I know these loans are expensive but I don't think these hysterical APR rates help people really evaluate the cost.
Greenwoods also do an Argos Card and if you borrow £200 you will pay back £320 over an 8 month period, which means around 60% interest. That is high enough but the quoted APR is virtually 400%. In the original example the 'basic' interest is 35% despite the 227% APR.
What this is telling me is that the APR calculation can't really cope with these type of loans.
i hold my hand up in shame ...whenever we got a credit card or a loan i never paid much attention to APR or the interest rates etc...how gullible i was....never bothered about how much i would be paying back just was grateful i could get the loan..card..overdraft ..whatever...
looking back now ..i cant believe how stupid i was....
IVA completed 11th Dec 2009 due to a Full and Final with the fantastic help of Michael Peoples and
Mc Cambridge Duffy
I believe that these outrageously expensive "loans" with enourmous APR's should be outlawed. Whilst I appreciate people in need of a loan migrate to them I think it is time that the old Credit Union concept is re-introduced. This is a method of borrowing unsecured (or saving with them) at an interest rate of 1% a month. Does anyone here have experience of credit unions and loans?
Last edited by David Mond on Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
Regards, David Mond, Insolvency Practitioner for over 46 years. Personal Insolvency Practitioner of the year 2012, Personal Insolvency Practitioner of the year finalist 2013 & 2014 awarded by Insolvency & Rescue Magazine and 2015 finalist for Personal Insolvency Firm of the Year.
West Midlands Police run one and have done for years.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
We deal with them a lot in Northern Ireland David - where they are almost part of the community - and I agree with you that the concept is a very good one.
They do seem to be a little more common in the Midlands as well. I have had a couple of cases in the last few days with these debts, but it should also be pointed out that any savings element you may have with the union would be offset against the debt you have in the event of embarking on IVA/DMP etc.
As for the Provi, well I have posted previously on that a number of times and I would expand further to say that, in my experience, if you are in a pickle they are usually very amenable to taking lesser weekly payments at the door and are therefore not as aggressive re phone calls etc as the majority of lenders, again notwithstanding the very high APR.
Regards.
Cert DR
23+ years in debt advice
I do not post for anyone other than myself
I can see the Provident rebadge of this 'Argos card' and so I am less miffed with Argos....infact they tried to distant themselve as they said they don't issue the card. But Argos doesn't need to go down this road to increase sales..if it is struggling then it needs to restructure but not find more unaffordable buyers who may default. The Arcadia chained owned by Sir Philip Green pulled out of the scheme and that man have been unsympathetic to the lending regime we have seen.
I don't want to politicise the subject but if household debt is costing more and more to service like UK goverment debt(interest)and as the cost of living is still highish with less credit available as a top up then the line that divides a person on an IVA or Bankruptcy from someone just balancing the books is a 'thin blue line'and getting fainter by the day.1 in 10 in Neg Eq is now possible and not Doom merchant scenario.
Gordon Brown has just woken up (far too late) to this fact and whether he and the imbeciles running this country can do anything - I am not too sure. One thing though is important is that individuals should be educated at school about financial budgeting and the dangers of borrowing more money than can be afforded to repay. This in my opinion is the starting point on the long road for our future generation.
Regards, David Mond, Insolvency Practitioner for over 46 years. Personal Insolvency Practitioner of the year 2012, Personal Insolvency Practitioner of the year finalist 2013 & 2014 awarded by Insolvency & Rescue Magazine and 2015 finalist for Personal Insolvency Firm of the Year.
The credit top up in the last 16 years that lead to a build up of the 'IVA pressure valve'. As you got topped up it kept the debtor going and going and paying interest that soon got unservicible and when the Banks fianlly changed the rules and said 'No more'top ups the IVAs became a headline in the making.It was too late for debtors to rein in and reverse the bulge.
What is the average IVA debt? 60K? If so then that average ought to be lower in the future if Banks reined in early before the personal debt'bubble'burst.
