Welcome Finance - This company needs to be banned.

[Dipply75]

Chancer1 is so right - go right to the regulators, and tell them you are doing it.

 

Welcome can make this insurance thing like swimming through a swamp - thing is, they are only a broker who would have sold the insurance on behalf of someone. Apparently they are a member of the Finance and Leasing Assoc and subscribe to their codes of practice, which states - when you take out a policy we will tell you who the insurer is.

 

I would be willing to bet you lots n lots that you were actually covered. Your insurance premium is usually paid upfront, so you insurance is fully paid up - I cannot see how an agreed drop in your monthly LOAN payment could affect this.

 

Really upset them - ask them who your insurer is and you want a copy of the policy - inc. t&C's to check them. Advise them you will be complaining to the insurer directly for their behaviour.

 

Best of luck

[Dipply75]

Mr Middie - your attitude [edited] one that most Welcome staff seem to have.

 

1 - I did not borrow money at a high street rate - my overdraft exploded with ridiculous charges when my employer tried to avoid paying me properly and the HMRC made a catalogue of mistakes - bank defaulted me.

 

2 - Certainly wasnt able or willing to pay over £1500 in charges to a bank who made me believe I had no rights because I was in debt

 

3 - instead of saving I borrowed more money - No again - with HMRC still messing me about, saving impossible - actually borrowed to continue paying childcare so I could still work and PAY MY BILLS.

 

4 - Yes, because the bank defaulted me, just because they could.

 

5 - Yes they offered finance - they seen desperation and took full advantage. I could afford the repayments (and never missed one) - and no, I couldnt walk away, I was fighting to keep my job and they knew this.

 

6 - I did pay them back, including the missold PPI, their nonsense charges and other breaches of LAW that cost me, which they only attempted as they knew I WOULDNT know it was wrong - why just assume we have all borrowed and ran?

 

7 - damn right - I never missed a payment and they still marked my file with late payments so I would have to go back to them again.

 

No brainer that most customers COULD have defaults - Welcome are a non status lender. But you, holier than thou, automatically assume we all just stopped paying - WRONG - we are normal folk that hit hard times and had to approach companies like Welcome.....who seen us coming and made a fortune out of conning us as they knew joe bloggs had very limited knowledge about the laws and regs involved. We are not moaning, we are realising we have been ripped off and are doing something about it.

 

Having debts is not a crime and you have no right to judge people purely on that basis. Debts can happen for many reasons, not just borrowing and running.

 

I sincerely hope your life runs smoothly as I think if problems hit you and pushed you into a such a position, it would hit someone with such an judgemental attitude very hard indeed.

 

Apologies if I went on a bit, but being judged and looked down on by people when in debt is one of the reasons folk hide it and let it get worse, they need to know that kind of tosh is damaging

Edited July 16, 2008 by jonni2bad

[chancer1]

WOW - 110% agree Dipply....

 

Very well put!

[Dipply75]

thankyou (blushing), if only I could do that in everyday life

[lala100]

I worked within the sub prime market for almost 2 1/2 years before the credit crunch set in - I understand and agree with pricing for the risk of any borrower but NOT to the extent of 60% + - this is absolutely extortionate and I was horrified when I found out that some companies charges this. I feel these companies are the type to target people who probably do not understand the implications of the loan. Also their 're-finance' option that I am aware of is even worse - paying off 1 loan with another one can only mean paying double interest. I feel loans like this should only be taken out in absolute desperate measures i.e. borrow or starve to death, not for the yearly holiday or a new flash car!!! Most responsible sub prime lenders have proper underwriting proceedures in place and DO NOT lend to people who cannot afford to pay it back for the simple reason that it is not in the customers best interest. Now I have lost my job I have cut back drastically, total rubbish but it won't be forever!!! Not into the buy now pay a lot more later strategy. try typing

moneysupermarket into google - finds a variety of loans for any credit rating from excellent to poor!!! At least this shows people the options without then having companies mither you on the phone!!!

Edited July 16, 2008 by lala100
additonal info

[coogi72]

I had a loan with this lender.

I borrowed 12,000 over 15 years. paid it for 3 years and settlled for 17,000 how i managed this im not quite sure. I recently asked for a SAR. they complied and i looked at the info. Turns out they had hit me for a £1800 penalty charge £1400.00 disbursall fee. None of these were mentioned when i took the loan out,I intend to claim these back. If anyone has advice or similar experiences please help. :grin:

[Dizzy_Lizzy]

I took out a HP Agreement with then in April 2006 which was arranged through a local car dealer. This went well however I was contacted by them in January of this year to upgrade my car. Naively I did so.

 

In February myself and my partner separated which caused a massive problem with my financial situation so in March I contacted Welcome and asked if I could terminate the agreement, they told me I could but would be liable for the costs agreed to in my contract, they also said that I would have to but my request in writing which I did.

 

By April they had still not contacted me regarding uplifting the vehicle, I contacted them and was told that my letter was not received so I sent it again this time by fax to the person that I spoke to on the telephone, I was told that I would be contacted soon.

 

By June I had still not been contacted to arrange the uplifting of the vehicle.

 

On the 24th June I was contacted by the Walsall branch of Welcome Finance to arrange a repayment scheme for the arrears of my HP and also a loan agreement I am currently signed in to with them, I informed the lady that I was still waiting for someone to contact me with regards to uplifting the vehicle she then gave me the telephone number to the inspection desk to arrange for the RAC to inspect.

 

On 24th June PM I was contacted by another branch of welcome finance in Lancashire I think, requesting that I arrange a repayment schedule with them or risk being taken to court, I informed the gentleman of my conversation with the Walsall branch and he said it was ok for me to carry on my business with this lady.

 

I agreed with the lady from the Walsall branch that I could pay back £150 per month which was all I could afford she informed me that she would have to come back to me after speaking with her manager as that was not enough per month.

 

Please also note that they still have not sent my settlement figures for both accounts as requested.

 

I contacted the inspection desk and arranged for the RAC to come to my property the following week to inspect my car, this was carried out and I was given a copy of the report and was told another copy would be generated and sent to welcome.

 

2 weeks later I still had not heard from the Walsall branch, I tried to contact the lady I had previously spoken to on a few occasions left messages and didn’t get call back.

 

I was then contacted by a gentleman at the Tamworth branch, insisting that I pay my arrears and get up to date on the accounts, I informed him that I was dealing with the Walsall branch and that I had the inspection of the vehicle carried out and I was waiting for them to come back to me with regards to uplifting the vehicle. He had no information about this at all.

 

Since then I have dealt with Manesh at the Tamworth branch (who refuses to give me his surname as does every other person I have spoken to at welcome.)

 

He assured me that he would get the vehicle uplifted, which he has not done. I have been contacted again today by Manesh suggesting that “the voluntary termination desk have tried to contact me” which they haven’t.

 

I took the number from him to contact them directly and got to speak to a man called Liam (who again refused to give me his surname) Liam said that I would have to arrange yet another RAC inspection to get the vehicle uplifted as Welcome Car Finance have no record of having this done, This was carried out a month ago. I tried to explain to Liam that this had been done and that I was not prepared to take more time off work unnecessarily.

 

I then contacted Manesh again at the Tamworth branch of welcome to ask why they claimed that no inspection from the RAC had been done, he contacted the voluntary termination desk on behalf of me, the branch manager Zoe (again no surname) confessed to Manesh they have lost this document and can not uplift the vehicle without it. They have requested that I fax over my copy and they will then arrange to have the car uplifted.

 

I understand that my letter is quite long winded but hope you can appreciate the trauma I have experienced simply trying to return a car that I can not afford to run let alone pay for, they require once I have sent the car back £6,119.98 & also £390.00 for scratches found from the RAC inspection.

 

The vehicle has been sat outside my house since March 4 months I have tried and tried to resolve this matter and am still no further forward, the car now does not have tax either so I am having to keep it on my drive (yet more inconvenience!)

[Us versus Debt]

you might want to visit carcreditcomplaints.com They Know Welcome very well!

[simplyplaythem]

I've worked out a good way to play welcome when purchasing. Firstly you have to accept that your at welcome because your credit isn't grade A. Secondly you have to remember your in charge.

The psychology of welcome is to put themselves in control, they do this from the moment they fix an "appointment" time. WTF?

Next they won't display the full price on the car, this is because your negotiating by payment. If you look at the list on the wall, hidden away, that they HAVE to display, the cars are way overpriced.

A girl next to me was chuckling at one point listening to me. Afterwards she said, she had taken a month haggling with them and finally they came down to her ideal payment for the car SHE wanted.

That's the other thing about them, they want to put you in cars they want. Keep saying no until your happy.

Now this is the important thing, double the monthly payment you really want to make, you want 150, tell them 300 is your ideal. Then you find your ideal car (don't be silly and go for something you know you can't afford, know the prices of cars, check autotrader b4!!), then you need to keep telling them no on the monthly repayment. Do not go to welcome in desperate need, you need to walk away, remember the girl who had been working them for a month? I shaved £120 off my payment within 40 minutes, the cost of the overprice car dropped a fair bit! Then I walked, boy was she (sales) p1ssy about that I'm 120% sure she'll call me monday, she doesn't know it yet, but she needs to drop the payments buy another £25 a month.

 

The whole experience is horrid, but you MUST be prepared to say NO and leave or you might as well ask them to kiss you afterwards. I always like being kissed while being f*cked And that's what they'll do, you'll wind up with a car in negative equity the moment you sign (something worth thousands less than your paying for, you can't sell it basically).

 

Good luck, be firm, don't be desperate and make sure to remember your the customer. The free coffee's cr@p too.

[WFSSales]

Hello, I work in sales at WFS...they're a fantastic company to work for, but I'm guessing most of you don't care about our free vending machines and fresh deli sandwiches and you want my opinions of the so-called "misselling" of PPI, our "extortionate" APRs, and our utterly unreasonable demands to ask for the money we lent you back as per the legal document you signed with your own free will.

 

I'll start by saying that I personally wouldn't touch a WFS loan with a barge pole...but why would I need to? I'm not some muppet who has 10's of 1000s of punds worth of defaulted debt and CCJs...I just talk to such people. I earn and I save, and I don't borrow. Maybe I'll get a mortgage one day, and you can be damn sure with my spotless credit file that I'll be shopping around for the best rates in the prime market.

 

Far be it for me however to deny my employers their marketplace, and they pay me well with handsome bonuses for compliant sales of PPI, life insurance, accident insurence and home emergency insurance. Did you spot that c-word? Yes compliant.

 

In the script that we work off, a number of give away phrases are used. To start with we make it clear at the start of the call (where we witter on about the agenda) that we fully intend to offer you insurences if we establish you qualify for them. We then ask a bizarre series of questions (are you in the army, are you self-employed, do you have any next of kin) especially designed to ensure that according to the answers you give, that FSA rules on selling insurences is obeyed to the very letter of the law.

 

Next when we come to the big push for insurences, the words "of course the insurences are optional" is printed in extra bold type and we are trained to emphsise this statement, so at the end of it nobody can be in any doubt that the customer has taken it (the quote with insurance) of their own free will. Incidently the calls are really ALL recorded so it would be very easy to prove if we missold or not, in case conspiracy theorists are about to angle that we don't do what we're told. We live under constant fear of being monitored by the quality section.

 

If that were not enough, the whole shebang of info is sent for your perusal...remember we only quote...you do the whole paperchase, signing, and dreaming of what you'll do with the cash. We look at your file. We ask you what your existing credit is. We don't judge you for having a piece of sh!t credit rating. We certainly don't quote you if your outgoings are more than your incomings...the decline button is our friend in such cases.

 

I personally think you'd have to be insane to take APRs of upto 80% (and yes I sold such a rate today with PPI), but people are snapping them up like there's no tomorrow. Put it this way. There are 80 (yes 8-0) sales people on our floor, who are on the phone from dawn til dusk, and still the recruitment drive goes on...we get insane amounts of calls every single day and insane amounts of loans with PPI are given and paid out. The Crunch is also our friend.

 

We are not forcing people to take these rates, nor are we forcing people to take the frankly quite ridiculous PPI..indeed if they ask us (for the 3rd time at least) to take the PPI off we do so with the utmost courtesy, and it is never even hinted that the quote is indanger of being declined if they don't want it. It p!sses my bonus up but thats FSA rules for you...

 

Finally, I'm not sure how far people are not getting the concept of legal agreements, but my hard and fast rule is, if you don't like them don't sign them, and if you do make sure you stick to them. Whining that it's not fair that you have to pay back your loan is just pathetic....I see some ridiculous credit files daily with folks owing thousands, but still wanting more. They often have great jobs, but instead of saving money they p!ss it all up the wall on crappy interest payments...but fok me if that's not their choice.

 

I hope I've been frank with you on this. I like having a job, and this is certainly better than flipping burgers or emptying wheelie bins, and it's definitley better than being dolescum. I like welcome, they give me money...but the difference is that I don't have to give it all back to them and then some.

[Dipply75]

Hi WFSsales, let me respond briefly to your slightly overly annoyed ravings:

 

Shocking surprise to have another welcome employee that thinks they can look down their nose and throw abuse at people purely as they have not lived exactly like you

 

Manners are free....and you can't even afford them

 

Of course the recorded calls are compliant....try reading what goes on in the branches where it is all one to one with no witnesses

 

And don't you realise, for someone so self righteous, that time and effort you put into that long rant and rave could have been spent actually helping someone

 

This thread is for folk who either need help or want to help. I agree you need help but not the kind offered on here

[bobbyh99]

I like welcome, they give me money...but the difference is that I don't have to give it all back to them and then some.

 

The more people successfully claiming back extortionate charges and PPI (and there are quite a few), the more I like Welome too. These people too don't have to pay the money back either, they even get the added bonus on knowning that all of these reclaims are probably p...ing up your bonus!!!

[Dipply75]

[fergal71]

hi mr welcome congratulations on having a job well done... I am glad you can sleep at night without worry... I am also sure many of the bankers where saying much the same last few years.... let us see your postings 12 months from now after the oft have investigated your business and you have been slapped with heavy fines like so many others. Let us see if you are not flipping burgers then.

nothing against flipping burgers, i am sure it is much more rewarding ...

 

good luck

[baz300]

welcome are a joke!

 

i took out a loan from them in march this year and fell into difficuilty for making the payments

 

i contacted them to explain the situation and was told someone would be in touch to help me manage my account

 

no one got in touch so i had no option but to cancell the direct debit

 

i then recieved phone calls from them about missing payments but were all recieved while i was at work! i asked them to call me back at a suitable time( told them when my breaks were and when i finished) i tried calling them but was told the person dealing with my account was busy and would call me back

 

he then spoke to my mother on the phone telling her that i was in debt and was missing payments and that they will soon be visiting HER house to start repossesing goods!

 

i finally spoke to a manager and agreed a new payment plan but they keep trying to increase the payments that they know i cant afford

[Dipply75]

Hi Baz300, welcome to CAG . Hope we can help you with these muppets.

 

First thing is to put a big complaint about their breach of the Data Protection Act. Secondly, do you have any of their insurances with the loan?

 

Without trying to be too nosey can you give some details, like:

 

Did you choose to have the insurances and what ones do you have (PPI, healthcare etc) and what kind of difficulties were you having?

 

We may be able to help with those too, claim on any insurances or if you were missold, maybe claim back the cost.

 

Don't let the buggers get you down....we've all been there

[WFSSales]

Oh they're very careful not to missell...since June they've got all new employees on a 6 weeks compliance camp...we're FSA water-tight right now.

 

Some VERY intelligent people run this gaff, and they stick to the very letter of the law. One of the directors is responsible for compliance, and they monitor us like hawks for the slightest chance that we missell.

 

It's a very clever script.

 

I sleep very well at night on that basis. Remember, we only quote. The punters accept those quotes by their own free wills often signing credit agreements with clearly stated 80% aprs, and PPI's worth half of the loan amount itself. Bonkers? I'd say so....but there's the freewheeling "gimme now" society for you, coupled with the objection handling skills of salespeople. Tis merely a sad reflection of our sick credit obsessed society. Still we all have mouths to feed eh?

[Dipply75]

and in the branches where it's not all recorded, one to one with no-one to check what the salespeople are telling folk?

 

If you could give the name of the director responsible for compliance it would be a great help - his name would be publicly listed anyway - but to know he deals with that side of it, as there are MAJOR complaince issues at one branch he needs to know about.

 

If he doesn't already know, then there are other serious non-compliances going on too!

[bobbyh99]

Given the number of people claiming for misselling etc, clearly the people that run this Gaff aren't that intelligent.

[082stewie]

So what happened to all those thousands of people who were conned previously to June and the mis-informed staff and customers? Not your fault I guess, should have read the small print I guess, not my problem I guess....I’m certain you sleep well at night!

 

Intelligence is your opinion. My cat was intelligent and so are my gold fish. I would prefer some very QUALIFIED people run this gaff over intelligence any day.

 

I compliment your passion, but you should try and be at least a little bit more factual regarding your company. Why not try and answer some of the questions posted instead of back-peddling that Welcome are famous for.

 

Flipping burgers and pushing wheelie bins around requires some form of drive and intelligence. I would consider reading off a script is pretty much brain numbing but well suited to your chosen career path!

 

Remember this, the people you are slagging are the ones who will bring welcome to its knees, never under estimate the power of numbers thats if you could count to more than 10. Enjoy the salary and the bonuses you are getting. I am certain they will be short lived..You would be fortunate to flip bugers some day, just remember not to include Welcome finance on your CV.

 

Stewie

[mojo8]

just thought i would read through this post as i have just posted my thread and i find that childish littel rant unbelivable and typical of the kind of people they employ, i find it strange though that if its that busy why a friend of ours has just been made redundant from there sales force and and they are currnently not putting vehicle finance into dealerships, obviously doing well... not. there day will come, what goes around comes around.

[naughtykitten]

Wow, this whole thread is bizarre!

 

Not sure how it went from an innocent request for help regarding a son's loan -which my advice on would be that requesting a settlement figure is usually unproductive & that you would tend to have better response if you give an offer of settlement figure, backed up by income & expenditure evidence or they will just reject it...but since that first post was amazingly in August 2007 I'm sure that case is well on it's way to being resolved!

 

I am gobsmacked at the posts of these Welcome employees! So rude & unhelpful! If you are so happy working for them & have no problems with what you do & can sleep well at night etc etc then why come onto a support forum to defend them? Methinks they are not as comfortable in their roles as they make out!

 

I agree with various points on here...Welcome usually charge a crazily high interest due to the fact that they offer loans etc to people who have been refused by everyone else. People who are desperate, & whom may not necessarily read the small print or pay enough attention to the PPI they have agreed to as they are merely focused on getting the money & just say yes to everything.

 

Everyone (I hope) knows that if you get a loan, credit card etc you will be charged interest & if you don't pay back on time you will get charged, & you will in the end always end up paying back more than you initially got, but that's the condition of them 'lending' the money to you in the first place. It is not free money. Most people understand this.

 

Unfortunately, alot of people come into unforseen circumstances in that even though they had every intention of paying back installments etc on time, their situation changes & they for whatever reason cannot afford to. These people are not bad people & are not stupid people & they try everything they can to sort things out through great stress.

 

There are also people who for whatever reason think that they are better than others & should be able to get money that is not theirs & never pay any of it back. This ruins it for everyone else who has every intention of paying back money they owe & take responsibility for it. Debt collectors treat everyone as the latter & they are very well 'brainwashed' into believing that what they are doing is right & have no problems with what they do.

 

Welcome as far as I know are doing well & is in no danger of getting into difficulty at the present. I have heard that there is restructuring, & they are also just one part of a very big company: Cattles. They lend to the people who noone else will, & so long as people who cannot get credit elsewhere keep taking out loans with them, they will carry on exactly the same.

 

I would advise noone to go to Welcome for anything, -no matter how bad it is at the time, it can only ever get worse if you go with them!

[ceebee]

Compliant ? my son was naive enough to take out a loan in July with this shower and looking at the agreement the boxes for PPI were pre-printed with a tick. So much for choice, basically Welcome preys on people who are desperate.

[Mikwales]

Im sorry i went with welcome finance, i borrowed 750 and am paying back 1516. i had the loan a year ago and still owe 630, if i was to get a settlement fee i can only get that by sending them a letter to request it, endless problems with these, please do not go with them for any finance whatsoever, they rang me the other day to offer me a loan for only £1000 and the payments were (with insurance) 145 per month over 3 years! so for a 1000 loan id pay back around 5220

[deafandy]

Hello, I work in sales at WFS...etcetera

 

everything you said made me want to drown kittens.

 

you sound just like the moron from WFS i spoke to on the phone in august last year...and i'm still waiting for you to take me to court...

 

why haven't i recieved a summons yet, if i owe you £3500+? could it be that your sums don't add up, and any judge would look at your paperwork and throw you straight out of the door?

 

yes, i f**king thought so. c'mon welc**t, serve me some papers, if you've got the cojones

 

and, yes. i will have fries with that.