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?
Chloe says
I have just tried to log into my old Peachy account as I wanted to try and gather some information on old loans before I put in a claim. I have just received a text message saying my account has been disabled. Am I still able to make a claim if this is the case?
Anon says
Hi all
Just wondered if anyone has dealt with complaining to Drafty – technically are they a pay day lender, or are they a credit line like Safetynet? I’ve had an account with them since 2018, I did have various other pay day loans out before that (I have submitted affordability claims with them) a log book loan, I still have an account with Safetynet and I also had a loan with Bamboo.
Is there criteria for lending money the same as a pay day loan company or are they treated differently, just wondering if it’s worth submitting a claim with them?
Thanks in advance
Steffy says
Hi!
Drafty are horrendous, they rejected my complaint and stated they run “monthly credit checks for affordability” so I submitted a DSAR to prove this and alas no monthly credit check – I think Drafty reject pretty much all cases. Mines been with FOS since November now
Good luck!
Phum says
I’ll get just over £5 from wonga at this rate but I’m glad it’ll be off my credit file
Charlie says
Has anyone had any experience with Mr lender claims that have now been accepted by the ombudsman? Just wondering how long on average they took to pay out from the date you confirmed bank details
ME says
Hi Charlie,
I am currently in the same position. Agreed with Ombudsman and confirmed bank details on 13/01. Mr Lender say they have 4 weeks to pay out. 2 weeks down at present and still waiting.
ME
BB says
I am now on day 27 out of 28 and still waiting for me lender to pay my refund. These jokers take as long as they possibly can
Daniela Goncalves says
Hi Sara,
Thanks to your expertise, I’ve started putting claims in for other lenders. I’m really appreciative of everything you do here – it’s an incredible website!!
I just want to check, MyJar have requested bank statements and pay slips, I’ve read through your advice but wanted to see what the harm of sending bank statements is? My finances were seriously poor at the time and they will see multiple payday loan transactions at the same time. Would this affect my claim?
Thanks,
Daniela
Sarah says
Have Myjar and Mr Lender gone into administration yet?! i sent the template letter to both of them for an affordability claim. dunno how long that will take to sort tho. any info would be helpful. thanx!
Jon H says
MYJAR were amazing. 2 weeks and resolved with 2100 refund.
HLTCO says
No they are both still active. Their website would update to say they are in administration, I have claims with both outstanding too.
David says
Hi Sara
I wanted to start the process of complaints but noticed the paragraph at the bottom about ever being bankrupt. I was bankrupt in 1999 and discharged in 2002. I thought there was a 7 year limit (2006) for any future payment to go to the Receiver?
Is it worth me starting the process of there is no benefit to myself?
Kind regards
Dave
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Go for it – you will still get the refunds as the lending was AFTER your bankruptcy
Sarah says
Hi Sara – hope this is the right place. I have had a Sunny claim accepted and they’ve said it will be paid in 30 days. Can I ask two questions:
1. Is it possible the payment can be sooner?
And 2. I’ve seen reports that they simply let it go beyond 30 days without paying. What can I do in that situation?
Thank you.
Sarah says
Is it worth me contacting Sunny offering to accept a lesser amount on the promise of payment this week?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I very much doubt it.
Sarah says
Okay thanks for the reply. It greatly concerns me that they will delay my refund. MyJar refunded me within 3 days but I’ve heard of Sunny taking beyond 30 days – and more. And I would be worried about what to do.
Shane says
I’m sure I had loans with Sunny but there is nothing in my account about previous loans, is this normal and they wont let me have any more (not that I want them), do I just apply and see what they say about a refund?
Sal says
Are lending stream still paying out redress?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes!
Amy says
Hi Sara hoping you can help. I have been successful regarding a wonga loan which then alerted me to other pay day loans I may have taken out and the only other one was Toothfairy. I remember with tooth fairy that I was really struggling to pay my loan back with them and I asked if they could roll this over to the next month to which they proceeded to add a ridiculous amount of interest to which I could physically not pay. This company has now gone bust and have only found a contact name for a Jordan at web loan processing. I wasnt sure if I would get anywhere with him due to toothfairy gone into administration so I have put a complaint in to the financial osbudsman. Do you think I have done the right thing?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They were one of the worst. I am sorry but they went under years ago. I don’t think there is anyone left to claim against, but asking the Ombudsman to confirm this is sensible.
Dawn Warner says
How do I get my wonga refund. As I moved from a previous address that I had wonga loans at.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you have a Claim approved? If you didn’t, sorry this is now too late.
Rachael says
Hi
Just wondering if anyone can help. I have put an affordability email in to peachy and they have now come back and asked for copies of my payslips and bank statements? Don’t really feel comfortable doing this, anything I can do or what should I email them back saying?
JA says
I’d recommend sending bank statements as it would only back up your complaint. I don’t think payslips are necessary.
rachael says
Could they not look at my details from my credit score- which they would of looked at when getting loans to see that I was not in a position to borrow? I just don’t feel comfortable sending these to them.
JA says
If you’re not comfortable sending them let them do the investigation without them but if they don’t uphold and it goes to the FOS they might ask for the bank statements. What are you worried about showing?
rachael says
Not worried about showing anything I just personally don’t feel its necessary when they can see my credit file.
Sarah says
I’ve received an email from myjar saying they won’t uphold my complaint as each time I borrowed, I clicked the update tab confirming my details were the same! Easily done when you’re desperate for money! They said to send bank statements and they’ll look at it again so I’m definitely going to do that later!
JA says
Yeah 100% do , I had this response sent them my statements and then they upheld my complaint.
Mike_p says
Rejection is the standard response from lenders but don’t let it put you off as the financial ombudsman service puts a lot of responsibility on the lender for checking things were right. In my Lending Stream case they said that my pattern of lending alone should have been enough for them to see that they shouldn’t have lent to me. They also found in my favour against MyJar saying they should refund interest on loans 2, 4 and 5 out of the 5 loans I have with them
Sarah says
I have got on the case straight away after work and I have emailed all the pdf statements to MyJar and asked them to look at it again as they did not act responsibly.
I’ve already told them I’ve had a StepChange DMP since 2014 and they can see that and other borrowing on the statement. I said I was vulnerable and they are in the wrong.
I hope they uphold my complaint. Fingers crossed!
Sarah says
Has anyone had a quick refund from Sunny? Or does it always take 30 days ?
Liam says
Three loans on my credit file all from 2013/2014 with Provident. Looking online that seems to be Satsuma? Does anyone know if Provident is also the name of other lenders and they’re perhaps sister companies?
Also, if I borrowed from three different lenders, say Satsuma and two others, but they’re actually the same underwriting company, can I say they should’ve been aware I couldn’t afforded it as I’d borrowed from them ultimately before, all be it via a sister/ partner company?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The same parent also owns Vanquis and MoneyBarn but I think they operate separately. Satsuma is the only payday lender brand.
Bec says
Just after a bit of advice, I stupidly took a loan out with TM Advances a few months ago it was a moment if desperation following a relationship breakdown. I was already in debt and didn’t tell them I was in a DMP at the time. The loan i took out was for £2000 and interest is £4615 so in total I’m paying back £6615 for a 36 term loan. Do I actually have a leg to stand on? I’m not shying away from paying the money back, I just feel slightly exploited as I’m paying double the amount of the loan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ouch. They should have looked at your credit record which would have told them you were in a DMP – or at least in a lot of financial trouble. If the repayments have been causing you problems I suggest you complain using the template for large bad credit loans over here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/
Matt says
On their website they state that part of their basic criteria for a loan is that someone is not in a DMP so you would expect that this is something they would want to verify independently. Definitely make a claim and I would point this out in your complaint. Absolute Sharks.
Ggggenegenie says
Ugh. Help!
Myjar/Txtloan are requesting copies of the bank statements as they no long have my account on file because “it is over five years old”. My bank supplied my statements in paper form and, as I had 28 loans from them, this would be a gargantuan job to send images of the relevant statements. I am not keen on sending statements either because nobody else has requested me to do so in my claims.
Anyone able to suggest a way forward please?
Rebecca says
Do you have online banking? I was able to download and send that way.
Sent 6 years of bank statements and had interest repaid within 16 days for 3 out of 5 loans
Ggggenegenie says
Online banking only had past three years and I’ve had no loans in that time.
Jon H says
I had same problem so I called Nationwide and asked them to go back through my old statements and see when 1st payment to TXTLOAN was and send me copies of all statements from then up until when my online statements started. Got them within 5 days and then used my phone to show pages when loans were paid in and when they were paid back. I circled them so they could see them quickly. I got a reply resolving my complaint 6 hours after they got these, and offered a refund on 26/28 loans with a £2100 refund. I made complaint on 14th Jan so very pleased.
Amy says
Hi,
I’m just wondering what luck people have had with safety net claims? I put a claim in a couple of days ago & they’ve sent me breakdown of my borrowing over the past couple of years & I’ve worked out i paid about £3000 in interest. I still have £300 left to pay back just interested in people’s experiences with them. Thanks!
Tash says
Hi Sara
I took out a loan of £1000 in April 2017 and repaid it 4 months later (£1.201 including the interest) using money from a different payday loan provider. I then got another loan of £1800 from MyJar in 2017 ( I took out both loans while I was under 2 debt management plans). I subsequently had to enter the debt into my DMP as I was finding it hard to pay it back. i complained to MyJar regarding the affordability of the loan and they disagreed with my complaint. I escalated it to the FO and they have just returned to me and said MyJar have offered to waive all interest and charges applied to loan #2 resulting in the remaining balance relating solely to the principal amount borrowed (£1800). From this they are offering to deduct any payments I have already made through the DMP (£1287.52) leaving a new outstanding balance of (£512.48). My question is considering they waived the interest when I informed them I was entering into DMP (I still have their email to prove this), is this a good offer because it doesn’t sound like it to me. I am unsure whether declining the offer is a good decision since they already waived the interest is the FO likely to make me a better offer? Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated
sam says
I know LS normally pay on the 27/28th day.
but im 14 days away from getting mine and getting so nervy, counting down day by day!
Keep emailing them but not sure if that’s doing any good or not!
Lynn says
I am on day 24 of 28 and still waiting. Phone calls don’t seem to esculate payout. My fingers are crossed also
sam says
I cant help but keep looking! literally cannot wait for it
please update when and time you get yours if that’s okay :)
Lynn says
No worries will do
Livia says
Hi Sam and Lynn day 28 and still no refund even though was promised I would have last night, called this morning and all they keep saying the deadline is 18:00 today. I am so fed up I don’t know why they making so difficult for me while they pay other people quickly
sam says
Hey Livia
thats rubbish, 28 days and they still cant do it in time!
and there i was hoping mine might be early, ha!
good luck today!!
Livia says
Hey Sam just received my refund ! I can finally breathe. They just deposit at 20:40 on day 28. I hope you get yours soon. I received the email comfirm they initiated the refund two hours before they deposit.
Rachael says
Hi Sara
I contacted MyJar and they have come back asking for bank statements and payslips.
Am I obligated to provide this information?
My payslips are online through work and I never print them off. I’m currently off work with stress.
I don’t get printed bank statements either and would have request copies from my bank which would probably take ages.
I’ve not had to provide any of this when I went via [claims company] for Capital One for PPI
Many thanks
Rachael
Alison says
Hi there My Jar asked me for payslips too but after two weeks as never got around to replying to them , they emailed me saying they were upholding my complaint and gave my my offer which I accepted straight away and got the money into my account today , so that was three weeks from start to finish
Rachael says
Wow, that pretty quick then all told!
Given that my dealings with them are less than 18 months old, I’m at pains to want to ‘help’ them.
I just think they’re being awkward.
Like I say, I don’t get paper statements and my bank would be SO slow in sending them out.
Payslips are all online and as I’m
Off work currently I obvs don’t have access.
I’m tempted to do as you did and leave it a little while and see what happens… maybe in the meantime see if I can get bank statements.
Susan says
Hi Sara,
I know you advise above against lodging a complaint if you are in an IVA. Can I ask, if the funds go to the IVA provider, won’t that reduce the amount I have to pay and potentially reduce the length of time I have to keep paying?
Thanks
Susan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The funds go to the IVA provider who pockets some and sends the rest to your creditors. But unless your refunds are big enough to pay off all your debts plus the IVA fees, your IVA contonues as normal, it isn’t shortened, you still have to pay the same..
Susan says
Ok. I placed a claim with Amigo yesterday before I realised this. Should I email them and revoke the claim?
Do I attempt to claim once the IVA is finished perhaps?
Really appreciate this. I wish I had found this website before I agreed to the IVA.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh, are you the borrower or the guarantor?
and when does your IVA end?
Susan says
I’m the borrower. I have another three left on it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
and you took the loan before your IVA? Is your guarantor currently paying it?
Susan says
Hi Sara,
The loan was paid in full before the IVA. As were my LS loans.
My thought was I could see if I’m entitled to refunds on those to pay off a chunk of my IVA.
I had other open loans with Wonga and Bamboo when the IVA started. I’ve dealt with the wonga refund already.
Susan says
Hi Sara,
Just wanted to bring this to the top again.
The loan was paid in full before the IVA. As were my LS loans.
My thought was I could see if I’m entitled to refunds on those to pay off a chunk of my IVA.
I had other open loans with Wonga and Bamboo when the IVA started. I’ve dealt with the wonga refund already.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So as I said, if you get a refund when you are in an IVA, the funds go to your creditors. This doesn’t “pay a chunk off” your IVA – unless your refunds are big enough to pay off all your debts plus the IVA fees, your IVA goes on , you have to pay the same and it’s not shortened.
It’s fine to continue with the complaint, just they aren’t really going to help you that much unless they are very big.
This applies if you had paid the loan off before your IVA started or if the loan was included in your IVA.
If you try to stop a complaint now, the lender probably won’t let you make the same complaint again later. That isn’t going to work for you.
Was the Bamboo loan a normal loan of a guarantor loan?
Susan says
It was a normal loan.
So, I shouldn’t bother trying to complain about LS or Bamboo then
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh you can, it’s just it won’t help you unless all your refunds add up to more than your debts. I can’t tell if they might?
Susan says
I’m not sure they would so there’s not much point. I should never have taken out the IVA. If I just had the debt with my creditors, any compensation at all could have gone towards it and chipped away at it.
Thanks for your advice and for this site.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
IVAs are often sold to people without exploring what your other options might be :(
Susan says
How could I calculate what might be owed to me overall? Am I looking at all the interest I paid plus 8% statutory? I’ll only know if it’s worth pursuing if I calculate what I may be entitled to…
Rach says
I’ve just started a claim against Sunny, I estimate I’ve repaid over £12k since 2016 in almost constant repeat loans. Has anyone had a successful outcome with them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes lots of people, but Sunny usually make very low offers so it has to go to the Ombudsman.
Sarah says
Has the refund ever been known to be sooner than 30 days?
mich says
hi was wondering if anyone could help me please,few days ago sent complaint to myjar,this morning i got email from dsar they had included PDF file that i needed to open,once they had sent password to my phone i was able open pdf file,it was 31 pages of account summary,was wondering now i have this what do i do next
Jon H says
Nothing. It’s a list of loans they have on record for you. Just check there’s none missing from the list as they only hold records for 5 years. If any are missing or from before that, send them the bank statements showing the loans going in and payments out to settle and they will include them.
Laura says
How long roughly do people find they hear from the lenders after sending the emails? I have sent emails to H&T, Mr Lender, Sunny, SafetyNet, Quidie, CashFloat. So far I have had a an email back from Mr Lender asking for my details which I sent but nothing more.
I know they have 8 weeks but I was just curious what other people have found.
Thanks
Ggggenegenie says
Mr Lender were slow and offered me a £25 Amazon voucher…
Mike_p says
I’ve made a number of complaints and generally they drag it out as much as they can and reply close to the 8 weeks, SafetyNet Credit were the only exception and replied with an offer in less than two weeks.
I had a response from Cashasap at 13:00 on boxing day. Either they had a lot of complaints and were working overtime to respond in time, or they wrote the reply before then and put it on delayed delivery.
T says
I’ve made an affordability claim with MYJAR and they are asking for bank statements and payslips, I have since changed banks and job and don’t have these to hand. Has anyone got any advice on what to do next?
Chloe says
I’m in the same boat too! I can provide them with bank statements but not payslips.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Payslips don’t matter if you have bank statements. They just ask to make this sound difficult
Katy says
Hello! I had multiple loans with Sunny and Mr Lender, the remaining balance has now been passed over to SLL Capital who claim they have bought the debt. Am I still able to claim direct with Sunny and Mr Lender for irresponsible lending even though they have sold the remaining debt on? Many thanks!
Chloe says
Hi Sara
My jar are asking me for bank statements and payslips from the time I took out the loans. At the time of taking out loans with My Jar, my old employee gave paper payslips which I know longer have. Do I have to provide these details? If anyone could offer any advice or would be much appreciated
Thanks
sam says
no you don’t have too.
just ask them to use the information they have on record and let you know their findings.
Amy says
They are also asking me for bank statements & payslips which is going to take me a while to find! Is it best i spend time finding them or will it not make much difference in the case? Thanks
Jon H says
MYJAR were amazing. 2 weeks and resolved with 2100 refund. They only keep records for 5 years so I sent copies of bank statements showing loans from 2013 & 2014 and they resolved my complaint on day they received them. If it’s 2015 onwards then they don’t need any of the info they requested. Good luck.
S Brown says
I have tried to cancel a CPA but the bank (Clydesdale) have said I have to go to the payday lender to do this and they have been very unhelpful (cash4unow). Cash4UNow refuse to refund a payment that went out today despite me telling them last week I was in financial difficulty. I have written a letter of complaint so we will see.
S Brown says
Is anyone else in a DMP and beginning to think they should have advised us to challenge the payday lenders. I had about 15 loans from payday lenders when I went to Payplan for advice. They just keep paying one pound each to each lender each month and I can’t help but think they should have given better advice.
Chris says
With Payplanplus and yes I agree with you. My DMP has been running for 8 years and still has another 6 to go. Never ending.
Marlene says
Hi s brown don’t know who told you that at Clydesdale/Yorkshire bank, they can cancel all cap in every bank, also phone the lender and say it’s your rent money, they have no business to do that when you told them about your plight, ring the bank again to stop anymore cpa and inform the lender of this
S Brown says
I ran the bank again and they said they were unable to stop the payment even if I had told the company to stop it and they had refused. It’s the first time I’ve had to ask for help from the Clydesdale bank and I am not impressed. They have suggested I contact the company again.
Mike_p says
That doesn’t sound right. I’ve cancelled CPAs both Santander and Halifax – they both said any further debits would be blocked.
Dave says
Hi guys
Just wanted to say , I used the template from here to send to myjar about irresponsible lending.
Within 2 weeks I got £675 refund and in my bank account.
Thanks Sara for the great info page
Samantha Gardner says
Hi i only got out 1 loan with each company, vanqis, Satsuma, and provident. All ended up going to debt collectors which i did end up paying back. But the provident loan put a ccj on my credit record. At the time of these loans i was on benefits and a low income. Wonga said i had a claim for £1225 but im getting £52 which is great. But i have put in a claim now with the other 3 companies above. Anyone no if i will have a chance of winning a claim if i only had the 1 loan? also i just have 1 loan outstanding with oakem. Has anyone on here made a claim against them? and could i do that is i still havent paid it all off .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think you are likely to win that complaint.
Melissa says
I currently have 3 active loans with sunny (11 loans in 12 months) and one loan with peachy which I topped up a few times.
If I’m struggling to pay, which I currently am, what is the best way to go about this situation.
Should I make a claim and ask them to freeze the accounts whilst it is looked at? Will this be very bad for my credit report?
Please can someone advise me?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
11 loans in 12 months is a good claim – you are pretty likely to have the last three loans where you owe money refunded as being unaffordable, and possibly earlier ones too.
So I would say Yes you should make a claim and yes ask for payment arrangements so that you are in a safe place while the complaint goes through as this can take many months.
A payment arrangement harms your credit record, but realistically you don’t have a better alternative. Borrowing more money to make the next repayments is madness/
If you win the complaint, interest is removed from outstanding loans and refunded on any loans that have been repaid that have been decided to be unaffordable. Also all negative credit marks on the unaffordable loans are removed from your credit record.
So this will all come out fine in the end if you win. And if you don’t, well you have ended the cycle of constant borrowing from Sunny and that is a big plus.
leigh says
what do I say when Mr lender ask why I believe my loans to be unaffordable
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Thanks for moving over here :)
They are actually one of the easier lenders to deal with, but very snippy at the beginning.
You can reply explaining you remember the problems the loans caused you, and dive details if you want, or you can decide to be snippy in return and say they need to respond to your complaint with an appropriate offer or you will be going to the Finacial Ombudsman at 8 weeks.
When they do come back with an offer, you can often go back and argue that extra loans should be included in it. Come back here if you aren’t sure.
Jennifer says
Hi Sara,
I borrowed from Mr Lender years ago…is there someone I can email?
Thanks
Jennifer
Akram says
Hi there,
Has anyone had any success claiming from cash Converters? I put a complaint in on Monday and they came back to me asking for a few details but not heard back since
Joseph says
So the end of my irresponsible complaints journey is over as of today. Whole process (complaining to 17 companies) tooled from December 2018 until today. The process has been draining I’m sure as well all know, but so worth it. So here goes the break down (from the companies I can remember).
AQUA CREDIT CARD: £562.66 won and £250 credit card balance wiped – REJECTED COMPLAINT – UPHELD AT FOS – REJECTED BY AQUA – UPHELD OMBUDSMAN
VANQUIS CREDIT CARD: £207.77 won and £500 credit limit wiped – REJECTED COMPLAINT – UPHELD FOS – ACCEPTED FOS ADJUDICATOR
CREATION FINANCE: £272.35 and remaining £402 balance wiped – REJECTED COMPLAINT – UPHELD AT FOS – ACCEPTED ADJUDICATOR
UNCLE BUCK: £120.48 won – REJECTED COMPLAINT – UPHELD FOS – REJECTED ADJUDICATOR – UHELD OMBUDSMAN
SATSUMA: £1,259.65 won – REJECTED COMPLAINT – UPHELD FOS – ACCEPTED FOS DECISION
WONGA: £42.22 (out of possible £979)
QUICKQUID: £3,169.77 – REJECTED COMPLAINT – FOS UPHELD – ACCEPTED FOS
1/2
Joseph says
2/2
LENDING STREAM: £306.68 plus £1,112.54 balance wiped – REJECTED COMPLAINT – FOS UPHELD – REJECTED ADJUDICATOR – UPHELD OMBUDSMAN
CAPITAL ONE CREDIT CARD: £? (Only just found out today) – somewhere in the region of £2,000 – REJECTED COMPLAINT – REJECTED ADJUDICATOR – PROVISION REJECT OMBUDSMAN – FINALLY UPHELD OMBUDSMAN DUE TO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (I was persistent lol)
MONEY BOAT: Default removed and £111 – REJECTED COMPLAINT – UPHELD FOS – REJECTED ADJUDICATOR- OMBUDSMAN UPHELD
PIGGYBANK: £52 – COMPLAINT REJECTED – FOS UPHELD – COMPANY AGREED
That’s all I can remember (from my spreadsheet I had ongoing lol). A lot of ups and downs with it and a LOT of battling. Reoccurring theme? They company’s will reject and obstruct the best they can. My only advice? KEEP PUSHING!!!! I will remain on here for probably a little longer just due to habit but I wish everyone else the best of luck !!! Sara, keep doing your thing, you’re literally changing peoples lives !!
leigh says
thank you being snippy
patricia romain says
Pat
30/012020
After watching Martin Lewis programme and using your template I got one reply from Piggybank with the breakdown of all my loans. Also found out that they did pass onto a debt collector who proceeded with court and which I am paying 35 per month for money owing to them. Guess I am stuffed once it got to court. Any advise would be appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so the CCJ was for a piggybank loan?
patricia romain says
Yes it was to do with Piggybank I thought I had not choice to admit the debt. So agreed a monthly payment to them.
Can I get this CCJ revoked I am still paying Moriarty Law who bought the debt
Lauren says
Hi Sara, I’ve sent an email to Peachy today with your template and they have asked for bank statements, payslips etc. I am going to respond denying them any info, as the pay slips are not required as per above advice (they also know these will be difficult to obtain when the loans are 6+ yes old) and they can check my credit report themselves and I will offer to give any required info to the Ombudsman in hope that they will see I’m serious about seeing the claim through. I have gone onto Credit Karma for my report and there are now only 2x Peachy loans showing as I haven’t used any PDL’s since 2014 so my question is: will the FOC and lenders still be able to see my borrowing history on loans older than 6yrs as they have naturally dropped off my report now
Sara (Debt Camel) says
save a copy of your Credit Karma report just in case you are asked for it later. You want it with the Wonga loans still showing.
FOS don’t have a way of looking back further than your credit report. The lenders of course can see your own loan history with them (unless they have deleted it)
Have you got you bank statements? If not, now is the time to get them as far back as you can go.
Lauren says
Hi Sara, the Wonga loans are no longer showing as they are too old, however I did take a look at my bank account earlier and can see that around 2010-2014 there are multiple deposits from PDL’s including Wonga, Peachy and QuickQuid (I know QQ are in administration and I will have to claim via the portal like Wonga) some days there are deposits from different lenders and the next day a payment to Peachy so I was obviously borrowing more in order to meet my Peachy payments. So although they may have dropped off my credit report hopefully my bank account statements would support my side things in terms of being trapped in the circle of debt?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes. Bank statements are very useful,
Sandra says
How long do my jar taking to reply I know they have 8wks but just wondered if they hold out for the whole 8 weeks,also 118 118 money
E says
They took the full 8 weeks with me but upheld the complaint and paid out within a couple of days. Was the easiest company to deal with by far.
Michelle says
Hi Sandra they only took 3 weeks with mine very pleasent to deal with just waiting for refund. I had bank statements and credit report to hand which they asked for good luck
Sandra says
Thank u E and Michelle ,yes they have asked for my bank statements and wage slips which I have emailed back so just waiting now with my fingers crossed 🤞
Akram says
Hi all,
Has anyone had any experience of making an affordability complaint with cash Converters?
Jade says
Hi just some advice please .
I sent the template to 247 money box yesterday
And they have replied just with all the account details providing loans taken out etc after not being able to initially find my account .
This doesn’t seem to be furthering my complaint or taking notice of it . What’s next steps please to this response ?
Has anyone dealt with them before and come across this?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are in administration. You have sent your complaint in. The administrators will probably put up a Claims page at some point, but you probably won’t need to input your claim as you have already sent it in.
Nothing is going to happen fast. You can’t move this along. I suggest you try to pop back at the end of every month and see if any progress is being made. They should email you
Jade says
I just mean their response was as if they had resolved my complaint by sending me the details requested which was noted in the template . . I am currently paying them £5 a month back on a dmp will this hinder any claim .
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you can ask them if you are unsure. Being in a DMP won’t hinder your claim
Dan says
I sent a complaint to fernovo who completely ignored me. Their final response deadline was boxing day. Sent off to FOS and now they sent me a final response not upholding but offering 30£ goodwill. I had 4 loans with total interest of 180£.
I called them and managed to negotiate a 90£ refund and them to wipe all loans entirely from my credit file. This was a good result i feel as FOS may not have offered much more for 4 small loans and wiping loans entirely from credit file is really positive
Paul Wakeman says
Just after some advice please. Adjudicator has upheld a number of loans and has stated in one of the recommendations “You should calculate 8% simple interest on the individual payments made by Mr Wakeman, calculated from the date Mr Wakeman originally made the payment, to the date the complaint is settled.” As some of these loans date back to 2008, and I’m assuming the complaint will be resolved this year does this mean I would get 13years of 8% (104%) for 2008 loans, 12years of 8% (96%) for 2009 loans and so on? Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes :)
Paul Wakeman says
Wow! Thanks for the speedy reply.
Alison says
Hi there , I know this is going to sound stupid but have 4 loans currently with Sunny with £543 outstanding at the moment over 12 month I have had 9 loans in total , I have put in a complaint against them & got an email say they will respond within 8 weeks , however I have just had my payout from My Jar which means I can pay sunny my outstanding amount in full but not sure if I should do this as if Sunny uphold my complaint, they would either write it off or give me the extra interest . Also I had a quite a few loans with them prior some prior to the 6 years and one big one for £2000.00 which was paid off through a DMP , so should I try to claim them also , any advice would be appreciated 😊
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Apart from the Sunny debt, what other debts and bills do you have at the moment?
Alison says
I have a loan with RBS for £7000.00 , two credit cards totalling £1000 , two catalogues totalling £1200.00 but my credit cards are fairly low interest along with my loan and my catalogues, I always pay the interest free option
Dennis says
Hello I’ve currently got a loan with safety net every month I max it out then I pay loads of interest then have to borrow from it again it’s just a endless circle, is there anything I can do to end this. Should I write a complaint with that template I’m basically stuck I don’t know what to do anymore.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, write a complaint using the template and also cancel the CPA to them with your bank, so they can’t take more money.
Lots of people have got very good refunds from them.
Mike_p says
Also tell them that you need to set up a payment arrangement, I did that and they agreed to freeze the balance and let me repay it monthly. All it took was one email and then when I logged into my account there was a form where I could say how many months I wanted to spread the repayments over. I cancelled the CPA with my bank, revoked the open baking consent and paid the monthly installments by standing order instead.
I did that at the same time as my irresponsible lending complaint, then when they agreed to refund interest I set up another payment plan for the reduced balance. They were by far the best lender I’ve dealt with.
Dennis says
Thank you for the comment and help! How long did it all take and did you get all the interest back
Mike_p says
Yes they refunded all the interest and it was very quick. When I said I needed a payment plan they replied the next day saying I could set it up by logging into my account. With the irresponsible lending complaint they replied in just under two weeks upholding my complaint, and when I replied to accept it was all sorted out the same day. They even said my complaint was valid, which is different to every other le I’ve dealt with who have all said they lent responsibly but were making an offer as a gesture of goodwill.
It made a huge difference to me. I started the month with them taking a very large payment the moment I was paid which I had to borrow back straight away, but the next payday it had changed to just a £50 standing order going out.
Jo R says
So am happy to say my complaints are finally at an end after starting this process in October 2018.
Lending Stream – Complaint then adjudicator – £1612.72
MyJar – Just a complaint no FOS – £689.83 from remaining balance
Sunny – Adjudicator then Ombudsman (rejected £700 offered – with Ombudsman for 4 months) – £2101.87
I accepted the Ombudsman decision last night and immediately forwarded my acceptance/bank details to the four Sunny email addresses mentioned in these posts. I received confirmation it was paid @ 5pm today, was expecting it to be a lot longer!
Thanks so much for this website Sara, it’s been great. I would have never have thought about claiming this if I hadn’t stumbled upon this great website!
Em says
Hi Jo!
I’m having an AWFUL time with Sunny! I submitted my complaint to them on 19th June 2018 and received the ombudsman decision on Monday (all loans upheld which is a result!)
I’ve emailed Paul Baldry and Michael Murphy a couple of times this week (I’ve emailed with them before on several occasions) but they have ignored me! What were the other email addresses you used?
Thanks
Em
Dan says
Hi Sara
I sent complaints to 4 companies using this format satsuma within 2 days replied saying they have looked into it and I don’t have a case so it’s now with fos, I’m waiting for the other 3 to look into them, I had them all coinciding with each other which was horrendous and robbing me blind. Do you think I have a good case against all of them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how many loans did you have from Satsuma? how large?
Dan says
Hi Sara
1 loan £600 does that make a difference then?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it’s hard to win a one loan case unless it’s very large. You may have problems with that one.
Adam R says
Has anyone put a complaint In With ferratum
How long do they take and do they ask for any paper work ect
I’ve had consistent loans with them for a number of years
Mike_p says
I had a reasonable result from them. I didn’t hear anything at all from them for about 10 weeks so I used their online chat to ask what was going on. I had the final respose with an offer about half an hour later and after accepting the money was in my account that afternoon.
Ian says
Hi Adam,
I put in a complaint around the 9th Jan and I got a resolution yesterday. They said that they didn’t agree that they had been irresponsible, but yet somehow still wiped out my debt (£1400) with them and paid a goodwill gesture of £139!!! If i hadn’t needed the money I would’ve probably pushed back to the FOS for this one as I probably could’ve got a few more 100’s and it seemed they knew that too. But, quite happy debt is gone.
Adam R says
I have worked out interest alone on my loans with them to amount to at least 2100
If they offer half of that I will be a very happy
Alan says
Lending stream have upheld my complaint and state they will payout within 28 days. Will they take the full 28 days? Is there a legal time length they get to payout?
Dani says
That is the amount of time the FOS give them to pay out I’m on day 23 and still nothing, have emailed them today to chase them up
Mike_p says
They are notoriously difficult and usually drag it out as long as they can, it seems to be around 26-32 days from what people have posted on here.
sam says
few people near pay date and just have to wait
im on day 14
Dennis says
Thanks for the reply and help! Can I still make a complaint when I owe them money and cancel the CPA
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, that is the only way out of the payday loan trap, you have to stop the borrowing.
Andrei says
Hi,
I’ve made a refund request for PiggyBank and after i gave them my details they sent me an e-mail with a reference number and that they will investigate and answer in 4 to 8 weeks.in the e-mail it shows all my loans that i tooked from them and them it says in like that:
Your account has been placed on hold for this time to help, but if you do not want to be placed on hold, please let us know as soon as possible.
What should i do?
Thank you !!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is nothing to be done at this point.
Amy says
What refunds have people had from myjar? They’ve sent me my borrowing summary & i’ve worked out i paid about £1100 in interest any ideas how much i could possibly get back if accepted?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how many loans did you have over what period?
Amy says
3 loans starting beginning of 2018 ended december 2019
Tania says
So grateful to Sara and everyone commenting on this site. I’ve never thought seriously about claiming before, as I felt ashamed of my borrowing, and didn’t feel I ‘deserved’ to claim, but I took confidence from everyone here and this morning got a settlement email of £432 from MyJar on four of the seven loans I had with them. Awaiting Safetynet Credit, Uncle Buck and Swift Sterling, although obviously the latter will be small, if anyting, and take ages. I applied on the 15th to all those. I have still got Lending Stream to do, because it wouldn’t let me do it even though I logged in on my phone, it was as if their complaints facility was disabled…so I will try on my laptop later today.
Like I said, I’m ashamed of my borrowing. As with many people, my marriage broke down, I tried to work full-time with two young children, one of whom developed several chronic illnesses, but the stress was too much and my mental health suffered, which affected my career. I had precarious and often changing employment thereafter. I have larger loans totalling £13k in a DMP with StepChange, which I also should never have taken or been given, but less sure how to deal with those.
I’m just glad I’m out of the constant borrowing cycle, and just want to put this all behind me and clean up my credit record a bit.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Tania, good to get a result through from Myjar so soon.
What are the larger debts in your DMP?
Tania says
They were Tesco, Vanquis, Next, Likely Loans and 118118.
Jane says
I recently put in a claim against MYjar. They rejected my complaint today. I thought I had a good case reading other comments on here and looking at recent Ombudsman decisions. I had 4 loans in an 18 month period. 1st 2 were £150 and the last 2 were £450. I reloaned each time a few days after the last one was paid off and already had loans with Sunny, Satsuma and Peachy.
is it worth sending to the Ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s up to you. You may be able to get a refund on the last loan, arguing that they should have looked closely as you had been continuously in debt with them for so long. It may help f your other debts were a lot worse when you took the last loan than when you took the first one.
Jane says
Thanks Sara. Yes by the time I took the last one I was over my credit limit on both credit cards as I had got behind trying to pay these back every month. I will send to Ombudsman and see how I get on. Also sent a complaint to Satsuma as had 9 loans with them over the same period (sometimes 3 at the same time). I am now free of all these companies. Paid my last instalment this month. Been a horrendous couple of years.
Liam says
Anyone dealt with Piggybank and Satsuma? They’re the two I have the biggest cases with I think.
I entered into an arrangement to pay back a loan to both, after I failed to meet what I had agreed to and paid back £15 a month for 3 years… and then they both immediately let me reborrow £400 inside a week of completing the ones I had to go into an arrangement for! Madness, from both me (in 2014) and them. Cannot believe someone borrows £250 over 26 weeks, can’t pay it back, finally does in 3 years and is immediately allowed to borrow again, no questions asked.
They all quote 8 weeks but I wondered in reality how quickly people have had cases resolved.
Dani says
Piggybank have gone bust, you will need to contact the administrators
Mal says
No money left for unsecured creditors. Read the report today. What is odd is that the form directors created a new company and that company is being paid to manage collections, so they took the company into admin and still getting paid by the administrators each month.