Is there anything we can do?

A[L]C

A[L]C

A[L]C

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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Maidenhead
Hi all,

I dont think there is, but is there anything my fiance can do? Basically she took out credit with Comet for a washing machine, tumble drier and fridge for her mum and step dad as they could not get the credit.

Her mum and step dad had promised to pay off the debt directly so she gave them the payment book. The long and short of it is that they havent paid it off, and it is currently sat at £1442.80.

They are now refusing to pay it. Is there anything we can do?
 
get her mum and dad sorted out would be the 1st step. really what sorta behaviour is that from her parents?

Give them some home truths n tell them to get a grip!
 
Take the washing machine, tumble drier and fridge away from them? If they aren't willing to pay for it then they shouldn't have use of them.

I don't think you can do much if their names aren't down on the credit agreement.
 
No wonder they can't get credit!

From a legal point of view you dont really have a leg to stand on, your best bet as said before is talk to them.
 
dirtydog said:
Why are they refusing to pay it, out of interest?
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uh oh, ok, here's the long story!!

It all started a little while ago, and I moved in with the other half and her mum/step dad. We agreed to pay £400 rent per month for a single room including food and bills. All was fine. We then had a baby. They said it was fine for us to continue living there until we found a place.

One night we went out with her mum and left her dad babysitting. Her step dad was also in the house at the time (they get on). When we came back, her dad and stepdad had been drinking. Now I didnt mind that her step dad had been drinking as we hadnt asked him to babysit, we had asked her dad. I made a comment that it was out of order for him to have been drinking whilst babysitting a 2 month old baby.

Her dad apologised, but her stepdad kicked off. It was very tense in the house, and after a couple of days we told them we would be moving out to my mums. Her mum kicked off massively. She went for me saying I had turned her daughter against her etc. My fiance tried to get in the middle of her mum and me. At no point did I hit or do anything apart from hold her arms. She was grabbing me round the throat and ripped my shirt etc.

My fiance's step dad then pushed me outside and shut the door. My fiance went upstairs to pack some things to take with us. Her mum then went upstairs and started attacking my fiance in front of our baby. She was hitting her around the head with the hard part of her palm. Eventually we managed to get our baby and some stuff and went to my mums.

So.... they are basically refusing to pay as they said we owed them £300 for the last months rent. Although at the time the bill for Comet was still over £600. Since then we had made up and were getting on fine. We had totally forgotten about the debt. I was going through the paperwork today and found a comet statement from ages back. My fiance phoned comet and got the total from them. The comet debt is registered at her mum's previous address (they have since moved).

Thats the short version.
 
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Sorry to hear that bud :/ Sounds like her parents are nutters, and you're well rid.

I suggest you go to a solicitor about this, you can get 30 minutes of free advice, which is probably your best bet.

Ant :cool:
 
A[L]C said:
uh oh, ok, here's the long story!!
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I couldn't possibly advise you on the legal stuff, I would imagine you and your fiance would be responsible for payments, end of. There are others who will be able to offer better advice.

As for the personal situation, well give it some time to cool off and try talking to them. I'm not sure what your fiance is like, but in the long term she might not be too happy with the situation with her parents, and the frustrations might come your way.

Also you said fiance, so I guess you wouldn't want this to drag on until a possible wedding.

Either that or do what I have done with most of my family, ignore them.

Whatever you do, good luck.
 
A[L]C said:
uh oh, ok, here's the long story!!

It all started a little while ago, and I moved in with the other half and her mum/step dad. We agreed to pay £400 rent per month for a single room including food and bills. All was fine. We then had a baby. They said it was fine for us to continue living there until we found a place.

One night we went out with her mum and left her dad babysitting. Her step dad was also in the house at the time (they get on). When we came back, her dad and stepdad had been drinking. Now I didnt mind that her step dad had been drinking as we hadnt asked him to babysit, we had asked her dad. I made a comment that it was out of order for him to have been drinking whilst babysitting a 2 month old baby.

Her dad apologised, but her stepdad kicked off. It was very tense in the house, and after a couple of days we told them we would be moving out to my mums. Her mum kicked off massively. She went for me saying I had turned her daughter against her etc. My fiance tried to get in the middle of her mum and me. At no point did I hit or do anything apart from hold her arms. She was grabbing me round the throat and ripped my shirt etc.

My fiance's step dad then pushed me outside and shut the door. My fiance went upstairs to pack some things to take with us. Her mum then went upstairs and started attacking my fiance in front of our baby. She was hitting her around the head with the hard part of her palm. Eventually we managed to get our baby and some stuff and went to my mums.

So.... they are basically refusing to pay as they said we owed them £300 for the last months rent. Although at the time the bill for Comet was still over £600. Since then we had made up and were getting on fine. We had totally forgotten about the debt. I was going through the paperwork today and found a comet statement from ages back. My fiance phoned comet and got the total from them. The comet debt is registered at her mum's previous address (they have since moved).

Thats the short version.
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Nasty.

As for what you can do - well there are plenty of options, but none of them are easy, or indeed pleasnt.

First thing you should do is go and see the Citizens advice people. Tomorrow, if possible.
 
Finance on electrical goods normally means a huuuge interest rate (upto 30% in some cases). I would say your best bet is to get it paid off now (even if that means taking out a bank loan to do it), otherwise it could rise at an alarming rate and put you in even more trouble.
 
i'd agree with the above, pay it off using a loan or overdraft which has a lower interest rate, it must have gone on for a little while to of gone from 600 to 1450
 
They sound like they're nuts, bet you're glad to be out.

Yes. Check the APR on the finance as it's probably silly APR. See if you can get them to waiver the charges if you can pay it off in one go, explain the situation for what it's worth as you'll be talking to a callcentre robot with no compassion, personality, or flexibility. A loan is likely to be much lower apr and although from a bank it will be slightly more expensive it'll be a lot more flexible than those dodgy TV advert loans.
 
Jonny69 said:
They sound like they're nuts, bet you're glad to be out.

Yes. Check the APR on the finance as it's probably silly APR. See if you can get them to waiver the charges if you can pay it off in one go, explain the situation for what it's worth as you'll be talking to a callcentre robot with no compassion, personality, or flexibility. A loan is likely to be much lower apr and although from a bank it will be slightly more expensive it'll be a lot more flexible than those dodgy TV advert loans.
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excellent advice tbh.
 
loopstah said:
Take the washing machine, tumble drier and fridge away from them? If they aren't willing to pay for it then they shouldn't have use of them.

I don't think you can do much if their names aren't down on the credit agreement.
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thats what Id do.

btw they sound like nutters..

Since the goods are in your name as well Im guessing they wont be able to stop you collecting them , if they try call the old bill.
 
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Talk to them first and see if you can resolve this amicablly.

If not, your fiance is the legal owner of these items, she is the creditor to your parents and she is the debtor to Comet.

Take the items back. They can be returned to Comet under the agreement and the finance will be cancelled (or a small settlement fee will be due).

She is within her rights (as a Creditor) to seek police action in order to recover the items, but I hope to God it doesn't come to that!
 
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