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?
Ian says
Hi Sara,
I have sat down and been through every loan that I’ve ever had with them and the totals are frankly embarrassing. Over the course of 3 years I have borrowed £6,000 and will have repaid £10,968 so £4,968 interest… :-( as it stands I have had 32 loans from them and 27 are fully settled with 5 outstanding. I have never missed a payment and nothing is currently in arrears.
I emailed my complaint today and have had a pretty generic response stating that their affordability checks were adequate however they did make this offer at the bottom of the email;
With the above being said, we would like to inform you that Lending Stream never retreat in extending their support and ensures that we provide appropriate help, whenever required. Hence, we offer to set up an affordable payment arrangement on your outstanding loans, thereby freezing further interest.
Please send us the confirmation for the aforementioned offer, so that the required changes can be made at the earliest.
I’m not sure how to respond – I’ve budgeted for the upcoming payments and can make them when they are due but feel that the offer is a bit short. Are they offering to remove the interest on the outstanding balance? I don’t want to respond and then accept a severely lacklustre offer.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Are they offering to remove the interest on the outstanding balance?” No! They aren’t offering any refund or reduction at all, just saying you can make a payment arrangement.
i suggest you send the case to the Ombudsman.
Chloe says
Hi I was wondering if anybody could help me out with zebit and minicredit.
I contacted zebit and they came back saying they are not the same company and they have forwarded the information on however I had not heard anything back. Does anybody know how to get in contact with them?
Minicredit I’ve heard have now gone? It was passed on to kapama and opos I’m not 100% sure which one it is with now as I contacted both with no response, I’ve had a nightmare with them to be honest I was paying Stepchange and they were refusing my payments (I wasn’t aware) so they added over £200 charges. I tried to dispute this but it went round in circles!
Would appreciate any help on these 2 companies thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If a creditor or debt collector has refused payments from Stepchange and added interest or charges, it’s worth complaining about this, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/creditor-wont-freeze-interest/
The Hitman says
Received my statement from quickquid from 2008. TBH I didn’t use them as much as I thought, and noticed there’s still £512 outstanding. Interest is only £312. Should I keep quite with this one? And with it being 9 years old what happens with the debt, and would this be wrote off now?
Thank you.
The Hitman says
Come to think about it, I’m sure the loan was sold on. Just tried calling them, but despite being on hold for 45 mins and so no answer, the 2nd stage letter is going in!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There doesn’t seem much point in pursuing this one. If you get a refund it will just be used to offset the remaining debt.
The remaining balance should be statute barred (see https://debtcamel.co.uk/statute-barred-debt/) which means they shouldn’t try to take you to court an if they do you can defend it. But the debt isnt written off and they will be entitled to offset any refund against it.
The Hitman says
Thanks Sara, great advice!
The process I’m going through is to claim interest & fees from all providers, but also to increase my credit score.
If the debt is statue barred and I settle the debt minus the interest & fees, do you think this would help me score?
Thank you again, Chris.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if the debt is statute barred it shouldn’t show on your credit records – does it?
The Hitman says
Hi Sara, no it doesn’t.
Tbh I’ve used various credit searches and can’t see it
Jamie says
Hi guys. Just got a offer from Qq and I accepted £750 and I only paid £800 all the loans so not a bad offer.
Any idea how long the money takes to go into your bank account
Damion says
How can I find out what payday loans I’ve had as that were around 8-10 yrs ago won’t show on bank statements nothing on credit file I have a few I’m paying debt collector for but thsts only a few I’ve had loads
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Getting your old bank statements is a good route.
Lisa says
I have received a reply from Wonga today saying they they are not going to uphold my complaint as all their checks were accurate and also that my loan was written off, I have no idea if i had more than one loan with them and am not sure whether to just leave it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask them for a statement of account.
Lisa says
Can i still do that with this being their final offer? I did ask for a statement of account in my complaint by way of not being able to be accurate without SOA.
(would you mind looking at a comment on credit card page please)
Kenny Glover says
Thank you Sara for this superb website.
I started the ball rolling months ago and have had a complaint upheld by the adjudicator and PDUK have agreed to the decision the adjudicator came to an so I am in the process of receiving a refund on the interest on a number of the loans I took.
I am just wondering if anyone knows how long this last stage takes though, I haven’t had any emails in a week or so since returning my claim form….
Saffi says
Does anyone know anything about MEM Consumer Finance? I have just looked them up on CreditSafe and it appears the company was disolved? I had 8 loans from them between 2013 and 2014 but no idea who to approach?
Ian says
Hi Saffi,
From when I was investigating my own PayDay lending I found MEM Consumer Finance also go the titles of Month End Money and PayDayUK.
Either of these ring a bell?
Saffi says
Now that is interesting, will try both of those, thanks Ian.
Shannon says
I found MEM Consumer Finance was showing for some loans I had with Payday UK. Funnily enough, just had a google for MEM Consumer Finance and Payday UK is first search result to show on the list.
Lewis B says
pay day uk made an offer whilst i was waiting for ruling on 6+ years, completely out of the blue offered refund and interest on all loans except loan 1, as i became dependent on payday borrowing.
payday express rejected, now in que for ombudsman, even though payday uk have made an offer for me being dependent?
4 weeks to pay from acceptance, which will be the 4th august so hopefully will have money by friday!
247 money box are being dreadful, they have told me my ajudicator hasnt sent them any emails what so ever, yet my ajudicator has told them to refund all charges and interest on all loans that i have had with them.
hopefully get some decisions soon!
thanks for this brilliant site sara!!
Jen says
I asked moneybox outright why they werent answering fos…. they came back abd said they had sent everything that was asked for! Went back to fos and turns out they had but fos hadnt seen there replies!!! Think fos are just as swamped with these complaints as the loan peoplw are!
MH says
Hi,
Has anyone recently had SUNNY agree at adjudicator level?
If so any rough timescale as to how long they take to respond and how long they take to payout?
Much appreciated if anyone has any success stories.
Thanks
MH
sam says
Hi MH,
Don’t know if this will be any help, after my initial complaint, sunny replied on the 7th week. I had £600ish still outstanding and they deemed 3 loans (out of around 27) irresponsible lending. so they wrote the amount off and knocked off my credit file.. but… I had no choice in accepting or declining, that was just it and that’s what they’ve done.
so I have still sent to FOC as I think I am owed an awful lot more. but still good I have no debt to them now.
they have been the nicest to deal with if im honest because I kept ringing and checking they were on with it
MH says
Cheers for your reply Sam. I had 22 loans with them and they didn’t uphold my complaint. Sent to FOS at week 8. Adjudicator said from loans 5,7-22 were all unaffordable which I’m really pleased with. I’m just hoping they don’t reject it with them not agreeing any of them were unaffordable in the first place. Could well do without it sitting in the ombudsman queue. Totals around £5K (with 8% interest).
D says
Thank you Sara for this site
Finally QQ have paid out after a 7 month journey,
I submitted a refund request back in February with 5 different PDL companies Mr Lender, Payday UK & Sunny agreed and paid out after a few weeks QQ & pounds to pocket went to the financial ombudsman. My adjudicator agreed with my QQ complaint but the company offered me £1000 as a settlement, I turned this & a second offer of £1500 down, I was due to go on holiday and thought the money would come in handy. When I called my adjudicator to let her know I’ve changed my mind, she said hold out for 1 more week, I’m glad that she’s a better poker player than me because they made a third offer close too the full amount, I accepted and the money was in my bank 2 days later.
Saffi says
I have sent out almost 20 emails and have so far heard from Mr Lender, 2 small loans and got £105 back, Peachy 1 loan for £100 and got £48 back so quite happy with these 2. Obviously still to hear from the big ones, Wonga 50 loans, Safety Net Credit 40, QQ 12 plus quite a few others between 1 and 5 loans. Thanks to tis site otherwise I wouldn’t have known what to do!
Ross says
A rather interesting email, from my adjudicator (who has just returned from holiday), regarding my QQ complaint. This has been sat with the jurisdiction team since October 2016. He has said they have made an offer of £990 to settle my complaint, against interest paid of £1883. This is quite fair, considering they didn’t even make any kind of offer, even derisory, on my initial complaint. The adjudicator has said the ball is now in my court and pointed out 2 things for me to consider. A) he has said that there’s no guarantee that the pre 6 year loans can be looked at and that this was still a bone of contention and B) a lot of my loans were for small amounts (£50-£20″) and he states that these could be classed as affordable. I have asked him to make a counter offer to QQ of £1200 to settle in full and I can finally put this whole sorry situation to bed (this is the very last of my complaints). I’ll keep you updated on what happens.
acee says
Really need some help here I’m on a DMP, however ive also sent letters about irresponsible lending back this is what Lending Stream have come back with:
We would like to share our findings, you borrowed 16 loans from Lending Stream, out of which one loan is outstanding.
Affordability Check:
•Your Experian score was ranging between 564 – 768; which factored into our proprietary underwriting and deemed acceptable
•At the time of applications, You were full-time employed
•Your monthly income at the time of applications was ranging from £1070.00 – £1800.00
•We could observe a sufficient disposable income, which denoted that repayments towards the loans can be made without any financial difficulties
Resolution:
In lieu of the overall situation, we confirm that the affordability checks were performed with due consideration while approving your loans.
With the above being said, we are ready to extend our support in clearing the debt and offer to waive all the interest and charges (£403.08) incurred on the outstanding loan (3448245) and are ready to accept the remaining principal balance (Borrowed amount – Paid amount). The remaining balance on the loan would be £630.00.
We find it worth mentioning that the stated settlement amount (£630.00) can be paid in a full one time payment or in an affordable payment arrangement.
——————-
Firstly my income was always only £1070 never been on £1800 in my life, Experian score hasn’t been above 564 for a number of years. If everything was above board why would the offer to clear £403.08 from the outstanding loan? Should I hold out and try to get the interest from all previous loans too?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Doesn’t sound a good offer, not close – send it to the Ombudsman!
Steve p says
I currently have a complaint against 118 money waiting to be picked up by an adjudicator, I borrowed £1000 in Feb 2015 then refinanced that in April 2016 £750 and then refinanced that loan in December the same year,the interest on the loans is 99.9 percent,that’s basically the same as a payday lender but over a longer term,after I took the 900 loan in December I owed them £3400,I have now paid over £1000 of it off,but I’m hoping the FOS find in my favour and I manage to get some of the outslanding balance written off,I have looked into paying off the loan with money I received from a payday refund,but with 118 you basically spend the 1st year paying all the interest and the second year paying down the balance,it’s absolute robbery,I hope they get their collar felt by the government sooner or later,what they do is shameless.
Lisa says
I had a complaint with 118 the ombudsmen upheld, I took 2000 and with interest doubled. Any way from they 3500 o had to repay… I now owe 1400… so I got interest back which I see a little light
Steve p says
I’m hoping the FOS rules that all my loans with them were unaffordable,the last time I refinanced I borrowed 1800 half of that was to pay the outstanding loan and 900 to me,every loan I took with them was at a time I was upto my ears in pay day debt,credit card debt,overdraft and personal loans so I’m hoping maybe they say all three loans were unaffordable,but would be happy if just the last one was ruled unaffordable,I’ve paid over 1k off a totally of 3400k now so a good out come from the FOS should see the balance reduced considerably,thanks for your heads up Lisa.
Becky says
Hi,
I have had several pay day loans but starting to reach it being over 6 years ago. Am I still able to go for this as I have read on the comments a 6 year rule?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Put in a claim asap! You can claim for loans over 6 years but it’s quicker if they are under.
Terry says
Hi Sara,
After my acceptance offer of just under £7000 from Wonga last week I have had an offer from QQ tonight.
They have offered me just under £3800 but from what I can see there is no 8% simple interest been added unlike Wonga, do they have to offer this or is it up to them?
They haven’t paid me out on the first 3 loans I had with them, interest on these came to just under £1000 and the first 2 loan amounts were relatively low, first 2 were for £400 and the 3rd was for £800. But the interest on the other 5 came to £4600. Giving if they don’t need to add the 8% interest do you think this is a fair offer?
Also does anyone know how quick QQ pay out? I accepted Wonga’s offer last thursday and it was in my bank by Monday teatime, I hope QQ are just as quick.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What were the gaps between repaying loan 1 and taking loan 2? 2 and 3? 3 and 4?
Terry says
Loan 1 – borrowed £400 08/08/12
Loan 2 – borrowed £800 15/09/12
Loan 3 – borrowed £800 28/10/12
Loan 4 – borrowed £800 24/12/12
What are your thoughts? I could take this to the ombudsmen but I could also do with the money now to pay off outstanding loans and credit cards I have at the minute and that would save me interest. I already savedere £3.5k by paying odd my Amigo loan last week so the way I see it the £7k I got from last week was actually worth £10.5k. Also you didn’t answer last time but do QQ not have to pay the 8% simple interest?
I don’t think I have said it before but I can’t thank you enough for your advice and template letter etc because without it I’d be in such a bad position financially, getting these refund’s have turned my life around!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So loan 2 was 800? You said the first two were 400, I’ll assume it was 400.
Loan 3 was it rolled?
I t look like a reasonable case to have loan 3 included as you suddenly wanted to borrow twice as much. Gaps between loans were small probably (you didn’t give dates loan repaid on.) if that was included and the 3800 was increased to what you paid, 4600 and 8% added, you would be looking at 7000+
They can make any offer they like, they are ignoring the fact the Ombudsman almost always adds 8% interest. You could argue this is breaking the FCA’s DISP rules, but there’s not much point in telling a QQ this, you just have to decide if you have been offered enough.when you could get nearly twice as much potentially from the Ombudsman.
The fact you are paying off credit cards you are paying interest on isn’t really relevant, because you are going to get this money some time in the next 6 months, if just depends when. 6 months credit card interest isn’t nearly as much as the larger payback.
QQ have a habit of increasing offers, so it may not need to go the full distance as well.
Obviously it was great to clear that Amogo loan!
J f says
Hi sarah,
Following seeing ur site i made a complaint to 9 payday lenders
Quick quid offered £200 then £1000 when i went to the FOS i rejected this an asked the adjudicator to investigate.
Pay day uk offered £0 then £550 for 3 out of 6 loans following Adjudicator findings
Sunny offered me £2500 for 8 of 11 loans
Wonga offered me £4500 for 18 of 25 loans
Pay day express offered me £0 and the adjudicator has said to pay me back for 8 of 8 loans
Satsuma offered me £0 and then £1300 following the adjudicators decision for 1 of 3 loans
Swift sterling im having trouble with as non uk
Quid market in process of referring
Pounds to pocket in process of referring
Toothfairy have gone bust so no luck there
But honestly this site is the best thing ive come across in many years. Thanks so much in 4 months ive got back ober £9k so far
Charlotte says
Has anyone ever dealt with Western Circle/CashFloat? I only had 3 loans with them but I conplained as I had 8 other payday loans at the time totalling £10,000 with late payments/defaults! So I feel they were unaffordable. They also reported to credit agencies that I owed them £4,800 and £1,800 when the loans were only for £350! When I asked to set up a payment plan they refused to send me an expenditure form or set up a payment plan! They said they were a short term Lender and would not accept a payment plan!
They did not uphold my complaint but the FOS have emailed me saying they have partially upheld my complaint, I’m just waiting for the full information of their decision.
Has anyone had the FOS uphold your complaint with Western Circle/Cash Float and if so, how long did it take for them to pay the refund?
Lor Cuzz says
How did you get on with this with Cashfloat? I’ve also got a complaint now with the FOS. I had 19 loans over a 2 year period but some were multi month payments. They offered me £200 then £400 as a goodwill gesture but I declined as I’d paid £2347 in interest and charges. I wanted to resolve direct but didn’t happen. Probably going to take 6 months now…
Charlotte says
Hi Sara
I’ve started my compliant with uncle buck and they have asked for copies of all my bank statements during my loan periods and also a credit report. Am I ok to provide this to them? Thank you for your help and advice.
Kind regards
Charlotte
Paul says
Just had an email back from UB after I stated I would NOT be sending them bank statements and copy of credit report :-
‘Thank you for your recent email.
If you would prefer not to provide this information, we will continue our investigation using the evidence we have available.
You will receive our final response in due course, and no later than eight weeks from the date we received your complaint.’
I’m sure you can expect the same response from them.
Good luck with your case :-)
Paul says
Hi everyone.
So glad I came across this site. I would never have even thought of trying to claim compensation from these loan companies. Since 2012, I have had in excess of 50 payday loans. Most of which became unaffordable and I was borrowing from one lender to pay back the other. Sane story for a lot of others, I’m guessing.
Anyway, I discovered this site, literally 4 days ago and on the same day sent off emails to all the companies I had had loans from asking for statements and compensation. To my absolute surprise, many of them replied within two days. ‘Peachy’, even emailed me today with an offer of compensation (£251.83). Mulling over wether to take it or not or pursue further.
But what I’m trying to say is, it’s worth doing! I NEVER thought I’d even get a response, let alone an offer of compensation within a few days. So hats off to ‘Peachy’ for their very quick response. Now to see if the other loan companies follow suit.
Thank you for this website. Because of this, I may get some much needed funds back :-)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good start, check that Peachy offer over though, lots of people have accepted a first offer happily and then realised how much more that could get back. If you don’t know what interest you paid Peachy, say you are thinking of accepting but you need your statement of account before you make a decision.
Ross says
Well, that’s me at the very end of my journey. I have just agreed to settle with QQ to close the complaint and I am satisfied. To those of you just starting out, don’t feel daunted or deflated if a company dismisses your complaint, and stick with it. Throughout all of my complaints (and I had a fair few) the help from this site, and the FOS, has been invaluable. For those of you who fear that gambling transactions will go against you, please don’t. The FOS aren’t judgemental in any way and, in a strange kind of way, this can actually help with your case. I would like to offer a massive thank you to Sara who is a truly wonderful lady and has helped turn countless lives around, including my own. Even though my journey is at an end, I will continue to drop by the site and offer help where I can.
Andy says
Hi all, anyone had dealings with piggy bank , and replys from them within 8week timescales , thanks
Neil says
Hi Andy, i sent my first complaint off on 26th June. Still heard nothing back from them, i think they may take the full 8 weeks.
Paul says
£2500 quid back from quickquid, eventhough my excel calculations from my bank statements should have been £1661
Hayley says
Hi Paul,
Can you tell me if they added the statutory 8% on top on your refund please?
Paul says
i’m guessing the 8% is added. i had 8 loans totalling £1661 interest, they repaid £2500 for 4 loans
Claire says
Can I ask how long you had to wait for quik quid to make you offer Paul ?
simon says
Hi Sara,
Please could I ask your advise, I have had a complaint in with the FOS for MonkeyDosh and the adjudicator has ruled in there favour. She is saying that my total wages were £1027 per month and the loan was for £150 repaying £187.50 which I had to roll over 3 times and have not paid the final amount which now has charges etc on it up to £227. She is saying my total outgoings were £759 a month and so I had £332 spare to pay it but she has not taking in to account all the other payday loans I had at the time which I was rolling over/defaulting on.
I have explained this to her but she is saying although the checks MD did were not proportionate if they had done the right checks she dose not believe they would not have lent to me any way? I have asked her to send it to the ombudsman any way which she has but has said it wont change anything!
Do you think this is fair or right? My bank statements that she has shows the other loans at the time as well as gambling transaction and over limit / returned item fees. Im worried as she is also looking into other complaints for me around the same time, other adjudicators are looking at other complaints for the same time and have ruled in my favour. Can I ask one of the other adjudicators to look at her complaints?
Thanks Simon.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
1) one loan cases are hard to win. Often it is decided the lender couldn’t have realised see you were in trouble until later loans.
2) yes your other debt payments should be taken into account. It will depend what would have showed on your credit record when you took the loan out. You need to write a detailed explanation of this and ask it to be sent to the Ombudsman.
3) adjudicators always warn the Ombudsman is likely to reach the same conclusion, it doesn’t mean your case is very poor.
Anna says
Hi
I am in the process of claiming back from the moneyshop the complaint was issued in Feb and I received thier final response this morning.
The only problem is thier response says I have only ever had only 1 loan in 2016 but in fact I had many loans over a six year period 2007 -2013 which they have not acknowledged.
I am now being asked for ref nos per loan as well as bank statements
I can provide bank statements but they don’t say “the money shop ” as it was cheque loans so only the cheque numbers are listed.
Given I used other cheque loan companies I can’t pin point exactly which is relevant.
Any advice in what I should do next??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you sure what address and what email address you would have used when applying for the loans? If you are, you could send them a SAR.
Other options – have you tried going into the branch you used and asking them for a list of your loans? Have you looked at your old emails? You could ask your bank for any suggestions abut who the cheques would have been paid to?
Linda says
Hi – One of my complaints was upheld by My Jar. They refunded all interest which wrote off the remaining balance with a small refund. However they have stated that they won’t remove any adverse credit information from my file, even though the complaint was upheld. Is this correct? As the complaint was upheld (deciding in my favour) aren’t they obliged to do this? They state in my request ‘deleting our information regarding you would risk causing other lenders or financial institutions to incorrectly assess your financial circumstances’. Not quite sure how to respond to be honest.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They aren’t obliged to. The Ombudsman usually awards this but not always. it is a pity you didn’t get this agreed before you accepted their offer.
Linda says
That’s true, I was just surprised as the other two lenders agreed readily to do this without me even asking them so I was kind of working under a presumption. Lesson learned. Thanks for your reply Sarah.
Louise says
Hi,
Once i accept an offer from Wonga through my adjudicator will I get correspondents from Wonga of how long it will take or will I just get my refund? I gave my bank details to adjudicator so they have them. Thanks
neil says
Hi I accepted and gave my bank details to Adjudicator, I received an email from Wonga’s FOS team the next day and the money was in my account the following day so really quick. Hope yours is the same.
Louise says
Thanks for reply. I accepted the offer last Thursday so not sure what’s going on. Not sure if it’s worth ringing wonga?
DB says
I accepted an offer on Wednesday where my bank details were given to Wonga. I’ve just been told it’s 24-48 hours for processing then a further 3-5 days for it to hit my account. Fingers crossed it goes in at some point today as I’ve phoned them up just there and said they have made payment already this morning.
Jamie says
Hi all.
Waiting for my refund from Quick Quid to go into my bank account but I’ve just found out that the 8% statuary is’t included in the offer?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you not realise this when you accepted it?
Lucia says
Hi All, I had a refund from Lending Stream for my complaint and they agreed to remove defaults from my credit files. They have not done as agreed after 3 months and I have been emailing daily with no response. I’ve just found the email address for their compliance director on the FCA website – so here it is stuart@global-analytics.com for anyone else who has issues with them!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was the refund via the Ombudsman or direct?
Lucia says
Direct – I have an email from them agreeing to remove the Debt Management status but they haven’t done so.
The Hitman says
Brilliant. Did Lending stream still hold the loans or did they get sold into a 3rd party.
They are telling me to contact the 3rd, but LS was the Ines to give me the loan
Lucia Cook says
It was a bit odd… lending stream seemed to still hold them as I had all the contact with them but at one point I think they had been dealt with by a third party. It was LS who emailed me tho with the refund.
rhys says
hi could anybody help me?
i sent several e-mails weeks ago.
mr lender replied rapid 303 pounds refunded.
pay day uk 717 pounds refunded
pay day express rejected (althought i have now found out it was a different company with a similar name who have now gone bust)
wizz cash – rejected
wonga – heard nothing back – over 6 weeks (apart from 4 week letter)
wage day advance – heard nothing back – over 6 weeks (apart from 4 week letter)
Frik says
Hi All,
I have just started my complaints against all my payday loans, must say i am so happy i came across this site, seems extremly positive to read all these comments, and well done Sara for helping so many people.
The Hitman says
Hi all,
I’ve received my statement of account from Payday express, and it works out £556.20 I’m owed. They are requesting bank account statement from April & May 2008 and credit report from that period. Is this common practice?
Thank you
Ross says
Hi Hitman,
You’re not obliged to send these if you don’t want to. Why they would want to see them now is a bit like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted! Just ask them to consider your complaint with the information they already hold. However, you will need to send bank statements and your credit report to the FOS, if it progresses to that stage, which (knowing Payday Express) it probably will! Good luck!
Tom says
Some lenders request this information but people don’t like handing it over.
I replied telling them to proceed with the complaint with the information that was provided and that I’d be more than happy to send the information to the FOS if requested
Tom says
I’m not sure if this has been placed anywhere but a quick note to everyone who has submitted complaints – make sure you check your Junk/Spam folders on your accounts, two lenders’ emails went there for me rather than my inbox.
DB says
Accepted an offer from wonga and filled out the form and sent it back on weds. Just had an email to say they are processing the payment.
Does anyone know how long this takes before it hits my account.
Thanks
acee says
Sent emails a week ago to 9 lenders 4 have replied still waiting for Wonga, Myjar, Sunny, Cashasap and 247moneybox to reply to my statement of account request.
Lending Stream – made an offer of around £400 I’m hoping for atleast £1000.
Safteynet, PDUK are considering my complaint. WDA sent my statement of account waiting for their reply now.
Should I give the 5 that haven’t replied to my statement of account request a gentle nudge or just wait 4 weeks then go to the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The ones that haven’t replied – you can nudge if you want, but I suggest sending a rather vague step 2 full complaint and saying that this is addotional info for your complaint dated (date of step 1 letter) and add you still haven’t been sent the details of you loans.
Paul says
just had am email from wonga with their final response. it’s left blank
Sara (Debt Camel) says
LOL call them and ask what they meant to say.
Ben says
Hiya, I have had an offer from wonga, not compared it to all of my loans as of yet but Im struggling to make sense of it…my settlement offer is £722.60 and then it outlines the interest of 8% compensation that I asked for but it looks to me like this is all wiped off in tax? Basically sounds like there was no point in asking for the 8% ? I’m not sure if I’m reading this wrong or not and will help me to form my decision as to whether to accept or not? If anyone can help that would be great. Iv included the interest section from wonga below
Interest of 8% simple per year has been added to the total redress for each loan from the date the loan was taken out until the date of calculation. Please see the outline below.
total interest and fees
£722.60
8% interest net
£199.63
total settlement
£922.23
tax
8% interest gross
£249.54
basic rate tax deduction
£49.91
Compensatory interest is subject to income tax at the basic rate under UK tax legislation and, therefore, tax will be deducted at the basic rate of 20% from any payments made to you. If you do not pay tax, you may be able to reclaim some or all of this tax reduction from HM Revenue and Customs.
Dan says
The deduction for HMRC tax purposes is 20% of the simple interest (so, in your case, £49).
After tax is taken off, you’re still getting interest on the refunded payments of £199.63
It’s definitely worth asking for the 8% on the refunds.
You may be able to claim the taxed amount (£49) back depending on what savings you have
Ben says
Thanks for this I did Realise this after I posted but glad to get confirmation. Wonga said this was a final response but on working out I believe that they could still refund £400+more as they only gave me the larger loans as a refund. So is it worth me replying direct to ask about this or going straight to ombudsman? Im worried about time scales and losing the current offer if I do? The ones they haven’t included I was taking roughly £200 loans out and paying them back and taking them out again with in 2 weeks of paying it (in some cases the very same day) – does this sound worth of taking it to the ombudsman?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How many loans have they offered a refund for? How many did you take in total? Are the ones they didn’t refund on the early loans?
Ben says
16 loans in total, they have offered to refund 4 of the larger ones however I feel the smaller ones should be taken in to consideration too as I was paying loans off and borrowing straight away each month to try and manage. They offered to refund the 3rd loan I took out so surely they are admitting they shouldn’t of loaned the ones after that but then have skipped some of them out only opting to refund the ones of larger interest. If that makes sense.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It does depend on how much smaller they were – the ombudsman may think £75 was affordable but £400 wasn’t. But these cases where Wonga has picked out just a few loans often get much better offers by going to the Ombudsman.
Lisa says
So i had a reply from Opos today regarding my Minicredit loan also included was a copy of my credit aggreement. They basically go through all the points why they have done no wrong and how they didnt have anything to do with the loan and how minicredit dealt with me fairly, then at the end offer me a reduction of £700 on my balance which is currently around £1150 which would leave £450 outstanding. I have paid around £300 since starting my DMP and the original loan was only for £100 would you send this to FOS and hope for a better offer?
I also had a reply from Payday Express saying that they were not at fault, i had 3 loans with them the first is over 6 years old the second was defferred each month for around 6 months and the 3rd was deferred 4 times yet they said i never informed them of difficulties and they saw nothing wrong with my situation lol. will be sending to FOS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest replying to OPOS saying you have repaid £300 after borrowing £100 and unless they wipe the balance you will be going to the Ombudsman.
Lisa says
Thank you for your reply Sara.
I got the amounts the wrong way round they actually offered to reduce the balance by £450 leaving £700 to pay lol. I have followed your advice and replied saying I would accept the balance being removed completely. I have given them 7 days to reply.
Nav G says
Hi Guys,
So having thoroughly gone through all the posts and messages I sent off all my emails and have had a response back from Mr Lender.
I had a total of 5 loans with them and total interest was around £700. They have replied with a lengthy letter stating they did no wrong but have offered £150 as a goodwill gesture along with removing any adverse credit marks on my file.
I have countered with an offer and I wondered if anyone had any experience of negotiating with Mr Lender. Will they negotiate, how long do they take, any previous cases, etc.
Any tips would be really helpful.
Nav
Dan says
I didn’t accept (and there’d been many others on here that didn’t) their first offer – I actually refused their first 3 offers and settled on clearing my balance and more than £800 in the bank.
Refuse it and back it up with your argument as to why – the worst that can happen is they stick with their original offer.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Mr Lender often responds well to a sensible argument, be firm and decide what you think is reasonable (interest on loans 3-5?)
Nav G says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the advice.
Funnily enough I replied to Mr Lender with exactly that offer last night, specifically;
1. Interest on Loans 3-5
2. Removal of credit records for loans 3-5 on my credit file
3. Remove any adverse marks for loans 1-2
I also had an Amigo Loan where my ex wife was the guarantor on the loan. I made 11 payments on time then borrowed some money off my father and cleared the whole balance. They lent me the funds while heavily in debt with other pay day lenders and I would like to pursue the interest as it was irresponsible lending but as my ex wife was guarantor I’d rather let it be if it will involve any contact with her.
Has anyone had experience with Amigo in this matter?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
great minds think alike! Were there any adverse marks on your credit record? It’s good to be clear about this. Payday loans with no adverse marks don’t harm your credit score and don’t really matter unless they are recent (under a year) and you want a mortgage.
Some success against Amigo but it’s hard if you only had one loan. They keep phone recordings of your calls – one person won a case because the recording showed he was being “lead” to give the “right” answers. If you said you wanted the loan to consolidate your payday loans, then they would be right to ignore your payday loan payments. I’m not saying don’t claim, but keep some perspective on what is likely to work.
Nav G says
Hi Sara,
I settled with Mr Lender today for loans 3-5 and remarkably I just checked my online banking and they have already paid out the funds!
I know they won’t all be this easy but that is a great start and it’s all down to this page and all the help and support.
I have had acknowledgements on all my complaints so the 8 week clock is ticking.
Steve says
I have sent out SO A e.mails to 9 lenders.i have received e.mails with statements same day from safety net. wage day advance uncle buck and lending stream. 2nd e.mail sent and to those now and all have responded acknowledging they are looking into complaint. I received an email from wonga asking for more info to locate my account. no acknowledgement from 247 money box. will keep you updated with further responses
Laura says
hi all , what is uncle buck like for paying people , my 28days is up on the 16th of august , do they normally leave it to last minute to pay ? as im aware its a bacs payment so will take another 3/4working days to hit my bank account
Katie says
Hello everyone. Any one know how long the Obudsman queue is at the moment ? Also any movement on Safety Net Credit yet ? My case has been with the FOS since April as they said all Safety Net cases are on hold. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
2-4 months seems to be a typical length for new cases not involving loans over 6 years. There is an increasing trend for people to be receiving much better offer whilst they are in the queue.
Katie says
Ok thanks Sara. I currently have Uncle Buck, Wage Day Advance and Lending Stream in the queue. The first two went in the queue in June and Lending Stream last week so hopefully in the Autumn …
Nav G says
Hi Sara,
You are right I think it should be fine.
I only really have one horrendous lending Stream entry which shows me 3 months late and then fully settled. Ironically, almost straight after paying. The arrears they reloaned to me within 2 days at the highest amount I’ve had so far so I’m determined to hold them to account and have that removed but for the rest I’ve just about kept my head above water.
I am going to leave the Amigo loan and really just remove the adverse marks within the last 12 months.
I will update as and when I get responses through!
Nav G says
Hi Sara,
Mr Lender have come back with removing all adverse marks as well refund of loans 3-5.
They seem eager to resolve and I’m happy to accept it.
I will send a message tonight to give a full update on all the emails I’ve sent and updates accordingly.
I must say this page is amazing as I’ve got a result within a few days and feels like there may be light at the end of this debt tunnel.
Out of the following I’ve emailed who are likely to be the toughest?
Lending Stream
Safety New Credit
Wageday Advance
Payday Express
Peachy
Wonga
Thanks
Dan says
Good result there Nav! Well done!
The first refund I had (Mr Lender, funnily enough – they were by far the easiest and quickest to deal with) felt like it was an enormous weight lifted off my shoulders and, like you say, it shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Personally, that small victory made me even more determined to get results from all the others (so far, £1800 from MrL, £300 balance wiped off by MyJar and just got adjudicator decision on Sunny which should be about 4k – others to follow hopefully!).
Keep at it and follow all complaints through – it’s painless, easy and (for me anyway) a route to being debt free.
Hayley says
Just an update complaints made on 8th June 2017 to payday U.K., payday express, Wonga, QQ, the Money Shop.
So far payday uk upheld all my loan complaints and offered 5 days before the 8 weeks
Payday Express contacted me on exactly 8 week deadline asking for more time. This has been sent to FOS to avoid delay
The Money Shop sent acknowledgement and that they were still investigating on 5th and 12th July but have not heard from them since. Have emailed twice asking for an update but been ignored so sent to FOS
Wonga only upheld one loan out of 11 so this was sent to FOS
QUICK QUID UPHELD 3 loans out of 7 and stated they will not be adding the 8% statutory interest on top so have declined this offer and sent to FOS.
sent Wonga FOS complaint last Thursday and was called Friday from my adjudicator introducing himself and stating he has started the enquiries
already.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s very quick for your Wonga complaint to be picked up! Thanks for the detailed update – people do like to see what is happening to other cases!
Hayley says
Just a note as I know the question has been asked a few times on this thread.
Quick Quid stated they would not givr any statutory interest in their offer so would advise people to check their offers carefully before accepting as could be losing out on quite a bit
Sally says
Hi Sara
A couple of question, I’ve recently had a refund from Wda, will this affect my complaint against LS? I’ve put in a complaint to them regarding unaffordable loans however I have 4 outstanding and not considered the intrest I have paid already on them and replied saying that if I didn’t pay the outstanding amount they would send my file to a debt collector? Is that correct? I don’t want my credit file to be affected. Am I wrong in thinking you can’t put an unaffordable lending complaint in whilst still owing on loans?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Getting a refund from one payday lender doesn’t directly impact your other complaints – but it does encourage you that you are on the right lines!
Tell LS you are disputing the affordabilty of the debt and ask them for an affordable payment arrangement. Offer what you can afford to pay without having to borrow any more. This will impact your credit record, but if you win the case then the negative marks get removed… and having 4 loans open at once sounds like a promising case! LS is difficult to deal with and should expect this to have to go to the ombudsman and take months to resolve.
You absolutely can put in an affordability complaint when you still owe money. loads of people have won this sort of complaint, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-refunds-defaulted-loan/ for how they are treated.
Sally says
Thanks Sara
I feel like they haven’t even given me a response to my complaint apart from wanting payments for outstanding loans. The thing I am worried about is that I am able to make the payments as I’ve had a refund from Wda. I just hope that doesn’t affect my complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it’s up to you. You could use your WDA refund to clear the balances and then carry on with your complaint. Or you can default on the payments to LS, assuming the defaults will be removed when your LS complaint is resolved.
Shellbell says
Anyone had any experiences with satumsa? Provident?
Hayley says
There is a thread for provident loans https://debtcamel.co.uk/refund-doorstep-loans/
I sent my complaint through their website and got my statements within a week, they they respondedto my complaint details a week after I sent it. Since then nothing although I have managed to get an email address and have sent one today advising have sent my complaint to the FOS now
customer.care@provident.co.uk
Linda says
Hi thanks for the link I complained through their website like you initially and heard nothing so after two weeks I found out the an email address (same one as above) and one week later still nothing. So three weeks in and a complete blank not sure what to do next to be honest.
Ross says
Hi Linda,
I think the best thing you can do is call them? Advise that you have lodged a complaint, without any response, then ask them if they have it on record. If not, ask them for an email address which you can send it to. They may ask you to lodge it over the phone, but I would reject this, as email is much better and you can keep a paper trail of what has been sent to and from each party.
Hayley says
Hi Linda,
I would agree to call them to confirm that the complaint has been received. The online portal isn’t good as you haven’t proof anything was sent so I would wait for a response from the date you emailed your complaint. Do you have your previous loan records? I detailed every loan when I got my statement and showed a pattern of lending. If you do not get a response send over to the FOS at the 8 week stage
Linda says
Hi Hayley
I have records for a couple of my loans but I had about 4 in all over a period of time defaulting on the last one which left a small outstanding balance as I cleared all the others. I’ll call them to see if they have received my complaint but take the escalation to the FOS from the date I initially emailed them. Thanks for your advice.
Ross says
Hi Shellbell,
I made a complaint to Satsuma, which they rejected with a very lengthy 7 page ‘War & Peace’ style response. It was sent to the FOS, and the adjudicator ruled in my favour. Surprisingly, they accepted the adjudicator’s decision. However, they like to drag out the refund process, so be prepared for any refund to progress at a snails pace. They do NOT send refunds to your bank account, via faster payments, like most PDL companies and they will send it to you via cheque. So after waiting for it to be delivered in the post, you then have to wait up to 5 days for it to clear in to your bank account. I just find it rather bemusing, as if you borrow from them, they’ll pop the money straight in to your bank account. The minute they have to refund, it’s a whole different story.
Paul says
Makes me laugh. They can pay out a loan ‘in 15 minutes’, but a refund will take 15 weeks!
Shellbell says
Thank you. Yes, it’s been a very slow process. Ombudsmen upheld the satsuma complaint in May and I still haven’t received my refund.
Worst ones to deal with so far!
Lee says
Finally heard back from Wonga today. They have upheld my compliant on 121 loans / top ups and given me 8% statutory interest on the loans.
However they appear to calculated from my 3rd loan onwards and not sure if missed a couple out as they worked out due it’s 22 loans (with top ups included in these loans).
I worked out I had paid £2559.97 total interest before requesting additional 8% applied.
However there offer is based on £2019.95 total interest + further 8% applied.
Making a total offer of £2486.10.
Whereas I calculated total offer around £3045
Should I go back to them to try and remain £540 quid + 8%?
Really could do with some advice on how to proceed with this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Loans 1 and 2 – were these loans rolled or topped up? How much interest did you pay on each of them, including any top ups & rolls?
Your “121 loans including top ups” – how many loans was this not counting top ups?
Lee says
Loans 1 & 2 had top ups on. Going to phone them to clarify the things you mentioned sara as worked mine all out from bank statements and see if will up offer.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could say you are thinking of accepting but you would like a statement of account so you can be sure.
Lee says
Sara.
Just got of phone to Wonga.
They basically said I had a 47 loans then another person I spoke to said 52 loans in total. 22 of which deemed in unaffordable in the final response.
They said my 121 transactions in total would of included top ups on these loans as calculated everything through bank statements.
I therefore asked for all statements of accounts as 30 more loans seem excessive but apparently these are smaller and were deemed affordable.
Just confused as know from bank statements what I calculated was correct. But £540 interest on another 30 loans doesn’t seem right at all. When 22 loans apparently I paid £2019 interest on.
Anyway equested all statements of accounts from them so can compare.
I was considering accepting offer as really would clear 3 of my 5 credit card debts now. But Im now concerned I massively have underestimated how much total interest I originally calculated.
Sara do you think this is the best way forward?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think £540 interest on 30 loans sounds very low so you are right to get a proper statement and check it that way.
Is it possible you might have made a Wonga repayment on a credit card, not from your bank?
Paul says
A quick update – I emailed Peachy with a complaint on Wednesday, they responded the following day with an offer of compensation. I decided to accept and they just emailed me now with the following :-
‘Thank you for contacting us!
We are glad to hear that you have accepted our offer and we will now consider your complaint as closed.
We can confirm that we have made you a refund of £251.85 today, 04/08/2017, and the funds should reach you within 3 working days maximum.
Can’t believe they acted so quickly and have refunded me within 3 days of my complaint. I was happy with this refund as this was near the total of all interest I paid.
I also have 9 other creditors who I’ve written to and can only hope they will be as efficient and prompt to act, as Peachy have been. I doubt it though.
simon says
Hi Sara,
I have had an email from a company called Advanced Collection Systems claiming I owe £440 to Toothfairy Finance but I wasn’t aware of it and haven’t heard anything from TF since 2012? Should I contact them and put a complaint to them or just ignore them? It isn’t showing on my credit report either?
Regards
Simon Cooper
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Don’t ignore them unless you want a CCJ!
From what you said I suggest you reply by email with the work COMPLAINT in the title, saying
– that you do not agree there is any balance outstanding to Toothfairy, Toothfairy haven’t informed you there was, why was this?
– Toothfairy haven’t informed you any debt has been sold, so can they produce evidence of the assignment?
– Ask them to send you a statement of account and the consumer credit act agreement for the alleged debt (template letters here https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/getting-information/credit-agreement-advice.aspx you can use, note the £1 charge).
– And say that if there is a debt you will be disputing it as the loans you were given by Toothfairy were not affordable.
simon says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for the above advice, I did what you said and advised them I was not aware of any outstanding balance owed and have had no contact from the company for many years, I asked them for evidence of the debt being sold/assigned to them and for my consumer credit act agreement. They have come back and said that they have no evidence to support that the lender acted irresponsibly and have no access to the credit scoring used but have been advised that I was required to provide full details of employment, length of service and salary before the loan was agreed? They have sent an attachment saying that web loans processing assigned loads of dosh to collect the debt in Nov 2013 and they changed there name to DHR capital in Dec 2013 and then instructed DMR to collect the debt but have not sent the CCA or anything else, this is just a letter that they attached to the email?
What should I do now? Any advise would be great.
Simon
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you sent them a cheque for a £1 as the National Debtline link said when asking for a CCA?
simon says
Hi Sara,
No I asked them for the address to send one but they haven’t advised me? Should I just ask again?
Carly says
Bit nervous just sent my first complaint off too Wonga, how long does it take for them to respond?
Im a very unlucky person so I’m not hoping for much, 9 loans just under £3000 borrowed and interest paid around £450, do you think wonga will act quickly with it being a small amount?
Also if I go through a payment plan with other lenders and put in affordability complaint for previous loans will that be on my credit score for the rest of my life or can I get them to remove it if they refund the interest?
Thanks!
Tom says
Don’t be nervous! You’ve got nothing to fear. If they lent to you irresponsibly it’s them who should be worried, they’ve caused a lot of problems for thousands of innocent people.
According to this thread, Wonga usually take close to the 8 weeks to respond with their decision, I sent my complaint off 3 weeks ago and I haven’t heard anything yet. You should get back what you’re rightfully owed.
You can complain to any lender even if you have an outstanding loan with them, sometimes if they accept that loans were unaffordable they wipe the existing balance off so you owe nothing, and will remove them from your credit file.
Good luck. Be patient, carefully consider any offers of compensation they give you as they like to offer compensation which is much less than you’re rightfully owed.
Carly says
I managed to pay off wonga this month and then sent in my complaint, just never done anything like this before but the 9 loans I had with wonga were paid at the end of the month then borrowed again couple of days later as well as having other loans with other companies.
I have 5 loans outstanding with Satsuma, cash asap, my jar, quick quid and uncle buck and owe about £1500 in total, I’m defanitly going to struggle to pay them all but I’m worried it will wreck my credit score for the rest of my life, my next goal is to save and get a mortgage so I don’t want anything to stop that happening.
Did you get a reply to acknowledge your complaint or have you just not heard anything at all?
Thanks
Tom says
Hi Carly,
the best thing for you to do now is to tell your creditors you’re struggling financially. Alternatively, you could speak to StepChange charity (VERY friendly). They can consolidate all of your existing loans and give you one affordable monthly repayment to get this balance cleared, by the end of the time you’ll be debt free.
You can still put in complaints about the companies, Wonga should’ve seen that consistent borrowing from you meant you were reliant on these loans. If they admit some loans were lent irresponsibly you can request that they remove the information from your credit file.
You should receive a standard confirmation email, after that you probably won’t hear anything unless they require further information.
The best thing to do now is get on top of your outstanding loans. Stop the borrowing. If you can’t afford to pay these, you’ll end up paying the balance and borrowing again to make you last the month. I’d honestly speak to StepChange, they deal with all of your creditors and they’re really friendly.
Hope this helps.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good advice from Tom. Don’t let worries about a mortgage in future stop you sorting out all your debts asap – because until all the debts are gone (and that means all, not just the payday loans) you aren’t going to be able to save up for a deposit.
Lee says
I had my final response yesterday from Wonga. The current wait from my initial compliant to Wonga was 7 weeks exactly.
I had calculated £2559 interest and with the 8% it would of been around £3045.
However I worked this out from bank statements alone. As I hadn’t requested statement of accounts. Hence why I calculated 121 times I had borrowed from Wonga (but this included top ups)
They upheld my compliant but offered £2019 and a further 8% making the total offer of £2483 – About £570 less than I thought. Told Sara on here. Phoned them up to ask why not the £3045 I calculated thinking I’ll try and squeeze a little more say £2,800 and accept without need to go to financial ombudsman.
They advised me I had had 52 loans in total (all loans not mentioned in final response) – 22 deemed unaffordable as stated in final response from then hence their offer on only 22 loans. So this left me very confused, requested they send me all my statement of accounts now to cross check with my initial calculations before I accept anything.
I currently believe I have somehow calculated massively out, as 30 loans deemed affordable can’t amount to just £570 difference. When the 22 deemed unaffordable with 8% applied resulted in my £2,483.
So I was really happy until the phone call, but not sure now what true figure is until I check.
Think I’ll be trying a counter offer when I’ve got this additional information at my disposal. Will keep you posted.
Tom says
Hi Lee, thanks for the update.
I had 20 loans with them, the first 5 were relatively small so I reckon they’ll be deemed affordable. But hoping the next 15 will be refunded as they were literally draining my entire wage each month and then I was borrowing to pay for other loans + get through – nightmare cycle which I’m out of thankfully!
Hoping the money back will be suitable. Treat myself to a nice holiday with friends to actually have a positive out of what was an extremely terrifying and desperate time of my life. They don’t realise the disastrous impact they have on people.
Hope you get every penny you deserve.
Ross says
Hi all,
Can anyone who has had a refund from Quick Quid please advise how and when they pay out? I sent the acceptance form back to my adjudicator, yesterday, and he confirmed receipt and that he had passed it on to Quick Quid. At the same time, I sent them an email advising of my bank details, but had no response back (unsurprisingly). I called them today and spoke to a rather vacant sounding person, who confirmed they had the acceptance and confirmed the bank details. When I accepted with Pounds 2 Pocket (same parent company) they called me the same evening at 8 O’clock and the funds were in my account by 9 O’clock. I’m not desperate for the money, but just curious how long I should expect to wait. Quick Quid have never been ‘Quick’ at anything, so I won’t be holding my breath!
Pear says
Hi Ross
I think after I sent my bank details to adjudicator on the 31st of July I got an email from QQ on 3rd of August and money was in later that day.
Lee says
I’ve not heard from Quid Quid despite asking about 4 weeks ago for statement of accounts to be sent. Finding this one difficult to even get the ball rolling with an initial compliant.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send them a vague step 2 full complaint and repeat that you still want a list of your loans.
Nav G says
Hi Lee,
Oddly enough I sent QQ a statement of account on 1st August and I got it all through last night at 8pm along with an acknowledgment.
I think Sara is right as I sent a vague step 2 email straight away after reading these forums and it seems to have worked.
Damion Walters says
I sent an email to these and this is what I got back
Many thanks for your recent contact.
We can confirm that we are able to send you a Statement of Account for your outstanding loan, in relation to the above reference.
In order to do this, you will need to pay a £1.00 statutory fee. This can be paid by either postal order or cheque which will need to be made payable to Instant Cash Loans Ltd and must be sent with a letter requesting your Statement of Account.
Please send your written request and fee to the following address, including your reference number:
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Don’t send them £1 – all you will get are the details of the last loan where there is a balance. I suggest you put in a rather vague Step 2 complaint and say you can give more details if they send you the list of your loans you have asked for.
Sonia says
Hi when writing to the FO do you have to write separate letters for each loan or just one with all loans listed? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A single complaint about each lender, not per loan. You don’t have to list the loans, but if you have a list do attach it. Read this https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-refund-complaint-detail/ which has a section on what to put in a complaint to the Ombudsman.
Ian Glen says
How do you work out how much you have paid i brrowed 385 from wage day advance 14 times and paid back 518 apart from the last one
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So for each loan you paid 518-385= 133 in interest or charges. Times 13 (for the repaid loans) is £1729 in interest paid.
What happened with the last loan, did you make any payments to it?
Sharon says
Hi Sara
A bit of an update for everyone and also an ask for some advice please…
LS &Sunny rejected adjudicator decision (LS made a very partial offer but I rejected). They are all now in the Ombudsman queue since beginning of June.
Wonga did not reply to the adjudicator in time so was added to the Ombudsman queue (mid July) they have now come back to the adjudicator saying that they disagree with his findings. I wasn’t able to speak to my adjudicator but the person I did speak to at the FOS said that their response was very odd and not one he had seen before. They have said that they accept the adjudicator’s assessment of my income and expenditure but they believe that this demonstrates that the loans were affordable not unaffordable. The FOS advisor said he hasn’t seen this before and they usually only disagree about adequate checks and the like.
I’m now really worried that the Ombudsman may disagree with my adjudicators view of affordability, do you have any advice?
Unfortunate folks the advisor at the FOS informed me that the wait time to be allocated an Ombudsman is now 6 months.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You commented before that your adjudicator was looking in detail at your expenses and you were really worried that the adjudicator wasn’t taking into account your other payday loans. You went back to the adjudicator with some more points and the adjudicator decided to uphold the complaint. I don’t know if this was for your Wonga complaint, but I think you had the same adjudicator for all your complaints?
This sounds like a thorough investigation to me. This makes it a lot less likely that there is anything to worry about here.
The Ombudsman makes their own assessment, but the general approach of an Ombudsman is the same as of an adjudicator.
The Ombudsman will take into account what Wonga has said, but the chance of Wonga having found a brand new way to challenge the normal approach of the FOS to these cases seems to me to be very small. I understand it sounds alarming, but I don’t think there is a real cause for concern here.
Sharon says
Thank you Sara for taking the time to answer.
The adjudicator mis calculated initially on my Sunny complaint and found the loans affordable (all but 2 which he found unaffordable) but he hasn’t included both of my bank accounts, once I pointed this out to him he recalculated and found them all unaffordable. This was the same adjudicator as the Wonga one but he dealt with the Sunny one first. He issued his findings to Sunny before the recalculation and unsurprisingly they agreed, when he revised his opinion they disagreed.
For the Wonga complaint he used the correct information first time and found 4-27 unaffordable. Thank you for your reassurance, I am just concerned after the advisor stating that he hadn’t seen such a response before. All in the 3 refunds amount to around £12k so it’s an anxious wait. Thanks again Sara.
Jess says
Hi guys just an update on my complaints to 3 companies
Wonga made almost a full offer after going to adjudicator and I emailed them the next day asking about how long the money would take to appear, I got no reply but it appeared within 2 days!
LendingStream only upheld 11 of the 22 that the adjudicator has suggested so it went to ombudsman. It was only in the queue for about 6 weeks before the ombudsman upheld the 22 loans fully, I’m now waiting for an email from lendingstream regarding the amount of this and how long it will take for payment.
Finally MyJar upheld the adjudicators decision in full and will be wiping my current loan and giving me the rest as a refund.
I’m extremely happy that I found this site and thank Sara and everyone else for all of the advice. Also goes to show that the ombudsman doesn’t always take 6 months, mine was handled a lot quicker and very efficiently without me chasing them up at all about it. So don’t give up and go for anything less if the company makes you a lowball offer, waiting it out is very worth it in the end!
Sally says
That’s fantastic news! Did lending stream originally uphold your complaint during the 8 week period?
Makes me more hopeful when I read comments like this ?
Jess says
Hi Sally, LendingStream initially completely rejected my complaint the day after I first emailed them. I had outstanding loans with them that I tried to arrange payments for at the time and after that they completely ignored my offers so I had to phone them to pay the loans off, at this point I’d already emailed the ombudsman.. The adjudicator picked up my case within a week and since what they originally sent me wasn’t classed as their final response my adjudicator requested a copy from them which did take the full 8 weeks! It’s been a very lengthy process, my initial complaint was made early November. So I’m not holding out any hope for a quick payment from them!!
Sally says
I too have an outstanding balance and when I put my original complaint through they replied to me the next day but by not actually saying anything about it being there final response but just that the checks were all correct and how to make the payment on my outstanding balance. I can’t afford to pay £600 to clear the last 4 loans so hoping that if I keep paying what I am and send off to FOS that I might get it back…! Thanks for the reply
vickie9 says
So my adjudicator has upheld my complaint against Payday UK/Instant Cash Loans from Loans 2-28. They have given the Payday company until 18th August to respond. According to my own records I’m expecting £5827.92 before the 8% is added on. I took the first loan out in Nov 2010 and then the last one in October 2016. Can anyone tell me how much tax will be deducted from this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tax is only on the 8% extra. It’s hard to guess what that will be – if the later loans were a lot larger, it could be less. Somewhere in the 20-30% region probably, so 1000- 2000 ish. Tax deducted will be 20% of that, so 200-400. If this is your only claim in this tax year you will be able to get a refund of £200 from HMRC.
Vijay says
In my case, PayDay Express and Quid Quid both rejected the adjudicator’s clear decisions in my favour. So both cases have gone to the Ombudsman.
Shellbell says
What are peoples experiences with Payday Express, Sunny and Quickquid when the adjudicator upholds complaints? They have until weds to respond.
lorr says
QQ paid mine out with 10 days. Good luck x
Lee says
Shellbell
Sunny – one of quickest to respond – Received final response in 5 weeks and gave me the full amount requested plus the 8%.
Quick Quid – Slow Quid is right requested statement of accounts twice, once by phone the other by email. Received nothing think these will be a tough nut to crack.
Payday Express – Very arsey, rejected my compliant in full. First one of my compliants to be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Andy says
Hi all , cancelled cpa and told couldn’t pay in full each month and received this , anyone dealt with them to give next step advice safetyNet Credit granted you a forbearance period of 30 days to allow you time to get your affairs in order and propose a plan to address your outstanding liability – we’d like to remind you that this period will end in a week’s time.
We want to help you reach an affordable solution that suits your circumstances, so please email us at your earliest convenience – we are open between 8am and 7pm Monday to Friday and from 9am to 5pm on Saturdays.
If we do not receive any contact from you within the next 7 days your account will revert back to the terms of the original agreement, which means we may seek to recover the debt – we will email you a reminder a week before this happens.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell them you have cancelled the CPA. Offer an amount you feel you can afford without borrowing any more and say you will pay this by standing order, not DD or CPA.
Linda says
Can I ask Sarah, and this may seem like an odd question when I cancelled my CPA I told my bank the company name was Safetynet Credit yet when I speak to the FO about my complaint with Safetynet they refer to them as Indigo Michael? Should I tell my bank to look out for this name also regarding the CPA or leave it as it is?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Safetynet Credit is the brand name of Indigo Michael. What name appears on your bank statements?
Stephen says
So i’ve contacted 6-7 payday loan companys that i started to use since last september, with a summary of loans i borrowed. Themoneyshop point blank refused this as i do not owe them any money. Lending stream have asked for a £10 check or something, and Wonga just sent a auto response regarding this. Still awaiting reply from Satsuma, Hitachi, QuickQuid , PiggyBank. Question, in all my emails i have clearly stated that i expect a final response regarding unaffordable loans within a grace period of 8 weeks, if in 8 weeks time they do not accept this, or have not responded can i still take my case to an ombudsman?
Also how would i contact a adjudicator and does this have to be 8 weeks before i contact them too?
My loan totals are approx 15-25k with interest proberbly being around 5. the basic story is i was going from loan to loan, applying for one to pay another one off (because they put interest as soon as you recieve the loan, and dont wait 24 hours before putting interest on a loan, hence non affordable). This racked up a juicy 10.7k debt that i now currently owe (most with Hitachi as i took out a long term loan to pay off all my debts and loans , which didnt help as i still found myself borrowing after).
Any help would be awesome, and Sara please keep up the hard work :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, go to the Ombudsman after 8 weeks if they haven’t replied. If they give you a Final Response earlier, then you can go at that point.
“An adjudicator” is the job title of the person at the Ombudsman who looks at your case at the start. your case only goes to “an Ombudsman” if either you or the lender disagrees with the adjudicator’s decision.