Many PDL Outstanding...

[Yukiko]

Good evening.

 

I don't normally ask for advice on things, but I've been reading this site for a while and it seems there is some truly excellent information on here.

 

I have many PDL outstanding at the moment with companies including; Minicredit, TXTLoan, Payday Express, Lending Stream, Wonga, QuickQuid, Mr. Lender, Money Shop, Provident and Greenwoods.

 

I was keeping good payments on Greenwoods and Provident until I lost a months earnings due to my car exploding (quite literally) and causing damage to somebodys property. My insurance excess was excess was massive, so I used my wages thinking I'd get my cars value back. I didn't.

 

I took out PDL's to subsidise getting a new car, food, water etc for the month and was paying Wonga and QQ perfectly each time. I then got into such a hole with Wonga to the tune of 1250 which was at the time, my full wage.

 

I sent them packing with a £50 pcm payment plan and QQ didn't get a penny. I went on and got suspended from work for 3 weeks w/o pay and had to relocate to Cambridge to continue working. That cost me a fortune and over Christmas I ended up taking out the other PDL's which I'm now struggling to afford having flown the nest.

 

Various companies have been calling my emergency control contact centre at work which is a private number that we're given and told not to share. I never gave them these numbers.

 

They've got hold of my mothers phone number, even though I've rung each one and told them to cut it out... And even the tenant of my mothers rented property (I've NEVER disclosed that number to a company).

 

I'm really struggling as it is, and currently have about £60 spare per month once rent, fuel and bills is taken care of. I called pay plan who were the most pleasant people on earth, but I lost all the documentation when my new motor was broken into and now I don't want to seem like a time waster when I ring them with even more debt.

 

I've e-mailed TXTLoan telling them my situation, they just send a generic response back.

 

Wonga keep sending me F&F settlements of the amount + 1 Month Interest but I can't afford £800.

 

QQ have got their DCA onto it at £450

 

Greenwoods... This is a joke, the agent begged me to take the loan out as it would make her figures look good and now I can't afford to pay her.

 

Provident, I paid up until I moved when I was told there was no agent locally to take payment.

 

All the others, just keep ringing and getting told to e-mail or write to me.

 

What do I do?

[Yukiko]

I forgot to add, OPOS are ignoring all correspondance and have upped the £250 loan to £1500...

[PDLVictim]

Hi Yukiko,

 

Sorry to hear about your situation, sounds like you had a lot of bad luck recently and I hope things will get better in the future!

 

I am sure others on here will soon give more detailed advice.

 

Generally I think in your situation with at the moment only 60 GBP a month left to pay 10 lenders off, you cannot hope for reasonable repayment plans. I do not know how much in total you owe these 10 lenders and how much you owe each of them, so cannot give more detailed advice.

 

If not already done so, I would first make a detailed budget of the monthly incomings and outgoings, just for yourself. Do not forget to include in this budget some kind of savings (no matter how small) for future emergencies

 

Once you know how much you have left, the usual plan would be to make a pro-rata overview how much you can repay each lender. E.g. if you have 100 GBP left and you owe one lender 400 GBP and the other lender 600 GBP, then you have 1000 GBP debt, 100 GBP left each month, repay over 10 months, and the lender with 400 GBP gets 40 GBP per month, the lender with 600 GBP gets 60 GBP per month.

 

Pro-rata in your case with a small sum (e.g. 60 GBP) and 10 lenders would probably result in most lenders only getting a very few quid.

 

Therefore one option I would suggest to inform your lenders about your situation and offer them token payments of 1 GBP per month, if they freeze interest and charges, until your situation improves. If e.g. TextLoan or MiniCredit only replies with generic emails, then this is tough luck for them. If it goes ever to court you can in your defense demonstrate that you sent proactively emails informing them about your situation and they only sent generic replies.

 

Another option possible (depending on the amounts you owe) is to arrange full and final settlements with the ones where you might have small amounts. E.g. if you would owe e.g. TextLoan 120 GBP then inform them about your situation and offer as settlement 33% (40 GBP in a one-off payment). Tell them otherwise you would only be able to make token payments (as detailed above). This leaves them the choice to take 40 GBP now and forget about you, or to wait 40 months for the 40 GBP and invest staff time to deal with you

 

No matter which option, the plan should be to get most companies to freeze interest and charges for now, to accept token payments for now, to stop them calling you, and in the long-term (once your situation improves) to pay them off.

 

You should probably not hesitate to contact PayPlan again I think, they might be able to help again, no-one knows until you tried and what is the worst that can happen?

 

Send those payday companies still calling you the harassment and stop-the-phone calls letters (you find templates in these forums), they are obviously not allowed to call you at work, or to call any relatives, etc. Report those who do despite you sending them letters to the OFT.

 

MiniCredit will increase the charges and fees forever and to ridiculous amounts. I would in your situation not worry too much as with your left over monthly income to pay these non-priority debts, a judge will probably order you to only 1 GBP-payments and will hopefully wipe some of these charges.

 

What you should NOT do is:

- pay any of these companies more than you can afford per your budget, no matter how hard they try to push (this includes Provident! Tell them in writing not to visit you and that you do not give them permission to visit you and that you only will deal with them in writing. If they do visit you ask them to leave, if they do not leave or even threaten you tell them that you will call the Police (and don't hesitate to do so if necessary!)

- take out new payday loans

 

I hope that helps a bit for the beginning

[Bombaymix]

Exceptionally good advice given by PDLVictim!

I'd definitely give payplan another call. If you're worried about telling them about other debt, don't be! Was it a DMP with payplan and did they ever collect payments from you and distribute if? If it was a DMP but was never active, I'm sure they'll help you out still! If they don't/can't help you further, then try CCCS!

[Yukiko]

Evening... I've sent all my lenders an e-mail which I have saved, regarding telephone harrassment. One of them, which is the one who've called my National Emergency Control Centre, said "We have not contacted you by telephone yet". O RLY? So why is the Control Centre Manager going ape**** about you monkeys calling all the time?

 

They take the biscuit... I've done an I&E, I've got £60 to deal with.

 

Wonga have had much more than what I owe them in interest and charges over the years, should I let them dangle for a bit and clear off the recent ones? OPOS aren't getting a thing out of me until they pack up their antics and chill out a bit, I know that much. They're sending letters with worse mathematics than my 3month old Niece could perform. £250 Original Debt Plus £1000 Debt Recovery Costs = £1425???? Are they serious!?

[Yukiko]

If it was a DMP but was never active, I'm sure they'll help you out still! If they don't/can't help you further, then try CCCS!

 

I only had a schedule with PP. They wouldn't touch me cos' I had under £5,000 of debt. It needs to be more for them to do a payment plan.

[Yukiko]

I've been furiously 'fapping' away at my keyboard recently in response to all the PDL's who I sent the Telephone Harassment forms to...

 

Here's some extracts...

 

Mr. Lender;

 

Dear Yukiko,

Your current balance is £651.50 and you are incurring additional interest and late fees.

As your account has been overdue for so long, I would like to offer you a Settlement Figure to close your account.

Please here or on the link below to view this Settlement Figure;

 

 

If you cannot afford to pay the settlement figure in one payment, call me on 0208-532-5020 and we can work out a repayment plan to suit you.

Thanks,

Jacqueline

 

 

---------------------------------------------

 

 

 

Dear Mr Yukiko,

 

Client Reference: .........

 

Thank you for your recent contact and your request for a repayment plan.

Our accepted criteria for a repayment plan are as follows:

 

• Significant Loss of income

• Unexpected change in personal circumstance, e.g. Long term sickness

• Severe Disability or illness (not excluding close family members)

• Terminal illness or Mental illness (not excluding close family members)

• Deceased (not excluding close family members)

• Redundancy or Reduced hours (contractual hours reduced by company)

 

All or any of the above will require documented evidence. I.e.:

 

• If you are now unemployed or in receipt of financial support, please provide proof of unemployment or redundancy. If your contractual hours have been reduced by your employer, please provide a letter from your employer on company headed paper to confirm this.

• If your circumstances have changed due to personal illness, please provide a copy of a doctor’s note or hospital letter.

 

If your financial circumstances have changed due to one of the above, we are prepared to consider a reasonable and affordable repayment plan or you can contact us at an e-mail address or call our Financial Difficulties Team on 0115 908 1163 so we can discuss alternatives in assisting you.

 

Please be advised that if you are unable to meet above criteria or you are unable to provide documentation, a repayment plan may not be considered.

 

Our opening times are: Monday to Friday: 9am – 5.30pm

 

 

Regards,

 

Payday Express

 

 

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NB EMAILS REPLIED DIRECTLY TO THIS ADDRESS WILL BE DISCARDED WITHOUT READING

 

Dear Mr Yukiko,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

We note your comment at the start of your email that Quick Quid is trading as ARC.

 

Respectfully, this is incorrect. Please note that ARC (Europe) Ltd is a debt collection agent, acting in good faith on the instructions received from a disclosed principal, namely Quick Quid. We are therefore authorised to write to you and attempt contact by telephone in connection with the above matter, and to instruct Solicitors in contemplation of Court Proceedings where we consider it appropriate to do so.

 

We have acted in accordance with our client’s instructions and within current collection legislation and guidance. We reserve the right to produce our correspondence to any Tribunal, regulatory body or investigating authority to prove our compliance and good conduct in this matter.

 

You may want to seek independent legal advice on this matter.

 

We acknowledge your request that we do not telephone you and will comply with that request provided you send payment for the outstanding balance as requested or your detailed dispute/defence within 14 days on which we can refer to our client for further instructions.

 

Please note that we have checked with our client and they have confirmed that you have only made one payment towards the outstanding balance (£15.00 issued to them on 27 February 2012) You have issued no further payments to them since that time.

 

Therefore, the balance remains outstanding at £450.25 and must be paid. Please note our client has confirmed no interest or charges are being applied at this stage.

 

You can make a secure payment to ARC 24 hours a day with your debit or credit card by visiting our web site or by calling our automated payment hotline on 0845 0268889. Alternatively you can telephone us on 01932 251000 to make a payment by debit or credit card.

 

If we do not receive your payment within the next 14 days, this account will be passed to our solicitors for further action.

 

Please be advised that emails replied to this address will not be answered. All emails must be sent to collections

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Patrick Rowell

Compliance Executive

 

ARC (Europe) Ltd

Kent House

Churchfield Road

Walton-on-Thames

Surrey

KT12 2TU

 

 

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NB EMAILS REPLIED DIRECTLY TO THIS ADDRESS WILL BE DISCARDED WITHOUT READING

 

Dear Mr Yukiko,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

Despite your previous assertion that you wish to make an offer of payment to clear the outstanding balance owed to our client, Quick Quid, we note that on your returned financial statement you have declared your offer of payment is £0.00.

 

Please advise if this was declared in error, and if so, please advise of the monthly amount that you are able to offer as repayment.

 

In this respect, you may be interested to know, there are a number of Debt Management Companies who are “non fee charging” organisations such as The Citizens Advice Bureau, The Consumer Credit Counselling Service, Payplan and National Debtline who would be able to assist you. Details of these non fee charging debt management companies can be found on the internet.

 

If we do not receive your offer of payment within the next 10 days, this account will be passed back to our solicitors for further action to commence.

 

Please be advised that emails replied to this address will not be answered. All emails must be sent to collections

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

 

------------------------------------

 

 

Jacqueline,

 

Without sounding sharp, too right I'm displeased.

 

Mr. Lender have rung my work place (Trying every extension number including regularly the emergency control centre which clogs up lines needed for real emergencies - You wouldn't ring 999 just because a police officer owed you money would you!?). Not only are your colleagues potentially putting my colleagues lives at risk, colleagues who are on the front line of security in some of the most undesirable areas of the United Kingdom, they've then got the cheek and the audacity to begin loosely discussing my financial situation including but not limited to, the amount oweing on this account. This is in breach of many different guidelines and these calls are recorded and a copy has been sent to the Office Of Fair Trading.

 

I severely advise that your collection colleagues are briefed on the severity of this complaint and are reminded that actions such as this have done, can do and more than likely will result in a full investigation by every authority I decide to inform and COULD lose MR. Lender their right to trade.

 

I have no issue with making small payments until my financial situation improves and have the bank details in my hand ready to make my first payment.

 

Regards.

 

Yukiko

 

-------------------------------

 

Dear Payday Express,

 

As you are aware, I am sure, I have a loan from yourselves and two outstanding loans from The Money Shop.

 

As the two aforementioned companies are operating out of the same office, using the same telephone numbers, I am sure you have shared records too.

 

I may quote the new guidelines issued on "Responsible Lending";

 

6.12 In essence, the guidance will require lenders:

• not to use misleading or oppressive behaviour when advertising, selling or seeking to enforce a credit agreement;
  
• to be able to demonstrate that they have made a reasonable assessment of a borrower’s ability to make repayments in a sustainable manner before providing credit;
  
• to explain the key features of the credit agreement to the borrower so that the borrower can exercise informed choice; and
  
• to exercise understanding and forbearance with borrowers who experience difficulties during the term of the credit agreement.
  

Point two, I shall draw your attention to.

 

I see lending to somebody who is already in financial difficulty (as demonstated by a severely overdue account with Payday Express' pseudonym, Money Shop, as irresponsible. The Money Shop were not authorised to extend or delay payment on my account, and if the payments had been taken on time and no extension fees applied or other action.

 

I look forward to hearing from you, and welcome court action ASAP to save wasting both of your time and my own.

 

Regards,

 

-----------------------------

 

 

I have sent these lenders I&E forms and tried everything to get them to try to help me out here. I know it's not in their nature, but I want to get a regular arrangement sorted to try and fix my situation as best I can.

 

Does anybody think I'm being unreasonable?

 

 

 

[RobbingHood]

Yukiko, as harsh as it may seem, your attitude towards to debt is probably making the situation worse.

 

Just because you've rollled over Wongas loan for so long, doesn't make it ok to leave them dangling for the money - ultimately you've borrowed the money and you're going to have to pay it back. You're doing the right thing by contacting them all for payment plans, but I would say they're well within their rights to ask for proof of how your circumstances have changed, I wouldn't have thought they would legally just have to take your word for it.

 

Whilst I agree PDE are at fault for letting you get 3 loans with them, you also need to take some responsibility for taking these out - they're not connected to ARC and I can't really see where they've been unreasonable so far? Mr Lender, agreed they shouldn't be phoning you at work and you should report it if this has happened, but from the communication you've posted it doesn't seem like any of them are being particularly unreasonable?

 

Yours is a very familiar story on these forums, so I'd suggest you follow the advice given to all others - get yourself a new bank account and get your wages in there, send everyone the letters confirming you will not accept calls at work etc and contact every single company with a reasonable offer of payment and as you have such little left at the end of each month, perhaps a full I&E would help?

 

I don't want to come across as being unemphatic, but the way you've written your post indicates you're annoyed at being asked to pay back the loans that YOU were quite happy to take out. The comment you made about Greenwoods is quite frankly ridiculous, you took a loan out from a doorstep lender just to help her make her sales? I'm sorry, but you're trying to pass the fact you have been irresponsible to others here. Also, the fact you don't want to contact Payplan again because is would be an inconvenience to them? Sounds like something's not right here - that's what they do, all they have to do is reprint the documents.

 

I would also not be quite so gung-ho about being invited to court, there's no given you would ever win in court and this really should be the last place you want to go - try and get it sorted before telling them to take you to court or you'll be paying for these 1 month loans for 6 years with a trashed credit record.

 

That aside, I do sympathise with some of your situation and hope you get things sorted quickly, I am sure some of the other guys on here will give you some more advice also

[renegadeimp]

Actually if they are eefusing a repayment plan despite the fact the debtor is sending budget summaries in to get one sorted, the debtor is almost guaranteed a win. Mainly because the pdl is not following guidelines relating to their credit license.

 

And by win, i mean gettin a repayment plan installed and getting the unfair charges and interest removed.

[2009dg]

what email address did you use for ARC?

[PDLVictim]

Hi,

 

I have to agree with RobingHood.

 

While I understand that e.g. MrLender are not in their rights to discuss the loan with anyone else, according to their email they would be willing to either accept a full and final settlement offer or a repayment plan. I understand that at the moment there is no money left for a full and final settlement offer, but talking to them for a repayment plan (e.g. token payments for now to be reviewed in 3-6 months), if only just to freeze the charges and interest, would be a first step.

 

This is in addition to my earlier advice.

[Yukiko]

Hi there, I do understand that I appear to be palming my responsibilities off, I'm not. I have offered repayment after repayment to various companies. Unfortunately, I did this verbally with no written proof.

 

QQ being the biggest culprits, accepting a £15 PCM agreement over the phone and then sending it to DCA straight after.

 

Money shop screwed me over by not taking the payments on time and then adding fortunes of charges on top and Pay Day Express did the same. When I saw £60 earmarked as an extension fee, I cancelled the card, reported the transaction and disputed the action they'd taken.

 

Mr. Lender have given me their bank details and I'll be paying them £10 installments until I sort myself out.

 

My I&E form which has been requested by a few of these guys has been laid out to include my other halfs wage? I've filled it in, but we're still £45 in the red each month!!!!

[renegadeimp]

You dont need to include your partners wages. If your name was the only name on the loan, then thats what you put down.

 

If i were you, i would stop paying the creditors you are having issues with, until they sort themselves out. As you have seen, they will say ANYTHING on the phone just to get your details. Notice how they wont put it in writing either. Im not saying you cant agree on the phone, you just NEED to make sure YOU are recording the call.

 

Some posters on here say to call and ask for it in writing after the agreement has been made. As you have seen, that just isn't good enough.

[Yukiko]

Hi guys,

 

I've just had a barrage of telephone calls and Text Messages from Mackenzie Hall. I've told them to e-mail me all further correspondance, to which they started getting very grizzly on the phone. I politely told them that acting in such a manner will give me no cause to deal with them, then they hung up.

 

Does anybody have an e-mail address for them?

[renegadeimp]

Report them to their local trading standards. they will reply asking you to file a complaint with MH. the good thing about this is that trading standards will investigate after 5 working days in regards to this company. Unlike the fos who will make you wait 8 weeks.

 

Get the email or phone call off to their local trading standards and get the ball rolling.

[Yukiko]

Morning guys, just had this e-mail from OPOS;

 

Hi Yukiko,

Please find below a breakdown of your account as requested as forwarded by Mini Credit.

The total outstanding balance £1425 from the date of issuing (31st of January 2012) until the default date the 24th of June 2012 consists of the following:

1. Loan principal £250

2. Interest in total £365 (1% of the Principal per day)

3. Overdue penalty £25 (was added on the 1st day overdue)

4. Overdue penalty £55 (was added on the 3rd day overdue)

5. Debit Attempt fees in total £630 (every unsuccessful attempt to receive the repayment costs up to £5)

6. Debt Recovery fee £100 (was added on the 30th day overdue)

Due to the high level of charges applied to the account we are able to offer significant discounts to settle the account.

To settle this account we can offer you £350 as full and final payment on this account.

Please let me know if you are able to take advantage of this offer.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards

Campbell

Is it just me or is £630 in debt recovery charges a little excessive?

 

Yukiko

[renegadeimp]

Its called unfair and unenforceable charges. they offered a discount in that letter which means its a bad debt due to all their charges, although they carefully worded it so it doesnt seem like it.

 

Have you made official complants yet?