Please help - shop direct and NDR money

[njay]

Hi guys,An update from me, well Reliable Collections never turned up at my door - surprise, surprise.... although (slightly worryingly) I have gone from hearing from them every couple of days (by post as they don't have my number) to not hearing anything since 8th July!!!!Having said that the OC and my other creditors have all written and said they are not prepared to accept my offer of payment or to freeze interest........... please could you advise what to do now? Do I just write again?Many thanksNicki x

[silverfox1961]

Hi

Have they explained why they are not prepared to freeze the interest?

 

Have you sent them everything they may have asked for?

[njay]

Hiya,They have never asked me to send anything, although I have sent them an Income and Expenditure form, but they just keep writing and saying that the payment that has been offered is not acceptable although they are accepting the payments I am making..

[njay]

So here we are 4 months on and I am no further forward - really need to get on top of this now. Reliable collections have now sold my debt to Fredrickson, so have written to them to tell them how much I can afford and amawaiting a reply - my debt with them rose from £1900 to £2400, due to interest charges and late payment fees'

 

This is the latest response I have had from Additions (just one of the catalogues I am fighting with but all part of the Shop Direct group):

 

Thank you for your message. We cannot freeze the interest on your account as you have signed up for and agreed to the terms of shopping via an interest bearing account with Additions.. the minimem we can set an arrangement on the account for you is 132.56 every 28 days beginning on 27/01/12. If you cannot manage this you may wish to seek advice from a Debt management Company such as C.A.B etc. I understand that you are paying what you can afford but we cannot alter the terms of the account and you are fine to pay what you can afford as it shows you are still trying to pay. Also you advised you only wanted to correspond in writing, we cannot lways write to you as your query is of a complex nature. Thank you.

 

I am currently paying the £20.67 every 4 weeks as per my budget calculator - so where do I go from here???? I wrote to them again and said I can only afford £20.67 and then gor this response:

 

Thank you for your message, Unfortunately we are unable to set an arrangement up for the amount you are offering, also because the interest is part of your terms and conditions we are unable to stop this. If you are struggling to meet payments then it may benefit you to seek advice from a debt management company and a money advice company. If you have any further questions please call .

 

PLease, please could I have some of your wonderful words of advice , thank you.

[njay]

Update - 18th Jan , had a letter from Fredrickson Int today and they have agreed to my proposed payment, I am so relieved:-). Just need to get the shop direct problem sorted now...

[silverfox1961]

Good. Now to get the charges removed/refunded.

[njay]

How do I get the charges removed/refunded? And would that apply to Shop Direct too? For each of the accounts I have with them I am charged at least £12 per month and for some interest charges are also added....

[silverfox1961]

Any and all of these charges can be reclaimed and for any charge you have paid, you can reclaim the interest on it as well. For any charge that you have not paid, you can get it removed and the associated interest added.

Get your payments sorted out and then either do the reclaim or if you don't know what has been charged, a SAR will need to be sent off first

[njay]

Hi there,

 

I have outstanding debt with around 6 catalogues, which I keep writing to and offereng reduced payments, apart from adding £12 charges each month and a couple still adding interest I am keeping on top of letter sending etc. Today I got this e-mail:

 

Lowell Reference Number: 1********

Original Account Number: ********

Original Company: Littlewoods

Account Balance: £1589.85

Dear Mrs N,

We wrote to you recently regarding your debt that has been sold to Lowell Portfolio I Ltd by Littlewoods.

Please call 0113 308 6085 today regarding the outstanding debt due to our above client.

We are not aware of any reason why your debt should remain unpaid. It is therefore very important that you contact us as soon as possible so that we can agree repayment. If you cannot afford to pay back the money in one go we are willing to let you pay this monthly by direct debit. You could be entitled to re-pay as little as £1 per day should your circumstances warrant it. If you cannot afford £1 per day then please let us know what you can afford. Please call an account manager today so that we can bring this matter to a close or follow this link and securely set up a direct debit.

Please visit our website www.lowell.co.uk for details about how you can pay, find out information about who we are and how we can help you and you can find answers to some of the common questions we are asked.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Taylor

Collections Manager

I have never ever had a letter advising me of this, however I have probably done something really daft, I e-mailed them back and told them I had never received a letter advising me and was wary but once i received confirmation then i would be happy to set up a standing order only for the amount I can afford..

Have i done right???? Will Littlewoods pass on all my debts to these people??

Thank you for your help in advance x

[Conniff]

No direct debit - standing order only whatever the outcome.

 

You could be entitled to re-pay as little as £1 per day should your circumstances warrant it. If you cannot afford £1 per day then please let us know what you can afford

 

Ah, that's ok then, those nice people really have your welfare at heart, like hell they have, they just want you to admit to it so they can harras you.

Edited January 23, 2012 by Conniff

[citizenB]

You should be able to reclaim the charges from Littlewoods.

[Bazooka Boo]

Very standard computer generated 'welcome' letter lowlifes have spat out in the hope they get some sort of contact from you.

 

Have these accounts been terminated? Once they have been terminated then they can no longer add interest OR charges, you need to work out exactly what it is you owe, less for their charges, then go from there.

NO PHONE CALLS, keep a diary of events and keep everything in writing and any letters you send MUST at the very least be sent 2nd class post WITH "proof of posting" which is free from the PO counter, any important docs, should be sent recorded delivery.

[42man]

Have you continued to pay Littlewoods each month ? Did they agree to your repayment proposals ?

[njay]

Have you continued to pay Littlewoods each month ? Did they agree to your repayment proposals ?

 

I have been paying them every 28 days since I sent them the proposed offer of payment around 6 months ago, they have never agreed to the reduced amount and have continued to add interest and £12 fees every 28 days...

[Bazooka Boo]

If they continue to add the fees and the account has not been defaulted and then terminated, you are wasting your time paying them anything more than £1 a month, up and until they stop adding charges and interest pay them £1 a month, and have them refund all of the charges they have levied on your account.

[njay]

Hiya, i really been some advice.

 

I have been trying to set up my own DMP for nearly a year now.

And Shop Direct which I have foolishly got 6 catalogue debts (Choice, Littlewoods, Very, Additions, Great Universal, Kays) with

are just not playing ball.

 

They have been accepting my reduced payments whilst charging me a £12 fee every 28 days and on 3 of them,

they are continuing to add interest,

thereby increasing my debt to them rather than reducing it.

 

One of the Catalogues - Choice have now passed my debt to Lowells and I currently have a payment plan in place with them which is all good.

 

Kays had already changed my shopping account into a loan account, so apart from the £12 missed minimum payment fee, it is coming down slowly.

 

Today I have received approx 30 default letters from Littlewoods and Great Universal .

 

Default Notice served under section 87(1) of the Consumer Act 1974.

 

"The payment clause of the agreement provides that you must make the required periodic payment in full by its due date.

You are in breach of that clause because you have failed to make all your periodic payments in full when due and arrears amounting to xxxxx are outstanding.

 

To remedy the breach you must pay us the total arrears by 19th March.

 

IF YOU DO NOT TAKE ACTION REQUIRED BY THIS NOTICE BEFORE THE DATE SHOWN THEN THE FURTHER ACTION SET PUT BELOW MAY BE TAKEN AGAINST YOU.

 

Further Action:

 

On the date shown, we shall require the outstanding balance on the account , less any rebabte allowable, as set out below.

 

IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY IN PAYING ANY SUM OWING UNDER THE AGREEMENT OR TAKING ANY OTHER ACTION REQUIRED BY THIS NOTICE,

YOU CAN APPLY TO THE COURT WHICH MAY MAKEAN ORDER ALLOWING YOU OR ANY SURETY MORE TIME.

 

Please HELP me, i feel sick getting all these letters today and don't know what to do next???

 

Thank you xx

[dx100uk]

ignore them and GET RECLAIMING

 

ALL the £12 PENALTY FEES can be reclaimed.

 

cat debts are the lowest priority there is

 

max of £1 PCM and

you dont ASK them

 

YOU TELL THEM

 

thats what they willget of the next xx mts

 

then i will review things.

 

i've moved your thread to the mail order forum

have a read of a few threads here too.

 

you'll get the idea

 

as for court threats etc etc

 

ignore them.

 

i'm concerned you have converted one to a loan

 

i HOPE its interest free

if not you've been had there.

 

as for ANY DCA

you should never ever PAY THEM

always pay the OC.

 

never ever talk to ANYONE on the phone about your debts

NO DCA have ANY LEGAL POWERS

 

and no fwding I&E sheets either.

 

dx

[njay]

Thank you for your reply,

 

I will def start the ball rolling regarding claiming back the fees,

 

over the past year there must be hundreds over the 6 accounts.

 

I have been paying the reduced amounts every 4 weeks without fail,

but as I say interest charges on a coule of them is over £60 each per month and when I asked them to freeze the interest

I was told that they were unable to do that unless I went down an official route!

 

I just feel weary from it all at the moment as I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall and getting nowhere other than my debt increasing!

 

But I take on board your advice re: telling them what I'm going to do and not the other way round.

 

Will see what happens.

 

Thank you x

[dx100uk]

yes you must do that.

 

now you tell them they are going to get say £10 PCM as a goodwill gesture

 

in return, on their part as a reciprocal goodwill gesture, you want them to freeze the int & stop charging unlawful PENALTY fees .

 

if they fail to do so

 

you will reduce the goodwill payment to £1PCM till you die.

 

dx

[njay]

How the heck do I get Shop Direct to stop adding interest charges? I advised them over twelve months ago that I was having financial problems and could only afford to pay them £20 per month... However, even though I have made these payments , they continue to add interest and charges resulting in both debts increasing by nearly £1000 each - now the heck is this fair? I'm at the end of my tether.

[renegadeimp]

It's not fair. The interest amounts are unenforceable and a breach of OFT guidance.

[njay]

So how do I get them to stop adding them or can't I? And will they backdate removal of said interest ?

[renegadeimp]

Issue a complaint and demand that they justify it. Remember, even with loans/credit cards, you can claim back the unfair interest and charges.

 

You could also write them a letter detailing their failings under OFT guidance and that unless they comply, you will have no other alternative but to issue a formal complaint.

[National Debtline]

Hello there.

 

Adding interest on credit agreements can be perfectly legitimate if the contract that you had Shop Direct allows for it. That said, creditors will consider freezing the interest and charges where it can be demonstrated that a customer is having financial difficulties. The general way of doing this is by submitting a copy of your financial statement so as to show a snapshot of your circumstances. You can find a financial statement on our website here: http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/personal-budget-sheet/income.php

 

You may be able to challenge penalty charges such as late payment, missed payment and letter fees; there is plenty of information on this forum to help you do that.

 

Shop Direct are one of the many organisations that have signed up to a scheme called CASHflow. This system is designed to help those looking to self-negotiate as a qualified money adviser would approve your financial statement prior to you sending it off to your creditors. The idea as that if all of your outgoings are within reasonable guidelines your creditors should accept reasonable offers of payment - and freeze interest and charges. You can find out more here:

 

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=40_cashflow_an_approved_way_to_deal_with_debts_yourself

http://www.cashflow.uk.net/

 

Hope you find this useful,

 

NDL.

[Wintry]

How the heck do I get Shop Direct to stop adding interest charges? I advised them over twelve months ago that I was having financial problems and could only afford to pay them £20 per month... However, even though I have made these payments , they continue to add interest and charges resulting in both debts increasing by nearly £1000 each - now the heck is this fair? I'm at the end of my tether.

 

Hi njay

 

Along with what others have put it might also be worth looking at the Citizens Advice IMA Award winning online Remedy Resource / Assisted Self Help Debt Management Tool below -

 

http://www.mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyadvice/index.asp

 

http://www.mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/mon...ce/dmptour.asp (example of a completed debt management Plan)

 

You do not need an invite or have to see an adviser to use the CAB system or have it unlocked if you have a change in circumstances, you just log in and away you go.

 

The CAB system is very flexible and not funded by creditors (not yet anyway) and has recognised expenditure trigger figures as a guide (the system is also currently undergoing an upgrade with more features soon to be added I am reliably told)

 

As always though if in any doubt get full independent advice on all your options for dealing with debts and your choice at the end of the day.

 

Best wishes

Edited August 28, 2012 by Wintry