Here's one for you!

hells_2

Over the last couple of days my lovely high street lenders including Cahoot (with whom I have a flexible loan, balance 3k, limit 7k) and a number of credit cards, all of which are under their limit, have always been paid on time, always pay more than minimum amount (granted, I don't pay full balance off) have decided they have frozen my limits....come one, come all...

I got an email from Cahoot a few days ago informing me of their 'responsible lending' policy or 'due to my habits with another lender' (WHAAAT!!!???) they have dropped my limit.

Card issuer #1 same letter through door this morning, same excuses!
Card issuer #2 - just a matter of time, went to cash machine and it said no funds available.

Now I know I've been a bit of a spendthrift of late, because I'm down to one income. In fact I've been a one income household now for almost 18 months. I earn a decent crust and I've never defaulted with anyone.

Can they all just close ranks like this under one big 'responsible lending' policy thus closing the door on virtually all my credit facilities!

I'm raging mad, because it's going to cause me a whole lot of bother!

I know what a lot of moneysavers will tell me, to pay for everything with cash! That is a lesson I am going to have to learn very quickly in the coming months I feel!

I imagine the problem of 'living apart' as me and my other half currently are has caused this but we have no joint financial commitments whatsoever!

I'm just curious if anyone else out there has had this happen to them! This looks like it will seriously affect my credit rating - and I don't want to be calling Carol Vorderman at this stage!

*edit, whoops, sorry mods, I think I've posted in wrong thread..please move if you wish!*

lynzpower

Dont get me started on the Cahoot flexi loan :mad:

My Oh has one and Ive been looking into the legality of it ( see my posts on the loans boards) but im hitting brick walls.

I suspect your best bet is to speak to the FSA and let them know whats going on.

Who would you rather be in Cahoots with- erm anyone but Cahoot by the sounds of things

hells_2

I see now from a bit of a trawl through the boards that most lenders are getting twitchy due to some Panorama programme and the Government complaining there is too much debt in the country, so a lot of people seem to be experiencing it! It's still VERY naughty indeed!

jessicamb

Have you seen a copy of your credit report recently? Might be worth a check just to see if there is something specific on there that is frightening the other lenders.

Toto

I had the same email from Cahoot. I have never defaulted either.

I am so relieved that I didn't put my savings on the loan this month. I was planning to put the money I am using to decorate my house (for selling) on the loan to keep my interest payment lower this month, then withdraw it as I needed it. If I had of done that I would have been in real trouble because I wouldn't have the savings anymore. They gave me very little notice of this change in limit.

So, it isn't just you. I do want to pay this thing off asap and then they can stick their loan especially at 13.9%. But I do think this is wrong and could cause a lot of hardship to lots of people.

hells_2

13.9%!!!
You got a bum deal off them!

I check my credit report once or twice a year and there is never anything that I don't recognise or any notices of default on there. I'm a good girl! I never go over my bank overdraft and I've never bounced a payment of any kind!

lynzpower

hells
doesnt seem to matter how you borrow with cahoot - or save by the looks of it from the savings board, they are a law unto themselves

happyformonths

I'm a teeny bit puzzled personally as I have a Cahoot flexible loan too, and in fact have been trying to CLOSE the account with them for weeks. So my balance is £0 (I managed to at least get them to sort that out for me). However, they have left the account open in spite of me asking four times for it to be closed (I didn't want it appearing as available credit on my credit file any more).

What they did do is "lock me out" of the account by saying my password didn't work when I tried to log in to see if it had been closed - but bizarrely, all I had to do was answer my security questions and I could then set myself a new password... and there it was, my account sitting there all open and naked. :rolleyes:

My loan limit is £8,000, so after all this I would have thought I'd be first in line for an email saying my limit was being reduced - but I've had nothing, even though people all over these forums seem to have had communication from them.

Could it possibly, just maybe, have something to do with the fact that I now don't owe them anything, so reducing my limit to £100 over my current balance isn't going to put me under pressure and make them money like it does other people?

Frightening when they all start closing the doors on you. Makes you wonder whether there's been a suspected fraud attempt or something. (I don't want to worry you, but it might be worth checking your reports right now.)

HFM

hells_2

I think we can safely say the Money Savers are going to give Cahoot a black mark!
I'd be interested to see Martin's views on this in next week's email, perhaps, as it is affecting a large number of us!

domestic_goddess

I had my limit reduced by my credit card and was told that they look for factors that show you could be struggling to manage your debt..... That could be late payments or going over your limit or even things like only paying your minimum payments for a period of time. I think to be honest whatever they do will be looked upon as wrong. It wasn't that long ago there was a thread on here about how card companies helped get us into debt by throwing higher limits at people who can't manage them.

At least now it seems that they are taking their responsibilities more to heart (albeit too late for those of us who are affected by a reduction) and by the time our children get credit cards hopefully they will only give what people can afford and debt will be easier to manage. They have given people (myself included) some very irresponsible credit limits in the past and hopefully this will now stop.

lynzpower

Could it possibly, just maybe, have something to do with the fact that I now don't owe them anything, so reducing my limit to £100 over my current balance isn't going to put me under pressure and make them money like it does other people?

Sounds like the most plausible explaination to me mate