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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

have i been conned.

101 replies

ghostspirit · 21/11/2014 21:04

not sure if i have been conned or if im just being a bit thick. i had a loan. but still owed 150 pounds on that loan. I was told i could have another loan of 500. but i have to use that to pay back the remaining 150 on the old loan, so leaving me with 350.

so now interest and weekly payments are based on 500.

should i have been asked if i wanted to borrow 350 rather than the 500.

but then if my balance has to be zero maybe that was the only way round it.

anyway something does not seem right. maybe it is right and im just being a bit thick.

so i borrowed 500. ended up with 350 due to owing 150 to clear old loan. and now my total repayment will be 945.00

OP posts:
Vikingbiker · 21/11/2014 22:08

Can you tell the agency that you don't have 500 to give them?

Did you get the dog recently?

Vikingbiker · 21/11/2014 22:09

Sorry I don't mean to nag but why did you get a dog when you are financially in dire straights?

ihatethecold · 21/11/2014 22:17

She might have had the dog for ages.
We don't know her background.
Stop judging.

Neverknowingly · 21/11/2014 22:17

You do understand that you now owe £500 principal (ie excluding interest) don't you? Sorry if I'm being patronising but from your responses it is not clear if you actually understand that and if you don't you really should not be taking on debts like this in this way.

MiscellaneousAssortment · 21/11/2014 22:29

I'm sorry but if you cannot afford a dog you cannot have the dog.

You are getting into a very well known spiral of ever mounting debts to pay off previous debts. This will end in disaster. Clearly. You need to stop now, whilst you can.

This debt is not for food, shelter or heating. Therefore you don't need it. Whereas when you cannot pay back the debt and you cannot afford food, shelter or heating, they will send bailiffs to take your belongings and you will have nothing.

All because you wanted a dog.

Please think about what you are doing. At the moment it's your choice, and you are in control. Very soon you won't be - and the worst thing is you could have prevented it all happening.

olgaga · 21/11/2014 22:33

It doesn't matter whether OP's had a dog for ages or 3 weeks!

OP you haven't been conned. You know you can't go on like this, spending money you haven't got and taking on loans you can't afford.

Get some advice from StepChange (google it) and be prepared to make some tough and realistic decisions.

minibmw2010 · 21/11/2014 22:33

Please forget the dog if you need the loan to afford it.

avocadotoast · 21/11/2014 22:35

Alright, alright, let's stop judging the OP on why she took the debt out. People being preachy is not going to help anything.

OP - were both loans (the old and the new) with Provident? If so, you might have an argument. If not, it's nothing to do with them what you've used some of the money for, so I doubt the cooling off period is going to be much good.

Do you have other debts/continuous debts? As in, do you find yourself taking out debts to repay others often? If so then I'd say you do need to seek some advice. StepChange Debt Charity is a good place to start - they operate either online or by phone and will have a look at everything.

Vikingbiker · 21/11/2014 22:35

OP?

avocadotoast · 21/11/2014 22:38

Also, MiscellaneousAssortment, given the fact that this debt has only just been taken out, the OP is well away from having bailiffs come to her property. There's a long process that has to be followed to get to that point.

ChippingInAutumnLover · 21/11/2014 22:43

I think you should give the money back (on the 14 day thing), revert to the £150 which you had outstanding. See if you can borrow that off of a trusted parent/sibling/friend and do not touch another loan shark.

Speak to someone re the agreement about the dog.

How long have you lived there?

bloodyteenagers · 21/11/2014 22:47

How have you been conned?
You borrowed £500. You pay back the £500 and the interest.
Provident have always run the same way. You take out a loan. You get an additional one on top, but you have to pay off the first one with the second one.
If they let you have multiple loans then they would be in hot water. Yes I am aware of their mega high interest rates. They are there to take advantage of desperate people who cannot access quick loans in other methods, but they also get screwed over a hell of a lot by people not paying their loans back.

foslady · 21/11/2014 22:47

Can you get in touch with your local credit union, borrow the money from them and pay off Provident within the 14 days? Interest with Provident is ridiculously high

MrsPiggie · 21/11/2014 22:48

mrspiggie that has confused me more lol. i borrowed 500 tonight and 150 of that was taken to pay the remaining of an old loand. so leaving me with 350

Seriously, you can rest assured they haven't conned you. You had (-150), they gave you 500, that leaves you with 350 in hand. But they gave you £500, so you pay interest on £500. It's correct. You should still be able to cancel during the cooling off period and go back to £150 loan (I hope this is not going to confuse you, but they might ask you to pay the whole £500 back, you give back the £350 you've got and borrow from them £150 to make up the £500 you owe them, so you end up with your original £150 loan, if that makes any sense?).
But really, the interest rate is way too high.

AmpleRaspberries · 21/11/2014 22:53

OK, what you have done is taken a loan of £500 of which £150 has paid off the original loan leaving you with £350. You will pay interest on the £500. Its not a con, but its not the best way of managing your finances as you effectively get charged interest twice on part of the first loan (I.e. the £150 would be what was left owing from loan one which would include interest from the first loan).

They are right in saying if you cancel you would need to pay the £500 back as this is how much the loan is for. The £150 loan is paid off so doesn't exist any more. You could ask them to cancel loan 2 and reopen loan 1 but they aren't under any obligation to do that. However, its probably worth a try.

You don't sound like you fully understand what you are signing up for so I would suggest getting some free advice to go through your finances.

Vikingbiker · 21/11/2014 22:55

You are in a great position to cancel the loan as you are still in the cooling off period. If you can get hold of the cash that is

Original poster
ghostspirit · 21/11/2014 22:59

i can afford to keep the dog in any everyday situation. i have had the dog for a while. i did not know that agencey were going to pay games. so if i want to keep him i now have to pay 500. i cant just get rid of him.

I did not say i was getting conned i (asked) if i was because i did not fully understand it. but i think its like someone said how they have done it means i end up paying even more interest then i would have if i had paid the old loan in full.

i have a credit union not to far from me. could they also advice me on this?

OP posts:
Original poster
ghostspirit · 21/11/2014 23:00

vikingbiker. i still have the 350 with me. so im sort of the other 150 as that paid of the remaing old loan that i has with provident

OP posts:
GarlicNovember · 21/11/2014 23:03

Have you confirmed with the letting agent that your £500 will be held in the secure deposit scheme? You need to get this in writing, with the details of the account where your deposit will be held.

It'd be worth asking the agent if you can pay this dog deposit at £100 a month or whatever makes sense; cheaper than coughing out nearly 100% interest to Provident.

Original poster
ghostspirit · 21/11/2014 23:04

raspberrie. your right i dont really get it. hence the questions that i ask. which probably sound really stupid

OP posts:
Theorientcalf · 21/11/2014 23:04

I may be missing the point here but I have a genuine question. Instead of paying £15 a week to a loan company for Xmas, why not just save the £15 every week throughout several months?

Theorientcalf · 21/11/2014 23:05

X post re. the dog.

Original poster
ghostspirit · 21/11/2014 23:07

garlic. they have said i havbe to pay the 500 all at once. before i can have the dog back. o do have him here i have been hiding him. but might not be that long till i would get caught.

I can get it in writing that i have paid the 500 in order to keep the dog.

im not sure about asking them about the rent deposit sceme incase they get funny with me and then i still have to get rid of the dog. i feel very much under their thumb :(

OP posts:
GarlicNovember · 21/11/2014 23:12

I sympathise. I was recently the subject of a 'revenge eviction'. Worked out okay in the end (I'm now in a HA flat, yippee!) but I had to be made homeless first and it's been hideously stressful. Trying to find somewhere with your pet's an additional nightmare, too.

OK, so is there any other method for you to raise the dog deposit?? Credit unions round here won't lend you money until you've been saving with them for a year, but definitely ask at your local one. I second Step Change for advice, too. They can't always do much, but are fabulously calm & knowledgeable :)

emotionsecho · 21/11/2014 23:12

So you are still 150 short of the 500 you need to pay the deposit to the landlord to keep the dog?