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 if you still owe money.
This article covers everything you need to get started. It’s easy, free and many people are winning large payouts.
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 managed to repay 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 be used to solve a short term problem. If you kept rolling a loan or 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 ignored even very obvious signs of problems such as your loans increasing in size or borrowing very soon after repayment.
How much compensation can you get?
You don’t have to calculate this. Or work out which loans were unaffordable.
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.
Payday loans are meant for short term problems and the lender should not have carried on giving you loans, 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, CashForUNow, Dot Dot, Fast Loan Uk, Fernovo, Kabayan, LoanPig, Mr Lender, Moneyboat, MyKredit, Smart Pig, QuidMarket, Savvy, WageMe, Wizzcash,
See this email list for payday lenders for a longer list and all the contact details to use.
Also use these letters for the very high-cost sorts of “flexible credit”. These have the highest uphold rate (80%!) of any product at the Ombudsman in the last quarter of 2021. The largest lender is SafetyNet Credit – other lenders include Drafty, Polar Credit and Tappily.
If the lender has gone into administration, including Myjar, Piggybank, Ferratum, Oakam:
- you can make a claim to the administrators – there is normally have 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.
QuickQuid, On Stride, Swift Sterling, Sunny, Wonga, Wageday Advance, the Money Shop, Payday UK, Payday Express, Uncle Buck and other lenders who gave up years ago – it is now too late to make a complaint about these lenders, see this list.
For longer-term loans there are better template letters to use on other pages:
- Provident is in a Scheme, Amigo is trying again to set up a Scheme
- other doorstep lenders and other guarantor lenders,
- 118 Money, Everyday Loans and other high-cost large long-term loans.
First, 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. Don’t get an Experian or ClearScore report instead – many payday lenders don’t use those.
If you can log-in to the lender’s website and see your loans, take a copy of them. If you don’t know the details, don’t delay making a complaint by asking for them – use the template below to complain and ask for the details at the same time.
If you still owe money to the lender:
- 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.
- read the Stop making payments? section in Payday loan refunds when last loan not repaid. If you want to offer a lower affordable amount, add a sentence to your complaint letter saying this.
- if you have a lot of borrowing at the moment, read Escape from the payday loan trap which looks at how a debt management plan can help you.
If your loan was sold to a debt collector you still complain to the original lender but also tell the debt collector that you are disputing the debt. Don’t skip this bit or a debt collector may go to court. It is a good idea to carry on making payments to the debt collector if they are affordable.
Start your complaint & get loan details
You can 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.
[Only put this bit in if some of your loans were more than 6 years old. This explains why you haven’t complained before. It’s only an example so don’t copy it, change it so it covers what happened to you!] [I didn’t know that the lender was supposed to check that I could repay the loan without having to borrow more. I only found out in [date/month] when I saw a newspaper article in the Sun/an advert on Facebook for payday loan refunds/a friend said they had made a complaint/whatever.]
Some ways to improve this
You can add any other points that help you describe what happened to you. You don’t need to list the loans – the lenders knows that!
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 payments, add a bit about this.
Don’t worry that the lender will say you should have cut back on your living costs.
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. But 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.
If 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 begins 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, your payslips or bank statements.
Credit record – this is mostly to be difficult – 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 ideas 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!
Will a lender improve an offer?
You may be wondering if you should go back and try to get the lender to give you a better offer. Most lenders won’t do this, but a few may if you make out a good case – this includes Mr Lender and SafetyNet Credit.
For example if they have offered to refund loans 6-12 you would be happy if they included one or two more, you can say why you think loans 4 and 5 should also be refunded.
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 if you think you paid a lot more than that in interest. Some lenders offer a few hundred pounds to people who get ten or twenty times as much from the Ombudsman.
- an offer to write off your current balance may sound good … but it may be very poor if you should get a refund as well, see Refunds when you have a balance owing for details.
- 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 rolled or topped up several times; or
- the loan was large. Here is one single loan case that was won even though it was an instalment 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 – it’s easy – and let them decide.
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!
One reader said: They couldn’t be any nicer.
The Chief Ombudsman, says:
It’s really OK to phone up and say, ‘I don’t think it was fair.” It’s not court; you don’t have to turn up with your ‘heads of claim’, you don’t have to write a fancy letter. Tell us your story and we will do the rest.
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. Or 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 2013, 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 2021 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.
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.
If you need help to complain, go to your local Citizens Advice, they will help for free.
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.
Ryan says
For those who are awaiting on my jar redress, what email did you receive this from? Also were you sent a link to enter your bank details?
Charlotte S says
I received the email from – noreply@myjarredress.co.uk but it states to email – myjarredress@harrisons.uk.com for any queries. The email they sent out had a link to give my bank details.
Marc says
I received the same and was also curious because I hadn’t received anything from them previously. So, for me it seemed very random and worth checking out.
The thing that convinced me is that they used the correct reference numbers for all 4 loans, which I verified by logging into my MyJar account.
K says
I recieved an email from this address noreply@myjarredress.co.uk stating to enter my bank account details by the 19th of June in the link. But it also says £0 redress on all 3 accounts so why do they want my bank details !
Eric says
Yes I have received three separate emails from myjar with total redress for £857.46p. I have entered my bank details ,in the link, for each of the emails they have sent me. They claim that they will aim to pay us by 19th July 2022. I hope this redress goes smoother than the bullshit I had to deal with CashEuroNet.
Eric says
Sorry it should read “to pay by 15th July 2022”.
V says
I am waiting for them to pay also but tbh they were saying only 1-2p in the pound so we’re only going to get peanuts. I arnt getting my hopes up as it sort of sees pointless them even doing a bacs for such a small amount 😞
Craig L says
Has anyone tried to complain to Lending Stream using the online form recently? I tried to this morning (19 loans from feb ‘18 to April ‘19) and as soon as I clicked submit, the website logged me out. No idea if it actually went to them and now when I log into the site, the link to the complaint form doesn’t work!
Kelly says
Hi Sara,
Can you help me please.
I raised an affotdability complaint with cash converters – I borrowed £100 – repaid £130.74 – interest £30.74 – Total £130.74.
They have came back and said they have reviewed the information and can see my bank statements show numerous gambling.
I also had a CCJ and an awful credit history which they haven’t mentioned but I did.
They’ve offered to refund £33.19 inclusive of 8% stat interest. The 8% is taxable and they are now offering 32.60.
Shall I take this to the ombudsman? If I did and they declined can I still get the £32.60?
Not sure what to do as I feel it should all be refunded.
Thank you,
Kelly
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You normally only get a refund of the interest you paid.
Did you supply the bank statements to CC before the loan?
John says
Hi Sara . I have had a email from a solicitor called q.d r saying I owe nearly 650.. on payday loans from at least 7 or 8 years ago. Do I still have to pay these people even tho I haven’t heard anything in about 4 or 5 years maybe longer ?
John
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who was the lender? when did you last make a payment to the debts?
John says
I last made a payment at least
Period of this statement:
Original Creditor:
Date of agreement:
Amount of the principal loan advanced:
Opening Balance at the start of the statement period: Current Closing Balance at the end of the statement period:
04/05/2015 to 04/05/2016 Cash Genie
06/01/2012
£150.00
£393.00 £150.00 Transaction Date
04/05/2015 04/05/2016
Transaction Description
Balance brought forward MMF – Write off
Charges
-£243.00
Interest
Payments Received
Balance
£393.00 £150.00 Transaction Date
04/05/2015 04/05/2016
Transaction Description
Balance brought forward MMF – Write off
Charges
-£243.00
Interest
Payments Received
Balance
£393.00 £150.00
Duration of Agreement: 28 days
Amount of Credit: £150.00
Total Charge of Credit: £45.00 per part or full month that a balance remains outstanding.
Total Amount Payable: £195.00
The Total Amount Payable is to be repaid to us in full by you in one payment of £195.00 on 09/12/2011, the
Payment Date. APR: 2,964
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Whatever you pasted in is hard to see.
I suggest you phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 and ask them if this old debt may be statute barred. If they think it may be, they have a template letter you can send.
Nikki says
Hi Sara, I just wondered what your thoughts were on my complaint with moneyboat. 3 Loans with them as follows:
Loan 1 taken on 19/04/2021 for £200 repaid 28/05/2021
Loan 2 taken on 29/05/2021 for £1500 repaid 19/06/2021
Loan 3 taken on 23/06/2021 for £1500 repaid 22/02/2022
They rejected my complaint so I submitted to FOS who have also rejected it so I have asked for an ombudsman to look at it. I was suffering a gambling addiction and repaying when I had a win and then taking again straight away. I have argued that the fact I took another loan pretty much straight away and the fact the second two had repayments of 28% of my declared income, it should have prompted them to do better checks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you sent FOS a copy of your credit record and bank statements?
Nikki says
Hi,
I sent my bank statements but not credit record.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did your adjudicator decide that Moneyboat didn’t need to make any additional checks? Or that if they had checked, they would probably have decided the loans were affordable?
Nikki says
What I think this means for your case
I’ve thought about all of these issues in the individual circumstances of your case, and I don’t think Gain Credit LLC irresponsibly provided your loans to you. I’ll now explain why.
I’m sorry to hear that you were struggling financially and that repaying these loans may have been difficult. But given your loan amounts, what was apparent about your circumstances at the time and your history with the lender, I don’t think it would’ve been proportionate to ask you for the amount of information needed to show the lending was unsustainable.
There wasn’t anything in the information you provided or the information Gain Credit LLC should’ve been aware of, which meant it would’ve been proportionate to start verifying what you were saying.
Finally, I don’t think that the number of loans you took, the amounts they were for or the period of time you were borrowing meant your loan history, on its own, should’ve shown Gain Credit LLC you might’ve been experiencing underlying financial difficulty.
I understand that loan three is currently outstanding, as such I would like to remind Gain Credit LLC of its obligations to treat you fairly if you’re having difficulties repaying the loan.
Nikki says
This is what she sent me. The fact she said I understand loan three is currently outstanding raised alarm bells with me too because it was repaid in February so not sure why she had that information
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Moneyboat’s legal name is Evergreen Finance – that reply from the adjudicator refers to Gain Credit which is the legal name of Lending Stream.
if your loans were from Moneyboat, then this reply may not relate to your case at all?
Nikki says
That is weird I didn’t even notice that. This is the beginning of the email:
Dear Miss ….
Your complaint about Evergreen Finance London Limited
I’m getting in touch to let you know that we have everything we need to look into your complaint – and I now have an answer for you.
This assessment is based on the information provided so far. If you or Gain Credit LLC is able to provide me with further information by 3 June 2022, I’ll be happy to look at it.
From what I’ve seen you were given three loans by Gain Credit LLC between April and June 2021. Here is further information about the loans taken:
Sara (Debt Camel) says
and the further information matches the actual loans you took?
Nikki says
Yes the loan amounts were correct, just she said the last loan was still outstanding which was incorrect.
Nikki says
Yes the loan table is correct apart from the last one saying still outstanding which isn’t correct
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok go back to the adjudicator, say you see that the reply to you confused two lenders – Evergreen and gain Credit, and also said the last loan was not repaid, which it was.
Say you don’t understand how a bad credit lender should not have had to look closely at an application for a £1500 loan and you would like the adjudicator to reconsider, and for the case to go to an Ombudsman if they don’t.
Nikki says
Ok thankyou, ive gone back and asked for clarification on why she has referred to gain credit llc when that isn’t who my complaint is about. I had already gone back with further points to consider but it didn’t change her opinion so it is now waiting for an ombudsman. Do you think I have a strong case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well I can’t see what your bank statements showed, but i think a payday lender should have looked closely at at such a large loan.
T says
Can i ask about the fso service. I asked them to look at loans2 go after advice frim yourself. Their reply said they woyld be in touch jn 7 days if thet could help. I received an email asking for the final offer from l2go i had aleeady sent this but resent it again. I havnt hard anything back. L 2 go are sending several texts a day about it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it sounds as though FOS is now setting up your case. It’s a good service but not fast. You may not hear anything more for a couple of months.
are these texts asking about whether you accept their offer? or wanting you to pay?
T says
Telling me I am in arrears. There’s at least 4 a day, sometimes phone calls but I have managed to block these. The message says they will be in touch in 7 days if they can help I’m just worried they can’t and l2go are going to want me to pay. My health isn’t great and I’m so anxious with it all.
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are these too much to afford?
you said last year that you asked Loans2go for lower payments as you had breast cancer and they didn’t reply – did you mention this in your complaint to them?
T says
Yes I told them all about my personal situation. The form I submitted was very detailed along with bank statements and examples of their correspondence.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suggest you do two things.
1) Email Loans2Go and say you are vulnerable, you have breast cancer, you can’t afford the repayments and ask them to stop constantly texting and emailing about the arrears as you have sent the case to the Ombudsman.
2) Phone the ombudsman up and ask if they can treat your case as a priority because of your health problems.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do let me know if the ombudsman won’t give your case priority
T says
Thank you, loans 2 go are fully aware of my diagnosis and current situation. I was honest with them right from the start and continued to make payments for as long as I could. It was their lack of understanding and threatening manner that made me refer it to the fos. I don’t want to jump the que, I will hold on and hope the fos get in touch soon. Thank you again .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No seriously, the Ombudsman has a separate priority queue for a very good reason. It could be a very long while through the normal queue and you should NOT be getting this level of harassment from L2G. You were open with them but they are not treating you fairly.
Kat says
Hi, just got this from provident..
The Scheme only applies to loans issued by Provident, Greenwood, Glo or Satsuma between 6 April 2007 and 17 December 2020. Our Debt Purchasers have agreed to reduce loan balances for customers with an upheld claim against the Scheme of Arrangement, in the same way Provident has. Where appropriate, the Debt Purchasers including Lowell, Cabot, PRA, Vanquis Bank, Arvato, Grove and Moorcroft will also refund any over payments. We will advise our Debt Purchasers regarding the outcome of your claim during May 2022, so please allow them some time to amend the balance of your account.
John says
Has anyone had any luck with safetynet??? I put a complaint in yesterday just wondering what they were like in terms of trying to get a refund?
Nat says
I have ! I put i complaint in earlier in the year, waited 8 weeks to get back to me and rejected it. I said I would go to the ombudsman. Was on the waiting list for the ombudsman for around 3 months and randomly got an email offer for them for a 2 grand pay out which I accepted ! Defo worth putting one in even if it is a bit of a wait!
Paul says
Think of all the pay day loan companies John these are the easiest to get refunded from based on the fact they have access to your bank account so could freely see potentially other pay day loans or other forms of borrowing or that a person has nothing spare at the end of the month to be able to afford to pay back the credit of what Safety net was giving.
Both myself and a few others I know last year was repaid all of the interest. All of us though had to wait the full 8 weeks before they replied and then it took an additional day or 2 for the refunded money to be in our bank accounts.
The other thing to note is on your credit file if you have not used them for a while and the account has been closed then all of a sudden it shows as open again. This is only why they complete their investigation and then it removes itself shortly after. It has no affect on your credit score because if anything it improves it because it shows as a credit balance that you have available that you have a zero balance showing for. Good luck anyway but be prepared to wait the 8 weeks.
Ah says
I will let you know tomorrow, that’s my 8 weeks up. Going from feedback here I’m sort of expecting them to decline so I’ll just pass it on to the ombudsman
Nick says
There are a couple of us (myself included) who have waited the 8 weeks and then been told that they have been unable to make a decision in this time and that we can go to FOS and safetynet will let us know in due course on any decision. I mailed them back to say will offer another week but had no response so will now go the FOS route.
John says
I’m the same, waited untill 8 weeks to the day to email stating they have no answer and will email when finished investigation, coming up to 10 weeks now. They are useless
John says
Hi Sara,
This is a great site really thanks for your efforts on helping so many.
I have a complaint in against a payday lender. I think I’ve used it for over 10 years regularly.
It’s gone to Ombudsman, and as soon as that happened they said their are no assets and will close. Also threatened fraud on my time.
I feel it’s because of my claim.
Should I pursue and what happens if business closes?
I can add more detail in email if required as the story has more.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the lender?
John says
Cash personal cheques, Southampton
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What is the legal name of the lender?
Many of these businesses have closed down. If this one does, you become a creditor of the firm in administration. How much money you get will depend if there are any assets and how many other creditors there are. This is impossible to predict with a small lender – they may just be telling lies and hoping you will go away or they may be on the point of administration anyway and this has nothing to do with your complaint.
Some payday lenders routinely threaten action about fraud to everyone that makes a complaint. But no one ever has had a problem if they continue with their complaint to the Ombudsman. In general, Cheque based lending over a long period is pretty unlikely to be fraud as fraud requires an intent to deceive… and you have been repaying your loans for 10 years!
John says
Goes under the registered name of Howard Rees Hilliker.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
He has applied to cancel his FCA authorisation.
It is not a limited company so I can’t see if the firm is in administration.
I don’t know what happens when it is an idividual that is lending, I suggest you talk to the Ombudsman about this.
John says
Thanks for the info! Oh no guess I’ll be left with no hope then… the ombudsman do not reply
John says
“And even if they did cancel their FCA authorisation, they would still be liable for complaints that were made against them before the cancellation actually took place.”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is true. The question is, how much money there is. But you have nothing to loose by carrying on.
KW says
Hi Sara,
I noticed that all my Ferratum loans have been removed from my credit file. I contacted them( now oumptuu) who said this was correct. I have been paying to the via a dmp for 4 years and the payment was going to CRS towards the latter end. I had a balance of £58 which Ferratum ( Harrison’s) wiped. Am I able to claim my payments back from CRS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No.
You can make a claim to the liquidators – they say “If you believe that you were provided with an unaffordable loan(s) through Ounapuu / Ferratum you may have an eligible claim. The Joint Liquidators are currently reviewing the position with regard to potential redress complaints and will advise potential claimants in due course of the claim process.”
Do you have other payday loans or other high cost credit (loans, catalogues, credit cards etc) in your DMP?
KW says
I have Lending Stream and capital one but only have 2 payments and my dmp is clear
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suggets you look at aclaim against lending Stream – template above – and Capiatl One, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/
dan says
Hi everyone
Lending stream – bizarre but I feel theyre being super obstructive in not allowing us to complain, you go to the contact us page and the “live chat” option is basically an empty bot, that does not no matter what you say allow you to speak to a human operator! There is no email to complain to. So i rang lending stream, i asked how do i complain, firstly the agent said he can do it on my behalf – i declined. Then he said he will find where the form is to make a complaint. Basically he told me to log out – then go to “contact us” then click “i am not a customer” then in subject you get 3 options and you have to use the “i am a friend/relative” option, then explain in the text below that you arent a friend or relative but yourself…..HOW BIZARRE!!
Jo says
I found them amazing just keep typing no on the chat and I will get through to an agent I made my complaint on chat . 5/6 weeks later I got a final response and got 1685.27 p back transferred into my account within 5mins of me accepting the offer . Personally I couldn’t be happier how they dealt with my claim xx
Ah says
Safety net just been in touch on the final day of the 8th week saying they’ve not finished their investigation. Can I go straight to the ombudsman now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can.
Scott Mather says
Sent emails to safetynet credit for a affordability claim .
Heard nothing back for 5 days ….went on live chat ….oh complaints are having problems …basically nothing they can do.
What do I do …they refuse to respond to my claim
Sara (Debt Camel) says
send it to the Ombudsman when it gets to 8 weeks.
Leigh says
Hi,
Tomorrow will mark 8 weeks since I lodged complaint of unaffordable lending with safetynet. They sent acknowledgement and then another email advising would have final decision by 18th June or before. Sent them a polite reminder email today that tomorrow is deadline. Should I await email of decision or if no response by next week proceed to financial ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Several people haven’t received a reply by the 8 week point. And they haven’t had it just a few days late, so i suggest it isn’t worth waiting for this.
I suggest you send it to the Ombudsman at 8 weeks – they need to sort their systems/complaints handling out.
Leigh says
Thanks for quick response Sara, much appreciated.
K says
Hi Sara
Just recieved this from ferratum…..
Is it worth complaining to the FO ?
Thank you.
We are in the process of selling our portfolio and I imagine that your balance will be removed before selling it as you have already repaid the capital. I can’t guarantee this, but I would say it is safe not to pay anymore. Once the portfolio is sold should there be a balance to pay then you will hear from the new company, but I think this is unlikely. It is more likely that your loan will be written off and reported as settled to the credit reference agency.
As for compensation then I am afraid your claim is rejected. As we are in liquidation this means we do not have any money even claims we accept will receive a modest dividend when the liquidation process concludes. (meaning: pennies/low £’s)
I hope now that we have provided you with the answers you needed.
Jane Shaw
Operations Manager
__________________________________________________
OUNAPUU | 25 Goodlass Road Suite 318 Liverpool L24 9HJ
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Ombudsman is not allowed to take a complaint about a firm in administration.
Kim says
Is anyone still waiting to hear from My jar – I have not heard of my claim is successful or not.
Kelly says
No, I haven’t either.
Well, I contacted them and they said that they cannot locate me on the system (Even though they acknowledged my complaint last year)
I provided my Loan ID and a photo of my payment plan on a letter that was sent by My Jar a few years back.
They are now investigating.
It’s been a few weeks now.
Terrible how this has been handled and they had the cheek to ask if I’m sure I haven’t got it mixed up with another company.
I have proof so they need to sort it.
I would drop them an email if I were you because you might be in the same boat as me.
n says
Hi Sara!
Recently passed on a complaint to the Ombudsman service for 118 118 money. They decided to uphold my complaint and as 118 118 could not provide further info it became legally binding to do what was asked in order to put things right etc. however, I have not heard a thing from 118 118 money, and it’s coming up to four weeks. The debt was sold to lowel and they have no idea of what’s happening either. What do you advised? :(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell your adjudicator when it gets to 4 weeks.
Tink85 says
Hi,
I have a loan I am repaying to my jar, now ACI. I won a unaffordable lending claim in this loan with the financial ombudsman, which stated all negative markers must be removed. Myjar removed the loan from my credit file. I have setup a repayment plan with ACI, they have emailed this morning to say I must pay the remaining balance within 28 days or a default will be added to my account, can they do this if it’s been said that all negative marks must be removed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did Myjar accept the Ombudsman decision before administration?
Tink85 says
Yes, the ombudsman decision was at the end of 2019, and myjar removed the interest from my loan and data from my credit file.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
and have you been making repayments since then?
Tink85 says
Yes, just small monthly payments. And I’ve set up a repayment plan with ACI.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
and those small payments are reasonably all you can afford?
Tink85 says
Yes, I am paying higher repayments with ACI now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The I suggest you reply that you are paying all you can afford and that this debt has been the subject of an affordability complaint, so a default should not be added if you are making reasonable payments.
K says
Does anyone have an email address for Harrison’s regarding Ferratum please. Thank you 🙏🏻
Scott says
Can anyone explain what is happening with Ferratum? I had a successful claim with them and unfortunately still had £126 remaining which was being paid to CRS via Stepchange.
CRS have informed me the account is now closed and Ferratum website shows ‘Paid Back’.
I’ve had no communication to say if the remaining balance has been written off but at present my DMP is unable to make further payments to it.
Anyone else having this experience?
Kw says
Yes, mine was closed with Ferratum and crs confirmed this too. Al wiped
Scott says
I spoke with CRS whom have advised a new company whom has bought the backlog for ferratum have stated the debt is still owing so CRS have reopened.
They are called Onuapuu. I emailed to confirm and they have written to CRS to reopen the account so looks like the debt is still outstanding
Eric says
Has anyone been paid by the Myjar redress? They said they will try to pay us before 15/07/2022.
Kerry says
Hi Eric, no I haven’t yet still waiting .
Nikki says
Hi Do you know of anyone putting in an affordability complaint with fund ourselves?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are a small lender and aren’t often mentioned.
How many times did you borrow from them and how large were the loans?
Nikki says
I had 4 loans with them as follows:
22/04/2021 200 Interest £9.60
29/04/2021 250 Interest £2.00
28/05/2021 250 Interest £58.00
24/06/2021 320 Interest £317.44
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then it’s worth making a complaint. At the Ombudsman you may well only win on the last loan – but that is where you paid the most interest anyway!
Eve says
I dont know what to say really other than the stress of this is effecting my mental health.
I had a loan with my Jar and was paying off as much as I could on a monthly basis in 2017 and had to stop in 2018 as I was homeless for a few months living in travel lodge with my son so had to stop making those monthly payments, due to having no money because of all the payday loans i had taken out. The DWP helped me get into a privately rented property. I heard nothing from my Jar since 2018, then I decided to use a complaints template for an un affordability complaint to at least try and get my interest redressed or what I owed removed. This is where it all gets stressful, My jar wrote me an email saying my account is now with ACI. Then I got another email saying could I send them my bank details for redress payment. Then I got another email saying that last email was sent in error and no redress is due. Then I got an email saying the loan I took out for £1650 has been cleared as redress but I still owe £368 ! Then I requested a statement showing all the payments I made and interest charged and they now today write back saying the last email was a system error and that I actually owe £1120 !. I have made so many payments to this company which covers what I borrowed, I dont know what to do. There emails are making no sense, and I can’t even get help from the FO ! I dont know what to do. I am worried what the next email will be. I cannot afford anything.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what a catalogue of errors.
I suggest you send an email to paulboyle@harrisons.uk.com, davidclements@harrisons.uk.com and tonymurphy@harrisons.uk.com with the title Complain
List what has happened and add some dates to when you got the emails if possible.
Say you have paid more than you borrowed and your mental health is being affected by this, so can they arrange to have someone look at your case in detail and explain to you exactly what is happening.
Dave L says
This mirrors my experience that this administration has been carried out with total incompetence by both Harrison’s and Myjar. Neither seems to have a clue what they are doing
James says
and yet Myjar have the cheek to start themselves back up as ‘Tie Ta’ who believe it or not offer there services for complaint handling amonst other services to others!
Eve says
Thank you Sara I have now written them all an email. fingers crossed. x
Mel says
Has there been any update on piggybank redress ?
Kel says
No, I’m waiting too. I emailed today and they just reply with the same email each time. Surely it can’t be much longer now!
Lauren says
Hi everyone, how long does a refund take from Lending Stream? I complained directly to them and was offered £5k. I accepted their offer and clicked the link. I thought it said 3-5 working days but didn’t receive an email after I clicked the link. Just wondering how it went for everyone else. Apparently they used to be slow but are much faster nowadays? Thanks
Sharon says
Hi Lauren
I accepted my offer last tues aft about 5pm and it was in my account the thurs midday. I was told 3-5 days so i was very pleased .
Nesta says
Hi Lauren, in my experience once you have accepted the lending stream the funds are normally transferred within a few minutes.
It might be worth giving them a call to check.
Lynne says
I got mine straight away. Mine was only £300 though so not sure if the amount matters?
Lauren says
Thanks everyone. I spoke to someone on the chat and they said the refund had been initiated but they don’t know all timescales as it’s a different department. So have emailed them. Think I saw the 3-5 working days when I clicked the link. So hopefully have it soon!
Nic 51 says
Heard back from Mr Lender they rejected my claim as II had asked for an account statement in 2017. On the basis of some 6 year rule they are not investigating my complaint. 8 weeks it took to respond and tell me that. I feel so deflated and cheated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send it to the Ombudsman. Just because you asked for an account statement doesn’t mean you were looking at making a complaint.
Nic 51 says
Thank you, I’ve seen some other advice below, I can’t get the bank statements I don’t think but I have a experian download that is all not very much to go on. Is it okay to pursue with just that?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How many loans did you have from Mr Lender. Have you tried to get bank statements?
John says
Hi Sara
Like many above I sent a complaint to safety net only to get a holding letter saying they hadn’t finished the investigation but could offer no timeframe. They sent it on the day of the 8 weeks. I have now sent to ombudsman, typically how long does this process take?
Thanks
John
pol says
Hi John, my previous experience of the ombudsman process was shocking. Took over 2 years to get a final decision and the company went bust so didn’t get any redress whatsoever. Hopefully now though with a lot of lenders going under or in to schemes, their process will be a lot quicker
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It usually takes a few months for your complaint to be picked up by an adjudicator (also called an investigator). How long it takes to come to a decision depends partly on how straightfoprward this is.
Do you have the bank statements for the time you are complaining about? You can make the investigation simpler and quicker by getting the bank statements now, so there isn’t a delay later on. You can get bank statements from closed accounts but this often takes time.
When did you open the SNC account?
Lynne says
I just had a payday loan removed from my credit file but it’s showing as active securities? Anyone know who that is please as I’m guessing they trade under a different name?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
247 Moneybox
Lynne says
Oh ok that’s strange as I paid them off in Oct 2020.
Charlotte S says
Has anyone made a complaint to Mr Lender and not had a response? I made a complaint on 30th April, they acknowledged it and sent me my loan history via post and informed me they would provide a response within 8 weeks. The 8 week deadline is today and I haven’t heard a thing. I have emailed and tried calling but had no luck.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They reply by letter. God knows why.
I suggest you phone them on Monday.
Charlotte S says
Oh ok! That’s helpful to know, hopefully a letter will turn up soon then! Thank you 😊
Kate says
I am in shock right now. I made a claim through the Quick Quid administrators and received around £5k. I wasn’t going to bother complaining to Lending Stream as I didn’t think I would get much out of it. But then after reading this thread I thought why not.. I received a resolution letter just before the 8 weeks deadline offering me £1482 which I was super happy with so accepted straightaway. The money was in my account within 3 working days.. imagine my absolute shock when the refund I have received is £14,820 😳😳😳 this is the correct amount I had just misread the letter.. half of it is made up of interest as it is several years since I did any business with Lending Stream and luckily have not had to use any payday lenders for at least 3 years. If anyone is hesitating I say just put your complaint in. I am going to use some of it to buy a little car for my daughter to learn to drive in and I am so happy I can do this for her after getting debt free. 😊
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh! how fabulous.
Kelly says
Hi Sara,
I have received an email from My Jar. Are they correct?
Your loan was obtained on 12 Sep 2011 and is out of scope for redress calculations.
Only loans issued from 01 Apr 2014 when the FCA became responsible for the industry is in scope for redress.
Unfortunately, there will be no redress due on your loan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a rather strange restriction. FOS allows redress back to April 2007 when the Consumer Credit Act was changed and when FOS started being able to look at complaints about consumer credit.
However Myjar is paying a tiny percentage. You would have got very little even if the loan had been upheld.
Kelly says
Yes that is true. I think it would’ve been about ten or twenty pound.
To be honest I don’t think I can be bothered with the hassle.
Thanks for replying!
Adam says
Am I right in thinking that only interest will be refunded? Lending Stream are offering to waive the interest on an outstanding balance I have
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How many loans have you had from them? How many have they said are unaffordable?
Adam says
Just one loan and I only ever made the first repayment. They said they hadn’t found it unaffordable but as a goodwill gesture will remove it from credit file and write off interest.
Seemed like a good offer but just wanted to make sure I was understanding things correctly.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then yes removing the interest is what the Ombudsman would suggest – and unless your loan is large, you may well not win a payday loan complaint at the Ombudsman with just one loan.
. It’s unusual for Lending Stream to offer this as Goodwill gesture, I suggest you take it.
Adam says
Perfect. Thanks for your advice.
Ernest says
Good afternoon Sara .pls quick question … is that ok to make complain to lending streams 2 time pls? I make the complaint a yr ago… but did not upheld my complaint but l took them to fos but fos did not upheld my complaint aswell.. l took 2 loans £580 in Oct 2019 and £420 in Dec 2019
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No. If you lost the complaint at FIS your only option would be to go to court, for which you would need professional advice eg a solicitor.
Jo says
I’m waiting patiently on provident due to pay out any day anyone else waiting even though it’s not as big as it should be
Ernest says
Good morning Sara . Pls do you have complain email for wagedayadvance ? Or they in administration
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago were the loans?
Ernest says
I dont have the details of the loans any more ..l think l took about 2 ir 3 loans from them 2016 October.l wi write to them to find the details of the loans.. but l don’t have their email… they email have l send them email many time but they do t reply
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is too long ago – that wagedayadvance want into administration in 2019. A new firm with same name has started which is why I asked about the ade as complaints about the new loans can still be made.
Lynne says
Just heard from the ombudsman that they’ve upheld my complaint about Loans2go and so now just see what happens. They’ve got until 15th to respond in case they want to provide further info. I’m pretty pleased as this is the first time I’ve gone to FOS about anyone and given how L2G have treated me it’s no more than they deserve. FOS has asked for refund on fees and intetest and for it to be removed from my credit file. Has anyone else had success with this lot?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes lots of people! See the comments below https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limitation_Act_1980
Lynne says
That’s a wiki page?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oops wrong link – try https://debtcamel.co.uk/worst-loan-in-britain/
Lynne says
Ah right yes they really are the worst of a bad bunch. I suspect they’ll still try and wriggle out of it although the ombudsman say twice in their letter ‘this loan should never have been issued’ so hopefully they’ll see sense. Tbe text messages have stopped as well finally.
Khan khan says
I’ve just revived a reply from
Safety net credit for a redress and they’ve come through after 48 days saying I’m owed 2700 but was hoping someone could tell me how long it normally takes to receive the funds. As they’ve stated upto 14days after banking details have been confirmed
Geraint says
Mine took 13 days to come through to my bank! Although i know some have had it within 48hrs!
Khan khattak says
Did you by any chance have to update your bank details with them as I emailed and them called and verified they had received my email
Liz says
Hello,
Does anyone know how long Piggy Bank will be taking?
They have been in Administration since Dec 2019. That’s like two and a half years.
I keep getting a duplicate response whenever I ask for an update.
Surely they can’t be that long now?
John says
Hi sara is there a easier way to fill in a r40 tax form .?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it isn’t that hard if you have the information! I’m not sure what an easier way could be.
John says
Hi Sara again. Lol I claimed some ppi back from Lloyds tsb bank about 6 or 7;years ago. Would I be aloud to claim the tax back on the two claims I had with them ? .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/ – you cant go back before the tax year 2016/17
Mike says
Hi John, it’s really easy to do.
The sections you need to complete for the tax back on your refund are the section about employment income (if you can’t find the information don’t worry)
The interest goes in boxes 3.1-3.3 on the paper form – it’s easiest to work backwards. The full amount of the interest added to your refund goes in 3.3. The tax deducted of that amount goes in 3.2 (should be 20% of the figure in 3.3) and the net amount of interest that was paid to you by your lender as part of the redress goes in 3.1.
As a cross check, 3.1 plus 3.2 should equal 3.3, and 3.2 should be 20% of 3.3
John says
Thanks for your help Mike. It sounds easy mate when you know what your doing. Lol
Mike says
I’ve had to do one 4 years running from the refunds I’ve had! Practice makes perfect
Scott Topey says
Hi there,
I recently made a claim to Moneyboat for unlawful lending. I have had 14 loans from them since 2017 to the tune of £4800. Although all loans were paid off with no problems – I was a repeat lender, sometimes taking a loan out on the same month as I had finished paying the previous. All in all, I think I SHOULD have a strong case that they were lending unlawfully.
Regardless, I have just received a reply from Moneyboat with a threatening undertone asking for bank statements and implying that I may have committed fraud by giving them incorrect details in my application. This isn’t feasible to get bank statements going all the way back to 2017 so wondered what my course of action should be? They say they will be investigating my complaint within the 8 weeks – if I don’t provide them with bank statements, will they automatically throw the complaint out?
Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Everyone gets that threatening email from Moneyboat. People who ignore it haven’t reported any problems at all – they are just being unpleasant and hoping you will give up.
You can get bank statements back to 2017, even from closed accounts. I suggest you set about doing this now as they will help with a claim at the Ombudsman.
I don’t know if MB will care about them.
Deb says
I have a DMP is it ok to try and claim as you said in the comments above not to if you have DRO. Do the same implications appy to DMP?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No it is great to apply if you are in a DMP. The problems only occur with forms of insolvency, not DMPs.
James says
Hi Sara,
I recently had a complaint rejected by Morses Club which I have sent on to the FOS, what sort of timescales will I be looking at in getting a response from the FOS ? Thanks
Megsk says
Hi
So I used your template and sent to Fernovo …thank you
I had following loans –
Taken out -15/07/20 Repaid 09/11/20 – – £200 – Total Repaid £328.06
Taken out -18/12/20 Repaid – 08/03/21- £200 – Total Repaid £400
Taken out -12/06/22 – £150 – Balance Outstanding £177.60
They have sent a long email regards checks etc …final response below do you think i should accept, I don’t understand why if they are in right they are offering to refund £30?
This complaint has not been upheld.
However, because you always repaid in time all your loans before the last one, and you have decided to file for an affordability complaint, we are ready to reduce the interest on the last loan, if you withdraw your complaint, as a gesture of goodwill we are happy to reduce your last payment by £30.00.
To provide you with an incentive to close the account as soon as possible, we are willing to completely delete all your accounts from your credit file, once the last one is repaid.
Thank you for your help :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
These were small loans and there was a big gap between loans 2 and 3. I would be surprised if the Ombudsman upholds any of the loans.
What is your current financial situation like? Are you making other complaints?
Megsk says
Yes made other complaints for payday loans I kept getting…financial situation at present is I’m just getting by
Thank you so much for your help
Lauren says
Hi Sara,
I had a similar response to the lady above. However I had ten loans in total, ranging from £300 to £600. They are only offering £176. The email is similar wording: This complaint has not been upheld.
However, because you repaid all your loans, and you have decided to file for an affordability complaint, if you withdraw your complaint, as a gesture of goodwill we are happy to refund the interest paid on the last loan. This would be a total refund of £176. We will also erase all your loans from your credit file.
What do you think? Worth going to ombudsman or offer is reasonable?
Lauren
Sara (Debt Camel) says
10 loans is a much stronger complaints. Over how long a period? Did they tend to increase in size? Were there any big gaps of several months between replaying one and taking the next?
Lauren says
I always paid on time. As soon as it was paid off I would borrow another loan. I also sometimes amended it so I didn’t have to pay that month and extended the terms. Did that twice. The loans varied and did increase in time from £300 to £600. They said I had a good credit rating however I have a default on my record and several other pay day loans. Is it worth responding and sending my Transunion to prove credit rating bad or is it best to send straight to ombudsman? My credit karma score is 438! (Bad I know!)
Just going through process of getting refunds and managing to clear it all off. I also have a SafetyNet I need to complain about because I’ve had that for £1000 in consistent debt for two years (approx £270 per month on interest and never clearing balance).
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should send the Fernovo complaint stright to the Ombudsmans.
For Safetynet Credit you can use the template in the article above. That too sounds like a strong complaint. SNC have got slow recently – send that straight to the Ombudsman at 8 weeks if they haven’t responded. Also think about removing the authority for them to access your bank account if you cant afford to repay them without borrowing again.
Beck Mash says
I emailed Fernovo when they rejected my complaint. Told them a lot of other payday loans upheld my complaints and if they came back with an offer I would stop the FOS complaint. They came back with an offer, i went back with a counter offer and they agreed!
Nesta says
I’ve finally completed getting refunds from these horrible lenders and tidying up my credit file.
I do however find it worrying that there are firms like:
Moneyboat
Lending Stream
Cash ASAP
Amongst others are still operating.
We now have a real crisis with the cost of living and these sharks prey on the vulnerable in society. I can’t wait for the day they are all in administration and this kind of lending should be made illegal
Elsie says
It is definitely worrying that these interest rates are legal… but where would we go when we need money in an emergency? It’s not like there is another option sometimes :(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The problem is that in most cases a very high interest loan makes yiur situation worse, not better.
Elsie says
Sara, can you recommend some alternatives? Do you maybe have an article somewhere I can read about this? Thank you!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it depends a lot on your situation, but:
https://debtcamel.co.uk/bills-debts-help/
https://debtcamel.co.uk/snapshot/not-enough-to-live-on/emergency-budgeting/
https://debtcamel.co.uk/refused-payday-loan-alternatives/
Ah says
Has anyone received anything from Safetynet after the 8 week period is over? I’m 11 weeks now and still nothing. I’ll have to forward to the ombudsman I think
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send it now!
Eric says
OH MY GOD LENDING STREAM UPHELD MY COMPLAINT AND JUST EMAILED ME AN OFFER OF £3,654.76 AND TO TAKE OFF THE £500.00 LOAN I FAILED TO REPAY FROM MY CREDIT FILE!!! 😱😁
Thank you so much Sara for all your advise and help because you are a angel. 💋
T says
Hi Sara
You may remember I have asked previously about loans 2 go and I followed your advise and referred to fos for affordability complaint. I also have a cancer diagnosis and am on active treatment all of which I made l2go aware of at the beginning and this is also within my complaint. I did ask fos if they could look at it sooner due to this but have only received the generic response, I don’t want to jump the que and am happy to wait but yesterday received a final demand from l2go for the outstanding amount. I replied back immediately advising I would forward to fos, I felt they were really threatening, one paragraph said they could look at contacting my employer to get an attachment of earnings order. Do you think that they are just trying to get me to pay by using threatening tactics or could they actually go to my employer. I have been completely transparent with them about my diagnosis, treatment and the impact this had financially but they really don’t care!! It’s currently costing me £70 A week to fill my car to get to and from daily radiotherapy sessions so I just don’t have the money to pay them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry but this sort of case is EXACTLY why FOS gives some cases priority. Please phone FOS up. You are not “jumping the queue”.
They can’t get an attachment of earnings order without going to court for a CCJ first. That will take many months. They should not be making these baseless threats to a vulnerable client. Tell FOS about this too.
T says
Thank you, I will ring them but do find it really difficult sometimes actually speaking to anyone really. But thank you again.
Lynne says
God this sickens me. All the best to you 🤞🏻
T says
Thank you, they really have been so unpleasant and unhelpful.. It’s just not the sort of stress that anyone needs.
Jayne says
Has anyone had any recent success with safety net credit? I sent them an affordability complaint and they said they would reply within 8 x weeks. Then after 8 x weeks they messaged to say they still hadn’t made a decision it’s now been about 16/18 weeks since initial complaint I contacted them again and they still said they haven’t made a decision and have now idea how long before they do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no idea – send it to the Ombudsman straight away.
Leigh says
I got same response from SafetyNet a day before 8 weeks were up (mid June). I contacted ombudsman immediately and they replied with acknowledgement advising they would be in touch which they did and requested information on 27th June which I provided so am now just awaiting a decision if complaint will be upheld.
Jayne says
Thank you will do that now
Mr HJB says
Hi Sarah, hope all is well. Just looking for some clarification on an adjudicator decision which states the lender should do the following:
A) Remove all the unpaid interest, fees and charges from the credit facility from 11 July 2019 onwards.
B) Treat all payments Mr B has made towards her facility since 11 July 2019 as though they had been repayments of outstanding principal.
C) If at any point Mr B would have been in credit on the credit facility after considering the above, you will need to refund any overpayments with 8% simple interest* calculated on these payments, from the date they would have arisen, to the date the refund is made.
D) If there is an outstanding principal balance, then you can use any refunds calculated as part of “C” to repay this. If a balance remains after this then you should try to agree an affordable repayment plan with Mr B
E) You should remove any adverse payment information recorded on Mr B’s credit file from 11 July 2019 onward.
The credit limit as of 11 July 2019 was £600.00. The balance is currently £0.00. Am I right in thinking that every single payment I have made to them since 11 July 2019 will be added together (£2200) and then £600 subtracted from that leaving £1600 + 8% Tax = £1,728 is the amount ill be refunded?
Do the redraws of the credit facility have any effect? (Drafty Credit)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Am I right in thinking that every single payment I have made to them since 11 July 2019 will be added together (£2200)
yes
and then £600 subtracted from that
No – every withdrawal from the facility will be added together. That £600 was the limit isn’t relevant.
+ 8%
No – the 8% is an annual charge – it will depend on the date that you would have moved into credit in the facility. If that was 2 years ago, 16% interest would be added. If that was 6 months ago, then 4% interest will be added.
Do the redraws of the credit facility have any effect?
If by that you mean the amount you wthdraw, yes, these are added up to find how much interest you were charged.
HB says
Hi Sarah,
So since 11th July 2019 I have redrawn £700 and made a total of £2200 in repayments so total refund figure will be £1628 as opposed to £1728 (based on 8% int figure)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What was the balance on 11 July 2019? Since then you have only borrowed 700?
HB says
Balance would have been c£600 as I would repay interest/minimum repayment and redraw straight away hence only having reborrowed £700 since July 2019 as that was all that was available to me
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so I am persisting as this seems unusual. After July 2019, if you repaid the minimum, you did not then reborrow that amount?
HB says
– So my typical repayment was £50 which was minimum payment, this cleared the interest for that month and then left c£20 available for redraw which I did every month
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you added up all those redraws – they total £700?
HB says
Yes added all redraws since july 11 2019 and they total £700.00
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, then your total refund figure will be £1628 as you say. Plus 8%.