'Provident' not accepting settlement

brownstone73

Hi,

Hope someone can help

3 years ago I opened a Provident loan of over £3000, I paid extra on the loan for a few months, but after running into financial debt and being on and off employed, it became difficult to keep up with all my debt.

I have been in touch with Provident and the rest of my creditors to keep them up to date with my circumstances, which was great. It's been 4 years of hell with my debt, but are proud to say I managed to clear all my debt and only have Provident loan remaining. Because I'm on and off into contracts, it's difficult keeping to my agreement. So far I managed to pay Provident over £5000 on the loan and asked them if they would agree to a reduced settlement so that I can clear my debt with them. They kindly said 'no, that's not possible and is too late' since I full amount is now due.

I understand my account fell behind on payments, but I made sure to pay something/anything I could afford on a weekly or monthly basis. The agents was fully aware of my situation and supported me.

Yesterday, I was told I could not settle with a reduced rate and have to pay the full amount due which is around £4000, I propose to pay £1500 to settle.

Is there anything I can do in this case?

Any suggestions please.

Thanks in advance.

Clive_Woody

You could try talking to one of the debt charities (like Step Change) who may be able to negotiate on your behalf.

Gaz83

There's no obligation for a lender to accept any kind of reduced settlement.

brownstone73

I'm in touch with Step change, Thanks Clive.

Heffi1

So you borrowed £3000, have paid back £5000 and now still owe £4000

are you sure these numbers are right, I would be asking for a breakdown of the account to see how it has become so big, what interest rate are you being charges.

SnowTiger

Heffi1 wrote: »

So you borrowed £3000, have paid back £5000 and now still owe £4000

are you sure these numbers are right, I would be asking for a breakdown of the account to see how it has become so big, what interest rate are you being charges.

Using the slide thing on their website shows a £2,500 loan over 110 weeks cost £5,500. I haven't computed the figures, but adding an extra £500 and spreading it out over an additional 46 weeks would increase the total by quite a lot.

OP has also missed a few payments too. Provident don't charge fees for missed payments. Presumably they still charge interest though.

Oddly, OP suggests this was a new account opened while they were already having financial problems. I'm surprised Provident lent so much to a new customer such as that.

Provident has probably already got its money back, covered its costs and made a profit. Now they're happy to receive £50 a month indefinitely rather than a £1,500 lump sum.

Anthorn

Heffi1 wrote: »

So you borrowed £3000, have paid back £5000 and now still owe £4000

are you sure these numbers are right, I would be asking for a breakdown of the account to see how it has become so big, what interest rate are you being charges.

Appears to be low to me considering Provident's average 263% APR. With such APR the total repayable on £3000 should be in the region of £20,000.


In any case the OP could have had a better deal than any doorstep lender such as Provident at their local Credit Union. Interest in the region of 3% monthly / 43.2% APR calculated on the reducing monthly balance and not front-loaded. Interest could have been as low as 0.5% monthly or anything in between. I suppose all of us live and learn.