UPDATES In November 2023, Amigo started deleting some loans from people's credit records. it says "In this situation, it is probable that the claim has been either fully or partially upheld" That may make you feel more comfortable choosing equitable set-off. The deadline for making a claim to the Amigo Scheme was in November 2022 - it is now too late to make a claim. If you have not made a … [Read more...]
How to get a payday loan refund
Did your payday loans cost so much when you repaid one you had to keep on borrowing? You can get a refund of the interest you paid on unaffordable loans. It's easy to ask for a payday loan refund using the free template letters here. The letters work if your payday loans were repaid or you still owe money. The comments below this article have thousands of stories of the refunds people … [Read more...]
Amigo – no second Scheme before April at the earliest
On 29 November 2021, Amigo published its results for the six months ended 30 September 2021. Amigo's first Scheme of Arrangement was rejected by the Court in May. Since then, Amigo has been trying to come up with a new Scheme that is fairer to the customers given unaffordable loans. Amigo says: "the proposed contribution to the new Scheme will be significantly increased from that of the … [Read more...]
Can I get a mortgage with recent defaults?
A reader, Mr D, asked: My partner and I have a combined income of £56,000, We have a deposit of £28,000 (inheritance) and are looking to become first time buyers at a price of £230,000. We have defaulted debts that are being paid off, and previous history of payday loans from over 2 years ago from a time when our financial situation was much more difficult. The defaults are about 18 months … [Read more...]
Bank accounts for all sorts of bad credit problems, even bankruptcy
In 2016 the major UK banks all introduced new "basic bank accounts". One of the main aims was to widen bank account access to groups of people who have found it difficult or impossible to open an account: people who have gone bankrupt previously found it very hard to get a bank account; people in an IVA, DRO or debt management need to change bank accounts and have the overdraft on their … [Read more...]
ClearScore adopts the new Equifax credit scoring out of 1000
In mid November 2021, ClearScore has finally adopted the new 1000 Equifax credit scores. Equifax credit scoring changed in April 2021, when it switched to calculating scores out of 1000 - they used to be calculated out of 700. It also changed the bands used to describe your credit rating. Equifax didn't make an announcement about these changes. The Equifax Credit Report & Score was … [Read more...]
Gambling – get refunds from loans, credit cards & overdrafts
Many people with a gambling problem have been given unaffordable credit. This fueled their gambling and they got deeper into debt. Credit is affordable if you can repay it and still pay your other debts, bills and expenses. If it is unaffordable, then you can ask for a refund of interest and charges and take a complaint the lender declines to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS). But gambling … [Read more...]
What happens to your possessions in bankruptcy?
The bankruptcy application says "It is very unlikely that items you need for your daily life (eg washing machine, sofa, refrigerator) will be sold". Here are a selection of questions here that people have asked about what may happen to the things they own if in bankrupty. I may not have mentioned your exact situation, but the answers here try explain how the Official Receiver makes … [Read more...]
Is your name in a fraud database?
There are three large UK databases aimed at alerting lenders to possible fraudulent applications for borrowing: National Hunter, Cifas and Sira. If your name is on one of these connected with fraud you may find it difficult or impossible to take out credit and your bank account may be closed. But sometimes the information on the databases may be wrong and you need to get it corrected. In … [Read more...]
When to send a Prove It letter about a debt
If you get a letter saying you owe money on a debt you don’t recognise, or which you thought you had paid off, you need to challenge the creditor to prove that you do owe the money. Sometimes debt collectors have simply got the wrong person. This is sometimes called a mis-trace. This is what the Financial Ombudsman says about mis-traces: We would ask a debt collector to provide evidence to … [Read more...]
“Will Experian Boost help my credit score?”
A reader asked if she should sign up to Experian's Boost. Are any disadvantages? Would it really help her credit score? Experian's new Boost facility was introduced in the UK in November 2020: it can increase your Experian Credit Score by a maximum of 101 points; it is set up so it can never harm your credit score. Hundreds of thousands of people have used it. Let's see how it … [Read more...]
There still some good 0% transfer deals but you may get a smaller limit
In February 2023, the longest 0% balance transfer deals are 30 months long, but there aren't many of them. 2017 was the high water point for 0% balance transfers - you could get deals for 43 months. Then the deals got gradually shorter and the fees edged up. With the pandemic, most deals disappeared entirely and the few there were much shorter, a maximum of 24 months. From late 2021 the … [Read more...]
Bankruptcy – should you get a new job? Or work overtime?
A couple of readers have asked recently about whether it's sensible to turn down a job or overtime when you are bankrupt. Two things matter in this sort of situation. First, have you been discharged from bankruptcy? Almost everyone is discharged from bankruptcy after a year. And secondly, do you have an Income Payments Agreement (IPA) set? In an IPA, you have to make monthly payments for … [Read more...]
4 reasons why you need a new bank account
Everyone needs a bank account that they can rely on, one that doesn't cause more trouble than it solves. So here are four reasons why people with financial problems should get a new bank account. If you have a lot of problem debt, you may think you can't change bank accounts because no-one else would let you have a current account. But the new Basic Bank Accounts that were introduced in 2016 … [Read more...]
Amigo’s Scheme rejected – now looking at a new Scheme
UPDATE In May 2022, the new Amigo Scheme was approved by the court and went live. See Amigo’s Scheme for details about this. This page on the old Scheme is now no longer relevant. Please leave any comments and questions on that new page. The approval process for the first Scheme (this ended in rejection) On 30 March, the First Court Hearing gave the go-ahead for Amigo to organise the … [Read more...]
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