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?
Gary says
Hi there, I received my final response from Wonga today stating they will not uphold my complaint based on the 22 loans taken out over a 2 year period. My main point of the complaint was that they allowed me to take out loans on a rolling month by month basis every month which I assume is irresponsible lending. The response letter only mentioned unaffordable lending. I always paid my loans on time and in some cases early.
Is there any point in calling wonga to complain about there final response not upholding my complaint. I’m not after a huge refund of all my interest, I just want a fair resolution. I’ve called and complained already and attempted to esculate this to a manger but none were available. I am wasting my time complaining to wonga in hope of an offer after a final response letter?
Thanks
Dan says
My experience has been that a final response is a final response – I’d just submit the complaint to the FOS
Stuart James Anderson says
So I have just received the following response from Sunny at the 7 week mark:
“You feel we did not carry out appropriate checks to ensure you could afford your loan and that we lended irresponsibly. Your complaint regarding the affordability of your loans I have reviewed the account opening procedures at the time. We conducted creditworthiness checks, we assessed your ability to make repayments which would fall due under the proposed agreement 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. I am unable to uphold your complaint.
Regarding the affordability of your loans I have reviewed the account opening procedures in place at the time. I am able to inform you that we conducted creditworthiness checks, we assessed your ability to afford the repayments.. Based upon these checks it was considered responsible to advance credit to you.
I am unable to uphold your complaint. Initial assessment of your application accounted for some of the adverse information held at the credit reference agencies and as a consequence you were offered a small amount of credit relative to your stated income. I will however write off £25.00 from your largest outstanding balance”
Stuart James Anderson says
I fully plan to now submit this to the FO. Is this just scare tactics? There have been around 30 loans taken out consistently along with several wonga loans. I’ve paid them about £4K worth in interest since 2014. What have peoples experiences been after an initial rejection? Was the money then agreed to be repaid at adjudicator level?
Dan says
That is, word for word, the response I got from them.
Off to the FOS…..
Valentin B. says
Hi, Sara.
Thanks for great job that you doing. I wrote a formal complaint to Wonga 7 weeks ago and I got a letter from them. They owe me 2477£. Few years ago I have moved to home country (Lithuania) and my UK bank account is closed. I have accepted their offer and have asked to send money to my nominee account (friend in the UK). Today I have contacted them via live chat to confirm that they have got details. And they have said that they can’t transfer money to someone else. Few months ago I had small refund from them (technical problems as they called it) and it went to my friend account ant everything was fine. Now they are saying that it’s different thing and they can’t do that. For example I had same situation with refund from HMRC and money went to my friend account without any questions. Do they have the right to refuse make payment like this? They also said that I can’t use Online banking systems like Payoneer or something like that. Is there any laws that can resolve this issue? Thanks for help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask them how to suggest a way around your problem. If they send you a cheque in pounds, could you pay it into your current bank account? If that doesn’t resolve the problem, ask the Ombudsman what you should do.
Aaron jackson says
Just had an email from my adjudicator stating that she thinks the 50+ wonga loans I taken out within 2 years were AFFORDABLE. Yes you heard me right, AFFORDABLE.
If anybody could afford to get through life with ease, they would not have had to of taken out 50+ wonga loans over 2 years.
I am so disappointed and I’ve lost ALL faith in the FOS.
I have replied with my expenses – even though I have explained my expenses already anyway.
She also states on the letter that the ombudsmans decision isn’t really going to be any different.
This is a complete joke my bills left me with very little…..
lets just say I got paid £1400 a month.
All my outgoings were £850…….
I was borrowing over £1200 a month (£300 a week)
I must have the worst adjudicator EVER
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If she doesn’t change her mind, send it to the Ombudsman. The adjudicator letters always have that line which says the ombudsman isn’t likely to reach a different decision – just ignore it with a strong case.
Joel says
Same for myself, i had 16 loans with myjar, one after another and adjudicator deemed it affordable. It went to ombudsman
Jemma says
I’ve had 84 loans from wonga since 2014. Added all interest & fees, comes to £804 altogether.
I had an email from the complaints manager to give him a call today.
He said they will uphold 41 of the loans as they should have picked up very early on that I was reliant on them. They have offered me £475 all in, to settle this.
Now £475 is a huge deal to me & would get me out of the vicious circle.
However, what are people’s opinions on passing this on to the FO? Is it a long wait? Do I just accept or do we think the FO / adjudicator would get me more? (Enough to be worth waiting a little longer)
Thanks :)
Shannon says
Surely if you have had 84 loans with them the interest and fees would be much higher than £804???
I have had 29 loans from them and my interest and fees is running into the thousands.
Jemma says
804 is just what I worked out from looking at my history. Please don’t say I’ve done it wrong & have paid a lot more than that!
My loans weren’t big ones. Some of those being top ups too.
They are upholding on 41 of the loans & said interest & fees on those 41 came to £444.
Vickie says
So here’s me cocker hoop because WDA have agreed to pay me the interest on loan 2-23, brilliant as I only had 23 in total – I accept their offer, send my bank details in an email as requested and now 7 days on I’ve heard nothing. I’ve emailed them again today but nothing back. Anyone have a time structure when they may pay out?
Maureen says
They paid me within 48 hours after I supplied the bank details
Vickie says
Quick update. WDA have now put my refund in my bank. If only the others were that simple! It does at least give me some hope for the others, considering CFO went bump and didn’t receive anything from them at all. Thank you everybody for your continued support and helpful comments.
Baz says
I have struggled with det since I started working my first real full time job, I took loans out from wonga back in 2010 which rolled for several months before defaulting on them, since then I have been in this circle, end of 2015 I was in a serious relationship (now my wife) I was currently borrowing from uncle buck, sunny, MyJar, which was all unaffordable, and my wife (fiancée at the time) was applying for loans to cover my loans, it got to the point that my loans where so unfordable I defaulted on them all, I ended up getting credit using my wife’s name to live and get through the months, should I declare this to companies when submitting my complain? Or if it goes much further the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A complaint to Myjar, say, should be mostly about the loans you took from Myjar. But do give a description of your general situation, yes.
You can’t complain about any loans you submitted in your wife’s name – she will have to do that.
simon says
Hi Everyone and Sara,
Please could I have some advise, I have a complaint in with the FOS adjudicator against CarCashPoint for 3 log book loans, the adjudicator has recommended a refund off all interest and charges on loans 2 and 3, but CCP have not included some charges and have said the following:
02/12/2015 Repossession Admin Fee £150 default fees relating to repossession instruction and process per signed terms and conditions of loan
02/12/2015 Vehicle Repossession Cost £300 recovery company cost per signed terms and conditions of loan
11/02/2016 Fees Paid £222 repossession / default fees
My question is, as these say Fees not charges are they right to not refund these or should I push for them to be refunded as well and send it to the Ombudsman if they dont?
Thank you
Simon.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much are they offering as a refund?
Have CarCashPoint accepted the adjudicator’s decision but aren’t including these fees/charges because they think they don’t have to, or are they making you an offer as an alternative to the adjudicator’s decision?
simon says
Hi Sara,
They have offered £676.97 which is correct for the interest and charges on loans 2 and 3 minus the charges they say they wrought off. The adjudicator’s decision was to refund the interest and charges for these loans so technically they have agreed to it but seem to not want to refund the ‘Fees’ as they say they are in the terms and conditions. Im annoyed by this as they were to do with repossession of my car which they did when I defaulted but as the adjudicator has said loan 1 was affordable if they hadn’t lent to me I would have paid that loan and not lost my car?
Simon
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you told the adjudicator they aren’t including these? I don’t see the fact the fees are mentioned in the T&Cs is relevant… so is interest!
simon says
Hi Sara,
Thank you, I have mentioned it to the Adjudicator and she has re looked at it now and agree they should be included. She has advised the company of this and will send to the Ombudsman if they dont agree to it.
I will let you know what happens. Thank you for the help.
Simon
emma says
Hi Sara / everyone
6 weeks in and qquid have upheld my compliant for 2/17 loans and offered £702 . Do you think it’s worth replying to their final resolution dept to see if they will increase the offer or go straight to the ombudsman . I will still owe them 400 on a outstanding loan if they deduct the £702 but unsure of whether to accept
Sara (Debt Camel) says
2 out of 17 loans is one of QQ’s typical poor offers. I suggest you send it straight to the Ombudsman. If they were offering on say 10 out of 17, it might be worth trying to get them to include a couple more, but only 2 is so very far from a good offer it’s not worth trying in my opinion.
Andrew says
Hi bit long winded but had this respeonse from bamboo, shall I respond with there requests for bank statement and expenditure form??
Thank you for informing us of your concerns and we can confirm that we will be conducting a thorough investigation into your concerns and once this has been completed we will write to you again.
To allow us to understand your circumstances fully we would appreciate if you could forward to us a copy of your bank statement to cover the period for one month before your agreement commenced on the 17th March 2016 until the 31st May 2017.
We would also appreciate if you could complete the attached Income and Expenditure form and provide any other documentation that you would like us to take into consideration when we review your complaint.
On receipt of the requested information, this will be recorded to your account and it will then be used to complete our review of your account and explore if we are able to assist you.
Please find enclosed a copy of our internal Complaints Procedure for your information. Please take time to read this as it explains how we will deal with your complaint and when we will contact you again.
It is important to note that our response will be issued in accordance with the guidelines that have been set by the Financial Ombudsman Service.
In the meantime, if you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.
————–
No was personal loan , but then had to get guarantor loan at better rate to pay it off
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t remember seeing any comments about Bamboo and supplying this sort of stuff. Most payday lenders I normally say don’t bother, because they seem to pretty much ignore them when making an offer.
Asking for I&E makes it sound as though they want to set up a debt arrangement, but as you have closed the loan that seems pointless. It may well be that you have just been sent a standard letter.
If you decide not to supply the information, reply saying you would like them to consider your complaint on the basis of what they already know and that you will be happy to provide the ombudsman with any information that they ask for.
Jay says
After a bit of advice,
I had a loan from 118 money and subsequently repaid it early and then a month later I borrowed again but, this time they charged me an APR of 169.9% for £1500 over 24 months I’ve since had to take out payday loans with wonga , Drafty etc I also have a £5000 loan with everyday loans and the total interest for that loan is over £10000, can they really charge me that much? I paid off my debts with the everyday loan but have since fallen back into debt because the payments are so high….. also on the 118 website it’s says that the highest APR they charge is 99.9% and have found nowhere on there website to suggest it will go higher and had it confirmed via ‘live chat’ with one of there advisors and took screenshots of the conversation……… surely this is false advertising or even fraud? What can I do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Their website says “Representative example: Amount of credit £1,800 for 24 months. Interest rate: 71.3% pa (fixed). 24 scheduled monthly payments of £142.65. Total amount payable: £3,423.67. Representative 99.9% APR. Rates from 35.9% APR – 99.9% APR fixed.”
The problem here is the little word “fixed”. A fixed rate of 99.9% is a much higher APR… See http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/interest-rates#FLAT which explains Flat rate interest – the same as fixed.
So you won’t be able to complain you have been charged more than the maximum their website suggests. But if the loan is “unaffordable” you may be able to complain about that, as for a payday loan.
But how much do you owe in total at the moment? It sounds like a lot…
Dave says
Had two complaints picked up by an adjudicator today, and had his findings back within a few hours of picking them up!
He’s recommended that Payday UK (MEM) refund interest and charges on all of my loans.
How likely are they to agree with his findings?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They don’t reject everything and (anecdotally) they seem to have got a bit better recently. If they don’t respond, they may later make you an offer (or even several increasing offers!) whilst it is in the Ombudsman’s queue.
Caroline says
Hi
I have taken out in excess of 50 loans over a 2 year period (totalling £38k) and a second charge mortgage for £20k. I have sent all of these details to the FOS adjudicator who is sifting through each one gradually. Last week I got diagnosed with Cyclothymia disorder (a form of Bipolar) and want to write to my current creditors to advise of this but could do with some advice on the wording so as not to appear that I have any entitlement…can you help at all?
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Caroline,
telling your creditors about your diagnosis is a good idea. All lenders these days have policies on handling people with mental health problems so your information should be taken seriously and treated confidentially.
I would keep the letter fairly short – how long you have had the problem, when you were diagnosed, by whom (was this a hospital clinic?) and then say a bit about how this tends to affect your decision making (some people with that sort of condition find they are more prone to excessive borrowing when they are on an up-swing. A few spend more when they are depressed).
If you have already put in a complaint or asked for a repayment plan or something, ask the lender to add this information about your health to your case notes. I think it’s a good idea to say that you would like them to treat you as vulnerable as your condition makes it hard for you to make good money decisions.
All these cases are very different, but you may find this interesting reading: https://debtcamel.co.uk/bi-polar-debt/.
Sam says
Hey,
I began a complaint with Cheque Centres back in November, for 50+ loans over 4 years, a couple dating before the 6 year cut off. It went to the FO in February and since then I have only had one email asking if I want the loans before the 6 year cut off considered too, to which I said yes. This was around 2/3 months ago. Has anybody had experience of this, and am I likely to get a decision soon? I’m a bit worried as I was unable to submit bank statements as it was an account I no longer have access to, so this may go against my case. Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A lot of people with older loan complaints have a similar situation. I suggest checking in with the FOS every month or two to enquire if there is any progress being made.
Maureen says
I have a cheque centre complaint in too, a lot of loans over 6 years. It’s been in since February and not heard a peep! I’ve just had a response on my one and only complaint which was loans under 6 years so now I’ve had that, I may push them on the other 4 now. The adjudicator did say he would be picking up my other complaints but if over 6 years and no offer from the company in the meantime then it’s the ombudsman queue.
Carly says
Just wondering if I have a case to complain about? Been reading the comments but I don’t know where to start.
In total Ive had 17 Pay day loans from July 2016 to date, 11 of which have been paid back in full and on time so 6 are still outstanding to be pain in the next few month.
Total Borrowed on the 11 = £2809 and I paid £371.93 in interest = total £3180.93.
Total Borrowed on the 6 outstanding = £1504 and the total interest when I pay them off will be £556.63 totalling £2060.63
Ive had a few issues this past month in my personal life which has resulted in getting the extra 6 that are outstanding, car broke etc.
Out of the 17 Loans 9 have been with Wonga 1 was in June last year but this year due to unaffordability ive been paying them off and getting another one a couple of days later, so ive had one in Jan, Feb, March, April, May, June and now one outstanding in July. which has also resulted in getting the other loans from other companies. I have never missed a payment and don’t intend on doing so but I feel it will happen if I have to keep borrowing after paying back at the end of the month.
Do I have a case and where do I start :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You definitely have a case against Wonga.
I’m not sure how often you used any other lender? It’s hard to win a “one loan” case if it has been paid, but it’s well worth trying with the 6 that are outstanding because with these the lender will often (not always) remove the interest from the amount you have to pay back, which should make your life much easier.
“I have never missed a payment and don’t intend on doing so but I feel it will happen if I have to keep borrowing after paying back at the end of the month.” I am afraid you have to start by telling all your current loans that you can’t repay them. You have to end the cycle of repaying then borrowing again because the repayments left you too short of money to manage.
The order to do things is:
1) cancel all CPAs with the lenders with your bank – do not rely on lender agreeing not to take a payment, get yourself safe first
2) tell the lenders you can’t afford all the repayments this month. Offer an amount you can afford, even if this is a lot lower. As you have so many lenders, it may be a lot easier to hand this over to a StepChange to do on your behalf. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/help-payday-loan/
3) put in affordability complaints.
Don’t try affordability complaints whilst you are still borrowing. They can take many months to resolve.
Carly says
Its not that long but the 6 that are outstanding are below, some are on 3 month term and a couple are due end of the month. Do I contact the lot and advise I am having trouble? I want to get out of them as quick as possible but don’t want to call each one for them all to put me on a pay plan as that may take longer to resolve i.e £20 a week etc will probably take me into next year. I’m usually a very unlucky person and the last time I put a request into the HMRC for a Tax refund the final decision was I owed them so I’m just a bit unsure ha :)
Payday Lender Date taken Amount Borrowed Total Amount Paid Interest Paid Paid /Outstanding
Wonga 30/06/2017 £404.00 £503.90 £99.90 Outstanding
Cash ASAP 02/07/2017 £200.00 £246.08 £46.08 Outstanding
My Jar 03/07/2017 £500.00 £725.46 £225.46 Outstanding
Quick Quid 03/07/2017 £100.00 £149.60 £49.60 Outstanding
Uncle Buck 06/07/2017 £150.00 £214.19 £64.19 Outstanding
Satsuma 07/07/2017 £150.00 £221.40 £71.40 Outstanding
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you should contact them all. The one thing creditors hate more than someone saying they can’t pay is for that person to be paying off some debts but not others!
If you can pay off quicker than £20 a week, that’s great, but only offer what you can afford. You have to stop borrowing – you are in a trap at the moment, I know it’s scary but to get out you just have to decide no more borrowing. If you don’t want to call the lenders individually (and 6 is a lot) then going through StepChange is a good option.
If you get any balances reduced or money back from affordability complaints, then the debts will go much quicker.
So go back to the three points I listed. In order you need to cancel the 6 CPAs, tell the lenders (or contact StepChange and they will) and lastly put in affordability complaints.
Annie says
247moneybox have ignored my adjudicator. Are they allowed to do this? I think this means it has to go into the queue for an ombudsmen review, does anyone have any idea of how long this could take?
Darren says
I think they are doing the same with mine. Sent the adjudicator all my documentation a few weeks back and when I called for an update they were still waiting on a response from them. This is potentially my biggest case with around £3k hopefully coming back to me. Since I started my complaints in March, 247 moneybox have only sent me one email….an email offering me a loan! Couldn’t make it up lol.
On another note, does anyone know how long payday express take to pay out after accepting there offer through an adjudicator?
Lucia says
247 did the same to me. Delayed sending info to FOS. Then the adjudicator found in my favour. 247 THEN sent their file. Decision unchanged but 247 refused it. SO now I’m in the queue for an Ombudsman. As far as I can see, 247 are just using delaying tactics and its totally unfair.
Pear says
Update on my QQ complaint: QQ denied any wrong doing and offered a goodwill gesture, I declined and went to FO. Adjudicator contacted me when he picked it up and he said before he had looked at it QQ had made an offer to refund interest on last loan totalling £1200, I asked him to look at the complaint and he decided loans 2-8 should not have been given. QQ disputed this and back with their original offer but with 8% added. I have declined this and told him I would only consider an offer of loans 3-8 with 8% interest. Does anyone know what they are likely to do now? I am expecting to have to go to ombudsman.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
QQ are one of the firms that do make offers whilst you are in the Ombudsman queue. This was one person’s experience:
“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.”
Your offer that you would take 3-8 sounds like a sensible compromise to me…The Ombudsman queue seems to be moving a bit faster at the moment too so as you have a big claim here, I suggest holding on unless QQ accept your offer.
Pear says
Thanks Sara, I am no panic for the money so I won’t accept anything less than loans 3-8, I have a lending stream complaint that has been about 6 weeks in ombudsman queue so hopefully that one gets picked up soon. I also have one for PDUK who have 2 weeks to reply to my adjudicator. I had 2 loans over 6 years old with 7 roll overs which I told adjudicator to ignore and he found that the next 3 loans with 23 roll overs shouldn’t have been given, with 8% it should be around 6k, do you know what PDUK are like with the adjudicators recommendation?
Thanks
Maureen says
Adjudicator has today found in my favour against my jar for loans 13-26. My jar made me an original offer of the last 15 loans which I rejected. So adjudicator has said they repay interest on loans 13-41 plus 8% interest and remove from credit file. Has anyone had My Jar refuse adjudicator decision and go all the way to ombudsman. This has been going on since end of Feb! Should be about £2000 if I’ve calculated correctly. I told them to forget the first 12 as they were over 6 years and only £100 loans at that time so not a lot of interest paid. This would be another one down….four to go but long wait for them as all over 6 years, QQ, cheque centre, Wonga and Payday UK. Not even had any update on those yet, was waiting to see how successful this smaller on with My Jar was first.
Anna says
Hi Sara
First of all thank you for this page . After just few weeks fromi initial complaint Wonga made an offer of £960 which I accepted and money was in my account the next day. Its a different story with Sunny. After exactly 8 weeks they responded they cant uphold my conplaint. Last Tuesday I filed the complaint with Ombdusman but never heard anything afterwards, no emails, nothing. Is there something I should do???
Ross says
Hi Anna,
You will receive acknowledgment of your complaint via post, not email. You can ask for all further communication to be done by email, if you prefer, but it’s statutory procedure for the FOS to reply to the initial complaint via post. They’re extremely busy, with these type of complaints, at the moment, so there may be a little delay. However, if you’ve done it online, then they will definitely have it.
MH says
Have people been getting emailed responses off adjudicators or posted letters?
Ross says
Hi MH,
When you first submit your complaint, it gives you the option to have communication via email or post. Did you submit your complaint online? In any event, you can contact your adjudicator, if you’ve been assigned one, and ask them to contact you via your preferred method (email worked better for me, and is quicker).
MH says
Cheers Ross, yeah I definitely ticked email (for quickness) but received a letter yesterday! When speaking for updates I’ve stated my preference aswell but sometimes they probably don’t check and post it out. All my complaints been assigned now so they said ‘within a month’ for decisions. I’m hoping for some positive outcomes
Marty says
Hi
I have today sent my complaint about paydayuk to FOS using the online complaint. I was expecting to get an email from them confirming receipt of the complaint but did not get one. I assume that is normal? Also I am expecting to be asked for bank statements for 6 years, I bank with nationwide so do I just phone to get these?
Lee says
You will get an acknowledgement to online complaint form and case in about 2 weeks time atm as just had one back myself. They will then give you a reference for your case.
In the meantime get a copy of your credit report off noodle it is free. Also get bank statements going 3 months back from your first payday loan ever taken out to present either get them off internet banking save and email them in when you get you receive your letter or request them all by phoning your bank – can take up to 10 working days and maybe slight fee of £5 for printing & posting.
You can then either email this information to financial ombudsmen quoting the case reference the FOS will provide in their case conformation in due course, if not send to Financial Ombudsmen, Exchange Tower, London in post. And clearly ask for all paperwork you send to be scanned and linked to your original case ref.
You will only need to provide a credit report and bank statements once. As if you have anymore payday providers they will look at these copies attached to the first case. Just Make sure if you do anymore cases you clearly put on online compliant form that credit report and bank statements are attached to your original case ref and quote it etc.
Ross says
Hi Marty.
As I told Anna, you will receive an acknowledgment through the post, to your initial complaint, then you have the choice to be contacted via email or post for all subsequent communication. They’re very busy, so you may experience a short delay in receiving the acknowledgment, but if you did it online then you’re safe to assume they have your complaint and not to worry. As for bank statements, do you bank online? You can retrieve x amount of years bank statements on there and, in most cases, PDF these, so you can send them as attachments to your adjudicator. For years you can’t retrieve, you can either call or visit your local branch. You will require bank statements for the duration of when you took out the loans, including ones which were for 3 months before and 3 months after you took out/repaid the loans. Hope this helps?
Lee says
Mine were with nationwide is £5 flat rate fee regardless of how many years you request. Phone them this week as take 10 working days to arrive in post and you will 100% need to send these when you get the FOS confirmation letter in about 2 weeks time (Which is how long it’s taking atm) as got my 2nd FOS complaint ref with lending stream on Friday and was lodged about 2 weeks ago same wait as my first payday express one.
Don’t bother with online banking statements with nationwide as only go back 4 years.
Know this as had to do this all last week. Good luck.
Marty says
Love this site you are all so helpful and quick with answers. I will phone nationwide tomorrow for the statements. Thank you all.
anon37 says
Hi all, I submitted a case to paydayuk for irresponsible lending. I mentioned that i also took out other payday loans including payday express. I received acknowledgement of a case for paydayuk and payday express separately. Do i need to reply back to the payday express email with the reason why i am complaining as i only originally complained about paydayuk?
I was going to raise a complaint against payday express anyway.
So far received the standard we are not obliged to supply a sor etc.. So i have replied stating i will pay £10 for a SAR asking what the procedure is. No reply as yet….
Ross says
Hi Anon37,
You need to treat these complaints as separate ones, even though both companies are owned by the same parent company. Don’t worry too much about the SOA’s. if, and when, you have to send your complaints to the FOS, they WILL have to provide these for them. My adjudicator forwarded them to me, after they sent them to him. They’re really awkward just for the sake of being awkward, hopIng you may just give up and go away.
anon37 says
Thanks for your reply, submitted cases 10-12 days ago with the following:
MyJar – quick replies, denied wrong doing offered gesture of goodwill @ 30% of interest, rejected and awaiting final offer now.
Wonga- acknowledgement email , nothing else yet.
PaydayUk – acknowledgement email , nothing else yet.
Payday Express – acknowledgement email , nothing else yet.
WageDayAdvance – quick response however stalling as advising can not find account, (timewasting) will report for stalling by next week.
What is everyone elses interactions and timescales with these companies like?
Tom says
Hi, has anyone tried/had any success with the company “TM Advances”?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have only come across them once, in connection with a customer who had a major mental health problem and eventually they agreed to remove interest from the balance outstanding. That wasn’t an affordability complaint.
But the rules are the same for all lenders, and their interest rates are horribly high, so if you think you can show a) that you repayments were unaffordable for you AND b) that the lender should have known this before lending to you (probably because there were very recent problems on your credit record? not just payday loans, but defaults, debt management, CCJs that sort of thing) then put in a complaint.
Tom says
Thanks Sara,
I will give it a go
Tom
Carly says
Hi, is it frowned upon when providing bank statements where there are gambling transactions? And will it go against you or in your favour?
Lee says
No Carly more likely to go in your favour.
My 10 complaints with different payday providers is regarding lending excessively which helped fund my gambling addiction / Illness.
This is part of your compliant . Excessive amount of loans given to you in short period of time indicated a problem they should of identified after a short period.
Then another reason not conducting proper credit checks. Identifying your other payday lending / maxed out credit cards, always in an overdraft situation etc.
Not requesting bank statements.
Constant defaulting or setting up payment plans with providers.
Use as many of these reasons as apply in your compliant.
Would bullet point relevant reasons like I did on all of mine.
Good Luck
Carly says
Thanks for that Lee :)
I had 6 in the same month from different lenders and not one asked me for further evidence etc, just thought they wouldn’t uphold my claims if there were gambling transactions, I have put a complaint in as of yet as I still have the 6 outstanding, going to pay some off end of this week then start the process but that’s for your advice and quick response :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It isn’t frowned on. If you borrowed a lot from the same lender, then they should have realised you were in trouble even if it looks as though you income is enough.
It does make complaints where there are only one or two loans from the same lender harder as the Ombudsman may decide that the lender couldn’t have realised the problem so it wasn’t irresponsible lending.
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/gambling-payday-loan-refunds/ for some examples.
Tom says
I received this email back from sunny, however I am confused as I didn’t complain I just asked for my history of loans, should I do anything from here?
Thanks for your email,
Your information request is being processed and your complaint has been raised.
We will need time to process your complaint and you will receive a final response within 8 weeks as per the guidelines from regulators.
After this point you may forward your complaint to the financial ombudsman service should you wish to do so.
kind regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Tom, Have they sent you the list of your loans? If they have, you can now use that to write a full complaint – the step 2 letter here https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-loan-refunds/. Say at the top of this that this is more information for your complaint which you started on dd/mm/yy (the date of your email asking for the list of your loans.)
If they haven’t, I suggest you reply saying you will be able to send them more details when they give you the list of loans that you asked for.
Andy says
Hi all, has anyone had any dealings with 118 money or safteynet , and if so any outcome
Thanks
Susan says
I did with safety net cleared my balance and paid me over £2k that was after I rejected there first offer of just clearing some of my balance
lucy says
Safety Net were one of the easiest ones to deal with, i rejected two of their offers but they cleared my balance of £750 and refunded me £490.
Good Luck
Andy says
Thanks again, hopefully they will see their errors and get something even the balance would be ideal, cheers for the advice ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A few people have won cases against 118 money. These can be harder because there is none of the “repeat borrowing” you get with payday loans. But the loan size is usually a lot more. You need to show that you couldn’t afford the monthly repayments AND 118 Money should have realised this – usually from RECENT problems on your credit record.
Safetynet Credit is often one of the easiest cases to win. They could see your bank statement so they should have known what was going on if you borrowed from them for a prolonged period.
Andy says
Thanks for the advice ,I have now paid the 118 loan with another loan at better rate , but was struggling to make their repayments, I currently have £600 worth of debt with safetynet and they have suspended my account for 30days as said was in difficulty, and I have now lodged a complaint for irresponsible lending , wait and see out come now, thanks to Sara for such good advice site
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to cancel your CPA with your bank to Safteynet Credit – they have form for immediately going back after 30 days and trying to take the whole amount again :( Don’t rely on them to do the right thing, make sure this can’t happen.
Andy says
Thanks Sara, I have just cancelled this yesterday after their 30 day gesture, the bank assured me that they cannot take anything and safetynet said they will respond in line with FOS regulation, thanks for your time and support
joanne says
So glad we found this page we had 33 loans with Wonga 10 of which were over 6 yrs old gave them 8 weeks to respond to my original complaint they denied any wrong doing so went to FOS and last week my adjudicator ruled in my favour from loan 10-23 and all interest charges rollovers should be refunded (this took about 6 weeks) and today they came back with their response on the last day they had to respond and they offered £2108.00. More than happy we could of gone for the other 10 loans but would of took a while longer and we need the money now so we decided to accept all in all from my first letter to their offer it took about 4 months but worth it.
Jampanda says
Hi
Have you received the money in your bank yet? I’ve heard Wonga take forever to pay out.
David says
Wonga paid me 3 days after agreeing with them. I received the offer and form to fill in. 3 days later I got a message saying thanks for confirming and the payment was in my account.
joanne says
no not yet and thanks David its nice to know how long its taking
Mark says
Hi Joanne,
I’ve been considering claiming from Wonga in the same way, since 2010 I dread to think how many PDL I’ve had but it’s getting silly now, I feel a bit embarrassed by it all but when you have a young family I suppose you do what’s necessary.
Was all your correspondence with Wonga via Email or by letter?,I prefer dealing with letters as I then have hard copies and proof but will use Email if need be.
I’m sort of gathering all information together before I tackle them with a refund complaint, I feel a little out of my depth taking on a huge company.
Kind regards
Mark
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Email is better as it’s free, immediate delivery, has a date stamp and you can easily forward it to the Financial Ombudsman.
By now there must be a thousand people who have had a refund off Wonga using the template letters. You aren’t alone taking on a giant, you are following a well trodden path with people here to say what happened to them.
JY says
Hello, I’ve had to take out payday loans in the past and I’ve got a couple of questions to ask if anybody could possibly help me before I submit a complaint…
– first question, does it have to be more than a certain amount of loans you’ve taken out before you can complain or can it be a single loan?
-secondly, if I’ve provided information at the time that is wrong for example a monthly pay of £1800 instead of £1600.. will they say it’s my fault there for not entitled to any refund?
Thanks for any help, great website!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is easier to win a complaint where you have had a a lot of loans from one lender. people have won complaints where there is just one loan – usually these are where there was a balance outstanding so instead of a refund, the lender removed the interest from the balance.
If you provided wrong information, you can still win a complaint if you borrowed a lot from the lender. But if there were only 1 or 2 loans, the Ombudsman is quite likely to decide the lender couldn’t tell the loans were unaffordable so you won’t win.
daniela says
Hi Sara,
After a bit of advice please, i had an account with Avantcredit for which i requested an SOA. They have sent me one and straight after they started investigating my complaint, which they didn’t agree that the lending was inadequate. I’ve received the reply from them on the 26/06/17 then yesterday (sunday 23/07/17) i get this email from them, please see below. What do i do in this instance about my complaint, can i still take it to the FOS with Avantcredit being the lender or the other company? Many thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you just have this one loan or were there other before this one? What did you do after 26 June when they rejected your complaint – did you not send it to the Ombudsman then?
Daniela says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for your reply. I had just one loan with this company but had many others with different lenders. I didn’t send the complaint to the FOS as it stated in their rejection letter that I had 6 months from that date to take my complaint to them?
Is it too late now?
Many thanks again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No it’s not too late – but if you had sent your complaint you could have then complained if they had sold your loan!
One loan complaints aren’t easy to win but in this situation you may as well give it a go. The most you are likely to get is a removal of the interest from the amount you owe. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-refunds-defaulted-loan/.
You need to put in your complaint to the FOS, tell Avant Credit that you have done this and also tell Asset Collections and Investigations Limited that the loan is in dispute with Avant Credit and ask them to hold any enforcement action.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have other complaints where you still owe a balance, you should think about going to the FOS sooner rather than delaying these!
Paul says
If the financial ombudsman saw the borrowing I had done, they would have a field day. numerous loans with at least 22 payday loan companies, which isn’t clever at all. some loans were rolled over or deferred, which adds more interest to the loan. I even had 3 loans at the same time with lending stream.
Jamie says
Hi all.
Just got my bank details statement and came across a company called Fortress Group. Anyone know who they are?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are another part of the Sunny / Elevate group.
Jamie says
Hi Sara.
Thanks for that. Even though I’ve already got money back from Sunny would it possible to put another one in for Fortress Group aswell?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes definitely, it is a separate complaint
Hayley says
I put in my original 1sr email back on 6th June to wonga, quick quid, payday express, payday uk, the money shop and provident. So far I have had a response from all saying the complaint is being investigated but the only statements I received was from wonga, quickquid and provident. The 8 week period comes to an end next week so hoping I get a response from at least one of them soon as preparing to go to the FOS. I checked my credit report and looks like payday uk/ express and the money shop did a search on me on the day I sent the original 1st email. Has anyone else experienced this and is this normal? Why would they do a credit check on me? Any advice would be appreciated.
L says
Hi just wanted to see if anyone had dealing with money hive and what they are like as a company
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t remember anyone mentioning them. They look like a run of the mill small lender. Just put in a complaint, same as any firm!
The Hitman says
A few years back I had a wonga loan/balance that was cancelled in full (around 2k).
Has anyone still claimed a refund from Wonga?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
lots of people have had refunds on previous loans.
I suggest you think of the write off as being the first part of any compensation you might get. If you borrowed a lot before, it’s still worth complaining – but with a 2k write off, it would have to be more than just a few loans!
Steph says
The adjudicator who looked in to my QuickQuid (11 loans) and Lending stream (1 loan) accounts contacted me today to advise that both companies have rejected his findings, so both have gone off to the ombudsman…
Quick quid did, however, increase their previous offer. So far they’ve gone from £350 to £2,100 and now £3,000. I’ve rejected each time as I paid around £6,500 in interest alone, and that’s without any allowance for 8% interest added on top…. adjudicator ruled 8/11 loans as unaffordable, I would have happily accepted this, however, QuickQuid seem to be being their usual awkward selves …. fingers crossed I get a good result at ombudsman level, however long that may be.
Has anyone heard of any instances of an ombudsman reducing the proposed number of unaffordable loans found at adjudicator level?
Chris says
So I heard back from the adjudicator today. I have a total of 6 complaints outstanding and I started the process in May. Each company have rejected my claim and they have all gone to FO
So the adjudicator ruled that 11 of the 30 loans I had with Wonga were unaffordable. Not ideal but still a result. Just waiting to hear from Wonga.
The main thing is thanks to a mate that pointed me in the direction of this website I’m pay day loan free for the first time in 6 years! So even if I only get a few hundred pound, that’s the main thing
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is there a good reason why only 11 loans were considered unaffordable? there could have been large gaps between a lot of the loans, or the others could be much smaller say?
if you don’t feel the decision is fair, you can take the case to the Ombudsman. Ignore the bit in the adjudicator’s decision saying the Ombudsman is unlikely to reach a different conclusion, that is a standard sentence they all say.
Chris says
Oh really? he has pointed out exactly why he either agrees or disagrees that they were unaffordable. This is mainly because there is a rise in my income for a few months so he deemed that i had enough disposable income to cover the loans
The ammounts are around the same but there are large gaps aswell, yes
Claire says
Hi guys, how do you know if your complaint has been picked up by an ajudicator, will they contact me? And how long do these things usually take to resolve.
Thanks for any advice.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The adjudicator will get in contact with you.
It’s hard to generalise about timescales, as it depends not just on the length of the queue at the Financial Ombudsman but on how quickly your lender responds to the FOS about your case. I am assuming here that you have sent in your bank statements and credit record. And that you don’t have any loans that are over 6 years old.
Recent complaints seem to be being picked up by an adjudicator after about 6 to 8 weeks. From there it may be another couple of weeks until the adjudicator reaches a decision. Then the lender is given a couple of weeks to accept/reject – sometimes they are given extensions on this. If they reject it goes to the ombudsman, where the queue can be very slow but some new cases seem to be going through in about 2-4 months.
Ombudsman cases tend to get talked about a lot here because the ones that are resolved earlier just result in fewer comments… it may seem as though most complaints go to the Ombudsman but that isn’t the case!
Katrina says
Update on my Payday UK complaint with most loans over 6 years. I sent this compliant off in January, PDUK rejected complaint and told me would not even look at loans over 6 years. I sent to FO and have not heard a thing since, when I chased just got told it was with the jurisdiction team, was tempted to tell them to leave loans over 6 years but as most of them were over this time thought I may as well leave it. Glad I did, just got an email from adjudicator saying PDUK have offered a refund on 2/3 of my loans (18 in total with my deferrals) and if I accept I have 6k on its way to me which I think I will be doing. This offer includes many loans from 2009/2010.
Other updates:
My Lender – settled direct
Lending Stream – in queue for ombudsman since feb/march after adjudicator ruled in my favour and they disagreed
Wageday Advance – Same as above
Payday Express – They eventually agreed with adjudicators findings and received 4k
Quickquid – settled with them after adjudicator involvement 2.3k
Started the process in January and nearing the end total refunds should come close to 20k. Happy is an understatement!
Steve says
Hi Sara,
The adjudicator upheld 5 loans against WDA but they only accept 2 so It’s gone to the Ombudsman.
Do WDA have a history of increasing their offer during this waiting period?
Thanks
Steve
Andy says
Drafty, I think they are part of lending stream , but have credit line instead of a loan service, currently paying £48 month off the £650 I owe but but most is intrest, I have requested a SOA from them with no reply
Jampanda says
I’ve also got £500 credit line with them. Has anyone made a complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, people have had refunds from Drafty – not many, they aren’t often mentioned.
Andy says
I have recently asked for SOA from them but have had no reply , they say upto 48hrs so will post there response
Mike says
I have just received my SOA from wonga, can i claim back fees or it just interest?
Thanks
Mike
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Claim is for fees and interest. Basically, the idea is that they should only get repaid the money your borrowed – because they shouldn’t make any money from irresponsible lending.
MH says
Hi Sara
I got this of an adjudicator today in relation to a satsuma loan but looks like he’s also looking at my sunny loans (22 loans, usually 3 open at once for 2 year period)
I’m a bit concerned over his comments in relation to Sunny, I’ve asked him to clarify what he means, what do you think??
I’m currently looking into your other complaints with Sunny and Payday UK and whilst doing this I can see that Sunny have provided credit information from March 2015 to April 2017. Having reviewed their credit checks (with Experian) from June 2015 and September 2015, I again can’t see anything that I think would’ve raised a concern (e.g. no defaulted payday lending accounts)
If you’d still like an ombudsman to review this, I will progress the case accordingly for you.
Kind regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you also have a Payday Uk case? Have you checked your Experian credit record over this period, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/ for how to this for free.
MH says
What would I be looking for? I’ve downloaded my noddle.
I actually don’t, I was confused til I got this reply from him:
Correction, I’m looking into your complaints with Sunny and Pounds to Pocket*
Apologies for any confusion.
I just feel regardless of whether there was ‘credit record checks’ repetitive lending over that period is irresponsible and surely he should see that. The last thing I want is it in the queue for the FOS it my biggest claim; typical :-(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You are looking for “problems” that are showing on your record which would have happened during the period you were being given the loans. Defaults or missed payments.
Also get your Experian report, as that may be what Sunny would have checked
You are right that repetitive lending by itself should have shown you had problems. Go back and say this to your adjudicator.
MH says
Great thanks Sara I’ll have a proper look tomorrow. I’m certain I even had missed payments on other finances e.g. CC and OD maxed out constantly and missed CC payments. I will try and gather some evidence and email him. I’m Very surprised that it doesn’t look like he has taken my bank statements into account which so excessive gambling transactions when assessing my Sunny claim either
Jamie says
I should hear back from my Quick Quid complaint this week as it’s the 8 week point. I’ve added up all my gambling from 13th of July 2011 to 3Rd of April 2012 which I took out the loans with Quick Quid and it came to £1,145. Also there’s been times where I’ve been paid yet I still went to Quick Quid for a loan.
Does anyone know if this will go in my favour if I take it the FOS?
The Hitman says
Response from Piggy. Bit disappointed as I thought I had used them more. I still have over 1k outstanding, guess there’s not much I can do with this one:
I can confirm that we received a complaint from you on 17th July and an acknowledgment email sent to you on 18th July.
We take your complaint seriously and this can take about 4 weeks to respond however, the current rules allow us up to 8 weeks to reply.
Please find below as requested, your Loans Summary:
DATE LOAN TAKEN AMOUNT AGREED REPAYMENT DATE NUMBER OF DEFERRALS DATE REPAID TOTAL PAID
08/03/2017 150.00 31/03/2017 0 23/03/2017 168.00
27/03/2017 150.00 02/04/2017 0 02/04/2017 157.20
08/04/2017 175.00 28/04/2017 0 10/04/2017 177.80
17/04/2017 175.00 28/04/2017 0 28/04/2017 190.40
03/05/2017 1460.00 29/09/2017 0 527.04
Yours sincerely,
Andy says
Is this a SOA from piggy , did you request this via the template and are they accepting your complaint or denying responsibility , I too have a loan with them for £800 which I think they shouldn’t have gave if proper checks made , and wondering wether to make a complaint
The Hitman says
Hi Andy, yes I requested a breakdown of Lending. I’ve not submitted a detailed complaint yet, what I received was what I’ve been requesting for nearly two weeks.
Unsure what to do with this one now. As when I took out the loan my credit was poor, and clear to see from checks I’ve been lending heavy sums from other providers.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Put those points into your step two complaint letter.
The Hitman says
Thanks Sara :-)
Big ask but do you think I could get the outstanding balance written off?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The only ways a balance is written off are:
– if you have already repaid more than you borrowed, or
– refunds on previous loans from the same lender are enough to clear the balance after interest has been removed, or
– it’s pretty close to either of the above two and the lender decides to just solve the problem with a write off.
(There is another option, which is where the lender was clearly aware before they lent that you were very vulnerable, usually because of a serious mental health condition. But this is very rare and isn’t really an affordability complaint.)
Vicki says
I have received the below from Wonga with a statement attached: “Dear Ms Rimmer,
Thank you for your email regarding your account.
We have now sent you details of your loans with WDFC UK Ltd.
As a responsible lender, we must make sure every single application we receive is individually assessed. We look at your repayment history and a wide range of industry data. A decision is then made based on a combination of factors.
All applications we receive are assessed at the time of application.
If this is not the information you were looking for, please contact us on 0207 138 8330. We’re here to help from 7am to 10pm, every day.”
I sent the official 2nd email in a few weeks ago to file a complaint. Would you say this is their final response or should I go back to them?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Doesn’t sound like it, but you could ask.
Andy says
Yea, I have very similar issue, I had pdl from sunny , safetynet, piggybank, aswell as Loans from advant ,118 money and bamboo , my situation was dire, always in overdraft and gambling was also on statements , I have submitted various requests to most of these lenders , including drafty, waiting for responses , as only default on sunny n credit cards always paying interest leaving me short , hopefully the lenders realise my issues with templates sent , awaiting responses, this site helps to know not alone with these spirals , good luck guys
Charlotte says
I’ve just had Sunny write off £2500 without me ever having made a payment! They said they conducted all checks but can see why I was complaining and upheld my complaint. They wrote the 5 loans off and removed all information from my credit file within 2 days! They did take the full 8 weeks to come back though.
SAFETYNET also upheld my account. They used all the interest if paid to write of my remaining balance of £855 and removed all information from my credit file within a few days!
I’ve also had loans from Mrlender (£755) and Square Today (500) written off.
My credit file is already looking so much healthier!
I’ve had a lot of lenders (UNCLE BUCK, MPP, Next Credit, HandT Pawnbrokers, Cash Float) not uphold my complaints and these are with the FOS now.
Fingers crossed!
Andy says
Excellent news, I have sent my complaints to most now just waiting for a reply, fingers crossed it is good news
Sue says
I have emailed to wage day advance wonga and lending stream to ask about refunds lending stream want me to pay £10.00 for statements I’d this correct wonga are have emailed advising they are looking into complaint same from wage day advance I had 17 loans from lending stream which now are all closed I kept taking out longer periods at one time I had 3 different loans any advice appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply to LS saying you are not making a Subject Access Request, you want them to investigate your complaint because your loans were not affordable and it was irresponsible lending by them. Add that you will be taking the case to the Financial Ombudsman if this is not resolved.
Do you actually need a list of your loans from them? It sounds as though you know how many over what period. You can find out the interest paid from your bank statements.
J says
Hi Sara, can you answer a question for me please, just sent out e mails to a few companies last Friday so not heard much from many of them yet but 247 moneybox have sent me an email explaining there are many forums and template letters out there trying to exploit credit commitments and goes on to say as a gesture of goodwill we will remove ourselves from your credit file. At the end of the e mail it says if you have a complaint wrote to us and we will respond with a written letter so should I write to them asking for my soa again or should I go straight to ombudsman with my case. Also I see you can’t get money back if you have been bankrupt in the past is a trust deed the same or different if it’s the same should I just accept any offer I may receive rather than the ombudsman later telling me a trust deed is the same as bankruptcy thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know enough about how often you borrowed from Moneybox 247 to write an OK step 2 letter? If you do, I suggest doing that, and repeating on the end that you would like them to send you a list of the loans and the amount you paid them. You can’t go to the Ombudsman, you haven’t had a final response from them yet.
The Scottish equivalent of bankruptcy is sequestration, not a trust deed. When did your trust deed end? Were the payday loans before or after this?
J says
At the moment no but I am awaiting all my bank statements from previous years so should get that soon. The loans I had with 247 were after the trust deed which ended roughly 2013 will have to check dates but ones I had with wonga and quickquid I think would have started during or towards the end of my trust deed but I can’t be certain on that until I get my bank statements. So do you think the best option would be to write to them asking for a statement instead of e mail thanks again in advance
Julie says
Hi Sara
I’ve had my statement back from wonga (this took just under 2 weeks from requesting it) and I’ve had 25 loans in 5 years, most of which rolled on from one to the next. I’ve calculated the interest at just over £2500 and the fees section is just under £500. Could you please advise what I should do next? Do I try to claim on both the interest and fees?
Still waiting to hear back from a few other companies also
Thanks
Ju
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The next thing is to write a full step 2 letter as you now know how many loans etc you had. Just ask for a full refund of interest and fees, you don’t have to say how much.
The reason why you want to know is so that if they come back and offer you £800 or £2800 say, you can then judge whether to go to the Ombudsman or not
Sue says
I have heard back from wage day who advised they are looking into complaint I further emailed lending stream after asking for £10 I emailed back advising I did not wish SOA but not heard wonga advised they will write to me in 4 weeks
Paul says
log into your lending stream account & download all loan statements, i did. They are password protected using your d.o.b. ddmmyyyy
Emma says
Hi all
So after thinking about qquids offer ive decided to send it to the ombudsman and see if he agrees that the loans were unaffordable . Now the waiting begins !! Was just wondering has anyone ever heard that they have given a lower payout than the one declined ?? Also thanks for the advice on here it’s been invaluable
SA says
Morning all,
I’ve just opened my email this morning to some excellent news. On the 8 week mark of my compalint, Wonga have offered me a lovely 2.5K refund. This refund however is only for some early loans that I had from 2011-2013. I have since had many other loans from 2014-now.
I also have a complaint in with sunny which they haven’t upheld which I’ve sent to ombudsman.
My question here is, do I ask Wonga for more and liaise with them directly or now go straight to the ombudsman with this?
Thanks,
Stuart
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think you will get anywhere by going back to Wonga. They seem to have a policy that as the rules changes in 2014. all their lending after that date must have been OK. Which it clearly isn’t judging by the numbers of people winning complaints about later loans!
So if you had many post-2014 loans, I suggest you send the case straight to the Ombudsman.
SA says
Yeah that makes sense. I was wondering why they had only chosen those ones as my situation actually got worse financially from 2014 onward. I’ll send it off to the ombudsman today.
Thanks again for all your help! I finally feel I’m on the road to financial recovery!
Lindsey says
Hi Sara, do you know if it worth it to complain zopa? In the moment of taking the loan I had 1.150 income and outgoings were: rent 450, food 250, travel 150, hsbc loan 250, hsbc overdraft £4.500 and monthly payment was 75, bills 100, phone 40 and others 100. Plus a few payday loans 300-400 each to pay. The monthly payment for zopa is 120 for 4 years. I still have a balance with them but this will help me to reduce the balance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did they ask you about your outgoings and the reason for the loan when you applied? what was the interest rate? would your credit record have shown recent defaults?
Lindsey says
yes, the asked the reason and the outgoings but I added only the important ones. the rate of interest is 25% and the APR is 30.9% so on a 3.500 loan I have to pay back 5.800 and a 290 fee on top. I didn’t have any default except overdraft which I payed almost every month unarranged overdraft and the scoring credit at the moment was bad. Almost all lenders rejected me and my credit file was showing more then 30 searches per month.
Luke says
I thought this website was an amazing help after i heard on the radio that people can get some money back.
I have literally just sent my complaint to lending stream but I will keep people up to date about what is going as i think other people need to know about this!
Thanks debt camel
Tom says
Hi.
Thanks for this thread, it’s amazing.
I have just submitted complaints against several payday loan companies. If their reply isn’t satisfactory and the next stop would be the FO, do you reply to their email to tell them this is your intention? Or do you just do it?
Thanks.
Ross says
Hi Tom,
Just send it to the FOS, it won’t make any difference to the outcome of the complaint and there’s no point arguing the toss with them, as it’s their ‘final response’. Good luck!
Tom says
Thanks mate!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You don’t have to tell them but I think it’s helpful to send them an email.
If they made an offer which wasn’t acceptable but wasn’t way too small, it can be worth going back and saying you would accept £x to settle the complaint without going to the Financial Ombudsman.
Suay says
Hi I received this from my adjudicator today.
Wonga has been in touch with me today. It has disagreed with how I’ve reached my outcome but has reviewed your complaint and would like to make a new offer to you to settle this matter
Wonga is offering to refund all advances you took from 31 December 2011 and onwards – referred to as advance 27 and onwards in my assessment. As a result, Wonga will:
· Refund all interest and charges that you paid from the time of advance 27 on 31 December 2011, through to your repayment of advance 104 on 29 July 2014;
·Pay interest of 8% simple a year on these refunds from the date of payment to the date of settlement;
Wonga has said it will also remove these advances from your credit file. This is more than we have asked it to do, as we only asked that it remove any adverse information about these advances from your file.
So the refund amount being offered is £2316.70
I don’t know what to do as I feel that I am owed more. I want to know why they disagree with some of the loans.
I just don’t want it to go to the ombudsman and for them to agree with wonga and I will loose out on this amount.
Should I leave it to go to the ombudsman
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how many loans were there?
what was the adjudicator’s decision?
Suay says
Hi Sara,
I had 104 loans. My adjudicator said that wonga should repay all interest etc for every loan apart from one. But wonga are saying no to the first 26 loans. These were the first ones that were large amounts which I took out for rent payments etc.
Should I just accept £2316. Or say I would be happy to accept to an offer closer to £3k.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know how much interest you paid on the first 26 loans?
Jampanda says
Hi Suay
Can I ask what the timeframe was for your communications.
I’ve been waiting for ages to get anywhere. Wonga have been very slow to supply info to adjudicator.
How long did it take from being assigned to an adjudicator to the adjudicator making the decision. Also how long after that till Wonga got back to you.
Best
Jampanda
Lee says
I had 121 loans with Wonga between July 2012 to Jan 2015.
Worked out I borrowed just over £29,000. Phoned them today as inital compliant with them now 6 weeks. Just asked for update told me in final stages of internal decision. Advisor said he wasn’t able to give exact details but sounded positive that it was favourable to me. How long did your inital offer take is this 2k plus figure their inital offer before being referred to the ombusman. If not what was your inital offer.
Seem to be in similar situation to you. So would appreciate any advice you can provide as think I’ll here in next week.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
hi Suay, your wrote “I just don’t want it to go to the ombudsman and for them to agree with wonga and I will lose out on this amount.”
I don’t think there is any danger you will loose this offer from Wonga if it goes to the Ombudsman. And it is serious money … but it sounds as though you may be due a lot more if your earlier loans were large ones?
That is why knowing how much interest you paid on the earlier loans would really help you to take a good decision.
Carly says
Hi
Just a question, I know companies that I’ve only had 1 loan with are unlikely to refund the interest on an affordability basis but if 6 companies accepted my application in the space of 1 month can I apply for a refund with it being so close together?
My credit file would of shown that I already had a few outstanding, the total borrowed in 1 month was around £1500 and my monthly income is only £1400 so that would of shown it was unaffordable to loan me?
I’m putting in a complaint to Wonga this week as I’ve had 9 loans over the past year which resulted in more borrowing to pay them back just wondering if I can and how I would put it to the other companies?
Cheers :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can always apply for a refund, even with only one loan. I assume these applications were in the last years or two? In that case they should all have been checking your credit record and reporting the new loan in real time. The first of those six may not have seen any recent applications, the last should have seen 5 – unless you made them all on the same day?
If there is a balance outstanding on any of them definitely complain, as they may agree not to a refund but to removing the interest, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-refunds-defaulted-loan/.
Carly says
Thanks Sara, no they were days apart but all last month.
Before this month id rolled over with Wonga 9 times and Cash Asap twice so they should of been on my credit file, in total had 17 loans in the past year – 9 with Wonga, 2 with My Jar, 2 with Cash Asap, 1 with Lending Stream, Quick Quid, Satsuma and Uncle Buck.
So now I have 6 individual loans outstanding with 6 companies – Wonga, My Jar, Cash Asap, Lending Stream, Quick Quid, Satsuma and Uncle Buck all totalling around £1500.
So would it still be an affordability complaint to the 6 outstanding if not what grounds?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, these are still affordability complaints – the lenders should have seen from your recent borrowing that you were in trouble and it was irresponsible to lend to you as you probably couldn’t afford to repay the loan on time without further borrowing.
Obviously, when you are starting from a template letter you need to delete the bits about borrowing a lot from them and add that they should have seen from your credit record that you were in trouble.
david says
This site is a great resource and a great source of support. Thanks to the know how here i ve been successful in complaints in regard to borrowing with Wonga and Quick Quid. I’m now turning my attentions to 118118. I understand the process is slightly different than PDL, and I intend to explain they should have seen how dire my situtaion was and how i was reliant on pdls from my credit file. Am I on the right track with this? Do I ask for stement of account in the first instance? all guidance most welcome……and anyone reading this pondering whether to complain or not, rest assured Sara’s templates and detail to the process are second to none
Andy says
Hi I am currently waiting on a response from 118 too, I have received their acceptance email and said they will conduct investigations, as it would be clear to see my loan would have been unaffordable if checked my credit report properly, so wait and see and post findings on here
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No point in asking for a statement – you must know how much you borrowed and when from 118 money. You have to show that the monthly repayments are unaffordable and this should have been obvious from the combination of your application and your credit record when you borrowed. So what would your credit record have shown, defaults, late payments etc? How much would it have shown that you were spending each month on other credit commitments and did this match with your application, if it didn’t match that should have been a warning. Were you asked the purpose of the loan?
Steven Taylor says
Hi,
I had approx. 6 loans from Payday UK and around 5 from Wonga. A few got rolled over a couple of times and I missed two payments. I have had a CCJ since 2011 (first PayDay Loan in 2013) Curious as to how I managed to get them and I probably shouldn’t have been allowed them. I was in a pretty bad place for a few years hence the borrowing. One was over 12 months (i think) repayment plan in 2015 through 2016.
Am I allowed to claim any of it back? Even just the insurance?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They sound like cases to complain about. The rolls overs mean you were probably borrowing from each of them for 9 or more months – the lender should have noticed you were becoming dependent on the borrowing.
What you would be asking for a refund for is the interest and any fees you paid. Not sure what you mean by “insurance”?
Jamie says
Hi
Anyone had any luck with H&T Loan Group?
Can’t seem to find there email address.
Michellew says
I received a refund from them within 5 weeks
Shellbell says
Anyone know how long Wonga pay out after agreement has been sent off??
ohrlys says
Hi Shellbell
You need to call them and confirm to them that you have accepted their offer. They need a screen shot of your banking details showing the account and sortcode. Once you have done this the money should be in your account in 3-4 working days.
Shellbell says
Thank you. I did write my bank details on the agreement form I signed.