My Payday Loan experience and how companies reponded to my £3500 debt

[Payday help]

Hello

 

Firstly I am new to this forum but have used it to get through my 2 years of hell and thought I would give something back.

I am not offering advice but just an insight into how some of the big companies are likely to respond to you defaulting.

 

My debts were

 

Wonga £1200

PayDayUK £590

Swift Sterling £390

Payday Express £349.50

1 Month Loan £325

Moneybox247 £200

Cash Genie £190

MiniCredit £120

TxtLoan £117

 

A grand total of £3481.5!

 

I won't go through the story as its over 2 years worth but the fact is I got to this point at one stage.

 

Wonga - As soon as I defaulted they sent an email offering me to pay over 3 months (£400 a month), I replied that that was unaffordable and offered to pay over 8 months (£150), which they accepted no fuss. All that was added was three days of borrowing for the time it took to sort out.

 

PaydayUK - Not so friendly and very persistent, debt was passed to Keyes Whitlock and small charges added, debt went onto CCCS DMP and they have been no problem.

 

SwiftSterling - Didn't receive one phone call or letter, debt went on CCCS DMP and no interest or charges added. Seem a very laid back company.

 

PaydayExpress - Took around 3 months before they responded to me, only interested in adding charges (albeit small), eventually they sent a letter saying they will only accept a payment plan if I was ill or dead. Replied saying its thats of nothing and they accepted £50 per month.

 

1MonthLoan - Went on CCCS DMP, no contact from 1MonthLoan and debt was eventually passed to Roxburghe, they have managed to double the debt and this is now in dispute.

 

MoneyBox247 - Basically said make me an offer and I offered £40 a month which was accepted.

 

CashGenie - Strange company, but pleasant, offered a payment plan outright and asked me for £40 a month as minimum payment, just to be awkard I offered £35 a month and they accepted. Again no interest or charges.

 

MiniCredit - Read many bad things about this mob so just paid them off. Just give them their money.

 

TxtLoan - Received no communication and they are on a CCCS DMP.

 

 

So just to sum up, im the last person to offer advice but hopefully this will put some people at ease, most are open to payment plans. At the end of the day they just want their money. Be nice and don't strees.

 

As of today I owe

 

Payday Express £250 (I was stupid enough to use these a few months back when I was doing well)

Cash Genie £50

PaydayUK, Swift Sterling, 1 Month Loan and TxtLoan £790 left on DMP.

 

Just £1090 left!

 

I made the mistake of agreeing a plan with Wonga but rolled over the others which is why the Wonga one is already paid. Looking back I should have done all at the same time but I was too scared to default until I had no choice.

 

My only advice is to get help, don't make my mistake of being scared and forcing yourself to believe you are in control and you can manage. There is pressure on these companies to help you.

 

NB - I would seriously recommend seeking advice from CCCS or Payplan before you default and follow my lead. As stated I had these debts for 2 years, therefore I had already technically paid back the loan with interest, i'm guessing that most of these companies saw any extra as a bonus.

I'm guessing they will respond differently if you have had your loan for a short period or paid back very little so far.

Edited April 6, 2013 by Payday help

[Rider1974]

Totally agree with the above, I too had several payday loans and was robbing Peter to pay Paul. Rolling over each month and getting in a right state. I am also not one to give advice to anybody as i was stupid enough to take these loans out in the first place, but i decided enough was enough and decided to come clean to family and advise what i was doing each month and the fact that I could no longer afford to live as was always paying back the loans and they were never going down...! I was so scared of talking to people about it but it was making me ill and felt like my head was going to explode with constantly thinking about how i was going to get the money to pay them and money for the rest of the month, but I was VERY LUCKY and they paid these loans off for me (£2470) which they said they did not want back, but i wanted to pay them back £50 per month (which is a sh*t load less than what they wanted for there interest only payments!) The one bit of advice i can give is that if you talk to people about your situation then someone can help, even if it is the payday loans themselves by agreeing to a payment plan with no interest being put on. I can now sleep at night and happy that I WILL NEVER use these companys again as long as i live. They still send me emails and text message asking if I want another loan with them, but i have since downloaded a great App called Mr Number which can stop these calls / texts coming through, easier than changing my number....! Remember there is help out there if you ask for it and if you want it.

[manontheweb]

Good post and I have also had loans with most of the companies you listed and I agree with your comments on them, especially MiniCredit, they ended up taking me to court so best to pay them if you can, and generally their loans tend to be smaller than the others.

[swanleyboy]

@manontheweb. out of interest did it get to court? what happened?