Provident

[Ready2Run]

Good evening all.

I took out a loan with Provident and agreed to pay £35 per two weeks to a door collector agent. All was going well for two months then the agent stopped calling. As there is no office in the twon I sat back and waited, and waited, and waited.

After about 5 months my sister in law called me to tell me that a Provident agent had told her that I was in arrears .If my T&C's state doorstep collection then surely this must be Provident's problems.

I took this up with the local area manager who more or less laughed at me when I told him I did not like my personal details being discussed with anyone, even family members and that until this matter was resolved I was not paying anything.

I received a letter from Edrupts (Provident's Solicitors) requesting payment of the full amount. I pointed out to them that he had given confidential information to a third party to which they "investigated" ... oh yes, that was some investigation ... of course they stood by the manager.

I have today received a further letter drom Eggcups requesting contact to set up a payment plan but in the meantime I have requested all the information that Provident hold

Where do I stand with
(a) The Agent not calling
(b) The breach of confidentiallity
(c) The non payment until resolution

Thanks in advance for any help or info you can give

[Guest]

Re: Provident

Presumably Provident did not gift you this money, they loaned it to you. That loan would have been governed by terms and conditions, the most pertinent of which are that you pay it back, at a particular rate and at a particular frequency. The fact that the doorstep collector stopped calling does not mean you have no further obligation to them and it is not Provident's problem that you have not continued to pay them.

Provident have a website, a free 'phone number and a postal address. There really is no reason why you could not have contacted them.

In answer to the points raised in your post above;

(a) You need to pay the loan back and a Provident agent not calling does not absolve you of this obligation.
(b) You may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your personal data has been misused and you have suffered as a result of this. However, only the Information Commissioner can take any action against Provident, if they believe the breach was serious enough since private individuals do not enforce the Data Protection Act 1998.
(c) You may dispute the loan at any point, but as above, none of what you have described will absolve you of any obligation to continue to pay this debt. Given the punishingly high interest rates charged by Provident, I would suggest that you repay this as fast as you can.

[Caspar]

Re: Provident

Off the top of my head, i would have thought if your contract stipulates you pay a doorstep collector, then they are in breach of that contract. However, beware, because if someone drives out from the local office and knocks on your door, they may just ask for the full amount. You may also find a clause that says they can change them without notice whenever they want. At the end of the day it boils down to do you owe the money and the answer is yes you do.

The breach of confidentiality is very serious but it seems to be very hard to prove as it is your word against theirs.

As regards non-payment, personally I would write to them and say what you are willing to pay, ask for their bank details and set up a standing order. Do not set up a direct debit or give any bank details to them. One positive thing about Provident is that I believe they do not charge late payment charges.

[leclerc]

Re: Provident

Off the top of my head, i would have thought if your contract stipulates you pay a doorstep collector, then they are in breach of that contract. However, beware, because if someone drives out from the local office and knocks on your door, they may just ask for the full amount. You may also find a clause that says they can change them without notice whenever they want. At the end of the day it boils down to do you owe the money and the answer is yes you do.
Does the payment book that they are given hold any weight?
"When do I start paying the money back?
You start paying the money back seven days after you receive your loan. Your agent will come and collect it from your home.

You will be given a payment book in which all your weekly repayments are recorded. This helps you know where you are with your repayments, so you should keep it in a safe place."

The breach of confidentiality is very serious but it seems to be very hard to prove as it is your word against theirs.

Provident's own FAQ's:
"Is my loan confidential?
Yes it is.

We’ll only discuss details of your loan with you and not with other family members or friends as we’re bound by the Data Protection Act."
However, the only person who realistically will get into trouble is the doorstep collector who spoke to the SIL however, that is in no way grounds to refuse payment.


As regards non-payment, personally I would write to them and say what you are willing to pay, ask for their bank details and set up a standing order. Do not set up a direct debit or give any bank details to them. One positive thing about Provident is that I believe they do not charge late payment charges.

It isn't what he is willing to pay cos he would have benefitted from not paying so if he has kept his payment book with payments inside it then he should be able to pay what is owed to them and not some nominal amount because of a refusal to pay based on something that is not a valid reason.

[Caspar]

Re: Provident

Totally agree. I still wonder how you would prove the breach of confidentiality when effectively it's one persons word against anothers.

[seduraed]

Re: Provident

the fee including interest is so high because of the costofdoorstep collection and assaid before there are no late fees. Payments can be made to the local office via a debit card cheque etc.

[Ready2Run]

Re: Provident

Presumably Provident did not gift you this money, they loaned it to you. That loan would have been governed by terms and conditions, the most pertinent of which are that you pay it back, at a particular rate and at a particular frequency. The fact that the doorstep collector stopped calling does not mean you have no further obligation to them and it is not Provident's problem that you have not continued to pay them.

Provident have a website, a free 'phone number and a postal address. There really is no reason why you could not have contacted them.

In answer to the points raised in your post above;

(a) You need to pay the loan back and a Provident agent not calling does not absolve you of this obligation.
(b) You may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your personal data has been misused and you have suffered as a result of this. However, only the Information Commissioner can take any action against Provident, if they believe the breach was serious enough since private individuals do not enforce the Data Protection Act 1998.
(c) You may dispute the loan at any point, but as above, none of what you have described will absolve you of any obligation to continue to pay this debt. Given the punishingly high interest rates charged by Provident, I would suggest that you repay this as fast as you can.

I am not trying to avoid payment but I am a little peed off by the way everyone seems to be able to disclose information to anyone and everyone and get away with it.

This manager is an agent of the company and surely he must be bound by the confidentiallity rules as he has disclosed personal information relating to his company without any legal reason / court order.

I also forgot to mention that the agent failed to arrive over a period of seven weeks and we eventually found out that the agent had left, this put me in arrears to start with.

In the meantime and thanks to my ex partner, everything has fallen apart and I am seriously considering just leaving the country for 6 years due to the total value of my debts. I cannot get an IVA and I cannot go Bankrupt as I have a signficant equity in the home. I cant obtain equity release as it does not cover the remaining mortgage. I know that it is what you are not supposed to do, I have stayed and tried to sort the humongus mess out but I am quickly sinking into obscurity.

[charitynjw]

Re: Provident

Only the Information Commissioner can prosecute via the DPA, but you can, if you wish (& have sufficient proof!), take civil action.

http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public...pensation.aspx

[WendyB]

Re: Provident

There are two separate issues here. One being the arrears, the other being the disclosure of info. Unfortunately, the second doesn't really have any bearing on the first, does it? As in, you can't use the second issue as a reason for not paying the debt. If you have kept the payments to one side, then pay them straight away. If you don't have the money, then try and come to arrangement with them to pay xxx per week until the debt is cleared.

[Stocking123]

Re: Provident

Just don't pay these robbers because you don't have to and there's nothing they can do about it. That's all they want to do is reply with some nonsense about paying just to fill up the page. So you can't read posts like mine. I had 1000 from provident 4 years ago and havnt paid them a penny. I lock my gate so they can't even get on my property.