Halifax Credit Card debt.

[Tucker26]

I had a Halifax credit card, which after losing my job in 2006, I struggled to make payments on.

 

When I could no longer pay the minimum amount each month,

I took debt advice and

 

 

in April 2007 I began to pay Halifax £1 a month, to which they agreed. This continued until January 2008.

 

The Halifax then started to add interest and late payment fees to my account.

They said they had to do this for six months which would then default the account.

They actually did it for eight months,

froze the interest and accepted a payment of £10 a month.

The payment has gradually increased to £30 a month.

 

They continued to add interest and late fees, even though they knew I would never be able to pay.

 

I want to write to them and request they refund any interest, late payment fees and compound interest to me, enabling me to reduce the balance.

 

 

This amounts to £520.15(without the compound) and would finish my debt 17 months earlier than planned.

 

How do I go about this?

 

Blair Oliver and Scott took over the debt but when I requested statements they came from the Halifax.

[fkofilee]

BOS are halifax... Notice how BOS is similar to Bank Of Scotland

 

There are some CONC Rules which I think they have to abide by. I think they have put you into further debt unnecessarily. That is something that you could use if you were to complain to them.

[dx100uk]

if you have all the statements

 

then simply follow one of the numerous PENALTY charges threads.

 

pop them in the CISHEET

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?330996-Latest-Spreadsheets-PPI-Claims-and-Charges-Claims-Dec-2011

 

use the charges reclaiming letter from the top library tab

and away you go.

 

you can only reclaim the PENALTY fees.

 

put their avg APR in cell D15

 

dx

[Tucker26]

I wrote to the Halifax on 29th January, requesting they refund any late payment fees and interest charges to my account.

 

When I lost my job, I told them I could no longer afford payments on the account.

I offered £1 a month which they accepted.

They froze the interest and said that I would have to default for 6 months before they could pass the debt over to collections.

 

After 6 months they started to charge interest and late payment fees, they continued to take the £1 per month.

This continued for a further 8 months when they finally passed the debt across to Blair Oliver Scott.

They didn't refer this account for nearly 14 months which is too long in my opinion.

 

I now pay them £30 a month and have done for the last 2 years (previously £25).

 

 

If I were to stop payments what could they do?

 

 

The debt is not on my credit file anymore and

 

 

I haven't heard anything from them in over as year.

 

 

(They used to do a financial assessment by phone every 6 months).

 

I haven't had an acknowledgment to my letter yet but I guess it may be a bit early to expect that.

[dx100uk]

so how did the reclaim go?

 

 

dx

[Bazooka Boo]

As well as the reclaim, did they ever send you a termination notice, or a default notice, the latter will be a letter they send telling you

you're in breach of your agreement, and in order to remedy the account you must pay X amount by a certain date to stop the account being terminated.

[fletch70]

With Halifax I would be sending a CCA request as well to see what they have got

[SabreSheep]

Also now is a good time to spend £10 on a FULL SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST

 

templates available in the cag library

 

ALSO

 

Have a read http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?423796-SabreSheep-Vs-Natwest-Moorcroft

[Tucker26]

so how did the reclaim go?

 

 

dx

 

They haven't replied yet. I will post on here once they respond.

[Tucker26]

With Halifax I would be sending a CCA request as well to see what they have got

 

I sent this with the reclaim letter, so will wait and see what I get back.

[SabreSheep]

tell us more about the reclaim letter.

 

Can you post up a copy here (remove personal information)

 

When did you send it

 

How did you send it?

 

The reason I ask is that there may be good reason to start the preclaim again if you worded it wrong The difference could be £1000's

[Tucker26]

As well as the reclaim, did they ever send you a termination notice, or a default notice, the latter will be a letter they send telling you

you're in breach of your agreement, and in order to remedy the account you must pay X amount by a certain date to stop the account being terminated.

 

I don't recall much about the correspondence from the Halifax. I used to speak to them when I was having difficulty paying.

 

They passed me over to Blair Oliver Scott who then made an arrangement for me to pay a fixed amount each month.

 

This has risen over the years but they haven't been in touch for about a year. I usually get a letter asking me to call and discuss my financial position. The monthly amount is then fixed for a period of 6 months.

[Bazooka Boo]

Sounds a lot like cash cowing here!

 

Every six months they have to send you a statement of account, showing you what you have paid and what the outstanding debt is.

If they haven't been then that is cause for a separate complaint, and begs the question why not?

 

The SAR should bring out the default notice and termination notice, IF they were ever sent.

When the account has been terminated, then they can't add any further interest or charges.

[Tucker26]

tell us more about the reclaim letter.

 

Can you post up a copy here (remove personal information)

 

When did you send it

 

How did you send it?

 

The reason I ask is that there may be good reason to start the preclaim again if you worded it wrong The difference could be £1000's

 

I have received a reply to my reclaim letter which was sent on 29th January.

 

Halifax have agreed to refund all late payment charges (£72) and any interest (448.16) charged after the 6 month period had lapsed. Judging by the letter these have already been added back to my account.

 

They have also offered me £100 for the upset and frustration this has caused.

 

They have supplied me a copy of the Credit Agreement but it is not the original and therefore not signed. The letter states that they do not have to supply the original as long as they comply with section 28.

 

What should I do now?

[Bazooka Boo]

When did you take the card out? Pre 07?

 

If so then they will have to have the original agreement to take any legal action against you.

 

Yes they don't need to send you a copy with your sig on, but they still need to have the original agreement.

 

So is the account is now cleared?

This amounts to £520.15(without the compound) and would finish my debt 17 months earlier than planned.

[Tucker26]

When did you take the card out? Pre 07?

 

If so then they will have to have the original agreement to take any legal action against you.

 

Yes they don't need to send you a copy with your sig on, but they still need to have the original agreement.

 

So is the account is now cleared?

 

I received a signed copy of the agreement this morning. It was signed in 2005. Not sure what the next step is?

 

The account is not cleared, it just means that I owe them less than I did when they entered into an arrangement with me. It also means I'm not paying money back that shouldn't have been on my account.

 

I pay them £30 a month and this debt is not on my credit file. They haven't contacted me to review the payments in over a year.

[Bazooka Boo]

OK, so you have no idea what the total owing is now?

 

They have failed to send you a statement of account, which is a legal requirement, so lodge a formal complaint with them about that.

 

Do you know how much you now owe?

 

And how much you have paid ?

This isn't a priority debt, so if £30 a month is a struggle for you, then you dictate what amount you will pay them.

Did you tell them you would pay £30 or did they tell you that was what you had to pay?

 

Doesn't work like that, you hold the purse string, not them, you tell them what you will pay.

[Tucker26]

OK, so you have no idea what the total owing is now?

 

They have failed to send you a statement of account, which is a legal requirement, so lodge a formal complaint with them about that.

 

Do you know how much you now owe?

 

And how much you have paid ?

This isn't a priority debt, so if £30 a month is a struggle for you, then you dictate what amount you will pay them.

Did you tell them you would pay £30 or did they tell you that was what you had to pay?

 

Doesn't work like that, you hold the purse string, not them, you tell them what you will pay.

 

They were sending me a credit card statement every few months.

This had a "Pay full balance now" message

 

 

after a couple of phone calls they told me to ignore them.

 

 

I will write and lodge a complaint and ask for a regular statement.

 

I now owe around £2500 (after they have removed the interest they owed me).

 

 

They used to send me letters asking me to call them and would then go through a financial assessment with me.

 

 

They said my payments should be £30 a month and I agreed. If it got to a stage that I couldn't afford it then I would tell them .

 

I have asked for a settlement figure but they refused.

 

 

I will be paying this off for 7 more years, so am keen to get rid of it as soon as possible.

 

 

One good thing is it is no longer on my credit file.

[SabreSheep]

IF you want this gone start listneing to the advice being given here.

 

DID YOU RECLAIM the charges AND restitutionry interest at 24.9% compount apr?

[Tucker26]

IF you want this gone start listneing to the advice being given here.

 

DID YOU RECLAIM the charges AND restitutionry interest at 24.9% compount apr?

 

I reclaimed late payment fees and interest that was wrongly added to the account.

 

 

I did ask for compound interest to be added but they refused.

 

I will post the letter up on Monday, I'm not at home until then.

[Bazooka Boo]

I'd be dumping these payments down to £1 a month, or a fiver if you're feeling generous.....they don't dictate what they want

you TELL them what they'll get, like it or lump it.

[Tucker26]

This is the copy of the letter that the Halifax sent me regarding my account.

 

 

Sorry if it's not in the right order, I had a job loading it.

[dx100uk]

follow the upload guide

 

 

you need to pdf them please

[Tucker26]

I have managed to convert the docs, hope they are in the right order.

[fkofilee]

Yep they are readable Good Job