payday loan without permission

chrissie22

First of all sorry this may be a long post:(

My sister is disabled and claims DLA full rate, a couple of months ago she allowed a so called friend of hers to live with her for a few weeks while the friend sorted out her flat which had been flooded.

My sister has a stupid habit of writing important things down, like internet banking passwords, she keeps the pin number for her bank cards and credit cards in her purse as she is very forgetful and has always said no one would ever get the chance to steal her purse so was not worried about anyone finding them, she didnt think she would ever lose it and no matter how much she was warned about it she still continued to leave it in there.

Anyway I will try and cut the story short, after around 3 weeks of living with my sister her friend left, she didnt say she was going, my sister just came home from a hospital appointment one day and the friend was gone, no note, and she hadnt returned to her old flat either, her mobile just kept going to answer phone so there was no way to contact her, I told my sister to just forget her and dont bother with her anymore.

a week or so after she left my sister got an email from a company called mini credit stating that the loan she had was now over due and they had put interest on it, she had no idea who this company was and she certainly hadnt had money from anyone, I got in touch with them and its a payday loan company and apparantly my sister had taken out a loan with them and now they wanted it back! I told them she doesnt even work, and she is disabled and does not owe them anything. They of course didnt believe her, and the next thing she knew they had taken money out of her account, two amounts on the same day, one was for over £100 which was her DLA money, they kept taking money out without informing her.

I adviced her to change her card so they couldnt take her money any more, which she did and then she got a letter from them threatening door step collectors coming to her door, I emailed them but all I got was an email back saying please use the contact form on our site, the contact form is just a little form with two drop down menus, one saying where is my loan, and the other saying bascially the same, there is no where to write a question or anything.

I have read now that OFT have taken a dim view to pdl companies taking money from accounts without informing the account holder first, and they have been told to stop taking various multiple amounts with out saying anything, and they shouldnt take money if it leaves the account holder in hardship and unable to meet basic needs, with it being DLA money they took my sister was unable to get her personal things she needs for her illness, is there anyway she could get that money back from mini credit? She has offered to pay them but cant afford the money all at once, but they ignored her letter.

She didnt apply for a loan with them it was her friend using all her details and bank card number, which she easily got hold off as my sister left it in her purse all the time so the friend could have done it while she was in bed or out or something, she doesnt really look at her bank account as she knows which day her benefit money goes in and just withdraws is, she would have seen a credit from the loan company go in otherwise, she is planning on just leaving it and puts it down to her own stupidity but I dont think she should. Any advice would be welcome thanks.

Emmzi

Nothing is going to change without a crime report.

Has she talked to the police about fraud and theft?

If she isn't prepared to shop the "friend" then I am afraid no one is going to make the repayment demands stop.

Apples2

This PDL company could be the very LEAST of your worries.

Why would this friend just stop at one loan? She could have been piling them up.

This single request for payment is the least of your worries, you should be in a Police Station right now giving a full statement, names, last known addresses, relatives, description the whole lot.

decemberboy

Agreed, there's no knowing what your sister's 'friend' has taken out in her name. This is fraud and theft, and is a matter for the police. Your sister shouldn't be paying out a penny to this company.

chrissie22

Thanks for the replys, yes the police have been informed and she does have a crime number, although the police arent that bothered to be honest as they have better things to do, so would the crime number be enough to give to the loan company, so far there have been no signs that other loans have been taken out.

Mallotum_X

Check the credit file at Experian etc.

KingElvis

Get her butt reported to plod pronto, she'll feel less inclined to do this once her collar has been felt.

rainbowfairydust

chrissie22 wrote: »

First of all sorry this may be a long post:(

My sister is disabled and claims DLA full rate, a couple of months ago she allowed a so called friend of hers to live with her for a few weeks while the friend sorted out her flat which had been flooded.

My sister has a stupid habit of writing important things down, like internet banking passwords, she keeps the pin number for her bank cards and credit cards in her purse as she is very forgetful and has always said no one would ever get the chance to steal her purse so was not worried about anyone finding them, she didnt think she would ever lose it and no matter how much she was warned about it she still continued to leave it in there.

Anyway I will try and cut the story short, after around 3 weeks of living with my sister her friend left, she didnt say she was going, my sister just came home from a hospital appointment one day and the friend was gone, no note, and she hadnt returned to her old flat either, her mobile just kept going to answer phone so there was no way to contact her, I told my sister to just forget her and dont bother with her anymore.

a week or so after she left my sister got an email from a company called mini credit stating that the loan she had was now over due and they had put interest on it, she had no idea who this company was and she certainly hadnt had money from anyone, I got in touch with them and its a payday loan company and apparantly my sister had taken out a loan with them and now they wanted it back! I told them she doesnt even work, and she is disabled and does not owe them anything. They of course didnt believe her, and the next thing she knew they had taken money out of her account, two amounts on the same day, one was for over £100 which was her DLA money, they kept taking money out without informing her.

I adviced her to change her card so they couldnt take her money any more, which she did and then she got a letter from them threatening door step collectors coming to her door, I emailed them but all I got was an email back saying please use the contact form on our site, the contact form is just a little form with two drop down menus, one saying where is my loan, and the other saying bascially the same, there is no where to write a question or anything.

I have read now that OFT have taken a dim view to pdl companies taking money from accounts without informing the account holder first, and they have been told to stop taking various multiple amounts with out saying anything, and they shouldnt take money if it leaves the account holder in hardship and unable to meet basic needs, with it being DLA money they took my sister was unable to get her personal things she needs for her illness, is there anyway she could get that money back from mini credit? She has offered to pay them but cant afford the money all at once, but they ignored her letter.

She didnt apply for a loan with them it was her friend using all her details and bank card number, which she easily got hold off as my sister left it in her purse all the time so the friend could have done it while she was in bed or out or something, she doesnt really look at her bank account as she knows which day her benefit money goes in and just withdraws is, she would have seen a credit from the loan company go in otherwise, she is planning on just leaving it and puts it down to her own stupidity but I dont think she should. Any advice would be welcome thanks.

Did the friend also steal your sisters bank card also & take out the money? As unsure how she would have got access to the money if it was sent to your sisters account?

intranicity

rainbowfairydust wrote: »

Did the friend also steal your sisters bank card also & take out the money? As unsure how she would have got access to the money if it was sent to your sisters account?

I think that the OP's sister is having money taken from her account by a payday loan company, the original loan could and probably was paid in cash from a shop, thats how I read it anyway?

AnxiousMum

OP you need to find out how this money was credited to your sister - in person, or by deposit into her bank account. If in person, would photo ID not have been required?

From there, the store would likely have cctv showing who made the transaction, or many atm machines are also captured by cctv to show who made the withdrawal.

Your sister should switch to a new bank at this point, inform the pay day loan company that it has been reported to the police as a fraud, and quote the report number. Get benefits, any payments set up onto the new account (make sure the bnak is not affiliated with current one), and as soon as the payments go into that account, then your sister will have access to her funds. From what I read on here, once they start piling on charges, your sister will never be rid of them.

rainbowfairydust

intranicity wrote: »

I think that the OP's sister is having money taken from her account by a payday loan company, the original loan could and probably was paid in cash from a shop, thats how I read it anyway?

I understand the OP's problem but as someone who has used payday loans in the past i know a little bit about how they work. If the loan was taken out over the net then the following steps are normally taken -

1- apply for loan
2 - Loan company calls you back & confirms identity/bank details etc etc by calling you at your work place. I would not have thought that the OP's sisters friend would have used the friends name as this would set alarms bells ringing with friends work colleagues & also with the payday loan company.

In store -

1 - They will ask to see photo id along with bank statements/payslip & also utility bills to confirm your identity.

the point im trying to make is that if the friend took out the loan over the internet then the money would have had to be paid into the op's sisters bank account , so how did she get the money? The only possible answer is that she also took her bank card ??

Sorry OP I am not trying to be horrible , just wondering how the friend got the money in the first place? I am assuming that the friend wanted the money for herself & thats why she took the loan out & has left the sister to pay it off !