HSBC Are Hounding My Wife Unmercifully!

WoodruffsDad

My wife got into financial difficulty last year and, sensibly, got in touch with CCCS who sorted her out and came up with a repayment plan which she has stuck to rigidly since then.

HSBC, however, do not seem to be able to accept this. They deluge her with 'phone calls at work and at home, starting as early as 8.00am and going on until 8.30pm or later. She receives several 'phone calls from HSBC daily and recently she received 4 in one hour!

Today she has received a letter from HSBC stating:

"We demand immediate payment of £xxxx.xx. This is the amount you owe the bank, made up as follows:

Current account (Including interest and charges to date) £xxxx.xx

Personal Loan account (Including interest and charges to date) £xxxx.xx

We may make further demand or demands for repayment for any other money or liabilities which are now, or may become, owing to the bank.

As a defaulting debtor, details of your default including your name and address will be given to the Credit Reference Agencies named below [Experian, Equifax, Callcredit] if we have not received a satisfactory response from you within 18 days.......If details of your default are given to Credit Reference Agencies this may make it difficult for you to obtain credit elsewhere in future."

They have also enclosed a Statement of Means for my wife to fill in.

What should she now do to get HSBC off her back? The constant harassment by 'phone and letter is getting her down to the point that she recently had two weeks off work diagnosed with stress. She is doing her best and she is paying the most she can afford via CCCS but HSBC simply will not accept this!

She has, in the past, given details of this harassment to both CCCS and our local Trading Standards Office but no advice has been forthcoming.

What can she do?

Tixy

Has she sent a telephone harrasment letter? She could also amend to tell them not to call her at work either. and to remove the work number from their systems. A debtor has a right to decide how and where they are contacted. Harrasment by telephone letter template - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=11571485&postcount=5

If she sends this and they continue to harras her she should complain to the bodies mentioned in the letter.

Has she completed an income & expenditure account in the past - or sent one produced by herself or CCCS. If so write and say there is no change in circumstances (if there are not). Unfortunatley on a reduced repayment plans defaults are likely.

If she hasn't already done so she need to move her day to day banking to a basic account with an organisation she doesn't owe any money to.

WoodruffsDad

Tixy wrote: »

Has she sent a telephone harrasment letter? She could also amend to tell them not to call her at work either. A creditor has a right to decide how and where they are contacted. Harrasment by telephone letter template - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=11571485&postcount=5

Has she completed an income & expenditure account in the past - or sent one produced by herself or CCCS. If so write and say there is no change in circumstances (if there are not). Unfortunatley on a reduced repayment plans defaults are likely.

If she hasn't already done so she need to move her day to day banking to a basic account with an organisation she doesn't owe any money to.

Thank you. I'll give her these details.

With regard to your last paragraph, she has already opened a Co-op Bank Cashminder account for her day-to-day banking.

RAS

Hi

The debtor has the right to decide how they wish to be contacted.

This looks like either a default letter or a letter warning you that they intend to default the account. They are allowed to do this if she is with CCCS.

The content of the default letter is prescribed by law, they do not have the option of making sound friendly.

Broken_hearted

Are you able to pay the bills yourself, married couples shout not consider themselves to be sepepeate if one is in trouble both are and the relationship fails.

WoodruffsDad

Broken_hearted wrote: »

Are you able to pay the bills yourself, married couples shout not consider themselves to be sepepeate if one is in trouble both are and the relationship fails.

I am unable to help her financially owing to a failed business venture of my own. She has as great an income as me!

If it was within my power I would, obviously, pay her debt for her in a flash!

Broken_hearted

JulianCBrown wrote: »

I am unable to help her financially owing to a failed business venture of my own. She has as great an income as me!

If it was within my power I would, obviously, pay her debt for her in a flash!

Thats great to hear.Tell her to send off the no contact by phone letter and if they do phone refuse to give any details.

Nargleblast

The bank may well put pressure on her to transfer the balance to a Managed Loan Account - if this happens she needs to run this by CCCS first.(They will most certainly advise against it.)

It would be best if the bank did default her account and sell the debt on to another company, as things should settle down then. The new company will have bought the debt for a fraction of the amount, and should be satisfied as long as regular repayments come in every month from the debt management plan. Just make sure your wife keeps CCCS fully informed of any changes or developments. And if the calls continue, as soon as the caller identifies him/herself just put the phone down quietly and disappear for 5 minutes before coming back to it. Don't get involved in discussions - she has informed them of the situation, they cannot have what she has not got, they are getting regular payments via a reputable debt counselling organisation so constant calling will not change anything. Things will settle down soon, hang in there.