llods tsb supposed to freeze interest

pinkpeewee

i took out a loan with lloyds tsb and my circumstances changed and was unable to pay the full amount. but i offered them amounts and have been paying increasing amounts per month for the past 1 1/2 years. from advice i had i asked them to freeze the interest so it was easier to pay back until i was able to pay the full amount per month again and they said this was ok. when the agreement arrived it mentions accruing interest and i phoned them back and they said that it had been frozen. plus everytime i phoned to up the amount they said it was frozen. now i want to up the amount again and they say that they can not do it and it never was frozen.

so basically i have paid about £850 off the loan and the balance has only been reduced by £70. i dont know what to do cause i could be paying this for years - i owe approx £6200. anyone have any suggestions what to do next - can i get this money back. also i read that you can claim back the ppi insurance back if you cancel as they said i couldnt do this before.

help!!!

girltuesday_2

Did you keep a record of the dates and times that you called them? And/or the names of the people you spoke to? If you did, then Lloyds can check to see if the calls were recorded.

Have you made a formal complaint yet? If not, and you're sure that you were told interest would be frozen, then you need to do so.

TMF

If this is a personal loan then surely the interest is front loaded meaning all put on at the start of the loan. I only know one company (Halifax) who put interest on a monthly basis..

If you have requested the interest be stoped and they agreed to this and you have asked them to confirm that it has been stopped on several occasion then this will be on their system all noted, so perhaps you can request a copy of your correspondence with them and highlight were they agreed to do this.

It seems very strange that they will not accept a higher offer of payment. Did you reschedule the loan? (sign a new contract for the lower payments?)

pinkpeewee

unfortunately i have not kept record of the dates i phoned or the people i spoke to. in such a state when trying to sort it out i didnt think.

about the interest it says on the loan schedule the total amount of interest payable but on the letter of the reduced payment agreement it says that the interest is added daily - so i dont know

i will be writing a letter to complain but dont know exactly what i can ask for as i dont understand the interest bit and if i try to speak to them the communication is difficult as a lot of the people who work are foreign and there is a bit of a language barrier!

girltuesday_2

Lloyds' complaint procedure is here: http://www.lloydstsb.com/contact_us/complaints_procedure.asp

Start by writing a letter to the address on your loan paperwork. Just tell them what you've told us (that you were told several times that interest was frozen, but it appears now that it hasn't been), including dates (even if they are approximate i.e. "early March 2005") where possible. Then you need to tell them what you expect them to do about it - reduce interest? Knock off a certain amount?

If you want, post the draft letter here and I'm sure people will have a look for you and suggest any extras!

pinkpeewee

thank you very much - i certainly will try my best to negotiate with them

TMF

I hope you get it sorted out pinkpeewee