Cheque Centre - Irresponsible lending complaint.

Monkeyballs

Hi all

Thanks for the replies

So funny, I just went to Mum's for Sunday lunch and I had some post... The Money Shop (with whom I also recently made a complaint to) have sent a letter confirming receipt of my compliant to her house despite having given them my new address both before the start of at the beginning of my DMP and more recently on the email on which I made the complaint!

Funnily enough I mentioned in my complaint that at no time in the last 4 years or so have they ever asked to confirm my identity or address so this is just icing on the cake LOL.

I'll keep posting with progress (I don't expect much in the very short term) but fingers crossed I'll get a positive response

MB x

sacha28

Ok so I'm sat here reading this with great interest....I got locked in a cycle of using Wonga for about 18 months. When the CAB got a copy of my credit file (for the purpose of the DRO that has since finished) I had 31 Wonga loans showing :eek::eek::eek:

Now this wasn't to fund a gambling addiction, an alcohol addiction or drug addiction, this was to put nappies on my baby's bum and milk in his tummy. I had no real option as I earn too much for any kind of benefit (I say too much, it's by about £10 per month) and I was trying to pay debts that I had been finding out about ever since leaving my previous relationship (loads of credit taken out in my name that I had no idea about, council tax not being paid, mobiles not being paid, water not being paid ccj's coming out of my ears, all of which was hidden from me). I was sinking big time.

Please don't shoot me down for this but I feel that making a complaint about irresponsible lending is just a way of not taking responsibility for your own actions. You have choices in your life, you chose to take this credit as it was the only form of credit you would ever get, you made bad choices. I don't understand why this is the fault of the company??

Maybe I'm missing something here? Maybe I have a case of irresponsible lending as I averaged 2 Wonga loans per month for 18 months but that was a conscious decision that I made, Wonga were just willing to go along with my decisions as they are a business and were making money out of me.

I do wonder why we have become a nation that always thinks someone else is to blame for the mess we get ourselves into and why we expect some kind of financial 'reward' or to be compensated for them providing us with a service we are only too happy to use....when it suits.

dubs57

Obviously you are far superior to the rest of us.

sacha28

dubs57 wrote: »

Obviously you are far superior to the rest of us.

How so? Perhaps my whole attitude and behaviour have had to change drastically due to the poor decisions I made, there is nothing wrong with this.

I am entitled to have an opinion and mine is that financial compensation should be available to those who have been been left in situations that are beyond their control by companies. I don't think it should be considered for people who continually abuse the service for their own gain, knowing full well what they are doing, then looking everywhere but their own door when it all goes tits up.

It went totally tits up for me and I blame myself, not Wonga, as I was fully aware of what I was doing but chose to carry on.

I'm not saying the OP shouldn't do as he has chosen to do, good luck to him, but what I am saying is that all too often people now look too hard at how the blame can be taken away from them.

Monkeyballs

Hi Dubs, I expected comments like this and it really doesn't bother me so don't go there

Hi Sacha,

sacha28 wrote: »

Please don't shoot me down for this but I feel that making a complaint about irresponsible lending is just a way of not taking responsibility for your own actions. You have choices in your life, you chose to take this credit as it was the only form of credit you would ever get, you made bad choices. I don't understand why this is the fault of the company??

I tried to follow their procedure to find an amicable solution and explained to their HO that I needed help, was receiving help for a gambling addiction and despite the contract stating that if I was struggling to contact them they refused and told me to make arrangements in branch.

I went into my branch where the usual happy to see me assistants said that "they don't do arrangement" and I could either A) do a step down which would see me reducing the amount borrowed by perhaps £20 pcm for a few years but they wouldn't ever reduce my credit limit Sign up to a new monthly repayment loan which would be £250 per month for 2 years (or £6k in total) C) they would see me in court!

I had opened up and was coming to terms with my problem but despite trying to do what I deem to be a reasonable solution with a company that had already made perhaps £5k in interest they did not want to offer any help and in fact on several occasions humiliated me by asking me what my problems were (despite already having been told) in front of a shop full of customers...

That's my reason for complaint and should imagine that if you'd been in the same position you would feel it unreasonable.

Other people have their own stories, perhaps it's no coincidence that they are no longer offering payday loans?

MB

Monkeyballs

sacha28 wrote: »

How so? Perhaps my whole attitude and behaviour have had to change drastically due to the poor decisions I made, there is nothing wrong with this.

I am entitled to have an opinion and mine is that financial compensation should be available to those who have been been left in situations that are beyond their control by companies. I don't think it should be considered for people who continually abuse the service for their own gain, knowing full well what they are doing, then looking everywhere but their own door when it all goes tits up.

It went totally tits up for me and I blame myself, not Wonga, as I was fully aware of what I was doing but chose to carry on.

I'm not saying the OP shouldn't do as he has chosen to do, good luck to him, but what I am saying is that all too often people now look too hard at how the blame can be taken away from them.

Hi Sacha,

If it helps you to understand my lending cycle.

I would work up to 60 hours per week (while getting paid for perhaps 45) to get enough overtime to ensure I had enough going in on payday to cover the loans coming out of my account.

I'm not lazy and I wasn't trying to get out of my debt - if one of my lenders had told me about the option of a DMP I'd have gone down that route long ago.

Every payday I would take a half day off work to go into town to borrow enough to pay rent, buy food and pay for other bills and every month I had no intention of gambling... every time, that was the end of it!

Then as I walked to my bank to deposit the money I had to walk past at least a dozen betting shops, each one harder than the last and I would inevitably go in and tell myself I'd just eat less.

Once you're hooked then the world stops and all you see is the flashing lights, the dancing leprechauns, the music, the winning spins and bonuses... Even just typing this almost makes me want to play, that's how strong the compulsion is and I've not gambled (save for one Euromillions ticket a month ago)for about 6 months.

I did not want to gamble, I had to - if you've never felt an addiction then you won't get it, and I hope you never do because afterwards you feel disgusted with yourself for having a dirty little secret and at it's worst wishing you would just die and feeling like if you did then who would care anyway?

That's what I was feeding.

If it helps further, I loaned from plenty of other PDL's and I'm not making complaints or asking for compensation from them because I never A) asked for help and was refused and humiliated or was offered a new loan despite being on a DMP with a debt already oustanding to that lender!

I take responsibility for my lending with Wonga, Quickquid, Payday UK and Mr Lender.

MB

sacha28

Monkeyballs that is a real eye-opener. I have never had an addiction, I don't think I have even placed a bet, so I find it difficult to understand that feeling (sorry, that's called ignorance I think!!)

I absolutely understand the complaint about being humiliated in front of a shop full of customers, nobody should ever be made to feel like they have to lay their life story down in order to get any kind of help.....maybe my view would've come across completely differently had you said that that was the main crux of the complaint, not the fact they were facilitating your borrowing needs/wants. I still feel where there is 'irresponsible lending', there is 'irresponsible borrowing' and far too many people like to blame everyone else for problems caused by themselves. Re-reading your post, and the one above, has put into perspective that I don't think it was the lending that was the problem, more the shocking way in which you were treated when the lights went on and you were begging for help. I guess the irresponsible lending angle is a by-product of that.

Please don't feel that I am judging you (far from it in fact), I am in no position to judge as I have got myself in some dreadful states previously, and I cannot imagine the personal trauma you have gone through as I have never felt what it's like to have an addiction. I admire the fact that you appear to have gained some control of your life.

Monkeyballs

Hi Sacha,

LOL, don't worry I didn't take any offence from what you had posted I see all the time some of the bile spewed out from people who come on this site to cast judgement on people and instead of offer the advice which the Op was asking for instead systematically tear strips off them - I don't believe you to be in this category

Between you me and the rest of MSE I only had problems with the FOBT machines (I.e. Roulette, slot machine type games and online versions of the same) and never had a problem with horses or dogs or whatever else people gamble on - I don't have the patience whereas FOBT's and online gaming is instant, you simply place a stake and press go!

Me going in to a branch and being allowed to borrow money to gamble is about the same as selling petrol to someone wanting to set fire to themselves... You shouldn't do it!

That said, I do think that there are people posting who borrowed just to have money in their pocket. I do think that some people borrow for the sake of spending - that's not me. And while some people argue that it's possible to be addicted to shopping(?) it's not something that I subscribe to although it could be me being an addict snob

I'm not perfect, I have "moments" but I'm getting better although I doubt I'll ever be able to trust myself - I just need to recognise my triggers and do something about them.

Anyway, back to my point - I'm not offended I'm too big and ugly for that LOL

MB of G x

JOBLESS

Obviously some of you guys are talking bull cheque centre CHOSE to opt out of payday loans and were not stopped from offering them and also the whole them not offering to help customers is also incorrect as they Are part of the treating customers fairly culture and so a payment plan can and is offered to customers in financial difficulty and interest is frozen. I completely agree it is irresponsible borrowing not lending people are so quick to borrow and jump at limit increases without even considering paying it back.

ShirePiskie

Hmmmmm. First post on MSE to insult people and leap to the defence of a lender. Probably not 'jobless' but employed by them.

Sacha managed to express a differing opinion in a reasonable, non-judgemental way, I thought, so it IS possible.

I've read Monkeyball's diary and they're not shying away from their responsibilities. Suggest you do a bit more checking before plunging in.