Log Book Loans

[yellowtulip]

Hi there, I wonder if anyone can give me advise.

On Tuesday I had a knock on the door from bailiffs wanting to take my car as they said i owed Log Book Loans £3167 on my car. This was a huge shock to me as I thought I'd paid back all i owed back in May last year. I had indeed paid back all the loan originally agreed but didn't realise when I made my last payment that there was some interest left unpaid which was slowly beening added to each week.

They had never written, phoned or any form of correspondence from that date until the bailiffs turned up. I never had any warning from the bailiffs themselves to give me any notice.

They took the car and I phoned Log book Loans when they opened at 9am. They said had i given them the car, and keys I said yes and it went all quite, then they said they would have to ring me back as my file was no longer on the computer.

They rang back to say i had to pay £3167 to get my car as i had not paid all the interest.

I said there was no way i could pay that amount and not only that but the car was our employment as it is used as a driving school car, so it be very difficult to earn the money to pay it back! At this point I was very scared as I thought i would never see my car or be able to carry on working and loss my business.

They then said you could bring it down and would ring me back.

They never did so I rang them and they said they would accept £2250. All this for a very small amount of interest unpaid.

I had to agree as I had people expecting us to turn up and give them driving lessons or take their driving test in it.

So I got my car back, but had to borrow the money off a family member who can't really afford to lend it.

Can I get this money back as they never rang to let me know i was running up such a big bill and i could have done something a long time ago, they never gave me warning of the bailiff coming and the bailiff (Anglia Uk Ltd) never warned me of thier imminent arrival, or do they not have to?

Please help, it really seems unfair.

thank you.

[hedgehog0045]

I had the same issue with these 'criminals'. I came out of my house to find a wheelclamp on my car and a notice to say it was pending removal. They reckoned I had arrears of £210 but to get my car back would need payment of just over £1000. I did not have the money and so had to let the car go. They have since sold the car at auction and are now chasing me for the balance of the loan.

[danmav]

Hi Yellowtulip,

 

I would say you definitely have grounds for contesting this one. They should not have just turned up at your home without first issuing you an appropriate default notice. Obviously if this had been done you would have been made aware of the "alleged" debt and then been able to discuss it with Log Book Loans. If this has not happened then I would say they are in breach of their terms & conditions and were not legally entitled to seize the car.

 

If you paid back all of the agreed monthly payments on the original loan and never missed any payments then I am not sure where this interest has come from, as I am assuming it is a fixed sum loan agreement. Even if they have varied the interest rate during the loan they should have notified you that it was going to change and that you would have to repay more.

 

I would definitely write to Log Book Loans and request a breakdown of where this interest has come from and how it has accrued since last May.

 

I think you will need some specialist advice on this one so I recommend you contact a solicitor, even if it is only for a free half hour consultation. Unless anyone else has any thoughts/tips on how to proceed.

[121o121]

wheres the bailiffchaser?

[falcon185]

Hi,

are you sure they were Bailiffs? or DCA's?? If they were Bailiffs they would not be able to take any item let alone the car without a court order I believe. Had LBL taken court action you would have received a summons from the court at the very least, I would deffinately take this further. Send LBL an SAR recorded delivery, that way they will have to send you copies of all statements etc held on your file. This sounds to me like one big [problem]!!!

[RevengeAtLast]

I paid off my loan to LBL only to find I still owed them about £850 in penalties for letters they used to send me just about every week... £25/letter.

 

They then reduced the amount to about £600 but I had to take out another loan to repay it... I wonder if the £25/letter can be reclaimed?

[falcon185]

I would say so Rev.

 

Send them an S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) ( £10) fee, send recorded delivery then go through the same steps as if claiming back unlawful bank charges. You can find the S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) in the Bank templates library, just adjust it as required. ;-)

[yellowtulip]

Hi,

In answer to your questions, yes they were definately bailiffs from a firm called Anglia UK LTD in Spalding, (there were 4 of them in their car which was quite scary). I definately never had a default notice or court order because if i had I would have rang to query it before it got to this. I never even had a phone call or letter in all of the 10 months!

[falcon185]

They should have been in posession of a Court order before taking the vehicle, if they didnt then it may have been taken unlawfully. SAR LBL and find out exactly what they have in their files. Once you have that it will become more clear as to whats happened and what you can do about it. Hope this helps.

[caprikid]

I had the same problem with log book loans they came and uplifted my car when I was out they never had a court order or my consent . I have been in touch with the police they have sent a report to the procuater fiscal to see if any crime has been commited . I am still waiting for a reply from the police , it seems that log book loans are doing this to a lot of people we should all get together and write to trading standards and let them know what is going on I also had payed back more than double the amount I borrowed and they still came and stole my car . Alex

[danmav]

If LBL have secured the loan against a vehicle by using a Bill of Sale then I believe they dont need a court order to remove it. This is because technically they are the owner of the vehicle, however they do have to send a valid default notice before they can remove it. I am not sure where they stand with removing a vehicle without a person's knowledge, like when you were out Caprikid. It would be worth making as many complaints to Trading Standards and the OFT as possible because LBL are shocking and need a kick up the backside!

 

Yellowtulip - Obviously LBL should not have removed your vehicle and at that time you would have been legally entitled to get it returned. The problem you have is that you have already repaid the £2250 to get it returned. As other people have said I would do the SAR and find out exactly what the £3167 they said you owed was for. If it was for letters at £25 a time then get a request in to have these repaid, if they refuse make a claim through the courts. Good luck and I hope you get some success.

[caprikid]

I have just been on the phone to the OFT to tel them about Log Book Loans it would be helpful if all the people on here that have had problems with LBL could phone OFT on 08454040506 the more complaints the better . I have just had the police here as I reported my car stolen they sent a report to the procuratior fiscal who has said it was a civil matter and I had to take them to court I thought the police might be able to help as bailiffs have no powers in Scotland yet they uplifted my car I got in touch with 2 sheriffs officers who said it was theft .ASlex

[caprikid]

Right Folks anyone who is having problems with Log book loans should get in touch with Alison Laughton at "your bailiff watchdog" at The Bailiff Watchdog - she is dealing with my case and she is doing a great job .

 

I sent Alison a e mail asking her if she would be able to help some of you on here she said " Yes I am happy to help others but only doing so till the 1st of April as the inddustry resistance to our office in relation to the Bailiff industry has been difficult to cope with " .

 

I done a search of her name a while back and I found some newspaper reports about her having treats against her life so I am not surprised she is having to close . Take it from me if you have a problem with log Book Loans she can help !! . Cheers Alex

[lynnt]

Dear all, The Sunday Mail newspaper is interested to hear from you if you have had problems with this company. Please call 0141 309 3236 and ask for Lynn - I'll call you straight back.

[edin53]

Hi Lynne

 

We spoke already Edinburgh They have been back to take the car since the photographer was out.

 

 

R.C.

[Bigbear733]

Hi Everyone

I have a way to get back at Log Book Loans (“LBL”) and Mobile Money (“MM”). I assure you, this will work - I am a lawyer.

I have read the various threads with some horror at the tactics used by LBL and MM and this is my reason for posting.

Unfortunately, first some bad new – the loans they issue, and the way they secure their interest over a vehicle, via a Bill of Sale (“BOS”), is completely legal, if they follow the correct procedure. I have reviewed a LBL case and they seem to be doing everything correctly; I have not looked a MM, but I would presume they are also following the correct procedure. Furthermore, despite some posts that suggest the contrary, they can take possession of goods which are secured by way of a BOS without a court order.

Sorry, it gets worse before it gets better – if you are unfortunate enough to purchase a vehicle which has a chattel mortgage (what the BOS effectively creates) attached to it then, even though you are an innocent party, the vehicle can still legally be taken off you without a court order.

I am surprised that I have seen another lawyer in a press article suggest that this is illegal – he referrers to innocent parties purchasing vehicles with outstanding hire purchase (“HP”) agreements and, what he refers to as “other loans” (although he does not elaborate on what other loans are), and states that the an innocent purchaser obtain the goods with good legal tile. He is completely correct in relation to HP agreements as s27 Hire Purchase Act 1964, as substituted by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, provides that an innocent purchaser without notice (ie in non legal speak - a private individual who buys something not knowing that the item was subject to a HP agreement) takes the goods purchased with good legal title. However, there is no such provision for security taken by way of a BOS. In fact, the common law position was amended by s27 and a good analogy to explain why the law works this way is to consider stolen property. If your car was stolen and sold to an innocent party do you think that if the police managed to locate the vehicle you should not be able to re-claim the car – obviously I would think most of you would think that if something is stolen from you then you can take it back once located – and this is exactly the legal position. The general rule in law is that someone can only give good legal title if they themselves posses it, and, unless there is some legislative exception, this rules applies to the sale and purchase of all chattels (in simple terms, chattels is legal speak for property which is not land and buildings – sorry if I sound patronising but I know there are some reader who are not as legally conversant as other and I just want them to understand what I am saying).

I have read a number of other posts that incorrectly state the law and give false hope but I don’t have the time to deal with each issue raised.

Unfortunately, in my opinion it will be very difficult to legally challenge LGL or MM based on the BOS.

However, now for the good news. To operate within the law lenders require a consumer credit licence. This is issued by the Office of Fair Trading (“OFT”) and recent legislative changes have given the OFT significantly more discretion and powers in who to issue consumer credit licences to and, where appropriate, to revoke such licences.

My proposal is that we work together to get the consumer credit licences of LBL and MM removed and this is how to do it:

The law in relation to credit advertising was changed recently by the Consumer Credit (Advertising) Regulation 2004 (the “Regulations”). I will not bore you with the details but the OFT have issued guidance to lenders on the interpretation of these regulations. Basically a lender must publish a typical APR where, amongst other things, they offer credit to people with a poor credit history or where they offer an incentive.

The OFT have stated that terms such as “No Credit Checks” or “Super Fast Loans”, or similar, will trigger the requirements to publish a typical APR. See para 8.16 of the following guidance: http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/oft746.pdf

I have seen advertisement placed by both MM and LBL that contravene the Regulations by not stating a typical APR. I saw one today – they are not difficult to find.

This is what I propose that everyone does – look out for MM and LBL adverts. If they say anything like “fast loans”, “no credit checks”, “CCJ’s - no problem”, “Cash Loans within 30 minutes” etc then they must quote a typical APR. If they don’t then they have broken the law.

Report every breach of these regulations to your local trading standards (a letter or e-mail is best, but phone if you don’t have time). If enough complaints are received then the OFT will have to consider revoking their consumer credit licences. What’s even better, the directors of LBL and MM will face criminal prosecutions and convictions as breaching the Regulations is actually a criminal offence.

If enough people take action, as I have suggested, then LBL and MM will lose their consumer credit licences and this will stop them trading – in short, there is more than one way to skin a cat!

I hope this has been helpful and I wish you all luck.