Received a letter from Lewis yesterday (dated same day I posted my letter to them) They have offered 50% discount to settle if I pay by 11th July I wont be paying it (couldnt even if I wanted to in a week!) but am hoping that they have realised it wont stand up in court and will negotiate to repay just the arrears listed on the dodgy default the arrears are about 20% of the full amount they requested so if they offer between 20% & 30% without going to court and let me pay in installments I will accept that and get rid of it - will make sure I have written confirmation that they wont chase for blance or sell it on

Unfortunately I didnt take the PPI as I was pretty sure it wouldnt be worth the paper it was written on! Sand dancer - I i really dont want to risk this going to court and havent had any 2nd opinions so Im going to send the letter and and add a paragraph that I want written confirmation that WF and Lewis wont chase for balance at later date, wont sell it on and will mark my credit file as paid. Worth a shot

Anyone?

I have now recieved a letter from Howard Cohen & cO solicitors stating that they have been instructed to prepare court papers unless I pay the full amount I am planning on sending the following to them, Lewis Group and Welcome Dear Sir/Madam I have received your letter dated 18th June (received on 24th June) Please be aware that the account in question was terminated by Welcome Financial services following issue of an invalid Default Notice which did not allow for the specified time period for the breach of the account to be remedied by as specified by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (amend. 2006) s88(1) & s88(2), nor did the Default Notice contain the prescribed terms as laid down in the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (amend. 2006) s88(1) & s88(2) therefore should Lewis Group or its appointed legal representative pursue legal action, then only the arrears of £xxx.xx as stated at the time of the Default Notice (dated 20/04/2010) would become liable. Notwithstanding that the default notice failed to give me the required statutory time in which to seek legal advice and/or remedy any alleged defect, as laid out in s87 of the CCA 1974. Welcome Finance's actions resulted in insufficient time for me to even obtain an appointment with a solicitor let alone remedy the alleged default. This lead to unlawful rescinding of the agreement demonstrated by a default being listed on my credit report (before the default notice had even been issued), passing of the account to Lewis Group and their subsequent demands for full payment I accept your unlawful rescission of the agreement I note that you are now entitled to claim those arrears genuinely due at the time of the termination (not including any unlawful charges ) and I would be obliged if you would advise me of the exact amount of those arrears, against which will be a claim for unlawful rescission. I look forward to your response All opinions gratefully received as dont want to post the letter and mess the whole thing up but dont want to be taken to court either!

i have the agreement somewhere but the account is post 2007 so cant dispute only argument with them was when i tried to reduce my payments due to my partners redundancy. no help whatsoever then the dodgy default to be honest i was happy to negotiate payment on the balance after default as at least then i wouldnt be chucking good money after bad on interest. but after reading all the threads on here if i can just pay arrears (less than 1/5th of balance) it would really help my finances but i really dont want to go to court or be hounded daily by debt collectors

should i still send a letter accepting termination of the account?

how do i stop them hounding me for payment then?

thanks for all the replies but i must admit to still being confused! My plan was to write to Welcome and Lewis accepting the payment demands and default as termination of the account. I was then going to follow that up with a letter to Lewis stating that as the account has been terminated with a dodgy default notice that they are only due the arrears listed on the DN and offer a payment arrangement to clear the arrears only and that I wont pay a penny until I have their agreement in writing Will this work and do I have to write in prescribed terms?

I have an unsecured personal loan with Welcome I called in December to advise i would need to make reduced payments due to my partners redundancy Long story short, in March they threatened default and I tried (again!) to make a repayment arrangement. Never confirmed in writing as requested and refused to freeze interest At the end of April I received a DN dated 24th April saying i had 14 days to clear arrears or default. No dates etc so I knew it was faulty A couple of weeks later I got a letter from the Lewis group demanding full balance (more than the amount I borrowed despite over a years payment AND different from amount on DN) I wrote back explaining that I had attempted to make payment arrangement but had been ignored I then noticed that my credit file had been changed to default I then received another letter lat week from Lewis accepting the original proposed repayment arrangement I asked for advice on my original post as to whether I should offer to repay the monthly amount to Lewis but only for arrears listed on dodgy DN or whether they would just issue a corrected DN as I have never had a termination notice I have just checked my credit file again today and noticed that the default was listed in MARCH when the DN wasnt even posted until the 24th APRIL!!! Can I send a letter accepting the entries on my credit file and the demands from Lewis as effective termination of the agreement and negotiate to only pay the arrears listed?? I really want to get this sorted but dont want to give Lewis group the info they need to be able to issue a new DN and demand the full balance HELP!!!???!!!

just checked my credit report and the default is listed as MARCH when the dodgy default was dated 24th APRIL!! WTF?????

Any advice gratefully received!!!

I have had a letter from Lewis Group accepting the monthly reduced payment I had originally proposed to Welcome I had re-offered the amount to Lewis before I realised that welcome had went ahead and defaulted the account Should I reply agreeing to the monthly amount but only until the arrears on the default notice are cleared as this is all they can legally claim or would this highlight the issue and allow them to send a new DN since I have never had an official termination notice

I just continued to reply to letters that I would deal only with hbos and only when they provided an agreement 3 DCAs have "gone away" using this approach but hbos have now passed to Moorcroft I sent usual go away letter and got a reply that they had contacted hbos, who were continuing to deal with it and had told them to keep demanding payment. I sent a reply stating that the terms & conditions they had provided did not constitute an agreement, and until such time as it was provided I would be making no arrangements. I also stated that I wanted my records deleted from moorcroft and would call the police if they turned up my door etc etc Have now had another letter from their home collections division making the usual threats They are ignoring all letters I send them and while I know they cant take me to court without the agreement, I really dont want someone turning up at my door. I know I can tell them to go away but everything i've seen on various sites makes moorcroft sound like intimidating, persistant bullies and I really cant deal with people like that face to face and dont want to be worried everytime someone comes to my door How do I get rid of them??????

is a demand from the Lewis Group for full balance (differenct amount from dodgy DN) and my equifax file listed as default (another different amount enough to constitute termination? I have never received a termination letter but want to know if Lewis Group can expect me to pay full balance or if they are only entitled to the arrears listed on the DN - their letter was dated 20 days after the DN and 15 after I recieved the DN Also, the balance they are asking for and on the DN are both more than the original loan I took out!

Hi Picador You say you didnt pay in 2 years and they never asked for a penny Did you get daily phonecalls (i've been ignoring them and just get voicemails asking me to call back) and did they ever turn up at your door

Hi I have read through that thread. Just to be clear - even without an account in dispute, I should wait for them to terminate the account and then Im only liable for the arrears asked for on the default notice? Im a little worried by that as Im already getting daily phonecalls and dont want them to start turning up at my house and I REALLY dont want to go to court If they pass to a DCA and they will accept reduced payment Im happy to pay back the capital - thats all i've been trying to get WF to do - freeze the interest and accept reduced payments on the capital

thanks what should my next move be then I was going to send a letter offering the reduced payment again (havent paid for months as refuse to pay until they agree to a set amount and freeze the interest or Im just paying good money after bad) the agreement is post 2007 so cant challenge that so account isnt in dispute can i still refuse to pay whole balance if they terminate based on this default

I heard nothing for a couple of weeks other than constant messages on my phone asking me to call which I have ignored On the 24th April I received another letter with a default notice attached the letter is usual stuff of you must pay or call the undersigned with your proposals for settlement (which is good since its not signed and there's no phone number!) the default notice is as follows Date of notice 20/04/2010 Agreement reference ******* between ******** and WELCOME FINANCE of welcome financial derives lytd, bishops house, abbeyfields road, lenton, nottingham, NG7 2SZ We refer to the Agreement which you entered into with us. The terms and conditions provide that you must pay each monthly installment in full on its due date. You are in breach because you have failed to pay the contractual installments To remedy the breach you must pay to us the total arrears of £*** within fourteen days. IF THE ACTION REQUIRED BY THIS NOTICE IS TAKEN BEFORE THE DATE SHOWB NO FURTHER ENFORCEMENT ACTION WILL BE TAKEN IN RESPECT OF THE BREACH IF YOU DO NOT TAKE THE ACTION REQUIRED BY THIS NOTICE BEFORE THE DATE SHOWN THEN THE FURTHER ACTION SET OUT BELOW MAY BE TAKEN AGAINST YOU FURTHER ACTION: On or after 14 days from the date of this notice we: shall require payment of the outstanding balance less rebat allowable and other deductions (if any) as set out below: may enforce any security given in connection with this agreement may apply for an attachment/arrestment of earnings If the arrears have been paid before the date shown above you may ignore this demand PAYMENTS TO BE MADE: total amount outstanding **** rebate of acceptance fee and credit charges (****) rebate of insurance (0.00) collection fees 114.36 default interest 151.17 interest to settlement 291.38 Total amount to be paid **** Rebate is calculated on the assumption that payment is made on the date shown and will be revised if payment in full is not made on that date IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY IN PAYING ANY SUM OWING UNDER THE ACCOUNT OR TAKING ANY OTHER ACTION REQUIRED BY THIS NOTICE YOU CAN APPLY TO THE COURT WHICH MAY MAKE AN ORDER ALLOWING YOU OR ANY SURETY TIME IF YOU ARE NOT SURE WHAT TO DO, YOU SHOULD GET HELP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. FOR EXAMPLE YOU SHOULD CONTACT A SOLICITOR, YOUR LOCAL TRADING STANDARDS DEPARTMENT OR YOUR NEAREST CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU Is this default enforceable? The account is not in dispute, I simply cant keep up with the full payments and have tried to make a payment arrangement and had no help from them at all What do welcome do when they default? do they chase you themselves, pass it to DCA or go straight to court proceedings? If the sell to DCA Im almost tempted to let them default (I already have a recent one from hbos so cant damage my credit any further) and would save me thousands in interest charges if the dca debt is frozen at the amount on the default notice. Have also found, in my experience, that DCA is much more likely to accept reduced payment since they have only paid for a percentage of the debt Any and all advice greatfully received as this is the last of my debts to be sorted out and Im at the end of my tether:(

I have a debt with Welcome Finance (originally with a local Scottish branch but now passed to a call centre in England) I called them in December to let them know that as my boyfriend was being made redundant in January, I would now be paying all priority household costs and couldn't afford my monthly repayments I have made repayment arrangements with all my other creditors Welcome said they would send out an income and expenditure which I never received I sent them a list of all my income, expenses and debts and offered a repayment in proportion with disposable income/debt I had no acknowledgement to that or the follow up letter I sent I then received a default notice on Friday 12th March (dated 5th) giving me until 19th March to clear arrears I called the collection department and was told they had never received my letters and default could only be stopped by payment arrangement team. I was told that an email had been sent on to them requesting them to call me as a matter of urgency. I received no call and called them back today. Someone from the payment arrangement department called back and after I explained my situation he took a very detailed income & expenditure. But then told me he couldn't freeze the interest unless they were contacted by a debt management company (I haven't used one and have dealt with all my other creditors myself with little or no problem). Since the interest would be nearly £100 more than my proposed payment this is a huge deal. I realised the person I spoke with wouldn't back down so just asked him to confirm that they wouldn't default the account tomorrow since I had an arrangement now to which he replied that the account would still be defaulted Since the passing of my account to the call centre I have had terrible service from this company and am now going to be defaulted on an account I have been trying to sort out with them since December

I dont remember getting a default notice. I did get a letter in the summer saying if I didnt pay arrears the account would be defaulted but cant find it and unfortunately cant remember exactly what it said But definately havent had anything recent apart from the letter at the top of my post. They've obviously acted on the Mcguffick(?) ruling and went straight to default. Havent heard from the DAC yet but waiting with baited breath!

They've defaulted the account!

I thought that too but Robinson Way are not a pleasant bunch and Im worried that they will ignore any civilised correspondence and turn up at my door demanding payment

how do i stop them coming to my door? I know technically its illegal in Scotland but English DCA seem to conveniently ignore that fact

Im long past expecting logic from them but dont know how to make them "go away" if they think harassing me is ok

we dont have kids but wont get tax credits on my income but doesnt take into account that Im already struggling to repay my debt and if I have to pay all the bills including a mortgage that isnt mine, we are going to struggle very badly and im going to have to renegotiate my debt repayments and im worried that covering my boyfriends mortgage and bills wont be classed as a good enough reason by my creditors as I said before we have NO joint commitments or bank accounts. We live in the same house but have never relied on each other for payments and while I understand joint income rules I think its a little unfair that Im just getting my debt repayments into a manageable state and my boyfriend who has worked and paid NI and tax for 18 years isnt entitled to a little bit more support from the government - means testing doesnt work when it only looks at topline salary without taking actual disposable cash into account PS i wasnt trying to commit benefit fraud, just looking for a legitimate way to make a bad situation a little better