Ruthbridge and Welcome Finance

[meekle]

Hiya

 

I took out a loan with Welcome finance in 2001 and made some payments. I was since made redundant and then ended up having chemo therapy for two years.

 

i assumed that the critical illness insurance and redundancy insurance i took out covered this. how wrong i was. i have been informed by welcome that the insurance was invalidated as i didnt keep up the repayments whilst i was getting the chemotherapy.

 

That was in teh august of 2001, and to cut a long story short, when i had no money, welcome were the least of my worries so i ignored them.

 

Two weeks ago i got a letter from Ruthbridge telling me that their client "welcome finance" were persuing bankruptcy. The debt has gone from £500 to £2800!! The will settle for out of court for £1400 if i pay it by 20th August. I am self employed through a limited company and recieve 275 per week total income.

 

I have spoken to them on the phone and offered a payment of £25 per month to clear this debt and they have told me that this is not enough and will continue to persue bankcruptcy.

 

What do i do now? i have explained to them that if they make me bankcrupt i can no longer act as a company director and therefore my company gets shut down and i get no income at all.

 

I have stated to them that it is in the interest of Welcome to accept the payment terms as if i am made bankcrupt they are unlikely to see any money at all, as i llive in rented accomodation, and all the computers, phones etc are in the company name not mine and therefore are not seizable assets.

 

am i right in saying that i have made a genuine offer of payment and that they should accept it, or are they trying to bully me into getting finance that i cant afford to pay them off?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[Bigbearuk]

Hi Meekle

 

Never speak to these people on the phone insist everything is done in writing, have you sent them a CCA? all agreements have to be in writing, send welcome a S.A.R this will tell you what extras have been added to your account. Ruthbridge have been on the phone to me also,

 

Read some of the other treads on here about Ruthbridge and it will help you understand the way these people work

[meekle]

ok - me being stupid here, whats a CCA and SAR?

 

They tell me that i have until the 20th August to come up with the £1400 or it goes to bankcruptcy.

 

i am thinking of getting a solicitor involved as there is more important things than this £1400. If they make me bankcrupt then i lose my income stream completly and any means of earning money as they will seize the assets of the business and my car which is on finance will need to be returned to the finance company.

 

can they seize the assets of my business as it is a limited company, i know they could if i was a sole trader by i thought that a limited company was a legal entity in its own right?

 

i have asked them on the phone to supply a statement of all payments made on the account and i asked them for a copy of the credit agreement and the exact date of the default on the loan. I also asked them to prove to me that they indeed had the debt to welcome signed over to them as with all due respect, anyone could call me up and say that i owe them money - how do i know that they are for real?? I was curtly told that i was just stalling for time and that they would only issue those documents with the petition for bankcruptcy

[Bigbearuk]

Meekle, Never speak to these people on the phone

 

A CCA is the credit agreement you singed with welcome and if they have it at ruthbridge they have 12 + 2 days to produce it after that it becomes in default. S.A.R (subject access request) it will tell you when the last payment was on your account and any extra charges that have been added to you account and any other data they have on you but that might need to be sent to welcome.

 

Read my tread about ruthbridge people have been very helpfully with there advice.

 

I am sure somebody will be a long who can help you regarding your business bit,

[Tau]

As Bigbear says, fire off a CCA request first thing in the morning. Send it Special next day delivery, costs more but worth it.

I would say send it to Ruthbridge as they are acting on welcomes behalf by the sound of it. Also ask for a statement of account.

Make sure you include I do not acknowledge any debt to you or your client at the top of your letter.

I'll try and find the letter template that you can use.

 

I dont think that they will be able to touch any of the assets of the limited company as it is you not the company that they are trying to bankrupt. Is the car in your name or the companies?

 

Some one will be along soon who can help you better.

 

Good luck.

[clutchingatstraws]

CCA Ruthbridge

 

Creditors and DCAs - Letter Templates & Budget Planner

 

Letter N for the CCA

 

S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) Welcome

 

https://mercury.glentruim.com/cag/servlet/actionrequest

 

 

S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) here.

[meekle]

Tau - the car is financed in my name, not the companies through one of these "credit repair" finance schemes.

 

Clutching at Straws - using a quick ready reckoner - i figure that the last payment they received was around mid 2002, so therefore from reading this forum, i dont think it is statute barred. Should i seek a solicitor to deal with this? i do have monies tied up in the company i can release to engage the services of a solicitor, i am just begrudged to release monies to pay a debt that i am not entirely sure is the correct figure, and to someone i have never heard of before.

[pmhcfc]

Tau - the car is financed in my name, not the companies through one of these "credit repair" finance schemes.

 

Clutching at Straws - using a quick ready reckoner - i figure that the last payment they received was around mid 2002, so therefore from reading this forum, i dont think it is statute barred. Should i seek a solicitor to deal with this? i do have monies tied up in the company i can release to engage the services of a solicitor, i am just begrudged to release monies to pay a debt that i am not entirely sure is the correct figure, and to someone i have never heard of before.

 

If you read around re Ruthbridge you'll see that they are full of hot air and false threats - in short, Ruthbridge are generally FoS..Have a read around the site.

[clutchingatstraws]

The SAR will show any unlawful charges on the account.

 

You could hold back on the SAR and demand a full statement of the account as part of the CCA request.

 

But don't pay anything until a proper enforceable CCA is supplied to you

 

This must have certain information on the credit agreement so post it up when you get it.

 

Send the CCA straight away. As for a solicitor it has to be your choice but I would wait until that was apsolutely necessary.

 

Cheers

 

Cas

[meekle]

i have written the letters today and posted them recorded. The SAR gives welcome 40 days and the CCA gives Ruthbridge until the 14th August to reply.

 

During these times, can either of these two companies start any litigation action against me? Ruthbridge threatened to start bankcruptcy proceedings on the 20th August, this only gives me 6 days to sort something out between the end of the CCA and when they wish to persue bankruptcy?

 

Will these letters stop the bankcruptcy or just delay the inevitable? can the bankcruptcy carry on whilst these letters are going back and forth?

[Bigbearuk]

The CCA puts the claim into dispute so no they cannot, remember they have 12 + 2 from when they receive the CCA

 

As ODC has said before in my tread regarding Ruthbridge NO CCA = NO ENFORCABLE DEBT

[meekle]

thats great bigbear, assuming that they can produce the CCA, i will post a copy up here so that someone can let me know if it is genuine and enforceable.

 

I was wondering, if they do have a valid CCA, then what do i do? if i offer payment terms in writing can the ignore this offer or do they have to accept it? They have already told me on the phone that they expect all or nothing. They also told me that they are authorised to lower the debt by 40% by their client. I thought that they had purchased the debt from Welcome so therefore surely they are their own client?

 

I have checked my credit file and there is no CCJ registered against this debt as of today. Does that make a difference?

[oneofakind]

Ruthbridge's only means of enforcing repayment (assuming they have a vaild agreement) is to take you to court. If they cannot produce the agreement, as said above, THE DEBT CANNOT BE ENFORCED.

 

In the (unlikely) event they have a valid agreement, you should make an offer THAT YOU CAN AFFORD, no more. Keep all dealings with these people in writing, use Recorded or Special delivery to be sure thy have received all your letters, and whatever you do, DO NOT DEAL WITH THEM ON THE PHONE!

If it ever gets to court and a CCJ has to be made, the judge will set the payments at a level you CAN afford.

 

So the only tactic Ruthbridge can use is to bully you into paying out as much as possible while they can... which is exactly what they do.

Bankruptcy is a long, long way away - and, as you pointed out to them yourself, they are unlikely to get much of the debt back by bankrupting you.

 

Hot air! That's their only weapon.

 

Read some of the other Ruthbridge threads on here, you'll see a definite pattern emerging....

 

Stay cool.

 

[oneofakind]

I'd also be tempted to examine your payment protection insurance very carefully, if you have the documents. What kind of PPI leaves you having to find the payments when you're sick? What kind of con is that???

Just what exactly would be covered?

 

Leeches!

 

[Isiris]

With regards the PPI, the PPI is paid for to the insuarance company at the begining of the loan and you are then charged interest on the loan at the interest rate applicable. The fact you have made no payments is irrelevant.

[meekle]

well the clock is ticking now, they have until the 14th of august to reply to my request for the CCA. we will see where that goes. Thanks guys for helping out.

 

i must admit, this has scared me so i got a copy of my credit file from both experian and equifax. it wasnt as bad as i thought!!

 

it has recorded several credit checks for various companies that i have applied to in the past, but also one from a company called STA who turn out to be a DCA. does this mean there is something in the pipeline and i need to scan the post box??

[Isiris]

Was the search by STA a credit check or a Address verification check

[meekle]

the entry on the file is as "unrecorded enquiry", and it is only registered with experian, not equifax. What does an Unrecorded Enquiry actually mean?

[meekle]

heres a laugh - just got home from a weekend away and there is a letter on my doorstep from Ruthbridge, stating " after careful consideration by our client, we have been authorised to reduce the deby owing by 40% and will take a cheque for £xxxx as full and final settlement of this account"

 

are they having a laugh? i dont even know if they can legally demand payment, let alone offer a reduction authorised by their client. i assume that they are fishing again!!

[Bigbearuk]

Hi meekle,

 

I got the same letter on Saturday so don't worry it's just a standard letter they send you. I put my letter on my tread so people can see what sort of letter they send people.

[meekle]

ah thats ok. they are devious swine aint they? if i accept the reduced fee, then they have nailed me into admitting a debt that they currently have to prove to me i owe them

[Bigbearuk]

you summed then up just about right i could use a few other words but seahorse has done that on his blog you must read it

[meekle]

well, the 14th August has been and gone, and therefore without the CCA Ruthbridge have technically defaulted. HOWEVER, due to uor friends at the Post Office going on strike, it appears that once checking the Royal Mail site for delivery details, it appears that the letter wasnt delivered until the 6th of August 2007. Therefore, do i take the 12 days from the date of delivery, this means that Ruthbridge have until 20th (12 + 2 days) to reply, is that correct?

 

Assuming that they cant provide the CCA within this time, whats my next step??

[Kingboyd]

HI PEOPLE, I`M NEW TO THIS SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME.

IT WAS A BIT OF LUCK THAT I STUMBLED ACROSS THIS, I WAS DOING A SEARCH FOR SWIFT COURIERS (sounds fimiler) AS APPARENTLY THEY HAD A PACKAGE TO DELIVER, GUESS WHAT NO SHOW. I THEN GET A VOICE MAIL LEFT ON MY LAND LINE FROM SOME SCOTTISH LADY FROM RUTHLESS (sorry ruthbridge) ASKING ME TO PHONE THEM, WHICH I DID NOT FOLLOWING ADVICE FROM THIS SITE. THEN TODAY I RECEIVE A LETTER FROM THEM REGARDING A ACCOUNT I HAD WITH WELCOME YEARS AGO.

THEY ARE SAYING THAT I OWE OVER £2000 AS FAR AS I WAS AWARE THIS ACCOUNT WAS SETTLED AND ACCORDING TO MY CREDIT FILE IT SAYS THAT THE DEFAULT IS SATISFIED AND I OWE NOTHING. HOW DO I GO ABOUT DEALING WITH THESE PEOPLE. IT SEEMS THAT THEY HAVE JUST MADE THIS SOME UP.

I DID HAVE SOME PROBLEMS WITH WELCOME REGARDING THE PAYMENTS, I STOPPED PAYING THEM BECAUSE I WORKED IT OUT THE AGREEMENT WAS

WAS FINISHED EVEN IF IT WASN`T I DIDN`T OWE THAT MUCH.

I WOULD BE REALLY GRATEFUL IF ANYONE CAN HELP

[vinty]

Hi , I Would Like To Know How Ruthbridge Can Threaten To Put A Charge On Your Property If The Debt Is An Unsecured Credit Card Loan, If The Original Agreement Was That The Terms Of The Loan Were That It Would Not Be Secured On Your Property How Can They Then Turn Round And Say That They Are Going To Have It Secured On Your Property.