HSBC/Moorcroft/ panic and tears!

[Aks]

Hi All, spent all day yesterday looking at lots of information on here so thank you in advance.

My husband died suddenly sept 2011 leaving me with lots of financial difficulties. My HSBC personal account (which was an old account and not one my salary was paid into) had an overdraft facility of 5k and in all of the awfulness it got used. my child benefit was being paid in to cover the monthly repayment but then got letter form HSBC internal debt collection team asking for immediate payment of overdraft. They had tried to phone me once before that and left a message, to which i hadn't replied. Spoke to the internal team there and they said as i hadn't responded quickly enough the debt was due to be passed to Moorcroft in the next 17 days and i needed to await a letter form them to enter into any repayment agreement. I did have 1k that i could access and due to the fact that they were quite pressurising and not helpful i put the 1k (for tax payment id saved) into the HSBC account. Didn't get any further confirmation and got a letter from Moorcroft. I am panicking about credit rating and ccj and anything being put on house at this point as would need to disclose to employer and starting own new company too.
Spoke to Moorcroft and a chap took me through income and expenditure..of which there is more going out than in as my son has just gone to university so have lost WFTC and the bereaved parents allowance i was getting which was keeping my head above water.
Moorcroft put the account on hold for 30 days as income less than expenditure. In the meantime i thought maybe if i paid off and got a loan (cant afford) and managed to secure offer of 5k loan over 5 years at 100 a month. Phone moorcroft and asked if could secure funding would they reduce amount...yes to 4893!
Have phone debit charity and have a telephone appt with them next week....and started research on here....would really appreciate some advice as feeling sick with worry and in tears typing this.
thanks

[Aks]

Re: HSBC/Moorcroft/ panic and tears!

Forgot to say spoke to HSBC internal collections team (metropolitan) yesterday to ask if I could enter repayment agreement with them...no...its now with moor croft, asked them if they had sold the debt to moorcroft and if so for how much...yes they have sold to moorcroft and wouldn't say for how much (it was call centre abroad that i spoke to)..just thought would add the whole picture!

[wales01man]

Re: HSBC/Moorcroft/ panic and tears!

May I suggest instead of borrowing to pay debt yjat you try to get Moorcroft to accept the 100 a month with the interest stopped this would save you paying charges and interest on a loan.
Some more and maybe better advice will come on here from LBers

[Amethyst]

Re: HSBC/Moorcroft/ panic and tears!

Hey Aks, Welcome to the forum - you are amongst people who have been through similar situations and know you can and will come out the other side xx

Remember that Moorcroft don't see you as an individual with all the things you've had to deal with so don't take anything they say to heart. Which debt charity have you been in contact with? They will help get Moorcroft to accept a monthly installment on the debt at a manageable rate based on your true income and expenditure.

Moorcroft may try to take the debt forwards to court action, which could end up with a charging order to secure the debt and a CCJ, but will give you a sensible installment plan to repay them and limit interest and charges they can add to the account. It would though stay on your file for 6 years.

You mention you are worried about the default on your credit file affecting your employment and you setting up your own business. What sector do you work in? Do you need a loan to get your business off the ground ?

Do you still have the finances available to pay your tax bill ?(you mentioned using money you'd saved for tax to pay HSBC). The tax bill does need to be a priority over the unsecured overdraft debt with HSBC as I'm sure you know so that should be sorted first.

Have you actually taken out this secured loan of £5k ? Who is that with and what have you secured it on ?

Apologies just a few questions to begin with to get a better picture, I'm sure others will interject with some thoughts for you too xx

Sharon
xxx

[Aks]

Re: HSBC/Moorcroft/ panic and tears!

Hi thanks for the speedy response. The loan is not a secured one and is with Tesco..had it accepted but not signed any paperwork so just got it all on hold! Dont need finance for business at the moment. Would like to look at remortgage though just to secure intrest rate (before they go up) not to apply for any more so am worried will get stuck and wont be able to do that with poor credit rating. Spoke to step change yesterday and got a call back booked for a weeks time to go through finances in more detail. Have read lots of people call moorcrofts bluff and send three letters........does that really work...can they legally pursue the debt....will they take to court? Step change looked at my credit file and the debt isnt showing on there at the moment. Just coping with mortgage and bills etc is hard at the moment and really dont have any spare..work in the NHS and we have to disclose ccj's and really dont want to get one! Thanks

[Aks]

Re: HSBC/Moorcroft/ panic and tears!

ps trying to save for tax bill not due until march, couldn't afford the 1k but felt pressure from metropolitan, and its not shown as the right amount on the moorcroft amount as not showing the 1k credit i paid in so should be 4300 not 5300k

[Inca]

Re: HSBC/Moorcroft/ panic and tears!

AWWW hun.........grab a cuppa.........and breathe......the Beagles will sort this out for you...you have Head Hiawatha on the case (Amethyst) so try and relax a bit,,if there's a solution it WILL be found.
If anyone says to me,YOU AND WHOSE ARMY,,I can honestly say,,LegalBeagles actually

[Amethyst]

Re: HSBC/Moorcroft/ panic and tears!

Ok, have you had a default notice from HSBC that you recall ?

While you wait for your appt with stepchange (who are okay in sorting repayment by installments) I would suggest you send a letter to HSBC and Moorcroft asking for a statement of your account, and also a full Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act for everything each company hold on you. This should give you a full transaction list since inception (ie since HSBC account opened or at least 6 years worth - Moorcroft since they bought the debt to see charges etc added), show you where the £1k you paid went to as well. It does though cost you £10 for each SAR so if you can only do one I would be inclined to SAR HSBC first.

If you can handle this without incurring more debt liability then that would be ideal obviously.

Is tax bill for self assessment ?

Three letters ?? Is that the Getoutofdebtfree site thing ? Or CCA request etc ? Remember this is an overdraft so is exempt from part V of the CCA 1974. It is regulated under the CCA / CCD though and needs annual statements/default notices and the like - I am thinking that it was an authorised overdraft that was withdrawn becoming an unauthorised overdraft before defaulting and being sold to Moorcroft ?

[Aks]

Re: HSBC/Moorcroft/ panic and tears!

Hi Amethyst, yes you are 100% accurate! Had a spate where couldn't deal with things and didnt open some things so could have had a letter...cant be sure..was authorised and presume mush have become unauthorised at some point...thats when i contacted metropolitan and they said couldnt enter into an agreement with them as was going to moorcroft within the next 17 days! My son even spoke to them as i was too upset and they suggested I pay something into the account then deal with moorcroft when i received a letter form them..they phoned and left a message with a colleague as they have my work number to ask me to ring them, i did and they took all the financial details..mortgage, salary etc and said as i had more outgoing than incoming that they would put on hold for 30 days and i needed to contact them before 13th of December. I asked what happened then and they didnt answer.
Thanks for the replies, its VERY much appreciated! Tax bill will be corporation tax as not taking salary from company....and will be due march 2014.

[Aks]

Re: HSBC/Moorcroft/ panic and tears!

ps yes a getoutofdebt web site thing!

[Aks]

Re: HSBC/Moorcroft/ panic and tears!

thanks inca x

[FlamingParrot]

Re: HSBC/Moorcroft/ panic and tears!

Hi thanks for the speedy response. The loan is not a secured one and is with Tesco..had it accepted but not signed any paperwork so just got it all on hold!

It's not usually a good idea to borrow more to pay existing debts. There may be exceptions where the debt is a priority debt such as rent/mortgage arrears, council tax or utilities that could be cut off, but a debt to a bank is NEVER a priority and it's best not to borrow more. :nono:

I should know, back in 2006 I was pushed to take out a £5k personal loan to pay off my credit cards, despite working as a temp... Needless to say, I only paid off around £1k on the Ikea card which had the highest rate of interest. My current account was overdrawn and swallowed up £1,200 and the rest went towards living expenses during a period where I had no work. I ended up defaulting on the cards anyway and having to keep up repayments on the loan as was with the same bank as my other accounts and they could have set off if I'd defaulted. In my experience, not worth borrowing from Peter to pay Paul!

Dont need finance for business at the moment. Would like to look at remortgage though just to secure intrest rate (before they go up) not to apply for any more so am worried will get stuck and wont be able to do that with poor credit rating.

You'll have to move fast before a default is recorded for this account. That will usually be the case even if you set up a repayment plan. Have you checked your credit file to see if you've been defaulted?

[FlamingParrot]

Re: HSBC/Moorcroft/ panic and tears!

Have read lots of people call moorcrofts bluff and send three letters........does that really work...can they legally pursue the debt....will they take to court? Step change looked at my credit file and the debt isnt showing on there at the moment. Just coping with mortgage and bills etc is hard at the moment and really dont have any spare..work in the NHS and we have to disclose ccj's and really dont want to get one! Thanks

ps yes a getoutofdebt web site thing!

Although they mean well, sadly that website has caused a lot of problems for those who follow its methods.

Some DCAs may well fall for the bluff, mainly because the likes of Moroncroft don't employ the sharpest tools in the box, and are often programmed to move on to easier prey when they see someone challenging the account, however, when things end up in court, it can be very hard to explain to a judge why you send the three letters you sent, and by now almost every judge will have come across a case where the infamous three letter system has been used and will know where it all came from. :incourt:

As Amethyst said above, O/Ds are not covered by the CCA as such, however, there's a letter you can send, sometimes one letter is better than three!

Three letters ?? Is that the Getoutofdebtfree site thing ? Or CCA request etc ? Remember this is an overdraft so is exempt from part V of the CCA 1974. It is regulated under the CCA / CCD though and needs annual statements/default notices and the like - I am thinking that it was an authorised overdraft that was withdrawn becoming an unauthorised overdraft before defaulting and being sold to Moorcroft ?

Dear Sirs,

Account/Ref

Under the provisions of The Consumer Credit (EU Directive) Regulations 2010 and also c.39 (s.74 (A&B) (VA)) CCA(1974) I wish to formally request a copy of the original overdraft agreement and relevant paperwork that you should be sending me annually for this account.

As I held what can only be regarded as an 'Agreed Overdraft', which has now reverted to an 'Unauthorised Overdraft' then the lending becomes regulated in line with c.39 Part VA (s.74) (s.1(b)) CCA1974 meaning the normal rules and CCA(1974) protection applies to this account.

You should be sending an annual reminder to me regards the overdraft, as well as copies of the original agreement made and an annual renewal form that contains the relevant prescribed terms that are clearly outlined in s.74(A)2(a,b,c,d,e). I highlight this provision for your perusal;

s.74A(2) The current account agreement must include the following information at the time it is made:

(a)the rate of interest charged on the amount by which an account-holder overdraws on the current account or exceeds the pre-arranged overdraft limit,
(b)any conditions applicable to that rate,
(c)any reference rate on which that rate is based,
(d)information on any changes to the rate of interest (including the periods that the rate applies and any conditions or procedure applicable to changing that rate), and
(e)any other charges payable by the debtor under the agreement (and the conditions under which those charges may be varied).

You should also be paying attention to s.74(B)(2) which reads, I quote;

s.74B(2) The matters referred to in subsection (1) are:

(a)the fact that the current account is overdrawn or the overdraft limit has been exceeded,
(b)the amount of that overdraft or excess,
(c)the rate of interest charged on it, and
(d)any other charges payable by the debtor in relation to it (including any penalties and any interest on those charges).

Therefore in line with the above, could you please send me the required documents. I trust that I have set out the position clearly and I await your response.

You may want to look at this thread for background info: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...144#post312144

[FlamingParrot]

Re: HSBC/Moorcroft/ panic and tears!

Hi thanks for the speedy response. The loan is not a secured one and is with Tesco..had it accepted but not signed any paperwork so just got it all on hold! Dont need finance for business at the moment. Would like to look at remortgage though just to secure intrest rate (before they go up) not to apply for any more so am worried will get stuck and wont be able to do that with poor credit rating. Spoke to step change yesterday and got a call back booked for a weeks time to go through finances in more detail. Have read lots of people call moorcrofts bluff and send three letters........does that really work...can they legally pursue the debt....will they take to court? Step change looked at my credit file and the debt isnt showing on there at the moment. Just coping with mortgage and bills etc is hard at the moment and really dont have any spare..work in the NHS and we have to disclose ccj's and really dont want to get one! Thanks

Make sure they agree with HSBC to freeze interest, they don't always do and if you are using a third party debt manager, that's the least you could expect from them. I know of someone who was on a DMP through Stepchange when they were called CCCS, in 2011 he paid £5k into his CCCS run DMP, his overall debt reduced by just under £500! :scared: :scared: :mad2: :mad2:

Make sure you have enough to cover your priority debts as well as food and daily expenses, etc. HSBC are not a priority debt. Some people pay just £1/pcm tokens if that's all they can afford. You shouldn't offer more than you can afford after all the essentials have been covered.

You may want to look at this site for reference: http://mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyad...ickfsintro.asp

...and their useful budgeting tool: http://mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyadvice/quickfs.asp

[Aks]

Re: HSBC/Moorcroft/ panic and tears!

the debt charity checked...nothing showing on credit file at the moment flaming parrot!