Help with Vanquis HELL!

tonicarter30

Hi all,

Hopefully ive posted in the right place! If not please move me

Right so im in debt (shock horror!) and my mother in law has very kindly offered to act as a debt management agency for me and has taken control of all of my money basically just giving me enough for living expenses etc.

She has managed to gain understanding and assistance from all of my creditors bar the dreaded Vanquis! I swear that company were created in hell!

Up until my mother in law took over my finances I was in a payment plan with Vanquis wereby i was paying them £50 per month and they lowered my interest rate but didnt completely freeze it.

I couldnt afford the £50 so my mother-in-law has forwarded to them my income and expenditure information and has requested a reduced payment of £10 just until i get my head above water then of course we will pay them more. She has also requested that they stop all interest etc etc.

They have point blank refused to help in any way, and are not willing to budge on the interest. The employee that she spoke to actually advised her that if i could obtain a sick note and send this in to them that they would be able to freeze the interest etc but it would have to be reviewed.

What kind of company actually suggests that you lie about an illness to falsely obtain a sick note to get help with your debt!? Personally i think this is absolutely dispicable and not to mention a waste of time for my doctor.

Can anyone at all help or make any suggestions on how to get Vanquis on side? Myself and my mother-in-law are at a complete loss and ive even suggested that we just completely ignore them as my credit history is a complete shambles now so it couldnt make it much worse.

Its not like im trying to get out of paying, I do want to pay my debt back, but they just arent willing to help me...

Thanks in advance to anyone that comments :-)

*Sorry quick addition....After briefly reading other peoples issues with Vanquis i have noticed people keep putting requests in to see their original agreement etc. Something to do with unfair charges etc. My interest is exceptionally high although this in probably in line with my (now over) credit limit of £2000. Is there a way of getting them to reduce interest etc with asking for these documents etc?

DS4215

Is the offer of £10 in line with what you are offering other creditors? - if so, keep sending them that as a payment each month (cheque/standing order). It is bad on them if they refuse the payment and wanting proportionally more than other creditors will not go down too well if they take you to court.

tonicarter30

Hi DS4215,

Thanks for your reply :-)

Yes it is inline with my other creditors. They have all quite happily agreed to accept £10 per month until I get sorted and they have stopped interest.

Vanquis take the £10 as it is set up on a standing order each month, but I just keep getting letters saying YOU OWE x amount with the £10 knocked off it! Then monthly statements with a hell of a lot of interest added on each month :-(

I might have just made this up but i thought creditors had a legal obligation to assist their customers who are in debt?

bargainbetty

No, they don't have to go beyond the terms of the contract. They can continue applying interest if they wish. Many creditors don't, because they want to have a reasonable chance of getting some money back, and sending you insane/bankrupt doesn't help their chances.

Vanquis are perfectly within their rights. Continue sending in the payments, accompanied by a letter requesting that they close the account (stops them raising the rates any further) and freeze the interest, perhaps just for for six months. Stop talking to them by phone - you have no paper trail of offers should things get twitchy later.

They will keep writing to you. With any luck, they will hand you over to a DCA, and you can make a proper interest free arrangement with them.

Asking for your original agreement tends to relate to unenforceable agreements, old debts, mis-sold PPI etc. If you have PPI on the card and you didn't ask for it, you could ask for that to be refunded... They won't often drop the rates because you ask, but if you reduce what you are asking for, and do it in writing, they might give you the option of an interest break.

Good luck

tonicarter30

Hi Bargainbetty,

Thank you for your advice.

I dont think we have actually requested that they close the account so I will get that done today, along with confirming my position and my ability to pay them £10 a month.

Luckily we have finally managed to get them to stop ringing up, they ring any phone you have ever contacted them off which so far includes, my mobile, my fiances mobile, my mums house, my mother in laws mobile and my gran-in-laws house phone!! They also ring off various numbers, i have a list of 10 so far! If that isnt harrasment i dont know what is!

With regards to the PPI, which im actually dealing with seperatly to my debt, they are claiming that they dont actually do PPI, its RPP (repayment protection policy) instead! Theyve also sent me a letter saying they are cancelling it off my policy yet they have gone and charged it me again this month, and it actually goes up with your balance rather than being a set amount each month. Ridiculous but i guess im partly to blame for actually believing they could help my credit rating :-( oh well!

tonicarter30

Hi guys,

Do any of you know if i close my account with Vanquis if they will stop adding the interest on the balance completely?

I thought (possibly more hoped) that if i close it they would pass it onto a debt collection company who i will basically be able to negotiate a repayment plan with....

Thanks for any advice you can give :-)

erimus1

tonicarter30 wrote: »

Hi guys,

Do any of you know if i close my account with Vanquis if they will stop adding the interest on the balance completely?

I thought (possibly more hoped) that if i close it they would pass it onto a debt collection company who i will basically be able to negotiate a repayment plan with....

Thanks for any advice you can give :-)

You can't close your account with a balance still owing. Best bet would be to got o he CAB and request that they get Vanquis to play ball by freezing interest and accept your payment offer - very rare for any creditor not to accept offer from them, and it shows a record of you being pro-active.

tonicarter30

Hi Erimus1,

Thanks for your reply. I have sent a letter asking them to close the account anyway so will see what they say. The worst they can say is no, which im expecting as this company are awful to deal with.

Once ive got their reply ill look into going to CAB.

Thanks again :-)

National_Debtline

Hello there.

Sorry to learn that Vanquis are not agreeing to the offers and to freeze interest and charges. It's vital that you continue to stick to your guns, it's best to negotiate in writing as you can keep copies of the correspondance and send a copy of your income and expenditure form where necessary.

You may wish to remind Vanquis of their obligations under the Lending Code, they should really ensure they treat those with financial difficulties with understanding. Although from a contractual standpoint they don't have to freeze interest and charges they should considering doing this as a gesture of good will.

The OFT also makes clear how creditors should go about collecting debts, their guidance is worth a read - and is great to quote from if you have a particularly difficult creditor:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/OFT664Rev.pdf

Ensure that the CAB you visit has a 'money adviser' to help you, the larger ones usually do.

Best wishes,

National Debtline.

tonicarter30

Thank you so much for your comment :-) I shall have a read of that later im sure there will be something in there that will help me :-)

I have honestly never come across a company like Vanquis. Think a loan shark would act fairer than these guys!!

Thanks again :-)

erimus1

tonicarter30 wrote: »

Hi Erimus1,

Thanks for your reply. I have sent a letter asking them to close the account anyway so will see what they say. The worst they can say is no, which im expecting as this company are awful to deal with.

Once ive got their reply ill look into going to CAB.

Thanks again :-)

Hi there - don't wait for the reply - go straight to the CAB - sooner you do, the sooner you get the interest and charges stopped. Your account will stay open as long as you have a balance, no matter what.