Welcome finance secured loan

Pandoroman

Hi all,

Back in 2007 I took a loan (one of many ) with welcome finance. I had defaulted on all my accounts by 2009 and buried my head in the sand until around 2014 when I started to payback what I owed.

I used my credit file to make contact with those I owed money too( I had destroyed all my paperwork relating to my finances on purpose)

My credit report is clear of bad debt, no CCJ's etc and I have recently gained a new mortgage

I have put the property on the market to which the loan is secured and it has come back on the searches that I owe welcome £6500. I have no record of Court orders or any correspondence with welcome or associated companies

I'll be honest I was in a bad way back then and could have signed anything. Today I have contacted welcome and they have given me an account number but cannot offer me any further details, they also say they never sought a court order. They are willing to accept a settlement offer.

I've read a lot about this company this evening and I'm now a bit wary of offering them anything! I understand that I probably owe them some money but I would like some proof first of how much I owe and what the original amount was

what is my best course of action?

[Deleted User]

Fist off you need to send them a "prove it" letter asking in writing (not by phone) for details of the loan, have they never sent you an annual statement?.
TBH welcome aren't the worst lenders in the world and they may after proving to you that you owe the money accept a settlement offer especially if you have defaulted on the loan, the usual starting point is around 40-50% of the outstanding amount .

sourcrates

Hi,

You would be better off sending a CCA request to welcome.

Whilst similar to a provit letter, it has the advantage of been a regulated request under the consumer credit act, and if not complied with could result in your loan been unenforceable in court.

Info and template letter here :

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/sampleletters/Pages/Information-about-your-agreement-under-the-Consumer-Credit-Act-%28sole-name%29.aspx

Pandoroman

Thanks, helpful link. No I've not been sent a statement or had any correspondence with them for at least 5 years probably more.

I don't want to hold up the sale of the house so if I do make a payment to them (I wouldn't offer what they are asking) and then submit a CCA is it too late to claim it back if the account isn't what they say it is?

National_Debtline

Hi Pandoroman,


Because this loan was originally secured, you may find it harder to reach a settlement offer. It is important to make the distinction between a personal loan and a secured loan, even when you haven't paid for years. A secured loan does not need to obtain a CCJ against you, they can simply apply for repossession if there are arrears. The arrears should be recorded on your credit file, but due to the age of some of these debts, it is possible that will no longer show. Now although Welcome chose never to do this, it won't change the fact that they have the security, that will be registered with Land Registry.


And, to further complicate matters, you must also bear in mind that since March 2016 secured loans are no longer regulated by the Consumer Credit Act, they are now covered by the Consumer Credit Directive (and it applies retrospectively). If the original secured loan was CCA regulated you may still have some protection under the Directive, but this is a very complicated area and you would likely need to speak to your conveyancing solicitor about whether a settlement is possible. This could be more likely if Welcome have not followed all of their responsibilities, but it will depend on a lot of variables, and may be harder than you think.


I don't think it is unreasonable to ask Welcome for a breakdown of the account, but whether they have to comply with a CCA request, I cannot say. If you pay the account in full I think it will be challenging to reclaim anything later, but again, you will need some legal advice on this. Good luck,


Laura
@natdebtline

MEM62

Pandoroman wrote: »

I have put the property on the market to which the loan is secured and it has come back on the searches that I owe welcome £6500.

Pandoroman wrote: »

They are willing to accept a settlement offer.

I am struggling to see what motivation they would have to accept a settlement offer if they have a charge on your property. Is it possible that this charge is related to a different debt if you had several loans outstanding with them?

sourcrates

National_Debtline wrote: »

.


And, to further complicate matters, you must also bear in mind that since March 2016 secured loans are no longer regulated by the Consumer Credit Act, they are now covered by the Consumer Credit Directive (and it applies retrospectively). If the original secured loan was CCA regulated you may still have some protection under the Directive, but this is a very complicated area and you would likely need to speak to your conveyancing solicitor about whether a settlement is possible. This could be more likely if Welcome have not followed all of their responsibilities, but it will depend on a lot of variables, and may be harder than you think.


I don't think it is unreasonable to ask Welcome for a breakdown of the account, but whether they have to comply with a CCA request, I cannot say. If you pay the account in full I think it will be challenging to reclaim anything later, but again, you will need some legal advice on this. Good luck,


Laura
@natdebtline

Thanks Laura, wasn't aware of this.

Pandoroman

MEM62 wrote: »

I am struggling to see what motivation they would have to accept a settlement offer if they have a charge on your property. Is it possible that this charge is related to a different debt if you had several loans outstanding with them?

The motivation would be that I can simply not sell the property and carrying on renting it out as I've done for the last 6 years.

I am getting the feeling having spoken to them again this morning they need to claw back as much as they can to pay off their own debt

They offered me the settlement, I didn't suggest it and to me that's strike one. I'm happy to pay what I owe I just struggle with paying back more than the actual loan in charges.

For now I've left them too look at their best price minus any PPI /insurances or added on default charges. In my head 3K in their big empty pot must be better than nothing?

Pandoroman

National_Debtline wrote: »

Hi Pandoroman,


Because this loan was originally secured, you may find it harder to reach a settlement offer. It is important to make the distinction between a personal loan and a secured loan, even when you haven't paid for years. A secured loan does not need to obtain a CCJ against you, they can simply apply for repossession if there are arrears. The arrears should be recorded on your credit file, but due to the age of some of these debts, it is possible that will no longer show. Now although Welcome chose never to do this, it won't change the fact that they have the security, that will be registered with Land Registry.


And, to further complicate matters, you must also bear in mind that since March 2016 secured loans are no longer regulated by the Consumer Credit Act, they are now covered by the Consumer Credit Directive (and it applies retrospectively). If the original secured loan was CCA regulated you may still have some protection under the Directive, but this is a very complicated area and you would likely need to speak to your conveyancing solicitor about whether a settlement is possible. This could be more likely if Welcome have not followed all of their responsibilities, but it will depend on a lot of variables, and may be harder than you think.


I don't think it is unreasonable to ask Welcome for a breakdown of the account, but whether they have to comply with a CCA request, I cannot say. If you pay the account in full I think it will be challenging to reclaim anything later, but again, you will need some legal advice on this. Good luck,


Laura
@natdebtline

That's good advice, I didn't know that. They actually have quite a bit of information to hand and have told me verbally they have the original agreement and copies of passports etc

The passport thing worries me slightly as although I've blocked a lot of this stuff out I don't actually remember ever doing that for a loan