# Bank of Ireland threatening Sheriff etc



## pixiebean22 (22 Jan 2010)

Hi, new to the forum, going through a worrying time at the moment and need some advice.

4 years ago I was with a very controlling ex who forced me into taking numerous loans out in my name under the impression that he would be paying them back (I am not looking for a lecture on this part of the story, I am just explaining how I came to be in debt).

The balance on these loans (I have since consolidated them into one loan) is €18,000 odd.  Repayments per month are €448 or thereabouts.

Last May I was made redundant and was not entitled to redundancy pay due to length of service.  When I found a new job I had to take a 5 grand pay cut.  I contacted my bank and asked to lower repayments as I could no longer afford them, they refused so I continued to pay as much as I could into the loan every month.  In October they contacted me saying they were bringing me to court, solicitors, the sheriff etc etc etc.  I sent them back letters explaining in detail my situation, even offering to provide proof of income and proof of previous income so that they would understand better my situation.  They said no no no you must pay.  I again explained my situation but they seemed to not care and just kept demanding payment.  Eventually I got them to agree (it was an extremely longwinded saga which I think is quite cruel and stressful on customers) to €200 a month payments.  I made the October payment fine as I had extra cash but began to struggle in December (Christmas etc) so just now I have received another letter threatening solicitors saying that I haven't kept up the agreed repayments.  I plan to contact my bank next week and offer them a reduced payment per month again and I'm sure it'll go back and forth for a number of weeks like it did the last time.  

I have asked the bank to freeze interest, they refused, I have asked them to freeze the charges being added on for late payment (although the payments are not being made late because they are not the full amount my bank have told me that this counts as late payment), they refused.  I was under the impression that as long as you are offering them something they have to accept it?  I know that it'll take me longer to pay back the loan the less I pay back but with another pay cut looming I have no other option.  I have cut my gym, vhi, membership to clubs i was in, gotten rid of my bus ticket, reduced my pension payments, everything i think of to increase the amount of money i can give them but nothing seems good enough.  I rent my house and have no big possessions (ie. all i own is the clothes on my back, the food in my cupboards and my dog).  I suffer from chronic asthma and spend over €100 on medication (I am not entitled to a medical card) and have previously been advised by my bank to "cut this down".  

I am basically just looking for any advice anyone can offer about how I can make this situation better.

I know the sheriff isn't going to come in and take my clothes and bread, i know he is just after big cars and the like and it is basically just an empty threat but this saga of going back and forth is very time consuming and stressful and I just want to come to an agreement with them so that they will leave me alone and i can pay them back and they can stop looking for more money.  I have even been considering declaring myself bankrupt, I am only 22!

Again, any advice would be appreciated.


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## eirefinq (22 Jan 2010)

Would you consider contacting mabs? www.mabs.ie
Have you contacted any other banks and asked for a loan over a longer term?
Are you a member of a credit union that could lend you the money over a longer term?
Do you live in your house and rent a room? Are there other rooms you could rent also? 
Would you consider moving back in with your folks and renting it out in full?
Would you consider asking your folks for a small loan to get you through this until you get yourself a little bit better sorted?
Could you stop making payments to your pension totally for the moment? Ask your pension provider if you can do this.
You could try and see if you could get another job part time?
You could sell your house and downsize to a smaller one?


The one thing I would say is that the bank did facilitate you by reducing the payments but you also broke that agreement so I cant see them being so flexible again. 

Suggesting that you declare yourself bankrupt over an 18k debt is laughable quite frankly as there are lots of people out there much worse off.

Best of luck with it all.


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## Vanilla (22 Jan 2010)

Sounds like you would be better off letting them take you to court and letting the court fix the installments payable. As long as you can show the court you are only paying what you can afford they will not order you to pay more.


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## bond-007 (23 Jan 2010)

Indeed Vanilla. It looks like it will end up in court in any event. Better for a Judge tell the bank what to accept.

I think it is very disingenuous for a bank to tell a sick person to cut back on their medication.


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## mercman (23 Jan 2010)

Where is the ex now ?? These kind of bullies normally crumble when pressure is placed upon them. If the loans were for his use, you should deal with it separately. But you took out the loans, so therefore you are responsible for them.

This type of situation is widespread. Persons borrow money and forget to pay it back. In the main the Banks have to be blamed for lending money to people that would or could not repay no matter what their circumstances were.


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## pixiebean22 (27 Jan 2010)

samk00 said:


> Per one of the posts above I would have thought that mabs or your Credit Union would be two of the best options. People underestimate local CUs but they have been around for people for a long time and unlike the @~$% banks understand that people encounter difficulties in life from time to time. I'm in one and have always kept some savings with them even though in fairness their interest rates are not great but they are a bit of life line. Worth talking to them (particularly if they know you). Otherwise get on to mabs and see what they can negotiate.
> 
> By the way would reconsider the VHI cut from your budget. Whatever your financial problems you dont want to get into health issues without insurance (have a friend, long story, not nice), particularly when you say you dont qualify for a medical card.


 

Thanks for the replies.

I have previously contacted mabs and they just sent me out a budgeting diary and basically said goodbye and good luck, they weren't very helpful at all.

I do not have a credit union account, nor do i have savings.  My savings got depleted the last time i was in hospital.

The other reason i cancelled my vhi is because they do not cover the cost of treatment for my condition nor my medication and related specialist visits so it was money down the drain as far as I'm concerned.


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## pixiebean22 (27 Jan 2010)

I have since been in touch with my bank and they are refusing to lower the repayments from the agreed €200 so i am just going to try my best to meet these.  i have again reminded them of my situation and the fact that another pay cut is expected in work  but they don't seem to care, just keep demanding money and asking is there anything else i can cut down on.  Up until i was made redundant i was never late with any payments for 2 years and had in fact put a bit extra money into the loan every few months when i could.  I have copies of all of the documents sent to boi proving my financial situation (ie. decrease in wages etc) so if it does go to court I am prepared.  The man i spoke to in boi on monday told me that the case will be reviewed every quarter to see if i can afford higher repayments, surely them harrassing me every quarter for more money should not be allowed?  Obviously if i do start to get more cash the first thing i am going to do is contact them as i hardly want to be paying back this loan for another 5 years!

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) my ex has moved abroad to escape his own debts from a severe gambling problem.  

It would be very easy to blame boi, irresponsible lending and all that, considering they gave an 18 year old three separate €7000 loans in the space of one year but alas my signature is on the documents.  

My credit rating is completely shot because of the events of the last 8 months or so regarding this loan so moving the loan to another financial institution is completely out of the question.


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## bond-007 (27 Jan 2010)

If you can't afford the €200 I would let them take you to court and have the judge fix a more manageable figure. There not much they can do about it and since they have buggered up your credit rating you have absolutely nothing to loose by letting an independent person i.e. a judge from deciding what you can afford.


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## Papercut (27 Jan 2010)

Hi pixiebean

  As Vanilla & bond-007 have already posted, it would probably be in your best interest to let the bank take you to court & have a judge decide what you can afford to repay.

  If you do somehow come up with €200 a month, it looks as if this will mean that you will be neglecting or putting off other bills, debts & expenses, so it might not be long before these come to sting you in the tail, so prolonging the agony is certainly not in your best interests.

  Also, if you do somehow come up with the €200 a month, it would put the bank in a stronger position as regards their insistence that you can afford to pay them €200 a month, as, even though you know that you can’t afford it they will be receiving this amount & that’s all they really care about.

  When you compile an income & expenditure statement for purposes such as yours you are meant to do it on the basis of income & expenditure for the next 12 months & you would need to factor in any forthcoming wage cuts.

  I know that you have already sent in financial details detailing your income & expenditure, but I suggest that you do it again by registered post, along with a letter stating your exact circumstances. There is no need to complicate things by mentioning your ex, even though it is relevant it does not change the fact that you are legally responsible for the debt – just stick to your health & employment situation. 


Express your upset at the way the bank have handled the situation to date over the phone, & that you felt pressurised by them to agree to a repayment amount that was both unrealistic & unsustainable, & that all further efforts by you to rectify the situation with them have been met with what you consider to be extremely harsh & unfair resistance. Set up a standing order (not a direct debit) for an amount that you consider to be a realistic payment amount in line with what is reflected on your financial statement of income & expenditure. Make the first payment & inform the bank in the registered letter that this is what you have done. Make sure you pay it every month without fail & inform them in writing if you can't.

  Inform them that you will send them an updated financial statement in six months & that you will adjust your repayments accordingly & will inform them of any change in your repayment ability. State that unless you hear otherwise from them you will assume that this arrangement is acceptable, & should it not be acceptable to them request that they inform you in writing why it is not, as you require this written information for your records, should you need to produce it to any third parties as proof of your genuine attempts to repay your debt.

  Write your letter in the frame of mind that you will be showing it to a judge in a court, so make sure that it is very clear in the letter that you are acknowledging the debt & are making every effort to pay what you can, & that the bank are being, in your opinion, extremely unreasonable considering your present circumstances, & that they have so far refused to accept any amount under €200 per month despite the fact that you have informed them that you cannot afford €200.

  I’m genuinely surprised to hear that MABS were not helpful. I can only assume that they did not realise the exact extent of your current predicament. Maybe you’d consider contacting them again & making an appointment to see a financial advisor in person. They are completely non-judgemental in their dealings with people, & if nothing else, might make you feel as there is someone else on your side. 

  Despite the backlog you will be seen at some stage, & it might be no harm to mention in your letter to the bank that you have made an appointment to see MABS & that MABS will contact them on your behalf as soon as they have assessed your financial situation, & you could request that they freeze all charges & interest until such a time that they hear from MABS.

  Try to get an appointment date from MABS, or at least a letter from them stating that you have made an appointment, & send it to the bank with the registered letter & financial statement. The more you do in this regard & by getting MABS involved will look good for you in case things go down a legal route. Banks cannot ignore or fob MABS off, plus by dealing with them it will show that you have done everything in your power to try to sort the whole matter out.


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## pixiebean22 (27 Jan 2010)

thanks for taking the time to write such a comprehensive reply papercut.  

I send all letters to boi by registered post and always include copies of previous correspondence because they seem to just hand my correspondence off to whoever is unlucky enough to draw the short straw, i speak to a different person everytime they call or contact me by post.  I will take your advice and write to them once more and see what happens.

I contacted mabs once by email and was sent a budget diary and a few leaflets which were no help and i also contacted them by phone and was just sent the same diary and leaflets by post so i've kind of given up hope with them, i'm sure they are overwhelmed with more serious queries at the moment.


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## Papercut (27 Jan 2010)

You are going about things in the right way. As you say, it’s very hard to pin someone down & BOI credit operations in Grand Canal Quay is a large building, so you will need to find out exactly what department in BOI that is now dealing with your account, & then find out the name of the manager of that particular department. 

You could ring the phone number on the last piece of correspondence that you received, quote your account number & ask for the name of the manager of the department that is now dealing with your account & the exact address to which you can send a letter. You don’t need to discuss your account. If they try just hang up, but only after you have got the manager’s name & address.

  With regard to MABS – I don’t know whether or not it was the main helpline that you rang & emailed, but you really need to contact your local office (or one local to your work). The helpline would not deal with appointments or the like, they would just send out info packs or give advice on filling out forms that you may have received in an info pack. 

  Your best bet would be to ring your local office, tell them that your bank is threatening legal action & ask for an urgent appointment. By mentioning legal action it could well speed up an appointment date. They will be able to tell you how long the waiting list is. There is no way that they will refuse to see you – it’s just a case of when they can see you, but you definitely to speak to your local office.

  You’d find your local office’s phone number here [broken link removed]


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## pixiebean22 (27 Jan 2010)

It was my local mabs office I contacted.  I explained thoroughly the situation and my financial situation and the difficulties i was having and that was their solution.

On the last letter i received from BOI it was signed by a Phil Toner/Tower (I couldn't read the signature) but when i called up i was told "Robert" was dealing with my account.  The time before that it was a woman who signed the letter.  I will call them again to get a name and address.

Thanks for your helpful advice and suggestions.


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## bond-007 (27 Jan 2010)

The name on the letter is likely to be the manager of the department and Robert is merely an underling following orders. 

I suppose some MABS offices are better than others. It depends on how good the staff are. It is disappointing they did not help you further.


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## pixiebean22 (27 Jan 2010)

yeah robert sounded thoroughly bored and uninterested in anything i had to say.  

yeah i was very disappointed with mabs because when i contacted them the first time and that's all i got i contacted them again and they weren't very interested in the fact that i had been in touch before and seemed to just send the same again


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