Payday Express - Cancelling/Withdrawing Loan

[JayD6]

Hi All,

 

I took out a Loan with Payday Express on the 1st September in order to pay an urgent tax bill that i received last week. I have now been given the money from elsewhere and called to ask if I could cancel my loan for £735. I was told yesterday (and just now) that as this is not my first Loan with the company I am not allowed to cancel the agreement and must pay the full interest on top of the loan amount. This is stated in their terms and conditions also. However, I am sure that I have a legal right to be able to cancel this agreement (obviously paying the interest for the days incurred on the loan). At present, it seems as if there is no budging them, but i refuse to pay the full amount as i cannot see what difference it makes as to whether this is your first or 100th Loan with the company. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

J

[JayD6]

I have sent the following E-Mail in regards to this issue. Not that I will get a reply.

 

Good Afternoon,

 

I am contacting you once again in regards to my recent loan that was taken out with you on the 1st September that i would wish to withdraw.

 

I have been informed by members of your staff that as I am not a first time customer of Payday Express, I am not permitted to withdraw from my Loan Agreement.

 

After contact the Consumer Action Group and consulting the Irresponsible lending

– OFT guidance for creditors, I can confirm that this is a breach of the OFT guidelines.

 

The Irresponsible lending – OFT guidance for creditors states the following.

 

"The right of withdrawal

The creditor should inform the borrower of the effect of the exercise of any right

of withdrawal from the agreement and how and when this right may be

exercised.

The right of withdrawal under section 66A of the Act applies to all

regulated consumer credit agreements except where the agreement is:

a) for credit which exceeds £60,260

b) a credit agreement secured on land

c) a restricted-use credit agreement to finance the purchase of land

d) an agreement for a bridging loan in connection with the purchase

of land or

e) an overdraft agreement (except for overdrafts for non-business

purposes where the credit is not repayable on demand or within

OFT1107 | 26

three months).

 

Borrowers have a period of 14 calendar days (from the date calculated in

accordance with section 66A(3) of the Act) in which to withdraw from a

credit agreement without giving any reason.17"

 

I requested to withdraw my loan yesterday and was informed that I was unable to. I would advise that you please contact me as soon as possible in order to resolve this issue. This incident WILL be passed to the appropriate authorities to investigate should this not be resolved urgently.

 

Kind Regards,

[Nao]

The letter you sent pretty much covers it all, but also make sure to complain to the OFT.

[JayD6]

My concern is if they don't reply and they wait until the 14 days are up and i no longer have a leg to stand on. I am obviously eager to get this sorted as soon as possible, but unsuprisingly, they are not.

[biggeorge]

Cancel you bank card and letter to bank cancelling the CPA.

You will then find them more than helpful to get the loan amount paid back,make sure once you have cancelled everything you contact them,tell them you have cancelled the CPA and they no longer have any authority to debit your card.

 

Make sure if possible you have the date/confirmation email of when you wanted to cancel and pay them back,interest stops on that date and not when they change their minds about if you can cancel or not.

 

George

[JayD6]

Okay, now i really need you guys help! I spoke with one of the PDE team leaders yesterday who informed me that this is infact an 'Ongoing Loan Account Facility'. Which i was not aware of at all. According to the agreement that I was sent by the team leader it does state that 'this is an ongoing loan account facility' therefore my right to withdraw was 14 days from when that was signed (About a year ago). The loan agreement is then 're-activated' when a new loan is taken out (is this allowed!) I did actually send PDE an email about a month ago, asking them to remove all of my details, so this 'ongoing agreement' should have been terminated at that point anyway, however I am unsure whether i am able to locate this email. Below is a copy of the email that i have recieved from the PDE Team Leader.

 

"Dear Mr ****,

I write with regard to our telephone conversation a moment ago, please find attached as requested a copy of your credit agreement which was electronically signed on 19th August 2011.

 

To confirm, this is a “running account loan facility” and therefore you have only electronically signed this one agreement since 19th August 2011. You had the right to withdraw from this agreement at any time before the end of 14 days, beginning with the day after it was signed.

On every subsequent application you have made, this credit agreement has been reactivated.

The balance of £937.50 is currently due on 28th September 2012 however should you have any further queries on this matter please do not hesitate to call me on the number below. Alternatively you could respond to our Customer Care department via the email address above.

Kind regards"

 

Help would be really appreciated!

Edited September 5, 2012 by JayD6

[JayD6]

COPY OF THE LOAN AGREEMENT BELOW

 

"Type of Credit: This is a running account loan facility which enables you to draw down on

your Credit Limit until you have used up the entire Credit Limit shown

below.

Credit Limit: SUM £320.00 This amount may be varied to such a sum as may be

determined by us from time to time and notice of it will be given by us to

you.

Provision of

credit:

The initial advance will be credited to your bank account on the day this

agreement comes into force, up to the Credit Limit. You may during the

currency of your agreement take further advances if the total value not

yet repaid is less than the Credit Limit.

Duration of

Agreement:

The initial period is 42 days and we may extend it for a further 28 days.

APR: 596.3% (Variable) In calculating the APR we have assumed that we both

keep to the terms of this agreement, the interest rate does not vary and

that you have loaned the full amount up to your Credit Limit and repay it

on your Repayment Date.

Rate of Interest: Interest is charged on the amount borrowed at a rate of 25.00%

equivalent to an annual rate of 217.41% (variable)

The amount of interest is applied to the loan on the date this agreement

is made and at the time of the new advance for any subsequent

advances.

We may vary the rate of interest charged under your agreement. We will

only do this in respect of any further draw downs or where you request

an extension of the initial period. Notice of any change will be given to

you prior to the interest being applied to your account.

Number of

Repayments:

1

Repayment Date: Repayment will be taken on 30/09/2011

Amount of single

repayment:

£50.00

Total Amount

Repayable:

£50.00

Charges: If you fail to repay the loan on the Repayment Date we may charge you;

1. interest on any unpaid sums for such period as the payments are in

arrears at the rate set out above.

2. each missed repayment will incur a £15 default fee to cover

administrative costs we incur in assisting you in the management of

your account, notably letters, emails and telephone costs to you.

3. any reasonable costs we may incur in taking any other steps to

enforce, or attempt to enforce, our rights under this agreement. This

may include tracing you if you move address without notification;

returned payments, debt collection or court action.

MISSING PAYMENTS

Missing payments could have severe consequences and make obtaining credit more difficult.

If you fail to make the payments on the due date actions we may take include the following:

1. Refer the matter to our debt collection team

2. Send your account to external debt collection agency

3. Commence court action for recovery of the amount you owe

4. Seek payment(s) from your account on subsequent dates using the payment card you have

provided (see term 9 below).

RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL

You have a right to withdraw from this agreement at any time before the end of 14 days

beginning with the day after the day on which the agreement is made. You must notify us of

your right to withdraw either orally (by telephoning us on 0800 0126 860) , in writing to us at

Express Finance (Bromley) Ltd, 4th Floor Northside House, 69 Tweedy Road, Bromley, Kent,

BR1 3WA or by email to [email protected].

Once you have notified us that you wish to withdraw you must repay the amount of the credit

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE AGREEMENT

without delay and in any event within 30 days after you have given us notice. You must also

pay us interest during this period (which amounts to £0.24 per day).

Early repayment

You have a right to repay the credit early at any time in full or partially. You should let us

know that you want to repay early either orally (by telephoning us on 0800 0126 860) or in

writing to us at Express Finance (Bromley) Ltd, 4th Floor Northside House, 69 Tweedy Road,

Bromley, Kent, BR1 3WA and we will let you know how much you will have to repay.

Termination by you

You have the right to terminate this agreement at any time. You will then be required to

repay the amount you owe us.

Ombudsman Schemes

We operate a complaints procedure in the event that you are dissatisfied with an aspect of

the service we provide. Full details are available upon request. If any complaint you make is

not resolved to your satisfaction then you may also be able to refer your complaint to the

Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SR.

Supervisory authority

We are licensed under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 by the Office of Fair Trading of

Fleetbank House, 2-6 Salisbury Square, London EC4Y 8JX."

 

[renegadeimp]

Theyre talking crap. Each loan is a brand new loan and is sibject to the usual statutory laws. No terms and co ditions that they apply can overrule statutory law. Get a full complaint in to the regulators.

[JayD6]

Are you sure? The way that this is described is that it is an ongoing account so it doesn't look like a 'new loan' as such. I am unsure what I would be able to report to the regulators, as it is there in their terms and conditions. Fortunately, the bank account they have details for is closed, so I really am not too fussed about paying them PROVIDING i know that I am within my rights and correct, otherwise they will be charging me etc.

[renegadeimp]

They can describe it however they want.it doesnt change the fact that it is a new loan and as such it is subject to statutory law.

[JayD6]

I have sent them the following e-mail. Thankyou again for your advice, i shall update you when i get a further reply.

 

Good Morning ****,

 

I have obtained further advice in regards to your reply and have been informed the following. Despite the fact that this is described as an 'Ongoing Loan Facility' it does not deter from the fact that this is in-fact a new loan and is therefore subject to statutory law and therefore my right of withdrawal still stands. This New Loan was taken out on the 1st September 2012 and was requested to be cancelled on Monday 3rd September. Please adhere to this request.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Their argument will be that it is not a 'new loan' ... my only arguement back to them is that.. well, it is.

[JayD6]

Further Update: I have found an E-Mail from the 17th July to PDE requesting the removal of all of my details from their systems. Therefore i should have not had any ongoing agreement. Now been passed onto their customer care team to investigate. Will wait and see what happens.

[Nao]

"Type of Credit: This is a running account loan facility which enables you to draw down on

your Credit Limit until you have used up the entire Credit Limit shown

below.

Credit Limit: SUM £320.00 This amount may be varied to such a sum as may be

determined by us from time to time and notice of it will be given by us to

you.

Provision of

credit:

The initial advance will be credited to your bank account on the day this

agreement comes into force, up to the Credit Limit. You may during the

currency of your agreement take further advances if the total value not

yet repaid is less than the Credit Limit.

Duration of

Agreement:

The initial period is 42 days and we may extend it for a further 28 days.

 

The way it is worded leaves you with the impression that the credit agreement regardless of rolling or not is good for a maximum of 70 days and that if you borrow less than the credit limit then you can apply for an additional loan, but it doesn't imply that you can do anything at all with this agreement after those 70 days.

 

In other words, the agreement is misleading and may be in breach of guidelines, I'd complain about that to the relevant regulatory outfits (OFT / FSA) s well as Payday Express them self.

[JayD6]

Glad somebody else spotted this. The way it is worded , to me, looks as if to say that the agreement is valid for 70 days... therefore, the agreement is now completely worthless and I am infact not under contract with this company?

[renegadeimp]

They say initial. Not complete.

[JayD6]

It does say initial, but then states 'we may extend it for a further 28 days.'.

Doesn't say that it may continue for longer.

[renegadeimp]

To me it reads that they may extend the initial period. However i can see your pointof view as the wording is very vague.

[Nao]

To me it reads that they may extend the initial period.

 

Yes, 42 days for the initial agreement with a maybe extension of 28 days which in my opinion makes it sound like its valid for 42 days from the start, or if extended then its valid for 70 days from the start.

 

Having given it another thought I think what they are trying to claim now is that the 28 days extension can start at any time and doesn't necessarily have to be directly after those 42 days.

[JayD6]

None the less, it is still completely unclear which isn't exactly fair. Especially as they have stopped responding to emails and the only way to contact them is through telephone, where i keep getting the same generic responses from staff who seem like they where found sat beneath bridges smoking drugs by the Thames. Unsure what my next action should be.

[JayD6]

Good news all, received a call today and was told that a senior manager advised that I am permitted to make an interest free payment. Thank you all for your help with this issue. Hopefully I can help give advice on my experiences to help others in future.

[scotslad26]

hey that is exactly what happened to me the manager phoned me and waved the interest. you wont be able to apply again though you will get refused i tried for a small amount and got refused which infact t is the best thing that could happen to me lol well done though for chasing them up

[renegadeimp]

They think they need to give permission for you to make the payment that should have stood originally? haha. Well, at least things are moving in your direction now.