Welcome/Makenzie Hall

[lincscouple]

Hi all, please stick with me, this may be a complicated read.

 

My partner and her estranged husband took a home improvement loan out in March 2004 for

£5000 plus £1098 PPI making £6098.79 total credit.

 

In 2010 she found out that he hadn't been paying mortgage and bills etc,

they separated,

house was sold prior to the lender reprocessing.

 

He has subsequently moved over to Romania leaving her with just over £10k debt

(other creditors but Welcome is the most pressing, others haven't caught up yet).

 

From the paperwork that is in front of me I deduce that the defaults started around 2009,

this may be earlier though as he may have destroyed other paperwork.

 

In 2011 she started receiving letters from welcome containing 'Notice of sums in arrears' and 'Notice of default sums',

she called them in the first instance offering a full explanation of events leading up to that point

but was rebuffed basically and told that the debt stands,

nothing can be done apart from payment in full.

 

Payment in full equated to £6068.74 which was simply an impossible amount to think of paying in one hit.

 

In Jan 2012 she received and answered one of the many telephone calls

and was told she had to pay something now to stop further action

(I know she shouldn't have backed down) and paid £25.00.

 

In Feb 2012 she contacted CAB who went through everything, sent a letter telling them to cease calling,

asked for a full and final settlement figure and asked her to provide a financial means sheet.

 

March 2012 brought a bit of luck in the shape of £2500 windfall which she duly put away in the hope that this may pay off the loan,

CAB were informed and a letter was sent to welcome offering this amount as full and final, they rejected it!

 

September 2012 brought a letter from Makenzie hall who now hold the debt,

even though Welcome never came back to the CAB with a full and final figure.

 

December 2012 was dire in the fact that her car broke down severely costing £1500 to put right.

This £1500 came from the £2500 windfall as she needs her car as a home care provider.

 

My questions are:-

 

Where do I now start to sort this mess out?

CAB, although good just don't seem to be pro-active enough.

(not that I have any experience)

 

Can the charges and PPI & insurances be claimed back so it reduces the overall outstanding debt?

I find it incredulous that a loan for £6098 in 2004 paid until 2009 now stands at £6068!

 

What legal right does she have over having to pay it all back when she was assured that it was paid before her ex left the country?

 

She has given her ex's new address to Welcome but they don't seem bothered by it.

 

I may have other questions but these are the ones that are at the forefront of my mind.

 

Many thanks for sticking with this and look forward to any help and replies.

 

LC

[dx100uk]

ok

 

this is a typical welcome thread [read a few more]

 

i would suspect that there are heeps of PENALTY charges from all manner of 'excuses' [£12.£20 etc etc]

 

ALL of those + the PPI can be reclaimed

 

i also suspect from welcomes side, there is more to this than she knows.

 

you need to get an SAR off to welcome ASAP.

 

 

also get acopy of her CRA file [see below]

 

does this show?

 

mucky hall do not often 'buy' debts

they just try to fleece people that know no better

 

they are NOT BAILIFFS

they have NO SUCH LEGAL POWERS

 

so DONT be threatened by them.

 

stay off the phone for sure

 

get that SAR done tomorrow.

 

till the return of the info

 

sit on her hands!!

 

it might well be an idea to add a line to the SAR

 

this request is to ivlude copies of all/any agreements with your company or agents.

 

dx

[lincscouple]

Many thanks DX, Would we need to SAR separately for the PPI? or bundle it all into the 1 request?

[dx100uk]

one only

 

 

just send the letter from the link by holding on theblack undelined SAR and clicking

 

dx

[lincscouple]

Thanks DX, SAR has been sent so will wait for them.

 

Had a look at her CRA file and this is indeed showing as being in default. Last entry made in December 2012.

 

Can that be possible seeing as though the CAB have been dealing with this since 22nd Feb 2012 and prior to this date was under the assumption that her ex had paid it off?

[dx100uk]

defaulted date?

 

dx

[lincscouple]

Would that be the last defaulted date or the initial?

[lincscouple]

Ah I see what you meant, this is a copy and paste of the header on CRA file.

 

Account type Hire Purchase

Account number ******* 2

Account start date 02/03/2004

Opening balance £ 5,***

Other accounts

Regular payment £ 1**

Repayment frequency Monthly

Date of default 16/10/2011

Default balance £ 5,****

[dx100uk]

urm... beginning to smell here

 

as it was

 

March 2004 for £5000 plus £1098 PPI making £6098.79 total credit.

 

when was the last payment made [barrign the recent one]?

 

look in the history of the debt on the cra file

 

was there 6 yrs period whereby there was no payment

 

i would THINK she owes NOWT

 

as there is noway the debt could be £6k now

 

prob all PENALTY charges

 

they will need the SIGNED agreement by HER to enforce this anyhow.

 

await the sar

[lincscouple]

Exactly my thoughts. October 2011 is the first 'DF' in the payment history.

 

It appears from the payment history that August 2011 was the last payment made.

 

Many thanks for your time so far DX

[lincscouple]

Just had a reply back today asking for ID to be sent, then they will 'open this case and respond to you within the appropriate regulatory time frame'.

 

Might send a copy of her Marriage Certificate.!

[lincscouple]

Sigh... here we go...

 

I have put the latest correspondence in date order within the PDF attached below.

 

Now that the deadline is up, the upshot is that they are unable to confirm identity (after a marriage certificate was sent) even though statements are still being sent.

 

You will see that I have sent an LBA prior to this last letter hitting the doormat.

 

What is there I can do now please?

[dx100uk]

i cannot see why they are refusing to supply when they are sending statements & threat-o-grams.

 

give them what they want or a util bill.

 

dx

[lincscouple]

Will do, now the 40 days are up they are giving this response.

 

I think I am going to copy the local MP in on this then forward a copy of all letters to him, also cc to my solicitor too. These idiots are beyond belief, they really are.

 

I feel that they are now messing around because the days are up, I have sent them an LBA which crossed over with their letter, I don't know if I should wait until a week on Tues (giving it is Easter weekend) to reply or just send what they ask for. Also what about picture and signature on D/L?

 

I would sincerely like to meet some of the senior plebs at this outfit and reap vengeance on them.

[dx100uk]

cant see why they need a photo

as far as comfirming ID a util bill will do

 

dx

[lincscouple]

cant see why they need a photo

as far as comfirming ID a util bill will do

 

dx

 

If you read the last letter though the forms of ID they are asking for has shrunk by 2 (marriage & birth certificate) to Passprt, D/L ( both parts) or firearms Cert, all of which are photograph heavy.

[dx100uk]

there is NO requirement under the SAR rules for you to send a photo

 

a signiture and proof of ID

as in a utils bill or CTAX bill is all that is needed.

 

dx

[lincscouple]

Thanks for that, I had looked at the rules regarding it before I read your last message. I will compile a snotty response in the morning and will send a copy of a util bill.

 

May I gather your thoughts on my letter before sending though please?

[dx100uk]

ofcourse

 

dx

[lincscouple]

Here is what I intend sending these muppets,

 

LETTER BEFORE ACTION

 

Section 7 – Data Protection Act 1998

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Your Ref: COMP/

 

Further to your recent letter dated 20th March 2013 informing me that you were unable to verify my identity. In your original letter asking for proof of identity you gave 5 items, one of which was Marriage Certificate which I duly sent a copy of. Now, oddly enough, a Marriage Certificate is not an option?

 

You state that you are unable to confirm my identity yet you are more than happy to send correspondence and statements to me. If you were in any doubt as to my identity then you should not have been sending any correspondence or statements as this is a clear breach of the DPA.

 

If on the other hand, you are happy that statements and correspondence are going to the right person then there is no further need for ID as you are already satisfied as to the identity of the person you are corresponding with and as a result this is clearly a tactic to avoid compliance. This too is a breach of the DPA. So which breach do you wish to admit to?

 

I have already provided suitable identity documentation which was asked for by you on 28th Jan 2013, who else would have a copy of my Marriage Certificate?

 

I would also like the name of your Data Controller so that he/she can be named in the court proceedings that I intend to issue.

 

You have failed to comply with my Data Protection Act Subject access request dated 25th January 2013.

 

If you do not comply IN FULL within the next 7 days I will file a county court action under Section 7 and 15(2) of the Data Protection Act 1998.

[dx100uk]

that'll do

 

if you are going to court then keep the will

 

if its a threat only, then word it diff like 'may'

 

i'd include a complaint to the ico will be registered in 7 days following your refusal

 

should this fail, be in no doubt that i will escalate this to the courts should the matter not be resolved

dx

[lincscouple]

Thanks again.

[lincscouple]

OK, 7 days are up and nothing from Welcome at all.

 

I am in the middle of scanning all documents to send to the ICO, within the form is asks , 'Details of problem'. I have answered with this:

 

'Failure to respond to SAR. Failure to ascertain identity before sending correspondence and statements and/or failure to comply with SAR by saying unsure of my identity even after sending a copy of my marriage certificate (delay tactics)'

 

Is that sufficient or too much?

[MrZ]

OK, 7 days are up and nothing from Welcome at all.

 

I am in the middle of scanning all documents to send to the ICO, within the form is asks , 'Details of problem'. I have answered with this:

 

'Failure to respond to SAR. Failure to ascertain identity before sending correspondence and statements and/or failure to comply with SAR by saying unsure of my identity even after sending a copy of my marriage certificate (delay tactics)'

 

Is that sufficient or too much?

 

You can do it over the phone, tell the rep the nature of your complaint and they will write it up on their systems. From my experience, The ICO have no teeth and Welcome wont care what they say.

 

I had the same problem just over a year ago with another lender. They failed to give the SAR and used my lack of signature as the reason. After answering their security questions (as required by the DPA, and they still refused, I made an application to the Court for an order compelling them to comply. I won, got the SAR and a Judgment for £200.00 in damages.

 

If you have time and want to vent go the ICO route and wait. If you haven't the time or patience to wait, the application fee for the Court order is £80.00. You can find a template in the library or borrow mine which was adapted from the same.

[lincscouple]

Just a quick update, no SAR ever received, complaint in with the ICO, but here is the kicker...

 

Just received a letter from mackenzie hall wanting payment within 7 days. Can they do this with a SAR still outstanding?