Scar vs Household / Beneficial Finance.

[isidore]

I’ve been asked to look at a friend’s accounts having boasted to him about my successes thanks to this forum .

Amongst various accounts he has asked me to look at, he has given me information on a loan he took out nearly two years ago with a company under the arm of one of the top 5 banks that I assume deals with their sub-prime lending (but for the time being will remain anonymous).

In April 05, my mate was in desperate need of some money and took out a loan for £1k, he stated that he only required the money for a few months and the advisor confirmed that he could repay it early and pay less interest. The loan was arranged and in July 05 he returned the £1k to the finance company. He then requested a statement to confirm the outstanding amount in order for him to settle the loan, this didn’t arrive. For the next 3 months, he sent letters requesting settlement statements but they didn’t arrive either.

Then in December 05, the company sent him a letter saying he had just over £1,000 outstanding (!!!!!), but confirming that should he settle by a specific date, they would rebate around £240 leaving him with around £800 to pay. On enquiring about the sum, the company stated that he owed x amount in PPP (don’t know how much of this was made up of insurance right now) and the rest was interest on a 12 month loan. My friend worked for an insurance company at the time and was well covered for insurance and is adamant he did not agree to take out insurance on this loan.

I have been given a pile of letters, I have settlement statements as recent as August 06 (by which time I believe the account had already been settled), there is also a letter confirming defaulting of the account. I must admit that right now I haven’t got a full understanding of what went on with this account but at a glance, the bank seems to have been utterly disorganised and has contributed to his difficulty in resolving this, this is aside from a ridiculous settlement figure that I can't begin to justify.

I therefore need to get a good understanding of what was going on with the account from my mates POV, but the reason for posting this is I have some questions for you lot to understand what my options are...

What can I do with this?

What information should I be asking for from the bank (and how)?

A straightforward SAR will give me how much of what I need from the bank?

What about original credit agreements – are these covered by an SAR?

If I were to make a complaint to the bank, what approach should I take (on what grounds can I make the complaint)?

I’m sure the bank agreed to a reduced settlement amount, does this alter any action I could take?

How can I prove whether or not insurance was taken out?

If it was taken out, it was never agreed to – what can I do here?

Is there an argument for mis-selling given that it was taken out with the intention to settle in 2 months?

Sorry lots of questions, I do intend to do a lot of research on this both with my mate and on the forums, but I was wondering if someone could give me a headstart!

[HydraUK]

Wotchamate

 

First off you need to get a full Data Protection Act disclosure, have a read on the Data Comissioner's site because it will give you some more in-depth information on a wider spectrum S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) than we use here for the banks.

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/subject_access_-_guide_for_data_subjects.pdf

 

Then you also need to do a Consumer Credit Agreement request, there are letters on the site here somewhere but I've just spent 15mins searching and no joy, soz. You have to include the stat fee which is about £2. They are required by law to produce a true, signed copy of the CCA and if they can't then it is possible that your mate can do something about the debt...but as it's not too long ago this might not be an issue for the bank.

 

This thread might be useful....

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/33174-consumer-credit-act-agreements.html?highlight=request

 

If your mate took out the loan over the phone then it might be that there are audio recordings, you should make it clear in your SAR that you require any recordings or staff notes on terminal.

 

Phil

[gizmo111]

Also as this is under £25k and covered by the CCA you can ask trading standars to check the redemtion figure - it would have been calculated under rule of 78 which is very complicated.

[isidore]

Quick update. After doing a load of reading and contemplating, I have sent two letters to the loan company (a long winded prelim based upon Progenic7's essay and a cca request). Will post both up when I get a chance.

 

Have started reading the CCA agreements thread, but it's like 60 pages long!! Need to book a day off work for that. Anyway, I've started the ball rolling. Hopefully I might be able to identify some issues with the loan.

[isidore]

CCA Letter

 

Dear Sirs

 

Request for information under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 – Sections 77/79 Account Number xxxxxxxx

 

 

I am hereby requesting a true copy of the executed credit agreement that relates to account number xxxxxxxx under the provisions of sections 77/79 of the above Act and hereby enclose a payment of £1, being the fee payable for this information under the Act.

 

I wish to make clear that an application form completed and signed by me is not fully complying with this request – the document I required should be clearly marked Credit agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

 

Under the guidelines of this act, you have 12 working days in which to comply with this request.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

DPA Letter:

 

Dear Sirs

 

Data Protection Act 1998 Subject Access Request – Account Number xxxxxxxx

 

 

I wish to request that you supply me with full disclosure of all information relating to my banking history with your organisation.

 

I am fully aware that all information regardless of how long it has been held on file must be disclosed fully and in a format that is clear and legible to me. It seems a lot of finance companies are wrongly interpreting the DPA as only needing to disclose six years worth of bank statements, this is incorrect. The DPA clearly states that all information held must be disclosed. This incidentally has no correlation to the Limitation act 1980 at all and as such has no bearing on the DPA.

 

To clarify, I require you to provide all information relating to my history, which should include (but not be limited to):

 

· Full copies of all contracts, which you believe exist between myself and your organisation, including copies of any documents you hold in support of same.

· Details of the identity of any individuals or organisations who have provided you with my personal information together with copies of any letters of instruction provided by them, or any contracts entered into between yourselves and the third party, and the relevant dates to which those contracts related.

· Copies of all documents which include any of my personal information including copies of any contracts or invoices, emails or computer records containing my personal information, or any records which pertain to this information.

· Full details and copies of any documents upon which you relied when you have provided my personal or financial information to any individual, organisation or third party.

· Full copies or transcripts of any computer logs or database records kept in relation to myself or in relation to my financial or personal information.

· Full copies of any correspondence in postal, email or any other format which you have entered into with any individual, organisation or third party which contains my personal or financial information, or which pertains to myself.

· Where any previous information or records held have been deleted or disposed of, the methods used to do so, including dates, reasons for deletion, certificates or references confirming details of destruction. Where you are unable to provide such certificates, please provide a declaration, signed by an authorised officer of your company, confirming the dates and methods of destruction of this data.

· Full hard copy print outs of any of my personal or financial information held in a digital, magnetic (including all audio files) or any other format which is held in any archives, backups or other storage devices / locations.

I will be filing in the County Court on the morning of xxx for Non-Compliance if I do not receive the documentation requested by 5pm xxx. Please be aware, a post-marked envelope bearing the date of xxx does not mean I have received the documentation, unless you have my signature as having received it on the xx.

 

I shall not enter into any further correspondence on this matter. I require you to forward by means of royal mail “Special Delivery” all requested documents and recordings to my home address no later than xxx. It is your responsibility to execute this task, ensuring all items are secure and undamaged before posting.

 

I have enclosed the statutory maximum fee of £10 for this form of request.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Just spotted that their time is up for sending the CCA agreement already! What are the next steps there?

[isidore]

Mods

 

I put this in the General forums whilst I was gathering info, but now I'm progressing the claim, could you please rename and move this thread please?

 

Needs to go in the HSBC area and can you rename Scar vs Household / Beneficial Finance.

 

Thankyou!

[gizmo111]

Mods

 

I put this in the General forums whilst I was gathering info, but now I'm progressing the claim, could you please rename and move this thread please?

 

Needs to go in the HSBC area and can you rename Scar vs Household / Beneficial Finance.

 

Thankyou!

 

Done;)

[isidore]

Done;)

 

Thankyou!