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| The independent answer to your debt problems | login join |
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PeterBat
| 28-05-2007 07:39 PM |
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Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 6 | Help….. I took an ASDA store card out and signed the forms including the Direct Debit form and thought .. Hey this will be great,, I always use ASDA and now I have a card for the store as well. No More carrying cash, let the bank deal with it.. I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO WRONG…………… It has been a nightmare since I got the card, they didn't take payments from the bank and they never contacted me to tell me they hadn't either, they just let the money grow for a while and after several weeks they send a threatening letter to say that I had not paid them???? I called the number and said “why would I pay, it was meant to be taken straight from the bank” No they said, you have to make payment AT a bank with the statements we send you… send me?? I have only received this threatening letter!!! So I agreed to make payments at a bank if they sent me the statements.. it was a good few weeks before one arrived and my partner took it and paid £50.00 on it and did so for a few weeks so that we could pay off the money (not loads, but a few hundred) ohh and I cut up the card in anger to show I was not happy with them.. Anyway.. No statements came for a while and as one does you forget and get on with the everyday things in life.. Then again a statement arrived and the amount was more than I had spent, I called them and asked what was going on and was told “Late payments and interest charges” .. I explained that I could not pay if they did not send paperwork and that I disputed the figure. They said they had posted the statements and it was up to me to “GET THEM” derrr how can I get them, do I stand outside their offices checking the outgoing mail?? I explained that I collected my mail direct from the sorting office due to the fact that I found out a long time ago that my dogs enjoyed a little confetti making with the post (that was well before I took the card out) I am trying to condense this letter and keep waffling.. lol Anyway they agreed to freeze the account pending an investigation.. Did they.. Like hell they did. I never heard from them for months and suddenly a debt collection agency sent me mail.. Shocked would be an understatement.. The amount owed was over £300!!! Again back to the phones and back to the same explanations.. To cut a VERY long story short …. There has been 3 debt collection agencies involved GE Capital and ASDA and not one of them want to know.. ASDA (were I got the card from (in store and called an ASDA card) would not help and told me to contact GE Capital ... Ohh and have told me they will not respond to any more mail from me.. GE Capital say they can't help as they have sold the debt, SOLD!!! How can you sell something that is not owed.. And the debt recovery company C L Finance will not take my calls and on the occasion they have they just state “pay the money and the matter will be closed” then hang up on me.. So.. Where am I now… I have been given a bad credit score for money I do not owe, not one of the companies involved want to sort this out and I have lost the deposit paid on property because I can not get a second mortgage on my house.. Solicitors say it would cost me quite a bit of money to take them to court, watchdog have bigger fish to fry and the ombudsman will look into it, but it could take up to 6 months due to back log.. And I am still scored and unable to resolve or get my score returned to what it was.. So ….. who thinks they can help……………… |
| DW George | 28-05-2007 09:05 PM |
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Joined: 01 May 2007 Posts: 174 My Profile | Peter What you need to do is to write to the credit card company explaining to them briefly that they should refund all the bank charges and interest accrued on your account. Ask for a copy of your credit agreement, hopefully this will prove that they had the direct debit information. (If they cannot produce a copy of the agreement, then they cannot prove the debt). State in your letter that you believed at the time of signing that either you were paying the minimum balance or you were paying the full amount each month by DD. With respect to the charges and solicitor's fees. Your solicitor is right, they will charge you a fortune to bring an action to court. What he didn't tell you is that you can bring the action to court yourself, through the small claims procedure. The thing is there is a high chance that the bank won't even turn up defend the action, costs of solicitors and all that. Remember banks etc cannot charge punitive penalties for missing a payment. All they can do is try and recover the extra admin costs, which only amount to a few pounds. For more info on bank charges click here. If you need more info just ask. |
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PeterBat
| 29-05-2007 10:05 AM |
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Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 6 | Hi DW George. Thanks for that.. I have wrote to all concerned and as brief as possible, but as you can see from my insertion to this site, brief is hard to do..lol Anyway to sum up.. The credit score company can only ad a note to my file and as most credit checks are electronic the machine does not see the note.. Leaving me … a bad risk.. despite my clear history for X amount of years…. And again with no recourse to remedy… |
| DW George | 29-05-2007 10:47 AM |
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Joined: 01 May 2007 Posts: 174 My Profile | Peter If you are successful with your action then you can insist that the CC company removes the default notices etc which are wrong. It's certainly worth a stamp. Threaten them with court action and see what happens. George |
| James H | 02-06-2007 01:25 PM |
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Joined: 27 May 2007 Posts: 32 My Profile | Peterbat George is very accurate. Small Claims actions DO work. Approach your local Trading Standards Department of your locl council for FREE advice. They will help you with your action. If you are not comfortable to do this, approach your local Citizens Advice Bureau or the local court may have a FREE in court advisory service which will also assist. You may not even have to speak in court. If things go really well, you may not even have to appear at a hearing. Good Luck. |
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PeterBat
| 02-06-2007 04:59 PM |
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Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 6 | Thanks one and all. I will try what you have mentioned and let you know.. Again.. Thanks |
| James H | 12-06-2007 10:39 PM |
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Joined: 27 May 2007 Posts: 32 My Profile | Peterbat Hope you are OK. Any updates for the forum? |
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PeterBat
| 13-06-2007 06:16 PM |
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Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 6 | Hi H Not yet. I have had contact from someone that wants all paperwork I have so that they may investigate my claim. .. I will let you know. One good thing though.. I explained the situation to Barclays Bank and they have agreed to Grant me finance to complete my project.. Good eh! Regards for now Peter |
| DW George | 13-06-2007 07:08 PM |
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Joined: 01 May 2007 Posts: 174 My Profile | Peter good to hear from you. Not that I'm nosey, I am, the contact you said you've had is it Ge Capital and was it as a result of a letter or telephone call you made? |
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PeterBat
| 15-06-2007 09:04 PM |
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Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 6 | Quick update. The Information Commissioners Office Wycliffe House Water Lane Wilmslow SK9 5AF Have requested all paperwork and have said they will look into the matter. |
| DW George | 16-06-2007 12:12 AM |
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Joined: 01 May 2007 Posts: 174 My Profile | Thanks for the update. Good to see that you're doing something about it, Peter. I hope you were brief in your letter. :-) Some good results in the courts recently. Read this link for inspiration. Good luck George |
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poppy
| 04-09-2007 07:45 AM |
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Joined: 04 Sep 2007 Posts: 3 | Hai to all ! I am an old visitor to this forum. I have a doubt on credit score. What is a credit score? and Why don't I have a credit score? Can anybody please tell me about credit score. Any replies would be deeply appreciated! |
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PeterBat
| 04-09-2007 09:22 AM |
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Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 6 | Simply type Credit Score into google and you will find a list of companies. Try experian they are quite good and have a 30 day free trial... As for all who heve shown an Interest in the ongoing claim I have.. The company that had me send all my paper work to them (almost a ream of paper) have not responded and I still await any outcome. |
| DW George | 04-09-2007 10:11 AM |
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Joined: 01 May 2007 Posts: 174 My Profile | Poppy Good to see that our website is reaching over the pond. The same methods can be employed in the US as in the UK to find out what your credit score is. Basically when a financial institution assess whether or not you are a good risk it looks how well you have managed any other financial commitments you have had. If you never had a loan, mortgage, mobile(cell) phone etc., then you will probably not have a credit score. For more information on credit score see this article. George |
