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Sainsburys and 1st Credit

I just spent ages posting my whole story,lost it so i will post in brief.

Here goes.

have got lots of unsecured debt both in my name and my husbands.

Managing ok till my husband got laid off and i got sick.

He is working now and i am fine and looking for a job.

2 years ago after a lots of letters back and forth, most of our creditors agreed and most have agreed to freeze interest and are happy with reduced payments.

My husdand took a £15000 loan with Sainsburys about 3.5 years ago.
we paid £300 per month for 18 months, we then agreed to pay Sainsburys £120 which continued for a few months,then it was passed to blair oliver and scott who were really helpful then with no warning the debt was sold to 1st Credit who are a nightmare, we are getting constant calls mobile and house phone.
My husband offered £150 per month and when that was refused increase the offer to £170 the have flatly refused that they say they want a minimum of £207, i know its not that much more of an increase but there is no way we can stretch to that.
They are threatening alsorts and to be honest its making me feel quite ill. They are threatening charging orders, CCJS etc.

What i would also mind some advise on is the loan was 15000 3.5 years ago after 18 payments of £300 and 24 of £120 with frozen interest my balance stands at £17896. How can the balance have increased?

Is there anyone that can tell me where to go from here.

I have 2 kids, it was my sons birthday today and i feel i spoilt it by the stress and the worry of this whole mess.

We have spoke to CCCS and CAB, they are really hepful, but i am at a dead end on my next move with this, we were told by CCCS that 1st Credit were very aggressive which made me feel better......NOT!!!

Thanks in advance
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Comments

  • fatbelly
    fatbelly Posts: 21,598 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Cashback Cashier
    Hi

    You have a self-administered dmp which is going OK apart from the b_st_rds at 1st Credit. Is that right?

    I think you need to start fighting back.

    On this site there are some useful template letters. These are available elsewhere but this seems a neat selection. Two should interest you - telephone harassment and CCA request.

    Another alternative would be to ask CCCS/CAB to consider taking you on as clients and dealing with the whole dmp.

    But my feeling is - you can handle a computer and write a good post. I think you can do this yourself (with our help)

    Also bear in mind that they are members (1st in the list) of the Credit Services Association and this body has a code of practice that says its members abide by the Office of fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance. Lots of material there for complaints!
  • Thank you, the first thing i have requested is the CCA request. Which went recored delivery today.
    I also need to ask for a breakdown of the amounts owed. The figures they come up will are not matching mine. Unless Sainsburys loaded all the interest on at the start of the loan, or PPI which we had for a year then cancelled, but anyway i do need to see where how they are getting the amount. They quite proudly told me that there was no longer interest being added. (Thank you very much) the loan is now £3k more than we took it out for.

    Its took a few weeks for this all to sink in, at first i was just hearing the words "Charging Order" and "Baliffs" and to be honest i was convinced i was going to be out on the street.

    Now i am ready to fight. Never once have i tried to run away from what we owed and i have asked them to consider payments with a strong view to being increased in 6 months.

    They are some of the most horrible people to deal with i have ever come across, Well apart from MBNA in my opinion!!

    When you are in debt you feel vulnerable and guilty anyway and its quite easy for you to feel knocked and let these people get you you.

    Most of my creditors have stamped their feet a little bit at the start but we rode that out and things settled down, ok the light may have been a long way in the future but we saw it.

    Now it seems like 1 company could spoil it all.
    Yes i am up for a fight, i may need some help though so will need to be asking the brilliant people on these boards.

    Thank you
  • stapeley
    stapeley Posts: 2,315 Forumite
    HI, and welcome they are loads of people in same position . Now that the debt has been sold to this DCA , you need proof of this , you need to take control . You have done the right thing in asking for a CCA . Now write and tell them you will no longer discuss the account on the phone and contact should only be made by letter . If they ring refuse to answer security questions .
  • I had dealings with 1st Credit last year....they told me they could force the sale of my home which would render me homeless.....said that I should borrow money off family in order to pay them....said that they could send bailiffs round etc etc. I am on a DMP with CCCS and 1st Credit are included in the DMP

    Also, the number I had to call them on was a premium rate number.
    So I reported them to Trading Standards. I didn't hear back from TS but it was good to go snitching on 1st Credit.

    Incidentally, 1st Credit took none of the above action.

    Tired x
  • fatbelly
    fatbelly Posts: 21,598 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Cashback Cashier
    MUM22bratz wrote: »
    Now i am ready to fight...

    Well done!

    I will keep my subscription going to this thread and I look forward to hearing how you get on.
  • Thank you so much for your advice and support.
    I have a few questions that i really would like answering!
    CCA, i understand what it is and i also understand why i need to see a copy of it, it what i am not too sure of, if they cant produce it or its incomplete how would that help me??
    Does anyone know why the debt stands at so much more than when it was frst taken out?
    All the paperwork i have relating to this indicates it was Sainsurys who piled on the money, would they have put all the interest on at the start of the loan?? If that so how can First Credit say i am not longer paying interest?
    Not that i am trying to get out of paying anything i owe, i used to work in a bank (believe it or not) and the loans used to accrue interest on a daily/monthly basis.
    We have called them a few times, i can quite believe that about the premium rate phone numer.
    I feel this board is massive support for people in need of advice, thank you so much.
  • fatbelly
    fatbelly Posts: 21,598 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Cashback Cashier
    MUM22bratz wrote: »
    CCA, i understand what it is and i also understand why i need to see a copy of it, it what i am not too sure of, if they cant produce it or its incomplete how would that help me??

    The debt becomes unenforceable until a complete and valid agreement is produced. No Court action means no ccj and therefore no enforcement by means of charging order, bailiffs or attachment of earnings. OK, there may be some other tricks they can play but let's deal with one thing at a time.
    MUM22bratz wrote: »
    We have called them a few times, i can quite believe that about the premium rate phone numer.

    Everything in writing, please! If anyone did need to phone them (and I can't think why you ever would) there is a geographic number next to the manager's name on the CSA website (see my previous post). That should work nicely :)
  • Thanks i will keep posting and we will deal with one problem at a time.
    I have heard advice millions of times regarding contact by letter etc. So i should have known.
    It was a week before christmas and we had worked out we could increase payments to £150-£170 we just wanted this sorted to rid ourselves of the headache they are causing.
    That offer went down like a lead balloon.
  • stapeley
    stapeley Posts: 2,315 Forumite
    Well if they can not produce a correctly formulated CCA you can make an offer of sweet fanny adams per month .
  • Ummm, what a nice thought.
    I have been reading the hundreds of posts here on this site and CAG regarding 1st Credit. They do try scare tactics dont they?
    Well the first thing is obviously the CCA. So i guess i will be waiting for the usual letters they send out whilst trying to find it.
    If i recieve anything i will scan and post it, if i hear nothing or just get an acknowledgment from them how long do i wait until my next move? And then what would that be?
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