co-op say we need to default before we can contact them about loan

[Madamfluff]

My Husband and I are paying off a bank loan at £400 per month, we can continue to pay it until January after that our savings will have been depleted and we will be on about £700 per month until my out of work husband gets a new job

 

We contacted them today to give prior notice that we will be in difficulities and fully expected them to come to an agreement with us to temporary cut our payments we assumed two months notice would be sufficient time to work something out and that by telling them now we would be seen as people who are ready and willing to work with them.

 

However my Husband was told that we must default first and then and only then would the bank work with us to come to an agreement.

 

i dont want to do this as I am worried that as soon as we default we will get stung for bank charges and it would also affect our credit rating.

 

I want to write to the bank to say we want to get things sorted now and not wait until we default - is there a template letter I can use.

 

Thanks in advance

[BankFodder]

This is a load of nonsense. This is the Coop who have just announced a huge expansion attempt as they intend to bid for Lloyds Branches - so God help us.

 

I think that you should keep everything in writing.

 

have they put this in writing to you? If they haven't, then you should write them a letter outlining exactly what they have told you over the telephone and expressing amazement at it. If they have already put it in writing then write them a letter of protest and point out to them that they have a duty to discuss the matter with you and that they are acting unfairly contrary to the Banking: Conduct of Business Regulations 2009. For your information, these regulations replace the banking code of practice and create a statutory duty on all banks to treat their customers fairly, to communicate with them fairly, and to have regard to the customers interests when making any decisions.

 

Tell them that you are writing immediately to complain to the OFT – and make sure you do this. Also, tell them that you are beginning an immediate complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service and tell them that this letter is formal notice of your complaint and that they have eight weeks to resolve it or to refer the matter to the Ombudsman. I wouldn't normally recommend any ombudsman complaint but in this case you may as well show them that they are going to have to go to a lot of trouble if they won't discuss with you now.

 

When you do discuss with them, if you feel that they are biased against you or else in any other way not treating you reasonably and fairly then you should make an Ombudsman complaint about that and say that you believe that you are being deliberately disadvantaged because you have had to force the issue and that the discussions with you were merely cosmetic in order to satisfy the rules which you had to point out to them.

 

Do nothing on the telephone in this case. Do everything in writing.

[lexis200]

Not sure how you got on with this, but they did exactly the same with my c/c a few years ago. I sent them a letter saying I wouldn't be able to pay soon and could I set up a payment plan (a standard template which I sent to all other banks who all, to one extent or another agreed), and they said I had to default before they would consider helping. I did default as per their instructions, then got the threatening phone calls and letters. On speaking to them after 2 missed payments, I was told I had to clear the outstanding balance and then they would come to an arrangement with me. I foolishly believed them, phoned again and paid the balance (which even after juggling things around meant we had no money left that month for essentials), only to be told that as I'd paid they wouldn't consider a payment plan. At this point, I worked out a pro-rata payment to them and started paying it anyway. They refused this and I ended up paying about 800% more than I should have according to my finances and what I was paying the others.

 

Bunch of to**ers the whole lot of them at the co-op. I have NEVER spoken to anyone who works there, or at their collection dept (Phoenix) who has a modicum of sense, morality or empathy. After two years of writing to them trying to sort things out amicably but receiving constant threats from them (I had a very faulty CCA, dodgy default and termination but was still trying to pay a small amount) I gave up and stopped paying them. They never responded to any threat, ignored the FOS (who in turn did sod all about it) and carried on harassing me despite proof I couldn't pay more than I was.

 

I truly hope you've got somewhere with this, and I can't reiterate enough BF's advice about doing everything in writing - on no account talk to them on the phone.

[BankFodder]

Thanks for this.

 

The disappointing thing about helping people on here is that very often they come for advice and then they go and never update us on what happened.

It doesn't help others very much and it is a bit demoralising for the Site Team