me and welcome

[Voda]

Hi everyone,

 

I first started dealing with Welcome Finance four years ago when I bought a car that they financed for me. I purchased the vehicle from a main dealer and not one of their dealers.

 

I paid off the loan at the end of the three year agreement and all was fine except someone called me a month later and said ' Where is my monthly payment.' I told him that the loan was paid off and he apologised.

 

They also offered me a Personal Loan which I needed and then I topped it up a year later.

 

I was a good customer with no problems repaying the monthly instalments until the Credit Crunch affected me.

 

I have since been taking advice from the National Debtline and Citizens Advice Bureau and have dealt successfully with my other Creditors by supplying them with Bank Statements and other details such as Income & Expenditure.

 

When I first told Welcome of my woes, I had a very nasty man call me but I sorted him and the matter out by dealing direct with their Complaints Department.

 

Since then their staff have been very polite to me as I have been a good customer in the past.

 

I sent WF a list of all my other creditors, an Income and Expenditure form (their own) and my monthly offer.

 

However my pro rata offer is not acceptable to them and they have now told me to contact the debt charity CCCS.

 

See: CCCS - Free Debt Advice from the UK's Leading Debt Charity

 

My other creditors are much larger organsiations than Welcome Finance so I assume that they do not have the staff or facilities to accept lower repayments.

 

I will therefore contact CCCS next week and let them deal with WF on my behalf.

 

However, Welcome Finance did say to me that when CCCS contacts them direct, then they will be able to accept my lower repayment and will 'Freeze all interest and other added charges.' We shall see !!

 

At all times I have kept WF informed of my financial situation by Recorded Delivery letter and have been sending them money each month.

 

They are a strange company to deal with unlike all my other creditors as they never reply to my letters in writing despite my asking them to.

 

The branch always phones me whereas their Complaints Dept wrote back in response to all my letters.

 

I have also noticed that the branches have a large turnover in staff.

 

I will keep you all posted on what happens.

 

Has anyone else had a similar experience with WF?

Edited February 1, 2009 by Voda

[Voda]

Now 11p lowest !!!

 

Their share price has dropped further, to 13p

[Voda]

Evening everyone,

 

I called CCCS during the week and found them exceptionally helpful....

 

My phone appointment took nearly and hour and we went through everything.

 

They then sent to me by e-mail my Up-To-Date Budget, Financial Statement and Creditor List for forwarding to Welcome Finance.

 

They pointed out some expenses that I had forgotten and were not aware to include and therefore my surplus at the end of each month is less than before.

 

The lady at CCCS said " Welcome Finance have in a way shot themselves in the foot " by referring me to their service.

 

However she did point out that it is very important to get professional help in cases like mine as County Courts will accept their advice to clients rather than the creditor's.

 

Also she said that Welcome Finance are also more likely to accept CCCS's opinion of my financial status.

 

Finally, CCCS sent me a template letter to include with my financial details when I send them to WF.

 

I'll let you know how I get on in due course.

 

 

Hi everyone,

 

I first started dealing with Welcome Finance four years ago when I bought a car that they financed for me. I purchased the vehicle from a main dealer and not one of their dealers.

 

I paid off the loan at the end of the three year agreement and all was fine except someone called me a month later and said ' Where is my monthly payment.' I told him that the loan was paid off and he apologised.

 

They also offered me a Personal Loan which I needed and then I topped it up a year later.

 

I was a good customer with no problems repaying the monthly instalments until the Credit Crunch affected me.

 

I have since been taking advice from the National Debtline and Citizens Advice Bureau and have dealt successfully with my other Creditors by supplying them with Bank Statements and other details such as Income & Expenditure.

 

When I first told Welcome of my woes, I had a very nasty man call me but I sorted him and the matter out by dealing direct with their Complaints Department.

 

Since then their staff have been very polite to me as I have been a good customer in the past.

 

I sent WF a list of all my other creditors, an Income and Expenditure form (their own) and my monthly offer.

 

However my pro rata offer is not acceptable to them and they have now told me to contact the debt charity CCCS.

 

See: CCCS - Free Debt Advice from the UK's Leading Debt Charity

 

My other creditors are much larger organsiations than Welcome Finance so I assume that they do not have the staff or facilities to accept lower repayments.

 

I will therefore contact CCCS next week and let them deal with WF on my behalf.

 

However, Welcome Finance did say to me that when CCCS contacts them direct, then they will be able to accept my lower repayment and will 'Freeze all interest and other added charges.' We shall see !!

 

At all times I have kept WF informed of my financial situation by Recorded Delivery letter and have been sending them money each month.

 

They are a strange company to deal with unlike all my other creditors as they never reply to my letters in writing despite my asking them to.

 

The branch always phones me whereas their Complaints Dept wrote back in response to all my letters.

 

I have also noticed that the branches have a large turnover in staff.

 

I will keep you all posted on what happens.

 

Has anyone else had a similar experience with WF?

[Voda]

Hi,

 

Yes I renegotiated my unsecured Personal Loan with Welcome Finance.

 

They reduced the rate of interest after my going to their offices and explaining my financial position.

 

I signed a new agreement but had to extend the repayment time to make the monthly amount more affordable.

 

This was all before my present financial troubles.

 

We've been with welcome for a couple of years now. They've been mostly OK, we pay on time so we never really hear from them. The rates are rubbish but then we knew that when we signed up but we were desperate and we just rushed to get the money/car.

 

We are currently paying £195 a month over 5yrs for the car loan and £75 a month for an unsecured loan of £1100 over 3 years.

As it stands it is becoming more of a problem every month to meet the payments. Has anybody here ever successfully negotiated paying them a lower rate every month? We've not asked them yet, we are a bit concerned we'd lose the car which we really need ATM/

[Dipply75]

Hi Voda, a glad yousem to makng some progress dealing with Welcome. I am just concerned about one thing...when you negotiated lower payments with them due to your financial position, they had you sign a new agreement. In other words getting to into further borrowing when in financial difficulty, they should not have done this.

 

I would check the settlement figure they used to pay off your original loan, rebate amount of any PPI etc. also check if they added a whole new PPI policy with the new agreement - if so, you are paying a lot of money you shouldn't be. I do hope they haven't and its all smooth for you though!

[Voda]

Hi,

 

Thank you for your answer and advice on this matter.

 

I will check into it all.

 

I did not take out PPI with the new agreement.

 

Take care

 

Hi Voda, a glad you seem to making some progress dealing with Welcome. I am just concerned about one thing...when you negotiated lower payments with them due to your financial position, they had you sign a new agreement. In other words getting to into further borrowing when in financial difficulty, they should not have done this.

 

I would check the settlement figure they used to pay off your original loan, rebate amount of any PPI etc. also check if they added a whole new PPI policy with the new agreement - if so, you are paying a lot of money you shouldn't be. I do hope they haven't and its all smooth for you though!

[Voda]

Hi everyone,

 

I sent off my letter to WF together with the CCCS documents by Recorded Delivery and they should have received them by now.

 

I had to go out this afternoon and one of their usual " Please call them " phone messages was left on my answerphone.

 

If they start to harass me all the time after my doing all that has been requested by them then I will simply call the Police as it is a Criminal Offence under the Administration of Justice Act 1970 to harass people in debt.

 

Companies like WF are sore losers when it comes to lending to people who fall into financial difficulties for whatever reason.

 

I don't feel sorry for them one bit because I am sure that their high rates of interest cover against bad loans.

 

Does anyone know if Debt Relief Orders are coming into force this April.

 

See:

 

Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (c. 15)

 

It seems to me that their staff are mostly commissioned based salespeople who have never heard of " The Credit Crunch ".

 

One of their staff who dealt with me some time back left their employ and this person has since become a good friend of mine.

 

This person could not wait to leave WF, now works for the Nationwide Building Society, is a very happy bunny now with excellent career prospects and much better job security.

 

I will call WF but they will have to be very careful with me.

 

 

 

 

Evening everyone,

 

I called CCCS during the week and found them exceptionally helpful....

 

My phone appointment took nearly and hour and we went through everything.

 

They then sent to me by e-mail my Up-To-Date Budget, Financial Statement and Creditor List for forwarding to Welcome Finance.

 

They pointed out some expenses that I had forgotten and were not aware to include and therefore my surplus at the end of each month is less than before.

 

The lady at CCCS said " Welcome Finance have in a way shot themselves in the foot " by referring me to their service.

 

However she did point out that it is very important to get professional help in cases like mine as County Courts will accept their advice to clients rather than the creditor's.

 

Also she said that Welcome Finance are also more likely to accept CCCS's opinion of my financial status.

 

Finally, CCCS sent me a template letter to include with my financial details when I send them to WF.

 

I'll let you know how I get on in due course.

[Dipply75]

Hi Voda, best of luck with them. Let us know how you get on.

 

There is a template letter you could fire off demanding contact in writing and warning of the consequences etc, as you have already stated, will post the link if you want that.

 

[Voda]

Hiya,

 

Many thanks for your good wishes ....

 

Yes please, can you kindly let me have the link to that letter.

 

They will charge me for each letter that they send, of course .....

 

I have said to them in previous correspondence that I am considering charging WF for each of my letters to them ....

 

Take care

 

Voda

 

 

Hi Voda, best of luck with them. Let us know how you get on.

 

There is a template letter you could fire off demanding contact in writing and warning of the consequences etc, as you have already stated, will post the link if you want that.

 

Edited February 11, 2009 by Voda

[jamiethemac]

Best of luck with your issues surrounding WF.

 

Coincidently I received a letter from welcome today confirming my new Direct Debit. Very strange as my loan is less than a year into it's two year agreement and the Direct Debit is for exactly the same amount as I have always paid, to be taken on the same date each month. I have never missed a payment, and this is the first time they have contacted me since the loan was first agreed.

 

Any theories people?

[Voda]

Hi Jamie,

 

Thanks very much.

 

Re your DD notification.

 

Just another example of how inefficient their administration is....

 

Take care

 

Voda

 

Best of luck with your issues surrounding WF.

 

Coincidently I received a letter from welcome today confirming my new Direct Debit. Very strange as my loan is less than a year into it's two year agreement and the Direct Debit is for exactly the same amount as I have always paid, to be taken on the same date each month. I have never missed a payment, and this is the first time they have contacted me since the loan was first agreed.

 

Any theories people?

Edited February 11, 2009 by Voda

[Dipply75]

Hi Voda - apologies for taking so long! There are some very good templates - try these and just amend to suit.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/letter-templates/131334-dca-response-threats-home.html

[Voda]

Hi Dipply75,

 

No probs at all and many thanks for the forum details.

 

I am monitoring the number of calls that WF make to me.

 

They have made one call this week so far and I have decided not to call them back now. I refuse to be possibly subjected to more sales talk.

 

Afterall they have my letter and I asked that they should reply to it in writing which they have not done so far.

 

I have never come across such a "Cowboy" outfit in all my life.

 

Take care

 

Voda

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Voda - apologies for taking so long! There are some very good templates - try these and just amend to suit.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/letter-templates/131334-dca-response-threats-home.html

[Voda]

Hi shazzyp,

 

Sounds a familiar tale.....

 

I have just had another phone call from these "Cowboys" asking to speak to me.

 

I said " What do you want and have you received my letter ".

 

They said no " It's not on the system " and I said that it was sent Recorded Delivery last Monday.

 

I said that is twice you have called me this week and if you call me again, I will be calling the Police.

 

They said that they would inform the Branch Manager and stop calling me.

 

I said " Reply to my letter in writing once you have received it, OK " and put the phone down.

 

I am now going to call their CRC Complaints office in Hessle, East Yorshire once again and tell them exactly what I think of their company in no uncertain terms.

 

Oh yes, the person who called me just now sounded like a total idiot.

 

God help us consumers that have to suffer at the hands of companies like this that are more or less licenced loan sharks.

 

This is going around the internet at present:

 

Dear Sirs, (TO THE BANKS)

 

In view of what is happening in the banking industry right now, I was

wondering if you could advise me:

 

If one of my cheques is returned, and marked "insufficient funds," how do

I know whether that refers to me or to you?*

 

 

 

 

All of us to a greater or lesser extent have been guilty of probably borrowing/spending too much over the last 10 years but largely encouraged to do so by greedy banks and money lenders.

 

It's early February and the financial crisis is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

 

Voda

 

 

 

 

Hi new to this site and really interested in what everyone is saying about this company. Hubby got a car loan from welcome car finance and we had no problems until last month. I had to cancel the direct debit last year as I had been the victim of an internet [problem] which meant having to change bank details. I rang every month and made the payments with my card. I asked them for another debit mandate and completed and sent this back. They set this up but did not give me a payment date and could not help when I rang them tof ind out, so I cancelled the mandate and made payments using their telephone payment service. I got a letter from them last week to say they had charged me £20 for cancelling the debit mandate and also 2 charges of £10 each for letters they sent which I did not receive. I wrote back to them to request how they can justify cahrging for ME cancelling the mandate and to let them know the payments were being made through their other service. I am still waiting to hear back from them and will let you know what happens when I do

[Voda]

Hi everyone,

 

Just a quick update.

 

I had a call from the person dealing with my account and he said that he would contact CCCS about me.

 

In my letter to them, in which I enclosed all my financial details that CCCS prepared on my behalf, I requested that I have written acceptance of my monthly offer as well as confirmation of the freezing of any interest and other charges being added to my account.

 

I just phoned CCCS and they said that they will not disclose or even discuss any more information about me to Welcome Finance under the Data Protection Act.

 

I said that it seems that WF want me to enter into a DMP ( Debt Management Plan ) and they said that they cannot force me into one.

 

All that they can now do is pass on my debt to a Debt Collection Agency or take me to court.

 

Either way that is fine by me as I have done everything requsted by WF and still they have not got the courtesy to acknowledge any of my letters in writing.

 

They really are an awful organisation to deal with and they deserve to go " Down the Pan ".

 

As they say " You cannot get blood out of a stone "

 

I await to see what happens with great interest.

 

If they call me, I will just ignore them.

 

Have a great weekend.

 

PS. When I called my local Citizens Advice Bureau about them a few months ago, the lady said " Oh dear NOT Welcome Finance "....

 

Hi shazzyp,

 

Sounds a familiar tale.....

 

I have just had another phone call from these "Cowboys" asking to speak to me.

 

I said " What do you want and have you received my letter ".

 

They said no " It's not on the system " and I said that it was sent Recorded Delivery last Monday.

 

I said that is twice you have called me this week and if you call me again, I will be calling the Police.

 

They said that they would inform the Branch Manager and stop calling me.

 

I said " Reply to my letter in writing once you have received it, OK " and put the phone down.

 

I am now going to call their CRC Complaints office in Hessle, East Yorshire once again and tell them exactly what I think of their company in no uncertain terms.

 

Oh yes, the person who called me just now sounded like a total idiot.

 

God help us consumers that have to suffer at the hands of companies like this that are more or less licenced loan sharks.

 

This is going around the internet at present:

 

Dear Sirs, (TO THE BANKS)

 

In view of what is happening in the banking industry right now, I was

wondering if you could advise me:

 

If one of my cheques is returned, and marked "insufficient funds," how do

I know whether that refers to me or to you?*

 

 

 

 

All of us to a greater or lesser extent have been guilty of probably borrowing/spending too much over the last 10 years but largely encouraged to do so by greedy banks and money lenders.

 

It's early February and the financial crisis is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

 

Voda

Edited February 20, 2009 by Voda

[Voda]

Hi everyone,

 

I am not going to defend Welcome Finance ( Cattles ) as I owe them money which I am very unlikely to repay unless I win the lottery.

 

Having said that they lent me money for a car which I did repay over 3 years.

 

At the time, I could not get a loan from any other company as my credit history was poor.

 

I started to rebuild my credit history with WF but the Credit Crunch defeated me and now I have gone backwards.

 

As I see, it unless subprime lenders are allowed to remain then poor people or people with bad credit histories will not be able to borrow money in the future.

 

By necessity, sub prime lenders have to charge higher rates of interest simply because of the greater risk of defaulters.

 

Would you lend money at a low rate of interest to someone who is more likely to be unable to repay? No, of course not !!

 

However I would like to see much tougher regulation and control of subprime lenders and in future they should all behave responsibily to their debtors and within the law.

 

Welcome Finance have proved to be a very irresponsible company in terms of their administration and doubtful practices by their staff.

 

With Gordon Brown now saying that the days of 100% mortages should be over, as I see it, we are going to return to much tougher times when people either have to save or go without.

 

The rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer, I feel.

 

Not exactly a Socialist democracy is it?

 

PS. There again New Labour has been more Tory than the Tories !!

Edited February 22, 2009 by Voda
PS

[andie_303]

Hi everyone,

 

I am not going to defend Welcome Finance ( Cattles ) as I owe them money which I am very unlikely to repay unless I win the lottery.

 

Having said that they lent me money for a car which I did repay over 3 years.

 

At the time, I could not get a loan from any other company as my credit history was poor.

 

I started to rebuild my credit history with WF but the Credit Crunch defeated me and now I have gone backwards.

 

As I see, it unless subprime lenders are allowed to remain then poor people or people with bad credit histories will not be able to borrow money in the future.

 

By necessity, sub prime lenders have to charge higher rates of interest simply because of the greater risk of defaulters.

 

Would you lend money at a low rate of interest to someone who is more likely to be unable to repay? No, of course not !!

 

However I would like to see much tougher regulation and control of subprime lenders and in future they should all behave responsibily to their debtors and within the law.

 

Welcome Finance have proved to be a very irresponsible company in terms of their administration and doubtful practices by their staff.

 

With Gordon Brown now saying that the days of 100% mortages should be over, as I see it, we are going to return to much tougher times when people either have to save or go without.

 

The rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer, I feel.

 

Not exactly a Socialist democracy is it?

 

PS. There again New Labour has been more Tory than the Tories !!

 

 

That is all well and good but then these sub prime lenders that are helping the poorest get money aren't charging a higher rate interest to protect against any losses they are charging extortinate rates and taking advantage of those that can least afford it.

 

I appreciate they have to charge higher but in my case I have never missed a payment with WF I have paid every month without fail and when I try and claim back money for a PPI that was GENUINELY mis-sold I get treated like dirt and threatened with the rest of my loan being called in when they are aware what that would do.

 

I'm sorry but there is no defending of this company or their practices they hound people to breaking point.

[Voda]

Hi Andie,

 

I have never known a company in the finance industry that behaves so badly.

 

Companies like WH certainly do pray on the poorer members of the public.

 

They are the closest you can get to loansharks.

 

When I visited their offices, I was shocked at the state of their office and when I went to the toilet, there was no soap or toilet paper.

 

I don't know how their staff can work there and during my half a dozen visits to this office, the manager had left and many of the staff too.

 

I found visiting this place simply depressing and no wonder they have such a high turnover in staff.

 

I have given up communicating with their Head Ofice in Hessle as they are no better than their branches.

 

 

 

 

That is all well and good but then these sub prime lenders that are helping the poorest get money aren't charging a higher rate interest to protect against any losses they are charging extortinate rates and taking advantage of those that can least afford it.

 

I appreciate they have to charge higher but in my case I have never missed a payment with WF I have paid every month without fail and when I try and claim back money for a PPI that was GENUINELY mis-sold I get treated like dirt and threatened with the rest of my loan being called in when they are aware what that would do.

 

I'm sorry but there is no defending of this company or their practices they hound people to breaking point.

[Voda]

Hi everyone,

 

I received another phone call from some other idiot at Welcome Finance today.

 

He caught me at a bad time and I am afraid that I swore at him.

 

This is out of character for me.

 

I have had enough with this pathetic company and some of it's staff that are complete prats.

 

I said to him, I am dealing with this matter already with one of your colleagues and you know my exact financial position but your colleague will not respond to any of my letters in writing.

 

I then phoned Hessle and spoke to a guy at their CRC (Customer Relations Centre) Complaints Dept.

 

I told him that all times I have kept your company informed by letter (Recorded Delivery) and have sent you money every month.

 

So he has logged my official complaint against the person dealing with my account and the fact that I am still getting phone calls from other WF staff who seem to know nothing of my current dealings with this person.

 

CRC Complaints said that they will come back to me within 48 hours.

 

Oh yes, this character who phoned me today wanted to know my CCCS reference number and I said " That is confidential between me and CCCS". I reminded him of the Data Protection Act but this numbskill probably has not even heard of it ..... and CCCS said that I must not give WF my reference number.

 

I am at the end of my tether with WF and all I hope is that whoever takes them over is better than they are at dealing with customers.

 

PS. I have also been getting letters from a company called Mackenzie Hall over the last 9 months regarding a "Time Expired/Statute Barred" small debt. I have simply ignored them. Today somebody called me from their Scottish office and I said " I have no debts " (which is true as far as they are concerned) and put the phone down.

 

This firm's bad reputation also proceeds them.

 

This government must legislate against parasites like MH and sort out the whole finance industry a.s.a.p

 

 

Hi Andie,

 

I have never known a company in the finance industry that behaves so badly.

 

Companies like WH certainly do pray on the poorer members of the public.

 

They are the closest you can get to loansharks.

 

When I visited their offices, I was shocked at the state of their office and when I went to the toilet, there was no soap or toilet paper.

 

I don't know how their staff can work there and during my half a dozen visits to this office, the manager had left and many of the staff too.

 

I found visiting this place simply depressing and no wonder they have such a high turnover in staff.

 

I have given up communicating with their Head Ofice in Hessle as they are no better than their branches.

Edited February 24, 2009 by Voda
PS

[Voda]

Aha !!!

 

That's why their Customer Relations Centre has not responded to my complaints last week.

 

 

 

Hi all

 

I have been informed Today that Welcome Finance has "ceased trading"...

 

It is not a rumour as far as i can see, as the news came first hand from someone i know, who is going through an application with 'em at the moment.

 

R

[Voda]

Hence all the harassing phone calls.

 

Mind you they have met their match with me as I play it totally straight down the line with the help of the CAB, National Debt Helpline & CCCS.

 

PS. I don't think that Welcome Finance understand that we are at the beginning of a worldwide recession and people that they have lent to are some of the most vulnerable in society in terms of job security etc.

 

 

 

Hi,

 

I have been following Welcome/Cattles very closely for the past few months, I am about to pounce with my claim.

 

They are trading, well shares are being traded on the markets.

They need to raise something like £500mil for roll over debts with the banks. So they have stopped lending out to new customers and MAY service/lend to existing customers only.

 

The staff have been instructed to get money back into the company and get people paying. They could have upto £300mil impairment provision for PPI etc etc. So they need to get money IN as quickly as possible and not lending out.

 

They stopped lending out to new customers recently but cut all lending back by 95% a few weeks ago.

 

Stewie

Edited March 2, 2009 by Voda
PS

[Voda]

Today I wrote to Welcome Finance by Recorded Delivery.

 

All the time I have kept them informed of my financial situation.

 

This is the gist of my letter:

 

Oh yes, they tried to call me again today and I refuse to be harassed any further.

 

Naturally I did not answer the phone as I have caller display.

 

 

 

 

Dear Mr xxxx

 

I enclose my cheque for £xx.xx re February 2009.

 

To date, I have not received any replies to my letters to you asking your organisation to freeze any interest or other charges being added.

 

I have contacted all my other creditors and they have duly frozen interest and other charges in order that my indebtedness to them is being reduced.

 

It is normal business courtesy to reply to customer letters especially if requested to do so in writing.

 

What makes Welcome Finance so important and special that it does not feel that it has to behave in a mature and responsible manner.

 

I request an immediate reply to all my recent letters.

 

Yours faithfully

Edited March 5, 2009 by Voda

[Voda]

I was accused by one of the cowboys in the branch of " Committing Fraud ".

The sooner that this awful company goes the better along with it's staff who obviously have no knowledge of the law or finance industry rules.

Edited March 7, 2009 by Voda
Grammar

[Voda]

Aha, I have just been checking my Personal Loan Statement and the £75.00 Acceptance Fee has also been added to the total amount of credit detailed on the original Loan Agreement.

 

This statement says Amount of Credit Provided so it looks as if Welcome have messed up with me too.

 

It says on the statement " Interest will be calculated at the Rate of Interest on the daily balance outstanding of the Total Amont of Credit and the Acceptance Fee. It will be paid as part of your Monthly Payments".

 

 

 

And finally, upon reading up on first early settlement statement docs... I just realised that although in my agreement the Acceptance Fee is listed separately from the total charge for credit as it should be, on the statement supplied it is shown as added to initial ‘total amount of credit’ to make the higher amount, which interest is then calculated on. I learnt this might render the contract the contract unenforeceable, how true is it? (s.61 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and has been proved in court through Wilson V First County Trust)???

 

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

I am writing to you with regard to the above account. I have come across what I believe and can prove to be a breach of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 hence rendering the above account unenforceable.

 

I have discovered from your companies paperwork that whilst my agreement shows an acceptance fee of £75 that is calculated into the overall loan total your company has failed to disclose on this document that the £75 has had an interest rate applied. This contravenes s.61 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and has been proved in court through Wilson V First County Trust.

 

I would also say that I feel your company has deliberately mislead their representations as the acceptance fee is clearly shown as a separate figure on the credit agreement I will be referring this matter to the Financial Services Authority as I deem this to be a direct attempt to mislead the customer.

 

Therefore as this account is now unenforceable I will be canceling my future direct debits to your company with immediate effect and request a refund of all payments made to your company before this date.

 

Furthermore, despite sending you a formal Subject Access Request on the 05.02.09, I still have not have received the necessary documents.

 

I would like to remind you that the 40 days for supplying information after our Subject Access Request ends on the 17.03.09.

 

In addition, if you fail to meet your obligation under the act a report will be sent to the information commissioner and you will face investigation.

 

Furthermore, I am sure you are now aware due to the sheer amount of these letters you receive plus the massive media attention, that every time you receive one of these letters it will be followed up by a request for a full refund of any disproportionate penalty charges and associated charges, this will give you 14 days to do so before court action. Please note if I have to take court action to reclaim these charges then I will do so. Therefore, to save yourselves some time and money, if you could just refund all these charges dating back six years immediately you will not incur the court fees or your solicitors fees and the 8% interest I am entitled to claim.As this account is now in dispute you may not demand any payment on the account, nor am I obliged to offer any payment. You may not add further interest or charges to the above account nor are you to pass this account to a third party.Lastly you may not register any information in respect of this account with a credit reference agency nor are you allowed to issue a default with regards to this account.

 

If my request is not complied with within 14 days I will have no further option to file this matter in the courts.

 

I expect a swift response to this matter

 

Yours Faithfully

Edited March 7, 2009 by Voda

[Voda]

Hi everyone,

 

I have just been in touch by phone with the debt charity CCCS that have been helping me all the way along concerning this matter and they said that I should write a letter of complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service about Welcome Finance.

 

They also asked if anyone on this forum have had any luck with WF in terms of receiving back any money or getting the agreement made void.

 

I said that I have not yet seen a forum member have any success in this regard.

 

As I see it now, it's pointless writing to Welcome Finance any longer especially in view of their current situation and let the FOS deal with my complaint.

 

 

 

 

Aha, I have just been checking my Personal Loan Statement and the £75.00 Acceptance Fee has also been added to the total amount of credit detailed on the original Loan Agreement.

 

This statement says Amount of Credit Provided so it looks as if Welcome have messed up with me too.

 

It says on the statement " Interest will be calculated at the Rate of Interest on the daily balance outstanding of the Total Amont of Credit and the Acceptance Fee. It will be paid as part of your Monthly Payments".