Log Book Loans

SDA1983

I took out one of these a while ago against my car which is now paid off.

I am considering making a complaint to the ombudsman and if not successful taking the company to court over the charges and fee's.

At the time I was in a very bad place and suffered illness which meant reduced working hours and had trouble paying. When trying to set up repayment plans the company were very harsh, using bully like tactics to try and get me to agree to amounts I couldn't afford, which then resulted in more agreements being missed.

Once I got back to work full time this was paid off no problem. However I have been looking through the emails and the charges and just feel they shouldn't be able to treat people the way they do.

I got charged two repossession fee's totaling £450 each. The car was never repossessed as apparently I wasn't home when their agents attended. The charges are in the agreement however it just says their costs, which really could be anything.

I borrowed £750 and ended up paying back around £2800. I just wanted to get opinions before I start the process on if I have a leg to stand on.

[Deleted User]

You'll need to make a complaint to the company before going to FOS, or they'll just send you away.

You can go to FOS if you reach a deadlock with the company.

If you fail at FOS, I wouldn't even consider spending your hard earned money on a court case.

Willing2Learn

Hi SDA1983 and welcome to the forum

Have a read of the DebtCamel article linked below. It includes templates.

Refunds of interest from large, high cost loans & logbook loans

Davy_Jones_II

Could you give a bit more information about what happened? Did you stick to your side of the deal, and did they?

If you did, then what were the charges for?

SDA1983

Hi,

No I didn't. I missed several repayments as I went from a full time wage to SSP. I tried to set up repayments, I told them what I could afford and they repeatedly said what they wanted, which was a lot more and just threatening to reposes the car.

I'll be honest yes I agreed to a repayment plans and didn't keep up however they didn't advise me to get help from a an outside source should as citizens advice, they just kept telling me I had to pay a lump sum to clear the arrears or surrender the vehicle. At one point I offered my wage slips and copies of bank statements to prove I was only getting SSP, they asked for my sick note instead, which I had already given to my employer, they then asked for a doctors letter!

It's more their conduct I can't believe when I'm reading everything now. Also the repossession charges when the car was never actually repossessed. They are a member of the CCTA and looking though from their codes of practice, several were broken.

Willing2Learn

From what the OP has said, it appears the charges and interest incurred were in the terms and conditions of the agreement.


@OP - You might also want to read the MSE article linked below as it may be relevant.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/bank-charges/

You would need to prove that :
you were in financial hardship
and/or
the charges were disproportionate
and/or
you were stuck in a cycle of charges from which you could not escape