Did payday loans make your finances more difficult or impossible? Those loans may have been “unaffordable” and you should not have been given them. You may be able to claim a refund of the interest you paid.
It’s easy to ask for a refund using the free template letters here. You can use these letters with any payday lender. They work if your loans were repaid on time, or late, or you still owe money.
Two special cases:
- if you are still borrowing each month, read Get help to escape from payday loans because you need to do this first. Then you can put in complaints about affordability.
- if you defaulted on a loan, complain to the lender as described here, same letters etc, even if the debt is with a debt collector. But there are some important extra bits so also read Payday loan refunds when you still owe money.
If the lender says No, or offers too little, this article explains how to go to the Financial Ombudsman. It’s easy and many people are getting large payouts!
The comments below have hundreds of readers’ stories of the payday refunds they have been given and the Ombudsman decisions.
What are “unaffordable” loans?
If you could only repay payday loans by borrowing again or from a different lender – your payday loans were probably “unaffordable”. The regulator says:
“the borrower should be able to make the required repayments without undue difficulty, whilst continuing to meet other debt repayment obligations and reasonable regular outgoings.”
So for a payday loan to be affordable, you had to be able to repay it the next month and be able to pay your other bills and debts. If any of the following points apply, the payday lender should have realised the loans weren’t affordable and stopped lending you more:
- you often rolled loans or borrowed again soon after repaying a loan;
- your loans from a lender were increasing in size;
- some repayments were late; or
- the loan was a significant part of your income
If the Financial Ombudsman decides your loans were unaffordable (this is happening a lot – see below!) and the lender should have realised, you will get the interest refunded. That can be a lot of money!
Were you treated unfairly?
If you told the lender you had financial problems the lender should have treated you fairly. read Payday loans: what to expect from your lender if you’re struggling which was written by the payday loan regulator. That has lists of what a lender should (and should not!) have done, for example suggesting you roll a loan or borrow more money.If any of these happened to you, add them your complaint.
How much compensation can you get?
This will depend on your case. If the Ombudsman decides your loans were unaffordable, the question is when should the lender have realised this and stopped lending?
A typical decision by the Ombudsman is to say the payday lender should refund all interest after the third/fourth/fifth loan. This may be earlier if your first loans were rolled or extended a lot.
You aren’t very likely to get a “full refund of all your interest paid”, but ask for the lot and let the Ombudsman decide what is fair. You don’t have calculate anything for your complaint, just ask for:
- a refund of all interest and charges paid plus statutory interest of 8%;
- “unaffordable” loans to be deleted from your credit record.
Wonga and some other lenders have already written off some loans. You may still be able to get compensation if you had earlier loans that you repaid. Again just ask for everything and let the Ombudsman decide. Simple!
If you were treated poorly when you told the lender you were in difficulty, then add something like: “I would like to ask for a refund of interest and charges for all the loans I had. I would also like additional compensation for the way you mishandled my situation when I told you I couldn’t repay a loan.”
So how do you claim a refund? There are three steps:
Step one – get the facts
If you already have a list of your loans and how much you repaid a lender you can skip this and go straight to Step Two.
You may be able to see your full history on the lender’s website if you can log in, or you may know from your emails, bank statements or even your credit report. If you can see the full history online, take a copy of it in case it later disappears!
To get details of the loans you had, email the lender’s Complaints team (see this list of email addresses) and say:
Some lenders make this step hard. See What to do if a payday lender won’t sent you a Statement of Account if your lender is trying to charge you for this or mentions legislation and says they don’t have to send it.
If you don’t get a reply within two weeks, go on to Step two and put in a full complaint even though you still don’t know all the details.
Step two – ask for a payday loan refund
Email the lender saying you want to complain because you were given unaffordable loans. This can be a simple letter – just tell your story. You don’t need to mention laws or regulations or supply calculations showing why a loan was unaffordable.
Here is a sample letter for you to change – it needs to tell your story because everyone’s case is different!
I have been borrowing more often and the amounts tended to go up. Your loans trapped me into a debt spiral, with the repayment taking so much of my wages that I had to borrow again to cover my next month expenses.
For this period my income averaged about £x a month.
[If you have a family, add some details eg We have two small children, both in nappies for much of this period. We had child benefit and credits which averaged about £x a month.]
My living expenses were roughly: rent/mortgage £x. Council tax £x. Utilities and bills £x. Transport costs £x. Clothes £x. Food, toiletries, nappies £x. Child expenses £x Other debt repayments £x. Total £x per month. This shows that there was no way I could afford these loans. When I repaid them, I had to borrow again to get through the next month.
You should have realised from the number of times I rolled loans or borrowed again that my debt problems were getting worse. It was not responsible to continue to lend to me. [Add more details about how often you borrowed or rolled loans if you know them, how the amount went up etc]
[Include/change this if your credit record would have shown big problems: My credit reports would have shown my other debt repayments and problems including late payments/defaults / CCJs / debt management.]
You should never have given me these unaffordable loans. I would like to ask you to refund the interest and extra charges I paid. The Financial Ombudsman suggests that statutory interest is added to this sort of refund.
[Include this if some of your loans are over 6 years old: I only found out I could make this sort of irresponsible lending complaint in [June 2017 or whenever]. I understand the Financial Ombudsman will consider all my loans, including those that are more than 6 years old.]
Add any other points that help tell your story such as:
- “I took out another loan with xxxx to pay you.”
- “Sometimes I borrowed to pay the rent and then had to top-up to get money for food and petrol.”
- “After I had rolled the loan twice I was so worried about the interest that I repaid it even though this meant not paying my council tax.”
Don’t worry that the lender will say you should have cut back on your living costs – just put down your normal expenses. You don’t need to include evidence, see How much detail should I put in a payday loan complaint?
Some common changes/additions are:
- If you owe money to the lender, ask for any collection activity to stop whilst your complaint is being investigated.
- If you have a balance that was sold to a debt collector you still complain to the original lender – they were the one that made the mistake of lending to you – but also tell the debt collector that you are disputing the debt.
- If you only had one or two payday loans from this lender remove the bits about borrowing more often from the sample letter. The more loans you had from the same lender the easier it is to make your case because the lender should have spotted the repeat borrowing. But even one loan could have been unaffordable, especially if it was rolled several times.
If one of the debts was sold to a debt collector, you still complain to the original lender, not the debt collector, but tell the debt collector you are disputing the debt with the lender – this should prevent any court action whilst your complaint is being considered.
Step three – go to the Financial Ombudsman
If the lender rejects your complaint or offers you a small amount, don’t be depressed – you may still have a good case, they are just hoping you will go away quietly!
From April-June 2017, more than a thousand new cases were sent every month to the Financial Ombudsman. And at the moment 68% of these cases are being upheld – that is a higher success rate than any other type of complaint!
So think about sending your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman if any of the following happen:
- the creditor doesn’t offer you any compensation;
- they don’t reply within eight weeks;
- compensation offered is too low; or
- they refuse to consider all of your loans complaint because some are over 6 years old or have been sold to a debt collector.
Should you give up or go to the Ombudsman?
If the lender has said any of the following, ignore it! They are just trying to put you off, you can still win your case with the Ombudsman.
- they relied on what you said on loan applications and you didn’t give the full facts – see lender says I lied for more about this;
- you repaid some loans early (so what? this doesn’t prove they were affordable, just that you were trying to save interest);
- your borrowing didn’t go up every time (irrelevant – what matters is that you kept borrowing);
- you had a good enough credit score or they didn’t legally have to check your credit record.
If you know how much you paid in interest, this helps you decide if an offer is reasonable or not. Some lenders offer a few hundred pounds to cases which eventually get ten times as much or more from the Ombudsman. People have had large payouts after a complete rejection.
It’s important you get this right:
- don’t worry that you will “lose” a small offer from a lender – this doesn’t happen;
- an offer to write off your current balance may be good or it may be very poor as you should get a refund as well, see Refunds when you have a balance owing for details;
- if you are offered a refund on a few loans, don’t accept if you think you paid a lot more than that it interest.
- accepting an offer settles your whole complaint – you can’t change your mind later.
Don’t automatically take a poor case to the Ombudsman. It’s probably pointless if you only had one loan from a lender, not rolled, which you repaid on time.
But it is the Ombudsman’s job to make these decisions, so if you aren’t sure, ask them to look at it, it doesn’t cost you anything, just a bit of time. It’s not like going to court – one reader said, “They couldn’t be any nicer.”
How the FO works
The Financial Ombudsman has a two stage process. The first level is a FO member of staff called an Adjudicator. The Adjudicator will come to a decision, but unless both sides accept it, the case goes to the second stage where it is considered by an Ombudsman. Most complaints are settled at Adjudicator level – there are 10 times as many Adjudicators as Ombudsmen.
How to send your complaint to the FO
Putting in a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman is easy. You put in a separate complaint about each lender. Their website explains the different ways you can Complain to the Ombudsman. Caroline Wayman, the Chief Ombudsman, says:
It’s really OK to phone up and say, ‘I don’t think it was fair.” It’s not court; you don’t have to turn up with your ‘heads of claim’, you don’t have to write a fancy letter. Tell us your story and we will do the rest.
I like the “do it online” option rather than phoning up. Online you are taken through your complaint step by step and you can attach other information, such as the reply you have had from the lender. You could add some more details, for example, if you disagree with what the lender replied to you.
If some loans are more than six years old, add a bit explaining why you are complaining now, not years ago. Most people knew they were in financial trouble when they were borrowing but had no idea that the lender should have checked for affordability or that they could make an irresponsible lending complaint. So just explain this and say how and when you found out that an affordability complaint was possible (a friend sent me a link about this, I saw it mentioned on Facebook, whatever.)
If you don’t have a list of your loans, the Ombudsman can get it from the lender. The Ombudsman may ask to see some bank statements and your current credit report. You can still get bank statements even if your account is closed.
A few problem cases
- Don’t try to get a refund if you are bankrupt now or have been bankrupt in the past – any refund will go to the Official Receiver, not you.
- Don’t bother if you are in an IVA as refunds will go to your IVA firm not to you.
- Don’t apply if you are in a DRO, getting a refund may mean your DRO is cancelled!
- You can’t go to the Ombudsman with non-UK authorised lenders – the main ones were Swift Sterling and Pounds Till Payday, see that article for your options.
What about other sorts of borrowing?
The affordability rules are the same for all lenders. But it is easier to win a complaint where you borrowed a lot from the same lender – single loans can be very hard. You need to be able to show that you couldn’t afford the repayments and the lender should have known.
- For doorstep lenders such as Provident, there are some big refunds being paid. See Getting a refund from a doorstep lender for these complaints.
- If your credit limit kept being increased on credit cards or catalogues, you can make an affordability complaint but these are a bit different, see Can I get an interest refund from a catalogue or credit card?
Need some help?
If you need help to complain, go to your local Citizens Advice, they will help for free. Don’t use a claims management company. They are expensive, may be incompetent and you can make a better claim on your own than they can. A good claim involves telling your own story, not sending a standard letter!
Check out the Comments below – you could ask a question there. The comments are split into pages – use the “older comments” and “newer comments” buttons at the bottom to read them all.
How to ask Wonga for a refund of interest
Getting a refund from Quick Quid
Refunds from Payday UK/Express/Money Shop
vickie9 says
Little update, the adjudicator has upheld my complaint against Lending Stream and believe LS should give me a refund on all 19 loans. So pleased I got over my nerves and took this further as LS only wanted to give me a refund on 4 loans. I realise that this is only the start and LS may not agree with her, so I might have to take it to the Financial Ombudsman but I just wanted to let others know they should stick with it and keep pushing regardless of what the payday loan company say. I was a bit worried because I just got in a mess with credit cards and payday loans, no reason for it other than going through a bad time but the FOS are excellent, they don’t judge, just want you to be honest with them. Good luck all.
Thank you Sara for having this website. I really don’t what I would have done without the amazing help and support from both yourself and other people.
The Hitman says
Congratulations!!
Lee says
Good result well done. Hope my adjudicator reviewing my lending stream compliant agrees.
Chasabeth says
Hi guys,
I have been following this post with great interest. I got myself into the Payday loan trap starting in 2010. It started with Quick Quid and then moved onto Wonga & Payday UK pretty quickly. Soon I was taking out 3 different loans per month with each company each month, amounts getting bigger & bigger or rolling them, just to cover paying the other. It was hell to be honest. Luckily I managed to get out of this.
I have raised complaints with all 3 of these companies and sent these off nearly 8 weeks ago. All I have had back is the bog standard responses so I am getting ready to send these over to the Financial Ombudsman next week when their 8 weeks are up. I didn’t have any of the statements, I sent them over my bank statements but just showing their individual payments in & out of my account, no more information at all.
Looking at things it seems that most of my loans are over 6 years old. I started with Wonga in April 2010 and managed to pay everything off with them in February 2012, the others took longer, Payday UK was April 2014 & Quick Quid was 2015.
My query is has anyone had a response from any of these companies before going to the Ombudsman with loans of this age?
I had 48 loans with Wonga, 46 with Quick Quid (including rolled loans) and only 10 with Payday UK that I could find, but I’m sure that there were more (they changed their names on my bank statement when paying money in and collecting it) so I’m sure that I must be owed something?
Lee says
You might have difficulty with loans over 6 years old but put your compliant in with FOS for full period of loans for all. But be prepared for a massive delay with FOS handling your case. Probably be waiting 6 months plus into next year.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
At some point the 6 year issue will get resolved and then the waiting times should shrink down to “normal”
fiona says
I have very similar loans like you with the same compaines & same dates, i got a good response & settlement really quickly from PayDayUK, Wageday & Quick Quid gave very poor setlements to everything has been sent to FOS & im just waiting now. I know it will be a long wait but so far they have emailed really quickly with what they now need from me, just would like a fiar settlement it was a while ago now but it was such a stressfull period of time, good luck.
Chasabeth says
It’s so frustrating that none of them have bothered to respond at all apart for the big standard response. They have until next Tuesday so it’s not looking great. I’m not worried about the wait but I am due to go on Mat leave soon so any extra money would have really come in useful.
I will keep everyone updated
ab says
SUNNY
I’m 2 days of sunny reaching there 8 week window and no final response. I’ve had updates there still looking into it but NO final response. Anyone else had this? What do I do if they don’t get back to me within next 2 days…..
Please help!!
simon says
Hi AB,
This happened to me too, if they dont get back to you with in the 8 weeks or they say they still need more time to investigate just open a complaint to the Ombudsman online (link is above) and say the company have had 8 weeks and not given you a final response. The Ombudsman will then start an investigation whilst the company is still ‘investigating’ your complaint.
Hope that helps
Simon
Kathy says
Is it 8 weeks from when you sent the complaint or from when they emailed to say they had received it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when you send the complaint (but really it’s not worth arguing over a day or two)
Lewis says
Right guys just thought I’d provide an update.
I put a complaint in about Wonga roughly FOUR month ago.
My adjudicator found that Wonga were irresponsible to lend me 35 out of 39 loans and told them to reimburse me the interest paid on these. (With the 8%)
Today he has told me Wonga didn’t reply to his findings and so now the case is in the queue for an Ombudsman.
Any idea how long I’m looking at for this stage?
It’s a long long process BUT it will be worth it in the end.
Thanks,
Lewis
Ross Cooper says
Getting close to the 8 weeks for my complaints.
Sunny have not sent me anything.
MYJar sent me statement of Accounts & I raised step 2 had nothing since.
Wonga rejected & was sent to FOS however I have not received any confirmation they have received/looking into it.
Payday express told me that as I did not have any outstanding loans then they were under no obligation to provide statements, Followed advice on here to challenge that & my complaint was escalated.
My question is though if the companies do not reply within the 8 weeks do I go straight to Ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes. (Well you may decide not to bother if you just had one or two loans and there wasn’t much interest.)
Dave says
I there an incentive for lenders to not have the complaint being passed to the FOS? If a complaint is upheld by the FOS does the lender have to pay fees or expenses to the FOS for the cost of their service?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The FOS charges a fee of just over £500 whether the complaint is upheld or not.
Dan says
Sara,
Is that fee charged regardless of what level it goes to or is it only payable by the company if it goes to an actual “ombudsman”.
Do they still have to pay if it’s settled at adjudicator level?
Dan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is a fixed fee, whether it is settled at adjudicator level or taken to the Ombudsman.
Linda says
Just wondering if anyone has had any dealings with Pounds to Pocket. I’ve put in multiple complaints against different companies, some have been resolved and some i’m waiting whilst they investigate, but all except Pounds to Pocket have responded in some way. It’s been quite a few weeks and they’ve simply ignored my emails and I’ve sent 3 now with not even a generic reply. Anyone else put in a complaint about Pounds to Pocket at all?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes lots of complaints about them, they are a sister company of Quick Quid, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/quickquid-payday-loan-refunds/
Linda says
Thanks will have a look
Kathy says
Pounds to Pocket responded within a week of my request supplying my SOA and advising that the complaint had been lodged with them, stating they had 8 weeks to look at it! Maybe call them to check they’ve received it?
Linda says
Really, they’ve just completely ignored me funny enough one of my other complaints was QuickQuid and they responded within a week but Pounds to Pocket absolutely nothing even after reminders as I say. Think I will give them a call
Karen says
I’ve just sent my first email to pounds to pocket so will wait to see if they respond. First time I’ve been on this site and it’s really reassuring to know iam not the only one to have fallen into the trap of payday loans!
Shannon says
I made initial complaint to both them and QQ on 27/06/2017. QQ replied after 8 days with complaint reference. Pounds to Pocket however didn’t reply with a complaint reference until 05/08/2017.
April says
Has anyone had any luck with Lending Stream and a credit line loan? I have had this open with them for over 2 years, I’m just wondering whether it is worth making a complaint about irresponsible lending, at the time I had several defaults and outstanding loans already.
I still have an outstanding balance with them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Definitely, lots of people have won these cases. LS are difficult to deal with, rarely make a reasonable offer and will probably reply to you telling you your credit score was fine, even if it was actually rubbish… Just send the case to the ombudsman when you get a final Response from them.
Jampanda says
April, your complaint sounds EXACTLY like mine. I just sent off my complaint to the Ombudsman.
My adjudicator let me know that it may take awhile as they are figuring out how to go about credit line complaints as opposed to payday loan or PPI stuff.
Good luck. And I agree with Sara, don’t bother trying to reason with them. Just get it into the FOS as soon as they’ve replied with final response.
April says
Thanks Jampanda, fingers crossed for you too.
I was holding back sending this complaint because I don’t know how different it would be from the usual payday loans, I guess we will see what happens in the next 8 weeks :)
Bev says
FOS has found in my favour for 4 loans. If QQ don’t respond in time or at all and it goes to Ombudsman, has anyone heard of the ombudsman disagreeing with the Adjudicaters finding meaning he says the co,pant should pay you less?
Gemma says
Hi Bev
Adjudicator found in my favour with Payday Express but Ombudsman said there was. O wrong doing on their part as they wouldn’t have known I had other payday loans. I think that happening is really rare though and I was unlucky
Steve says
I had a credit line with lending stream such was switched to drafty. they replied saying they did nothing wrong so I replied saying as a goodwill gesture to them I would give them 7 days to redress my complaint before I hand it over to the ombudsmen. day 6 a reply and refund .
Andy says
I have just had ame email stating done nothing wrong , and have just sent to FOS online , did they reply and a refund for you , after your goodwill gesture
Cheers andy
Shellbell says
Does anyone know how long sunny take to pay out once the settlement form has been sent back??
Lee says
Sunny refunds typically 2-3 working days of acceptance. Very quick payout. phone them up to confirm they have email so they process the acceptance form straight away.
Shellbell says
Thank you x
Tom c says
Anybody know how long wage day advance take to pay up once the decision has been upheld?
Marie says
Good afternoon.
Just wanted to say thank you very much for your help on this site, today I received £3797 back from PDUK who were the most difficult ones to deal with initially!
Still holding out hope on two other claims although they’ve been sitting with the Ombudsman for a while now.
is it correct that I can claim some of the amount I was taxed back?
Thanks again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well done! See https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/ for getting a tax refund. NB it depends on all the refunds you get in a tax year so it’s probably best to wait and see how the other two cases go.
Neil says
Was this through FOS and how long did you wait for the payment from acceptance please ?
Kathy says
Advice on how to respond to this please?
On and with effect from 14th August 2017 the Lending Stream LLC assigned to Asset Collection & investigation limited all its rights, title, interest and benefits in and to the Assigned Documents and the Debt.
All future correspondence, dealings, deliveries and payments in respect of the Assigned Documents or the Debt should be made to the Assignee whose details are as follows:
Agency: Asset Collections & Investigations Limited
Lee says
Kathy, thought your lending stream compliant was now with the ombudsman like mine. I’ve not had a message like this from Lending Stream?
I have a payment plan on lending stream account in interim of waiting for my adjudicator ruling.
I would just inform the FOS in writing with all the details and quote your lending stream case FOS complaint reference and ask them to advise.
Sally says
Hi tom
Wda said 5 working days to process but the payment was in my account the next day😁
Hope that helps
Lee says
Anyone had Wonga refund recently and how long did it take? I sent acceptance form back 9th August. 8 Days on still not been refunded the £2,486.
Getting annoyed with them.
Can normally credit in hours but keeping me waiting.
keith says
hiya Lee I know can be upto 14 working days so if nothing by then ring them
Steve says
hi guys. has anyone put a complaint in with moneyboat
fiona says
Anybody have Express Finance email address I contacted the one on your website & I got a reply saying they were not a loan company & ive got the wrong email??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
customer.relations@paydaycontact.co.uk
shem says
Hi all
I’ve now had the standard acknowledment from QQ asking for bank statements, pay slips and any supporting info
QQ Having removed any trace of my historical borrowing from my account details I’ve been through emails and bank statements today and sent them my borrowing summary, the difference between what I borrowed and what I repaid between sept 2011 and sept 2014 is just over £4500, the interest based on rough calculation of an average of 4 years would roughly make me due £6000. I have given them this borrowing breakdown which shows an unbroken pattern of borrowing for the whole period month on month no more than 3 days between re borrowing and with regular roll overs and tops us. I have not given them bank statements but have stated I will provide to FOS if ithey request them. I have given them copies of my payslip and living expenses including other pay day lender which shows I was unable to afford these loans from the get go let alone with the interest and increased amounts totally nearly 70% of my monthly pay.
Fingers crossed for a fair response from them, in people who have dealt with QQ experience is this a possibility or do QQ typically reject and force you to FOS?
Shem x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Typically they make a low offer, although some of these seem a bit better these days.
from what you have said, your claim sounds excellent – don’t settle for too little! QQ also have a habit of increasing their offers, sometimes several times, when you are with the ombudsman.
Miss B says
Hi Everyone,
Tomorrow is the final day of the 8 weeks for Quick Quid to respond. Is this normal for them?
Thanks so much
Craig says
Hi, I have been reading through your informative site as I need help getting out of the payday misery.
I was bankrupt 3 years ago, discharged 2 years ago and have been having difficulty last 7 months with loans once my marriage broke down, is it worthwhile sending the companies complaints see if they will write the loans off I’m not so interested in compensation more to get them settled as the end of the month i’m due to pay out 2k on 1.4k wages, each one I have paid more than the original loan amounts total bar lending stream. All were taken out over 18 months after bankruptcy but i did see a note saying don’t bother trying, but is it not irresponsible for them to lend to me as this is stated on my credit report and many of the defaults from the bankruptcy are still on my record making my credit rating very very low at the time of applying?
Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“i did see a note saying don’t bother trying,” I think that probably referred to not claiming if your unaffordable loans were before your bankruptcy. Afterwards you can complain and any refund comes to you.
The first thing you need to do is to escape from the trap if unaffordable monthly payments. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/help-payday-loan/. Cancel any CPAs or DDs to the lenders, contact StepChange and set up a DMP that you can afford. When that is sorted, then you can think about affordability complaints. Complaining is usually a long process, so you need to get your finances stable first, then start.
Link says
I’m getting ready to complete my letters and get them sent off. What’s the most efficient way of calculating my outgoings over the last 6 or so years? I assume rought estimates for things like transport, food/toileteries wouldn’t be sufficient?
Thanks folks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Over a long period this is hard. you could pick a month at random in the middle of the period and say “for example in May 2014, my outgoings were…”. If you do this, don’t pick the best or worst month, just a typical one. And say if there are any big changes during the period – higher rent, new baby, longer commute.
Don’t get too worried about the details here. 6 years borrowing from the same lender tells its own story!
Nick says
I have just received an ombudsman decision in my favour for 4/6 uncle buck loans. How long do uncle buck take to respond and pay out ?
I’m waiting on qq, money shop, pde who have all said in my favour provisionally. Pduk and epdl still being worked on .
Laura says
uncle buck took the full 28 days to pay me with my loans , after ombudsman final decision
Kev f says
I sent my complaint into wonga 5 weeks ago. I understand they still have 3 weeks but I still haven’t received acknowledgement of my complaint. Should I be worried or do they do this from time to time
Phil says
Hi Kev
Wonga replied to me this week after 4 weeks refusing my complaint so it’s now with ombudsman. I had an email the day before there rejection email saying sorry it’s taking longer than usual we aim to reply within 8 weeks
Paul Smith says
Do Lending stream loans get treated differently to other payday loans?
My adjudicator (the same one for all three complaints) decided that payday uk and qq should refund interest and fees for all loans to me as they didn’t do enough checks, but found in favour of Lending stream on that complaint.
The lending stream loans were taken out with ten other pay day loans outstanding.
Lee says
No all treated the same. Result possibly due to the evidence provided or adudicator who picked it up. As all your complaints will typically of been picked up by different adjudicators.
Laura says
I would personally forward it on to an ombudsman , might take a little while but its strange why this one was in favour of the company and the others in your favour when taken out at the same time
Paul Smith says
I spoke to my adjudicator about it, she explained the difference is that lending stream enquired about my expenditure before issuing the loan, where as the other companies did not.
Fair enough I suppose, but I’ve put it in the Ombudsmans queue anyway!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was it just one loan?
Paul Smith says
Sara, it was two loans taken out within two weeks of each other but running together.
Adjudicator said that had there been more she would have expected more checks and that as I requested £500 for my second loan, but they only gave me £385 it shows some form of diligence on their behalf.
Ro65 says
Hi Sara
Like some others on the site I have a complaint with Cheque centre that’s been with FOS for a year now. I had 40 loans with them most of which were in consecutive months but 27 of them were older than 6 yrs.
I was in a similar position with PDUK and Payday Express who paid out on all loans. Whilst I know that there’s no guarantee my complaint against Cheque centre will be in my favour I’m a bit worried that this has gone on so long and they seem to be closing branches all over the place. Not sure whether it’s best to ask my adjudicator just to look at the loans within 6 yrs and forget the rest in the hope it’s found in my favour and settle for £3.5k ish or wait at the risk they could go out of business? All loans is around £8.5k. I’m not desperate for the cash but I’d be annoyed if I end up with nothing should this happen.
Is there a time limit where FOS look at how long complaints have been with them and just go ahead and make a decision either way?
Sorry if this is a bit garbled, just looking for your take on my situation.
Incidentally Cheque Centre did offer me redress on 3 of the 13 loans last year which was around £900 but I refused.
Thanks
Saffi says
Ok I have had a response from Wonga and would like some advice on if I should accept it. I had a total of 50 loans from them between December 2012 and September 2014. These varied from £50 to £1000, I currently have a loan for £1000 outstanding, my total borrowing from Wonga was £11600. This is what they have offered £954 made up of interest and charges on 4 loans from 2014 and have added on the 8%. They have offered to use this to write off the £1000 I owe them and they will write of the £45.42 left. I just don’t know what to do as it’s only 4 loans they will look at and whilst it would be good to get rid of what I owe I can’t help feeling they should be looking at the others as well?
Laura says
go to the ombudsman , you can get more than just the 4 , Wonga are good at picking random few loans to refund on their final response at adjudicator / ombudsman stage they often up there offer at least
Saffi says
Thanks Laura, I did think how convinient that it roughly added up!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
refunding 4 out of 50 loans sounds very poor – send it to the Ombudsman!
Saffi says
Thanks Sara, on it now!
Lee says
Safi did you get statement of accounts from Wonga as they said I was only being refunded on 22 of 52 loans. But the other 30 were extremely small and when totalled up and compared against bank statement there was around £500 difference with 8% included.
Basically there offer was good 80% of what I requested for full loans plus the 8% on top. I also had a refund on last loan already due to their forbearance review due to FCA forcing them to refund a large percentage of live unaffordable loans at the time.
Saffi says
Hi Lee,
I have my statements so have worked it all out. Prime example of them picking loans that suit their whole write off existing loan is taht they have taken into account a £500 loan taken on one date but the day after I took out another £500 and this one was apparently affordable!! There are loads in there like that.
Maureen says
I received the follow email from the FOS adjudicator yesterday, all loans over 6 years. My complaint was submitted in March and that’s the first I’ve heard, anyone else had similar or who have now received some positive news?
“As you might know, Wonga have previously said that we can’t look at any of the loans you took out as they were taken more than six years before you complained.
We’re not yet in a position to give you an answer on whether we’ll be able to look at any of your loans. And it’s still possible we might not be able to or that we may need to contact you about this.
We will be in touch when we are able to give you an answer on this.
sally says
Maureen, I submitted my complaint to F.O back in November 2016. I phone on a monthly basis to be told the same information. Basically, Wonga are not budging on loans over 6 years old. It is a stalemate situation. I’m told if maybe be a matter of weeks before a decision is made, but i’, not that every month. At the moment mine complaint is on the shelf. Once a decision has been made then an adjudicator will investigate.
Sit tight and wait it out! It’s all we can do at present!
Mark says
I’ve not raised any complaints as yet, albeit I did write off to a few to ask for the statements with a wide range of answers but as mine are all over six years, I’m having to write to the bank to request historic bank statements that I can then review and work out who and what I paid out, I know I had up to seven at a time and multiple rollovers etc, also when they collected I know at least one took £10 increments out of my account, getting hundreds back as my bank kept authorising the £10’s having originally declined the same total request, queue massive bank charges and then a reloan with the same payday company the next day!
Anyway, just wondering if people think it really is worth trying, if I’m only just starting now and all are over the 6 year limit?
Also has anyone managed to reclaim from Oakbrook finance? – particularly interested in anyone that has been to the FO in regards Oakbrook?
thanks all
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Older cases are harder and slower, but the refunds can be significant as the “8% extra interest” will add up to a lot. It probably isn’t worth going for the marginal cases where you only had a few loans.
Oakbrook Finance though wasn’t going more than 6 years ago?
Mark says
hi, thanks, no Oakbrook was within the last six years
my credit rating was just over 100 and i had about 50 returned payments on my bank account in the preceding 12 months, plus I had defaults and payday loans showing on my credit file – so I don’t think they should of approved the loan. I defaulted on it and Ideally just want this struck of my record as it’s all paid off now
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then Oakbrook is worth a try! Ask for a refund of interest, not just for the default to be removed. I don’t remember the name being mentioned here before.
MH says
Oakbrook Finance is Likely Loans! I’ve just submitted mine to the FOS today after they rejected my claim. My credit report would have been terrible, had defaults, over limits on CC’s and various PDL’s open!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
lol, their website says “100% of our customers are happy with our service”…
Mark says
thanks Sara – I’ll see what they say – think they operate under different names, such as Likely Loans
Would make such a massive difference to me if they would remove the default but think they will stick firm
They’s already upheld one complaint I made and wrote to me confirming this and that I hoped I would find that reassuring. I.e. they did nothing for me but agreed they had been in the wrong! haha
keith says
Hiya Sara wanting your advice, I’m known to have OCD very organised I keep everything never though anything away I keep files files of all paperwork etc. I put my complaint in to 247 8days ago got email received today –
Please take this email as acknowledgement of your complaint. We will now investigate the issues you have raised within the timescales as set out in our complaints procedure below.
We are happy as a gesture of goodwill to resolve by writing off your current outstanding balance of £1,064.68.
We are aware that there are many forums and templated letters available on the internet to exploit any previous credit commitments under the wholly subjective banner of affordability. To compare our actions with the reported behaviour of other lenders is inappropriate.
We are confident that the required assessments were carried out prior to the advance of all loans. We are able to substantiate fully the information on which lending decisions were based.
We provided you with all the facts about our product and the charges and costs involved. We treated you as a rational individual able to make a credible decision as to whether to borrow or not. For our part of the relationship we acted on the information available to us at the time and the prevailing regulations and guidance at the time.
I am your personal account manager and would be happy to discuss any of the above with you via email.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is their standard letter. It always baffles me why they think insulting their customers is a good idea, especially when they are offering redress.
But is this a good offer or not? How much interest did you pay on the previous loans that were repaid? And the last loan with a balance, how much did you borrow and have you made any payments to it?
keith says
Thanks Sara yes I thought so, and yes your right there why do they treat customers with insults
I had a total of 8 loans over mar 2012 – Dec 2012 valuing from £80 – £440 total loans £2,039.00 total interest paid so far £789.00
the balance outstanding was from a £440 loan which now stands at balance of that £1,064.68 that’s with interest fees late payments etc never going down.
what you think, should reply ?
your views valued
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you make any payments to the last loan?
keith says
Hiya Sara, I had started making payments at start then some big personal life issue happened my partner died
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know how much you paid?
shem says
Hi Keith
That is a fast response with a first offer though, if you don’t mind saying/sharing I’d be ever so interested to know what level of detail and info you went in to/provided. I have a MB247 complaint to send today and would like to try and copy your approach to prompt a similar response, although I appreciate our specific circumstances and values may differ!
Are you accepting?
Shem
keith says
Hiya Shem, firstly I have OCD never through anything away everyone takes mick out of me why I keep everything but that’s me and proves to help
I made my complaint letter with me have all information and proofs was a quick complaint to look at, and stated I had records of dates times names telephone calls letters emails to back me up also credit reports every year from all over 20 years I think I have a good case,
if I can help you at all give me a shout
Ben says
I had a response from MB247 yesterday after just 4 days of sending my original complaint. Iv had 5 loans over 4 months – only for £125 each. They have written my outstanding loan of £150 off as a gesture of good will – the interest iv paid is less than this so I’m happy. I simply asked them to review my account and deem weather they believe they have acted responsible bearing in mind my current level of debt and credit score. Mr Lender did the same within a week. There are some quick wins out there.
keith says
Hiya Ben
Yes true a lot of my complaints are very quick getting sorted think with me as to my complaints letter I put in and all the information I have etc, so I think if people have a lot of information for there complaints put it all in your complaints letter like ie- dates, loans taken values paid interests banks your incomes outgoings what was happening in your life at time, any contacts you had with companies etc all helps
acee says
Hi Keith that’s just the standard email they send to everyone I was insulted when I got it too but then read everyone gets the same email. However as I don’t have an outstanding loan their ‘gesture of goodwill’ was just to remove all reporting made to credit agencies. I responded on the 7th August asking them to confirm it was their final offer but not heard from the since.
keith says
hiya Acee
yer, and true its very rude of them been insulting isn’t it, politeness costs nothing, and goes along way. I hope goes well for you and hope hear very soon
Cmum says
Wonga have responded to my adjudicator (after extending their deadline after no response at first) agreeing to refund fees plus interest on all 11 loans I ever had with them over the 9 months. Thrilled to bits!! Now to send my acceptance form back and hope payment comes pretty quickly.
keith says
Hiya Shem, firstly I have OCD never through anything away everyone takes mick out of me why I keep everything but that’s me and proves to help
I made my complaint letter with me have all information and proofs was a quick complaint to look at, and stated I had records of dates times names telephone calls letters emails to back me up also credit reports every year from all over 20 years I think I have a good case,
if I can help you at all give me a shout
Sara (Debt Camel) says
credit reports every year for 20 years – gosh!
keith says
yer I keep every thing every pay slip tax code letters p60’s, bank letters and statements everything I have 19 big files of everything for last 20 years.
it all helps as u can back your complaints up, with all the information etc
MH says
Sunny being absolute idiots! Adjudicator found from loans 5 to 7 onwards upto loan 22 unaffordable (around £4675) and to repay with 8% ontop. Adjudicator has sent an email to me where Sunny have a list of 17 loans on where they have calculated refund of 4 on there. (totaling £1449) and asked if I agree with it. Im in the process of trying to speak with Sunny to resolve this, they “put me through to compliance team” and then cut me off on the phone. I am trying to avoid sending this one to an Ombudsman.
The Hitman says
Hi all, has anyone else had issues trying to get statement of accounts from Moneybox247?
I’m 6.5 weeks in from from my first email, to which they replied you could clear a balance of 129, but I’m certain the interest is more than that. The loan is 4years old. 7 or 8 other loans from them
I’ve emailed phoned nothing….
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh then clearing that balance is unlikely to be a good offer. Just send it to the Ombudsman at 8 weeks. Can you get a list of your loans from your bank statements?
The Hitman says
Could do but it’s quite messy with other transactions etc
Another 1.5 to go see what happens
Tom W says
Hi, i lodged an official complaint with Sunny on 27/07. I had stopped paying the loan that was open about a month before. As part of the complaint (as per draft) I asked for recollection efforts to be paused pending resolution. Despite me writing to Sunny on several further occasions and speaking with them on the phone they have now sold my ‘debt’ to a third party. Are they allowed to do this and has anyone else had experience of them doing this? I have written to them again to complain about this and point out that my account should be in review.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you sure they have sold it, not simply passed to a debt collector?
ab says
****HELP****
Sunny gave me a final reply today ” I am able to inform you that we conducted creditworthiness checks, we assessed your ability to afford the repayments which would fall due under the proposed agreement and we considered how you were managing other debts at that time. Based upon these checks it was considered responsible to advance credit to you.
Given the information available to me, I am unable to uphold your complaint. We believe that the aforementioned checks were proportionate and responsible. Initial assessment of your application accounted for some of the adverse information held at the credit reference agencies and as a consequence you were offered a small amount of credit relative to your stated income”
They charged me £3008 of interest over 1 years worth of loans – my salary at the time was 17k. Surely this is a good amount of my salary and with loans in access of 5k in total. I totally disagree with there comments.
WILL I HAVE A CASE WITH OMBUDSMAN????
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Affordability depends on your income and expenses, so it’s not possible to say on a 17k income that 3k of interest was unaffordable. But it does sounds like a lot!
how many loans did you have over the year? What were the gaps between repaying one and borrowing again? Did the loan sizes tend to go up?
Tom W says
sorry, exact words were:
We are writing to let you know that your Sunny account has now been legally assigned to SLL Capital Limited.
This means that all of our rights under our agreement with you (referenced above) have been transferred to SLL Capital Limited. The outstanding balance that was previously due to us is now owed to SLL Capital Limited. They will contact you regarding this in due course
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok so it has been sold. That’s unusual after less than 2 months… but it’s not illegal. I suggest you inform SLL that the loan is currently in dispute with Sunny and ask them to put a hold on any enforcement action.
Tom W says
thank you, will do. As you are here (!) I just had an email from Peachy, i had 4 loans with them over the last 18 months, and they offered to write off the current one, plus delete the the previous ones from credit record. I had paid nearly £500 in interest over the 4 so i went back and asked for £250 (i just want this one to go away as i have bigger fish to fry). they came back with this:
“The results of our credit checks did not suggest you may be experiencing financial difficulties. For example, according to the information received from Callcredit at the time of your last loan, the number of active short term loan accounts was 0, number of short term loan accounts opened in last month was 0, number of short term loan accounts opened in last 3 months was 0, number of short term loan accounts opened in last 6 months 1, number of accounts in default was 0, number of delinquent accounts was 0, number of short term loan searches in the last 12 months was 3 etc. None of this raised any concerns and all of this would be inconsistent with a customer who has several loans from several lenders at the same time.’
now the thing is this was probably the case for the last loan, but i also had two guarantor loans, 2 ‘normal’ loans and 4 credit cards which amounted to over £1200 a month. Is it irresponsible for them to have not checked that, or is that level of lending not in their sphere of ‘duty’?
Lee says
play hardball with Peachy. I did. Counter offer and stress you still making some profit from me or I’ll take this to the FCA aswell as ombudsman.
I got current loan in payment plan clear (inital offer)
Plus further £320 refunded.
I got around £120 less than Li had calculated for all loans with the 8%.
Ask to speak to Amy the supervisor.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
4 loans – what were the gaps between these loans, the time from replaying loan 1 to taking out loan 2 etc
Tom W says
4 months, 3 months and 3 months
Sara (Debt Camel) says
4 loans, not huge, with big gaps – you are going to struggle to do any better than a write off I would have thought.
Tom W says
ok sara, i had gone back to them, i hadn’t refused their offer but i had pointed out all my other debt that they hadn’t taken into account. if they up there offer then good I will accept it if not then i won’t bother taking this any further. thank you for your advice and have a good weekend :)
Tom W says
Thanks Lee, I will!
MH says
Hi Sara
After some advice please. Adjudicator ruled to refund 17 out of 22 loans. Principal amt borrowed £5300 and they claim the interest amount paid is £1140.99. I am sure that this can’t be right with sunnys interest rates? I think it should be way more. The adjudicator seems to agree with the funny looking spreadsheet sunny has provided them with (I have a copy too).
Thanks
Mark says
Hi,
I sent my Wonga and QQ complaints in last week to which they both replied including sending me my Statement of accounts, in the meantime I went through my bank statements and added up what they had paid in and what I had paid out and took the difference as what I would be owed, is that the right way?
When I added up the fee’s and interest on the SOA they sent me the QQ figure came out slightly in my favour but the Wonga figure is nearly half what I worked it out to be from my bank statement.
I’m going to double check later but could this be Wonga trying to pull a fast one?, it’s made me doubt myself now.
Thanks