TxtLoans

[Diasflac]

I had a loan with this company but while on holiday my card was cloned so I cancelled it, obviously couldn't make a payment until I got home, got the new card etc because they didn't take credit card payments.

This was in March 2011, when I got home and checked my e-mail they had levied £120.00 of charges on top of the £200 payment due (loan was for about £150) and £80 in debt collectors fee's. When my card was cloned I did e-mail them from holiday to say this. They said on the phone they didn't accept e-mail correspondence (despite e-mailing themselves). Obviously wasn't going to ring from abroad.

So I told them where to shove it, since then they've added over £100 more interest and the amount stood at £564.00. This was all in the matter of 3 weeks for a £150.00 loan.

I made a complaint to them and eventually spoke to their MD Paul Smith who said the charges were in the contract and I had to pay them. A week later they sent a default notice and I had a letter from FPC. I reported TxtLoans immediately to the FOS and sent the complaint details for unfair contract terms to FPC International.

In May 2011 the FOS upheld my complaint and demanded the amount due be reduced to the original £150 loan I took out by TxtLoans and the default be removed from my credit file (which it has been). In the mean time a letter from FPC saying simply that Txt had rejected my complaint. So I sent them a copy of the letter sent to both myself and FOS and said further recovery action of any amount over £150.00 would be reported to the OFT under unfair debt recovery practices following an investigation by the FOS. FPC sent a letter saying they would investigate in June 2011... I heard nothing since.

Today I have an e-mail from Lucas Credit Services demanding the amount of £564.00 on behalf of their client. I have responded on the e-mail giving all the details (but not acknowledging the debt) and said that as the FOS have upheld my complaint any further correspondence will only serve to give them work to do and waste their time for my own amusement, with a suggestion they pass the debt back to their client.

If they do contact me again, what are the best ways to give them work to do, I'm going to lie about things and force big investigations and costs on their side for a debt they can never recover.

I want someone in their office to spend hours investigating this debt and to get absolutely no where. There's no law against me lying to them and I have a letter from the FOS saying I should only have to pay £150.00, which TxtLoans have refused to speak to me to take the payment saying it wouldn't clear the balance.

Eventually I'm hoping to wind them up for so long even the £150.00 I do have to pay will become SBarred .

[CAPS ESC]

Re: TxtLoans

do you have a record of you offering to pay them the £150 and their refusal?

[Diasflac]

Re: TxtLoans

do you have a record of you offering to pay them the £150 and their refusal?

I called them to make the payment, FOS sent letters to us both. They looked at the notes on the account and passed me back to Paul Smith, he told me he wouldn't accept their judgement and I owed £564, so I put it in writing to both them and FPC with copies of the FOS letter. Txt didn't respond to my letter, I'm guessing Txt didn't respond to FPC when they investigated which is why it's nearly 2 years later.

I have stated in a letter to both FPC and Txtloans that I will not make any payment until I receive a letter from them confirming £150 is the final balance owed and no further amounts are owed. This is why it's still not being paid, because they keep asking for the £564.00.

Since I've already done this and have sent them recorded. I have no interest in going through it again with a different agency. Wasting their time seems like the option I'd like to go down, if they do apply to court, the FOS letter will be sent to the court where I'm guessing the case will be struck out once they see it.

If anyone ever considers this company for a loan, they may have cleaned up their act since but here is what I was charged:
£25 from the first day and each week after for non-payment. x 3 = £75
£50 to default the account. x 1
£80 Debt collection fees x 1.
£20 per e-mail and letter sent regarding account. x 5 £100
£59 Additional months interest added to account. x 1

Not in that order, but that made a loan of 150.00 with a payment of £200 go to £564 in just over a month.

[CAPS ESC]

Re: TxtLoans

since you seem well covered -back to your original Q

what are the best ways to give them work to do,

I get the impression that most DCs ignore the contents of our letters and send us templates,
but you might want to try charging them for you having to pursue this matter.

Use their own fee rates and become like a debt collector yourself,

ie threaten further action,
weekly reminders(chargeable)
legal costs
interest for late payments.
If their fees are in contract, they view them as reasonable.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: TxtLoans

If anyone ever considers this company for a loan, they may have cleaned up their act since but here is what I was charged:
£25 from the first day and each week after for non-payment. x 3 = £75
£50 to default the account. x 1
£80 Debt collection fees x 1.
£20 per e-mail and letter sent regarding account. x 5 £100
£59 Additional months interest added to account. x 1

Not in that order, but that made a loan of 150.00 with a payment of £200 go to £564 in just over a month.

And none of those charges are implied as appropriate based on actual cost. You could appeal those costs if you wanted, £12 per month is an acceptable late/missed payment charge. Not £300 per month!

[Diasflac]

Re: TxtLoans

And none of those charges are implied as appropriate based on actual cost. You could appeal those costs if you wanted, £12 per month is an acceptable late/missed payment charge. Not £300 per month!

Exactly why the FOS ruled in my favour.

[helmsman]

Re: TxtLoans

Exactly why the FOS ruled in my favour.

If the MD of txt loans did not accept the ruling by the FOS I believe (might be wrong) that the status quo remains.

[Diasflac]

Re: TxtLoans

If the MD of txt loans did not accept the ruling by the FOS I believe (might be wrong) that the status quo remains.

I didn't think companies could just ignore the FOS. If they can what's the point of regulators

[helmsman]

Re: TxtLoans

I didn't think companies could just ignore the FOS. If they can what's the point of regulators

The Fobbing Off Service just mediates, I went to the fos and lost to the bank I was awarded £100 for wrong data but lost the case, I returned the cheque to the bank and wrote to the fos refusing their decision (a form was enclosed with their decision to sign if I accepted or declined their decision) and informed the bank also I refused the decision of the fos. I still have the right to go back to court as the fos decision is not binding.

[Diasflac]

Re: TxtLoans

The Fobbing Off Service just mediates, I went to the fos and lost to the bank I was awarded £100 for wrong data but lost the case, I returned the cheque to the bank and wrote to the fos refusing their decision (a form was enclosed with their decision to sign if I accepted or declined their decision) and informed the bank also I refused the decision of the fos. I still have the right to go back to court as the fos decision is not binding.

It's a pretty damning letter from them, they even state they cannot enforce these charges on me. They can't take me to court for it, they've removed the default... I don't understand what they're doing. I'll pay the £150.00

[helmsman]

Re: TxtLoans

It's a pretty damning letter from them, they even state they cannot enforce these charges on me. They can't take me to court for it, they've removed the default... I don't understand what they're doing. I'll pay the £150.00

Check out saltnvinegars take on these payday loan vultures he has a very good knowledge on these parasites.

[helmsman]

Re: TxtLoans

It's a pretty damning letter from them, they even state they cannot enforce these charges on me. They can't take me to court for it, they've removed the default... I don't understand what they're doing. I'll pay the £150.00

If they have removed the default they can only default once why pay:?

[SaltnVinegar]

Re: TxtLoans

Hi Diasflac

TBH your one mistake here is to have responded to them in the first place via email.

Why lie? You have absolutely no reason to do so. You have a ruling from the FOS which their MD is refusing to acknowledge. You couldn't have them more by the short and curlies if they tried as if this ever went before a court (which it won't), you would slaughter them.

Theres all sorts of things that could go wrong for them here - unlawful charges, refusal to acknowledge the recommendation of the FOS, breach of OFT guidelines, irresponsible lending practices, unreasonable behaviour etc.

Remember the FOS investigation would probably have cost them £500 already.

I'd not pay them a single penny at this point and if they email you again, state that due to their contempt regards the FOS ruling you want all future correspondence to take place in writing and not respond to them again.

If they refuse to do so and keep emailing you then you can use this as further evidence of contempt and breach of OFT guidelines.

They have a ruling against them by the FOS, which you can prove they are ignoring (although this isn't legally binding for them it is bad, bad bad), they have had to remove the default, they are on a losing battle here and they know it which is why they have farmed this out to a bottom feeder to chase.

Best
SnV

[Diasflac]

Re: TxtLoans

Hi Diasflac

TBH your one mistake here is to have responded to them in the first place via email.

Why lie? You have absolutely no reason to do so. You have a ruling from the FOS which their MD is refusing to acknowledge. You couldn't have them more by the short and curlies if they tried as if this ever went before a court (which it won't), you would slaughter them.

Theres all sorts of things that could go wrong for them here - unlawful charges, refusal to acknowledge the recommendation of the FOS, breach of OFT guidelines, irresponsible lending practices, unreasonable behaviour etc.

Remember the FOS investigation would probably have cost them £500 already.

I'd not pay them a single penny at this point and if they email you again, state that due to their contempt regards the FOS ruling you want all future correspondence to take place in writing and not respond to them again.

If they refuse to do so and keep emailing you then you can use this as further evidence of contempt and breach of OFT guidelines.

They have a ruling against them by the FOS, which you can prove they are ignoring (although this isn't legally binding for them it is bad, bad bad), they have had to remove the default, they are on a losing battle here and they know it which is why they have farmed this out to a bottom feeder to chase.

Best
SnV

Thanks, the only reason I wanted to lie is just to create a mountain of work. It doesn't bother me who they send, it takes me 5 minutes to write an e-mail and if that one e-mail can create them days of work, I'm happy to spend 5 minutes writing one. When this originally occurred, I didn't know about this site and took them head on, on my own with limited knowledge on the process. I won but what they were doing made it easy to do so. It caused me a lot of stress at the time because I intended to borrow the money and pay it back when it was due. Because of all the time I had to deal with it and the worry and stress caused. I'd just like to get some revenge.

Because I have the FOS ruling as back up I'm really not too bothered what they do. If they even applied to court, pre-hearing I would copy the letter and point out I will pay the £150.00 anytime once they acknowledge it's the final balance and have told them this before. It doubt it would even get to a court hearing, the more they waste time trying to recover the £500 the further away the £150 I have to pay gets from ever being. I think it's because I've irritated their MD personally, some sort of vendetta against me, I wouldn't run a company like this/

[SaltnVinegar]

Re: TxtLoans

Its really simple - if you lie, and they can demonstrate you have, you destroy your own credibility. I don't understand why you would do this when you have so much going on your favour to start with.

You have no reason to lie - they do this enough themselves for you to catch them out and once you have then this is enough in itself to give them plenty of work.

And please don't take this the wrong way but it also makes it difficult to give you advice because if you state very candidly you're prepared to lie to a creditor then you may also be prepared to lie to a forum trying to give you help......