Lloyds Tsb Nightmare!!

dombutler

Hi,

well I won`t go into too much detail for now but I am having problems dealing with debts that are(or were) with Lloyds TSB.

To cut a long story short, myself, my wife and our 4 children became homeless in March 2009, we were also in great financial difficulty.

We had gone and told our local bank manager about our situation. He was pretty un-sympathetic and said nothing could be done about our debts.
The debts we had with the bank were the current account (1500 OD), a credit card (about 3k) and 2 loans (2k and 900).

So we went to the CAB, and an adviser there said don`t worry I will take them on. So we had a few meetings to work out finances and to give our consent to manage the debts on our behalf. Progress was slow, in fact months went by, but the banks knew about our problems and we thought it was all being sorted. That was untill we got a letter from the CAB saying our case was now closed as it had been over 6 months. It turned out that the financial adviser had left, and no-one had looked at our case. During that time debts were still increasing, I am not sure of how much as the bank accounts are now closed.
So after opening another case at the CAB and having some limited help, I have sorted out a financial statement and arranged payments with the many debt recovery firms that Lloyds TSB like to use.
So Far I have dealt with, Moorcraft, Apex, Debt managers. capt quest and Westcott. Lloyds tsb also take a payment for the smallest loan.

My question is this: the debt recovery firms recover the amount that the bank has passed to them. i.e. the debt with any added intrest/bank charges.
How do you get this taken off? I would imagine that these charges amount to several thousand pounds

Our situation has improved, we had to start from scratch again. We are now renting, after 4 months in a homeless hostel. My wife works full time, i am part time self employed. I had a problem with tax credits not being awarded for 14 months, which lead to our situation in the beginning.

I feel that I have been unfairly treated by the LloydsTSB, it has added to the stress in what was a very upsetting time for the whole family.

Any help would be welcome!
Thanks,
Dom.

dancingfairy

Hi - have you thought about bankruptcy? To be honest after everything you've gone through it won't be anywhere near as bad - perhaps it will bring much needed closure and give you a fresh start?
Have a look on the bankruptcy board on here and you will get much needed advice and support.
Having said that with regards to LLoyds (and any other debts) - get yourself a new bank account (try the Co-op or Barclays) as they will accept bankrupts and they will give you a bank account with no credit facilities and then if bankruptcy becomes neceassary then you can continue to use that bank account - the point I am trying to make is that loan payments etc may continue to come out of your bank account you have unless you change to a new one (even if the companies say they will accept a deal). This is a pain but you need to protect your income - get all your benefits changed over and don't give out the details to people you owe money to.
Apologies if you have already done this - it wasn't clear.
With regards to Lloyds and anybody else - for the time being they can have what's left over after you've paid your rent/food etc - if all you can spare is 1 pound per debt then well let's face it that's all they can have - it's not like they can take you house or anything as you are renting.
With respect to them stopping interest - 1) this will be no longer relevant if you do decide to go bankrupt but otherwise you should write to Lloyds and set out your COMPLAINT (head it complaint and it will get looked at by the complaints team rather than a generic team I believe) and set out all the added interest and see what they say.
I'll leave it there for now as that's probably enough info to be getting on with but I am sure if you have more questions people will help.
Best of Luck
df
Edit: bankruptcy board is here:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=136

dombutler

Thanks dancingfairy,
no, i have not thought about bankruptcy, not sure if I could as at time we had seperate accounts and all the debts are on my wifes account! Can you still go bankrupt even after such a long time?

I have now got another bank (santander), well I should say we have as it is a joint account now.

Monthly payments are going out to pay all the debts, but I have no idea of the charges that have been put on. We are not able to access online or have any old bank statments.

Thanks,
Dom.

dombutler

Ok. I have had a quick look over some paperwork.
I had originally said that debts we had with the bank were the current account (1500 OD), a credit card (about 3k) and 2 loans (2k and 900).
In fact the current account was 1250 OD (they are chasing us for 2100), Loan 1 was 2100 (again chasing us for 2600), loan 2 was 563 now 864 and finally 2500 credit card is now 3100. So that means we owe about 6400 and they are chasing us for approx 8600. Thats an extra £2200, this is only an approximate figure as I do not have statements. I have written to the bank asking for them so it could be higher.

pure_dead_dopey

have you thought about complaining to the FOS? None of this looks like it was your fault and the bank has clearly not helped in any way. its worth a phonecall and they do the whole thing there and then. You could claim all of the additional interest and charges under the hardship rules, its got to be worth a go. FOS no is 0800 0 234 567,

dombutler

Hi,

thanks,
just phoned the FOS and they arer sending out the forms to make a complaint.

pure_dead_dopey

good one, let us know how you get on.............

winner12

Hi there just a thought
Got FOS dealing with one of my creditors and I have asked them to put a hold on the account maybe you could do the same

FTW

Dealing with Royds TSB is a nightmare for anything you may try to ask of them.

Shame the previous government didn't just let them die off quietly.

LeeSouthEast

A friend of mine used to work or Lloyds collections. To be honest, you're in a far better position now the debts have been sold on bar one. They would have likely purchased the debts for a fraction of their true cost, which gives you some bargaining power. They also want some money, usually without any blood attached. Unlike Lloyds Collections..... eeeeeevil people. I'm glad she saw the light.

Good luck OP. Sounds like you deserve some.

dombutler

LeeSouthEast wrote: »

you're in a far better position now the debts have been sold on bar one. They would have likely purchased the debts for a fraction of their true cost,

Yes it does seem that the debts had been sold on cheaply. One of the first companies to phone up were offering a £1400 settlement on the 2 grand debt. This does make me wonder, what will happen if the charges are taken off. Does it get passed on?

Thanks for your help.
Dom.