Once in while I realise how lucky we are to have the BBC.
Last night was one of those moments. A remarkable piece of investigative reporting on Yes Car Credit. It exposed loathsome sales practices, shoddy car maintenance, unabashed racism and general all round nastiness at the company's Croydon branch. A shocking contrast to the bright and cheery image the company cultivates in its advertising. Here's an article with details: Car and finance providers target poor
The BBC filmed at Croydon after receiving a spate of complaints from Yes Car customers - over 1,000 to date - who say they have been lied to, sold expensive insurance and finance packages as well as cars that are over-priced and not up to scratch.The behaviour of the staff that were filmed veered from the highly offensive to the highly questionable.
Sales staff were shown lying to customers in order to sell car finance and insurance as well as cars.
The most obvious trick was to do a pretend phone credit check, just to get the customer to come in for another appointment.
On one occasion a customer was threatened with credit blacklisting if she did not come in as planned.
Poor targets
On average, Yes added £2,000 to the recommended price of their cars. In some cases this doubled the price.
However, after taking into account the costs of finance and insurance - as well as finance for the insurance - we found people who ended up paying four times the normal cost of the car.
We found a car worth little more than £3,000 was coming in at nearly £12,000.
The customers are some of the ten million people who cannot borrow from mainstream lenders in this country...
Dangerous practice
The BBC also placed a garage inspector, Martin Woodhouse, at Croydon for three weeks posing as an mechanic.
Again the script was comedic, although this time it wasn't just people's finances that were being threatened but their safety.
When questioned about the garage's approach to servicing, the man in charge of the workshops shut his eyes and waved his hands around saying "it's Stevie Wonder services here".
An advertising campaign spoke grandly of the company's 125 point vehicle check.
However when our inspector asked a colleague about this, he merrily shrugged his shoulders and said he "just ticked anything".
Our inspector said that there was not even the equipment to carry out the full checks.
Bigger problem
Of course the target market for Yes are also likely to have the least access to the resources of the web to check out companies. (There is some interesting pro and anti debate here at Grubletext and I also found YesCarCreditSucks [UPDATE:Apparently taken down... try this instead.])
Yes are only a symptom of a bigger problem, but can't a slighly more reputable financial institution see an opportunity here?
...a chance for one of our many faceless banks to distinguish itself. Instead of wasting squillions on yet more narcissistic advertising, why not set out to use your skills and expertise to go out to the poorest communities in Britain and really educate them about money and loans, so they no longer fall pray to sleazy finance houses. No, it wouldn't make you money but it would earn you a respect and maybe even admiration that no amount of Saatchiesque posturing could ever get you.
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Comments (16)
Something to confess, Johnnie? It's a laudable post, but sounds personal to me...
March 17, 2005 21:48 Permalink for comment
No Peter, nothing to confess but a dislike for the sort of dishonesty revealed in the programme.
March 17, 2005 21:54 Permalink for comment
Johnnie, do you have Payday loan shops over there?
Consumer Credit is a godawful wilderness over here since bank deregulation: Ridiculous rate bumps, sometines into the mid 30s-40% from single digits for a single missed payment. The impetus is new algorithms comapnies like Capital One says allow them to identify risk quality more effectively.
TRANSLATION: Once again, business thinks it can ignore the laws of financial physics and they push the envelope of risk management into the basement. It sounded good and helped their stock, but loss rates and bad bets are leading to not a golden parachute but a golden trampoline: They get a do over at the expense of befuddled consumers who get even less of a second chance. Yeah, kinda like our 80s S&L dereg and ensuing bailout.
Dunno I've you've heard of it, but there's a Bankruptcy bill sailing through congress here that has absolutely no consumer benefit at all--in fact, it's been writen virtually entirely by he financiual services industry to eliminate any exclusions for hardship, medical calamity and what not. It even removes forebearance for soldiers overseas on hazardous duty. (Hello Iraq! We support the troops!)
Hey, I'm a capitalist tool Creative Director, but this bunch is gonna turn me into a fookin anarchist.
April 7, 2005 19:31 Permalink for comment
Mark: Sounds like in the US, as here, there is a desperate need for innovation to bring some decency to this business. I don't know if Zopa, who I interviewed the other day, are the answer but they at least point towards a far more human way to deal with the business of lending and borrowing.
April 7, 2005 20:11 Permalink for comment
sounds interesting, i'll look
April 7, 2005 23:03 Permalink for comment
Good Afteroon.
With the recent disapearance of yescarcreditsuck, to let everyone know that we are up and running at http://saynotoyescarcredit.moonfruit.com
All the same features plus more.
April 25, 2005 15:38 Permalink for comment
Yes car credit & Go Debt are nothing short of a bunch of bully boys looking for a quick pound out of normal working people, who like ourselves came into financial strife after l was diagnosed with ME. We informed Yes and arranged for the vehicle to be collect not repo'd,as ME is not a reconised illness in their books?? agreed that this was the end of it.Then the bully boys rang and sent threatening letters about taking us to court for over £8k, still going on,trading standards have told me to fight/CAB has told us to fight. Our baby was rushed upto Guys Hospital in intensive care for over 4 weeks, we have been home just over a month and have had 6 letters and 10 calls all saying "don't care if you are ill or if your child was fighting for life, we still want that money and will take you to court" l say BRING IT ON!!
Di
May 15, 2005 10:11 Permalink for comment
For legal reasons we have renamed the website :
http://www.saynotoyes.moonfruit.com
June 14, 2005 18:19 Permalink for comment
we bought a car from yes car credit last march i lost my job in november,and went back on monthly payments we were paying them what we could afford,they re-po`d the car a month ago and sold it now they have sent us a statutory demand to pay them £7,123.40 or they will present a petition for bankruptcy we dont know what to do i mean is this for real we feel like its a nightmare could anyone out there please help we dont want to loose our house we have a kid to support and have no money
September 2, 2005 13:52 Permalink for comment
With regard to bharti parmars' email I am in pretty much the same situation and I would like to know if he has had any good advise given to him. Please let me know what I should do next. Godebt have refused all offers of instalments and still want to file for bankruptcy. I have even offered for a charge to be put on the house which means they get £6,000 as soon as I sell my house, but they haven't got back to me yet with an answer.
Please help with advise or information if you have been in the same situation, I am worried sick about it all!
October 7, 2005 00:35 Permalink for comment
The web site www.saynotoyes.moonfruit.com is the prime site for disgruntled Yes Car Credit customers. Yes Car have tried to close the site down unsuccessfully but it continues to go day by day.
The site now is collectiong testimonies from customers who are not happy with the service they are getting from them. These testimonies will be presented to the government of which the site has been in contact with.
If you would like to tell us your story please e-mail me at Bakedalasker2006@yahoo.com. All information will be treated in the strictest of confidence
Thank you
October 14, 2005 06:12 Permalink for comment
I WAS CONNED AND MISLEAD AN FORCED IN TO TAKING OUT PAYMENT PROTECTION AN GAP INSURECNCE!
I HAVE WROTE TO THE CHARLIE MC DONALD IN THE YCC HEAD OFFICE SEVERAL TIMES AN HAVE NO REPLY!
THEY ARE AN ABSOLUTE JOKE.
I HAVE NEARLY PAID FOR MY CAR A YEAR AN I NO LONGER WANT IT.
I REALLY NEED ADVICE AS I REALLY REALLY FELL TO STOP ALL DIRECT DEBITS AN LET THEN TAKE THE CAR AS I HAVE JUST HAD A NUFF!
IM ONLY 19 SO THIS WILL RUIN EVERYTHING FOR MY CREDIT HISTORY IN THE FUTURE, BUT I NO LONGER WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH THEM. I HAVE TOTALLY GIVE UP!
PLEASE ADV ON WHAT IS THE WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN??? I HAVE HAD SO MANY PROBLEMS IT IS UBELIVEABLE
PLEASE PLEASE ADVISE??
THANKS
JEN
November 14, 2005 16:42 Permalink for comment
ITV1 Investigate GoDebt - Edwards Geldard - Yes Car Credit
Two unhappy customers of Yes Car Credit will appear on television in Wales this week.
A computer expert from Newport and a nurse from St Athan each contacted Wales' leading consumer-affairs programme after having problems with Yes Car Credit and Go Debt.
The programme looks into the practice of issuing statutory demands in bankruptcy as a mean of debt recovery and asks a financial expert if this is an acceptible practice.
The programme makers are also hoping for answers to questions they put in writing to Go Debt boss William Rhodes.
Both participants in the programme are determined to take on the might of Go Debt and its owner, Geldard's Law Firm.
The Ferret, 7.30pm, Thursday 17th November. ITV1 Wales
Problems with Yes Car Credit, GoDebt, Edwards Geldard. Need friendly help and advice. Visit us at http://www.saynotoyes.co.uk
November 15, 2005 09:17 Permalink for comment
http://www.i5net.net/~i5pages/i5pagesnonaccount/ilosaki/incestmovies/young.html gentilitywelcomingwhereupon
January 11, 2006 19:42 Permalink for comment
Yes car credit and Go Debt are fraudster they are nasty people who will never get a penny unless they start to talk to me with a bit of respect
July 29, 2006 16:49 Permalink for comment
Hi, I have recently been in a car accident and I was informed, when taking out this agreement four years ago that gap insurance was compulsory to ensure I no longer had to make paymenst should the car be written off... I was not informed that I would hyperthetically be paying for the remainder of the car ... through my settlement money!! I am trying to claim this back now, yes car credit and DAF are cons
February 16, 2008 10:42 Permalink for comment