Who are Loans Direct? PPI Reclaim!

[Deleted User]

Hi,

I've just started a quest to reclaim some of my losses of being in debt for well over a decade.

I got my first credit card and loan at the ages of 19 & 20 respectively and it's snowballed from there. I know I am to blame, but I am also on the road to recovery after filing for a DMP with the CCCS.

Anyway, my first ever loan was with Loans Direct (or at least that's what it says on my bank statements). I was sure that the loan was with Black Horse but my statements clearly state that the payments were being sent to Loans Direct.

I have the account number in question but I need to know who to send it to. I have the address for Black Horse but I cannot find any information on Loans Direct anywhere.

Has anyone ever had any experience with them and/or know anything about them? (Are they still in business? Have they been taken over? etc.)

I'm determined to reclaim some of the tens of thousands of pounds I've shelled out over the years and hopefully one of you can help me.

Thanks and all the best.

MSE Official Insert: Right of Reply from Loans Direct UK

GENERAL INFORMATION

Loans Direct UK are not a lender but an online membership service that charges a one-off fee of between £50 and £70.

We are registered with the OFT and their Consumer Credit Licence number is 0628451. Our company registration number is 6907433.

Membership gives you access to a range of financial products, discount offers and tools for managing your money. We will look at the personal details you provide at the point of sign up and will try to match you with a suitable solution but, membership does not guarantee that you will be approved for a loan. Nor does it guarantee the amount you will be able to borrow or the interest rate you will be charged. We don't carry out credit checks ourselves.

If you have a query about your membership you should contact our customer service team on 0844 3091 936. Our call centre is open from 8am - 9pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 2pm on Saturdays.

If you wish to cancel your membership you can do so by writing to: Loans Direct UK, Office 8, 10 Buckhurst Road, Bexhill on Sea, East Sussex, TN40 1QF.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

We have received a number of queries regarding our service so here are our official responces:

1) Fees are taken out of customers' accounts without authorisation, using debit cards, the details of which are purportedly taken for identification or credit check purposes only.

Official reply:
"The only time our website asks for card details is when a customer is signing up to membership. Our website is very transparent, and we clearly state the membership fee. At no point do we suggest that card details are required for anything other than the payment of a membership fee”

2) Payment of fees is taken though loans are offered for an amount, which is below the amount needed and requested by customers.

Official reply:
"When a customer signs up to membership they provide approximately 30 pieces of information about themselves. We have a computer system that matches these individual details against our database of financial products (we have about 200 products including loans, credit cards and debt help solutions) We then suggest solutions that we believe to be suitable for the customers individual situation.

Our system is also integrated with a range of loans, so sometimes we can tell the customer immediately if they have been accepted for a loan with a particular lender.

At no point do we guarantee a particular loan amount or APR, as this is ultimately down to the customer’s individual chosen lender.

Sometimes loans are for smaller amounts than the customer initially requested, due to their individual situation. Other times, we recommend debt help solutions if a loan is not suitable.”

3) Payment is taken though the customer has cancelled the request for a loan.

Official reply:
"Membership includes more than just finding suitable loans. We also provide customers with exclusive discount deals, money saving advice and access to their credit reports. Therefore, simply not proceeding with a loan will not automatically cancel a customers membership.

If a customer would like to cancel their membership then they will need to contact our call centre on 0844 3091 936. We are available Monday – Friday 8am to 9pm and 10am – 2pm on Saturday’s.”

4) Loans direct processes an application fee knowing that they will not be able find customers a suitable lender.

Official reply:
"We only accept customers who have matched at least one product on our system and we therefore believe we can help. Customers are under no obligation to proceed with any of the solutions we recommend for them”

5) Loans Direct offer customers loans from companies which have already rejected their application or which are unsuitable because no guarantor is able to guarantee the customer's loan application.

Official reply:
"We ask customers to tell us which lenders they already have debts with. As well as those that they have already approached and been unsuccessful with so we can rule those lenders out of our recommendations – so this would only ever be the case if the customer has forgotten to tell us some of the lenders they have previously applied with.

Some popular products do require guarantors, however the customer is under no obligation to accept these products – if they indicate that these solutions are not suitable we will continue working for them until we find a solution that does meet their requirements.”

6) Loans Direct operates a scam

Official reply:
"We absolutely do not operate a scam and it is slanderous and libellous to suggest otherwise. We hold a consumer credit license that was issued by the Office of Fair Trading, we have a no quibble refund policy and we deliver a highly valued service to our large base of customer, many of whom come back to us many times to meet their financial needs. If a customer is not completely satisfied with the service they've received they simply need to contact us via phone or email to discuss. Queries of this nature will be dealt within 24 hours and response will be issued over the phone and confirmed in writing."

7) It is difficult to obtain a refund from Loan Direct.

Official reply:
"We have a 100% refund policy for any customers who are unhappy with the service they have received. To discuss a refund with us you are simply required to contact us via phone (08443091936) or email (support@loansdirectuk.net). Our call centre is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 9pm and Saturday 10am to 2pm, we do our best to deal with all refund requests on the same day."

McKneff

You have to have a areason to reclaim, do you have one?

amersall

Customer Services: 0844 247 0786

E: customerservices@lduk-ltd.com

Loans Direct UK

53 Fountain Street

Manchester

M2 2AN

They are brokers, they are the ones you put the claim into, as McNeff has pointed out, you need a reason for mis sell, if the loan was taken out before Jan 05, then you may struggle with this.

[Deleted User]

Hi guys. Thanks for your messages.

Firstly, I think I do have a reason in that particular instance, in that I wasn't fully aware what PPI was at the time and I certainly did not agree to taking out a policy for that loan.

I first became aware that I had the policy well into the loan period and I asked an advisor about it at the time. I remember that she said she would need to re-quote for the loan so I asked her not to because I thought she meant I would have to increase the loan term. I now realise that this wouldn't have been the case.

I remember with loans I took out after this, I always thought I'd stand a better chance of being accepted if I took out PPI, until around 2005, when I realised I didn't really need it.

Secondly, Loans Direct UK Ltd were incorporated in 2009 so it couldn't possibly have been them as I took the loan out in around 2001 - 2002

I always used to use my bank to try and get loans, car insurance, credit cards etc. so they were all in one place. I'm positive the loan was with Black Horse but, like you said, there may have been an intermediary.

I'll keep searching. Thanks guys.

McKneff

hewsy10 wrote: »

Hi guys. Thanks for your messages.

Firstly, I think I do have a reason in that particular instance, in that I wasn't fully aware what PPI was at the time and I certainly did not agree to taking out a policy for that loan.

I first became aware that I had the policy well into the loan period and I asked an advisor about it at the time. I remember that she said she would need to re-quote for the loan so I asked her not to because I thought she meant I would have to increase the loan term. I now realise that this wouldn't have been the case.

I remember with loans I took out after this, I always thought I'd stand a better chance of being accepted if I took out PPI, until around 2005, when I realised I didn't really need it.

Secondly, Loans Direct UK Ltd were incorporated in 2009 so it couldn't possibly have been them as I took the loan out in around 2001 - 2002

I always used to use my bank to try and get loans, car insurance, credit cards etc. so they were all in one place. I'm positive the loan was with Black Horse but, like you said, there may have been an intermediary.

I'll keep searching. Thanks guys.

Well presumably you did agree (see the bold) otherwise you wouldnt be paying it. Not fully aware, possbly because you didnt read the small print.

'I thought' isn't a reason for miss selling, miss buying yes, but that would be your fault.

But, I'm no expert so I'm quite happy to be corrected.

[Deleted User]

McKneff wrote: »

Well presumably you did agree (see the bold) otherwise you wouldnt be paying it. Not fully aware, possbly because you didnt read the small print.

'I thought' isn't a reason for miss selling, miss buying yes, but that would be your fault.

But, I'm no expert so I'm quite happy to be corrected.

It was my understanding that the way banks and credit providers presented the PPI Insurance, within their application forms, credit agreements and promotional material, is the reason claims are now being made.

Wouldn't it also be in the small print of credit agreements of everyone who has ever taken out a loan with PPI?

If 'you should have read the small print' stood up as a successful argument used by banks and loan providers, surely a claim would be impossible to make for anyone.

[Deleted User]

hewsy10 wrote: »

It was my understanding that the way banks and credit providers presented the PPI Insurance, within their application forms, credit agreements and promotional material, is the reason claims are now being made.

I'm afraid you're wrong.
Most successful mis-selling complaints focus on the advice given at the time of the sale.
Documentation such as those you mention are very secondary considerations. As long as the terms of the policy and it's exclusions etc were contained in the agreements, it's not possible to complain of a mis-sale on that basis. In addition, promotional and advertising material cannot be included in a mis-selling complaint unless it was somehow mis-leading.
You'll need far stronger complaint reasons than you've given if you want your potential complaint to be successful.

If you complain , for instance, that you never agreed to the PPI at all, the Bank will have your signature to show that you did. How would you counter that?

[Deleted User]

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

I'm afraid you're wrong.
Most successful mis-selling complaints focus on the advice given at the time of the sale.
Documentation such as those you mention are very secondary considerations. As long as the terms of the policy and it's exclusions etc were contained in the agreements, it's not possible to complain of a mis-sale on that basis. In addition, promotional and advertising material cannot be included in a mis-selling complaint unless it was somehow mis-leading.

You'll need far stronger complaint reasons than you've given if you want your potential complaint to be successful.

OK, I see. Well, I suppose it was worth looking into.

[Deleted User]

hewsy10 wrote: »

OK, I see. Well, I suppose it was worth looking into.

Read the PPI advice article from MSE here;
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/ppi-loan-insurance

It provides a clear idea of what would be considered valid mis-selling complaint reasons.

[Deleted User]

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

Read the PPI advice article from MSE here;
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/ppi-loan-insurance

It provides a clear idea of what would be considered valid mis-selling complaint reasons.

Thanks. Wouldn't the following count as mis-selling, within an online application form?

"Some old agreements (pre-July 2007) may have used pre-ticked boxes so you had to opt out of the insurance rather than opt in, which is unfair."

I'm not saying this was the case with me, and I wouldn't know how to check to be honest, but it was just the point I was trying to put across.

[Deleted User]

hewsy10 wrote: »

Thanks. Wouldn't the following count as mis-selling, within an online application form?

"Some old agreements (pre-July 2007) may have used pre-ticked boxes so you had to opt out of the insurance rather than opt in, which is unfair."

I'm not saying this was the case with me, and I wouldn't know how to check to be honest, but it was just the point I was trying to put across.

It's probably the only one, regarding documentation, which could form the basis of a successful mis-selling complaint.

My earlier post still stands.
Do note, if you applied online or via a leaflet, these are regarded as "non-advised" sales and are very difficult to complain of mis-selling.