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?
Robert Higgs says
I sent various complaints on 28/08/2019. Some have come back and I have received compensation. Two however have not even acknowledged (I have also chased them once for a response). The 8 week period has passed without reply (These are Sunny and Quick Quid) What is the next step? Do I email demanding payment? or is there another route I must go?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sunny – phone them up and ask why they haven’t replied to your complaint.
QuickQuid – unfortunately they went into administration last week. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/quickquid-casheuronet-administration/ for what happens now.
John says
Can someone give me some advice please.
I am I real difficulty just now with repaying a Satsuma loan.
I initially took out a £400 loan in Feb this year. I have not missed a single payment.
I than started to fall behind with my credit cards, and catalogue payment and had a couple of other payday loans with Peachy and Lending Stream.
Satsuma offered me a £1300 loan in June this year. I took this, and cleared Peachy and Lending stream and also brought credit cards and catalogue up to date and cleared the other satsuma loan for £400.
I am now struggling big time to repay this each month and I have let credit cards and catalogue slip, basically sending me back to square 1, minus the other payday loans.
I do not want to stop paying this, but feel that I have no choice, in order to manage my other debts.
Does anyone know what my options are here? Are Satsuma likely to agree to a reduced payment plan, even though the debt hasn’t been defaulted?
Can I complain and send an affordability complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can send them an affordability complaint. Use the template letter above. Normally it is hard to win a “one loan complaint” but this is a big loan so send your complaint to the ombudsman at 8 weeks if Satsuma haven’t responded (they are VERY slow, don’t give them more time) or they have rejected you.
BUT it sounds to me as though this isn’t your only problem debt. I think you should talk to StepChnage about a debt management plan that could get the interest frozen on your cards and catalogues. That would give you a real chance of getting out of debt, not being just about managing until a bad month when things go wrong. See https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
Char says
Hi all, I am really pleased to be getting a full refund for my piggy bank loan. The interest and 8% totals £515.00, which means a lot to me. I used the template and sent my complaint by email on 30th August. I recieved an email on 22nd October from piggy bank agreeing to settle my complaint in full. Thank you Sara for this site, it’s invaluable!
NA says
I have, what may seem to be, a stupid question. I’ve logged around 5 complaints through the FOS across various dates against different companies. I’ve now had a response asking for document evidence but i don’t know which claim ties together with which reference. Can you log in and track your complaint on the FOS site (I’ve looked and can’t find it) or is there any other way other than email them asking?
Myles says
You can’t log in but if you call and speak to them, they should be able to tell you which complaint the reference number relates to. I called them today to get a reference number for a new complaint that I submitted that I wanted to provide more evidence for.
Iain123 says
Please keep detailed records, it’s easy to get wires crossed.
Mike_p says
I made a few complaints with them and they said that they kept one file containing all my bank statements and linked it to the various cases.
You will have to supply documentation for every complaint at some point, so you might as well send them everything now inlcuding bank statements for the entire period and say what is related to which complaint. That will get everything in the system and should avoid any delays later if they have to ask for anything.
AJK says
Hi all,
I’ve made complaints to circa 12 lenders on the 20th of October and today the first decision has landed – so after only 9 days Sunny decided not to uphold my complaint. I’ve had 5 loans back to back and a pretty strong case in my opinion. Can I go directly to FOS with this or should I appeal with Sunny first?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sunny don’t usually negotiate.
Dean says
Hi all.
Sunny talk about payment will be made in line with final response letter, this information is a bit weak. Is the final response letter, the letter from the ombusman or a letter sunny send. May be stupid question but really not sure what is meant by this. Will really help people to get an idea of payout time scales.
Mike_p says
Have they agreed with the decision that the FOS made?
Dean says
Not as such was final desicion and legally binding.
Scott says
Hi Dean,
Sunny’s wording is a bit rubbish.
They basically have 28 days to pay from the date you accept the decision.
I assume you have advised the FOS that you accept the Ombudsman decision.
Scott
Dean says
Scott.
Thank you for that information was exactly what i was asking. Thanks for the answer.
From dean
Darren says
Not sure if you are able to, but anyone that goes over the time, I would say email the Elevate MD, as I mentioned in my own comment earlier this week, I emailed the MD last week, he passed the complaint to the Elevate complaints manager, who then upheld and paid my complaint within 7 days, the payments was in within 24 hours of upholding.
Ali says
I have a final descion from ombudsman level that doesn’t mention any timescale…I accepted and FOS emailed me to say they have passed on my acceptance and that Sunny should be in contact within 4-8 weeks and to let them know after that time if they haven’t paid me, no actual 28 days for me on any of my paperwork. I accepted 7th October and not heard a peep yet apart from an automated email.
Jack says
Has anyone received a response from Satsuma to an Adjudicator decision and how long did it take? Mine is about 4 weeks over the deadline now.
Deb says
Not really the best situation for everyone with QQ myself included BUT my complaint with Lending Stream has been picked up by the FOS within 7 days !! Now to see if I can get this complaint sorted before LS decide to quit the UK.
Myles says
Can I ask when you submitted your case for Lending stream? I submitted a complaint for Sunny about a month ago and haven’t heard a thing. I called them to get the reference number to send supporting documentation to avoid any delays. I’m hoping I’m not in for another long wait after waiting a year and losing out with QQ.
Deb says
Hi I submitted my complaint on the 17th October by the online form on the FOS website.
Myles says
Thanks Deb. I don’t understand how they work through complaints. I submitted mine on the 17th September and haven’t heard anything back.
Holly says
I’m in the same situation at the moment today was their third extension to reply to adjudicators findings and morning again so far
Matt says
Hi Jack,
The adjudicator had given Satsuma until 5 September initially and they completely ignored this date. It was extended 3 or 4 times and they were given a final extension until last Friday, which “surprise” they ignored. The adjudicator has now emailed me saying that he has passed my complaint on to the Ombudsman now for consideration.
It is very frustrating indeed, but I am hopeful that the Ombudsman agrees with the Adjudicator, I just appreciate that it is going to take a lot longer now to be resolved. I find it disgraceful really that Satsuma simply ignore the adjudicator and hopefully this is taken into consideration when the Ombudsman looks at the complaint.
If any one has any ideas if there is anything I can do personally then I would be most grateful.
Jack Dann says
Such a shame Matt, this is why i’m asking to see if anyone has actually got a response from Satsuma or whether they just outright do not respond. It seems to be the latter.
B says
Clearly the FOS hasn’t learnt their lesson from all these companies going bust! Why they still allow ‘extensions’ is beyond me.
I’m so pleased all my complaints were sorted before Payday lending claims shot through the roof! If I was dealing with the FOS now I would be extremely frustrated and beyond disappointed with what they are allowing these companies to get away with
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS allows extensions because it is generally a faster way of getting a mass of complaints resolved than pushing them all through to an Ombudsman level decision.
There are only 10% of the number of Ombudsman that there are adjudicators. An Ombudsman decision is more formal, it is legally binding, and it usually takes longer to produce than an adjudicator decision. It is NOT a rubber stamp of an adjudicator decision. So to push all of a lender’s cases though to an ombudsman level will result in enormous and very prolonged queues to get them decided – it is simply not a fast solution.
What is important is that the lender understands the basis the FOS makes decisions and accepts all the “obvious” ones at adjudicator level. It’s fine for the lender to not accept a “marginal” decision or one where they think the adjudicator has simply got it wrong in that particular case.
So where you see adjudicator says that discussions are going on with the lender, it is trying to achieve this understanding. And in many cases it works. eg there was a big log jam for lending Stream complaints 6 months ago, now that appears to have been sorted and lots of them are getting settled.
The other point is that where companies have gone bust, if FOS had pushed through more decisions more quickly, they would simply have gone bust sooner.
NB I don’t think Satsuma is in any financial trouble. Provident are either being difficult or have been woefully slow to staff their complaints department adequately, or both.
Holly says
In ref to the last satsuma comment I think both Sara ! Xx
Turtle says
FOS adjudicator came back to me re Lending Stream complaint today. Not upheld.
I had 7 loans as below;
10/15 – 12/15
3/16 – 11/16
04/16 – 04/16
12/17 – 03/18
04/18 – 05/18
05/18 – 08/18
08/18 – outstanding
I’ve paid them around £2k In interest.
I have a history of extensive payday loans, living in overdrafts and credit card debt.
It’s like they adjudicator hasn’t even read my complaint or looked at my credit report.
Thoughts?
Myles says
Just take it to the ombudsman or call and speak to your adjudicator. It may have something to do with the gaps between some of your loans but if you were using other loans in between and using these loans to pay off other companies or debt then you should still have a case. I’d speak to them to understand why they rejected and you’ll probably find you can supply more documentation to prove your case.
D says
I’m I. The same boat today; adjudicator saying the same, also stated the company did not have access to my credit file in full so apparently did not have the same information as me!
I’ve asked for clarification…. concerning since FOS initially rejected complaint saying the company was not authorized by them, which they did apologies for getting it wrong!
cindy says
Hi D
I have made a complaint regarding affordability regard payday loans and expensive loan and reloan with everyday finance, i am aware i need a copy of my credit file would it be at the time i took the loans or the time i have made the complaint.
many thanks
Cindy
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large were each of these loans?
The third loan – you had it for less than a month?
Turtle says
10/15 – 12/15 £300
3/16 – 11/16 £800
04/16 – 04/16 £100
12/17 – 03/18 £1000
04/18 – 05/18 £400
05/18 – 08/18 £700
08/18 – outstanding £1050
Re loan 3, during loan 2 I was able to get an aditional small loan via the LS website. I was struggling and short of money so I took it.
FOS adjudicator said the gap between loan 3 and 4 was approx 1.5 years so loan 4 onwards should be considered a new lending relationship HOWEVER I have spotted a discrepancy in his assessment as loan 2 was actually repaid 7 months later than loan 3 so the gap is considerably shorter than the 1.5 years he has stated.
I also had a payment plans on loans 2 and 7. Surely LS knowing I struggled to pay loan 2 should have made more checks but instead decided to lend me 5 for loans for even more amounts!
I don’t see how the adjud has come to this decision.
Turtle says
Well the adjudicator still thinks LS acted responsible after I highlighted the discrepancy in his assessment and salient points.
Quite baffled by this decision tbh. I’ve asked this to be reviewed by an ombudsman obviously but I’ve lost some faith in the FOS.
In my view, an ombudsman (or anyone) studying my case will recognise the irresponsible actions of Lending Stream. Problem is by the time it gets looked at, will Lending Stream still be around.
ELle says
Wow I am so happy! Adjudicator rules in my favour for loans 5-42 with sunny!! Total of around £5000 in interest I paid. Does anyone know how to work out the 8% interest on top? The date I started paying was 20/6/2015 and adjudicator said 8% from then until the complaint is settled. So let’s say they agree by 13th November which is what they have been given until to respond. What will the 8% be on top?
Thanks guys!!
Michelle says
Have Sunny agreed with the adjudicator though, the only reason I ask is that FOS agreed similar on my case then sunny counter offered after 3 weeks and after the original sunny outcome was 50 loans lent continuously wasn’t wrong at all and they wouldn’t give anything
Now in que for ombudsman ☹️
Good luck though
ELle says
I’ve realised it’s not that simple to work out the 8% interest after having a read on here. Not sure what you mean Michelle, they counter offered and then came back and offered nothing? Not sure how they’d do that? They have already agreed to pay me £2800 for loan 37-42 so FOS haven’t even looked at them loans as sunny have already accepted they shouldn’t have leant them
cindy says
I am a little confused i have made an affordability complaint regarding two loans and a payday loan, you state that i need a copy of my credit file, is this my credit file as of today or at the time i took the loans out.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is your current credit record. If you have an old one from the time you took the loans saved on your computer, that would be great, but almost no-one has those so a copy of your current report is the best you can do.
Deb says
Myles I was shocked when the email came there this morning as I thought I’d be waiting months, I have no clue why it was picked up so quick this is the first one I’ve taken to the FOS as Mr Lender were really good and paid out within 4 weeks of my complaint direct to them. QQ obviously have gone into administration and I was 2 weeks away from their decision before taking it to FOS. I have others outstanding with The Money shop scheme too. I hope yours gets picked up soon :)
Myles says
Thanks Deb. I’ll hopefully hear back soon. My last complaint was with QQ and was with FOS for a year but obviously I’ve missed out on that one now due to the recent news. Hopefully this one gets picked up soon. Good luck!
Ts says
I haven’t seen many comments regarding WizzCash here. I used them a year or so ago for a few loans, no where near as much as other loans I have or had complained about, but thought I’d complete the list of lenders I used and I made a complaint against them.
They replied within 3 days offering me a £1150 refund for 7/9 loans and after I accepted paid within 30 minutes. A great result and really good response from the lender.
Mike_p says
Has anyone had any experience getting a refund from CashASAP?
Diddy says
I had numerous loans with them and put in a complaint. They initially made a low offer, I went back to them with a counter offer expecting they would reject. A few emails back and forth and we came to an acceptable offer for us both (it was pretty close to my counter offer). Confirmed my bank details with them and it was paid out at 5pm that day. By far the best lender I dealt with.
Good luck, hope you get the same result.
Mike_p says
Sounds like a good result. How long did it take them to make the offer if you don’t mind me asking?
Diddy says
Took full 8 weeks of receiving my complaint but only one day to get it all resolved.
James says
Yeah cashasap were decent to work with made me a lowish offer but then we agreed on a decent offer money paid in within 24 hours
Mike_p says
Thanks I’ll see how I get on. I’d complained to most lenders and and didn’t think I’d used them enough to complaim, but checking my account it turns out I actually used them 7 times.
sam says
Hey Sara
I sent my lending stream complaint to the FOS about 7/8 weeks ago and nothing back from them yet.
I know i should be paitent but is there any way i can chase or is there nothing till someone picks my case up?
Myles says
I’m in the same boat Sam, I called the other day to get a case reference number so that I could send through the documentation number and they were able to give me this but said it hadn’t yet been assigned. Someone else on here the other day said that they heard back within a week though so they do seem to just randomly pick cases which is frustrating.
Laura says
Hi, how do you work out the 8% interest? Adjudicator has ruled in my favour for loans 4-10 from lending stream and advises that they should calculate 8% simple interest on the individual payments made. So for example if I paid back a £300 loan in 3 monthly instalments of £200 on 1st june 2012, 1st july 2012 and 1st August 2012, how would I work out what they owe me? I’m aware that sometimes they come back with a counter offer, so want to work out what I am potentially owed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So the simple way is to assume all the interest payments were made at the end of the loans ie August 2012. You know how much interest you paid on that loan? Say it was £250 (I just made that up). Then August 17 was 7 year 2 months ago at 8% per year = about 57% interest added on to the refund for that loan.
Laura says
Thanks. All loans were between May 2012 and June 2013. After I take the principal amounts off the total amount I paid, it works out at about £1100. So if its approximately 40-50% on top of that, I at least know what to expect.
Joe says
Has anyone got anything back from safety net credit.
Tony says
Hi Joe had £600 interest wiped off today with safetynet. stick with it it will come.
Steven says
Hi Sara
Got my final response from uncle buck have so say working in complaints and customer service it’s one of worst letters I have ever read. Basically saying I lied and also a paragraph saying that there cases very rarely get overturned by the FOS going to send it to the FOS. But the person dealing with my complaint wants to speak with me on the phone do you see any point in this as I know from my research they seldom change there mind?
Steve
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s odd to want to speak to you after they have sent the final letter. How many loans did you have from them?
Steven says
5 in total with interest totalling £1200 no breaks in the chain.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could phone them and offer a compromise of getting a refund for loans 4 & 5? If they don’t want to listen or are talking about your application being inaccurate or vexatious just say it’s going to the Ombudsman and put the phone down.
Mike_p says
They are well known for being unpleasant to deal with, it seems to be their standard approach to try and intimidate you and dissuade you from taking the complaint further (which will cost them around £500 whtever the outcome is). They put this paragraph in the reply:
“If you choose to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service and provide them with bank statements or other proof of outgoings at the time to support claims that your loans from us were not affordable and/or mis-sold, we may ask to have sight of these and will ask you to explain any discrepancies between the information supplied to us at the time of your applications.”
It took it to the FOS anyway and never heard any more from them. They also said that my complaint was “frivolous and vexatious” and appeared to be based on a template, even though their reply was itself clearly a template and the above paragraph was word for word identical to what someone else posted on here.
Joseph says
Said the same to me Steven. Don’t be phased, took them to FOS and upheld my complaint, being nasty isn’t going to work! Also, you only have to go onto ombudsman decisions to see that FOS ARE upholding a lot of Uncle Buck complaints, they’re delusional! Submit your complaint ASAP
Steven says
Thanks Joseph already sent it off this morning how many loans were in your chain? I checked the FOS have upheld 79 complaints against Uncle Buck this year so far.
Joseph says
Hi Steven, I only had 4! One of my smaller lenders in the past, ombudsman upheld loans 2-4. Good luck !
Elle says
Hi guys I am really confused don’t know if anyone can help. So on 30/10/19 adjudicator ruled in my favour for loans 5-37 with sunny. I have not heard anything from her or sunny yet but today I have had an alert to changes to my credit report and 6 of my sunny loans have been removed? Any idea what is going on? Sunny in their original offer to me before going to FOS offered me loans 37-43 not sure if this bears any relevance. adjudicator said she wasn’t even considering these in her report as they had already admitted they shouldn’t lend them but she agreed they shouldn’t have so she just left that one and worked on loans 1-37
Elle says
Sorry I meant the adjudicator worked on loans 1-36 as sunny accepted when I first complained to them that they shouldn’t have leant loan 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 and 43. Initially I thought sunny must be removing the ones they had already offered me but that doesn’t add up anyway as they offered to refund me 7 and they have only removed 6 from my credit report
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though this is just what Sunny originally offered. There hasn’t been time for Sunny to have considered the adjudicator decision and update your credit record because of that.
Elle says
But I never accepted their offer?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m not saying it is sensible for Sunny to do this, I’m just saying what I think has happened. It won’t affect the fact that your complaint is still open at the Ombudsman and that it is waiting for Sunny to decide to accept or not.
Elle says
Thank you, I am now thinking Sara that there is no dispute over loan 37-43, sunny offered them to me and adjudicator hasn’t looked at them as a result; other than to say she agrees they should refund them. So Maybe I should contact sunny because regardless of the rest of the loans they have agreed these ones so presumably they can start processing the refund of 37-43?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think they are going to do this and you don’t want it to sound as though you are accepting their first offer in full settlement of your complaint. Hopefully they will now accept the adjudicator decision and you can soon have your full refund.
Elle says
Yes hopefully they will respond before 13th November which is the time frame given by adjudicator otherwise I’ll be going into another que for ombudsman :(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If they don’t, leave them a bad review on Trust Pilot: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/sunny.co.uk. That sometimes kicks them into action.
Danny Davis says
I rejected an offer from Sunny 2 months ago for loans 39-49 (£2,100) and to wipe the £400 I still had outstanding.
When I rejected they immediately wiped the £400 and closed the account, these 10 loans are now coming off my next Credit Report, I think whatever the FOS decide, Sunny agree those 10 loans shouldn’t have been issued so are removing them anyway.
Andy says
Hi Sara , satsuma deadline was up over a week ago I’ve rang my claim management company and they said they said they can’t find me on there system and they ring me back but I’ve chased it up and they’ve said the same thing but heard nothing do I just go ahead with Fos myself or ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who can’t find you on their system, Satsuma or the Claims Company?
Andy says
The claims company they said they said there.having problems they will get back to me but they haven’t so I rang and said the same thing but I just want to get the ball rolling and don’t really wanna wait much longer
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suggest you phone Satsuma and ask if a complaint has been submitted in your name.
Andy says
Yeah they have definitely submitted it the deadline was last week I just don’t really know what to now do I wait or just go ahead with it myself
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you may as well take it over yourdslef as they don’t seem to be doing anything.
But do inform them of this in writing, not on the phone. I suggest you email the claims company and say that you have twiced phoned them up and they have said they can’t find you on their system and they will phone you back. As they haven’t done this, you are taking over handling all claims yourself as they have failed to keep you informed about what is happening and you have no confidence in their ability to progress your claims accurately and speedily. Say you are withdrawing your authorisation for them to talk to landers aor the Ombudsman. Add that if you the claims you will not be paying them any fees as they have wasted a lot of your time.
Andy says
Okay I will send them an email , also they did manage to sort one claim out for me which I’m waiting for payout so shall I pay them there cut of that and do this one on my own then , thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh yes, pay them for the one they have completed.
Chris says
Hi All
Firstly thank you to Sara for creating this, I’d had no idea on the right to complain until coming across this
I used the template 8 weeks ago and had the following success without needing to use FOS
Ferratum- £20 redress
Sunny- £1300 redress
UB- £400 redress
Wonga – £1800 redress (let’s wait and see what I actually get back)
For those who are still waiting, good luck & for those who have not yet submitted a complaint for affordability issues, what are you waiting for!
Simon says
No need to use the FOS?! you are lucky!
Joy says
If you’ve had a DRO, and some of these companies were included can you still make a claim?
So if used Sunny and Wonga in past and these were NOT in DRO can i claim?
If quick quid was can i?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sunny – yes, use template letter in article above
Wonga – no, the final date for claims to the Wonga administrators was the end of September
QuickQuid – yes but you will have to put in a claim to the administrators AND there may be a set off against the balance you owed them in the DRO
Lani G says
Hi all,
I’ve just started the process of submitting a complaint with Sunny, I hit a tough spell earlier this year and now I’ve managed to get out of it (thanks to friends and family) I have been going through statements and realised I’ve had 20 loans with Sunny – just this year – appx 3 or 4 per month, totalling about £3k.
I have paid off many of them early, but then re-borrowed quickly – I was gambling and then re-borrowing money from other lenders. Do you think I have a decent chance of getting something back?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not from Sunny directly, they don’t tend to make an offer to anyone who has been borrowing for less than a year. But yes if you send the case to the Ombudsman when sunny say No.
Also put complaints into any other payday lenders you have used now. Don’t try to do these sequentially, the process takes too long for that. Did you have any other high cost credit?
Darren says
If Sunny decline, then I would say when you send to the ombudsman, also email Elevates director (I posted his email earlier in the thread with my outcome), as they relooked at Sunny’s decision and actually paid out before Ombudsman was involved/picked up the case fully.
Sorry if I have posted this on a few things on here, I just think it does help speed things up and I want to give back some advice after the amount I have received that helped.
Adam says
Hi darren.
Cant see that email adress anywere can you repost?
Darren says
Yeah no problem, the email I sent to was, sgrice@elevatecredit.co.uk
I got a reply after 6 days and replied to the agent the same day and had the money with 24 hours of accepting.
I just put in the email the amount of loans I had in total and the amount in the last 12 months, not all the details.
Terry says
Darren what was your approach?
Darren says
Hi,
Essentially I said that I had a decline via Sunny and that I have now escalated to the ombudsman, but said I wanted to email Elevate direct to give them the opportunity to look at the case as the amount of loans over X period I believe were a clear indication I had become dependent on them.
I didn’t put too much detail as I know they would have the details anyway from my initial complaint.
I knew if they came back to me before the adjudicator picked up the complaint it would save Elevate some money as well, so if they look at the complaint and realise they will have to pay out, it made financial sense for them to pay me instead of pay the ombudsman and me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
actually the lender gets charged a fee even if the complaint is settled before the adjudicator looks at it.
Terry says
Congrats Darren well done, nice approach and great outcome
M says
Hi Darren,
Did you get a response from the director after you sent an email to him directly or did the complaints manager just contact you?
Darren says
Hi,
It was the complaints manager, I believe Elevate have the same layout as a company I used to work for (as a directors complaints handler), which is why I somewhat knew what to say to get the best result. The MD doesn’t usually respond himself, unless the complaint goes to something like watchdog, and even then its usually the complaints manager. But they usually have a remit which can get things done. Like my outcome, I don’t believe the complaints manager needed to get any higher authorisation, as he responded so quickly each time I replied.
M says
Thanks Darren. I sent an email last night so I let you you know when/if I receive a reply.
Lani G says
Hi,
Yes, I currently have an open safety net credit account, and open loans with money oat, Ferratum, Fernovo and Uploan.
Ali says
Still nothing from Sunny- final
Ombudsman decision 2nd October
Officially accepted 5th October
Emailed Sunny to let them know I had new bank details (automated email reply to say they would get back to me)
Emailed Sunny 25th October asking if they could confirm the amount/timeframe and receipt of my bank details
Called Sunny today to ask for an update and told they cannot talk via the phone and they would email the department and ask for an update.
So 30’days since acceptance and not a single piece of contact from them confirming anything. Bit disappointed with them but possibly not surprised! All I want from them is the amount they are refunding and a date :-/
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you left poor reviews on Trust Pilot? https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/sunny.co.uk
Have you told your adjuicator?
Ali says
The email reply after acceptance wasn’t from an adjudicator it was from the ombudsman decisions email address and it said they would help if it was over 8 weeks with no reply from Sunny so they won’t help yet. I will try trust pilot :-)
Ali says
I don’t know if it was my call this morning or the trust pilot review…but I have received my first email from them with a refund calculation and asking for my bank details, I have sent them across and asked for a payment date so will update for anyone who is also waiting as soon as I hear more :-)
Ali says
UPDATE ALREADY….just logged into my bank and they have paid it in this afternoon :-) yey!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
excellent!
Iain123 says
Sunny/Elevate complaint??
Sunny’s parent company announce their quarterly results tonight at 10pm. A lot riding on this one, let’s hope they’re staying in the UK market so we can get our refunds!!
Myles says
I have one in with them at the minute so I’m hoping they don’t exit the UK market as I’ve now missed out on wonga and QQ. I’m hoping this one all goes through.
Ali says
Does a parent company result mean anything after the quick quid result?
Iain123 says
Yes, they call the shots. They decide whether to hang on, settle refunds and stay profitable or wrap things up and walk away. We’ll find out tonight, one way or another.
Ali says
Thanks Iain, I thought it was just their profits not a detailed report of wether they will put an arm into admistration. Can they put an arm into administration if that arm is still making money thou? Is there a difference between closing volunterialy and being forced to closed because they are making a loss? I will keep an eye out for updates ! Thanks again
Iain123 says
Yes, just like QQ, the American parent company, Enova, was profitable but believed the UK arm had too much uncertainty due to payday refunds, so they walked away (may still be in legal trouble over that).
Ideally Sunny are in for the long haul but investors may pressure the board to pull out tonight.
Kalvin says
Hi, I submitted a complaint to Sunny and they responded asking me to fill out these questions but im concerned if I answer them incorrectly it will negatively affect my claim.
They sent me this:
You recently raised a complaint with us alleging that we mis-sold loans that were granted to you and you are seeking financial redress.
Information you now need to provide:
To help with the ongoing investigation of your complaint could you please provide the following information, within the next 14 days.
Please indicate when the loan(s) became unaffordable/unsustainable?
Did you suffer a financial shock at any stage in your lending relationship with us? (This means did you lose your job, separate from a partner or other similar event which impacted your finances – please provide brief details)
Were you unable to pay any of your priority bills? If so please provide details.
Were you borrowing from us to repay loans from other lenders?
How did you let us know about any of the above?
————-
Any help or opinions on what my response should be would be greatly appreciated!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how many loans did you have from them? were your finances getting worse during this time?
Kalvin says
Yes I borrowed very frequently from them also whilst taking out amigo loans and various other payday loans.
From Sunny alone I took out:
100 on 28th Nov 18
50 24th Nov 18
100 20th Nov 18
500 5th Apr 18
250 4th Apr 18
100 5th Mar 18
100 2th Mar 18
100 14th Feb 18
100 7th Feb 18
150 23rd Jan 18
50 16th Dec 17
200 12th Dec 17
During the course of these loans I didnt lose my job or anything but I had been taking out more and more loans to pay off other payday loans and also to pay off these loans too.
Kalvin says
I should have also mentioned I still actually have 3x additional £100 loans taken out in Dec 18 and a £200 loan taken out in Nov 18 all of which are currently enrolled in a DMP with stepchange
Iain123 says
Twelve loans in a year is irresponsible lending so make a claim for a refund. Go through the archive here for help. Be honest, they’re at fault for lending to you.
Lisa G says
Update for Satsuma: My adjudicator emailed me today to say my Satsuma complaint has been sent for an Ombudsman to review.
Satsuma had until 30/07 to respond. In early September they replied to the adjudicator to say they disagreed and gave additional points. The adjudicator reviewed these points and on 06/09 informed them that their decision remained the same and for them to respond.
As yet they haven’t responded so today it has been passed to an ombudsman.
Emily says
Hi Lisa, this is exactly what happened with me! It went into the ombudsman queue on the 30th August. Just had my decision from the ombudsman on the 28th October.
Fingers crossed it’s soon for you x
Lisa G says
Hi Emily.
So it looks like a 2 month wait at the Ombudsman, that’s not too bad.
Did the ombudsman agree with your adjudicator?
Thanks, I hope so too! X
Emily says
Hi Lisa, yes they upheld the same that the adjudicator wanted to uphold. I’m just waiting now for satsuma to work out the calculation and payment. I have previously been advised that satsuma use cheques for refunds x
Nicki says
Have recently made claims to 4 x lenders. Sunny, Lending Stream, MyJar & Avant Credit. (Only just made the LS one so only had initial response so far).
The others have been very polite in their full acknowledgements, & I would say that the best (so far) appears to be MyJar who have stated that their response target is 4 weeks (but up to 8) & in fact when I suggested a ‘token’ monthly payment while the complaints are considered, told me that I don’t need to pay anything until the complaint is concluded! I assume that includes while with the FSA/ Ombudsman if that proves necessary?
Mike_p says
MyJar were good with me too (other than lending irresponsibly in the first place). When I first made the complaint they automatically put me on a payment plan that wasn’t due to start for 4 months so they’d have time to investigate the complaint. When they rejected it and I escalated it to the FOS they extended the payment plan by another four months so the FOS could investigate. The adjudicator found in my favour and I had payment from MyJar two days after emailing the adjudicator to say I accepted the offer. I had a couple of queries during the process and MyJar replied to my emails in a few hours.
Lending Stream on the other hand are absolutely appaling and drag out, frustrate and delay everything and much as they possibly can. My adjudicator emailed them a few times to chase them up and they just ignored her. I sent them at least 5 messages to check what was going on and they ignored every single one. They paid out in the end but right at the very end of the 28 days they were allowed.
Beth McLeish says
Hi Mike
What time of day do MyJar make payments? Is it an overnight thing? Mine came through quite quickly once adjudicator had confirmed in my favour so just awaiting payout now.
Mike_p says
It was in the afternoon. I emailed the adjudicator to accept their offer on a Tuesday afternoon, MyJar emailed me on the Thursday morning to say it would be paid by the end of the week, and the money was in my account that afternoon. I was amazed it was so quick after suffering Lending Streams delay tactics for months.
Joe says
I put a complaint into safety net credit and owed them around 1100. They admitted it was wrong of them to give me money in the first place and already written account off and are giving me 152 into my bank account aswell
Only complained on Friday to them
Kevins says
Hi, that’s great news I also only complained on Friday, how long did it 5ake for them to get back too you?
Joe says
They got back to me today. They have proposed to shut account down ASAP and refund me 152. The remaining balance is around 1100 and they are removing it from credit file too.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you added up how much interest you have paid them? This may be a great result but unless you know how much interst you have paid, you can’t tell.
If you don’t already have a copy of your Credit Karma report downloaded, get one now while the SNC loan is still showing on it. In case you need it for your Amigo or any other complaint.
Joe says
I have added the interest up and it all looks like the figures they have given me. Glad to get it shut down and wouldn’t even have thought to complain until a friend passed me onto ur site. Just waiting on the complaint on 4 amigo loans at the moment but that’s only been 3 weeks with there complaints pending.
Cheryl says
Hi Sara.
With regards to SNC. Because it is rolling credit I am having problems working out the interest they have charged me. I have downloaded the csv and the interest column has added and minuses. Does this mean I work out the interest by taking off the minus figures from the added.
Thankyou
Sofia says
Just calculate intereset paid thats what i did.
And JOE i cant believe u got reply so quickly i am still waiting. Week 7 now . Scared they will refused even though i had opened acc for 20 months an was borrowing 110 x and paid them 2661 in interest
Ts says
I complained to snc a few weeks back and they offered me 3.5k which I rejected. I added up that I paid 7k in interest to them whilst have many other payday loans, waiting for FOS to pick it up now
Eve says
I need a bit of advise from you.
I’m made a complain to Wizz Cash, they very quickly responded (within 2 days) offering interest of last loan, as a “good will gesture”.
Did one of you dealt with this company? Any opinions about it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how many loans did you have from them?
Eve says
4 in total, but if they would do a credit check, they would pick up I was in massive debt with a lots of creditors.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So getting a refund on the last loan is probably what you would get from going to the Ombudsman. Unless the loans were obviously very large compared to your salary?
Eve says
And how shell I look a the below situation?
On the 06.08.2017 they have decline,but on the 17.08.2017 agree?
My finance hasn’t improved in that time.
In a correct order it looked like, 200, decline, 200, 200 and last one was 300.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Honestly a refund on the last loan looks like as good as you are likely to get from the Ombudsman.
Can says
Hi
I have been struggling with debt for many years now. All started when I was a trainee teacher (6 years ago) and getting frequent payday loans. Most were to pay other loans. Iv been taking payday loans up to the last 2 months and just had enough.
Iv came across this page and I feel like a massive weight has lifted off shoulders, even though I’m just beginning my process. I have had many defaults and a CCJ (cash float). I have looked at all my previous loans and found a total of 12 companies I have borrowed. And that’s not counting Wonga and QQ.
I sent the template letter to all of these companies and most have got back. Safety net credit was first to reply within days and offered me a refund of £68 which I jumped at the chance and they said they would clear any negative reports on my file.
I have had a reply from wizz cash saying their final decision was they said I could afford the loan at the time and they wouldn’t change their mind. This loan was only a small loan of 400 which I have paid about 200 back but because of late penalty fees and charges, my balance still stands at 365, which I am struggling to pay.
Can anyone please help me. Do I contact FOS or is this claim too small because it was only one loan.
Many thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think it’s worth taking a one loan case to FOS if it was small unless it was rolled several times.
I suggest you talk to StepChange about a debt management plan for all your current payday loan, credit card, overdrafts etc. https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
This should get interest and charges frozen and give you a chance to really start repay the debt, not just the interest. If you get more payday refunds, they will help clear the debt even faster. But getting all your debt onto a safe footing will let you take complaints to FOS without grabbing if you are made a poor offer.
Can says
Going by my credit score it is so low and this loan is dating back 2015. Could I ask wizz to consider an offer for me to only pay what I owed and not the interest or charges.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Could I ask wizz to consider an offer for me to only pay what I owed and not the interest or charges.”
that is what your original complaint asked for. They are unlikely to change their mind. And FOS isn’t likely to uphold this one.
Amy says
Just an update to recent post re last of my complaints i hadn’t actioned as didn’t think would be worthwhile.
Uncle Buck only 3 loans but 1st £300 rolled over four times then x2 £650, paid just short of £1000 back. They have partially upheld and agreed to refund the last loan interest + 8% so £306.73. I could maybe question the second also as response acknowledges the roll overs but feels the facility helped make sure i could pay a more affordable amount and hence not be in financial difficulty which sadly was not the case, anyhow at this stage am thinking about just cutting
Unfortunately Mr Lender have not agreed (£450 rolled over twice then £700, about £1000 paid back), nor Savvy which was Lightning Loan 12 month instalment who were quite firm re their checks and affordability having even factoring in the other debt repayments from my credit file i hadn’t disclosed!
Not sure at this stage about having the energy to pursue but at least some good outcome for the smaller loans and would also recommend the guarantor route too as happily a good result. That just leaves Sunny waiting in queue for Ombudsman and thankfully everything else settled or in hands of administrators.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could go back to UB and say you would be happy to accept if they include loan 2 in the offer as that is what FOS is likely to decide because the first loan was rolled 4 tines and the second loan was so much bigger. (NB I am assuming that there wasn’t a big gap between repaying loan 1 and taking loan 2).
It up to you if you would rather have 306 now than face a prolonged argument to get twice that back via FOS.
Ditto Mr Lender. Ask for a refund in the last loan to settle the complaint. Here the first was rolled less but the amounts were much bigger. Here ther is no downside to going to FOS. It’s just an email. You know how this works…
Amy says
Thanks :)
As I do think there’s grounds to at least put it to them.
For UB 2nd loan was taken out same day i made the last payment for first, which had rolled from Dec – March with payments of 104.85, 104.85, 104.85, 134.85 and 364.37.
As with Mr L which is same scenario as above, rolled the first paying back 78.75, 164.50, 164.50 then 107.50, 127.50, 215, 157.50 on same day :/ borrowed 2nd larger loan straight away and ironically looked to have rolled that once also so think could be around 400 interest which is definitely worth pursuing.
Its horrifying seeing so much interest paid rolling the first loans :( but hey ho.
Can only see what they say and take it from there, like you say nothing to lose really particularly in terms of Mr L and shouldn’t sound like am complaining as have had some good outcomes too, just anything and everything causing anxiety at the minute :)
Iain123 says
Sunny update.
The US parent company has just reported and I think it’s good news. One snippet I read about Sunny is “… remains profitable despite lack of regulatory clarity”. They also made changes to senior UK management.
So, some breathing space if you have pending complaints.
http://investors.elevate.com/presentations-and-events
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, Elevate made that the point that Sunny is profitable at the moment. Less competition from QQ going under will make it more profitable. They seemed to be talking of the uncertainty around UK complaints as something to be resolved before they ramp up lending in the UK.
Iain123 says
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4302399-elevate-credits-elvt-management-q3-2019-results-earnings-call-transcript
Full transcript of the Sunny bosses last night with plenty of information on the UK arm.
It’s definitely good news for anyone with a complaint in.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes I heard it last night. Good news. And FOS complaints may start moving a lot faster now all the ICL and QQ complaints have been removed from FOS.
Stuart says
Can anyone help with the following? I have complained to Lending stream and they have sent the following:
Further to the complaint registered by you, please share any additional information which was not provided at the time of applying for loans with Lending Stream. Please send these details by replying to this email, at the earliest but within the next two weeks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s mystifying… I suggest you reply that you are not sure what they are asking for.
How many loans did you have from them?
What email address do they want you to reply to?
Eve says
I’ve got the same response. Replied, that they have to consider my complaint on the basis of what you knew about me at the time were I was taking the loans out.
Their replay :
We write in regards to your previous correspondence. We understand that you are concerned about the affordability of loans offered and we acknowledge the receipt of relevant information, however, we would like to inform you that we are in midst of reviewing your concern raised and would get back to you with our findings within the stipulated time frame of 56 days.
So a lovely template.
Marie says
Hi Sara
I made a complaint a few weeks ago to the ombudsman about Uncle Buck. I took out around 6 loans with them, and the last four were within a month or so of each other and substantially more than I’d previously borrowed.
The adjudicator has just got in touch with me for more details, is this a good sign that they’ve got in contact so quickly? Or is it more likely I don’t have a case and it’ll not be upheld?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what more details do they want?
Marie says
They just want some information from Uncle Buck, then they’ll assess my complaint. Just thought it’s very soon for the adjudicator to be involved? Worried it means I don’t have a case.
Simon says
Hi Sara
If you have sent an email to accept an offer can you change your decision before you receive any money?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Immediately, yes. After a few days – that may depend on the goodwill of the lender. Who is the lender and what is the offer you have accepted?
Simon says
The lender is 247 moneybox and offer received is £1900. An adjudicator has picked up my case within the last couple of days.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So 247 Moneybox made you an offer when your case was waiting for an adjudicator? You sad Yes, but now your case has been picked up you are regretting it? How long go did you say Yes?
Kelly says
Hi, I raised a complaint using the template letter above, and asked for a refund with Lending Stream.
They have emailed me back totally disregarding my refund request, but they have sent all the information I asked for. What do I do now?
Mike_p says
Rejection is the standard response from Lending Stream, they always make things as difficult as they can. If you had more than a few loans then send it to the FOS.
They rejected my complaint outright but I got back over £1400 after going to the FOS.
Kelly says
I’ve had I think it’s 8 or 9 loans from them since june :(
They haven’t even acknowledged my request for a refund just sent the information I asked for.
Should I just go straight to FOS? And if so, how do I do it?
Kerry says
Has anybody made a complaint to minicredit? I was suprised to see on the resolver website that I could make an affordability complaint still so I sent one through that site. The 8 weeks are now up and I’ve not heard anything. Is it worth sending to the FOS and if not, where would the messages from resolver being sent to?
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They went bust years ago. Resolver shouldn’t be listing that page.
Ray says
On 30/10/19, I sent an email of complaint to Uncle Buck, asking for refund of interest and any charges and also asking for details of the loans.
I got a reply from them 4/11/19 detailing the loans as follows
23/12/14 Payday loan £100 interest £34.90 Repaid
30/01/15 Instalment loan £300 interest £150.69 Repaid
30/04/15 Instalment loan £300 interest £152.34 Repaid
31/07/15 Instalment loan £500 Debt sold to Asset Collections for £1000
Asset Collections gott a CCJ and I’m paying it off and will soon be finished with them.
Uncle Buck’s reply email just said “Here is a statement of accounts, as requested. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further assistance.”
Does this mean I have no chance of reclaiming any interest, as they just seem to have ignored that part of my email?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just reply thanks for the loan information you look forward to receiving their reply to your affordability complaint. You could leave it at that or if you want to propose a compromise, you could add that looking at the list of your loans, you will be happy for an agrrement to refund the last loan, including removing the CCJ which has been added to your credit record by the debt collector.
Ray says
Thanks for that, think i might try the compromise way
Ray says
Just had a response from UB dismissing my claim out of hand and showing me I & E figures i’m supposed to have given them. According to the figures, i had over £2k disposable for the first 3, which dropped to £1k for the last. It also says they did credit and affordabilty checks but don’t mention the 3 doorstep loan missed payments on my credit file for the month before the last one was taken out!
If I had that much money, I would have lent them some.
Extract from their email……
We considered that the disposable income was sufficient to accommodate our required repayments with considerable available headroom and accordingly we funded your loan. We took note that you had included credit commitments in the declared expenditure.
This also indicated that there was capacity to accommodate any unexpected expenses or any that you had inadvertently omitted to disclose to us. You passed our scorecards, which include an element of affordability checking.
In addition to the above, I remind you that upon confirming your monthly income and expenditure within the loan application, you specifically agreed to the following disclaimer: “I agree that the financial information provided is accurate and I have considered potential and future income and outgoings in determining my ability to repay the loan requested”
Sounds a bit menacing to me….do I just forget about it all?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How many loans did you have from them? How large?
I wouldn’t be too worried about the menacing tone – lots of people have commented on this and not had any problems if they take their case to FOS.
And if you don’t think you would every have put down those figures on an application, point this out to FOS!
Richard says
Hey sara,just a quick question! I sent my complaint of to sunny 6 wks ago,they replied asking if i had any evidence so ive sent them plenty but more importantly a screen shot of my affordability questionarre from 2014 before the loans were taken out saying i earned 1625 a month and had NO OTHER EXPENSES,rent,outgoings etc are all empty with 0 but they still gave me lots of loans,my question is that irresponsible lending right there?? It seems with that evidence they dont have a leg to stand on,whats your thoughts! Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Of course they should have stopped and asked for proper information about your expenses. It will be interesting to see how they respond to your complaint… can you come back and say?
Richard white says
Yes,i did think that considering im applying from my address not a tent! Of course! Thanks
April says
Does anyone have any experience with 247 Moneybox?
Today is 8 weeks since I complained about irresponsoble lending. Do they usually take alot longer to respond? How long should I wait before sending it on to the FOS
Thanks
steven says
Hi April
I got my final reponse the day after the 8 week deadline they made a pretty fair offer and which i accepted the money was in my bank within 7 days.
Steve
Em says
My 8 weeks is up tomorrow and I haven’t heard anything yet either.
April says
I received a response yesterday, it went into my spam folder so I’ve only seen it today.
247 made me a really fair offer and I’ve accepted.
Hopefully they’ll pay out soon!
Em says
Fab news x I got my days muddled and they have until tomorrow to respond to me. I’m hoping they’ll wipe out what I owe them – had 16 loans in as 15 months with them.
Em says
Well I got my offer via resolver and it’s a very good one which wipes out my outstanding balance of £590 plus gives me another £500 in my bank. Really happy with the way 247 have dealt with this.
April says
That’s great news! Although they take the full 8 weeks they seem to be making fair offers without making the process difficult like alot of others
Bob says
Hi Sarah, just been going through my Drafty account. Is it worth trying to make a deal with these? I’ve basically paid £3520 in interest and my outstanding balance is £3400. Is it worth asking to use the interest I’ve paid to pay the balance? If the fos add the 8% it will be a lot more for Drafty to pay so this way could save them money.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s clearly worth a complaint if you think the repayments are unaffordable. they are owned by lending Stream who don’t usually negotiate, but good luck! And send to FOS if Drafty refuse.
Amy says
I made an affordability complaint to Sunny and they have replied today saying they partially accept my complaint and are willing to lay back.the interest plus 8% on my 9th and 10th loan. They said on the email the interest for both loans was a total of £511. However upon checking the interest on loans 9 and 10 it was in fact £865. I have replied with my bank details saying I accept their offer of interest on loans 9 and 10 but could they check the calculation is right. I also gave them my bank details. Because I queried the interest calculation am I likely to wait another 8 weeks? Or will they still pay me in the agreed 30 day timescale?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They don’t get 8 more weeks because you have queried this. Ask what is happening if you don’t hear back within a week.
Iain123 says
Why don’t you make them fully accept your complaint? You’ll get more money.
Myles says
Hi Sara,
Do bigger cases take longer to get picked up at the FOS? I repaid nearly over £7k in interest to Sunny and haven’t yet heard anything from FOS other than they’ve received my documentation (I had to phone to get a reference number for the complaint to send in more documents). I’ve seen other cases on here get picked up before mine that were submitted a month after which I don’t understand.
I know you might not know but I’m curious if you have any info on how they assign/pick up cases like if they work through smaller cases first and leave the bigger or more complex ones to linger.
C says
I’ve been waiting months for some of my cases to be picked up by the FOS but I’ve seen on here cases picked up within a couple of weeks of submission. I don’t know how they prioritise them but they will get round to them eventually
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s not by size! Often the larger cases are easier than the small ones.
Myles says
Thanks for your reply. I thought I read on here that they don’t prioritise the larger cases. Hopefully I’ll hear back soon. I also used Darren’s advice and emailed the MD last night to see if that does anything. I’m determined to get this one through as I missed out on a QQ case that was sat in the queue with an Ombudsman for 6 months and submitted over a year ago.
Colin Brown says
what’s the MD’s name and email address please?
Gemma says
Hi,
Do you know if I can send these template letters when I still unfortunately owe them money?
I have used them in the past for years so I want to claim a refund on past loans and also stop current loans with them that I have already paid back amount borrowed on most. Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who is the lender?
Yes you can make an affordability complaint when you are still repaying the last loan. If you can’t afford to make the repayments without borrowing again, you need to get out of this cycle by complaining AND asking for a payment arrangement so you only pay an amount you can afford.
Gemma says
Thank you. Multiple lenders unfortunately…safety net credit, mr lender, my jar…peachy.
Just paid off lending stream.
I also have one with every day loans. Took a loan for £1500 and paying £3000 back. Paid £1600 so far.
Just to confirm I can make a affordability complaint for previous loans and then arrange a payment plan for current loans. If I have already paid back amount borrowed, can I write off the interest? Thank you again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
For all those lenders use the template letter above except Everyday loans, where there is a different one over here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/
“I can make a affordability complaint for previous loans and then arrange a payment plan for current loans”.
No, sorry, I wasn’t clear. You make an affordability complaint for ALL the loans from that lender, including the outstanding one. And also ask for a payment arrangement for the current loan.
“If I have already paid back amount borrowed, can I write off the interest?”
If you win the complaint, the interest is removed from the outstanding loan, so if you have already paid more than the amount you borrowed, the loan will be cleared and you will get a refund of the interest you have paid.
Also if you win a complaint any negative markes on your credit record will be removed.
Good luck! And come back if you aren’t sure about any replies you get.
James G says
Hi, how long are financial ombudsman claims taking roughly now – I see some people have been waiting almost a year for claims to be investigated and decisions made – is this normal?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Things seem to be speeding up. Partly because FOS has been getting more staff trained up and partly because it has recently lost well over 10,000 open cases because of QuickQuid and the Money Shop going under. Some people have reported getting FOS decisions in a few months. But it seems quite dependent on why the lender is and the nature of your case.
Jo says
Hi
Has anyone had a response from My Jar recently!?my adjudicator gave them until the 4th but nothing as yet!
Thank You.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
leave them a negative review for poor and slow complaint handling on Trust Pilot: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/myjar.com
beth says
Hi,
I have recently sent template letter for affordability complaint to payday loan and guarantor loan. Should i receive a response to let them know they have received my email or is the first contact from the companies typically when they get back to you with a decision?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who are the lenders? Did you send the payday loan template letter to the guarantor lender?
bethany Clayton says
there are a number of lenders. Amigo and Bamboo are the guarantor loans and i used the guarantor template. The payday ones include, My jar, Safetynet, Sunny, Piggy bank and Money247.
haven’t received anything off any of them as yet.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo should get back with the copy of your personal information within a couple of weeks,
Stephen says
For anyone interested, I raised an unaffordable lending complaint with Sunny on 25/03/18. Received a reply on 16/05/18 upholding Loan 1 (I had a total of 48 loans).
Took the case to the FOS on 30/05/18, was assigned an adjudicator 30/05/19 (exactly 1 year later!), adjudicator agreed with me on 31/05/19 and recommended Sunny refund loans 6-48 with 8% interest. Sunny took ages with their replies to the adjudicator and it was passed to an Ombudsman on 31/07/19.
Sunny replied to the adjudicator 01/08/19 disagreeing with adjudicator but offering to refund loans 26-47, which I declined so awaited an ombudsman decision.
Receive a final outcome from an ombudsman on 17/10/19 (via a letter to my home address) agreeing with the adjudicator – Sunny must refund loans 6-48. I accepted the decision on the same day and sent Sunny my bank details. Now I’m just waiting for the money to be deposit to my bank.
So overall, a very lengthy process (19 months since original complaint) but entirely worth the wait.
Jonny says
I had my complaint sent to an ombudsman after sunny declined the adjudicators decisions on the 6th August so hopefully my decision won’t be too far away based on the timescales you have said, they are very similar to my whole process as well! Congratulations on your refund!
Stephen says
Thanks, good luck Jonny – hope you hear back very soon! Make sure you email Sunny with your bank details as soon as you receive (and presumably accept) the ombudsman decision. I spoke with Sunny today and they said all refunds are issued within 31 days of receiving your bank details. You won’t necessarily receive an acknowledgment of your bank details email though. The FOS tells you to allow the company 4-8 weeks for issuing your refund, so 31 days isn’t too bad I guess.
Iain123 says
Nice one! Thanks for info. Five months, and counting, since the Adjudicator decision and still waiting for money. These payday loan companies really are the worst. I had an adjudicator decision last month and was hoping for a full refund before Christmas.
Sunny – if you’re reading this I won’t be taking any derisory offers, I’m in for the long haul.
Carol says
Hello Stephen, that’s great to hear about your Sunny refunds. i have 3 with them….. i took out one to pay for 2 :(. silly of me. but that was just a month ago, i read somewhere that you can’t complain within a year of taking one out with them. Is this correct ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is nonsense, where on earth did you see it? Where you still owe a balance, the interest will be removed so you only repay what you owe if you win your claim.
But three loans is a low number to get a refund on unless the later ones were large? do you have other problem debts?
Harry says
So 11 weeks from going to ombudsman to getting final decision? I am currently on week 6 waiting for ombudsman final decision, adjudicator saw in my favour but it seems sunny are the worst fir accepting liability, lending stream agreed with adjudicator £2500 pay out, myjar settle my complaint instantly within 8 weeks of initial complaint £1500 pay out ferratum agreed instantly £700 pay out yet sunny who I had most and most regular loans with have denied all the way to the final stage, worst company by far
Steven says
Hi Sarah
I got a final reponse from Myjar today they rejected mebt then sent in my credit report. I had a 7 loan chain unbroken the first 5 where for £200 and then 2 at £800 the final loan still has a balance of £700 as it’s been suspended while my complaint was investigated. They have refund all the interest plus the 8% a refund of £904.32 they have then minused off the £700.00 leaving we me with £204.32.
My question is can they do that as I work in PPI for Barclays and we have not been allowed to offset loans for a couple of years after the FOS ruling.
Thanks
Steve
Shaun says
Hi Steven, how long again did you send you compliant to MyJar? I have submitted one and I’m just wondering how long it will take.
Steven says
Hi Shaun I sent mine to them on the 30/09/2019 then a further letter about 5 weeks after they had rejected my initial complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes they can offset, it is normal.
BUT the numbers sound odd if the balance on the last loan is only £700…
Can you add up the interest you have paid on loans 1-6 (i think those are all being refunded?) ?
Then the last loan… you have borrowed £800, how large are the payments you have made to it? Ignore if these are labelled as interest or no, just what is the total paid to the loan?
Steven says
Yes they have refunded all the of the interest i paid Sarah as they said they could see the amount of loans i had when the chain i started with them.
Badreddine says
Hi Sara, just wanted to let you k is that after UB initially rejected my complaint, I told them I disagreed with their decision and would be taking the complaint to FOS, they negotiated a settlement with me which although probably is much lower than what I could have received if my complaint had gone to FOS, I accepted it as it seems most of these companies are going under now due to the volume of complaints so I didn’t want to take a chance and lose that money.
LS complaint has now gone to FOS.
Sunny have made an offer and am waiting for payment which apparently I woo get within 30 days, does anyone know how quickly they pay after making an offer?
Thank you again Sara for all your help and for everything you continue to do for all the people who were trapped in the pay loan shambles.
Stu says
Finally got paid today regarding my complaint against MyKredit. £639 in my account and that was 30 days after ombudsman made final decision on case! All in it roughly took 14 months In total going through adjudicator and ombudsman and the ombudsman found in my favour on all loans after adjudicator only said 4 out of 7 were unaffordable. Worth it in the end so hang in there guys!! I also had to give them a gentle nudge to settle after the 29th day mark!
Carol says
hello, i’ve had a response from Peachy regarding my complaint……do i send them what they are asking for ? many thanks.
Thank you for contacting Peachy Loans.
We are most sorry to learn that you have been dissatisfied with the service we have provided and can confirm that we will be conducting a thorough investigation of your concerns. Once we have completed this, we will write to you again.
To ensure we are able to adequately assess the complaint, we would kindly ask you to provide the following:
• Copies of your bank statements (for the period of your loan/s with us)
• Your payslips (from the time of your loan/s with us)
• Any additional evidence of your financial circumstances at the time.
We will assess the subject matter of the complaint and provide you with our assessment and our decision on it in no later than 8 weeks (by 31/12/2019).
Please find enclosed a copy of our internal Complaints Procedure for your information.
Please take time to read this as it explains how we will deal with your complaint and when we will contact you again.
Additionally, we would like to inform you that we have ceased all recovery activity for 60 days whilst investigating your complaint. Please bear in mind that this means we will not be collecting your upcoming payment automatically and this may result in your account going overdue.
Kerry says
I had 9 loans with Peachy. I did not send them any info across apart from the template letter and they sent me my decision on the final day of the 8 weeks to confirm they were upholding loans 5-9.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How many loans did you have from them? Can you make this months payment and still get through the next month without borrowing again?
Carol says
I just had the one loan with them £300 with interest on top took it to over £500.
I myself cant make the payment…. but to stop the vicious cycle from borrowing from other payday lenders to pay this one I have asked someone close to help wit this month. would it be best to pay it or not ? I cant afford to pay it but would find the money if need be.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Borrowing from a friend or relative isn’t usually a good idea unless you feel confident they are very well off.
It may be better to ask Peachy for an arrangement to repay the balance over a longer period so the amounts are more affordable.
Carol says
Ok thank you. I’ve sent an email and see what can be done. As I have done with the other lenders
Steve says
Hi Sarah
I received my final response for SCN today I had an account with them twice for about 6 months they have upheld my complaint they have offered £964 in redress is there a way I can calculate how much interest I have paid I have access to my bank statements from that time.
Thanks Steve
Ts says
I did this before rejecting their offer.
Log into your account and there you can ‘download full statement’ as a .csv file. Open in excel and filter out the interest paid column using excel filters, then add the total up =sum(cell:cell)
Steve says
Hi Sarah
I went through my report they have only dealt with one of the 2 accounts I had with them so have sent the information to them for the previous account hopefully they will uphold that as well.
SN says
Hi Sara
I have followed your advise (thanks so much) and Drafty have responded today with the below, could you please advise on how to respond? As I believe had they have conducted checks monthly as the claim they would have realised my outgoings were typically 300-500 over my monthly earnings as I snowballed with payday loans which meant I repeatedly borrowed as soon as I paid them to survive, as well as taking out multiple loans which is evident on my credit file. I’m not proud of this, but I am trying to put things right.
They have however come back saying that they verified my income (using a third party?) and that they checked my credit rating was satisfactory and my other credit obligations but I know this would not have been the case
They then said they checked every month, which again they would have realised I was in serious trouble. But they are saying they did not see any financial distress.
“we conclude that all proper and proportionate affordability checks were conducted at both the initiation of the credit agreement as well as on an ongoing basis. “
They never asked for any evidence to prove either my income or expenses, how do I respond here?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You send your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. Drafty don’t negotiate.
Do you still owe them money? And a lot of other lenders?
SN says
Hi Sara
Yes I still owe them around £1300. I have around 7 other lenders, all of which I have put complaints with and have payment arrangements with.
Drafty have been a nightmare from the outset I called them in March to arrange a payment plan and they automatically sent me to CRS and even they agreed I should only be paying £29 a month, and Drafty have since registered a default on September even though I had evidence of them confirming they wouldn’t – I have challenged this and they explained they registered it due to a “technical fault” but that still doesn’t make what they’ve done okay. Since I’ve now had the final response I will go straight to FOS. Thanks so much.
Il keep you posted on the other complaints, hoping SNC, Myjar, buddy, amigo, peachy, Piggybank, mr lender, H&t and 24/7 uphold them. Been 4 weeks so far and only had 5 acknowledgments and no outcomes
StevieC says
I had my complaint upheld against Drafty earlier this year. To be honest they were by far and away the worst company I have had to deal with. My balance was written off via adjudication and they agreed although I was still chased for the outstanding amount. After 8 weeks their “system errors” were resolved and the balance was removed with an extra £100 compensation for the inconvenience
Terry says
Hi all got turned down by uncle buck as well on refund please advise had over 12 loans with them thanks terry
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Over how long a period? Were there any big gaps between repaying one loan and taking the next?
Richard white says
Hi,can i just ask a question,has anyone ever taken these payday loan sharks to court through legal proceedings?? I undeestand the process to ombudsman but all the cases i see its ruined lives,i just think what about,deformation of character,stress,mental illness,losing property,bad credit etc! I just wonder why everyone takes a small bribe after years of torment! Cheers
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No.
And these “small bribes” can be large amounts of money.
Debbie says
So got a rely from my adjudicator today to say lending stream have to pay back loans 4-12 I’ve accepted what he as said he as also sent of the letter to lending stream so now the wait begins, also is it when (if) lending stream agrees with the adjudicators decision that the 28days start.
Mike_p says
Lending Stream have to respond to the decision first, the adjudicator usually gives them a couple of weeks to respond but they usually drag it out to at least four and ignore you and the adjudicator if you ask about progress. If they make an offer then you need to decide whether to accept it or not, if you accept it then that’s when the 28 days starts. They usually put off paying you as long as they can and sometimes go over it.
Debbie says
Cheers mike I’ve read they take 2weeks over the 2 weeks there allowed then 28days so this could be just right at Xmas for me if they accept if not it will be a good start to the new year. I’ve already replied telling the adjudicator I agree with him probably a bit premature now lol.
Debbie says
Sorry mike do they normally make an counter offer so you know? I read they was accepting more decisions from the fos don’t really wanna negotiate with them now not like they negotiate in anyway.
Mike_p says
The decision goes to both you and lending Stream, either of you can disagree if you aren’t happy with it and supply further information to argue points.
Lending Stream seem to be agreeing with the decisions from what I’ve heard on here. With me they made an in line offer, i.e. the offer they made matched what the adjudicator said. The adjudicator decision will usually say which loans to refund on, the interest to apply etc and the offer from Lending Stream will show all the figures they have calculated and give a final figure. Make sure you check it have some people have been discrepancies in the offer they made (mysteriously always too low!)
They are one of the worst lenders to deal with and will make everything as slow and difficult as they can, but lots of people have been paid out by them. It took about 7 months in total for me but I ended up with a nice £1500 refund.
Debbie says
I’m hopeful they will agree then as the adjudicator said to refund 4-12 I don’t know what the interest is on the adjudicators reply it says highest payment doesn’t say how much interest I’ve paid I’ve also never received this from lending stream.
Mike_p says
If you go on your account you can get a list of payments you made towards each loan and work out the interest from that. There is also a statement of account you are meant to be able to download for each loan but it mine doesn’t work for some reason.
Click transaction history on the home page in your account, scroll down the page and there will be a “Transaction History” title. Under that is a drop down menu where you can select a loan number, if you select the loan number you are intersted in then underneath it will show all payments you made to that loan.
Debbie says
Mike you are magic lol thank you so much.
David Porter says
I can’t urge this enough!!!
When in the process of making a complaint about these rogue lenders, also exercise your right to access (DSAR) under the GDPR. I did this recently with Mr Lender knowing full well what information I had provided to them whilst funding my loan, and what they sent back to me was absolutely guff. The details of what should be provided under a DSAR are quite clear in the articles of the GDPR, but being the cowboys they are they decided to give me what they thought I should receive. So much of my personal information was withheld. I have now taken this to the ICO.
To action a DSAR is very simple, just email the company email address with your basic details so they can locate you and ask for all the information they hold on you.
Don’t let them get away with it.
Nicki says
Ok so I have now had the following reply from Lending Stream :-
Further to the complaint registered by you, please share any additional information which was not provided at the time of applying for loans with Lending Stream. Please send these details by replying to this email, at the earliest but within the next two weeks.
My complaint is about 32 loans between 2015 & 2018. As I was in a continuous borrowing cycle (& also using various other payday lenders) & also had a debt management plan & by 2017, mortgage & council tax arrears, clearly my credit report should have shown this. I probably ‘under declared’ my outgoings when I made the applications. They must realise that people do this. How should I respond? What are they expecting me to send them? I can’t really send 3 years worth of bank statements!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply that should have seen your multiple payday loans, debt management plan and mortgage arrears on your credit records. And the number of loans you had from Lending Stream by itself should have suggested that you had become dependent on their loans so they should either have stopped or asked for verification of all your income and expenses.
Paula says
Heard from my adjudicator today re Uncle Buck, they have offered £79 and the adjudicator had recommended £900. I have escalated the complaint so god knows how long I will need to wait now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry to hear that :(
Leave them a bad review on Trust Pilot: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/unclebuck.co.uk
And why not tell the FCA? They won’t look at your complaint but as UB’s regulator, they may want to be told when a lender is dismissing FOS adjudicator decisions…
I think you could also tell the FCA. The FCA won’t investigate your complaint, that is FOS’s role, but as Sunny’s regulator you let them know of such a very bad decisions. It’s just a simple email to send:
The email should go to consumer.queries@fca.org.uk.
Also cc: it to charley@unclebuck.co.uk and steve@unclebuck.co.uk (compliance and CEO respectively)
Use “Uncle Buck 805144 poor complaint handling” as the email subject line.
Give a couple of lines about your loans – how many, how large, which years. Then say what the adjudicator decided and what UB has offered.
If you thought UB’s original reply was insulting or aggressive, also mention that!
End by saying you know the FCA won’t investigate but you though as UB’s regulator they should be aware of UB’s poor complaint handling.