Debt Arrangement Scheme - Scotland

Miss_Poohs

Hi Worrier - a DAS can be longer than 10yrs. I think it very much depends on the AiB but it is possible. My husbands DAS was 13yrs long.

pudzyp

My wife and I got two seperate DAS set up free by our local council. It was approved 01/10/09 and so far its been a positive experience we are paying ours back over 8 years, and owed £34k

The only down side we are having is HSBC bank Credit Card in my name. they continue to threaten me with court - i will loose my job if it goes there can anyone help or advise me what to do - my money adviser at the council is no longer able to help

coolcait

Hiya pudzy

Can I ask why your money adviser at the council is unable to help you any more?

HSBC cannot take any kind of court action against you if you are in a DAS. Threatening to do so is a breach of the Office of Fair Trading's guidelines on debt collection - specifically the bit which makes it clear that creditors must not make threats about taking legal action when they have no jurisdiction to do so.

Ok, I don't have an awful lot of faith that the OFT has any teeth. But I can't see any harm in your money adviser writing to HSBC pointing out that they are going against Scottish law and OFT guidelines, and marking the letter as 'copied to OFT' (please do copy it to OFT - you never know, they might act when they see a creditor so clearly breaking the law as well as their own guidelines!)

HTH

pudzyp

My money adviser is currently snowed under trying to help hundreds of others!

The main problem is I have a payment administrator who is sending payments to HSBC every month, but HSBC are crediting the payments to my wifes account, we have both informed HSBC of this by telephone call, by letter and still they threaten me with court action and Metropolitan Debt Collectors have been ringing me upto 12 times per day.

In effect this is HSBC's error - not mine I have maintained my DAS and they seem to think that as I am not making payments legally they can do what they like to me.

Im at a loss as to what to do its getting on top of me now

pudzyp

Man this just gets worse by the minute!

HSBC have now passed all my wifes accounts and my accounts with them to Metropolitan Debt Collection Agency.

Also the same debt collectors have tried calling my payroll at work today to "confirm Employment!"

Please someone help us dear god its getting worse and worse

Choo_Choo_4

Have HSBC sold the debt to Metropolitan Pudzy or simply taken them on board to chase payments? Regardless, it doesn't really matter! You have signed up to the DAS and have kept your side of the arrangement by making your payments each month - and please continue to do this for your own sake.

At the end of the day - this DAS has been designed by the Scottish Government specifically for people like yourself who want to commit to repaying their debts but need an arrangement set in place that suits your own financial situation at the minute. DAS freezes interest, fees and charges on all debts from the date it has been approved (which it clearly has) ... unless you have defaulted on this arrangment the creditor cannot ask for it to be revoked.

You could report HSBC to the Accountant in Bankruptcy http://www.aib.gov.uk/About/Whatwedo/complaints

Or you could try speaking to a more senior member of staff @ HSBC in an attempt to resolve the matter and if still not satisfied advise that you will be lodging a complaint with the Accountant in Bankruptcy due to the fact that you are in an Approved Debt Arrangement Scheme.

Don't worry - I would say even if it did go the distance of reaching court the Sheriff would have to throw it out due to Approved DAS anyways ...

pudzyp

Thanks choo choo

I have made all the payments I am required to, I have tried complaining to HSBC, and even lodged a complaint with FOS - still it all got me nowhere after about 20 letters and 50+ phone calls.

I will try the AiB as my next avenue

Everyone keeps saying not to worry but you cant help it with the venemous letters and phone calls continuing, and my wife stuck at home in floods of tears over the way she has been treated on the phone all morning.

Choo_Choo_4

It's horrible Pudzy - it's easy for us to say sitting here but putting it into practice is a completely different matter

How anyone can sit and do that job, threatening people who are already in a vulnerable situation due to their debt problems .. this is their job? They get paid to do this? No disrespect but I could not do that - you would almost think that you owed THEM the money!!!

Please do try the AiB and let me know how you get on.
If your money advisor is not able/willing to help you then the next port of call has to be the AiB who regulate DAS, Trust Deeds, Bankruptcy ...

Do you both have separate DAS?

pudzyp

yes we both got seperate DAS.

Im just at a loss as to why HSBC think they are above the law?

Is it just in our case that they have acted like this?

I will call AIB Later and see what they say

Choo_Choo_4

Sometimes you will find that one department within a company does not know what the other is doing. It could be that HSBC have not fully updated your details on their systems therefore whoever is calling you might be unaware of the DAS (to give them the benefit of the doubt)

BUT ...I think at this stage given the numerous attempts you have made to resolve the matter they seem to be chancing their arm.
They CANNOT call your place of work ... well they can but that IS breaking the law. You can report them to the Office of Fair Trading as this is a breach of Data Protection. HSBC would not give me information regarding your personal details if I was to call them so how can they possibly expect your Payroll and receive information - this is ludicrous!

All you need to know is that they are entirely wrong. They are not above the law and they will have to follow the same rules as all other creditors and wait for payment through DAS. I really hope that you are able to get this resolved sooner as opposed to later and your wife can rest more peacefully at home!