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 to the lender or a debt collector.
If you are still borrowing each month, read Get help to escape from payday loans because you need to do this first and then put in complaints.
If the lender says No , or offers too little, this article also explains how to go to the Financial Ombudsman. It’s easy and many people are getting large payouts.
The comments below have readers’ stories of the payday refunds they have been given and the Ombudsman decisions. It’s a good place to ask questions and get support!
If you have had a lot of expensive borrowing on credit cards or catalogues, also check out Can I get an interest refund from a catalogue or credit card?
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” and should never have been made.
Here is a regulator’s definition of “affordable”:
“To qualify for a given amount of credit, 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 over loans;
- you often borrowed again soon after repaying a loan;
- your loans from a lender were increasing in size;
- you were late making repayments;
- the loan was a significant part of your income and you couldn’t afford it because of your expenses such as rent, bills, transport, food, other debts.
Why does this matter?
If the Financial Ombudsman decides your loans were unaffordable, the lender will have to refund you the interest you paid. And for payday loans, that interest was a lot!
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 FCA, 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 loans were “rolled” a lot.
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 likely to get a “full refund” 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 compensation? 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.
If you don’t get a reply within a few weeks, go on to Step two and put in a full complaint.
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 each loan was unaffordable.
Here is a sample letter you can use. Make sure you change it 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’s living costs.
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.
[“Bills” includes gas, electric, water, TV, broadband, phone, insurance costs. Put all car and commuting costs under “transport costs”.]
You should have realised from the number of times I rolled loans or borrowed again that my loans that my debt problems were getting worse and it was not responsible to continue to lend to me. [Add more details about how often you borrowed or rolled loans, 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 month/year. 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:
- “In August 2013, my hours had been cut at work and I was struggling with my normal expenses.”
- “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 have a current balance owing 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.
Step three – go to the Financial Ombudsman
If the creditor doesn’t offer you any compensation or they don’t reply within eight weeks or they offer you compensation is too low, the next step is to put in a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.
Should you give up or go to the 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!
Don’t worry about a lot of the stuff a lender says in a rejection letter, you can still win your case with the Ombudsman. Points to ignore include:
- 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 which can sound very threatening;
- you repaid some loans early (so what? this doesn’t prove they were affordable, just that were trying to save interest);
- your borrowing didn’t go up every time (that’s 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. 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.
If you aren’t sure, you could ask in the comments below. Or put in a complaint to the Ombudsman and let them decide.
We have never seen a case where the Ombudsman offers nothing or less than what a lender offered, so don’t worry that you will “lose” this lender’s offer.
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. In 2017, Caroline Wayman, the Chief Ombudsman, has said this about these sorts of affordability complaints:
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.
One reader said, “They couldn’t be any nicer.” See their website which explains the different ways you can Complain to the Ombudsman. I like the “do it online” option – that takes you through the complaint step by step and lets you attach other information, such as the reply you have had from the lender.
If you complained to the lender online, you can copy out information from the complaint that went to the lender. You could add some more details, for example if you disagree with what the lender replied to you. You can attach a list of your loans. If you don’t the Ombudsman can get it from the lender.
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 what an irresponsible lending complaint was at that time. 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 someone mention it on Facebook, whatever.)
Put in a separate complaint about each lender. You don’t have to wait and send them all together. In the later ones, just add in a sentence such as “I have already put in a complaint to the FO about xxxx on dd/mm”.
The Ombudsman may ask to see some bank statements and your current credit report. If you don’t have your old bank statements, ask the Ombudsman, as they may be able to get them for free.
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.
- It’s not worth bothering 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.
Need some help?
If you need help to complain, go to your local Citizens Advice, they will help for free.
You don’t need a solicitor or a claims management company. They are expensive 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!
Do check out the Comments below – you could ask a question there. Reading other people’s experiences can be very helpful. The comments are split into pages – use the “older comments” and “newer comments” buttons at the bottom to read them all.
EXTRA RESOURCES
Payday lenders’ email addresses for complaints
If you have an outstanding balance Will the lender write it off?
Ombudsman says can consider complaints about loans over 6 years old
ARTICLES ON INDIVIDUAL LENDERS
Wonga – Quick Quid (& Pounds To Pocket) – Payday UK (& Payday Express & The Money Shop)
Hannah says
Hi has anyone else had this happen with 247 money box not sure what to do. I have an outstanding loan due with them for 400 pounds I submitted a complaint on Tuesday this is my 5th loan with them and loans have been taken pretty much back to back increasing in amount, I asked if they would put my payment on hold until complaint investigated. Payment is not due to come out until 26th but I logged on and it says my account is in default, I am going to try and get in touch with them to see if I can commence a payment plan or at least stop payments until complaint investigated has this happened to anyone else? I will also be contacting bank to stop cpa. Thanks
Susan says
They are a nightmare never acknowledge my emails or anything just took it straight to the FO, if you do this, I don’t think you need to pay while there is a complaint going on but it is always better to pay something even if it is a £1 to show that you are still paying
Hannah says
I guess I would have to wait the full 8 weeks, did you ever speak to anyone is it worth calling them how did you arrange to pay something? Thanks again
Katie says
Hello everyone
I heard back today from my adjudicators on two of my lenders MyJar and Wage Day Advance. The adjudicators have recommended that they repay all interest. Are these companies good at agreeing at adjudicator level and if so how long do they generally take ? Many thanks
Stacey says
How long did the FO take to reach a decision after you made the complaint to them? I complained last Monday the 15th May, heard back from them today asking for Wageday Advances’s final response letter, so just want to know roughly when i will expect to get a decision from them? thanks
Katie says
Hi Stacey, my complaints went to the FOS middle of April so about a month before they were looked at properly by an adjudicator. Having said that, I also have another 8 claims that have been picked up by adjudicators but I haven’t heard their findings yet but they were all lodged at the same time ( some of them even a month earlier ). Good luck, I hope you hear soon x
Freddie says
I got the standard response from Lending stream that stated my credit score was 710-737 during the period I had loans with them. I called Experian and they gave me all my generated scores over this time and they were all between 420-600. LS just lie to send us off the scent don’t they. I sent them the email from Experian and the lady on the phone at LS said oh we must have made an error. Yeah right… anyone else got good cases with LS that didn’t go to the FOS? Anyone get a settlement direct?
Joanna says
Hi Sara,
I’ve noticed that since I began my payday loan journey in September, I’m constantly being bombarded with emails and text messages from payday loan companies asking me to borrow from them. I usually receive the messages in the 3rd week of the month until payday. They’re from MyJar, 118 and Cashlady. I didn’t have any loans with them but they keep persisting.
Is anyone else experiencing this ?
Allison says
Hi, yes I am, I get loads, very annoying makes you wonder where they get your email from! I even get text, and cash lady one of them amongst others, how can you stop them I wonder?
Susan says
Am the same all the time am getting texts or emails
Joanna says
It’s the text messages that get me. How did they get my number?
Allison says
Yes that’s what I wonder, about number! Where do they get it from, wonder if it’s worth ringing and asking and asking to stop harassing because that’s what they are doing grrr
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Phone the company up and demand to removed from their email and text database. Say you will report them to the ICO if they don’t do this: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/problems/tackling-nuisance-calls-and-messages/spam-texts
Joanna says
I’ve tried blocking them but they keep persisting
Allison says
I have just rang cash lady and asked to be removed let’s see if it works, will ring others when I have 2 mins ☺
Warren says
Hi everyone
How long on average from step 2 did everyone wait for a reply from wonga and QQ?
And how long do you wait for a reply before you give up and go to obudsman
I got a reply from LS pretty fast
Thanks in advance
Freddie says
QQ replied asking for bank statements and evidence after a week or ten days. No full answer yet. Nothing from wonga yet after two weeks. LS responded saying no after a week but made up my credit score so I replied showing it was way below what they said. Waiting 5 more weeks for offers. I am notoriously impatient.
Freddie says
Was your LS reply good?
Warren says
Hi freddie thanks for you reply all said was there complaints team or looking it to hit at least I got a response 🙄
Danny S says
Hi. I’ve just been passed this thread by my partner. Between 2009-2012 I was in a wonga loan debt spiral. I regularly (every month from mid 2009 to early 2012) took out a wonga loan. This all started off with a £250 loan which then very quickly spiralled out of control to the point where I had to borrow the full £1000 each month to cover living expenses.
Wonga, if the looked at my credit file, should have been easily able to see that my finances were not in a good place. I had a maxed overdraft of £3000 which I was unable to pay for and had missed several bill payments to BT and virgin etc.
I have checked my credit file and a lot of the loans have now dropped off due to being past 6 years. Will, if Wonga don’t, the FCA take these loans past 6 years into account! Or only the ones within the time frame?
I have sent the first stage 1 letter off asking for a statement of my account. Will wonga have to include these loans in the statement? This is the first I have heard of being able to do this. Wonga left me in a terrible financial mess, of which my partner had to end up bailing me out for. This was after several thousand pounds was paid to Wonga in interest payments. I was only 19 at the time and was estranged from my parents so had no finiancial support from anyone, up until my partner kindly landed me some money to get out of the trap.
Any info would be appreciated!
Danny
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Small point, your complaint goes to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) not the FCA.
The FOS is looking at loans over 6 years old. But many lenders are objecting to this at the moment, including Wonga. A few have now given in and are accepting they have to refund earlier loans and the FOS is hoping other lenders are going to do this too. But at the moment with a Wonga complaint with a lot of loans over 6 years you are in for a long wait.
Best thing is to get a complaint in asap so as many loans as possible are included as under 6 years – obviously I hope the older loans will be included and I am encouraged that other big lenders are now agreeing to this (such as the Money Shop). But plan for the worst is always a good approach, so don’t delay! I would put a step two complaint letter in immediately, you can always add some more later when you do get a list of your loans.
Danny S says
Thanks Sara. I’ll get a stage 2 letter sent off today then. Thanks for the help. Will post updates when I have any!
I take it for the fact that I had to borrow every month for such a long period of time this should be evidence enough that I was in trouble? Expecting them to say that I didn’t let them know etc.
Thanks
Danny
Aaron jackson says
Good luck with that,
I waited 8 weeks with wonga then since then,
Has been with the FOS for over 3 months now.
I’m 5 months in and still no further forward!
And even if you’ve had just 1 loan outside the 6 year period, they refuse to look at ALL loans within it as well.
I had 25 out of the 6 years and 55 within it…..
I asked them to drop the 25 but they say they won’t look at the whole thing in general because my first ones were in 2010
Ross says
Hi Aaron,
Who said they wouldn’t look at loans within the 6 years because of you having loans outside of the 6 years? I am still, patiently, waiting for a decision with reference to my last complaint, with Quick (slow) Quid. My adjudicator made me aware that if they can’t get the go ahead to look at the older loans, then they can definitely look at ones within the 6 year period. I think someone’s telling you porky pies?!?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hav you told your adjudicator in writing that you are happy to drop the older cases? The FO is normally happy to do this if it thinks you realise the decision you are taking?
Freddie says
Sara, have you heard of anyone receiving direct redress from LS? I will go to the ombudsman if need be but to me they would be silly to take let it go further after seeing the evidence of all my payday loans and my true credit score or are they really stubborn?
Thanks
Katie says
I don’t know if it helps but I had over 30 loans with LS paying in excess of £6K in interest alone. I was on a DMP had multiple defaults and was also borrowing from another 10 PDLs at the time. LS claimed my credit rating was excellent ( it was very poor ) and rejected me outright after 8 weeks. I emailed them to ask if it was their final response as if so I was forwarding to the FOS and they replied to say that they looked again and that they might not have done complete checks on one loan. So then they offered me £750 which I rejected and forwarded to the FOS. My case was picked up by an adjudicator 3 weeks ago so we will see what they say. I’m also hearing of cases where they are ignoring adjudicator findings and going all the way the the Ombudsman which of course will be a further few months wait. So you must go for it but they are one of less helpful lenders so expect it to go all the way especially if you have a good case. Good luck!
Freddie says
Thank you very much Katie, you are right they sound like they make you take it to the nth degree.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s not stubborn, the lenders know that a lot of people with good cases can be bluffed out of taking them forwards by the assertion that their credit score was good enough etc. Even where people do go to the Ombudsman, the lenders know that many will settle for not good offer rather than have it drag on for months. So they are saving money by taking this line :(
Kevin says
Just had reply from cheque centre saying they will pay in full after adjudicators decision, not bad for someone who had knocked me back at an early stage saying it was me in the wrong , not them . Anyway I will be 3500 richer in a few days , but all the thanks should go to Sara who has been fantastic for everyone, thanks again.This is my first I have 12 others at the ombudsman level. Think everyone should organise a good night out for her and her hubby, that’s the least we could do , she deserves it.
Liz says
I had my payout from the Cheque Centre on Friday for £6500. Initially they offered me nothing and refused to look at loans over 6 years.
I first complained at the beginning of January this year.
Delighted!
Ro65 says
Hi Liz
Congratulations! So did Cheque Centre end up paying on loans over 6 years?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good that Cheque Centre aren’t dragging things out to the Ombudsman level. Less good of course that they refused your initial complaint – they are well aware by now when someone has an excellent claim and in option they are in breach of the regulators rules to dismiss these complaints :(
If you want to say thanks , good ways are to donate £10 to your local Citizens Advice and to Like my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/debtcamel/ and then share some posts from there. With no income from this site I can’t afford advertising so I rely on social sharing to spread the word!
Liz says
Unfortunately they did not look at loans over 6 years old but the 8% statutory interest really adds up!
Sara, I will be making a substantial donation to my local Citizens Advice. I would like to thank you most sincerely for all your time and effort that you put into this site. It is appreciated by so many.
Lewis says
Does anyone have any idea how long Sunny are taking to respond, plus what’s the likely hood of them removing the accounts from my credit file. I had 6 loans with them in quick succession in 2015 they had my outgoing as zero for everything which I have proof of.
cookie says
Hi all, just thought I’d give an update on my LS complaint. I initially complained to them the beginning of Jan ’17, they offered a low settlement which I declined and referred the complaint to the FOS. It was picked up by an adjudicator who recommended they refund interest/charge from loans 4-7; I though this was fair enough and the majority of the interest and charges were on the later loans anyway.
LS didn’t agree with the adjudicator and therefore it was referred for an ombudsman decision 29/03/2017. I received a letter through the post yesterday, dated 19/05/2017. The ombudsman’s final decision was the same as the adjudicator’s. I will be posting my agreement back to them tomorrow and expect LS to drag out any payment as long as they can.
I was quite surprised how quickly it got picked up by the ombudsman; I was expecting a 6-9 month wait but it actually took just under 2 months from the date it was referred by the adjudicator. My loans didn’t fall under the 6 year rule.
My 3 pay day complaints have all been dealt with now, all complaints were initially made beginning of Jan ’17.
For anyone thinking of accepting a lower offer from LS, they do seem to be holding out for ombudsman decision in the hope you will accept a lower offer. From my experience, things seem to be picking up pace at ombudsman level – it’s worth waiting it out if you can
Nim says
Hi Cookie,
Thanks for update on LS.
Mine was referred to Ombudsman on 24th Feb – and still not picked up. I contacted my adjudicator 2 weeks ago to find out what happening and at that point he said it was still waiting to be assigned?? I don’t understand how yours got through faster than mine? mind boggling!
I have 4 other cases referred around jan/feb, none assigned as yet? so getting frustrating now as others are jumping the queue!1
Best Nim
Nim says
Oh and my cases have been trigged in Nov 16!!
Best Nim
cookie says
I know I wasn’t expecting a final decision for another few months so I was surprised. I can only think maybe they cherry pick “easy” cases to bring down volume. It’s hard to figure the logic and timescales isn’t it. I’m sure it will be worth it in the end though, hang in there & fingers crossed its not much longer!
cookie says
Hi Sara, I have a question re the tax on the 8% and hope you can help. I received a refund from Wonga 31/03/2017 so in the 2016/2017 tax year. They had deducted around £120 from the 8% interest and I have completed the HMRC form online to claim this back. I didn’t receive any other interest from refunds or savings for the 16/17 tax year so believe I should receive the whole amount back.
I then received a refund from PDUK early May 17, so in the 17/18 tax year. The 8% interest from this refund was just over £1k and they deducted £214.75 from the 8% interest. I’m going to fill in a separate claim for the 17/18 tax year now as an interim claim and expect to receive a £200 refund from this. I’m awaiting a refund from LS and expect them to deduct tax from the 8%, but as I’ve gone over the £1k allowance for the 17/18 tax year am I right in thinking there will be no point waiting for LS refund before I put this claim in because I’ll be due no further refunds?
I’m just wondering whether I’ve got this right before I make an interim claim for the PDUK refund?
Thank you for any help and thank you for this site it’s been amazing for me, changed my life. I’m now debt free and have some savings for a deposit for a mortgage and will soon have no pay day loans on my credit report!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Assuming you are a basic rate tax payer, that sounds right.
But I suggest waiting until the LS complaint is settled. They may not deduct tax – not all lenders do, which is a complication
cookie says
Ah right I see, so I may need to pay tax on the LS refund. I shall wait and see. Thanks again
Claire says
This has been extremely helpful.
I have spent the majority of today going through my bank statements and found the following:
Wonga: borrowed between December 2012 and March 2014
Mr Lender: borrowed between June 2013 and December 2016
The Loan Store LTD/ Cheque Centre: borrowed between November 2012 and February 2014
PDUK: borrowed February 2013 and March 2013
And you can see how the amounts started off small (due to poor credit I asked if this could be a good way of rebuilding and over the phone I was advised as long as I don’t not pay back then it would never have a negative impact). The amounts went up and up and even the amount of lenders I was using to cover one another!
Luckily I have only used Mr Lender at the back end of last year (as they sent me through a promo code stupidly!) and I will NEVER use such services again! Feel like a complete fool.
I have emailed each of the above companies following the template on here asking for a statement of loans and the fact I wish to have interest paid back (+8% returned) as well as removing from my credit file as this is preventing my gaining my first mortgage – completely gutted but I guess now time will tell!
Is there anything more I could be doing?
Many thanks,
Claire
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A good days work!
The longer the period of lending the better the case is. Unless the amounts were very large, you only borrowed from PDUK for a couple of months so this may not be a good case.
Did you have defaults or late payments on the older loans? If they were all paid on time, then only the recent 2016 loans are likely to be affecting your ability to get a mortgage at the moment.
Nothing else needs to be done at the moment. At some point, it will be good to add up the interest you paid to each of the lenders, so if they come back with an offer you can assess how good it is.
Claire says
Would I still be potentially entitled to a interest refund on the 2016 loans? I thought they might be discounted you see.
Thanks so much for this site and the advice/ tips really is a life saver!
Working so hard to get my credit rating up but it can drive you round the twist haha!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If there was a large gap between them and your older loans, think of them being decided as two separate claims (though they go to the lender and the Ombudsman as 1).
The rules about payday lender changed in 2014 and things got a *bit* better. But we have seen loads of people here given unaffordable loans in 2016, so if you borrowed for several months in a row and you couldn’t afford the repayments without borrowing again, from them or from somewhere else, then it’s definitely worth a try.
(PS I have been deleting your surname)
Rachel says
Not much to report, still in jurisdiction que for pduk referred from adjudicator in January, claim started last year. Hoping I hear something soon anyone had any recent joy with older loans?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Several people have had payouts from the PDUK brands for loans over 6 years :) That doesn’t mean yours will go through easily, but it’s a positive sign.
Rachel says
Thanks Sara I’m remaining positive I did get a decent offer of £4K I think it was but the older loans would increase this drastically. The fos apologised for the wait but couldn’t give a timescale I may chase every 2 months from now.
Rachel says
Hi Sara after writing this the other day I got an offer on all loans going back 10 yrs!! I will post once it has been finalised with more detail of my claim. I’m so happy this is over can’t thank you enough if it hadn’t come across your page i would never have known I had a case thank you
JR says
Hi Sara, I had 9 loans with WDA with the last loan of £680 still outstanding, all loans were taken out month after month all separated by just a few days. I received a response in the mail recently but it doesn’t mention it being a final response. They have offered to refund interest on loans 7-9 with the 8%. This brings the remaining balance to just under £200. All of the loans were taken out to fuel a gambling habit or pay back money from my income I lost to the same cause! My statements would all show this if asked to provide them. What should my next move be?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A refund from loan 6 isn’t dreadful but it’s not that good.
What would you be happy with? I’m guessing that a refund from loan 5 would nearly write off the last debt – if you think that would be fair, you could go back and suggest that you will accept a write off of the last debt and removing it from your credit rating or you will go to the FOS.
If you think you should get a refund from the 4th loan, work out how much that would be and go back and suggest that.
Gambling showing on your bank statements doesn’t prove a problem with the Financial Ombudsman. So don’t let this worry you.
JR says
The gambling doesn’t really concern me it’s the fact that I have no outgoings showing in the particular bank. This was a brand new bank account I opened because thevlSt one was full of payday loans funnily enough :/!
I have emailed them asking if this is their final response, I await their reply. I would be willing to accept the balance being wiped at a minimum. If not I’ll take it the the ombudsman and accept any outcome as I’ve got nothing to lose really.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well your outgoings must be shown somewhere… if you had two bank accounts, you will need to send statements for both to the FOS. If you had a joint account with your partner, and the bills came out from this, you need to send statements for that one as well.
This isn’t unusual. The FO is used to dealing with this sort of thing.
Danny says
Hi everyone!
I sent my complaint to the FO last Monday – how long are people waiting before they get picked up? Should I get a confirmation to say they’ve received my complaint etc?
Thanks!
Sarah says
Hi Sara,
I’m after some advice if possible please as I am unsure as to whether this is a fair offer or not? The response is regarding my complaint with Lending Stream/Drafty
· set up a repayment plan for your outstanding balance
· waive any further interest and charges from being applied to the outstanding balance
With your outstanding balance, they’ve let me know that you borrowed £888 capital in total and of this you’ve repaid £681.93 which leaves an outstanding balance of £206.07 for the capital you borrowed on the loan facility.
Sharon says
Hi folks
I’m looking for some advice if possible. I currently have 6 complaints with the FOS. My adjudicator has come back to me on one, which was 13 loans over 12 months each amount escalating and at the same time as other PDL. The findings are that 1-4 was fine but from 5 they should have carried out more checks. The FOS therefore carried out affordability checks and found that 5-10 were affordable as I had sufficient disposable income to cover the payments. I have checked my statements and with normal living costs I was £350 short at the end of the month rather that having any disposable income. The only spending was normal bills (gas, insurance etc), mortgage, car loan, credit cards etc. Food and petrol (only £250) and clothing (only £70) plus PDL repayments of £800. All in all I think the FOS has miscalculated my outgoings. Can I ask for it to be reviewed as I believe there is a clear error or is my only route to reject the findings and ask for escalation to FOS? My worry is that the same person is dealing with all complaints and may therefore use incorrect calculations on all. Any help really appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Go back to your adjudicator and ask for this to be looked at again. Some have found it helps to take a month in the middle at random and go through everything that month in detail, proving how unaffordable the loan repayments were.
Sharon says
Thanks Sarah I have done that and have been informed that they will review their calculations and come back to. Mine show a massive shortfall there’s showed a surplus of over £400. They have come back to me saying that they don’t usually include payments to other PDL’s as part of their outgoings calculations as they are usually paid off in one month (the majority of mine were 6 months loans though) – does this sound right, surely an outgoing is an outgoing…? Thanks again
Sharon says
Hi again
I have forwarded my analysis of account statements for two months as a start. In the request for the statements my adjudicator has highlighted that I may be including things in regular expenditure that they wouldn’t. So as well as the post above where they are saying other PDL’s would not be considered as expediture neither would food where it is from restaurants or McDonalds. I have one entry on my statement from McDonald’s for £10 that I had included in food but adjudicator has stated that is not expenditure that would be considered. Does this sound right it’s seems bizarre when others have confirmed that significant gambling was considered as expediture….. any advice Sarah would be hugely appreciated. My interest on this one is £4000 and the other 2 that the adjudicator has yet to consider amounts to £8000 and I’m really worried about this analysis.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think most adjudicators tend to view this on a case by case basis. Obviously, there is a difference between one £10 bill at MacD’s and having fast food every night of the month or spending £100 in a restaurant.
If your payday loans were 6 months loans then these repayments absolutely should be included, no doubt. Even if they are 1 month loans, the fact is that these are contractual commitments that you have – I suggest querying this with your adjudicator.
Jono says
I have a complaint with Quickquid & Wonga who I was using at the same time and was roughly borrowing £1,000 a month to just simply pay off the prior months loans (yes..that cycle). From what i’ve seen on this site i think i have a strong case. Wonga already said they rejected the claim..so thats in the queue for the FOS but Quickquid just came back with a response..so thought i’d put it here..Seeing as in the time of dealing with Quickquid I borrowed £14,500 and paid back £17,500 (what horrible companies these are) I think i should firmly reject this offer! Thoughts?
We are in receipt of your complaint dated # where you allege that QuickQuid irresponsibly lent to you. Specifically, you mention:
• The loans were unaffordable
• You were dependent on short term lending
• You experienced financial hardship
I’ve investigated your complaint and would like to bring your attention to the following points:
Under the Financial Conduct Authority’s rules, complaints cannot be made where they concern an event that occurred more than six years ago. Of course, we will still investigate your allegations as they pertain to any loans you have received in the last six years.
AFFORDABILITY
In your complaint you allege that QuickQuid did not perform a credit check or affordability assessment. We have reviewed your file and can confirm that, in line with our internal process, at the time of each application, we conducted our standard credit assessment, which included pulling your credit report. As part of our assessment, we analyse your current financial commitments, insolvency records, delinquency records, County Court judgements, credit enquiries and other credit accounts currently open.
Lenders are required to make an assessment that is proportionate to the type and amount of the loan as well as the associated costs and risk to the borrower. It would not be proportionate for a lender which provides small loans, which are unsecured and which do not require a guarantor, to conduct the same assessment as a bank which provides high loan amounts which are secured by your home or vehicle. Your loans were unsecured. We did not provide a guarantor loan where you would have needed to have had someone else share the responsibility of repayment .
At the time you first applied for a loan with us, the regulator was the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The OFT published guidance on irresponsible lending which stated that as a general principle, the checks done may well be less for a small sum or short-term loan. The OFT also explicitly stated that it would “normally consider it appropriate for a relatively high level of scrutiny to be undertaken in the case of secured credit”; however, the OFT made no such statement for unsecured credit such as the credit we provided you.
Your credit report is not the only thing we analyse when we make a lending decision. We also look at the information you provide us in your application, as well as your loan history with us when we decide to approve or decline your loan application.
This information is all input into our internal credit model which is run to obtain your credit model score. If your credit model score does not meet the minimum approval threshold score then we will decline your loan application.
Looking at your record, I see that your credit model score was never under the minimum approval threshold for any of the loans for which you were approved. For instance, on 30/06/2011 you had a credit model score of 0.2622 on your QuickQuid loan # when the minimum approval score was -0.02. Your credit model score is substantially higher the minimum approval score which shows that our affordability assessments properly ran per our internal policy.
It is in our mutual interest to have a well-designed affordability model. As a responsible lender, we provide customers such as yourself with access to credit and take upon ourselves the risk of default. While we will not reject a customer simply because there is a late payment on a credit file, we will critically assess the details of your credit file to provide you with a reasonable and affordable loan.
The investigation of your complaint also considered all relevant information contained in your application. It was noted your monthly income was stated as £2638 per month. I compared your income to the average monthly repayment for each loan you took with us. From this I can see that the income you made during each loan with us was always more than enough to cover the amount you had to repay us for each loan and thus I cannot agree with you that your loans were unaffordable.
HARDSHIP
Finally, in your complaint you state that at some point during your loan history with us you underwent severe financial detriment. However, at no point did you notify us of any financial detriment or financial hardship. Had you alerted us to your difficult financial situation, we would have put you in “hardship” status, as is our process. We then would have frozen additional fees and interest while we worked with you to find an affordable repayment option.
CONCLUSION AND OFFER
In your complaint you claim that you were dependent on short term loans. When assessing a complaint for dependency QuickQuid looks for a pattern of numerous loans for equal or increasing loan amounts, and with very little time between paying off one loan and taking out the other. We perform our credit and affordability assessments for each loan application you submit. We also expect the customer to act responsibly in the credit they take on, and in fact as part of our loan application you confirmed that you could afford taking out each of our loans. Nonetheless, I can see that a pattern of dependency emerged with loan #.
We take seriously our responsibility to treat customers fairly and to that point we uphold your complaint as it relates to dependency but do not uphold your complaint as it relates to affordability and hardship. As such, we are offering you a total refund of £412.5 which equates to the interest paid on loan #.
Steph says
Decline!
QQ didn’t uphold any part of my complaint, and hey flat out declined but offered £350 goodwill gesture. I referred to the FOS and, prior to any investigation behind started by the adjudicator, QQ increased their offer to £2,100.
On the basis they’ve already partially upheld your complaint, it sounds like you have a stronger case than me.
Hope this helps.
Danny says
Hi Jono,
That reply is a carbon copy of the reply I got from Quickquid, except for the amount offered.
I’ve declined & it’s now with an adjudicator.
Jono says
Ok Cheers Guys, i suppose the first thing they will do is try and get away with a little pay off…consider this offer DECLINED!
Danny says
Also as a side note, I filled in the online form for the FO last Tuesday. I gave them a ring yesterday as I hadn’t received a confirmation & spoke to an adjudicator who rushed it forward & picked up my complaint whilst we were on the phone.
I’ve now submitted bank statements & my credit report, just have to wait 2 weeks for Quickquid to reply to the FO. I was initially offered interest refunds on 2 loans by Quickquid totalling £207.50 but I’d had 25 loans spanning 4 years, majority were rolled so I took this as a very poor offer.
MH says
Hi,
These are the dates and Sunny loans I have had, with the amounts with interest that I paid.
Does this look like a good case of irresponsible lending?
Also do Sunny tend to take the full 8 weeks? they have agreed to put my most recent loans on hold until their investigation is complete. Its been 4 weeks so far.
Date Amt Interest Paid
18/04/17 100.00 95.93
23/03/17 150.00 134.48
12/03/17 250.00 250
18/02/17 600.00 557.92
04/02/17 500.00 364.70
01/01/16 200.00 157.20
22/11/16 150.00 134.62
06/11/16 50.00 35.81
26/10/16 600.00 514.95
24/10/16 300.00 261.30
21/09/16 350.00 320.39
09/01/16 350.00 350.00
13/12/15 200.00 200.00
05/12/15 200.00 148.06
23/10/15 400.00 359.05
16/09/15 500.00 491.53
16/07/15 450.00 442.67
14/06/15 300.00 300.00
08/06/15 350.00 350.00
06/06/15 200.00 144.74
29/04/15 600.00 492.15
18/03/15 600.00 581.72
Thanks
MH
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how long were the loans for?
Mic says
They were 6month loans.Does the longer the length of loan mean a better case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s not as simple as that. Often longer loans just mean the monthly repayments were less.
But in your case, it means you often had several loans going that the same time and there was probably never a period when you didn’t have any loans from Sunny. So that helps your case.
Obviously, i don’t know anything about your situation (income, expenses, other debts etc) but if Sunny reject the case it looks well worth pursuing with the Ombudsman
MH says
Thats great Sara, thanks for your opinion/advice! i’ll update once i get a response!
Katrina says
So haven’t heard anything for a while but had letters from 2 Adjudicators on Friday. One from Payday Express which I think is my biggest complaint upholding 2/3 of my loans and Quick Quid upholding all loans apart from the first 1. Very happy with the results.
Quickquid have already rejected the decision but come back with an increased off of £1200 (initially from 0 and then up to £350) I have rejected this as I am not sure how the would expect me to take an offer of this amount when the Adjudicator has just ruled in my favour to the tune of approx 2.5k. I presume they hope people are desperate for the money so just play the waiting game again now for an ombudsman. I am expecting Payday Express to reject also so if not this is a bonus. Just have 2 cases to come back to me with a Adjudicator decision now, Payday UK and Wageday advance. All my complaints started end of January.
Wes says
Hey,
Has anyone heard of or had any luck with Street-UK?
My sister apparently lent a fair amount of money from them which caused major problems a few years ago. Just wondering if it’s worth putting in a complaint for her?
Wes
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No one has mentioned them before. Did she have several loans from them or one big one?
Address for complaints is loans@street-uk.com.
hannah says
Morning All,
Could anyone advise what the FO normally requires when progressing on from a final response from lenders? Is it a standard requirement for the adjudicator to request bank statements, and other proof? Or do they request copies of stuff based on each cases history?
Danny says
Hi Hannah,
My complaint got picked up by an adjudicator yesterday & before looking at any of the details he requested all bank statements from the period I borrowed, as well as a copy of my credit report.
I think having your bank statements is more or less common practise on each of these cases now!
hannah says
Hi Danny,
Thank you for your reply. It is as I thought although with the addition of the credit report.
I have been out of the cycle of pdl’s now for 18 months however have a list of 70 loans within a 56 month period with one lender dating between 2010 to 2016. Do you know how it works with the credit files – as in, mine has a low score still and the only negative now on it is the last outstanding loan with Myjar that I pay off monthly. My credit score still remains very low but I know ALOT of negatives from previous defaults have dropped off in the past 12 months as they have exceeded the 6 year limitation
simon says
Hi All,
In case anyone is waiting for the email about the refund cheque from Cash Genie, I have just had the email advising my cheque will be posted on 30/05/17 and should be with me a few days later. I started the complaint with them on 11/04/17. Lets hope it all happens!
Simon
Pear says
Got the same e-mail today and my name is Simon too lol. Hoping with interest it should be about £1500 😃
Maggie says
Got mine to. See no reason why it wont happen as others got theirs when they were told they would :-D thanks Sara and the donation as you suggested to show aporeciation for your help will be on it’s way xx
Debbi says
Got the same email too re cash genie. 1mth loan paid up with the need to go to FO. –
On a side not I complained to the FO re Quick Quick only two loans back in 2012. The FO has upheld the 2nd one as unaffordable which I’m really pleased about as I’m still paying this one off via a dmp so it should settle it and he has instructed them to remove any negative information from my credit file. I have a big one with provident which was refused at adjudicator level so I’ve escaleted it and now asked that they use the bank statements and copy of credit file I sent in for the QQ complaint ( it wasn’t requested for the Provident one not sure why not and it was for QQ)
KAREN BODKIN says
Hi I have had my wonga and payday express complaint with the FO for more than eight months. Both are loans that exceed the six years, but saying that my last loan with Wonga was in the summer of 2010. I put in my complaint last year February 2016. Do you know what likely hood of winning these cases. I already had a cash refund with payday UK with loans taken out over 6 years. Initially they told me I was not entitled to any refund. (I put my complaint in Feb 2016. Got sent to FO September 2016. Payday uk accepted and paid my refund April 2017.
How is it that some are accepting 6 + 3 and some aint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am surprised your PDUK complaint has paid out and your PD Express one hasn’t. You could ask your adjudicator what is happening about this one.
Wonga are so far arguing with the FO about the older than 6 year complaints. I *think* that the FO would rather have a prolonged argument about a few cases with a lender in the hope that the lender will eventually accept the FO’s approach to these older cases and not force all the cases through to the Ombudsman level.
I know this much be frustrating. But there isn’t anything you can do so far as I know to speed it up. And this is money you never imagined you could get back a couple of years ago.
KAREN BODKIN says
Thank uou Sara for your rapid response.
Yes it is frustrating because payday UK accepted all my loans and paydayexpress doesn’t seem to be budging.
But I do appreciate because I never ever thought I could get back any returns on the loans taken.
Hopefully I get back to you with some good news about WDA and PaydayUk
Vijay says
My PayDay UK complaint paid out (the Adjudicator found in my favour and PDUK agreed to the terms) but my PayDay Express complaint, despite being upheld by the Adjudicator, was rejected by PayDay Express and has now gone to the Ombudsman. I was surprised, especially since they are owned by the same company and the loans were at the same time and for the same amounts.
Roch says
Hi all, Just an update
Since making my complaint to Payday express on 9/04/17 (which is now with the FO awaiting an adjudicator) they have done 2 more searches I’ve just seen on noddle.
Shall I mention this to the FO? why would they need to do more searches?
Also still no final responses from Satsuma, Quick Quid or Wonga ( these are the bigger loans)
PDL’s with the FO are Payday express, My Jar, 247 money box and Safety net all waiting to be picked up.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How does Noddle describe these searches? Administration searches are fine, no-one else sees these and they won’t harm your credit record.
Roch says
Hi Sara, they say administration review by instant cash loans and theirs 2 the same on the same day I sent the complaint. If they don’t affect anything then I guess that’s ok.
Thank you for clearing that up for me x
Lorr says
Hi, my complaint with PDUK is now with an adjudicator, yesterday i received an email from him which stated that PDUK have upped there offer to £2988 from £1897. However theyre stating that this is only for 3 months of loans, one which they deferred 3 times which i believe was against requlations which they agreed to. I had 28 loans/ deferals over 3 years but I dont know how to work out the interest that I paid. The adjudicator has stated that he has not finished his investigation. Im not sure what to do.
lorr says
Sorry I meant 2 years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So 28 loans/deferrals over 2 years? That is a lot! I suggest you tell the adjudicator this sounds inadequate and ask them to continue their investigation.
Eddie says
An interesting update
Regarding my Wonga complaint which is with FOS for 3 months now and contains more than 10 loans older than 6 years. (39 loans in total)
As mentioned above FOS is trying to negotiate with business regarding this at a larger scale however I just had an email from adjudicator that Wonga wants to offer me a refund of interest on all loans within 6 years and few loans that are older than 6. This must mean they are starting to crack under pressure??
I think I will decline this offer and let FOS investigate further as I’m not in immediate need of cash.
Fingers crossed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
very interesting, thanks for sharing!
Dave says
Just an update from my adjudicator today. She has upheld my case against QQ from loan 2 onwards out of 13 loans. Thanks to Sara for keeping me calm the other week when my complaint was rejected by the adjudicator. I provided additional statements and she has written back saying that she believes the loans were unaffordable. I have made calculations for each loan and with estimated 8% interest and I believe that IF upheld by the FO then I could be due a refund of £13,000 for 6 years worth of loans. This would change my life in all honesty.
Does anyone have any information as to how QQ proceed from here please? Also, how like is it that the FO could go against what the adjudicator has found? Thank you everyone.
“As a result, I checked some of the information that we have on file regarding Mr X’s
circumstances. In my initial review I explained that based on the information that we have
on file I can see that Mr X did have other financial commitments and did make
payments to other lending companies. However, I didn’t have enough information to
suggest that the loans were unaffordable. Mr X has since then provided more
information regarding his circumstances.
I checked Mr X’s circumstances around the time that his took the other loans and it
seems that his circumstances did not change considerably. Therefore I think that it is likely
that Mr X could not afford his loan repayments from loan two onwards.
how to put things right
– Refund all interest and charges that Mr X paid on the second loan onwards;
– Pay interest of 8% simple a year on all refunds from the date of payment to the date
of settlement*;
– Write off any unpaid interest and charges of and apply the refund to reduce any
capital outstanding and pay any balance to Mr X;
– Remove any negative information about the loans from Mr X credit file.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a very large amount… I suspect QQ will reject and ask for it to go to the Ombudsman, possibly making you a much lower offer.
As the adjudicator has changed her mind, I suspect she will have looked into this in a lot of detail. Ombudsmen do sometimes make a different award – perhaps from the third or fourth loan, perhaps from all of them. I would be surprised if it is a lot less than the adjudicator has decided.
Lizzi says
I have just had a reply from wonga basically saying that they did all checks they needed and that is there finally response didn’t bother sending me a statement of my loans what do I do next? Anyone else had this x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long a period did you borrow from them?
Lizzi says
I’m not 100% hence why I wanted a list off loans from them but it would of been from about Feb 2010 to about 2012/2013 I think but could way off x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh that’s a lot! And it includes quite a bit before the 6 year point, so settle in for a wait…
Send the case straight to the Financial Ombudsman, also tell Wonga you have done this and ask again for your list of loans
Lizzi says
Ok so is there’s template to send to wonga for this or literally just say it’s going to the FO and ask again for a list. And what do I say to the FO and what’s the email sorry for all the questions x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The article above Step 3 covers how to send a case to the Ombudsman. You can do it by phone, email or send in their online form – I like the online form as it prompts you for bits, asks how you would like them to communicate with you etc.
You can just copy & paste in your complaint to Wonga. This https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-refund-complaint-detail/ looks at what else you might want to add.
You can always add something later, it’s not essential you get it right & complete at this stage. Above all the Ombudsman wants you to tell your story, there aren’t key words or legal jargon to put it that are needed to win a case.
martin hood says
anyone know if WDA and quick quid are quick at paying out after ombudsman settlement i know they have 28 days anyone get money earlier thx
Rachel says
Qq paid within 1 week although this was last year don’t know what the timescales are like now? Have you confirmed bank details? Well done on the refund
martin hood says
yes have was surprise waited 3 months at ombudsman then got result of them both with a week qq was my biggest , now only have 1 left
Warren says
Hi everyone
Just received my email about my complaint to QQ.
They sent me this reply asking for old bank statements I’m with Halifax is there a way I can request old statements from them? And how can I send them statements? Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Warren, That is QQ’s standard reply. You don’t have to send them bank statements if you don’t want, see my suggested reply here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/quickquid-payday-loan-refunds/.
Of course it might be a good idea to set about getting the old statements as the ombudsman may well ask for them. And most QQ claims go to the Ombudsman as they rarely make a good offer.
Rachel says
I was able to download online they went back 10 years
Debbi says
I went into the Halifax and they printed them off for the 1 year period I needed 2011-2012 I no longer even bank with them and it was no problem
Nicole says
Hi all, so have a bit of a weird one!! I made a complaint to square today, only had one loan with them with I defaulted on several times and had entered a payment plan with them to pay off outstanding balance! They did not uphold my complaint for irresponsible lending ect… So on the off chance I forwarded it to the fo, they also didn’t uphold my complaint….. So today I receive a letter from square today saying after reviewing my account they have wrote off my outstanding balance!! Weird!!
Warren says
Hi everyone
I also had a reply from wonga saying this. What can I expect to happen from this email? Thanks in advance and also thanks for all your help
[edited]
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Warren – it means they have your complaint and will look at it. It is a standard email.
George says
So I’ve heard back from the Ombudsman regarding my 8 Sunny loans.
Passed from Adjudicator to Ombudsman on April 24th and had final response waiting in the mail for me when I got home today. I cannot believe how quick Ombudsman decision was. One month exactly ! I wasn’t expecting to hear anything until at least end of July going by others experiences.
The Ombudsman actually included two more loans than the original Adjudicator. So I’m now being refunded from loan 4-8 of 8 loans. With the 8% it’s going to be near £1000. And credit file entries for the unaffordable loans are going to be removed. I’m over the moon.
Altogether I’ve had payday UK, MoneyShop,QuickQuid, wonga,Payday Express,24/7 Moneybox and now Sunny successfully dealt with via the FOS with refunds totalling around £4500 which I have used to pay the order charging land on my home and thus saving myself and my family from potential repossession.
I have had 3 defaults removed also and it’s like a weight off my shoulders. I cannot express my gratitude to Sara and the DebtCamel team and community enough. A difficult phase of my life is finally over after 6 years.
I put all my complaints in on November 29th 2016. I’m still waiting on a final decision from my Adjudiactor regarding Lending Stream and Motormile Finance which is quite complicated as MMF defaulted me for my Lending Stream account and there were two separate defaults on my credit file. When I went through my Bank Statements it transpired I had settled the same account twice by paying both MMF and Lending Stream!! This is why it is taking so long. I am feeling a lot of love right now for the guys at FOS. Outstanding. Thanks everyone !! George
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A great result and super fast!
Steph says
Hi George, congrats!!
If you don’t mind me asking … what was the process like with QQ? I complained to them mid Jan, they rejected my complaint with a goodwill gesture of £350. Since referred to FOS, it’s been there about 2 and a half months, picked up by adjudicator 2 weeks ago, no news yet.
Did you have to go to FOS with them? Did it get settled at adjudicator stage or go on to ombudsman?
My total interest paid is more than £6,000 so I guess a fair bit to go through.
Thanks
Steph
Vijay says
I just had the Adjudicator rule in my favour against QQ but QQ rejected the judgement and it got referred to the Ombudsman. Exactly the same thing also just happened with PayDay Express: Adjudicator ruled in my favour and PDExpress rejected it so it is now sent to the Ombudsman. I was really surprised that these lenders rejected settling things at the adjudicator stage.
Does anyone know how long it takes for the Ombudsman to review cases like this? I presume that they do not read what the Adjudicator wrote/decided and they just review the case on their own.
George says
Hi Steph
I put my initial complaint to QQ on November 29th 2016. They rejected it but offered £250 as a goodwill gesture on the last day of the 8 weeks. I had a £1216 outstanding loan which had been passed to PRA uk debt collection agency.
Went straight to the Ombudsman and assigned to an Adjudicator within 4 weeks who was extremely helpful and updated me with emails and phone calls regularly.
Before my Adjudicator had even investigated my complaint fully ,QQ offered to recall the debt from the third party DCA, and refund me from loan 2-6 of 6 loans. The default would be deleted from my credit file and all the unaffordable loans removed from file also.
The refund balance was £1945 so they used this to satisfy the £1216 outstanding leaving me with around £700 compensation. My Adjudicator told me that i could still wait for them to investigate loan 1 but I accepted straight away as I had an upcoming court appearance with the Enforcement of Judgmemt office and I was anxious for some money to help pay toward an order charging land on my home. My adjudicator asked me for my bank details and QQ paid me within 7 days of my accepting their offer.
So it took from November 29th until March 24th, less than 4 months in total without the need for Ombudsman. I only had 1 complaint out of 9 passed from Adjudicator to Ombudsman and it was a month for a final decision which was super fast. Perhaps because your complaint is larger it is taking longer? Every complaint seems unique as my Lending Stream complaint has been nearly 6 months and it’s not for a massive amount. Stick with it ! I couldn’t have done any of it without the Debtcamel community , although I’ve been a somewhat quiet poster I have been on this site every single day it’s amazing .
Nim says
HI George, great to hear!!
I have 5 complaints send by adjudicator way back in Jan/feb this year and none were assigned to Ombudsman? I don’t think it’s fair on our side that other cases are being looked at before mine and others waiting months…….so you are lucky!!!……I don’t understand if they have a queue system? I think I need to get on to them and ask them why it’s taking long and other cases are being settled within weeks. My caes have started in Nov 16 – and now really do need the money.
Best Nim
Mustard says
I’m still waiting since Nov last year, I’m phoning them today for an explanation/update
after reading this. Haven’t heard a peep in 6 months!!
Debbi says
How odd! I paid cash genie and MMF for the same debt. It looks like MMF carry on chasing a debt even when it’s no longer assigned to them!
Mitch says
What’s everyones longest awaiting claim? I know there is a few of us about. I’m still waiting for a QQ case started back in July 2016, I know they’re busy, so not moaning :P Just wondering who else is in the same boat :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is the QQ case for loans over 6 years?
Mitch says
Well, they haven’t been forthcoming why it’s on hold as such, just that its with the Jurisdiction team. But some loans we’re over 6 years so I presume that’s the case.
Rachel says
My pduk claim has almost been resolved started the process march 2016 it’s been a long wait but will be worth it
Rachel says
Mine was due to 6 years also I was waiting in the jurisdiction que and they made an offer this week without having to go all the way to the ombudsman. Hope you hear soon
Mitch says
Thanks for your info Rachel, Would I be right in thinking the case has been assessed already, then the jurisdiction team decide whether loans over 6 years are counted?
Rachel says
With my case they had only looked at the more recent loans, anything older than 6 years if the jurisdiction team agreed it could be looked at it would then go back to an adjudicator to review the older loans, I had been waiting in the jurisdiction que since January but it was the Pdl company who came forward with the offer otherwise it would still be in the que. what did your adjudicator say they had looked at?
Adam says
I have an outstanding balance with PDUK and this has been sold to a debt collector who is sending the usual threatening letters, I am putting in complaint to PDUK for a refund, I had 7 loans altogether from them.
In the meantime shall I tell the DCA to freeze any action whilst I do this??
Kind Regards,
Adam.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You complain to PDUK about all your loans. Don’t let them tell you that you have to deal with the debt collector (which dca is it?) – if PDUK say this ask if that is their final response and if it is, send it straight to the Financial Ombudsman.
I suggest you should complain to PDUK asap, go straight to Step 2, don’t bother trying to spend weeks on step 1. Unless PDUK give you a good offer (which would be unusual but does sometimes happen) send the case straight to the FO.
Tell the debt collector you are disputing the debt with PDUK and ask them to hold any enforcement action until the dispute is resolved. When the case goes to the FO, tell the debt collector this as well.
Adam says
Thank you, I will get on this ASAP.
The DCA is PRAC Financial, being represented by “BW Legal”.
Many thanks I will keep you posted on what happens.
Stacey says
HI
i complained to Wageday advance about irresponsible lending, i had 11 loans and 11 rollovers between Feb 2009 and February 2011. Wageday advance sent me a final response stating as the loans were over 6 years old they wont even look at my complaint.
i then wrote to the Ombudsman, explaining the issue, which was about a week ago, but i havent heard anything back yet.
In the meantime i also went back to Wageday Advance and explained the Ombudsmans ‘3 years from when you could of been reasonably made aware you could complain’ rule and they have now agreed that they will re-review my complaint. Should i inform them that i have already gone to the Ombudsman? Or just ride it out and see what they say first? he said he would get back to me no later than the 31st May, so think i will hear back from them before the Ombusman anyway……
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You having gone to the Ombudsman isn’t really relevant to his review, so I wouldn’t bother.
If he makes you a reasonable offer you accept and then tell the Ombudsman you want to withdraw the complaint – don’t leave it sitting in the queue!
Stacey says
Briliant thanks for that!
Lewis says
Hi guys, just wanting some advice.
I have had 37 loans with Wonga from October 2013.
I have complained to these and just got their Final Decision back, they feel all 37 loans were affordable. Rediculous decision, as most of these loans were taken days after the other, and some had late payments.
Do I just refer the case to the FO and they do the rest?
Or is there something else I do now?
Lewis
Roch says
Hi Lewis, I would Refer it straight to the FO. I’m in a similar situation I took 35 loans from Wonga between 2012- 2014 and I am still waiting for a final response from them and if I don’t get one by Monday I will also be referring it to the FO.
So go for it and Good Luck!!!
MH says
I’m still awaiting a statement of account from Wonga. how long did they take to get back to you?
Eddie says
Submit this to FOS with copy of final response letter and just let them do the job. Be ready for a long wait, for Wonga its usually 3-6 months at least but I’m sure it’s worth it.
Paul Smith says
Hi all,
I’ve had the first letter from the FOS regarding my first complaint with them for myjar. How do I go about getting bank statements for an account which has since been closed? Do I just tell them this? Also is there anything else which you would suggest I provide them?
Thanks in advance.
Paul Smith says
Can anyone help with the above?
Danny says
Hi Paul,
I provided bank statements from an old account that was closed – I went into branch & gave them my details and they supplied them there & then (this was Natwest).
I’ve found the more you comply with the adjudicator, the quicker the process goes. I provided bank statements, my credit report from several CRAs & their final response letter.
Hope this helps!
tracey says
My adjudicator picked up 4 complaints end of April. Is it normal for it take upto a month for a decision? Is it a no news is good news type deal? The longer it takes the better? I’m worried he’s going to rule they were all affordable.
QQ over £1000 in interest
Wonga over £1000 in interest
PDUk £800 in interest
Mrlender settled (£800 interest)
My jar £300 interest
£2000 overdraft and £1500 cc
All but the overdraft accrued over two years….
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No news is no news, it’s not good or bad.
Does the adjudicator have all your bank statements? A list of the loans for each lender? Lots of people worry that they aren’t hearing anything and get perfectly good results.
tracey says
I went through my statements before sending then and made a spreadsheet of each loan amount, date and amount paid, and total interest paid. I did this for each company and highlighted them in my statements. I figured every little helps them. I sent the spreadsheet in with my cover letter, bank statements and final responses.
tracey says
Also have 5 other smaller but active accounts…. wageday, wizzcash, mb24/7 and one other smaller.
Surely with this many, they were unaffordable? Right?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to stop borrowing from these lenders! See https://debtcamel.co.uk/help-payday-loan/
tracey says
I have, but they’ve only been like one or two loans, so didn’t see much point pursuing those.
Dan says
Hi Sara,
So, I’ve has a response from Sunny today which reads as follows:
*****
To investigate your complaint I have reviewed the account opening procedures in place at the time. Having done so, 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.
*****
The summary of my borrowing from Sunny alone is:
Total borrowed = £6600
Interest Paid = £5280
Total = £11880!! In 3 years!!!
During this time, I was also borrowing from LS, Mr Lender, WDA and Satsuma – the numbers are frightening!
I’ve got a pretty good case here, right?
I have already responded and said I would like them to review their findings as a) there is nothing in their response to back up their claims and b) that their email appears to mention “loan” (singular) and “account opening procedures” which suggests they have only looked at the process in checking me initially for my first loan.
I have also asked if this is their final response – at least if I can get confirmation that this is their final decision on the matter, I can get it sent of to the FOS as soon as possible.
Do you think that, maybe, this is an attempt to make me go away at the first step with some official sounding nonsense?
Thanks!
Dan
Keep up the good work!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it sounds like a good case and as though they are hoping you will go away.
Dan says
Well, I certainly won’t be going without a fight :o)
Thanks!