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.
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.
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.
At the bottom of that article there are thousands of comments from people making payday loan claims, so you can see how it works in practice. And now people are having success with complaints about doorstep loans – see the comments at the bottom of this article!
Here are some points that often crop up with doorstep lending. If any of the following happened to you, add a similar sentence to the standard letter in that link:
- “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.”
Those are all pretty common!
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.
- Provident Use their online form: complaints to Provident and copy your complaints letter into the “message you want to send us” box. (Same for Greenwoods).
- Morses Club You have to write to them, see complaints to Morses. (Same for Shopacheck).
- Loans at home email with COMPLAINT in the title to customerservice@sd-taylor.co.uk.
- Mutual email to complaints@mutual.uk.com.
- Short Term Finance (Birmingham) Use their online form and copy your complaints letter into there: complaints to Short-Term Finance.
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. Most refunds being given are just for the more recent loans.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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 this in a report (its long report – 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.”
ie 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.
What about your current loan?
If you are still repaying a doorstep loan, you can still complain. If you tell the doorstep lender, they will usually allow you to pay less each week over a longer period without adding any more interest.
But if you have other problem debts, 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?
I suggest you add a comment below!.
Asking for a refund for payday interest
Too high a credit card or catalogue limit?
Asking BrightHouse for a refund
Caroline Robertson says
Provident have now passed my accounts to their collection team even though i have continued to pay them. I thought at first they had resolved my complaint and closed the accounts as i couldnt make payment but nope they passed it onto Collections. Anyway after speaking to the collections team and telling them im not paying til my complaint is resolved they have agreed to put my account on hold. Im hoping this hurries them along as they only have 2 weeks from today to resolve or i get back onto Financial Ombudsman to say im still awaiting their final response
Caroline Robertson says
Sorry just to add, im in Scotland so does the old OFT guidelines apply?
Enforceability of credit agreements
1.9 In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, where a party to a contract
lacks capacity to enter into such a contract by virtue of having a
disturbance or impairment of brain function, the contract may be
voidable8
if it can be shown
that the creditor knew, or should
reasonably have known, that the borrower lacked the capacity to enter
into the contract at the time that he did so. In Scotland, if on the
balance of probabilities it can be shown that the borrower lacked the
capacity to contract, then the effect is that the contract is void.
Given the medical evidence given to Provident would this mean that all contracts with them would be void? and would the FO use these guidelines?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you talk to National Debtline about this – they have advisers that specialise in Scottish law. I will say that lacking the capacity to contract is quite a high bar.
Caroline Robertson says
Ok Sara, thank you. Will keep you updated
Tracie says
Hi
I have still kept the loan books with dates..loan numbers..amounts..
They roughly start from 2006 and we ended the debt cycle in 2012. You can clearly see the loans getting bigger..the loan before being paid in full and then as the years went on missed payents. The amount they collected at my door was crazy. In my opinion they are very greedy and irresponsible. Do you think we have any chance with these?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Having the loan details is a very good start. If the loans were recent, this would be a good case, probably getting a refund fir the later, larger loans after missed payments. However these loans are old, so you may have difficulties. Nothing before 2007 will be considered. And it’s rare for people to get refunds if any loans over 6 years old, and you may only have 1 or 2 at most under 6 years. But I think it’s worth a complaint to the lender (was it Provident?) and to send it to the Ombudsman if the lender rejects it.
Tracie says
Thank you. I have nothing to lose so shall see what happens. You can see in 2010 3 loans being given in the space of 4 months..with the crazy repayments at 90 a week! The first loan being paid off by the second one and then another in my name..crazy times..baby under 1.. 2 teenagers..then being crippled by these loans! Thank goodness we got off that debt wheel!
Sam says
Hi from 2012 onwards I’ve had 2-3 big provident loans and I still owe around £3000 across 2 loans the payments became too much and I haven’t been keeping up with the payments, one of the loans was really large around £1000 and I’ve spoke to people who said because of the interest I should never of been given that loan, if I complained and won would I get money back or just the amount cleared and would this affect the person who gave me the loan or is it dealt with higher up?
Thanks for the advice
Sam
Mimi says
Hi,
My complaint is being escalated to the ombudsman as I didn’t agree with the adjudicator’s decision. As it hasn’t been allocated to an aombudsman yet, will it seem wierd if I emailed an ombudsman directly?
Bexyboo69 says
I took out a loan a number of years ago with London & Scottish who have since ceased trading also a number of years ago. The interest was extortionate but I needed money quick. I didn’t finish paying it back and now after about 8 years Robinson way who are a debt collection agency have recently written to me asking for the debt to be repaid to them. Where do I stand? How long after a debt can they ask for repayment? Is there a time limit to when they can no longer ask for repayment?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This was a doorstep loan? And you haven’t made any payment to it or heard anything about it for 8 years?
Bexyboo69 says
Yes it was a doorstep loan. I was going to claim the interest back but as they went into admin then ceased trading I couldn’t
Thanks
Kirsty
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK if it was a doorstep loan and you haven’t made a payment to it for more than 8 years it should be statute barred, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/statute-barred-debt/. There is a template letter in that link you can use to reply to Robinson Way.
Bexyboo69 says
Many thanks. Love this site!!
Bexyboo69 says
One final thing, does it have to be written or can I email them the letter?
Tganks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Email is fine – that is “written”.
tony says
I had the same problem with robinson way I told them that I had not acknowledged the debt or made any payment to the debt for over 6 years they wrote back and said debt gone back to original lender?
Carla says
Do not reply or admit anything they can’t do nothing after eight years if u respond they reopen the case
Lorna furness says
HI I have had several loans from provident which I was unable to pay they are now with a debt collection agency would I still b able to make a claim?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, you can. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-refunds-defaulted-loan/ for more about refunds when there is a balance owing.
ross says
Hi there,
how long do Provident normally take to respond to you. I’ve had the first email which is really just a normal response, but nothing else in 2 weeks.
TIA
ross says
Also,
if any debt is stastue barred can you still make a claim? I’m interested in this from a PPI point of view. If this isnt the right forum can you let me know where to post please. :)
TIA
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you can claim PPI on a statute-barred debt but:
a) you need to be absolutely certain it is already statute-barred as claiming PPI will constitute acknowledging the debt and if it isn’t already statute-barred that will delay it becoming statute-barred for another 6 years
and
b) any refund may be set off against the debt, even if it is statute barred.
ross says
It should be ok however not sure how to check that out. Thats a worry though…
Also, can you claim PPI is you were sequestrated previously or would any claims go towards paying the original debt?
Thanks,
Ross
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if the debt you paid PPI on was taken out before your sequestration, then you won’t get the refund – it will go to the trustee for your creditors.
ross says
Thanks Sara.
Ross
Max says
How long do u have to wait for the ombudsman to decide weather u get a refund from provident
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when was your case sent in? has it been picked up by an adjudicator yet?
Max says
Yes about 5 weeks ago
Sarah says
I had 2 provident loans from December 2015 until January 2018. I was paying £28 A week for both these loans. I ended up taking out an overdraft so I could pay off provident as could no longer afford the £28 A month. Do o have a case for this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to be able to show that you couldn’t afford the weekly repayments without hardship or borrowing/running up bills elsewhere. And that Provident should have known this when they gave you the loans if they had checked your income and credit record properly. If you can, then that’s a good affordability case!
Carol says
Morning, Complaints to Provident question please. I know I can use their on line form but do I/can I just use the normal letter I have sent to Quickquid or do I have to use another. Many Thanks. Carol
veronica moss says
just had my final decision off ombudsman and not upholding mine. Since 2012 my payments were around £35 per week, i was getting payday loans and all kinds to make payments even ended up with mortgage arrears. I sent them proof of my expenditures showing bank loans, payday loans and other stuff. Provident were always given my actual income but hardly put any expenditures down for me. I was left with around £60 per month so how would i be able to afford £35 a week to pay them. The ombudsman is saying provident carried appropriate checks.
Kerry says
How long did it take the ombudsman to give you there final decision ?
veronica moss says
about 6 week, it was with an adjudicator for a while before that.
Max says
Provident tell lies all the agent so I can see I won’t get a refund
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lots of people have got refunds – give it a go and explain exactly what your agent knew and what they did (encouraged you to get another loan, completed your application and just told you to sign etc)
lucy says
I have just sent off my letter to the ombudsman after morses rejected my complaint. While going through all my paperwork for the ombudsman I have found out that morses gave me all my 9 loans while I was on a DMP. So they obviously didn’t do any checks. So now to wait and see what the ombudsman says.
Mike says
Just a question
If adjudicater tells a business to refund/remove interest/add 8%/remove negative from credit file .
Then you receive an offer via the FOS,
as they don’t calculate the amount of refund how do you know the business is not trying to get off on the cheap?
Or are you to trust that they would do all the FOS has asked?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I missed this – I assume you are happy with the figures Morses have come up with?
Mike says
The adjudicater sent me a breakdown today and it appears correct, I said to the adjudicater if it looks ok to you then that will do for me!!
Mike says
I did initially think it was short but after reading the £1k they removed from outstanding balance plus the £3k+ refund I think it is fair . Thought I would have got £5k+ but had 3 early settlement refunds amounting to over £1k , so that would have been nearer wha I would have expected.
Caroline Robertson says
I still havent receive a final response from Provident and its due to go back to the Ombudsman this Wednesday. Would this also go in my favour? Using the basis of 6 years worth of loans (although i have asked for all loans back to 2007 to be considered) and simple interest my claim would be over £10000 even with the balance of what i still have outstanding being taken off so its quite a lot of money and im worried incase they refuse. They still havent paid me back the £18 for the report from my GP either despite me sending emails to them which they have ignored completely.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“its due to go back to the Ombudsman this Wednesday. ” do you mean the 8 weeks is up on Wednesday? If so, Provident quite often leave it until the last minute.
Caroline Robertson says
Yes the 8 weeks are up on Wednesday and nothing in the post today so they just really have tomorrow to go
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well I usually say to just send the case straight to the Ombudsman if the lender doesn’t get back in the 8 weeks. But in your case as they asked for medical evidence, you could think of phoning them up on Thursday and asking why you haven’t had a response? If you would rather not talk to them on the phone 9perfectly understandable!0 then just send the case to the ombudsman.
Caroline Robertson says
Thanks Sara, i will give them a call on Thursday if ive not heard anything from them by then
Caroline Robertson says
Off to the ombudsman by the look of things. Just had the usual 14 days email from Provident saying their enquiries are still ongoing. Will phone Provident tomorrow and see whats happening with it and then get onto the ombudsman
Mike says
Good news with regards to my complaint against Morses. After being rejected by Morses went to FOS and she ruled 11 affordable and 12 unaffordable, 3 loans outstanding making 15/26 upheld. Just over £1k wiped off my existing loans leaving £112 outstanding , then refunded the interest on the other loans plus interest giving me £3343 cheque to be sent to me. So overall pretty happy with the outcome. The adjudicater has been brilliant all the way through the process!!
Mike says
Now I am waiting on 22 loans I had with shopacheck/WFS before Morses took them over. I am lucky to have the same adjudicater looking into this one as well, although because some fall out of the 6 year bracket it is slower than my Morses.
Oh and they will be removing all adverse marks from my credit file!!
amanda says
Hey
I submitted a complaint to Provident a couple of months back. My initial reaponse was they would responde after 28 days. At day 28 i received another letter saying they need more time. That time expired a few days back. Should i chase provident or escalate to the FOS?
My complaint involved back to back loans.. well actually all crossover loans with each new loan repaying some the old loans. The interest amounts to £9.5k. My Agent used to send me texts of the maximum I could have as soon as this changed… and tell me she knew i was good for it so no paperwork was ever needed. They definitley havent seen my statements or evidence of income since around 2004 when my son was born and i started this messy business of borrowing from provident. FYI my complaint is only about 2010 onwards as thats the info i had to hand.
One thing i never mentioned in my complaint to them was that I never recwived any interest back from early load reswttlement. So like where i wpuld pay a loan back weeks early from the new loan, shpuld i have received some interest back each time that happened? If it goes to FOS should i add this in?
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would send this to the Ombudsman now. Provident seem to be in all kinds of mess at the moment, there is no guarantee you will get a good offer by waiting. The early settlement will depend on the details of each repayment but yes, this is well worth complaining about.
Wayne says
Hi there. I have just sent my complaint which read;
(Customer number:
xxxxxxxx
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am making a complaint to you about irresponsible lending I have had 14 loans from you between 05/05/10 and 18/04/2017. Your loans trapped me into a debt spiral, with the repayment taking so much of my wages that I had to borrow again to cover my next month expenses. For this period my income averaged about £1400 per month. During this period my then partner of 9 years was diagnosed with cancer 2013. She lost her job and we struggled financially. We defaulted on numerous loans as our loan lives spiralled out of control. I always paid you but if I was struggling one month my agent would offer to take out a new loan and pay off the existing one. I would also have a little left over which always was good because I had no money. I’m reality I was just making my situation worse by borrowing more. I have never be refused further credit even though my situation was unbearable. In 2016 my partner ended our relationship due to financial stress and I’ve been left with nothing. My living expenses were roughly: rent/mortgage £600 Council tax £120. Utilities and bills £300. Transport costs £100. Clothes £30. Food, toiletries, nappies £200. Other debt repayments £200. Total £1550 per month. This shows that there was no way I could afford these loans. When I repaid them, I had to borrow again to get through the next month.
You should have realised from the number of times I rolled loans or borrowed again that my debt problems were getting worse. It was not responsible to continue to lend to me.
My credit reports would have shown my other debt repayments and problems including late payments/defaults / CCJs. You should never have given me these unaffordable loans. I would like to ask you to refund the interest and extra charges I paid. The Financial Ombudsman suggests that statutory interest is added to this sort of refund.
I would also like to request my agent stops home visits and my payments be frozen until this matter is resolved.I only found out I could make this sort of irresponsible lending complaint in March 2018. I understand the Financial Ombudsman will consider all my loans, including those that are more than 6 years old. I look forward to hearing from you soon with your response to my complaint)
I’ll keep the thread updated with my progress. My claim is for over £11000 and a current balance of around £4000.Regards,Wayne
Caroline Robertson says
Quick update on my complaint with Provident. Passed back to the FO by email when Provident failed to give final response by the 8 week timescale, not heard back from them yet.
Phoned Provident today to see how the complaint is doing. Been told due to the sensitive information it will take a bit longer to resolve and its a small team dealing with a lot of complaints. Told them i have passed this back to the FO and was informed that they will wait for their final response anyway. With regard to the £18 refund for my GP’s report, ive been told i will get that back when they are finished with the complaint.
Basically im no further forward with them since the date of my original complaint on the 13th Dec 2017. Am i being too impatient??
Angela Cheshire says
I sent my Provident complain to the ombudsman at the end of January. It was picked up by an investigator ob 23rd Feb and tgen forwarded to an adjudicator on 14th march. I havent heard anything since then. Does anyone have any idea how long the process takes. Thanjs
Max says
Mine the same provident seem to tell lies about u saying u can afford it wonder how long we have to wait
t says
Hi,
Has their been much on this site and responses from Mutual door step lender.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, they are much smaller than Provident and Morses so you wouldn’t expect to see many cases against them. Someone started a case at the end of January against them, that is all I can remember. But exactly the same rules apply to them so put in a complaint and send it straight to the Ombudsman at 8 weeks if you don’t get an answer or aren’t offered a reasonable settlement.
michelle says
Hi,
I have loans with Morses Club, I’ve been continuously borrowing from them for over 7 years without a break in the loans. My repayments are now a whopping £110 a week, these payments are causing me huge financial stress along with anxiety. I’m a single parent to a disabled child and had to give up work late 2016 to care for my child. Will it affect my claim of as i have continued making these payments?
any advise greatly appreciated.
Michelle
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Most people making complaints about affordability to doorstep lenders such as Morses Club have done just what you have done – struggled on for years, borrowing more and more. Just because you paid them doesn’t mean that they were affordable!
I suggest you put in a complaint and also asked for your current loan to be rescheduled over a MUCH longer period so they are affordable and you don’t have to borrow any more money – this will not increase the interest you pay.
Mike says
Hi Michelle
Made my initial complaint to Morses mid October, after a few weeks of how can we sort it out they took my complaint seriously. It took them 4 weeks to not uphold the complaint.
Sent to FOS early December, then contacted my investigator 3rd Jan for information.I was picked up by adjudicater end of march and upheld some over half my loans…got the redress in the form of a cheque last Friday . So start to finish about 6 months . Go for it!!
Mike says
Sorry adjudicater picked it up end of February not march
Michelle says
Hi again Mike, thanks for such a speedy reply. What a wonderful helpful site this is, I’m so glad I came across it. What a shock I got this morning when I checked my credit file and saw exactly the amount of loans and the cost, I felt physically sick. But definitely feeling more confident thanks to reading this site and from the helpful communication from yourself and Sara. Thanks again and good luck with the rest of your loans
Michelle says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the quick reply, I will get a complaint made asap and also speak to my agent about reducing my payments over a longer period.
Regards
Michelle
Mike says
Evening Michelle,
My loans went back to 2010 but originally with shopacheck who Morses bought 2014. When I put my complaint in they separated pre 2014 and post 2014….anyway when the adjudicater ruled in favour on just over half my loans, Morses asked to see the proof ( bank statements and credit report) as when they initially asked I said I would send them to FOS if it esculated. So probably think it’s ok to let them have the info to save time, even if they still fail to uphold the FOS will look after you ….I hope!!
Good luck !!!
michelle says
Hi again Mike,
Was just wondering if you have an update with how you got on with the shopacheck loans? morses are still investigating my complaint, i have received a letter from welcome finance looking into 11 loans i had with them (shopacheck)
Michelle
Caroline Robertson says
Hi Sara,
Im still no further forward with Provident. They sent me a letter on Friday asking for medical evidence, i phoned them and told them they already have it. Girl i spoke to said they do have all the info and she was passing it onto the other department ( they have had medical evidence since 20th March). I told her i had escalated the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman and she said she would take a note of that and pass it on.
I was expecting my usual fortnightly email from them saying it would take another 14 days but i have had nothing so i was hopeful a final response was on the way. However, i just phoned Provident who have informed me that they have sent all the info to the Financial Ombudsman yesterday and they do not have to give me further updates as its now with the FO. Is that right that they no longer have to speak to me?
Provident have not given me the final response in the 8 week FO timescale, they are now over 10 weeks and no final response. Will this along with my medical evidence go in my favour with the FO?
Sorry, im panicking in case the FO agrees with Provident and i dont have clue what Provident are saying. All ive ever had from them is “its sensitive information so its taking longer”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Is that right that they no longer have to speak to me?” Quite a few firms take this view, I think worrying that one person will say something to you and a different person will say something different to the Ombudsman.
This should not stop Provident from reaching a decision on your complaint, it’s just that they will send it to the FOS not to you directly. It is quite common for people to hear via the adjudicator that the lender making *this offer*. Here the adjudicator will just be telling you factually what the offer is and asking if you want to accept it. It doesn’t mean they are agreeing with it. If you say it’s unacceptable then the adjudicator will work on the case to reach a decision.
If the adjudicator does agree with Provident, then the adjudicator will write a decision explaining why. They won’t just say the lender did nothing wrong and your complaint is rejected, it will go into detail. I know it must feel a very opaque process at the moment to you but you are not going to be kept in the dark.
“they are now over 10 weeks and no final response. Will this along with my medical evidence go in my favour with the FO?” the delay won’t mean that you are more likely to win your complaint because it doesn’t affect whether the loans are “affordable” or not, but you could ask for extra compensation because of the stress of this process. The fact that Provident have written you a letter asking for medical evidence you have already given them is not good!
Caroline Robertson says
Just had a letter from Provident collection team trying to get me to set up a payment plan. I phoned them and told them my complaint was still ongoing and they told me it was resolved and i should have got a letter. It was apparently posted on the 30th but i havent received it yet. Provident have not upheld my complaint and are now looking for the outstanding balance from me. Told them it is with the financial ombudsman and that i wont be paying them. Honestly feels like they are harassing me
Caroline Robertson says
Phoned the Ombudsman who had a copy of Providents final response and he forwarded it on to me. Apparently they could not have known i had mental health problems ( told the Ombudsman that is strange, they are a doorstep lender, their agents collect on a weekly basis and they Provident pride themselves on their close customer contact so to say that in 20 years not one agent, not one manager, was made aware i had mental health issues was a bit far fetched). They would only look at 6 of the loans, when 9 of them are still within the 6 year timescale, they said all the loans did not have arrears on them, another lie, some were showing as much as 6 months in arrears which i have forwarded onto the FO copies from my credit files. My health issues are not substantial enough for them to consider…so they disagree with my GP then?? Final insult to injury, they will not reimburse me the £18 for the medical report as it was up to me to supply them with it.
I have informed the Ombudsman of all the issues, including the letters asking for medical info when they already had it in their possession along with the letter from their collections team demanding a payment plan be set up causing me severe distress and anxiety on both occasions. Very nice guy at the Ombudsman is hoping he will be able to deal with this himself but needs to wait to speak to his boss this afternoon and will hopefully get a decision pushed along quicker
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well done – that is a huge number of problems you have listed with the way Provident first loaned to you and now are (mis)handling your complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Does anyone remember being told by Provident (or any other doorstep lender) that it was a condition of taking a loan that they were not allowed to apply for a Debt Relief Order?
Caroline Robertson says
Not a debt relief order but i remember i had severe debt in 2006/2007 when i was in debt to credit card companies, finance companies and banks as well as Provident to the tune of £41500. I initially started going through debt management and when i told the manager at Provident he went ballistic and told me not to put them down with the DMC. (told the Ombudsman this too with my complaint). He was pretty threatening at the time and as i didnt want them at my door i agreed to keep their payments separate, in hindsight, i should have ignored the threats or reported them
lauren says
hi i used to have provident loans, when i asked them ,I had 19 loans all together with them, even though i only worked part time and they never done any checks just checked my pay slip once, Does anyone think I stand any chance with the Ombudsman?as provident have said it wasnt irresponsible lending, Thankyou.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
19 loans is definitely worth taking to the Ombudsman. Provident often reflect good cases. Good luck!
bruce seaton says
Hi , I sent a letter to Provident using the online link on here on 7th March 2018, asking for compensation of all the loans i had off them over the years, and have not even had so much as an acknowledgement from them, what should i do now please?
Bruce
Sara (Debt Camel) says
i would phone them up and ask why you haven’t had a reply to your complaint.
Deb says
Hi please can you help? I contacted provident about the affordability of the loans I took out, the fact no checked were made that I could afford them and that I was working ( never asked to show payslips). I complained about the interest also.
Anyway today I’ve had this response…
I had 12 lending products taken out between May 2006 and March 2013. They say the time period which any complaint can be brought to the business is 6 years from the event being complained about or if later, 3 years from when you knew or could reasonably have known you had cause to complain —- this statement makes no sense to me.
They say they’re not required to consider the complaint from May 06 to May 10 and given the passage of time it is not possible to assess the circumstances of these loans.
They say that loans signed for in November 2012 and March 2013 show my signature agreeing to the lending and affordability assessment.
Do I go to the ombudsman? I’m more concerned about the earlier loans as I’m sure provident only recently started to properly asses applicants. I know my first loan was given to me with NO checks at all!
Please can you advise, do I have a case and can I complain about there earlier loans? Even tho they say I can’t?
They’ve sent copies of signed documents where income details are entered but I don’t remember them and they’re filled in by the agent.
What do I say to the ombudsman if I do have a case?
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes I suggest you send this to the Ombudsman. Say you have only recently found out when you could complain (say how you found out – did a friend tell you? Did you see a reference to refunds on Facebook? there are no “wrong ” answers here, just say what happened to you).
Also say the income details entered don’t look right and they were completed by the agent, not you.
Provident have only really started to approve their loan assessment in the last couple of years.
You may well only get a refund for more recent loans but it is worth asking for all of them!
Deb says
Thanks Sara, can you point me in the right direction for a template letter or an idea of what to say to the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Deb,
There isn’t a template for this as each individual case can be so different. You can just send a copy of the complaint you sent to Provident, and say you aren’t happy with the reply… But it may be good to add some bits. The point about only finding out that you could complain recently. The fact that you don’t think the income figures are right but they were completed by the agent not you and you didn’t see them. And anything else where you don’t think what provident have replied is fair.
“It’s not fair” may sound a bit like kids in a playground, but actually that is exactly what the ombudsman wants to hear from you – your story and why you weren’t treated fairly.
Deb says
I’ll contact the ombudsman then, am I ok to complain about the loans from 2006-2010 despite what provident say?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, it;s the Ombudsman’s decision what loans they will look at, not provident.
In practice the Ombudsman will not look at cases before 2007. And they may decide not to look at other loans over 6 years, but it’s their call so you should send the whole case to them.
Michelle says
Hi again,
I hope it’s ok to ask more advice, Morses Club have received my complaint and called me to ask me to send in a copy of my credit report and also bank statements in support of my claim. Is this the correct procedure? I can send in my credit report but iv had a few bank accounts through the years with most closed now so not sure how I would get the statements. Should my credit report be enough for them?
Michelle
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How many years does your claim go back?
Michelle says
My first loan was November 2011
Michelle
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then you should be able to get the bank statements from your closed accounts. Also they shouldn’t try to charge you for these – if they do, say you are making a Subject Access request for your personal information and that has to be free (the bank will know what that means!)
Steve Porter says
Hi Sara,
i just wanted to know if i have a case for a complaint regarding irresponsible lending from Provident. i have taken out numerous loans with them over the last 10 years, usually with 2 or more running at the same time. Not once did they even ask me for proof of income or expenditure, if they had run credit checks on me then they must have seen that i also was struggling with 3 credit cards (1 defaulted with Natwest) and always in my overdraft. i basically could tell my agent anything and she would approve my loans. whats my best way of putting this into writing?
Many Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like a good case to me! You may only get a refund for the more recent loans but put in a complaint about all of them. There is a template here for a payday loan refund https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-loan-refunds/, you can change that to remove the word “payday” and also add in any extra points such as the fact they never asked for proof of income or checked your credit records. Read the article above these comments which looks at some common things that happen with provident lending and see if any of those applied to you and should be added to the letter.
Good luck!
Steve Porter says
thank you for the quick reply Sara. keep up the good work
Caroline Robertson says
Update…The Financial Ombudsman have sped my complaint up with Provident due to my health issues. They have asked if i wanted all the loans included or just the 6 years, stating that it would have to be passed onto someone else if i wanted all the loans included. I just want this over and done with as soon as possible so i have went for the 6 years which gives me 9 loans in total.
I had emailed the FO and was able to refute every claim Provident had made in their final response from my disabilities, their lies about arrears on accounts and named the agents and managers that were aware of my health issues. I told them Provident had completely mis-handled my complaint and went against FCA guidelines on mental health and responsible lending. Have i done enough Sara?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I hope that’s enough because it sounds like a lot! Fingers crossed…
Caroline Robertson says
Thank you. Hopefully not too long to wait now. Will keep you updated
Nathan says
I recently complained to Loans At Home About 9 loans I had with then between 2004-2009. Their reply stated that as the last loan was taken out over 6 years ago, they aren’t able to consider or uphold my complaint and that I cannot go to FOS. Is there anything I can do? This is the first time I have complained to them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is the FOS’s decision whether they can look at a case, not the lenders. But the FOS will not be able to consider loans before April 2007 as they had no jurisdiction before then. And I am not aware of a case where they have looked at doorstep loans in 2007-9. It’s up to you if you want to try. Do you have your bank statements for that period?
Nathan says
No bank statements no, I just have the loan information provided by Loans At Home. I was considering writing back to Loans At Home and explain that the loans taken out in the past have led to financial difficulty even to this day, and that I only found out I could make this kind of complaint this year, but it sounds like nothing will change their mind about looking into my complaint? I would like to go to FOS but again it sounds like I don’t stand much of a chance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I doubt anything you can say will change Loans at Home’s mind. You can go to the FOS, I just didn’t want you to get your hopes up and you are very likely to need to get your bank statements for 2007-9.
Sharon says
Hi Sara got my final response from provident stating that they are not upholding my complaint on 38 loans , could you advise me what steps next to take
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Provident often reject really good cases you should send the complaint to the Ombudsman. It’s not fast, but persevere and for the cost of a few emails you may get a really good refund.
Sharon says
Hi yes I’ve done that got email to ask for copy of response sent that off yesterday 😊 will keep you posted
Thanks
Weslie Ogilvie says
Hi. I have continually had several provident loans over the last 5-8 years. They have increased in quantity and I have took out several while still paying others. I have missed a few payments but currently the weekly repayments are crippling me and it’s impacting on my family. What is my best course of action please? Wes
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The first thing is to tell your agent that you can’t manage the repayments and ask for the existing loans to be rescheduled over a longer period so the repayments are manageable. They should NOT charge you more interest for doing this. And do not let the agent suggest you could get another loan instead!
Then think about putting in a complaint to Provident that the loans have been unaffordable for you as the article above suggests.
Weslie Ogilvie says
Hi,
Thanks for the response. I have e mailed provident my concerns and stating that I believe they lent irresponsibly to me. If I’m not happy with the response at what point should I contact the ombudsmen? A few more questions…. If I ask provident to supply details of every loan I’ve had, are they obliged to supply this? How long should I give them to reply and can I withhold payments untill the issue is resolved? Thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Provident have 8 weeks to reply – and you are unlikely to get a decision from them before that point – after that you can go to the ombudsman.
Yes you can ask provident to send you a list of your loans.
You could stop paying, but it may be better to set up a payment arrangement you can afford – this does not harm your case and if you pay them £50 more now and get a refund, the refund will be £50 larger.
Jen says
Try n find all old books if u can, they sent details of 10 loans to me, I found another 5 they missed on my credit report that I still had 1 book with another 1 on it, but in the final response it says I had 25 loans from them, I honestly can’t remember how many I’ve had over the years, but do try and find any old papers or books you have lying around, I’ve sent everything to FOS so waiting on response from them, good luck
Max says
Provident took our books of us
Jen says
Ive lost mine too over the years, they r a nightmare to deal with, I’d some manager appear at my house 1 day to ask for payment, I explained about complaint he told me he was told it was rejected and was there to ask for payment, I showed him the e.mail I received the previous day from them requesting another 14 days, he apologised n left, final response from them a week later, they send about 10 sheets plus, a lot of reading, also including that some of my agents have left the company since I had loans with them. Sent the lot to FOS
Caroline Robertson says
I didnt have any book from Provident either. Check your credit report free with Noddle, it will show all loans you have had in the last 6 years and any arrears on the accounts. Provident have said i had no arrears, i told the Ombudsman, if i had no arrears then why did they file arrears of up to 6 months with credit reference agencies? They cant have it both ways imo. They also try to take the loans from the start day making out some are more than 6 years old, the last payment is the date they should consider from so i had another 3 within the 6 year timescale. Mine is now with an Adjudicator.
Max says
I look on my credit file and never seen provident
Donna says
Hi Sara
I’ve had a reply from the ombudsman they are not upholding the complaint.
I’ve asked for the decision to be looked at again.
Can you tell me if re financed loans are illegal. To be honest i don’t think anyone will change their decision.
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s not illegal to refinance loans. But if it kept happening Provident (or whichever doorstep lender it is) should have stopped and wondered if the loans were affordable for you… that is your case, that they didn’t do proper affordability checks when the number of times you refinanced should have suggested you were struggling. It is definitely worth asking for the case to go to an ombudsman if you have been rejected by an adjudicator.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A late addition. If a lot of the loan refinancing was suggested by your agent in your house, there is an extra point you can make.
The FCA (Provident’s regulator) said this in a report https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/consultation/cp18-12.pdf (its a long report – look at page 32) a couple of weeks ago:
“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.”
ie Prvident should only have offered you a loan if you had asked them in writing for it. So tell your adjuicator that youhave read this and that it was your agent that kept offering the loans (assuming this is what happened to you of course!)
Also if they offered to refinance a loan (end it and start a new one) then they should have explained that this works out to be more expensive than taking out a new one and letting the old one continue because of the way their early settlement calulations worked. See pages 33-35 of the report. So you should also say your agent never showed you the alternatice so you could choose the cheaper one.
Caroline Robertson says
Hi Sara,
Sorry to bother you again. I have just received another email from the adjudicator saying “I understand from your email dated 11 May 2018 that you’d like all of your loans to be considered but due to how long this matter has taken to resolve you’d be happy for me to only consider the loans you took out within the last six years. I’ve attached a copy of your account summary which shows the loans you borrowed from Provident as I thought it’ll help you make a more informed decision”.
In light of his wording on this i have decided to go for all the loans to be considered and not the just the 6 that would be included for the last 6 years.
Is it just me or does this sound like he is encouraging me to go for the lot?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have told the FOS that you have some mental health issues. This may just be the adjudicator wanting to make sure you have all the information you need and don’t feel you are being rushed into a decision you will regret. I am not sure it is an encouragement, but it could be!
Caroline Robertson says
I also added in that while Provident say they wouldnt look at loans over 6 years as it would be impossible for agents and managers to remember these, how can these agents and managers possibly say they can remember my health issues didnt affect my judgement? Also Provident have every loan as 0 arrears, yet they reported arrears of up to 6 months on most of the loans with credit reference agencies. They cant have it both ways, if i had zero arrears then they shouldnt have affected my credit rating by saying i was in sustained arrears. They make no sense and thats what i have told the adjudicator
Sara (Debt Camel) says
All good points!
Caroline Robertson says
That was quick. The adjudicator has now passed the complaint onto the short term lending team to look at all the loans. There is at least 19 loans going back to 2007. Looking at them, loans were renewed after a few months, none going to the full terms on the agreements with some loans 2 or 3 months apart. Im keeping everything crossed for a good outcome
laura says
hi i had 19 loans with provident i sent it to the ombudsman they asked for bank statements from the time of loans but the bank account i had then is now closed, will this effect anything? also they have told me provident are saying some of the loans are out of time scale. is there anything else i can do to help me complaint?advice would be helpful thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to get your old bank statements – this is possible from closed accounts.
Agnes says
Dear Sara,
I have been taking loans from provident, Albemarle, money shop, car finance, and many others since 2009 and still taking and paying I am now really struggling to pay my bills and rent. I have a child 22years old who has both physical and medical disability since birth. I am sole carer and I have to work part time to pay my bills, what should I do? as I real need help to stop borrowing.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Agnes, well done for posting here. When you have been so deep in debt for so long, it’s hard to take that first step. I think you are right that stopping borrowing is important.
I suggest you phone StepChange https://www.stepchange.org/ and ask them to set up a debt management plan for you. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/help-payday-loan/ which explains this. They can also talk about other options if they think one would suit you better.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
HI EVERYONE !
If you don’t have a complete list of your loans, I suggest you now send the lender a Subject Access Request. As from today that is free! See /get-list-payday-loans-sar/.
Carol says
Good Afternoon All, I have taken one complaint to the FOS and now Provident have also refused my claim, do I have to go back to the FOS and start a new claim or can I add this one to my original one? Thanks, Carol
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s a new complaint for each lender. But you can put on this one that you have already supplied your credit report and bank statements for your other one, and they will then be shared.
Emily says
have got Into debt without my partner knowing (mainly down to
gambling online)
I have around 10k worth of debt (with 5 different lende s) which 8k is
under a dwp with step change other 3 with provident after I taken out
the dwp.
If I was going to complain and ask for refunds won’t they throw the
gambling in my face as this is my fault and I would be able to pay
payment each month?
If I have only had one loan with a lender can I still request I
refund?
If I could get money back and reduce my debt this would take a huge
strain off and I can start enjoying life again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lenders are sometimes difficult about cases where there is gambling but the Financial Ombudsman isn’t, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/gambling-payday-loan-refunds/.
Making these complaints can be a great way to speed up a DMP.
Have you stopped gambling though? Is that why you have had to borrow from provident when your DMP had started?
It sounds worth complaining to Provident – they should have wondered why you needed three loans. You can also ask Provident to reschedule these loans over a longer period as you are struggling – they don’t charge you any more interest if you do this.
Yes you can complain about a single loan but it’s harder to win. Ask yourself what that lender would have seen in August 2017 (or whenever) when you applied for the loan – just how bad was your credit record at that point?
shakeela says
Hi i sent my complaint to fos after provident refussed my claims, its been 8 weeks up to now and all iv had is a letter asking for bank statements thats it, no emails etc, is this normal? and how long can it take? does anyone have any infot that could help me please!!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I hope you were also asked for a copy of your credit report.
FOS will have asked Provident for their case file – Ptovident can be slow about providing this. When FOS has that, your complaint can be picked up by an adjudicator.
I suggest giving it another 2 weeks then phoning up and asking if there is anything more you can provide.
Do you have a list of all your loans and what you have repaid?
Angela Cheshire says
I sent my complaint against Provident to ombudsman begining of Feb. Was allocated an investigator and credit file sent. On 14th March i was told they had all information and would be sent to adjudicator. I asked for an update 2nd May and was still waiting allocation. Still not heard anything. Does it usually take this long. Its been 5 months since i sent to ombudsman
Max says
Me 2 still waiting
Ella says
I have contacted the ombudsman about my three cases that were started in December and have been informed that any provident cases which include loans beyond six years will take alot more time whilst they wait for the jurisdiction outcome, could be six months or up to a year. The wait time with FOS only starts when all parties have sent in the requested information. So I have a claim in for Wonga who sent all details by the 5th March to FOS and it was a 90 day wait for all cases but now have just been informed that because of the sheer volume of complaints going to the FOS it will be up to another 90 days. They are all queued and at the moment adjudicators are picking up complaints from the 5th Feb.
Caroline Robertson says
Im still waiting too, i was given an adjudicator but because i wanted all the loans looked at they sent it to a different department otherwise i probably would have had a decision. I phoned on Thursday and they said they are waiting on someone to pick mines up, they said that they need to see if they can add the 3 extra years on as i was unaware i could make a complaint until recently (December when i complained to Provident). She didnt say anything about a jurisdiction outcome, i thought the Ombudsman already had the jurisdiction to deal with complaints over 6 years old …..“six years from the event the consumer is complaining about (or – if later – three years from when the consumer knew, or could reasonably have known, they had cause to complain)“. It looks like the FO are pretty busy and we will all be waiting for a while on a decision.
lauren says
I rang the FOS today for update, i had 17 loans with provident but 3 was over the 6 years, so the woman said today if i forgot about them 3 loans it would be so much quicker, what do people think i should do?
Caroline Robertson says
Im the same Lauren. I have some within the 6 years and more outside the timescale. I personally went for the longer wait and all loans to be looked at. The difference being around £5000 refund to £17000 refund on mine. If there is a big difference in what you would get back and you dont mind waiting then go for it but if you would be happy with what you would get back over the 6 years you will get the result much quicker
lauren says
iv decided to forget the 3 earlier loans as they were just small ones, got email today to say they waiting for case handler to pick up my case and that they would let me know, i still have 14 loans to be looked at within the 6 years, im not holding my breath , has anyone had any luck with provident?
Max says
There only looking at 8 loans and provident said I have only been a customer for 7 years that’s a lie been a customer for 25 years I fos going to phone me in the morning what questions will he asked me
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“They are only looking at 8 loans” who are, the Ombudsman? Or Provident?
You need to think of your borrowing in three sections.
Before April 2007 you will not get any refunds for, the Ombudsman will not even consider these as that was the first date when it became possible to send a consumer borrowing case to the Ombudsman. There is nothing that can be done about this.
The loans within the last 6 years the Ombudsman will definitely look at.
The loans after 2007 but more than 6 years old are the uncertain ones. The Ombudsman may or may not agree to look at these and if you want them considered your Mbudsman complaint is likely to take much longer.
Max says
See what happens with my call tomorrow
Max says
Had a phone call fill he understood me I’ve sent my credit file now bank statement which nationwide bit funny with me
shopacheack says
Hi Sara,
Many years ago (talking about 20, even 30) my parents used shopacheck & provident doorstep lenders. The money they repaid must run into the many tens of thousands to each of these companies, I can remember them paying off these debts each Friday and then straight away as one was near clearing they would re-loan. This went on for a good ten or 15 years. My parents finally cleared these debts from a secured loan against their house. My mother now just lives on her basic pension as my dad is no longer with us, and my Mother lives in a council bungalow, and has no savings (even from the house sale, as the secured loan was paid back) . I know she struggles every month financially. Seeing this thread has made me wonder if I should write a template letter to these companies on my mothers behalf , get her to sign them etc and post. When I think off all that money and the stress of being trapped in that debt cycle that my parents were in, makes me sad.
Is there any time constraints from door step lenders, and do you think my mother would have a good case, or would these companies just shrug the claim off due to time?.
Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
Lee
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry but as the article above says, there is no chance of getting refunds for loans before 2007.
Mandy Fones says
My husband,, myself and daughter has had quite a few loans off provident they have all been paid up to date with difficulty at times. We we wondering if we have got any chance of getting a refund due to ppi. We have had provident for over 30 years
Sara (Debt Camel) says
PPI was never charged on provident loans.
But if you have had a lot of loans from them in the last few years, these may well have been unaffordable for you. And if your agent suggested that ou refinaced an eisting loan or took another one out, then they probably shouldn’t have done that! So read the article above ^^^ and have a think whether you should ask for a refund of interest.
You can’t go back before 2007 for this.
Mandy Fones says
Thank you will think about it
Maxine says
How long do u have to wait one the adicator decide what’ happen to your complaint
Weslie Ogilvie says
Hi. I complained through provident website with regards to what I believe has been irresponsible lending. I have had no response and they claim not to have received it( luckily I took a screen shot of it). I have sent them a paper copy in the post today. When should I contact the financial ombudsmen, as I feel they are dragging they’re heals. Thankyou.
Wes
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago did you put the complaint in?
Max says
Spoke to the ombudsman on Thursday sent my bank statement which was hard to get and my credit report on friday
Weslie Ogilvie says
Hi.
I sent it on the 13th may. But they claim not to have received it. Thanks
Mandy says
Hi Sara. How does the 8% interest per annum work when your complaint is upheld ? Is it just the term of the loan or is it until the company actually refunds the redress .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It runs from when you paid interest that is being refunded to when the lender makes the refund calculation, so a few days before you get the money.
alana says
I am looking into this for my mum.
My mum paid shockacheck (moses) since as far back as I could remember, when I was a kid. maybe about 15 years or so. I understand they will only consider the last 6 years or something.
I am trying to find out the best way for her to request statements from shockacheck?
I have told her to look out bank statements, she said it was all paid in cash at the door.
She doesn’t have any letters or emails.
What would be the best option to request a full statement of all accounts from shopacheck? would they be able to give her the information without an account number?
I suggested maybe getting a credit check done?
your help will be very much appreciated. she used to pay over £100 a week, being a single parent with 6 kids.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Does she still have loans open? Shopacheck was taken over by Morses a few years ago and that is who complaints have to go to. I don’t know if they reported to credit reference agencies.
alana says
she paid it off 2016 completely.
It was roughly 200% interest. she would take out £2000 loan then pay back £4000. then take out another £2000 and pay back £4000. she said she was always behind in payments and at one point paying £260 a week.
I know everything before 2007 won’t count, but it is worth a try for the latter.
She is going to ry and found them to find out if she has a reference number as it has only been a few years.
Connor says
Hi all,
I complained to provident in November 2017 after finally thinking the way I had been taken advantage of over the years was just not right, I then came across this site after googling.
Provident after many letters saying they needed a further 14 days finally gave me their final response and could not uphold the complaint.
I filled in the forms for the Ombudsman and sent in copies of all the loans along with all correspondence from Provident, I had an email from an investigator on May 1st saying “We are currently looking into what the business has said about you complaining too late and it might be sometime before we are able to give you an answer on some your complaint in some degree.”
As I didn’t have information on loans taken out between 2008-2010 I am claiming irresponsible lending from the ones I have had from January 2011 to present, a total of 14 loans, total interest paid nearly £7,000.
From the very first loan/debt collection, I never was asked to show income, my agent just said we’ll put this amount, many new loans were used to pay off older ones, at one point I was paying nearly £100 per week, I always made sure the money was there as they were obviously coming to my door to collect, there was times where some payments were missed but not many, this has caused so much stress over the years and I always felt there was nothing I could do and was trapped.
Provident stated in their final response that employment details were checked, reviewing proof of I.D and details of income and expenditure. This is a total lie, and I feel I have been kicked while down. They wont know my employment details as I was self employed and never gave them my trading name as it was never asked (I can confirm this via hmrc if needs be) reviewing proof of I.D, no I.D was checked, surely they would have taken a driving license number to prove this or passport number?? So surely these two points prove they didn’t carry out any checks, and if they would have looked at my credit rating would have ran a mile!
So I am still waiting, how much longer for? who knows. Provident seem to me to be Legal Loan sharks that can prey on people that are at their most vulnerable.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am not defending them, but the agent may have lied to provident about seeing your id and employment information.
you should tell the FO what you have said here.
I also suggest you send Provident a Subject Access Request asking for a copy of all the personal information they have about you – send this request to informationrequests@provident.co.uk and give your full name, address, date of birth and a customer reference number if you have one. This may not be interesting, it’s hard to tell until you get it, but it can tak a month so ask them now.
Connor says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for that information, I will request that now, and get the ball rolling. :)
As for the agent, she was let go by Provident 2 years ago while being investigated (so the area manager told me at the time when he covered the collections).
I have told the FO about my employment, I.D etc not being checked and about this particular agent being let go by them, hopefully this helps my case.
Because since not paying them anymore I really feel I have gotten out of the trap they had me in, and looking back now, I can see how bad things really were with them.
Connor says
Hi Sara,
I have just received an email from Provident about the Subject access request, They are asking for two forms of identification, I am rather reluctant to provide a copy of my driving licence or passport as they will then have a copy which they could say they had previously?? Or am I looking at this like they are out to get me lol.
Surely with the information I have provided already and the fact they can post it to my registered address with them means that it is me that will receive it?
It’s a bit late in the day for them to start doing things properly surely or have they got a lot of cases against them.
Suzyem says
Hi. Just a ray of hope for anyone going through the process with Provident. After 15 weeks they offered me a refund on one loan. (Around £400). At the time I had sent it to the financial ombudsman. They only offered me the money after they had contacted them and I banked the cheque. They didn’t uphold 2 loans. The financial ombudsman got in touch around the same time not knowing this and said provident had told them they didn’t have any record of a complaint from me. Lies number 1. The ombudsman told me that it didn’t matter that i had banked that cheque. They would still look into it for me. I sent them copies of the 9 letters I had from provident about the complaint. Provident told them I didn’t pay rent or mortgage and I had no significant debts. Lies number 2. I sent my rent statement, my credit file which showed 2 credit cards and my 2 settlement letters from payday lenders who upheld my complaint from that time. I have had an email tonight from my adjudicator who upheld my complaint and has advised that provident has now agreed they lent to me irresponsibly and is offering me an additional £1.4k. I’m over the moon. Don’t give up! Xx
michelle says
Hi Sara,
I’ve had a final response from morses regarding my complaint, out of 27 loans they are only upholding one, issuing a refund of £499 that will be deducted from my outstanding balance. a lot of the information is wrong they have on file for me, they say my disposable income ranged from £11 to £175 per week, absolutely ridiculous that i ever have that amount of £175, they have no record of my rent payments or my other loans/credit repayments. they also note that my maximum repayments to them across active loans ranged from £10.50 to £84 yet for the past 2 years at least i have paid £110 per week. Would you advise that i send this straight to the Financial Ombudsman Service?
Michelle
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It doesn’t sound like a good offer so yes!