Over 6 years of paying off debt, what happens next?

[Tunde]

Thanks a lot.

[HYMN AND MI]

No worries. Been working on a bus lane case!

[intend]

Apex - definitely a DCA. My advice is not to deal with them but continue to communicate directly with the OC. I would send a strongly worded letter of complaint to OC. If you are in a repayment plan they should not be doing this

 

Intend

[Tunde]

Thanks, I am sending a letter to the OC with an updated I/E form today. Thanks.

[HYMN AND MI]

Good luck.

[scouse12345]

Tunde,

 

Whilst all your time appears to be taken up with dealing with the repayment of your loans etc, do give serious thought and spend a little time investigating whether or not any of these loans and cards were subject too you paying any form of PPI Insurance.

 

S.

[Tunde]

Thanks a lot, I will certainly do that though I very much doubt that is the case for any of them but it is worth checking out. Thanks again.

[Tunde]

This is is really hotting up and I will need to act urgently. Just came in now and met a letter from 'Wescot' acting on behalf of Halifax with a similar letter to the one sent by 'APEX credit management' on behalf of the AA card services. What steps do I take? I don't want to call them on the phone as per the advice given here on the forum but I need to act fast. I have attached a copy of the letters. Thanks for your help.

[intend]

Tunde - too small to read but look just like general threat-o-grams. Are they full of may and could and our client??

 

intend

[Tunde]

Thanks for having a look at this, the general gist of the letters are that they are representing the credit card companies and that I should call them immediately to prevent further 'recovery' actions being taken against me. They quoted the account numbers and how much I am owing.

 

I have decided to contact the original creditor to confirm if they have transfered the account to these companies and also sent them a revised I/E form. Is this the right way to go about it? Initially I had a 6 months arrangement with them for a lesser payment which I kept paying without missing any payment. They said they would review and contact me after the 6 months which ended late last month. I was not contact by them till I got these letters from the 3rd party companies.

[citizenB]

Attached below is a letter that you can send to the DCA (who claim to be the new owner).. There are one or two places where you will need to add information.. so read it carefully - send it via Special or Recorded delivery mail and keep the receipt.

 

Draft request for assignment - Amended Draft.doc

[intend]

Nice letter cB

[Tunde]

Thanks ever so much for your help, I will send it tomorrow. I am very grateful.

[Bazooka Boo]

And forget any notion of sending anyone, especially a tin pot DCA your personal and private information, such as an I&E form, they DO NOT need to know this.

[Tunde]

OK, I will keep that in mind. Words cannot adequately express how grateful I am to you guys. I feel much more in control and the worry I felt after receiving those letters is gone. Thanks so much.

[Bazooka Boo]

No worries, You ARE in control, it's just these fools need reminding occasionally.

[Tunde]

Letters posted by recorded delivery, to get there by 1pm tomorrow and to be signed for. All receipts kept, thanks a lot guys.

[Tunde]

I have received a reply from 'APEX'. The body of the letter from is seen below. I have continued the arranged payment with Halifax though they have refused to reply my letter claiming that the account is no longer with them but with APEX. I need to know if it's OK to make any payments to APEX? I was of the opinion that this account has been sold to APEX, I am confused.....

 

Thank you for your letter dated 19 March. I am sorry that you have had cause to write to us. My understanding of your complaint is that you have not received notification that your account has been assigned to us and you have also requested details of our registration and licenses.

I will begin by explaining that your account was passed to Apex Credit Management on 9 March to arrange collection of the outstanding balance. Having checked our records, l see that we wrote to you to introduce ourselves on 10 March and I have enclosed a copy of this letter. I also note your request for a copy of a Notice of Assignment for your account to be sent to you. As we have only been appointed as an agent, a Notice of Assignment is not created for this type of arrangement.

We have, however, asked HBOS to write to you confirming that the account has been passed to Apex Credit Management. They have informed us that a letter-has been sent and I trust you will receive this shortly. Incidentally, your letter of 19 March refers to The Law of Property Act 1936. I feel it is important to let you know that the Act.does not apply in respect of this case; your outstanding balance is regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, which details steps that must be taken when administering the account.

Moving on to your other queries, I need to inform you we are not authorised by the Financial services Authority, but are licensed by the Office of Fair trading. Our Consumer Credit Licence number is 584761. We are also members of the Credit Services Association, which seeks to ensure appropriate levels of governance across the credit industry. Should you require any more details relating to Apex credit Management, you may wish to visit our website www.apex.co.uk

Additionally, you have requested a copy of our internal Complaints Procedure, you will be aware that a copy of this was included with my previous letter dated 22 March, but for completeness I have enclosed a further copy of the leaflet to ensure you have all required information to hand.

I will like any form of advise on what to do, like I said, I have maintained the payment agreed up to date. Thanks a lot for your help.

[citizenB]

Righto, well then they are NOT the owner of the debt, which it appears is still owned by HBoS.

 

This means that any direct threat of court action etc cannot be taken by Apex.. only HBoS. HBoS are equally responsible for any harrassment, breach of OFT guidelines that Apex try on

 

If you have a payment arrangement with HBoS, then Apex are bound to continue to accept this.

[citizenB]

Righto, having read back over your thread, it looks to me as though HBoS have just offloaded the administration of the account. If I recall, you had a payment arrangement with interest frozen for 6 months.

 

IMHO, it would now be appropriate that you send Apex a letter simply advising that your circumstances remain unchanged - worse or better. Ask them to continue accepting the reduced payment amount until such times as you circumstances change.

 

You should build into any I&E a bit of wriggle room in order to cope with the ever increasing fuel/utility prices. Something along the lines of..

 

Dear Sir or Madam,

 

It has now been established that you are acting on behalf of HBoS in an adminstrative capacity only.

 

In which case you will be aware that there is a payment arrangment in place due to a hiccup in my financial circumstances. I would request that this arrangment continues for at least the next 12 months as my circumstances remain unchanged (or you can amend to advise a slight improvement/or decrease of disposable income due to the recent increases in fuel/decrease in child tax credit.. etc)

 

Yours faithfully

 

If you have less disposable income, then you should say so.. dont struggle with payments you cant afford.

 

If you have already provided HBoS with an I&E budget, then I see no point in not providing one to Apex.. however that is your choice.. you do NOT have to provide one to them. However, you should update your copy for your own reference. I have attached an I&E spreadsheet below that is widely used on CAG -

 

Ellens Budget Sheet.xls

 

or you can follow the instructions in the following and contact one of the agencies listed - who will provide you with template letters, and budget planners. This is called CASHflow and is acceptable to the OFT in which case, it should be acceptable to the creditor.

 

If you are experiencing difficulty in repaying your debts, CASHflow is a way for you to negotiate affordable repayments with your creditors. Before you can use CASHflow, you must have spoken to one of the free advice agencies licensed to offer CASHflow to their clients. The advice agency will start by talking to you about all of the options available, and can help you to decide if CASHflow is the right one for you.

 

If you decide to use CASHflow, you will be provided with all of the tools you need to be able to complete your own financial statement and negotiate offers of repayment with creditors yourself. This will enable you to stay in control of your situation, but still have support from an adviser at any stage if you need it.

 

You can contact a local advice agency to check if they offer CASHflow. You can find a list of free advice agencies that are near to you by searching for a money adviser in England or Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.

Alternatively, you can call National Debtline on 0808 808 4000

CASHflow: http://www.cashflow.uk.net/

National Debtline: http://www.nationaldebtline.co.u k/

https://www.mymoneysteps.org/

Also as highlighted in the CAG newsletter...

There is the new CAB system that might also be worth a look, this system saves all your details, has guidance allowance figures to work with if you wish and you do not need to be invited / signed off etc with this system, just log in and away you go (see below)

 

(Also, there are a number of other self help tools and systems around so might be worth a little exploration if this is what you eventually decide on.)

 

http://mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyadvice/

 

http://mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyadvice/ (example of completed dmp)

 

 

HTH

[Tunde]

Fantastic, absolutely brilliant. I will contact them to send me the account details so that I can make the required payments. They already have the revised I/E form sent to Halifax. Thank you so much for your help. I am so grateful.

[intend]

Tunde - have you received the letter from halifax staing they have set Apex on to you. No wishing to contradict CBs advice as they are much more knowledgeable than me, but I would write a letter of complaint to HBOS staing that they should not be doing this as you are in a repayment plan with them and I would tell them that you will conitinue to pay them as per your plan/revised circumstances.

 

I believe it is always best to stay with the OC - their procedures and regulations provide better protection.

 

Intend

[Tunde]

Thanks for your response. I have not received that letter from Halifax and I have written them to ask for the letter again. Waiting for them to reply me. In the meantime, I am continuing with the payment as per the arrangement agreed with Halifax.

[Tunde]

I have just contacted APEX and WESCOT to send me their account details in writing where I can make these payments but they both declined that they can only provide the information on the phone or by text!!! Is that right? I will prefer this information in writing for my own records.

[Bazooka Boo]

No it's complete bowlarks, IMO if they won't give you their bank details except by phone or text, then they don't want your money, ignore them, and don't pay them anything, have you got it in writing that this is how they want to give you their bank details??

 

Do they have your landline or mobile number?? I doubt it, and this will be the very reason why they are being economical with the truth, and are attempting to con you into divulging your contact numbers so they can commit the criminal offence of harassment.

 

IGNORE IGNORE IGNORE.