Lending Stream practice and early repayment

mx0029

Hello,

I took out a loan with Lending Stream just after Christmas. Well, we all make mistakes. Anyway..

Website appears nice and clear and during the process I was shown a screen which looked to me as though I had the option to repay the full balance at any stage, showing the total amount due if I did so "repay early and avoid interest charges".

I didn't save a copy of the information on the screen sadly as I naiively thought it would be emailed as part of the overall agreement. I was attracted by this flexibility e.g. it's a one month loan, but, can be extended over 6 months. I intended to repay before that, which is precisely why I should have kept that information.

Anyway, the first loan payment was due, adequate funds in my account, and yet no debit. I get an email just before midnight saying "payment incomplete".

I check online in the minutes just after midnight and find that the necessary funds are "locked" (gap between actual and available balance). Plus, another £12 on top. At that time I can't see any transactions, just the amount has already been authorised.

I query with my bank the next day. They say - there have been no declines. It isn't a "fraud block". There is no reason why the payment should not have gone through.

The debit then turns up on the account dated two days later. Not one, but several amounts which add up to the amount due plus £12. In the intervening time the funds remained locked.

They say it was declined, bank says it wasn't. I'll probably never know. I can say with certainty that it wasn't an issue with available funds.

As you might imagine I just want to repay the whole lot ASAP.

Their site says

To close you loan early you can login to your account to make loan payments on our website by clicking here. Please select the Loan Reference ID of the loan that you want to prepay from the drop down menu. The "Total to repay" field in the summary section displays the amount needed to close your loan. To make the payment, select the "Other Amount" option, enter the amount that you wish to pay in the "Amount" box and proceed with making the payment. Please email us at .. if you have any questions.

All well and good. Except the "Total to Pay" is the total including the interest to the end of the term.

They don't seem to make it easy to find out how much it ought to be to repay early as I am assuming, perhaps wrongly, that this will be cheaper e.g. I will save on interest. That's how it appeared to me when I applied. Sorry if this is vague, I'm kicking myself for not clicking File > Save Web Page.

Can anyone tell me:

Q1 - Am I entitled to a reduction in interest by repaying early (between months 1 and 2 of 6)
Q2 - How is the reduction calculated, is is "legislatory"

Clearly I can ask them, but I wanted to know what rights I have, if any, before I do so to compare those with the response.

Finally, should I have the bank charge back £12 for me in order to recover that? None of the amounts (multiple debits) equals exactly £12, so I'd have to have one of the larger debits charged back and then pay them the difference.

I asked Lending Stream about this by email, but oddly enough, no reply at all.

Or, should I obtain the early settlement figure and simply withhold the £12 from it? In any case I want to be sure that they cannot debit my account again.

Q3 - Can I have the Bank block all debits from their Merchant numbers?

Thanks very much.

steve_opti

If you repay early I guess you should be eligible for some savings in interest... Have you checked your loan agreement on the same?

[FONT=&quot]Not sure if you could ask the bank to stop a running credit as already you have an agreement with company . So, I really doubt it.

[/FONT]Also, try reaching them on their phone [FONT=&quot]0845 351 1482 to check on your loan status. Try to talk to them to have a better deal . [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
And once your done with settling the loans do not think of any further payday loans. The Lending Stream or whatever payday loans should be taken, only if we can repay the them on time . From my experience payday loans are such a hell of time. Its better to avoid them


[/FONT]