Speed Credit Please Help

[fred76]

Hi

 

I have a loan with Speed Credit which I cannot repay

 

I e-mailed them explaining my situtation and asking if we could discuss a repayment plan.

 

I got this response

 

Dear Fred Thank you for your message passed to us from Speed Credit As our loans are for 14-28 days we do not accept payment plans.

Your current outstanding balance is £703

On 01.09.12 you will incur the following charges: £350 recovery fee £10 missed fee 1 interest charge of £96 which will make your outstanding balance £1159.

You must pay either 1) £703 by 01.09.12, OR 2) £1159 by 15.09.12.

If you have any questions please don\'t hesitate to call us on 0843 381 0843. Failure to make either payment will result in your file being passed to a third party bailiff company who will commence proceedings against you in your local county court. Yours sincerely, COLLECTIONS (182) NORTHERN DEBT RECOVERY 0843

I don't know how to proceed and am a bit scared.

 

Any advice much appreciated - thank you

[mightyblues78]

Fred76,

 

Firstly, don't panic!

 

I'm no expert on these things but many others on the forum really are and someone will be along soon to offer you some cast-iron advice. All I can say in the meantime is to read through the Speed Credit forums here on CAG - you'll recognise the email that you received on almost every other thread! It seems to be a generic scare tactic that they employ and having read other threads on the site, I don't think you'll find that any of their additional charges (such as the £350 recovery fee) are enforceable.

 

Like I said, Renegade and the other great guys and gals here will be along soon to help. While you're waiting, please spend the time reading through the other helpful threads on the site.

 

Cheers,

MB78

[fred76]

Thank you MB

 

I wll read the forums and wait for some advice

 

Tanks for re-assuring me

[renegadeimp]

Oh dear oh dear. They are blantantly breaking oft guidines all over the place with that letter. Im at work right now but when i get home in a few hours ill write you up a nice letter to send them.

[ims21]

Two threads merged...please keep to this one thread for this issue.

[fred76]

Thank you so so much renegade - that would be amazing - thank you

[havinastella]

How much did you originally borrow and how much have you paid back?

[fred76]

300 - not paid anything back (although this is my 2nd loan with them and I repaid the first on time and in full)

[renegadeimp]

Had trouble finding this thread again . Give me a few and ill see what i can come up with for you.

[renegadeimp]

Do you want me to PM it you, or post it here? I have a pretty good complaint letter written up and ready to go. It doesnt reference specific clauses in OFT guidance, but i can get you them if you like.

Edited August 22, 2012 by renegadeimp

[fred76]

Could you post it here - it might help other people in the same mess

 

I cant thank you enough for taking the time to help me

[renegadeimp]

All parts in red can be edited to suit yourself. I used a version of this letter when i was dealing with minicredit on behalf of my sister. Be warned though that Speedcredit/NDR will try and call your bluff or claim everything is legit.

 

Reference: xxxxx

 

Dear incompetent fools,

 

I write in response to your previous email/letter to me dated xx/xx/xxxx, the contents of which are noted.

 

Please be advised, that i am now in the process of making a full and complete complaint to the OFT, FOS and to trading standards, due to the major breaches of OFT guidance and relevant regulations that you and your partners are constantly performing.

 

You state on your previous email/letter: " As our loans are for 14-28 days we do not accept payment plans. "

 

As you should know, (and indeed you do but choose to ignore it), under OFT guidance on debt collection, you cannot refuse a repayment plan where a debtor clearly shows they are in financial difficulty and cannot meet the originally agreed repayments. You, as part of your credit licence, must come to an agreement to a plan that does not leave the debtor in further financial hardship or put your company ahead in priority of other debts, or negate the debtors essential living costs, but still repays the monies owed.

 

Also, your £350 "recovery fee" has already been declared unfair in the bank charges and penalty fees court cases of a few years ago. Should you insist that this charge remains on my debt, it will be contested vigorously in any court action and all necessary documentation will be presented to the court to show the above.

 

You also state my debt is currently £730, despite my original loan only being £300. This obscene amount you claim i owe, and of which i deny liability of all charges you have added, can only have been reached with your partner and yourselves inflating the debt with unfair and possibly unlawful charges and interest. Again, if these are not removed immediately, they will be contested in any court action , and you will be forced to prove these charges are fair and just.

 

As i am in financial difficulty, and i have shown you this, again, OFT guidance on debt collection comes into play. You state/demand that i MUST pay one of two extortionate amounts that you have conjured up, despite my previous communications to you. This is a blatant breach of OFT guidance.

 

You also then go on to say that if i do not pay the obscene amounts you are demanding/trying to extort from me, that you will pass my debt to a "third party Bailiff company". This is unlawful and a HUGE breach of OFT guidance yet again. No bailiffs can ever become involved with this debt until the case has been presented to a judge, the claimant has won the case, i default on any judgement made, i go back to court, and the judge issues a warrant of execution. But of course, since you hold a Credit licence, you should already be well aware of this.

 

Also, since the above is not possible by you, i can only ascertain that you mean a Debt Collection agency like yourselves. If this is the case, then again, you are breaking OFT guidance on debt collection which states that only 1 agency may collect on a debt, as to not harass/intimidate or threaten the debtor or treat them unfairly.

 

In short, unless the following is agreed in your next communication to me, i will have no other choice but to issue full and formal complaints to the previously mentioned regulators/agencies. I will also send them every single communication you and your partners have ever sent me, along with the communication stated in this letter to you.

 

As follows:

 

You ( Speedcredit/Toothfairy/MHB/whatever company name you are currently using), agree in full that all unlawful and unfair interest and charges will be unconditionally removed from the debt. You will then agree to a repayment plan, to be paid by postal order or standing order of £xx per week/month, until the amount of £300 original loan and £xx interest has been paid.

 

Please find enclosed a copy of my current budget summary that will show the above repayment plan to be a statement of fact

.

I am willing to negotiate here as i will renegotiate my repayment plan with you every Three (3) calendar months until the debt is cleared.

 

I am in no way trying to evade any responsibility for the debt that i owe. What i am contesting are the grossly unfair charges and interest amounts that you have added, and you evading YOUR responsibilities under OFT guidelines and your credit licence terms.

 

As you can see, i am very well aware of regulation, law and my rights, and it would be in your best interest to comply with the details of this letter.

 

Kisses

 

xxxxxx Print your name, do not sign.

Edited August 22, 2012 by renegadeimp

[fred76]

That is amazing. Thank you - thank you so much. I will let you know what response I get

[renegadeimp]

You could send that, or simply tell them to bugger off as they are a third party with no legal rights and you will not be communicating with them any longer.

[fred76]

I don;t think i am brave enough for option 2

[renegadeimp]

Make sure you include a budget summary of your current I&E form. Even though you are calling them out on their sc@m, you still need to show complete willingness to repay the debt.

[fred76]

Thank you - I will do

[mightyblues78]

There you go Fred76, just like I said: the guys on this forum are truly amazing!

 

Good luck with your letter!

 

Cheers,

MB78.

[fred76]

They seriously are!

[renegadeimp]

I would include the criminal act of "unjustly enriching" themselves or obtaining money by deception, but once you start accusing them of criminal activity, you enter a whole new world where you need to be 100% sure of the accusation before you make it.

[renegadeimp]

I've edited the letter a bit to make it more clear and to clarify a few things.

[fred76]

This was the reply I received to Renegades excellent letter

 

Dear xxx,

 

Thank you for emailing us.

 

 

 

Payment Plans

 

It is always advisable to stay in contact with your creditors to avoid additional penalty charges.

 

Loans are meant to be repaid in full at the end of the initial loan term. This is made very clear in the terms and conditions you agreed to when you took out the loan.

 

We cannot accept a payment plan.

 

Please confirm when you will be making FULL PAYMENT to close your file.

 

Please note payment of GBP 1159 needs to be made by 15.09.12 to stop this file being passed to third party Recovery Agents and further fees being added.

 

however......

you can rollover / extend your loan by just paying the interest on day 28 of your loan. You will receive an email explaining this when you are eligible

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

COLL ECTIONS

NORTHERN DEBT RECOVERY

0843 381 0843

 

Should just wait till they take me to court now? I have sent off my complaint to the OFT. I dont know who else to complain to

[Sillyboywyn]

Just keep sending them the same email, they cannot enforce these charges and will never take you to court. Im wondering if you can take them to court?

[Nao]

Im wondering if you can take them to court?

 

The best angle to attack them is to keep complaining to the relevant regulatory outfits until they eventually have their license revoked.

While I personally reckon it would be possible to take apart the toothfairy in court for fraud due to them randomly passing around the debt internally and charging fees for doing so, any legal action against them would likely take years, cost a lot of money, put you at risk of retribution, plus there is always the risk of loosing which could leave you in very serious financial trouble. So unfortunately it would be a bad idea to just take toothfairiy to court.

[fred76]

ANother email from them

 

Any idea how should respond - I am NOT ignoring then as they state:

 

Dear xxx

 

Re loan ref: xxx

 

You have not responded to our request to come to a pragmatic arrangement with you to pay of your outstanding debt with our client Speed Credit in respect of your Speed Credit Loan***. By ignoring our attempts to contact you and not coming to a reasonable arrangement to settle this debt YOU WILL:

 

1. Incur further charges

2. Suffer further adverse Credit

3. Hinder your defence should this escalate to County Court.

4. Leave us no option but to send out Recovery Agents to all addresses we have on file.

 

Once agents visit it will be very difficult to discount the amount you owe. It is better to make contact with us and set up a reasonable arrangement rather than allow this to escalate.

 

You currently owe:

Loan and Interest GBP 784

Cash Transmission Fee GBP 5

Solicitors - Case Preparation GBP 150

Missed Payment Fee 2 (day 43) GBP 10

NDR Accept Case File GBP 200

Missed Payment Fee 1 (day 29) GBP 10

 

Repayments todate GBP 0

Total GBP 1159

 

This can be reduced but you MUST contact us within 3 days on 0843 381 0843. Your file has been sent for review to our Bailiffs and our ground agents to prepare for Court action and door visits. We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

DEBT MANAGER - Greg Campbell

NORTHERN DEBT RECOVERY

0843 381 0843