Saga continues

[Taureanbull01]

So after me sending approx 6 emails, I finally have a response. What do I need to do now? Thanks in advance

 

 

Dear ..........

 

A MiniCredit Harship Department member has replied to your application, ..........with the following response:

 

The following response is being sent to You according to the Formal Hardship Procedure.

 

 

 

Microcredit Ltd is able to provide You at the moment three possibilities.

 

 

 

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 card. Today on the 23rd of May 2013 we are able to offer You a full and final settlement of £377.00

 

 

 

The second option we are able to provide You is a settlement plan for £654.00 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 10 days which provides You 110 days to make payments of any amount. You would need to make at least one payment a month towards the balance. Before the default date You would need to make a full and final payment. Our payments collection partner will then overlook all the payments they have received and they will be taken into consideration while calculating the final payment. This option provides You approximately until the 10th of September 2013 to try to get the Loan cleared.

 

 

 

The third option is a payment plan. We are able to accept the amount of £754.00 as a full and final settlement repayable under a payment plan through our payments collection partner. The settlement balance consists of the original due date balance of £275.00, interest until the default date of £264.00, the debt recovery fee of £100, the failed debit attempt fees of £35.00 and the overdue penalties of £80.00. The contractual interest rate is 1% of the principal per day from the date of issuing until default date the 120th day overdue. The above described overdue charges and interest is in accordance with the Loan Agreement. In this case the default will be marked on You credit reference file immediately but You will be able to make payments during a longer period of time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hope this response has sufficiently answered your questions. If not, please do not send another email. Instead, reply to this email.

 

Kind Regards,

MiniCredit Hardship Department

hardship@minicredit.co.uk

[renegadeimp]

What to do now? File it away, report it to the OFT and then you TELL minimuppets what they are going to get. You also tell them that you will NOT be paying the unlawful fee's of interest until the default date of £264.00, the debt recovery fee of £100, the failed debit attempt fees of £35.00 and the overdue penalties of £80.00.

[Taureanbull01]

Thanks. I have done what you said and this morning received this?!

 

-- do not edit --

 

A MiniCredit Harship Department member has replied to your application, #204740 with the following response:

 

The following response is being sent to You according to the Formal Hardship Procedure.

 

 

 

As You have disputed the charges on top of the original loan amount plus one month interest, please be aware that the section 87 in the Consumer Credit Act 1974 does not apply for an overdue credit. This applies for the long-term credits when the Customer wishes to repay the credit back before the final payment date.

 

 

 

We would ask you to read the whole chapter from the Consumer Credit Act 1974 regarding the defaulted and early settlement. Part VII section 93 states that interest should not be increased on default. According to the credit reference agencies, the default cannot be registered before the 120th day after the initial due date. The Consumer Credit Act 1974 also explains that the Creditor is able to register the account status as in default when the Consumer is provided with the Default Notice and the date when the default will be registered. The Consumer Credit Act 1974 states that the Consumer does not have to pay more than one month interest with an early settlement, but this does not mean that when a loan is overdue, the Consumer is entitled to do the same.

 

 

 

 

 

The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states that the Creditor should be open for discussing a payment arrangement when the Customer is experiencing financial difficulties. This is why we have activated a hardship form for You on 17/05/13. It also states that the Creditor should be fair and reasonable when offering a payment arrangement for a Customer in financial difficulties.

 

 

 

What do the terms fair and reasonable mean? A Customer whose financial difficulties were caused by an unavoidable and unforeseen circumstance should be in favour compared to a Customer to whom the non-repayment was known at the time of taking out the loan or the cause of the financial difficulties was over-commitment. Depending on the cause of the difficulties the creditor should consider suspending or amending charges and interest, but regardless of the cause should not demand payments that are more than the debtor can afford.

 

 

 

The Creditor has the right to require supportive documentation regarding the cause of the financial difficulties to determine the time of the change and whether the cause was unforeseen or not. A reasonable payment arrangement can be set up only when the Customer provides documentation regarding the monthly income and expenditure. As per the OFT guidance we should not set up an arrangement where the Customer will be unable to pay for the basic needs due to the payment installment amount.

 

 

 

 

 

We are currently able to provide You three possibilities.

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 card. Today on the 28th of May 2013 we are able to offer You a full and final settlement of £388.00. This figure will increase by the daily interest of £2.20.

The second option is a settlement plan for £654.00 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 15 days which provides You 105 days to make payments of any amount. You would need to make at least one payment a month towards the balance. Before the default date You would need to make a full and final payment. Our payments collection partner will then overlook all the payments they have received and they will be taken into consideration while calculating the final payment. This option provides You approximately until the 10th of September 2013 to try to get the Loan cleared.

 

The third option is a payment plan. We are able to accept the amount of £754.00 repayable under a payment plan through our payments collection partner. The settlement balance consists of the original due date balance of £275.00, interest until the default date of £264.00, the debt recovery fee of £100, the failed debit attempt fees of £35.00 and the overdue penalties of £80.00. The contractual interest rate is 1% of the principal per day from the date of issuing until default date the 120th day overdue. The above described overdue charges and interest are in accordance with the Loan Agreement. In this case the default will be marked on You credit reference file immediately but You will be able to make payments during a longer period of time.

 

You stated that Your working hours have been reduced. Please attach signed and dated notice from Your employer confirming it so that we could consider reducing our payment proposals.

 

We hope this response has sufficiently answered your questions. If not, please do not send another email. Instead, reply to this email.

 

Kind Regards,

MiniCredit Hardship Department

hardship@minicredit.co.uk

[renegadeimp]

Theyre trying to confuse and mislead you, then give you the option of using repayments that THEY deem satisfactory. Want me to write a complaint to minicredit for you?

Edited May 28, 2013 by renegadeimp

[Taureanbull01]

Do you not mind? If you have the time I would appreciate it very much. Thank you so much for your time.

[renegadeimp]

Ok. Edit this to suit. Things in red can be switched or deleted.

 

One thing i will advise, to show your fairness and willingness to repay the debt is to write out a simplified budget summary and attached it to the letter/email.

 

 

Reference: Use theirs.

 

Dear Sirs,

 

I write in reference to your recent correspondence to me dated xx/xx/xxxx, the contents of which have been noted.

 

After reading your letter, and obtaining independent advice as to the content, i am left in no doubt that you are trying to mislead me and are in breach of multiple OFT guidance. You repeatedly misquote OFT guidance in the aforementioned letter.

 

You also have the audacity to state that you are within your legal right to levy unfair interest and charges. Interest and charges that you levy PURELY for self enrichment.

 

You then give me three "possibilities" to rectify the debt.

 

The first you offer a settlement DESPITE me informing you that i cannot afford this. You again have the audacity to state that you will "waive some of the failed debit attempt fee's". As you very well know, these are unfair and indeed unenforceable and serve only to self enrich yourself. You also threaten me with adding on unfair and unlawful interest gains of £2.20 per DAY. This is highly extortionate in anyones eyes.

 

The second option, you start to offer me a repayment plan. However, you fail to remove ALL the unfair charges and interest on the debt, and also demand that the debt is repaid within 120 days. Again, this is despite me informing you that i cannot meet YOUR repayment plan.

 

The third is as above, but you have added even more charges and interest.

 

 

As OFT guidance on debt collection states, ( i will not go into detail, because as a 'responsible lender' you should already know the guidance under which you are governed and obliged to follow to continue to hold your credit licence):

 

• Section 3.7 clauses i, j, m,
  
• Section 3.10
  
• Section 3.11 clause b, c, d
  

 

 

Also of note is the following:

 

In the OFT's view, creditors should consider reducing or stopping

interest and charges where a borrower evidences that he is in

financial difficulty and is unable to meet repayments as they fall due

or when he can only make ‘token’ repayments such that his level of

debt would continue to increase if interest and charges continue to

be applied.

 

This is something you CLEARLY have failed to do.

 

 

 

I will state again in case my previous correspondence was too difficult for you to understand.

 

I am currently experiencing SEVERE financial difficulty which has affected my ability to pay ALL my creditors. MY repayment proposal is: £xx every XX weeks, to be reviewed every xx weeks/months

 

THIS OFFER IS NON NEGOTIABLE AND IS A FINAL OFFER.

 

Please find attached a copy of my budget summary to confirm my proposal.

Please note that i have very limited funds to offer all my current creditors, and in turn have had to make token payments for the short term.

I am in no way evading my responsibilities to the debt owed, however i have NO intention of paying unfair and unlawful charges and interest that have been levied out of sheer ignorance on your part.

 

I now expect you to follow regulation and OFT guidance and come to an agreement that doesnt leave me in further financial hardship and doesnt negate my other creditors nor place yourselves above them.

 

Should you fail to reach an agreement with me, i will have no alternative but to place this debt into deep dispute and file a full complaint with the OFT and will add a comment on your fitness to hold a credit licence.

 

This letter Is now a Full and formal complaint. I am well aware that you have 8 weeks to issue a final response, but im sure you will issue one without undue delay.

 

 

Sincerely

 

XXXXX

 

The letter may seem harsh and abrupt but i have had personal dealings with these idiots, and it took almost 5 months to get it sorted. I now advise everyone deal with them in the same manner, especially when it is clear you have tried to reach an amicable agreement and they have basically laughed in your face.

Edited May 28, 2013 by renegadeimp

[Taureanbull01]

Thank you so much for that, I shall get typed up and in the post in the next couple of days!

[Taureanbull01]

Well I've had my reply!

 

Your complaint has been referred to me according to the Formal Complaints Procedure.

 

 

 

I apologize for the delay in answering your e-mail but I took time to process the previous correspondence between you and Microcredit Ltd.

 

 

 

I have looked over the hardship form you sent through the MiniCedit.co.uk online account on the 17th of May 2013. From the information provided we can see that your income has reduced from £1100 to £358. Please confirm when did it happen and what was the reason.

 

 

 

You have refused to pay the balance offered to you, because you consider that having financial difficulties should mean that all charges and interest gets frozen.

 

 

 

When calculating the balance for a repayment plan, we also take into consideration the Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidelines, the decisions made by the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the Lending Guide and the Good Customer Practice Customer Charter.

 

 

 

The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states that the Creditor should be open for discussing payment arrangement when the Customer is experiencing financial difficulties. The Creditor should be fair and reasonable when offering a payment arrangement for a Customer in financial difficulties.

 

 

 

What do the terms fair and reasonable mean?

 

 

 

The Customer whose financial difficulties were caused by an unavoidable and unforeseen circumstance should be in favour over the Customer to whom the non-repayment was known at the time of taking out the loan or the cause of the financial difficulties was over-commitment. Depending on the cause of the difficulties the creditor should consider suspending or amending charges and interest, but regardless of the cause should not demand payments that are more than the debtor can afford. The Creditor has the right to require supportive documentation regarding the cause of the financial difficulties to determine the time of the change and whether the cause was unforeseen or not. The reasonable payment arrangement can be set up only when the Customer provides documentation regarding the monthly income and expenditure. As per the OFT guidance we should not set up an arrangement where the Customer will be unable to pay for the basic needs due to the payment instalment amount.

 

 

 

Please be aware that you are not able to request the acceptance of only one month interest. Interest is not considered an overdue charge as it is the cost of you pay for using the loan. The Creditor is not legally obliged to freeze the interest or after one month when the Customer experiences financial difficulties. I ask you to read the whole chapter from the Consumer Credit Act 1974 regarding the defaulted and early settlement. Part VII section 93 states that interest should not be increased on default. According to the credit reference agencies, the default cannot be registered before the 120th day after the initial due date. The Consumer Credit Act 1974 also explains that the Creditor is able to register the account status as in default when the Consumer is provided with the Default Notice and the date when the default will be registered. The Consumer Credit Act 1974 states that the Consumer does not have to pay more than one month interest with an early settlement, but this does not mean that when a loan is overdue, the Consumer is entitled to do the same.

 

The interest itself is not an overdue charges, it is the agreed cost the Consumer pays for using the loan at the rate marked in the Consumer Credit Agreement (Loan Agreement) until repayment or default.

 

 

 

We always aim to come to a mutually agreeable solution that is fair to both sides. Before I am able to consider the full and final settlement balance, please provide me with the supportive documentation to show that your income was £1100 on 18/04/2013 and was reduced after the loan was issued to you.

[renegadeimp]

Theyre calling your bluff and basically ignoring the letter. Standard response from them.

[Taureanbull01]

Ok thanks. Shall I respond or just wait for their next lot of correspondence?

[renegadeimp]

Could always call their bluff on their silly reply.

[Taureanbull01]

Am I best just waiting until they pass to their dodgy in house collections?

[renegadeimp]

You need to keep contesting them, as when it gets to opos, they will plead complete ignorance.

[Taureanbull01]

Ok, will try again. Thanks

[Taureanbull01]

Do they have any rights to the info they're requesting?

[renegadeimp]

They can request anything, but they are not entitled to any of it at all. The only thing you should consider giving them is a simplified budget summary and sign it as a statement of fact. Youc ould even go as far as getting it notarised by a solicitior for £10 or whatever, and really call their bluff. If they ignored it, then they would be in major trouble, as they see themselves as above the legal system. PLUS, if they went anywhere near court, the claim wouldnt get far. Saying that, With these muppets, they never turn up anyway, or simply send some teenage intern to represent them. An intern who tries desperately to get you to settle out of court so they dont have to face a judge.

[Taureanbull01]

I have not gone back to them yet, however today I have received a doorstep collection notice with the usual threat, should I not pay by 22 June!

[DA101]

A work there not going to happen mini credit can't get ccj

[renegadeimp]

Please explain how they cant get a CCJ?