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?
Steve says
Hi Sara,
I received an offer of £2500 including %8 from SUNNY today via my adjudicator,he ruled that of 21 loans 6-21 were unaffordable,the 1 st loan was running credit,and although I borrowed from this 6 times the adjudicator ruled it was only one loan, he also ruled that two loans taken within a month of one another of £600 and £300 were affordable,even though it was clear I was borrowing more to make payments on these,I know it sounds like sour grapes but the interest I was hoping to receive in refund was £3500 not including any interest added,so I’m wondering would it be worth asking to escalate my complaint to an Ombudsmen,are they likely to see things differently from the Ajudicator without anymore information?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you give the gaps between the first 6 loans – the time from repaying the last of loan 1 to taking out loan 2 etc
And also how much you borrowed for loans 2,3,4,5,6 ?
And if your credit record got worse over this period ?
C says
Hello all, just wondered if anyone can tell me how long before refunds are in your account?. Payday uk agreed with aujudicator, acceptance form sent off thursday. Wonga agreed with aujudicator yesterday. These are small refunds compared to the refund im hoping to get from quick quid, quick quid have until 28th june to reply to aujudicator. The wonga claim, i had 2 loans from them 1 week apart, aujudicator upheld the last loan so interest is only £45.00….. But thats an extra 45.00 in my pocket. Dont give up even if you think its for a small amount.
Jenna says
Hi c I got my pay day uk payment yesterday I signed the acceptance form with the adjudicator on the 01/06 so just over three weeks
Suzanne says
Can I ask how long you waited for Wonga to agree with the decision please
C says
Hi Suzanne
Started complaints in Feb, sent to Fos in april, aujudicator picked up and wrote to wonga, after investigation he gave them 2 weeks to respond and they responded on the last day to say they agree. Havent heard from them yet though to let me know about payment.
Nwc says
My quickquid has been with an adjudicator since the middle of January, he made his opinion end of Jan and went back and forth with them making a variety of offers from 3500 to 2500, I rejected in the end and asked for an ombudsman to view as they were such hard work to deal with, another adjudicator advised me at was allocated to an ombudsman on the 20th of June so I’m hoping for an outcome soon but I would just be prepared for a long wait, it depends a lot on whether they offer something you believe is right, I.e Mr lender offered me 1500 straight out, I accepted even though it would probably be double from the FOS but they did the decent thing and made a good offer and also I realise I played a part in all this by borrowing as well so I’m not out to clean up! Just clear my debts, it all depends what you want from it though.
John Smith says
Hi,
I sent an email to PayDayUK on the 31/05/2017 asking for SOA. They responded back to me on the 02/06/2017 saying the following “Saying that they are in no current obligation to provide statement of accounts” but then two hours later they sent another email with the following “Will be investidated with there complaints department, 8 weeks they will have a final response, if not heard back in this time then go to financial ombudsman”
On the 22/06/2017 they came back with a final settlement offer saying the following:
“I can conclude that I am unable to uphold your complaint in full on this occasion. However it appears
that upon completing your loan deposits between 27 November 2012 and 28 February 2014 there were
no further checks done and also between 10 May 2013 and 09 December 2013 your income and
expenditure information indicated the loans were not affordable to you. As a result of this I am upholding
your complaint with regards to your loan deposits between 27 November 2012 and 28 February 2014.
I am willing to offer you a restitution payment of £1,981.90 and remove the loans taken between
27 November 2012 and 28 February 2014 from your credit file in full and final settlement of your
complaint. This offer represents the contractual interest repaid regarding these loan deposits. If you
wish to accept this offer please can you complete and return the enclosed settlement form within
fourteen days of the date of this letter.”
I never got the SOA from them so I am not sure what I actually did pay them over the years? I have got 6 years of statements from my bank today and I can see the money I have paid to paydayuk but when money was coming in from them it does not say if it was paydayuk so i’m sure if this was them or from nother payday company at the time.
Do you think I should accept this offer as Financial Ombudsman may take ages if I go to them and may get offered nothing at all!? Or shall I go back to PayDayUk and ask for SOA?
MH says
Yeah I would still push them for a SOA because how can you be sure that’s a good offer if you don’t know the full loan amounts and interest paid (possibly with extra charges). I would reply saying the above otherwise you will take it to the FOS. As Sara says there has not been a case where it has gone to the FOS and a lower amount has been awarded.
T says
Firstly thank you Sara, thanks to you and your site over the last 9 months my financial situation has improved so dramatically, it’s made a real difference to my life.
I just wanted to pass on some info about credit cards which may be useful if you have more than one card with the same provider.
I good a capital one “credit builder card” it was quickly maxed out and a few months later I applied for another card with them and it was accepted.
Capital one rejected my complaint saying that these types of cards are “credit builder” cards and so considering defaults, past history etc is less important.
The adjudicator agreed with capital one and so I referred to the ombudsman.
The ombudsman partially upheld the complaint, they said their argument for the first card was valid however with the second card it wasn’t. They said that as capital one gave me a second card despite quickly reaching and going over my limit on the first card was wrong and I am due a refund of all interest on the second card.
Please don’t be disheartened if the adjudicator disagrees with you, if you feel strongly then go to the ombudsman.
Anyone out there with 2 cards from the same provider have a look at your statements just before you got your second card. If you were maxed out or incurring fees then you may have grounds for complaint.
David says
Hi all,
I just wanted to say a massive thank you to Sara and Debt Camel for all of the advice and template letters being available here. As a result, I’ve been successful with a number of complaints against three payday loan companies. As a result, my financial situation has greatly improved, as has my credit rating. Here’s a summary of my situation and the outcome:
I had six loans with Quick Quid (QQ) between March 2011 and October 2013.
I had five loans with Lending Stream (LS) between August 2013 and January 2014.
I had 38 loans with Wonga between May 2010 and July 2014.
Complaint Letters sent via email to all three companies on 11/7/16.
13/7/16. LS deny that loans were unaffordable. Raised FOS complaint the same day.
11/08/16 LS offer £388 to settle the complaint.
26/8/16. QQ deny that loans were unaffordable. Raised FOS complaint the same day.
6/9/16. Wonga apologises for the delay in dealing with the complaint.
28/9/16. Wonga offers to settle for £739.94.
6/10/16 FOS adjudicator decision on Lending Stream complaint, supporting my complaint in relation to three out of the five loans I had with LS. Lending Stream appealed it to the ombudsman.
06/10/16 Wonga offer £700 to settle the complaint.
10/10/16 FOS adjudicator decision on QQ complaint, supporting my complaint in relation to five out of the six loans. QQ appealed it to the ombudsman.
01/12/16 Wonga offer £1,538 to settle the complaint.
6/12/16 FOS adjudicator decision on Wonga complaint, supporting my complaint in relation to 32 out of the 38 loans. Wonga appealed it to go to the ombudsman. I could not provide bank statements in relation to the first six loans as they were so long ago, and so the adjudicator could make no finding in relation to these loans.
18/5/17. Ombudsman makes final decision on LS complaint, supporting my complaint in relation to three out of the five loans (same decision as the adjudicator).
25/5/17. Ombudsman makes final decision on Wonga complaint, supporting my complaint in relation to 32 out of the 38 loans (same decision as the adjudicator).
9/6/17. Ombudsman makes final decision on QQ complaint, supporting my complaint in relation to two out of the five loans (one less loan than the adjudicator’s decision).
9/6/17. LS issue payment of £637.17.
23/6/17. QQ issue payment of £1,454.99.
23/6/17. Wonga confirms payment amount will be £2,962.49.
Neil says
Hi David,
Thanks for sharing your info.
My situation seems to be identical to yours at the start with the amount of loans. (28 to Wonga, 18 to Piggy Bank, 13 to PDUK, 4 to Lending Stream, 6 to Quick Quid)
What would be your advise? Im up to the stage of sending them letters for first complaint. It looks as thought this could take a year to come through?
Thanks!
Neil
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Many more recent complaints are going through quite a bit faster than that, assuming you don’t have loans over 6 years old?
Craig says
Hello everyone,
Im just wondering if anyone has found themselves in the same situation as me. to save you all the back log story my complaint with Wonga went to the ombudsman. Who agreed that wonga should pay more than they originally offered on more loans. I then got a email stating that Wonga agree and will comply with the ombudsman, BUT wonga stated that the final loan was Redressed and should be deducted from my claim. I sent the original Redressed email to the adjudicator from wonga that states I must not make payments on the final loan and will be refunded if I have made any payments, but now they want it back????. Sadly the adjudicator has agreed that it is fair for them to deduct it. I think im just going to accept this very low offer as this has been going on since February. Any advice would be most welcome thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
First of all is this still at the adjudicator level? Or has it gone to an Ombudsman?
Your final loan – was this written off by Wonga a while ago? If it was, do you remember how much you borrowed? Whether you had made any payments to it? How much was written off?
What they are suggesting will sometimes be fair, but sometimes definitely not, it depends on the numbers … well worth checking on.
Nick says
Ombudsman held decision in my favour for pounds to pocket loans.
Louise says
I received this today from my jar and was wondering if it would be really greedy to ask for the 8% added on to this or just be grateful for what has been offered. I submitted my complaint on the 30th of May so this only took 4 weeks to resolve
“In light of the above, it is our view that your complaint should be upheld. To put things right, we propose to refund you the interest and charges you have paid on all of your loans in the amount of £461.66. As your last loan remains outstanding to this date, we will reduce its balance to the principal sum you borrowed, £100. This balance will be credited from the proposed refund which would bring the total refundable amount to £361.66.”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Personally, I think a full refund is a pretty good offer, but it’s up to you. How old are these loans, so how much will the 8% add up to? If you take the case to the Ombudsman 8% is usually added (not always, it’s discretionary) – but the Ombudsman may not include all the loans… in which case you would probably be advised to take Myjar’s offer.
The last loan – have you defaulted on that? You should ask for the default to be removed if this is important to you. If your credit record is pretty much wrecked, it won’t male much of a difference though.
Louise says
Thanks for the reply Sara. The loans are from August 2013 to August 2014. My credit record makes for pretty dire reading so not too bothered about the default
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So the 8%s would add up to about 25% extra. But, as I said, the ombudsman may not order a refund on all loans. Up to you.
Steve says
What sort of figure will Sunny deduct from refund of £2541 that figure includes the 8% interest,don’t want accept a figure then end up with it being drastically reduced.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you mean tax deducted? how much of the figure is the 8% interest as tax is only charged on that?
Andy B says
Hi
Thanks to stumbling across this site I put in 4 complaints to lenders my jar(formerly txt loans), wda, quick quid and wonga on 8th May.
Have now heard back from all. WDA responded 2 weeks ago not upholding anything despite having 23 odd loans with them over 3 years. (Interest approx 2k) Quick Quid offered £150 (laughable) for over 100 loans with interest paid well over 5k. Wonga offered 550 for interest paid around 3k and Myjar offered £1446 which is only a couple of hundred under what I paid.
I am going to accept the myjar offer and send the rest to the FOS. Can these all be linked when I phone or do I need to complain individually in regard to the lenders?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Individual complaints to the FOS. But on each one say you have also put in complaints about xxxx.
Steph says
Hi All,
Received an email from my adjudicator today regarding my Sunny (Elevate) loans. She’s found that loans 1-5 were affordable, 6-11 were not and therefore has requested all interest for 6-11 to be refunded.
Anyone have experience with Sunny agreeing to adjudicator decision? Or do they usually push it to ombudsman?
Thanks
Sharon says
They didn’t even reply to my adjudicator so it’s gone to an Ombudsman
Sal says
Dear Sara,
I complained to Wageday Advance a few weeks ago.
This is their reply.
Can you advice me on what to say?
==
Thank you for your recent email regarding your complaint.
Your email suggests that you have only recently been made aware that you are able to complain regarding the affordability of the loans granted to you by Wageday Advance.
Are you able to confirm how you were notified of the fact you could complain regarding the loans granted and when this was?
If I could request this information as soon as possible but by the latest 23 July 2017 to assist in dealing with you complaint promptly.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just tell them how you found out about affordability complaints. There is no right or wrong answer – did you see it on Facebook, did a friend mention them so you googled to get information, did your brother send you a link etc.
Most people will have realised they were in trouble when they were trapped borrowing each month from a payday lender. But they may have thought it was their fault. And not realised that there were responsible lending rules that the payday lender may have broken – so they didn’t know they could make a complaint before.
Darren says
Hi everyone,
I had one loan with Vivus which was outstanding for £400. Had been outstanding since the start of last year.
I complained to them as at the time the loan was taken out I had a lot of financial difficulty. Complaint made start of March.
Today I have received a response from Vivus saying they had sold the debt onto Merligen Investments at the start of the month and I was to take the complaint up with them.
Quick email to Merligen regarding the situation and they have written off the balance due and going to update my credit file.
Hope this is of any use to ones where a complaint was made and then the debt sold elsewhere!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think that should be treated as an oddity. If you had more than one loan from a lender you want the lender to consider ALL the loans they gave. A debt purchaser has NO responsibility for the original irresponsible lending decision.
If a lender refers you to a debt collector, tell the lender you want them to consider all your loans, including the one sold on.
Stefan says
Hi Darren,
First time you complained to Vivus, and after that to Merlingen? Did you have more than one loan with Vivus?
Thanks
Darren says
Sara, Stefan,
That was the only loan I had with Vivus. This was there response
“Please find attached the statement of account that you requested. Please note that the outstanding balance on your vivus loan was sold to Merligen Investments Limited on 9th May 2017. Any further correspondence, including to make a compliant, should be with them. They can be contacted on their customer helpline 0203 126 4544.”
And then Merlingens response after I contacted them.
“Merligen Investments Ltd purchased your account from Vivus Uk on 1st January 2017. We can confirm we have been acting in good faith based on the information we have been provided by Vivus UK. We therefore, have no record of your complaint with them and are unable to comment on their actions regarding the handling of your account.
Taking your concerns into consideration we have taken the decision to close our file and write off this balance as a good will gesture. We have also requested for this to be removed from your credit file. We are sorry for any inconvenience.”
Ryan says
Swift reply from Pay Day UK after requesting a statement…
Where do i go from here?
———————————-
This account currently has no sums due or payable. Therefore, we have no current obligation to provide a statement of account under Section 77 of the Consumer Credit Act as per Subsection (3) of Section 77 which states that the requirement under “Subsection (1) does not apply to – (a) an agreement under which no sum is, or will or may become payable by the debtor.”
Ally says
Payday Express Update.
Requested Statement of Account on 27th October 2016 responded with SOA within 2 weeks send complaint by return, 2 weeks later Final response not at fault. Sent to Ombudsman in November picked up by adjudicator end of January. Found in my favour on 10 of 14 loans, PDE disagreed and went in to Ombudsman queue. Picked up by Ombudsman late May decision letter on 30th May finding in my favour on 11 of 14 loans.
I had worked out roughly what I was due however, last week PDE sent me an email with the redress amount and it was about £200 out from my calculations, i emailed my adjudicator who is amazing, and she agreed with me it was not right. She spoke to them and explained their mistake I received another email yesterday appologising and correcting the amount. It was about £250 out. So guys its worth checking your figures even after an Ombudsman decision.
When I complete my Ombudsman questionaire after this one I will be advising I think the Ombudsman has made his/her final ruling a figure should be stated then plus 8%.
Still waiting on Mr Lender (£800) and Lending Stream (£1,200) both in queue for Ombudsman after uphold by adjudicator.
Vanquis (£4.5k) and Provident (upwards of £10k) at Adjudicator level
The Money Shop refusing to look at the first 99 Loans (£1,500)! as pre 2010. loans 2011-2014 (£4k) so waiting game.
Not tackled Catalogues yet.
Put in a claim for Tax back 2015-16 for claim (£540) 2014-15 for PPI claim (£520)
Thanks again Sara for all your help and advice.
Ally
Daniela says
Hi all,
I have asked 247 moneybox for a statement of account and this is what I got back from them, what do I do next? See below , by the way my name is not Lisa :-)
Dear Lisa,
Please take this email as acknowledgement of your complaint. We will now investigate the issues you have raised within the timescales as set out in our complaints procedure below.
I note from your account with us that over the course of our relationship you have still not repaid us the total amount that has been advanced to your account.
You have borrowed a total o f £380.00 from us. You have repaid a total of £313.20.
This means that you have not even repaid the principal amount lent to you (ie minus any charges). If you ask a third party mediator to look into this, they are likely to ask you to repay what you have borrowed (the principal amount). In this case that would mean they would tell you to repay £66.80 to us.
Where you hear comments about refunds, this often relates to payments of interest and charges over and above the principal amount we have advanced to your account. As you have not paid any, there is nothing to refund.
We are happy as a gesture of goodwill to resolve by writing off your remaining balance.
We are aware that there are many forums and templated letters available on the internet to exploit any previous credit commitments under the wholly subjective banner of affordability. To compare our actions with the reported behaviour of other lenders is inappropriate.
We are confident that the required assessments were carried out prior to the advance of all loans. We are able to substantiate fully the information on which lending decisions were based.
Our relationship was based on responsible lending in addition to responsible borrowing. We provided you with all the facts about our product and the charges and costs involved. We treated you as a rational individual able to make a credible decision as to whether to borrow or not. For our part of the relationship we acted on the information available to us at the time and the prevailing regulations and guidance at the time.
I am your personal account manager and would be happy to discuss any of the above with you via email.
Kind regards
Fiona
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So they got your name wrong! How much of the rest of what they wrote is correct? You could have been sent an email meant for someone else… Do you know how much you borrowed from them – does £380 borrowed and £313 repaid sound about right?
Daniela says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for your reply, i am positive that i have had 3 loans with them in 2015 but i cannot remember how much they were each or the interest repaid, the bank account at the time is now closed so no statements either, hence the reason I’ve asked for a SOA. I should perhaps mention that i haven’t complained yet, just requested the SOA?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then reply you would like to consider their offer, but you need the Statement of Account to let you do this.
Neil T says
I have had an offer from wonga after talking to someone on the phone who wanted to make a final offer, they first of all offered £1100, I asked for more and they came back with £1400 plus 8% which worked out to be £1800.
I had 107 loans with them since 2011 and looking at their email they sent it only upheld 26 loans which stopped in 2014, I was borrowing with them until the end of 2016. I know new rules came in 2014. Am I able to Claim after 2014?
I feel like their offer is unfair as I’m missing around 80 loans. I am not going to sign their offer acceptance and go to the ombudsman
Sara (Debt Camel) says
26 out of 107 loans doesn’t sound good…
Yes you can claim for loans after 2014. lenders were supposed to tighten up their lending criteria then, but if they carried on lending to you for month after month it doesn’t sound as though they did. Many people have had refunds for post 2014 loans, this isn’t something to worry about.
Loza says
Hello
9weeks ago i have come across this website by mistake really , and as i read along i have noticed that i have been in the same position as most of you… so 8 weeks ago i decided to write to wonga and used the template i found on this forum…
yesterday wonga given me a full and final response and i have been awarded £4500 plus interest and fees which comes to roughly 6k .
Wonga have been very professional with my case and they have been emailing me twice within 8 weeks and yesterday i had my full response. Wanted to say that money will go straight into a help to buy isa and its probably gonna change my life as im almost out of debt and will spend wisely from now on. Thank you to Sara and all the lovely people
Nigel says
Update on my 100pounds complaint and the total failure of them to comply with the FOS:
——————————————————-
I’d like to confirm that Sunny Marketing Ltd haven’t responded to my email, and I haven’t been able to get in touch with them over the phone. The next step would be to start the enforcement process.
At the Financial Ombudsman Service we aren’t able to force businesses to comply with the ombudsman’s decision. So the next step would be to report Sunny Marketing Ltd to the regulators The Financial Conduct Authority ‘FCA’.
I’ve now given Sunny Marketing Ltd 14 days to pay settlement or provide reasons as to why it hasn’t been paid. We will consider any reasons they give for why payment has not yet been made. However, if we decide that the reasons they give are insufficient – or if we do not hear from them within the next 14 days – we will escalate this matter. Please see the attached letter for your records.
Natalie C says
I had (from what I can remember) loans with four companies – Myjar (txtloan), Mr Lender and Wageday Advance, and Cash Genie. I know the loans for Mr Lender, Cash Genie and Wageday Advance were definitely rolled over and borrowed again, but MyJar have sent me a statement of account which shows only one loan of £300, with an interest charge of £51 added the next day, and then £3.40 daily interest thereafter taking the balance to £657. Can I still do the letter to myjar even though it is only one loan reqesting the interest and charges back? I was going to say that the other loans I was paying made it unaffordable and a check of my credit report would have shown this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What date did you take out the Myjar loan?
You can complain, it’s harder to win a single loan complaint but MyJar may be prepared to remove the interest from the outstanding balance.
Neil says
Hi Sara,
I have recieved a reply from Mr Lender. I took out 6 loans with Mr Lender from 2015-2017 totallying £1000, all paid on time wirh interest total paying back £1337.34.
There werw no rollovers however i was borring from numerous other lenders at the same time and to pay back Mr Lender.
Some points from the letter
“before your loans were issued they were subject to Mr Lenders responsible lending assesments, these included thorough affordability checks aswell as credit checks by the credit reference agency, Call Credit.
We can confirm that althought we are not obliged to conduct a credit check, as a responsible lender we carry out credit checks on all our lenders. The results of your credit check showed your had no account registering as defaulting. There was only evidence of one advance against income which would indicate short term borrowing from other lenders”
They have offered me a goodwill gesture of £108.80 (the amount of interest on my last loan)
During all the loans i took out i was highly in debt in my overdraft, lending off multiple lenders and have a massive gambling problem.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what were the gaps between repaying loan 1 and taking out loan 2 etc? Were the amounts increasing? Would your credit record have shown missed payments and defaults, or just lots of borrowing?
Neil says
The first loan was in April 2015 (£100) then in April (£100) May (£200) June (£200), September 2016 (£300)and Januray 2017.(£300)
Yes my credit report would shown late payments to catalougue company and it would show lots of borrowing and in overdraft with bank.
Steve says
I got an offer of £2541 which includes the 8% on Friday,but after some consideration I have decided to ask for the case to got to an Ombudsmen I was close to accepting but I’m hoping for two more loans to be added to the list of unaffordable ones, I paid over £700 interest on these loans,I’m worried about my decision,and daunted at the prospect of it dragging one for months,but hope It gets picked up by an Ombudsmen quickly.
Debbie says
I sent my bank statements in excel format. I did get paper copies from my bank but they have used my emailed ones. The paper copies have been easier for me to work out the different loans.
Ro65 says
Has anyone heard anything recently about Cheque Centre and loans over 6 years? I’ve been waiting on the ombudsman since September on this and still just keep getting told they’re still exploring it. I’ve got about 25 loans over 6 yrs old and 15 loans less than 6 years. Seems to be going on and on without very much progress.
Ross says
Hi Ro65, it’s probably the exact same as the situation I am in with Quick Quid, where I also have loans over 6 years and this has been with the jurisdiction team since October 2016. The latest update I had, last week, wasn’t an ‘update’ as such, but just to tell me that it was still being dealt with and they would be in contact, as in the FOS, when they had anything to tell me. Just a case of ‘sit and wait’.
Maureen says
Not answering your question but your experience would be appreciated. My complaint only went to the FOS in march this year so I’m in the very early stages with cheque centre and loans over 6 years….how did you overcome providing bank statements for the period in question over 6 years?
Ro65 says
Hi Maureen
In total I had 39 loans with Cheque centre over a 4 year period 2008 – 2012. I paid over £8k in interest in total and when I found this site in August 2016 I made a complaint to them. They took 9 weeks to reply but I went to the ombudsman after 8 weeks. After cheque centre provided their final decision they said the loans after 6 years were time barred and offered me £896 as a goodwill gesture. I refused and it’s been with the ombudsman ever since. After a week of submitting my complaint my adjudicator said he needed bank statements for the entire period of my borrowing. I stopped using Cheque Centre in 2012 but I used several other Payday lenders thereafter. As I had read on this site that my adjudicator would ask for these I already had them ready. I went in to my bank and asked them to print off bank all my bank statements back to 2008. They didn’t charge me for this but it took them 48 hrs to have them ready for me then I sent them to my adjudicator via recorded delivery. The adjudicator specifically said that if I didn’t provide statements within a week he would make a decision based on the information he had so it would be good to get them organised before you’re asked.
Good luck
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Asking you to produce statements within a week is unreasonable. If it is going to take longer, you should explain this and ask for additional time.
If it is going to cost money to get back bank statements or there is a huge quantity, you can also talk to your adjudicator and offer to get just January & June’s statements for each year. Or Jan, Feb & Mar for each year. Some random sample that will give a good overall picture.
Maureen says
Thanks for your reply, that is helpful! I’m in the same arena as you with the amount of loans and years taken, hence why I want the over 6 years to be included. I think my problem is the account that was used at that time is now closed and NatWest are being very difficult! In regards to another smaller complaint with My Jar, I’ve already had a decision based on him having no bank statements so I’ve requested he look at it again but he’s given me a week to get them and it’s proving difficult!!! I may have to accept his decision on my jar and accept the lenders original offer but I really don’t want to do that with cheque centre. I’ve only got back to 2010 statements. I hope you get a decision soon and it’s in your favour. I’ll keep an eye out for how you get on. Good luck!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Don’t accept a poor offer if your adjudicator is setting artificial time limits. Ask for it to go to an Ombudsman – that will give you lots of extra time to get the statements.
Maureen says
Thanks Sara. I suppose I’ve nothing nothing to lose and as you say I’ll get the time needed to constantly pressure the bank….I’m in no rush! I’ve had a few good settlements direct with the lenders so any of these big ones can take as long as needed. The adjudicator, in his findings, did say that he could see some loans were unaffordable but couldn’t say they were at fault without seeing expenses, so I should take that as I have a good case! He did say he would be picking up all my complaints but most are over 6 years so he’ll probably have to pass them on anyway. Thanks again for your most helpful site.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Claiming a refund doesn’t affect your credit file.
If there are no negative entries AND all your payday loans are more than a year old, there is no reason for you to ask the lender to delete the credit record entries. (Payday loans less than a year old affect your chance of getting a mortgage even if they were repaid on time.)
The Ombudsman usually couches an award in terms of “remove negative entries” but a sometimes a lender will remove all. This is less likely to happen if there were no negative entries at all, as the lender can simply do nothing and comply.
Having old loans that were repaid with no late payment markers or defaults can have a negative effect on your credit record. But this is usually very small unless these are the only debts showing on your credit record. So unless your credit file is very thin, I wouldn’t be concerned about this.
Laura says
Hi all ive put a complaint in to Satsuma, if you have an ongoing loan with them , do they stop taking the payments until the complaint resolved or do they still take the payments as normal ?
Neil says
I have done this and Ferratum have suspended my loan with them until investigation is over.
Joel says
If the adjudicator rejects your complaint for myjar or for any other payday loan companies, can you go back on their original offer.
Unfortunately they rejected my complaint for myjar.
15x £100loans
2 years later i took a 6 month one for £1000.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like a lot of loans – I suggest you take the case to the Ombudsman.
Debbie says
Hello,
I have put in complaints to 6 companys thanks to this site. All of these come back saying no other than PaydayUK who offered £160 which I declined. All of these have now been referred to the FOS and my first one has been seen by an adjudicator Payday express and she has pritty much upheld all my loans and told the company to pay me interest back. Has anyone had any dealings with this company? How are they at paying out or accepting the findings.
Thanks for your help in advance.
Neil says
Hi Debbie,
I am in the same situation as you. I have put 8 complaints in and my major one is Payday UK. They have not responded to my email/letter, how long did they take to respond to you? Ive heard there really slow
Debbie says
Hello,
They were quite quick for me about 3 weeks and they responded. Looks like they have outsourced there complaints. It was a standard letter saying no. So I then sent it through to the FOS and it has been with them since about May. It was my first one to be picked up. I only had 7 loans with paydayuk. My loan with payday express was only for 5 but she looked at all the other facts and the amount of other payday loans I had at the time. I wasn’t expecting anything so anything will be a bonus. All mine are from 2011 and 2012.
Sal says
Hello Sara,
Kindly take a look at this account history and the settlement figure.
What do you think?
Loan 1 you borrowed £175 January 2012 interest charged £67.50
Loan 2 you borrowed £175 February 2012 interest charged £50.50
Loan 3 you borrowed £175 March 2012 interest charged £67.50
Loan 4 you borrowed £225 April 2012 interest charged £67.50
Loan 5 you borrowed £225 May 2012 interest charged £67.50
Loan 6 you borrowed £225 June 2012 interest charged £67.50
A settlement payment of £174.40.This is intended as full and final settlement of
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So they are offering a refund on loans 4-6. Who is the lender?
Sal says
Fancy a payday… aka Response funding
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s not a dreadful offer. You could possibly get £50-£150 more by going to the Finanical Ombudsman (perhaps another loan included? the addition of 8% interest per year). You could decide it’s fair enough and accept… or go back and say you would accept £250 say to settle the case without going to the FO?
Joe says
Looking for some advice with this one.
Sent off 2 separates complaints to quickquid and pounds to pocket. Received 2 separate acknowledgements stating the 8 week time frame.
I then receive a statement of account from quickquid and requested the usual interest paid back etc. They offered me £500 which was close to the interest so I accepted this.
I had heard nothing from pounds to pocket so enquired about this complaint to receive an email that all complaints were closed due to me accepting the refund. Throughout the correspondence the subject always stayed as Quickquid.
What I am asking is that can I send this off the FCA even tho they have said it’s closed at there end? I only got documents for quickquid and not pounds to pocket.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can go the the FOS. But first of all, phone them up and say you never received a reply to your PTP complaint and the offer you accepted only referred to QQ.
I haven’t heard of QQ trying to pull this particular stunt before, and although I wouldn’t put anything past them, it is possible there has been a simple mistake.
Neil says
Okay, long time reader but have never really posted. This is an interesting thread. I have started these proceedings after reading all of your comments and passing on your knowledge. Well done to the ones who’ve won too! Good job!
My question however is my mother used some of these shops with a cheque and guarantee card and rolled over writing new cheques every week for a long time (she was doing it for me I’m sad to say)
Am I able to start proceedings for these even though a cheque was written…they were never cashed as another was written the week after to cover the first. She didn’t work either and had them over 3 shops…do I have a case here?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, this style of cheque-based payday lending was used by lenders such as the Money Shop and Cheque Centres. Some people have won large refunds from them as this may have happened over a prolonged period.
The complaint will have to come from your mum, though of course you can help :)
Neil says
Thanks so much. Yea she’ll have to do it, but I will of course advise all the way as she’s not very tech savvy. But good news in that I can kick this off. 2 I remember were H&T and Cheque Centre
Gary says
Finally starting to see results from my initial complaints from Sept 2016.
Both Quick Quid and Lending Stream went to FO who upheld my complaints and agreed with Adjudicator.
They have 4 weeks to refund my interest payments – Quick Quid acted within a couple of days and received £1860 in my bank account.
Still waiting for Lending Stream they have another 2 weeks – calculated approx £2,500 – anyone had any refunds from Lending Steam and if so how long to wait before they paid?
Many thanks,
G
Steve says
Is the offer my adjudicator has informed me of from SUNNY including the 8% interest or is that for Sunny to work out and add to the refund when they co e to pay it?I only ask because I have worked out how much interest I actually paid on the loans my adjudicator ruled unaffordable,and it basically works out the same as the offer,not sure how the 8% is worked out,but surely if the refund of interest alone is £2541, the %8 on top would surely be pushing it towards £2700 or there about?
Sal says
This is a complaint to MYJAR.
This is their response:
“You took out 15 separate loans with us between 12 November 2010 and 22 December 2011. All of these loans were scheduled to be repaid in a single instalment within less than 30 days. Loans 3 and 4 appear to be two seperate loans but were actually one loan reflected this way due to technical restrictions during that period.
In light of above, it is our view that your complaint should be upheld.
To put things right, we propose to refund the interest and charges you have paid on your last 14 loans in the amount of £1,135.26. As your last loan remains outstanding to this date, we will reduce its balance to the principal sum you borrowed, £300 minus £150 that you have already repaid. This balance will be credited from the proposed refund which would bring the total refundable amount to £985.26.”
is it a fair deal?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unless you think any of their figures are wrong, this looks like a good refund to me. The treatment of the last loan is what the Ombudsman would suggest.
It doesn’t include the extra 8% interest, but many people think that is fair enough in exchange for getting a swift, reasonable offer from a lender.
If the last loan is showing as defaulted on your credit report, you may want to say that you will accept if they remove the default or the entire loan. But if your credit record is horrible you may not care about this. the default will drop off 6 years after the default date anyway.
gillian says
i have just been contacted by my adjudicater who upheld my loans 3 to 12 with quickquid over the last 5 years just over 5000 pound in intrest paid he as said quickquid have answered him and do not agree that any where unaffordable due to the fact that i always repaid on time he as now said he will send it to the ombudsman can anyone tell me how likely the ombudsman will agree with the adjudicater or quickquid please i first put in my claim in dec 2016 and none of the loans are over 6 years the loans were all paid then reloaned on the same day
Sara (Debt Camel) says
All loans paid & reborrowed on the same day is a very good case. I don’t think you need to worry about this going to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman may say only refund loans 4-12 – but then he could say refund loans 2-12. In this sort of case, improvements seem to happen as often as reductions!
You may find QQ comes back with a lower offer. The record number of times for this so far is held by one reader who reported “QQ offered me £150 as a goodwill gesture. I rejected this. The adjudicator found in my favour. QQ rejected the adjudicator’s view however they kept increasing the offers from £2000, to £3800 to £5900. I rejected them all and waited for an Ombudsman to review. The Ombudsman agreed with the adjudicator and I received just over £8500 back.”
Lisa Willis says
Hi,
I have been sent to this forum from LB, I had several payday loans from 9 different companies all around the same time. Most loans were rolled over and most I struggled with paying. My issue is I dont have the information on how many loans i took out with each lender or how much the loans were for or what interest may have been applied.
Also as this was several years ago I would struggle to come up with an accurate income and expenditure for that time period as things changed quite a lot. I would really like to complete this process as i am still paying for some of these loans after all this time and one of them was around £1500 at the end even though the initial loan was only £80-100 and i must of paid back at least 3x original amount by now.
Would i still be able to go through this process and how would i go about placing the complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The first stage is to ask the lender to send you a Statement of your Account. That should be helpful in writing a fuller complaint. Some lenders however are very slow or refuse to send these – in that case you have to put in a “vague” complaint.
Do you have your bank statements from this period? If you don’t, could you get them? They can be useful in jogging your memory about who you borrowed from, how often, what rent, travel costs etc you were paying.
Do you remember which lenders you used the most? Those are the best ones to start with. Do you have balances outstanding on any / all of these? The only ones you need to be careful about are old loans where there should be a balance outstandanding but you haven’t heard from the lender or a debt collector for quite a few years. It may be better to to “wake up” these lenders with a complaint.
Lisa Willis says
Hi Sara,
I only have a handful of bank statements for this period due to already burning a lot of paperwork that was older. I didnt even know i could make an affordability complaint until last week, hindsight would be a wonderful thing. I no longer have access to the bank account either as i had trouble with these lenders which affected my account too.
From the statements i do have i have been able to identify the 9 lenders, not sure if there were more. I am currently still paying some of these through a Stepchange DMP, I have contaced Stepchange and they have agreed to suspend my accouont for 2 months while i try and go through this process.
So if i need SOA’s can i still email the complaints departments from your list and state something like
“i intend to pursue a cliam for affordability on my outstanding loan and any previous loans with yourselves. In order for me to properly prepare this complaint can you provide me with a SOA from the date i applied with yourselves until the present”
As far as i now all of the lenders have contacted me within the last 6 years and are included on my DMP, i have only 1 debt that has come out of the woodwork recently that i didnt know about and i will be disputing that as well (not a payday loan though).
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK but you are going to need to get your back bank statements. This is possible from accounts that have been closed. With 9 lenders at least some of these complaints are likely to have to go to the Ombudsman who will want the bank statements.
Some may just result in your balance owed being reduced, but any actual refunds could be used to make full & final settlements on other debts.
Lisa Willis says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the information, i will go through the bank statements i do have and see what information i can find.
I have found 3 credit reports from 2012 that shows 4 loans from Quickquid between 13/7/11 and 5/9/11 and then a 5th one which probably would of been the one on my DMP. They also show 11 provident loans between 2007 and 2011 and 2 other payday loans from 18/6/11 and 16/8/12.
This gives me a date range between May 2011 and Dec 2012 to request Bank statements and account information from lenders.
Willie says
Hi,
I just found this website yesterday. I had pay day loans through 5 different lenders from a period of 2009 – 2014.
I have gone through my bank statements for this period and have come up with the below.
Wonga:- 62 Loans from 2011-2014, Total £14739.00
Lending Stream:- 12 Loans from 2010-2014, Total £1735.00
Express Finance: 12 Loans from 2009-2010, Total £1520.00
Payday UK: 11 Loans 2009-2011, Total £1865.00
Northway/Pounds till pay day: 39 Loans fom 2009-2011, Total £12475.00
Thankfully I managed to get out of the spiral of debt a few years ago now and all balances have been cleared, but I do still have a couple of defaults on my credit report, all be it they are 5 years old now so will come off next year.
Would it be worth it to go through the process of trying to get at least some sort of refunds for these loans even though some are over 6 years old?
Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Definitely! Settle in for the long haul where loans may be over 6 years old, but you may well win in the end :) Where there were a lot of loans within the 6 years (eg Wonga) you may decide you are happy to settle for a refund on those.
For Northway, you can’t use the process on this page as they are Malta-based and you can’t go through to the Financial Ombudsman.
sam says
can I have some help please. I emailed WDA about irresponsible lending a number of weeks ago, but I had one loan open. I was willing to let payment come out for it. I am merely arguing the fact I have had loan after loan every month for years. the payment never came out, they emailed me saying they had to ‘shut my account’ until the complaint is resolved.
I have just received this:
Thank you for your recent communication advising us of your change in circumstances in relation to your ability to meet your obligations in the repayments of your loan with Wageday Advance.
It is our company policy to offer any customer in this situation a financial review to assist in this period of difficulty.
We understand people’s circumstances change, and want you to be reassured we have a desire to help you through this period.
and asking me to provide bank statements & expenditure sheets. but I haven’t mentioned any of this, I have complained about the fact they have let me borrow so many times.
what can I reply please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you repay this loan without borrowing more, possibly elsewhere?
It may be that you can now repay this one, but were in trouble with previous loans?
sam says
it was due to come out on my payday, so without being difficult with them I didn’t mention it when complaining, it was them that did not take it & when I tried logging on I couldn’t. I then received a default letter, i emailed both complaints & collections obviously asking why i got this and they said:
The reason you have received this letter is due to us having to isolate your account whilst your complaint is being investigated. It is a letter we legally have to send informing you of any default charges, however, you can disregard this as we have isolated your account due to the complaint raised, and not because of any missed payments from your side to us.
I can also confirm that no payments will be attempted from our end until your complaint has been investigated and resolved.
that was from complaints, this new email is from collections. i am guessing they have just replied without reading properly.
shall i copy my recent email to complaints, stating i am waiting for them to come back to me, its not about the fact i cannot pay now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That does make this sound like a mistake.
Jethro says
Re: Your Complaint against The Money Shop.
To assist us with our investigation, please provide further information regarding the specific issues you wish to raise about your loans. Please note that a Statement of Account can be provided as part of your complaint response.
A reply will be sent to you in writing once we have completed our review and this letter is called a ‘Final Response’. Whilst we try to respond within four weeks of receiving your complaint, if this is not possible we will let you know. The Financial Conduct Authority gives us a maximum of eight weeks to respond to any complaint.
—————————————
So I’ve just had this…I know there is a template response but can’t go into detail of the loans as I don’t remember when and how many exactly.
Any advice greatly appreciated (this is the money shop)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply and say you can’t provide them with any further information until they have sent you the Statement of Account that you have asked for.
Allison says
Hi Sarah, just an update on my QQ complaint, I don’t know if you remember but they first offered £667 plus pay off amount outstanding which was approx £500. You advised me to go back and ask them to consider loan number 2. They still wouldn’t pay back on that loan but upped the offer including 8% to £1.450 plus paying off the remaining balance outstanding. (This was at adjudicator level )I’m happy with this so accepted ☺ thanks for the advice
LB says
Have found this website very useful with information. Have sent out to 9 of my payday loans that I have previously. Most of mine have rolled over numberous times and interest in what I have paid back has been high on some.
What generally would happen if the loans have now defaulted and money is owed on the account, they have defaulted as I got into to such a mess and couldn’t afford to pay them back so faulted on all. So I guess I’m asking what a solution might be?
Jethro says
It seems what I’ve read on here they may eventually offer an amount then take off outstanding. Some may wipe the balance then offer some.
I have one in default (only £94) as was partially paid but they have said to write off the amount and remove from credit file. To be honest, on this one that’s all I wanted. I have bigger fish to fry!
Liam McClelland says
Not really sure where to put this but I paid off all my loans at the start of June and yet today I see Wage Day advance have taken a payment of £1.49. I am not sure why this has been taken and whilst it is a small amount I am very unhappy about this . Im not sure if this has anything to do with it but I did raise a complaint with them a few days ago relating to unreasonable lending. Today is payday and would have been a date I would have expected payments to go out should I still have any outstanding balance. Has anybody experienced similar ? and has anybody complained to them about this ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not heard anyone report this sort of problem. Ask WDa and cancel all CPAs at your bank!
ab says
In 2015/2016 in paid Sunny around 3k in interest on 14 loans, so have emailed them the template you have provided (thanks a lot for that)
couple of questions…
Am I likely for a refund? my borrowing was always paid back but was a huge stretch and large amounts regularly…..
Also turn around time any idea how quick Sunny should come back to me? understand they have 8 weeks but what is normal amount..
Thanks a lot for your help :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
14 largish loans sounds like a lot of borrowing, so you may well have a good case!
Lucia says
Has anyone had any luck with 247moneybox? They never supplied the FOS with their own business file. The adjudicator found in my favour of two loans and has requested they refund interest & fees plus 8% simple interest. 247moneybox left it to the deadline to respond – with their business file!! The adjudicator said this did not change his outcome. Seems to me that 247 are just delaying on purpose!!! I’ve even emailed there Director as they don’t have a complaints contact. Its not a lot but just seems they are trying to get out of it!
Jampanda says
Hi Everyone
Have paid around 1500 in interest in 50+ Wonga loans over the years. They don’t feel this is irresponsible/unaffordable lending. So it’s been with the Fos for a couple of months. They haven’t sent any details that the adjudicator has requested and they now have just one working day to do so… Has anyone else had an issue like this with Wonga? It seems an excessively long time to wait for information they have.
I’ve been told my adjudicator will make a decision based on their findings if Wonga don’t get them the info asap.
Lisa says
Afternoon all….
Update on 118 118 and george banco
118 ombudsmen upheld stating the loan was unaffordable and to remove from.credit file and refund interest and charges which they have taken off my balance, so nearly 2k taken.off balance, so I am very happy with that..
George banco again ombudsmen upheld stating first loan was affordable …top up wasnt to refund to me interest and 8% from top up and to remove top up from credit file…
So pretty with these outcomes..
Still waiting on piggybank and WDA
Joel says
Hi Sara,
Further to my question regarding the adjudicator agreeing with myjar.
I have replied to the adjudicator via email to refer to the ombudsman.
I have said I was able to borrow money straight after paying the “small affordable” loans.
This was the 15 “small loans” which i have borrowed on consecutive months.
My 2nd argument was that i was able to borrow a installment loan of £1000 last year when I was clearly in a lot of debt and paying off other loans.
Do you think this is sufficient?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you saying the first 15 small loans were affordable? Borrowing 15 months in a row suggests you have become dependent on them to me!
Joel says
The adjudicator said they were affordable! Yes, during this time I also had other payday loans.
Sad to see the adjudicator agreeing with myjar, I have asked it to go to the ombudsman
Jampanda says
I had my adjudicator mostly agree with Myjar. Very frustrating I also had around 15 back to back loans.
I ended up settling with a tiny amount as I needed the cash.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s a shame you didn’t take it to the Ombudsman.
tracey says
My adjudicator agreed with paydayuk, wonga and QuickQuid. Each with over ten loans each all at the same time. He says they were all affordable…. Felt sick when I got them back, how can it be resonable and or acceptable? I was paying out more than my wage in repayments at some points…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m sorry but you have to get the bank statements from the joint account that was closed. It is incredibly hard to win a complaint unless you do.
dave says
Hi guys, hoping for a little guidance. Wonga offered a settlement that i pondered over then accepted on Tuesday of this week. Im yet to recive any confirmation or guidance on payment. how long does that normally take?
Secondly, the 8 week deadline for Pounds to pocket and QQ passes today – should I give them any leeway if they fail to comply with deadline? or go straight away to FOS?
Neil says
Hi all,
I reported my concern to Mr Lender, i have had 6 loans, 5 of them i deem to be rolled and they deem only 1 to be rolled. However i paid £337 interest and they offered me a good will gesture of £108.94, i then went back and said i dont believe this offer to be good enough and reported them to the FAO. They have come back and offered me £198.
Do you think this is a fair offer?
Should i tell the FAO?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Neil
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it’s a big improvement. You usually won’t get a “full refund” from the Ombudsman. But whether it feels fair or not is up to you.
Neil says
Thankyou Sara, i have replied asking them to include the interest of another loan (they have included 2) and i would be willing to re-consider.
Lee says
£198 is a good offer for all the hassle and time delay it will take going to the financial ombudsman. I personally would accept £198 as Mr Lender seem on of the fairest providers to deal with.
6 loans isn’t massive considering I borrow 121 loans / top ups from Wonga in (31 months) and 28 on my smallest (payday express) and have had my 28 loans compliant with Payday Express rejected in full, which has now been sent to the FOB as of Monday. Waiting for all my others.
I’d accept this offer.
Neil says
Hi Lee, Yeah thats that i was thinking mate. Mr Lender is my smallest amount of loans, ive also had 20-30 loans with a few other lenders. (Wonga, Payday UK, Piggy Bank)
Ive sent letters to them but heard no repsonce yet, how fast have they been dealing with yours?
Thanks
Neil
Lee says
I mean you could even phone them and be cheeky and say i will accept £250 if you could go to that. If they wont budge any further then accept £198.
Neil I’ve only had a final response for Payday Express which was 3 weeks after my inital complaint was lodged which went to the financial ombudsmen on Monday just gone.
Wonga, Lending Stream (My 2 big ones) and Sunny currently with providers as 8 weeks still not up.
Lending Stream first one I complained about should have final response by 5th July next week, worked out £957 interest due on this one back plus the 8%. Initially said they would wave £98 interest paid on current loan as now setup payment plan with them in interim. Obviously Rejected this. Wonga one however could be looking at thousands as 121 loans / top ups in 31 months worked out from Bank statements nearly £30,000 borrowed to me in total during this time. Sometimes they gave me 3 or 4 top ups in same day. Thankfully all my payday lending started from July 2012 to present so got 5 years worth which is well within this 6 years rule. But am expecting this one to go FOS as want the max I can get back especially for this one as think case on wonga is very strong.
With being at work full time and decorating my house atm. Not got round to reviewing others atm. But plan to send off Peachy, Piggy Bank and Wage Day Express next as these transactions should be easiest to see off bank statements ive had sent to me from the bank, so at least they they are in the 8 week cycle before I go on holiday.
Neil says
Hi Lee,
Cheers for the update mate, ive sent them a cheeky email and just see what happenes. Hoping to hear back from the others soon.
It sounds like your going to have strong cases for all of them! Hopefully see a lot of money coming your way, good luck! Hope it comes in time for holiday
Lee says
Neil Id say phone them don’t email. If it’s a no then accept the £198 there and then or you could be waiting weeks for a response. You dont wanr to delay your money now you made decision on this one. (sorry predictive text keep a changing words on my phone as I type fast. If any of my messages seem a little odd in places, lol)
Lee says
Neil…only thing is I had gambling addiction. payday loans were paying to fund my addiction at the time as would be skint as soon as paid as lost of gambling then take these out. Then would win at casino. Pay off loans or partly then take out others by end of day as lost money gambling later or a few days after. Partly worried about doing this at first as thought I could be done for fraud. As says not to be used for gambling but I was a massive gamblimg addict. suppose it’s like a drug addiction really so i was never thinking straight . Thankfully I’ve calmed down a lot and in recovery.
Neil says
Hi Lee, im exactly the same with the gambling addiction that is the reason for all my loans. I still even have the gambling addiction now.
Ive blocked most sites and now pnly use sky bet with a deposit limit on. However when i reach the limit i just open new accounts with sites i havent had before.
Hopefully these refunds will help oir financial situation
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you want to stop, look at options such as Gamblock. If you don’t… well that’s your choice but these complaints aren’t going to benefit you as you know where the money will be going… see https://debtcamel.co.uk/gambling/.
Katie says
I thought I’d provide an update on my success thanks to Sara and this wonderful site !
On New Years Day this year I accidentally stumbled on this site. I had been trapped in payday loans for the last 5-6 years. I read all the comments avidly for a couple of weeks before sending out complaints to 16 lenders. We are now at the end of June and so far I’ve received back £18,450 so far …
Mr Lender – £285 replied within a week
The Money Shop – £3227replied at 8 weeks
Abermarle- £694 replied at 8 weeks
Piggy Bank – £477 replied at 8 weeks
Sunny – £1182 replied at 7 weeks
Satsuma – unfortunately rejected at adjudicator level
My Jar – £1300 accepted adjudicator findings
Wonga – offered £3000 at week 10 referred to FOS
£6500 accepted at adjudicator level
Peachy – £853 agreed at adjudicator level
Pounds to Pocket – £3700 agreed at adjudicator level
QuickQuid adjudicator upheld complaint fully but they are still deciding whether to offer. They have until Friday as they’ve been emailing my adjudicator this week
Lending Stream – offered £751 but I forwarded to the FOS. Adjudicator says she will send findings on Monday
Wage Day Advance – ignored adjudicator’s findings which upheld complaint now in Obudsman queue
Uncle Buck – adjudicator upheld complaint but deadline was today so that will probably go into the queue.
Safety Net Credit waiting for an adjudicator but it’s on hold apparently as all Safety Net Credit cases are at the moment.
So as you can see I have been successful on pretty much all of these cases and have received ‘life changing’ refunds. Sara I cannot thank you enough. Also hopefully everyone can see how they all they varied to when they offered payment. The only one that I couldn’t understand was the Satsuma one as all the other loans I got refunded where at the same time and the adjudicator wasn’t keen for me to put into the Obudsman queue but hey I’m not going to be greedy ?
Lee says
Well done Katie. Nice to here about others sucesses. Spurs me and others on who are still at early stages of this process that it’s worth it. Obviously I want the max I can get but anything is good based on the really bad situation my finances are in at the no. Only paid yesterday and got next to nothing now. Work full time and feel so down as had to resort to pawning items recently to get by. I never thought I could claim until I saw this site. Need out of this rut.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lee, can I ask why you are out if money so soon after payday? Are you still paying payday loans or other debts? If you are, you need to look at a debt management plan urgently to stabilise your finances whilst these complaints go through, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/help-payday-loan/.
If you are still gambling, then making these complaints is pretty pointless, as any money you get will soon be in the bookies pockets :(
Neil T says
Lee, get a Debt Management plan with stepchange, it will be such a relief to you. Then when you get your refunds you can start paying stuff off. I was a gambling addict and suffered badly for 12 years. I haven’t bet on three months since I went on this DMP and have enough spare money for the month and the hope with big offers from payday lenders. I turned down £1800 from wonga this week as they only covered me upto 2014 so it’s now gone to the ombudsman.
Ollie says
Hi guys, thanks to your wonderful page I have just accepted an offer of £4260 from Wonga.
I worked out I could of got £100-£200 more with the couple of loans they didn’t pay out on by going to the ombudsman but as I’m going on holiday soon I decided to accept wongas offer instead. Having said that does anyone have a rough idea how long from accepting their offer Wonga take to pay out?
Mary says
This site is brilliant, thank you.
Got my statement from wonga, 50 loans over 23 months (including add ons to the initial loan). A lot of them were taken the same day the previous was repaid.
Ive replied with the step 2 email.
Something I rememebered, late 2014/early 2015 I received a small refund from wonga I think it was about £30 because the their lending criteria had changed and they beleived they had been irresponsible lending on one loan. Will that ruin any chance of getting refunded on other loans?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No it won’t :)
Samantha says
Feeling deflated.. WDA have come back saying they did all checks as i said my income was more & that i must of lied about it & my outgoings. I had 15 loans between 2015 till present. Can i go to ombudsman? Or is there no point?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Straight to the Ombudsman! 15 loans was a lot, WDA are just hoping you will give up.
If you are worried that they say you lied, don’t be, read https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-lender-says-lied/
Danny says
hi,
At what point can I take this to the ombudsman? Is it 8 weeks from the date of my original complaint? Wonga have sent me an email which implies I can complain 8 weeks from receiving that email however this is almost 8 weeks from when I logged my original complaint alrewady so 8 weeks from then will be 16 weeks from logging the original complaint…
Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If your original email made it clear that you were making an affordability complaint, then it’s 8 weeks from then. If your original email just asked for a list of your loans and didn;t mention an affordability complaint, it’s from whenever you put in a “proper” complaint.
It’s really not worth arguing over a few days, but 8 weeks it is!
Danny says
Thank you. Funnily enough they just came back to me with a settlement figure today! Talk about timing haha. They must have know I was on to you! ;).
I’m stuck at what I should do here. I’ve spoken with the FOS this morning. They have said that if I make a complaint to them then it may take up to a year to resolve. As they need to figure out if they can take into account the loans over 6 years.
I’m curios to know if there is the possibility of the settlement figure reducing if I make the complaint to the FOS. They have given me a settlement figure based on 8 loans however there are a further 8 loans that are over the 6 year mark.
Any advice would be appreciated!
Danny says
Sorry wasn’t entirely clear there about the figure reducing. Is there a possibility, if say the FOS say they can’t take the older loans into account, that WONGA then reduce the figure because they know that even the FOS won’t look at those older loans? Wondering if they have just given me this settlement figure to put me off complaining to the FOS. and then when I do so and they come back and say they can’t look into the loans that the settlement figure drops….
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So Wonga have offered you a full refund + 8% on the 8 loans that are under 6 years old? How much does this come to?
How much was the interest on the earlier 8 loans?
Danny says
Just shy of 3k. The earlier loans were about half the interest of the ones they have agreed to pay for. Stuck on what to do
Shellbell says
Satsuma have got back to my ombudsmen today regarding the decision to uphold my complaint. I have just emailed my case handler my bank details.
Sal says
Dear Sara,
I need a quick piece of advice.
I have settled with myjar on the refund amount BUT I am yet to agree the situation on my credit file.
See their reply:
“We note that we are unable to remove the loan entries from the your credit file since we are obligated to provide credit reference agencies with up to date and accurate information. However, should you accept our resolution, the credit file entry will be updated to ‘’Satisfied’’
Is “satisfied” satisfactory OR should the entry be removed? Should I go ahead and accept?
rgds
Aaron jackson says
Satisfied means paid in full BUT it means paid in full LATE
Sal says
Aaron thank you..
I will ask for the default to be removed.
Dave says
Wonga have today upheld on 8 out of 10 loans I had, which I’m happy with and I’ve accepted their offer.
How long do they generally take to pay out?
Thanks for the help!
Kris05 says
Sara
Thank you so much for all the info on here got wonga repaid for £1k sent back form today, anyone got an idea from when funds are pAid?
ohrlys says
same here I sent the settlement form to Wonga on thursday still didnt get the refund as of today. Anyone know how long do they process refunds?
Lucy says
Good Afternoon Everyone,
PDUK have come back with an offer of £260 minus the £10 tax on the 8%.
My adjudicator has pointed out to me that this is not what she recommended, i have rejected the offer so it will be stepped up to ombudsman Level.
Can i ask my adjudicator for statements of pduk? they still haven’t sent me any!
Still waiting on the adjudicators decision on the AMIGO loans decision, she said it should be this week i get her answer.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can definitely ask the adjudicator for the list of your loans and what you paid.
Dave says
I spoke too soon. Sunny have just emailed with their findings and they only accept that ONE loan should not have been given. Are they just trying it on and hoping I go away? Also, they haven’t actually asked if I accept this offer. They have just said that it will be reflected on my outstanding loan which is with a debt management plan.
Should I reply to say that I am reporting to FOS?
I took loans out with them over a 2 and half year period and was constantly paying them off and then reapplying days after. Most of the time I had 2 or 3 loans (3 being the most you could have at one time) with them at the same time. By my calculations I paid about £2,700 in interest!!
Sara what do you think. Here is their response…..
To investigate your complaint I have reviewed the account opening procedures in place at the time. Having done so, I am able to inform you that we conducted creditworthiness checks, assessed your ability to afford the repayments which would fall due under the proposed agreements, and we considered how you were managing other debts at that time. Based upon these checks it was considered responsible to advance credit to you. Having reviewed the information you have provided, there are indicators that at certain points during your time with us, the product may not have been suitable for your needs, and with this in mind, I partially uphold your complaint. I am satisfied that there were factors in place which should have prevented one of your loans from being granted. The affected loan was xxxxxxxxx.
In line with my decision, and to return you to the position you would be in had the above loan not been granted, I would like to offer the following:
• All interest and charges paid in respect of the above loan, totalling £380.42 (you borrowed £750 and repaid £1130.42) will be refunded and offset against your remaining loans.
• Simple interest at 8%, calculated on the above figure and totalling £30.43, will also be offset against your outstanding loans.
• The record of the above loan will be removed from your credit file, we will update Equifax, Experian, and CallCredit.
The outstanding balance of remaining loan xxxxxxxx is £1748.79. With the above refund taken into account, your schedule will shortly update to reflect the new balance of £1337.94.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Doesn’t sound like a good offer, does it! I suggest you reply saying it is entirely inadequate given the extent of your borrowing clearly showed you were dependent on the loans and that you will be sending the complaint to the Ombudsman.
And yes, mention in your complaint that you have already sent them one about Wonga on dd/mm.
Dave says
My recent response from Sunny doesn’t actually say anywhere it was their final offer.
Sent the below message to them today. And also reported to FOS as it 8 weeks now!! Lets see if they come back with a better offer.
quick question – When reporting to FOS, how long does it normally take to get to adjudicator decision? I know if it goes off to the Ombudsman after that you are looking at 6-12months.
HI Simon
Thank you for your response to my recent complaint. Unfortunately I find it entirely inadequate considering the extent of my borrowing clearly shows that I was dependent on the loans and caught in a cycle that I could not escape.
I am intrigued as to why only one loan was deemed unaffordable when the majority of my loans all followed the same pattern with my credit rating being in a similar state throughout my borrowing. Looking at my records, the loan you have deemed unaffordable was in July 2016. surely any loans after this would have been deemed unaffordable too.
thank you for your time in investigating this matter but due to your response I will now be passing this onto the Financial Ombudsman.
Regards
Ryan says
Hi Sara,
I emailed 4 companies: Quick Quid, Wonga, Payday UK, Lending Stream demanding a SOA.
Of the 4 main companies i regularly used, the first to respond with SOA was from quick quid saying i had 17 loans over 25/3/12 to 13/10/14 (2.5 years) totaling £7,290 including £1,150 interest paid on them loans
Is this enough to make a affordability case?
I no longer bank with the bank which would have handled those transaction will they be able to provide me with statements?
Many thanks your site has been a real eye opener
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you couldn’t repay a loan without more borrowing, it was unaffordable for you. If you borrowed repeatedly from a lender they should have realised you may be becoming dependent and either stopped lending or asked about your circumstances.
That sounds like a lot of borrowing from QQ so definitely complain!