Help! Creditor would rather harrass than let me pay

pmduk

If she is charging you interest it sounds like she is committing an offence under the Consumer Credit legislation. I'd start by talking to Consumer Direct. Check this site

elisebutt65

Check out loan sharks here http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/ManagingDebt/DebtsAndArrears/DG_10035958

Then ask her what her OFT license number is

wasntgoodenough

Voyager you've got it right, but I intend to pursue this matter when we are both in London so all the advice here has been totally relevant. I appreciate the detailed advice in spite of my extremely long repetitive posts. Hopefully this will be my final post:

Thinking back to reasons I didn't even think of involving lawyers before -
1) She was having an affair with a QC and it seems they are still partners.
2) She was stating a different reason / purpose for the loan than we actually agreed: she was threatening, among other things, to sue for deception. (Among the many other threats in her letters: she recently accused me that a relative of hers died in hospital because of me, that is, she couldn't help with money for his treatment, because of the money I owed)
3) She has written to me about the QC's threats too. Mainly that they are capable of making my life really unpleasant.

I think that she prefers that I am forever unable to make that final payment, never manage to pay into her London bank account, because that would neutralize whatever story she makes up about her having been deceived.

What I got from this thread:
As long as I have all my various proofs - I should be safe...?

paddyrg

Not to mince words, but she sounds like a total !!!!.

As far as I can see, QC is irrelevent - this is a civil matter.

Letters claiming someone died because of you - judge will see that for what it is. We have an NHS. But yep, keep proofs of everything and as she seems to be irrational with her writing, maybe see if you can get more unhinged threats from her in writing - she sounds likely to stitch herself up to be honest.

elisebutt65

wasntgoodenough wrote: »

Voyager you've got it right, but I intend to pursue this matter when we are both in London so all the advice here has been totally relevant. I appreciate the detailed advice in spite of my extremely long repetitive posts. Hopefully this will be my final post:

Thinking back to reasons I didn't even think of involving lawyers before -
1) She was having an affair with a QC and it seems they are still partners.
2) She was stating a different reason / purpose for the loan than we actually agreed: she was threatening, among other things, to sue for deception. (Among the many other threats in her letters: she recently accused me that a relative of hers died in hospital because of me, that is, she couldn't help with money for his treatment, because of the money I owed)
3) She has written to me about the QC's threats too. Mainly that they are capable of making my life really unpleasant.

I think that she prefers that I am forever unable to make that final payment, never manage to pay into her London bank account, because that would neutralize whatever story she makes up about her having been deceived.

What I got from this thread:
As long as I have all my various proofs - I should be safe...?

This is all totally irrelevant and you don't seem to be hearing what other posters have said on here - She cannot give you a loan as she is not a licensed finance company!!! She is a loan shark and can go to prison for her behaviour
Please contact Office of Fair Trading ASAP!

Voyager2002

elisebutt65 wrote: »

This is all totally irrelevant and you don't seem to be hearing what other posters have said on here - She cannot give you a loan as she is not a licensed finance company!!! She is a loan shark and can go to prison for her behaviour
Please contact Office of Fair Trading ASAP!

Presumably she was allowed to make an interest-free loan, which was what she said it was at the time the money was handed over. What she could not do, for all sorts of reasons, was demand interest after the fact, nor make all the other demands that she has made.

It is difficult to respond to this post, because what happens depends partly on English law (which is totally in favour of the OP) but also on filippino culture, the attitude of the community around these people, and so forth. My fear is that the OP has family in the Philippines who may suffer from the malice of the loan-shark lady. Honour is very important to most filippinos, and even a rumour that someone failed to repay a debt can be very damaging. All we can say is that since most people know that the loan-shark means trouble, they are unlikely to believe anything negative that she says about the OP.

barbarawright

For some reason the OP is being somewhat evasive about his/her location. Without knowing what legal system is being dealt with, it's hard to give advice. However, I wouldn't have thought a British QC would want it know that he/she was living with a loan shark. Why not go to the press?

wasntgoodenough

I met this lady only a short time after she met the QC. He was suicidal at the time. It’s like a Hollywood film – with her charm, bravado, total lack of inhibition, she turned his life around etc. I think that deep inside he questions all the off-balance things going on around this lady – how could he not – but I’ve concluded that he would rather not know the truth about someone who saved his life – and currently runs it. It’s either that or she already knows enough of his own secrets. Whatever the case they’ve reached a point where she can brag and joke about shooting her uncle in the knee (when she was a teenager in the Philippines), and QC laughs as heartily. (The uncle supposedly stole her father’s will.) Reading other posters reactions I just realized how much of this drama I’ve got so used to.
Voyager, you got it right again. I’m more worried about my family in the Philippines. But not because of honour. If the court finds in my favour, this lady (and her “representatives”) will spend the rest of her life making life unpleasant for my family. So I’m thinking now more along the lines of threatening to report her if she doesn’t back off, or starting a case and dropping it if she promises never to have any contact with me or my family. (Starting a case…can I actually sue her?)
I’ve emailed the stoploansharks project (Birmingham.gov) some general questions. Even if I give them her name I have doubts she’ll get caught – because other victims must be too intimidated by the thought of their relatives to say anything. (Doesn’t all this make HSBC seem like nice guys?)
My question for the police (in my email enquiry) was – what if they fail to prove she is a loan shark – could she turn around and sue me for slander? Or if I took her to court, and for some reason things didn’t work out in my favour, could I get sued for slander?
Reluctant to say location before - cos the amount of detail in this thread is making me paranoid now. But this discussion is comng to an end anyway so I might as well say what Im considring as my next steps. Thank you so much for all your help.

jonesMUFCforever

The more I read the more I think this is all a fairy tale!

wasntgoodenough

The lady does present her life as a fairytale, the QC sees their relationship as a fairytale. I have been aware of that aspect of it, that is why, over the years, her letters, full of her many sufferings interspersed with threats, have been like a gift. Before these, I had no way to prove that I was telling the truth about how weird she is. I've been anxious to pay in full before I get the law involved, because I feel if she can be this bad without getting caught, there must be a reason, and I don't want to find out what.
Now I've decided to get a bank draft, try to get a hearing about her denied payments(?), and hand over the cheque there. Your responses have helped a lot in helping me to think sanely about this mess. Though I've made a general enquiry to the stoploansharks website, I'm reluctant to submit her name becuase if they look her up (?) and decide she doesn't fall under the category of loan shark, is there any scenario in which this lady could turn around and accuse me of something like slander? Because I'm on my way to leading a more orderly, responsible life - i dont want to suddenly find out I have to live a large amount of it in courtrooms.