TXT Loan/ Advantis

[decemberboy]

Hi, hoping somebody will be able to help and advise me.

 

Last year I stupidly got a pay day loan from TXT Loan to cover some emergency car bills, but, as is so often the case I couldn't afford to repay it so just kept reapplying for the £200 loan straight after repaying it. Eventually I decided to default on it and try to set up a repayment plan which I managed to do quite easily at £25 a month via standing order. Total I was to repay was around £259

 

I made the first repayment in June which went through and again in July but after checking my account noticed TXT Loan hadn't taken it off my balance. I emailed them about this and they said there was a delay in processing it and they would let me know once that had happened. Getting to the end of July and still no sign of the payment I again emailed them to ask why it hadn't been deducted. Again they said they would contact me when it was credited. My due date for August came and my July payment was still not credited so I withheld my next payment to see what would happen. Sure enough they contacted me to say my payment was late and I was at risk that my account would be defaulted. I replied asking why they had never contacted me or applied my July payment to my account and they came back saying it was credited on 09/07/2012. I have emails from them after this date claiming otherwise.

 

Due to this default they claimed I now owed £406 and passed my account to Mackenzie Hall. After a few email exchanges with them disputing the amount and saying I was willing to defend this in court, they said they were in the process of obtaining documents and would contact me again. They didn't. Instead I started receiving letters from Advantis Credit demanding payment for £406.

 

I told them that as far as I was concerned I owed £209 and enclosed a copy of an email from TXT Loan showing my balance. They came back saying this was not adequate proof and I needed to send something such as a headed letter - I never received one! - and that collection procedures would continue, I replied saying I was making a complaint to the OFT over their handling of the matter and they came back again apologising and that their internal complaints dept would also look into things.

 

A couple of weeks ago I received a letter from them saying -

 

- That upon investigation I have not sent them enough proof for them to query the debt with their client.

- As I breached the contract the extra debt is probably down to charges and interest (I guessed that)

- So that they can verify the balance they have requested a balance from TXT Loan with a breakdown of charges and payments

- For me to receive a copy of the original credit agreement I need to send Advantis £1 before they are able to obtain it

- If no further contact is made on this matter by the end of February then they will consider the matter closed (and, I assume, collection procedures will continue)

 

I'm not too sure what to do next. Should I send them the pound? I am happy to repay the £209 but I dispute payinh almost another £200 interest and charges.

 

Many thanks in advance.

[renegadeimp]

Stop conversing with the idiotic DCA and get a full complaint in to the lender. If the DCA starts harassing you, tell them to bugger off as the debt is in dispute and a form a complaint has been entered.

 

As for proof, it is for THEM to prove you owe the money. Theyre the ones accusing you.

 

Can i ask how you paid the money to them, and do you have receipts?

 

 

Also, STAY OFF THE PHONE. They will say ANYTHING to get money out of you. Keep EVERYTHING in writing.

[decemberboy]

Hi renegadeimp, thanks for the reply. I made the two payments via standing order straight into TXT Loan's bank account so I have proof from bank statements that these were made. For the June payment I have an email from TXT Loan to say they received it, for the July one nothing, until August when they claimed I defaulted on the agreement.

 

I have never spoken to anybody on the phone, apart from a very brief conversation with someone from Advantis where I said I would agree nothing over the phone and to put it in writing. I have kept all correspondence regarding this.

 

To write a complaint to TXT Loan should that be a proper letter or would an email suffice? Thanks for the help.

[renegadeimp]

You can do either. With email though, make sure you CC it to a secure address and get a read receipt.

[decemberboy]

Is there a template for what to put in the letter or should I just keep it simple?

[renegadeimp]

You need to write two complaints. Once to the OC and one to the OFT .

 

When writing a formal complain, it is wise not to use a template.

 

As you said, keep it simple is a good idea. Write down what has happened, what your complaint is and how you would like it rectified. make sure you head the letter "FORMAL COMPLAINT" in nice big bold letters. Send it to the OC and not the silly DCA. They then have 56 days to issue you a final response upon which you can escalate it to the FOS.

 

With the OFT, keep it simple and write everything that has happened. Include copies of all evidence you have to support your case. Just remember, the OFT will not take up individual cases, but all your info will be added to a nice big file, which is used when the OFT comes to review their credit licence.

 

As a side note, take some time and do a few drafts of the complaint so you can get everything in order. Also, make sure you keep all evidence together, as you will need it to back up your complaint to the OFT and FOS.

[decemberboy]

I emailed TXT Loan with a formal complaint listing the things that I felt had been handled badly or gone against OFT guidelines and today they replied, and apologised for the way my account has been handled! They have offered to reinstate the original repayment plan with no added interest or charges, wow I wasn't expecting it to be that easy!

 

In addition on Saturday I received a letter from Advantis saying that they had been unsuccessful in their attempts to conact me by telephone and asked me to ring them on an 0844 number. This despite me stating in writing in December that I only wanted to be contacted in writing. So I took great pleasure in sending them an email saying I was going to report them to the OFT for unfair and/or improper practices.

 

Thank you for all your advice renegade, it really is greatly appreciated! Proof that with a bit of knowledge of your rights and refusal to be intimidated, these companies will listen to you.

Edited January 29, 2013 by decemberboy

[renegadeimp]

Hi again. Txtloan seem to be behaving themselves lately, maybe because they know the OFT is finally starting to come down hard on payday lenders. PDL's will usually backdown fast, Especially when you can show them you aren't going to roll over and do what they want.

 

Ignore advantis. They are well known for ignoring legal instructions. You have done the right thing by sending them a letter of complaint.

Edited January 29, 2013 by renegadeimp