Picture Finance?????

jessie2003

I have a loan with picture finance which was a consolidation a about 2 years ago. We were agreed there lowest rate of 6.9%. However as time as gone on the rate has crept upto 10.5%, which they say is interest rate rises.

When I spoke to them about this asking, if we were put on the lowest rate at the time and now are on 10.5% then surely this must be there lowest rate available regardless of interest rate rises, why are they still offering 6.9% on their TV advert and why am I still not on that rate. They say that is for new customers and as the credit criteria has changed we may not meet the criteria for that rate now. What do you do?

Lizzy

If you agreed the loan at 6.9% then you must have a credit agreement that states this and IF IT IS A FIXED LOAN they can't just change their minds after 2 years. Now if it is a FLEXIABLE loan they can do what they like.

Cahoot did that to me it started at 4.9 and ended up at about 14%. Each email they sent said "if you would like a fixed rate loan apply for one"(with them) which I did and was turned down for. Perfect credit rating, no missed payments with them or anyone and they said no !!!!!!! obviously I know why, they prefer me to pay 14% !!!!
Fortunatley I was in a position to pay it off anyway, but what a stinking rotten trick.........

Check your terms and conditions, I think you may have a flexible loan. Can you swap it to a fixed rate anywhere ?? If you have a good credit rating I don't see why not. Is it a large loan ?

mrmajika

Were you trying to refinance the loan and borrow more money?

If that is the case then the APR can increase.

Having a quick look on the Picture Finance website shows that they do offer variable rates, so it could be they have increased your rate - which is worrying.

10.9% seems to be their highest rate at present.

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

All Picture loans are variable. This will have been in the loan T&C's that you signed. Once you'd signed it, they could raise the rate as they seen fit.

Of course they're going to offer a lower rate for new customers. That's how they get you in. Nobody's going to go to them at 10.9% when their competitors offer lower.

If you look at FirstPlus, Freedom, Debtbuster, etc, they all quote a low variable rate to entice you in.

jessie2003

mrmajika wrote: »

Were you trying to refinance the loan and borrow more money?

If that is the case then the APR can increase.

Having a quick look on the Picture Finance website shows that they do offer variable rates, so it could be they have increased your rate - which is worrying.

10.9% seems to be their highest rate at present.

HI

NO we were not trying to borrow more money, yes I would understand a little if that was the case, I just did not understand why I was put on 10.5% when they are clearly still advertising 6.9%.

jessie2003

HI,

No we did not want to borrow anymore money, I just could not understand why we were on 10.5% when they are clearly offering 6.9% on their advert. Unffortunately we are in a flexible rate so that means they can put this increase on any time they like.

chickpee

We have a Picture Loan and many regrets over taking it out with them.

I accept that they will put the rate up in line with the Bank of England rate increases but the last rise had nothing to do with that which seems totally unfair.

On another forum I read that the BBC Moneybox Programme is interviewing someone in connection with their recent rate rise with Picture and hopefully this will highlight what sharks they are :mad:

jessie2003

Yes you are right the last rise did not seem to tie in with a Bank of England rise. They just seem to be increasing every month or so.

How long have you had your loan, and are you in the same postion as us where it does not make an sense on the interest rate increase?

chickpee

We have had our loan since Feb 2005 and we were initially given the lowest interest rate which I think was 6.4% at the time. Their last interest rate rise has now put us on 8.48% but we are expecting it to go higher still after reading other peoples experiences. Clearly the competitive interests rates that they offer new customers means absolutely nothing because once they have got them hooked they will increase them to a higher rate any way like we have all found to our cost.

I am wondering whether Picture are doing this because they are having to pay back mis-sold PPI premiums and are trying to recover the money that way. I know that as soon as we can, we will transfer this debt to another lender as we don't want to give them any more interest than we absolutely have to.

If I hear anymore about the moneybox programme I will let you know.