Cant repay Wonga loan

poppasmurf_bewdley

My son is in the army and has got into a bit of trouble with Wonga, ie he can't pay them back what he owes. It was £400+ and is now £500+ in a week.
I note with alarm what has been said about this company in this forum and them debiting accounts for the whole amount at one go even after making an agreement.
In an attempt to get my son on a financial even keel, should I tell him to cancel his Debit Card by saying it's been lost. Will that stop Wonga going into his account on 30th June and emptying his account? I've told him to ring them and offer £100 per month, which he will pay by paying in at the bank. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Emmzi

no, he needs to actually close his bank account and move to another bank to stop it

poppasmurf_bewdley

Emmzi wrote: »

no, he needs to actually close his bank account and move to another bank to stop it

How can they use a debit card if it's been reported stolen? I thought reporting a card stolen meant it couldn't be used at all. I know when I lost my debit card last year, I had to contact everyone who used the card monthly (Mobile phone and internet provider) as their payments bounced.

flexrider

xgingerx wrote: »

Hi, just a word of warning, if you are going to open a new bank account and get your salary paid into it, transfer all your SO , Direct debts etc, then thats perfect, BUT if your old account is a current account with Debit Card, you need to empty the account and then CLOSE the account totally, this is because Payday companies will start high in the amounts they take and work there way down until they get results, now my Bank LLoyds TSB, will authorise transactions upto £50 WITHOUT an overdraft, so if I had empty my bank they could still take £50 if I left the accout open, and then would get charged unauthorised OD with the bank, and Lloyds i think charge daily upto a max £90 in a month, so £90 + the £50 they took, could leave you in more of a mess, also remember cancelling your card will not work as this will still be linked to your account and the PD co will have your authorisation to take the money so bank wont be able to stop it.

Hope this is clear

Agree with all what this poster said but you can ask your bank for a new credit/debit card with new 16 digit number and security details Santander did this for me when i had issues with Creditexpert after i cancelled the service but CE was still charging my account after cancellation so had to see the bank to do what i suggested.

LovelyLeeds

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

How can they use a debit card if it's been reported stolen? I thought reporting a card stolen meant it couldn't be used at all.

Well the existing direct debits haven't been stolen have they? They've been authorised and are active.

Emmzi

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

How can they use a debit card if it's been reported stolen? I thought reporting a card stolen meant it couldn't be used at all. I know when I lost my debit card last year, I had to contact everyone who used the card monthly (Mobile phone and internet provider) as their payments bounced.

you are mistaken and this board is full of stories from people who have also been mistaken. It is *easier* if they use the correct card number but not *essential*.

RichGold

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

How can they use a debit card if it's been reported stolen? I thought reporting a card stolen meant it couldn't be used at all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_debit

The second paragraph briefly touches on this, titled "Authorization".

Your son gave them permission to take the monies owed when he entered into this agreement whether the card is canceled of not. He gave them whats called "continuous authority", which is as it sounds.

Sounds like his "Wonga Trust Rating" is about to go down the pan.

vax2002

Must be the Hip sounding name WOOOONGAAAA ! get in there, got some WONG A!
Its the same old loan sharks with a new name.
You dont pay it back, which you wont because if you need to borrow you have money management problems, not a shortage of money and they take everything you have and more.
To be honest I have little sympathy with those drinking form this forsaken cup, you know what it contains...

Apples2

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

My son is in the army and has got into a bit of trouble with Wonga, ie he can't pay them back what he owes. It was £400+ and is now £500+ in a week.

If he is in the Army he should be talking to his Divisional Officer about it.

I used to be in the Forces and to be fair, most of my lads and lasses were buried in debt. They all go crazy with cars on HP and use credit cards the way we use cash. They even use credit cards to buy a hotdog in the NAAFI.

All their food & accom is already covered, the only thing they have to pay for is toiletries.
If they barracade themselves into barracks for a month, they will get out of this mess quite quickly.
There is a system already in place to help them though this, it is much more common in the Forces than you would imagine.

I would almost advise you to stitch him up and tell his superiors your concerns and let them drag him in, it is better than what you are proposing, and help teach him a lesson.

His career is not under threat in any way going this route.

KingElvis

I wonder how may people who take these loans do actually manage to pay back as AGREED?