What happens now?

Worried_Girl

Hi everyone

I live in Scotland and have just completed a DAS (Debt Arrangement Scheme). It is regulated by the AIB and the terms are that after it is completed any remaining balances due to interest and charges etc must be written off as these were frozen at the point the DAS was agreed.

My DAS was for 59K! It was completed in early December 2014 and completion letters have been sent to all creditors. However, I keep receiving letters from creditors with outstanding balances requesting payments.

My question is this - should my creditors be marking my credit file as satisfied and balances zero? I have checked my most recent Noddle report which was updated on 1/1/15 and balances are still showing

My husband and I have come such a long way paying every penny of our debts back (except the additional interest and charges which creditors have continued to apply) and it feels really disheartening to see this.

What should my next move be? Should I write and request they update my credit file or should I write to the Ombudsman?

I appreciate any help as our main aim is to repair our credit file and ultimately achieve a mortgage and start a family.

Many thanks

Worried_Girl

Also, in terms of rebuilding my/our credit file should we apply for a credit card for people with poor credit rating like Vanquis for example or is this a bad move?

Any ideas/help/hints on how to improve our credit rating would be great.

Thanks

Worried_Girl

Can anyone help? I'd really appreciate any advice.

Thanks

CapricornLass

Ok, Worried Lass, I live south of the border so my suggestions will have to be general...

You mentioned completion letters. Who sent those out? If its not you, then I assume its been done by the AIB/some other official body? If so, why not go back to them and seek their advice re the creditors still trying to collect money from you?

There is also advice from Martin about how to go about rebuilding your credit rating (in the credit cards section, I think).

Sazzie23

Hi Worried

Any idea how the balances have not been reduced, is it because of interest and charges, when were they added ?

I'd go back to whoever administered the DAS for you and take it from there.

coolcait

Your creditors shouldn't still be chasing you once the DAS is completed. You can make a formal written complaint to each of the creditors.
If your money adviser had negotiated with your creditors to allow you to pay a lower amount as a full and final settlement, then you might need to get them involved too.

Worried_Girl

Thanks for the advice so far.

Some creditors continued to apply interest and charges once the DAS was approved. My understanding is that they can do this, however once the DAS is completed they can no longer chase me for this.

There was no lowered settlement amount. The full balance of the debt owed was repaid back however the discrepancy with the remaining balances must be due to the Payment Distributors Fee and also the charges that have been added.

What should my next step be? Can I demand that my creditors mark the accounts as settled on my credit file and that the balances show £0?

Many thanks

coolcait

Worried_Girl wrote: »

Thanks for the advice so far.

Some creditors continued to apply interest and charges once the DAS was approved. My understanding is that they can do this, however once the DAS is completed they can no longer chase me for this.

There was no lowered settlement amount. The full balance of the debt owed was repaid back however the discrepancy with the remaining balances must be due to the Payment Distributors Fee and also the charges that have been added.

What should my next step be? Can I demand that my creditors mark the accounts as settled on my credit file and that the balances show £0?

Many thanks

If you paid back the full balance, that makes it very straightforward - the creditors are completely out of order.


Let AiB know about it, and ask if they can write to the creditors to point this out to them officially. See if AiB will send you a copy of the letter too.


If that doesn't work, then make an official complaint to the creditors, and send them a copy of your completion letter and the letter from AiB.


And if that doesn't work, take it to the Ombudsman, with copies of all the above.


Creditors are supposed to freeze all interest, fees and charges from the date your DAS is approved (or the date creditors get the proposal, if it was started in the last 18 months). They can keep a record of the interest and so on, and can even show it on statements, but they have to write it off when the DAS is completed.


They can't chase you for the payment distributor fees either.


Basically, the creditors are either ignorant of DAS - and it's their responsibility to sort that out - or they're chancing their arm trying to get more money out of you.


Either way, if they don't get their act together after a formal complaint, they'll deserve everything that the Ombudsman does to them!


Good luck with getting them sorted out.

Worried_Girl

Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it.

Do you know if there are any template letters I could use to write to my creditors? Or can anyone help with wording a letter? I want to be concise and to the point and hopefully achieve my goal of them setting balances to zero on my credit file and marking defaults as satisfied.

Many thanks

coolcait

You might want to refer to this (official Scottish Government) website/page, for their general information. And the second last sentence should definitely go into your letter ;-)


http://www.dasscotland.gov.uk/help-centre/creditors


A letter along these lines might help:


Dear Sirs


Complaint re Debt Payment Programme of Worried Girl (DAS ref) completed dd/mm/yyyy

I refer to the above, and (Payment Distributor name)'s letter dated dd/mm/yyyy confirming that the Programme has been completed.


The Scottish Government's dasscotland website says that when a "DPP is completed you must write off all the interest, fees, penalties or other charges"
http://www.dasscotland.gov.uk/help-centre/creditors .


Therefore, please ensure that all credit reference agencies update their records to show that the debt has been settled in full through an approved DPP.


If this does not happen within three weeks of the date of this letter, I will take this complaint further.


Please note that if you send any further demands for payment of a debt which has already been settled, I will report that harassment to the Financial Conduct Authority immediately.




That might not be what you're looking for, but hopefully it gives you some ideas.

Worried_Girl

Thanks everyone, especially Coolcait

I have written to all of our creditors. Some have replied advising that they will update credit reference agencies to advise that account is now settled and closed however this is not yet reflected and I realise this will take a couple of months.

Some creditors have written to say they are still investigating complaint and will get back to us.

However, (Big Shock!) One of our main creditors - Bank of Scotland have written to us advising that they will not pursue any remaining balance, they will remove default as it was applied whilst our DAS was being set up. Prior to this we always met minimum payments and following DAS all payments were met! Also they will give us £150 as a gesture of goodwill!

Is it worth writing to other creditors that applied defaults whilst/after DAS was set up asking they remove defaults due to the same circumstances?

MBNA present a problem. They have advised that they will mark default as partially satisfied in line with their policy.

Any advice greatly appreciated!