Mis Sold a loan (the loan-not the protection)

Sheri

Hi

Last year my partner and I went to the bank for some financial advice as we were starting to get into difficulties.
Upon entering our bank dets she told my partner he was pre-approved for a loan.
We told her he wasn't working - hence the reason we were going to her for help, but she went through the application anyway and when it told us the monthly repayments, it was a couple of hundred a month cheaper than the debts we were going to consolidate.

So, we thought we could afford the loan, but again told her he is unemployed. However, she said - 'You are affording the debts you are going to pay off, so I will put that you are working otherwise it will refuse you'. (Thats a quote).

Of course we didn't take out protection as there was nothing to protect against.

almost a year on, things have continued to deteriorate and I put my house up for sale 7-8 months ago (my house - not my partners) and so far we have continued to pay our bills - including this loan (by borrowing off credit cards to pay bills, meaning the credit cards are getting beyond control).

We are too scared to get debt advise because I am scared my partner could get done for fraud even though he told the bank he was not working, but at the end of the day he signed the loan agreement.

Do we have a case to get the loan wiped out due to being mis-sold?

Thanks

Comyface

What a horrible situation, you have my sympathy.

The way I see it the bank employee shouldn't have sold you the loan, she was involved in the fraud more so than you, as she knew the 'way round the system' to get you accepted. You just went in for advice and that was her advice. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, she may have thought she was helping you by reducing your monthly payments by £200 (and she probably had her daily loan target to meet as well, pressure from above?).

Please don't be too scared to go for debt advice, go to one of the free agencies and tell them the truth (or you could at least start with 'we're in trouble' and take it from there), they can help you.

I'm not sure you were mis-sold the loan tbh. I would define mis-selling to be that you weren't told the correct conditions of the loan, or you were sold something that didn't benefit you or that you didn't want.

Good luck, hope a job comes along quickly.

Tiddlywinks

Sheri wrote: »

Hi

........ it was a couple of hundred a month cheaper than the debts we were going to consolidate. So, this loan did allow you a surplus of funds each month so what happened to worsen things?

........ Of course we didn't take out protection as there was nothing to protect against. It can't have been a hard sell then as they usually push this onto you to meet their targets.

almost a year on, things have continued to deteriorate and I put my house up for sale 7-8 months ago (my house - not my partners) So, do you own two houses between you? Why are you selling and not your partner?

We are too scared to get debt advise because I am scared my partner could get done for fraud even though he told the bank he was not working, but at the end of the day he signed the loan agreement. Yes, he signed it - and I guess they didn't get the thumb screws out and hold a gun to his head.

Do we have a case to get the loan wiped out due to being mis-sold? You borrowed the money why the hell shouldn't you have to pay it back? Your partner signed on the dotted line KNOWING that he had no income (even if a bank employee did facilitate the application) and so he should be responsible for his own choices.

Thanks

My response is in red

Tiddly.

katiemae0205

i know what you mean it is so easy when struggling to go for the loan option but infact in the long run it makes it harder i cant be of any help sorry but hope you manage to sort things out good luck x

Robert_Sterling_3

After you got the loan you were £200 per month better off.

Sheri

Thanks, I didn't expect to get replies so quickly.

Tiddlywinks
In reply to a couple of your questions/comments.

My partner lives with me - he doesn't own a house, when I said my house I simply meant that he moved in with me in a house I owned by myself.

I agree with you, 'why shouldn't we have to pay it back'.
I have no objections to paying it back - I have been paying it for a year. I am a very honest person and have never had a red bill in my life.

I am not trying to wriggle out of paying it, we are just having a hard time financially and we just want some temporary help, but are too scared to ask in case it gets a ball rolling regarding the legality of the way the loan was obtained.

It really annoys me that I have to be scared to ask for help (for the first time ever). I know someone (a close relative) who for years has deliberately taken out credit which they have no intention of paying and have ignored bailiffs and court summons' and when they do eventually get caught up with they get away with it because they 'have 4 children to feed and clothe'.
Despite the bailiffs and court actions they still managed to get a mortgage and less than a year later were repossessed.

More to the point, I am angry that companies aren't more careful who they lend to and how much.

Thanks

jonesMUFCforever

Sheri, you stated after the loan you consolidated your debts and would be £200 per month better off - your last reply makes no mention of this.
Have you incurred further debt since the loan (I guess so if you are cashing on credit cards to pay the loan) ?

I urge you now to seek help from a debt counselor but forget any idea that the loan was missold to you - it wasnt!

ricll

Sheri wrote: »

More to the point, I am angry that companies aren't more careful who they lend to and how much.

You may be right there, but people should also be more careful when getting a loan if there is a chance they won't have the means to pay for it. You can't expect the companies to care about your financial situation more than you do.

Sheri

Just a little update. I decided to bite the bullet and we went to the bank yesterday.
They weren't interested in the why's and wherefore's of how we got the loan, the only relevance was our situation as it is now.
We talked about our finances in general and looked at whether they can do anything. The short answer is no. Basically, they won't do anything until you start missing payments. The reason we have got into this situation is that I don't want to miss payments, I like my perfect credit score, so why don't they help while you are still paying? If they could have reduced the payments by £100 pm until the house sells, surely that's better than me getting an IVA or something and them getting even less than I would offer now?!!!!!

Also, I didn't answer one of the questions above. My debts continued to rise, despite the original loan making me better off, because I needed to reduce my monthly outgoings, so I paid things like Council Tax, Water, Car insurance etc in full on the credit cards becuase it is cheaper to pay £20pm on credit card than - say £95pm council tax, so our credit card balances continued to grow.

Thanks