Chatham Finance- Please Help

[tonylynch01]

Hi,

 

Please forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong please, but I am new to this and a little bit confused as I never posted a thread before?

 

I am on the verge of a nervous break down, my marriage is on the rocks and my children are suffering all because of debt collection companies and one in particular called Chatham Finance.

 

It all began with a loan we took out in 1996 to pay towards repairs on our first home and our wedding in the following year.

We borrowed £10,000 over 5 years; the interest on top was £3,676.40 with payments set each month at £227.94

 

All was going well until I had an accident at work and I fell behind with payments.

In 1998 we were only able to pay what we could afford and this was anything from £10.00 to £100.00 a month.

The accident affected my life and my income was drastically affected.

Not long after this the loan was taken over by various debt collection companies (all without notification to me) namely Club 24 in Leeds, Pennine Debt Recovery in Leeds, Allied International Credit UK in Glasgow and now Chatham Finance in Solihull.

 

We endured all kinds of threatening letters and phone calls the worst was from Allied International who would phone us late at night or early in the mornings and were always very abusive and intimidating.

It got so bad that my wife was rushed into intensive care following a serious asthma attack brought on by the stress of it all.

 

The Citizens Advice Bureaux got involved in 2000 to help us in reducing the payments down to £18.00 per month but we managed to pay 2 months at £100 following help from our friends and family.

We continued to make payments but it was always only what we could afford and as far as we were concerned Chatham Finance were happy with this arrangement and we assumed we were slowly chipping away at the loan.

 

My financial situation never really improved following a second accident at work in March 2001 and I was out of work unpaid for 4 months. We fell behind again and were back in dire straits, but we still made some form of a payment each month regardless.

 

In April 2005 I lost my job and was out of work until January of this year, although I had a part time job as a Ranger and in panic started working for myself doing maintenance and inventory work. But the income was very poor and we struggled yet again.

Finally on my birthday in January of this year I started my full time job and we duly informed Chatham that we can pay a bit more than what we were paying.

I asked the lady on the phone if she could send me a statement showing all payments made and how we were doing.

Promptly a statement arrived and I read through it…once, twice then three times!

Up until February 2002 we were not charged any interest and had managed to pay off £5,488 of the loan.

An entry of £582.00 as interest appeared on the 27/2/02 and then the following month it was an extra £52.15 then £54.21 and so on so that each charge was increasing each month by an extra £3.00 with the last entry in February 2006 showing £127.38 interest added.

The final balance in February 2006 reads £11,920.09, this means we have only paid of £1,756 on a loan that is now 10 years old and interest of £5,306.65 has been added.

 

Immediately I got on the phone and asked where the charges came from and was told it varied from £20.00 on a phone call and £10.00 on a letters sent out.

The thing was I was getting calls nearly ever week and a letter would always follow.

Most were duplicates letters requesting my next payment option as the payment date was due.

 

I was so angry I nearly passed out, I requested their terms and conditions stating where they could charge me for calls and letters and the like.

I was told that this was already provided when the loan was taken over…I never even got a letter to say that Chatham took over the loan, let alone any terms and conditions.

 

This morning at 9.30am (Saturday/Easter) I got a telephone call from Chatham chasing an income expenditure form and informing me that I was being charged for the call.

The caller was rude and arrogant and did not allow me to speak. I tried to explain that I am still waiting for their terms and conditions and will not submit my details until I receive it. I have not stopped payments and will continue to pay £80.00 a month as agreed with Chatham.

I have written two letters to Chatham requesting their terms and conditions and so far have received a further two copies of my statements.

 

I have now informed them I am making a formal complaint and requested a copy of my file. I was told to put it all in writhing.

 

I have contacted the Citizens Advice Bureaux but they said they can’t help us, I have no money to pay a solicitor. I am at my whit’s end and it looks like we may have to sell our home.

The pressure on my family is so great that we no longer get on and we argue a lot.

I don’t sleep at night and have contemplated suicide. My wife works two part time jobs and is in poor health and I am doing three jobs and we are still struggling!

 

Please, please help! I don’t know where else to go or what else to do!

MOD NOTE: MOVED TO CORRECT FORUM

[andrew1]

It looks like I am the first one to see this and I'm not the best to advise, but just hold on. There is a wealth of experience coming to this forum and you've made the first move to getting it. You have been wronged, my experince of Debt collection agencies tells me you can stop this in it's tracks and start making amends. When I was at my wits end once a friend said to me " It will get better " and at that time I never believed it ever would, but it does! - have faith sit tight for a day or two and keep watching this site you will be helped all the way through this one way or another. You are not alone and many people are getting these diabolical agencies back in their place by following the advice of people here. You WILL get back on your feet and very quickly - just have faith and watch this site.. good luck

[tonylynch01]

Hi Andrew,

 

Thank you for your quick reply and kind words.

Sorry if the post went on and on but I was so upset and angry following the phone call they made to me this morning.

 

I never posted a thread before and thanks to a workmate I was given a link to this brilliant fourm and will now watch and read with great interest.

 

Kind regards

 

Tony Lynch

[alanfromderby]

Firstly, it is impoortant to try and resolve the exact position about who owns the debt - and under what terms. I would suggest the following letter:

 

 

I no longer acknowledge ANY debt to your company. I require you to supply the following documentation before I will correspond any further on this matter.

 

1. You must supply me with a true copy of the alleged agreement you refer to in this matter. This is my right under your obligation to supply a copy of the agreement under the legislation contained within s.78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 (s.77 (1) for fixed sum credit) - your obligation also extends to providing a statement of account. I enclose a £1 postal order in payment of the statutory fee, PO Serial Number xxxxx. (Or cheque)

 

2. A signed true copy of the deed of assignment of the above referenced agreement that you allege exists.

 

3. You are notified that you are obliged to supply these documents, whether you are the original creditor or not under S189 of the CCA 1974.

 

Non-compliance with my request is a criminal offence under the above Act and will result in a report being submitted to the relevant statutory authorities.

 

As you are aware, a credit agreement that is not properly documented and signed by the customer is totally unenforceable under the CCA and therefore is a complete defence to any court claim that is issued.

 

Take note at this stage, that any legal action you may contemplate will be both vigorously defended and contested.

 

 

 

I will deal with some of the other points as the afternoon goes on. Can I just confirm that this loan is unsecured - I am presuming it is since they have decided to sell it on ?

[alanfromderby]

On the telephone calls. I gather from one of our administrators that if you write to them saying that you will only enter into correspondence through the post, if they phone you after that, they are in breach of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949.

 

He did that with Capital One, and the calls stopped immediatly.

[alanfromderby]

Once they respond to the above letter, post back to this forum and we can then advise further. Certainly the charges they have added are unlawful, the interest on those charges is unlawful - and it is possible that some of the more historical actions on the account can also be challenged - however it is important to see how they respond first.

 

Assuming that the loan is not secured you should try not to let it get on top of you so much. They will try to frighten you as much as they can - that is a tactic they use to get people to pay more than they can afford.

[andrew1]

There you go Tony, what did I tell you? Thanks Alan, this just demonstrates that from rock bottom you are already on the ladder back up again ... keep confident and you WILL survive.

[sachmo]

Tony your post nearly had me in tears. Just realise you are now with the people that will help you to conquer this problem and please try to stop worrying too much as there will be light at the end of the tunnel. Its so sad this has caused problems in your marriage but you have to stick together through this, do not let them beat you, or they will have won at least part of the battle - do not let them win ANY part of the battle. Good luck and happiness is wished for you and your family.

[Seminole]

I completely agree with the advice Alan has given you.

 

Please also bear in mind that debt collection agencies have no power. They can't force you to do anything. You don't have to speak to them, you don't have to reply to their letters and you don't have to let them into your home. They will try their utmost to persuade you that you have to do whatever they tell you. You don't.

 

I would strongly advise you to prepare a family income and expenditure statement allowing yourself enough money to both live on and to have a reasonable family life. Whatever is left over is what you can use to pay off this debt and any others you might have. If that is less than what you are paying Chatham, tough luck on them.

 

If the worst happened and they took you to court, the judge would only make you pay what you could afford to pay.

[Pere Ubu]

My husband and I are experiencing something similar with Asset Link which I have posted separately on. Good luck and hang in there.

[tonylynch01]

Hi all,

 

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement.

I will now take your advice a proceed (with caution) to take these vultures on.

Your support is the first glimmer of hope my wife and I have seen since we got into to this nightmare.

 

Tomorrow we will call the Nationl Debt Line and will come back to you with the information they give us.

 

I will now put pen to paper and inform Chatham that we are taking advice and will pursue them through the proper channels.

 

Thank you all sincerely for your support and guidance.

 

Tony & Julie Lynch

[maddyrose1664]

Hi there,

 

Just wondered if you had managed to call the National Debt Line yet? If not, try the Consumer Credit Counselling Service on 0800 1381111. I spoke to them on Tuesday and they were absolutely fantastic. I am in a similar situation to you. That being that I'm up to my neck in debt, close to losing my home and my mind.

 

I too was being harassed by credit card and loan companies day and night. The first thing the counsellor suggested was to ring up BT and ask them to change my phone number due to nuisance calls. I did exactly that and now the whining sods can't contact me by phone anymore!!

 

One more thing. The people that ring you up have absolutely no right to treat you the way they have been. There are laws in place against harassing phone calls from creditors and you should remind them of that.

 

Good luck and keep us posted.

[tonylynch01]

Hi Maddy/every one!

 

My wife has been trying to get through to the National Debt Line all day and had to give up in the end.

I am not long in from work and will now have a look at thier web site.

She also tried the Consumer Credit Counselling Service but they were shut...that was about 8.00pm tonight.

At 6.45pm to night my wife got yet another call from Chatham, this time it was to inform us that they were posting out thier terms and conditions, and guess what?.....we're being charged £20.00 for the phone call!!..again! Even though I was told this in another call they made to me last Saturday morning, wich I am also being charged £20.00!!!

My wife kept them on the phone for nearly an hour tonight..as she said " well if I'm paying for this call, I might has well get my moneys worth"

She asked them all sorts of questions which funny enough they were unable to answer as "the department that deals with that information is not available untill 9.30am tomorrow"...Well isint that a surprise?!

In the end, the person at the other end was so useless and arrogant, my wife told her to take us to court as this would give us a fair chance to explain our plight and expose this pond life for what they really are.

The reply to that was, we would be charged a further £250.00 for a "debt manager" to come to our home and issue the proceedings as well as investigate our failure to comply with the agreement...plus all leagal costs and admin fees heaped onto our account!

My wife told her she was'nt scared and felt that was the tactic!

Any way! I am putting my letter together and thanks to you good people I am confident in its wording!

 

Julie will again try and call the Debt Line and once we know a bit more, I will post it on here!

 

Thank you all again for your help, and I look forward to hearing from you again!

 

Kind regards

Tony & Julie Lynch

[Loula]

Hello Tony and Julie

 

Here is the link for the CCCS.

 

http://www.cccs.co.uk/

 

You can contact them by email and I think they would then call you back at a time convenient to you. (click contact us in the header and then the 'otherwise click here')

 

My husband used them recently and they called him back everytime with no charge and very helpful advice!

 

One question which no-one else has raised... did you claim compensation for your work related injuries?

 

 

Please try not to get anymore stressed about Chatham. Follow AlanfromDerby's advice, write those letter and if they break the terms of not calling, immediately report them.

 

I will keep an eye on your thread, so if you need anything else please shout.

 

LOULA

[maddyrose1664]

Hi Tony and Julie,

 

I have just been looking at the Financial Ombudsman site. Have a look at this

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm and it gives you clear guidelines on how to complain.

 

Companies don't mess with the Ombudsman so it might be worth getting them to fight on your behalf.

 

I'm so glad you are finding comfort from this site. I know from my experiences with debt that it is difficult to stay on top of things and that there are times when you just want it to be over. You have to be strong and think to yourself that there is a way out. It may be slow but if you find the right support and advice you'll get there in the end. You can't let it beat you, what about your kids? If selling your house is the answer to your problems then just do it. That is exactly what I'm doing. It's a shame that it comes to that but if it ends my nightmare then that's all that counts. I have no idea where we'll go when the house sells and I don't really care. I just want a fresh start. So, try to make selling your house as a positive thing. All your financial worries would be over and you can start again.

 

Take care.

[andrew1]

Debt counsellors quoted above will negotiate with your creditors what you can afford to pay. £1.00 a week if that's what it is. I have a loan debt of over £20,000 which I have a negotiated agreement to pay £5.00 per month so it can be achieved to a level you can manage. I had a six figure salary and a business which all came tumbling down and I have a big house worth quite a lot of money and would cover all my debt, big mortgage, and life thereafter but I have chosen not to move- I like it where I am . Everyone I know say's the same thing - sell, sell, sell, but some people just don't want to sell as I didn't. You can negotiate your debt repayments and with a steady income you can work your way through it at your own pace. When you are at your witts-end you work at the pace of those chasing you, once you have them in control, just as many are doing now with support from this brilliant forum you regain control and the tail is not wagging the dog anymore - it comes, but you can't see it happening until you take on these people and see you are succeeding. As for phone calls from ANY of these people, remember what Seminole mentioned: you can stop these calls immediately, without having to change your phone number, by writing and telling these companies that you no longer will deal with them by phone - written communication only and if they continue they are breaking the Wireless and Telegraphy Act 1949.

 

Think carefully before selling - get the debts sorted by counsellors or by careful negotiation to get them under control,then get your charges returned the counsellors won't do that for you and then you can make an informed decision about selling the one asset that you have. Yes it's easy to sell but then the Finance companies would have won wouldn't they?

[surreyscouse]

sorry to hear about your plight here !

 

Rightly or wrongly I have been given use of a subscription website at work to check on companies finances and directors etc. (I do use it for work as well before you ask)

 

Chatham finance does not come up. Does their headed paper have a company registration number on there and I will see what I can find out for you.

 

Erm, anybody else want a companys info ? Just PM me and let me know what you want and I will have a look. You know, like directors home addresses in case they want the latest Freemans catalogue delivered or something !!!!!!

[srrray]

Hi TonyLynch01,

 

I know it's been over two years since the last post on this thread, but I was just wondering how you got on with Chatham Finance, as I have had similar problems with them.

 

I defaulted on a loan with Colonial Finance back in the late nineties/early naughties, and it was sold on in turn to various credit agencies such as Allied International (lovely bunch of people there!) and lastly Chatham Finance.

 

The £10k loan, plus the £4k interest and £2.7k PPI cover was all passed on to Chatham finance, a total of £17k.

 

I have negociated with Chatham over the years and managed to tie them down to 1% interest being charged on my loan, which now stands at £11,500 outstanding.

 

I have always thought it odd that Colonial sold on the £4k interest and £2.7k PPI parts of the loan, because I am paying interest upon interest. I have never questioned this because I always try to avoid contact with these people as much as I can, and didn't want to get into a situation where they would increase the interest rate I had negociated as a result of me arguing varios issues with them.

 

That said, could anyone advise if Colonial were in their rights to sell on the interest and PPI elements of the loan?

 

This debt has caused many a tear over the years, just like it did with Tony's family. Any advice would be welcome.

 

Thanks.

[tonylynch01]

This topic was closed on 2019-03-08.

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