The repayments on many loans and car finance are too high to be manageable so people get deeper into debt trying to repay them.
When you applied, a lender should have checked a loan would be affordable for you – often they did not check properly and you should never have been given this loan.
This article describes how to complain, with a template to use.
Many people have won complaints using this. If you win, you get the interest refunded in cash. When you still owe a balance, the interest is removed so you only repay what you borrowed.
These complaints do not hurt your credit record if you carry on making the loan repayments while the complaint goes through.
Contents
A quick overview
What types of loans?
- any personal loans, including high-cost lenders, bank loans, and credit union loans;
- you can complain if you are still paying the loans, it has already been repaid, it has defaulted, or you have a payment arrangement/DMP;
- a consolidation loan may have been cheaper than the credit cards it cleared – but it may still have been unaffordable!
- you can also complain about car finance. But if you are still paying car finance, be careful – read Car finance affordability – what you get if you win a complaint
- the complaints here do not apply to mortgages or business loans.
What is “unaffordable”?
The regulator says “affordable” means:
you can make the repayments without hardship or having to borrow elsewhere.
For large loans, a lender should have made adequate checks at the start. The larger your loan, the worse your credit score and the more other debt you had, the closer a lender should look.
You can win an affordability complaint if you have made every payment on time. That doesn’t make the loan “affordable” if you had to use a credit card say as paying the loan left you short.
If your loan was fine at the beginning and only caused problems later when you lost your job or your mortgage repayments went up, you are unlikely to win an affordability complaint as this could not have been predicted at the start.
How does this work?
You make a complaint to the lender, saying the loan was unaffordable and ask for a refund of the interest.
There is a complaint template . You can adapt to say what happened to you. Send it by email.
The lender has up to 8 weeks to reply. Lenders reject many good complaints, so you can send a rejection to the Financial Ombudsman if you know the loan has caused you problems.
Complain to the lender
Send a complaint by email
It’s easiest if all communications are by email – free, instant and you have a copy with a date stamp to show the ombudsman.
If your loan has been sold to a debt collector, send your complaint to the original lender not the debt collector.
Find the right email address to use
BANK EMAIL ADDRESSES see this list : email complaint addresses for banks.
CAR FINANCE LENDERS see this list: email address for car finance lenders
PAYDAY LOANS see this other article as there is a better template to use for smaller loans where you borrowed a lot
OTHER LENDERS Here are the email addresses for most large non-bank lenders. There are a lot of smaller lenders, including many Credit Unions. If your lender is not listed, ask in the comment below for an email address.
Abound (used to be Fintern, other brand is Credisphere) complaints@getabound.com
Admiral Complaints@admiralfinancialservices.co.uk
Anico complaints@anicofinancialservices.com
Avant Credit emailcomplaints@avantcredit.co.uk
Bamboo Loans complaints@bambooloans.com
Better Borrow enquiries@chetwood.co
Castle Community Bank complaints@castlecommunitybank.co.uk
Creation customercare@creation.co.uk
Everyday Loans – for loans after 31 March 2021, see Evlo and use the template in this article. It is no longer possible to make complaints about their loans before that date
Evlo (rebrand of Everyday Loans) complaints@evlo.co.uk
Fair Finance complaints@fairfinance.org.uk
Finio Loans (rebrand of Likely Loans) complaints@oakbrookfinance.com
Fluro (used to be Lending Works) cx@fluro.co.uk
Koyo loans info@koyoloans.com
Lendable complaint@lendable.co.uk
Lending Stream debbie.gandy@gaincredit.com
Lifestyle Loans info@lifestyleloans.co.uk
Likely Loans – see Finio
LiveLend support@livelend.co
Loans by Mal (Monthly Advance Loans) Complaints@loansbymal.co.uk
Loans 2 Go read Loans2Go – how to complain
MBNA mbnaonlinecomplaints@mbna.co.uk
Moneyline headoffice@moneyline-uk.com
My Community Bank complaints@mycommunitybank.co.uk
Novuna (used to be called Hitachi) ComplaintsTeam@NovunaPersonalFinance.co.uk
Plata complaints@plata.com
Plend complaints@plend.co.uk
Progressive Money complaints@progressivemoney.co.uk
Quick Loans customerscare@quickloans.co.uk
Ratesetter complaints@ratesetter.com
Reevo complaints@reevomoney.com
Salary Finance (Neyber) complaints@salaryfinance.com (for loans, not “salary advance”)
Savvy info@savvy.co.uk
Shawbrook Customercare.team@shawbrook.co.uk
Snap Finance customer@snapfinance.co.uk
Stream (used to be called Wagestream. For loans , not “salary advance”) complaints@stream.co
Tandem pl@tandem.co.uk
TM Advances info@tmadvances.co.uk
Updraft complaints@updraft.com
Vanquis customer.relations@vanquisbank.co.uk
Wagestream see Stream
Zopa complaints@zopa.com
118 118 Money complaints@118118money.com
Use this template
Email the lender to begin your complaint. Put AFFORDABILITY COMPLAINT as the subject of your email.
Template for you to adapt:
I have moved since the loan started. My current home address is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Please do not send any letters to other addresses on my file. [only include this if you have moved!]
Please confirm the date this loan started, the amount, the interest rate and the monthly repayments. [don’t include this if you already know the information]
I am asking for a refund of the interest and any charges I paid, plus statutory interest.
Also to delete any negative information from my credit record. [delete this sentence if there are no missed payments or other difficulties with the loan on your credit record.] I also want the CCJ that I have for this debt set aside. [delete this sentence if you don’t have a CCJ]
I attach copies of my bank statements and credit report from the time I applied for this loan/these loans. [delete if you don’t yet have them yet, but they help your case if you do. Even if they show gambling, that supports your argument that the loan was unaffordable.]
I didn’t know that the lender was supposed to check that I could repay the loan without having to borrow more. I only found out in [2025] when I [saw a newspaper article in the Sun/an advert on Facebook for refunds/a friend said they had made a complaint/posts about them on Instagram/TikTok, whatever]. So I am complaining within 3 years of having found out that I have cause to complain. [only put this paragraph if some of your loans are more than 6 years old. It explains why you haven’t complained before. It’s only an example so change it so it really covers what happened to you!]
Add extra information if you want – see below for some ideas – you don’t have to do this.
Do you need a payment arrangement now?
If you want an affordable payment arrangement now, add a sentence to the complaint saying this. These complaints may take months to sort out – a payment arrangement can get your finances into a safe place:
- a payment arrangement shows on your credit record, but if you win the complaint all negative marks will be deleted
- talk to a debt adviser such as National Debtline if you want to know more about payment arrangements
- but don’t risk a payment arrangement for car finance or a logbook loan – one would put your car at risk.
Other details you can add
The template above is fine, you don’t have to add a lot more details.
But you can add extra points if they apply in your case, for example
- my bank statements and credit record (attached) show that I was unable to afford the loan repayments.
- this was a large loan, you knew I had poor credit and may have been in a difficult position so you should have tried to verify my income and expenses. If you had done this, you would have rejected my application.
- during a telephone call, your agent suggested some figures should be lower to get my application accepted.
- (if the lender was your bank) – you should have seen from my bank account that I was in financial difficulty, I was using my overdraft a lot, I was only making minimum payments to my credit card from you.
And some points about top-ups or second loans:
- a credit check would have shown that my finances had got worse since the first loan
- I had said the first loan was to consolidate debt, but you should have seen that this hadn’t happened.
While you are waiting for a reply
Try to get copies of your bank statements from 3 months before a loan to three months afterwards. You can get statements from closed bank accounts, normally going back 6 years.
Also get a statutory credit report now and download it. You can get one from TransUnion. Do this as soon as possible as sometimes the details change, so you want a full one saved to show the Ombudsman later if necessary.
Do not wait until the Ombudsman asks you for credit records or bank statements – you want them ready to hand. They really help your case as they prove your financial situation when you took the loan out.
You should get a response from the lender within 8 weeks. If you don’t, phone them up and ask when you will get it – a couple of days is worth waiting for but many responses are rejections, so don’t wait weeks for one, go to the Ombudsman straight away.
Go to the Ombudsman if you don’t get a good offer
Don’t be put off by a rejection!
Sometimes lenders send long, complicated replies designed to make you look as though you should give up:
- if they say the loan was over 6 years ago, see below for “time limits.
- they may say you were going to use it to consolidate more expensive debts – that doesn’t mean this loan was affordable, just not as unaffordable as the other debts;
- if the lender said it was your fault because your loan application wasn’t accurate, the lender should have made checks to verify it.
I suggest you rely on your instinct – if the loan caused you problems, send it to be looked at by the Ombudsman.
If you aren’t sure, ask in the Comments below this article. You only have 6 months to send the complaint to FOS, so it’s best to do this as soon as possible.
It isn’t usually worth trying to negotiate with these lenders, you are just wasting your time.
Send to Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
This is easy with the online form here: send a complaint to the Ombudsman. It asks you for all the details they need.
The main part of your complaint can be a version of what you sent the lender in your complaint. Add any more details you want, including pointing out mistakes in the lender’s reply. Also attach:
- the reply from the lender
- Trans Union statutory credit record
- bank statements starting 3 months before first loan
- do not worry if you don’t have A copy of your credit or finance agreement – lots of people don’t. The lender will supply a copy if FOS asks for it. Don’t delay sending a complaint to FOS while you try to get this from the lender.
Bank statements
Don’t delay sending a case to the Ombudsman while waiting for this information.
If you don’t have the bank statements from the time of the loan application, get them now. And then send them to the Ombudsman, don’t wait to be asked.
You can get these going back at least 6 years even from closed accounts. And you can often go back a lot further with an account that you are still using. Ask your bank if you need statements from further back than you can get in the app.
“Is there a time limit?”
You can’t complain about a loan that started before April 2007.
Lenders will often reject a complaint if the loan started more than 6 years ago.
If your loans from this lender ended more than 6 years ago, then it is very unlikely you will win a case at the Ombudsman.
But if your loan was still being repaid within the last 6 years, the Ombudsman may well decide they can look at it. So if your loan started in 2018 and finished in 2022, send this to the Ombudsman if the lender says it’s too old, because it isn’t.
The ombudsman may also look at older loans if you had a continuous stream of borrowing which carried on into the last 6 years. So if you had 2 loans, the first from 2014-17, when it was refinanced into a loan from 2017-2021, the Ombudsman may decide they can look at the earlier loan as well. And if you had two overlapping loans, eg from 2014-2019 and 2017-2022, the Ombudsman may look at both.
Need some help?
Don’t use a claims management company. They are expensive, often incompetent and use a similar template to the one in this article.
Instead, ask a question in the comments below.
Can you get an overdraft refund?
Refunds from cards and catalogues
L says
£8000 refund!!
With Sara’s template and support throughout i have just heard back from the financial ombudsman that they are upholding my affordability complaint against Santander.
July 2023 Santander £25000 loan at 16% to consolidate my debts however it was unaffordability and resulting in me borrowing more to meet the monthly payments.
August 2024 i complained to Santander and they rejected my complaint.
January 2025 i contacted the ombudsman. After a lot of back and forth providing bank statements etc the investigator rejected my claim however i was self employed at the time and they treated my gross income as net. I then requested my complaint went to the ombudsman for final decision sending tax returns etc as evidence of self employment.
The ombudsman have just got back to me and upheld my complaint. Santander have confirmed they have refunded £8000 interest and fees paid!
Sara says
Hi , I raised my complaint to the financial ombudsman and the investigator hasn’t upheld any of my complaint. They have been all referee to the ombudsman but I think they won’t be upheld
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you supplied Bank statements? And said why you think the investigator is wrong? Eg do some of the numbers not look right?
Kaylee Powell says
Hey.
I put in a complaint with Shawbrook. I sent it to the Ombudsman and they looked in to it further for me. They said they were giving them a time frame to reply.
I have just had the response after they have looked in to it further and the person who was dealing with my case has now said they have chnaged their opinion and said they will not uphold my complaint. They said if I want to an Ombudsman to take it further I can.
Is it worth or just leave it now that the case advisor has said no to me? Would there be any implications to get an Ombudsman to take it further?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
why have they changed their mind, what is different from the new decision compared to the old one?
Kaylee Powell says
They said the information Shawbrook provided makes her think they did all the checks correct. She said her initial opinion was based on CRA info which turned out to be incorrect.
Shall I just leave it now and accept this?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
was the information correct?
Kaylee Powell says
I will be honest I can’t remember but it was about 5 years ago. I do know that you credit rating and affordability would not have been good
Does it have implications if we tried and take it further?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No there are no implications for you. You arent charged for this. And this doesnt show on your credit report or anything
Tony says
Hi all, had anykne heard anything about the piggybank administration? Heard nothin for over a year now
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it was finally dissolved in December last year (see https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07952979/filing-history).
As expected, there was no money to distribute to customers sold unaffordable loans.
Tanty says
In 2021 I had a lump sum of inheritance, this was spent on normal living, reducing debts and a few smaller purchases of replacing household things that had broken or were falling apart ie a table
I stupidly took out 3 loans (14k) with my bank within a 6 month period (within 9 mths of the lump sum being paid in)
My account looked healthy but the bigger picture is on my normal income I could never have afforded the repayments long term.
The interest alone on the loans was 8k. There’s still a balance of 9k to pay. Presumably the bank should have checked my ‘long term normal income’ even more so given it was my own bank they had access to it all.
I guess if I do get anywhere with complaint it will just offset the balance?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Certainly by the third loan the bank should have looked more closely.
Yes a refund will reduce the balance. You should also be able to repay the amount remaining at a lower more affordable rate.
Tanty says
Thank you, the bank have come back extremely quickly and written a letter explaining they are not in agreement. The letter states “the loans were approved online with no staff intervention” and “they validated income the system generated average income turnover” – of course these figures would have included the large inheritance sum plus wages and would not have been long term affordability
The letter also confirmed there were 4 loans in total, 1 more than I thought!
Is it worth taking to the Ombudsman? At no point have they actually looked at the account/income/expenditure, requested payslips etc which i would have assumed would be a thing if the loan was with my own bank and definitely not considered the long term affordability
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes send this to the Ombudsman. There is a link to the Ombudsman’s online form in the artcile above these comments
James says
Hi Sara,
I filed a complaint with the FOS regarding an £11k loan from Oakbrook and the investigator has returned a non-upheld verdict. I’ve escalated it to an ombudsman because at the time of the loan I had 3 large loans from another company (which I’ve also complained about seperately) and also credit cards with repayments in the month prior to the oakbrook loan totalling £1404. Oakbrook judged my credit repayment commitments using (Experian) CRA information to be £362. The 3 loans combined were £696.52 a month.
The investigator stated that these didn’t show up on the credit report (Experian) that Oakbrook used but it did show up on my Transunion which Oakbrook didn’t use. To quote the investigator “I can’t hold Oakbrook Finance responsible if your Experian credit file hadn’t been updated with the other loans by the time of its checks. and it wouldn’t be proportionate for them to gather information from every single CRA – and they aren’t required to. So, I think the checks were reasonable and proportionate.”
I supplied bank statements and my TransUnion credit file as well as my Equifax credit file (which frustratingly, like Experian also didn’t show my other 3 loans).
Is there a chance an Ombudsman may think any different to this investigator? or is this a lost cause?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what interest rate did Oakbrook charge?
Sam says
Hello, I am considering contacting NatWest regarding an affordability complaint.
The loan started in Jan/Feb of 2017 and buy early 2018 I was on a DMP with step change.
After the 1st loan of 8K, I took out another loan of 4K mid 2017 again with NatWest, and I also had a credit card with them of around 3K and an over draft of a similar amount.
As this is all now older than 6 years and I’m still paying it all off on my DMP (even though NatWest has sold the debt) do you think I still have a chance?
A further point, I no longer have the account with NatWest, nor any of my statements or credit scores from this time.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry but you are VERY VERY unlikely to be able to win complaints about debts that defaulted over 6 years ago. Not worth trying in my view.
How large are the remaining balances in the DMP? How much are you paying A month? You have Other options for tackling these debts
And do you have any debts outside the DMP?
Sam says
Thank you for coming back to me. There is about 6K left on the DMP. Set to be finished in summer of 2027. Paying £203 a month.
Yes, I have now managed to run up some credit again outside of my DMP. Which means I am considering putting more back onto my DMP.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you ask StepChange to add these to the DMP. And make affordability complaints about them too
Sherry says
Hi Sara
I was recently successful in a irresponsible lending complaint with likely loans, for 2 loans (an initial and a top up) totalling £2000 and attracting apx £1500 interest. However when i struggled, they sold the debt to Lowell with a remaining balance of £1400 who I had been repaying monthly since 2022 with £247 remining to pay at the point the complaint was upheld. I received £830 amount from LL directly and they advised they would instruct Lowell accordingly for them to remove the interest from the balance passed to them and refund any overpayment directly. Subsequently Lowell cleared the £247 and I contacted them to ask if any overpayment had been made how/when that would be refunded as I had calculated that there was apx £400 of interest outstanding. Then today I received a letter from Lowell regarding the refund and advised that they had closed the account and cleared £247 remaining and that I now needed to raise an indemnity claim with the bank, stating that the payments they set out in a break down had been taken in error. I have checked the breakdown and it is all of the payments I ever made to Lowell. (apx £1150) This didn’t seem right as exceeds the amount of refund I was expecting, I called Lowell and they advised it is correct.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds confusing and unusual. LL should have sorted everything out with Lowell.
I think it’s best to try to work out exactly what you should have been refunded.
The two loans – did the second clear the first and give you some extra money? How much was the first loan? how much did you pay to it in monthly payments?
How much cash did you get from the second loan? how much did you pay to LL for that, in the monthly payments or any lower payments before they sold the debt?
Then how much in total have you paid to Lowell so far?
Sherry says
Sorry Sara, the last post cut off before I could add my thanks in advance and any more detail. I do appreciate your insight into this.
I’ll take a look through my statements and see what I paid to LL directly – I know the amount passed to Lowell was apx £1400 and I had repaid apx £1150 but I paid a significant amount to LL too. I’ll also check the situation with the top up as I’m not sure how much of it paid off the balance from the 21st loan.
Will reply when I have more detail
Many thanks
Sherry
VeryHappyCamel-er says
Sara, you’re a star – I used your affordability template to complain about loan from MBNA. At the time I took it out, I had 2 existing loans (one taken out just 6 months 1 week before the MBNA application) and a credit card balance. My credit score was excellent with no missed payments, but it should’ve been very apparent that my debt situation was worsening given the ever growing credit card balance.
There was a big backlog in MBNA assessing my complaint which exceeded their 8 week response time, and to be honest I was expecting pushback/having to escalate to FOS, but when they finally got round to allocating a case worker I submitted all of the evidence they requested (which I had already prepared thanks to your guide) and I’ve just had their final response through – they’re upholding my complaint!!! They will be refunding £2,516 of interest and fees charged to date, and have also frozen interest on the remaining balance too (meaning the total saving is around £3.7k). I currently have 36/60 months remaining, but the new balance will be cleared in around 18 months just by maintaining the current payment (however I’m in the middle of avalanching so it’ll be gone sooner). THANK YOU!
Dee says
I made a complaint to Zopa loan and it was just outside of the 6 years. Was 6 years 12th October, put in the complaint 15th December (my fault, 6 months pp so was not at the fore front.) & they’ve rejected my claim. Is it worth going to the FO?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes it is if you can get your bank statements from September 2019 to Feb 2020. The Ombudsman may well decide they can look at this.
Fiona says
So I didn’t know this page existed until I found a link to it on Instagram.
I’ve just raised affordability concerns with Zopa for 4 loans. The wheels have come off my financial bus after a juggling act and despite this Zopa lent me money back in the summer and now I can’t afford to repay. I decided to try the letter to see whether I could get a refund.
2 loans Zopa have rejected – I have repayment plans in place
1 loan – interest removed and removed from my credit file. Interest is £4261 on a £10k loan and a refund of £584.07
1 loan – interest removed and removed from credit file. Interest is £1192 on a £3k loan
I’m happy with the outcome and a start to trying to fix my situation
hh says
I wonder what the Financial Ombudsman considers what ‘reasonable’ funds are after all debts are paid off. I have just had several cases rejected by the case officers saying that Zopa and Oakbrook met all requirements and that I would have had reasonable funds left over after I paid back my debts. But I had usually minus funds left over! thereby using credit cards to pay the loans repayments over a series of months.
Also – I wonder can anyone advise me on what the ombudsman would say about my having inflated my income when applying for the loan? Obviously it isnt the right thing to do but surely if they did perform appropriate checks before providing the loan, the difference in income would be apparent?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“I have just had several cases rejected by the case officers”
by FOS or the lenders?
yes a lender should verify your income
hh says
by the FOS. They’ve all said the loans were justified.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, those were the FOS investigators? If they were, then you can ask for this to go to an Ombudsman but you need to say why you think the decisions are wrong
You need to read each decision carefully and make a note of any numbers that look wrong, or where you think something has been overlooked. Point these oput. Ask the investigator to review and for the case to go to an Ombudsman if they don’t change their mind.
Had you supplied your bank statements to FOS? 3 months before and 3 months after each loan. If not, do this now.
hh says
Hi – yes I sent through all the bank statements and then when the initial investigators turned down my submissions I went through the statements in a document to demonstrate things like credit card cash advances, going overdrawn and unpaid transaction fees in the three months before the loans.
They seem to rely on the fact that I said each loan was for debt consolidation, therefore the debt would not have been going up.
I just think its wild that they can say ‘your income was 3000, your debt repayments were 2000, you therefore had 1000 left over so your loan was therefore affordable.’ They are completely ignoring the fact that rent was 1000 and living expenses close to the same therefore cash advances from credit cards happened every month.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then go back are list your regular expenses excluding the debts you will consolidate.
hh says
Yes they were investigators. Have asked them all to go to Ombudsman and have supplied the bank statements and broken them down in the nth degree to show all the reasons I couldn’t actually afford to repay the loan and show how even if I took an 8k loan, paying off a different 8k of debt would STILL leave me in arrears each month.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that sounds a good argument to me
Kelley says
I’m interested to understand what checks should be carried out in order to verify income. I have 3 loan complaints currently being reviewed by ombudsmen after investigators didn’t uphold them. The loans were £10k-£13k and I didn’t provide wage slips or bank statements for any. I gave gross income where requested, but from this they wouldn’t have known about my tax code being much lower than average due to employment benefits & also employer loans I had. Therefore they’ve generally estimated my monthly take-home pay as being around £1k higher than it was, & I have provided wage slips to the FOS to demonstrate this. One investigator didn’t mention that income checks had been carried out, other than to say they used the gross figure I gave. Another states that the lender used Current Account Turnover checks, which also seem to have given an inflated figure. And the other just referred to ‘affordability assessment’ without details. Is it likely that the ombudsman will scrutinise this factor more thoroughly? I believe the difference between the inflated & actual incomes is potentially the difference to the loans being affordable or not. Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes the Ombudsman should look at the details. They don’t just rubber stamp the investigator decision. Have you looked At the bank statements to see why the CATO number may have been wrong?
Kelley. says
Thanks.
No, it doesn’t really make sense. There was one occasion when I had £2k airline compensation paid into my account that I had to distribute to other people, but I explained this and provided proof of it. And that was only one occasion. I was hoping that the amount of the loans would potentially lead to ombudsmen agreeing that direct verification should have taken place.
Fi says
Please do you have the contact for John Lewis finance for a personal loan?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when was this taken out? Does it show under a different name, eg Zopa, on your credit report?
Fi says
In 2019 i took it out then it was changed to HSBC in 2023
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then I suggest you complaint to HSBC
Sinead says
£4001.84 refund from lendable! Took out a loan for £5000 and had paid back £8541 – complained to lendable who didn’t uphold my complaint so I sent to the FOS and the investigator upheld my complaint and agreed with me – lendable then agreed to pay out and I had the money in my bank within a few days. Thank you so much for all your help! I completed 7 affordability complaints in total and they have all been upheld (if not by the company originally but by the FOS) except one (car finance) that have not agreed with the investigators decision to uphold so I’m just waiting for a financial ombudsman to review to give me the final decision 🤞🏼I had only originally put in for my santander overdraft and I was going to leave it as that but after I won that and after speaking with yourself who advised me to put in complaints about other lenders I’ve had thousands back in fee’s and interest and my credit score keeps getting better!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Great news for you
hh says
hi – can you outline some of your situation at the time of the loan? i have had 4 submissions to the FOS investigators all declined and so now all with FO. For some of the loans I was paying back ~£2000 a month in the three months before the loan, had 500-1000 leftover for rent and bills and living expenses and they didn’t uphold. Just wondering what the investigators have considered ‘reasonable debt repayments’ and ‘room for repayments’ for other people. My debts were about 65% of my income, rent and bills 40% and then living expenses about 20% of my income so i was borrowing off my credit cards every month before the loans. Would be good to know what other peoples circumstances were.
Jf says
Hi Sarah, I’m looking to get a mortgage so I’m trying to tidy up my credit file. 3/4 years ago I had multiple pay day loans, in total 20/25 over the course of 18 months. Most of these payday loans companies have now gone into administration. Can I still put in a complaint to the administrators to get the pay day loans deleted off my credit file? I understand I won’t get any money back and that’s fine, but it would be a great help if they came off my credit file.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you list the lenders please?
JF says
Fund ourselves – 18 loans over 18 months.
Cash4U / Nova loans – 6 loans over 6 months.
I know I won’t get any interest back that’s fine, but it would make such a huge difference to get these suppressed on my credit file if that’s possible.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Fund ourselves – contact the administrators at fundourselves@azets.co.uk
JF says
Thank you, I emailed them nearly 2 weeks ago but I’ve had no response.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Nova loans was dissolved last year. If you have any reason to think the credit records are incorrect – perhaps some of the dates or amounts were wrong – then you can ask the credit reference agencies to “suppress” the records as they are inaccurate and it is impossible to get the company or the administrators to correct them,. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/correct-credit-records-lender-administration/
KT says
I am currently on a dmp as I only had under 3.5k debt with several different lenders and I am paying it and it should be paid off in the next few months as it is currently at £1.1k
However I had a family member take loans out in my name which severely stressed me out, I got diagnosed with adhd a couple years ago and since then due to getting chased up by debt collectors it made me turn to gambling and it has ruined my life as I don’t know when to stop but also don’t have anything left after I get paid and pay everything off first and then this leads me to applying for more credit and so on and so on
Can I raise a complaint due to irresponsible lending as I don’t believe I should’ve ever been able to take out all these loans, I am going on GameStop in terms of gambling as etc but sitting with nothing in the account really takes a toll on me and it’s just a painful never ending cycle.
Over the past 6 years I have had multiple loans and been on repayment plans and this would be my second debt management plan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how much do you owe in total? could i see a list of the debts?
Tyler says
Hi, I complained to Santander regarding unaffordable overdraft had the letter saying no as they sent me letters telling me I shouldn’t be using my overdraft. Have sent to ombudsman. I also was given a loan from them during that time can I do a separate complaint regarding the loan now or should I wait for the overdraft one to be finished first. I also had many many car finance agreements over the years that realistically I shouldn’t have been given but staying with the same car company they kept letting me take them, how do I complain about that as I’m not too sure how I do the car finance affordability complaint
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Make a complaint about the loan now. There is no reason to delay this.
Car finance. When was the current finance started, is it PCP?
When did the previous one start?
Have you heard of car commission refunds? About 40% of car finance taken between 2007 and late 2024 may be able to get a refund, possibly a few hundred pounds each late this year if you complain now. MSE has a free, easy refund tool here https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/reclaim-car-finance/
Tyler Manka says
I no longer have the finance I paid it off in 2023/24 but had finance pcps with them for 10 years starting probably in 2010 until 2023/24 . All varying amounts. All with Toyota finance.
I have the commission claim in just waiting for the final outcome and hopefully will have that refunded as well.
With the loan do I complain to Santander or straight to the ombudsman’s as my overdraft complaint is now with the ombudsman.
Thanks
Tyler
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you have to complain to Santander first
LC says
I used the template to raise an unaffordability complaint with Loans2Go and they have given me a 100% refund of the interest. Which means I’m one payment from clearing the original loan amount. Thank you so much for the advise and encouragement to use the template.
Grace Barratt says
I just want to say the biggest thank you to Sara well debt camel as I know her.
I have had years of being in debt a constant cycle. I gave a few affordability complaints a go as I had had so many loans and credit cards! I have received nearly £5000 back in interest and also for my husband.
Not only has she helped me in that way but her advise has changed my constant look on life and money decisions in such a short space of time!
Thank you so much!! So nice there is someone out there to help in the world we live in.
Leah says
I followed the affordability complaint template for koyo/capquest loans. I wasn’t expecting anything however, 8 weeks later they are refunding me £1,377.70 and I don’t have to make my last 2 payments so I will be £200 per month better off. I have sent a Barclays credit card affordability complaint to the financial ombudsman and awaiting feedback. This would not have been possible without the help I have received. Eternally grateful!
Lucy Smith says
Hi, I had a loan 10 years ago with Hitachi Loans, I can’t find an email address for them, would I be right in thinking they don’t exist anymore? If so, would it be impossible to send an affordability complaint about them?
Thanks
Lucy
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hitachi changed their name to Novuna. There is an email address for them in the article above.
But that is a very old loan. When was it paid off?
Lucy Smith says
Thanks for your reply, I paid it off in 2019, is it too old?
Thanks again
Lucy
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You won’t win an affordability complaint about a loan cleared (or defaulted) over 6 years ago, sorry
Tyler Manka says
Hi do you have any details for Toyota finance. I had finance with the for over 10 years constantly carrying negative equity into new cars, changing finances to more expensive ones when on maternity leave etc figure it may be worth me putting in a complaint. Currently have a complaint to Santander sat with the ombudsman
Sara (Debt Camel) says
customerrelations@uk.toyota-fs.com
For an affordability complaint, you are unlikely to win any complaint where the finance ended more than 6 years ago
Keeley says
Hi. I submitted a complaint to Updraft for 3 loans last year – they upheld on 2 (both current), and I accepted their decision. We agreed a repayment plan – they wouldn’t let me merge and just make 1 payment, and I offered reasonable amounts which, I think, were accepted without any income/expenditure forms being completed. They had removed all interest, and it seemed like quite an informal arrangement, and I thought I could alter the amounts if they proved unmanageable. I made some repayments, but struggled – particularly with the larger one – and went into arrears. They sent a default notice which said it didn’t apply if there was a repayment plan in place, which I thought referred to my plan, but apparently not. They have registered a default. Yesterday I was corresponding with them about keeping the smaller payment the same, but bringing the higher payment down a bit. They sent me an income / expenditure form and agreed to do this. Then today I heard it has been passed to ACI for collection. I appreciate I fell behind but feel they have been hard to deal with. Does this warrant another complaint with a view to trying to get the default removed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think so. They agreed it was unaffordable, they should accept an amount you can manage.
Keeley says
Thanks. I’ll submit that, but also engage with ACI and make small payments in the meantime to avoid that causing me more stress. They seemed potentially willing to take it up with Updraft too, but I don’t know if that is a good route?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh the debt needs to be paid in the end. so agree an affpordable repayment. This wont affect whether a default should have been added
Keeley says
I’ve just been back thru it all. I complained in March, and kept making repayments in April & May. They uphold the complaint in May and we agreed repayments (I don’t think there’s anything more formal than an email exchange). They initially said they couldn’t set up the direct debit in time so asked me to pay via a link which I don’t think I did. So June may have been missed. In July they sent an arrears notice and asked me to pay 2 random amounts to clear it, which I did. End of July they sent an arrears notice and then apologised and said it was in error. I don’t think I paid in Aug/Sep but then paid in Oct, Nov any got default notice, but based on the old repayment amounts. And it said if I was in a payment plan, it wouldn’t count. Paid the lower payment in Dec, but not the higher one, and that is the one that has now been passed to the collection agency. Since they upheld the complaint I have paid more than £1,000 across the 2 loans. Their correspondence has been very confused, and I think some of the people sending it haven’t been aware of the complaint. Do you think the missed payments warrant the default and further action or should they have done more to help? Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think that sounds like a shambles.
Do you have other problem debts because much the simplest thing is to dump the remaining debts into a debt management plan.
But also complain and ask for the default to be removed
Keeley says
Some debts are with FOS, and with others I am managing minimum payments or have an arrangement in place.
Updraft have come back to me to say I didn’t provide the information they requested so the defaults stand, and the loans will stay with the agency now.
I will set something up with the agency to repay. Do you think it is worth taking to the Ombudsman or did I mess up by not paying more or completing income/expenditure (even tho we agreed on the amounts)? Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you made a formal complaint to Updraft?
Keeley says
I’ve just heard from ACI – Updraft have now put all the interest back on that they had removed as part of the redress so the amount owing has gone up by £10k.
I’ll put this in the complaint that I submit to the FOS once I have an official response back from Updraft. As their original response was more than 6months ago, is this going to be a problem, or will the FOS see this as being part of the new complaint that I have submitted? I’m really shocked that they have done this, especially seeing as I had been maintaining payments for the last 3 months (except Dec on one loan).
Sara (Debt Camel) says
this is a new complaint
Keeley says
If Updraft have already taken responsibility for irresponsible lending, is it likely that the FOS would uphold the removal of interest regardless of how the repayment plan has operated? I feel like if they really thought I wasn’t making enough payments under the plan they could have just passed the debt on without adding the interest back on. The amount owing in the Updraft app is £10,900, whereas they’ve told ACI it’s £23,000.
And is it normal that repayment plans might not work initially, and that someone might need to amend the levels of repayment? Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if the loan was unaffordable, and Updraft agreed it was, they should never be charging interest.
Repayment plans are temporary arrangements. They may change if you can pay more or less.
Keeley says
I emailed a complaint today, but they’re just saying the same stuff back to me. I’ve asked for a final decision over email so I can take to FOS.
Their response to my original complaint was apologetic and said they take the advice of FCA and FOS regarding redress, so they would remove interest and work with me on a payment plan etc.
Surely my shaky start to the plan, and all their erratic correspondence, shouldn’t have led to them defaulting the loans and passing them on? It feels like there was no connection between the complaint response and then what happened when I couldn’t keep up levels of payment. I also felt it was very informal when I first suggested new payment amounts – it felt like there was flexibility.
They are saying now that we didn’t have a plan in place (hence quoting arrears based on original payment levels), but I have been playing the direct debit for the last 3 months on one loan, and for the first 2 of those months in the other.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you think They are being unreasonable given that they had agreed the loans were unaffordable, send this to FOS
Keeley says
Hi. ACI have contacted Updraft to question why the outstanding balances that they have been passed (where the interest has been re-applied) vary so much to the ones I’m seeing in the app, and have told me that they will pause the accounts whilst Updraft work out the dispute with me. I imagine Updraft will take the full 8 weeks to respond to my complaint. And from that point, they’ll either realise that they reneged on their original position or they’ll push back and I’ll have to start the FOS process. What do you recommend I do in the meantime? I am still making direct payments to Updraft for 1 loan, and they have told me not to cancel that until I have a plan with ACI. The other loan doesn’t now have a direct debit set up (last payment end Nov). ACI have advised I can set up interim payments with them whilst the dispute is ongoing, but I would need to cancel my existing dd with Updraft. I’m so worried about Updraft escalating things again that I feel I want to do something to prevent any more aggressive action. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My suggestion is as before – put these and all your other debts in to a debt management plan with Stepchange
S says
I used the affordability complaint template for two Halifax loans. The complaints have been upheld. One loan was already paid off but the other I’m still paying off. They’ve refunded me the interest on both loans and the one that’s still outstanding will have no interest added on so I’m repaying just capital. I didn’t even know I could complain until I came across debt camels insta page. Thank you for raising so much awareness and helping those of us that find ourselves in a tricky situation.
J says
I am being chased my lantern but over a 118 loan.
I took a loan out with 118 it was paid off by everyday loans and then 118 gave me another loan.
I put in an irresponsible lending claim with 118 it was refused and I dint realize I only had a certain a lot of time to raise with ombudsman.
I assuage this has to be paid?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what is the rest of your finances like? Have you complained about the everyday loan – how long ago did that start?
This sounds like a lot of high cost lending, what else do you have?
J says
Not great. Yes complained about everyday and the knocked the interest off.
I have cards with CO and Zable and clearpay, loans with salad, 118 (lantern) loans to go and an oodle finance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should talk to Stepchange now about your options for all those debts as well as the Lantern debt, see https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
Also make affordability complaints about Salad, 118, Loans2Go (use loan template here https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/)
And Zable and cap One (use https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/)
these should all be sent to the Ombudsman if the lender doesnt offer a refund
J says
Yes I’m entering into a DMP.
I did make one about 118 but they declined so I’m not too sure why I stand as the time to complain to the ombudsman time out.
Loans to go again also declined my complaint
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is the loans2go one also more than 6 months ago?
If it is still in time, send the L2G case to the Ombudsman immediately .
Include the 118 debt in the DMP
FS says
Hi, is it possible to complain on affordability to Commsave?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it is.
Send a complaint to hello@commsave.co.uk and put Affordability Complaint as the subject of your email
C Middleton says
Hi, I had a loan with future finance who have now been liquidated. They were loans aimed at students and post graduates. I was given a large loan and spent years paying it off and it was really crippling at times. Apparently Asset Link Capital took over the business but I’ve contacted them and they said they can’t handle complaints or do anything to help as the company has been liquidated. Do I have any options at all here to raise a compliant? Can the ombudsman help if the company is liquidated? Any help appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have heard some successes but not many. You may as well try try with the Ombudsman
J says
What is my likelihood of getting anything back? I was clearly spiralling BUT making all of my payments on time up to the point where i took a DMP out (now at 30k) – I’ve sent complaints to all creditors for loans, overdrafts and credit cards.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when did the DMP start? who is it with?
J says
Started about a year ago, PayPlan. I just had an offer from monzo of £580 for my overdraft, but refuse on Flex and Loan that were taken at the same time… think i should take to ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes i think those Monzo rejections should go to FOS
CC says
My husband has sent off affordability complaints to a few loans that he has after us obtaining them to provide relief on our financial situation at the time (which only created more financial difficulties)
Monzo have replied denying his claim however we are going to gather info (credit report etc) and send over to the obudsman
However, 118 have upheld his complaint – he had £2,000 loan and I believe the interest was approx £1,500 – they’ve agreed to refund the £1.5K from the total loan balance
Sam says
I used a template to contact Loans2Go – they agreed to:
Write off 100% of the interest (£1,890.02)
• Remove any negative credit file entries for this loan
•Leave me owing only the original £700 borrowed
This has really helped me. Thank you Sara. This has really put me on a better Path.
JH says
Hello,
Is it possible to make a complaint about a large loan that I took out with a second charge on my property? I was self employed at the time and I have been repaying for 10 years, and it’s only the interest that was being paid each month. The loan was repaid last year in full last year with another loan.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who was the lender and what was the interest rate?
JH says
Hi thank you for your reply.
It was with prestige finance. I will look for the exact interest rate now, but the loan was £38k taken out approx 10 years ago. I was paying £580 a month. At the end of last year I repaid in full and the amount owed was £40k!
Thank you
Vanessa says
Hello
Firstly well done for this page.
I took out my first loan from Transave May 2024 to pay off my tuition fee. It was £6,553 it is now £4,524. As you can see I haven’t had much progress. Since 2021 I haven’t had a permanent job I work as agency staff on zero hour contract. May 2025 I opened up a credit card because I was getting consistent shifts but this stopped around September. Now I have £1,170 on a post office /capital one credit card. They have given me breathing space. Then in December 2025 I had a lot of bills so I got an another loan from London mutual credit union for £3,200. I have been paying consistently as I have little shifts. Can I make an affordability complaint on these as I’m starting to realise I am in a big debt with no certain income. ( I am trying to find a permanent role and have interviews lined up)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can make affordability complaints to Transerve and LMCU> But really I think you also need to talk to Stepchange about a debt management plan for all of your debts, not just these two loans: https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
Vanessa says
Okay thank you. I will contact step change. Do you have the emails for Transave and LMCU for the affordability complaint pls
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Transave – sean.haughian@transaveuk.co.uk
LMCU – complaints@creditunion.co.uk put Complaint about London Mutual loan as the subject
Trying to get control says
Hi Sara.
Natwest rejected my complaint to I sent it to the FOS. I have had an email from an investigator today and they have asked the following questions. I am unsure how to answer, other than I raised the complaint as soon as I became aware of debt camel and realised I could.
For context on my complaint, this is my borrowing history. All of my credit cards were maxed out at the time of the 3 Natwest Loans.
Capital One 19/11/2017 £1,800
Fluid 12/05/2020 £2,000
Tesco 24/01/2021 £2,800
Fluid Increase 08/02/2021 £2,000
Virgin 18/08/2021 £3,800
Natwest Loan 29/07/2021 £5,000
Tesco Increase 01/11/2021 £2,000
Natwest Loan 10/01/2022 10,000
Natwest Loan 09/02/2022 £5,000
JD Williams 15/11/2023 £1,700
Salad 27/06/2024 £1,500
Did you have concerns about the initial affordability of the agreements – when did you first start having these concerns?
At the point you started having concerns, why have you waited until now to bring your complaint?
When did you become aware the credit was causing you a problem and who did you blame when you became aware of this?
Any help appreciated, thank you x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
All three of the NatWest loans are in the last 6 years? Were there any that were longer ago?
I hope you have also made complaints to Fluid, Tesco, JD Williams and Salad?
Trying to get control says
Yes they are. £20,000 within 9 months of each other.
I have sent complaints for them all. They all rejected so they are currently open with FOS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Which case is the investigator asking you these questions about?
Trying to get control says
The 3 NatWest loans x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you ask the investigator what the relevance of the questions is as all the loans were taken in the last 6 years.
James Burry says
Hi i have salary of £2282 with that 3 loans and credit cards total debt 65k and mortgage 145k fos says these are all affordable
1st rate cu £10000 @ £253
Barclays 15k @£272
Tandem? 20k @ £209
Antelope 7k @ %252
Have can they say these are affordable
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Each of these is a separate case at the Ombudsman and you have to argue them all individually. Look at what the investigator decision is in detail, decide which numbers are wrong or if there is something missing that is important.
Give the investigator details, including your bank statements for the relevant times. Ask the investigator to review their decision and for it to go to an ombudsman if the investigator doesn’t change their mind. You want to make it as easy as possible for the investigator to take the right decision.
It can be common for earlier debts to be affordable and later ones not.
If all those debts are current debts, then you should talk to Stepchange about a debt management plan. https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
NPA93 says
I’m so grateful for these tips! I sent a complaint to Bamboo who said they wouldn’t uphold it and then sent it to the Ombudsman who emailed today to say that Bamboo have offered a £1,444.49 off my loan balance! This is such a huge help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Another example of a lender rejecting a good complaint hoping you would just give up. They knew they would lose at the Ombudsman, whioch is why they quickly offered to settle this when you sent FOS the case.
Carly Phipps says
Hello,
Do you have a complaints email address for Draft Loans at all please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Drafty? complaints@drafty.co.uk
Dan says
I put in complaint with 118 118 a few weeks ago and the replied within 10 days and have cleared all interest on my account of around 3.2k
Just for clarity my loan was still active with a few missed payments but was back on track and upto date and initial loan of 4k and payments to date where around 3.7k .
in short I now have a few payments to make and loan will be cleared and all interest has been removed by 118 118 ( they have already done this on my app acount and instead of my outstanding balance being 3.2k its around £350
I cant complain about 118 118 response and the way they have handled my affordability complaint .The only thing I would say about 118 118 is if you do miss a payment they will text and call your phone and email upto 5 times a day until you respond ….so wont miss that