Debt news and policy Archives

Debt news and policy

Debt Camel articles on what's changing - and what ought to change - in the world of personal debt in Britain.

If you are interested in a specific area, look at: High cost credit news & policy and Insolvency news & policy.

IVAs in 2018 – numbers jump and so do failure rates

On 29 January 2019 the Insolvency Service published two sets of statistics for 2018: Insolvency Statistics: October to December 2018 Individual Voluntary Arrangements: Outcome Status 1990 – 2017. Here are what I think are the three most interesting points. 1. IVA numbers again rose faster than bankruptcy & DROs In 2018 IVAs increased by 20%. Already the most common type of … [Read more...]

January 2019 – Wageday Advance proposes cutting the refunds it pays

Wageday Advance asks the FCA for a Scheme of Arrangement On 31 January 2019, Curo, the American parent of payday lender Wageday Advance (WDA) announced it is in talks with the FCA about a Scheme of Arrangement (SOA) for its redress liabilities in the UK. See Curo's statement in its end-of-year results. These liabilities are the payday loan refunds that WDA is having to pay to current and … [Read more...]

QuickQuid’s refusal to refund loans after 2015 is wrong

In 2018 and early 2019 QuickQuid was been refusing to consider any affordability complaints about loans made after March 2015. First it rejects a refund on any of these recent loans when a customer complains. Here is an example of how QuickQuid even classifies these loans separately in its reply to a complaint: Then, when a customer takes the case to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS), … [Read more...]

Debt advice in 2018 – my round up of the year

At the end of 2017 I wrote: Persistent credit card debt and overdraft charges tackled, bailiffs brought under control, SFS being used by all creditors, and a breathing space that will actually work in practice – that would be a good 2018. That would have been an amazing 2018 - I would have been happy with just a couple of those. But it is disappointing that none of them were achieved this … [Read more...]

Is your refund from Vanquis right? It’s probably too small!

Have you had an email or a letter from Vanquis saying it is refunding you some money? In late 2018 tens of thousands of people are getting these refunds. Nice? Yes, but it may be too low... Some people are being given tens of pounds when I think they should get hundreds. And people getting hundreds should be getting thousands! There were no details of the refund in the email or letter … [Read more...]

Lending Stream stops customers complaining by email

Lending Stream has changed its complaints handling to make it harder for customers to make an affordability complaint and ask for a refund of the interest they have paid. Until recently you could send them a complaint email, as you still can to the other payday lenders. Now all emails to complaints@lendingstream.co.uk or payments@lendingstream.co.uk bounce back. Instead, you have to complete … [Read more...]

Barclays & Barclaycard send letters offering a refund

UPDATE Spring 2024 Barclays is sending people some “NOSIA” letters – because Barclays failed to send you a Notice of Sums In Arrears letter and because of that it is refunding interest after the date the letter should have been sent. The Response Form can be found here https://www.barclays.co.uk/help/remediation/orf/ – that is a genuine page. It says some people may need to send a picture of … [Read more...]

FCA will cap BrightHouse prices and interest from April 2019

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is capping the cost of buying from BrightHouse, PerfectHome and other pay weekly shops from April 2019. This is very good news. It is not just a cap on the interest, where the FCA has imposed the same 100% cap that currently applies to payday lending. The FCA is also proposing controls over the prices of the goods the shops are allowed to charge. … [Read more...]

How the Wonga administrators will handle refunds – the Proposals

The Wonga Administrators sent a letter in late October to some of Wonga's creditors with their proposals to handle the administration. These include: background on the events before administration; how to decide the payday loan affordability complaints that have already been sent to Wonga; and how to encourage other customers to submit a complaint. These Proposals were agreed by a … [Read more...]

QuickQuid – misleading customers about loans over 6 years old

Mr X has received a reply from QuickQuid saying why it will not consider an affordability refund on payday loans that are more than six years old. This part of QuickQuid's reply isn't related to the details of Mr X's case. It looks like a standard response QuickQuid is sending everyone whose complaints include these older loans. I often see pretty poor replies from payday lenders to people … [Read more...]