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?
Darren says
Please could someone explain the process and who certain people are?
ive seen people say adjudicator and fos? is the adjudicator from the company I’m complaining to?
so I complain to the company, I then either agree with what they say or go to financial omsb?
many thanks in advance for the help
Soph says
Hi Darren
You complain to the company first. If you don’t agree or you complaint is not upheld you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). It will then be allocated to an Adjudicator (well after a few months once they have everything from you and the business) who will give you their decision. If both parties agree this concludes the complaint. If either you or the business don’t agree with the adjudicator you can say why and the adjudicator will look at it again. If either you or the business still don’t agree then it will be referred to an Ombudsman for a final decision which is then binding. I hope this helps.
Darren says
Great help thank you. I literally just started the process on Friday. Worked out ive had loans from 12 different companies :-(
Although I’m not that bad now I remember borrowing to pay back another loan and always extending them. There was a time I couldn’t actually get another load because I had soooo many already but then mrlender lent to me which meant I could pay back the other loans.
hopefully I have a positive outcome like most and can turn it around and say turned out to be a good investment :-)
Mark says
I have had refunds from all the large loans i had ,now going through the smaller ones .Safeloans I used for about 3 years continually ,initially offered nothing but following sending to the fos they offered a goodwill gesture of £500.All loans where no larger than £250 but interest totals £2500 so will not accept.Finally it’s cashasap whom I’ve had thirteen loans with in 16 months from 2016 into 2017.First loan was £100 then the next three was £300 to £400 which followed a payplan.Almost immediately they loaned me again although only £150 each month i entered another pay plan after four months.Again after paying they loaned again £100 a month for the last five loans.Just w wondering because the loans apart the first few where small do I have a decent case.
matt says
Hi Sara
I have had an email from an adjudicator for a complaint against Wonga. This was one of the last complaints I sent to them.
I’m writing to let you know that Wonga have objected to us looking into the first two loans you had with them, because they believe your complaint was made too late.
But you had another 27 loans we can consider.
It’s taking us a very long time to assess time limit objections, but if you like, we could disregard the first loan and just investigate the others, which would be a lot quicker.
Could you let us know if you’d like us to do that?
I have confirmed this is okay. Does this mean it will now be worked on or still in the queue? I ask because there are other complaints I sent in ahead of this one and wondering why this one has been picked up first?
Thanks
Matt
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It will now be ready to be picked up by an adjudicator – sometimes this happens quickly, sometimes it doesn’t.
Jamie says
Hi,
i took out a loan of £400 from drafty and was paying back £50 per month. Some months i could not afford it so was taking £20 back out of the £50 i was paying and the charges were rising every month and letting me take more back. In total i have taken out £1323 and paid them back £1275.82 and still owe them 938.34 . I stopped paying them a few months back as the charges got too much for me to pay back and now they have passed the information on to credit resource solutions to chase the money.
Any advice?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should put in an affordability complaint, see the article above^^^. If upheld the interest will be removed so you only have to repay what you borrowed.
kenny says
I’m looking at doing a reclaim on unaffordable loans. I had a pretty serious gambling addiction a few years ago and that was my main reason behind the loans ( I have since then sorted myself out stopped the gambling and paid off all my debt ) … Would the gambling part affect my case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lenders are more likely to reject your complaint so send it to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman doesn’t mind about gambling – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/gambling-payday-loan-refunds/ for some examples of Ombudsman decisions.
John says
I can confirm from my own experience that the FOS are totally non judgemental about gambling. It’s considered as expenditure and nothing more. Please don’t be put off making a complaint because you had a gambling habit.
Sarah says
Hi there, I have received multiple refunds from payday uk, express, 1 month loan and wage day advance. I have complaints waiting to be picked by adjudicator for Wonga, lending stream and quick quid. They are all for longer than 6 years ago!! Has anyone had any success with these? These are my biggest loans and probably what started to spiraling out of control of my debt. I would love to get a refund from them obviously. They have been with adjudicator about 2 months but not heard anything as yet. Thanks so much for your help xxx
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Wonga and QuckQuid cases over 6 yars are on hold at the moment whilst the Ombudsman tries to reach an agreement with the lenders. I am not sure about lending Stream, I haven’t heard recently about an over 6 case with them.
there is nothing you can do except for wait at the moment.
Gareth says
Hi,
I have also found myself in a similar position, namely with
Satsuma
Lending Stream
Ferratum
MyJar
I have sent an intial email / letter and the 8 weeks have passed on 3 of the suppliers. The outcomes / responses are below;
MyJar – Entered into Payment Plan. But not irresponsible in their lending
Lending Stream – Not irresponsible in their lending
Feratum – Not irresponsible in their lending , but offered £100 GOGW
Satsuma – Currently at 4 weeks wait time
I have to be honest, when entering my income / expenditure I did lie about my monthly outgoings, in the hope that I could obtain larger loans and use this money to pay another loan provider. I know this was wrong and fully accept responsibility for this, but I believe that these lenders should have seen the amount of loans I had on file / applying for and should not have entered into these agreements with proof of income an expenditure? Is this correct?
I am looking for an honest answer if it is worthwhile passing this to the FOS. I appreciate I have been exceptionally stupid in what I have done. I am now struggling to make ends meet monthly because of the costs involved in sorting these debts.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Gareth, how many loans did you have from each of these lenders? How large were the loans?Do you still owe them money, if so have you stopped paying?
Gareth says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the reply.
I am still waiting for some info, apologies my first post was not the most informative. The details are below, however I must stress that many of these loans were paid off by another loan from the same or an alternative provider;
MYJAR – 6 Loans – Total Borrowed £2,425.00 between 3/10/2017 – 11/3.2018 – Currently in a payment plan for the final (£959) one & still paying
Lending Stream – 8 Loans – Total Borrowed £2890 between 16/10/17 – 4/6/2018. I have told them of my circumstances, yet they have still offered me and accepted a further loan application, despite their acknowledgement (surely this is not great on their part)
Ferratum – 32 Loans – Total Borrowed £4440.00 between 7/10/2016 – 19/3/2018. Accepted £100 GOGW which is roughly half of the interest paid.
Satsuma – 4 Loans – Total Borrowed £2350 between 3/3/2018 – 30/4/2018 £800 outstanding and being paid
I appreciate this is not a large amount in interest, however my aim here is to clear these awful debts and stop this spiraling even more out of control.
Gareth says
Forgot to mention, I am still paying on 4 of the Lending stream loans and have not been entered into a payment plan.
Kayley says
Gareth your not on your own, I’m in exactly the same situation with exactly the same lenders I have however made complaints for irresponsible lending and I’m 3 weeks in they have 5 weeks left
Sarah says
What is the situation with log book loans? I took out a lb loan with Varooma a 3 years ago and still paying it back. I renewed it when I was really tight for money and they sent the incorrect amount to my account – double why I had signed for!!! I still obviously had to pay for it!! Do you think I have a case for all the interest?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
People have won logbook loan cases, they are more likely to succeed whether there has been a top up like you have had.
Ross says
Quickquid haven’t paid me and it’s been 28 days since the settlement form was returned, has anyone else experienced this? Have already contacted my adjudicator. Just curious what happens now
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The adjudicator sends them a cross email and they pull their fingers out… QuickQuid aren’t usually difficult and there may have been some admin cock-up.
Robert says
Has anyone had any luck with complaints against Drafty?
Soph says
Hi Robert, yes I have, I missed that off my list. I had a limit of £800. Every month I would make the minimum payment and then borrow what little bit I could back of them again and this continued for about a year. I sent my complaint and within the 8 weeks they upheld my complaint. I had paid about £500 in interest but had an £800 balance so they deducted this leaving me with £300 I owed to them which I now pay through my DMP.
Robert says
Hello, i complained to them and they rejected. I have a limit with them of £1550 and same as you i repay the minimum on payday and immediately redraw what i can, they seemed to fob me off with a very generic response so i passed to the FOS, i just wondered if people had won cases with them so thank you for your response, hopefully passing the FOS will have more positive outcome.
Soph says
Just had a look back through my emails and I too got the same generic response; credit score was X, income was X, all appropriate checks carried out etc. But at the end of the response they put this:
However, Considering your current situation we are ready to extend our support in clearing the debt and offer to set up an affordable payment arrangement on the reduced balance of £335.05 (Amount borrowed – Amount paid), thereby, waiving off £543.44.
Hope you have better luck with the FOS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like the standard lending Stream/drafty template reply. Ignore what they said about your credit score, they seem to make that up!
How many loans did you have from Drafty? How much interest did you pay on the previous ones that were reapid? And this last loan – how much did you borrow? and how much (if anything) have you paid to this loan so far – ignore whether this is capital or interst or what the current balance is.
Robert says
Hi, They offered me a limit up to £1550 when i first signed up and i quickly used all of that up and every month my monthly minimum payment is about £120 and each statement my interest is £85-£90. My current balance is over the £1550 credit limit i have with them. I think since Feb 2017 when i opened this i have paid over £1200 in interest.
I have asked numerous times for a statement of borrowing to be emailed but it never seems to arrive
John Paterson says
Hi guys. The site has been a great help. I have had an offer from 1 month loan not upholding complaint but as a gesture of goodwill to refund the difference between what I borrowed and what I repaid. They have not provided me with a Statement and are offering a £1224 refund for a loan of £150 so I must have rolled over a lot. Obviously no interest has been added and the gesture is because the loan may have been the right product. Loans are over 6 years old so interest would add up. Is it worth referring it to the FSO.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If their figures are right, it is a good offer. But the only way to be sure is to ask them for a statement of account.
Louise says
Hi Sara – how do I work out interest for Pay Day UK – it is principle deposit, principle interest, principal deferral, interest deferral, principal repayment and interest repayment.
Am I just being dumb – It is hard for me to calculate loan 1 – loan – interest paid, loan two loan etc with these figures.
Many thanks
Louise
Diane says
Totally confused me too, I’d like to know the answer to this too
Soph says
Hi Diane & Louise, the easiest way for me was to add up all the Principal Deposit only (not principal interest). That sum is the total sum of all your loans. Then I added up all repayments (principal repayment and interest repayment). That sum is everything you have paid them. Then takeaway what you have received from what you have repaid and the difference is the interest. This was the only way I could work it out. Hope it helps.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Their statements are simply dreadful. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-payday-uk-express-money-shop/ where I have some suggestions about how to understand them..
John says
I have phoned the FOS requesting an update regarding my complaint against the Money Shop and it’s still waiting to be picked up by an adjudicator but the Money Shop hasn’t sent in their business file. Deadline was last month, I am not surprised as I had to struggle to get my statements of account from them.They initially didn’t want to provide these to me but I persisted until they sent them. 10 pages worth!! no wonder why they were not keen to in the first place. The lady I spoke with at the FOS today said she was going to send them a reminder but I doubt they will send through the requested information but anyway I Have already provided the FOS with sufficient info should TMS decide not to send in their file.
Victoria Walker says
Hi Everyone
I have been reading all the posts and want to thank you as it has inspired e to do this myself rather than a company doing it for . I am so pleased to see so many people having success. I will let you now how I get on
many thanks
Darren says
I’ve emailed 12 loan companies now which I did on Friday is it normal that only 4 have acknowledged my email and come back to me? All the rest no response what so ever?
Darren says
so piggy-bank came back to me with my loan history….
from july 2014 to December 2017 they have given me a total of 39 loans totally £6335 interest paid was £792.67
that’s nearly a loan every month for 3 years wow!
Andy says
Hi I need to request SAR from Wonga as they will not supply details over 6 years. Can I make request via email or do I have to write letter and post. Thanks andy
Neil says
Hi Andy, i put a request in on the 25th of May, and got a reply on the 6th June. I emailed my request over. the below is what i emailed to them.
‘On 26/01/2018 I told you I was making an affordability complaint, which you have given your final response too, and i have forwarded this onto the FOS.
I didn’t request a complete list of loans at the time as i went off my bank statement for the dates and amounts of the loans i had with yourself.
I am now making a Subject Access Request, asking for a list of my loans, showing for each loan when it was taken out, how much interest and any charges you added and what I repaid you.
Under GDPR you are not allowed to charge me for this information.
Your case reference number for my affordability complaint is *****
If there is anymore information you would like, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Kind Regards’
JD says
Hi all,
I feel ashamed to say that I had 20 PD loans with PD UK, 21 with QQ and 4 with WDA over 5 years. I was simply rolling over the debt from month to month, then took on more loans as the first lot were increasing in size. Fortunately I managed to break free of it with successive job promotions and getting a grip on my spending. I’ve now not had a PD loan for 18 months and no inclination to get one either. However the closed loans now litter my credit file and I fear it may hamper my ability to get a mortgage. I don’t so much want compensation but the accounts removed from my credit file (although some money back for the anguish might be nice). I’ve submitted the complaints to all 3 companies. Has anybody had success with them removing the accounts entirely? If they come back with a rubbish offer should I just say, don’t give me any money but remove them from my credit file? That is after all my primary concern. Thankyou!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Some lenders will remove all the loans. Others will only remove negative information such as defaults or missed payments.
So far as I know, no lender will be prepared to offer to delete the loans instead of giving a refund – this would be breaking the terms of their agreement as a reporting lender to the credit reference agencies.
Actually with all the loans being over 18 months ago you probably won’t have a problem getting a mortgage, but making these complaints may well clear out some of them!
So put in “normal” affordability complaints- it sounds as though you have good cases! – asking for refunds and also ask for the loans to be deleted from your credit record.
Matt says
I’ve accepted an offer at the adjudicator level for sunny last week, does anyone have any experience with payout times?
Nigel Walker says
Can I ask how long it took to be assigned to an adjudicator? Sent mine off January . Thanks
Matt says
Hi Nigel,
Sent mine originally on the 17th of January, picked up 31st May.
Louise says
Hi Nigel,
I sent mine off to FOS mid March and It is with the adjudicator now – however, he directly has not called me as yet. He picked it up 10 days ago – I called to check and they advised me that it was with adjudicator. But I highlighted all my transactions on my bank statements.
I will leave it now a few weeks and if I don’t hear call them for progress update.
Link says
So myself and Lending Stream came to an agreement via the adjudicator. I had been reading the Statement of Account wrong and it actually included the payments made via my payment plan.
Now that we have agreed and they are going to reduce my outstanding balance, how do I go about getting them to provide proof that the balance is now lower? Should I wait for LS to get in touch with me? If so, how long should I wait. If not, should I get in touch with them and ask them for written proof to pass on to StepChange to apply for the variation to my payment plan?
mike says
Hi
Wonga have replied after the Ombudsmans decision and sent the below. Yes!!
Does the below mean they they are paying me £2,578.47 or is that then going to have the below tax deducted from that total
Total Interest and Fees £2,163.55
8% interest net £414.92
Total Settlement £2,578.47
Tax
8% Interest Gross £518.65
Basic rate Tax deduction £103.73
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are going to pay you £2,578. That is after they have taken off the tax.
You can also claim back the tax deducted if you are a basic rate tax payer and this is your first refund of this tax year. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/.
Soph says
Hi Mike
Can I ask whether Wonga replied at adjudicator level or Ombudsman? If it was adjudicator how long did it take Wonga to reply to adjudicator. I am expecting a similar refund. My adjudicator upheld 23 of 28 loans last week and sent their decision to Wonga so I’m just wondering if their likely to respond and if so how long it will take them or whether I should expect it to go the Ombudsman?
mike says
they disagreed with the adjudicator so went to the ombudsman. They replied to the adjudicator and offered less than half and it went to ombudsman on the 9th of April and got the decision yesterday.
To be honest each case is different and i got jittery when everyone else seemed to be getting theirs sorted quickly and mine seemed to drag on. But here i am happy with only a few more grey hairs.
Soph says
Thanks Mike. I won’t hold my breath for them coming back to the adjudicator agreeing their decision within the 2 weeks. They originally offered a refund of 1 loan out of 28 so I’m half expecting another ridiculous offer. I will post what happens.
mike says
Hi
Is the interest calculated to when you made the claim or when the ombudsman decision was made?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
To the point where the lender does the calculation after the Ombudsman’s decision. So every month the lender is dragging their feet, at least you will be getting some more interest!
mike says
Again many thanks, by the looks of it Wonga have tried to issue it from the date of the claim rather than the recent date.
If i’m correct to work it out you divide the interest paid by 0.08, then divide that by 365, then times that by the amount of days you paid it back and add on to the principle amount.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though you have the right idea with the calculation, but for anyone else reading this I will point out that “you divide the interest paid by 0.08” should have read MULTIPLY not divide.
Is there a big difference? Ask Wonga to explain in detail how the 8% interest was calculated.
Mr G says
For as long as you have been without the money, so from the date you paid it to the date it is paid back to you.
Danny V says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for this site – it has helped a lot. I’ve so far had £750 from Wonga, £900 form PaydayUK and £800 from LendingStream.
My last one (and biggest) is with QQ/P2P. They offered me a small goodwill gesture at 8 weeks, which I turned down and sent to the adjudicator last year. It got picked up by the Adjudicator in March, and in April the Adjudicator partly upheld my complaint stating that I should be refunded on all loan except the last one. I was happy with this, but unfortunately P2P/QQ didn’t response to the adjudicator, which meant that it had to go to the ombudsman at the end of April. I’ve just received word that an ombudsman has now picked this up, do you know how long this is likely going to take from here? WilI need to send all of my documents off again, or will the ombudsman already have everything they need? Is the ombudsman likely to agree with the adjudicator?
Also, has anyone on here had any experiences with TMA Advances? The gave me a £3000 loan when I already had various other payday loans, credit cards, overdrafts etc which I think is irresponsible. I’ve worked out that I ended paying them back over £7k in the end, which was a struggle and I missed several payments.
Many thanks,
Danny
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“do you know how long this is likely going to take from here?” if the ombudsman agrees with the adjudicator, it can be very quick – a week or so.
If the ombudsman chnages what the adjudicator says (to include more of fewer loans in the refund) then this takes another few weeks as you and the lender both have yet another chance to comment.
“WilI need to send all of my documents off again, or will the ombudsman already have everything they need?” They already have the adjudicator’s full case file including your bank statements. If there is anything else you want to say to the ombudsman you need to do this NOW.
“is the ombudsman likely to agree with the adjudicator?” That is much the most common decision :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
TMA Advances haven’t been mentioned much. But people are winning complaints against the “bad credit, large loan” lenders such as them, so complain! Expect them to reject the complaint and for it to have to go to the ombudsman.
Danny V says
Thank you Sara! Much appreciated! :-)
Danny says
Hi Sara,
I’ve finally had a letter through the post from the ombudsman with their provisional decision and it’s not good news at all. They have disagreed with the adjudicator who found in my favour on 4 out of 6 loans with QQ and P2P. The ombudman has only upheld 1 of the loans which was a smaller QQ loan. I currently have an outstanding balance with P2P of £2,200 and I was expecting this to be cleared after the adjudicator decision, with an extra £800 on top. But the ombudsman has only upheld a QQ loan (which they’d already accepted), which means a refund of £350, so I’ll still have £1900 left to pay on my P2P loan which is a lot of money that I cannot afford at the moment.
I’m absolutely devastated about this result as the ombudsman’s decision isn’t even as good as an offer that I’d received from Casheuronet! Casheuronet previously offered to refund loan 2 and pay 8% interest on top, and waive all interest on loan 6 (current loan) and remove negative entries from my credit file regarding this loan.
I don’t know what to do now. Is there anyway I’d be able to go back and accept casheuronet’s previous offer to me?
Thanks,
Danny
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it’s a provisional decision, not a final one, so the urgent thing is to go back and say why you disagree with it!
Phil says
Good Afternoon, I have received a response from a lender clearing all interest and charges, just leaving amount borrowed but have advised they will not be chasing for payment. Is this a sign of admission and should I make a complaint to the FOS. Can they make the lender write off the debt and remove it from my credit file?
Thanks in advance
Phil
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Phil, which lender is this? What is your current balance that is being reduced and then not chased? Do you have defaults or late payments on this account?
Phil says
Hi Sara,
the loan was with Oakbrook (likely loans), I borrowed £2500, paid a few payments then stopped, they are saying
As per the original terms of your contract, provided this loan was kept up to date the total repayable amount agreed was £4,354.75. It is important to note that you only repaid a sum total of £405.20 against this balance. During a recent review of our accounts a decision was taken not to pursue any further collection of this debt, despite your failure to repay the amount borrowed. Therefore a Notice of Instruction email was sent to you last month advising that we had recalled your account from Past Due Debt Collection Agency. As such whilst this Default and outstanding balance will remain on your Credit Report up until it expires on 28th June 2023, we will not be pursuing repayment of this debt and we will not be passing the account to any other external debt collection agencies.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is an incredibly good result. I don’t think there is any chance you will get a better one by going to the Ombudsman. The ombudsman very rarely tells a lender to write off a loan when you haven’t repaid what you borrowed – it only tends to happen in cases where you can show that the lender absolutely knew in advance that you had big mental health issues, or something like that.
Hannah says
Hi, firstly – thank you for all advice and support on these loan refunds! Secondly, I’m unsure of whether to accept an offer or not, I might just be being greedy but it was the way I was treated at the time. It wasn’t a huge loan. I had numerous loans going at the time and just came to a standstill with them all and offered to set up a payment plan with each one and with plenty of notice. It took several attempts for them (Cash Genie) to agree on a suitable amount to repay per month. I do have the complete transcript which reading through, is completely unprofessional. A couple of examples being that my full card details were requested through email. Upon finally accepting my offer of £30 a month, I was told they would accept it but would be putting an extra months charge onto my balance. One day they had called my work phone number and spoken to my Manager etc. So what do you think, worth making a complaint to FO due to the stress or settle with the amount which does actually cover the fees and interest? They’ve also admitted fault in the affordability checks. If I complain, will I lose the offer? Thank you!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry but are they actually offering to reduce the balance? or just to let you pay it in affordable amounts?
Eric says
Anyone had any luck with Drafty?
I’ve had a credit limit of £200 for the last 30 months which has been at the max every month, paying off and borrowing when possible.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s definitely worth a complaint! They are a small lender, but people are winning complaints for this sort of flexi credit account. Expect them to reply that your credit score was fine and they did nothing wrong, so you will need to send it to the Ombudsman.
Marie says
Just had a reply from satsuma that states that defaults or other payday lenders would not necessarily have been checked on my file before lending so off to the fos again.
Cat says
Hi,
I have just sent an email. Fingers crossed i get somewhere. I always repaid the loans on time but borrowed every month and loan amount went up so I was obviously caught in a vicous cycle of having to borrow to sustian myself.
I have calculated the interested which is, £251,04. Not a massive amount but worth appealing for. Also what is the 8% interest? Is that on the interest or total loan amount? My loans are 5 yrs and 10 months old so yearly interest would be quite high.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is on the interest that is being refunded.
Jonathan Arnold says
Hi all,
I have just sent my first email today to QQ, I had lots of loan from 2012 to 2014, some large amounts, hope I can recover some of this. I logged into there site for the first time in 4 years and all my loans details have gone. Lucky for me, I have every single email. so fingers crossed!
Paul says
Do PaydayUk drag it out till day 28 to refund after ombudsman decision?
Currently on day 21
Soph says
Hi Paul, I’m on day 22 and still nothing. I chased them at the beginning of last week and got an email back just basically saying it will be with you by 18th June (day 28).
Paul says
Hi Soph, in the same boat then.
yeah i chased too & told the same thing be with you by day 28.
I also am waiting for a PDexpress refund i’m on day 20 for that one.
anyone had it any sooner from ombudsman decision?
Eva says
PD Express took 28 days exactly for me
Kaz says
Im still waiting for Payday Express although I rang them 3 times asking for it sooner. They had sent me an offer than was originally incorrect and took another week to sort. Im on day 23
H says
Evening All,
Just wondering if anyone knew of the payout time from Wonga?
I accepted from them on 30th May. They said they aim to pay by day 14- tomorrow, but I’ve not heard anything at all from them.
Just wondered if anyone else had dealt with them directly?
Thank you (and a HUGE thanks to Sara)
H
mike says
did they pay you on time
H says
Hi Mike, they haven’t sent the money through and more worryingly so, I recieved an email from them stating my complaint had been closed as they hadn’t heard from me. I sent my acceptance on 30th May.
So I phoned and spoke with customer care they said it was a generic email and my complaint was still open. I also used the live chat to speak with them so had it in writing.
I also sent an email reminding them it was day 14.
Hopefully soon.
mike says
I had the same aim from them yesterday – I’m anticipating 28 days or so.
Tim says
Has anyone had any luck with moneyboat or Wizzcash? I’m coming to the end of the 8 weeks with both and haven’t heard back from either? Thanks
Martin says
I have complained to both these firms (and a number of others also) about the loans I have had with them. Wizzcash replied with a 4 page physical letter about 7 weeks after my complaint, despite my complaint being by email. They offered a goodwill gesture of £140 (the interest on the loans I had with them when I calculated it is closer to £1,400). Moneyboat complaint is 3 days away from being 8 weeks and I have not heard from them yet, other then an acknowledgement of my complaint when I first sent it.
John says
so far and credit where credits due quidmarket paid out within 6 weeks, as for WDA myjar, moneyboat, quickquid, payday express uncle buck , cash float , approaching 8 weeks and nothing so far.. PDUK have refused so that’s gone off to ombudsman on Friday, anyone know if I’ll recieve a call or email from them to confirm receipt of compliant ????
Josh says
FOS should write/email you within a few days and let you know what happens next, and things you need to send them (bank statement, credit report, communication between you and PDUK).
Mr and Mrs C says
Morning all, just a little bit of hope for anyone with Payday Express. I had 8 loans with them, they originally wrote back saying no to 3 and needed bank statements to look into the other 5. Came back with an offer for 4 of those 5. I accepted. At the time I was unable to provide bank statements for as far back as they wanted so when my bank sent copies out I forwarded all information back to PDEX and asked them to reconsider the last 1 and the original 3 they had turned down. They have replied yesterday to uphold all but the first 2 loans. Total refund £1950.00. The first part of the refund I accepted was in my account within 3 days. Just waiting for the second part now.
John M says
Good news!!
I am waiting for Pay Day express to come back to me after I provided statements. When did you provide these statements?
Mr and Mrs C says
It took them 10 days from me providing the statements to come back with the original offer, which I emailed straight back and it was in my account within three days. About a week later I provided them with a second lot of statements covering more dates with loans and two weeks later they came back with another offer.
John M says
OK so me waiting for 8 weeks is a farce then!! I have been assured of a reply but none has been forthcoming yet
Mr and Mrs C says
Definitely, keep hounding them and take to FOS if its been the 8 weeks.
Jonnym says
So after ditching a few of my Wonga loans that are over 6 years it has now been passed to an adjudicator.
The adjudicator has asked me to complete income expenditure around the times of the loans…
Thing is I had a gambling issue so on paper I earned a decent wage n had very little outgoings however the need to borrow every month as I was blowing any penny left on gambling.
I have completed the income and expenditure and literally said there was never anything left over as all went on gambling. Have I done the right thing? They have all my bank statements anyways so they should be able to see transaction after transactions of online betting.
Anyone have any advice? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If that is what happened, then that is what you have to say.
Jonnym says
Well some people try n hide it… for me I had some months where I’d miss bills and I also had different levels of income due to commission based job so it’s all over the place really but they should be able to see that from the statements.
DK says
I didn’t realise adjudicator would ask for bank statements as well as completing income and expenditure! How does anyone remember what bills they were paying? Plus I had loans with companies every month for like 4/5 years. My salary changed over those years as well as outgoings but surely that can be seen from statements?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Most people don’t get asked for an I&E!
Katie says
I have put in SARs to all relevant lenders for both my husband and myself (we each took out simultaneous payday loans). After a bit of advice on two of the replies please:
QuickQuid – sent me a link to access my data request but have sent a series of repetitive emails questioning my husband’s request. I’ve answered them all, but I wondered if this is common stalling tactics from QQ and if so, is there anything else I should be doing?
Wonga – sent us both an email asking us to confirm address/postcode and then sent us each an email saying they are ‘dealing with our complaint’ and ‘We are referring the matter to our team of customer support specialists and they will contact you to offer a resolution or an update regarding their progress.’ But we haven’t put in our complaints yet! Happy to bypass the need to complain but am I right to have a nasty suspicion that this is Wonga trying to fob us off with a lower offer? Should I email back saying I’ve yet to make a complaint and please could they provide us with a list of our loans?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
QQ “a series of repetitive emails questioning my husband’s request. ” what do these say?
If you used the Step one letter from this page it starts off by saing “I am making a complaint to you about irresponsible lending.” so Wonga are right to treat this as a complaint and the 8 week time to go to the Ombudsman has started. If they reply to the complaint before sending a list of your loans, then say you need the list before you can consider their offer.
Katie says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for replying and the advice on Wonga.
QQ have sent 2 emails asking for verification as to whose name the enquiry is in and I have answered explaining we have submitted two separate requests. On the second email we copied the original SAR. They have sent 3 replies saying that we need to submit separate requests, so we’ve been going round in circles.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you making the complaints for you and for your husband from the same email addresss? I think it will be easier if he makes his from a separate email address.
Katie says
Thanks Sara, we provided all email addresses the loans could have been associated with. They then replied to me on the old email address. They’ve also just sent a request asking my husband to submit a signed consent to their carrying out the SAR. I’ll be sending that tomorrow. Presumably the 8 weeks start from the date we submitted the first SARs, not this follow up confirmation?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok, they do need to be careful they aren’t sending someone’s personal data to his wife without his consent. 8 weeks stats when you sent in the first request if that said you were making an affordability complaint.
Alan says
Hello there, looking for advice please.
I had a total of 53 loans from Wonga covering the period of February 2012 to March 2016, these are just the ones I have found email confirmations for so there may be more. They started out at being smallish sums of £40 or £50 but gradually build up over the course of a year to £600-£700 every month for nine months plus the interest which I was just about able to repay from my wage at the time. I was then able to get back on track financially due to a tax rebate but then started to take out Wonga loans again, at most this was £120. I am thinking of making a complaint to Wonga on the grounds of affordability of these loans but will they try and turn round saying that the smaller loans were affordable? If so, is it better to just try and claim a refund of interests for the larger sums or do I try claiming an interest refund for all the loans?
The loans were taken out every month during February 2012-January 2014 then there’s a gap (tax rebate got me back on track) of seven months before the next loan of £50 followed by another gap of three months when I took out smaller loans again until the last one being March 2016. It’s only after I became a student in January 2016 and after trying to get a small loan in August 2016 that Wonga rejected the request on the grounds of a change in financial situation.
Should I pursue the claim?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a lot of loans. I suggest you put in a complaint and ask for a full refund, also for a complete list of your loans. Some of the small ones may have been affordable, but ask for the lot and see what Wonga offer you.
Alan says
Thanks Sara,
I requested a full list of my loans from Wonga yesterday which should arrive by email soon. I will cross reference the email conformations with what is on the list and then start the complaint process for the whole lot. If Wonga do turn round and say they won’t pay out over the small loans should I go to the FSO on the grounds that even though they were small Wonga should have realised that they were increasing in size and therefore should have questioned affordability at some point.
Daz says
when did you first contact Wonga as I emailed them last Friday no response what so ever not even a thank you for your email.
Alan says
Hi Daz,
I used the live chat facility as I had to reset my Wonga password, I needed to see what loan history I had before starting the complaint. The password issue was sorted out however when I was able to log on there was no loan history showing on my account. I queried this with the adviser I was chatting to and was told that this was due to inactivity on my account for so many years, the last loan being 2 years ago. The adviser said they could request my loan history to be sent to me via email and it should be with me with 12 working days. You should try doing the same and see what they say to you, when I informed the adviser who I was chatting to that I required the loan history for a complaint they even gave me an email address to send it to when I was ready to do so.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it’s easier to make a decision when you have the full list and when Wonga have made an offer. At that point you will often know that is feels like a good one or that you are being fobbed off… come back if you aren’t sure? It really is easier to talk specifics not lots of theoretical cases. good luck!
matt says
Hi
Quickquid would not uphold my complaint as my loans were older than 6 years. I guess its not worth pursuing the case via the ombudsman?
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no! Send it to the Ombudsman. It will take a while but why give up? The Ombudsman think they should look at these older loans, but QQ are arguing they shouldn’t. Send your complaint in, sit back and wait, and you could get a nice surprise!
neil says
Hi
I have done step 1 to all of the payday lenders I can remember (7) all replied saying they have no record of me. They have asked for email address date of birth national insurance number and previous mobile numbers which I have done to the best of my memory. However they have started along the same questions and now want bank statements showing their ref number. All of my loans were over 3 years ago I don’t bank with the same bank anymore so don’t have access to them. What’s my next action please?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can get your old bank statements from closed accounts, so I think this is your best option.
Jessica says
Hi I just wondered if anyone could help me I received an offer from Peachy and accepted it however it did not include the 8% statutory interest. Can I go back to them to ask about the interest as that is what I originally asked them for? I thought the payment they was making to me included the interest automatically but it is just the interest and charges that I paid to Peachy that has been refunded to me. Any advice appreciated, thank you!
Marie says
Hi, i think the 8% statutory interest is only something the financial ombudsman can request off a company and not an offer directly from a payday lender. Hope this helps.
Jessica says
Ok thanks for your reply :) so it is only if you go through the financial Ombudsman that you can receive the 8% interest ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Some lenders include it, some don’t.
Jessica says
I complained to the FO regarding 247 Moneybox after being rejected by 247 originally, however 247 Moneybox then contacted me to deal with them directly and have just sent me an offer this morning to refund my interest and charges but this does not include 8% interest. Can I ask them for the interest?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If their offer is a good one, you can say you will accept it if they add the 8% interest.
Jessica says
Thank you Sara I took your advice and 247 Moneybox today agreed to the interest and removal of the loans on my credit file. Peachy got back to me today and declined to add the 8% interest and stated I could not contact the Financial Ombudsman regarding this. Thank you for all your help.
Eva says
I had 8% statutory interest added automatically with WDA,Payday Express,PAYDAY Uk and My Jar before PAYDAY Express and Payday UK went to the FOS if that helps
Jessica says
Thank you for your reply Eva, yes thanks. I just assumed they all did as Wonga paid it to me but then Peachy didn’t. I thought when you recieved money it had to be added but I am new to this.
Gosia says
Hi this is what I have received as reply. My question is what is the next step and if the loans account its closed and I paid them off am I not able to claim this back? I paid almost 800 fees for those 2 loans
Thank you for your email.
We acknowledge your concern regarding your credit file. However, we checked and found that your loan accounts [5 numbers] have been passed to Asset Collections & Investigations Limited ta Reconnect.
For further details regarding these loans, we would request you to contact the Asset Collections & Investigations Limited ta Reconnect
Please be informed that you loan accounts [2 numbers] are already closed.
Thank you in advance for your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should reply that you are making an affordability complaint so you want them to answer it as they made the irresponsible elnding decision. Add that you want a refund of the interest you paid on all closed loans and for interest to be removed from any loans where there is a balance outstanding.
If they keep referring to you Asset Collections ask if that is their Final Response as you will be sending the case to the Ombudsman.
Gosia says
Thank you so much for your help!!!! You are great ????
Eva says
Hi all,
an update on Lending Stream. Original complaint rejected by LS but goodwill offer of £540.70 offer on 2 loans (finally enough 2 from my repayment plan which they denied). Sent to FOS 04/01/18. Case picked up by an adjudicator mid May. Her findings sent to LS 24/5/18 (loan 1 and 4 not upheld, loan 2,3,5 to 11 upheld) with deadline 07/05/18. Today got email from adjudicator that LS agree and offered £2794.84. Acceptance form sent back so now let’s see how long it will take to receive the money. Will keep you updated on this.
UPDATE: I have received my money today 14/06/18. This was the quickest payout ever from a very difficultender who has been awful to seal with.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what a nice surprise!
John Heart says
Hi DebtCamel,
I’m undecided whether to try and claim, how would I go about claiming?
What happens if you filled in affordability checks when applying? Can they still access them? As I cannot remember what my expenditure was 4/5 years ago? and what happens if you weren’t 100% accurate with the affordability checks?
Sorry for all the questions!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have nothing to lose by claiming except an hour or so of your time. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-lender-says-lied/ for why it doesn’t matter if your application wasn’t 100% accurate, especially if you kept borrowing from the same lender.
John M says
Hi All,
Pay Day Express finally came back to me today and offered to refund £1500 on top of the £1200 I previously received so I got £2700 out of them in the end.
Now I have Cash Genie who need to reply to me.
Also have Pay Day UK, Wonga and Quick Quid with the FOS.
For all those that are just starting go for it! I was a gambler (been off for over 3 years now) and I thought I wouldn’t get a penny. I have now received £6000+ with my main 3 with FOS. Mine were all over 6 years old so some companies pay out (Pay Day Express, Wage Day Advance, 247 Moneybox and EPDL) while the others that are with FOS are less keen so I will have to wait a while.
Keep trying and keep pushing companies. Some are very helpful, others much less so. All you can do is try and I hope everyone has as much success as me.
I am so grateful to this site. Thank you Sara and I will keep you updated on the remaining 4 I have outstanding now.
Mr and Mrs C says
Well done John M – PD EX came back to you eventually after we commented yesterday
I too have QQ and Wonga with FOS – we may be in for more of a wait here I think.
John M says
I know, it’s mad that they replied the day after our conversation!
I am more than happy to wait for Wonga and Quick Quid. Paid out over £6k in interest for these two and as over 6 years if they eventually give in the 8% interest will be huge as well so worth the wait hopefully.
Pay Day UK gave me a terrible offer which is why that is with FOS so hoping that will get resolved quicker.
How many do you have left before they go to FOS?
Tim says
Hi Sara
I have raised a complaint with lending stream- are you able to advise if it sounds like a good case? Below are the dates I received loans from them
22.10.15, 07.11.15, 26.01.16, 18.08.16, 03.04.17, 23.05.17, 30.06.17, 06.07.17, 10.07.17, 04.08.17, 31.08.17, 19.10.17, 02.11.17, 12.01.18, 03.02.18, 06.02.18, 05.03.18, 04.04.18, 09.04.18 and 13.04.18… the total amount over the 20 loans is about 4K, does the fact that on occasions they gave me 3 loans in the space of a week help my case (£400, £250, £300 all in 1 week). I raised the complaint with them around 5 weeks ago and am yet to hear back but wanted some advice on the strength of the case
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like a good case to me!
Alana says
Hello,
I am starting the process of above and have sent 4 SAR complaint emails to each of the payday lenders. Sunny, PayDayUk, Wonga and Quickquid.
I have read other peoples replies above, and have noticed you are mentioning alot of loan numbers.
I used to take out a loan and then pay it back over 3/ 4 monthly payments, and then another loan etc. with another 4 month payments. etc. Do you count that as two loans? my loans wern’t really high ones. it was like £50, and then maybe £200. It was the interest that caught me out and made every one go to a debt collection agency so that is why i may think i have a small chance?
Was also wondering, when you send to the Financial Ombudsman, would you send all 4 separately to treat each case differently?
name says
Hi Alana
The example you gave would be two different loans. Each time the business advanced you money, it was a different loan.
When you go to the financial ombudsman you complain against each lender rather than for each loan. So one complaint for all of your Sunny loans, another one for all of your PayDayUK loans etc.
Hope this helps!
Mike says
Hi All,
A few years ago I got into a lot of trouble with payday loans… At it’s worst I had 9 active payday loans in one month which lead to me going into a debt management plan… I was borrowing just to pay back previous loans, continually getting loans from the same lenders time and time again.
My question is, can I still claim on the grounds of unfair treatment/unaffordability even though I went into a debt management plan?
The debt management plan was paid off due a family member helping me… otherwise I think I’d still be paying it now!
Thanks
Mike
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Can I still claim on the grounds of unfair treatment/unaffordability even though I went into a debt management plan?” YES. The fact you ended up in a DMP shows what a mess you got into!
Neil says
Hi
I’m about to start a complaint with 3 different companies and in the second part about my earnings and expenditures it should seem that the loans are affordable, but I’m sorry to say I’ve had problems with gambling and was just wondering do I fill in all the info and then at the end say that I’ve had a problem with gambling?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can do that, or if you don’t want to discuss your gambling with payday lenders, just shorten the template letter so it says the loans were unaffordable and you want a refund of the interest.
marie says
hello this week i sent off complaints to 5 companies on QQ and sunny i had 21 loans between them i borrowed 7,000 and paid back 12,000 i also had loans with WD and every day but cant remember details often over lapped i looked back on bank statments and found that some months i was paying for 4 at same time. often would finish a loan then started another right away this was over a period of 3 years . i also had a few with provident but started around 2006 and 2007 . i got into that trap with them and feel so ashamed i am free of them now . do you think this is a case worth fighting . i have never herd of this type of pay back before came across by accident.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think the payday loan complaints are definitely worth pursuing. The trap you were in was very common – no reason to feel ashamed of it.
Also have a look at whether you could reclaim from Provident, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/refund-doorstep-loans/
Diane says
Hi Sara
Just some advice please, one of my claimes is with payday express, there final response was first loan was lent responsibly 8 were unable to determine, they asked for bank statements which I sent, they said they couldn’t use them because my name and address wasn’t on the top of all of them so I sent my case to the ombudsman which hasn’t yet been picked you by a adjudicator , yesterday I got another final letter from them saying first loan lent responsibly next 4 irresponsibly and next 4 unable to determine, my position was the same with them 4 as the 4 before so I don’t want to except there offer ( 1800) which is a good offer but thinking surely the FO would agree to the other 4, I’m willing to wait do you think I’m doing the right thing and do I need to tell them I’m not accepting they know it’s with the FO because my case number is on there response letter
Thank you for all your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it would be unusual for the Ombudsman to agree that the first 5 loans weren’t affordable but the later ones were. Its not impossible – perhaps the later loans were a lot smaller? Or you had had a big increase in your income? But as you say your position was the same, then it sounds as though you could get a lot more by waiting for the Ombudsman decison.
I suggest you tell PDE that the offer isn’t good enough and you will wait for the ombudsman decision. And tell the FO that you have rejected PDE’s offer. Good luck!
Marie says
I had a reply off my jar recently stating my first loan of £200 was not affordable and offered a refund of interest but the following 3 loans of £400, £600 and £500 were affordable ( some taken out the same day another one finished). I hope my case will be strong with the ombudsman as they agreed the first one wasn’t affordable…doesn’t make sense.
gavp says
I had 36 loans over 3 years with Wonga totalling £9600 and 8 with Pounds to Pockets totalling £7000 over the same period, basically paying one back and taking out another do I have a case and how much realistically would I get back please? Thanks in advance
Also Ive had my credit report and also borrowed £2600 from myjar over 12 different loans and £1600 from Sunny all over the same period as above is it worth writing to all of them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This sounds like a LOT of borrowing so it should be a strong case. It isn’t possible to guess how much interest you paid from those figures but each claim must be for thousands. And definitely make those other complaints too!
Sam says
I found this website of yours Sara and decided to start compiling my data together, between 2014 and 2017 I had 86 loans or top ups with Wonga, 9 with Quickquid and 17 with Sunny, I got into a terrible state having to borrow from multiple lenders sometimes to cover interests and such, I have received my statement back from Quickquid, but am still waiting for the emails back from Sunny and Wonga, I have a list of all the loans paid into my account from my bank statement from these companies, is this information enough to start my complaint with Wonga and Sunny with just my statement? Or do I need information of interest etc as well? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a lot of borrowing! I think that is plenty to write a good complaint to each of the lenders. You don’t need the interest amounts at this stage.
Natalie says
I have just had a reply from Mr Lender rejecting my complaint. They have sent a lengthy email to me advising they have not acted irresponsibly and had checked all my income and outgoings with me before I took the loans out and that my credit score of 535 was considered as good at the point of taking the loans out. They have my income of £1050 which was correct at the time but it looks like a massive typing error on my part on my outgoings and I don’t understand how they didn’t pick up on this, most of it is correct but under “Food & Travel” I have wrote a monthly amount of £40 which is very clearly just my travel expensise and not the monthly food/shopping bill.
Because I settled my first small loan before the agreement date they had no concerns in loaning me £1000 over 6 months. They feel they have done nothing wrong? Bare in mind at the time I would have been taking up to 4 other payday loans out at the same time to be able to fund paying them all back.
What are My next steps please, or is that it now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you could go straight to the Ombudsmna, but Mr Lender sometimes listen to a reasoned argument so I suggest you go back and say that they should have realised that £40 a month was not a realistic amount for food and travel – that was actually just your travel amount, you don’t know why it was wrong. Also they should also have noticed the other payday loans you had from your credit record. Say you would like a refund on the interest on the second loan (it sounds as though you only had 2?) or you will be going to the FOS.
Natalie says
Thank you, I’ve emailed them back pointing a few things out (the £40 is clearly a mistake) and mentioned that the credit payments were £0 on my expenditure however if they’d have checked my credit report they would have seen the other loans and realised this was wrong. I also think they should have questioned the £40 per month for food. All of the debts I’ve emailed to complain to I actually have outstanding loans with them that are currently with management companies, Is it too much to ask for them to just wipe the outstanding rather than have any form of refund on top? So I can be debt free.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So this is the second loan that you a still owe money on? How much did you borrow and how much (if anything) have you repaid?
Natalie says
I have 3 or 4 with different companies that I still owe money on. I paid Mr lender back in full for the first loan then took this loan out with them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Is it too much to ask for them to just wipe the outstanding rather than have any form of refund on top? So I can be debt free.”
I don’t know, if you tell me some numbers I can say what a reasonable request would be. Asking for “too much” will just get a rejection.
So how much did you borrow for the first loan? And how much interest did you pay?
Then what was the gap – the time between repaying that lan and taking out the next one?
The second loan, what did you borrow? How much if anything did you pay?
And what is the current balance?
Dean says
Hi Natalie,
I’m new to this and sent 10 emails of complaints off on Monday. I had a lengthy but quick response from Mr Lender via a PDF letter to my email. Roughly 5 pages long. My letter said exactly the same thing as yours did about my credit score being good/average (which it has never been due to my previous student life) they stated that they are not obliged to check if I had other payday loans. They made me out to be the villain and stated that it was up to me to provide the correct details.
I haven’t sent mine to FOS yet. Was going to do it tomorrow. Let me know how you get on with Mr Lender.
Also Sara….. GREAT WEBSITE!!!
Natalie says
Yes I’ll keep you updated, you too. I’m not really sure how long to leave them to reply to my second email before going to the FOS but that will be my next step.
Dave says
I just want to give some feedback on what I received since first stumbling upon this site in February.
Mr lender-£700 balance wiped
Sunny-£600 wiped and£300 refund
Wonga-£1800 refund, despite having £1500 wiped during the forbearance review.
Norhway-£340 wiped and £2100 refund
Payday express-£300 refund,only 1 loan
Payday uk-£3600 refund(2009/10)
Provident at fo
Sd Taylor at fo
Lending stream at fo
Uncle buck at fo
Barclaycard ppi (1997) £3100
So if you’re worried about complaining,DONT!!
Keep going!!
Em says
Hi, I found this site last week. I have sent an email to all payday loans, 1 personal loan (118118) and 4 credit cards. I am seeking help for a gambling addiction that spans from 2009/10 to 2018. This has totally ruined my finances and mental health. I have been through two DMPs with stepchange. I didn’t learn my lesson after the first one. At least 5 of the creditors including 1 credit card lent to me after me defaulting and paying them through stepchange (first one). Is this a solid case or will they tell me it’s my own fault for being stupid? I am now gamble free and was putting it all behind me until I seen this site so thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It depends a bit on how much you used each payday lender. But my guess is that you have some very good cases in there! See https://debtcamel.co.uk/gambling-payday-loan-refunds/ for some real case stories of payday loans and gambling.
Questions are generally best asked on the main payday loan page where more people will see them: https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-loan-refunds/
Em says
Thanks for your reply, I’ve had a lot of loans, small but they were rolled over/paid and then taken out on the same day again. My list of amounts borrowed that I compiled purely from bank statements from one bank account 11-18:
Wonga £ 2251
Moneybox 247 £945
Lending stream £1005
Payday uk £ 500
Wage day advance £ 800
Express finance £425
CFO £300
Satsuma £500
My jar £200
118 118 £1700
I am missing info for sunny, uncle buck, peach, cash ASAP, next credit, Vanquis, capital one, Luma and Barclay card. These were on a bank account which I have now closed. I estimate £5000 for all these. I have asked my previous bank to send me old statements in the post. Some of the mentioned loans that I have info on were also paid into my closed account so I know I will have more amounts to add to these figures.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good luck! Also check the Capital One and Barclaycard to see if you paid PPI on them!
Brian says
Hi, I have just found this article and have had some comfort in reading peoples stories as my debt has left me in a poor mental condition. I have taken out a number of payday loans for the past 2 years. I have been a student and started getting payday loans when I found a job at the beginning of my gap year, through this time I was taking out loans and paying them back with ease, until the next year where I started uni again for final year. I had to work less hours than what I did throughout my gap year, however was still saying to payday lenders that I was earning around the same amount as I was using some of my student loans to help pay this off. To help pay various loans off I had to take out other loans which has concluded in a vicious cycle that has gave me payday debts which I am struggling to pay off even with my full time job back. I am just wondering what my options are as I have declared to various companies more income than I was earning and saying that I had less of an expenditure to ensure that I was able to get the loan and not have to default.
Apologies for the long comment, Thanks in advance for any help provided.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Brian – thanks for sharing your story. Many people have also found themselves trapped like this.
The only way out is to stop borrowing! Cancel the CPAs with your bank and tell the lenders you want an affordable payment agreement. If you can only afford £5 a monthly, don’t let them insist that they will only take £30. If you have a lot of lenders you may find this easier if you go to StepChange, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/help-payday-loan/.
Then you can set about sending them all affordability complaints. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-lender-says-lied/ for the problem that your applications weren’t accurate – if you kept borrowing from the same lender they should have realised this!
Bill says
On Friday I sent notifications to Wonga (48 loans in 20 months) QQ (8 loans with may deferments over 12 months) Quid and Sunny ( 15 loans with deferments over 16 months) and Payday UK & Express (15 Loans over 16 months with deferments ) and finally lending stream (11 loans that was moved in to a payment plan that an advisor initially refused to let me have as an option).
During 2013 I had active loans with all these companies and felt I was literally robbing Peter to pay Paul.
I also took loans with 247Moneybox, TXTLoan and others (15 companies in total over around three and a bit years)
I only had one, two or three loans from these other providers but I feel it would be pertinent to also to request refunds from them as I believe it will be important if these cases go to the financial ombudsman, is this the best thing to do?
Any advice would be appreciated and i will keep the process updated for others as i have found it really helpful to review the experience of others on this site (thanks to those who have shared)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“I only had one, two or three loans from these other providers but I feel it would be pertinent to also to request refunds from them as I believe it will be important if these cases go to the financial ombudsman, is this the best thing to do?”
Whether or not you request refunds from these other lenders will not have any impact on your bigger complaints. You could wait a bit and see how the big ones go? Or just get on with them as they won’t be much work for you?
Bill says
Thanks Sarah,
I think I’ll move forward t keep everything moving at the same pace.
Tony says
Hi Sara,
I made a complaint against Mr Lender. I received an email in 7 weeks partially upholding my complaint but only offering interest for the last loan (out of 7). I have sent back an email stating that my credit file should have indicated how I was relying on other payday loans at the time and they should have checked this and asking them to include more loans. My question is how long should I wait for a reply before sending to the FOS. Should it still be within the 8 weeks from my original complaint? Or should I give them longer?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it’s worth giving them a week to reply. Did you say how many you thought they should refund?
Brian says
About a month ago the Financial Ombudsman ruled in my favour against 247 moneybox. This was the final decision from the ombudsman, it was 12th May 2018. They have failed to refund me what was set out in their findings. They never replied to any of the requests barring the information from the outset. I spoke to someone in the Ombudsman office last week and again at the end of the week, but they said they cant get in contact with them.
So does anyone had any advice on what i can do next?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK so it is over the 28 days by a week.
I suggest you email the Chief Operating Officer, Mark Hannay. Try mark@activesecurities.com and mhannay@activesecurities.com – hopefully one of them will work.
Attach a copy of the Ombudsman’s final decision, point out this is legally binding and say you don’t want to have to go to court to enforce it but you will if it’s not paid.
Also make a nuisance of yourself on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/247moneybox/ and twitter if you have an account https://twitter.com/247Moneybox.
https://debtcamel.co.uk/enforce-financial-ombudsman-decision/ looks at how to go to court but so far no one has needed to do this!
Joe b says
Good morning
Thank for all your previous replies. I have a question that I’m hoping somebody can answer. Ombudsman have ruled in my favour (The ruling was from the Ombudsman second level) and I’m waiting for payday express to give me a settlement figure, I’ve worked out the interest I paid and 8% simple which would equate to around 3k, my question is do they offer a decent amount and how long before I would expect to get a settlement figure?
Many Thanks Joe B
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In that case I would expect Payday Express to give an accurate calculation. Obviously mistake do sometimes happen, but at this point PDE is not going to try to play games to get away with paying less. They normally take a few weeks to pay. If you aren’t happy with the figure they have calculated, ask them for details and go back to your adjudicator.
Marie says
Can i just add when you speak to your bank get a date, a time and who you spoke to. My bank refused to cancel the cpa’s to 4 payday lenders and left me in mortgage arrears. The ombudsman ruled in the banks favour as they denied everything and this was a 2nd level ruling.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was this a few years ago?
Marie says
No got my ombudsman decision last Thursday
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh, I am shocked. The banks are supposed to have got much better at handling CPAs, they used to be very difficult back before 2015. I will tell people to make a note of who they speak to in future.