Loan brokers warning/help

loni123

Hi

So I'll explain the situation as it is for me at the moment mainly as a bit of a warning for anyone who might make the same mistake as me and also for any advice anyone can give.

Last week was a bit dire for me and I decided to look for a short term loan (I know I'm stupid and in the end I didn't take one anyway). At one point I ended up on a site called Jedi Loans after entering all my details it flashed up with a notice that they charge a one off fee of £69.95 but it was heavily implied that this would only be charged if you got the loan. Which I didnt. Also after some thought I clicked the cancel button as £69.95 seemed a lot to be paying on top of a loan. Anyway on Saturday I was shocked to see that after receiving my wages over £200 had been debited from my account to 'loan brokers' these were to Jedi Loan and also to two brokers whose sites I had not visited called 'loans direct' and 'loans rocket'. I immediately contacted my bank who have refused to do anything as they are advising it is my own fault for not reading terms and conditions.

All 3 of the companies websites advise you can cancel within 14 days to receive a refund. However I have been unable to contact any by phone and this is how the situation currently stands:

Emailed Jedi loans who advised they need a phone call for confirmation. Advised them of best times to contact me and conveniently they are not available at any of these times.

Loans direct - cannot get through on their telephone number, cannot reach them by email it bounces back and their online form comes up with an error

Loans rocket - emailed 3 times and received no response

Today I have got in touch with the financial ombudsman who are writing to them to try and give them a push to give me the money back as soon as possible. I am really at my wits end with this.

Finally I dealt with a company called cash finance direct on an 09 number I was not aware that this would cost me at first but this is what has happened with them.

I spoke to someone who advised they were a broker and gave me the 09 number to call where they said I would speak to the lender direct agree to the terms and conditions and a loan would immediately be processed. This was not the case when I rang the 09 number I just got through to another branch of CFD who then advised I would be charged £1.50 a minute but the loan was guaranteed and I would also get the fees for the phone call refunded. Reluctantly and in desperation financially I agreed, after a long conversation I was told to ring another 09 number to 'finalise' the application. After this phone call I was given an 0800 number to call to get my refund. After all that the company never gave me a loan and all I have had since is phone call after phone call and text message spamming me with loan requests. Has anyone had any experience with these and did you get your refund back if so? There are £50 worth of charges on my phone bill for this and I want to have my facts at the ready before I call their 0800 number tomorrow!

Thanks in advance

manIntheMiddle

Wow! You have been shafted! Look... Never EVER call a 09 number! This is uncalled for, but don't worry for now.

If the T&C's state you are "entitled" to cancel and receive a refund within 14 days, that is what you will get! Now, the Consumer Credit Act allows brokers to keep "up to" £5 of any fee it takes, but if this is the case, you're looking at losing £15 (for the three)

What to do:

Let's not play silly games, let's write to the company's ****SPECIAL DELIVERY**** Not recorded or normal post. You state that you have cancelled within the 14 days. You tell them that unless the refund is made, you will contact the Financial Ombudsman Service and report them to the Financial Conduct Authority. As for the company that made you contact an 09 number, write in their letter that one of the fundamental requirements of the FCA is for all regulated companies to "treat their customers fairly" this is a clear breach of this requirement and as such, if they do not refund you the total call cost you will be reporting this to the FCA as well. I can almost guarantee you that you will get all of your money back, maybe minus £5 each.

Gaz83

You don't even need to send it special delivery. Standard delivery it's all that's required, if you get a receipt of postage.

manIntheMiddle

And then can be ignored by the broker or the broker could say it never arrived / lost in the post blah blah blah! Please give sensible advise!

Gaz83

manIntheMiddle wrote: »

And then can be ignored by the broker or the broker could say it never arrived / lost in the post blah blah blah! Please give sensible advise!

Er, no. All you need is proof of postage.

And it's "advice".

manIntheMiddle

Some one is beating their chest and sulking, oh dear. Proof of purchase does not get your money back, ensuring the letter arrives and is signed for does.

I'm sorry someone is trying to ruin your post with silly adviCe, i'm just trying to get your money back for you. Either way, this is your issue and feel free to take whatever adviCe you feel is best suited for you. I hope this helps.

Bonfire_Bride

My friend had an experience like this....applied for a 2k loan during a difficult divorce- refused. But they then transferred him to a company willing to offer a much smaller loan. He was hounded for months with texts stating they could have £250 in the account within the hour. No doubt the APR would have been insane!

I would send by recorded delivery - you will get confirmation of the name of the person who signed for the document. Good Luck!

Pixie5740

The loan broker company could refuse to sign for a special delivery letter and so it would never be delivered. If two letters are sent from two different post offices each with a proof of certificate then one could go missing but two going missing is unlikely.

loni123

Thank you very much everyone for your advice I will try this and see how I get on!

Gaz83

manIntheMiddle wrote: »

Some one is beating their chest and sulking, oh dear. Proof of purchase does not get your money back, ensuring the letter arrives and is signed for does.

I'm sorry someone is trying to ruin your post with silly adviCe, i'm just trying to get your money back for you. Either way, this is your issue and feel free to take whatever adviCe you feel is best suited for you. I hope this helps.

Yeah, I think there's only one user on here throwing his toys out the pram, champ.

goodfelladave

Oh dear...:mad: heard about this happening a lot, pretty sad and disgusting if you ask me.