Hi Guys it's been a long time since i've commented on here but i'm afraid i have some bad news. This news will mostly be applicable to students who did the course with advent but either had a partner or family member/another party setup the credit agreement. Just so you know the adjudicator assigned to my account was very helpful and was on my side however there's a loop hole in the s75 act that we should all be made aware of. Dear Mr xxxx Your complaint about Hitachi Capital (UK) Plc (trading as Hitachi Capital Consumer Finance) I write further my telephone conversation with Mr xxx and his email of today to set out my assessment of your complaint. In reaching my assessment, I have considered everything that you and Hitachi Capital Consumer Finance (the business) have sent us. Your complaint is that Mr xxxx college course, financed by the business via a fixed-sum loan agreement with Miss xxxx, has been cancelled due to the course provider entering administration. You would like the business to resolve the matter by cancelling the loan agreement and refunding the payments you have made. Miss xxx signed a fixed-sum loan agreement on 22 April 2008 to fund a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineering course to be taken by her partner, Mr xxxx. On 27 January 2010, the course provider went into administration. The business has confirmed that, as a result, students that had not already completed their courses were unable to continue with their studies. Mr xxxx has told me that he completed two out of a total of eight modules. However, on the completion of those modules, he gained no qualification. The business wrote to Miss xxxx on 17 March 2010 confirming that, of the total amount payable of £4,750.00, she had paid £2,770.74. In the letter the business offered Miss xxx a refund of £923.58. This was based on a ‘usage’ of 14 months (though it says Mr xxxx actually had access to the course for 18 months) at a cost of £131.94 per month (the monthly payment under the agreement). I have considered all the evidence and arguments that have been provided by both parties. Where a fact has been disputed I have used my judgment to determine what I think happened on the balance of probabilities – that is to say what I think is more likely than not to have happened. Before the merits can be considered about whether the business should have offered a greater or full refund, I need to ascertain whether the business has liability for the provision of the course under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Under section 75, you have a right to claim against the business if you have a claim against the supplier for breach of contract – for example, where it has failed to provide a contracted service. This is subject to certain requirements however. One of these requirements is that there must be what is known as a debtor-creditor-supplier chain between three independent parties. Essentially, for a claim to be valid under section 75, Miss xxxx (as the debtor) needs to be directly linked with the creditor (which is the business) and the supplier (which was Advent). However, the contract for provision of the training course is between the supplier and Mr xxxx; and the finance agreement is between the business and Miss xxxx. While the supplier might have breached its obligations under its contract with Mr xxxxx, he cannot bring a complaint under section 75 because he does not have a direct relationship with the business and there is no connecting chain of all three parties. Similarly, while Miss xxxx has a direct relationship with the business, she does not have a direct relationship with the supplier and so she cannot bring a complaint under section 75 either. I would like to add that even though you are in a relationship, this does not change your position for the purposes of section 75. Unfortunately this means that section 75 will not apply in these circumstances; and as such you are unable to bring a claim against the business for any breach of contract by the supplier. I would like to add however that I have spoken with the business and that it has confirmed that it is prepared to stand by it original offer of a refund of £928.58. You will however need to contact the business to arrange this. Conclusions In conclusion, section 75 does not apply because there is no debtor-creditor-supplier relationship in these circumstances. As a result the business does not have liability for the provision of the training course. Because of this, I have to tell you that I am unable to recommend that your complaint should be upheld. I appreciate that this is likely to come as a disappointment to you. I know that this is not the outcome you were hoping for. But I hope that my explanation has been helpful in setting out clearly why I have taken this view. However, if you disagree with how I have reached my conclusions, please write and tell me by 10 July 2010 – setting out your reasons and including any evidence that you have not already provided and that you think is important to your case. Could you please let me know now, if you plan to reply fully but do not think you will be able to meet that deadline. As we explain in our leaflet, your complaint and the ombudsman, consumers have the right to ask an ombudsman to review their case – as the final stage in our process. But if we do not hear from you by 20 July 2010, we will assume that you have decided not to pursue the complaint further. Yours sincerely So as you can see very unlucky but for those who have set the credit agreement themselves it's very likely you'll win. I've taken the adjucators advise and phoned HCF for the orginal offer. They've agreed to this and should be finalised within the next week or so, finally i will be able to close this book and move on. To Everyone else i wish you all the best of luck and hope this has helped. Ciao Mannix

Hi guys Good news i had a call from my adjudicator today, sound guy. I told my story about how i felt cheated by HCF, how i had seeked legal advice and that i was happy to settle with £1800 rather than the full £3K. Basically letting him know how i felt without being malicious, he agreed with me on what was said which i think is a good sign. The next steps now are he will send me an intro letter stating the usual welcome 'hello i'm .... i will be your adjudicator...' type thing. Then he will contact HCF to get their side of the story weigh up the stories and make a decision. However i think it will go in my favour as i have suggested what amount of £ will settle the matter. Basically double what they initally proposed, this leaves them with some cash and me around 2/3 back. Everyone's happy, well kinda? Also if HCF don't respond or agree to his terms then an ombudsman will be called in and vice versa for me. Either way progress is being made Once again i will keep you informed of any updates. Have a great weekend guys Mann-IX

Hi Guys A quick update i've now been assigned an adjudicator . They just asked me to confirm a few details and will be contacting me within the next week. It's finally coming to fruition, hang on in there people. I'll keep you updated as and when. Mann-I

That's not on i will definately have a look. I did receive letters stating that i was in arrears but contacted HCF and they cleared it up staright away. I advise you to give them a call as only they will be able to remove any black marks they applied to your credit file.

Morning Guys I've got some info for ya, A recap, as you both i have rejected the second offer, logged a complaint with the FOS, awaiting for an adjucator to be assigned to my case and have had a consultation with the solicitors. After explaining the case to the solicitors they agreed that the amount offered to refund was far too low, as you all would agree. To put it into perspective, my course cost £4750, i've paid £2900 and offer £900 back. The solicitors said that i am within my right to claim back £1700-£1800 out of the £2900, this should be seen as fair and here's why. The fos will put certain factors into the matter for example, the amount of time you had access to the course, albeit no official time scale on the contract, if you had received any qualifications whilst on the course etc. The solicitor also mentioned that once an adjucator has been assigned to your case they will ask you how much you feel you are owed. His advice was to be as realistic as you can, but by all means if you feel you are owed the lot then state your case. In addition he said tell the story of how you've been mislead, disheartend, emotionally distressed etc, and that you think receiving £X amount is fair. I'm choosing to stick with the £1800 return as it's double the previous offer however leaves HFC with some collateral (i think th FOS will like this). Secondly i will admit that i have been stung and will obviously learn from this mistake and never take on a home study course again because of the above. Thirdly hope that the FOS see my case as fair and sort it out. The latest letter that i have received from the FOS stated that i will have an adjucator within the next two months i will let you know if there are any updates.

Hi guys I've forwarded that awful letter to the FO and rejected the final offer from HCF, courteously lol. I'm still waiting for my case to be assigned to an account manager at the FO, however they said it seeking seperate legal advice will not have any impact on them. I'm calling a solictor this afternoon to see what they say. Will keep you updated

I am so ****ed off but that remote analergy made me chuckle.

I've now received my letter and it has said the exact same thing, a basic mail merge. I recall when speaking to Jeannette Freeman that all complaints would be dealt with individually. Well it clearly has not! I have yet to be allocated a account manager with the FO (within the next week or 2), however i will be contacting them tomorrow about the new light on the situtaion regarding HCF's final response. I will also ask the question that HCF clearly mis lead us to beleive. 'Will our complaints be dealt with on an individual or group basis?' As this is what was stated from HCF however we were all decieved. What do you think?

Sweet well if anyone here is articulated enough to generate such a letter to watchdog i will be more than happy to co-sign it

Very true, Needless to say if they're no longer charging us on the account then at least that's one worry off our backs. Secondly if worst comes to worst and we don't get anymore than we've been originally offered then so be it but at least we tried. Does anyone know if this has this gone to watchdog?

I will do. In the meantime I advise you to contact the FO today by phone a tell them about you situtation, they give really good advice. They'll probably suggested that you fill in a complaint form too, so get that done ASAP. FO details on the attached link contact us

What The F!!!!! So are they saying they're refunding you the original amount stated in the next 10 days whether you like it or not? If so that's ridiculous! Who in their right mind is not going to take this further with the FO? Can't wait for my letter, c'mon Mr Postman!

Monkeys, i agree. It's a shame really they're only making it harder on themselves and easier for us. What's another three months worth? Every last penny

What a complete joke! If HCF do not provide you with a satisfactory offer and you decide to take it to the FO. Make sure that you include all these incidents in your case, the arrear letters, continuing to pay for nothing and being threaten that your crdit file will be impeached. This will most definately help your case.

Hi Guys Sorry, i forgot to post this yesterday. I spoke to HCF and they said that my letter was posted on friday. Like yourselves i should receive it either today or wednesday. In the meantime i've contacted the Financial Ombudsman i sent my case, by post, around a week/a week and half ago. They have received it and i my case has been assigned. The FO aim to sent a written response to me in the next two weeks. The person i spoke to was also very friendly and helpful and they're well aware of the situtation with Advent and HCF. After the lack of response and communication from HCF i putting all my confidence in the FO. I will keep you updated on my progress. I WILL get ALL of MY MONEY back!!!