www.iva.co.uk

Hi, Is anyone else having problems with first plus. They are always the first to increase payments when the base rate rises, but when it dipped, they take their time reducing payments. Then a few months ago, to my surprise, they wrote to us and said that they where increasing our payments, even though increase rates had decreased, due to costs of borrowing!!!!! and again today, they have increased it again, saying the same thing and stating that the interest rate was variable , see terms and conditions. I understood the interest rate was variable, but thought it went in line with Bank Of England interest rises and falls. I didn't know they could keep putting it up, when it suits them!!!! If they keep doing this every few months, I could be paying a fortune.

I must admit I am a bit concerned! I can't change companies, due to negative equity and credit rating, so I have no choice but to keep paying more whenever they demand it!

I feel a little cheated!

Unfortunatly I think they can put their prices up whenever they like.

It's like when the Bank of England lowers its interest rates - half the building societies leave theirs where they are!

They've got us by the short and curlys! We have got no choice but to pay them, but I do agree that it is unfair.

First Plus in my opinion are a total nightmare, they are who bought us down eventually forcing us to sell up, becuase we could not keep up with payments. They cost us a total fortune, it was our biggest mistake in hind sight ever getting involved in a secured Loan. We borrowed 40,000 after nearly three years of payments, we had to pay them back 52,000 when we sold up a total con. Sorry to share this with you but companies like this make me so angry.

They do sound a nightmare!

We have a secured loan with Black Horse, over 10 years and so far our repayments have not increased. We've had the loan just over 4 years. I hope they won't increase them.

It really is a worry! They seem to be able to do exactly what they like!

I have a secured loan with Barlcays (first plus) and have just received a letter and mines been increased - its a nightmare. I've only had mine about 18 months and stupidly took it out over 300 months!! They have said I will get £5000 if I dont claim on PPI which I also stupidly took out but then I suppose this will go to my IVA if its approved, creditors meeting is on 21st August x Cathy

FP don't use the BOE rate for their increases, they use the finance house base rate (which in reality is driven by BOE rates) but the FP literature advises it can increase payments by twice the FH base rate in a year therefore if the FH base rate went up by 0.5% your payments can increase by 1% an so on.

This is something that sometimes people are unaware of. If you take an unsecured loan then the payments are almost always fixed for the life of the loan, with a secured loan it is of course different and if you don't realise, or weren't told, then there can be some very nasty surprises to be had, which is why this type of credit should not be entered into lightly.

Regards.

Picture did the same thing with us, for some reason, I thought the payments were fixed, within the first 6 months, I got a letter EVERY month off them telling me the payments were increasing! Cos of this, (and other debts) we decided to sell up, but could not because of negative equity so we just left house to be repossessed and went bankrupt[:0]

Unfortunately they aren't doing anything they shouldn't be. Both Abbey and Halifax who we were with used to play the same game when ever the rate fluctuated...took weeks to reduce the payments and only days to increase...unfortunately it's one of the downsides to having a variable rate mortgage/secured loan....