Welcome car finance

kitkat_kay

Hi this is my first post so here is a brief outline:

In 2005 I had a car from welcome car finance the repayments were £216pm, the total cost of the finance with interest was approx £10,000. After paying approx £5000 I had to finish work due to my bipolar, I phoned WELCOME and informed them that I had finished work and that I could no longer afford the £216pm, they offered to drop the payments to £100pm which I accepted. About a year ago I asked WELCOME what my balance was and they told me I still owed £6000, this sounded like to much to owe so I asked them on 4 separate occasions for a statement of payments made, nothing ever came from them so I stopped the payments for a few months.

On Thursday a account manager from WELCOME phoned me to see why I has stopped the payments, when I told him the reason he asked me if I had sent the £10 fee for the statement, i explained that no-one had told me i needed to pay £10, he also asked me on which of my accounts i wanted the statement, i told him i only had one account and he informed me that when i dropped the payments the original account was closed and a new one opened to clear the original debt.

Now i'm not the brightest of people but this sounds like re-financing to me for which they would surely have needed me to sign a new agreement, which i haven't by the way, hopefully someone can help forward with this matter.

Apples2

In glad you recognise your limitations.

Stopping payments was not a wise thing to do. They will be throwing all sorts of charges on top now, you have dug yourself a deeper hole.

I can't see how your reduced payments would have covered the interest accruing every month so I am not surprised your level of debt has surprised you.

Get your £10 sent off and find out how much has been charged, you can't simply walk away from it

kitkat_kay

ok let me set this straight, I stopped the payments for 4 months as i was fed up off asking for a statement and being told " we will send them out".

I am not trying to "walk away from it" I am simply questioning the fact that a second account was opened without my knowledge.

kitkat_kay

I had never even heard of a SAR or the £10 fee until the other day or i would have done that instead of stopping the payments, and as for "the pittance i pay" I have started paying £120pm until this is sorted, sorry if this amount is too low in your opinion.

DCFC79

kitkat_kay wrote: »

I have started paying £120pm until this is sorted, sorry if this amount is too low in your opinion.

It doesn't matter to us what the amount is you are paying back, it only matters to you.

fawd1

ok, the OP shouldn't have done what they've done. I grant you that, but instead of just berating him/her, some actual advice would be nice, and perhaps fit in more with the spirit of this website.

My best advice to anyone having problems with banks etc is to google consumer action group forum and let them know your situation. The people on their know the ins and outs of every law in the land in regards to debt and genuinly go out of their way to help you out. They will undoubtedly recommend sending off for an SAR (which will cost £10- a statement will be max £1, sometimes they'll send them out for nothing. I know this because I literally just got one from Welcome themselves, called, asked for a statement, told it was a pound and then told, don't worry we'll waive it)

Once you get your SAR, upload it there for the forum members to look at (removing personal info, name address, account number obviously ) and see what they say.

Good luck!

kitkat_kay

Apples2 the payments HAVE RESUMED, but thank you for your comments that were full of ridicule and judgement.

I came here looking for advise as I thought that was the aim of the forum.

fawd1 your advice is very much appreciated, thank you

jellie

I would guess that you were allowed to make lower monthly repayments because your original loan was restructured over a longer period of time.

You should have signed a new loan agreement to do this though.

The only way you are going to find out if you did sign a further agreement is to ask for a copy of it.

You should have been sent a statement of your loan each year - have you not had these?

kitkat_kay

Hi Jellie,

I have never received any statements from WELCOME at all, and on Wednesday I got home to find a letter from WELCOME saying that my Agreement has now been terminated and action to recover the goods/outstanding balance can now commence.
WELCOME then go on to say "There are facilities that we can offer to provide you with significant benefits in reducing your debt,such as interest rate reduction on the basis that you resume mutually acceptable payment arrangement"

They seem to forget that i made a payment last week.

SammenForLivet2

1. Why has the firm been declared in default?
   
   The FSCS has determined that the firm is unable, or likely to be unable, to pay claims against it in relation to the selling of payment protection insurance (“PPI”) on or after 14 January 2005. As a result, the firm has been declared in default and consumers can now apply to the FSCS for compensation for losses relating to business activities that are protected by the Scheme, including in relation to PPI sold on or after 14 January 2005.
   Return to top
2. Why has the firm been restructured and also been declared in default?
   
   The Firm (and the Cattles Group) is insolvent but has reached an agreement with its financial creditors to restructure its liabilities. Given that it is insolvent, the firm has been declared in default.

Although this does not particularly help your posts, it may be good for some context/informative.

jellie

kitkat_kay wrote: »

Hi Jellie,

I have never received any statements from WELCOME at all, and on Wednesday I got home to find a letter from WELCOME saying that my Agreement has now been terminated and action to recover the goods/outstanding balance can now commence.
WELCOME then go on to say "There are facilities that we can offer to provide you with significant benefits in reducing your debt,such as interest rate reduction on the basis that you resume mutually acceptable payment arrangement"

They seem to forget that i made a payment last week.

By law, they have to send you a statement annually. Ask them when the next one is due, I don't think you'll get one free of charge although you could try.

They can't repossess the car if you have paid more than one third of the total cost of the car (note this is the amount for the car only, and does not include any insurances).

Although you have now made a payment, this will be seen as a random one off amount. They want you to contact them and confirm you will reinstate your monthly payments.

If they are offering to reduce your interest rate for reinstating your regular payments, take it.