# Ulster bank calling my loan in



## Senor_Frog (28 May 2013)

Hi all , First time posting here. I wish it was under happy circumstances.

So here is my background story: 
I owe 3200 to ulster bank for a student loan. I also owe a 650 overdraft to ulster bank. I have had the loan for three years. Up until this point I have been paying interest only on the loan. I missed a few payments back in sept-dec maybe a maximum of 5. 

The terms of the loan have been up since December 2011 but I continued to pay interest only. Ulsterbank contacted me about the loan, I apologised about missing the payments and assured them it was a once off. I also explained that I am still a student, currently doing a postgrad and that I will be graduating within the next 7 months.

They were happy to do up a new loan agreement consolidating the overdraft and the loan amount, so the new loan would total 3850. The terms were to be interest only until I graduated.

When I originally got the loan my father went as guarantor on it. He is now not in a position to do so. So I am left with no guarantor for the new loan agreement. When I informed ulster bank of this they told me they therefore cannot give me the new loan and that they had passed the old loan onto there collections department.

I contacted the collections department and they told me that without a guarantor the only option I have is to repay the outstanding amount within the next 18months, I believe they said that it would be roughly 210 euro a month. If I cannot then the will right off the loan, and I will be blacklisted for credit for 6 years, and they will close my bank account. Therefore declaring me bankrupt?

I tried to make the point to the collections department that I don't want the loan written off and that I fully intend to pay it back, but that I am a student at the moment and can only afford to pay interest only. Once I graduate (I will be receiving a placement) I would be more than happy to start paying off the loan.

They said that they can't do that , not without a guarantor. 

So this is where I am at. If any body has some advice that can help I would be delighted to hear from ye.


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## oldnick (28 May 2013)

Sorry -this is not a reply to your question how to deal with the bank and collection agency. I'm suggesting a precautionary measure....

The first thing you do is open a bank account elsewhere and get their credit cards. As a postgrad student you should be welcomed.

If ,really, they do as they threaten and you are on some sort of blacklist then you may find it much harder to open accounts and obtain credit cards.


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## Senor_Frog (28 May 2013)

Thanks nick. I will open an account with TSB in the next few days, I wont be taking any of there credit cards though.

Just a note onto what I said earlier if they do write off the loan. Where does that leave me? After six years will I be able to access credit again? Im just thinking further down the line, of house kids and mortgage... Will I be able to get a mortgage in say 8 years time, if im in full time employment or will this always be held against me?


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## STEINER (28 May 2013)

Hi,

€3,850 is not a huge debt.  Surely you would make inroads on that when you graduate and commence employment.  What will you be qualified to work at?


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## Senor_Frog (28 May 2013)

Thats what I want to do. But they are not willing to let me pay interest only or give me any other terms than paying it off in 18 months. Im doing a postgrad in cloud computing at the moment. So employment roles would be something along the lines of software testing/development or network administrator ...


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## Jim2007 (28 May 2013)

Senor_Frog said:


> Just a note onto what I said earlier if they do write off the loan.



In addition to everything else you should be aware that you will still be liable to repay the loan even if they write it off.  Most likely they will sell it on to a debt collection agency.


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## murphaph (28 May 2013)

Jim2007 said:


> In addition to everything else you should be aware that you will still be liable to repay the loan even if they write it off.  Most likely they will sell it on to a debt collection agency.


Just what I was thinking. They won't write the loan off from the OP's perspective, they will sell it on to a collections agency for a heavy discount and write off the remainder as a bad debt on their side...but the collections agency will be even more hungry for their money than the bank.


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## RichInSpirit (28 May 2013)

As your loan is unsecured I would just pay a regular amount that you can afford to Ulster Bank.
I wouldn't ask them for permission about this and I would ignore their collections department completely from now on.

I doubt they'll bother going the debt collector or legal route if you keep paying them something. 
And if they do go legal you'll have a payment history that the judge can't ignore. 

And don't worry too much about the bank's huffing and puffing.


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## Senor_Frog (29 May 2013)

Thanks for the replies. I wasn't aware that was the process for "writing off" a loan so thanks for bringing that to my attention. I have contacted mabs to book an appointment to see them. My worry now is that the appointment may be after the 28 days ulster bank have given me as a deadline to come up with a solution. 

I am going to write to Ulster bank collections department to put in writing my position and to state that I have contacted mabs, hopefully this will buy me some time....


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## Negotiator (29 May 2013)

Senor_Frog said:


> My worry now is that the appointment may be after the 28 days ulster bank have given me as a deadline to come up with a solution.
> 
> I am going to write to Ulster bank collections department to put in writing my position and to state that I have contacted mabs, hopefully this will buy me some time....


Don't worry, the banks idea of 28 days and everyone else's are 2 completely different things.....you have plenty of time, even if it does go to the debt collectors!


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## mercman (29 May 2013)

Is there no way your father will go guarantor. Make a deal with him -- he goes guarantor and you honour your commitment to repay the loan piece meal. It won't cost him money as lond as you keep your end of the deal.


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## wmpdd3 (30 May 2013)

As above, but also go to the MABS website and down load a personal statement, its a statement of incomes and expenditure. The way the bank is dealing with you, it seems they know that you do not have enough to live on and make loan payments, that's why they are coming down so hard.

So, 
1. make a repayment(whatever you can afford, no matter how small and set up a standing order to pay this every month)
2. Write to the bank informing them of your intentions, ie pay monthly until your ina position to increase payments. 
3. Always deal with the bank not any collection agency.
4. Fill out the financial statement and if they are still hassling you send this to them. Keep whatever statements you have for the account in hard copy as if they close the account you could find it hard to keep track of what you owe.


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## Bronte (30 May 2013)

Senor_Frog said:


> I owe 3200 to ulster bank for a student loan.
> 
> I also owe a 650 overdraft
> 
> ...


 
Is it just me or is this not a very blase attitude to debt?  I know Senor Frog is young but if you borrow you should be in a position to pay back unless there are very valid reasons and then some. 

Senor Frog, if your father signed a guarantee for the original loan then surely that is still in place and your father is still liable.  Why would the bank agree on the new loan without a guarantor if they already have one for the bulk of the debt.

Probably in the small print your father is liable for any other borrowings you take out including the overdraft, I remember years ago a parent going guarantor for me and I understood at that time it covered future debt too, maybe that has changed.


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## Billo (30 May 2013)

Have to agree with you Bronte about the attitude.

But there is strength in numbers I suppose.


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## cremeegg (3 Jun 2013)

richinspirit said:


> as your loan is unsecured i would just pay a regular amount that you can afford to ulster bank.
> I wouldn't ask them for permission about this and i would ignore their collections department completely from now on.
> 
> I doubt they'll bother going the debt collector or legal route if you keep paying them something.
> ...



+1


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## Bronte (4 Jun 2013)

cremeegg said:


> +1


 
And what about the guarantor?


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## cremeegg (4 Jun 2013)

I had not considered the position of the guarantor. The loan is not unsecured, it is secured against the guarantee.

However does that really change things.

If he pays a regular amount that he can afford to Ulster bank, can they call in the guarantee against his father, who is not now in the position he was in.

After all the OP cannot pay more than he can afford, and in practice exercising a guarantee for €3,200 or €3,850 is hardly a practical proposition for the bank


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