Whilst I have been around on Twitter since the 4th of May 2020, the day the BBL Scheme went live, then from the end of May 2020 via my website, back in June 2022 I launched my Bounce Back Loan helpline, to complement those online offerings, and the calls never stop coming in, in fact you may have been one of the many thousands of people that have already given me a call.
If so, or even if you have not called, we have now entered a new phase of the BBL Scheme, and a worrying one for many people, that being that all of the PAYG options have been used up by most BBL recipients, and full monthly repayment amounts are now due, and with that in mind, today I will present to you some of the much more recent problems, worries and questions asked by callers to my helpline over the last few weeks.
If you can relate to any of them and want a chat, or a general chat about your options moving forward relating to your Bounce Back Loan, do feel free to give me a call.
Too many people are sadly experiencing mental health issues brought on by worries surrounding their BBL repayments, the ongoing cost of living crisis and everything else that is going on in the UK and around the world right now. If you feel your world is caving in, give me a call, it’s good to talk, and it is certainly not the end of the world if you cannot repay your BBL.
New Fireside Chats
I am also currently recording a series new Fireside Chats which will help many of you get your head around the new stage of the Bounce Back Loan “game” we have sadly arrived at.
Topics I will be discussing with my guests include legal problems surrounding Bounce Back Loans and the Insolvency process with a BBL still owing, so look out for them as they are coming very soon.
Previous Fireside Chats
British Business Bank Fireside Chat > https://mrbounceback.com/my-fireside-chat-with-the-british-business-bank-and-uk-finance/
NatWest Fireside Chat > https://mrbounceback.com/struggling-to-repay-your-bounce-back-loan-watch-my-latest-fireside-chat/
General Questions and Worries
Insolvency Practitioners – I have had multiple reports, in fact a never ending stream of reports of supposed “Insolvency Practitioners” cold calling business owners telling them for a fee they can make their Company and Bounce Back Loan “disappear” with the minimum of fuss and effort. If you get such a call, your alarm bells should be ringing.
Liquidating a Company with a BBL Owing – There are very strict rules to be followed when you have no other choice but to Liquidate a Company with a Bounce Back Loan owing, and if you are sadly now in that position and need a chat feel free to call me and I will talk you through what you should be doing and what you certainly should not be doing, the latter being not engaging with the cold callers mentioned above.
Scamsters Offering to Buy You Company with a BBL Owing – There are plenty of scamsters out there who will offer to “buy” your Company with a BBL owing, their definition of buying means you pay them a hefty fee and they install a new Director, if you are tempted to take that route to try and get out of repaying a BBL you are going to get your collar felt at some point in the future and will be held liable.
The British Business Bank are aware of those scamsters as I have reported them to the BBB, sadly NATIS who I also reported them too couldn’t be bothered replying, who knows, maybe they have set up the websites of such scam firms as a fishing exercise to find out which business owners are up to no good. Nothing would surprise me these days.
Reference > https://mrbounceback.com/very-dodgy-firm-offering/
Being Pushed to Default – Everyone associated with the BBL Scheme will tell you that your first port of call when you are facing difficulties repaying a BBL should be to have a word with your Lender, who can consider amending your repayments to accommodate you.
But, and this is a big but, they do so on a bank by bank and account by account basis, so I would love to tell you that your Lender will work around your financial difficulties, but that is something I cannot guarantee they will do.
What is sadly becoming more and more apparent is that many Lenders just want their money back from the Government Guarantee and will push you to default. If they say, when you call them, “there is nothing we can do until you default” or words similar to that they are telling you to default in a round about way so they can push you over to their debt collectors and get their hands quicker on their guarantee payout.
Speeding Up Defaults – If you do have a chat with your Lender and during the conversation you are deemed to be vulnerable, they may offer to speed up the defaults process, rather than make you endure 3 months of repayments and the anxiety and mental anguish that will put you through, again that is something that some, but not all, Lenders can do but on an account by account basis.
Numpty/Useless Bank Customer Support Members – If you are getting the run around with Customer Support agents at your bank when you call them up, and that is commonplace, with many of them telling callers their BBL Team will call you back, as they seemingly work in a basement with no windows and no direct phone lines, or you have been on hold for ages and keep getting cut off, one tip is to fire off an email to the CEO at the bank.
Obviously he or she never sees such emails but one of his/her staff will do and will take up your complaint and will respond to you, often giving you a dedicated case handler who you can contact to get a problem sorted out.
First line support members often haven’t a clue about the intricacies of the BBL scheme and may talk utter nonsense to you or read off a pre-prepared script, so it is important you get through to someone, for want of a better phrase, with a brain. So if you are being led a merry dance, and lots of people are then fire off an email to the CEO of your Bank or BBL Lender.
NATIS – Reports of suspected BBL fraudsters being asked by NATIS, that being the National Investigation Service or as I call them, the BBL Door-Kicking Police, to attend a local police station for a “chat”, rather than a house visit and potential damage to their front door. You really do need to “lawyer up” if you are in such a position, for as the British Business Bank have stated multiple times, not all suspected fraud is fraud >>
Insolvency Service – When someone takes the Insolvency route with a LTD Company, any wrongdoing uncovered gets reported to the Insolvency Service and they then decide on the suitable punishment and inform the Company Director. It is as that stage anyone in that position needs to plead their case if they haven’t already done so if there are mitigating circumstances, which can see any proposed Director Disqualification being cancelled, or the Insolvency Service can “haggle” on the length of ban.
Strike Offs Blocked – One of the effects of scamsters cheating the system in the early days of the Bounce Back Loan scheme, is that now, any attempt at getting a strike off/dissolution of a company that still has a Bounce Back Loan that hasn’t been repaid is going to get blocked. That Company is still classed as a live Company, so Company Directors must comply with all of their legal obligations or they are storing up trouble in the future. Those who managed to get a strike off, having bagged and who pocketed a BBL and didn’t tell their lender of the strike off application before laws were changed to ensure the strike offs gets rapidly blocked, are being taken to court and some locked up.
Reference > https://mrbounceback.com/the-government-have-just-been-in-touch-with-me/
Complaining to the Ombudsman – You can of course submit any bank and/or BBL related complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service, just be aware that it will take them ages to respond and finally give a decision on any complaint, and it is initially a case worker who gives you a decision, if you are not happy with that decision then and only then can you ask for it to be sent over to a real Ombudsman.
100s of BBL Complaints and Outcomes > https://mrbounceback.com/category/bbl-complaints-and-outcomes/
CIFAS Markers – Some BBL Lenders are logging CIFAS Markers against those they suspect have blagged a Bounce Back Loan from them or who have not interacted with them and not made any repayments.
Reference > https://mrbounceback.com/this-is-what-bbl-lenders-are-putting-on-cifas-markers/
Lender and Debt Collector Specific Questions and Complaints
Tide – Huge charges being demanded by Tide’s Solicitor, over and above any missed Bounce Back Loan repayments, adding literally thousands and thousands of pounds to business owners outgoings.
Moorcroft – Huge discounts being offered to some BBL defaulters by Moorcroft on behalf of one major BBL Lender, with the remainder not being pursued.
Reference > https://mrbounceback.com/the-final-nail-in-the-bounce-back-loan-coffin/
Various Lenders
- Vulnerable Bounce Back Loan recipients told they can be put on a “no contact list” for up to 6 months, but are also being told that won’t stop things happening in the background with their BBL such as defaults etc.
- Lenders and some of their nominated debt collectors asking for proof of medical conditions to allow them to classify someone as vulnerable.
- Instant 30 day breathing spaces being offered (over and above the official breathing spaces) to those informing their BBL Lender they are currently experiencing any type of physical illness and/or mental health issues relating to stress brought on by not being able to afford their BBL repayments.
The above are just a small sample of the questions, worries, concerns etc I have received recently via the helpline, and as mentioned, if you want a chat give me a bell.
