Provident - Help Please!!!

saintlydi

Hi Guys

Hope you can help.

I took out a provident loan in July for £500 for 52 weeks total with interest over a year was £910. I have paid all bar £190 in 30 weeks and am trying to get the real interest figure from Provident but their customer relations department is refusing to take my call.

Does anyone know if it is actually illegal to charge more interest than that agreed to in the signed agreement or how I go about getting a proper figure from them? They give me early settlement figures but that is based on the £190 blanace from £910....

all help more than gratefully received

Di

Enfieldian

Do you have an agent that comes to your door?

They normally carry something called a "clip" that gives them up to date details of how much is outstanding and what the settlement amount would be at that point in time.

Your post says that they have already given you a settlement figure based on the £190 from the £910, I would imagine this is quite low as you have already paid most of the loan back.....

saintlydi

Hi thanks for your reply.

The figure my agent has is the figure based on the £910. so of that they want another £117 - but that is based on me 'owing' them £190, which I obviously don't.

I thikn I'm just going to pay it up and then ask the FSA to look into it for me, as I don't really know what else to do.

it's so frustrating as apparently there has been no benefit to me paying off so much each month and I oculd have used that money to pay off something else!!!

chalkie99

saintlydi wrote: »

I have paid all bar £190 in 30 weeks

saintlydi wrote: »

that is based on me 'owing' them £190, which I obviously don't.

Looks like you have agreed to pay £910 over 52 weeks and have been offered a settlement figure of £117 if you clear it now instead of the full £190.

It's saving you £73 so not quite sure what the problem is?

hermoine_2

A while ago my daughter took out one of these loans for £500 over one year, when I found out about it I immediately contacted them for her in order to pay it off for her and save her the extortionate interest rates. She had been given the loan 3 weeks earlier and made one payment. I had to pay £650 to release her from the loan!

They are expensive but I believe they are not charlatans they have fixed interest rates and they are not loan sharks. They have high rates because they have someone come to your door, they have to be paid and this makes it costly. They also lend to high risk people who may not be able to get credit elsewhere.

I think on the face of it you have been treated fairly. If you persue it you will be able to get an APR but what good will it do you, they have told you what you need to pay to end the loan and it will cost you less to end it now than if you continue to pay over the next 22 weeks.

H

saintlydi

thanks everyone. I have just received a call from Provident head office to let me know I was right and a refund is winging it's way to me.

yay!!!