UPDATE: The Morses Scheme has failed. See Morses – what is happening to loans and refunds
UPDATE: in March 2022, Loans At Home went into administration. There is no money to pay any refunds. Any remaining loans have been written off and you should not make any payments to them.
UPDATE: The Provident Scheme has now closed and it is too late to make any Provident complaints.
Doorstep lending – also called home credit – is where a collector comes to your house to collect the repayments. Many people have been borrowing from the same lender for years.
If you had doorstep loans, 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.
Contents
What is an “unaffordable” 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.
So even if you always paid your loans on time, they could still have been unaffordable. Especially if you had several loans at the same time or often had to refinance/top-up a loan.
Often the first few loans may have been just about affordable, but the lender should have realised their loans were making your life more difficult when you kept getting more loans.
If you were struggling, your agent should have suggested that you could repay the current one a lot more slowly with no extra interest being added. But too often people were just offered another larger loan.
That was irresponsible lending and you should get a refund back of the interest you paid.
You are very unlikely to get a refund for only one loan. But if you borrowed several times and if you took out a new loan when you were having problems paying an existing one, then complain.
How to ask for a refund from home credit lenders
Here is a template letter you can use. Change it so it tells what happened to you.
Template letter for doorstep loan refunds
I want you to send me a list of them, showing for each loan when it was taken out, how much interest and charges you added and what I repaid. I would like you to send me a complete list even if you consider that some of the loans are too old to be refunded. [delete this if you have all your loan details.]
You should never have given me these unaffordable loans. I am asking you to refund the interest and any charges I paid, plus statutory interest, and to delete any negative information from my credit record.
[If any of the following happened to you, add a couple of sentences describing this. If the problems didn’t happen for all of your loans, add the words OFTEN or SOMETIMES. Delete any that didn’t happen to you.]
- I have borrowed from you continuously for [say how many years]. Every time I repaid a few payments my collector encouraged me to take a top up and refinance it. My collector never explained I would have paid less interest if I just took a new loan and carried on repaying the old one.
- I missed several payments and the collector knew I was in difficulty as I had lost my job/had my hours cut/benefits reduced but I was just offered a new loan. I was never told that I could have a repayment plan for my existing loan instead.
- When I asked my collector if I could pay over a longer period, he/she said I couldn’t unless I took a new loan.
- 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.
- 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 didn’t know that the lender was supposed to check that I could repay the loan without having to borrow more. I only found out in [say when and how you heard about these refunds – article in the Sun? Facebook advert? friend told you?]
Also include your customer reference number if you had one. And explain if you have moved address or changed your email so they can locate your account.
Contact details for doorstep lenders
- Cockle email enquiries@cocklefinance.co.uk with Affordability Complaint as the title
- Compton Finance email mark.phillips@comptonfinance.co.uk with Affordability Complaint as the title
- GR Finance email grfinanceltd@gmail.com with Affordability Complaint as the title
- Mutual email to complaints@mutual.uk.com.
- Naylors Finance email with Complaint in the title to admin@jrnaylors.com.
- Pinewood Finance C0 email tracy.evans@pinewood-finance.co.uk with Affordability Complaint as the title
- Short Term Finance (Birmingham) Use their online form and copy your complaints letter into there: complaints to Short-Term Finance.
- Skyline Direct complaints@skylinedirect.com
- Swift ivan@swiftdl.co.uk
- Valleys Finance admin@valleysfinance.ltd.uk with Affordability Complaint as the title
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.
You should get a response in 8 weeks
You may get a list of your loans on its own. This is NOT the response to your complaint, which will arrive later. You don’t need to do anything with the list of loans, just keep it. If the lender makes you an offer, it will help you to see how good or bad it is.
The lender should reply to your complaint within 8 weeks from when you send the email, not when they acknowledge it.
Lenders may be very slow about replying to complaints and they often don’t make a good offer. They may ask for two more weeks several times… I suggest you send the case to the Ombudsman straight away after 8 weeks.
How strong is your complaint?
Very large numbers of these complaints are being won at the Ombudsman – in the last quarter of 2020, 84% of doorstep lending complaints were won by the borrower.
In all of those Ombudsman cases, the lender had either rejected the complaint or made a poor offer.
So don’t be put off if this happens to you, send it to the Ombudsman!.
Three useful guidelines are:
- The more loans you had, the better your case. Borrowing for long periods by taking out new loans or refinancing existing ones shows you were dependent on the loans.
- It can be hard to win a complaint for just a couple of small loans.
- It’s normal to not get the first few loans refunded. If a lender has offered you a refund on loans 5-12 that is probably a good offer. But if they have offered a refund on just loans 10-12 it probably isn’t.
- The larger the loans became, the better your complaint is.
- The Ombudsman will usually look at loans that are over 6 years old, but many lenders just refuse. You can go back to 2007.
Sending a complaint to the Ombudsman
The easiest way to send a complaint is to use their online application form because that asks all the questions they need to know the answer to (most of these are easy, such as would you like to be contacted by letter, email or phone?).
You probably won’t get a refund back of all the interest you paid… but ask for a refund on all loans and let the Ombudsman make the decision about where your loans became unaffordable.
You don’t have to calculate anything or ask for a specific amount. If you don’t yet have a list of your loans, say you have asked for one but the lender hasn’t sent it.
What should you say to FOS?
There isn’t a separate template for this. You can just copy the complaint you sent to the lender. But here are some more things you may want to add.
- Say if you had a poor credit record, especially if it got worse as you carried on borrowing from the doorstep lender.
- Say if you repaid some loans early because you refinanced your loan. Here you may have paid more in interest than if you had just been given an extra loan. 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.
- Also tell 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.
A lender in your house should only offer a loan if you had asked them in writing for it. So if this happened to you, mention it in your complaint to the Ombudsman.
Send your bank statements and credit report
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, especially if you only had a few loans.
If you have borrowed for many years and the pile of statements would be HUGE, it’s still a good idea to get them all now, but you could then wait and see what the ombudsman asks for.
Don’t worry if your bank statements show a lot of gambling. The Ombudsman just accepts you have a gambling problem, you can still win these complaints.
Also get a copy of your free TransUnion Statutory Credit report and send it to the Ombudsman with your complaint. Don’t worry that you can’t get an old credit report – the Ombudsman knows this isn’t possible.
Do you have a current loan?
You can complain when you are still repaying a loan. If you tell the 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 also still complain if you are in a debt management plan. But don’t bother if you are in an IVA, bankruptcy or a DRo.
Need some help?
Your local Citizens Advice can help with these complaints.
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 what happened and a claims company doesn’t!
Comments or questions?
Hundreds of readers have posted comments below about how their complaints are going and the successes they have had. If you have a question, ask it here!
Are you struggling to pay car finance?
Is your credit limit too high? Not affordable?
Can you get an overdraft refund?
James says
HI All
Has anyone been paid by satsuma/ provident yet ?, my offer was accepted yesterday’s and my 28 day count down started yesterday.
I’ve seen people have offers accepted but no payments yet … just seeing if anyone has
Thanks
James
Deb says
I’ve asked more or less the same question but had no reply. My offer was accepted by me on Tuesday and FOS said the business ( provident) would get in touch. I wondered if anyone had had any communication from provident and if they’d been paid within the 28 days period.
Be good to know!
Samantha says
Yes a few of us have received payment. However they are taking the full 28 days. And no the only time we heard from them was when we phoned them. They didn’t keep us updated and when u do phone them all they will tell you is that it will take 28 days
Deb says
Thank you that’s reassuring ( somewhat!)
James says
Thanks, atleast I know I’m gonna get a payment likely in jan I’ll wait24/25 days then chase them up
James
alison says
There are quite a few if you read the thread form the top – that have had their payouts recently
James says
Hi all,
Just phoned provident to ask if the case handler has re-evaluated my refund, due to me questioning the amount. The guy checked with the case handler and said the amount was correct. I have added the original interest up from loans 6-23 which are being refunded, and my total is always £8043.60 ( this is before the 8% interest )I have checked this numerous times,
provident insist the amount before the 8% interest is added is, £6408. The guy told me to send my grievances to the FOS, and if it’s wrong, the FOS will tell them to change it. It is only simple arithmetic, how come their calculations are so different, when we are both calculating the same figures ? This is driving me nuts, and it now means another lengthy wait, while the FOS get back to me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Deep sigh.
Danielle says
I have had no reply from the FOS on this atm, I sent the whole subject access request and a full word document with all calculations.
When I asked the adjudicator, do you check these sums at your end she said no. To me no offer should be made with a full breakdown of how it’s reached. I mean this time of year there could be lots of people agreeing to figures that are a lot less than they should be and it’s not being checked.
Why on earth I’ve had to send a subject access request as evidence when everyone has had it since December last year is beyond me.
It seems provident are trying to get a last minute one up on certain people. I’ve waited this long so I may aswell fight it out for double the money and the fact I know I’m right.
Ronnie says
If you renewed any of your loans before they were fully paid up you would have had a rebate so that then reduces the interest for that loan.
Danielle says
Yes I included that in my calculation but legally how does that work out? I never recieved cash as a rebate, it always went towards a new loan. As in they offered anew loan but used part of the loan to pay any outstanding loan and the esb was added to that calculation. I’ve questioned this in my letter with calculations.
James says
Hi again,
I called the FOS in regard to my phone call with provident, the guy at the FOS was very helpful, he took all my details, and is going to look into the detailed email I sent them (FOS) regarding the disputed refund amount. He is going to get another colleague to look over the figures and they are calling me back on Monday afternoon with their findings, hopefully some good news 🤞
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good, fingers crossed.
Shebs says
Hi does provident think we are all stupid we borrowed from them that was the only stupid thing we done
Just got of phone with provident to be told that they have agreed with adjudicator and offered write off plus 2000 refund
The adjudicator said that loans 6-19 were to be refunded the interest that these loans was 12811 then they have to give 8% EACH year till settled so how you work it out is if they give you interest on one loan of say 300 and the loan was in 2010 then it’s 300x9years =2700 I’ve calculated the 8% interest alone is 8600 minus 20% tax is 6880plus 12811 =19661tge 3 loans still outstanding should be 5000 which should leave refund of14661 no 2000 totally fed up now
Shebs says
Sorry meant if the 8% is 300 x9 years is 2700 that is just for one of my loans total 8% is8600-20%=6880
Danielle says
The interest per annum is the interest x 8% × number of years. So 300 x 8% =24 x 10 = 240.
That’s how I worked it out. Then once all the interst per annum was added up I took away 20 %.
The outstanding balance is the amount loaned minus no interest minus any payments made against that balance. Plus if you paid with interest included they owe you a fraction of an 8% per annum calculation on that.
Ronnie says
If the interest was 300, 8% of it is 24 so you would get 300 plus 9yrs of 24 which is 516 in total minus 20%
Shebs says
My loans were large loans for example the interest alone on one of my loans was 2400 if you get 8% on that it’s 192 and it was in 2010 you should get 192 x 9 years =1728 that’s what fos said it’s 8% per year some of my loans were 2015 so you multiply your 8% by 4 years
Danielle says
Well if that’s correct mate and your owed so much I definitely hold out for the ombudsman!
Shebs says
In my letter from adjudicator it stated that ALL interest from loans 6-19 To be refunded then add the 8%
It is 8% EACH year till they settle
So if 4 loans were in 2010 then it’s 8% x 9
If 4 loans were in 2011 then it’s 8% x 8
If 4 loans were in 2015 then it’s 8% x 4
Then take away 20% for tax just for the total balance of all the 8%s
Then deduct anything you owe I hade 9499 with lowel but having take away the interest and what I’ve paid on these 2 loans I should only owe them 4300
All my interest on loans 6-19 came to 12811
Then all my 8%s was 7987 minus tax is 6839
Add these two together and it’s 19200
Take away outstanding balance of 4300 =14900
And provident offered write off and 2300 refund doesn’t add up they have done this with a few people please check before you accept
Michelle says
Did you accept then ? If not, what’s happening now.
Shebs says
Not accepted there offer
Michelle says
My husband has had a rubbish offer too 😡. Have you got anywhere with yours! Are they looking into it further
Shebs says
No I didn’t accept there offer still waiting on them to reply
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So, not saying you are wrong, but can I ask some questions?
You had 19 loans in all and 6-19 are to be refunded?
Which loans is there a balance on, with Lowells? Say this is the last 4 (I just invented that)
How much interest did you pay on the loans to be refunded that have been repaid completely? That would be loans 6-15 in my invented case. This is the amount you actually paid, which may not be the amount that was added at the start if the loan was closed early.
How much did you borrow for the loans there is a balance on? That would be loans 16-19 in my invested case? Ignore the interest on these loans, just what did you borrow?
How much did you pay to Provident on these last loans? How much have you paid to Lowell?
Shebs says
The fos hasn’t got the email and I certainly won’t be accepting it I have told the case handler at provident to call me on Monday so I can go through the breakdown as I’ve got all the figures and agreements and They said when she emails the fos I have to tell them what I’m doing
Shebs says
I will just tell them to put it to final ombudsman no way I’m accepting that the adjudicator has a copy of all the agreements they should be able to work it out
Gemma b says
Hi I have submitted an irresponsible lending to provident and received 3 emails asking for further information to support my claim which I have replied to, on each email I have asked for a subject access request and sent a separate email asking for this but they still haven’t sent anything! And seem to be avoiding it like the plague!! What do I do??
Hayley says
If it’s been 8 weeks go to The Financial Ombudsman Service they done it all for me has taken about 21 months though
James says
Hi
Yes, I believe it is 8% times the amount of years
eg £500 interest in 2009 would be 10 years x 8% per year is 80% interest added to the £500 which is an extra £400 so total refund would be £900.
Sharon says
I think that’s correct if you let all your loans run till end of term, but with most provident customers loans will have been renewed half way through with larger or longer term loans so may not have paid the whole of the interest on original loan back, this is maybe why people’s calculations are coming back differently, as with myself I had (stupidly) took out 38 within 5 years !!! A lot of renewing happened.
Jojo says
Hi thought I’d let you know I have had an email from Fos with an offer from Provident .I was waiting an ombudsman so offers are coming through .I have accepted so will await and see how long it takes for cheque .
Muchelle says
Have you been given an amount, ? And was it correct.
Jojo says
To be honest I am not really sure how much it should be but I am happy with offer.Its taken about 20months .
Shebs says
Hi Sara when I tried to reply to you it’s saying it’s too long can’t reply if you could let me know some other way I can send you info on all my loans
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The info that is needed is only one line per loan: refunded yes/no, amount borrowed, total amount paid to loan to Provident, total amount paid to loan to Lowell. If you add the date loan repaid it makes it easier to guess at the 8%.
And you don’t need to list the amounts for the loans not being refunded.
Ignore contracts, provident or Lowell statements, balances etc. Just follow the money. What did you borrow, what have you paid.
Jolo says
Just a lil update
I’ve just got off the phone with provident and been told the cheque has been requested so it will get to them tomorrow and be sent out first class post. He said that they get them between 3-4pm so if anyone is waiting just a heads up to wait till then. Tomorrow is day 28 for me so they really are waiting till last minute possible. Good luck everyone still waiting and I’ll update when cheque arrives
Susie says
Hopefully it will be in your bank by weekend😊
Who did you phone at Provident? Which number? I am on day 11 now so still away to go but I want to see if they will hurry things along due to the holidays . Xxx
Jolo says
Just customer relations I think
0800 121 8034
Ive rung up at the end of every wk and nothing seems to want to give them a push.
Hope you have better luck
Hayley says
We rung that number today they told us they don’t deal with the sending cheque side of things 🙄
Jolo says
Yeah it’s a diff department that sorts the cheque all they will be able to tell you is when it’s sent.
Hayley says
Did u manage to speek to anyone
James says
Hi Sara
Just to say that the FOS got back to me today, and apparently, the figure that provident quoted me as my refund, falls within the FOS’s reccomendations, I have therefore accepted the offer, and now begins the long wait. May I say a big thank you for the help and info on this (your) page, it has been a godsend, and most of us couldn’t have done this without you, all the very best Sara, and once again, deepest thanks.
James.
Hayley says
Got the same now to wait for the cheque and my account to be wiped says within 4 weeks could do with the cheque this side of Xmas lol and the account wiped provident still hounding me even today after financial ombudsman informed them Friday we excepted the offer
Hayley says
Same as us been told 28 days from Friday just gone but then got a text today provident dreading payment of the loans that’s being wiped I assume they do not communicate lol I would like the cheque before Xmas ha ha
Steven says
Iv had an email from fos this morning saying I should be writing my opinion to the bussisnes this week and will send you a copy .
Should they not tell me first or does this sound good
Andi says
Received email from FOS following submitting complaint (Prov are now on wk9 without providing account details or resolving complaint) it states:
“The estate of Mrs xxxxxxx complaint about Provident Personal Credit Limited
Thank you for the information you sent us.
We’re helping a lot of customers at the moment – so I’m sorry that we won’t be able to reply straight away.
We’ll be in touch as soon as we can. In the meantime, our contact details are below in case you need to speak to us”.
Now they supply a 14 character ref number, however it’s not there normal one when a case gets created (8 numerical digits)
Has anyone else received this email?
Is it just an acknowledgement email but they are not doing anything with as yet?
I would like to contact FoS to push, as my mother is still in financial difficulty following paying my nans funeral (majority of insurance funds went on repayments of DWP advances & other bills like Utilities), but unsure they would see it as a third party being greatly affected due to this.
Rob says
Provident update..
I have just been assigned an adjudicator!!!
I’ll make this brief. I called the fos last Monday to ask if they could prioritize my case due to some recent crappy events, to which I had to email over some copies of a few things. (Employment termination letter and refusal of jobseekers allowance letter being the main two). I made a follow up call yesterday evening and spoke to a very helpful lady who found the email I sent in and said she would speak to her manager today about it and let me know. I was not expecting an email today at 08.55 saying she had spoken to her manager and that I have legitimate grounds for prioritizing my case. Won’t get ahead of myself just yet but I got a little buzz on at the minute!
Michelle says
So hubby rang provident this morning as 28 days is up tomorrow for the cheque settlement and they said cheque was sent on Friday. 😩. Not received as of yet though.
Jolo says
My cheque arrived today. 28 days was up yest and that’s when they sent it. There may be some confusion if the letter was produced on Fri as mine was. They tried to tell me this morning mine had been sent Friday but the cheque was dated yesterday so that’s impossible 😂😂
Michelle says
Oh I see. Hopefully that’s what it is and it’s not been lost in post. Fingers crossed it turns up today.
Julie Clarke says
Hi so frustrated at my case not moving anywhere when others are getting paid out. Just rang fos and even though mine has been stamped a priority still not gone to ombudsman for a decision. After nearly 3 years and two adjudicators decisions for a big payout and I am scrimping for Christmas due to going over to the dreaded Universal Credit it seems so unfair . The test cases seem to be not being decided on in the not to distant future . Sick of being fobbed off .
Joun says
Hi just had adjudicator phone me have excepted from provident just over £20.000
Sara (Debt Camel) says
wow!
John says
Thanks Sara I’ve learnt a lot from here and this page has kept me going.So people hang in there it’s worth the wait
Crissy says
Great news
Sharon says
Fantastic news x happy new new it will be a great one for you x
Hayley says
Brilliant ours was almost £15000 coming in a cheque and 3500 account wiped I want my cheque ha ha
John says
Good morning
After review of the provisional decision sent on the 5 August 2019. I have completed my review on all loans issued to Mr W and believe it necessary to uphold loan 4 onwards.
This equates to the following:
• Refund of £20,157.50 for all interest Mr Williams paid on loan 4 onwards;
• Pay interest of 8% simple a year on all refunds from the date of payment to the date of settlement*;
• All entries from loan 4 onwards to be removed from Mr Williams’ credit file.
The following loans are upheld:
Not sure if the 8 percent is extra or in the £20.000
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though the 8% is extra…
John says
Thanks Sara that’s what I thought
John says
If that’s the case haven’t a clue how I h then
Rob says
John
Here’s an example..
If interest on a loan is 1000, then 8% of that is £80. If the loan was paid off 5 years ago then it’s £80 X 5 years, which totals £400. Then take 20% off the 8% interest only.
You need to do that for each loan separately. Depending on how many loans you had you’re in for a good few extra quid on top of the 20k.
Cracking result bud.
John says
Cheers Rob I had 25 loans so extra on top of thec20000 will be great all paid off
Petra Beecham says
wow can you tell me how long that took all in all. I have been reading these posts and have decided to start my complaint. I paid over 12000 just on interest (my loans) and whats worse is I paid £500 a month off both mine and my husbands loans. Can they take my husbands loans into consideration as I was the only one working at that time?
John says
Hi Petra
It’s taken me from March 2018 to know but reading a lot of these posts. They seem to be moving quicker now
Petra says
Thanks John :-) Best start getting my claim in. I am thinking of going after Drafty too as they are a nightmare too
Angela says
I have accepted Provident’s offer via FOS. I was told i would next here from Provident within 4 weeks. What happens now ? Will Provident write to me or will i just receive the cheque within 28 days?
Jolo says
Hi all just letting you know cheque arrived this morning. 28 was up yesterday and that’s when they sent it out. Also envelope has prov written on it so if your searching through a lot of post it’s quite easy to spot
Susie says
So, on Tuesday afternoon I checked my Provident balance and it was clear! I had phoned the day before and it still showed I had debt. I then checked my credit report and all Signs of provident loans gone completely. I phoned them yesterday and they said all things had been done and now all they need do is send me a cheque but she couldn’t tell me more then that except the 28 days is up on Boxing Day. It is two weeks since I accepted their offer. It is a relief that the accounts closed and my credit report looks tons better but boy do I need that cheque!
Sharon says
So pleased for you and hopefully for a lot more people soon
Ann says
Wow, was expecting to wait the full 28 days, but cheque for over £9000 Just arrived from provident today (12th december). Ombudsman only called on 2nd of December asking if we would accept the offer.
Initial complaint Sept 2017
Provident refused
Adjudicator decision made August this year, then had the call on 2nd with offer from provident and cheque arrived today, 12th
Fingers crossed for everyone waiting x
Deb says
Oooh fingers crossed then! Mine was agreed on the 3rd December – a cheque before Xmas would be awesome 😎
Glad you’ve got yours – brilliant result for you.
Hayley stacey says
Oh this gives me hope lol
James says
Very good news!, satsuma seem to have picked up their act a bit, my offer was accepted on the 5th of December even though Satsuma had agreed a week earlier, would be nice to have the cheque before Christmas but knowing I’m now gonna getting the best part of £3,000 in the near future is great!
Jen says
That’s awesome news I’m on day 21 eventually similar time line to yours 2&half yrs in, many thanks 2 Sara & this site, merry Christmas
steven says
hi all I have an email from adjudicator today saying they agree with my complaint I had 8 loans and they have said they have to repay on loans 5-8 so please can some1 help with figures for me here is the info I have
loan 5 was for 500 with interest of 375
loan 6 was for 300 with interest of 225
loan 7 was for 600 with interest of 450 but still o 120 sold to Lowell
loan 8 was for 450 with interest of 337.50 but still o 80 sold to Lowell
all these were taken out in 2014 so if any offer was made just a ruff idea what should it be I am terrible with figures any help would be great
Natalie says
Can I just ask has anyone had a quick turn around without having to wait years or go to the FCA?
Has Prov ever just gone yep we agree? or is this just not an option?
I have gone to the FCA now after having no response from my initial complaint in September 2019 , the email I sent on the 28th November they have acknowledged but I am fuming that they have ignored my previous contact.
I have now sent through my paperwork to FCA however I am not sure how I can get Credit reports/historical bank stats from 2008 I thought the norm was 6 years – any advice please & thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So far Provident has been rejecting all claims for loans over 6 years, and often making pretty poor offers on loans under 6 years. Perhaps they are now changing their policy, but that may be wishful thinking. I’m afraid you schooled expect that your complaint will have to go to the Ombudsman.
But no one can get credit reports on those old loans and I think people have won Ombudsman cases for older loans without bank statements.
ste says
provident (in my opinion )are the worst company ive ever had to deal with. once its been 8 weeks since you sent them your complaint dont delay any further send it straight to financial ombudsman. whilst a few cases have been settled recently, thats not been the case in my instance.
i first complained to provident in july 2017 which they rejected.
i sent my complaint to FOS september 2017,
an adjudicator assigned may 2019.
adjudicator agreed in my favour, july 2019 to refund interest on 12 loans dating back to 2012. again provident rejected.
letter received from FOS november 2019 explaining issue for delay and them compiling a lead decision.
im now getting fed up and frustrated at waiting so this week i sent FOS an email for an update and why is taking so long, their reply was….
Thank you for your email and for letting us know your current circumstances.
With regards to your complaint, we will now treat it as a priority case. I know your complaint has been with us for a considerable time now and I can only offer my sincere apologies that we have not yet been able to reach a conclusion. We are not going to be able to resolve matters for you in the immediate future, for the reasons we gave in our letter of 7 November 2019. However, it will now be passed to an ombudsman sooner than would otherwise have been the case.
As soon as we have anymore news, we will let you know.
so after over 2 years, still no closer to that elusive refund.
alison says
Very much the same timescale as you Ste. Tis quite frustrating its taking so long
Rob says
How long do adjudicators take (roughly) to come to a decision? I do appreciate every case is different by the way.
Hayley says
It’s taken 21 months in all from start to finish over a year of that with the adjudicators
Susie says
Mine started in November 2017 letter to Provident then sent to FSO on February 3rd 2018, it’s been passed on to at least three adjudicators, then I finally got my offer on November 29th. Still waiting for cheque but already had my account closed and all signs taken from my credit file (9th December) it’s a long process and seems about average time . Good luck x
rob says
Well I got a bit of good luck as my case was given an adjudicator last week and I’m only 6 months in. Just hoping it gets upheld. It’s worth around 11k so that would sort me right out!
Sam says
Well just escalated my to fos after another whim excuse that they still investigating my complaint of 12 of the 25 loans from 2007 to 2011.could be a long haul I think but provided all evidence they need hopefully
Sharon says
I have just spoken to fos team and they have received more information from provident so an adjucator will have to have a look at it, this is so unfair as more waiting when thought I was nearly at end. So don’t know what provident has sent across but now might change the decision!!!! Anyone else had this happen
rob says
Something similar here. I got an adjudicator last week and she needed some more info off prov but I’m unsure as to what. Maybe it was details on their investigation into my complaint because they have the list of loans and agreements. Anyway, she got the details back on the same day which I’m gobsmacked about! I’m hoping for some news next week.
Deb says
Update!! I received my cheque today, 10 days after accepting the offer. I’m so relieved and very pleased to have it before Xmas! Thank you everyone on here for the help and advice. And good luck to those still waiting x
Ann says
Excellent news, sounds like they’re finally picking up the pace.. hope lots more people get theirs in before Christmas. Happy spending :) x
Connor says
Hi all,
little update, FOS said if I hadn’t heard from Provident by the 12th December (28 days) although I accepted on the 7th November, 36 days ago!, to let them know.
I have just got off the phone to provident, who have said they never got my acceptance from the FOS, the last thing logged was on the 7th of November saying awaiting my acceptance of the offer!
So after receiving my email from the FOS saying they had informed Provident of my acceptance on the 11th November and to wait 28 days, Provident were non the wiser.
The guy I spoke to at Provident seemed very nice and read out my offer and asked if I agreed, so he is going to deal with it and get the cheque sent out next week and start clearing my credit file.
We might get there in the end lol.
So yeah, either the FOS or Provident haven’t read or logged something somewhere, who knows
Hayley says
What number did u ring
Connor says
08009166421
Sarah P says
Hi
Any help would be greatly appreciated please
I have e mailed provident myself and they have said I have until 21/12/19 to wait for their final response every e mail I send they say they’re still looking in to it .
I’m worried now though because these loans are from 2008 up until around 2013
Do you think I still have a case
They wrote to me accepting the initial letter and email ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you may have a case, so long as the debts are after April 2007. When did you first send Provident your complaint?
Basharat says
Hi Sarah yes you still got a case speak to the fos
ste says
interesting article about the state of affairs at the financial ombudsman service…
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/dec/14/whistleblower-reveals-financial-ombudsman-service-in-disarray/
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Interesting… I think affordability complaints are an area where there has actually been quite a bit of progress this year. More staff, more standardisation, a lot more decisions going through – and lenders such as provident do now seem to be responding by accepting more adjudicator decisions. See my comments on FOS timescales in this article written this week: https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-lenders-bust-lessons-wonga/
gillian says
hi sara I have just read on the internet that welcome finance is going into liquidation on the 16th of December 2019 I have a claim at the fos they were supposed to answer my adjudicator on the 14th of December after she upheld loans 7 to 12 what do you think will happen to my claim after the 16th dec
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are now being liquidated. You are an unsecured creditor of Welcome Finance. It may well be that you only get paid a percentage of the refund FOS has determined.
gillian says
thanks sara I read that it states that welcome finance are aware of the fos having claims and are working on getting claims resolved prior to going into liquidation (had to laugh at that my claim was sent in sept 2018)and they have had the last two weeks to agree refund but have not answered suppose I will just have to right this refund off thanks again sara
John says
Hi Sara
Can you claim back the 20 percent provident take off your refund. If so who do you contact many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tax is only deducted on the 8% extra added, not on the refund of the interest you paid.
If you are a basic rate tax payer you can claim back £200 in a tax year. If you don’t pay tax you can reclaim it all. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/
Andi says
I don’t think I’ve read the link correctly.
As the claim is on my Grandmothers estate in my mother’s name.
Is tax payable by the recipient or the estate?
My mother is on benefits & estate even with a (fingers crossed) payout from Prov, will be less than the Max.estate value
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am not a tax expert. I *think* the tax should be able to be reclaimed by the estate. HMRC should be able to help.
Ryan Herbert says
Just had my claim against provident (satsuma) upheld. Just the long wait for my cheque now £1897 merry Christmas. Thank you Sara
Rob says
Just had an email off my adjudicator to say she’s been off sick a couple of days but that I should receive her view either today or tomorrow. Not bad considering she only picked my case up last Tuesday.
What an anxious feeling! If I’ve worked my figures out right it could be around 11k, but on the flip side it could also be rejected! In the words of Sir Alex Ferguson, it’s “squeaky bum time”!
Guy says
Update, had an offer on the 3rd December, i accepted the next day . Ive left it two weeks to ring up and ask if my acceptance has been acknowledged , thinking that it had been 2 weeks ago and hoping that they maybe had sent the cheque. But was told by provident that the fos had told them of my acceptance only yesterday, so ill receive it within 28 days . Im grateful that ive won my case and im hoping everyone elses cases go well , BUT !!! what have the fos been doing for the past 2 weeks!!!! Apparently it takes 2 weeks to write an e-mail . As I’ve said before on this forum the fos are totally incompetent . I just dont get it , if you send an email accepting how does it take 2 weeks to be passed on . Useless bunch of ….
James says
They’re not incompetent. They took on your case and won it for you, at no cost to yourself! :) they’re overloaded and theyre working on it
Keely says
Hi! Could someone help me please. :)
After reading through this site I decided to make a complaint against provident, and of course. They rejected my claim.
I sent it to the FOS and was assigned an Adjudicator two months ago. Emailed her today and she replied to say that my case has been passed onto a specific department and another team will be in contact with me.
Anyone else had the same process? I’m just confused. Obviously, I’m not expecting a reply anything soon and judging by everyone’s story. It’ll take me a veryyyyy long time!
Thank you! X
Keely says
I’ve just spoken to the FOS as in 6 months I have received little to none feedback on what is happening. I’m still paying a HUGE amount to provident and it’s just so frustrating that a company that deals with complaints are so unorganised!
Rob says
10 loans UPHELD!!!
Just got adjudicators decision and I’m buzzing. 10 out of 15 loans upheld. Adjudicator giving prov until Xmas Eve to respond. It’s taken 10 months so far from start to current position but I had grounds for escalating my case. If I’ve done my figures right I’m due roughly 9.2k back.
Deb says
Hi Sara, could you point me in the direction of a very simple way to reclaim the tax back I’ve paid on my refund? It’s over £700 and I’m not a tax payer, don’t earn anything due to being on benefits so could do with that tax back!
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/
Paul Wakeman says
Had a reply from Adjudicator regarding my Partner’s complaint against Provident today. Provident have agreed to wipe out the outstanding balance of £5,100 and refund her £4,800. They’ve also agreed to remove 8 entries from her Credit File. Must admit I was quite shocked as the last contact we had was telling us that we were waiting for the lead cases to be resolved. Her loans were from 2013-2016. Just waiting for my complaint to be picked up by an Adjudicator now. I only submitted my Partner’s complaint in June to Provident so has progressed quickly.
Lucy A says
Hi, please help.
So I’ve only recently complained to provident for loans I had with both them and Greenwood (22/11/2019)
Am I write in thinking the 56 days start from the day I complained and not the date they acknowledged it?
I don’t have any amounts of loans or interest I paid etc as mine were pre 2010 (some were before 2007 which I know I won’t get refunded but everything else was after that)
Sam says
Ask for a sars report from both they should send you details of all loans on record.when taken,when loan paid of, transactions,then you can see for yourself,I did that with provident 26 loans from 2005,10 we’re after 2007 and all finished 2011,had to escalate mine to fos but hopefully I will get a result
Lucy A says
I have asked them for that in my original complaint email , do I still ask again? Greenwood are under Provident so I have asked them about both.
I am going to mark the 56 day down to get ready to escalate it, because reading the comments on the thread that seems to be the only way x
Angela says
Provident accepted FOS decision eventually after complaint sent Sept 2017. FOS emailed me Dec 2nd with the offer which I accepted. Cheque received today £8900. I was expecting to wait the full 28 days. Im so happy. Thank you to this site and its advice
Susie says
Same here, cheque arrived this morning, I accepted offer on Dec 2nd too. The cheque was written on the 13th but only posted yesterday. It is now relaxing in my bank account!. And not only that I now for the first time since 1994 got rid of Provident. It’s a massive weight off my shoulders.
James says
Great news!, mine was accepted on the 5th, there’s a good chance I might get mine in the next 5 days with abit of luck!
Peter says
Great news! Did you receive any emails from Provident after you accepted the offer?
Susie says
Nothing at all. I just got a cheque. I had made one call to see when I could expect the cheque and they told me by 27th December.
Peter says
I accepted their offer 11th December, I called them on Monday and was advised that they will now calculate the reddres (?? I thought that it was already calculated when they responded to the FOS) and I will receive Final Response. It’s a bit confusing, isn’t it?
Michelle says
How can I work out how much and also I can only see back to 2013 but I definitely had loans going back to 2007 at least tia
Rob says
Here’s an example..
Let’s say you took a loan of £500 in 2009 and the interest was £500. The total to repay is £1000.
Now, what you would get back is the £500 interest plus 8% of the interest for each year which would be 10 years.
8% of the £500 interest is £40. Times that £40 by 10 years which equals £400.
You pay tax on the 8% interest only, so £400 minus 20% tax equals £320.
Add that £320 to the £500 interest and you get £820 redress for that loan.
Does that make sense?
Michelle says
Yeah it does thank you and another question lol I only put in a formal request for a refund yesterday I sent an email to provident themselves and also filed a case with resolver …. everyone’s timescale on here seems so different and I’m curious do they even attempt to resolve themselves? Also I still have a loan should I stop payments now or keep paying?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Timescales are all over the place at the moment as Provident seem to be settling a LOT of FOS complaints. From the number of people commenting here and some feedback I have had from debt advisers, it may well be 500+ complaints. I don’t know how many open cases thay have at FOS but I would be surprised if that is more than a thousand.
So although they may not be settling all – I don’t know how they are selecting them – it is a huge chunk. As a result the remaining cases at FOS should go through a lot quicker! And hopefully provident will now normally accept adjudicator decisions so backlogs at teh ombudsman level should not build up.
As a result, timescales to date are basically completely irrelevant from now on! We won’t know what “the new normal” looks like for 6 months at least.
If the loan repayments are causing you problems, I suggest you should say you want a lower, affordable payment. even if that is only £5 a month. If you have priority debts (rent arrears? council tax arrears? gas/elecrtricity debts?) I usggest you stop paying them completely and put all your money towards the priorities.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have payment books or bank statements or any evidence of older loans, it’s a good idea to get that together. get bank statements as far back as you can, even from closed accounts.
It may be this isnt needed. But if it is, you want it to hand so start doing this now, don’t wait to be asked in 6 months time.
Michelle says
I found out exact figures and dates from my credit page on credit karma…. I don’t have books but I have made notes of these details
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I meant any details back before 2013.
Liz says
Hi guys
I keep getting calls from this number 029 2115 1412 which when googled it is provident. I have a case with fos and I’m not sure if it is to do with that. Has anyone else had a call from provident regarding there complaint. Or is it a chase up as I have stopped paying back the loan I have with them that’s outstanding.
Rob says
Give them a call. I stopped paying prov for 2 years and nothing much came of it apart from a few letters saying I was behind blah blah blah. Still won my case so I’ll get a cash payout and all outstanding loans written off.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes do phone them. It’s easier than worrying about the call! If they ask you to make a payment arrangement, tell them you have an open case at FOS and you want that resolved first as you expect that to clear your balance.
Steven says
An ajudicator has upheld 5 of my loans and given morses club till 23rd to make an offer or disagree my question is do they usely reply in that time or not
rob says
If I’m right, if they don’t reply by that time the adjudicator sends it to the ombudsman who’s decision is final. I’m waiting on a decision off morses myself although my complaint is directly with them at the moment. They have until the 10th January before I can escalate it to the fos. I’m hoping they uphold my complaint without me having to go to the fos.
Shebs says
Hi Sara I put in irresponsible lending complaint to skyline direct received a final response today I had 15 loans in just over a year they have upheld complaint on loans 8-12 with 800 refund but taking off my balance I was offered 144 I phoned them up and told them they never added the 8% she was very rude and said that was all I was getting so why not look at loans 13-15 and I thought it was compulsory to add 8% for number of years I thought the process should be the 800 redress plus 8% then take away the balance I owe thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A new lender to me – I have added them to the list in the article above.
I suggest you go back to them and say unless they include loans 13-15 you will be sending the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.
Lenders don’t have to add the 8% – it’s your choice if you think it’s worth going to FOS to try to get that added.
Shebs says
Hi Sara skyline direct have just updated there offer from 144 to 448 just goes to show that you should challenge them if you feel it’s not right 2 down 5 lenders to go
Merry Xmas to everyone
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well done!
Angela says
I heard nothing from Provident just email from FOS stating they would let provident know i had accepted the offer
rob says
I guess that makes sense as the fos are acting on your behalf.
Jojo says
I am the same rang provident who state they had it last Wednesday so it’s 28dsys from then.
rob says
It would be 28 days from when the fos sent it and not when it was actually picked up by prov wouldn’t it?
Em says
‘I can see you have benefited from an early settlement rebate on several of your loans because they were repaid in advance of the expected repayment schedule.
For the reasons above, I am unable to uphold this complaint’
This is the response I got from Provident after complaining about loans being rolled over. Provident have also stated that they don’t hold any legal entitlements to any loans which have been sold to Lowell.
Shall I go to FOS?
My partner put the same complaint in as me and his was upheld by Provident and has a loan written off which had gone to Lowell.
Thanks, Em
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send the complaint straight to FOS.
Of course there was some discount from settling a loan early – that doesn’t change the fact they shouldn’t have continued to give you loans without looking very closely at whether they were affordable.
If the loans sold to Lowell are included in a FOS ordered refund it’s up to Provident to settle them at Lowell or buy them back – not your problem.
Tell FOS a complaint is going to the Ombudsman.
Bill says
I had my complaint rejected by Provident in October 2017 and finally got a response from an Adjudicator upholding my complaint in September 2019 and then received the same letter as everyone else. I called Provident yesterday and they informed me that they had sent a response with a settlement to FOS and not to call them back, I called the FOS to confirm and they advised my complaint was in a queue to be seen by an Ombudsman however this could take up to six months, when I told them what I was told by Provident he said he had taken a similar call the day before and he believes a spreadsheet with a list of settlements had been sent by Provident and this information would have to be uploaded to each individual complaint.
Has anyone else been given this information as I feel my complaint which is now well over two years old is unacceptable, do I have any other recourse.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ah a spreadsheet, that makes sense. Instead of telling FOS about each case individually, Provident has gone through a lot and sent FOS a spreadsheet with the ones it is making a settlement offer on. This may just list them cases where Provident will accept the Adjudicator decisions, or it may contain details of an offer – either the loans to be refunded or an amount or both.
There could be several hundred cases on the spreadsheet. FOS has to look at them and update each case and inform the borrower. This may take some time. Then you have to accept the offer, FOS will tell. Provident and you will get paid in the next month.
Steven says
So had an email from fos today morses club have requested more time to respond to the fos y do they do that is it to just waste time ?
rob says
They must be getting an uplift in complaints. I’m into the 6th week of a complaint before sending to the fos. I read a couple of comments here saying they were dealt with fairly quickly but now it seems they seem to be taking a little longer. Don’t know what morses staff situation is like but there’s a guy there called Steve that seems to be dealing with everyone’s complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They may not have enough people to handle all the complaints they are getting.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the email from? It would be useful to have an email address for Morses complaints.
Julie clarke says
So finally after nearly 3 years I have been offered a settlement figure by provident. It is finally over. Is it taxed by hmrc? I will hsvd to inform my benefits people when cheque cleared as it is over £6000. Good luck with all you’re refunds. I never thought I would get the email I did today.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The refund of interest isn’t taxable. The 8% extra added is taxable – but you can reclaim some of this if you are a basic rate tax payer and all of it if you don’t pay tax.
Do you have other debts at the moment? Any priority debts – rent arrears, council tax arrears, electricity and gas bills?
Julie Clarke says
Yes I have some rent arrears and Ccjs I want to pay off as soon as cheque cleared which will take it below £6000 savings .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, then when notifying the DWP make sure you say that the redress was for a long period of mis-selling by Provident, you have used some of the money to pay off rent arrears and CCJs which you have accumulated as a result of the problems the Provident loans caused you.
If you have any HMRC or DWP overpayments, I would think about clearing those too.
Julie Clarke says
Ok thanks . I’m a bit confused . My claim was split between greenwood and provident , as I think some of my Loans were when greenwood owned provident etc . So I get another email just now from the adjudicator back in July who withheld my claim . It just says thanks for agreeing with how u think your loans sound be delta with and I’ve asked Greenwood’s to be In Touch re cheque etc . So is the amount on the provident re dress email inclusive of the greenwood owned loans or not ? When at adjudicator stage it was split into two different case with two different refrences. I never emailed this adjudicator just the one who sent me the refund proposal by provident this afternoon . So I am confused .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m sorry, you will have to ask the adjudicators that!
Natalie says
So I have now sent copies of my loan books , arrears letters,utility bills and court orders and all the other info I could find relating to this period of when I had these loans. I have sent to the FOS and also Provident who have today said they want an extra 28 days to look at my case?
Are they needing extra time with everyone to then say No?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They haven’t been very good at saying yes… but now they are settling more cases at the ombudsman so perhaps they are going to behave differently?
Lucy says
I had an emailing yesterday apologising they hadn’t resolved my complaint and that they would within the next 28days (I think it was just a generic email because the first 28days had passed and they have 56days in total) on the 56th day mine will be sent on to the FOS
Julie Clarke says
After the success of my provident claim . I am wondering if anyone has any success with morses as I have had a few Loans with them too even when with provident . What address did you send the email to ?
alison says
Well that day has come – a day I honestly (like most of you) thought wouldn’t come – or at least come for several more months.
Ive had an offer of £5300. Inc redress of £309 to paid back & 8% added. I had no idea how much claim was worth – so this is a bonus. I will pay some bits off and that will leave me around £3000 of my ‘own’. I have Greek friends in Zante who I visit each year – and this money will enable me to go out in August with friends & family for my 50th. :)
Adjudicator suggested loans 4-22 – Provident came back with 6-22. Don’t know the difference but it wouldn’t be that great to drag it out any longer. Provident rejected the Adjudicators claim and I was in a queue for an Ombudsman.
Things must be moving daily – as I only as for an update last Thursday and there wasn’t one. So don’t give up hope.
Im aware it will be well into the New Year before I get any monies – but I have waited 2 years so another month or so wont make much difference.
Merry Christmas to all
Bill says
Fantastic news today that Provident have now accepted the Adjudicators decision and I have an offer of a 1.5K write off of an old account and a cheque in excess of 20K. What an early Christmas present. Thanks for all your advice and updates Sara.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
wow. Have a very prosperous new year!
James says
Hi all
I need a little help… also not sure there is an answer, on the 4/12 satsuma agreed to my red dress & the 28 day countdown started currently on day 21/28
Being as it’s almost Christmas yesterday I called satsuma to ask if it had been sent out or when it will be as they must know they’re off the next few days … all I got was ‘it hasn’t been assigned to a handler, who knows’, does anyone have a different number I can contact.
I don’t mind if they say you’ll 100% have it by mid Jan, just as I know so I can plan… as it seems they haven’t even given it to anyone to action & some people got paid within 10 days, I’m fully aware this will now go over 28 days with Christmas but I just want to know..
Any help would be great
James
Hayley says
Accepted the offer Friday the 6th December got my cheque today merry Xmas to me
John says
Hi guys just to let you know got my cheque today of provident just over 20.000 hang in there
John says
hi Cheque came this morning of provident £20.000 they seem to be speeding up merry Xmas