Something Fishy going on

pqrdef

So they start with a payment holiday - nothing to pay for 12 months. By that time, you'll have forgotten all about it. But if you don't pay off in full within 12 months, they'll backdate interest from the start, so that's £100 quid added. Then they set the minimum payment so low that you only pay off 2 or 3 quid a month. So it'll take you 3 years to pay off the back interest from the payment holiday, before you even start paying for the wheels.

Basically, they saw you coming. They employ customer modellers whose job it is to sort customers into psychological types and work out how to extract the most money from each type. Then they laid their trap and you walked straight into it, thinking you were getting a good deal.

jo-bo

It's all very well and good having a go from behind your computer screen but its not exactly helping matters is it?!

rhodod

Kayalana99 wrote: »

I know this isn't any help but I'm gobsmacked someone could spend £325 on an interest free credit agreement then forget about it - worse still be paying it off for 3 years without even knowing

I would need to see the paperwork, i have been on the website i bought the alloys from, if it indeed was those alloys, and mentions nothing about interest free, only finance options are paid over 1-4 years.

I have never had one statement from them in regards to this, my wife deals with the online banking and assumed it was something i had purchased, as was only £13 a month.

If it is indeed the alloy wheels, then the payments were suppose to come off as soon as possible, 30% interest was never spoken about

ticiag

OP - It seems this debt is a mystery and the company you purchased from has not supplied you with much information.
My first thought is that if the direct debits have started and then changed without your knowledge then you should have some comeback under the direct debit guarantee. Please Google it.
Approach Santander and you may be able to ask for the debits to be returned. I have used this guarantee and had deductions returned.
Approach the company who you purchased from and ask for more information about your purchase and finance package, asking for copies. Give them a set amount of time to reply, say 10 days, and then if they give the information you can check and decide whether it is bona fide. If they can give you no information you will have to consider taking the matter further such as to small claims court. If you need help with that then the CAB is helpful.
PS It looks like you have overpaid for these alloys - companies do make mistakes and as you overlooked the problem the mistake just carried on.

rhodod

ticiag wrote: »

OP - It seems this debt is a mystery and the company you purchased from has not supplied you with much information.
My first thought is that if the direct debits have started and then changed without your knowledge then you should have some comeback under the direct debit guarantee. Please Google it.
Approach Santander and you may be able to ask for the debits to be returned. I have used this guarantee and had deductions returned.
Approach the company who you purchased from and ask for more information about your purchase and finance package, asking for copies. Give them a set amount of time to reply, say 10 days, and then if they give the information you can check and decide whether it is bona fide. If they can give you no information you will have to consider taking the matter further such as to small claims court. If you need help with that then the CAB is helpful.
PS It looks like you have overpaid for these alloys - companies do make mistakes and as you overlooked the problem the mistake just carried on.

thank you very much.

rhodod

Update:

Phoned the company who i bought the alloys from, since it was 6 years ago, they have no records of the sale of the alloys, so i have no idea where to go now.

Been told by santander that i need to put it in writing for me to obtain all the information about me, so guess i will do that.


Its odd how over the last 5-6 years, i have never once received a statement or anything to suggest i was paying these alloys.

Cycrow

Have you checked the other 2 CRA, Equifax and Experian to check to see if anything appears on one of those ?

you should really check all 3 as they dont always hold the same data. CallCredit is the newest/smallest of the 3, and as a result, not everyone reports to them.

Also make sure any previous addresses are correct on the file so it'll be showing all accounts registered to previous addresses.

If its on one of your credit reports, then it might give you enough information to figure out what its actually from.

Otherwise, getting the information from Santander would be the next thing to do

rhodod

Update :

got a phone call back from santander, it is the alloys, they were purchased in 2007 for £509.00 and was 29.9 % from the word go, which i find hard to believe. I have never had one statement from them.

Now i mentioned the direct debit guarentee as they took over from GE money in 2010, and the gentleman told me that direect debit guarentee doesnt have an effect in this case??

He told me they are posting out all my statements and the credit agreement letter., so i will see.

I think i will need to pay the outstanding £300 left and wash my hands and learn from the experience.

pauletruth

wow expensive alloys

ticiag

rhodod wrote: »

Update :

got a phone call back from santander, it is the alloys, they were purchased in 2007 for £509.00 and was 29.9 % from the word go, which i find hard to believe. I have never had one statement from them.

Now i mentioned the direct debit guarentee as they took over from GE money in 2010, and the gentleman told me that direect debit guarentee doesnt have an effect in this case??

He told me they are posting out all my statements and the credit agreement letter., so i will see.

I think i will need to pay the outstanding £300 left and wash my hands and learn from the experience.

Rhodod
It is difficult for you as you have had no paperwork to check the money taken from your account. You say Santander are posting statements and the credit agreement letter to you.
You then need to do some computations. Check how much you have paid and if all seems to be in order. Check if the amount taken from your account agrees with the terms of the credit agreement.
You have been making payments from 2007 to 2013, around six years, which seems odd. You say you have already paid around £1000, have £300 left to pay, (£1300 :eek:) plus have had no updates on the repayments from either company.
This sounds very dodgy and in your shoes I would be expecting money returned not to pay even more.
Once you have all the information you will have a better idea if you have been overcharged or not. The next step is then to approach the credit agreement company with your suggestions to settle the matter. Personally I would be asking for anything I had paid over (£509 plus interest at 29.9% £662 to be refunded to me.
This is simplistic but a good starting point.
I always put my complaints in writing so that I have a record. If the company are not helpful then once they have sent a final reply that you are not happy with, you can approach the fsa (financial services authority) to complain and get help.
This is not as complicated as it may seem and if there is a problem with the debt then Santander will probably sort it out. If you have any problems with this process then the CAB (Citizens advice bureau) runs the UK free consumer advice service - see their website for details.