Lloyd's OD debt - lots of charges - wescot - now Robbersway.

[Venga78]

Hi

my hubby recently checked his credit file and has found he has a default put on by Lloyds.

 

We want to apply for a mortgage around Oct/Nov next year 2013

and we really want this debt paid so it can show as settled.

 

hubby phoned Lloyds and they said the debt has been transferred to Westcott.

he phoned Westcott and they couldnt find any info for him

and said they would write to him

- that was 2 weeks ago and times ticking away

...what should he do?

 

Any advice is appreciated.

Edited August 23, 2012 by Venga78

[PGH7447]

when was the default applied? if it is a valid default it will remain on your CRA file for 6 years regardless of whether you pay the debt or not, also did lloyds send you a notice of assignment regarding passing this debt to westcrap

[Venga78]

Hi there thanks for the reply.

 

Not received a notice of assignment from Lloyds,

however I think they may have the old address on their database.

 

My hubby did send them a letter asking them to give him a breakdown on the debt

as they had applied a lot of charges when he had gone into his overdraft

when he was on JSA

 

, this was awhile back but he did send them the new address

but they wanted him to pop down to a branch with proof.

 

I understand the default will remain 6 years after the registered default

(which was in 2009),

but the mortgage advisor has told me it will look favourable

if the debt shows as settled for a year.

[unclebulgaria67]

When did he default and when did they put on the default to the credit file ?

Did Lloyds send him a default notice ?

 

Have Lloyds actually sold the debt to Westcott or have they just sold the rights

(assigned) to collect on the debt ?

 

If Lloyds have not actually sold the debt ( he needs to ask Lloyds whether just assigned),

then if he can afford to settle the debt,

there is no reason why he cannot just send Lloyds a cheque,

with a letter asking them to confirm credit file noted as satisfied.

 

If the debt default is the only one on the credit file and it is satisfied,

then it might not affect any mortgage application

 

. But is depends on which mortgage is applied for.

Suggest working with an independent mortgage broker and not going direct.

If you go to bank directly and get turned down

, it will show on credit records, making further applications more difficult.

 

A mortgage broker should be aware which companies are ok with one satisfied default and help with the application.

[Venga78]

Thank you for your reply...

I will ask him to phone Lloyds today when he comes in from work

and ask them if they have sold it on or not.

 

He defaulted in 2009..

.I'm not sure when the default was put on

, I will ask him but I know it was in 2009/2010.

 

He has not received a default notice yet,

but they have his old address registered on the closed account.

He moved in 2010 and did register on the electrol register once he moved.

 

I did contact an independant mortgage broker,

and he told me the debt needs to be satisfied for a year before he even looks at lenders.

 

We have not had any credit searches done regarding mortgages

as it'll be a waste of time and as you said will show on credit records..

.we are trying to be very careful.

[Venga78]

Apologies for the delay,

my husband finally got through to someone who was able to give him a bit of info,

he's been told his debt has been reassigned,

he has no idea what this means.

 

..he was told they could not accept a payment because it's in the process of being assigned & that they'll send a letter to him in 7 working days....

 

If Lloyds still has the debt is there any chance they could take the default off for the full payment?

 

I'm not sure how these things work as my payments have always been on time for anything I've committed to.

[Venga78]

Any advice would be appreciated...

[unclebulgaria67]

If he pay the debt in full,

they will simply note it as satisfied on his credit file

and they won't delete it.

 

Lloyds have obviously packaged the debt with others

and have gained agreement for a debt collector to chase.

So it may be too late for Lloyds to accept payment,

but they might not be able to do much,

if he goes into a Lloyds branch and puts a credit through to the account, getting a receipt.

 

He should then send the Lloyds dept. dealing with the debt, a copy of the payment receipt and ask them to note the debt as fully satisfied on his credit file.

 

Once a default is noted on a credit file, they are never removed,

unless they had been added by mistake.

 

So pretty pointless asking for this, unless you can find a error.

[Venga78]

Thanks for the reply,

 

my husband received a letter from Lloyds stating that the debt had been passed on to Moorcroft Group Plc,

 

he phoned them up and spoke to quite a nice lady who he explained to that he couldnt afford to settle all the balance but could settle half of it on the condition they mark it down as fully settled.

 

She noted down his financial expenditure and said she would send a letter to Lloyds and see what they could do....??

He also said he hadnt received a default notice,

(Lloyds said they had sent one to his now prev address),

 

he also told her that most of the debt was in fact made up of charges Lloyds had put on whilst he was on benefit and that he had tried so hard to seek help from them but had been passed on from pillar to post.

 

All to half of the actual debt amount owed were charges Lloyds had put on whilst he was on benefit which is quite sad really, as soon as his benefit was put in to his bank account, it would be eaten up by Lloyds

 

...he was on benefit with JSA because unfortunately he had lost his job

and instead of being understanding and helpful,

 

Lloyds did not care one bit and continued to take out his benefit payments,

which were his only means of living and supporting himself.

 

He said he had phoned them on quite a few occasions to tell them his situation

& he went to the citizens advice bureau who phoned up Lloyds

and told them to please stop with the charges on his overdraft...but they never did.

 

Please can someone tell us what to do next

...my husband did send a SARS request last year

but they said he would have to go to his local branch with ID of his address for them to act upon it - they returned the cheque.

 

I know this is a bit complicated and a lot of info

but any help would be appreciated...ty.

Edited September 10, 2012 by Venga78
adding "Group plc" deleting the but about name as it was not necessary info.

[unclebulgaria67]

Well I would certainly suggest a written complaint to Lloyds head office about the way he was treated and about the charges. Sounds like there is a possibility of getting a significant amount of those charges back. That would probably be easier than messing around with an SAR. Let Lloyds look into this, as part of a complaint.

 

Send a copy of the complaint to Wescot. They will no doubt pass the debt back to Lloyds.

[NailPost]

And stop phoning. Everything in writing. Just because they sound pleasant on the phone doesn't mean they will help you. All these cretins are interested in is getting money off you, as much of it as they can in as short a period as possible. What Lloyds did in piling charges shows they don't care quite clearly. And remember you don't have to disclose details of income and expenditure to anyone unless ordered to do so by a judge.

[Venga78]

Thanks a lot for the replies, is there a template or anything that would be the best for this particular situation? Also what is the best address to send a letter of complaint to please? Is this one ok:

25 Gresham Street

London

EC2V 7HN

 

I really do feel LLoyds has acted very irresponsibly - charging someone who had best intentions to pay but couldn't afford to due to unfortunate circumstances thus forcing him to leave home and stay with his mom because he did not have sufficient means to live or support himself with as lloyds was taking all his benefit payments. I will defo send a letter of complaint....

[Bazooka Boo]

Yes stay OFF the phone, unless you are recording it, there will be no evidence of your conversation with them.

 

Keep everything in writing.

 

Ignore Moorcr@p they have no legal powers to do anything, certainly never ever ring these clowns again.

 

Get onto Llyods complaints procedure and exhaust it, all of the charges and the interest they charged on the account needs to be refunded,

and as for taking his benefits that is a definite no no, a very strongly worded complaint about their sleazy actions needs to be made.

[Venga78]

Ok we shall stay off the phone, we'll write a letter of complaint and see how that goes although when I called the financial ombudsman they said they couldn't do much about it although we were welcome to make an official complaint! They said that because of some court ruling complaints for unfair charges didn't mean much anymore.

But we'll write a complaints letter and see where that takes us...

[Bazooka Boo]

Your complaint isn't about the refundable charges, it's about them taking benefits as payment, that goes against everything that the OFT/TS and even the government says.

[Venga78]

I see, I don't understand why the financial ombudsman werent more enthusiastic about us reporting this

Common sense hinted this kind of practice was not legitable thus we did act upon it but unfortunately we felt deterred by the financial ombudsman.

[Venga78]

Ok i'm a bit confused, should we make an official complaint or send a SAR to check all the charges incurred and then send a request for refund based on hardship grounds? Which route is the best way to go?

[unclebulgaria67]

Ok i'm a bit confused, should we make an official complaint or send a SAR to check all the charges incurred and then send a request for refund based on hardship grounds? Which route is the best way to go?

 

Complaint letter to Lloyds Head office, about they way you were treated, which caused hardship. Don't bother with SAR, as it is up to Lloyds to investigate your complaint. In the letter tell Lloyds that you believe you were treated unfairly and will involve the FOS if you have to.

 

Once your complaint is registered with Lloyds they have 8 weeks to resolve or to issue a final response earlier. If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, then you can go to the FOS.

 

The FOS are correct in that some charges may be viewed acceptable. But it is each case on its own merits and hardship is a specific issue banks have to take into account.

[Venga78]

Ok sure i'll get this done right away, thanks!

Will report back with any updates.

 

(Heres one I made earlier)

Here is a copy of the letter I will be sending ....

 

Lloyds TSB

25 GRESHAM STREET

LONDON

EC2V 7HN

 

Dear Sir or Madam,

 

Account number:

 

This is an official complaint against Lloyds sent via recorded delivery regarding charges put on my account for when I was suffering from considerate financial hardship and in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance.

These charges have lead to a default being put on my account whereas I feel the default sum on the account is composed mainly of charges and interest put on by Lloyds.

 

I am writing to request that you repay all the charges in relation to direct debits, unauthorised overdrafts and standing orders that have been applied to my account in the past six years.

 

I believe the fact that I have been incurring bank charges goes contrary to the aims of the Lending Code (Section 9) and Banking Conduct of Business Sourcebook (section 5.1.4 ‘in particular, a firm should deal fairly with a banking customer whom it has reason to believe is in financial difficulty’). My personal situation has been affected by the charges leaving me in financial hardship and I am writing to request that you take the following grounds into consideration:

 

 

Unfortunately my job loss in ????? and relationship break down ultimately lead me being overdrawn and incurring multiple charges. These charges were high and because I was in a vulnerable situation receiving JSA I had little chance of escaping from the cycle of debt that ensued. I got stuck in a cycle as the combination of these high charges, the inability for Lloyds to help me, and low income made further charges unavoidable. Most of my Jobseekers allowance was being eaten up by the interest and charges incurred.

 

Upon losing my job and having a relationship break down I was forced to live with my mother, she worked part time, had 2 kids to look after and she was a single mom. I could not afford to pay her much rent or help with day to day expenses.

- I was struggling to meet basic necessities, rent and basic expenses i.e. food.

- My income was eaten by charges and interest

- I had suffered a relationship break down and had a significant loss in income upon losing my job.

- I was living in my overdraft.

- The charges contributed to make my financial hardship situation materially worse.

- I was stuck in a cycle of snowballing charges. I had charges on charges, and thus I was stuck in a trap of not being able to clear charges before new daily or monthly fees were added on top.

 

This had a huge affect on my relationship with my mother who had her own financial woes and to this day it has never been the same.

 

I genuinely felt I had no where to turn, Lloyds did not appear willing to help although I phoned various times and even went to the CAB, who also tried to get the charges stopped, and for some arrangement to be made but to no avail. Nobody in Lloyds helped, they sent me from one department to another, Lloyds did not treat me fairly and was not considerate to my financial hardship situation although they knew I was in financial difficulty as I was having my benefit paid into the same account.

 

I look forward to a full response to this letter within 14 days and if I do not receive a satisfactory response I intend to pursue my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service or small claims court at the earliest opportunity.

 

Yours faithfully,

Edited September 10, 2012 by Venga78

[Venga78]

Great now we've just received a letter from bleedin Moorcroft telling us to settle the payment in 7 working days!!!

 

 

I'm sending this letter to them:

 

MOORCROFT DEBT RECOVERY LTD

P.O. BOX NO.17,

2 SPRING GRDENS,

STOCKPORT

SK1 4AJ

Dear Sir or Madam,

 

Attached is a formal complaint letter/dispute sent via recorded delivery to Lloyds TSB regarding the above account.

Please pass the debt back to Lloyds as the account is now in dispute.

 

Yours Faithfully

Edited September 10, 2012 by Venga78

[renegadeimp]

Ignore moorcroft. They have no legal rights. Its pretty much just a fishing letter designed so they can get a cut of the debt. Theres no need to send them any copies of any complaints letter.

[Venga78]

Hi there, I know this is an old dispute

but after I sent the letters - not much happened!

 

The debt just got passed around and

now we've received a Pre-legal Assessment from Robinson Way

saying they might possibly transfer debt to Howard Cohen & Co solicitors in 10 days

who will possibly ask the court for an order

 

...this was before they said they could give a hefty discount.

 

I don't think anyone can prove the debt.

We will be sending the original complaint to LLoyds again

and a letter saying account is in dispute to Robsinson Way with a copy of the complaint..

.or should we do something else?

 

Im scared they will bang a ccj on as the default will come off this year! HELP!

[renegadeimp]

Ignore it. You'll be marked as gullible otherwise and they'll keep harassing

[Venga78]

Thank you for your reply...Really? But what if they put a CCJ on? I'm so confused, we were thinking of sending a letter saying I don't acknowledge the debt and for them to send us proof...

[renegadeimp]

They won't. There's a procedure they have to follow. they can't just put one on. Plus you can defend it if they try and stop them in their tracks.

 

It's exactly the kind of lack of knowledge and you being scared they hope for so they can lie and pressure you into paying what you don't owe.