MCO Capital loan

Prudence2_2

Eaglemar wrote: »

I am wondering in this ongoing process whether authorities should look into the practices of these CRA's as well, considering how much data they hold on us.

Absolutely. If I remember correctly, the Experian rep who briefly joined this forum a while back said that Experian carried out 'rigorous checks' on all the companies who applied to search their records. You really have to question what these 'rigorous checks' entailed, given how much dirt on MCO Capital the good folk on this forum have uncovered.

Prudence2_2

GomerPyle wrote: »

To answer Prudence2 the simple solution is to take a client's debit card number. Of course, there are several problems with that. Perhaps many people who want a payday loan don't have a card and it would be very risky to give card details to an outfit like this. You can imagine what happens after you hand over such information to a loan shark. However, it virtually nails down the verification problem.

So perhaps MCO Capital did not take debit card details deliberately, to cater for customers who didn't have a debit card? Or was this just a catastrophic oversight on their part?

GomerPyle

Let's just say Prudence2 that if you know you're going to get paid anyway, the temptation is to make the minimum checks necessary to comply with the requirements of your debt recovery agent and insurer. That way you have the widest possible market.The problem with that scenario is that its wide open to abuse and fraud. Bizarrely it then becomes profitable to make fraudulent loans.

This has only come to light because of the massive scale and involvement of innocent third parties.

The vultures are feasting on the UK payday loan market and I even saw private individuals based in India operating websites aimed at the UK. Without any presence in the UK you can only speculate on how they would recover bad debts. They aren't regulated by the OFT, but would UK debt collection agents still work for them ? I can't answer that one.

The payday loan market is badly in need of regulation not just for the benefit of borrowers. As has been demonstrated, it can potentially affect anyone or everyone.

GomerPyle

The help loan website latest

https://secure.helploan.co.uk/MainPage2.aspx

Due to technical difficulties, we are currently not giving out loans.

If you have received an invoice from MCO Capital Ltd, but haven't taken out a loan, you are most likely victim of identity theft and someone has sent a fraudual loan application in your name. The City of London Police is investigating this matter, and you need to make a claim of fraudulent loan taken out in your name to a following address:

Intrum Justitia Ltd, 5th Floor, The Plaza, 100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L3 9QJ

Even if you are the victim of a crime, you need to take action, so that the debt collection of the loan taken out in your name, will be stopped and your claim will be investigated by the police.

I'm not entirely happy with the advice given by the police but this is completely wrong.

They're asking you to contact a third party in response to a letter they have sent out. If they've incorrectly set up a process with Intrum Justitia in respect of a fraud, then it's up to them to stop it.As an earlier poster pointed out, if the loan hasn't been assigned to them, and it hasn't unless you've been notified, then they are irrelevant.

The matter is between you and MCO Capital and attempting to involve a third party is highly irregular and smacks of them trying to get victims to clean up their mess. I suspect they want to avoid being billed by Intrum Justitia who probably charge for sending out letters.

If Intrum Justitia haven't written to you then there's no earthly reason to contact them. The madness of MCO Capital just goes on and on.

Prudence2_2

Do these 'technical difficulties' mean that Helploan has been shut down? If so, hooray! :T

grahamqat

Hi Gomer, interesting about the web-sites. I checked the other European ones and they dont carry the message. Still awaiting OFT response.

GomerPyle

MCO Capital clearly have no concept of regulation or rules.

In the middle of an OFT and police investigation they should be under lockdown for their own protection as much as anything. They must be aware that they've been doing something wrong and the risk of doing it under the noses of the people investigating them would be utterly insane.

Even if the OFT imposed the same terms for continued trading on MCO Capital as they did for the other payday loan company, who I believe weren't as bad a case, then trading would be ectremely difficult with future breeches attracting a fine of £50,00 for each individual breech.

Attempting to trade under those conditions would be very difficult and who'd be their CRA and debt collector ? That's aside from who would finance a company reported to have lost between £1.5 million and £2.5 million in less than six months. No bank would be interested.

To judge from their website they're focused on trying to mitigate their losses - by giving victims faulty advice, which is not a smart move.

I don't think it's going to be in their best interests to attempt to continue trading and I'd be amazed if they tried.

Prudence2_2

Just had an e-mail from Experian saying that they have contacted MCO Capital, and MCO Capital has kindly agreed that their searches can be removed from my credit file.

Does anyone know how Experian are contacting MCO Capital? Perhaps I should ask!

GomerPyle

The greater worry is how easy it would be to set up a business using the threat of trashing people's credit records as a means to extort money from them. I must emphasise that I'm not saying that's what underlies this fiasco, but what's to stop it happening ?

The system of granting CCA licences needs to be much more rigorously regulated. After all, allowing crackpot companies like MCO Capital access to these records will inevitably make them valueless to anyone.

I don't care about my record, and will use the thumbprint idea to prevent anyone using my details this way, but if everyone did that, credit reference agencies wouldn't exist.

e-mail from Experian saying that they have contacted MCO Capital, and MCO Capital has kindly agreed that their searches can be removed from my credit file.

Experian are showing a company, under OFT and police investigation, who are widely reported to be under threat of being dropped by their debt recovery agent, a strangely remarkable degree of respect.

I hate to point this out, and even the police appear to have ignored this issue, but it's illegal to demand money from people when there is no legal justification for doing so. The fact that the company traded in an irresponsible manner isn't a defence.

I'm not even being unreasonable.

GeorgeEliot

Prudence2 wrote: »

Just had an e-mail from Experian saying that they have contacted MCO Capital, and MCO Capital has kindly agreed that their searches can be removed from my credit file.

Me too, and before that I was told they couldn't remove MCO's searches without their permission, as that info "belongs" to MCO! I can't even begin to untangle the many ways that fails all tests of logic and justice. Just imagine me indignant and spluttering - and unimpressed with Experian.