Debt Camel

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

Can you get a refund of interest on doorstep loans?

If you had doorstep loans from lender such as Provident, you may be able to get a refund of the interest you paid if the lender should have realised the loan was unaffordable for you.

Doorstep lending – also called home credit – is where a collector comes to your house to collect the repayments.  Doorstep loans are used by over 1.3 million people in Britain. The four largest lenders are Provident (includes Greenwoods), Morses Club (includes Shopacheck), Mutual and Loans At Home.

Hand knocking on a door - could you get a refund from doorstep loans?What is an “unaffordable” doorstep loan?

The regulator says that a loan is unaffordable if you couldn’t make the repayments without borrowing again. This could be borrowing from the same lender, from someone else, getting deeper into your overdraft or by not paying a bill such as a utility bill.

So even if you always paid your Provident loan on time, it could still have been unaffordable.

If the lender should have realised the loan was unaffordable they shouldn’t have given it to you – that was irresponsible lending and you should get a refund back of the interest you paid.

With doorstep lending complaints you don’t usually get a refund of all your interest, the common award is a refund on interest on the last few loans.

You are very unlikely to get a refund for only one loan. But if you borrowed several times and especially if you took out a new loan when you were having problems paying an existing one, then complain.

How to complain about doorstep loans

For the last 18 months, lots of people have been getting large refunds from payday loans, see How to ask for a payday loan refund. The good news is the process is exactly the same for doorstep loans – the regulator’s definition of affordability is the same for all sorts of lending.

And now people are having success with complaints about doorstep loans – see the comments at the bottom of this article!

That article has template letters for complaining and it describes what you need to do and when to take your case to the Financial Ombudsman. You can use the payday loan refunds template letters – just delete the word “payday”! But also read the following Special Points…

Special points for Provident and other doorstep lenders

Here are some points that often crop up with doorstep lending.

If any of these happened to you, add a similar sentence to the standard payday loan refund letter:

  • “My collector said I needed to change some things on my application otherwise it wouldn’t be approved”;
  • “My collector filled out the application and gave it to me to sign, I didn’t have time to read it”;
  • “I told the collector I had lost my job and she offered me a new loan to tide me over”;
  • “When I asked my collector if I could pay over a longer period, he said I couldn’t unless I took a new loan”;
  • “I have borrowed from you continuously for four years. Every time I cleared some debt, I was offered top ups”;
  • “I missed several payments but you kept lending me more”;
  • “For the first loan my collector looked at my payslip but after that he never checked and never asked if I was getting the same money – I wasn’t.”

Contact details for doorstep lenders

Include your customer reference number if you had one. Explain if you have moved address or changed your email so they can locate your account. Keep a copy of online complaints or letter sent – if you email it to yourself it’s easy to pass on to the Ombudsman if needed.

How good is your complaint?

The more loans you had, the better your case. Borrowing for prolonged periods by taking out new loans or refinancing existing ones shows you were dependent on the loans.

The larger the loans became, the better your complaint is. The first few loans may have been affordable but if they kept going up, that is a sign of increasing trouble.

Some people have had Provident loans for a very long while. You will not be able to have a complaint about loans before 2007 considered.

If you think you have a good case, don’t be put off if the lender rejects it. People are winning these cases at the Financial Ombudsman. The payday loan refund link above describes how to send your complaint to the Ombudsman, what details to include etc.

If you are offered a small amount, don’t worry you will lose this offer if you go to the Ombudsman. We have never seen this happen.

What will the Ombudsman say?

Read What happens at the Financial Ombudsman for an overview.

You can take cases with doorstep loans more than 6 years old to the Ombudsman. The lenders may say they haven’t kept the records of the credit checks for these older loans … but they don’t seem to be very good at producing the records for the more recent loans either!

You probably won’t get a refund back of all the interest you paid – most refunds given are for your more recent loans. But ask for it all and let the Ombudsman make the decision about where your loans became unaffordable. You don’t have to calculate and ask for an amount.

Some things worth saying to the Ombudsman:

You had a poor credit record

It’s worth emphasising if you had a poor credit record, especially if it got worse as you carried on borrowing from the doorstep lender. Get a copy of your free Noddle report – this will show defaults and missed payments going back 6 years. Send that to the Ombudsman with your complaint. Don’t wait to be asked for this, send it straight away.

Did you “refinance” loans?

It is also worth emphasising if you repaid some loans early because you borrowed more that month from the same doorstep lender. This is sometimes called “refinancing” your loan.

In this case you may have paid more in interest that you would have if you had just been given an extra loan because of the way the “early settlement calculation” were done. If this wasn’t explained to you by your agent (and I bet it wasn’t!) then you paid more interest than you should have.

Who suggested you borrow more?

It is also worth pointing out to the Ombudsman if it was always your agent suggesting you borrow more, perhaps because it was getting near to Christmas, or in August when you might need more money for new school uniforms, or because you had paid off a lot of a previous loan.

The FCA (the lenders’ regulator) said in a report (it’s long – look at page 32) in May 2018:

“Section 49 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA) prohibits the canvassing and soliciting of cash loans off trade premises where this is not done in response to a signed written request made on a previous occasion.”

That means a lender such as Provident should only have offered you a loan if you had asked them in writing for it, they shouldn’t have sat in your home and offered new loans. So if this happened to you, mention it in your complaint to the Ombudsman.

Describe what happened with the loans

It’s important to try to show the links between your loans if there were a lot of them. Something like this can explain your case:

I took loan 2 out as soon as I repaid loan 1 and it was for a larger amount. I then took out loan 3 whilst loan 2 was still going. After a few months I couldn’t afford the payments so my collector suggested I took out a loan to repay off the loans 2 and 3 and spread the repayments over longer. So loans 2 and 3 were repaid early only because I borrowed more. etc etc.

Send your bank statements

Send your bank statements with your complaint. If you haven’t got them all, send ones you do have and set about asking your bank for the rest, then send those. You are more likely to win a complaint if you send them. Don’t wait to be asked!

Don’t be worried because your bank statements show a lot of gambling. Read Gambling and payday loans complaints for examples of how the Financial Ombudsman handles this sort of case -it is hardly ever a problem.

What about your current loan?

If you are still repaying a doorstep loan, you can still complain. If you tell the doorstep lender you want a payment arrangement, they should allow you to pay less each week over a longer period without adding any more interest.

But if you have other problem debts as well, talk to StepChange and they can see if a debt management plan would help. You can still complain if you are in debt management.

Need some help?

Your local Citizens Advice can help with writing these complaints, that will be free.

You don’t need a lawyer or a claims company. They take a LOT of your refund and you can make a better claim on your own than they can. A good claim involves telling your own story, you know it and a claims company doesn’t!

Comments or questions?

Hundreds of readers have posted comments below about how their Provident complaints are going and the successes they have had. If you have a question, ask it here!

More Debt Camel articles:

Payday loan refund template letters

Too high a credit card or catalogue limit?

Asking BrightHouse for a refund

Author: Sara Williams Tagged With:

Comments

  1. Ive not heard anything as yet.Ombudsman looked at it,requested more information.Got it back but still heard nothing.Is this a good sign…she obviously reviewed it and needed more but heard nothing yet

    Reply

    • I’m sorry but no news is simply no news. These are all very individual cases – I can’t guess what the ombudsman has asked for or why.

      Reply

  2. Hi all
    Provident have until 5th April(tomorrow) to either accept my adjudicators decision to uphold my complaint or reject the decision. Has anyone else had any experience with provident in this scenario? Thanks in advance

    Reply

  4. Hi all, I’ve had a few provident loans over the years can I claim back ppi from them or do I have to go to the ombudsman.
    Many thanks
    Sue

    Reply

    • I don’t think there has ever been PPI on Provident loans.

      But you may be able to claim a refund of interest if the loans they gave you were “unaffordable”. Read the article above which looks at this and how to do it.

      Reply

  5. I have been With Provident for 20 Years Last Loan I had Was for £500. intrest was 600 0dd. 2018. ask for Loan not long ago and got turned down, Made a Complaint no Reply. thats What You get for being a good Customer.

    Reply

  6. I have 3 loans with Provident at the moment which I have referred to the Financial Ombudsman for a number of reasons. Following a complaint to Provident they have stated historically that between 2008-2015 I had 22 loans from them. With all of the interest added this totals over £27,000. I have 2 questions which are 1. Can I submit a claim for all of the accounts back to 2008? and 2. Do I need to wait for a response from the Financial Ombudsman regarding the current case before submitting another complaint to Provident? Thanks.

    Reply

    • ” With all of the interest added this totals over £27,000.” just to be clear, if you win an affordability complaint, you would only get the interest refunded.

      ” Can I submit a claim for all of the accounts back to 2008?” yes – you can’t go back before April 2007. Complaints about loans that are more than 6 years old are likely to go very slowly at FOS as provident is objecting to the over 6 year loans being considered so FOS has first to decide that it can look at them before it actually starts doing this.

      “Do I need to wait for a response from the Financial Ombudsman regarding the current case before submitting another complaint to Provident? ” can you say what the current complaint is about?

      Reply

      • Many Thanks for the prompt reply. The interest alone totals over £14,000 going back to 2007 so I will certainly be starting the process against them soon! With regards to my complaint with the Ombudsman, I had/have 3 current loans totalling £6,600 from Provident and unfortunately last year was a bit of a nightmare and without going in to too much detail, my children are now living with me due to Child Protection Issues. I took out numerous payday loans etc as well (which I am now in the process of making complaints) and stopped paying Provident. They never contacted me (apart from a letter every six months stating I was in arrears) and I admit I never contacted them but I had a lot going on. In January of this year I started reading about doorstep lenders and payday loans complaints so I raised a complaint with Provident about how I shouldn’t have been offered the loans, how the Agent was trying to hit her targets and the fact I never asked for them but was always offered them. Provident rejected my complaint so I referred the case to the Ombudsman with a lot more information than what is here and I am now waiting to hear back.

        Reply

        • ok, but your complaint was just about your current loans? If it was, I suggest you ask FOS if you can expand that to include previous loans or if you need to start a new complaint for them.

          Good luck!

          Reply

  7. I have had 2 loans from provident since 2017. I had one for £400 in May 2017 and was in employment for a zero hour contract. I was then offered a £1000 loan in November 2017 and was advised by the collector to pay the remaining loan off which was around £300. A showed one weeks payslip to the collector but wasn’t asked for anymore. Like I stated I was on a zero hour contract and pay varied. 3 weeks after getting the new loan I lost my job and wasn’t able to afford the payments. I still owe £1500 on the loan and have only been able to pay £30 per week back.

    Reply

    • Whether you can win an affordability complaint will depend on what was on that payslip. It isn’t provident’s fault that you lost your job a few weeks later – things can go wrong with loans and it doesn’t mean that the original loan was unaffordable.

      But if you feel you should never have been given the £1000 loan – had you been having difficulty repaying the previous smaller loan? – then it is worth making an affordability complaint and asking provident to remove the interest from your current loan balance, so you only repay what you borrowed.

      Reply

  8. Hi all

    Provident had until 5th April to respond to my adjudicator. They didn’t reply so I chased them up and they’ve said it could take two weeks to reply so I’ve now put in a complaint against their complaint handling saying that I am being treated unfairly. Has anyone else had this problem? Thanks in advance.

    Reply

      • Hi Sara

        Do you know of any cases that have gone to the fos that have been upheld by the adjudicator and then rejected by the ombudsman?

        Reply

        • Heya Carrie,

          I use this alot in my job and have kept an eye on decisions again Prov for my complaint. Some of them do get upheld at ombudsman level and others don’t. They seem to have a higher degree of legal/regulation knowledge.

          https://www.ombudsman-decisions.org.uk

          You can toggle the filters to change the type of case it throws up.

          Reply

          • Hi Jay

            Thanks for that. After reading a few of them for the last six months it appears that the ombudsman usually agrees with the adjudicator decisions. So fingers crossed if mine goes that far then that will be the same in my case. I’m trying to stay patient but it’s hard lol.

  9. Mines was rejected by adjudicator and now been passed to ombudsman.Been told she’s reviewing it at present and will get decision in few weeks.Thatcwas about 4 weeks ago.Just taking it as it comes …I don’t think adjudicator looked into it properly.As I always said i don’t have good feeling about it but time will tell

    Reply

  10. Hi provident have agreed with adjudicator about unaffordable lending to my self so just wondering what the next steps will be if anyone can help many thanks.

    Reply

  11. Hi guys, how do I go about claiming back? basically I am a single mum and have been on income support and jsa and at one point I had so many loans out I was paying £80 a week!I got to this stage as I would struggle to pay so would either refinance or get a new loan then would be ok for a few mths then would get in that circle again. I don’t understand how they would let someone on benefits get so high? I am currently paying off the last bit with an arrangement with Lowell …. however they they let me get a new loan ( I no my own fault but was desperate at xmas with a kid) and I was shocked I was accepted. I now have 2 loans that’s £30 a week and my jsa is only 102 a fortnight so I cant afford to pay £60 out of that. I have emailed a complaint asking for all interest paid back from over the years but now I am not sure what to do?

    Reply

    • Emailing Provident is the best first step. The fact they let you get a new loan when your previous loan had been sold to a debt collector is a strong point in favour of your case.

      You also need to say you can’t pay them £30 a week and offer something affordable such as £1 a week. These complaints can take many months to go through so you need to get yourself into a safe position where you don’t have to keep borrowing again.

      Reply

    • Hi Toni that’s how I was on benefits and at one point over 90 pounds a week due to refinancing in to bigger loans and longer payments and last one refinanced even though in mega arrears.Adjudicator said he couldn’t see that provident has done any wrong.Ombudsman looking in to it now.She asked for more info from them which was sent yet I’m still waiting on decision.Jyst been told they are still reviewing complaint and will here soon

      Reply

      • Its stupid isn’t it as I didn’t even get that much a week on benefits, and they no how desperate we are and so keep offering more x

        Reply

  14. Hi Sara sorry for late reply it was actually a phone call to fos that i had they told me that provident had agreed with them so not had anything in writing or emails as yet thanks.

    Reply

  15. Just had call from FOS to say will be a few months with my case now as they have to re look at how these claims are being dealt with.My case is with an ombudsman who has everything in front of her to make decision but has a lot of cases to do.Im just going to forget about it for while now

    Reply

  16. Well fingers crossed won’t go on too long..said a few months at most .Feeling a bit optimistic thinking if she’s been through it and got everything back she needed which was screenshots of any payslips etc or what they used to do credit check. ..they wouldn’t have any as I never worked and had poor credit history with them on my credit file…feeling a tiny bit positive but you never know

    Reply

  17. Hi Sara
    I’m still waiting for Provident to respond to the fos. I called them and they are waiting for approval from a manager. I asked what this meant and the guy on the phone said that if there has been a proposed refund then a manager has to approve the decision! So I’m waiting rather impatiently now. How long do they normally take to respond? Thanks in advance.

    Reply

  18. Hi Sara,
    Looking for some advice please.
    I have 4 loans currently running with provident,I had 5 and paid one off last month.
    The loans totalling nearly 5k.
    I have been a customer for many years and found myself with this massive debt due to a history of top up loans given over the past 6 years or more.
    I started with a £200 loan and over the years took loans out to save money on interest as advised by my Agent.
    I took out additional loans that had no affordability checks done and was offered loans at times when I was vulnerable.
    I always managed to pay the loans off somtime 3 or 4 running at the same time.my Agent would say to me you are due a top up we can clear these loans and put them into a new loan saving you interest.
    I have complained to provident to regarding the current 4 loans and asked for them to be consolidated into one affordable payment.Imam waiting for the outcome to this complaint.
    Do you think I should be complaining to the ombudsman regarding he previous loans and way I was given the loans?The a Agent didn’t look at wage slips bank stamens ect she just sold the loans saying I was due to refinance and this would save me interest.
    I am currently up,to date with my mortgage ect and was considering taking a secured loan to consolidate.
    Thanks
    Mark

    Reply

    • Do NOT take out any loan, let alone a secured one, to consolidate.

      Ask Provident not for a consolidation loan but for a repayment arrangement for your existing ones – this will mean no further interest is added. oh and actually you are not “asking” you are telling them, “I can only afford £30 a month across all four loans” and from now on don’t pay any more than you can afford.

      “took loans out to save money on interest as advised by my Agent.” Refinancing loans may have made them more affordable and given you more money, but it did NOT save you any interest.

      Yes you can complains (and from what you have said I think you should) about the your history of borrowing – that you were given unaffordable loans, without adequate checks and that it was not explained to you that refinancing the loans was more expensive than letting an existing loan run and taking out a new one for any extra money you needed.

      Reply

  19. Hi I have had several loans from Provident taken out after 2015. Do you think is worth to complain? Many thanks

    Reply

    • If you think they were “unaffordable” – making the repayments on time left you getting behind with household bills or running up other debts, then yes!

      Reply

  20. If I settle a provident loan early they deduct the interest accordingly,if I refinanced my loan the interest for loan 1 would stay the same and from my refinanced loan I would have to pay the whole balance of loan 1,,including the interest for the whole of loan 1…does anyone know if I have a valid complaint here??

    Reply

    • It’s a bit more complicated than that because you do get a “settlement rebate” when a loan is refinanced, so you don’t pay the whole cost of the interest on loan 1. There are worked examples on p33 and 34 of this paper by the regulator: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/consultation/cp18-12.pdf

      But refinancing loans is in general more expensive because you are the settlement rebate is not full AND because you are simply borrowing over a longer period and therefore paying more interest. the agent should have explained to you that it would be cheaper to take out a second loan and let the first loan continue to run. Often this was not mentioned!

      If you have borrowed and refinanced a lot, that by itself is grounds for complaint.

      Reply

  21. Hi Sara

    My adjudicator has had a response from provident they haven’t said what they told me over the phone, they have objected to loans over six years. My adjudicator has had to pass the objections over to a senior person at fos for them to decide whether they agree with provident or with the adjudicator. Do you know how long this normally takes? Thanks in advance.

    Reply

    • Well Carrie a bit similar to mine.Adjudicator never upheld mine so passed to senior ombudsman to re look at it.Shes looked at it ,got all fresh evidence needed from provident but no final decision.Got call last week to say could be few months as they are snowed under and looking at ways to deal with all claims.Adjudicator never upheld near end of last year and ombudsman picked it up at start of year.Think it could be a wee while as they go through it all again.

      Reply

    • Carrie – my adjudicator contacted me in March and said they had given provident until 21 March to consider loans over 6 years old. I had to ring (FO) other week for an update. They told me that Provident had agreed to look at older loans. I stupidly :) :) thought this was near the end… Its not. its now in a queue for another Adjudicator to look at the irresponsible lending. – although they did say that it was ‘good news’ that Provident had agreed on loans over 6 years. Whoever I spoke to – was very nice and said they couldn’t advise timescale – but they were ‘training’ more people – in a hope to look at these kind of claims more efficiently. She advised maybe to ring monthly for an update………..

      Reply

  22. Well Carrie mines being looked at by senior as well since beginning of year.Got call last week to say up to few months yet as they are busy .Quite similar really both passed to senior ombudsman to look at again .Prepare for a wait I think.

    Reply

  23. Hi, I sent off my provident claim to the FOS on 21st november 2018 and am still yet to hear anything. I rang at the start of march for an update and got told it was still in the pile. What timescales have other people had? And will my claim just get thrown out when it finally reaches the top? Any advice appreciated.

    Reply

    • Hi mine went to FOS in November 17 and was picked up by adjudicator Jan 19 to see if older loans over 6 years could be looked at. This was approved in March 19. Now waiting another adjudicator to be assigned to look at the un affordability complaint. So be prepared for a long wait

      Reply

  24. I sent mine about Provident in Oct 2018. No loans over 6 years. Still waiting to be picked up by an adjudicator.
    My Peachy complaint was sent in Jan 2019 and was picked up last week so I think it all depends on how many complaints each company has against them… possibly, who knows!!

    Reply

    • Provident complaints are not dealt with by the same team that handles payday loan complaints.

      Reply

  25. Many thanks for the help from this site! Just had my complaint upheld and received £2,320 from Provident, cheque is in the post

    There was 16 agreements with Provident and Greenwoods in total but only 5 were from after 2013 which they have considered and paid out on (the 6 year period). The other 11 were from 2011 to 2013.

    Is it worth going to the FOS to try and claim these other 11 agreements? Would be about £3500 to 4000 by my calculations, all used to refinance previous loans

    Reply

    • Can you read the email or letter carefully. It presumably says you have the right to take your case to FOS. But does it say the cheque is offered in settlement of your whole claim? Or can you cash it and go to FOS?

      If you do go to FOS it sounds as though you could get a much larger refund but this would take some time.

      Reply

  26. Think these FOS cases are going to take for ever.I thought when they had sent for extra information in March my decision would be soon then call to say could be months yet told it is with senior ombudsman on her desk with all relevant information.Only thing I keep thinking is I’ve not been told no yet

    Reply

  27. I have had multiple loans with Naylors Finance dating back at least 12 years I know I can only claim back from 2007 I requested statements from them which they have provided for the last 6 years as every thing before this has been destroyed, along with this reply: All loans issued to you were at your own request and were dependant on an up to date income and expenditure declaration which you signed as being true statement of your disposable income. They were also subject to your proven payment record of your previous loans where you had obviously shown that you could afford to make these payments. Every payment was made in an excellent manner until mid December 2018 when you decided to go through a debt management plan. If you have any queries in understanding the statements of accounts please contact Mr x. So where do I go from here? I am having difficulty understanding the statements and because I was topping up the loans as soon as credit was available I have no idea how many times I have topped up my loans with them, I also got into debt over the past couple of years with lots of payday loans which I have already sent complaints to can I use this against naylors? Just wanted some advice.
    Thanks

    Reply

    • I suggest you send the case straight to the Financial Ombudsman.

      Do any of the loans or repayments show on your bank statements? Do you have any records showing the loans that are over 6 years old?

      Reply

      • Hi Sara,

        Thank you for the reply,

        I have no evidence of the loans previous to the last 6 years as naylors informed me these statements have been destroyed and at that time monies were being collected in cash from my doorstep.

        I do have bank statements to prove some transactions probably from the past 2-3 years, although the statements they have sent me go back to 2013 and I can see the cash payments on there. I have replied to them today explaining I have received the statements and that I am requesting a refund on interest, they have replied and said they are looking into should I wait for a reply before sending to the ombudsman?

        Thank you

        Reply

        • I suggest you say the case will be going to the Ombudsman in a week if they do not make you a reasonable offer for the last 6 years borrowing.

          Reply

  28. Hi Sara

    I just wanted to say a massive thank you for setting up this website and thank you to all of the other posters. Thanks to you I have today received confirmation that I have won my complaint at the fos at adjudicator level and will be receiving a cheque within 28 days for £11,000! Really pleased to say the least :)

    Reply

    • Well done you.Hope you enjoy treating yourself to something nice.Im still waiting to hear.Would be amazing to win.All the best for the future.

      Reply

    • Well done. What were the timescales to be picked up by ombudsman from first sending your complaint?

      Reply

      • Hi Angela
        I sent my complaint to fos in November. It was picked up by and adjudicator in January then there was some back and forth between the ombudsman and provident for a couple of months. Then provident eventually agreed with the adjudicator. Great result :)

        Reply

    • Oh wow that’s fantastic news :-) Can you tell me how much total your loans were for please. I have had over £10 000 (just on my side and not husband) and have paid a total of £22500 back. Crazy I know

      Reply

  29. i had 20 loans from providence,but i owe money to vanquis, if i get refund from providence will they give the refund to vanquis

    Reply

  30. I have had no response about the complaint I put in provident totally ignored ,what’s the next step to do ?

    Reply

  31. I used provident and shopacheck for many years in the 80,s, 90,s , until around 2010 when I finally got rid I borrowed thousands from them over the years , as one loan was paid I was taking another and got myself in to a terrible rut with these lenders , can I claim interest from the beginning? or have I left it too late ?

    Reply

    • You won’t be able to go back before 2007 as the Ombudsman can’t look at loans before then. But the interest you paid in 2007-2010 can still add up to a lot and if you win a case the lender has to add on an extra 8% per year as compensation, so that is also a lot on older loans.

      These older complaints can be very slow so I suggest you start one right away and then take a chilled attitude to the time it takes.

      Reply

      • Question Sara, not sure if there is an easy answer or its even been looked at as an issue.

        Can you go back further than 2007 thriugh the courts?

        Reply

        • No.

          Well theoretically it may be possible sometimes, but generally the Statute of Limitations would apply and the limit would be 6 years – so you can go back a lot further via FOS. This is why over 6 year cases take longer at FOS, FOS needs to consider if it can look at these old cases. It is generally deciding it can for payday loans and doorstep lending where there has been a lot of repeat lending.

          You would need to take advice from a solicitor before considering going to court.

          Reply

  33. Hi, I’ve been in a debt problem for a long time, some creditors have given me an offer and I’m afraid to accept it because I am worried that they may scam me off my money then force me to pay them the original amount again. Please help me, this is urgent.

    Thanks,

    Sri

    Reply

    • hi Sri,

      do you mean some lenders have made you an offer of a settlement amount they would accept? who are these lenders and is this offer in writing?

      or have you made an affordability complaint and you have been made an offer for this complaint?

      Reply

  34. No, I meant creditors, I just wanted to talk to you about Cabot Financial as I sent you this message on another page but you did not reply.
    Also this is in writing as I was sent the letter by email, as I had said I’m wondering, if I pay for an offered settlement will I be forced to pay the original amount again? Also on the email, there is not a signature so can I trust this email. Once again this is really urgent as I only have one day until the deadline.

    Thanks for your support

    Reply

  35. Hi Sara

    Just received this from Provident “We are sorry that we have been unable to resolve your complaint at this time.
    We can assure you that investigations are still ongoing and this matter is receiving our urgent attention“
    Is this stated after 30 days?
    No doubt I’ll receive the same response from
    The Money Shop & Pay Day UK

    Reply

  36. Hi Sara

    I made me complaint to Provident 30 days ago, they confirmed receipt of my complaint and didn’t ask for any information from me.
    My loans got back to 2009 with them, I’ve asked for a record of all loans from them but haven’t received anything should I chase them up?

    Just received this from Provident “We are sorry that we have been unable to resolve your complaint at this time.
    We can assure you that investigations are still ongoing and this matter is receiving our urgent attention“
    Is this stated after 30 days?

    Reply

  37. Just been told my case is allocated now for decision and should here in next week.Looking for closure now .I’m not expecting to win as adjudicator never upheld.Peace of mind knowing I’ve tried as loans after loans issued,refinanced hardly ever asking for any proof of income.Will post result when it comes through

    Reply

  38. Just had an email from ombudsman saying the following.
    (We have received the business file from Provident and it appears that they have given their consent for us to look into all of your loans.

    So your case is waiting to be allocated to an adjudicator to review.)

    Finally a different response than the usual we are looking into whether we can look into the ones older than 6 years…

    Complained to Provident November 2017
    Sent to ombudsman January 2018
    First proper response June 2019
    Waiting to be allocated Adjudicator.

    Reply

    • That’s quite helpful because I’m starting to get jittery! I complained to the onbudsman in May 2018. I was starting to feel forgotten!

      Reply

      • Hi Deb,

        It’s a very long process isn’t it, I know the feeling forgotten part.
        That’s why I thought a little timeline might help.
        I’m half expecting another long wait to be assigned an adjudicator :(

        Hope you hear something soon.

        Complained to Provident November 2017
        Sent to ombudsman January 2018
        First proper response June 2019
        Waiting to be allocated Adjudicator.

        Reply

  39. my case is fairly similar
    Complained to Provident September 2017.
    Sent to ombudsman November 2018.
    First proper response February 2019.
    so fast forward to this week ive just had (what i think is) good news:

    what this means for Mr x case I’ve thought about all of these issues in the individual circumstances of this case, and I think the loans taken out from 15 December 2007 onwards shouldn’t have been lent to Mr x. I’d like to explain why. By 15 December 2007, Mr x overall pattern of borrowing suggested they had become persistently reliant on these form of loans. At this point Mr x had been borrowing from you for around five years and four months. By December 2007, he had taken seventeen loans in six years. With this in mind, I think from December 2007 and arguably well before that, you should’ve reasonably questions whether continuing to offer further short-term loans to a customer who was clearly reliant on this form of lending was unsustainable or otherwise harmful. In my view, the pattern of lending itself shows that the loans from here were unsustainable –so I don’t think you should have given Mr x any of loans from 15 December 2007 onwards.

    Reply

      • i hope so jay. provident have got until 17th june to either agree/disagree with the adjudicator, fingers crossed it goes my way. if they agree to all its 12 loans which ive worked out to approx £4k interest inc 8% simple to be returned to me.

        Reply

        • Fingers crossed Ste they agree and it comes through. They really need to give their heads a wobble how they have taken advantage of so many people.

          Reply

  40. I went in queue for ombudsman to review irresponsible lending in March.Was told on Thursday one had been allocated to review file and would hopefully hear in next week a decision.

    Reply

  42. I have told them I disagree with it but won’t make any difference.Last loan was in mega arrears yet was refinanced to bigger loan and higher weekly amount.It is what it is so need to accept and move on

    Reply

  43. provident truly are awful. i have an ongoing complaint lodged with FOS. this week, after 21 months since complaint lodged i received news from adjudicator that they agree with me and provvy should refund me approx £4k. they have until 17th June to agree/disagree with adjudicator. today i got a letter delivered to me, i recognised the address (goodwin st, bradford) on envelope so im thinking maybe a cheque or something. opens envelope to discover they’ve sent me a notice of account in arrears lol. you couldn’t make this up….question for sara. do i mention or complain to my adjudicator that they are still harassing me? cheers

    Reply

    • No, they are legally obliged to send out NOSIA (Notice of Sums In Arrears) letters, you can’t complain about this. I suggest you just keep that with any other paperwork.

      Reply

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