simply be problem

[rubyg]

Hello, just a question to ask

 

if it is legal for simply be catalogue to charge extremely high credit charges,

 

i owe them around £2000,

 

thing is my actual amount for items i bought was about £1300, the rest is interest which was slapped on because the items were buy now pay later offer,

the intention being to pay it off before they were due to be added to my account,

this did not happen as hoped due to just not having enough money

 

the bigger problem is

, they are adding extreme amounts of interest each month,

my payments last few times were minimum payment £115

 

, i paid £120, but i have only just examined my statement properly as i thought my balance was not reducing very much and got a proper shock,

 

i pay £120, only £51 actually came off my balance,

there was £69 in credit charge for each of last two month,

 

going back i can see that over half each payment i make is a credit charge, can they legally do this, seems excessive .

[citizenB]

What does it say in the terms and conditions.

[rubyg]

Hello, thanks for you reply,

 

i did read the terms and conditions recently,

but i couldnt make head nor tail of it, had a sore head trying to work it out,

total cost of things i have ordered are around £1400,

the balance on my account says £2115,

minimum payment for last month was £115,

i pay £120 but only £51 comes of the total,

 

all i know is this seems very excessive,

reading the terms and conditions doesnt help me make sense of it, maybe im thicker than i thought.

I have tried to put an extract in here to let you see,

 

This agreement provides an ongoing credit account on the terms set out below and overleaf and has no fixed or minimum duration.

We will determine your credit limit from time to time and will give you notice of the limit in writing.

 

You can drawdown credit by using your account to place orders through or with us to purchase goods and/or services up to your credit limit. Interest rate - 34.1% per annum variable if you pay by Direct Debit and 37.68% per annum variable in all other cases.

 

If you purchase and pay for goods and/or services using your account then pay for them in full before the due date shown on the statement on which the goods and/or services are charged, no interest charge will be debited to your account. However, if you do not pay in full by then,

 

interest accruing from the date of purchase will be charged on the price of the goods and/or services ignoring any part payment you have made

 

. Interest is calculated daily by applying the interest to the outstanding balance on your account and will be debited to your account when a statement is sent to you.

 

Interest is compounded and added to the outstanding balance on your statement due date which gives rise to the higher rate for the APR.

 

We may vary the interest rate (or other provisions of this agreement) giving you at least 21 days written notice, see condition 10.

Example: Total Amount Payable £483.33. APR - 39.9% (variable) if you pay by Direct Debit and £492.46 - APR 44.9% (variable) in all other cases.

These examples and APRs are based on the following statutory assumptions: your credit limit is £400; you order £400 of goods and/or services from us immediately at the start of the agreement, you repay the whole amount (including interest) in 12 equal monthly instalments; the interest rate is not varied; the agreement remains valid for the whole 12 month period; and both of us meet all our obligations under the agreement. The way our agreement works in practice is set out below.

Payments are required every 28 days. We will send you a statement every 28 days specifying the due date for your payment. You must pay at least the minimum payment shown on your statement by the due date. Your minimum payment will initially be 1/12 of the total cash price of goods and/or services ordered using your account or £5, whichever is the greater. Once you are an established customer we may reduce the required payment but it will not be less than 5% of your outstanding balance. If your outstanding balance is less than £5 you must pay the outstanding balance. Your minimum monthly payment will be calculated in the same way whenever you purchase additional goods and/or services or return goods to us or cancel any services ordered. The exact amount of your minimum payment will be shown on your statement.

If you fail to make a payment and we or someone acting for us have to remind you, you will be charged a reasonable administrative fee - currently £12, see condition 6. If we have to take further steps to recover the monies due from you we may also recover the reasonable costs incurred by us or any collection agency we use in taking action to recover it.

 

Missing payments could have severe consequences and make obtaining credit more difficult and could lead to us obtaining a court order (a judgement) against you. This may result in the debt being secured over your house, which may be repossessed.

 

You have the right to withdraw from this agreement without having to give a reason. The right starts on the day after the day the agreement is made (or the date that we confirm your credit limit, if later) and continues for 14 days (the "Withdrawal Period"). To withdraw you must notify us that you intend to do so within the Withdrawal Period. You can do this by telephoning us on 0161 386 2226 or posting notice of your withdrawal to: Account Management Team, Home Shopping Direct, 23 Hunts Bank, Manchester M3 1AX.

 

If you withdraw you will have to repay any credit that you used to purchase goods and/or services from us without delay and no later than 30 days after giving us notice of withdrawal.

[fletch70]

From what i can work out is that these buy now pay later are very dangerous. If you do not pay by the appointed date they will add interest from day1 . So for example if it is a sofa with 2 years interest free credit but you do not clear the balance before the 2 years are up they will add 2 years interest. At often 30% + per annum is can soon add up

[rubyg]

Hello,

i am currently having problems paying an account with simply be,

 

up until last two month i made payments every month,

although i paid £140 per month, only about £50 came off my bill, over £90 was interest,

 

i counted over a period of 6 month i paid £770, only £311 came off my bill rest was interest, but i continued to pay while seething with the greed,

 

I recently spent time in hospital and now i am off work until doc signs me back off,

 

i have been unable to keep paying as i do not get paid when off work, statutory sick pay is my lot and my partner is on low pay,

 

his pay covers the rent , council tax , gas and electric, food bills

 

, just, i told simply be this, offered them £50 a month until i can start earning again

 

, they have sent me a financial statement to fill in and then they will decide what a suitable payment will be,

 

what really gets my goat is all the time ive been paying they have fleeced me out of hundreds in interest, money for nothing,

 

i can only go back so far on statements online, but i am sure if i had details of all purchases,

i have made no purchases since last xmas

, i would have paid them in full if it wasnt for them taking most of the money as interest.

 

what can they do to me if they ask for more money and i cant pay it,

 

i do not know how long it will be till i get back to work,

 

could be couple weeks or couple months, thanks for any advice, this is only debt i have but it is over £2000 because it was buy now pay later purchases last year.

[dx100uk]

Been going on for a few years

 

Pers I'd bet taking control

 

Time for an sar?

[rubyg]

I have copied the SAR request template, what will this do, and if i get the info requested what do i do next, sorry if that is stupid question but all this legal stuff boggles me, i am assuming it is correct for me to send the £50 i have said i would pay , should i fill out the form they sent me about my income and expenditure ? thanks.

[dx100uk]

IMHO no

None of their business

 

The sar is to get the statements

 

Then we'll direct you

[rubyg]

OH right, thanks, i have filled it out, will print and send it tomorrow, i was reading the other post you had about doing a successful SAR, to make sure you sign it, so i will do that when i print it off as i have just typed my name, thanks for your help

[rubyg]

Hello,

update on SAR request,

 

 

i posted this with £10 postal order on 14th Sept,

got a letter this morning with a form to fill in,

 

 

theres a bit in says " I confirm that information provided on this form is full and accurate and that i am the data subject or am acting on their written authority.

 

 

I enclose a cheque for £10 made payable to JD williams & company limited,

i thought that was what the £10 postal order was for that i sent with first letter,

PO lady made postal order for simply be as that was who the letter was addressed to

 

 

would that be wrong and do i need another £10 now,

 

 

also received a letter from them yesterday.final notice,

saying despite our previous letters your simply be account remains in arrears

and we have been unable to agree a solution that suits your current financial situation

 

 

, as you have failed to pay the minimum payment required ,

we will now execute your account through our account recovery process

 

Just noticed this last paragraph -

very last sentence,

We do not hold copies of customer statements , that was reason for the SAR request

, to get all my statements, so will i still fill this in,

 

 

any other way to get access to statements ?

[fletch70]

You do not need to pay another £10 and as for the 'we do not hold copies of customer statements' well I bet if you look in the terms and conditions there is a charge for copy statements. How can they supply those if they do not hold copies

[dx100uk]

ideally the PO / cheque should be left blank

 

 

simply be is a trading name of JDW whom the PO should have been made out too or left blank.

 

 

dx

[rubyg]

Thanks, going to send another £10 PO and leave it blank, it says a cheque for £10, i dont have chequebook, so it will be PO i will specifically ask for statements .