Yes, it will stay on your file for 13 months! If you have a CIFAS, then it really is difficult to obtain any finance, including opening basic Bank Accounts. What I would do is phone C&G and explain what has happened, and see if they will agree to get it removed. Speak to them in a polite and friendly way, you'll find they'll be more helpful that way. However, if they refuse to remove it, ask them who is the CEO of C&G (if they won't tell you, search for it on the internet), and write to them personally, explaining what has happened, and that if they refuse to remove it you'll be taking legal action, and will want to recoupe all expenses, etc. I would also write to ALL the three CRA's and appeal the listing of CIFAS. Let me know how you get on. Griz

No, make sure you get your card cancelled, and get them to confirm it, and check that no direct debits are set-up! You are protected by the direct debit guarantee anyway. They should not be able to get hold of any money then. Yes, they could take you to court, but in most cases they don't! I'm not sure what your financial situation is, but all they really want is their money back, which is fair enough. I would therefore offer them an amount, lets say you borrowed £200.00, off them £300.00 and you'll repay it over x amount of time. If they refuse, which they will, then tell them you won't pay anything! You have to be tough with them, and show you won't take any s**t!

Hi, I'm sorry to hear about your problem. Ok, first thing first, any cards that you have which any of your payday loan companies have, get them cancelled! Contact you bank and say you have lost your card, you should get a new one fairly quickly! Secondly, check that no Direct Debits have been added to your account without your knowledge! If you have opened a new account, make sure you get any money paid in to this account. DO NOT GIVE THE DEBIT CARD (if you have one) TO THIS NEW ACCOUNT TO ANYONE!!! Once you have done this, contact your Payday Lenders, get the name of the person you are speaking to, and take rough notes of what they say to you (remember, they record their calls!) and tell them that you are in serious financial difficulty and that the most you can afford is £xxx. they will do their best to get you to raise the amount, or even refuse it, DO NOT BUDGE, DO NOT INCREASE IT! Tell them this is the most you can afford. If they refuse, or say they are going to still try and get money from your account, inform them that you will be phoning the Office of Fair Trading, Trading Standards and the FSA. I would recommend that you do actually do this. Do not accept any threats from them, and if they tell any lies, write it down and report it.

Yes, sent them a letter of complaint, and also letters to Trading Standards & Office of Fair Trading. They are investgating it. Speed-E-Loans didn't reply to my first letter, so I sent another one by Special Delivery. I have not heard from them yet. I am now working with the OFT about Payday Loan Companies as I have had a lot of experiance with most of them. My advice is not to use them, but I also know this is easy to say, especially when you can't borrow from 'normal' places. What really annoys me is that I got a couple of CCJ's and Deafults from when I was made redundant about 5 years ago. I went from earning £400.00 a week to taking home £50.00 a week. I have been working since 2007, and have a good job with a decent salary, but due to my credit history no one will lend to me apart from Provident and these Payday Loan Companies. My bank, LloydsTSB, which I have banked with for nearly 3 years, and run a good account won't even upgrade my account to a 'normal' account, let alone lend to me. I have to borrow at 250%+ APR, which just causes more problems, than if my bank would be so kind as to lend to me at about 20% APR!!!

Yes, it was not a pleasent experiance! What is the addresses to send a complaints to Trading Standards and the Office of Fair Trading?

Hi, I wonder if anyone can give me some advice? I am quite hardered when dealing with Creditors/Debt Collectors/Bailiffs, however I had a very upsetting situation last week. I had a loan with Speed-E-Loans which I admit I hadn't paid for over a month, I then recieved a call at my owrk asking to speak to me, I said i couldn't talk as I'm at work, and finished the call, but they rang again, and i was blunt and cancelled the call. They then proceeded to keep on calling, and would not stop calling until i answered, they even used my works second line. They told me that unless I spoke to them their automated calling system would keep on calling my work number. I felt under pressure and finally agreed to pay them £60.00, which i could not afford, they even said they could send someone to my work to collect the money that day, which I talked them out of! I need to know what action I can take to stop this happening again.

I should of taken them to court when I first had problems with them, however I do not now have the money to do this now.

Hi, as some of you may know, I have dealt with and beaten most Payday companies at their own game, however two have come up that I beleive a ripping people off without them knowing! The two companies are www.ioweya.co.uk & http://www.wagedaybank.co.uk/. They are promising loans, which do not seem to materialise, and seem only to be brokers. Where they seem, in my opinion, to rip people off is that they charge a premium rate text service to apply for a loan. They also seem to have no contact details on their websites!!! If anyone can help me with obtaining their contact details, I can start action against them both.

No, I can't get any credit! In 2005 I got made redundant, and I took about two and half years off as I was looking after my father who had cancer. I went from earning £400.00 a week to £50.00 and after the redundancy money went, I couldn't keep up with my payments on things. I got the usual CCJ's and Defaults. its a shame really, as I have a basic bank account with LloydsTSB, I have ran it well over the last year, but they won't upgrade me, or offer me a loan. even though I earn a reasonable salary. Unfortunatly I needed to borrow money to pay a few things when money got tight and they only people who would lend to me were Provident and Log Book Loans. We all know how mych interest they charge!!! I did not want to use them, but when your desperate, you'll go anywhere. The £32,000 includes the two looans with Provident and LDL, the rest, as I have said, is on my parents credit cards, and that is my main concern. I think it is a good idea, and I could take out an insurance to cover people, but I can't see anyone taking it on!!! Its a great shame as it would really help me out. At the moment I just don't know what to do!!!

Yes, ISmart claimed back about £4,000 for me on my debts, but remember, the amount I owe now is on my parents cards, and they don't have PPI, or late fees, etc.

at present I owe about £32k to my parents, on their Credit Cards. They helped me out of a very difficult time. Now the problem is my parents are getting on, and are not well people, and I don't want this debt around their neck, they also can't get any credit due to this amount showing on their credit file (they tried to get the balances moved to 0% balance transfers to help me out, but got refused, even though their credit file is clean). I am also finding it hard, paying about £900.00 per month, and that the credit card companies have all increased their interest rates! So, I came up with this idea: I am offering a maximum of 32 people to invest a minimum of £1,000 for 5 years, and gain 15% interest each year on their investment/Loan. I require a maximum investment of £32,000 for 5 years. They will be repaid each month, over 5 years, and repaid their Investment/Loan and Interest. For Example: You invest £1,000. You will be repaid a total of £1,750.00. That would mean each month you would recieve £30.00. YOU MAKE A PROFIT OF £750.00. You can't recieve that kind of interest with your Bank or Building Society! Another Example: You invest £5,000. You will be repaid £8,750.00. That would mean each month you would recieve £145.83. YOU MAKE A PROFIT OF £3,750! If I could get enough people to raise the money, I know I'll be cleared of my debt within 5 years, the people who 'Invested/Lent', would gain 15% per annum on their investment, and it would reduce my monthly payments to £620.00 per month!!! The only problems I can see is that I don't have any security to offer (I do have a good job), and who would be interested in such a thing? Where could I go to show this opportunity to???

To cut a long story short, I went to buy a car from an independant garage, so to keep the cost down, my mother paid for it on her credit card. However, please note these points: The car dealer was renting the garage over the Christmas period from the actual owner. Although he called himself 'Prestige Cars', when it went through on the Card Machine, it went through as 'Burton Services'. After a few months, the car dealer did not follow up on an agreement we had to cover the MOT that was due, he said he was going to arrange it, pay for it, etc, but he did nothing! After lots of e-mails, texts and warning letters, that were sugessted to me by consumerdirect.org, IMy mother tried to get MBNA to enforce the deal, however they wouldn't! First of all, they wanted a letterhead from the car dealer (he never provided one as he gave us a standard car invoice, that said 'Prestige Cars', they also said that as it said Burton services on the card statement, this wasn't any good. also, as the car and invoice was in my name, they wouldn't take any action. I made a complaint to the FSA, but after an investigation, they said they couldn't take any actio due to the points that MBNA pointed out! I also found consumerdirect, which now seems to handle Trading Standards and Office of Fair Trading compalinst as near enough useless!!! So, if you use your Credit Card to buy something for sonmeone, make sure teh invoice is in your name!!!

Well, I have just found this post after looking around the forums, and I could write a book on PayPal! However, I will keep it as short as possible! I had an ebay and paypal account during 2002 - 2006. I had a 374, 100% positive feedback, and used my paypal account a lot for payments. I had one bad experiance during this time, I was selling some palm top computers for about £140.00 each, and sold one, got paid, and then about 2 days later was informed by Paypal that I had been paid by a 'stolen' account. I had already sent the item abroad, but they took the money back off me! The real problem came in 2006 when I recieved two payments, one of £1200 and another of £1500. These were for the sale of two Rolex watches. PayPal 'froze' my account, saying that I had been dealing with a company called 'Security Arms' in America and dealing with Sub-Machine guns! Yes, its true, can you believe it??? I told them that the amounts I recieved were for two watches I had sold, and that if they cared to look, the buyers were both registered in the UK, and there was no evidence about this company called Security Arms!!! Anyway, they wouldn't have it and froze the money for 180 days (thats 6 months!). Also, as Ebay and Paypal are the same company, Ebay suspended my account! I wish at this point I had taken them to court, but I didn't. I have always been successful selling on Ebay, and due to financial difficulties over the last three years, it has helped bring in a much needed additional income. I have had to resort in opening more Ebay and PayPal accounts, but usually get suspended within a few months. The reason for this is I can bring in a resonably high turnover in a short space of time, this obviously flags up to them, they check my details, and I get suspended. After phoning PayPal last time, they told me I was a risk, but would not give me any reason or evidence, and after I told them that all my payments and funds recieved were via Ebay, and that I had a 100% positive feedback, was told, "We provide a service, and can take it away anytime we want"!!! I have written to them, and have yet to recieve a reply, but I have accused them of slaunder, making false accusations, and stated that Ebay and PayPal have a conflick of interest as I can't sell on Ebay without a PayPal account! This has cost me £30k, and put me in a lot of debt. As I said, its a long story and I have given you just a very brief outline of my continued problems with the two companies. I would also point out that PayPal is also not under the Direct Debit Guarantee as banks and financial institutions in the UK. This was told to me by a member of my bank, LloydsTSB, when they took £400.00 from my account without permission! How can a company like this be allowed to trade? How can this conflict of interest, that Ebay won't let you sell without having a Paypal account??? I would be very interested in your views and comments, and if a member of Ebay and/or PayPal are reading this, maybe you'd like to contact me to discuss this, as if I had the money, I'd sue you for thousands!!!

The point is I can't get a day off, we are far too busy and I have no holiday left in this holiday year (we go from April 2010 - March 2011). I can't understand why they work these hours and only Monday to Friday!!!

Hi, I bought a Beko Washing Machine last March, and to be honest its never really worked 100%. It works sometimes, then other times it doesn't, you do a 'Spin-Dry' and it comes out still soaking wet! Anyway, contacted Argos who gave us Beko's number. I did ask Argos if they would take back the Washing Machine and credit my account, and I will buy another more expensive one (I purchased the machine on their 6 months interest-free credit account, but paid it off after three months), however they said the machine would have to be checked first to see if its faulty. Anyway, spoke to Beko who said they will arrange for someone to come out and check the machine, one of their appointed repairers. However, the repairers, Quality Electrical, phoned me and said they can come during the week, but could not give me a definate time, and I would have to allow a 2-3 hours time gap to when they think they might turn up. I told them that I work all week, and could not see anyone until after 5pm, or the weekend, they said they do not work weekends, or after 5pm!!! I phoned Beko and told them that this was not good enough, and asked them what I should do, they told me to take a day off! Now, I work long hours, but can finish at 5 to see them, but I cannot take a day off!!! I can also see them at the weekend, but their customer service is appauling, and to be honest I just want to return the washing machine and buy a more expensive, and different make. Where do I stand legally, what can I do?

Hi All, I have taken on most of the PayDay Loan companies that are complained about on here, and in most cases have won my case. They have, as of yet, never issued a CCJ against me, and although I have had the usual 'phone calls', have stopped them as well. The basic rule in dealing with these people is to be 'thick skinned'! The other thing is not to stand any nonsence, and if its getting too much tell them that you are reporting them, and actually do it. However, and lets all be honest here, when you take out a PayDay Loan, you know exactly what the repayment will be, if you don't like it, then you shouldn't take it. I do accept, and I am in the same area, we all take on things we really can't afford, especially when we are desperate. I am fortunate enough that I worked in the Debt help business a few years ago, and helped many people in difficult situations, drawing on my own experiance. Its a shame really, that after I was made redundant I tried to get a job with the CAB as a Debt Advisor, I properly had more knowedge about this area than all their mangers! I didn't get an interview!!! Anyway, I have experiance of Debit Card Loans, and bank with NatWest. I had a £300.00 loan with them, and they also tried every trick in the book, with false Standing Orders, etc. I too was told by NatWest once that they couldn't stop a Standing Order that had been falsly set-up on my account, taking the whole £300.00. However, a call the NatWest's complaints department soon got that re-funded. I also made a complaint to NatWest about the fraudulent Standing Orders, which they have sent copies to me. I have also taken action against them, reporting them to the Data Protection people, for giving away details of my loan to a family member, and reported them to the FSA for illegal practices. The investgation is on going. Funnily enough I have not heard from Debit Card Loans since this has been going on. What I suggest to everyone is always have two bank accounts, one where your money is paid in, and never give your debit card details out on this account, and another to accept and your PayDay Loans. Also watch all your Deirect Debits and Standing Orders, cancel any which you do not know about as soon as you see them applied to your account. Stand up for yourselves, if you have diffuculty in repaying them, contact them and make a fair, but affordable offer. They will try and ask for more, but tell them that is the most you can afford, and stand firm. If they threaten legal action, tell them to go ahead and you'll let the Court sort out a fair repayment, which you can tell them will properly be lower than what you offered anyway. Good Luck Everyone.

Phone them and tell them you have lost your card. do you think they will go through all those recorded phone calls!!! just do it, and they will issue you with a new card.

Hi All, I am sorry about not getting back to you all, but for some reason I'm not recieving an e-mail saying that this thread has been answered!!! As far as the cheque thing goes, my own experiance is its upto the bank wheather they honour the cheque or not. Even though it has your cheque number on the back, the bank can still return it, and they have been doing it alot more recently. What sometimes happens is a company will present it, the Bank will return it, and the company represents it and it gets paid. The company can sue the bank for non payment. As far as the PayDay Loan companies are concerned, as I have said, be upfront, explain your situation, and only offer them what you can comfortably afford. Some are helpful, some are not! They might try all kinds of tatics, some you'll make an offer of say, £5.00 a month, but they'll say their company policy is a minimum of £10.00. Just tell them £5.00 is the very most you can afford, and that is a struggle. They might then say they'll have to pass it onto a third party (meaning a debt collection agency), but hold firm and say "well, I can't pay what I don't have, so that is upto you." They might say they can accept it, provided you give them your Debit Card details, but again, either have two basic accounts with two debit cards, one for making your payments (only keep the minimum in there), and the the other for your salary, or just say you have now only got a cash card and will have to pay them by cheque, or they'll have to supply Bank Giro credit slips. Whatever you do, be friendly, but be firm! Do not be scared of these people, they are just emploees working for a company. Petal9: You have done the right thing, just wait and see what happens, but I think this is a good sign. JMW69: Do not be scared!!! I would phone them, explain your situation, offer £75.00 per month, and state this is the most you can afford, and DO NOT give in and offer more. A CCA request, is that you write a letter to the company you owe money to, requesting a copy of the Credit Consumer Agreement you have with them, enclosing a payment of £1.00. They have, and I stand to be corrected on this, 14 days to reply. If they don't, the credit agreenment is unenforcable, so in effect, they cannot pursue you for the debt. I have done this to about 4 or 5 Payday Loan companies, all but one responded, and the debt was unenforcable. Notably PDUK and Wonga have not pursued me.

Ok, I have yet to experiance anyone taking me to court (yet!). They might pass on the debt to a debt collection company, but I always phone them, tell them they haven't replied to my CCA request, and that they are in breach, and they are welcome to take me to court, as I'll expose the company in question for their high APR and unfair practices! As of yet, they have not gone any further. Petal9: Phone up both companies, tell them that you are in financial difficulties, and that you want to come to an agreed arrangement to repay the debt. Tell them that you are under a lot of stress, and you want everyone to be amicable so you can sort this out without anymore stress. Only offer them what you can COMFORTABLY afford. They will always try for more, some companies will make things up and try and scare you, but stay firm. Again, DO NOT give them your card details, offer to pay by Standing Order/Paying-In Book/Bank Giro Credits, or cheque if you have one. Also tell them that if they want to speak to you in the future, they must call your mobile only, they can leave a message if you can't answer it, but you will phone them back within 24 hours if you miss the call. I have found good communication works very much in your favour. This works with all financial insitututions, they are happy if they know whats going on. They should not call you at work if you speak to them first. If anyone does call you, and I have experianced this, tell your company you do not know what it is about, and refuse to take the call. If you do get any calls, and you shouldn't if you speak to them first, then report the matter as harresment.

BENJANI127 : I have had loans with both companies, and have not paid either back (at the moment)! I sent them a CCA request, and they never replied. Had a few phone calls after that, but told them that they were in breach, and after a few months, heard nothing! However, if you want to do the right thing, which I think you should, phone them with your offer of what you can COMFORTABLY afford over the next 3,4 or 6 months, and offer to pay by Standing Order. DO NOT give them your Debit Card details or offer Direct Debit, say you only have a cash card and will only pay by Standing Order, or they'll have to send you a paying in book/bank giro credits. They might say they can't accept payments like this, but be firm, say this is the only way! Willo53 : Chantry can be funny at times, however I have found that they will reduce the amount you owe if you can pay back the loan quicker. I would CCA them, continue your repayments, but whatever you owe, take off the £320.00 they added on, and if you get to the stage of repaying the debt, remember not to pay the £320.00. If they phone up asking for it, tell them its unfair, you don't have the money, and that you'll get the charges investigated. However, what I'd personally do is wait until you only have about 3-6 months repayments left on the loan, and negoiate a reduction on the whole amount!

Hi, I'd like to formally introduce myself, I have been in the Financial Management business since 1996, and unfortunatly due to personal reasons, lost my business in 2007. Instead of helping people and businesses in financial difficulty, I was one the in trouble! Anyway, I am experianced dealing with people in financial trouble, dealing with banks, credit and finance companies, debt management, and very experianced with Payday Loan companies!!! I have also dealt with debt collectors and various creditors, usually very successfully. I have dealt with properly every PayDay Loan company out there, many are the same company under different names. I am at present in the process of having Debit Card Loans/Cheque Book Loans investigated by the FSA, and have reported them for breach of the Data Protection Act and what I believe, fraudulently attaching a Standing Order to a Bank account. This company needs dealing with their underhand deeds! I have found that most PayDay Loan compaanies will not take you to court, although they will be a pain and ring you at work. My advice is to ring them first when you cannot afford to repay your monthly loan, and be strong. Do not back down, do not pay what you cannot afford, and always keep the bank account with your wages being paid into secret, and do not disclose your debit card details to anyone!!! I have sent a few CCA requests, only to find that none of them replied! The only ones that have ben a pain to deal with, apart from DCL, has been Swift Loans, Chantry Collections, the're all a pain at times! If anyone wants any advice or help, please ask and I'll do my best.

Yes, I understand what your saying, but this isn't the point! The point is what the banks and finance companies are doing. I am looking at taking this further. I think the first port of call is the FSA, see what they have to say about it, as well as writing o the Governement.

Thanks for the replies, but I still think this could be legally challenged in the High Court. You take out an Unsecured Loan or Credit Card knowing it is just that, UNSECURED! You pay the higher rate of interest because of this, and then they turn it around into a Secured Debt! I think maybe we should write to the government about this, as I think this should be sorted out.

Forgive me if this subject has already been brought up, but I would like the advice of others on here. My sister andbrother-in-law took out an unsecured loan with NatWest some years ago, they also owe a lot of money on credit cards. natWest and a couple of the credit card companies have accepted the reduced paymenst as arranged by CCCS, however the have also applied Charging Orders on their house! What I think should be challenged here is that when you take out an Unsecured Loan or Credit Card, it is just that, "Unsecured". You pay a higher rate of interest than you would a secured loan. How can these companies turn an unsecured debt into a secured debt? I am sure if this was challenged in the High Courts they would not be allowed to do this!

I apologise at the start if this topic has already been discussed before! I need to buy a car as my old car will cost too much to repair. However due to my credit history I am going to have to buy a car using Guaranteed Car Finance. Their rates so far are rediculous, I am looking at borrowing between £5 - £7k, and have been quoted for £5k at £250.00 per month!!! Can anyone recommend any cheaper way of buying a car, recommending a good Finance Company, or Garage? I was hoping to have monthly payments of around £150 - £180.00.