Minicredit help! £80 loan, 28 days late = £381!

ssswww

Hi,

Being the idiot that I am, I took out a Minicredit payday loan on May 3rd. Since then I have read no end of horror stories online about them, including there registered office being a pizza restaurant, but nowhere seems to have any advice to help me out.

It seems they have recently been made to remove the no hidden charges claim from their website, as my £100 loan became £80 with their £20 transfer fee. The money was sent faster payments so this should be absolutely free.

The loan was due on 2nd June. I made a part payment of £105.50 about a week ago and repaid a further £276 today. The loan is now paid off entirely, but I was wondering if there is anything I can do to try and get some of this money back, or at the very least, submit a complaint about them for the sake of complaining.

I know I agreed to a contract which I should have read better, and I know I should have paid it off on time. But I still feel that for £80 in my bank, repaying it 28 days late should not cost me £381. How you can get to £300 interest and fees on £80 is nothing short of a scam.

Is there anything I can do to get this money back, e.g. via the ombudsman?

At the very least, I hope I am able to submit a complaint to fair trading or someone suitable, even if I don't get anything back.

Thanks for your time

[Deleted User]

What are the details of how the £381 is made up? Presumably repeated failed payment collection attempts? Are all the cost justified and laid out in advance?

It's not suprising that paying a short term loan a month late is going to hurt financially but you need to establish that the charges are within the terms agreed..

ssswww

Deleted_User wrote: »

What are the details of how the £381 is made up? Presumably repeated failed payment collection attempts? Are all the cost justified and laid out in advance?

It's not suprising that paying a short term loan a month late is going to hurt financially but you need to establish that the charges are within the terms agreed..

I emailed them before paying asking for a breakdown of these charges but just received an automated response telling me they were as laid out in the terms agreed.

I'm going to phone them in a few minutes, although they are terribly hard to get hold of, and ask for a breakdown of the £381.

[Deleted User]

Judging by the number of mistakes and typos and odd use of English on their website, you might have a hard time getting hold of them. Keep trying, but this is one case where it may be justified in going to the Ombudsman eventually.

ExNicotineQueen

Let me get this straight, you took out a loan of £100 that was due on 2 June, but you didn't pay on time. What happened between 2 June and 23 June when you made the payment of £105.50? Did they contact you by phone/email/attempt to say what the repercussions were of not paying?

Ninjawombat

Deleted_User wrote: »

Judging by the number of mistakes and typos and odd use of English on their website, you might have a hard time getting hold of them.

No such hassle to receive loan with us!

ssswww

Deleted_User wrote: »

Judging by the number of mistakes and typos and odd use of English on their website, you might have a hard time getting hold of them. Keep trying, but this is one case where it may be justified in going to the Ombudsman eventually.

Whilst trying to get in touch I have noticed that their website lists a Skype contact which isn't valid and a live chat link which does nothing.

They are registered to 30 Borough High Street, London SE1 1XU, which if you google that address shows that the company is registered to "Alma's Restaurant".

Got though on the phone to someone who told me they'd have to put me through to payments to get this breakdown of charges, after a minute they came back on telling me that payments weren't answering the phone for some reason and that they would call me back.

Not the most professional company I've dealt with by any means :rotfl:

ssswww

ExNicotineQueen wrote: »

Let me get this straight, you took out a loan of £100 that was due on 2 June, but you didn't pay on time. What happened between 2 June and 23 June when you made the payment of £105.50? Did they contact you by phone/email/attempt to say what the repercussions were of not paying?

They sent several emails which were basically generic "if you do not pay you may face legal action/debt collectors/extra fees" etc, that's it.

On one occasion I tried to contact them to make part payment but was told payments were "busy", left a number for them to call me back but they never bothered until I paid £105.50 myself online the next day.

ExNicotineQueen

I think you'll find Borough High St most of the shops have the same postcode so just because the first search brings up that restaurant, doesn't mean that is their premises.

Tixy

I think that level of additional interest & charges is probably about usual for payday loans paid back late.
When you took out the loan did they send/email you terms & conditions and if so have you read through it and does it mention details of what charges would be applied in the event of late payment?

ExNicotineQueen

Here's a thread I found, hope that is of some help;
http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?308463-minicredit(1-Viewing)-nbsp