Certegy Ltd.

[steveuk1971]

First time poster on here and i was wondering if anyone could give me any advice.

 

I took out a "cash till payday" loan with a company and to cut a long story short the cheques i wrote out bounced because of lack of money in my bank account.The company i originally took the loans out with then passed this over to a company called "CERTEGY LTD".The original loan was for 3x£100.Certagy then increase this amount to £444 to cover "costs".I recieved a letter from certegy telling me the cheques had bounced and i need to contact them, which i did straight away.I explained to the man on ther phone that there would not be enough money in my account to cover these cheques and i would have to come to some sort of arrangement with him to pay this money back.He the told me to send an income and expendature letter to them explaining what i get in every month and the payouts that i make, which i did.After doing this ,this left me with £50 per month to pay this back.Certegy then decided to re present to my bank the cheques another two times, leaving me with £351 pounds in bank charges now to pay.So i rang back and asked why and the man said "its an automated system and we cannot stop it".I was by this time becoming angry so i again sent a letter explaining that i can only afford to pay £50 per month, which he blankly refused to accept.He then told me he has now given this over to a door to door dept collection agency and if i dont pay in full they will take me to court.I just wanted to ask, is this usual.Surely if you make an offer of payment they should at least try to come to an agreement with you.The charges are now getting out of control and i dont like the idea of someone turning up on my doorstep demanding money off me.Any advice on what i should do next.??

[Seminole]

There is nothing to stop you pursuing your bank for a refund of the charges for the bounced transactions. Before doing that you should cancel any outstanding cheques to the loan sharks that are unlikely to clear.

 

You need to find out exactly what charges have been applied to the account and what they're for. It's quite likely that they will be penalty charges of one sort or another and you shouldn't pay these or any interest on them. If you don't know what the charges are for then you should send Certegy a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act. You should also notify them that the charges that have been applied are in dispute.

 

You will need to pay back the loan. If you have sent an income and expenditure forecast that shows you can afford £50 per month then start sending this. The chances are that these clowns will never go to court and they're unlikely to send doorstep collectors around. If they do take you to court, a judge will only ask you to pay what you can afford and won't be impressed by their tactics. If they do send someone round you don't have to speak to them, or let them in. They have ABSOLUTELY NO POWER over you. If you tell them to go away and they don't, call the police and demand that they be removed.

[steveuk1971]

Thank you seminole for your reply.As an addition to this i came home from work tonight to find a postcard in my letter box.I rang certegy straight away and asked why i had recieved this.He said it had now been passed on to a door to door collection agency and this was someone coming to my house to deliver legal documents.

[martonman]

Sounds to me that they're trying to exploit what they consider to be your lack of knowledge of your rights for financial gain.

 

Now where have I heard that before in relation to a debt collection company?

 

IMHO they're out of order on two grounds.

 

1) They represented your cheques after you had told them no money would be in the account. Is it automatic? I don't know...

 

2) They have failed to accept what appears to be a perfectly reasonable offer of payment.

 

There are others on this forum with far more knowledge than me about these matters and I'm positive that one of them will post very shortly with some clearer answers and a possible solution. (semi just did!)

 

The good news is that I think they have to get some kind of court charging order to implement bailiffs. That gives you a chance to defend yourself and appeal - and I reckon that any court wil take the above into consideration.

 

Doorstep collectors aren't anything to worry about. All they can do if you refuse to pay is pass the buck (or lack of it) back to the collection agency. If the collectors are a fair firm though, they may just accept your original offer of £50 a month or even less - just watch out for any additional charges.

[Seminole]

Thank you seminole for your reply.As an addition to this i came home from work tonight to find a postcard in my letter box.I rang certegy straight away and asked why i had recieved this.He said it had now been passed on to a door to door collection agency and this was someone coming to my house to deliver legal documents.

 

Was this hand delivered or posted.

 

One other thing- stop ringing these prople. Communicate only in writing.

[steveuk1971]

It was in my letter box when i got home from work.Should i except any legal documents??.

[Seminole]

I very much doubt it. What did the postcard say? Was it posted or delivered?

[steveuk1971]

I just read a letter i recieved from them and it has a list of charges on the back.

 

1)Redeposit of cheque £10.00

2)Cheque returned unpaid £10.00

3)Cheque returned unpaid payment stopped £20.00

4)Cheque returned account closed £20.00

5)Letter charge £10.00

6)Referring account to external debt collection agency £50.00

7)Setting up payment plan of installements £10.00 or 15%

[steveuk1971]

It was posted, but it said someone would be at my house between 9am and 9pm on the pastcard.

[Seminole]

They sound like unlawful penalty charges to me. Have a look at the FAQ section and Library if you have't already done so. It will give you the background to the legal position and the steps you need to take to recover any unlawful charges that you have paid.

[steveuk1971]

Thanks guys you have been a great help.I will keep you updated on what happens with this.

[Seminole]

It was posted, but it said someone would be at my house between 9am and 9pm on the pastcard.

 

It's very, very unlikely that anyone will turn up. It's simply not cost effective for them to send people round to visit all of their "customers". If they do turn up, you don't have to speak to them or even acknowledge their existance. If they cause trouble, call the police and report them for tio your local Trading Standards for harassment

 

You have made a perfectly reasonable offer. These empty threats are merely their attempt at intimidation.

[steveuk1971]

Well its 8pm.They have another hour to turn up with these documents.I agree with you its a form of intimidation to try to get me to pay up in full.

[martonman]

Anyone who turns up to collect money during an England match is either Scottish or deserves a piece of your mind.

[Mrgreengenes]

Oi! I'm Scottish, only joking. I've just had a similar experience with Certegy. All they want though is £78.50 in charges for a bounced cheque of £66, which I of course have refused to pay. The cheque has now been paid.

I have just started a thread detailing my experience. Just search for Certegy and you will find it.

Did the debt collector ever show up?

 

 

 

Don't let the fatherless chillen get ya!

[steveuk1971]

No he didnt show up but i did send in a stern letter of complaint to the original company that the cheques bounced with and 2 days later i recieved an apologetic phone call for someone in certagy saying they had now decided to except my original offer of £50 per month after all.These companies try scare tactics to get you paying more then you can afford.

[worried teen]

hi, i'm in the same boat as mygreengenes, a cheque bounced for £61.20 to an online shop, certegy got involved, i got letters telling me about various charges, which i didnt pay, they said they would forget about the charges (£45.30 odd amount i know) if i paid in full immiediatly which i did but now 3+ yrs later theyve passed the dept on to scotcall a doorstep collection firm from glasgow, theyve sent me a letter saying i owe them £46.50 which i must pay within 7 days, that was 8 days ago, i'm gettin abit worried, i dont want 2 big ass blokes knockin on my door tryin to intimidate the money out of me.

the charges are pulled from thin air but i dont want my credit file getting depts on it so i'm tempted 2 just pay up.

are they allowed to accept full payment for the original amount & then hassle you for payment of charges they said they would forget?

also when i bought the items from the online shop & got involved with these thugs that are certegy i was only 15, surley these charges wouldn't count even if they were genuine.

can anyone give me advice, opinions as to this matter, the citizens advice beuro can help for the people who have posted above but could i have everyones views as to what my rights are etc.

thanks in advance

[Mrgreengenes]

Worried Teen, I've replied to this in my thread here. Please read the whole thread start to finish. Copy and paste my letter and adapt it with your details.

[Poorplumb]

Help!! I had a issue where I bounced a cheque. It was a mistake and I had a company called certegy contact me I settled the debt within a few weeks I found them to have a bulley attitude and they dealt with the matter in a very unprofessional manor. I asked for a receipt and the women Said...... People who bounce cheques don't have a right for one in a very bitchy manor and said I was not able to get one.... This seams wrong can anyone help or are they too big to challenge. I know I bounced a cheque I never denied it I never avoided contact and I always called them back and I frankly got treated like **** ......help

[Mrgreengenes]

When you wrote the cheque did you see a sign which informed you that you are entering into a contract with Certegy or Transax? If there was no sign then you do not need to pay Certegy a penny. If you have cleared the cheque, Certegy do not have a leg to stand on. Don't give them a penny. Follow the link at the post above yours and you will find a letter I wrote to them and the reply.