Santander and DMP

MrRichTea

To have that many accounts closed in such a short space of time, you could be failing the CIFAS fraud check.

Out of the 8 flags, only 2 types show on your credit report that can be seen by you.

Most are hidden from view to you / only seen by lenders, something could of seriously spooked them into not wanting to do business.

This explains: https://brittontime.com/2022/04/04/what-are-cifas-markers/

You'll have an uphill struggle trying to remove one, only the company who placed it can remove them.

You're best bet is to send a Direct Subject Access Request (DSAR) directly to CIFAS https://www.cifas.org.uk/dsar   & to Santander https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/support/industry-updates/your-personal-data-rights for good measure to know for sure, otherwise you could be left in the dark / going round in circles.

All the time 1 is attached to a credit file (6 years) accounts will keep being declined / revoked.

 

Hope you find the answers your looking for.

LilMissM

Good evening all,

I have had an email back from Cifas regarding my SAR. It turns out that there is a marker against me and it was made by MY COMMUNITY BANK for the £5,000. I took out, stating:

"Misuse of facility – opening an account,
insurance policy, or other facility for a fraudulent
purpose or the fraudulent misuse of an account,
policy, or facility; or the fraudulent misuse of
insurance policy documentation"

I did email them on 7th March and told them I was struggling and was taking out a DMP (which was the StepChange DMP) and asked them to confirm the direct debit was cancelled but they just emailed back saying "In order to change your direct debit details, you will need to contact our service team on 0800 289 120."

So what do I do now? It looks like I'm pretty screwed.

fatbelly

Lots of people think credit unions are friendly helpful organisations. They might be if you are not struggling but, if you are, they can be the most aggressive of all creditors. I have had to make formal complaints about them in the past.

However, I suggest you start gently.

https://mycommunitybank.co.uk/

Shows that they have a complaints route and this can be escalated to FOS.

https://mycommunitybank.co.uk/complaint-policy/

You may want to point out that they recommend, if struggling, to use stepchange

https://mycommunitybank.co.uk/loans/debt-management/

LilMissM

Thank you fatbelly. I get the feeling I'm in for a long haul with this 

fatbelly

Keep this info in case you need it in the future but there are named people and direct email addresses on the FCA register

https://register.fca.org.uk/s/firm?id=001b000000MfM5LAAV

And there is an historic record of sanctions imposed on them by the FCA

LilMissM

Oh wow. Scary stuff. One good thing to come out of all of this, I don't EVER want to get credit again in my life (not that I probably would now like). 

Thank you fatbelly. I'll keep you updated x

ChampagneSupernova36

Hiya @LilMissM

just having a read of the thread, I was in a very similar position to you at the start of my second DMP. Originally my projected finish date was 4 years but I cleared it in 2 and a half in the end. First of all , I was the same as you , I was petrified of debt collectors or people coming to my door, the constant phone calls. It does get better and, as everyone here says, there’s very little chance of anyone actually coming over. The language they use in their correspondence terrified me and I think it is a deliberate tactic to put the feelers out there.

however , I have established from experience, that letting everything default at the beginning to repay is the best course of action. I didn’t do this, and the interest built up on a couple of accounts. For the ones that did default , they were quickly sent into debt collection agencies and I had a repayment plan set up with them ASAP which was accepted. When I was able , I made a full and final settlement offer and got a 30% offer accepted (which was about £1722 wiped off my debts). So, as long as you keep on top of who they debts get sold onto, you’ll be okay. If you did allow the debts to default , and save up what you WOULD be paying for a couple of months even, you may be able to get a very good F&F deal. They do , after all buy debts for pennies to the pound.

I’m sorry you are going through this agro with your banks. I use monzo as my full time bank , I have never had a problem with them and now you can do pretty much everything you can with any other bank. I have also just opened a basic account with Lloyds in the name of budgeting, this was accepted even after just finishing a DMP. Monzo is great for pots and budgeting as well.

it does feel like an absolute mountain to climb at times and not every journey is linear. You may find things improve in the near future and then you can pay more , you may have to reduce payments but that’s okay as well. It’s a tough journey but you can do it , as you start to see the balance go down, it’s very rewarding and the debt will be gone in no time:

I hope you’re ok , stay strong and keep your head up. This is a completely fixable situation , it just won’t happen overnight .

best wishes 
E

LilMissM

Thank you so much for that reply, it was just what I needed. You're absolutely right, it does feel like a huge mountain to climb and I honestly can't see clearly. I will keep your reply handy and come back to it when I feel like I'm drowning

Thank you to you and everyone else on this amazing forum, you make such a difference when people need it most and I cannot thank you all enough for your help so far x

LilMissM

I've had a text and email from MCB:

"Dear XXXXX Please contact us today. Your payment has not been brought up to date and we would like to discuss your account with you as a matter of urgency. Our telephone number is 02039236888"

 

"

Early investigations confirm you are resident at the above address. Despite this, we have not managed to speak to you about your now, seriously overdue debt.

 

We are now instructing our external debt collectors to contact you directly in relation to your loan account.

If you want to avoid this course of action, contact us today on 0203 923 6888"

RAS

OK, so they are going to ask someone else to send you texts and emails. Have they defaulted the debt yet? 

Otherwise ignore everything except letters. Default warnings, defaults have to be sent as hard copy. Once the default arrives, set up a token payment.

They can't take legal action until they actually default you and are very unlikely to do so afterwards. Again, they have to send the letter before action by mail. Ask advice here if that happens.