Please help... Welcome Finance (you may be sick of these)

BigBro_1980

I have posted previously, but I was told to do some more digging... so here goes.

The background:
My dad took out a loan with Welcome Finance in 2003 for £17k. He made payments to the account over time. This was on top of a house mortgage.

However, in 2004, he had major heart surgery (he was in hospital for a number of months and then was off work due to his health). Since that time, he has been in and out of hospital on a regular basis.

(you can see where this is going)...

Recently, I asked him about his Welcome Finance loan. I asked how much had he paid, what was left etc. He wasn't too sure, so I asked him to request a statement - thinking that it shouldn't be too bad and for the cost of a couple of pound, I will then know where we stand....

So... as of the middle of Sept, the outstanding balance is... £21, 078.23. Admittedly, a shock....

But that isn't the half of it... I have now sat down and gone through the statement and found the following:

Total Payments - £18,442.86
Reversals (of payments) - £1,311.33
Fees (for reversals) - £260
Finally - multiple Fee Assessment lines - totaling - £250.84.

Therefore - TOTAL PAYMENTS - £17,131.53

Now I am truly lost... Firstly, I cannot afford to spend another unknown amount on this loan (as interest will be charged over the longer period). I know I need to get a copy of the Credit Agreement (is this a CVA?? Sorry...), but how?

On top of this, I have found that Welcome have put a unilateral notice on my house and I suspect I will need to have this removed before I move to a different house (which I was hoping to do in the near future... :rolleyes2

I will be telling my father to continue paying - as I do not want to have further trouble, but the sooner I sort this out, the better...

I need to find someone who could possibly help me with this. I am willing to sort it out, but I need some form of advise. Please please... some sort of advice is better than nothing...

And to top this... I am getting married soon... the joys! I suppose I should laugh??

petermb_2

If this is a "secured Loan" I suspect that it can be challenged.
Do you have a copy of the agreement?
I would be happy to inspect it for you and advise what can be done with.

Peter

BigBro_1980

I don't have the agreement and I don't think my father has it to hand... But I will be asking him to look for it.

Personally, I don't believe the loan is a secured loan, but the flip side is that the Welcome Finance guys have called my house to threaten with repossession in relation to the loan??

I suppose it would be futile to ask for a copy of the Loan Agreement from Welcome?

snake16

BigBro_1980 wrote: »

Personally, I don't believe the loan is a secured loan, but the flip side is that the Welcome Finance guys have called my house to threaten with repossession in relation to the loan??

They can't have it both ways. It is either secured & therefore they can apply to repossess, or it is unsecured & they can't, simple

BigBro_1980 wrote: »

I suppose it would be futile to ask for a copy of the Loan Agreement from Welcome?

Why not, there is no reason why they should not supply a copy IMHO.

petermb_2

There are quite easy ways to deal with this. Write to Welcome requesting a copy of the agreement. enclose a cheque for £1 and enclose and quote section 77 of the Consumer credit Act 1974.

The lender is obliged to send you a copy. Should they fail to do so within 12 days the loan becomes unenforceable until it is provided. please put that in your letter.

Knowing this company well, | feel sure that the agreement alone will identify issues that will allow you to challenge the entire loan.

So please keep your Father's spirits up. This can be resolved. You may even get a pleasant surprise at the end of it.

BigBro_1980

Thanks for your help.

Once drafted, can you please go over the letter/contents please.

I mentioned above that I am due to get married (in 2 weeks time)... and will be on honeymoon until beginning of Dec. I will be sending the letter when I get back (as then I can give it my full attention) - I know this may prolong timescales, but I believe it would be better if I was about to deal with the fallout (should any occur)!

But thanks for your help in this... I know there are ways out of this mess, its a matter of knowing them!

And one good thing... my dad has learnt a valuable lesson through all this...! Which I suppose is the biggest gain!

petermb_2

Good luck with all that.