Did your payday loans cost so much when you repaid one you had to keep on borrowing?
You can get a refund of the interest you paid on unaffordable loans.
It’s easy to ask for a payday loan refund using the free template letters here. The letters work if your payday loans were repaid or you still owe money.
The comments below this article have thousands of stories of the refunds people have got using these letters. It is a great place to ask questions!
Contents
What are “unaffordable” loans?
Was a loan affordable just because you repaid it?
No! If paying a loan left you so broke you had to borrow again – from the same lender or a different one – it was 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.”
That means a payday loan is only affordable if you repaid it on time and you could still manage to pay your other bills and debts.
Payday loans are meant to solve a short-term problem. If you kept repaying one then getting another loan soon after, the lender should have stopped lending to you.
If the loan was small and it was the first loan or second loan from a lender, the lender may not have realised the loan was unaffordable for you. But it was irresponsible lending to just carry on giving you more loans.
Many lenders ignore obvious signs of problems such as your loans increasing in size, or borrowing again soon after repayment.
How much compensation can you get?
You don’t have to calculate this. Just ask for a refund from the lender and see what you are offered. This is simple and it works well.
The Financial Ombudsman has seen tens of thousands of payday loan affordability complaints.
A typical decision by the Ombudsman is that the payday lender should refund all the interest you paid interest after the third, fourth or fifth loan.
But if your first loan was large, or was rolled over several times you could get a refund from just one loan.
Which lenders can you get refunds from?
You can complain to lenders that are still in business, even if they are no longer lending. These include:
Lending Stream, Cash Converters, CashASAP, Drafty, Dot Dot, Fast Loan Uk, Fernovo, Fund Ourselves, Kabayan, LoanPig, Mr Lender, Moneyboat, MyKredit, My Finance Club, QuidMarket, Savvy, The Money Platform, WageMe, Wizzcash,
See this email list for payday lenders for a longer list and all the contact details to use.
If the lender has gone into administration, including CashForUNow, Piggybank, Ferratum, Oakam, Safetynet Credit, Tappily:
- make a claim to the administrators – there is normally a simple form for you to complete, see the lender’s website for details – but there will be a time limit for doing this.
- you may not get much cash back but this is very easy to do. A balance may be reduced or cleared even if there is no cash to distribute. And if you win the complaint any negative marks on your credit record will be removed.
It is probably too late to make claims to other lenders who gave up years ago, see this list.
For longer-term loans there are better template letters to use on other pages:
- doorstep lenders and guarantor lenders,
- Loans2Go – the worst loans in Britain!
- 118 Money, Likely Loans, Bamboo, car finance, bank loans and other long-term loans.
Do this before, before you send in a complaint
Doing these things now will make your life easier later.
Get a copy of your TransUnion statutory credit report and keep it. After complaints are started, sometimes loans are deleted and you may want the full report if you later have to go to the Ombudsman.
If you still owe money to the lender, read Will an affordability claim hurt my credit record, and other questions. These looks at your options for stopping paying, the effect on your credit record etc.
If the rest of your finances are difficult, look into a Debt Management Plan (DMP) where you make one affordable payment a month to StepChange. This gets you into a safe financial position as these affordability complaints can take a long time to go through at the Ombudsman. Winning a complaint then speeds up the DMP.
Unless you can afford to make this month’s payment without borrowing again, cancel the CPA to the lender at your bank. Otherwise the lender may take the money and you will be in a mess.
If your loan was sold to a debt collector you complain to the original lender. But also tell the debt collector that you are disputing the debt. It is a good idea to carry on making payments to the debt collector if they are affordable.
Start your complaint & get loan details
Find the lender’s email address for complaints from this list.
Put “AFFORDABILITY COMPLAINT” as the subject of your email:
You should never have given me these unaffordable loans. Paying you each month left me with too little money so I had to keep borrowing to get through the next month.
You should have realised from the number of times I borrowed that my debt problems were getting worse. It was not responsible to continue to lend to me. [Add more details eg how often you borrowed or rolled loans if you know them, how the amount borrowed generally went up etc]
[Include/change this if your credit record would have shown big problems:] My credit reports would have shown all my other debts and problems including late payments/defaults /CCJs/debt management.]
I am asking you to refund the interest and any charges I paid, plus statutory interest, and to delete any negative information from my credit record.
[delete this sentence if you know what all your loans were.] I know the difficulties your loans have caused me but I no longer have all the loan details. Please send me a list, showing for each loan when it was taken out, how much interest and charges you added, and what I repaid. This will enable me to assess any refund you offer me.
[delete this sentence if none of your loans were sold.]If a loan was later sold to a debt collector, please inform me of the date of sale and the name of the debt collector.
Some ways to improve this
Add any other points that help you describe what happened to you. You don’t need to list the loans – the lenders knows them.
Some examples:
- “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.”
- if you weren’t treated fairly while you were borrowing or when you could not make a payment, add a bit about this.
You can attach bank statements if you like, This is a good idea as these show how unaffordable the loans were for you. If you have gambling showing, this helps your complaint, it doesn’t harm it.
I don’t know if many lenders actually read what you send them. I
it’s easy to make these complaints – you don’t need to calculate what refund you should get or quote laws.
Only one loan?
The template refers to multiple loans because that is what normally happens with payday lenders.
When you only had one loan and it was large, read Refunds from large loans and use the template there.
If you only had one loan and it was small, this is going to be a very difficult complaint to win. If you have borrowed once or twice from 5 leaders, that is much more difficult to win an affordability complaint than having 4 or 5 loans from two lenders.
Waiting for a reply from the lender
This email starts your affordability complaint.
They may send the list of loans first and later respond to your complaint. So don’t be surprised if you get sent info on the loans but nothing about your request for a refund.
When you get your loan information, you can send in more details about your complaint if you want. You don’t have to do this, your complaint has already begun and the lender has to reply.
The lender should reply to your complaint within 8 weeks from when you send the email, not when they acknowledge it. Make a note in your diary for 8 weeks time and chase the lender up if you don’t get a reply.
Don’t be surprised if you have to wait until the end of the 8 weeks to get response – this is common.
Send your bank statements or other information?
Some lenders ask you to send them a copy of your credit record, payslips or bank statements.
Credit record – the lender can check your credit record themselves if they want. But you should download a copy of your credit record asap as the Ombudsman will ask for it. Don’t put this off, the sooner you get a report downloaded, the further back it goes which is good.
Don’t send payslips – they won’t help an affordability complaint and the ombudsman never asks for them.
It is a good idea to send bank statements. But think twice about the cost of copying and postage if there are a lot. Some lenders seem to ignore them if you do send them.
Again this is a good point to get those bank statements even if you do not want to send them as they will help an Ombudsman claim a lot. You can get them going back at least 6 years even if the account has been closed.
Lender says No or makes a poor offer
If the lender rejects your complaint or offers you a small amount, don’t be depressed. You may still have a very good case!
It is easy and free to send your case to the Financial Ombudsman where many thousands of people have won their payday loan complaints, despite being rejected by the lender.
Give up?
Some lenders try to make your case sound bad when it isn’t. People have had large amounts refunded after a complete rejection!
Just ignore any of the following comments, they do not mean you have a weak case:
- they relied on your loan applications and you didn’t give accurate facts – see Lender says I lied for more about this;
- you repaid some loans early – this doesn’t prove the loans 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 only had one or two small loans that is true. But if the loans were large or you kept borrowing, they should have looked more closely;
- your loans are over 6 years old – the Ombudsman will look at these even if the lender says they won’t!
A good enough case to go to the Ombudsman?
If you don’t know what to do, ask in the comments below this article. Accepting an offer settles your whole complaint – you can’t change your mind later.
Don’t worry that you will lose a small offer by going to the Ombudsman – this doesn’t happen.
Some points to think about:
- if you are offered a refund on only a few loans, don’t accept it if you think the lender should have realised a lot of the other loans were unaffordable;
- an offer to write off your current balance may sound convenient … but it may be very poor if you should get a refund as well;
- if getting defaults or late payments removed from your credit record is important to you, are you happy with what the lender is proposing to do? Don’t assume your credit record will be cleared if the lender didn’t mention this.
One or two loan cases are hard to win at the Ombudsman. It’s probably best to give up on one or two loan cases unless:
- the loan was large. Here is one single loan case that was won even though it was an installment loan and the borrower had a good income. And another single loan case for a loan of £1,000. You can win cases for smaller amounts if the repayment would have been a large amount of your income; or
- you still owe money.
Don’t delay too long – there is a 6-month time limit after a lender rejects your complaint to send the case to the ombudsman. When you aren’t sure, send the complaint to FOS. This is easy to do – let FOS make the decision.
How to send a complaint to FOS
Put in a separate complaint about each lender.
Don’t wait until all your lenders have replied before sending the first one to the Ombudsman!
FOS’s “complain online” option is easy and takes you through your complaint step by step.
You can just copy what you said in your complaint to the lender. You can add more details, for example, if you disagree with what the lender replied to you.
If some of your loans were over 6 years ago, tell the Ombudsman when and how you found out about these complaints. For example:
“I knew the loans were causing me difficulty in 2016, but I thought this was my fault for being bad with money. I didn’t find out that the lender should have checked the loans were affordable until June 2022 when my brother told me about these claims/I saw an advert from a claims company on Facebook/I read an article about these claims” – change this so it is right for your case!
Things to attach:
- the reply you have had from the lender.
- bank statements if you have them. Ideally from 3 months before your first loan until the last loan was repaid or you defaulted on it. This strengthens your case, showing how unaffordable the loans were. You can still get bank statements even if your account is closed – if you don’t have them, start the process of getting them now, don’t wait until FOS asks for them.
- a copy of your TransUnion Statutory credit report
- a copy of the credit agreements for the loans if you have them. If you don’t, don’t worry, FOS will get them from the lender.
What happens after you have sent a case to FOS
You will normally be contacted within a couple of weeks and asked for a copy of your credit record and your bank statements if you haven’t sent these. If you have sent these on one complaint, then when you complain about a different lender they will use the ones they already have.
After this initial contact, your case will wait for the lender to send FOS your case file and then wait to be picked up by an adjudicator who will make a decision on it.
If you are still making payments to the lender, tell the lender you want to reduce these to an affordable amount. This will make waiting for an Ombudsman decision much less stressful for you.
The Financial Ombudsman has a two-stage process. Most cases are settled by the first “adjudicator” stage but about 10% go to the second “Ombudsman” stage.
A few problem cases
Don’t ask for a refund:
- if you are bankrupt now or have been bankrupt in the past – any refund would go to the Official Receiver.
- if you are in an IVA, as refunds will go to your IVA firm not to you. If your IVA has finished the refund may still be sent to your old IVA firm.
- if you are in a DRO now, getting a refund may mean your DRO is cancelled!
More help
You can ask a question in the comments below – you may get a reply from someone who has been in your exact situation.
Don’t use a claims management company. They are expensive and often incompetent. It’s easy to do this yourself and you can ask questions below and get replies from other readers who have done this.
Card & catalogue affordability complaints
Can you get an overdraft refund?
Could a Debt Relief Order help you?
Sarah F says
I have a dilemma now, snc have offered to wipe my balance and pay £500 to me. The calculations are that they should pay nearer £1500 after my balance is clear.
So I do accept and write this off as lesson learnt or fight them to the fos, risk losing altogether and a lengthy wait?. My conscience says accept, I borrowed the money, I knew the charges and would only have gone elsewhere at that point?
Any advice grateful
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though it may be a standard offer to try to settle complaints quickly and cheaply.
It’s quite a personal decision whether you think this is a fair offer. It may not be the maximum you could get, but is it good enough?
J says
Hi Sara – finally reached a resolution with my QQ complaint and after the Ombudsman upheld my complaint I received a whopping refund of £19,135.46 to my bank account today. Mixed emotions of course, it’s a huge amount which reflects just how bad this lending can be. A huge thank you for your advice and your website which has been instrumental in achieving this, and several other, life-changing sums. I know this is a non-profit site and people have donated to charity after their successes – I will do the same and if there is any preferred charity please let me know.
For all those waiting for QQ refunds, hang in there, it was a long process and at times it drove me crazy but common sense prevailed and, to be far, they settled with good grace. Good luck to all those waiting. J
Linds says
Hi J,
Great news! Good hear good results.
I have a complaint in with them, it’s with the adjudicator so fingers crossed.
Linds
J says
Thanks Linds – good luck, hope you hear very soon. J
Sara (Debt Camel) says
wow!
A donation to your local Citizens Advice would be great. Each CAB is a separate small charity, most under threat by having their funding from the local council reduced.
CAB may not sound like a “debt charity” but actually we are by far the biggest provider of face to face debt advice in the country. And many of the most vulnerable people need face to face advice, not digital or telephone, as they can’t understand the letters they are getting and need someone to talk to the bailiffs and their landlords and help them with court forms.
J says
Thanks Sara – I didn’t realise the CAB is a charity. I will make a donation to my local branch for sure. Thanks again for everything! J
Jojo says
Wow this is fantastic, I am so chuffed for you!
I have just accepted their offer too after going to ombudsman after they said they couldn’t look at loans over 6 years. 14 unfair loans were upheld and and now just waiting for nearly 2k to land in my account.
The ombudsman service has been amazing and so has this website! I too will make a donation ❤️❤️
J says
Thanks Jojo. Hope you get your refund soonest, enjoy! J
C says
Wow!!! That’s fantastic! Can I ask how many loans that was for?
J says
Hi C – 11 loans but one was a Flex-loan, first loan was 2010 so lots of interest had accrued. J
Colin says
Congrats to you!
How long did it take from adjucator to Ombudsman?
Also, once the Ombudsman ruled in your favour how long was it before the funds went in your account?
J says
Hi Colin – Thanks :-) I was very fortunate with Adjudicator to Ombudsman, just over 2 weeks, but there was a second Adjudicator decision which may have speeded up the last stage more than usual. Ombudsman gave QQ two weeks to respond then issued their final. QQ confirmed within two days and settlement to my bank account was 16 days. Hope that helps you, good luck with your claim. J
Holly says
Hi al just thought I’d update my progress with LS the case is with fos and they have replied at 6:35 this evening saying they are waiting for an answer that I accept the settlement from FOS but it hasn’t said in the email how much . They have put in the email the bank details they have on file for me as well
Mike_p says
It’s normally all done through the FOS. Lending Stream are horrendous but it does take the FOS time to handle responses, you should hear from then in a week or two.
Holly says
Cheers mike
Ele says
Hi all
I am shocked! After only sending my sunny complaint to FOS end of June beginning of July this year, they have emailed me today saying they have asked sunny for the information about my complaint. They also asked for my bank statements etc so I have sent it all off (I did send it all when I initially sent it to fos but just decided to respond to the email from them with it all as well. Does this mean this has now been picked up by FOS? Or is it normal for them to send this email ?
Any idea how long sunny have to respond to FOS? Or is there not a time limit on this?
Thanks
Mike_p says
Was it from an adjudicator or someone else? I had an email asking for more information, and then when it was actually picked up I had an email from an adjudicator assiugned to my case saying they had everything they needed to start looking at my case.
Chris says
This is a standard response and it will be from the Adjudicator. Seems you have got going fairly quickly which is encouraging.
Ele says
This is a snippet of the email
Thanks for getting in touch with us. We’ve now asked Elevate Credit International Limited to send us the information they have about your complaint so we can look into what’s happened.
Your complaint reference number is Please quote this whenever you contact us.
If you have more information
While we wait for Elevate Credit International Limited to get back to us, it would be helpful if you could give us as much information as possible from the following, if you haven’t already sent it to us:
your bank statements covering the period from three months before your loan(s) until one month after the date you took it/them
a copy of your credit file
the date you took out the loan(s) and the amount of each loan you’re complaining about
your customer reference number with Elevate Credit International Limited, if you have it
it would also be helpful if you could send us any correspondence you’ve had with Elevate Credit International Limited about your loans.
Please send us the information you have by 12 September 2019, making sure to quote your reference number. We understand that you may not have everything we’ve asked for, so if you have any difficulties getting anything please let us know.
Once you’ve sent us everything you can, we can start looking into what’s happened, and we’ll be in touch to discuss your complaint in more detail.
Mike_p says
That’s just an information gathering email, I had a very similar one from a “mass claims consultant”. Once they have everything you will get an email from an adjudicator saying they have everything they need to start looking at your complaint, probably in 1 to 3 months time.
Cem says
Hi All, I’ve sent approx 8 emails to various loan providers, some are paid/closed, 1 has gone to court for attachment of earnings over £1,700. Due to start coming out of my earnings in Sept I have no control in stopping this. It will financial kill me. My loan borrowings madness started since the council taken me to court for non payment of council tax with an attachment of earnings. I’ve not been able to pay any loans resulting into more loans. I’ve kept up for a few years but no longer can keep up and come to a point off surviving off family members to carry on through the months. Is there any point in expecting anything from past closed loans I’ve had to use that I no longer use. Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Which lender has gone for an Attachment of Earnings?
Are you renting or buying?
Were you already in a lot of debt which was the reason you hadn’t paid the council tax?
Cem says
Hi Sara, it is lending stream that has taken me to court. It had started at approx 1200 and through various debt recovery the total is now 1700 which one has successfully found the correct county court to use my existing work details to issue an attachment of earnings which I’m still unsure if the court has the right to contact my work before contacting me. I am renting and was in debt before I started to rent this all started with an unexpected baby and needed a suitable place and lifestyle for the baby. Loans were required for deposits and living cost. I was on zero hour contract with min wage. I couldn’t pay council tax as I couldn’t keep up with rent otherwise.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry to hear that, very difficult time for you. Can I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about your current situation and what your options are, as a Debt Relief Order may be appropriate.
Cem says
Hi Sara, Thanks I’ll give them a call and see where it takes me.
Ann says
Hi can somebody help me please I have a payment plan in place with loans to go my loan was £114 per month I am paying £50 pm I have sent it to financial ombudsman around 4 weeks ago can the still default the loan if I’m making reduced payment .They want me to send an expenditure form which I’m not willing to fill in thanks
JA says
If you have broken the terms of repayment I think they’re legally allowed to put a default on your file even if you are still paying them?
I may be wrong though.
Ann says
Hi thanks I’ve not missed 1 payment of plan they are a nitemare x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes they are very difficult.
They can legally add a default even if youv are keeping to a payment arrangement. The good news is that if you win the complaint (and see https://debtcamel.co.uk/worst-loan-in-britain/ for why a lot of these complaints are being won) the default will be removed.
Ann says
Thanks Sara the ombudsman has my complaint so it a wating game now with them and sunny I’m not holding my Breath x
G says
is anyone else using paydayrefunds.co.uk? they have been handling my case but now want me to sign another contract for lastminuteclaims.co.uk to allow them to handle it, this seems dodgy and possibly suggest paydayrefunds are going down the drain. This could possibly mean I will not have to pay the 36% fee to paydayrefunds as my refund is weeks off being paid to me.
Chris says
I don’t use them. I would suggest you ask them why they want you to sign a new contract. Looking at the reviews on Trustpilot, they seem to have a very poor rating. If they are going bust and your claim is now with the FOS, your claim will not go down with them. In other words, the FOS will still investigate your claim on your behalf. Can’t really see the benefit therefore of signing on to a new company. If you Google lastminuteclaims.com, there is no internet address. I’d be careful here.
G says
I told them I am not signing a new contract, FOS has told me Paydayrefunds.co.uk are winding down so hopefully I will not need to pay my fees for future refunds and keep 100% :-)
G says
sorry its lastminuterefunds.co.uk
KS says
Sara, I’m not sure if you will know the answer to this but here goes…
I sent my complaint re: Elevate to FOS back in April. I was assigned an Adjudicator at the beginning of July. The Adjudicator requested business files from Elevate at the beginning of July and as yet, they still haven’t sent them to the FOS. Is there some kind of cut off time here? I feel that I have a strong case against Elevate so it’s not really in their interest to send the files over to the FOS. The Adjudicator must be able to set a deadline otherwise this could just go on and on indefinitely?!
I appreciate the FOS have a difficult job to do and that they are swamped with complaints but I can’t help feeling frustrated here.
Iain123 says
Two months isn’t that long, wait another month and email your adjudicator for an update.
Phil says
The first of my complaints are starting to filter through to FOS now.
An adjudicator has upheld a complaint to both Satsuma (provident) and Lending Stream.
Satsuma had until August 21st to reply to the adjudicator but haven’t replied at all yet, is this normal from them? Anything I can do to chase their delay? Then Lending Stream have until 4th September to reply. Does anyone have any experience they are in replying? I’m happy with both adjudicator results so am hoping they accept pretty quickly!
Mike_p says
Lending Stream are terrible and do everything they can to delay things. It took them four weeks to accept my adjudicators decision and then 22 days to pay out.
Emily says
Hi,
What has everyone’s experiences been like with Satsuma? They have been incredibly difficult to deal with. Missed three deadlines with the adjudicator. The adjudicator upheld loans 4-7, but Satsuma eventually replied not agreeing. My adjudicator says it will be passed straight to an ombudsman now, and not go into the ombudsman queue. Has this happened to anybody? If so how long did it take? Tia x
Lisa G says
I’ve found the same. Adjudicator ruled 5-9 to be refunded. They had until 23rd Aug to respond. As far as I know they still haven’t. I’ve chased twice in that time. I’m fully expecting my complaint to be put in the ombudsman queue. It’s just a waiting game.
Lewis says
Hi Emily,
My experience with Satsuma isn’t great either.
The adjudicator contacted them with their findings on the 10/07 and they replied on the 23/08!! Apparently I’m only going to get a cheque as well, which i’m sure will delay proceedings even longer
Chris says
Spoke to LS this morning, they confirmed acceptance received from FOS yesterday (29/8), payment will now be processed within next 28days.
Redress is £10,881, this will conclude my journey.
Can’t thank Sara enough for this website
Danny Jeffries says
Dear Sara (or anyone else who can help),
Thank you so much for this valuable resource! Today I have started my complaints process against Sunny, MyJar and Uncle Buck.
After following your advice I downloaded my credit report from TransUnion and was shocked to see that since 2014 I have taken 67 loans from these three companies (combined), with Sunny being the largest at 47!
My question is:
Earlier this year i took out two separate loans, one from Satsuma (Providence) and Loans 2 Go. The Satsuma Loan was £1000 and is is repayable over 12 months in £166 instalments (ending 26/06/2020) and the Loans 2 Go loan was for £250 and is repayable shockingly over 18 months in £57 instalments (total repayable £1013!!!!). These are the first times I’ve taken out a loan with these companies, but clearly having looked at my credit report they should have seen how much I was borrowing/repaying. What is my course of action? The loans are still owed, but is there anyway I can lodge an irresponsible lending complaint against them to reduce the interest on the repayments?
Thanks so much, I feel a glimmer of hope!
Danny
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Satsuma – yes that’s a large loan, so use the different procedure here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/
Loans2go – a uniquely horrible loan. Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/worst-loan-in-britain/ and send in a complaint!
VI says
Hello
I have used one of the companies to claim refund back. 24/7 moneybox accepted adjudicator decision. 24/7 had to repay untill 28th of August. They are a late and take more than 28 days. Did anyone had similar situation? How long did it take to receive refund? Is it possible that claims company took all refund? When and what further actions I should/could take?
Nick Merriman says
Hi , how did you get on with this ? Did 247 pay up ? Thanks
Luana says
hi Guys I sent a complaint to the ombudsman on 17th of July through debt hackers but haven’t received no acknowledgment email. Should I be worried ?I never sent anything to them before so don’t know what to expect? TIA
Brendan says
I started the journey with Satsuma in March had an adjudicator rule start of August in my favour for 2 loans redress approx £300, happy with result. After chasing satsuma since middle of August on update after they missed deadline they contest the adjudicator report. Have heard nothing from FOS does this mean it gets reinvestigated, any idea on timeline it takes or be another 6 months+ wait sadly. Thanks for your help
John Stockwell says
I had a satsuma complaint upheld (8 out of8loans) in June. They have had all that time to reply. Whilst asking for updates (will send chaser email is usually reply from Fos) it’s clear that they are just inundated and cant cope with the level of complaints. It’s clear the Fos has no power or inclination to gee them up. I fully expect them to reply rejecting adjudication to buy more time as it will give them probably 6 months more. It is frustrating because its been with Fos for more than a year.
ME says
Can anyone advise whether Lending Stream pay refunds on a weekend? Or is it just weekdays. I’m on day 25 of 28 and am growing concerned that they still haven’t paid out. I know I still have 3 days to go, officially, but reading their reviews i’ve noticed some people not receiving anything even when the 28 day’s are up.
Thanks,
ME
Holly says
Hi all I have accepted an offer from LS and sent my reply Friday afternoon with confirmation of bank details , does the adjudicator usually send your reply straight away ? Thanks holly x
Chappell says
Hi Holly, I received my offer on a Wednesday, FOS sent acceptance the week after on the Thursday after ringing them to make sure it went off.
Mike_p says
My adjudicator sent them acceptance the same day. It then went into the Lending Stream black hole where they ignore any queries about it, and I got the refund 22 days later.
Katie M says
Following my complaint to the FOS regarding Sunny, I have had the first decision back from the adjudicator saying: “The adjudicator says that loans 1 to 24. should be upheld. Having considered our findings, Elevate Credit International Limited has let us know that it doesn’t fully agree with the recommendations, but it does agree that loans 18 onwards should be upheld”.
I do think loans 1-17 should be upheld, they were taken out at a far closer frequency than loans 18-24. I understand that I can now disagree with the decision and it will go to the Ombudsman but have a couple of questions:
– is there any chance that the Ombudsman might rule entirely in Elevate’s favour ie refute the upholding of loans 18-24 so we receive nothing?
– is it helpful when writing to say I don’t accept the decision to include anything else in that email or is it all on file?
– Elevate upheld one loan and we received compensation, but did not acknowledge the other 24 loans I took out with them. We disputed these, which we then escalated to the FOS. The FOS are aware of this, but does this have any bearing on taking it to the next stage.
– what might the ‘next steps’ the adjudicator refers to be? I thought it went straight to the Ombudsman so just want to be prepared!
Any advice gratefully received!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Ombudsman normally doesn’t even consider 18-24, saying that everyone is agreed they should be refunded. So think of this as the minimum you can get.
You could ask the adjudicator why Sunny have not accepted 1-17, as you would like to know what their arguments are so you can respond to them?
I can’t see the 1 loan issue matters – if Sunny were saying it did, they wouldn’t be offering to refund any further ones.
FOS may be trying to get Sunny to look at again at the adjudicator decisions they are rejecting, but that’s a guess.
Katie M says
Thank you Sara, this is so helpful. I will let you know how I get on!
Katie M says
Success! Sunny have agreed to adjudicator’s second letter and upheld all of his recommendations bringing the total claim from £303 to £1000.07. Thank you Sara!
S says
Hi, I have recently been informed by the adjudicator that he has upheld loans 4 – 50 taken with Cash Converters. He has given them two weeks to respond. Cash Converters don’t appear to get much of a mention on here but I just wondered if anyone else had any joy receiving a redress from them after the adjudicator had made his decision or wether CC tend to drag things out to the bitter end via the Ombudsman?
Just for your info I submitted my complaint to the FOS in January 2019 along with numerous other complaints. I have kept in contact with the FOS every 6 – 8 weeks and found them extremely helpful and understanding.
Can’t thank Sara enough and others on this site for their help and guidance.
Good luck to everyone. S
Sarah says
I’m going accept a written off balance and 500 payment from snc. I think they owe another 700 but I knew the charges, I knew what I was signing too each month and for me then it’s over!! I have 247 have written off my balance, good pay out from qq, provident gone to fos, wonga obviously we all wait on, money shop too and wage day advance im just in a long queue of people. So for me I’m done with taking the 500, never use these firms again as and be grateful I’ve had balances wiped and a bit of money back.
Feels a cop out with snc but 700 is not worth another year and I owe them nothing xx
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sounds like a good result for you and that’s what matters!
Ali says
Please triple check your Satsuma loan account numbers carefully on all correspondence! A bit confusing but this is whats happened-
Satsuma final response to me rejected and they listed 9 loans with 9 account numbers.
Sent to FOS, FOS initially uphold loans 4-9 via email but they update assessment via telephone to included loans 2-3 after viewing bank statements.
Satsuma respond-adjudicator email says assessment has been agreed to (not partially). So 8 loan number….Satsuma wrote 8 loan account numbers to be deleted or negative information removed. Refund amount seems to be correct but no breakdown.
Credit file updated and negative info has been removed…but loan 3 and 10 months of default still showing..why? In the Satsuma final responce one of the 8 loan numbers listed was not loan 3! but an account number for a rejected loan that they did not include in their final responce that i was not aware of. Loan 2 was included thou…I have had to go back to satsuma and although helpful could not confirm loan 3 was included and they are looking into it. Since i have accepted the offer i am worried the negative info will have to stay there :-( Check all correspondence carefully!
Mar says
Hi just after some advice, I’ve had 8 loans with sunny over a year 2 of which I’m now on a payment plan for. I made a complaint last year and received a response now upholding it last September. I’m aware I’m out of the 6 months to take for FOS but wondering if there is any circumstances where FOS would still consider this. I suffer really badly from mental health and just didn’t have the energy to send this to FOS before
Sue A says
I have lots of payday loans in the shadows from previous years, when myself and my husband got into financial hardship, just trying to keep our heads above water and keep our children, fed, watered and i clothes, following redundancies and being between jobs, or incidents beyond our cotrol, which just seemed to spiral. Now, all we have, are high Interest options for any emergency or help we need to finance, which we are now very reluctant to turn to.. I have lost my parents and 4 older brothers and have no living family relatives to turn to for any help what so ever. I am tired of these debts weighing us down and no sign of any refund or resolution. I am tired of being chased and never getting anywhere.
We have been paying token payments to all of our creditor for quite some time and feel this will go on forever. I work 27 hours a week and my husband works 37. Trying to get help from the CAB these days, let aloe find the time, is harder than pulling teeth!
Emma says
Hi Sue,
Have you spoken to StepChange? They are a fantastic charity that will help you with your debt problems, and deal with your creditors, putting you on a small debt repayment plan if you need it. I owed a lot of money to British Gas (who wanted to refuse my offer of monthly payment and put in a pre pay meter) and they helped me deal with this and managed to sort an affordable payment plan. In the mean time, do use the template letters here to complain to lenders. You can ask to put a hold on repayments whilst they look into the complaints.
You aren’t alone!
Emma
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Talking to StepChange is a good idea. Or you can just carry on with the token payments and make complaints to all the payday lender you have used, including the ones that have been repaid and the one you still owe money to. If you get a lot of debt cleared and some refunds, that may mean you can manage to repay the rest of your debt in a reasonable time, but if not you may need to look at Insolvency – either bankruptcy or a Debt Relief Order. StepChange can talk about them too.
kim hunter says
I definately recommend Stepchange they help you get your life back on track, you suddenly start sleeping again and are very easy to deal with. Im sure you initially set it up on line and you speak to them later but are very easy to talk to once you do this you will feel so much better.
Ste says
Hi Guys!
Just a quick update, I have finally received my offer from Lending Stream. Total redress is £10,754!! After years of financial struggle I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and I can now be debt free.
So happy I found this site and all the advice has been so helpful! Just have to now confirm my bank details and accept the offer!
Hope everyone still waiting has some good news like myself!
Ste
Matt says
Great news! How long did it take LS to make a payment?
Ste says
Thank you!
They usually have 28 days to make payment. They are one of the lenders who are shockingly bad at communicating and paying redress unlike other lenders who tend to be quite quick.
I have read that some people are receiving theirs before the 28 days and some who receive actually on the day. It’s best to make sure they have your bank details quickly to confirm. They also have a tendency to wait couple of weeks into the 28 days and say that they have only just verified your bank details so the 28 days start all over again but here’s hoping I receive it soon!
JA says
Hey ste, Great news and congratulations.
How long did lending stream take to reply to the adjudicators decision?
Thanks
Ste says
Thank you!
They took 4 weeks. which was 2 weekspast the deadline. They then responded 7 -14 days after with an offer but it had to be recalculated. I then waited 10 days with ‘re appropriate offer which I’m accepting.
Hope that helps and good luck!
Mike_p says
Lending Stream are definitely one of the worst lenders to deal with. I wonder if they are close to going under and struggling to pay refunds or if they are simply being difficult out of spite? TrustPilot has a lot of people reporting them cuasing problems.
They were given 2 weeks to reply to my adjudicators decision but replied in 4 weeks which seems to be the standard delay they apply. I got my refund on day 22. I sent them bank details as soon as I told the adjudicator I’d accepted to give them less reasons to create delays.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They have been this difficult since 2016. It’s not a new development.
S says
Hi Sara,
Firstly, apologies if I’ve posted this in the wrong place. I’m after some urgent advice please.
I made a complaint to Cashplus on the 15th August, 2019, re irresponsible lending regarding a credit card they issued to me a few years ago. At that time I was caught up in the dreaded “PDL Cycle” and getting by each month by “robbing Peter to pay Paul”. The debt has been passed to a company called Lowell. My complaint was acknowledged immediately by Cashplus. However, I have since received County Court papers dated the 19th August, 2019 regarding the outstanding balance. I’m not sure who I should contact next i.e. the courts, Cash Plus or Lowells (or all 3?)
Is the fact I’ve made a complaint prior to the court papers being issued a defence?
Appreciate your thoughts please.
Thanks S
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you tell Lowell’s when you sent the complaint to Cashplus?
S says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the reply.
No I haven’t been in touch with anyone as yet. I’ve signed up this morning with http://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk and provided a detailed response regarding my reasons for disputing the claim.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok, if you are making any more complaints where you still owe a balance and it has been sold to a debt collector such as Lowell’s, make sure you tell the debt collector as then they can’t start court action. But as you didn’t tell them, that doesn’t apply.
Talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about your defence. The aim is probably to get the court case “stayed” while your complaint with the lender goes through… including if the complaint has to go to the Ombudsman where you can ask for priority as there is a court case underway. It is simpler usually to win your complaint than defend a court claim.
s says
Thanks Sara.
Paul says
Hi Sara my payday refunds with LS AND SUNNY have gone to the FOS the adjudicator has came back on the 6/8/19 and said both are getting upheld LS 6/69 loans and sunny 4/74 loans are all upheld don’t really understand it all to be honest is this a good outcome the loans taken out were from £50 to £350 max each month, my own fault getting into a vicious circle of debt but I no longer owe them a penny and hopefully I can reclaim some back is this likely to be the outcome now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This sound like good decisions for you.
The lenders can either accept the decisions and pay you or say No then it has to be looked at by a more senior person at FOS with the title of Ombudsman. Normally the Ombudsman agrees with the adjudicator but sometimes the number of loans is changed slightly. So your LS decision to refund 6-69 could change to 4-69 or to 9-69 for example.
Sometimes the lenders just ignore the adjudicator decision which is really annoying as it slows things down for another few weeks. Come back if you haven’t hear anything in a couple of weeks.
Paul says
Thanks very much for the reply appreciate that..yes I’ve heard nothing since the 6th of August, so this sounds positive, can I ask Sara how does the 8% work is that daily interest or just added on top of what they’ll offer?
Paul says
Sorry Sara again sunny have made a in-line offer it says on loans 44-74 already but the adjudicator hasn’t said what that means in the email.
Mike_p says
I think in-line just means the offer is in line with what the adjudicator recommended, rather than only making an offer on loans 7-10 when the adjudicator said 5-10 for example.
Paul says
Thanks mike just going to wait now maybe a month then contact the adjudicator personally see we’re we are at..good luck everyone
Ross says
Hi Paul,
Sorry to barge in, on your conversation, but the Sunny offer seems way off what the adjudicator has ruled. If I have read correctly, the adjudicator stated to refund on loans 4-74, whilst Sunny appear to be offering redress on loans 44-74, which is a massive 40 loans less and will be a LOT of interest they won’t have to pay, and redress. I would seek urgent clarification, from your adjudicator, before proceeding on this one.
Paul says
Hello Ross yes I thought that they’ve held there hands up on 30 loans that shouldn’t have been borrowed but yes the adjudicator has said 4-44 aswell And has upheld them aswell so 4-74 upheld is this a good outcome he has made that decision.
Ross says
4-74 is a very good outcome, but have Sunny only offered to payout on loans 44-74? If so, you may wish to consider letting an ombudsman look at your case. Yes, it will delay it further, but what you could (potentially) gain would make it well worth it. Sara may be able to offer her opinion too?
Paul says
Thanks for the advice Ross also have LS upheld at 6/69 loans by adjudicator so il leave it in his hands to were to go from here they had a deadline to both respond by the 20th of August so do you think it’ll be much longer for a response from both company’s?
Ross says
Hi Paul,
A lot of the companies are experiencing major backlogs, owing to the number of cases they’re trying to deal with. However, LS & Sunny are appearing to be either awkward and/or slow in dealing with cases. The adjudicator will, more than likely, grant the companies a further extension before putting it in the queue for the Ombudsman. You may be in for a long wait yet, but patience will pay off, as you can see from other stories/posts on here.
Good luck!
Paul says
Thanks Ross yes no rush just going to be patient now and hopefully it’ll pay off il be intouch if I hear anything and again good luck to everyone..thanks for the replies folks.
Dale says
Hi all. Lending stream rejected my complaint on 2nd May, I sent this off to the FOS the same day, a week ago I was appointed an adjudicator, Friday he ruled in my favour. I had 18 loans in total and he said LS need to repay 5-14. The long wait for LS to reply now begins he has given them until 13/9 to reply however judging by others I am probably looking more the end of the month. I have had my case looked at and picked up fairly quickly.
Due to the uncertainty with all lenders right now I am hoping to have this done and dusted ASAP and have a rough figure in my head of what I should get offered. Anything within 20% of this I will be accepting. How long do LS typically take to reply to adjudicators? And then pay?
Advice to others, if you have a case with LS at FOS, gather together everything, your loan statements, bank statements and credit file as I can only imagine this is why I’ve had such a speedy response from FOS.
Terry says
My current LS complaint has been pretty quick as well, just 5 months between complaining to LS and the FOS completing their investigation and LS accepting their outcome.
For me, LS replied on the 14 day (email sent at midnight!) of the 14 set by the adjudicator. I’m now in day 5 of waiting for payment of £2400, but I am fully expecting this to be completed on the 28th day. But looking at the posts about LS on this forum, I count myself quite lucky.
dale says
That’s great news I am looking at approx the same figure ish.
Did LS fight adjudicator decision?
How long did adjudicator take to inform you of LS offer?
It seems as though LS are making the complaints procedure as difficult as possible but keeping within the legal limits. Only taking complaints via online portal. Taking the max time to respond at all times that’s allowed, rejecting all claims with the same template, accepting adjudicator decisions and not appealing to ombudsman to prevent published results. They really are the worst of the lot.
Mike_p says
In my case it was 4 weeks to reply to the adjudicator and then 22 days to pay out.
Andy says
Hi , would it be worth doing affordability complaint on a company that only give you 1 loan ? I had other loans at the time and it was to pay off loans and also used for gambling it was for 1000 and I paid 2400 back from 118 money thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is definitely worth making a complaint where you only had one loan but it was large. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/ which has a slightly different complaint letter for these claims. Lots of success against 118 Money!
Linds says
Hi,
Does anyone know how long it takes for the outcome from the Adjudicator? I received an email on 27/8/19 from the adjudicator against QQ. Just wondering the time frame for the outcome?
Thank you
Linds
Kelly says
Hi, my QQ case was picked up by the Adjudicator on 8th August. I have had no outcome as of yet, although all my loans were over 6 years old so not sure if this would increase the length of time it takes. I emailed for an update yesterday but not had a reply yet.
Linds says
Thanks Kelly for your help.
Hopefully it won’t be too long before I get a response from the Adjudicator.
Linds
A says
Lending stream won’t put my payment on hold while my complaint is being investigated? Is this normal?
Joseph says
Yeah I believe they did the same with me, although if you explain you’re in difficulty they will put you on a reduced payment plan – Just don’t over do it, only pay what you can afford. Good luck!
Colin Brown says
Hi Joseph,
If you make a complaint against them whilst you have loans outstanding doesn’t this ruin your credit file?
I am in the position where they have miss sold loans and i want to complain, i have 2 loans that finish in about 3 months times so not sure whether to complain now or wait til they have paid.
cheers,
Col.
Jon Doe says
Hi Sara,
Quick update on QQ case. Picked up by adjudicator end of July , in Adjudicator ruled in my favour on loans 2-4 on 28/8/2019. QQ have accepted today ( which i thought is pretty swift by their standards). total redress 1480. Thank you so much for your help. Now let us hope they pay out as swiftly! Initial complaint rejected by QQ in April.
Caroline says
Hi there, I’m hoping someone can help.
This site is a great help, i’m very grateful. Thank you.
I have quick question, when contacting the various pay day loan companies, should I use the resolver site or email the lender directly.
I completed Wongas through the custom page that they have but I don’t know how to deal with the rest.
Apologies if it’s a daft question, just don’t know how to start :)
Many Thanks
JA says
Hello,
You can either write your own email directly to the lender or in my case I used a website called debthacker. It helped me keep a record of all responses about my complaints.
Hope this helps.
JA says
May I add , If youre complaining about lending stream you must do this directly on there website once logged in.
Mike_p says
I’d deal directly rather than involve a third party which could slow things down or make emails go astray. There are some templates on here which are very easy to adapt.
As JA says Lending Stream try to put people off complaining by only having an online form and not an email address. If you complain to them then keep a copy of what you typed into the box along with a note of when you complained as their auto acknowledge email doesn’t contain the text you typed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can use Resolver or DebtHacker if you want. Or just send the emails direct using the template in the article above.
Cases involving Lending Stream and Mr lender tend to get tangled up if you try to use Resolver or DebtHacker so for LS use the form on their website and for Mr Lender email them directly.
Emma says
Hi All
I’ve currently had my complaint upheld by FOS and redress approved by lending stream. I’m now in the 28 day wait process.
I’m reading online how many people aren’t getting refunds. Has anyone had any success with the refunds from LS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Everyone is getting paid it’s just very slow and painful
Emma says
Thank you for replying Sara. Trust pilot is full of people going over the 28 days or not getting their funds so was starting to think maybe they’re going into administration and won’t actually receive the money!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No they are just damned difficult and always have been, since 2016.
Lew says
I’m having a nightmare with lending stream complaint. Complained in January refejected in March sent to FOS in March and it’s still awaiting to be looked at! Some people seem to be getting it done from start to finish in 4 months.
Iain123 says
Can take a year or more. No rhyme or reason how the FOS work. Need to be patient.
Holly says
Lending stream have been great and so co operative and adhering to time scales it’s the adjudicator holding things up for me now sigh 😔
JA says
What’s your timeline been like with lending stream?
Surprised the adjudicator is holding things up what’s happened?
Oracle85 says
My timeline
Adjudicator rules in my favour and deadline of 30th August for Quickquid to accept or decline. Now passed this deadline and adjudicator is saying they are very busy and we need to give them more time? Hasn’t set a secondary deadline for them though? Have emailed Enova but no response any one else in same boat do FOS normally give a 2nd deadline or just leave it with the lender and how long before it just goes in ombudsmen queue?
Lisa G says
Yep I’m in the same boat. Sent my QQ complaint to FOS on 20/10/18. Adjudicator ruled in my favor on 08/07/19. QQ had until 23/07/19 to respond. I haven’t heard anything since, not from QQ or adjudicator, not about an extension or anything. I’m guessing they’re all very busy and with it being the summer holidays I’ve only chased twice by email and once by phone in this time. I’d rather allow QQ the extra time other than sit in an ombudsman queue. But I’ve accepted that it’s a long process 😞
Iain123 says
Yes, we were all in the same boat with all payday loan companies.
No option but to be patient, they’ll get to you eventually.
A A Ron says
Sunny trading as (how are we getting away with this ltd) had 16 loans in total with them all one after the other and some to pay there existing loans. Adjudicator thinks loans 4-16 should be refunded which is over £2100 with 8% interest have finally responded to my adjudicator after 6 weeks of waiting. They offered to refund loans 11-16 (£654) in total which I thought they might seeing other comments on this site they seem to offer really low amounts in comparison to the claim. Does anyone know how long it takes for an ombudsman to pick the case up after this stage as I’m not accepting the offer?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Love the rebrand…
Iain123 says
Couple of months. Worthwhile waiting, right?
Sarah Harrison says
The Ombudsman got back to me today, they where waiting for pounds to pocket to get back to them. They had an extension and yesterday was the last day. They agreed with the Ombudsman, but the Ombudsman said the figure offered was significantly lower than they expected and have went back to them to get it put right. So we wait for there response anyone had this before?
Holly says
Complained in April lending stream didn’t uphold ok June sent to fos and was picked up and looked in to within a few weeks LS sent their reply last week accepting the adjudicators decision I called them that day made sure they had the correct details for me and now I’m waiting for fos to send over my acceptance and I just say weirdly lending stream have been really pleasant and helpful over the phone
Paul Wakeman says
I have had pretty much the same scenario except I’ve done all mine via email. Complained in May to LS. They refused to uphold so went to FOS. FOS picked up case and Adjudicator made decision on 14 August. LS accepted decision at 2300 on 28 August and asked for me to confirm bank details. They also stated that the 28days for payment of redress starts from when the FOS confirm your acceptance to LS. That’s the part I’m still waiting for :(
Holly says
Hopefully we won’t be waiting to much longer ! I have contacted fos twice via email there is only so much we can do ho all goes well and congrats on your redress !
Andy says
What is it on your credit report you have to show the fos if it goes that far I dont really understand it thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your credit report is an overview of part of your financial situation. And it can show what anl Nader should have seen before they accepted your loan application.
Andy says
Which part of my credit report do I need there’s loads of different things on there , I’ve never used a credit report so it’s all new to me sorry haha
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Download and send the whole report to FOS
Lew says
Hi Sara just hoping for a bit of advice
My complaint with avant credit was assigned a adjudicator to look at with a response hopefully in a few days last week.
However I’ve been called from the ombudsman to say it’s been assigned to someone else now? Any advice on why or could that adjudicator just not make his mind up
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Perhaps the first adjudicator left the job, transferred to another department, went on maternity leave… it’s not really worth speculating about.
Neve says
Hi all,
Just an update on my Myjar complaint. They have upheld on loans 4-9 and will be refunding me around £1500! I have an outstanding balance of £500 with them which will be deducted but I’m so delighted! The rejected my initial complaint but the adjudicator agreed that it was irresponsible and they responded to agree within the two weeks given by The FO.
I have sent my bank details and they said it will take 10-15 days for me to receive my refund, does that sound about right?
Thanks so much Sara, your site has been invaluable to myself and so many others
Ross says
Well done Neve,
MYJAR also rejected my complaint, but agreed to uphold on 4 loans (the smallest, unsurprisingly) sent to Ombudsman and they upheld a lot more. They usually quote 10 days, but I ended up leaving a poor review on Trustpilot and, even though they were quite rude in their reply, they paid out that day.
Colin says
Can I ask you both, at the time you complained to them what happened to your monthly repayments?
Ross says
Hi Colin,
Firstly, they tried to put me on a repayment plan. I emailed them, advising that I DIDN’T want to be on a repayment plan and was concerned what this could, potentially, do to my credit record. At that time, my report had improved and I was also in a better position, financially. It was when I took out the loans, that I was in a dire place, owing to online gambling, which I have been free of since January this year. However, when I referred my complaint to the Ombudsman, they then set my payments to 3 months later than when they were due and also amended the amounts. I believe they do this whilst the Ombudsman investigated. As the payments were due later, than originally scheduled, these weren’t reported as being paid late and/or an arrangement. As it happens, when the case was upheld by the FOS, all of these loans were wiped from my record, as part of the redress so it made no difference anyway. Hope this helps?
Mike_p says
They were very good with me. I told the adjudicator I accepted their offer on a tuesday afternoon and supplied bank details, on the Thursday morning they emailed me saying they had closed the outstanding loan and on the Thursday morning I had the refund in my account.
k elizabeth says
Hi looking for some advice. back in December 2018 I complained to Safety net credit for irresponsible lending. They got back to me within 7 days stating they did not irresponsibly lend to me. So I took it to the FOS. The FOS agree with me that they irresponsibly lent to me. They gave SNC time to reply which they didn’t………It has now been handed to the adjudicator to decide what I will get…..However I have just received an email from the FOS stating that SNC have got in contact and they are willing to offer me £890 refund and wipe the credit history they have of me. I am dubious of what to do… What I want to know is.
1) Would this refund be the same amount as what FOS will deem? – I am aware that creditors offer lower refunds but because it is at the ombudsman are they allowed to offer lower? The ombudsman hasn’t agreed how much I am to be repaid except that I am to be given all interest back to me from 2015-2016 plus the 8% for the years.
2) if I was to say no to the offer and carry on with the FOS what happens if the FOS says I wasn’t irresponsibly lent?
Its very confusing its gone through 2 adjudicators at the FOS who have agreed in my favour, but I am waiting for the final decision by the ombudsman.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know how much interest you paid in 2015-16? If not, I think yiu should tell your adjudicator that you can’t make a decision until SNC have given you this figure.
Paula says
Heard back from Satsuma who have now upheld my complaint and got redress of £840 by cheque. I think I will accept it.
Just got LS, P2P, MyJar and Uncle Buck to hear from FOS now.
James says
Hi Paula
Did satsuma agree through the adjudicator or the ombudsmen or through your initial complaint with them ?, can you give the time frames it all took?
Satsuma has until the 3/9 to respond to the adjudicator for my redress but didn’t bother ..
Thanks
James
Paula says
I had referred it to the FOS as I originally complained on 7 May but they emailed direct today upholding my complaint. It hadn’t been picked up by FOS yet and I don’t think I’d get that much more so just decided to accept!
Paula
Kate says
Paula I have complained and complained to satsuma and heard nothing…..they have never ever acknowledged my complaint. I’ve now sent it over to the FOS who have not yet picked it up …… was it through FOS you got your redress?
Paula says
Think our posts just crossed over Kate, see above :)
I got a response at 8 weeks asking for 2 weeks more but hadn’t heard anything since! x
Callum says
Hi sara,
I used a company to pursue my claim. They advised me that I was not due anything back after pursuing with the FOS. I didn’t believe this and so rang the loan implant who advised me they sent payment to the company I instructed of £1900 2 weeks ago. What should I do as they are not even answering the phone
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who was the lender? did they say the case had gone to FOS or that they had settled your complaint directly?
Simon t says
Hi Sara
I have received a response from 247 moneybox 2 months after they rejected my complaint saying after looking in to my case further they will now uphold loans 53 to 67 and refund me £2000. This is a good amount of money to me but my question is what about the other 52 loans?
The case has not been picked up yet by the FOS after 2 months so I’m not sure what to do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you accept this offer, it is in full settlement of your complaint so it will end your FOS complaint, you can’t still complain about the other loans.
247 shouldn’t be contacting you directly. Can you phone up FOS and say you have had this offer from 247 and would like to talk to someone about it?
PH says
REJECT! REJECT! REJECT!!!
Firstly, 24/7 are abhorrent to deal with. They will not do anything unless you ring, and then when you do, you’ll be on hold for 55 minutes, to be told to email. They take an age to reply to emails (at least 10 days, and it’s always Abel who replies).
I had a case with 24/7, and had a total of 50 loans. They refunded loans 6-50, to the tune of £7.3k. Do not give up. The FOS is your best route, and whilst it may take a little longer, I have a feeling that if you fight this, you’ll win a minimum of 10-67, which by all intents and purposes, is probably about £10k+ probably more (looking at your borrowing from 53-67!). Chase the FOS at least once a week to find out what is going on with your case, as you are owed more than the £2k they have offered – they initally offered to write off £983 for me to close the complaint, and i got nearly 8 times that. Trust me on this, you sound like you’ve got a great case.
Simon t says
Thanks for the reply, much appreciated I will start to chase the FOS straight away.
Mr G says
Hi Everyone, just a quick note from a recent case I just had upheld by the Ombudsman. I took out a single loan with a firm called Nova Loans for £150 over a 3 month period about 2 years ago. I was reluctant to even submit a claim for this given it was one loan and a small amount compared to my income but as I was submitting about 25 other complaints about payday loans I thought, why not. The firm initially rejected my claim as expected so sent it to FOS, after about 7 months this was upheld by the adjudicator but was again rejected by the firm so went to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman upheld my complaint this week on the basis that while it was only one loan without any history of borrowing from that lender, that as I had numerous other payday loans at the time of taking out that loan, Nova loans should of seen this and not given me the loan.
I was surprised that this complaint was upheld as I have had other complaints rejected by the Ombudsman on what I thought were more convincing cases. Anyone thinking about not claiming where they have a single loan with a payday lender while they had other loans at the same time should reconsider.
A special note of thanks to Sara for this site, without it I would never have known I could make a complaint.
Elle says
Got my email from an adjudicator, she is looking into both my sunny and quick quid complaint. She is waiting for them to provide their information, any idea how long this could take? I have been very lucky as sent my complaints beginning of July I think it was.
I also have a complaint I sent about satsuma. Quick quid and sunny provided a final response but after sending my complaint to satsuma on 20 April I still haven’t had a final response so I sent this to FOS aswell. FOS emailed saying that they weren’t picking up my complaint with satsuma as the first stage was to give them 8 weeks to respond to my complaint. Slightly frustrated that FOS havent looked at it properly as if they had they would see that 8 weeks had LONG gone. I’ve emailed them back saying this and they haven’t responded yet.
Linds says
Hi,
The Adjudicator for my complaint against QQ emailed me on 27th Aug 19, saying they would be looking into the complaint, but not heard anything since.
Linds
Jonnym says
QQ update for anyone interested… complaint sent Feb 16 regarding loans over 6 years.
July 19 picked up by adjudicator ruling in my favour but QQ rejected. Picked up again 2 weeks ago by another adjudicator and QQ have now agreed to refund all payments.
Anita says
Hi. I have very similar case. Qq rejected adjudicator decision in May. Still waiting for another to pick. Apparently every case is different…
Jo says
Hi
I am in a similar position to you QQ rejected adjudicator findings on 22nd July, now I am just in the queue for an ombudsman, I just wondered why another adjudicator picked up your case?i think I’m in for a long wait :(
Gemma says
Quick update on lending stream complaint which got picked up by an adjudicator on 12th August ( this has been with them since June) 22nd August the adjudicator apologised for the delay and told me they were looking into it, 28th August I received an email advising I should be refunded loans 4-42 and they had sent there findings to lending stream waiting for a response and had given them until 6th September. Received an email from lending stream today asking me to confirm my bank details were correct and they had replied to the ombudsman and were waiting my response. I haven’t heard from the ombudsman yet but have chased this up today so hopefully will have some answers tomorrow.. it’s been a longggggg wait originally this complaint was with pay day refunds in 2018 but was going know where so I took this to the ombudsman myself. Be patient people :-)
David S says
Hey Gemma.
i’ve had the exact same thing from the FOS, but you’re right it’s worth waiting for. I received what appears to be a standard email from LS advising they were agreeing with the adjudicators decision and if any money was to be paid to get in touch with them regarding bank details etc however the email gave no details with regards to what they were agreeing to.
As a heads up for all – if you call the FOS on 0800 023 4567 you can speak with the team there who can bring all the case history up on screen, and advise exactly what is happening.
On another note, I noticed you used Paydayrefunds who have recently ceased trading. I was sent an email from them at the end of July advising that they were partnering with another organisation to speed up the process of the claim with the FOS (mine has been close to 14 months), but I questioned why they would need another company involved with an existing complaint. They did not provide the details advising that PDR were no longer going to be trading, and I have discussed this with the FOS who’ve advised that they are no longer responding to any contact from them.
This will no save the 30% fee they were charging for handling the complaint as well.
Glad to read that so many are having success with their complaints.
Gemma says
Hi David
I received the same email from pay day refunds which I ignored, I gave up hope with them months ago the claims were going know where so in the end I contacted the FOS myself which luckily has paid off .. I’m not expecting LS to refund the amount until the 28 days are up but thankfully it is finally sorted. The FOS have been superb really considering the amount of complaints they are dealing with I didn’t expect mine to be sorted so quickly!
David S says
Great stuff Gemma!
FOS advised they will deal with the acceptances (from you) of the settlement within 5 working days, then add the 28 days for LS on top.
Glad to hear you got it all sorted.
Sara says
Two week deadline adjudicator gave QQ was 15th May 2019. Its now 4/9/19 and all I get when I ask whats going on is ”We’re still currently looking into this with the business and will let you know once we have any updates”
No wonder QQ are ignoring the FOS as nothing happens to them
GM says
That’s ridiculous. Can you not take it to the ombudsman? Give them a call as well
Sara says
I’ve asked and she says that it will just delay it even more. I have emailed her again tonight and asked her to call QQ or to give me a number and I will do it myself
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The FOS approach has recently got QQ to accept several thousand adjudicator decisions it had previously rejected. I hope they will now be accepting more adjuicator decisions – that is what FOS wants.
But I do understand how frustrating this is. One thing you could do is to tell the FCA, their regulator, how QQ is just prolonging the whole complaints preocess.
Go into detail not about the details of your loans from QQ but about the length of time this is taking and the stress it is causing you.
This will not help your case directly at all – the FCA won’t look at your situation or talk to QQ or FOS about your case. But it’s easy to do and it’s good for the regulator to see how delays in complaint handling by an authorised firm is affecting its customers.
The email should go to consumer.queries@fca.org.uk.
Also cc it to ndrew@enova.com (Nick Drew, the CEO) and cmurray2@enova.com.
Use “CashEuroNet UK LLC 673738” as the email subject line – that is QQ’s legal name and FCA number..
In your email make it clear your complaint is already with FOS – give the FOS complaint number – and you know the FCA won’t investigate this, but you wanted them to know how QuickQuid’s slow complaint handling is affecting customers.
Sara says
Hi Sara
Thanks I will try this
Sara
Emma says
Loans 2 Go are an absolutely shocking company! I arranged a payment plan with them, then looking at my expenses, realised I couldn’t afford it so I emailed to arrange a new plan. So they sent me an income and expenditure form, I filled it out and sent it off, yet they STILL took more money on the arranged pay day. Today I then received an email from the litigation sector of their company explaining I will be handed a CCJ if I don’t pay in 7 days!! Awful, and I only borrowed £500, paying back £1560!
What is my case against them? I would really like to make a complaint about their interest.. I have read the articles on here about them but I am at a bit of a loss at what to do next. Any help greatly appreciated.
Emma
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Dreadful company – and I have called their 18 month loans “the worst loan in Briatin”…
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/worst-loan-in-britain/ – as that says you can complain that the loan was unaffordable for you AND that the interest rate was unreasonabley high. Most people should complain about both points.
Normally you won’t get anywhere at the Ombudsman saying the interest rate was too much, but for this particular loan you can, and there is a link to an ombudsman decision there showing what the ombudsman thinks of this particular loan.
Emma says
Thank you Sara, I will do that!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Also when you have a complaint in with them directly or at the Ombudsman they should NOT start legal action. I suggest you add a sentence to your complaints saying “As I am disputing this debt, the FCA’s CONC rules say you should not start any legal action.”
Ann says
Hi Sara can I ask a question I sent a complaint to loan to go and it now with the ombudsman reading you last response am I right saying they can’t default my account if it with the ombudsman.I have a reference number but it not been assigned yet thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I said a creditor can’t start legal action. That has nothing to do with adding a late payments or a default to your credit record.
Sarah says
Hi Sara I want to say thank you to you, three months ago is stuck in a loop with snc and 247 money box and couldn’t see a way out, I didn’t know about irresponsible lending until I read your site. As of today both companies have written off my outstanding balances and I’ve had a small redress of 500. I now have no outstanding pay day loans, my wages are mine, the last two months budgeting has been easier. I bought myself new bedding and a new lip stick today with no guilt and that’s an amazing feeling.
I’ve also had a larger amount back from qq and the rest are being handled by administrators.
Thank you so so much
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lovely!
Holly says
Good for you Sarah well done ! :) xxxx
Anon says
Hi Sara,
Followed your instructions last night regarding refunds via template method, question, i logged onto QQ just now to see if there was the history of my lending there to view from few years ago but nothing was stated on their site. Obviously i know this to be incorrect as i have all the emails with contract information, is this anything to worry about?
Side note – the loans were made 2015-2016 – i added the all the interest which was about £500 Maybe slighly more.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you have put in a complaint? I wouldn’t worry about not being able to see the loan details, it sounds as though know them all.
PH says
Guys,
If anyone wants to hit me for some advice, I feel like I’m in a reasonable place to offer it
My history :-
50 loans with 24/7 Moneybox – redress on loans 6-50 – £7.3k!
78 loans with Wonga ( I was one of the lucky ones who was refunded before they went pop) – £5.5k
65 loans with PDUK/PD Express (currently with ICL for claim back – not looking to get much from this)
6 loans with Mr Lender – redress received for 4 loans – £1,1k
3 loans with Ferratum (also Nova Loans) – no redress but gesture of goodwill paid – £150
5 loans with My Jar – with the Ombudsman as we speak
11 x loans with Uncle Buck – redress received for 5 loans – £316
3 loans with Cash4UNow – redress received for 2 loans – £403
I’ve been through the process with everyone except SNC by the looks of it, so am more than happy to support anyone to get out of this cycle. I am out of it now, and it’s only through this site that I am. I want to pay it forward if I can, so fire away.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s a great help if people who have seen a lot of these complaints can pop back in within theirs are finished and reply to new people asking questions!
Joseph says
Well done for getting through the Cash4UNow. I remember they called me ‘vexatious’ in my complaint and kept reminding me that they had only 1 upheld complaint in 2017 and it wasn’t worth me taking to FOS. Nevertheless although they reject every complaint I’ve seen they strangely offer really good ‘goodwill’ gestures, so I accepted.
Sean T says
Hello, within the last week, I have resolved 5 low level complaints with various lenders and I have escalated 4 to FOS. I owe 247MONEYBOX £470 after I took out £400. (1took out 18 in 2 yrs). I complained and they rejected same outright. When they gave me their final response I offered to pay £35 per month whilst the matter is being investigated by the Ombudsman. However, I got a letter two days ago asking for the full payment within 28 days or they will send a notice of default to CRA. Is this normal when I am offering a payment and seeking a repayment plan? I cannot afford the full amount and £35 is my maximum. Any advice? Should I make the £35 payment or wait. I have complained again, yesterday about their treatment of me and their letter. All help welcomed. Ps, I took out about 100 loans with various payday loan companies within the last 2 years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are legally entitled to add missed payamnets, payment arrangements or a defualt to your credit record. But any negative marks should be deleted if you win your case.
If you can afford the 35 without hardhsip, it’s easiest to carry on making it. If you are struggling, I suggest you offer a lower amount.
Paula says
Can someone tell me how to download my credit history for 6 years from Credit Karma or Clearscore please? Not obvious from having a look!
Thanks
Paula
Holly says
Hi Paula if you go on a laptop or pc you can press Ctrl p on the report and it will print I hope this helps
Paula says
Thanks Holly. I am being pretty stupid here I think, how do I generate a historic report?
Holly says
No not at all don’t be silly ! Is this on credit karma you mean ??
Paula says
Yeah credit karma. A girl from FOS called me earlier re my Uncle Buck complaint and asked me for it but I can’t figure it out!
Ross says
Hi Paula, the simple answer here is that you can’t. However, your accounts will show historic data within your report. If you’re on Credit Karma, click on one of your accounts and you will see the history, showing when you paid and if you paid on time etc. Hope this helps?
Brian says
Update on Myjar Complaint:
Loan one Jan 2018 £500 over 3 months Interest £100
Loan two Apr 2018 £1000 over 6 months Interest £720
Loan three Oct 2018 £1000 over 12 months Interest £620 (paid early from funds received from Avant redress)
Timeline so far:
Sent complaint to FOS 18/07/2019
Reference received 29/07/2019
Phone call from adjudicator 28/08/2019
Email from adjudicator upholding loan 3 of 3 05/09/2019.
Thinking Ill just accept this offer and be done with Myjar.
Loan 2 was just as unaffordable (actually more) as the third loan but adjudicator says that basically they dont need to check early on in the lending relationship. Obviously disappointed with this attitude but hearing stories of people waiting 18 months for an ombudsman probably easier to just take this and move onto the next complaint.
That is unless Myjar dispute this decision in which case I will be pushing the ombudsman for a result on the second loan too!
Ross says
Hi Brian,
From what I’ve read on here, and from personal experience, MYJAR tend to agree with the adjudicator. As it’s not a huge amount, I think they will. Mine was £1300+ and they agreed with the adjudicator. Hope you can put this one to bed!
Mike_p says
MyJar agreed with the adjudicator in my case. It took about a month to get an acceptance and offer via the adjudicator, but I had the refund in my account two days after telling the adjudicator I accepted.
Jaz says
Hi Sara
I just got a reply back from saftey net offering me a one off gratis payment of £150 pounds, I don’t believe this is based on all the intrest and charges I paid them, I was wondering can i tell them im not happy with the offer. otherwise im thinking if i do go through with the FOS it might take months.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you still owe them any money? Do you know how much interest you have paid?
Jaz says
Hi Sara
I cleared the loan with safety net in 2016, I was with them about a year or just over, there took regular payments every week out of my account, and I just kept on taking more loans one after another soon as I cleared 1, I took another and so on untill I stopped lending from them as it was just getting me more in debt.
Jaz says
Hi Sara
I don’t know how much interest I had paid during the whole term, it was a loan where there took weekly payments to pay off the loan, sometimes it took a couple of months to pay off, and some other loans it took 3 to 4 months, but every time I cleared each loan I straight away took another, it went on for just over a year of weekly payments. But im 100% sure I payed more than £150 pounds on interest and charges, on what there are refunding to me back.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, £150 does sound as though it may well be low!
I suggest you go back to them and say you would like details of the amount you borrowed and the amount you have repaid before you can decide whether to accept their offer.