Debt Camel

Answers to questions about debts and credit ratings - in plain English!

Provident Scheme – the voting and approval process

UPDATE – the Scheme has now been approved by the court.
See Provident Scheme – 4 million people can now claim a refund
for how to make a claim and what will happen in the Scheme.

Provident Financial Group (PFG proposed a Scheme of Arrangement to reduce the refunds it has to pay to customers given unaffordable loans through its Provident Personal Credit (PPC) subsidiary.

There are three stages in getting a Scheme approved. Provident is now in the third stage – seeking court approval:

  1. On 22 April 2021, the voting arrangements for the Scheme were approved by the court.
  2. From 17 May to 19 July, customers could vote to approve or reject the Scheme. A large majority approved the Scheme.
    On 14 July, the FCA published its second letter of concerns about the Scheme. The FCA says the Scheme went against its principles but as the alternative is insolvency and the doorstep lending business is being closed, the FCA will not oppose the Scheme in court.
  3. On 30 July, a second court hearing was held to decide whether the Scheme should go ahead. The judgment will be published next week, probably on 4 August.

My previous article Provident proposes a Scheme to cap refunds gave the background to the Scheme – the increasing numbers of affordability complaints, the changing legal and regulatory environment, as well as the pandemic.

 

An overview of the Scheme

4.3 million customers affected

PFG has operated Provident Home Credit, Greenwood Home Credit, Satsuma payday lending and Glo guarantor lending through its PPC subsidiary. PFG is closing its PPC subsidiary and no longer offers doorstep or payday loans.

The Scheme covers loans taken after April 2007 for all of these brands.

4.3 million people have had one of these loans.

The Scheme does not affect PFG’s Vanquis and Moneybarn customers. The credit card lending and car finance operations are profitable and go through a different subsidiary so PFG is not including them in the Scheme.

How the Scheme will work

The Scheme will cap the refunds PFG has to pay to Provident customers.

Many people have been making complaints the loans were unaffordable and winning these complaints at the Finacial Ombudsman.

Provident is proposing to put aside £50 million to divide between the people who have claims for unaffordable loans upheld in the Scheme. This is a LOT less than the “real” refunds people should get.

Provident has given an example suggesting people may get paid 10% of their proper refund. But my numbers suggest that is too optimistic and the refunds may be a lot lower, see below for details.

If the Scheme is not approved, PFG says its PPC subsidiary which operates the Provident doorstep lending and Satsuma brands will go into administration.

In administration customers can also make a claim for unaffordable lending:

  • there would be no cash refunds for customers;
  • customers with upheld Claims who have a current loan would have their balances reduced or cleared through the “right of set-off”.

If you would like to read the documents for the Scheme, the Practice Statement Letter (PSL) summarises the proposed Scheme and the Explanatory Statement gives more details.

The Scheme Timetable

17 May – 19 July – Voting on the Scheme
Over 428,000 of the approximately 4.2m creditors affected by the Scheme voted , approximately 420,000 voted in favour of the Scheme, while approximately 7,500 voted against.

30 July – Second Court Hearing
This considered the results of the voting and the fairness of the proposed Scheme. The FCA did  not oppose the Scheme in court. It was decided the Scheme should go ahead.

August 2021 – February 2022
If the Scheme is approved at the Second Court Hearing it will start.

People who voted on the Scheme will automatically have had a Claim submitted. People who didn’t vote will be to submit a claim on an online page for six months.

First half 2022
Provident expects payments to be made.  I think it may be late in that period as Provident will have to allow time for appeals to be made and reviewed.

What customers might get from the Scheme

See Provident Scheme – 4 million people can now claim a refund which looks at how the Scheme will work.

We don’t know in detail how Provident will make a decision about which loans are unaffordable.  But that is not a reason to not make a claim!

Is this Scheme fair?

If £50 million was genuinely all the money there was available, then you may think “Well that’s life, that’s all there is”.

But it isn’t!

PFG is not a company that is running out of money. Its Vanquis and Moneybarn operations are profitable and it is planning on expanding them.

If PFG wanted, it could delay expanding its other operations and use the money saved to pay more to the customers who should get refunds. or it could ask its shareholders to contribute money through a rights issue or a share placing.

But PFG seems more interested in its shareholders’ interests and not in giving its customers adequate compensation.

The FCA has pointed out in its letter about the Provident Scheme:

the FCA does not support the Scheme for the reasons set out in this letter and the FCA does not believe that the Scheme is the fairest compromise that could have been offered to customers with valid redress claims by the Group.

What do you think?

The comments on this article are now closed.

Please see the new article Provident Scheme – 4 million people can now claim a refund which will be kept updated throughout the Scheme.

Comments

  1. Jody says

    I had several loans from Provident from 2005/06 onwards
    The last one in 2013 I failed to pay due to massive debts.
    I received data report which listed some of the loans and a comment saying account was sold to Lowell in 2014. Does this mean I won’t get any compensation for all the loans that were paid in full prior to the last loan which I failed to pay?

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      OK, then in that case it is likely if you make a complaint to Provident in the Scheme they will calculate what your real refund would have been, then they will use this to settle the debt still owed to lowell (it is very unlikely to have been written off) and the rest of the refund you will get a tiny percentage of. Provident used 10% an an example – I think it could be massively less, possibly under 2%.

  2. Michele says

    Hi Sarah, I had a cheque issued by provident in Sept 2020 but couldn’t cash it as was waiting on the FO to give me a decision as offer wasn’t fair, FO ruled in my favour and 2nd chq sent for remaining balance(banked ok) 1st chq returned as just over 6 months old. Spike with provident today to ask for re issue of original cheque only to be told tough….you should of banked it straight away so your lose that money!! Is this correct? FO can’t help because of new scheme,do you know who I can contact to get chq re issued please

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      2nd chq sent for remaining balance(banked ok)
      What date was that?

      • Michele says

        Cheque banked 1st April 2021, chq was dated25/3/21 and recieved about 10 days after decision.

  3. annie says

    What happens now that Provident are stopping there door step lending.Will we still have to pay outstanding loans were struggling with

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      The outstanding loans don’t just disappear.

      BUT you can make a claim to the Provident Scheme if it goes ahead, or to the administrators if it doesn’t, that the loan was unaffordable. Are these your first loans or have you been borrowing from them for a while? The more loans you have had, the better your chance of winning a complaint. Or if the loans are very large.

      AND you can ask for a lower more affordable repayment. Tell your collector or phone Provident and ask for a lower amount or complete their online contact form. Provident are usually OK to deal with. Let me know if you have problems?

      A lower repayment will harm your credit record BUT if you win an affordability complaint all negative marks are removed.

    • steph says

      yes myself and my husband have had this problem too very convenient and annoying!! I have tried to claim before through resolver site but provident rejected all my claims so I was not paid any compensation back a couple years ago but according to what I have read and the fact provident sent me and my husband letters regarding this new scheme I will put in another claim but I think it will probably end up same way as the wonga fiasco.even if claims are valid you end up with nought or a pittance!!

      • Sara (Debt Camel) says

        it is a shame you didn’t send claims to the Ombudsman when provident rejected them.

        I will put in another claim
        You may know this, but you cannot do this through resolver. IT has to be via Provident’s claim page.

        • steph says

          yes it is a shame as I didn’t know that I could of done that .but I will try the portal for provident again later and see if have any joy thank you for your help.

        • charmaine Dellar says

          Hi there I can not get on to vote it’s says error also do I vote don’t I can I
          Go to provident direct to claim for past years loans ?
          Also they were all in my married name
          And old address

    • Justin says

      Hi

      I am getting error on both the registration for the Provident portal and the login of it:
      Error 403 – This web app is stopped.
      I assume that it’s either not quite live or too many people accessing it!

      Can I also ask as I have seen this before that the law changed in 2007, what was this?

        • Justin says

          Thanks Sara,

          I was looking at the specific thing or law or regulation that changed in 2007, I assume now it was some old OFT direction? I cannot seem to find much on searching online for anything that states 2007 specifically??

          • Sara (Debt Camel) says

            The Consumer Credit Act was amended in April 2007. The Unfair Relationship provisions there are the legal foundation for affordability complaint.

      • Andrew says

        I tried to Vote NO today but the Provident link is not working.

        Convienant ..

      • steph says

        yes myself and my husband have had this problem too very convenient and annoying!!

    • Carlos says

      Happened to me go onto the provident main site there is an option to vote there

      • Debbie says

        Vote via the phone number it’s easier 0800 056 8936 but be WARNED the call taker are PROVIDENT AGENTS and depending on who you get They will try and sway your vote if it’s a vote they don’t like hearing, I got Michelle and she was unprofessional and inappropriate with her words so just vote “YES” or “NO” AND JUST SAY ” THATS MY VOTE” End of conversation..

  7. Matthew Holgate says

    The ultimately funny thing is that all the profits they made for decades are just “forgotten” about when it comes time to have to pay the piper….i think the 2p in the pound sounds about right… we cant have investors or executives having to lose out God Forbid!

  8. Maria says

    I heard from them in March to advise they will be voting on the scheme which I assume is now. The top of the email had a Scheme ID and I am trying to register and create an account but it is saying the ID is incorrect. Have they said when the last date to make a claim is? I have had a few loans from them post 2007 and don’t want to lose out.
    Any advice?

    • steph says

      same here it keeps coming error on the site where you have to put your ID in I have contacted them regarding this issue so maybe they will fix it just keep trying as quite a few peeps have had same problem 😊

    • Tyrone says

      I contacted them for the scheme ID and they sent it, but I’m still not able to log in to the voting…

    • eck loran says

      had same prob but got in to vote the id is mix of uppercase and lower case remember put the dashes in

    • steph says

      just thought would let peeps know that the problem with the ID and setting up account is now fixed as I have managed to get passed that I now waiting for an email from them to verify my email address and set up password it said a few mis but think it could take longer.hope this helps

  10. Canaan says

    Hi Sara,

    This is my only remaining outstanding payday loan, that I regret taking out but times were tough. I took loans within the specified time period and am eligible for the scheme.

    Basically, during 2020 suffered a lot of hard decisions and then could not pay off the monthly payments. My contract finished in Jan 2020 then interviews that were lined up for another contract fell through and eventually ended up on Universal Credit as lockdown occurred and Satsuma put me on their customer care and made no demand for payments. I eventually got a contract in October 2020 and resumed payments on a monthly basis but have realised that since that time up to now, I have been paying all the interest accrued with nothing going towards the capital outstanding.

    I sent them an email, and they replied saying that I should call them to discuss the matter further.

    Can you share what I may do going forward? I always beieve in paying my debts off.

    many thanks for your due diligence.

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      You are one of many for whom the timing of the pandemic was disastrous :(

      Was this your first Satsuma loan?
      What did you borrow, how much have you repaid (ignore if this is interest or capital, just the total payments to this Satsuma loan) and what is your current balance?

      Do you have other problem debts as well? Are you up to date with rent and other bills?

      • Canaan says

        Hi Sara,

        Thank you for prompt response, very well receivied!
        I took out the following loans and paid in full:
        21/08/2018 GBP100 paid off
        26/04/2018 GBP200 paid off
        27/08//2019 GBP1,400 – this is the one I am struggling with. (From 27/09/2019 to 30/04/2021, interest payments GBP1,349.60 original amount borrow GBP1,400
        27/09/2019 GBP100 paid off
        23/12/2020 GBP300 paid off

        I am up to date with priority bills – i put a robust budget in place

        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          Do you know the numbers for the remaining loan? You borrowed £1400, how much have you paid to this loan (ignore if it is interest or not, just the cash pauments). What is the balance?

          You should certainly put in a claim to the Provident Scheme, you can do that now by voting as the article above says. You don’t have to vote Yes -to make the claim if the Scheme isn’t approved your claim will be handled by the administrators, so for you the Scheme is not likely to give you any extra money (I am guess a bit here).

          If a claim is upheld, you will get interest removed from the unaffordable loans.

          In your case the first couple of loans are small and you would be unlikely to have those decided as unaffordable. But £1400 was a very large loan and Satsuma should have looked carefully at your situation. If this loan is unaffordable, your balance would reduced, possibly even cleared.

          And the later two small loans may also be unaffordable as they were taken at the same time as the large loan. There the interest you paid would be used to reduce the current balance.

          • Canaan says

            hi Sara,

            Thank you very much for reverting to me.
            For the GBP1,400 loan, I have made a total cash payments of GBP1,319.60. The current outstanding balance is GBP1,349.20

      • Sara (Debt Camel) says

        So you have paid more to this loan than you borrowed. If it is decided that this loan is unaffordable, the balance would be cleared.

        I suggest you call them and say you think this loan and the two loans after it were unaffordable and you will be putting a claim to the Scheme. It is best if you pay as little as possible to this loan at the moment , as you will get very little back of any amounts you pay.

        Your credit record for this loan is probably already harmed? If you win your complaint, the negative marks will be removed.

  11. Hev69 says

    Hi Sara,

    I have tried to decipher all of the intricacies relating to court dates, schemes, visited the FAQ’s on the Provident website and feel that I may have been one unlucky duck.

    I submitted a complaint on 14 January, with no foresight of what was to come ……

    The 8 weeks response deadline passed on the 11th March, but no response was received. Then on 15th March the Scheme was proposed by Provident.

    Reading into all of the details, if I understand correctly, sadly it seems that even though they should’ve been compelled to respond prior to announcement of the scheme, just by stalling a couple of days I will now find myself with any complaint/claim being incorporated into the scheme, with a fractional compensation award if the scheme gets voted as the way to go.

    As I said, I had no foresight, but my complaint was submitted 8 weeks and 4 days before the 15th March. Surely this should fall into the category of being dealt with in the normal complaints manner?

    Can the court hearing (or vote) direct that claims that had passed the 8 week response deadline, prior to the scheme proposal (15th March) be considered in the normal way?

    Thank you in advance for your expertise.

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      Unlucky but not by a few days. All outstanding complaints, even ones sent in many months before March 15, will have to go into the Scheme if it is approved. There are thousands of these, not a few hundred.

      Can the court hearing (or vote) direct that claims that had passed the 8 week response deadline, prior to the scheme proposal (15th March) be considered in the normal way?
      Legally? Perhaps, I have no idea. But unless it is part of Provident is putting a LOT more money into the Scheme any change like this is very unlikely.

  13. Jan says

    I have tried the Provident link this morning and, again, it is not working . Very convenient.

  14. Jacquie says

    I am so glad I claim direct to provident over a year ago which got rejected, then I passed it on to the Ombudsman and they upheld it, which I then received £1,850

  15. Stephen Taylor says

    Hi, I have already had a email from the Ombudsman who said the following which was dated 29th May 2020

    Your complaint about Provident Personal Credit Limited

    As you know, we previously wrote to you and Provident explaining our assessment of your complaint and what we think is a fair way to resolve it.

    I’m pleased to say that Provident has now agreed to settle your complaint in line with our assessment.

    Provident hasn’t provided us with a breakdown of your offer, but it’s said it’ll be in-line with the recommendations set out in our assessment. This will include a refund of all interest and charges you paid across the loans we felt Provident shouldn’t have given you. As well as this, 8% simple interest will be added to the refund – calculated from the date each payment was originally made to the date your refund is paid.

    Provident also intends to amend your credit file – removing any negative information or removing the loans in their entirety where required to do so.

    If you have any outstanding balances with Provident, these will be adjusted to remove interest and charges and to take into account any payments you’ve already made. Provident will then use part of your refund to settle the remaining balance.

    But i have not received any payment from them, So do i have to fill in the scheme thing or go back to Financial Ombudsman

    Thank you

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      You had an agreed settlement in May last year? Why haven’t you chased this up?

  16. eck loran says

    anyone one having problems voting you have to click i will be attending the virtul meeting before the vote appears then vote yes or no

  17. Wayne says

    i never got sent an email or letter with a Scheme ID so rang up today and did it on the phone and said no to the vote, whether they put that on their end i’ll never know! Hope they go bump!

    • steph says

      I hope so too! what short memories provident have can remember when used get loads of mail and messages from my collector saying “your such a valued customer “.all customers have more or less been dropped like the proverbial hot brick now .for their shareholders &investors who are now more valued its disgusting

  18. barry bull says

    what is the point of claiming at all if the payments are going to be very low. this is disgraceful.

  19. titch81 says

    How does the fact that provident will no longer be trading from Sept 2021 affect the scheme and the two options off administration or the scheme. I have been informed by my collector that they are making all staff redundant and as from sept won’t be trading?

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      It doesn’t affect your current loan or the Scheme.
      Are your current repayments affordable? Have you had previous loans from Provident?

  20. Yvonne says

    I am unsure what way to vote, have had numerous loans thats were taking out to clear existing loans continuously, so paying interest twice basically. Any advice please

  21. Marsha says

    Hi I’ve been having loans from provident and Greenwood for 25 years, I’ve just voted yes haven’t a clue what is going on. I have heard on the grapevine that you’re getting money back and to be honest I thought this was a fake information.
    Be well pleased if we all do be a right result. So what do I do from here ? Is there a form? Or application to be filled or do we call them and make a complaint. I just voted yes so I’ve opted in, do they get in touch with you. Many thanks. M

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      As you have voted (it doesn’t matter which way) your “claim” has gone in.

      If the Scheme goes ahead – this won’t be known until end July, Provident will assess your claim in the Scheme. They may ask you to provide evidence eg about any CCjs or defaults on your credit recxord – we don’t know yet how many people will be asked for this.

      Provident will then tell you how many loans they have decided are unaffordable and what redress they calculate for you.
      You will be able to appeal this decision, not not to the ombudsman.

      Do NOT get excited if you are told a lovely large amount for redress. Provident are only putting in £50miilion to pay out and there are more than 4 million people who could claim. You may end up being paid a very small percentage of that number you are told – Provident think 10%, I think it may be less than 2%.

      The cash pay out will be towards the middle of 2022.

  22. Debbi says

    I have a provident debt on my DMP with StepChange via Caboot. Been paying it for years & still have £2,500 left to pay.
    Can I pause payments? Will provident wipe this debt off if they get the vote yes?
    Thanks

      • Debbi says

        Hi Sarah,

        Yep, this debt is 2 loans I had 5/6 before that

        will my debt with Cabot on my DMP be wiped ?

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      So these two loans, how much did you borrow (before interest was added)? How much have you paid to them – to Provident or to Cabot?

      If the Scheme goes ahead, then you can make a claim for unaffordable lending. With 7/8 loans it is likely this will be upheld for the later loans but not certain. The numbers provident have given, suggesting they may pay out 10% of refund amounts, sound to me as though they intend to be rejecting complaints the Ombudsman might have upheld.

      But if your claim is upheld in the Scheme, then provident will try to resolve the position with Cabot so the balances are wiped/reduced (depending on what your redress is calaculated at) = because you are entiteld to “set off” between those balances and the refund provident owes you.

      We know from the Money Shop Scheme that they managed to sort out all the debt collectros except one that dug its heels in, PRAC. I expect that Cabot would be helpful and get things sorted with Provident.

      Exactly the same would happen if the Scheme is not approved and Provident goes into administration. There you make a claim to the administrators and they too would try to get things resolved with Cabot.

      In fact you may be better off if the scheme doesnt go ahead as independent administrators try to roughly follow Ombudsman decisions so you may be more likely to have the administrators decide more lons were unaffordable than Provident might.

  23. John says

    Ive got a default on my credit file from provident. Is this likely to be removed once the scheme has been resolved in one way or another?

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      yes if your claim to Provident in the Scheme (or to the administrators if the Scheme does not proceed and Provident goes into administration) is upheld and that loan is decided to be unaffordable.

  24. Lee Fox says

    Hi I got this letter from provident about the scheme but my loans was only for £250 and I paid them of and I never got anymore I think the last loan I got was about 3 maybe 4 years ago and I threw the payment book away as I didn’t need it do you think i would be entitled to anything

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      That may depend how many loans you had and whether there were any “gaps” in between them when you had repaid one loan and it was months before taking the next.

      But this is always worth a claim if you remember it being hard to repay the loans.

  25. Jacqueline Connor says

    I have a loan with Satsuma and have had an email about this scheme as they are the same company but my debt has been passed on to a debt management company. If I put in a claim and get something back would the DM company reduce by balance by whatever I am refunded?

  26. Dave R says

    After repeated issues trying to log in to the portal and not being able to reset the password – Provident asked me to call up and register my vote. Was easy enough. Voted no of course.

  27. Em says

    Please any advice, received letter re compensation for an old provident loan a scheme of arrangement?
    Is it worth doing ? Both myself and partner have borrowed in times of need, but not for at least 4 possibly 5 years.

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      Was your borrowing sporadic – one loan, then repaid and not another for a while? Or continuous and were you and your partner both borrowing at the same time?

      • Em says

        Had a few loans on and off both at same time think I took one first then him, think we paid off before taking another or possibly borrowed on top can’t remember

        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          OK, in this sort of situation I normally suggest that people make a claim if they remember that repaying the loan was hard.

          • Sara (Debt Camel) says

            That is a clear case for asking for a refund.

            You can start off a claim by voting on the Scheme as the article above explains. It doesn’t matter if you vote yes or no, any vote also puts in a claim.

            Unfortunately if the Scheme is approved as it is at the moment, you may get 10% or less of your proper compensation – I think possibly less than 2%. But I hope Provident may have to increase their offer.

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      Have you made a complaint before? or have you just made a claim when Provident have told you about the proposed Scheme?

  29. Dominik says

    Hi,
    I have never made a claim. Below my borrowing summary (Satsuma)

    24/06/2016 £100 borrowed
    11/08/2016 £300 borrowed
    26/04/2017 £200 borrowed
    30/09/2017 £400 borrowed
    11/05/2018 £600 borrowed
    20/09/2018 £400 borrowed
    28/02/2019 £650 borrowed
    01/05/2019 £250 borrowed
    01/12/2019 £500 borrowed

    Is it better for mwe to vote NO? If I will vote NO, how I can claim the interest back?

    Thank You for any help

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      Provident is saying vote yes or we go into administration and you will get nothing.

      But is that right – would they go into administration if a lot of customers say No? Or would they increase their offer, because the FCA, thei regulator, says the amount they are offering is the the fairest amount they could…

      So you could vote No in the hope that this will encourage them to come up with more money – at the moment they are offering very litle and they are not broke as they own the very profitable Vanquis credit card.

      When you vote you are sending in a claim – this applies if you vote Yes or No.

  31. Sarah says

    So I’m back here again…… I have two more that have been told. Can claim back on. One is provident and the other was a quick quid one.
    Have had an email appear this morning about the quick quid one and guess what, it’s been handed over to grant Thornton 😭 after the chaos that came with my wonga one I’m not holding my breath at all. This whole thing is a nightmare

  32. Gemma Bonnett says

    Hi I have a Provident loan and I’m struggling to keep up with pay.ents I have been aware that they have gone bust I was wondering if I still have to keep paying them what shall I do or can I apply for a refund.

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      This loan still legally exists. But you can put in a claim for a refund if you think the loan was unaffordable for you from the start – to do this you can just vote on the Scheme (see article above for how) this counts as putting in a claim whether you vote Yes or No.

      Have you had a lot of loans from them before this one?

      But these claims will take the rest of the year to be decided. As the payments are more than you can afford now, you can ask Provident for an affordable payment arrangement now. This applies whether or not you are making an affordability complaint. Provident does not add on any extra interest or charges in this situation. It will harm your credit record BUT the negative marks will be removed later if you win your affordability claim.

  33. Tyrone R says

    I voted NO.

    The public had to pay it’s debts to Satsuma in full. But now when it’s time for Satsuma to pay us, they want to pay out 10% of what is owed…. very disrespectful offer.

    Vote No people!

  35. Nicola says

    Hi I sent my documents to the ombudsman and it stopped dealing with it because of the scheme they propose. Anyway I was told there was a lot of discrepancies in my claim even though provident said I had no claim. What will happen in my case? Thanks

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      If the Provident Scheme goes ahead (the Amigo Scheme has just been rejected in court, so things may look more uncertain for Provident) then you can make a claim to the Scheme.

  36. Debbie says

    IV had loans from provident in between 2007-2020 plus my partner plus my daughter, we are all payed up and we haven’t had a loan from provident in years, so we have all received our letters with our scheme id and the option to vote for or against the scheme, but reading these posts I don’t understand why there’s people talking about cheques that they are waiting for or have even been posted out, and this is March and April of this year, so how have these people been able to get cheques already from provident.. one woman even said it took 10 months and it’s all done and dusted and she’s got her cheque⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️.

  37. Mike_p says

    I’ve just had the email through and voted no. They delayed the response to my affordability complaint for months on end for their own benefit, so it’s time for them to face up to their responsibilities as far as I’m concerned.

  39. DEBBIE says

    BOOOOO THAT’S NOT FAIR, but you must’ve been well on the ball about provident and being able to complain about provident through an ombudsman because I was not aware I could even claim at all until I got the letter from the provident about voting and the scheme etc, the 2 letters from provident are in very legal speak, very confusing, they are making things harder for us.

  41. mags tymon says

    hi i have had numerous loans from them over the years here in ireland how do we get any info on how to claim anything back?

  42. A Candeland says

    Hi, I have an outstanding amount with provident (Satsuma) and on my CRA file it has the amount 1726 still in ‘active accounts’
    Unfortunately with everything going on with them, I am struggling to understand my options here, the loan was definitely mis sold, I have won complaints against lending stream and MyJar with for compensation or removal from records.

    the loan was opened 07/02/18, and ever since 5 months on it has been sitting in active as 5 months late, I am desperate to get this off my file, is there anything I can do here – im not necessarily looking for compensation at all – what do you think?

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      The only way to sort out your credit record is to win an affordability complaint.

      If the provident Scheme goes ahead, you can make a claim to the Scheme. If it doesn’t and they go into administration, you can make a claim to the administrators.

  43. Dominik says

    Hi,
    Voted NO!

    Is there a specific period of time, which They have to response/propose to Your claim, once voted No?

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      The next thing is there will be court hearing about the fairness of the Scheme to decide if it goes ahead, see article above for timescales

  44. Lisa says

    I have had an email from provident today vote for the scheme or against!

    Any advice on which way is best to go.

    My claim is with the FOS but they have said they can not advise

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      I can’t tell you which way to vote, but I can list some things to think about.

      Do you still have a current loan with them? How many loans have you had over roughly how many years?

      • Lisa says

        I have a loan that is with a debt company, and have had the loans since I was 18. Now 45 :-)

      • Sara (Debt Camel) says

        Then you must have a VERY strong claim.

        Provident are suggesting you have to vote for this Scheme or they will go into administration and you will not get a refund.

        There are two problems with that.

        1) if they go into administration you will probably be able to get the debt with the debt collector cleared “by the right of set off”. So although you may not get cash paid to you, you are still better off with that debt gone.

        2) The pretty similar Amigo Scheme has just been chucked out by the court as the FCA (Provident’s regulator) said the Scheme was not fair to customers and there could have been a better Scheme. So the choice wasn’t A or B but C, which customers weren’t told about about customers aren’t experts in corporate restructuring and accounts they could not have been expected to realise that another option existed. the judge agreed with the FCA and told Amigo to go away and come up with a fairer Scheme.

        Provident say customers may get 10% of their proper refund – I think it may be lower. If that sounds ok to you, you can vote for it. If you think it should be more, then you could either vote against because it isn’t fair, even though Provident warns you may get nothing, or i suppose you could decide not to bote and see what happens. You can always make a claim to the Scheme if it does go ahead, even if you voted against or didn’t vote.

  45. Chanel says

    I have loans with provident had to go on benefits after had my daughter 2017 so could make the agreed payment each week dont a payment waiver/agreement which showed after we did an attachment of earns of money coming in and what I have to pay out it showed I was left with £10 so payment agreement/waiver was done with myself and provident that I would pay that £10 each recently I’ve been told by my agent when I rang to make my weekly payment that I’ve been taken off her book and will be contacted by another agency regarding my payments but I signed a payment waiver/agreement so how can they now remove me to point I cannot make the agreed payment to pay of my outstanding loan as ive been removed from their books

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      I think you need to wait and see what Provident ask for.
      If it is more than you can afford, then go through a new income & expenditure with them. A debt adviser will be able to help you with this.

      Also if the provident Scheme is approved, you can make a claim to the Scheme – if you win that interest is removed from the loan so it will be paid much quicker.

  46. Greg says

    Do I have to make a separate claim for a Satsuma loan? or will this be covered in a Provident claim?

  47. Tyrone R says

    The those of you getting the error message when trying to log in, the below method worked for me:

    1. Go to the Provident Scheme Portal website and click on the “Voting and Claims Portal – Log in” button rather than account creation.
    2. Click on ‘Forgot your password’, underneath the login button.
    3. Enter your scheme ID and your email address.
    4. You should receive an email to your inbox, which will allow you to reset your password. You then should be able to log in after that using your new password.

  48. Andrew says

    I think the way to vote is very hard to do.
    It took me over 20 mins from start to finish to vote NO.
    It felt like the Provident have made it very complicated and frustrating to vote.

    I feel that the website has been built that way to just do that.

    • Mike_p says

      It was very easy for me. They sent me an email with a yes and no vote button in it, I just pressed one of those and that was it.

  49. Debbie says

    OMG😡 IV just registered my vote via Providents telephone number ( because the voting portal does not work) so here’s the phone number to vote about provident 0800 056 8936, but be warned the people taking the votes OBVIOUSLY work for provident and try their best to change your vote, so here’s the conversation!
    “HI MICHELLE I WANT TO VOTE AGAINST THE SCHEME!
    MIICHELLE SAYS, SO YOU DONT WANT PROVIDENT TO HELP YOU GET MONEY BACK AND MAKD A CLAIM!
    I SAID YES I WILL BE MAKING A CLAIM BUT I DONT WANT THE SCHEME TO GO AHEAD! MICHELLE SAYS, BUT IF THE SCHEME DOESNT GO AHEAD YOU WONT GET ANY MONEY,
    I SAID I WANT TO VOTE AGAINST THE SCHEME,
    AND AGAIN OK YOU DONT WANT THE SCHEME TO GO AHEAD BECAUSE IF YOU DONT GO FOR THE SCHEME I WONT GET ANYTHING FROM PROVIDENT”
    THEN SHE STARTED ASKING THE VOTING QUESTION A DIFFERENT WAY.

    OMG THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR PROVIDENT TAKING THESE CALLS/VOTES, THATS GOT TO BE ILLEGAL TRYING TO SWAY MY VOTE,

    WHO DO I COMPLAIN TOO ABOUT THIS MICHELLE ON THE PROVIDENT CALL CENTRE????

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      oh dear, not good at all.

      I suggest you email them on soa@provident.co.uk with the title “Complaint about telephone voting” and say how you think their agent behaved inappropriately.

    • Lisa says

      I think I’m just not going to place a vote either way.

      I have a large debt with them so if it goes in their favour hopefully atleast I can get that wiped.

      Never known something to go on for so long.

  50. David says

    When I lived at home with my parents, they had a loan from Provident and the door to door rep lady convinced them to take out another one in my name! Being a young, nieve kid I didn’t know any better but the moment it came to light I paid it off..

    That’s not the worst part!

    The sales rep returned when I had moved and fraudulently set up another loan in my name (faking the signatures, proofs etc).. She then got fired by the company for doing this a few times but I found out when applying for a morgage. My morgage advisor said I had debt with them and they had sold that debt (of only £120) to an agency.

    I contacted the debt collection agency, the FCA and the Provident and after several emails, letters etc the amount was confirmed as fraudulent and whipped off but this had left a very small blip on my credit profile meaning I wasn’t able to go with mortgage provider I wanted and subsequently costing me more per month for my house…

    I could of easily paid the £120 but It was a matter of principle and not letting them get away with fraud once more. I’ve already opted ‘Yes’ for the voted and hope the company get what is deserving.

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      oh god, what a story :(

      This should have been sorted out – all trace of this fraudulent loan should have been removed.

      Really you may have been better voting No and hoping the company goes into administration – it may be easier to get your credit record sorted out then.
      But if the Scheme goes ahead, you can put in a claim to the Scheme not as an affordability claim but saying you just need your credit record resolved.

      • David Wyllie says

        Yeah Sara, but a small portion of something is better than nothing… I think the company has had their day and hopefully the vote / upcoming case will change a lot of things but even if I get back a small portion of what owed then that’s good but I’ll be happy if they aren’t able to take advantage of future people. My credit score is fine now but I just hope this case hopes people worse off than me.

        I’m keeping an eye on this closely so will definitely do my part :)

        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          Agreed.
          But a larger part of something would be better than smaller…

  51. Angela says

    Provident can keep any refund due to me because believe you me it will be pittance so l vote NO has long as they go into liquidation and are not allowed to carry on causing hardship and misery to so many vunerable people it’s about time they are held accountable for their actions good riddance.

  52. Shane Hargreaves says

    Hi Sara,

    The High Court saying no to Amigo is great news,

    I believe provident will now be scared and hopefully come up with a better scheme, I also believe the FCA will also start flexing the muscles for a fairer scheme for the claimant now even if provident stop trading I think for the longevity and reputation of the group they will have to come up with something better what are your thoughts?

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      The FCA has already said that they don’t think the Provident scheme is the fairest that could be proposed to customers. I hope they will now propose something that is a lot fairer as this is not a group that is running out of money.

  53. mrs j trevett says

    i had loans from provident but i dont owe anythink to them now ,but where do i claim i been looking and cant find it please help thanks

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      If you vote on the Provident Scheme that counts as putting a claim in. It doesn’t matter if you vote Yes or No, it will still be a claim.

  54. Mark says

    Afternoon,

    I apologise if this is an a absolutely silly question but I am confused after receiving the scheme vote letter. I have already had a claim refund accepted and paid last year (thanks to this amazing website!) so am I entitled to put another claim in via the scheme?

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      Yes you can put in another claim, which they will evaluate. But the redress you received before will be taken off… so if you got a good refund you aren’t likely to get any more. This however will help those people who accepted a poor offer from provident – they *might* get a bit more this time.

    • Debbie says

      I would telephone vote if I was you, 0800 056 8936 that’s the phone number call centre that will
      Take your telephone vote, BUT I MUST WARN YOU THAT THE CALL TAKERS ARE AGENTS THAT WORK FOR PROVIDENT AND THEY WILL TRY AND SWAY YOUR VOTE, AND THEY PLAY WORD GAMES, SO BE STRONG AND VOTE “YES” Or ” NO”, I RANG YESTERDAY AND HAD MICHELLE WHO WAS TOTALLY IN APPROPRIATE IN HOW SHE TOOK MY VOTE, IV COMPLAINED. SO BE STRONG 💪🏼

  55. Andrew says

    Isn’t Provident doing illigal things like this breaking the law?

    Why are not reported to the police for their actions.

    The voting website has been made as hard as it can be. I can’t see an OAP getting through the mindfield.

  57. Mark says

    Hi Sara,

    My wife and I had several Provident and Greenwood loans from 2010-2016 (and the Xmas gift card) which I think would definitely be classed as unaffordable.

    I have a balance with Provident (currently assigned to Lowell) and we both have a more substantial balance each with Vanquis – also both of which are with DCAs now.

    In the event of redress, I understand that the Provident loan would be cleared pound for pound ahead of the pittance of a % of any remaining redress.

    However, is it possible – being owned by the same parent company that the Vanquis balances also get reduced pound for pound before that final stage?

    Seems fair and logical, or have they a loophole?

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      The Vanquis debts – were they credit card debts? Or related at all to Provident loans?

        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          I don’t think they will try to offset the redress against those. But I am not 100% sure.

          • Mark says

            No worries, thanks Sara – and really appreciate all the advice you give to everybody

  58. Frances Tait says

    I agree i had greenwoods provident i think they should pay people back interest is way too high

  59. Sarah T says

    Hi Sara.
    Can you please advise- I took out a Satsuma loan for £1000 in early 2019 plus £952 in interest- and even though I put in an affordability complaint back in 2019 and there’s text correspondence proof of me telling Satsuma my circumstances and that I was on a StepChange plan, and they responded dismissing my complaint. Id asked for them to remove the interest as this doubled the loan and required payment. They have still refused it as can’t find my response letter stating there’s no evidence. I’ve voted yes to the scheme. Does this mean the outstanding loan could be written off? I added it to my StepChange plan and I’m still paying it as they didn’t waive any interest charges. This would mean I’d be debt free a year earlier than the current amount of time. Thanks

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      By voting (yes or no, it doesn’t matter) you have submitted a Claim to the Scheme.
      IF the Scheme goes ahead and your claim is upheld the interest will be removed from the loan so you only have to repay the amount you borrowed. So the loan won’t be wiped but it will be reduced a lot.

      If the Scheme doesn’t go ahead and they go into administration, your claim will be considered there and exactly the same will happen. You don’t gain anything from the Scheme at all over administration.

      • Sarah Louise Tansley says

        Ah ok Sara that makes sense! Thank you!
        What I don’t really want to happen is pay the remaining £250 of the actual loan and until it’s all resolved and decided upon, have paid back a lot of the interest as I think I’d only get a tiny amount of it back!

          • Sarah Louise Tansley says

            I’ve paid around £850 and the initial loan was £1000 plus that £952 interest

        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          So if the claim was decided now the balance would reduce to 100-850 = £150.

          As you say, you don’t want to pay them more than that… so when you have paid that you could ask StepChnage to remove it from your DMP.

  60. JR1981 says

    My Mum has a provident loan at present has done for years, her collector told her that her debt is being sold to a debt collector. Will this be a negative mark on her credit?

      • JR1981 says

        No, never missed a payment…. the collector told her that’s what they are doing with everyone with outstanding loans. i’ve also read somewhere else on another socail media platform that their collector told them exactly the same thing.

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      ok, then this should not affect her credit record. Does she know who it is being sold to?

      BUT if she has borrowed from them for years with hardly a break, then she probably has a very good reason to make a claim for “unafordable lending”.

      These very expensive loans are only meant for short term lending. If she kept on borrowing – and possibly the amount tended to go up? – then the chances are these loans were unaffordable – paying one left her so short of money sh had to take another one. And she has a good reason to make a claim for unaffordable lending.

      She can submit a claim by voting on the Scheme that is being proposed – see the article above for how to do this.

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