shop direct {very] REfuse to help me!!

[bluespiderman]

Hi All.

We've had an on-going debt issue for about 6 months now due to a drop in income for my wife and I.

 

My wife has sorted out reduced payments with Barclaycard and Creation for 2 credit card accounts,

both have kindly accepted temporary reduced payments of £10 and £30 and all but frozen the interest.

 

The issue we have is with a third account which is storecard type account (Shop Direct) charging 39% interest.

 

We have from the start offered a £50 reduced payment but they just seem to ignore our requests.

 

Isent 2 letters (recorded) in March and April both asking for help with the usual threat

that if they don't help we will reduce the payment to £1.

 

I've also asked for all correspondence by letter to maintain an audit trail.

Nothing comes back, except endless bills adding almost £200 per month on now

as the debt was originally around £2k and has not grown well past £3k.

 

I thought I'd have a third and final attempt in August so

 

i sent another letter complaining about their lack of responses and threatening to report them to the FOS if they didn't respond,

i also included copies of all of the other letters sent and delivery receipts,

and even copies of the 2 temp agreements from the other 2 lenders,

and also a copy of the income/expenditure report we'd used for the other lenders.

 

I did get a reply back dated 27th August,

this time from NCO Europe Ltd stating that the matter was being investigated

and that we would receive a full and detailed response once the investigation is complete.

We've still not heard anything ...

 

I had also put the following in the last letter

 

"I also request that any penalty charges imposed since 28th February 2013,

when I first wrote to you asking for help, are removed immediately, along with any interest charges."

 

I know that the penalty charges are unlawful and i can strike these off the debt,

but am i within my rights to demand that the interest be removed as they failed to assist us for the last 6 months?

 

I'm worried that the debt will just grow and grow even if they accept the £50 payments.

 

Is the interest likely to be enforced ?

 

I've read a fair bit about the legal processes and I've seen that if it becomes a CCJ the interest

will be effectively frozen (there is nothing in the CA stating that interest will be added after judgment)

but is there any way to force the interest to be frozen whilst we try to pay the debt off ?

 

can i actually report them to the FOS or some similar authority who would assist me in freezing the interest

to allow a realistic way to pay the debt off ?

can we force a CCJ somehow ?

 

I'm waiting eagerly for the "results of their investigations"

but i fear that it's just another stalling tactic whilst they pile more interest onto the debt

whilst ignoring our requests for help...

[renegadeimp]

Good old shop direct. Get a formal complaint in and also complain to the oft. They are in breach of their credit licence.

[bluespiderman]

Thanks for your reply.

 

I think i have effectively already sent the formal complaint (wording below).

 

I forgot to mention we'd actually got a letter back from RMA Resolve

which suggested that an agreed reduced payment plan was already in place!

they'd never agreed to anything all i had done was dropped the payments to £1

 

So i should now report them to OFT ??? (rather than FOS as i's stated ... oops)

 

This was the full letter i sent:-

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

COMPLAINT

Client: Shop Direct Group (Very)

Account Number: xxxxxxx

Thank you for your letter dated 13th August 2013 which suggests that

“previously agreed reduced monthly terms” are in place on this account,

and that you would like to review these in accordance with the lending code.

 

I can confirm that contrary to all of the guidelines and codes issued by the relevant bodies and authorities

that govern you and the way you conduct yourselves, you (or Shop Direct Group/Very)

have failed to assist me in any way during a period of financial difficulty.

 

I am therefore confused as to why you would refer to a previous agreement relating to “reduced monthly terms”.

 

In fact, I have not received replies to any of my previous letters asking for your help

and attempting to agree on realistic reduced monthly terms.

 

As you are acting on this matter you should be in receipt of all correspondence relating to the account from your client.

 

However, this does not seem to be the case.

 

I would draw your attention to the enclosed copies of letters and proofs of receipt.

 

I first wrote a letter on 28th February 2013 stating that I was in financial difficulty

and not able to meet my normal monthly repayments. I offered to make a reduced monthly payment of £50 per month,

and requested that as a reciprocal goodwill gesture any penalty charges would be levied

and interest frozen on the account.

 

I wrote a second letter on 21st March 2013 stating again that I was in financial difficulties.

 

Again, I offered to make a reduced monthly payment of £50 per month which is all I can afford.

 

I specifically requested that Very write back to me within 14 days in order to maintain an accurate

written record of communications.

 

I did not receive a response to either of these letters.

 

As both of my letters were ignored and no assistance was given, and as detailed in both letters,

I had no alternative but to reduce my offer to £1 per calendar month for the rest of the life of the account,

as there is no realistic way for me to reduce the balance owing on the account.

 

I can confirm that in accordance with the lending code, both of my other main creditors,

Barclaycard and Creation, have been willing to accept payment plans of £30 and £10 respectively with interest rates virtually frozen.

 

I have enclosed copies of the agreements with these companies, and also a copy of my current

income and expenditure details.

 

I respectfully request that you re-consider my offer to make a reduced monthly payment of £50 per month,

and that as a reciprocal goodwill gesture you refrain from levying any penalty charges & freeze any interest on my account.

 

This will give me realistic way to reduce the balance owing on the account.

 

I also request that any penalty charges imposed since 28th February 2013,

when I first wrote to you asking for help, are removed immediately, along with any interest charges.

 

If you are not able to assist me, or chose not to reply to this letter,

I shall have no alternative but to continue to pay £1 per calendar month for the rest of the life of the account,

as your actions would do nothing to help me and there is no realistic way for me to reduce the balance owing on the account.

 

I have been advised to communicate with you in writing only,

in order that an accurate record of proceedings is maintained.

 

I am making every effort to resolve this situation with you.

 

If you fail to assist me again, or ignore this letter and chose not to respond in writing,

I will have no choice but to report the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service without further delay.

 

I look forward to receiving your written response within 14 days.

Yours faithfully

[renegadeimp]

lets see what they respond with. Normally they say something about "you agreed to our terms, therefore you are legally liable". However they dont say that the majority of their t&c's are unfair and unenforceable in court or in the OFT eyes.

[Wooks001]

I took HSBC to the FOS and complained about them adding interest to the account.

Was told that charging interest for 6 months prior to issuing a default was acceptable.

 

Hope you can get some of yours back but I wouldn't be too hopeful.

[bluespiderman]

I took HSBC to the FOS and complained about them adding interest to the account.

Was told that charging interest for 6 months prior to issuing a default was acceptable.

 

Hope you can get some of yours back but I wouldn't be too hopeful.

 

That's interesting

- we first had a default on Feb 16th or at least a letter titled

"Notice of Default Sums under the Consumer Credit Act 1974".

 

So this means that the FOS point of view is that if your in financial difficulty it's acceptable

for the company to continue to charge interest for 6 months after this point (i assume you meant after and not before?).

 

If that's correct than any interest from around 16th August should be unenforceable

if i were to have sufficient evidence to show that Shop Direct failed to assist ?

 

If that's correct that would be a huge relief as we do want to pay the debt back,

admittedly it will take some time, but whilst Shop Direct continue to add 40% annual interest

we haven't got a hope, at least if they froze the interest

(or if FOS or OFT forced them to) then we'd have light at the end of the tunnel.

 

I've still not had anything back from NCO Europe and it's now nearly a month since they wrote back stating

that they were investigating,

 

I'm tempted to go ahead with complaints to FOS and OFT now as Shop Direct

seem to be failing in many areas regardless of what (or even if) NCO Europe ever come back with.

[Wooks001]

It's my understanding that when a default is issued, interest and charges stop being added to the account.

HSBC acted "fairly" because they stopped adding interest and charges within 6 months of my last payment.

 

Will try and dig out the paperwork and scan exactly what was said.

Edited September 23, 2013 by Wooks001

[renegadeimp]

If they keep adding on interest while youa r ein financial difficulty and they are ignoring your completely, then it is grounds for a formal complaint. If the FOS are being stubborn ( they seem to be skim reading a lot of claims at the lower stages to reduce the backlog they have), then go to the OFT/FCA.

[rebel11]

Also always send the Letter of Complaint to the CEO of the Debt Collection / Creditor, hold them accountable for your treatment.

 

The OFT will log your complaint, but won't intervene on individual cases. I like to send the Debt collector / creditor a copy of the letter the OFT send me.

 

Debt Collection Guidance - Office of Fair Trading

[dx100uk]

that was not a DN but a DSN.

default sums notice, just a letter saying they are going to charge you

 

what are NCO doing with this debt?

 

have SD [very ] sold it?

 

dx

[bluespiderman]

that was not a DN but a DSN.

default sums notice, just a letter saying they are going to charge you

 

what are NCO doing with this debt?

 

have SD [very ] sold it?

 

dx

 

I'm not entirely sure! i sent the letter of complaint to RMA Resolve as SD had written to us to say that RMA were acting, but nothing has been said about NCO until they replied to the letter to RMA so they seem to have sold it on (again?) without confirming to us

[dx100uk]

check your cra file then

 

see below

 

if remember rightly PMA are NCO anyhow

 

dx