Starting this week, millions of us are being put through a debt and credit counselling service every month. Time is ticking away to clear up our debts. Time is ticking away to get rid of these debts. The point of this is to do so legally, as you owe the organisation money, but do it with time on your side. While you can’t get out of them until you get a £500 settlement from the company, you can cancel your repayments with the advantage of time.
The good news is that you can easily cancel your bill charges and credits, in accordance with your resolution. New clients, however, do not have the same break from payments and will be reminded of these later on. Note to self: ready to go over the statements and bills. Note to self: have your Credit Monitoring application in place.
House builder forced to pay back £8,000 in debt
A house builder has been ordered to pay more than £8,000 in debts to his customers after being found to have breached its contracts and competition law.
Midland Homes, based in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, was found guilty by the Competition and Markets Authority and handed an order banning it from making promises to customers, and restricting what type of contracts it can enter into. It has also been given a £41,000 penalty, as well as a £2,000 charge for failing to respond to the investigation.
The company is also prohibited from rebranding and changing the name of its brand, and has to have a licence to market or sell any property it builds.
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Following the investigation, the company agreed to settle claims for £8,000 in fees owed to customers and £75,000 in penalties.
The company had been found to have broken consumer protection law on selling standard purchase contracts and changing terms of its contracts and unfair commercial practices. The CMA said this included offering customers a guarantee against upfront payment if interest rates rose unexpectedly; demanding upfront payment in cash before the property was inspected; and changing the terms of its contracts after they had been sold.
The company faces further legal action from its customers, who are planning to take legal action over poor communication, late payments and unfair terms.