Littlewoods ignoring my letters. What to do?

amandaf_3

I've had problems paying the minimum payments on my Littlewoods.com account due to financial difficulties. When I called, I was offered to transfer my debts over to the 36month scheme (with added APR) to "reduce payments", though as I explained this would actually increase the amount I owe. The representative was not helpful in any way so I decided it would be better to make an offer in writing instead.

Over 1 month ago, I sent a letter explaining my difficulties and offered to pay £10 each week (£40 a month) towards the money owed. I included a statement of means to show that this really is the maximum I can afford and have been making these payments like clockwork every week.

Two weeks later, I had not received a reply. Instead I received a statement saying I had not met the minimum payment along with extra charges (£12 for non-minimum payment, £12 for debt collection letter). I had sent this letter by recorded delivery, but Royal Mail were unable to confirm delivery. Apparantly this is because mail is signed for in bulk at Littlewoods service center and my letter could not be individually tracked.

So I sent another letter (just over 2 weeks ago now) including a copy of the original letter and a covering letter explaining my situation and that I expected a reply ASAP.

Again, I have received no reply, just a letter to say Littlewoods are concerned that I am not meeting minimum payments.

My statement is due very soon, and I'm expecting another two default payments to be added to my account.

I am getting very infuriated by this. Sure, letters do get lost. But both of them?? I will be sending yet another letter tomorrow, but it seems Littlewoods are deliberately ignoring my letters. I am loathe to call again as the staff seem particularly unhelpful of those who cannot afford to pay and will certainly not be forced to pay a ridiculous APR in order to reduce my costs for the short term.

Does anyone have advice for me of what I should do to get an answer from Littlewoods?

I have also sent a request for details of all charges on my account which I will certainly dispute (especially in light of my letters being ignored). This was also sent almost two weeks ago, and used the template letters from MSE. Looks like I'll have to follow up as I've had no reply about this yet either

Any advice would be very welcomed. I'm at my wits end and desperate for Littlewoods to acknowledge my financial problems and accept (or at least consider) my offer.

Thanks in advance!

custardy

amandaf wrote: »

non-minimum payment, £12 for debt collection letter). I had sent this letter by recorded delivery, but Royal Mail were unable to confirm delivery. Apparantly this is because mail is signed for in bulk at Littlewoods service center and my letter could not be individually tracked.

sorry but get back in touch with RM CS
thats a nonsense
yes they will be delivered in bulk but should still track as delivered and an EPOD is available

must admit when i fell a little behond (was off with no pay when my boy was ill) they were okay with me but TBH i only owed a few hundred and was only asking to drop to paying 75% of the payment

scouselad1974

Hi

I'm in the same boat with Argos I think they are part of Littlewoods, I have sent two letters and I'm still awaiting a reply to either. Like yourself I wanted to organise a repayment plan before my statement was due so not to get behind with payments or look like I had just stopped paying for no reason.
I have signatures for both letters and payments cashed but no reply.

russt2000

request your cca ,they wont have it , then you can put the account into dispute, and when they still cant supply it ,the debt becomes unenforceable and you write telling them until the ycan produce one you owe them nothing!! costs a pound and send special delivery it has to be signed for then

amandaf_3

scouselad1974 wrote: »

Hi
Like yourself I wanted to organise a repayment plan before my statement was due so not to get behind with payments or look like I had just stopped paying for no reason.
I have signatures for both letters and payments cashed but no reply.

This is exactly the reason why I need a reply from Littlewoods! If they will acknowledge my letters and allow me to continue this arrangement, I would be able to pay off in full by the end of the year and (hopefully) my regular payments would show on my credit record. This is very important to me as I hope to be able to buy my home in a couple of years once my situation has improved. However, by ignoring me, Littlewoods feel entitled to add default payments onto my account each month, and my credit record continues to show "insufficient payments". I think this is very damaging to my credit record!!

sorry but get back in touch with RM CS
thats a nonsense
yes they will be delivered in bulk but should still track as delivered and an EPOD is available

I got in touch by email and phone, but RM are unable to provide proof of delivery. When I called I was advised to issue a complaint but this would only refund my RC payment

request your cca ,they wont have it , then you can put the account into dispute, and when they still cant supply it ,the debt becomes unenforceable and you write telling them until the ycan produce one you owe them nothing!! costs a pound and send special delivery it has to be signed for then

Yes I'm pretty certain Littlewoods won't have a CCA. When I applied for my account, I was sent one and had I returned this I would have been entitled to the cashback scheme. Needless to say, I never received the cashback

However, I have also sent a letter requesting default charges (which I certainly intend to dispute). I'm not sure that disputing the account altogether will be the right option for me as I want to have a clean credit reference file once all my debts are resolved, enabling me to apply for a mortgage in the future. From what I can tell, the lack of CCA means the debt cannot be legally pursued, though the debt would still show as unfulfilled on the credit file, which would have a negative effect on credit applications for 6 years.

I'd prefer to try and get the debt paid off, even if this takes a long time. Hopefully once I've requested return of the defaults, a substantial part of this debt will be paid off. And if I can make Littlewoods acknowledge my letters and accept my payment offer, surely my account should be taken out of default?

russt2000

yes ,while it would be good ,they do do what you mentioned ,so if your file is currently clean then yes , it would be better to keep that if possible.
I have seen other posts about littlewoods ,similar about non contact , and they had found out some of their senior peoples contact details, sent them a complaint and got sorted quite quickly . Iwill see if I can find them again.

amandaf_3

yes ,while it would be good ,they do do what you mentioned ,so if your file is currently clean then yes , it would be better to keep that if possible.
I have seen other posts about littlewoods ,similar about non contact , and they had found out some of their senior peoples contact details, sent them a complaint and got sorted quite quickly . Iwill see if I can find them again.

Thanks russt2000, that would be very helpful. I've just received an email from Littlewoods saying this:

Unfortunately payment plans are unable to be set up via email and letter and therefore you will need to contact our payment helpline

Basically they are acknowledging my letter, but refuse to respond by letter. WHY??? They send me letters, but now expect me to call on an 0845 number which they shall also profit from! I actually don't want to call, as I'm sure the first suggestion will be to go on to the extended terms with APR, and I'm likely to get irate.

amandaf_3

Okay, I am now officially INFURIATED by Littlewoods!!!:mad:

I swallowed my reluctance and called the number provided by the representative from my email. Turns out this is the arrears department and the lady who answered expected me to pay my debt in full!

I explained that I wanted to set up a payment plan, explained about my letters and the details received from the email from Customer services. She said:

1. Littlewoods cannot set up a payment plan until my next statement has been processed, which will be next week.
2. Littlewoods will not accept my payment offer of £40 per month (even though this is all I can afford). The minimum they will accept is around £120 a month, which I simply cannot afford. The representative ssaid that nothing less would be considered.
3. A default fee of £12 WILL be added to my next statement, and every other statement unless I agree to set up a payment plan to the amounts they want (not what I can afford). I suspect £12 will also be added for failure to meet the minimum payments too.
4. I was told that my token payments of £10 a week will be processed, but this will not constitute a payment plan, and will not be accepted as such.
5. She advised I should go through citizens advice bureau, in which case they may consider a reduced payment plan.
6. I said I wanted to make a formal complaint. I was advised to do this by letter. Which no doubt will be ignored.

Honestly, I have never been so upset by a company in my life. I'm sat here crying in frustration that Littlewoods ABSOLUTELY refuse to help me!! I'm desperate. Until Littlewoods acknowledge that I cannot afford more than £10 a week and stop adding these default charges, I'll never get the balance paif off.

I think my best course of action will be to make a complaint to the FOS. Can anyone please advise me of how to do this?

Widelats

amandaf wrote: »

Okay, I am now officially INFURIATED by Littlewoods!!!:mad:

I swallowed my reluctance and called the number provided by the representative from my email. Turns out this is the arrears department and the lady who answered expected me to pay my debt in full!

I explained that I wanted to set up a payment plan, explained about my letters and the details received from the email from Customer services. She said:

1. Littlewoods cannot set up a payment plan until my next statement has been processed, which will be next week.
2. Littlewoods will not accept my payment offer of £40 per month (even though this is all I can afford). The minimum they will accept is around £120 a month, which I simply cannot afford. The representative ssaid that nothing less would be considered.
3. A default fee of £12 WILL be added to my next statement, and every other statement unless I agree to set up a payment plan to the amounts they want (not what I can afford). I suspect £12 will also be added for failure to meet the minimum payments too.
4. I was told that my token payments of £10 a week will be processed, but this will not constitute a payment plan, and will not be accepted as such.
5. She advised I should go through citizens advice bureau, in which case they may consider a reduced payment plan.
6. I said I wanted to make a formal complaint. I was advised to do this by letter. Which no doubt will be ignored.

Honestly, I have never been so upset by a company in my life. I'm sat here crying in frustration that Littlewoods ABSOLUTELY refuse to help me!! I'm desperate. Until Littlewoods acknowledge that I cannot afford more than £10 a week and stop adding these default charges, I'll never get the balance paif off.

I think my best course of action will be to make a complaint to the FOS. Can anyone please advise me of how to do this?

go to finalcial ombudsman service site, download the application form and fill it in, send it to them recorded delivery, mine was sent this way and it got there ok.

Citizens advice can be a big help, any token payment they set up will likely be £1 per month and it WILL come off your balance, so what littlewoods are saying is rubbish. CAB will also request that littlewoods cap their extortionate ARP charges and not give you any late payment charges.
I would not get too upset over this, its easy sorthed then citizens advice get their hands on it.

scouselad1974

amandaf wrote: »

Okay, I am now officially INFURIATED by Littlewoods!!!:mad:

I swallowed my reluctance and called the number provided by the representative from my email. Turns out this is the arrears department and the lady who answered expected me to pay my debt in full!

I explained that I wanted to set up a payment plan, explained about my letters and the details received from the email from Customer services. She said:

1. Littlewoods cannot set up a payment plan until my next statement has been processed, which will be next week.
2. Littlewoods will not accept my payment offer of £40 per month (even though this is all I can afford). The minimum they will accept is around £120 a month, which I simply cannot afford. The representative ssaid that nothing less would be considered.
3. A default fee of £12 WILL be added to my next statement, and every other statement unless I agree to set up a payment plan to the amounts they want (not what I can afford). I suspect £12 will also be added for failure to meet the minimum payments too.
4. I was told that my token payments of £10 a week will be processed, but this will not constitute a payment plan, and will not be accepted as such.
5. She advised I should go through citizens advice bureau, in which case they may consider a reduced payment plan.
6. I said I wanted to make a formal complaint. I was advised to do this by letter. Which no doubt will be ignored.

Honestly, I have never been so upset by a company in my life. I'm sat here crying in frustration that Littlewoods ABSOLUTELY refuse to help me!! I'm desperate. Until Littlewoods acknowledge that I cannot afford more than £10 a week and stop adding these default charges, I'll never get the balance paif off.

I think my best course of action will be to make a complaint to the FOS. Can anyone please advise me of how to do this?

Hi

I can totally understand your frustation, but don't let them get to you, easier said than done I know

How can they expect you to pay £120 per month on a DMP, surely your minimum payments were never that much to start with.

I just don't understand these companies at all, mind you who does, they tell you to go through the CAB or CCCS and if and when you do they accept smaller payments than you were offering yourself.

I would request the cca now as a previous poster has mentioned as you seem to be getting no where with them and you have done everything that you can to keep them up to date with your problem.

I may be wrong but maybe your call was answered by the jobs worth who got out of bed on the wrong side this morning, there is always one in every firm :mad:

russt2000

hi ,their attitude is discraceful, you are trying to do what is right and just getting the usual uncaring script these people have to spout.
Iwould concur with above , start the cca request procedure , and you will be lucky and get nothing in reply , it is a hard decision if you have a clean credit file , so you will have to weigh up carefully how to proceed , but in the mean time just keep paying them your lower payment, to prove your serious .

russ