Minicredit - Extortion?

[Tigerlily2786]

Im having a nightmare with minicredit, a £100 loan now stands at £935!!! £530 of this is debit attempt fees im trying to set a paynent arrangement up but got a letter yesterday saying theyre taking me to court. I will defend my case as i have sent numerous emails to come to an arrangement. Sent oft an email detailing the problems im having with them, waiting for reply. I have asked for their bank details so i can start making payments but coming up against a brick wall. This is tge only company that have been difficult, makes me feel like they dont want me to pay. I hope they do take me to court and apply to make me bankrupt coz they will be doing me a favour!

I have kept all correspondance, including their ibvisible doorstep collector letters (2 of) both with a £100 charge.

About to give up with them and either wait for court or dca.

Any advice on my next step would be greatly appreciated.

[renegadeimp]

Ignore ALL those unlawful fee's. They cannot add fee's purely as profit. As for them saying they will take you to court, have you had any claim letters? Do you have copies of all correspondence, so if they were stupid enough to take you to court, you could show the court exactly what they are doing.

[Tigerlily2786]

Hi renegade, thanks for the reply, no ive not had any claim letters as yet. Ive kept all letters, emails to and from them. So what should i do now? The only emails that seem to get answered by these people are claims@minicredit and its pretty much the same drivel each time. Should i just keep emailing my payment plan offer?

[EddiesMum]

Hi Tigerlilly, I echo what RenegadeImp says, those fees are totally unlawful, no court in the land would enforce them. Has anyone ever had a Minicredit Debt Collector turn up at their door? I doubt it, these letters are just to intimidate you and like you, I was really worried at first but after googling for the past few days have come to the conclusion that these are just a bunch of chancers - minichancers! they rely on you being so scared so what if they have given me a black mark on my credit file it was already bad anyway, hence having to use a payday loan company!! I won't ever again! just make sure they don't have your debit card, cancel it if necessary, tell the bank you lost it, if they won't stop the Continuous Payment Authority, and just write them telling them, a reasonable payment plan for the original amount you owe, disregard all those ridiculous illegal charges! Also if anyone has had a Doorstepper I would love to hear, because they have no powers to enter your home only a Sheriff of the Court can!! - Hope this helps - I know how scary it can be especially if you are on own, but you aren't anymore!

[renegadeimp]

Keep pushing for a repayment plan, and deny all liability for the extortionate and unlawful fee's.

 

As a side question, did they tell you over the phone, or by email that they would take you to court? If my letter/email, could you post it up minus any personal info.

 

 

Regarding the debit fee's, you don't have to pay them as they are grossly unfair, and were added to the debt as pure profit, even when you told them you couldnt repay the debt. This goes right against their credit licence terms.

 

 

Can i ask if you have made full and formal complaints to the OFT and the PDL yet?

[Tigerlily2786]

Already changed bank account, i wont be giving details out. They sent a letter, will try post it up in a bit but im using my phone so ill do my best. Ive already told them im only paying original loan amount, 1 months interest and 1 default fee they can whistle for the rest

[EddiesMum]

Good for you, sounds like you got it under control, just ignore those silly emails, I've marked them as a Spam, shame I cant do the same with the texts ;( tho, I'm gonna send them a postal order just for the original loan amount as the Bank gave them the authorization code, it was up to them to claim it, I suppose they are calling Barclays Bank fraudsters as well! lol

[renegadeimp]

Minicredit overall are easily dealt with, they are just as stubborn as all hell, thinking that you will back down and give in if they threaten you enough.

[EddiesMum]

I expect they will start ringing me and threatening me with court etc. etc, I can't wait tbh, I'm not scared of them now, and I would love to hear their explanation of why they tried to debit my card again, after saying they couldn't take the money in the first place because I moved!!

[renegadeimp]

If they ring, tell them in whatever language you like to bugger off. If they have anything to say, they can do it in writing.

 

£530 of this is debit attempt fees

 

Ask them how they are going to justify those fee's to a judge. That is roughly 106 attempts which is extremely excessive no matter what they say.

 

Also when was this loan taken out and due to be paid back?

[Tigerlily2786]

I took it out in oct, due to have been paid back 16th nov. Its my own fault im in this mess, but im trying to get sorted. Other pdl's i have have been no real hassle to be fair.

Eddiesmum, i expect theyve shot themselves in the foot doing that lol silly them.

[Tigerlily2786]

Well i am now waiting for minicredit to pass my account onto dca in 23 days time so i can come to an arrangement with them :/ hopefully they'll be easier than trying to get blood out of a stone! Sent oft an email outlining my complaint against minicretin and got a reply basically saying sorry that this has happened however we cant do anything?! Disappointed big time

[renegadeimp]

The DCA will be OPOS, who are minicredit using a different name. They are easier to deal with, but they might add on silly charges which you should contest.

 

Also, normally they will turn round and say they are able to waive the debit fee's to reduce the debt. As you know this proves that the debt is made of bogus charges and you need to tell them that you want ALL charges removed.

[Tigerlily2786]

If they take the debit attempt fees which last i was told stand at £530 and the 2 doorstep collection charges of £100 each will drastically reduce the amount. I can be a stubborn mare and i wont back down from original loan amount one months interest and one default fee, not the 3 theyre trying to get.

Should i keep offering the payment plan to minicredit until it is passed over to opos or should i just wait for them?

Thanks for your help renegadeimp, you are a star

[renegadeimp]

The debit fees and doorstep collection charges are unlawful and unenforceable. Simple as that. They can also only charge you one default fee. Not multiple. The default fee can only reflect the admin costs of issuing that default. They cant make a profit off it. They also cannot charge you late payment fee's as these are considered penalty fee's and are reclaimable.