Have you had problems with payday loans? 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 here. This works if your payday loans were repaid or you still owe money.
Contents
What are “unaffordable” loans?
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.
A loan is not affordable just because you haven’t missed a payment – if paying a loan left you so broke you had to borrow again – from the same lender or a different one – it was unaffordable!
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. Payday loans are meant for short-term problems.
Many lenders ignore obvious signs of problems such as your loans increasing in size, or your credit record showing increasing debts.
How much compensation can you get?
A typical payday loan decision by the Ombudsman is that the lender should refund all the interest you paid after the third, fourth or fifth loan.
But if your first loan was large, or was rolled over several times, you can get a refund from just one loan.
Which lenders can you get refunds from?
Lenders include:
CashASAP, Drafty, Fast Loan Uk, Fernovo, Fund Ourselves (now in administration), Kabayan, Lending Stream, LoanPig, Mr Lender, Moneyboat, My Finance Club, QuidMarket, Savvy, TickTock, The Money Platform, WageMe.
See this list for payday lenders for a longer list and their email addresses to use.
You can make claims to lenders who have recently stopped lending. It is probably too late to make claims to other lenders who gave up more than a few years ago.
For larger loans there are better template letters to use on other pages:
- 118 Money, Everyday Loans/Evlo, Likely Loans/Finio, Reevo, Bamboo, Updraft, Lendable, bank loans and other long-term loans.
- Loans2Go – the worst loans in Britain!
- doorstep lenders and guarantor lenders,
Do this before, before you send in a complaint
Doing these things now will make your life easier later.
If 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. Winning a complaint then speeds up the DMP.
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 have to go to the Ombudsman.
Unless you can afford to make this month’s payment without borrowing again, cancel the CPA or the Direct Debit to the lender at your bank. Otherwise the lender may take the money and you will be in a mess.
Start your complaint
It’s easy to make these complaints – you don’t need to calculate what refund you should get or quote laws.
Find the lender’s email address for complaints from this list. If your loan was sold to a debt collector, you complain to the original lender.
Put “AFFORDABILITY COMPLAINT” as the subject of your email:
I am making an affordability complaint about the loans you gave me. You should never have given me these 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 and the rest of my credit record that my debt problems were getting worse. It was not responsible to continue to lend.
My credit reports would have shown all my other debts [include this if it applies: 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.
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.
Some ways to improve this
Add any other points that help you describe what happened to you. 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.”
- “I had a gambling problem and your loans made this worse”.
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 (say £800 or more), 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 difficult complaint to win. If you have borrowed twice from 5 leaders, that is much more difficult to win affordability complaints than having 4 or 5 loans from two lenders.
Sometimes a lender will offer you a small goodwill amount to give up eg £50 or £100 so if you only had one loan and it wasn’t large, that would be a bit of help.
Waiting for a reply from the lender
This email starts your affordability complaint.
The lender should reply to your complaint within 8 weeks. Don’t be surprised if you have to wait until the end of the 8 weeks to get response – this is common.
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.
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. Don’t bother to send payslips.
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 rejects the complaint or makes a poor offer
If the lender says No or offers you a small amount, 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.
Give up?
Some lenders try to make your case sound bad when it isn’t. Ignore any of the following comments, they do not mean you have a weak case:
- they relied on your loan applications – see Lender says I lied for more about this;
- some loans were paid early – this doesn’t prove the loans were affordable, just that you were trying to save interest;
- loan size 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 closely;
- some 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.
Some points to think about:
- if you are offered a refund on only a few loans, don’t accept it if you think you should have more refunded;
- an offer to write off your current balance may sound helpful … but it may be very poor if you should get a cash refund as well.
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 instalment loan and the borrower had a good income. And another single loan case for a loan of £1,000. You can win cases for smaller amounts if the repayment would have been a large amount of your income; or
- you still owe money.
Don’t delay – there is a 6-month time limit after a lender rejects your complaint to send the case to the ombudsman. If you aren’t sure, send the case and let them make an independent decision.
How to send a complaint to FOS
Put in a separate complaint about each lender. There is no limit to the number of FOS complaints you can make.
Send the rejections as they come through – don’t wait until all your lenders have replied!
FOS’s “complain online” option is easy and asks for the information to set up your case.
Attach:
- the lender’s reply.
- 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.
- your TransUnion Statutory credit report
- it doesn’t matter if you don’t have the credit agreements, FOS will get them from the lender.
What happens after you have sent a case to FOS
Your case will wait for the lender to send FOS their case file and then be picked up by an investigator/adjudicator who will make a decision on it.
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 have been bankrupt unless your borrowing was all after your bankruptcy – 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 you are in a DRO now, a refund of more than £2,000 may mean your DRO is cancelled! But many payday loan refunds are less than that.
More help
Ask a question in the comments below.
Don’t use a claims management company. They are expensive and often incompetent. FOS says individuals making a complaint have a better success rate than claims firms.
Card & catalogue affordability complaints
Can you get an overdraft refund?
Could a Debt Relief Order help you?
Mrs W says
Hi Everyone.
I sent the Ombusman acceptance back around 10 days ago and received an email the same day to say it had been sent back to Wonga. Does anyone know how long Wonga take to pay?
Linda says
I’m in the same position. I received an email from wonga the day after I accepted with the adjudicator from Wonga direct saying they’re processing my refund and to allow 14 working days so I have a while to wait yet as that was only last week.
Mrs W says
Thanks Linda, I haven’t received anything from Wonga. I have emailed them directly and called twice but not getting anywhere. I am waiting on around £6400 and really keen to get it :-) Trying to be patient x
Linda says
Wow that’s quite a refund well done! Like I say I received an email from them next day saying they were pleased it had been resolved with the FO (or words to that effect) and saying it would take up to 14 working days. Maybe give them another few days and call again and mention you haven’t received any email acknowledging the decision and refund. It might just be an admin error. Good luck and well done again :)
Lou says
I received the same e-mail last Tuesday (the day after I sent back my acceptance) saying they were pleased it had been resolved – my refund was £1.467 and was paid into my account today.
Lee says
Hi all, hope everyone’s good. How’s everyone got on with a refund from safetynet? Is it the same as a normal payday loan? I’ve been sorting myself out financially and thought I’d look into it. I got myself into a bad mess between Aug 2015- jan 2017 borrowing and then borrowing again to repay and then it spiralled our of control. I’ve been going through everything I’ve borrowed and paid back and quite ashamed of it, especially when working out the interest I’ve paid back. But getting back on my feet now.
Anyway back to the safetynet, I’m still in it and I’m quite shocked they’ve actually kept me going for so long, I’ve had over 8 different loan companies pay money into the bank account that’s linked to and they’ve still let me have credit with them. I don’t even get my wage paid into that account anymore.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Cancel the CPA to them, put in a complaint. They often seem to write off balances but aren’t so good at refunding.
Lee says
Thank you for the reply. I’ve worked it out that I’ve paid £1239.66 in interest on £500 they’ve given me between September 2015 up to now.
I thought they monitored money going in and out of your bank? That’s what suprised me, with them letting me keep it.
Any ideas on what to put in my complaint to safetynet?
Also, I had 34 sunny loans (cant believe they kept letting me) 1 after each other between an 18 month period, until it got too much and I started a payment plan with them, which I’m paying back still. Am I ok complaining about that?
Thanks for your help.
Lee says
Worked out the interest on sunny and I paid back £2244.00 :-(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
SNC – tell them they should have realised from your bank statements that you were dependent on borrowing from them and they should have stopped lending. Send to Ombudsman if they don’t wipe your balance and offer a reasonable refund. You MUST cancel the CPA to SNC.
Sunny: yes, put in your complaint now!
Linda says
Hi I have a complaint with the FO about SNC they turned down my complaint early Sept I referred it straight away and it’s yet to be picked up by an adjudicator. I was surprised to be honest as I had multiple other payday loans/defaults and CCJ’s at the time of lending and was on a DMP yet they offered me credit of £300 initially going up to £1000 after a few months even though I was in a terrible financial mess. After I referred the loan to the FO they placed a marker on my credit file and said a loan was only ‘in dispute’ after the FO had been in touch with them. Just waiting for it to be picked up now. Good luck I can see many people are now having successes with balance wipes but they didn’t even offer me that. I’m paying them £20 per month now whilst the complaint is getting sorted for fear they’ll escalate it. They haven’t behaved well to be honest. I’ve cancelled my CPA though and I’m sticking to the payment plan. Fingers crossed!
Lauren says
Just wanted to post a message to say thank-you for all the information on this website and for always being happy to answer questions that you must get a million times, Sara. A work colleague recommended this site to me and initially I wasn’t going to take it any further as I’ve been debt-free for almost 12 months and I really struggle with anxiety when I think back to that period in my life. Eventually I took the plunge and the whole process (for me anyway) was seamless. Admittedly, Wonga took forever to reply and didn’t offer me a satisfactory amount but I was straight on to the Ombudsman. The hardest part for me was digging out those old bank statements and cringing at how awful they were. Whenever my adjudicator would email me with a question about them my heart would skip a beat. However, they were never trick questions- she was completely non-judgemental and she was simply trying to understand my affordability a bit more. Wonga agreed with her findings and paid me the money within 4 days. I’ve now come away with not only money I wasn’t expecting, but a much more positive feeling towards that awful period. I encourage anyone to take Sara’s advice on this website; it’s not just about financial gain. For me, I’ve been able to have the default removed from my credit record and I’ve had some acknowledgement that the debt spiral I was in wasn’t wholly my fault. Thanks again Sara
vickie9 says
Well done Lauren. I have felt the same as you. I cringe when I look at my debt and the times I was relying on payday loans to get me through the month without realising how they were the main issue in the first place.
After the first firm I put a proper complaint into went bump i didn’t know if it was worth doing but thanks to support from Sara and others on here I went for it. Very glad I did as my refunds have paid off my overdraft, flexi-loan and are helping to pay off the CCJ’s I have from a stupid amount of credit card debt. It’s not over for me yet but one thing is for sure I will never ever go back to pay day loans.
Jon says
Hi all,
ive been reading this for the last few days and decided to get my old bank statements out to have a look at the PDL I had in 2011-13,
I had loans to a total of £4500.
Several were done in the same months etc
many were paid off apart from a couple towards the end when I got in deep and couldn’t keep my head above water. I cut my losses.
Could you have a look at the attached list and see if it would qualify for IR?
There a couple that aren’t on there as I got them through my local Moneyshop and they didn’t get paid into my account.
I also have a mini credit one which is being dealt with by Opos,
Lender Date Amount Borrowed
Wonga 11/08/11 £200.00
Wonga 12/09/11 £400.00
Wonga 16/09/11 £124.00
Wonga 03/10/11 £634.15
Wageday Advance 07/10/11 £185.00
Wonga 07/10/11 £87.00
Wageday Advance 28/11/11 £335.00
Express Finance 06/12/11 £240.00
Wageday Advance 03/01/12 £350.00
Wonga 07/02/12 £500.00
Wonga 15/02/12 £103.00
QuickQuid 20/02/12 £400.00
Express Finance 14/03/12 £185.00
Express Finance 04/04/12 £280.00
Txt Loan 20/04/12 £100.00
Lending Stream 15/08/12 £200.00
Express Finance 12/12/12 £200.00
TOTAL £4523.15
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Wonga is obviously the strongest complaint, but all except the last two loans are over 6 years old so you will have to settle down and expect a very slow complaint via the Ombudsman.
Are you saying you have balances owing to some of the others?
Jon says
Hi yes I owe to the last couple, and the money shop ones which aren’t on the list. Thanks
Anon90 says
Hi all its 6 weeks today since I’ve put in complaints I’ve had an email off my jar this morning saying thanks for your patience and to contact them they would like an opportunity to agree a settlement and if they agree that payment is due to have my bank details ready. Should I phone them or say that I want it in email?
scott says
I telephoned them and to be honest they were Absolutely fine. What I would say is make sure you have a good understanding of why you made the complaint – don’t me generic! Have a figure that you would like to receive in your head.
Don’t agree on the spot and ask for a email to confirm any settlement.
In my case they wanted to offer 50% of the interest and I up that to 75% pointing out the stress at the time all the payday loans had caused me. Remember to ask about Credit File Removal if that is important to you!
Hope this helps
mike says
I had the same email but was dubious of ringing them in case I shot myself in the foot.
I said I would prefer to keep all correspondence regarding the complaint to email to keep a record.
I suggested a figure I would consider a fair settlement and put it back in their court.
I received an email within a week and they offered pretty much what I had suggested. So the choice is yours
Anon90 says
Ok thank you for the reply I may just phone them now. As I think they may offer me and I already know how much interest I have paid so I have a rough idea thank you both
Anon90 says
So I have phoned them they have offered me interest refund on last 6 loans (I’ve only had 7) the first was £100 so only paid £24 interest. Also write off my current balance of £100
So £550 refund which is what I had in mind. They will email me final response and then I should get my refund hopefully this week ?
scott says
Well done! They paid out to me the same day.
mike says
Good news!!
Once you accept the offer on the email they send it straight away…mine was in within the hour of accepting!! Merry christmas
Shellbell says
Does anyone have any experience with uncle buck once upheld? How long generally do they take to pay out?
Mrs W says
Hi Shellbell
I am waiting too! I think it will be full 28 days
Daniel says
Looking for some help? I had about 5 satsuma loans and paid 3 back, but then went on a DMP. Can I complain still? I also have a Few more I’m paying on my DMP, can I still complain if I’m on it? My own fault I know, but they all got too much. I had 7 myjar loans, were all close together, the last one they gave me £2500. But only made 2 payments on that loan before going on the DMP. What am I best doing? I’m guessing I’ll still have to pay back the £2500?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can complain if you still have a balance owing, including if it is in a DMP.
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-refunds-defaulted-loan/ which looks at this sort of situation.
Emma S says
Hi Sarah,
Another huge thank you from me! My second (of many) complaint has been upheld by Payday UK and I will be receiving £5,600 including interest – without having to go to the ombudsman. I’m sure I could get a little bit more but i’m happy enough with that.
It takes my total refunds so far to £15k. They are also still to respond to my payday express complaint but I am hopeful as it’s the sister company and for the same time period!
I was really hesitant to complain, out of embarrassment more than anything, but i’m so glad I did and I would recommend anyone to do the same!
I honestly can’t thank you enough, this will change my life!
Emma
bal16 says
Wow Emma that is incredible, congratulations. If you don’t mind me asking, how many loans did you take out and with how many providers? I am waiting to hear back from a number of mine with regards to how many loans I’ve had, so I’m trying to work out an estimate in the meantime. Well done once again, hope you’re now debt free!
Dan says
Congrats! Spend wisely!!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Wow, well done!
Emma S says
Hi All,
@bal16I believe I had anywhere between 100 and 200 loans with 12 providers :(
@Jax – this was the day before the 8 week deadline
Hi Sara,
Unfortunately I got so over excited with the figure yesterday I didn’t realise until today that Payday UK have either made a large mistake or been dishonest!
They have stated the number of 16 loans in total that I took out between 2009 and 2014 and based my refund on that (refunding 12 of 16), however form checking my credit report there are 26 loans visible from July 2011 onwards and they mention another 4 from pre this time in their final response taking it to at least 30 loans – although i’m sure there will be more, I imagine the number is closer to 40 or even 50!
I was stupid to accept their offer yesterday but I have gone back to them a number of times today about their ‘mistake’. Do I have any grounds to still send to the ombudsman if they do not come back with a better offer for the actual number of loans issued.
I asked them a number of times for a full list of loans, now I know why they didn’t send it!
Any advice of my next steps would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Emma
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would hope they will look again at your case. But I suggest you contact the Ombudsman immediately to let them know what has happened – call them on 0800 023 4567 and say your acceptance was based on incomplete information as Payday UK never sent you the list of loans you asked for.
Emma S says
Thank you Sara, I have not yet sent any information to the ombudsman about my complaint yet as the case didn’t get that far. Should I do this now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should phone up and explain your situation. They may suggest you put it in as a complain immediately or they could suggest you wait a few days to see if PDUK resolve it, in which case they will already have a record of you trying actively to resolve this the day after the problem arose.
claire says
Hi everyone, i have had sooo many pay day loans and just beginning this process. The first person to respond to my letter is pounds to pocket and they are asking for my bank statements and pay slips from the time and I don’t have these – they have said they can’t do much without them.
What can I Do? I have told them I could sent a statement of other loans at the time as I have gathered them all as part of this process- is that a bad move?
I can’t afford to pay the bank for 6 years of statements as I am no longer with them.
SPLITTY says
You don’t need to send the PDL company your bank statements – they have enough detail of your finances on their own systems from when you applied etc. I suspect they usually use this as a delaying tactic or to try pick holes in your complaint. Just reply to them and say you don’t have copies that you’re able to send and that should they be required you’ll send them to the ombudsman as and when they ask for them.
They should be able to provide you with a list of each of your loans, how much they were for and when and how much you repaid.
Also, if you go into a branch of your old bank (when it’s a quiet period!) you can often get a number of statements printed free. I did this with the Halifax and came out with over 200 pages! If you’re polite enough they may sort them for you. I did go back in with a box of cream cakes for the girls behind the tills to say thanks.
If they do want to charge you it should only be a nonimal amount.
claire says
Thanks guys, at the moment i have had over 50 loans (still waiting on lending stream and some others returning statements) and expect it to be over 100 by the time i’m done :S On the ones that have responded there is over 11k on interest so it would be amazing to get some of that back – can’t believe i let it get so out of hand!!
On that – LS are saying i need a subject access request for my files and are trying to charge me!?
SPLITTY says
You’re not asking for a subject access request – so don’t let them try to fob you of with this. You can get your complaint going without listing each loan you had, or bank statements etc. just tell them you think they were unaffordable etc and you shouldn’t have been given them.
They’ll investigate the claim and probably try wriggle out of it. Then you can send it to the ombudsman.
Helen says
I am finding this FOS process painfully slow.
It’s been over 2 months since I sent them my 6 complaints. I’ve had decisions on 3, of which 2 are upheld. One lender did not agree (Satsuma) so have been given time to supply additional information. The other one (wonga) was asked to get back to the adjudicator by today, but I a guessing they won’t.
I chased up the other three last week and they had just been allocated adjudicators, but I have still not heard from them.
Hoping to get the refunds before Christmas but it is looking bleak at the moment!
Lee says
Helen
I also have 6 compliants with the FOS.
Lending stream and Payday Express submitted to FOS in July –
*Lending stream case was upheld on loans 6-28 with 8% – Lending stream wouldn’t accept but tried to counter offer on 6 random loans of the 22 loans ruled in my favour worth less than 1/4 of the what the adjudicator proposed. Therefore this one last week finally been put in Ombudsman queue despite being referred back in July to the FOS.
*Payday Express the other one upheld in my favour on loans 4 – 12. Payday Express had 2 extensions to accept adjudicator findings. Finally got back to them asking adjudicator to clarify points I don’t know. They have till 1st December this week to let me know if they accept or not. Not holding much breathe also was referred in July.
*Wage Day Advance submitted early September to FOS picked up by adjudicator and ruled in my favour just over a week ago on loans 1-19. Also have till the 1st December to accept the findings.
*Uncle Buck also submitted early September to FOS not been assigned an adjudicator yet.
*Satsuma case submitted to FOS end of October just this week be assigned an adjudicator.
*247 Moneybox submitted to FOS end of October not been assigned adjudicator yet.
Helen I’m not holding much hope of even 1 refund before Christmas.
Kerry says
Hi,
I put in a complaint to Satsuma and had their final response from them on 11th October not upholding my complaint. I replied to say I didn’t agree and would be sending my complaint to the FOS which I swiftly did. I have heard nothing back from them at all which did not surprise me and I was awaiting contact from FOS.
I have now had a letter today with a cheque for £13.47 stating “please find enclosed your cheque in reference to our recent correspondence. This amount is a refund of all interest paid by you during the period we did not provide you with the correct document/s plus interest at the statutory rate of 8% (and after tax deduction)”
I have had no correspondence from them since their final response over 6 weeks ago. I am still in a payment plan with them which is £40 a month. I’m confused by the unannounced arrival of this cheque?!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Don’t spend it all at once! Actually I suggest you just tell the FOS you have had this and you don’t know what it’s for.
Paul says
I haven’t been on here for a while due to work. Here is an update on refund claims, so far i have received £ 15324 in refunds from various payday loans which has paid off my debts & the rest saved in a cash isa. There is still 3 complaints with the ombudsman & 4 where i’m still waiting for replies.
Things are starting to look up.
SPLITTY says
Hi Sara,
MANY MANY MANY thanks for your advice on Friday regarding 1st Stop / Clear Recoveries. It would seem the ‘friendly nudge’ concerning the objection to Companies House & a pending N322A form worked!
They have been in touch this afternoon to say that they’ve contacted the FOS themselves to get a copy of the final decision and subsequently have sent me a settlement offer of £877 (this is with the 20% deducted). I calculated I was due approx. £1200 before tax so for the sake of £150 or so it’s a fantastic result from one of THE most awkward companies I’ve had the displeasure of dealing with, so thank you again. They’ve also said they’ll remove any information from my credit report (default) so this is the best result of all.
Just got to wait on my other 3 complaints with the ombudsman now.
Shem says
Hi all
Feeling a little apprehensive waiting for sunny to respond as their 8 weeks is up on Thursday, I’m confident in my case as repeat borrowed from them for over 2 1/2 years totalling in 27 loans resulting in apx 3.5k in interest paid. the vast majority of the duration was with the maximum 4 loans utilised at one time at the maximum amounts available in amongst multiple other pay day loans from many other companies so I will deffinately progress to ombudsman if not offered at least 2.5k and have started to write my FOS case. I’m just really hoping that they make a reasonable offer in the first instance and avoid any further waiting. I’ve seen some people reporting that they’ve had responses rejecting the unnafordabilty but refunding as a gesture of goodwill as ‘the product was unsuitable’ I have no doubt the loans were unaffordable as I had to reborrow to recoup the lost earnings to cover essential bills each month but as I pay day loans are not really suitable as a long term solution I certainly feel the product was not suitable for 2 1/2 years of continuous borrowing.
Any grateful for anybody else’s results if similar scenarios and please keep your fingers crossed for me guys
Shem x
Andy says
Hi Shem quick update with sunny elevate , they took the full 8 weeks to reply said no wrong doing on their part, sent to fos , 2/12 month picked up by adjudicator two weeks ago found 6 out of 31 loans unaffordable still waiting for reply from sunny , my situation was similar with many other pdl st the time , hope this helps
claire says
Just wondering – does this refund appeal process only work for short term pay day loans or can i use it for all high interest longer term loans such as Onstride, Avant and moneybarn (car finance) etc.
Brad says
It works for all Claire. I had interest written off by 118118 money. Send the letter in the same way and adapt the wording
John says
hello
ive been trapped in payday loans for the past for past 6-7 years. i am up to date with payments and have stopped using these lenders now.
would you know if i would have a case if i put incorrect details in on how much i get paid each month and played down my experiences and also other pay day loans i was juggling.
i suffer with mental condition and when manic i spend far to much and lent on payday loans to bail me out of trouble.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi John, I suggest you read https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-lender-says-lied/. Basically if you borrowed repeatedly from the same lender, then after a few loans they should have realised that they may be something wrong with your application and ask you for more details. But if you only borrowed once or twice from a lender, then it may have been hard for them to realise you couldn’t afford the loans.
James Cole says
Hi guys
Was reading up on this and I would love if anyone can help me
I got myself in a. Right mess between 2008 and 2014
As a result of payday loans I ended up defaulting everything
I lost bank accounts a car (which I secured against another loan via loans2go not sure if I can r3claim this aswel)
My only question is as a result of all of this I had to have a DRO done as I could not cope any more
This has now finished and what ever was left outstanding was “written off” but still on credit file as outstanding etc
Am I still able to claim now my dro is finished with?
Thanks
Any advice would be greatly appreciated would be fantastic to get something back after the years of pain.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, you can claim after a DRO has finished.
There is a chance that if you get a refund the lender will offset some / all of it against any balance you owed to them in your DRO, even though this amount was written off in your DRO. This may not be a problem, I just wanted you know the argument sometimes crops up.
As your DRO has completed, the balances on all the debts in it should be showing as zero in your DRO, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/repair-credit-record-dro/, but if you are going to make payday loan complaints, I suggesting ignoring your credit record until they are completed.
Chelsea Firth says
Anybody ever used these refund methods on the PDL company piggy bank?
Shem says
Hi Chelsea
I had some success with them after about 5 weeks of filing my complaint, refunded all the interest on 2 £300 loans previous loans which reduced an existing £600 loan balance in half and then removed all interest from that to effectively leaving a 0 balance.
Shem x
Lee says
Yes I’ve complained about 13 payday providers over the summer.
Settling 7 of the 13 within the initial 8 weeks from complaint.
Piggy Bank were one of these 7. They got in touch after 5 weeks and gave me the full refund requested plus the 8% with no hassle. They were the easiest of my 13 complaints.
Good luck.
Brad says
Me too. Wrote off 65% of the interest I had paid from my outstanding balance within about 6 weeks.
pastpaydayloans says
Hi all – a couple of things really.
Firstly, thank you to Sarah and this site. I stumbled across this site just in the nick of time as Moriarty Law had issue CCJ proceedings against two Vivus loans. I was clutching at straws seen as it had got this stage. This site gave me the confidence and some structure in conversing with ML. Firstly complained to MMF who is servicing the loan and asked them to keep the CCJ proceedings on hold. Response was standard so informed ML that I was seeking to take them to FOS but wanted a copy of the credit agreement and court proceedings put on hold. A bit of to-ing and fro-ing later (around 6-8 weeks in) I have now received confirmation that they are not pursing the debts. They have sent a copy of the discontiuation letter that is addressed to Nothampton courts.
Thanks again Sarah
Im wating for them to put the money in the account (within 28 days) before asking for a breakdown.
If anyone can make any sense of this id appreciate it.
Thanks folks
Sarah youre an angel :-)
pastpaydayloans says
Secondly – (perhaps this isnt the right thread but just in case anyone can provide some info please)
Fired off a PPI claim to MBNA, cards taken out back in 1998/9 ish – got a response as such below
Total amount of PPI premiums charged since sale date £247.82
Total amount of feess refunded £0.00
Total amount of associated interest £34.72
Applicable 8% gross interest £5.37
Less witholding UK tax -£1.07
Total amount payable to you £286.84
To be honest I havent a clue how much i paid or didnt pay on the card but my question is if the premium charged as above was 247.82 and it was at least 17 years ago, surely the 8% interest amounts to much more?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Typically in these cases the “associated interest” is much larger as it is charged at the interest rate on the card. But if you repaif the balance in full at any point, then That stops the associated interest being added so it is theoretically possible that is corrected if you often cleared the card balance.
But the 8% interest looks totally wrong.
I suggest you reply saying the associated interest and *% interest figures look wrong, ask them to provide you with a breakdown of how they were calculated and say you will be taking the complaint to the Ombudsman if this isn’t resolved.
Pastpayday says
Thanks againa Sarah – they said they will pay that amount (every penny counts at the moment) within 28 days as its their final answer. Will wait till its banked and then will ask them for explanation and might follow up with FOS as theyve given that option should their explanation be unsatisfactory.
BenC says
Hi Sara / Everyone,
Interested to know if H&T Finance would be considered under the “payday lender” bracket? Has anyone made complaints to them at all? I didn’t see a complaint email address in the above link and wasn’t sure if a complaint could be made under the same irresponsible lending type scenario? Common sense tells me complaints can be made against any lender, but is there a different process?
They have other trading styles such as H&T, H&T Money, H&T Asset Finance and H&T Pawnbrokers are trading names of Harvey & Thompson Limited. Extortionate APR’s and are regulated by the FCA…
Also, how do complaints against Amigo loans (with guarantor) work with regards to the guarantor? I assume they are not affected in anyway?
Advice will be greatly appreciated.
Lee says
I’ve known people dealing with H&T loans to get refunds pretty quickly and easily within the 8 weeks normally for the full amount requested. They are one of the better companies to deal with.
Wes says
They dealt with mine really quickly and were the quickest out the 6 complaints I’ve had. Was actually quite impressed …
Steve says
Hi,
I made my complaint on the 10th Oct 2017, complaining about irresponsible lending and asking for a complete list of loans from Wonga. i Have a full record with over 100 plus loans which i always paid back and then borrowed again. Had other loans/credit cards form banks and building societies, as well as other payday loans, store cards etc. Im still in debt but in control now and paying these off – 4 years to go.
My time line is
10th Oct sent initial complaint email
12th Oct received reply from Wongathat they were looking at my complaint and given a reference number
26th Oct received a complete list of loans
7th Nov received an email advising complaint was taking longer than expected.
Not heard anything since – so was wondering when the 8 week deadline was from?
Is it from the date i sent the first email on the 10th Oct if so i presume i should have a reply by 5th Dec?
Any advice is greatly appreciated, ty
BenC says
Hi Steve,
Yes they have until the 5th. They gave me a reply 2 days before their deadline was up… so not unusual for you not to have heard anything more.
Good luck
Lee says
I got nearly 3k back from my Wonga case settled in the summer. Get your bank statements out and work out your Wonga loans received and paid back from that. The difference between the 2 figures being paid is your interest paid. Then request the additional 8% is also applied. It took me 5 hours to work out my amounts but well worth it in the end as settled without need to go to the FOS and got 90% of what I requested plus the 8%.
Steve says
Had a reply from wonga saying none of my 100 plus loans would be considered. Do you think its worth going to the Financial Ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes! Did they give a reason for not considering the loans?
Steve says
Hi Sara,
I basically got an email saying that the loans were affordable to me based on their lending criteria decisions – namely the questions they asked when i applied for the loans, salary, employment, dependants, credit checks, credit score etc etc (all of which changed over the loan period and i never updated the details on wonga for fear of not getting the loans after being turned down from high street banks for loans\credit cards etc and then quick quid\others etc). The email is fairly lengthy and looks like a pretty standard reply.
Ive complained now to the ombudsman so hopefully they side with me on at least some of the loans.
Liam says
Good Afternoon Sara,
I’m wondering if you think I have a case here for irresponsible lending with Sunny.
On the 1st March 2014 I took out a loan for £150 which was rolled over 6 times at the beginning of each month. They have used a term on my Statement called Loan Draw but I paid this off on the 2nd Feb 2015. On the 4th March 2015 I was able to take out a 2nd loan for £100 which was paid in full on the 1st April 2015 and then a 3rd Loan was taken out on the 11th April 2015 and paid in full on the 1st May.
I have worked out on the 1st Loan I paid £433.98 interest for a £150 Loan, 2nd Loan £22.40 for a £100 Loan and £24 for the 3rd Loan which was £150.
Do you feel I have a good case here? Or should I leave it there I have checked Bank Statements and during this cycle I was taking plenty of loans out with separate companies
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t understand you saying you rolled the first £150 loans 6 times but it took 11 months to pay off?
Liam says
Hi Sara yes i have something called Loan Draws on the Statement which were added on the 1st May, 1st June, 1st July, 2nd August, 29th August which have come straight after card payments, i have then made payments on the 30th Sept and 1st December but then there was another Loan Draw on the 3rd Dec where they have increased the balance before 2 further payments in December and then February to close the loan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so it looks like some kind of rolling credit facility. These can take longer to resolve the Financial Ombudsman but you have been in debt to Sunny every month for 14 months so yes, I think it’s worth a complaint! They should have realised you were dependent on the loans.
Wiggles says
Final Update: My lending stream case has now been decided Loans 6-35 to be refunded with the full 8% interest added and all records removed from the credit file. This brings to a close the year of waiting (well most of it) will do a full breakdown when I get it from Lending Stream but its looking at £3.9k borrowed with interest of £3k paid back for a total of just over £7k.
I have worked out the simple 8% to be around £700 or so, so it should be around £3.7k back. Just looking at the numbers the first 5 loans which are not to be refunded was £900 borrowed and £1.1k interest for a total of just over £2k. Shame it was not a full uphold but I see why in the decision.
Happy day for me
Emma S says
Hi Sara,
I have spoken to FOS about Payday UK’s “mistake” and they have suggested that I allow them 7 days to respond and further investigate the additional loans and if they do not respond I should go back to FOS.
As PDUK stated a total of 16 loans in their final response letter which is incorrect they said that my acceptance of the offer should not prevent them investigating further (although I have since gone back to them to say I reject it).
Thank you for your help as always!
gillian says
hi sara i have just got email from payday uk after asking for a refund for unaffordable lending after having loans every month from 2010 till september of 2017 they refused to send list of loans but now have asked for a copy of my bank statement for the month of may 2010 and months of nov 2015 dec 2015 i can not see what help 3 statements out of 7 years would be of help i have the ones from 2015 because i had to send them to fos for claims against lending stream and quickquid both were upheld with adjudicater quick quid as paid lending stream being slow these were over 6 thousand each and the loans from payday uk were taken at the same time do i send the copies or just tell them that the fos as the statements ty
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So they haven’t actually offered anything? I would be inclined to tell them you will be sending the case to the FOS if they don’t make you a significant offer and provide you with the statements you have asked for. Say that the FOS already has your statements from previous complaints.
But you may as well start getting the older statements now. I can’t remember PDUK approving a complaint with loans older than 6 years before it went to the ombudsman.
gillian says
the email they sent does say they might not be able to decide my case if i dont provide statements i am not bothered about the loans older than six years as to be honest there are about 30 loans in the last six years alone and i know if you disregared the over 6 years it is easier and quicker at adjudicater stage ty i will email them and tell them that after the 8 weeks is up i will be forwarding it to the fos if no offer is forcoming ty again
Dan says
My PDUK complaint was over 6 years (on some) they settled after 12 weeks, so logged with but not allocated by FOS – offered 4/6 loans, first 2 were small but the also added on 8% which actually equated to 50% extra
Maureen says
Well I got a bit of a shock today….I settled a few months ago via the adjudicator with loans within 6 years against cheque centres. I settled at a lot less than what I probably could have done had I asked for the ombudsman to look at it. But due to the impending liquidation of the company i decided to get something rather than delay and get nothing….however, today I get an email from the adjudicator to say he is looking at my loans over 6 years as they have been given permission now to look at these! Not sure how fruitful this will be, maybe end up in a queue of creditors that only get money if there is some left but I see it as a positive as I really had written this claim off!!! So, anyone with a separate ref number from the FOS for loans over 6 years with cheque centre it might be worth a phone call to see where they are up to with it…a bit of hope at least maybe!
Pamela says
Maureen sounds like good news as its the C Centre that decide to look at over 6 and they did with me. Currently waiting on a joint payment for both over 6 and after loans. Cases had been split and ombudsman found in my adjudicators favour of loans over 6. The adjudicator found in favour or over 6 years and the C Centre accepted this on the same day offering to pay both in a lump sum. Panicking as I’m now at 3 weeks. I just hope this is paid out. I know you were maybe 2 weeks Maureen. I’m sure its legally binding however as they have accepted. Can I ask Maureen on your first payment did it just “appear” in your bank. Never done so much internet bank checking as I have these past few weeks.
Maureen says
Sounds like you’ve been very lucky getting both your decisions accepted by them. Yes it just appeared at the end of the month so maybe today or tomorrow you might get it…fingers crossed, good luck! It was paid in as cheque centres -FLT
Pamela says
Thanks Maureen, I am hoping I am not let down last minute. Good luck to you also. This could be an added bonus for you.
My timelines for the older loans were
23 October – contact from my adjudicator to say they would look at the older loans and she required more information wage slips etc
27 October – I sent all this information by email.
1 November – My adjudicator found in my favour for all loans over 6 years and wrote to the business.
9 November – Business accepted her decision and sent the settlement form.
So all very quick, I think the FO are not messing about when it comes to C Centre due to the timescales. Hope it’s turned around fast. Keep the updates coming..
Maureen says
Thanks for those timescales Pamela…that is a quick turn around! They have asked for further info around outgoings and bank statements so I will get this back today so as not to delay it. If I get a decision within a week after this I’ll be happy and yes a bonus that I really wasn’t expecting to get anything from! Let me know how you get on.
Dave says
Got my Ombudsman decision regarding Lending Stream the other day, not particularly happy with the outcome but better than nothing (upheld on 5 out of 11 loans, but not covering the highest interest ones!).
Emailed to accept.
Anyone know how long LS will take to get in touch?
One complaint to go… heard it’s been picked up by an Ombudsman now, but wasn’t upheld by the Adjudicator – hoping it will be overturned, but quite unlikely.
Brendan says
has anyone any experience of cash genie? I got a reply back 8 weeks ago that ariste holding would be sending a cheque for £750. But as of today I’ve heard nothing, even though the person who emailed me stated it would be 8 weeks before the next run would be issued.
Dan says
I had about £140 from cash genie just after the last run, which was about 4th October, I suspect if you are due anything/ there is money left, you would receive it around 6/7th December
RPG says
Hey, when was your complaint resolved? Also had the email to say they will send cheque but only yesterday and they said they run the cheques every 2 months – I presume I will be waiting a while then if there is a back log?!
brendan says
My Complaint was resolved around the 5th October, and got a final response from Lee. So I had taken it I would hear something this week about the cheque, but I haven’t heard anything yet.
Polly says
I had big trouble with wonga a few year ago. I asked wonga for a statement of accounts earlier this year and they gave me loan information from 2011-2016 (I still had a few this year, not sure why they weren’t included). That statement of accounts showed 85 loans.
I complained to wonga who have upheld my complaint. (I rolled a lot of loans, instantly took out new ones, missed a few payments, couldn’t live without borrowing to pay back what I’d borrowed etc) They have agreed to refund me on the basis of 4 loans! Is this to be expected? They have said after 2014, they changed their lending to be more affordable, but pre 2014 I still had 45 loans. Is it unreasonable to expect them to look at all of my loans? Not just pre-2014, even though they’ve not really done that either.
Amount calculated by myself on the statement of accounts is more than double what they have offered.
Is the fininacial ombudsman worth the months of waiting? Shall I not expect a decision any time soon? I’m worried it took wonga 6 weeks to investigate my complaint, it will take the ombudsman just as long (if not longer) to pick it up and then wonga another 6 weeks?
Any advice very appreciated! Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is not unreasonable to want all your loans to be looked at, and that’s what the Ombudsman will do.
Wonga are drawing an artificial line here in 2014 which is very misleading of them. Yes they were made to change their lending policies then, yes this was an improvement but they have still made a LOAD of very poor lending decisions after 2014. They should not just dismiss these without looking at the details of your complaint!
85 loans is a lot (to state the obvious!) and it sounds as though you have an excellent case to take to the Ombudsman. If they have only offered to refund 4 loans, then you could get back a LOT more than they have offered. Yes it will take some time, but you have the choice between getting £800 now or £3000 in a few months (NB I just made up those numbers!).
One thing which will speed up your case is if you say you will drop any loans that are older than 6 years old. You may well win the older loan refunds in the end, but it makes for a much longer process. As these older loans are a small amount of your 85, it could be sensible to not bother with them.
Feelinghopeful says
It’s been 7 weeks today since I sent my initial complaint to wonga so can’t be long until I hear something.
I also contacted ferratum, I’d only had 3 loans from them but thought I’d try my luck – they responded last week, they won’t accept any wrong doing but as a gesture of goodwill have deducted all of the interest and charges paid to them off my current outstanding loan, pretty much clearing ut and updated my credit file. Just goes to show that even the little ones are worth pursuing :-)
Kathy says
Hi, once the adjudicator has written to the company they give them two weeks to reply and either agree or disagree with their findings. Has anybody got to this stage with the following companies … Wonga, QuickQuid, Satsuma (provident), Sunny and Payday Express and what happened? Did they tend to agree, did they answer within the two weeks and how long did it take to pay out if they did agree? Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lots of people have got to that stage with all those companies. But knowing what generally happens really won’t help you…. it is an individual decision in each case. Sunny usually accept the adjudicator decisions but even they sometimes reject what looks like a simple case for no apparent reason. Wonga, QQ, Satsuma & PD Express are pretty much snowed under with complaints and often don’t respond promptly.
QQ often comes back offering less than the adjudicator did… if you say No, they sometimes increase there offer several times!
GMA says
Timeline update for SNC
Emailed FOS on 26th July with complaint, emailed again on 15th Aug to check status – received response on 22nd Aug asking for more detail which I returned same day – chased for update on 30th Oct and today 29th Nov received an email from adjudicator to introduce herself and say that there was enough information for her to now start reviewing and that she will be in touch, moving forward!
Kerry says
When sending my complaints I held off Cash Genie as I had redress a few years ago. After reading on here I thought got nothing to lose. Received this today
“I have looked into your complaint I can see that you are due £517.74 in interest payments and charges, as despite Cash Genie staff completing manual affordability checks, we understand that the system affordability assessment’s that were in place at this time did not run for the account in question. As a result of this system error, an offer to refund any additional interest and charges that were applied to the following loans is being made:
Loan ID: 1000120079 – interest paid £1043.44
Charges paid £0
Less redress already received of £525.70
Loan date: 14/3/13
You will also be entitled to statutory interest from the date of your loan, which will be calculated by RSM and added to the amount of £517.74
RSM will post a cheque payment. However, as you are aware, Cash Genie was placed into liquidation on 5 January 2016. As you are owed funds from the Company you are classed as an unsecured creditor and the Joint Liquidators will seek to make full payment to you in due course. Dividends (payment runs) will be run approximately every 2 months and RSM will send your payment as soon as they are able to do so. In the meantime, your debt will continue to accrue statutory interest at 8% per annum”
Kerry says
Great news but can I be sure I’ll get this payment.? I saw someone say Cash Genie did a cheque run in Oct so one is due in Dec. Will I be included in this do you think?
Dan says
I wouldn’t bank on it given the situation, if the funds aren’t there you won’t get it/may only receive a partial payment, however my rebate came after the last run on 4th October, cheque arrived 2/3 days later (no other contact, just a letter and cheque) so you should know soon… personally I’d still cash the cheque asap and would wait until that clears before allocating any of that money
Hopefully it all goes smoothly for you
drew says
Send email to l.hodge@cashgenie.co.uk, she was very helpful, and replied quickly, I got my Cash genie cheque beginning of Oct.
Sasha paton says
I received a cheque in october for over £800 that they worked out was still owed to me arrived couple days after the cheque run was emailing with a lady called Julie who can confirm if you are on the cheque run
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
I’ve accepted an offer from QQ. They have my updated bank details. In people’s experience, how long did it actually take for the money to land in the bank?
Lou says
Mine took about a week – they sent me an e-mail as soon as it had been transferred.
Lisa says
less than 24 hours from when they confirmed they had my acceptance ad bank details.
(I did drop the QQ FOS team an email and am sure this speeded this up)
Look out for the emails as they alert you to the transfer
Dale says
Thanks for the guide,
I have had around 50-60 loans with wonga about 4 years ago totalling £4000ish and serveral rollover loans with QuickQuid around £1000.
I emailed wonga first, how long should I wait to here back that they are taking my claim on?
QuickQuid haver requested I send them bank statements and payslips for that time, I dont have these to hand anymore how do I reply to Quickquid properly to tell them this as I have read above that they shouldnt need this info
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Wonga has 8 weeks from your email to reply – that’s a lot of borrowing from them, don’t be fobbed off id they only offer to refund a few!
QQ – They can see what you get paid from bank statements – I think they only ask for payslips to make this feel difficult. The Ombudsman never asks for payslips.
You don’t have to send them bank statements if you don’t want to – some people don’t want to give a payday lender this personal information. If you don’t want to, just reply that you would like them to consider the complaint on the basis of what they already know and you will be happy to supply the Ombudsman with bank statements if the complaint goes that far.
Victoria says
Hi I have two complaints going through One for wonga and the other QQ. My QQ has now been waiting to be picked up for 12 months and my wonga is waiting for a final decision after hearing back from the ombudsman in August in which they agreed to look at the 6 years plus loans. Is it normal to wait this long my complaints have been on going since August 2016.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, I am sorry but complaints about loans over 6 years are taking a very long while for both Wonga & QQ
Helen says
I’m so angry. I wrote earlier about how my pounds2pocket complaint was not upheld by the adjudicator. I sent additional information and asked them to reconsider and just had an email from the adjudicator that they still don’t think P2P have done anything wrong.
The additional information contained details on the missed payments on my first loan with them, details of defaulting on 2-4 other credit agreements during my first loan and how my expenditure details were unrealistic. I also sent screen shots of my credit report showing I was £3,000 in debt already (I was on a low income at this point). After this they gave me 2 more loans.
Adjudicator has come back saying P2P would not have seen that level of detail in their credit searches (would not have seen defaults or level of existing debt), that missed payments are not always a sign of financial difficulty and that P2P didn’t know enough about my personal circumstances to know that thing such as £75 per month on food is ridiculous amount. (Single mum with 2 children to feed…)
Sara, can you please advise on what type of credit checks a lender need to carry out? Would a credit check that did not show existing debt or defaults have been enough?
I will refer this to an ombudsman now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The level of credit checks is not defined by the regulator. The point to make is that the missed payments on your first loan should have caused them to look in more detail before giving the later loans. eg check your credit file, ask for bank statements, contact you and ask for more details. £75 a month for food is clearly implausible for a family and this too should have been a warning to them that you were in big financial trouble.
allan furness says
Made a complaint about Mr Lender and their excessive interest charges, they have replied with this:
We can confirm you have had three loans between November 2011 and January 2013. You have borrowed a total of £1,150.00 and repaid a total of £390.00 in interest. We do not believe that we have acted irresponsibly and the loans issued were fair and should have been affordable based on the information you provided at the time and the checks that were carried out.
However as a gesture of goodwill, we would be willing to refund you a total of £100.00.
Do I take it or pursue them for more?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So that is a 15 month period. Were these standard 1 month payday loans? How large were each of them? What interest did you pay on the last loan? What were the gaps between them – the time from repaying loan 1 to borrowing loan 2, and between loan 2 and 3.
Mr allan John Furness says
Can’t remember sara, I will contact Mr lender to find out. They should tell me shouldn’t they?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are normally more helpful than other payday lenders, so yes, I would hope so.
Ryan says
Hi All,
Had a reply from lending stream 6 weeks later with the below. Any one had the below before? And what you did?
Had 19 loans and will they will only give me information on 2 open loans
“Please be informed that we can’t disclose the loans information which are closed. We see that you are requesting to investigate your concern regarding the affordability analysis and credit checks conducted when the loans were approved. We would like to inform you that such nature of query falls under the purview of Subject Access Request (SAR).
Therefore, in order for us to provide you with the information, we would request you to send us a written letter addressed to Lending Stream with a £10.00 cheque (in favor of Lending Stream LLC) as per the Subject Access Request (SAR) requirements under the Data Protection Act 1998.”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Reply saying you are not making a subject access request, you are making an affordabilty complaint and you would like them to send you a full list of your loans.
Claire says
They are trying to do the same to me – I told them if they were unwilling to provide the details then I would contact the ombudsman regarding my complaint straight away detailing their lack of cooperation and actively obstructing me from processing a complaint through them – not sure if it will work tho, will let you know if I hear back!
Emma says
Hi
I’ve just received an offer on 4/14 loans against quick quid and the adjudicator has agreed with their offer . Do you think it would be worth sending to the ombudsman or could they overturn the decision ? I have given them all the info they requested already and wouldn’t have anything extra to prove how unaffordable they were
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Were those 4 loans much larger? What reason did the adjudicator give for only choosing those 4?
Emma says
The first was a flexi loan and then I had 6 over 5 months 2015/ 5 over last 4 months in 2016 and last one this year rolled over . The last one was one of the largest at £600. The offer from qq was made before the adjudicator looked at the complaint and he has agreed with their findings – adding on the letter that unless I have any extra information (they’ve already had bank statements and credit file ) then it’s unlikely the outcome would be different if it’s sent to ombudsman. Just seems strange how my income didn’t change (outgoings did !) but they can pick and choose when some of them were less than 3 weeks apart ! (2 refunded from 2015 and 2 from 2016)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then definitely send it to the ombudsman. The big gap in the middle makes the case harder, but overall it sound worth being looked at again, in particular why wasn’t the last loan included if it was one of the largest?
AK says
Hi all, my adjudicator upheld my complaint against Satsuma for all loans. Is Satsuma normally agree with an adjudicator? Do they use the whole 2 weeks to answer or can I expect their answer earlier? As I have a huge outstanding balance with Satsuma I don’t receive any money back but to be able to remove this debt from my payment list would be such a relief. I so hope they agree, it will be a very nice Christmas present.
Helen says
I had a complaint against Satsuma partially upheld by adjudicator on 2nd November. On the 17th November (after me chasing) my adjudicator advised me that Satsuma did not agree and that they had been given extra time to supply additional information. On the 28th November my adjudicator advised me that despite their additional evidence, she is still upholding my complaint and they now have until 5th December to get back to her.
gav says
hi, after reading this page i decided to go onto my credit report and look out exactly how many payday loans i had from a few years ago. i know from around 2011 to 2013 i used wonga a lot with the majority of times either rolling them over or taking out more loans a few days latter. i also used payday express at the same time but not as often. if i was to guess at wonga i would say definitely over 15 maybe more. Anyway today i paid for my credit report with experian and all traces of wonga have been removed. i know they were on my report because i had a print out in 2015 when i was buying my house. Is this wonga pre-empting a claim due to the amount of loans and times i rolled it over? has anyone else noticed this on their credit report?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Other people have commented, but what I think has happened is Wonga has changed from reporting to Experian to reporting to Call Credit instead. You could look on your Noddle report and see if the wonga loans are there.
BUT credit records are an unreliable source. A better option is to get a list from a lender. But the best one is to use your old bank statements, then you know everything is there. It sounds as though you know enough to put in a complaint to Wonga and Payday express – do this asap, with loans back in 2011, you want as many as possible to be within the 6 year period as these cases are simpler and quicker to resolve.
AND never pay for a credit report! These days you can get everything for free, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/
Al Booth says
Hello,
I’ve sent three letters out and the first to respond are QuickQuid. They have asked for all my bank statements from this period.
Although there is no real issue with this; do I have to supply them? I find it quite invasive and I’ve calculated their loans and repayments over time.
Claire says
Heya I literally just told them I wasn’t sending the pay slips and bank statements in due to it containing personal data – I added that I would be happy to send these directly to the ombudsman if it got to that stage.
They replied saying this so all ok:
Thank you for contacting QuickQuid. For further reiteration and for clarity purposes, the requested documentation is not mandatory. The documentation requested is utilized as a tool to help us reach a fair complaint outcome in a timely manner. If you choose not to supply this information, that is left at your discretion. We will continue to investigate your complaint, regardless.
Al Booth says
Thanks Claire.
I replied after reading this and they said similar. I have worked out each loan, each repayment and with interest. So I have the records.
It’ll be interesting to see what they come back with.
Thanks again.
Darren says
Finally after almost 9 months my 247 moneybox complaint has been resolved, £2.9k back to me. Just hoping it will be in before Christmas and that’s all my complaints resolved. Thanks to this site I have got back close to £10k and a much improved credit score now. Thanks again!!!
Alison says
Got a reply from Wonga today it was a no.
I borrowed 24 times. And they wrote my last one off which I worked out was about £500 due to recognizing unaffordability. They said when I advised of financial difficulty they helped with repayments. This was true. On my 4th Loan I Borrowed £260 (not a huge amount) on 08/04/12 and didnt pay it all back until July. (so it took me 3 months to clear this balance – which indicates to me I couldn’t even afford a ‘smaller’ loan. Then in December that year I borrowed again – then another 20 times each month through until May 2014…… How on earth they kept lending I don’t know after having to arrange to repay previous loans over a period of time. I am definitely taking it to the Financial Ombudsman………………………………….
Gary says
Update Sunny – 2 days before the 8 week timeline sunny have offered me £587 interest plus 8% interest , that’s a full refund of all of my interest. Result ?? 4 more to go that’s over 6k back now
Lou says
Hi Anyone have any experience with Sunny? Yesterday the adjudicator upheld my complaint on all loans and has given Sunny 2 weeks . Do they normally agree with the adjudicator or take it to Ombudsman.
Anthony says
I have accepted an offer from wonga and they have received my agreement via the adjudicator. How long does it generally take for the money to be paid into my account.
Thanks for all the advice and this site has helped so much.
Lou says
Anthony I accepted on the Tuesday and money went in the following Monday.
Jed says
I’ve just added up my Wonga interest. Between November 2009 and Oct 2013 i had 54 loans from them, plenty of rollovers and full payments only to borrow the max an hour later. The interest I’ve paid is £11168.92.
Do you think I’ve got a good case for irresponsible lending? Should I go for all the interest repayed even though £3500 of the interest is from loans over 6 years ago?
Any advice appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sounds like an excellent case. Have you made the complaint? If not, I suggest you do and wait to see what you are offered. It concentrates the mind and there is always the possibility of news on Wonga and the older loans by then.
Jed Richardson says
I’m just filling out the template, is the living costs part essential? I had a gambling problem which I was bailed out by my partner to the tune of £7500 in Oct 13 this was to pay off a loan, massive overdraft, wonga and Payday UK. I haven’t gambled since and I’m a homeowner now. After my kids stopping gambling was the best thing I’ve ever done.
Question basically is would I put gambling on expenses?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The template is just a proposed starting point, adapt it as you want, delete anything that isn5 relevant or you don’t want to say. Provided it is clear you are making an affordability complaint and says what compensation you are asking for, the lender should consider it.
Many people don’t want to tell a lender that they had a gambling problem, some lenders are indeed unpleasant about this. From their point of view you probably looked like a customer who could afford the loan, so why should you get a refund because of something you didn’t tell them? This is a reasonable argument if you only borrowed once or twice from them… but if you carried on borrowing this by itself should have suggested to them that you were dependent on the loans and they should either have stopped lending and offered a repayment plan, or looked more closely into your situation.
You should expect these complaints to go to the Ombudsman and there you should be open about your problem.
Jed Richardson says
I’ve sent my complaint in, would you like to be updated with any outcomes? Bet you get bombarded with these! I’ve put an 8 week reminder in my diary to chase them up, is that from today or from when they first respond?
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
People here love to hear how others are doing, the routine, the small wins, the not good enough so it’s off to the Ombudsman etc. These give people a feel what usually happens, so the process feels more understandable and less lonely.
If the only comments here are from people with mega wins or the tiny numbers who have problems with their adjudicator or where a lender doesn’t pay out after a final decision that would give an odd impression for the 98% of typical complaints.
Nathan says
So I’m quite young, still living with my parents etc. I mistakenly got into a trap over the last 12 months, and have sent a complaint to 2 creditors, CashAsap and 247Moneybox. 11 loans with one and 8 with another, but only roughly £400 worth of interest. However, it does show I was continuously using them sometimes even after I’d just paid the last one off. Still waiting on a reply, but do you think I have a case or is this too little time?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s a lot of loans, even the amounts were small. If your bank statements will show that you couldn’t afford to repay a loan without borrowing again, then that is the basis of your case.
Liam says
Just had this from MMP:-
We have received your correspondence dated 16 November 2017 regarding your concerns. We can confirm that
we have completed our investigation and have detailed our findings below.
We confirm you received a total of nine (9) loans with us from September 2016, all of which were repaid early or on
time with no penalty. As you are charged daily interest on the outstanding principal balance of the loans, you only
paid for the time you had each loan.
Each application for credit is reviewed based on your application details, amount and term of credit you requested
(including scheduled payment amounts) and result of third-party credit checks.
Jax says
I received final responses from PDE/PDUK this week. PDUK said all loans were affordable but there was 1 that they were unable to determine and asked me to send bank statement from August 2010 and my credit report. They said that the 3 loans I had before this one were affordable even though between them they were rolled over for 16 months. They said they were small amounts but have never sent me a breakdown of my loans, payments, etc. Unfortunately I don’t have bank statements either from 2009 so I can’t see how much I borrowed, paid, etc.
PDE said that they noticed during their complaint that a DMC was helping me in 2011 and therefore I should have complained then so won’t look at any of my loans. I have no idea how I would have realised I should complain just because I couldn’t meet the repayments any more. I can’t believe it took 9 weeks to tell me that.
Both have been submitted to the FOS now so time to sit back and wait.
Mark says
Hi all,
I have received an Email today from an adjudicator who has picked up my case against Wonga, yaaay.
They have asked for a breakdown of my expenses from 2011 to present, copies of my bank statements for the same dates and a copy of my credit file.
I have already submitted the bank statements and credit file in my initial complaint a few months ago, should I Email back and state that I have already sent them or should I just resend them?
Can they not tell from bank statements the breakdown of my expenses?
The last couple of times I have been contacted by FOS they have asked for information I have already submitted, is this the normal?
Since I submitted my complaints, one for Wonga and one for QQ I have heard nothing in relation to the QQ complaint but several Emails regarding the Wonga complaint.
Kind regards
Mark
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Reply pointing out you have already sent in your bank statements. Providing a breakdown of your expenses can be a good way to summarise your case to an adjudicator. You obviously don’t have to do this for every month!
Terry says
Hi again Sara,
Not spoken to you for a few months now, since I had my very hefty refunds from both Wonga and Quickquid. I am looking at now claiming against Mr Lender, Lending Stream, My Jar and Wageday Advance for irresponsible lending. I currently still have a balance and i’m in a repayment plan with them all except My Jar(balance now cleared). My question to you is unlike my Wonga and QQ refunds I only used these companies after Oct 2014 when the FCA made payday loan companies change their lending criteria, so would I still have a decent shout for a claim? These last loans were all taken out within months of each other so my complaint would be that they should’ve seen from my credit file that I had a huge amount of debt with other payday loan companies and that I wouldn’t be able to repay them, regardless of what I was putting in on my income and expenditure this surely wouldn’t go down as responsible lending on their behalf? I personally don’t think I have as good a case as I didn’t use them as frequently or roll over etc as I did with Wonga or QQ.
Terry says
Sorry another quick question is regarding 118 118 money, I currently still have a loan out with them and I already have a closed loan from a few years ago with them, can this loan company be complained to in the same way as the payday lenders, my argument is similar to what I have already said above in that they were lending to me when I already had high amounts of debt etc. Your continued feedback to me is once again always appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, quite a few people have won affordability complaints against 118.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lots of cases have been won on post 2014 lending, you should ignore that as a factor.
These complaints will depend on the facts of the individual case. What did you put on your application – what could the lender see from checking your credit record – what did the lender know about you from previous lending. If you borrowed from A then B then C, it may be easier to win a complaint to C than to A. If there was a lot more debt on your credit record than you mentioned on your application, that should have been a warning to the lender that your application may not have been accurate.
It can actually be easier to “win” a case with an outstanding balance as lenders seem happier to write off or reduce balances than to hand out refunds. But if you only borrowed a few times with big gaps, then inaccurate applications may make these cases hard. Why don’t you pick one which seems the best and give that a try?
Brian says
Email from wonga today 4 weeks after complaint sent, saying that my complaint is being considered but it may take more than 8 weeks and they will inform me at 8 weeks if it will be longer.
They’ve explained I can send to ombudsman at 8 weeks if not happy. Is this common and just a generic email?
Thanks
shelly says
I complained on the 1/10/2017 had the exact email on the 30/11/2017 I think they do take the full 8 weeks to give a decision good luck
Jon says
Hi Sara, I have had an offer from Opos on behalf of Minicredit to reduce my O/S balance from £1200 to £566, I originally took out a £200 loan with Minicredit in 2012 and apparently they added all the interest etc to the account before it was passed to Opos. Is it worth rejecting this offer and referring it to the FOS? I know I owe the original debt and I happy to pay the original loan amount, this offer still feels as though I am paying the interest, charges etc on the original loan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how much borrowing did you have from Minicredit before this loan?
Jon says
This was the only loan I had from them but I had multiple pdl from other companies at the time, thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then you may very well not get a better result by going to the Ombudsman I am afraid. You can try, or it may be worth trying to negotiate with OPOS and say the interest added was unreasonable and you will take the case to the Ombudsman if your balance is not reduced to say £400 – that is the price cap that was brought in in 2014 so it doesn’t legally apply to this debt but it can be used as measure of what may be seen as fair.
Hopefully you will get money back from other lenders who are still in business to help you repay this one.
Marty says
Just wondering if someone can talk me through the end process here. Adjudicator found in my favour 2 weeks ago against payday uk. I sent acceptance form back and adjudicator confirmed receipt and said it has been passed on to payday uk to make payment. Not heard anything from either since. What usually happens next and when?
Mrs W says
Hi Marty. I would call Paydayuk and Check they had received the forms. They paid me really quickly but that may have been down to me calling. They do have 28 days to get in touch but it may speed things up if you call.
Claire says
Hi Sara, I’ve read a few posts where you have said the level of checks the companies do is not regulated. Can you please confirm what the most basic of checks would show – would it just be rating and amount of existing debt or only a rating?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There isn’t “a most basic check” defined by the regulator. And what lenders actually check is up to them – they won’t normally get an Experian or call credit calculated score, but they can pay the credit reference agency to calculate a score based on whatever they want… In practice lenders are now checking in a lot more detail than they used to.
Mark says
Hi Sara I recently made a complaint to Lending Stream and received a response saying that they believe they carried out all of the correct affordability checks and at the time of my application my credit score was 701 which is absolutely impossible as between 2010-2016 I had roughly 8 defaults on my credit file and my current credit score is only around 350 due to my poor credit history. They have said that the response is final so just wondering what my best step would be.
Thanks
Mark
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you only have 1 loan from them? What date was this lending? Was it large in relation to your income?
Mark says
Yes I only had 1 loan with them and it was for £400, I never made a single repayment due to me gambling and owing so much money out to other creditors. I took out the loan in March 2016 and eventually it went onto a third party debt collectors and I settled it at a later date with the help of my mum getting me a loan to clear all my debts.
Claire says
Hi guys, looking for a bit of information so that I can understand the ombudsmans decision. I had 13 loans with WDA over about two years, the adjudicator ruled in my favour for loan 6-7 and 9-13 but WDA rejected the decision and the ombudsman has provisionally ruled in my favour on loan 6, 7, 9 and 11-13. Why rule different? And what happens now? If WDA have to accept the decision how long does it take to get paid and will they ask for bank details etc?
Thanks for any advice/information given.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
For some reason the Ombudsman thinks that loan 10 was affordable but the adjudicator didn’t. The Ombudsman’s provisional decision should normally explain why – do you think what was written was fair?
At this point if you want you can go back and argue that 10 wasn’t affordable … or also any others. It is good at this point to be very realistic – replaying and saying you think you should get a full refund for all of them isn’t going to get you very far, but if you have a careful argument why other loans should be included, then this is the time to make it.
WDA can also object if they want. When the Ombudsman has listened to anything either of you say, a Final Decision will be made. This is then legally binding on WDA even if they don’t like it.
Loui says
Hi Sara I used your template letter for the pay day loans that I borrowed back in 2013. One I borrowed off of was piggy bank £350, the debt is now at £1000. They said as a good will gesture that they will take off some of interest and I’ve to now pay £750, they also said if I don’t pay this I will continue to accur interest charges per day at 0.82% I only got the one loan from them and other payday loans from other companies. What should I do
Thanks
Loui
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are offering to reduce it to about the amount they could charge now after the FCA introduced the price cap. But it is VERY unfair to suggest that they will continue to add interest if you don’t pay this amount – unless they offered to set up a repayment plan?
What were your circumstances back in 2013 – what was your credit record like? Did they ask about your income & expenses when they gave you the loan?