Who to go after, the lender or the broker?

fredmila

I am going to start a complaint procedure on a loan that I repaid early and where they put all kinds of made-up charges in such a way that I paid more than I borrowed after several months of making repayments. This loan was from one of those teams of broker-lender who are in between the reputable lenders and loan sharks. Before people start asking me why I did not go to a reputable lender in the first place, it was because I desperately needed the money and those lenders do not lend you money when the see you do need it. But the fact that I was desperate is no excuse for these lenders to rip me off.

I will come back here to ask for specific advice on the figures. They probably thought I was one of those who cannot even work out a gas bill so they gave me several pages of the redemption statement with all kinds of twisted and turned figures that somehow increased the redemption fee to a ridiculous amount. My understanding is that even they put on the initial contract vague statements like "we are entitled to charge legal costs in the event of a early repayment" this does not have weight in front of the authorities when the redemption statement has an unreasonable charge (or a charge at all). I repaid a whole mortgage for a much larger amount at the same time and all I got from the (reputable) company was a one page redemption statement with the amount borrowed owed plus a redemption fee of £125, so why does this little lender need pages and pages of made up figures? to confuse me that is why.

My first question is who do I go after with my complaint and demand for compensation, the broker or the lender? From a consumer point of view I consider that it was the broker who sold me the loan. And, since I already know they are going to say no to compensation, who do I refer the matter to? the FSA? or do I need to find out if they belong to an ombudsman scheme?

The interesting thing is that the lender got a solicitor's office (for which they charged me!) to deal with my redemption statement and I think this is designed to intimidate anybody who decides to complain. What do solicitors know about finance?

Thanks

LovelyLeeds

Good luck, let us all know how successful you are with your complaint.

fredmila

LovelyLeeds wrote: »

Good luck, let us all know how successful you are with your complaint.

Well, errrr I was looking for advice by those in the know rather good wishes

somethingcorporate

fredmila wrote:

What do solicitors know about finance?

Who do you think drafts the contracts? certainly not accountants!!

Apples2

Makes you wonder why people willingly agree to such vaguely worded contracts at all.

subscribing to this to see how it pans out

gordikin

fredmila wrote: »

I am going to start a complaint procedure on a loan that I repaid early and where they put all kinds of made-up charges in such a way that I paid more than I borrowed after several months of making repayments. This loan was from one of those teams of broker-lender who are in between the reputable lenders and loan sharks. Before people start asking me why I did not go to a reputable lender in the first place, it was because I desperately needed the money and those lenders do not lend you money when the see you do need it. But the fact that I was desperate is no excuse for these lenders to rip me off.

I will come back here to ask for specific advice on the figures. They probably thought I was one of those who cannot even work out a gas bill so they gave me several pages of the redemption statement with all kinds of twisted and turned figures that somehow increased the redemption fee to a ridiculous amount. My understanding is that even they put on the initial contract vague statements like "we are entitled to charge legal costs in the event of a early repayment" this does not have weight in front of the authorities when the redemption statement has an unreasonable charge (or a charge at all). I repaid a whole mortgage for a much larger amount at the same time and all I got from the (reputable) company was a one page redemption statement with the amount borrowed owed plus a redemption fee of £125, so why does this little lender need pages and pages of made up figures? to confuse me that is why.

My first question is who do I go after with my complaint and demand for compensation, the broker or the lender? From a consumer point of view I consider that it was the broker who sold me the loan. And, since I already know they are going to say no to compensation, who do I refer the matter to? the FSA? or do I need to find out if they belong to an ombudsman scheme?

The interesting thing is that the lender got a solicitor's office (for which they charged me!) to deal with my redemption statement and I think this is designed to intimidate anybody who decides to complain. What do solicitors know about finance?

Thanks

If you're looking to blame anyone find a mirror and adjust it until you can see your face.

bouncydog1

At the end of the day you signed up to a contract by your own admission, that you were happy with, because you were desperate.

Whilst morally this might be unpalatable, unless you have hard evidence that either the brokers or the company have breached lending regulations, you are wasting your time.

You could try writing to the broker setting out why you believe you have a case for compensation - in the event that they believe there is a case they will refer the matter to their own professional indemnity insurers.

You could also try google search using the relevant company names to see if there are any class actions that you could join.

opinions4u

If you feel the loan was inappropriately sold, it' the broker.

If you feel that the loan has been inappropriately administered, it's the lender.

If you feel that the loan was stupidly bought, it's you.

chalkie99

they put all kinds of made-up charges in such a way that I paid more than I borrowed after several months of making repayments.

Well, that is the unfortunate consequence of taking a loan.

There is a lot of waffle in your post but if you gave us some idea of how much you borrowed, over what period and how much you were actually charged and at what stage in the loan, we might be able to gauge whether you actually have a valid complaint before you, potentially, waste time and worry pursuing this.