My Community Bank - CIFAS Marker - Can It Be Removed? ***Resolved and Removed***

[LilMissM]

I have recently found myself in financial difficulties and with the help of forum members in another thread regarding this, I think I can get myself sorted.

My query here is how to deal with a Cifas marker that has been logged against me by one of my creditors for "evasion of payment".

Admittedly yes I did get a £5000 loan with them and have not paid any payment but at the start of the year, which is when the loan landed, I realised I was going to be struggling to repay that and other debts and I contacted MCB to ask if there was any way I could extend the loan from 24 months to 36 months. I explained my situation and that I was going with a DMP and asked them if they could help me with this. They did not reply. I then emailed them again a month later explaining that my DMP was going ahead and could they confirm that the direct debit was indeed cancelled. Again, they did not reply.

The DMP fell apart and so did everything else thereafter. My bank withdrew my overdraft and said I could not stay with them (I thought initially that it was because of the DMP) so I opened another account (Starling) and set up all my direct debits etc with the new bank. A month into being with the new bank, they contacted me and said they were closing my account in three months. So I started applying for other basic accounts and every single one of them either refused or revoked. 

Through the help in the other thread, I requested a SAR from Cifas and discovered that I have this marker against my name for "evasion of payment".

I have logged a complaint with MCB on the advice of other forum members, but my query really is do you think the marker is fair given that I did ask them for help and I did explain that I was going to be struggling financially to repay the loan over the original two years, and is there any way that I can get it removed?

I fully admit that I have yet to make a payment to them and I suppose in my naivety and panic I thought if I emailed them early on they could extend the loan and help me out, but they didn't even reply 

I did manage to open an account with Monzo before the marker was in place, but I am very concerned that if Monzo do what Starling did, I will have no bank account to pay my bills or get my wages paid into. 

Realistically based on the information I have given here, what do you think my chances are of getting this marker removed?

Any help/advice on this would be greatly appreciated x

[fkofilee]

Hi @LilMissM

 

I guess you could call me our resident CIFAS Specialist - Personally have been through all of what you have and now have come out the other side when my marker fell off in May 2023.

For a start Monzo may close your account but as I had a Marker for App Fraud (Vodafone ended up making a whole hoohah of the account I had with them) - I was with them and still am from Oct 2017 till today. And not once did they close my account. I actually spoke to a couple of current account providers at the time that I had accounts with - Nationwide and Barclays - Told them what was going on and provided all the evidence to them. They advised they may do so but it was highly unlikely now that they understood why it happened and what I was doing to fight it. 

 

Anyway - On to your marker.

MCB is My Community Bank? 

I can say to you that on experience that On Monday you can be on top of the world then on Tuesday you whole life changes in a flash of an eye. Suddenly you cant pay your bills, Work isnt feasible and you are left with no other choice but to scrape by. 

If this has happened to you, then join the club.  - Why is this important? Well Financial institutions get one whiff of potential fraud and you are guilty without a chance to respond. You found out the hard way

 

If it sounds like I'm waffling, I'm not - Its important to your issue.

They have deemed you guilty by the fact that no payments have been made and potentially entered into a loan agreement knowing looking not to pay (Although thats how it may appear, there will always be factors against that) 

 

First off - Questions

- What Category of Marker do you have? If unsure, check my signature for a Credit File Guide which will tell you all you need to know about what Categories apply. 

- When did you raise the complaint? They will have 8 weeks to respond. More on this in a mo. 

- Do you have Correspondence / Audit Trails of communications showing that you were in severe financial strain due to an event AFTER you took the loan?

 

My next suggestions, Send this complaint to the CEOs office - CEOEMAIL.COM

Let them make the decision as per the Complaint Procedure. Then if they refuse to remove the marker. take it to the FOS who can force the company to remove it if found in favour. 

Some companies do need a slap or 2 once in a while to bring them down a peg. You could be looking at this right now. 

 

[fkofilee]

If it is MCB 

 

National Fraud Database Members | Preventing Fraud Losses | Cifas

WWW.CIFAS.ORG.UK

---

A range of organisations use the National Fraud Database to share data on confirmed fraud cases, preventing over £1 billion in fraud losses every year.

 

They are on the register

 

[LilMissM]

Thank you fkofilee

First question: what do I do if Monzo close my account? I need an account but no one will touch me with this marker against me. Is there anywhere/any other option that I have if Monzo close my account?

MCB is My Community Bank?  Yes

What Category of Marker do you have? This is what it says on the Cifas SAR:

Application date: 07 December 2023
Date recorded: 09 April 2024
Expiry date: 09 April 2030
Cifas Case Identifier: 15435315
Product relating to the application, proposal,
account or facility: Personal Loan – Unsecured
Facility: Granted
Case type: Misuse of facility
Reason(s) for filing: Evasion of payment
Financial Loss
Value of Loss: £5000.00

When did you raise the complaint? Last night via email

Do you have Correspondence / Audit Trails of communications showing that you were in severe financial strain due to an event AFTER you took the loan? I can prove that I had to buy a new washing machine, I have my pay slips showing the emergency tax code and a letter from the tax office after I had spoken with them to get it corrected and of course I can get a copy of my vet bill. And all of this was in the first 2-3 months of 2024. 

I panicked. Stupid I know and as you say, I have learned the hard way and I am not in any way denying anything that I have done wrong, but it just feels a bit unfair. 

It is what it is I guess and if I have to have it on me forever then so be it. I am just so worried about the bank situation

 

 

[fkofilee]

Oh dear.. Misuse of facility... 

Cat 6... No wonder everything is being nuked from high orbit...

More in a bit.. 

[LilMissM]

That "oh dear" doesn't sound good

 

[fkofilee]

Right... Misuse of Facility is a Cat 6 and is considered the worst out of all of the CIFAS Categories for CIFAS Markers. 

However lets see what happens when MCB come back to you. Make sure you refer it to the CEO. 

 

IF YOU DONT HAVE A VALID REASON FOR THE ISSUE WITH PAYMENTS ETC - Then the marker will stay. 

 

[LilMissM]

This is what I have said in my email of complaint:
 

On 29th November 2023 I took out a loan of £5000 with you.

Unfortunately very early into 2024 I have found myself in financial difficulty and I contacted you on 13th February 2024 asking if there was any way I could extend the length of my loan to 36 months and I fully explained why I was requesting this and asked for your help. I again contacted you on 7th March 2024 to advise you of a change in my circumstances which resulted in me having to take out a DMP and asking you to confirm that the direct debit had been cancelled. You would have also received confirmation of this DMP from StepChange but you did not acknowledge receipt of my email. 

I have now therefore fallen behind on several of my debts, yours included, and as a result you have lodged a Cifas marker against my name for "evasion of payment", which has resulted in me having to change banks, which has been an extremely difficult process because of the Cifas marker. I do not feel you have been fair or given me the opportunity to fully explain my situation to you before you lodged the marker against my name. 

I cannot stress to you enough how much this has affected my mental health. I am having trouble sleeping and my existing health condition has been exacerbated by all of this. 

What I would like you to do is to please remove the Cifas marker and let me make arrangements to pay the loan back through a DMP.

If you fail to resolve my complaint within 8 weeks, or if matters are not settled to my satisfaction, I will have no alternative but to refer my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Should I send something along those lines to the CEO? 

 

I have just found an email (and checked and verified it on my MCB account online) and I did make a payment to them, but then obvs didn't after that. Will that make any difference to my case? 

[fkofilee]

Massive potentially that payment has been made in some form as accompanying evidence to your financial difficulties. 

And yes, but add some more zing to the email if it goes to the CEO - You need to make them understand what they have done. And telling the CEO  / MD of the biz what their actions have done to you - It adds to the complaint weighting.

 

 

[LilMissM]

I made that payment on 13th Feb, then it all went down hill. 

[fkofilee]

Just be careful with your language on what you post here - Keep it above board

Lets see what you send to the big boss. 

[LilMissM]

Sorry  Noted x

 

Ok how about this to the CEO? I know it sounds super desperate but lets call a spade a spade here, I am super desperate:

Dear Sir,

On 29th November 2023 I took out a loan of £5000 with you.

Unfortunately very early into 2024 I found myself in financial difficulty (unexpected bills and two episodes of sickness and the tax office getting my tax code wrong resulting in less pay for two months) and I contacted you (MCB) on 13th February 2024 asking if there was any way I could extend the length of my loan to 36 months. I fully explained why I was requesting this and asked for your help. I did not receive a reply to that email so I again contacted you on 7th March 2024 to advise you of a change in my circumstances which resulted in me having to take out a DMP and asking you to confirm that the direct debit had been cancelled. You would have also received confirmation of this DMP from StepChange but you did not acknowledge receipt of my email. I have only managed to make one payment from my loan but did try and contact MCB to discuss extending my loan, help etc. 

I have now therefore fallen behind on several of my debts, yours included, and as a result you have lodged a Cifas marker against my name for "evasion of payment", which has resulted in me having to change banks, which has been an extremely difficult process because of the Cifas marker. I do not feel you have been fair or given me the opportunity to fully explain my situation to you before you lodged the marker against my name. I appreciate it is a business and you have acted accordingly, but I did try to make contact to arrange alternative arrangements and at no point, not even to this day, did I ever intend to not repay my loan.

I cannot stress to you enough how much this has affected my mental health. I am having trouble sleeping and my existing health condition has been exacerbated by all of this.

What I would like you to do is to please, please remove the Cifas marker and let me make arrangements to pay the loan back through a DMP. 

Please sir, I am begging for your help here. I am not a dishonest person and I have never been in a situation like this before. I am desperately trying to make things right but this marker is killing me. Please can you help me?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

[fkofilee]

Looks similar to you original email to their Complaints team. I dont rate copypasta for a CEO complaint. Rewrite it with emotion involved as to how badly this is affecting you and make them feel embarrassed for their actions... 

[LilMissM]

Hi everyone,

I have had a Final Response from MCB:

 

Hi Michelle,

Thanks for waiting while we looked into your complaint. We’ve now completed our review and this is our Final
Response.

Your complaint
· You’re unhappy we have lodged a CIFAS marker against your name for "evasion of payment", which
has resulted in you having to change banks, which has been an extremely difficult process because of
the CIFAS marker.
· You do not feel we have been fair or given us the opportunity to fully explain your situation to us
before we lodged the marker against your name.
·You cannot stress enough how much this has affected your mental health. You are having trouble
sleeping and your existing health condition has been exacerbated by all of this.

Our review
We’ve looked into your complaint and agree that we could have supported you better. We’re sorry that we did
not provide the level of service that we should have.

Our final response: we’re upholding your complaint.

To put things right, we’d like to offer you a payment of £100.00.

We’ve also:
· Removed the CIFAS marker that was applied
If you’d like to accept this offer, which is made in full and final settlement of your complaint, please let us know
within the next 10 working days.

You can call us on 020 3375 0221 or email us at [email protected]. We’re open Monday to
Friday, 8am to 6pm (excluding bank holidays). We’ll need your bank details to make the payment.
As you have shared with us that this has affected your mental health we would also like to make you aware of
the following organisation which offers support - Mind (Mind.org.uk) on 0300 123 3393 9am-6pm Mon-Fri.

 

I have, of course, accepted their decision and have asked if they can put it in writing to me with the date the marker has been or is being removed.

[fkofilee]

Also remember to do a DSAR with CIFAS to confirm it has been removed

[LilMissM]

Will do  I know I still have the debts to tackle but now that marker is off I can breathe and focus on getting a plan in place and being debt free in a few years (with the help from this group of course) 

[fkofilee]

Sorry - Spoke to soon... 

 

So great news!  - They should remove it in 28 days. Hopefully it should be enough to ward off any further issues with account closure etc 

What you need to do is keep this letter and use it should any further account be closed from this further point. You can actually challenge it and provide the evidence - Should give the provider course to reconsider. May even beable to take it to your old bank etc  

 

Also ask for confirmation from MCB that they will not be placing another CIFAS marker going forward to cover all bases. 

 

Also one more thing,  - Please consider a donation when you get a chance

Glad we could have been some help

 

[LilMissM]

I absolutely will, I cannot thank you all enough for always being on hand with sound advice. I couldn't have done any of this without you, genuinely. 

I cannot afford to donate much right now, so please do not think the amount I have donated is in any way reflective of what I feel is right because it isn't. I don't have a million pounds to donate right now, nor will I ever most probably, but I do promise that when I am back on my feet a bit more, I will donate again x

[fkofilee]

We dont expect a minimum in donation - Anything you can offer helps us to run the site and keep it free for others in need similar to you. 

The fact that you have is amazing!  thank you so much! 

[LilMissM]

Amazing group of people x

[fkofilee]

Going forward - Build a repayment plan that works for you with MCB as 5k outstanding to them is a lot. 

Im sure they will be accommodating  Also Monzo is very good with its budgeting tools - Pots and the like... Also the Packaged Accounts with Virtual cards are immense. 

I use them all the time. 

 

 

 

[LilMissM]

I have nade a repayment plan for all my outstanding debts as follows:

ZOPA BANK LOANS - £6,319.54 - 35 mths - £180.56

MY COMMUNITY BANK - £6,149.12 - 35 mths - £175.69

CAPITAL ONE - £979.87 - 35 mths - £27.99

SANTANDER - £605.00 - 35 mths - £17.28

Does that look alright?

Also, I have been using the saving pots with Monzo and have been putting away £400 minimum each month since March and where possible a little extra too. So if my offers are accepted I know I can afford £400 and I will be debt free in 3 years. Even when the marker is removed from me for good, I am going to stick with Monzo. It is exactly the sort of bank I need.

The rubbish thing is that when I realised I was in trouble financially, I asked MCB if I could just extend my loan to 36 months instead of 24 but they said no  

Should I make my offer to the creditors now or should I still wait a few more months? The letters are starting to filter through and are all saying pretty much the same, get in touch, we can help, if I don't get in touch it could go to DCA etc. Sorry, I think I have another thread for all this debt stuff but just replying to your message here.

[fkofilee]

Upd to you - You could wait for it to go to a DCA. 

 

Satans Bank and Cap One probably will go default and DCA. But dont worry about that for now. 

As for Zopa - 

Zopa's arrears management process explained

WWW.ZOPA.COM

---

At Zopa Bank, we combine our tech know-how with money expertise to build loans, credit cards and savings solutions with the customer's needs at their heart.

MCB is a different beast - I know they do legal action directly - so agreeing a repayment plan could be good  

They will probably keep the account

 

TLDR - Yes, but its your choice. 

 

[fkofilee]

Or you could bulk pay off one debt over  2 month and readjust on a per monthly basis

 

IE Pay lowest first @ £400 with token payments to the others and then continue as per that.

 

Month 1 Santander £400

Month 2 Santander £200 (Remainder) + Cap One (Leftover)

Month 3 Cap One £400

Month 4 Cap One £300 (Left Over)  + Zopa / MCB (Left Overs)

 

Its all in the mind you see, psychologically (2 accounts down and you feel like you are making progress) - you then have more to give to MCB and Zopa later while you make some token payments to them now

Just some advice

[LilMissM]

I never thought of it like that. That actually looks quite appealing! Two could be paid off early and then focus on the big two. Hmmmm definitely something to think about. I am going to try and get a bit more saved up in my Monzo pot so I can go into this repayment plan situation with focus and calm.