provident

mariem27

I stupidly had a provident loan last year and in march I phoned their head office to ask for a final balance and to pay it off, which I did over the phone with my debit card. A couple of weeks later I bumped into my agent who told me I still owed some money. I phoned head office who told me that I paid over the phone on the Tuesday but because it wouldn't show on the account till the following day more interest had been added that night and i owed £22. I said I wasnt paying it becauseas far as I was concerned they took the money out of my account there and then so I had cleared my account. The gentleman said it was fine he would sort it out and if they had any problems they would give me a ring. Heard nothing until last night I had an answer phone message off my agent saying I now owe over £100 . What do I do? Surely this cant be right?

harveybobbles

Ask them to prove it. Ask for a recording of the phone call from when you settled the account.

[Deleted User]

A few questions if I may.

How much was the original balance, when you took the loan out?

How much was there left (according to the payment book), on the day you paid it up?

How much was the settlement figure you paid?

mariem27

I have rang them this morning and requested a copy of the phone call. They have also sent it over to the customer relations team for them to look into and they have to respond within 5 working days. So will see what they come up with.

Buzby

Do remember, they work only on a 'cleared balance' basis. Giving card details is one thing but it does not equal payment. Your bank statement may well show your available balance has dropped, BUT the funds are not passed to the merchant until the following day, sometimes two days if a weekend intervenes.

You need them to show goodwill, but if they do not they will be justified in their pursuit. Unfortunately.

carolwat

Im confused because Provident dont add interest. When you took out the loan you received the amount you borrowed and on that the interest is added, you never ever pay more interest whether the loan is paid back the next day, the term it is taken over or if it takes you 5 years. If you paid it back early you would be entitled to an early settlement rebate which used to be paid back afterwards but I believe it is now worked out before you pay the loan off and taken off the amount due. It could be that that amount changed if the payment was made by card and therefore not cleared immediately as it would be with cash. I cant see how it would jump from £22 to £100 though, that doesnt seem to make sense. Can I ask what area you are from please?

[Deleted User]

carolwat wrote: »

Im confused because Provident dont add interest. When you took out the loan you received the amount you borrowed and on that the interest is added

that's correct. It's front loaded.

If you paid it back early you would be entitled to an early settlement rebate which used to be paid back afterwards but I believe it is now worked out before you pay the loan off and taken off the amount due.

That's likely what has happened.

They have added interest back on, to allow for the extra day.

However, £22 interest, for one day, seems :eek:, unless the OP borrowed a HUGE amount.

If they've added £22 back on, for one day, how much was the early settlement rebate :huh:

carolwat

Yes thats the only way it could have been £22. It must have been a couple of grand that was paid off which doesnt sit right with the 'I stupidly had a provident loan last year' remark as surely they must have been a customer for some time to have gotten a loan that big. Anyway that is clearly whats happened. Providents system is partly at fault because it doesnt freeze the account when the final payment is made by card over the phone and because it takes a few days for the payment to reach them it then affect the early settlement balance. Provident should have told the customer this, I dont know whether they did or not. They failed again when the agent didnt call at the house and explain what had happened and collected the the remaining balance of £22. Having said all that the customer will have received letters from provident stating their payments werent being made and to make contact or make payment to the agent or whatever. I dont believe there has been no contact at all and as the OP said they made the payment in March and then saw their agent a couple of weeks later, we are now in May and this is only just being sorted with the customer ringing head office. If this had been sorted weeks ago then the payment would have stayed around the £22 mark but because its been ignored and the account hasnt been paid off in full through a cash payment to an agent which is how provident works then the early settlement figure has changed and will continue to do so until this is resolved. The customer need to get in touch with their local office and speak to the area manager who can and will sort this out. Depending on the OPs attitude to the area manager the outcome could range from the whole balance being written off or the OP having to pay the full amount.

mariem27

ok so just to clear up a few points, settlement figure was £567, it was weeks later that i found out it was then at £22 and now since march it has gone from £22 to £98. i live in south wales.

[Deleted User]

Which day of the week did you pay it up?

mariem27

it was a tuesday