Vanquis HELP!!!

monobob

Hi there,

I've been with vanquis for about 4 years and always paid my monthly payments without any problems. This year i've not been able to meet minimum payments due to leaving work to care for my disabled child. I called Vanquis on the first notice of this in January to discuss the problem and told them i would need a few months of lower payments until i could sort out the finance. They agreed to lower my monthly payments but a month at a time. Meaning i would have to ring them every month which i did. What they did was they took the payment i could afford to give them from my debit card, and THEN the rest of my 'minimum' payment from my vanquis card, thus putting up the interest AND the balance of my card. I rang them immediately to sort this out and they said oh that is our error we will credit your card back. The same thing happened for the next two months. Then on the third month i rang and said please can we come to a more permanent arrangement as my situation was not going to change for a while. They agreed to £60 a month (original was £110) which was fine by me. Then they set up a new direct debit and then continued to take the £110 payment. I called them back and again they admitted error and said to claim indemnity from my bank to collect the payment back and to call after that had been done to make my new agreed payment. I did that and they penalised with a late payment charge.
I then had a new statement through which shows i've been paying £23 a month on a repayment option plan. Something i had NOT agreed to have. They told me i could not claim this money back as it's not PPI but they could apply it to my account now as it would freeze all charges until i could better my situation. After speaking to a debt advice centre they advised NOT to do this as technically it WAS a form of PPI and i should be able to claim it back. I've had nothing but trouble from Vanquis and i certainly will not be having a credit card again. But i need to clear my balance and with the charges and everything it's going to take forever. The advice centre said i could let it go to collection agency and therefore all i would pay is the balance i owe. I'm so tempted to do this as it would mean no more charges and surprises and i'm not bothered if it will affect my credit rate as i wont be bothering with money lending again. If i can't afford it i can't have it! Simples. Has anyone else been in this same situation and worked a better agreement? They are refusing to close my account too and let me just pay off the balance. Would a debt collector be the best option? And if so how long does this take to happen and will it incur anymore charges?

Your help is greatly appreciated!

balletshoes

is there a reason why you are still paying by direct debit? I have a vanquis card and I don't have a direct debit with them - I just get the monthly statement and pay the figure I choose to pay them at the bank.

What is the minimum monthly repayment on the balance as it is now?

monobob

Sorry i forgot to mention. I cancelled the direct debit as they were not taking the arranged payment so now i just do it by my card when the payment date arrives. The monthly repayment is £110 but they have agreed to £60 a month because of my change in circumstances. But the interest charges are still going on the vanquis card itself.

paulofessex

monobob wrote: »

Sorry i forgot to mention. I cancelled the direct debit as they were not taking the arranged payment so now i just do it by my card when the payment date arrives. The monthly repayment is £110 but they have agreed to £60 a month because of my change in circumstances. But the interest charges are still going on the vanquis card itself.

Just be careful they don't set up a 'continuous payment' via your card when you phone them to pay

monobob

Well they did say to me that they could do a continual payment via my card details. But i said No. I advised them that it could be a different card i may have to use as there may not always be sufficient funds, of course that's not the case but i didn't know what else to say to them...

SnowTiger

monobob wrote: »

I rang them immediately to sort this out and they said oh that is our error we will credit your card back. The same thing happened for the next two months. Then on the third month i rang and said please can we come to a more permanent arrangement as my situation was not going to change for a while. They agreed to £60 a month (original was £110) which was fine by me. Then they set up a new direct debit and then continued to take the £110 payment. I called them back and again they admitted error and said to claim indemnity from my bank to collect the payment back and to call after that had been done to make my new agreed payment. I did that and they penalised with a late payment charge.

I then had a new statement through which shows i've been paying £23 a month on a repayment option plan. Something i had NOT agreed to have. They told me i could not claim this money back as it's not PPI but they could apply it to my account now as it would freeze all charges until i could better my situation. After speaking to a debt advice centre they advised NOT to do this as technically it WAS a form of PPI and i should be able to claim it back.

Well, you probably pretty much maxed out your Vanquis card before hitting the panic button, so there's blame on both sides.

PPI and ROP are different products.

One of the 'get outs' with PPI is that some people paid for the product but couldn't use it. For example those who were self employed or retired. But not all PPI was mis-sold.

Vanquis' ROP is aimed at everyone. There's more information at: http://www.vanquis.co.uk/credit-cards/vanquis-repayment-option-plan.

You may be able to get a 0.1% reduction for the time you haven't been working, but I'd be surprised if you could claim the whole lot back.

Your situation seems to fall in its "Take a break with a Payment Holiday" category.

I'm not sure what to suggest. If you're not worried about your credit history, perhaps it would make sense to stop paying. It would give you some control back and when the debt is sold to a debt collection agency from a fraction of its value, you'll probably be able to negotiate a better deal.

As you've had to leave work to look after a disabled child, it would be a good idea to check whether you're getting all the benefits you're entitled to.

monobob

I maxed my card last year to be fair and i was quite happy with the minimum repayment option that was never an issue. I've always paid on time and more than the asked amount to get it cleared quicker. My situation changed at the beginning of this year when son became ill and it's not going to be a short recovery so i was asking them for help. Help in which they do not seem to like to give. I've been more than reasonable with them and always kept them posted and if i could afford more one month then i added that to my payment. I am now claiming all the necessary entitlements which is a lot short then my current job. But my son is my priority so this is unavoidable. They want me to send my carers allowance letter as proof which is fine i can do that but they are saying that i would need to provide evidence of this every three months so they are still not helping really with a long term solution.

I've never had this problem with bank or utility companies who have been more than happy to help as i've always been a very good payer. I just want the card completely stopped now and just to pay them what i owe now.
I think you right that it would be stress free and more control for me if it went to a debt agency