Loans Directly Don't! (Lloyds TSB-loansdirect)

Member Name: janesargeant

Product:	Lloyds TSB-loansdirect
Date:	23/06/02 (3830 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You get a loan

Disadvantages: high interest rates, bad customer service, ignore complaints

Last year I got 2 loans from Lloyds TSB’s Loans Direct one for £1000 and one for £3000. How I wish I had never bothered in the first place. The company has no sense of customer service as they ignore complaints or take too long to sort them out. I applied for these loans last year via their web site. The website suggests that it should only take 48hours for a decision of conformation. I sat and waited for 2 weeks and still no conformation on whether or not my first loan had been accepted. I decided to telephone the company and they confirmed that I had been successful with my application. No apologies or real explanations to why it had taken so long for them to make a decision. All I was told was these things happen. The same thing happened with my second loan, which after 3 weeks was also accepted. This didn’t please me at all but I didn’t complain because I had the loans that I needed at the time and I suppose I was grateful that they had accepted my application.

On my third attempt, this year, to apply for a personal loan I was refused on acceptable basis but it took them 6 weeks to tell me. The problem was that I had moved from one address to another since my last loans and their computers were not up dated. I also bank with Lloyds TSB and it was supposed to be their job to notify Loans Direct of my address change but they didn’t on several occasions. I was left to contact various departments within the Lloyds TSB group to make sure they were faxing the information to departments properly. This should have been their job but it ended up being mine. Anyway the loan was refused and that was that.

Last month I found my self to be in some financial difficulties which I am still in. As a result of this I found that I wouldn’t be able to pay for my loans for that month so I contacted the Loans Direct customer service department to discus my account. I asked if I could have a month off paying and it was agreed. I was prom
ised a phone call from a different department to set up the arrangement. I never got that phone call so I again telephoned the loans direct company and asked what was going on. They told me that I had been misinformed and that somebody would contact me but it would take a few more days. So I waited and waited and nothing. The next thing I knew I had a letter from my bank explaining that Loans Direct had tried to take the direct debits from my bank account but they had to be returned due to insufficient funds ion my account. The bank charged me £60 for returning the direct debits. This angered me because it had been agreed that they wouldn’t take the money from my account.

The next day I received a letter from loans direct explaining that they had tried and failed to take the direct debits from my account and that they would try again in 7 days. I wrote them a letter to explain that they had said I could have a month off paying but had ignored this request resulting in £60 charges from my bank. I also again forbid them to try and take this money from my account. I did get a response to this letter but I was told only that they were dealing with it. The next thing I knew I had another letter from my bank charging me again for another direct debit but for another company. This confused me because I had put money into my account to cover this. A look at my statement via internet banking confirmed that Loans direct had actual ignored my second request and successfully taking the money from my account. This again angered me because I now have been charged £90 altogether, so far, for their ignorance.

I am still pending an explanation and a refund for these charges from Loans Direct but still nothing. I have told them that I want them to pay for the bank charges and refund the money, which they took from my account when it was agreed that they wouldn’t do it. The way I see it is that if you owe them money they are on your back all the time but
if they owe you money you don’t hear from them at all. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to use this company at all. There lack of customer service is unbelievable and their whole attitude towards the customer is disgusting. Some of the staff were very abrupt and rude on the phone. The service I have received has been bad from the start and I would definitely never use them again.

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