GE Money harrassing me over two months' arrears

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Moneylenders - yeah your right should never be contemplated. To be classed as a money lender you have to be charging more than 23% and to be fair to GE they are charging me 12% interest which is only half the Moneylenders rate. It not quite double the best rate you can get for a car loan/hire purchase though at 7.5% from other lenders. The report was actually just published today (14th August 06) by the Financial Regulator.


In that report (apart from Fexco - whoever they are) GE are the most expensive at 9.59% and most expensive (apart from Fexco) on the documention fee.

Terms and Conditions

Whatever the terms and conditions say about flexibility, I'm sure there are none, and I do concede that what I was looking for was outside the scope of the product that I signed up, my complaint is in relation to a customer service rep making comments about calling in the loan.

GE Money are the 2nd most expensive lender in the country for car loans according to a survey published by the Financial Regulator in August 2006

Look at [broken link removed] and current cost surveys
 
davidoco said:
It not quite double the best rate you can get for a car loan/hire purchase though at 7.5% from other lenders. The report was actually just published today (14th August 06) by the Financial Regulator.

In that report (apart from Fexco - whoever they are) GE are the most expensive at 9.59% and most expensive (apart from Fexco) on the documention fee.

GE Money are the 2nd most expensive lender in the country for car loans according to a survey published by the Financial Regulator in August 2006

Look at [broken link removed] and current cost surveys
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So why did you choose them rather than a cheaper alternative? Lenders with high charges should be avoided but can hardly be blamed for charging them if some consumers transact business with them in spite of the high charges.
Whatever the terms and conditions say about flexibility, I'm sure there are none
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How can you say this if you are not sure what the terms & conditions actually say?
and I do concede that what I was looking for was outside the scope of the product that I signed up, my complaint is in relation to a customer service rep making comments about calling in the loan.
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Probably strictly within their rights under the terms & conditions but if you feel that they were acting outside of these then you should consider making a complaint.
 
davidoco said:
Whatever the terms and conditions say about flexibility, I'm sure there are none, and I do concede that what I was looking for was outside the scope of the product that I signed up, my complaint is in relation to a customer service rep making comments about calling in the loan.
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Seems like there is quite a bit of flexibility to me (albeit at a cost I'm sure)
  • Low Start - Apply for the Low Start Option at the beginning of your loan and you could pay interest only for up to six months.
  • Step Down - Once you've made 9 full repayments on time, you can reduce your monthly repayment to an agreed level, extending the term of your loan up to a maximum of 60 months.
  • Step Up - Increase the amount of your monthly repayment in order to pay your loan off earlier.
  • Lump Sum Payment - You can make a lump sum payment (min €200) at any time without penalty.
  • Payment Break - This option is handy at Christmas or after a holiday, since it allows you to take a break from one or two repayments in a 12 months period. You can then choose to either increase the term of your loan or increase your monthly payment to make up the difference.
 
ClubMan said:
So why did you choose them rather than a cheaper alternative? Lenders with high charges should be avoided.
Click to expand...

What happened to me is what I guess happens to loads of people. The garage where I got the car is tied or linking up with GE/Woodchester and I was stuck for a car. I knew the loan interest was going to be higher than other providers but I did it for the convenience of filling out a form there and then and taking my car away within hours.

I won’t be recommending GE in future or using them.

I would advise anyone reading this to get that IFSFA cost survey and have a good look at what the rates are. But even after reading the cost survey and picking out the cheapest lender you may find that their customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

Back to the original post

I downloaded the Consumer Protection Code August 2006 and it doesn’t mention anything about grace periods on arrears etc. I found it difficult to get the doc (in pdf) format to download from the IFSRA site as it is done in frames so here’s another link to it.

note the file is 766kb in size that's 0.76 MB
[broken link removed]
 
davidoco said:
What happened to me is what I guess happens to loads of people. The garage where I got the car is tied or linking up with GE/Woodchester and I was stuck for a car. I knew the loan interest was going to be higher than other providers but I did it for the convenience of filling out a form there and then and taking my car away within hours.
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OK - so you chose convenience over price. Your prerogative but hardly reason to blame the lender for the prices that they charge?
I would advise anyone reading this to get that IFSFA cost survey and have a good look at what the rates are. But even after reading the cost survey and picking out the cheapest lender you may find that their customer service leaves a lot to be desired.
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Totally agree - caveat emptor as ever.
I downloaded the Consumer Protection Code August 2006 and it doesn’t mention anything about grace periods on arrears etc.
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I would expect that the final arbiter on such matters are the terms & conditions of the loan agreement assuming that theu are OK by IFSRA and which, in the normal course of events, they will be.
 
Davidoco said:

The “manager” told me that I should put my complaint in writing and when I told her that I would be copying the letter to the Regulator she told me that it would and I quote ”probably be easier for GE to call in the full loan to be repaid in full within x number of days then”.
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This is a very disturbing threat. You should definitely report it to the Financial Regulator and see what response they get. They will at least tell you which regulator you should report the matter to. I still don't fully understand the "Fitness and Probity" regime, but I assume that they are subject to that.

If you have the name of the manager who said that, you should report her all the way to the top of GE.

I questioned the advisability of the EBS associating itself with GE at the EBS AGM last year and they seemed unaware of the problems faced by customers of GE.

Brendan
 
Also ask the regulator about this practice of sending letters every 2 days and chargeing handsomely for each and every one of them which is added to the outstanding loan and accrues interest.

One or 2 letters a month is one thing but scads of letters is quite another.
 
Violet - Can't help but notice your posting in january this year - you sounded like you were over committed then. A few people advised you to contact MABs immediately as they could have started negotiating with the people you owe money to before it had reached this stage now. What happened to the other creditors - are they contacting you too? Did you actually go to MABs that time - and what about a remortgage option - is there enough equity in your house to consolidate debts with a remortgage?
 
What happened to the other creditors - are they contacting you too? Did you actually go to MABs that time - and what about a remortgage option - is there enough equity in your house to consolidate debts with a remortgage?
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Michael3 - early in the year, I honestly thought it was the end of the line - and yes I did take peoples advise and I contacted Mabs....the lady I met was very helpful and very straight talking... she did out a list of all our outgoings compared to incomings. Now at this stage my mortgage was 2 months in arrears. She contact the credit union for me and they helped me with these arrears for the mortgage. then my husband ended up in hospital, and income was none. She set up budget accounts for me for esb, telephone etc. I have since got rid of the phone as we use mobiles.
I had a bit of luck then with the revenue and got a cheque back from them for overpayment in tax, this was for about 2000. With this, instead of splashing out on a holiday i split it up between my loans. I cleared the 2 months arrears with GE (feb & mar), even up to now my credit cards, aib loan, mortgage and car loan is up todate.... I have done this on my own and I clap myself on the back sometimes. However, in july, something came up that GE payment was put on hold and I thought I would clear it in august. So at the moment I am 2 months behind. Instead of ringing them yesterday, I drafted a letter to them apologising for the delay and outlined that I am paying 100 off July and August would be paid on 25th of this month. I have kept a copy of this letter also shoudl they give out.
Also, I looked at my agreement with GE last night and saw that I had ticked the box that I was NOT to be contacted at work, so I have the upper hand in that case.
My argument really is that they have no people skills,they are arrogant, sarcastic on the phone, especially people in arrears, if I was totally taking the piss with them, i would understand... A bit of lea way thats all,
 
Violet Rose said:
She set up budget accounts for me for esb, telephone etc.

...

I had a bit of luck then with the revenue and got a cheque back from them for overpayment in tax

...

However, in july, something came up that GE payment was put on hold and I thought I would clear it in august.
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In the light of these events are you sure that your budget is accurate and adhered to strictly enough?
 
I have a budget for the month, I do stick to it, but with 2 young children as well, like july I dipped into that budget - I guess my problem is I dont have a back up - an account for emergencies - did I just answer my problem ?
 
I had a car finance loan with them and decided to trade in car off a newer one, there was couple of thousand still due and the new finance company settled this amount with them, but they kept applying for the direct debit for months, after numerous phone calls and hassle they eventually sent me a cheque very reluctantly. Never again
 
Always cancel redundant DDs by writing to the payee and also by going to your bank and instructing them (in writing - they'll give you the form) to cancel the DD on your account.
 
I got another phone call from them last night - and a thousand questions, they wanted to know why were the payments late, the reasons behind it, do I see myself making future payments... what other commitments have i - i told the "lady" that I had made a payment towards arrears and she did her usual hmmmm....then she said she would send me out a customer profile to fill in and they would take a look at my "circumstances" - Is this a good or a bad thing?
 
Really you should ask Mabs to 'deal' with them Violet. If your income is going to be low for the foreseeable future you should either:

1. Ask MABS about a standstill agreement with GE (no interest added and you pay off nn a month) which could affect your credit rating

2. Interest only deal. This means you pay interest with no credit rating black marks for missing principle payments and no late payment mark when you do clear it. MABS can agree that with them for you .

They will simply keep hounding you unless they are intercepted and held off by Mabs who do this stuff all the time for people.

Its just not worth the 2 of ye being sick so find a feasible payment schedule and get Mabs and GE to agree to it and then you stick to it . Be practical about the amounts and dont overstretch your finances at their current level.

I feel you can pay something so concentrate on interest only payments until the finances improve. GE are no worse off as it happens not that you would think so from the telephone scumbaggery .
 
Re: GE Money

I'm going to have another rant about GE... back from 2.5 weeks leave and just got phone call on mobile from my "friends" in relation to my customer profile.

Now my monthly net income is 1956 - my total loans not including GE is equalling 1400 a month. If my husband is not working i have food bills, fuel, playschool etc out of that.
GE didnt see a problem with me not paying the monthly amount. she said that as I have 500 left over and they should get it. When I said to her about my situation with dear husband and that I would be doing grocery as well (lidl is great) she basically said that was not their problem I have the money to pay them - end of story....
Anyway, I have agreed with them to pay the arrears on top of monthly amount starting end of september.
By then I hope my remortgage is through and GE and the whole lot can wave good bye.

I have learnt a very valuable lesson from this, no matter how much the banks etc are offering, I will not be taking it.... I have opened up another account which will be my savings account for rainy days. I have managed this far on my "budget" and so far so good. I have also opended budget account for my bills which the credit union will deal with.

Thanks for listening...
 
Violet, I hope the remortgage comes in in time for you .
I don't want to sound like a 'downer' but is there a possibility of raising some cash so you have a back up? I don't mean borrow, is there anything you can live without that someone else might be happy to buy.... Ebay and all that? I spotted this section on Ebay that might give you some inspiration, also have a quick look at what is saleable.
http://pages.ebay.ie/what-to-sell/index.html

I know you do mention kids, and without knowing their ages I'm assuming that this month is a merry go round of back to school stuff.... so keeping to budget this month might be harder than expected.

Best of luck
 
violet, are you by any chance with a credit union? could you borrow the full amt from them to repay GE in full? the credit union will be flexible and sympathetic to boot!

am appalled by the hassle they are giving you.
 
Maybe I picked this up wrong but ... Violet

"I'm going to have another rant about GE... back from 2.5 weeks leave and just got phone call on mobile from my "friends" in relation to my customer profile. "

When you say "leave" what exactly do you mean, sorry but if you went on hols would the money not be better spent on the paying debts and buying food etc !!
 
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