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?
AF says
Hi Sara,
My adjudicator have not uphold my complaint against Mr. Lender. I had 3 loans with Mr lender between October 2017 and March 2019. During this time I also had loans with Trusted Quid. Wonga, Wage Day Advance, 118 money, Uncle Buck, Everyday Loans and Lending Stream. Another Adjudicator has already upheld my complaint against Lending Stream which I have received a refund. I am surprised that this Adjudicator have not upheld my complaint against Mr. Lender. Do you have any suggestions. thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large were these loans? How long between repaying loan 1 and taking loan 2? Between loan 2 and loan 3?
AF says
Hi Sara,
1. The first loan was on 02/07/2017 for £300; this was settled on 27/10/2017 £507.20
2. Second loan was 03/11/2017 for £700; this was settled on 25/05/2018 £1350.75
3. Third loan was 25/05/2018 for £1000; this was settled on 29/03/2019 £1505.46
Thanks for your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, I think it is worth asking for that to go to an Ombudsman. 3 loan cases aren’t easy to win but there were no gaps and the loans got a lot bigger each time.
AF says
Thank you x
Cazza says
I recently received my refund of just over £1600 from Lending stream, however, as part of my redress they were supposed to settle my outstanding loans (redress was originally over 2k).
The money cleared in my account about two weeks ago, however, I am still getting default notices, txts, emails….etc
Does anyone have any similar experiences as I have complained numerous times and get a standard email, I’ve tried to call but have been told it takes time.
Andy says
Hi all , anyone had any recent luck with provident aka satsuma ? Mine is currently with the adjudicator
Turtle says
Yes. They accepted adjudacators recommendation and paid up. I had to chase them myself to respond to the FOS.
Andy says
Did you send emails or call them mate and if you don’t mind me asking what offer did they accept ? I had 15 loans over 3 years cheers
St123 says
Yes I eventually got a refund, send them bank statements screenshots of when you got the loans to show in affordability. I got upheld on all 3 of my loans and got a refund that i was happy with. Take there time but dont give up.
Keep emailing them complaints@provident.co.uk or .com
Andy says
Yeah I’ve done all of that I was a heavy gambler at the time in 20,000 plus debt at the times of taking these loans so I imagine I’ve got a good case just waiting for the adjudicator to give me and satsuma his decision so fingers crossed and congrats mate 👍
Andy says
And thankyou for the advice 👍
James says
I just received a repayment from Morses club, after the Ombudsman ruled in my favour. I notice they have actually sent me two amounts, one for the amount I was expecting, and a separate one for slightly more. I’m assuming this is a mistake on their part. What should I do? Am I legally obligated to pay it back?
Jeff says
Say nothing lol
Gemma says
I agree lol although I do hope it’s not payment I’m waiting for hahah….. how long did it take you to get your payment after you agreed James?
James says
2 – 3 weeks
chris says
Hi You are legally obliged to give it back if it genuinely you are not entitled to it. Sorry. You can get into real trouble if you don’t.
Andy says
Wait till they ask you for it , don’t spend it , if they do ask pay it back if they don’t treat yourself 👍
Mike_p says
Yes, you agree obliged to pay it back if it was an error.
Maybe you could tell them that you have passed their enquiry to your mistakes department and will respond within 8 weeks, and then tell them their refund had been approved and will be paid within 28 days.
Morgan says
Hi has anyone else had a similar experience I put a complaint in to 118118 money after 8 weeks they have emailed to say due to the complexity of my complaint they need a further 21 days to look in to it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it probably isn’t complex, it’s more likely they just haven’t looked at it yet!
I suggest you send the complaint to the Ombudsman straight away.
Morgan says
Thank you for all your advice sara
RS says
I have the same but saying an additional 14 days required and that was on 31st March. I have sent it straight to FOS.
Jane says
I received my refund from Myjar today. They initially rejected my claim so sent it to the Ombudsman. Adjudicator partially upheld my complaint and Myjar agreed. I first complained on 14.01.20 so not really took that long from start to finish.
Jane Y says
Anyone had any luck with Avant Credit or Likely loans. My 8 weeks is up on Tuesday and not heard anything yet.
Jane
Fran says
Likely loans took the full 8 weeks to respond to me but wrote off all the interest and deducted it from my remaining balance. Really easy to deal with.
Jane Y says
How many loans did you have and had you paid it off
Fran says
Hi Jane Y
I had 2 loans with them. First for £900 which was paid off, second for £1200. I still owed them £1400 and they reduced the balance to under £300. I continued making my months payments during the 8 weeks.
Jane Y says
I think I only had one which I paid off. I took the loan Oct 17 for 3k interest charged nearly 5k. Paid off loan in Sept 18. They rebated 3.5k so dont know if I will get anything.
Peter says
I put a complaint in to nextcredit I just been told I have a case but they have now go into liquidation what does that mean for the case thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much have you borrowed from them? Do you still owe them money?
Timbo says
Hi
Am I right In thinking lending steam redress payment are paid by transfer rather than BACS?.
My 28 days is up on Monday so fingers crossed it is generally transfers !
Mike_p says
Mine was a transfer, it was paid at about 10:30 in the morning with a confirmation email about 10 minutes later.
Timbo says
Received my redress from Lending steam this morning so day 25 of 28.
Thank you for this site as I discovered it because of Wonga and didn’t realise I could complain to other payday lenders I used in the past.
Thank you debt camel!
Lindsay says
Still not had mine😭😭😭 im on day 28! I have no idea of the order, i use that term loosely, that they are following! Happy for you all though!
Jeff says
I’ve just had my complaint with Piggy Bank upheld and full interest + statutory interest offered + removal of records off credit file. However, since they are currently in administration, the amount I’ll finally get back might be nothing. Am I right to assume that escalating to FOS will/will not change this? i.e. Just to accept the offer and hope there are funds left after selling off the company’s assets? Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you owe them any money?
Jeff says
Hi Sara,
No I have no outstanding balances. I was lucky enough to come across your website by chance so going back and making a few complaints.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS won’t take the case. You do have to sit and wait to see what percentage is paid out.
shaun says
Hi again! Bit of a long shot… before I got stuck into complaining and taking cases the FOS etc, and before I found this great site..
I raised a issue with myjar on resolver they rejected and at the time I thought that is that. Now I know after a few results on here I got a great case going the FOS. Unfortunately the 6 month has gone by and am gutted I let it go.
Long shot but if I start a new complaint from this is lay out template theres a chance I might get another shot at it? Sounds stupid I know but maybe get someone else looking at it and start the process again?
Thanks for all the advice!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry, that isn’t going to work.
Gadfly says
Just logged onto my credit karma report. I rarely use it and use a diff company.
However am shocked to see that I have an open account with Elevate for £47 and it’s a default. It’s from 2016.
This is my only default and I’ve begged them to remove it from my file back in2017 when I made a complaint. They refunded another loan but refused to budge on this.
Very depressing to see it still there and oddly still marked as open.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s pity you didn’t send the case to the Ombudsman in 2017.
But if they refunded you on a different loan, surely they settled the outstanding balance?
chris says
hi, lending stream replied around 6 weeks ago to say they are not upholding my claim on 9 loans i took out with them ,they said my income and expenditure showed i had enough disposable income…
yesterday i received a reply from FOS saying that they will give me a reply within 2 weeks
my question is LS only asked me once my income, i did Lie about my income to ensure i got the loans… what is the likely hood FOS will take my side and my claim is successful?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Each case is different so I’m not going to guess at the chance of you winning.
It’s easy to construct a 9 loan case where the chance of you winning is small. Say your loans were in order 200, 500, 100, 3 month gap, 100, 100, 4 month gap, 400, 8 month gap, 200, three month gap, 200, 100. That pattern doesn’t look like you are in much trouble as the gaps are large and the amount borrowed isn’t going up.
But if the amount borrowed tended to increase or stay the same and there weren’t large gaps, then in a typical 9 loan case FOS will decide that the lender should have looked closely at your situation after te first few loans.
And in the last half of 2019, Lending Stream lost 80% of FOS cases… so they are often making poor lending decisions.
chris says
how does that look?…
1 £505.00 July 9, 2012
2 £765.00 Sept. 27, 2012
3 £495.00 Jan. 10, 2013
4 £465.00 April 16, 2013
5 £155.00 May 8, 2013
6 £360.00 Sept. 2, 2013
7 £650.00 April 20, 2015
8 £400.00 Dec. 15, 2015
9 £350.00 April 28, 2016
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Were these 1 month loans?
chris says
No number 1-6 wer one after the other then the break between was because i was not accepted
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you may get a few loans refunded, but the break means it would be “all after the 4th loan” or anything simple. Good luck!
Mel says
Hi, what is the difference between line of credit facility and instalment product loan ? I have a rejected claim from Sunny, I had 12 draws of credit between 22/4/14 until 21/12/14 – it doesn’t give the value of loans.
I’ve sent to FOS but just a little confusing!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A line of credit facility is more like a credit card. An instalment loan us just one loan you repay over a period.
Mel says
So do the unaffordable lending principals still apply ? Im sorry if I’m being thick !
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes – they apply to almost all forms of credit! And people have won these Sunny cases so right to send it to FOS.
Mel says
Thanks Sara, I thought I was missing something! The loan data sheet they sent me doesn’t show the value of each drawdown – just the number of drawdowns against one loan number. I have asked them to provide this to me so I can send on to FOS.
I had payday loans all over the place at the time and visible on credit file but they said there were no detrimental factors on credit file ! Hopefully will get a positive response from FOS
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can send thus yo FPS now, you don’t need to know the details – providing you remember that making the repayments caused you problems, that’s enough to say you want FOS to look at your complaint.
Luke says
I received my final ombudsman decision on 2 days ago. They have partially upheld my complaint and said I need to get in touch to agree/disagree by 8th May. I have emailed them to say I agree but the FOS websites say that emails may take up to 4 weeks, seems a long time has anybody recently had a response quicker than this?
David Lipczer says
Anyone with an outstanding PDL please speak to your lender and let them know you are unable to make a payment for at least the next 3 months.
The FCA has as of 09/04/2020 mandated that firms who provide consumer credit products (PDLs) must offer a 3 month payment holiday to customers as a minimum.
Based on the current situation with COVID-19 save this money for food and priority bills, and let the lenders who you have a loan with wait.
The FCA rules also mandate that lenders cannot adversely affect your credit report in this period of non-payment.
Lenders will tell you to keep paying but don’t let them bully you, know your rights.
Before calling the lenders read the link below, and have it at hand when speaking to them.
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-confirms-temporary-financial-relief-customers-impacted-coronavirus
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unfortunately these FCA proposals exclude payday loans. I have no idea why. The FCA says it will be looking at payday loans separately.
BUT if you can’t afford to repay you should definitely sill ask for a payment break. And consider making an affordability complaint as well if you have borrowed fro the same lender several times or the loan was large.
Andy says
I have been able to get a break with my debt management plan for 1 month but they said if I still have problems at this time I should ring back up so it’s worth ringing your debt management company if your struggling 👍
J says
Hi Sara what do you class as a large loan? I borrowed £500 from Moneyboat in July 2019. I made 2 payments and then went onto a reduced payment plan and then had to reduce the payment plan further as I could not afford the payments. At the time of taking the loan I had 2 guarantor loans, was on payment plans with Ferratum and Cash4unow, I had a loan with Mr Lender and I was on a dmp. I am currently paying the loan off at £10 per month. Is it worth sending Moneyboat a complaint or not as I’ve only had one loan with them? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You are pretty unlikely to win that complaint.
July 19 was after you started making affordability complaints. Are you still borrowing from other lenders?
J says
No that was the last loan I took out
steve says
Hi!
Does anyone know if there is a difference between Affordability complaints, and Irresponsible lending complaints?
Had a final response from MY JAR which basically said the complaint was for affordability checks and they are satisfied that using Transunion affordability data, they carried out all affordability checks they should have.
However, they then suggest that if I feel I should not have been given the loan, then I can send them a copy of my credit report as at no point during the application, or investigation, have they seen the full report or bank statements.
Spoke on the phone with Customer Services, and they believe there to be a difference, and agreed with their response that they do not look at the full credit report.
All very strange it seems??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you just have 1 loan from them? How large?
There are many reasons why an irresponsible lending complaint can be made, but these days 95% or more of them are affordability complaints.
steve says
I only had one loan with them for 425. Made no payments. Looking at just the one loan, then it doesn’t scream like it should be upheld. However at the time, there were multiple defaults on my account with outstanding balances, I was in unsecured work, and my general credit report was appalling. But it would appear they didn’t take this into account during the complaint.
It seems very odd that they are suggesting, even after what appears to be a Final Response, that they are asking for a copy of my full credit report and bank statements. Not sure whether to bother giving them a chance to review these or take it straight to the ombudsman (the final response, of course, did say that was the next step anyway).
steve says
So in theory, their affordability checks didn’t take into account outstanding balances that weren’t in payment plans / being paid and my history with credit.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The problem is that lenders aren’t obliged to check your credit report.
I would send them the credit report and bank statements they are asking for, there is no downside to doing this as this case won’t be easy to win at FOS.
Steve says
Okay. Will let you know how it pans out. Thanks a million :)
Cazza says
Advice needed please
I had two balances that were due to be settled as part of my redress with Lending Stream, I received the balance payment last month however, the two loans were still showing as active.
I have received emails, txts, letters and was told to ignore them, two weeks ago I received two default notices and today two termination letters with the threat of court.
You can’t call them now and no one has replied to any emails for over a month. I have contact the FOS again for advice but simply don’t know what to do.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are these balances with lending Stream or have they been sold to a debt collector?
Caroline says
They are with Lending Stream and is was all part of the FOS decision.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you can ignore them and assume it will all be sorted out. Keep an eye open for an letters headed “Letter Before Claim” or “letter before Action” – they have to be issued before a court case is started. Until you get one of those they are just bluffing.
Or you could send LS a new complaint saying why are you still being pestered and ask for compensation.
Lindsay says
Just wanted to let you know that I received my redress payment from Lending Stream today. Hallelujah!
Thank you Sarah for this site! If it wasn’t for my Wonga claim, I would not have known to try and claim for others. Just had £2500 paid in. To be honest it couldn’t have come at a better time! There is hope people! Hang in there😊
Tania says
I’m day 23 today so hopefully soon. Although they have refused to acknowledge that I accepted their offer so maybe I’m not day anything…
Scott says
Tania exact same situation as you and mine just went into my bank a few mins ago
Andrew says
Hi Sara
Little confused read the refund form hmrc article on your website
In tax yr 17/18 they took around 200 off my refunds
In rax Yr 18/19 they took around 600 can I claim the whole 800 back in 2 different forms for the different tax years or will I only get some of that back or will they charge me more for tax
I am a basic rate tax payer
TIA
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can claim £200 back for the first tax year and £200 back for the second. You can’t owe any more tax unless the extra 85 took you over the boundary into being a higher rate taxpayer.
Andrew says
Thanks that was what was confusing me I thought you had a allowance of uo to a 1000 and I would get it all back
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes the tax-free savings allowance is £1000 – but you pay 20% tax on that £1000 so £200 is what you can get back.
Jade says
Hi, I am currently in a dmp and I need to update a few things towards it . I currently have balances from moneybox247 listed . Of whom I have affordability complaints in with but my dmp is paying them every month am I right in thinking I could remove these until I get a response and no Futher action would be taken?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How many loans did you have from 247 before this last defaulted one?
How are your other complaints going – you said before you were thinking of a DRO?
Jade says
Not sure only a couple . But my other affordability complaints I had with wonga and myjar have been successful (safety net and ls have written off some of my balance owed) to be honest i was looking at it as was going on maternity leave so reduced income . However unfortunately my daughter was stillborn and was born a few weeks earlier than expected so now I am on maternity leave pay . My partner is currently off work on furlough . So I can’t afford my dmp this month and it’s the 4th missed payment in 12 months so it will get cancelled although! I have been paying it every month the past 6 months fine it was just a bumpy start with it when it was originally set up! .. I was hoping to just continue paying my monthly amount but it’s just not possible and they won’t reduce my minimum amount as I am already on it . It needs all looking at again and updating balances etc . So was just wondering if I redo it can I leave 247 off . ATM I am in no way shape or form to have the stress of this on my head . I am scared I am having to skip my dmp as it’s just peace of mind but at the same time I know it does need updating and sorting out .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If it was only a couple then that isn’t a strong affordability complaint and you may not win it.
I am so sorry to hear about your baby. I hope being stuck at hone under lockdown isn’t too dreadful for you.
How large is the total debts in your DMP now? Do you expect to be able to go back to work when your maternity leave ends, when is that? With the furlough, I think StepChange will suspend your DMP if you ask for it.
Jade says
Yes I am looking to go back to work at the end of the summer holidays at most . I can’t afford to be off work any longer .
My debts are at around £3,100
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well I suggest asking for a coronavirus payment break with StepChange. If they say No (i will be surprised) then just end the DMP, tell all your creditors individually you need a payments break. Then when you are back at work, think about what you can afford to pay to them.
Jade says
Thank you I will ask just waiting to get through to someone on the phone I imagine I will be on the phone a long time but will update . Do you know how long they are offering on any such breaks for Coronavirus ? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can’t imagine they will want everyone asking every month for another month. It could be “3 months or until your partner is back to normal work if that is earlier”. An update would be great.
Jade says
Have just come off the phone to a lovely lady . Payment suspended for 3 payments . Had options of 1/2/3 months but like you and she said no one knows how long this is going to go on for so best taking 3 . Coronavirus impacted code placed on file so will go out to all my creditors. Thank you again so much Sara. Took me a lot of strength to call up as been worrying about it and the mindset to talk to someone about something so stressful right now x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
good news – what a relief for you.
JOJO says
Drafty have missed 2 deadlines to respond to the adjudicator recommendations on an upheld complaint. I appreciate things are slower than normal at the moment. 27th march first deadline and 9th april second deadline. What happens now? Adjudicator said he will pass to Ombudsman……does that mean I have to wait in the que again for the Ombudsman? Thanks all
JOJO says
Can anyone advise on this. Do you think a report to the FCA will also be necessary?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, it goes into the queue for the Ombudsman. This seems to be moving faster.
Lending stream normally accept most adjudicator deecisions, so as they have;t actually rejected this one, they may still pop up and accept it.
JOJO says
Ah ok. Thank you. Wasnt sure if there was anything more I should be or could do to at least get them to respond.
I will put my patience hat back on. 😊
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you can try a poor Trust Pilot review… https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/drafty.co.uk
Alex F says
Sara,
Uncle Buck have now gone under. The FOS took forever to get back to me and now wont consider my claim following a final response rejection from UB. I can’t believe this is happening. I have several other loan claims too, I fear all these companies will go into administration as the FO drag their heels for months and months. On a side note, are you aware of FERNOVO, trading as QUIDIE? They are refusing to accept I ever had an account with them. This is all very stressful.
Keep up the good work as always Sara, this website is brilliant!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS have no option to continue to work on a complaint after administration, legally they can’t.
Who are you other Claims against?
Fernovo/Quidie – do you have emails from them from when the loans were given or bank statements showing the loans and repayments?
Alex F says
Yep! I have sent Fernovo, the account numbers with Quidie and they are refusing to accept I had an account with Quidie. Another one i’ll be referring to the FOS.
I have claims against Sunny, MYJAR, Mr Lender, 118 money, Cashfloat, HSBC, Cashplus. You name it, I’ve got a claim against them all. The FOS have taken months just to ask me for statements and credit reports. Honestly, I don’t know if I hold out any hope for a good result from this. I think my point about the administration is the FOS responded a day or two after UB went under, how coincidental.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well HSBC is pretty safe!
I always suggest people send credit reports and bank statements with the FOS complaint to remove the need for the later step.
Are you making payments to any of the lenders?
Alex F says
I only owe Bamboo, of which it has been passed to a debt collection agency now. They have said they will accept £1300 as a one off payment, or £1500 over 15 £100 a month instalments on a balance of £2000. This is initially after offering my a partial settlement of £1800. It seems they will just offer whatever they want and there is no consistency. I have asked for a break whilst my complaint with Bamboo goes through. Is this wise?
Also what do you mean by HSBC is safe?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are your finances affected by coronavirus? If they are you can ask for a payment break because of that, irrespective of your other complaint.
Your bamboo loan – how did you borrow? how much have you paid to it so far?
(HSNC is pretty safe is a joke – they are one of the biggest banks in the world, there aren’t any worries about them going under.)
Alex F says
Sorry, I see what you mean now. Interestingly enough and quite co-incedently, HSBC have refunded me £80 x 3 in overdraft charges. £240 seems a very odd number to pluck out of thin air. I was charged £80 for almost 14 months on an unnaranged overdraft every month. Should I go back to them for me. they seem to have just picked three random months to refund.
Bamboo I took out £2000, and owed £2800 back. My balance stands at £1850 with the debt collection agency. They don’t seem to have been too pressing, I havem’t actually paid them a penny back for months. Not sure how to go about doing this one.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you have only paid 2800 – 1850 = 950 back so far? You will have to repay what you borrowed, so there is no harm in setting up a payment arrangement for this one.
Have you sent the complaint to FOS?
Rach says
Hi guys quick update – so put my complaint into SNC on 26th feb they replied last week upholding my complaint and offering to pay me 300 pound stating this was there final offer! (I had paid 3000 in interest when I actually worked it out exactly) I emailed back at the advice of Sara and added all my statements that proved how much interest I paid! Low and behold just 6 days later (got email yesterday) they have reinvestigated my claim apologised for their first email and now offered to clear my current balance of 812 pound and repay me 1750 plus 50 for the inconvenience! Plus remove any notes from credit file! Close enough for me! Accepted! Thank you so much to Sara and you guys for the help comments and suggestions! Good luck to you all with your claims! Don’t accept a “final” offer if you disagree! Thanks again Sara x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well done!
Alex F says
I wouldn’t expect payment from SNC any time soon. I had a £105 reclaim accepted in January, still not paid out.
R says
Hi Rach and Sara
Am I missing something.. they offered you 300 pounds and did not mention you outstanding balance in the initial offer?
How exactly did you approach them to reverse the final offer?
In my case was offered 500 then in a second email they stuck to it with a letter and final decision.. I’ve been busy elsewhere but have since checked all interest paid to them (+-3100) i have no outstanding balance the account had been closed by them last year.. but checking bank statements they show other payday loans, gambling (typical picasso) on bank account with a maxed o/d of 2500.. so I’m about to answer would accept any of your wise words as we have similar cases. thank-you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In Rach’s case the offer letter was confused see https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-loan-refunds/comment-page-188/#comment-359137
Have SNC confirmed how much interest you have paid? If they won’t change their mind, you have to choose between a bird in the hand and a flock in the bush.
Rach says
Hi, they basically made there first “final offer” letter hazy and put some amounts on there that meant nothing to me, like 600 pound they owed me minus the principal outstanding balance of 300 – I owed 812 so unsure wat it all meant, I think they meant they were clearing my balance (or principal outstanding) meaning I would get 300 but there letter did state we will pay back all interest from 1st dec 2017. I basically emailed back thanking them for accepting to pay all my interest back but that the interest was added incorrectly and I attached all statements to prove it and said so I would be happy to accept a sum of 3000 (which was the interest paid) as per their offer! They emailed back about some misunderstanding in first letter and they had reinvestigated but this time found they wouldn’t b upholding all my claim but to close the case and to apologise for any miscommunication offered t clear balance of 812 and pay me new amount. Yes I probably could of argued the case further or gone to ombudsman with their first letter but I just wanted to put an end to it n accepted. Hope that helps x
Alex F says
I badgered SNC again over email today and they responded immediately apologising and said the money would be in my account by end of play Friday 17th. Allelulia!!!
Liam says
I know there’s no set time but what’s an average-ish time for getting the ball rolling with FOS? I submitted a complaint regarding H&T Pawnbrokers on 4th March and got my confimration email but nothing since.
MnM says
Difficult to say as there doesn’t seem to be any logic with the way they do them. I’ve got ones from September/October 2019 still awaiting to be assigned an adjudicator.
emma says
is it still possible to get money back from peachy? today they sent an email stating they are upholding my complaint and offered me nearly 900 pound but i am fully aware that they have gone into administration so does this mean i wont get anything back anyway?
Matt says
You’ll get something back, but unfortunately it will only be a very small % of the £900 and it will take months to receive the money as they will pay everyone at the same time when the administration finishes.
Steve J says
Hi Sara,
I’ve just received a Final response letter from Lending Stream, they have fully rejected my complaint against 21 loans but have only acknowledged 15 loans in my response letter (i’ve followed your advice and made sure to get copy’s of my credit report before this all started so I can evidence this)
Is this a usual tactic for LS? i’m wondering to go straight to the FOS now or give them time to address the number of loans, even though i doubt that will change the decision…more thinking will it help my case down the line when it does go to the FOS.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
were the missing loans all at the start or the end?
Steve J says
Thanks for getting back to me Sara,
first and last loans are there correctly and the missing ones are spread throughout, from about mid 2016 to the end of 2018
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s odd.
In that case I suggest you go go back to LS and point out the missing loans. By increasing gaps between the lending that may have affected the decision. Given them say 10 days to review before sending it to FOS.
Paul says
I had a complaint upheld by Lending Stream on 14th March, a week before lockdown and told it would be paid within 28 days (by 11 April 2020).
Still no payment, so this morning I sent a Special Delivery to their Head Office in Harrow with my intent to take the matter to Court.
No response to emails. And they’ve now disabled their live chat too it would seem.
I also pointed out that a bank transfer takes me less than 60 seconds online from start to finish, so I’m not prepared to accept Covid-19 as a viable excuse for the delay in payment.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Also tell the FCA (their regulator) what you think of their very poor complaint handling. copy this to LS and hopefully they will hate it!
The FCA won’t intervene in your case but this is quick and easy to do. Email to consumer.queries@fca.org.uk. Copy this email to stuart@global-analytics.com and chris.deboer@global-analytics.com
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Say that Gain Securities (689378) trading as Lending Stream has upheld your complaint on 14 March and told you you would be paid by 11 April, within 28 days. but you haven’t been and they are not responding to emails. Say you understand that delays are being caused by coronavirus but you cannot see how it can take more than 28 days to pay you.
End by saying you understand the FCA will not investigate your complaint but you wanted to report their very poor complaint handling.
Paul says
Will do, thanks for the advice.
Zubby says
Hey Paul, I’m going through something similar with them, did you have any luck with a response? I’ve been waiting 9 weeks
RM says
Hi Sara/All,
Is anyone able to comment on how long the complaint process took from submitting initial complaint to reviving a response, offer and then being paid out?
In relation to:
Sunny, Lending Stream and satsuma
Phil says
Hi RM, I complained to Sunny the Wednesday of the last week of January 2020, using Sara’s template, CC’ed the fca email and numerous people from elevate (all there on this page) They responded with an offer the day before their 8 weeks was up, that I accepted. I then emailed to find out when my money was to be paid and then when it was in by that day emailed constantly, CC’ed Fca in again(just the one time) and left a trust pilot review until it was put in around 7pm that night. One thing that I felt helped was going through my account and putting my interest into a spread sheet so I could make an informed choice over what is a good offer. All the best!
Michael Rivers says
Hi, in my experience the process seems to be getting longer and longer. I first started claiming back in october 2018 and received refunds within 4 months but now I have had complaints with the ombudsman since October and November 2019 and they still haven’t been assigned to an adjudicator. I realise that more and more people are complaining but the process is taking a lot longer nowadays. it is quicker to try and resolve yourself but beware that the companies undervalue your compensation. I was offered £1850 by Mr Lender recently but going by the guidelines the claim is worth in excess of £5000 so worth the wait in the long run.
Ben says
Hi Sara,
I have today received an email from Safetynet credit. Stating they have investigated my initial complaint, template used from here, and before issuing a formal offer wanted to first put an offer directly to me.
The offer is to write off £1309.45 close account and refund £600. This amount being paid directly to me. In addition they will delete all entries in relation to Safetynetfrom my credit file.
They state:
? On reviewing your account history, we concluded our initial decision to lend to you was correct and fair, based on the information you provided at application, your credit file status at the time you were approved and 90 days prior to this.
? We looked at the continued decision to lend to you, your disposable income level throughout the lending period and the credit limit increases offered to you.
Where we find some of our decisions may not have been in our customer?s best interests and may have caused a degree of detriment, we partially uphold the complaint and provide an offer to fully settle the complaint. This is what has been in done in your case.
I initially started with a £300 limit which increased over 20 months. The final balance of £1309 being unpaid and passed to CRS. The amount of interest paid over that time is calculated to be £3341.
In you experience, would you say this is a good offer?
Thanks
Jane Y says
Well today is day 56 for both Likely loans and Avant Credit and not heard a thing from them!
Anyone else experienced this?
Jane Y
R says
Hi Jane,
Avant responded to me, rather quickly, and rejected. The FOS adjudicator, and Ombudsman, both sided with them. Likely Loans, also responded quite quickly. Again, they rejected my complaint but, the FOS adjudicator took my side and they have agreed to his views and are repaying me all of the interest & charges, plus 8%. You could always send them an email saying that, as you’re not far off the 8 week grace period, that you would like an update and that if they’re nowhere near able to give you a final response, that you need to know to prepare to go to the FOS? The current Covid 19 situation MAY have slowed things down but, your complaints were in a fair while before all of this kicked off?
Jane Y says
Hi R
I have just had an email from Avant saying it is still being investigated. As they have not come to a decision in the 8 weeks they said I have the right to now have the right to go to the FOS.
Still waiting on Likely Loans. I did call them earlier and the guy said I should get a response and if I didnt get one today to go to FOS.
R says
Hi Jane and R
If you don’t mind me asking how many loans did you have with likely loans and what amounts?
R says
My Likely Loans were an initial £2000, then £1000 top up.
Jane Y says
I had one loan which I repaid after about 10 months when.a family member paid it off to save on the interest.
Dave L says
Anyone had any experience with moneyboat. I have submitted a complaint to them today as per of my DMP, reply two hours later threatening that if my bank statements which they require for a complaint are not exactly as per my application they will have me dealt with for fraud. It seems they are trying to discourage complaints, surely they can’t be allowed to send out the threatening emails to discourage complaints.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes they are unpleasant.
Several lenders are – but so far I haven’t heard of anyone having any problems after one of these threats if they take their case to the ombudsman.
Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-lender-says-lied/
Elaine says
I made a complaint against Moneyboat, they did not ask for any bank statements from me. The adjudicator upheld my complaint but Moneyboat still refused to agree so it went further to an ombudsman, Eventually ombudsman agreed with the adjudicator and now Moneyboat have to pay me redress. Good luck.
Dave L says
I’ve told them I’ve complained to the FOS and the FCA about the tone of their email , and sent them both a copy
Dan says
Hi Sara.
How long are cases generally having to wait for a final ombudsman decision? Cashfloat and quidmarket both rejected adjudicators decision to uphold my loans and these have been in a queue for a final ombudsman decision for over 3 months now. I emailed my adjudicators and they dont know how much longer the wait will be.
Elaine says
I waited nearly 6 months and in the end asked for my case to be given priority, which they did and few days later ombudsman looked at my case. I would ring and ask for it to be a priority case.
J S says
Hello, H&T missed the deadline on my case for getting back to the adjudicator, so went to the queue for an Ombudsman.
However yesterday, H&T contacted FOS to say they agree adjudicator decision and have made me an offer.
So even though it’s in the queue for Ombudsman, it might just be that the companies during COVID19 arent able to make the deadlines set
R says
Hi Sara,
They re opened the account and offered 500 not in the shape of a redress with the 8% interest.. no mention was made to the interest I payed over time..
I logged in downloaded all transactions and worked out the total interest (3000+) and then checked some of the bank statements..
The 1st email was a offer.. second email came 8 days later with a letter attached as a final offer with the same amount stating as my balance was clear they proposed ex gratia one off payment of 500..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then go back to them and say as you have paid over £3000 interest you will be sending this to FOS unless they increase the offer to a reasonable level.
(PS I am not sure what lender you are talking about?)
Rui Saraiva says
Hi Sara,
Its Snc.. I did go back as suggested but they’ve stuck to their offer.. told them I was sending it to FOS but beginning to have doubts.. if I should not have taken the offer.. plus sunny also coming back with a hand full nothing.. what should I do with snc in your opinion?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it didn’t sound like a good offer but it’s your choice if you would prefer to accept it.
Ben says
Hi Sara
I was wondering if you could help me I was offered a refund for my affordability complaint from lending stream on the 15/03 I replied on the 18/03 accepting the refund and sending them my up to date bank details since then I have heard nothing from them there call centres are closed can’t get through to them on the phone at all and I’ve contacted them 8 times via there messaging service which they say to use but still no reply obciously I understand due to covid 19 they will be extremely busy but this isn’t great and I’m a bit stuck on what to do next as that refund would be a massive help with the current times
Danielle says
They do take a while to reply, and I guess with everything going on its probally a bit longer, they took 5-7 days to reply to me before this happened
Tania says
I accepted a refund on the 21st which they did not acknowledge- I emailed several times to request an acknowledgement and got no response. They have just paid the refund this morning.
Holly D says
I have raised an affordability claim against Satsuma which has now progressed to FOS, who are asking for a copy of my credit karma report. I do not know how to do this. Can anyone help in non computer speak?
Many thanks
shaun says
Afternoon,
Sorry to go over old ground but I’ve got a complaint going with sunny and I’ve asked for advice before.
They partially upheld my complaint and said I had 66 draws of credit now the offer they gave me felt very low and I’ve taken it to the FOS.
But my question is I need advice on is have I done this wrong and treated draws of credit as loans? Is there a difference? An was there offer maybe fair? It was for about £286.
Sorry to ask again but just with the FOS asking for more details I’ve went over everything again and wondering if I’ve made a mistake.
Thanks for any help.
Luucy says
Just a general question really regarding Sunny.
The adjudicator has just sent me a copy letter that shes sent to Sunny advising that there were 10 loans that should never have been lent to me etc.. Are Sunny more than likely to contest this , just wanting to know peoples experiences?
Nick says
Hi Lucy, so they ignored my adjudicator twice (after two weeks and then another two weeks) and then whilst waiting for the ombudsman they came back with a counter offer of 5 loans (adjudicator had said 15 loans should be refunded). Sunny also sent me an email explaining they are only responding to FOS when they agree with them as they are waiting for some court thing to go through.
Luucy says
Thanks Nick , Had a feeling I wouldnt be in for an easy ride !
Nick says
No worries :) if it helps the email they sent was nearly two weeks ago so maybe it might be slightly quicker for you fingers crossed
R says
Hi there
Sorry to ask.. I’m getting confused with adjudicator here adjudicator there..
Would the first adjudicator be someone from a claims company acting on your behalf?
R says
Hi there
Sorry to ask.. I’m getting confused with adjudicator here adjudicator there..
Would the first adjudicator be someone from a claims company acting on your behalf?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no, a claims company is essentially useless, it doesn’t actually do anything, they just sit in the middle between you and the lender and later between you and the ombudsman.
The term “adjudicator” is used to describe the person at FOS who makes the first decision on your case. If either you or the lender disagrees with that decision, the complaint goes to be looked at by a more senior person at FOS called an “ombudsman”.
90% of FOS cases are settled at the adjudicator level.
R says
Thanks Sara :)
No more confusion on the matter
Mike_p says
I mistakenly used a claims company for my first claim (before I cam across this site). They are worse than useless – all they do is forward emails between you and the lender/FOS that could have been sent directly, and charge you a hefty fee for slowing the process down.
J S says
Hi, does anyone know what the position is with Albemarle and Bond? I had cheque cashing payday loans from then and a speed loan instalment loan from them.
I am sure I read they were in financial difficulty themselves.
I sent a complaint on 11th March but not heard from them. I dont want to pursue if they are in administration etc.
Nick says
Hi all
Just wanted to ask if anyone has any advice on how to get sunny /elevate to respond . I have had the final decision from ombudsman in March signed and sent back acceptance of there decision they say they have notified the business but no response to me. I called the customer service number and was advised to email. I have done this now twice and no response. I have added a review to trust pilot.
Was wondering if anyone has manged to get ceo email address
nick craddock says
Hi
I have today had a response to an email i sent yesterday to the ceo rmallinder@elevatecredit.co.uk
of SUNNY .
I was sent the value of my refund and asked for bank details. I sent these at a round 2pm and to my surprise the money was paid into my bank at 4pm
This was a great result after having them decline my complaint back in November 2018 had to go all the way to ombudsman.
This site has been a great help thank you Sara
Only one left now and this is quick quid was waiting for the response to adjudicator decision when they just stopped replying then went into liquidation so may get a lot less than the 3k i should have got
Nick
Dan says
Hi all
I know 1 or 2 loan cases are hard to win, but it is worth trying if u were in difficulty when you took out the loans.
I complained to cash4unow about 2 small loans i took out when i had a gambling problem and was in a PDL cycle with lots of lenders.
They responded at the last minute of the 8 weeks saying they did not uphold my complaint, but would refund interest on both loans and remove them from my credit file to settle the complaint quickly. A bit of a result – if only all not upheld results were like that. :D
Andy says
Isn’t that upholding your complaint if they pay you back interest ?
Dan says
Thats what i thought- they say they dont agree but to help expidite the resolution they will pay me. It was less than the £550 the FOS charge and it was quite clear they didnt want it to go there as they said ‘if the FOS uphold they would offer the same’
Gabi says
They are not offering to pay back the 8% interest on top of the interest you paid so this is why they are saying they don’t uphold but will pay you back the initial interest. It still might be a good offer, just wanted to point that out. If your loans were from a while ago the 8% interest can add up. However, as they are effectively wiping your loans clean, this may not bother you.
Dan says
You are correct about the 8% interest but it wouldnt have been much as the interest itself isnt much! Loans are not that long ago either. Like i said a lot less than the £550 FOS fee.
They were pretty much pleading with me not to send to FOS.
Whatever the reason im delighted and think its worth complaining if u feel you were in hardship- even with very few loans
Dan says
Hi guys,
so I have had a offer from sunny my original interest paid was 3.1k they have offered 2056 + to wipe my current loan of 130 outstanding.
Do you think i should accept this or go to the ombudsman ?
Thanks in advance for any advice
JP says
Hi Dan,
How long did they take to give you a response and how much information did you have to provide/did they request?
Regards,
JP
Dan says
Hey JP,
The full 8 weeks would have been this Sunday. They didn’t ask for any information. I didn’t provide any either.
Regards,
Dan
R says
Dan,
Just my humble opinion..
I wouldn’t look back..and take it
H says
Hi all , cash 4 u now have taken double what they agreed to take can I complain and ask for them to put money back ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes! It may also be a good idea to cancel the CPA to them and pay them yourself with a standing order in future.
H says
Thank you we agreed a payment plan but they took the max money anyway :(
Chris says
Hi Sara put a complaint in with cashfloat and has been over the 8 week mark and haven’t even received a response of any sort from them. Do I just pass it straight on t the f.o.s? Have won a number of sums from my numerous other past lenders, all because of stumbling upon your great website thank you.
Shortie says
Between 2018-19 I took out a payday loan and it snowballed. It’s ruined my credit rating, couldn’t get a mortgage with my partner and could have lost my job. I have depression and anxiety but this has escalated to a point where I have panic disorder and am on strong medication to control it.
I have complained about one lender who asked me to provide evidence of my mental health issues (they also mucked up email and a phone call so I missed some communication from them). I’ve struggled with their constant automated texts too and the debt is now about 3x the original amount.
I can’t get bank statements for my HBOS account – they’ve said I need to go into a branch but due to Covid they won’t help right now. I cannot access my statements online any more. I do have my Transunion report and from that I mapped out each month between 2018-present, the number of loans I had each month (sometimes it was as high as 5 or 6) and the total cost. I have highlighted where new loan agreements began too. I plan to send an email to each provider (noting some are now in administration) to support my case.
Can I do this without my bank statements or should I complain to HBOS? Do I even have a leg to stand on? I hope so as this has pretty much ruined my life, my finances and my relationship. Thank you so much.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have complained about one lender who asked me to provide evidence of my mental health issues (they also mucked up email and a phone call so I missed some communication from them). I’ve struggled with their constant automated texts too and the debt is now about 3x the original amount.
who is this lender?
I suggest starting off your complaints now. You can send the bank statements at some later point.
Who are the lenders you have used and how many loans did you take from each of them?
Irene says
Hi Sara, If a payday loan has been sold to a debt company and the payday firm has gone bust, does the debt company have to show the loan was affordable if I make an affordability complaint? They are telling me it was the responsibility of the original lender and they aren’t responsible.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who was the original lender? had you borrowed a lot from them before this last loan?
Irene says
It was Speedy Cash, I had only one loan with them
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is too late to make a claim against the administrators there. And it’s pretty unlikely you would have won an affordability complaint with only one loan anyway.
Dan says
Hi Sara
I have had a complaint not upheld by cash4unow, when I replied to them saying I did not agree with the outcome they emailed me asking for a proposal of settlement that they could consider to close the matter without involving FOS, am I right in asking for all interest to be removed then any payments I have made to be deducted from the initial loan amount plus 8% simple interest added to my payments? Is there anything I should add?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you just have 1 loan with them? how much have you paid to it?
Dan says
It was 1 loan at £400 interest took it to £658, current balance is down to £427
Loan was taken out 31/01/2019 and added to my dmp
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So it looks as though you have paid 658-427 = £231 to the debt? SI that right, does it take into account your DMP payments?
If it is right, then if FOS upheld this, they would reduce the balance owed to 400 – 231 = £169. They wouldn’t suggest adding 8% interest on.
Dan says
Yes dmp payments included add up to £231 repaid so far, I thought the FOS would have suggested adding 8% interest to the £231 but I know now not to say that in my email to cash4unow, thank you for your advice its really appreciated
Jade says
Hi Sara,
I first posted on this page in Jan 2019, and I wanted to let you know that…
In May 2019, the Financial Ombudsman upheld my complaint about Lending Stream for 1 of 4 loans. All interest and charges were waived and they removed info about this loan from my credit score, and I paid of the balance in instalments last year.
With regards to Sunny, it went to the adjudicator who ruled in my favour on 10 of 13 loans. Sunny emailed me this morning and I have just sent them my bank details for them to refund me just over £1,400. Hopefully it will be paid soon and my credit file will be updated (I’ll keep an eye on that).
I still have some way to go to get out of debt. I have a credit card, loan and overdraft all with NatWest / RBS that were sold on to PRA Group; an overdraft with Nationwide; and a Barclaycard (this last one will be paid off by this time next year).
But I wanted to let you know my success so far, and to thank you for all your advice.
With best wishes,
Jade
Stevo says
Received today from Uncle Buck customer care…. We are writing to confirm receipt of your payment which was received today.
Your Uncle Buck loan has now been repaid and your account with us will now be closed.
The ombudsman upheld my complaint with them the day before the went into administration…. Funny enough ( inserts rolling eye emoji lol)
I’ve emailed back seeking clarification in the matter, as ling as the default is removed from credit file I’m not overly fussed on how much I’ll get back in the end from a claim in the region if about 1700.
Anyone had anything similar or shed some light on this as I’m not expecting a speedy reply from them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sounds like they have applied the right of set off to the balance and the award from FOS. If there is any refund left over, you will end up getting a small percentage of that when the administrators distribute to unsecured creditors.
The default should be deleted at some point.
Jade says
Hi all,
Just wanted to add that I received the payment from Sunny in my account today (for those of you wondering how quickly they make the redress payments).
Also, I made a typo in my comment above – it was the Ombudsman who ruled in my favour.
Best,
Jade