Dealing with Payday Loan Companies

worriedagain44

I have been looking for advice on this kind of situation for a while, I will start by explaining my current financial status, i live with my partner who earns roughly £1400 a month i earn a mear £718 a month as i only work 27 hours a week, my partner is in her 4th year of an IVA which she pays £200 a month too. She has also two outstanding payday loans one for £250 and another for £150 (i know under the terms of the IVA she shouldnt have them but it was the only option at the time) the household bills are all paid from my partners bank account they total roughly £1200 per month give or take a pound or two and this is without food for the month, from my bank account each month we pay £360 car finance payment (this is normally £241 per month but due to payday loan companies completly clearing out my bank account the month before last we had to miss a months car repayments and make it up over the following two months) i also pay £100 to a debt management company to cover outstanding loans with Barclays, Welcome finance, and Provident personal loans, all totaling £7500 on top of that i have recently had to add three payday loans to my debt management programme - speed e loans £100 originally but as they are refusing to accept the offers of payment from the dmp the total is now £265 due to charges/interest. payday uk £125 and cash genie £150 so far the cash genie and payday uk seem to have accepted the offer from the dmp but speed e loans are saying they will not entertain dmp's and they are calling me at work which i have asked them not to as i am not allowed to take personal calls at work, since adding these payday loans to my dmp i have taken two more to pay for car tyres and arrears with electricity. upon writing this i am at even more of a loss as to how bad things have gotten, the saddening thing is that none of the loans/credit was taken to waste on unnecessesary things, they were all to pay for day to day living and bills, i am well aware that this mess is nobodys fault but my own im just wondering if i am the only person who is in this type of mess or is there anybody else going through something similar who could offer any advice? i have read a few articles on what can happen in cases like this but nothing that seems to be able to help, i am not looking to get away without paying what i owe i just cant afford to pay all the outstanding payday loans back at once which is what the companies seem to want, i fear that i am going to open the door to bailiffs in the not to distant future demanding to take things from my home, to add to the problem i am leaving my current job next week to start a new job which pays slightly less than my current job but has the opportunity in the future to increase in hours and pay whereas my current job will not increase in either pay or hours (probably not the best idea given my current financial crisis) however i could not continue in this job as i have been unhappy for over a year and had to find something else.
if any of this makes any sense or sounds familiar to anyone any advice would be most welcome.

many thanks.

SimIsOnTheUp

Hiya worriedagain44,

Sorry to read that you're going through it.

First off, take a deep breath.

From what you've written, it seems that all of your debt is Unsecured. Is that correct?

If so, then the Loan companies can do nothing to you.

They will whinge, moan and bully, but regardless of them, your, and your partner's mental health is more important.

I'm in debt to the tune of about £13K as well as about £12 of student loans, and the worry of it was making my depression a lot worse, until I got all the facts off here (MSE) and the Consumer Action Group website too.

I do feel for you, but you will be ok.

Re your payday loans, they can not take what you don't have.

Your first step is to start a seperate post on the Debt Free Wannabe board on this forum - with your 'SOA' or your 'Statement of Affairs. Your budget if you will.

Have a look at Martin's excellent guide to typing up a budget here -

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/Budget-planning#bplanner

Maybe your partner should just come clean with her IVA people re the Payday loans, rather than leave open the possibility of them finding out first. At least then, they'll see that she's trying to do the right thing.

Regarding your debts, have you considered just wiping the slate clean by going Bankrupt?

At least then you can concentrate on your health and your new job

Have look around this forum. Loads of help and support here. Then think about posting your SOA.

You will be able to get some one - to - one help from your local CAB.

You could also give National Debtline or CCCS a call - both free and confidential help -

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan#help

All the best,

Sim

SimIsOnTheUp

They are not allowed to harass you like that.

Send them a letter recorded delivery, telling them that in no uncertain terms, you'll only deal with them in writing.

Have a look here for a letter template (6th post down from Merlinexcalibur) -

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/20950957#Comment_20950957

Get that off to them, so they'll then have to stop bothering you at work or home

worriedagain44 wrote: »

I have been looking for advice on this kind of situation for a while, I will start by explaining my current financial status, i live with my partner who earns roughly £1400 a month i earn a mear £718 a month as i only work 27 hours a week, my partner is in her 4th year of an IVA which she pays £200 a month too. She has also two outstanding payday loans one for £250 and another for £150 (i know under the terms of the IVA she shouldnt have them but it was the only option at the time) the household bills are all paid from my partners bank account they total roughly £1200 per month give or take a pound or two and this is without food for the month, from my bank account each month we pay £360 car finance payment (this is normally £241 per month but due to payday loan companies completly clearing out my bank account the month before last we had to miss a months car repayments and make it up over the following two months) i also pay £100 to a debt management company to cover outstanding loans with Barclays, Welcome finance, and Provident personal loans, all totaling £7500 on top of that i have recently had to add three payday loans to my debt management programme - speed e loans £100 originally but as they are refusing to accept the offers of payment from the dmp the total is now £265 due to charges/interest. payday uk £125 and cash genie £150 so far the cash genie and payday uk seem to have accepted the offer from the dmp but speed e loans are saying they will not entertain dmp's and they are calling me at work which i have asked them not to as i am not allowed to take personal calls at work, since adding these payday loans to my dmp i have taken two more to pay for car tyres and arrears with electricity. upon writing this i am at even more of a loss as to how bad things have gotten, the saddening thing is that none of the loans/credit was taken to waste on unnecessesary things, they were all to pay for day to day living and bills, i am well aware that this mess is nobodys fault but my own im just wondering if i am the only person who is in this type of mess or is there anybody else going through something similar who could offer any advice? i have read a few articles on what can happen in cases like this but nothing that seems to be able to help, i am not looking to get away without paying what i owe i just cant afford to pay all the outstanding payday loans back at once which is what the companies seem to want, i fear that i am going to open the door to bailiffs in the not to distant future demanding to take things from my home, to add to the problem i am leaving my current job next week to start a new job which pays slightly less than my current job but has the opportunity in the future to increase in hours and pay whereas my current job will not increase in either pay or hours (probably not the best idea given my current financial crisis) however i could not continue in this job as i have been unhappy for over a year and had to find something else.
if any of this makes any sense or sounds familiar to anyone any advice would be most welcome.

many thanks.

SimIsOnTheUp

worriedagain44 wrote: »

I have been looking for advice on this kind of situation for a while, I will start by explaining my current financial status, i live with my partner who earns roughly £1400 a month i earn a mear £718 a month as i only work 27 hours a week, my partner is in her 4th year of an IVA which she pays £200 a month too. She has also two outstanding payday loans one for £250 and another for £150 (i know under the terms of the IVA she shouldnt have them but it was the only option at the time) the household bills are all paid from my partners bank account they total roughly £1200 per month give or take a pound or two and this is without food for the month, from my bank account each month we pay £360 car finance payment (this is normally £241 per month but due to payday loan companies completly clearing out my bank account the month before last we had to miss a months car repayments and make it up over the following two months) i also pay £100 to a debt management company to cover outstanding loans with Barclays, Welcome finance, and Provident personal loans, all totaling £7500 on top of that i have recently had to add three payday loans to my debt management programme - speed e loans £100 originally but as they are refusing to accept the offers of payment from the dmp the total is now £265 due to charges/interest. payday uk £125 and cash genie £150 so far the cash genie and payday uk seem to have accepted the offer from the dmp but speed e loans are saying they will not entertain dmp's and they are calling me at work which i have asked them not to as i am not allowed to take personal calls at work, since adding these payday loans to my dmp i have taken two more to pay for car tyres and arrears with electricity. upon writing this i am at even more of a loss as to how bad things have gotten, the saddening thing is that none of the loans/credit was taken to waste on unnecessesary things, they were all to pay for day to day living and bills, i am well aware that this mess is nobodys fault but my own im just wondering if i am the only person who is in this type of mess or is there anybody else going through something similar who could offer any advice? i have read a few articles on what can happen in cases like this but nothing that seems to be able to help, i am not looking to get away without paying what i owe i just cant afford to pay all the outstanding payday loans back at once which is what the companies seem to want, i fear that i am going to open the door to bailiffs in the not to distant future demanding to take things from my home, to add to the problem i am leaving my current job next week to start a new job which pays slightly less than my current job but has the opportunity in the future to increase in hours and pay whereas my current job will not increase in either pay or hours (probably not the best idea given my current financial crisis) however i could not continue in this job as i have been unhappy for over a year and had to find something else.
if any of this makes any sense or sounds familiar to anyone any advice would be most welcome.

many thanks.

Never, ever open the door to a bailiff.

They can not force their way in through your front door, and as long as your windows are shut you will be fine.

Don't let them in, and the debt will just be sent back to the Debt Collection Agency who you can then negotiate with, on your terms.

Good Luck.

G'night,

Sim

saltnvinegar

Hi All

Apologies its been a while since I visited this post but its great to see the non-judgemental advice and opinions being shared on this.

Worried Again - I've picked a couple of points up from your thread that haven't really been discussed yet.

First - I would with your partners IVA in mind too, get some professional debt guidance from someone like the CCCS. They will be able to discuss all the options with you and help you get back on your feet.

Second - You are not going to have 'bailliffs' at your door unless you have a court judgement made against you that you default on.

Doorstep collectors are different beasts and have no powers whatsoever and you can tell them politely to take a hike.

I understand what you mean about taking a slightly lower paid job, but if there are real opportunities for making more money then this is only a good move and you can inform your creditors of this and that your circumstances are likely to improve in the future.

Best

SnV

worriedagain44 wrote: »

i fear that i am going to open the door to bailiffs in the not to distant future demanding to take things from my home, to add to the problem i am leaving my current job next week to start a new job which pays slightly less than my current job but has the opportunity in the future to increase in hours and pay whereas my current job will not increase in either pay or hours (probably not the best idea given my current financial crisis) however i could not continue in this job as i have been unhappy for over a year and had to find something else.

Pipsyoneone

Wonga insist that i agreed to their terms they we contact by email and that i have provided enough numbers for them to call me on which is why i was called at work .. they emailed me and said if i make a payment they will agree to a payment plan i paid them £5.00 by standing order they then emailed saying that is too small amount so they cant help and i have to deal with 'grosvenor' legal services
do they not understand i will pay what i owe them but not the extortionate amount they want . . . .
they also sent an email to me that was addressed to someone else which i am sure is a breach of data protection??

SimIsOnTheUp

Pipsyoneone wrote: »

Wonga insist that i agreed to their terms they we contact by email and that i have provided enough numbers for them to call me on which is why i was called at work .. they emailed me and said if i make a payment they will agree to a payment plan i paid them £5.00 by standing order they then emailed saying that is too small amount so they cant help and i have to deal with 'grosvenor' legal services
do they not understand i will pay what i owe them but not the extortionate amount they want . . . .
they also sent an email to me that was addressed to someone else which i am sure is a breach of data protection??

Hiya Pipsy,

Ignore their bullying!

Wonga can do one

They don't have a leg to stand on, for this NON - PRIORITY, UNSECURED debt.

They know this, and that's why they are trying to bully you on their terms.

Stick to your guns.

They can not insist on anything.

They can not 'insist' that you speak to them on the phone / by email at all.

Send them the letter as above by recorded delivery, and take it from there, once the payment plan is on YOUR terms

Give CCCS or National Debtline a call too, as they will even contact Wonga / Grosvenor on your behalf.

Just make sure you get a budget together, and only offer what you can realistically afford.

Good Luck.

Sim

SimIsOnTheUp

PS - I'd forget emailing, and just stick to writing a letter instead.

Advise them that you'll only correspond by recorded delivery letter from now (as then you have a paper trail, if you need one later).

Also advise them that £5.00 per month is all you can afford.

Enclose a budget to show them that is all you can afford.

Do not be pressured into paying any more than this, if it's all you can afford

SimIsOnTheUp

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/20950957#Comment_20950957

SimIsOnTheUp

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