Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k custs

[EXC]

Re: Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k cu

So correct me if I am wrong, as I see it all the firms that have been ripping us off to some tune have been overseen ,( for lack of a better word) by cocked up authorities who had no more authority than the man in the moon?
That only now after all the pain and suffering many have gone through financially, the Government have understood we are being unfairly and in some cases unlawfully treated, (or maybe because we the consumers are on to 'em). So have cocked up another 'Regulator' who may or may not (we will have to wait and see) be able to make things fairer and better understood all round.
So if I have this right, none of the firms who have wronged us in the past can be punished in any way or made to put right what they did?

That's about it.

Edward Heath was responsible for forming OFT in 1973 and Tony Blair was responsible for splitting its functions but not increasing its powers in 2006 so you can safely blame both the Conservatives and Labour.

What the FoI response is saying is that for misconduct which occurred during the OFT's reign, firms can't be made to put things right for the consumer and neither can they be fined if they hadn't already had a warning.

[enaid]

Re: Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k cu

Glad I got it right, so it was Office of Fair Trading for the traders and balls to the consumer, nice :doggieyes:

This is false advertising then ? LOL The Office of Fair Trading was responsible for protecting consumer interests throughout the UK,

[EXC]

Re: Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k cu

Glad I got it right, so it was Office of Fair Trading for the traders and balls to the consumer, nice :doggieyes:

This is false advertising then ? LOL The Office of Fair Trading was responsible for protecting consumer interests throughout the UK,

Quite.

Remember this?


To: John Fingleton
Chief Executive
Office Of Fair Trading
Fleetbank House
2-6 Salisbury Square
London
EC4Y 8JX
24/2/07

Hey Johnny boy !

How's it hangin' my man?

I wondered if you could drag yourself away from compiling my FOI request and do me a lemon. My nipper is doing a school project about the The Seven Wonders Of The World and she would be thrilled if you could help her out. So over to you kid -and be nice ok? Mr Fingleton is a very clever and important man

Dear Mr Twelve Quid,

My project is entitled The Seven Wonders Of The World and I'm featuring things like the the awe inspiring Grand Canyon, the majestic Victoria Falls,and the truly incredible decision you made allowing credit card issuers to charge a criminal £12 for sending out a letter informing their customers that their missed payment is accumulating an interest rate of 178 trillion per cent .

I just need some background on your inspiration for the decision, what kind of drugs you were on, were you bullied as a child, that kind of thing really. If you could just write it in a letter and pop it in the post to me that would be well cool.

My dad said that any request under the freedom of information act should rightly be paid for so I have my pocket money at the ready. Let me just work out how much to enclose.

Now lets see, it should only take about ten minutes of your time so if I divide that into your hourly pay of £6 (dad said you must be on the minimum wage cause that's all you're worth) so call it 87p. Then there is stationary and postage at, say, 50p. Now all I have to do is add the 2 numbers up, so I'll use my new OFT Ready Reckoner™ calculator that Santa got me for Christmas. So lets see, 87p + 50p = erm.... £12!

Simple really isn't it?

Could you whack off 10 copies please? My school chums like a laugh.

Pleased find enclosed.


Buttercup (age 7)


Dear EXC

Please find enclosed your £12.

It is not clear whether you expect a response to your letter of 24 February. In any event, we are sure you will not be surprised to learn that the OFT does not have any information of the kind described in your letter. As far as you are really interested in an explanation of the OFT's action in relation to credit card default charges, please see above and previous correspondence.

If you are unhappy about the way in which your request for information has been handled, you may seek an internal review by writing to the Internal Review Co-ordinator, Room 4C/046 Office of Fair Trading, Fleetbank House, 2-6 Salisbury Square, London EC4Y 8JX or by sending an e-mail to foiadpainternalreview@oft.gsi.gov.uk.

We will deal with any internal review within 25 working days of receipt or, if this is not possible, advise you of a date by which we expect to have completed a review of your complaint.

If you remain dissatisfied with the OFT's response you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner at FOI/ EIR Complaints Resolution, Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SX9 5AF.

Yours sincerely


Jennifer Slocombe
Consumer Protection Enforcement Group
Office of Fair Trading

[enaid]

Re: Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k cu

I don't remember that no I really don't but it's so bloody funny and accurate lol
Am trying to think who Buttercup could be ROFL x

[Nibbler]

Re: Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k cu

Take on Treasury committee update by the daily wail.

Shaming of our bully banks: We DID intimidate customers with fake debt collection letters, admit bosses

Letters from bank bosses below.

Correspondence

• Letter from HSBC in response to Andrew Tyrie's letter of 8 July 2014 ()Published 05 September 2014Alan Keir, Chief Executive, HSBC, writes to Andrew Tyrie MP, concerning letters sent to customers which purported to be from independent solicitor firms. An example is included.
• Letter from Barclays in response to Andrew Tyrie's letter of 8 July 2014 ()Published 05 September 2014Anthony Jenkins, Group Chief Executive, Barclays, writes to Andrew Tyrie MP, concerning letters sent to customers which purported to be from independent solicitor firms.
• Letter from Santander in response to Andrew Tyrie's letter of 8 July 2014 ()Published 05 September 2014Ana Botin, Chief Executive, Santander, writes to Andrew Tyrie MP, concerning letters sent to customers which purported to be from independent solicitor firms. An example is included.
• Letter from RBS in response to Andrew Tyrie's letter of 8 July 2014 ()Published 05 September 2014Ross McEwan, Chief Executive, RBS, writes to Andrew Tyrie MP, concerning letters sent to customers which purported to be from independent solicitor firms. An example is included.

Given that, I find it hard to see why the banks ate not being made to give redress as well.

[righty]

Re: Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k cu

Because they ARE the Banks & have the politicians in their pockets

[Nibbler]

Re: Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k cu

Yes, but I meant in principle. I know the vested interests that mean it doesn't happen in practice.

[righty]

Re: Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k cu

'Principal' 'Banks' that's an oxymoron and it would be a 1st for any bank to have principals

[Nibbler]

Re: Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k cu

'Principal! That will be a first

Sadly yes.

[Nibbler]

Re: Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k cu

Round we go again, but with real in house solicitors rather than fake firms for Lloyds it seems now...

LLoyds changing

be interesting to see the letter if posted on that thread.

[Amethyst]

Re: Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k cu

Round we go again, but with real in house solicitors rather than fake firms for Lloyds it seems now...

.

To be fair to Lloyds, they were always real solicitors, they were just working under the title of a fake company rather than under the Lloyds banner.

Be interesting to see if each solicitor suddenly has his own headed paper or writes under his employers banner now.

[Nibbler]

Re: Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k cu

True. Fair point.

They just made themselves look dodgy as hell in the way they went about it.

[Amethyst]

Re: Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k cu

They certainly did.

[andrew1]

Re: Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k cu

Brings me back to my original question - how legal were the court actions taken by fake firms and if found not to be solicitors what will the redress be, especially when the defendants were found guilty and they lost their homes or something equally disasterous for them financially?

A1

[Amethyst]

Re: Wonga to pay redress for unfair debt collection practices – FCA - £2.6m to 45k cu

As yet unverified. "330,000 customers who are in arrears of 30 days plus, as at 2 October 2014, Wonga has agreed to write off all outstanding debt"

“When I joined Wonga I was made aware of concerns the FCA had already expressed around affordable lending, concerns" - Andy Haste, Wonga