

Sincerely

 

xxxxx

 

 

 

Or if you worked out that you cant afford the original amount, send the following:

 

Blood sucking PDL.

 

Reference number: xxxxxxxx

 

In regards to your recent communication with me regarding the above account.

 

Thankyou for advising me to complete an up to date expenditure form. I have now done so, and have worked out that i can no longer afford my original intended rate of repayment to you.

 

Please find enclosed my complete and up to date budget summary. The contents of which are factual and my current circumstances. I will not be providing you with any more information than what is contained on said form.

 

My new offer of repayment is £xx per week/month

 

I feel i must remind you of your obligations under OFT guidance on debt collection.

 

Please reply accepting this repayment plan within 7 days.

 

Sincerely

 

xxxxx

Edited July 18, 2012 by renegadeimp

[J2012]

Ok Renegade,Would you suggest sending that via recorded delivery in the mail or via email (If that is possible)

[renegadeimp]

Only ever communicate with them via recorded delivery letter, or by email but CC'd to yourself. This allows you to keep the headers generated by your email host, so you can show them to a court if needed that the message was indeed sent and received.

[J2012]

Update:

 

I have now sent off the forms recorded delivery as suggested by Renegade to both Wonga and the people acting on behalf of Orange.

 

For the debt relating to Orange of £911 I have offered £22 per month

and for Wonga £1415 I have offered £50 per month.

 

Am I right in thinking that these companies cannot add interest or any further charges to those bill amounts?

 

And also my Wonga repayment for the full amount is due on 1 August but I get paid on the 29th July,Im very concerned that Wonga will attempt to try and remove as much as they can without notifying me....The worst case scenario would be for them to take half the money out leaving me unable to pay my normal bills on the 1st August and leaving me in arrears with all my other bills such as rent etc.

 

Should I go to my bank (Nationwide) and withdraw all my funds on the 29th and keep them safe for a while??

[Jamie Kingston]

they can but they probably won't.

[renegadeimp]

If wonga debit your account on ANY day which is not what you specifically agreed, then you must file chargebacks and get complaining. Chargebacks can be done in writing or on the phoen to your bank, formal complaints/discussions MUST be in writing to whomever is concerned.

[J2012]

Thanks Renegade,I have done a chargeback once before about a year ago for money another company took out and the money was returned the same day so I guess that is a weight off my mind,Any idea about them charging me interest or adding charges onto my bills for me offering a payment plan?

[renegadeimp]

They can try and add interest, but i think its only at 8% PA, not the extortionate amount they try to add on. They don't have to stop it accruing, but its seen as breaching OFT guidance if they don't and the debt reaches an unpayable level.

[J2012]

Hmmm interesting,So I have filled out the forms as you advised,Would you be worried about the possiblity or them adding crazy interest and charges or would you be happy safe in the knowledge that you have offered what you can afford and not worry too much?

 

Also as my repayment date is the 1st August can they legally still try and remove what funds they are able to? I know you mention that if they try on a date that isnt agreed I can chargeback but are they not allowed to try and take a smaller amount on the original agreed payback date?

Edited July 27, 2012 by J2012

[renegadeimp]

If you tell them you cant meet the repayments and tell them to only take a specific amount, if they try and debit the full amount then its fraud.

[J2012]

Update

 

My Orange bill repayment plan of £22 per month has been approved and I have set up a standing order for that amount.

 

Wonga however have not acknowledged my payment plan letter which was sent a week ago now via recorded delivery.They keep sending me emails that the account is overdue,I have replied stating that I will not be contactable via email and am awaiting the reply from Wonga regarding my payment plan.

 

Is there anything else I should do??

[renegadeimp]

Send them the repayment plan once a week. Reference the previous letters you sent by recorded delivery. DOn't start chasing them up. If they refuse to reply or acknowledge your situation, thats their problem. As long as you can show willingness to repay, then youll be fine.

 

If you have wongas bank details, start making token payments to them so you can prove you have every intent of paying the debt off.

[J2012]

Ok Renegade,I do not have their account details but I will send them another copy of the repayment plan next week If I havent heard from them by Wednesday

[renegadeimp]

If you are able to record the calls, then you could phone them up and tell them. Some people have had success this way. Just remember, CAGS official advice when dealing with creditors is to record all calls that are made to and from them.

[J2012]

Those scumbags have started taking money out of my account whenever possible!

 

Debits of 10,10,10,10,32 all on one day which was not authorised.

 

As they continue to ignore my payment plan I sent them they decide its ok to just remove as much as possible and the best part is they havent even informed me.

 

I will be calling my bank on Monday to issue a chargeback and see what can be done in regards to blocking them.

 

Luckily I removed all of my wages into my savings account and the amount they removed adds up to around £90

[J2012]

Renegade:I wont be calling them or wasting another £3 to send a recorded delivery letter every week.

 

I have made it clear that I will not reply via telephone or email and all correspondance are to be made in writing to myself.

 

I have sent my payment plan recorded delivery and gave them 7 days to reply in the letter.I also told them I had no way of paying the debt in full at least a week before It was due to be paid back.

 

Im not wasting anymore time with these idiots...If they choose to ignore my advances to clear the debt then I will simply block them from my account or set up a new one and leave it with them until they write to me accepting my offer.

[missgowen]

hi there, this is my first post and I hope this helps.

I also defaulted on Wonga on the 29th of July for £1315 and I have successfully set up a repayment plan with them over 12 months without speaking to them over the phone, although I allowed emails, why do you not want contact via email?

 

Firstly, I emailed everyday for 4 days straight with no reply. I then emailed them on the 5th day informing them that I would be making a complaint with the OFT if I didn't get a reply within 24 hours as I fully believed they were ignoring me to accumulate unfair interest. GUESS WHAT, they replied with confirmation that they would accept my offer- no forms to fill out, no phone calls and no interest just the original payment and one months interest! Success!

 

On the 5th day I emailed 3 different email addresses found on sites like these, balance offer@wonga/ customercare@wonga and debt management@wonga- i hope this helps!

 

Let us know how you get on and good luck

[scotslad26]

just phone them you will be surprised how easy it is took me 5 mins to set up a plan got it in writing aswel.

[renegadeimp]

We advise people to only phone them if you can record the call. We have had way too many instances of people calling and never getting confirmation of what was said, or a very vague confirmation, despite being told over the phone that the full conversation would be notarised.

[scotslad26]

I understand that but as long as they get it in writing its ok.