The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has warned the leading 50 payday lenders that they have 12 weeks to change their business practices or risk losing their licenses.

The OFT said it has found proof of widespread irresponsible lending and failure to comply [...]]]> (The information we provide you with today was provided by www.credittoday.co.uk)

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has warned the leading 50 payday lenders that they have 12 weeks to change their business practices or risk losing their licenses.

The OFT said it has found proof of widespread irresponsible lending and failure to comply with its standards, it was announced on 6th March 2013 that, subject to consultation, it proposed to refer the payday lending market to the Competition Commission after it found evidence of deep-rooted problems in how lenders compete with each other.

The action was announced in the final report on the OFT’s compliance review of the £2 billion payday lending sector.

The review found evidence of problems throughout the cycle of payday loans – from advertising to debt collection – and this included some of the leading lenders that are members of established trade associations.

Areas of non compliance included:

• Lenders failing to conduct adequate assessments of affordability before lending or rolling over loans.
• Failing to explain adequately how payments will be collected.
• Using aggressive debt collection practices.
• Not treating borrowers in financial difficulty with forbearance.

Each of the 50 lenders were inspected and will have to take rapid action in order to address the specific concerns the OFT identified with each of their businesses; they must demonstrate within 12 weeks that they are fully compliant, or they risk losing their license.

Payday lending is now classed as a top priority, the review found that customers often have limited alternative sources of credit and are frequently in a vulnerable financial position, combined with this, the high rates of interest charged by many payday lenders can make the consequence of irresponsible lending acute.

The OFT also discovered evidence suggesting that the payday lending market is not working well in other ways and that irresponsible lending in the sector may have its roots in the way competition works, lenders were found to compete by emphasising the speed and easy access to loans rather than the price and also to be relying too heavily on rolling over or refinancing loans.

The OFT believe that both of the above factors distort lenders’ incentives to carry out proper affordability assessments as to do so would risk losing business to competitors.

Apparently the OFT claims that far too many people are granted loans that they realistically cannot afford to repay and it would appear that payday lenders’ income is heavily reliant on those customer who fail to repay their original loan amount on time.

Despite payday loans being described as one off short term loans – on average it costs £25 per £100 for 30 days – up to half of payday lenders’ income comes from loans that last longer and cost more because they are rolled over or refinanced.

The OFT believes that these fundamental problems with the way payday lenders operate go beyond non compliance with the law and regulations.

Clive Maxwell, OFT chief executive, said: “We have found fundamental problems with the way the payday market works and widespread breaches of the law and regulations, causing misery and hardship for many borrowers, payday lenders are earning up to half their income not from one off loans but from rolled over or re-financed deals where unexpected costs can rapidly mount up.”

He also added, ” We’re proposing to refer this market to the Competition Commission, which has wider powers to get to the heart of the problems in the market and to identify and impose lasting solutions that protect consumers. Irresponsible lending is not confined to a few rogue payday lenders – it’s a problem across the sector. If we do not see rapid, significant improvements by the 50 lenders they risk their licenses being removed.”

Don’t forget to keep an eye out for the follow up blog about this – will any of the 50 lenders have their licenses revoked? Find out soon.

What is your opinion on this matter? Will payday lenders ever change the way they trade? Will you still use a payday lender when things get tight? Lets us know of your experiences with payday loan companys.

Mr Stephen Beet, a Bankrupt who acted as a shadow of Director at UPVC Trade Frames (Hull) Limited has been sentenced to a 14 month imprisonment [...]]]> Our blog this week shows what can happen if the restrictions of Bankruptcy are not followed, the information has been provided to us by The Insolvency Service.

Mr Stephen Beet, a Bankrupt who acted as a shadow of Director at UPVC Trade Frames (Hull) Limited has been sentenced to a 14 month imprisonment at Hull Crown Court for fraudulent trading and forgery; this sentence was given following an investigation by The Insolvency Service and a full criminal investigation and prosecution by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS).

Mr Beet admitted to being guilty of using a prohibited name, acting in the management of a company whilst being an undischarged Bankrupt, fraudulent trading and forgery.

Deputy Chief Investigation Officer, Mike Williams said: “Mr Beet’s conviction sends a clear message that Bankrupts who fail to abide by the restriction imposed on them can expect to be investigated and brought to justice.”

Investigations show that Mr Beet set up a new company under the name of UPVC Trade Frames (Hull) Limited which supplies and installed double glazing, the company was incorporated following the failure of two similar ventures known as: Trade Frames (Hull) Ltd which Mr Beet was the sole Director of and went into liquidation in 2006 and Trade Frames, a sole trading business which was set up in 2006 and again run by Mr Beet.

The liquidation of Trade Frames was the cause of Mr Beet’s personal debts which ended up in him filing for Bankruptcy.

Mr Beet wasn’t named as a Director of UPVC Trade Frames (Hull) however he acted as such, arranging overdraft facilities with banks, attending meetings at the bank, recruiting salesmen, dealing with bailiffs and inspecting suppliers’ products. People who are Bankrupt are prohibited from being Directors of a company without the permission of the court.

The company Mr Beet set up was offering low prices/quotations in order to secure business and took deposits from customers knowing that the business could not meet it’s obligations, many unhappy customers either received incomplete services or in some cases no work at all, the company never paid it’s creditors and the poor trading and treating people unfairly resulted in a loss of £23,000 to customers and £208,000 debt to it’s creditors.

Money that was paid to the company was diverted to Mr Beet and at one point he was desperate that a cheque of £350.00 was altered to show that the payment should be made to Mr Beet and not the company.

In sentencing Mr Beet was told: “You have shown a persistent and dishonest flouting of the law over 3 years resulting in substantial loss to others, your offending is serious only immediate custody is appropriate.”

We hope that our blog has given you an insight to the implications of breaking the restrictions of Bankruptcy.

If you would like more information about Bankruptcy then click here for free information on how you will be affected by Bankruptcy or alternatively you can call us on 0800 978 8815 for free confidential advice.

 
A regular occurrence in both business and personally [...]]]> The topic we’ve chosen to write about this week is something a little different to what we usually do but we find ourselves coming across things like this all the time and we’re sure you do too …

How to get out of a contract

 
A regular occurrence in both business and personally is signing a contract you later regret and this could be down to the other party aren’t performing as well as expected or it could just be that you’ve changed your mind.

Getting out of a contract is not usually an easy thing to do but the items listed below are things to consider:

Has there been a breach?

You should firstly consider whether the other party has done anything wrong. Doing things wrong could be for example, be in breach of a term in the contract or maybe they have misled you into signing the contract in the first place.

If there is nothing that has been done wrong and you have simply changed your mind then you may find it a little more difficult to get out. You should assess the full contract terms carefully to see whether any of the terms allow you to end your contract. You find yourself in a lucky situation in that the terms state that all you need to do to end the contract is give a period of notice.

Breach of contract

Okay so you think that the other party has breached a term in the contract, but which ones?

You should know that not all breaches allow you to end the contract you’ve entered. In English law some terms are actually more important than others (the more important ones are usually called ‘conditions’ and the less important ‘warranties’). Sometimes you will find that contracts state which are the more important parts but if not, if the term is fundamental to the contract then it’s more likely to be a condition.

If a breach is that serious that is has disadvantaged you of most of the benefits of the contract then generally this alone would allow you to terminate the contract.

The contract can be brought to an end if there has been a breach of a condition or a very serious breach of a term, also know as ‘repudiation.’ Ending the contract doesn’t happen automatically, you must give notice of the breach to the other party and inform them that you wish to end the contract.

You must not act in a way that suggests that you have “affirmed the contract” for example; you should not act in a way that you accept that the contract is continuing, if you do then you could lose your rights to end the contract; in addition to this you must make sure that you can ‘repudiate’ the contract, if you are wrong then you will be the party in the breach of the contract and end up with a hefty damages bill.

The breach of a warranty does not allow you to end the contract but you can claim damages for the breach.

Something that often causes issues is delay in a party performing its duties – as a general rule delay is not a condition and doesn’t allow you to end the contract. For delay to be a condition the contract should state that “time is of the essence.” You can make time is of the essence by writing to the other party providing them with a reasonable deadline in which they are to perform and that that “time is of the essence.” If they miss their deadline that you are within your rights to end the contract.

Mis-selling, Misrepresentation or Fraud.

There are many different types of misrepresentations and different rules apply depending on what type it is therefore legally this a complicated area. Some misrepresentations will allow you to overturn the contract i.e. treat as if it never existed in the first place, particularly if it was fraud. Others only allow you to claim damages and for some, you might need a court order to end the contract.

Other Ways Out

There may be others way in which you can get out of your contract but this depends on the type of contract you have entered and the events that led up to the contracting being signed in the first place.

Get Legal Advice

The best time to get legal advice is before you think about signing the contract, you can usually get a free 30 minute consultation with a solicitor if you don’t already have one, they will make sure that the contract allows you to get out easily if or when needed.

The next best time to get legal advice is when there has been a breach of the contract and you want out. Trying to continue with the contract is likely to mean that you lose any rights you had to terminate the contract, but acting to quickly to end it could leave you with a large claim for damages.

Understanding your legal position early enough will allow you to end the contract, or negotiate an exit quicker, cheaper and with far less stress.

Do you have any stories on terminating a contract that you would like to share with us?
Contact us on 0800 978 8815 or email us on admin@jacksonpartners.co.uk

Many of us fear the thought of a Bailiff visiting our homes but what is it that we’re most scared of? Is it the thought of not [...]]]> The Government has today announced that Bailiffs will be regulated under new laws which will be released in the hope to ‘clean up’ the industry and protect vulnerable debtors.

Many of us fear the thought of a Bailiff visiting our homes but what is it that we’re most scared of? Is it the thought of not knowing your rights against Bailiffs and therefore you don’t actually know what they’re legally allowed to do and what they’re not?

We’ve previously blogged about your rights against Bailiffs but if you haven’t seen then take a look by clicking here

But will anything actually change in the new laws?

The changes that will take place are:

• Stop late night visits to collect debts,
• There will be restrictions on what Bailiffs can seize,
• Bailiffs will be banned from entering homes when only children are present,
• They will no longer be able to set their own fees.

The new laws will also see that Bailiffs will be forced to undergo a mandatory training and certification scheme and those who breach the new rules will be barred from the industry.

The Ministry of Justice have said “For too long Bailiffs have gone unregulated and therefore allowing a small minority to give the industry a bad name. Too many people in debt have had the additional stress of dealing with aggressive Bailiffs who often charge extortionate fees. The new laws will clean up the industry and ensure Bailiffs are playing by the rules or face being prevented from practising. They will also make sure businesses and public bodies can their debts fairly.”

If you have any stories on how you dealt with Bailiff visits then contact us on 0800 978 8815 or email  us: admin@jacksonpartners.co.uk

Switching energy companies can [...]]]> Now the Christmas period is done and over with it’s now that we start worrying most about our finances – don’t fret, we’re here to guide you through 2013 and our first point of call is providing you with 5 ways you can cut costs this year – thanks to www.thisismoney.co.uk

Switch Bills

Switching energy companies can be seen as too much of a mess around to some people, but if it means that you could potentially save up to £364 would you think again? That’s right if you play your cards right and switch to a different supplier you could save a fortune and what a way to get the year started? By using this is money’s fuel finder to compare prices, all you need to do is click here and then you’re well on you’re way to saving money already!

It’s not just energy bills that we find ourselves paying for the roof for these days – things like finding a cheaper phone, broadband and TV package could also save you money, think about it – do you really need everything you’re paying for at the minute, how many times have you actually used part of the package you pay for? All you need to remember is you can find yourself paying a fortune in leaving fees so make sure you’re not within the minimum contract term before you think about cancelling.

Cut weekday expenses

By looking at what you are spending on a daily basis you will see how much money you have already spent on things that aren’t really necessary and from that it will encourage you to cut costs. Think about how you travel to work or how the kids travel to school – are other methods of transport cheaper – look at it as a bigger picture if other methods of transport are cheaper how much would you save each month/year?

What about packing up? Do you leave the workplace to go buy something from your local supermarket? Think about paying that little bit extra in your weekly shopping to cover lunch for school/work because it’s a fact that when we’re out buying food for our lunch we buy all sorts that isn’t really what we want and cutting back on the cups of coffee that you buy could save you up to £760  a year.

Gym Membership

So most people’s new year resolutions are to lose the weight we gained whilst eating loads of rubbish over Christmas but does it really need to be done by a costly gym membership? On average people waste around £330 a year on forgotten direct debits that continue to take our cash months and months after we ditched the treadmill. Look for free exercise in your local area – there’s a lot of potential exercise area out there.

Quit Smoking

The biggest cost of all – smoking. Although quitting smoking isn’t as easy as getting rid of other things we’ve mentioned but it can be done and you will reap the benefits of it almost straight away! Not only would it change your health but also the amount of money left in your bank/wallet each week/ month too. Work out how much you spend annually on cigarettes – is it really worth it?

Prepare for Christmas now

One of our last blogs in 2012 was about how to save money for Christmas and the first and most important tip was to be prepared! Now there’s nothing that would make you more prepared this year then beginning your Christmas shopping – use all the sale items left over from 2012 to kick start your 2013 things such as children’s toys will be at an all time low so why not start grabbing the bargains?

Things such as wrapping paper, cards, trees, decorations and much more will be on sale so what are you waiting for?

There are just 7 sleeps separating us and the day we get to spend precious time with family and friends, a whole lot of madness is coming our way – the dreaded last-minute scramble to the shopping centre to buy the last few gifts on your list, the food shopping, the [...]]]> The final week till Christmas!

There are just 7 sleeps separating us and the day we get to spend precious time with family and friends, a whole lot of madness is coming our way – the dreaded last-minute scramble to the shopping centre to buy the last few gifts on your list, the food shopping, the preparation for the family coming round, the cooking of the dinner, the handing out of the presents and much more ….

So now we’re in the final week of our countdown we start thinking have we remembered everything and if not we’re hoping that stores are still going to have the few things you need still in stock, today we’re going to give you as much information as we can about saving you more money in the last few days and we hope that we can get you through this crazy week to make your Christmas a joyful one for all!

Last Minute Bargains!!

If you’re a little unprepared and still have a few more presents to buy then why not search around for the last-minute bargains? Obviously shopping online is now going to be a little difficult as you can’t always guarantee delivery in time but it’s always worth shopping around before purchasing the things you need.

Martin Lewis has an outlet discount finder on his MoneySavingExpert website, the discounts can be for 80% or more and include stores such as M & S, House of Fraser, ASOS any more so if you’re looking for toys for child or a Boxing Day outfit then you could benefit from taking a quick look, just click HERE and it will redirect you to the website – but don’t forget to come back here to read more on saving money!!

Don’t forget about Play.com and Amazon as well – there are always sales on them websites even little stocking fillers for under £5, can’t go wrong!

If you’ve come across a last-minute bargain that you want to shout about then contact us on 0800 978 8815.

AVOID!

We know all to well that at this time of year things are tight and getting your family and friends the things they want are more expensive then they have done before and you feel tempted to turn to credit cards, loans, finance and even Payday Loans!!

In 2012 more people have turned to the dreaded Payday Loans in order to get through the festive period, but we’re hoping that even with 1 week left to go we hope that you’ve managed to pull through without the need of a credit facility and especially payday loans.

If you’ve managed to not use credit to pay for Christmas 2012 then contact us as we can post your story in the New Year and let people know that 2013 can be their year!

So from all at Jackson Partners we’d like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and we hope that 2013 brings you many great and wonderful things.

If you’re setting your new years resolution to sorting out your finances then contact us on 0800 978 8815 – we’ll help you every step of the way!

An advisor has assessed your situation including your income and expenditure, total amount of debt and your budget [...]]]> So you’ve taken the biggest step and decided to seek advice from us about your debts, your relieved that there is someone there that can help you and you feel like we’ve taken that chip from your shoulder.

An advisor has assessed your situation including your income and expenditure, total amount of debt and your budget and you’ve opted to use our Debt Management Services, you’re happy for the first time in a long time because you can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
 

Then the phone rings and …

It’s one of your creditors

 
At first you think it’s just a mistake because you know that we’ve contacted them for you and they’ve already received a payment through the agreed payment plan of your Debt Management Plan.

You try explaining that your finances are being dealt with by us but the person on the other end of the phone isn’t listening to you and keeps demanding further payments and threatening Doorstep collectors, court action and bailiff visits unless they receive a payment from you there and then.

The first thing you do is end the call as soon as you can, you hang up and contact your case worker – explaining to them that something must be wrong but your advisor explains that your creditor has accepted your repayment offer and although they shouldn’t your creditors are within their rights to request for more.
 

This is not what you expected,

Shouldn’t your creditors stop contacting you now?

 
Your main concern now is when the phone calls from your creditors are going to stop, how are they allowed to hassle you when you’re repaying the debt in the best way possible?

When we enter a new client into a Debt Management Plan we make sure that they know that they might still receive letters and phone calls during the first 4-8 weeks, this is mainly because the correspondence is already in their collection process and there is nothing they can do to stop it at this point, but they do agree to stop any further correspondence being sent to you. Once your Debt Management Plan has been maintained for a couple of months a lot of your creditors will begin to accept the plan as they would have seen your income and expenditure and from this they will know that you really are paying all that you can afford.
 

Your Rights

 
We’ve never dealt with a creditor that has refused to deal with us or that has continued to contact any of our clients, creditors must abide to the Office of Fair Trading’s Debt Collection Guidance, if you want to take a look at the guidance then you can download it by clicking HERE

If you do receive any calls or letters, you shouldn’t ignore them – simply call the creditor and inform them that you’re being assisted by us and therefore they should contact your case worker, ask them politely not to call for extra payments as we have informed them of your situation and we will send the relevant information to them on your behalf.
 

If the calls continue …

 
Although it is very unlikely that creditors will still be contacting you at this point, you should talk to your network provider and set up ’Caller ID’ on your phone and block any withheld numbers, or simply just ignore any calls you receive from numbers that you don’t recognise, you could also try writing to them or ask your case worker to draw up a letter that you would sign which would state that you want your contact number removing from the creditors records and if they want to contact you then they should write to you, your case worker will also be contacting them for you to have your information removed.

If it still doesn’t stop …

At this point we would assist you in putting forward a complaint to the Office of Fair Trading – as we said above your creditors have rules and regulations that they should follow and if they are still contacting you at this point then a formal complaint to the OFT is more then necessary.

REMEMBER …. that your creditors may threaten you over the phone with court action etc. BUT … you will always be informed of any legal proceedings by letter!

If you’re having problems with a creditor and you’re not in a DMP then contact us on 0800 978 8815 and see how we can help.
 

Testimonial

Mike, Lincoln

“Jackson Partners provide an efficient and very personal service that makes you feel like you can cope with the stress of creditors chasing, they guided me through the necessary steps and they took away a lot of my problems.”

Most creditors use scare tactics to encourage you [...]]]> We’re completley changing the topic of this weeks blog due to a call we received this week regarding what creditors can and cannot do, this is something that we find ourselves answering questions on quite regularly because people aren’t 100% sure on what their creditors can do.

Most creditors use scare tactics to encourage you to make extra payments so we feel it’s useful that people know what their rights are and hopefully we can put your mind at ease.

The debt collection process isn’t something that people are aware of but knowing and completley understanding the process can help to remove worry and uncertainty.

What can creditors do?

1. They can chase you for the debt you owe, that can be via telephone calls or letters.
2. They can send doorstep collectors (these are NOT bailiffs) however, it is unusual for a high street lender to use doorstep collectors as it’s cheaper for them to continue calling you.
3. They can add interest and charges to your account in line with the original agreement.
4. They can take money from connected accounts i.e. if you have a credit card and a current account with the same bank or merged banks then they can dip into your account to take what is owed on the credit card and they don’t need your permission to do so this is known as the right of offset.
5. They can issue a default notice, they usually send them after 3-6 missed payments, creditors are legally required to send you a default notice once you have defaulted on the agreement.
6. They can pass your debt onto an internal or external debt collection agency; these don’t have any more legal powers than the creditor.
7. They can apply for a County Court Judgement (CCJ), if you receive one of these then you either need to complete the paperwork and provide your creditor with an offer of repayment or seek advice.

What can’t creditors do?

1. They cannot harass you – you should keep your creditors informed of your situation but that doesn’t mean that they can ring you every hour of every day. You are within your rights to request that they only contact you in writing and make sure you open your mail.
2. They cannot break data protection laws – this means that they cannot speak to neighbours, family, friends or an employer about the money you owe.
3. They cannot stalk you on social media  - click here to look at our page “10 ways to stop creditors finding you on social media”.

Some debt collection agencies use statutory demands (a way of enforcing Bankruptcy), however, in most cases these are only used as a scare tactic and it is very unusual for creditors to actually enforce these.

Creditors may also threaten you with bailiff action but unless you have defaulted on a CCJ then what they’re actually threatening you with is a doorstep collector. This procedure is again usually used as a scare tactic and as we said above anyone who visits your property has no more power then someone calling you on the phone. You shouldn’t ignore these letters if your debt is for council tax.

If you receive County Court paperwork through the post and you make an offer of repayment then you should make sure that the judge accepts.

Do you have any unusual, successful or even unsuccessful experiences with creditors and debt collection agencies? If you do then email them to us and we will post a blog about them: admin@jacksonpartners.co.uk or call us on 0800 978 8815.

We thought that we would share some information with you about what [...]]]> With the economy in the state it’s in there’s no wonder that we’ve recently seen an increase of calls, queries and clients who are faced with Personal Guarantee liabilities that they didn’t know existed or didn’t actually know what a Personal Guarantee was.

We thought that we would share some information with you about what a Personal Guarantee is and what to do if the banks are making formal demands for repayments that lets face it at this time of year you really cannot afford.

What is a Personal Guarantee?

 
A Personal Guarantee (PG) can also be known as a Bank Guarantee (BG) – so don’t be fooled!

Personal Guarantees are out there with aspects of backing up a small business financially. If you’re seeking any kind of credit facility for a small business then you might be asked to provide a Personal Guarantee either in full or part.

A PG is a promise by one person to accept responsibility  for the debt obligation of a borrower if the borrower was to default. It can be either an individual personal or a company that provide the promise to the lender they are known as they surety or guarantor.

By signing a PG you could potentially be putting yourselfand your assets at risk by acting as guarantor. If you your busines has to be dissolved then you will be personally liable for the repayment, creditors will also look to pursue you for the reapyment of the credit if the business defaults.

 Who would ask for a PG/BG?

 
Let’s rewind the time and think right back to who would ask for a Personal Guarantee?

The most common situations that would ask for a Personal Guarantee from you are:

• Vehicle Hire Purchase or finance
• Overdrafts – any high street back is in it’s rights to request a Personal Guarantee
• Property rentals – this could be on an office or shop premises.

If you think that you may have been asked to sign something like a Personal Guarantee then you should contact us on 0800 978 8815 and we can review it for you or if you haven’t already signed up to a PG but think you may be put in a position where you may have to do so then you should never sign the paperwork without being 100% comfortable with what you are agreeing to.

 How Can We Help?

 
We offer services that can not only assist with you with assessing the Personal Guarantee but also the repayment, our Personal Guarantee review will assess your PG in order to see if it is enforceable or not, if it is then we will look at your finances and formulate the best way forward for you in order to repay the debt.

If the banks are making formal demands for repayment then you should seek advice immediately – as we said above not only have you signed to agree that you will repay the debt but your assets such as family home could be at risk.