Help with minicredit please

[onlymemyself]

Any advice appreciated to help me get out of my mess with minicredit. Situation as follows-

Loan taken out with minicredit early February of £220

Couldn't repay amount due of £283 in March

Paid two admin fees of £5 each requesting roll over which was never processed.

They took two payments of all I had in my bank account during March one of £15 and one of £25

I have been unable to make any payments so far but could start paying something each month from when i get paid end of May (perhaps £50 each month)

My online account with them says I now owe £752 and that this is with debt collection.

Have tried phoning but they will not accept repayment plan have tried emailing through their site but they reply saying i must phone when I have the funds available to make full and final settlement over the phone. Latest email from them says if amount outstanding is not paid they will pass my account to doorstep collectors.

Really really worrying about this now I could at a push pay perhaps £5 - £10 next week but this would leave me with absolutely no money for food. Then I would not be able to pay anything till end of May. I am so scared they phone me at work or call at my house. I feel physically ill over this and cannot sleep - what an absolute nightmare wish I had never heard of them.

Any advice on what I can do now would be so much appreciated.

[ims21]

New thread created for you and welcome to CAG

 

The guys will be along to advise as soon as they are available

 

ims

[renegadeimp]

Hi onlymemyself. Welcome to CAG and hopefully a fresh start for you.

 

My advice is as follows. Might get a bit long winded but bear with it.

 

First thing to do is Don't worry about it. Minicredit are one of the worst PDL's and will try and say/do anything they can to get you to pay whatever random amount pops into their thick skulls.

 

If they try to take you to court, you can come back here and we will help you with a simple defence which shows a judge that they have clearly added on unfair charges and interest. The judge can then remove these.

 

What you need to do is write or email to whoever has the debt atm, and tell them that you will only pay the original loan plus interest as the rest of the charges are unfair and exorbitant.

 

They also cannot pass yoru account to doorstep collectors. It;s just another way for them to try and justify more charges on your account.

 

What you need to do is get to the bank with a written letter TELLING them ( not asking) to stop all CPA's on your account referring to minicredit or its subcompanies ( the exact name will be on your bank statement from previous transactions). This will stop minicredit taking money from your account. You then need to create a basic bank account with another bank, and have all your day to day money/wages etc sent there. Use the old bank as a bill paying account and never give anyone the new details. If you can, do NOT get the new account with the same group of companies as your old account is with.

 

If you are scared of phone calls or people coming to your house, simply send the following letters, edited as needed:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?441-If-you-do-receive-a-doorstep-visit-we-give-these-suggestions-to-Members for doorstep collectors

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?493-Harassment-by-telephone-response-letter for telephone calls

 

 

Also, get a complaint into the OFT and trading standards asap as they are currently collecting all complaints on PDL's with a view to action them and hopefully restrict their business or close them down.

 

 

When you have done all this, come back and let us know, and then we can form a letter for you to help push for a repayment plan you can afford. Also remember, that you can ignore almost all letters from minicredit as they are known for bullying, scaring and harassing everyone to try and get more money. Just don't fall into their trap and everything will work out.

Edited May 4, 2012 by renegadeimp

[onlymemyself]

Thank you

I will get recorded letter to them asap saying over and above the £50 that I have already paid I will pay original amount plus one month interest and request they accept monthly repayment plan. I think this is quite fair.

I have already cancelled my bank card on the account they know about and there are now no funds in this account anyway.I have another account which I am using for which they have no details.

Are they likely to respond do you know? How can I pay them in future without them getting my bank details?

I am also going to request that they only contact me by email or letter. In fairness telephone contact has mainly been by text messages and so far no calls at work thank goodness.

Anything else I should do at the moment? Many thanks such a relief to get some advice on this.

[renegadeimp]

Nope. send the letters and wait for a reply. If they say no or send another threatening letter, send the repayment plan again, and again, and again. In the meantime, make tokem payments of £1 a week/month to show your willingness to pay, both to the PDL and to a court.

[onlymemyself]

Letters will be sent first thing tomorrow and I'll see what they respond with. Will also start making the token payments next week.(will use ukash) I really do want to clear this debt even although I have serious financial difficulties at the moment.Just don't think its fair to have to pay back nearly four times as much as I borrowed.

Thank you again I feel I am a bit more in control of this now.I will post what happens

[renegadeimp]

Just don't give in with them. They will bully, harass and threaten you until you feel like paying them just to get them off your back, as many thousands of people have done already. Stand your ground and remember, theres always someone here that can help you out, be it a forum regular like me, or even a site admin who has access to much more resources.

[onlymemyself]

latest from minicredit- just received letter today stating if full payment not made in three days time they will escalate the matter to door step collection. They say I now owe £639.80 0verdue + £100 debt recovery costs, total £739.80! Cannot believe this on a £220 loan that I have already paid £50 of....unreal. Have not yet sent letters to them but will def get that done first thing tomorrow. Has anyone actually had any debt collectors call?

I am determined I will not pay more than original loan plus interest (£283).Even at that they will still have gained another £50 from me. If I have to see them in court then that is what I will do. Has anyone had any experience of ending up in court with this lot and if so what was the outcome?

Any other advice welcome. thanks

[renegadeimp]

Have a good long read of http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?441-If-you-do-receive-a-doorstep-visit-we-give-these-suggestions-to-Members

 

It should ease your mind.

[onlymemyself]

will do thanks again

[onlymemyself]

Have a good long read of http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?441-If-you-do-receive-a-doorstep-visit-we-give-these-suggestions-to-Members

 

It should ease your mind.

 

Have just had a read of this. Would it be a good idea to also send thisletter by recorded to mini credit together with my letter stating I will only pay the loan plus one months interest also suggesting the repayment amount I can afford each month?Just had a thought would it be as well to email them as probably quicker and I can keep copy of email?

[renegadeimp]

Send it separate so they cant say it got "mislaid" or they never recieved it. You can email it, but make sure you CC it to yourself as well so your email provider keeps a backup too, and it has the full headers, should you need to prove it in court.

[onlymemyself]

will send them couple of emails then and make sure I cc myself. thanks will update as soon as i hear back from them

[onlymemyself]

Reply received by email from mini credit today main points as follows

"The first option is a settlement. The settlement means that when You contact our Customer support we are able to reduce the current outstanding balance and waive some of the failed debit attempt fees. The settlement must be paid over the phone during the phone-call with a debit/credit card.

The second option we are able to provide You is a settlement plan. We provide all our clients 120 days from the due date to make payments of any amount towards their outstanding balance. Your current loan has been overdue for 51 days which provides You 69 days to make payments of any amount. You would need to make at least one payment a month towards the balance. After the 69 days You would need to make a full and final settlement offer. Microcredit Ltd will then overlook all the payments we have received and they will be taken into consideration while calculating the settlement. This option provides You approximately until the middle of July 2012 to try to get the Loan cleared. The reasonable settlement amount must cover the daily interest for every day our funds have been used, the loan principal and the two penalties for breaking the Loan agreement. The interest is 1% of the Loan principal which in Your case at the moment is GBP2.20 per day. We are able to waive most of the failed debit attempt fees (GBP5.00 per every empty transaction when the funds are not available on the registered debit card.)

 

Microcredit does not provide You the dates nor the amounts when You need to make the payments. The partial payments possibility is available 24/7 on Your http://www.minicredit.co.uk online account under "Repayment" section. The most important part is that at least once a month a payment of any amount must be made. The loan should be cleared latest by the 15th of July 2012.

 

The settlement can be discussed at any point when You have a larger amount available to offer as a full and final settlement"

 

what now? I had offered 6 monthly payments of £40 ( amount of original loan plus one months interes).Plus the £50 I have already paid them.

[renegadeimp]

Thats just a generic form letter they send to everyone. Keep persisting. Also tell them that their interest of £2.20 is unfair and extortionate.

[onlymemyself]

this may be a stupid question but how do I persist? Just keep sending them the same email over and over with the same offer stating that the options they have suggested are not acceptable or reasonable? any other wording I should put in.

[renegadeimp]

You can ask them to justify the interest if you like, as it is is very high. Especially for a loan that low. Theyve also refused to take your circumstances into account.

 

Honestly, if it was me, i would not pay them anything, and force them to take me to court, where i would explain my circumstances in detail to a judge.

 

HOWEVER, minicredit like to threaten and threaten until the final moment before theyre due in court or the OFT gets involved. Too many times, they wai until the last possible moment before a court date then try and settle out of it. When the debtor says they are still going ahead with their defense, minicredit become quiet and do not send a rep to the court.

[onlymemyself]

what happens when they do not send a rep to the court?

[renegadeimp]

the judge gets a bit angry as they are seen to be wasting court time. However, since they file a defense, the hearing goes ahead without them. The downside is they cant put forward any more defense during the hearing. Whereas if you turn up you can show the judge the evidence in detail.

 

If a rep does turn up, theres still no need to panic, as they would have to explain the charges/interest plus answer the judges questions on why they refuse to acknowledge regulations or law relating to debt collection and why they will not accept your proposal but still push the debt up.

[onlymemyself]

the judge gets a bit angry as they are seen to be wasting court time. However, since they file a defense, the hearing goes ahead without them. The downside is they cant put forward any more defense during the hearing. Whereas if you turn up you can show the judge the evidence in detail.

 

If a rep does turn up, theres still no need to panic, as they would have to explain the charges/interest plus answer the judges questions on why they refuse to acknowledge regulations or law relating to debt collection and why they will not accept your proposal but still push the debt up.

 

I see, I will pay what I have offered and if they want anymore they can take it to court or sing for it !

Dont have a problem giving my side at a hearing but just wouldn't want to have dates continually put forward because they don't send representation. But does not seem that this would happen then.

Once i have paid original amount plus one months interest plus extra £50 do you think they would take me to court for anymore as anything more would just be their extortionate charges and extra interest

[renegadeimp]

i'd pay them the original loan plus original contracted interest, and let them try and get round a judge for any more.

[onlymemyself]

that's my plan.will keep the site updated on progress, got a feeling this could drag on

[renegadeimp]

Oh it will. Minicredit are well known for it.

[onlymemyself]

sent email to mini credit saying neither of the options they suggested are acceptable and offered repayment plan again to cover original loan plus one month interest. told them I am in financial difficulties and cannot afford to offer anything more.They now want me to complete hardship form on their website giving I & E details and details of my creditors. Not really sure I should do this as have already told them I have done I & E and what I can afford to pay them each month in my current financial situation.

Any advice what I should do next. Meantime shall I make a payment as per my offer this would be due in the coming week.

Thanks and PS balance owing up another £100+ according to my account details on their website!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[renegadeimp]

You could give them a simplified I&E which meets requirements. Such as:

 

Total Incomings: Amount

 

Rent/Mortgage: Amount

Food: Amount

Socialising: Amount

Car Payments: Amount

Fuel: Amount

Council Tax: Amount

Credit Card 1: Amount

Credit Card 2: Amount

 

Total amount remaining for LOW PRIORITY CREDITORS : Amount

PDL's Share: Amount

 

 

If they dont like that, tell them to take a running jump. Especially if they try and demand specifics such as names of creditors or if they try to make you fill in a hardship form that is multiple pages long.

Edited May 18, 2012 by renegadeimp