Missold credit agreements

[Tom Scott]

Just wondering if anyone can help me out abit....

PCWorld have basically completely missold a credit agreement too me in terms of what the repayments/early settlement costs. I admit I signed the agreement for the miscalculated repayment amounts, but I can't find anything in there to stipulate that there is an early termination cost at all.

HFC, who are PCWorld's finance supplier, are saying that its the stores problem, the store are saying its HFC's problem.... Who do I persue, or do I just take them both to small claims court for the extra money this is going to cost me?

[alsenior]

it depends who actually sold you the agreement. i would believe that it is pcworlds problem as they sold you the agreement. hfc are just supplying the credit. pcworld sold it

[chicken]

I would think that HFC are completely innocent in this since there is nothing really they could have done to prevent the situation short of walking in at exactly that time and stopping you.

I would however have thought that they would be concerned about their image with PC World mis-selling their products. Maybe they think you're just trying it on to avoid paying, but any proof you could provide what you're saying may get their interest in persuing the matter.

Maybe some backing from a local paper or something similar might help get them investigating too?

[Tom Scott]

Well the proof is the agreement doesn't state anything about an early cancellation fee/charge anywhere but they want to charge me one.

[DeMote]

Best thing to do is contact CAB. They should be able to help you and advise on the best course of action.

[mcmiller]

contact the FSA and advise them as what is goin on, i would have thought that as the contract was sold to via pc world then its pcworld whos fault it is

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/

[Dareos]

on a side note, HFC are gits

PCWorld are gits


and i used to work for PCWorld, so I feel completely justified in telling you this.

Anyways, demand to speak to a manager, have the sales person responsible present and confront them with it, make sure you have someone present with you at the time of the meeting. It is far harder for a sales person to shrug off and blatantly lie about what terms he/she offered at the time of sale. If the sales person made an honest mistake then it should be easy to sort out, if however it was *jaggy* salesmanship then you have a definite case for reprisal and compensation from the store.

I still work in the electronics retail industry, but thankfully we do not deal with credit, other than corporate invoicing accounts.

What was it you purchased incidentally? Without going on a complete rant about PCWorld, or insulting your shopping habits, but is there an alternative retailer for your product?

I know this is rather disjointed, and I don't know if HFC have changed their terms of their finance with PCWorld in the past 5 years, but here is what they used to be.

36 months at 19.8% apr - interest applied from day 1, 2 months interest applied if paid off early

48 months at 19.8% apr - same deal as above

Interest free periods 6/9/12 - Interest applied from start, settlement payment will not include interest if cleared within the allotted period - 48 month contract at 29.9% apr, I believe this was also a 2 month interest penalty if cleared early but outside the interest free period.

The sticky bit in the contract is the part that says something along the lines of *subject to change without notice* that basically means that HFC can charge what they feel like on an early settlement, and the fact that the exact penalty incurred for an early settlement isn't actually stated in the contract, but probably you were informed of such a penalty by the salesperson who heard it from a colleague and took it as gospel. (formal training on this kind of thing from a DSG store, not on your life).

In future, and I am not lecturing, because my credit score is so far below blacklisted that alarm bells ring as soon as i enter a bank/store/grandmothers house, check out the APR you are borrowing against, then ask your bank to do you a better deal, banks love loaning you money, and its easier to get an extension or pay it off early if needed, cos after all they own your house/car/soul/children.


Remember, all sales people are bastards, i am one, i know.

ps all sales managers base themselves on Alec Baldwin in Glen Garry Glen Ross, go rent it, then go see the manager (take a large stick).

[GoNz0]

try asking on the CAG forum http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/

someone there should be able to help you with the questions u have.

[Tom Scott]

It was my laptop I bought 18 months ago on what I was told, and believed to be a 24 month repayment plan. The payments have been going out as planned, but they've now told me the APR is different and the payments are therefore over 48(!) months.

I was going to buy a MacBook Pro tonight from PC World to replace this baby, and thought I'd ring HFC to find out how much to pay the remaining 6 months off... oh what a shock the extra term, payments, apr and cancellation charges came as.

I'm seriously annoyed as its going to cost me about an extra £110 overall.

I've spoken to the manager, who insists because its 18 months ago, its my fault, and theres nothing he can do. Guess this is a lesson learnt, don't buy anything from DSG at all, ever.

I'm gonna just pay the amount off, then claim it back from them via moneyclaim.gov.uk, chances are they won't even bother defending themselves as the saleman (if you can call him that) doesn't work there anymore.

There goes my hopes of buying a nice shiny new thing tonight though

[mcmiller]

why are you goin to cave in and give them the money?? if that was me i'd check before you make any hasty decisions especially as you would have get your money back by goin through courts (very long and tedious), if you keep it effectively makes it there job, not sure if you'll get what i mean

[vinnyT]

I know it's grief, but don't give up until you have at least seen a CAB lawyer (just like real lawyers, but free), he'she will give you all the advice you need and will be able to give you a better idea of whether or not it is worth fighting.

Look them up in your local yellow pages/phone book, and make an appointment.

Good luck.

[Tom Scott]

I've contacted CAB and they're looking into it for me....

Another great piece of news, the bundled recovery CD is XP pro not XP home, I've got an XP home license on the back of this thing (the sticker) but have XP Pro installed.... work that one out, breach of EULA/Manufacturers agreement thingy majiggy... I think so....

Lets see how they sort this fine mess out.

[wombar]

Like you're doing, speak to CAB and it's definitely worth speaking to the FSA(Financial Standards Authority).

They actually have some decent leverage in the financial sector and if someone has mis-sold you a credit agreement, they would be wise to settle with you rather than let the FSA sink their teeth in. Ask the CAB about this when you speak to them. I'm not 100% up on this but I know the insurance company I used to work at were always reluctant to get the FSA involved in a case if they could avoid it.