Wentworth Direct Finance

[ickleseamus]

when i told them i was bankrupt they said it didn`t matter and when i asked about the apr going up the said no it will be the same when i realised they took money out early i decided i want out have spoke to my bank and i am waiting for them to phone back i told them i authorized no such payment

[ZipDee]

If Wentworth Finance Direct or any financial broker fails to broker you a loan in 6 months then the law says that the most the firm can expect or take from an applicant is 'a nominal £5' - they can call this what they like 'administration fee' 'tea money' it matters not, to the law it is the 'maximum nominal fee'.

 

If more is asked for and taken then they put their licence at risk. The amount of people in this forum who have been asked for more and who have had more taken suggests not an active brokerage but one deserving of losing their licence.

 

The amount of complaints contained in this forum would probably cost this company their licence - they would certainly have to pay back all the £49/£59 excessive and therefore unlawful fees taken.

 

Anyone who wants to lodge a complaint with the OFT can do so online.

 

This sort of company exists in many names and right across the country - google 'whois' put in the name of the so called broker who has asked for more than the nominal £5 fee after failing to broker you a deal within 6 months, and you may well find that your broker's name has a registrant named BT Croughs who owns 5,947 domains on the internet.

 

If the registrant of your particular so called broker is indeed Mr Bart Croughs then his address is

Nieuwe Weg 38-14

Gronigen 9711tg

Netherlands phone number +31 503188801

or email address [email protected]

 

I am sure he would be glad to hear from you.

 

He writes articles on freedom for a magazine called 'Freedom Unbound' which extols the virtues of unfettered freedom of the individual, so will no doubt be mightily impressed by your excercising your unfettered freedom to protest in any manner you see fit.

[ZipDee]

Ickleseamus,

 

It is a contravention of The Theft Act(1996, and later amendments) punishable by fine/imprisonment up to 10 years or both to 'debit a bank account to credit one's own account' without the knowlege, expectation nor consent of the account holder.

 

Wentworth finance has committed a criminal offence in taking money from your account (money they are not entitled to even ask for according to the law regarding their broker's licence - and this is the deterrent for people who say they brokers only to pursue inflated and unlawful fees) You may therefore tell Wentworth finance that they have indeed contravened The Theft Act and must return every cent they illegally took from your account or face indictment for such contravention.

 

Their T & Cs show that they recognize that consent is implied before they receive money from an applicant - Para 4 line 4, 'When ..sent by you'

 

(Need I mention that it would be better for any complainant to get their money back before complaining to the OFT)

[ZipDee]

Amienice4u,

 

if you tell your your bank that the finance company has misused the direct debit agreeme and to take your money in contravention of their terms of licence, inasmuch as they are only permitted a £5 nominal sum, but then only after 6 month's of legimitate attempts to find a loan for you, then the bank must institute interbank methods for retrieving your money.

 

(Your posting was on page One and I did n't see it earlier,looking at page 2, sorry)

[ZipDee]

Found this post under 'Has anyone heard of Castlefinance' posted by Maverick9 last year

 

"just to update on the information about these companies - i have managed to talk to someone who actually fields calls at a central call centre for wentworth. wentworth have no actual phone numbers they do not issue them as they do not want the public to be able to harass them for the shoddy practises they have. anyway i managed to find out that after they have passed your details out to all unsundry they then hold your broker fee for a minimum of six months! how many people would pursue these people when they can not be spoken to for six months this is what they count on to keep your money - so although i did not get any numbers i did get the name of the refund manager so that all correspondance sent goes directly to her and that usually when you write and complain strongly enough then they will refund the money before the six months are up so start writing your complaint letters to

jenny sheppard

refunds department

wentworth direct finance

freepost sea 9712

wrotham road

gravesend

kent

DA13 0BR

good luck to anyone needing this information and i hope you get your money back"

 

[i advised an online friend last week to write explaining the contravention of The Theft Act to Wentworth at the address given on the website (did not know of this lady) and I have just found out they have got their money back, and the costs incurred by the overdraft caused by the unlawful taking of money]

[ZipDee]

'Direct Debit without permission thread'

Edited December 8, 2009 by ZipDee
'Direct Debit without Permission' thread

[Joebro007]

hi there i have just recently in the last 2 days paid them a £59 fee and have had paperwork through which i have signed and sent away. I took the phone numbers off the paperwork and they do answer. here are the numbers if you want to try, 08448 479702 and 08448 479701

[wentworthfs]

Please note 'Wentworth Direct Finance' are by no means associated with our firm 'Wentworth Financial Services Ltd' we have had a number of emails, phone calls and ombudsman complaints regarding 'Wentworth Direct Finance' and the firm is nothing to do with us.

Wentworth Financial services do offer loans via our partners Frontier-finance and we DO NOT charge a broker fee for this service we advice all our clients not to pay a broker fee for an unsecured personal loan.

Edited October 5, 2012 by ims21

[ickleseamus]

these people are crooks i have sent a dozen letters to them and phoned constantly no reply to calls or letters be warned

[ZipDee]

ickleseamus,

 

the licence that Wentworth Direct Finance hold, and must hold to continue to hold to trade if they want to stay out of prison, is issued by the OFT, The Office of Fair Trading.

 

According to the licence issued to credit brokers, and to ensure that they are indeed genuine credit brokers having the skills and knowledge to ensure their clients do in fact have a chance of actually getting a loan, they are not allowed by law, the Consumer Protection Act 1974, to EVEN ASK for any up front fees : the only thing the law allows them to ask a customer for is a 'token fee' of £5, but ONLY if they have been unsuccessful in getting the client a loan, and ONLY after six months of trying.

 

If you go to the OFT, you can do it online, and tell them that Wentworth have asked you for an up front fee which they refuse to return to you,Wentworth will loose their licence. But what you will probably find is that Wentworth will claim a clerical error to the OFT and promise to and actually return your money - they want to keep their licence to carry on doing what they do

 

But that will not get rid of these jackals who prey on people for an illegal fee in the knowledge that a great percentage will not know how to contest their illregality, and so keep the money rolling in .

 

Contact the OFT, tell them that you, along with many other people, have had a large fee taken, the return of your money will follow.

 

Everybody who has had this happen to them is entitled to and will receive their money back with the help of the OFT

Edited January 19, 2010 by ZipDee

[ZipDee]

To the unrelated Wentworth Financial Services,

 

there is a man in Holland, Bart Croughs who has over 5,000 online sites, some, I don't know how many, doing the same thing as this [causing problems] Wentworth Direct Finance site.

 

Since I put his details online above he has used a proxy as the registration address so his address cannot now be found - certainly in relation to the Wentworth Finance Direct site, at least. But he may now have done the same thing for all his sites involved in similar finanancial [causing problems].

 

My research shows that he uses a name similar to a reputable firm connected to finance - such as your goodselves - to set up a site. The site, a clone of others no doubt, seems to operate automatically in the taking of the unlawfeel fees, and to have an address where a person (possibly only one person to keep costs down) handles any complaints, and seemingly to pay back any complainant that may pose a threat to the licence, and to ignore and retain the money of those who make it obvious that they do not know how to pose a threat to the licence - the sites phone number may well be making a lot money off those who wait long periods to make contact using the sites premium rate number.

 

The use of similar names must be damaging the business of the genuine trading companies associated by similarity of name. And it seems that this may happen nationwide in the UK, if not right across Europe, if the number of websites, over 5,000, is anything to go by.

 

If I was in a trade association - I'd start one if I was being affected and no trade association existed - I would set out to ensure that Mr Bart Croughs multitude of online sites did not continue to threaten my business.

 

But The Office of Fair Trading may indeed be the best place to start ensuring that your business, financial business in general in the UK, does not continue to suffer.

 

If the scale of Mr CrougH's involvement and profitting from this [problem] is as his number of sites would suggest, the OFT may well ensure UK and even European legal agencies become involved to permit genuine businesses to trade unaffected.

 

So protect your business WFS, and the reputation of UK financial businesses in general, and by taking this threatener of your business to task!

Edited January 19, 2010 by ZipDee

[ZipDee]

Brilliant Jerry,

 

and Phenomenal Medal for sharing your research findings.

 

I did find the registrant of the site to be Mr Bart Croughs while it remained on 'Whois', but that is now difficult to validate as registration has been switched to a proxy.

[keltyboy]

I had the misfortune to contact this company and had the same runaround, however when I asked to speak to those named Sarah, Robin, Beverly, Simon or Harold.

 

I was told that they donot work for this company. I have submitted a complaint to the OFT about their practise.

 

In the post this morning arrived a letter from Ralph Marlon Ltd who had been given my details.

[ickleseamus]

eventually got my refund after threating to report them and being persistant they are still wretched people and i will still keep spreading the word

[Neonsin]

Wow I am glad my co-worker told me to come here, strange though, I have fallen for this and arranged a payment, but can they honestly do anything if I havn't sent the poaper work back?

 

Gonna go to my bank and report these guys

[motorhead69]

hi all i was phoned by this company tonight and gave them my bank details but told them they couldnt take the 59 pounds until mon as theres no money in my account so should i phone the bank tomorrow and cancel this also will i be able to i just wish id gone on this earlier thanks.

[Seminole]

How did you offer to pay them- direct debit? If so you should ring your bank and cancel it immediately. Don't assume that they will wait until Monday but if you act quickly enough they shouldn't be able to do anything.

[princess_f_88]

I have also been scammed by this company but i can't seem to find an address for their refund department. Does anyone know it or is this another part of their [problem]?

[acp]

hello all I'm another one that got sucked in. I realised it was a [problem] 10 mins after giving my details, they said no funds would be taken till the loan had been paid to me and I contacted my ban - for all the good it done me!!!!

The bank refused to block any out payments or debits saying I had to wait till it went through then dispute it. I have just done this only to be told tuff! it's nothing to do with them it's between myself and wentworth! - why tell me to wait when they could have easily stopped it :confused:

 

 

Anyway Wentworth have put me in touch with another dodgy looking company. plain A4 page was sent to me claiming they had been sent my info from 'a company' saying I had been pre-processed and they could give me the loan in a matter of days. hehe I know this was strange but gave them a ring to get more info on both cpmpanies and guess what - another broker! £1.50 per min to call but think it was worth it just to comfirm they are in on this awefull [problem]

 

they are HORIZON FINANCE STAY CLEAR OF THESE TOO PROB SAME PPL.

 

to all who need addresses and numbers here they are

 

wentworth complaints! 08448 479 701

 

Wentworth Direct Finance,

FREEPOST SEA9712,

Gravesend, Kent,

DA13 0BR,

UK

 

jenny sheppard

refunds department

wentworth direct finance

freepost sea 9712

wrotham road

gravesend

kent

DA13 0BR

 

 

good luck I'm down to number 8 in the queue on the phone will post more details as I get them

[acp]

WOW I'm actually shocked.

 

Just got off the phone to a woman called Petra, lovely woman!.

I can get my refund any time I just have to apply to the free post address already posted. the other company I have posted below is in noway connected to wentworth becasue the company I have been forwarded to is completely different, I should recieve thier post today. I then apply to these for my loan and then if refused I can still request my refund minus the adim fee of £5.

The fee taken was a broker fee which to be honest I did know was coming out although early!

 

Don't believe everything you read on here as I did ( he says with some doubt) give it a chance apply for your loan and then if refused get your refund!

 

again will update as I know more hope I have helped you in any way and don't hesitate to request more indept info be messaging me

 

 

PS the phone call was 37 mins long and was billed at 2p per min => 74p

worth it to put your mind at rest.

[cragsrat]

acp, dont be fooled they will pass you on to a company called Ralph Marlon Ltd who's typical rate is 92.1% apr!!!!! get you money back as soon as pos. i to have just been scammed by this ****.

[Scott B.]

#23: "they took my card details on the 24th and were not to take any money out till the 27th they took it out on the 25th"

 

The same happened to me. I said when they phoned me that I would only want their services as long as I wouldn't have to pay anything till 26th, which they assured me would be the case, then they took my debit details and took the payment of £59 the very same day - on about the 16th.

[Scott B.]

here is an email address for Wentworth Finance: [email protected]

(i don't know what topica means, but it also appears in this link to their website: Wentworth Direct Finance - UK Unsecured Loans)

 

wouldn't it be a shame if they were bombarded with abusive emails.

[ZipDee]

Scott B,

 

In DEMANDING an upfront payment for their brokerage services Wentworth Finance act unlawfully : the licence issued to them by the Office of Fair Trading limits brokers to a nominal £5 sum for administrative costs, but ONLY after a failure to obtain an offer acceptable to you AFTER SIX MONTHS. They play on the desperation of the consumer to perpetrate a deception : namely, that what they are doing in asking for an upfront fee is a legitimate act when it is in fact unlawful. And Wentworth have not done this accidentally, but it is a permanent activity by the company, the company's actual 'business model' - it is what they do!

 

In TAKING an unlawfully obtained fee from an account, whether or not they tell the customer, they perpetrate a deception on the consumer, and to take money by deception is a direct contravention of The Theft Act

and punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

 

And it is therefore a contravention of the direct debit agreement.

 

And any abuse of the direct debit agreement is grounds for a refund from the consumer's bank.

 

If instances are reported to The Office of Fair Trading the companyshould have their licence to legally advertise as a broker withdrawn by the Office of Fair Trading.

[Scott B.]

ZipDee: surely, if it was illegal for them to ask for an upfront fee, they wouldn't have the following in their terms & conditions "for our services there is a brokers fee charged which is payable by you the client for the use of our services.. This is charged as an up front fee."?