CCJ issued against me for payday loan

[kelz2125]

Hi, I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

 

Back in 2010/2011 I took out a payday loan for £248 and a short time afterwards my relationship broke down, leaving me in a very bad way both financially and mentally. I explained what had happened to the payday loan company, who initially seemed responsive to my situation, agreeing to freeze the interest and put in place a repayment plan, which i stuck to and a few months down the line i contacted them for an update of what was owed. It come to light at this point that they were not freezing the interest on the loan, they were actually adding it on daily, so the amount I owed was going up, despite making these payments monthly. I argues with them about this but they refused to help, so at this point I stopped making payments, and advised the company that unless they stuck to what was originally agreed I would make no further payments.

 

Time went by and they kept emailling me, advising how much the loan was going up by, and eventually they issued county court proceedings against me. Now I know at this point i should have done something to defend myself, but due to my own mental health at the time it just didn't happen. They took it to court and a CCJ for over £3300 was issued against me. This has been set up as an attachment of earnings, so since Nov 2012 I have paid them £25 a month directly out of my wages. Obviously I wasnt happy about this but didnt really think I could do anything about it.

 

Just recently, this company have been contacting me again, asking for more money, to come to an agreement, and even to follow them on twitter! Unluckily for them it served as a reminder to me that I actually think what they have done is really unfair, and maybe now I am in a better place mentally I should try to do something about this.

 

I have contacted the Financial Ombudsman, who have advised that although they can't do anything about the actual CCJ they can log a complaint on my behalf to the company about the way I was treated. So i have done this and that is in progress at the moment. I have requested that the company write of the remaining CCJ debt to them, as the amount was completely over exaggerated and unneeded, as I had always been willing to pay as per the repayment plan originally agreed. Currently, they have refused to write all the money off, they are saying they will write some off but i am pushing for it to be reduced further. I understand I have to give them 8 weeks to respond before I escalate this with the ombudsman. I am hoping the Ombudsman can do something, at the time this lender sent me some terrible emails, even one telling me I would be imprisoned for not paying!

 

So really I guess my question is, is there anything else I should be doing? Is there anyway i can force them to reduce the outstanding debt?

 

Thanks all for any help you can provide, it really is appreciated!

[renegadeimp]

Which PDL? The fact they have added unlawful charges to hike the debt up is one thing, the fact that they think they can harass you and go over the courts head and create their own amounts is completely another.

[kelz2125]

It's Payday Overdraft. They really are trying it!!

[renegadeimp]

Well, theyve already got a judgement by default. Ill see if i can grab some help for you so we can sort this out.

[kelz2125]

Thanks thats appreciated!

[citizenB]

You dont necessarily have to give them 8 weeks - if they have not resolved your complaint and have said they will not proceed further with it, then you can go to the Ombudsman.

 

The Court has set the payment plan for you - the PDL company cannot force you to increase those payments. If they think that you could afford more, then they could make an application to the court.

 

At the same time, I think if you are struggling, then you too can make application to the court to have the payments reduced.

 

There is an alert for other site team members to also look in and advise

[havinastella]

I really don't think that there is an easy fix here. You received the Court papers and didn't defend, so trying to get it set aside nearly 2 years later would be quite hard.

 

If this was me, I'd go after them for all the charges they have added to the account, this will offset the amount owed.

[AndyOrch]

Time to request a DSAR and get all the data on the account...interest/fees/payments......you can as already stated apply to reduce the AoE to say £5 a month...that will stop them hounding for more.

 

Regards

 

Andy

[kelz2125]

Thanks all for your responses, just a couple of questions-

 

Whats a DSAR? (sorry i'm a newbie to all this!)

Someone mentioned about going after them for all the charges, how do I do this?

 

Thanks again all!

[AndyOrch]

With a DSAR (Data Subject Access Request) template can be found in the library.