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?
Jojo says
I also got cheque today been earlier than expected yayyyyy
Julie Clarke says
Hi everyone hope you had a good Christmas . Has anyone had any luck with Morses club. ? Do they settle themselves within the 8 weeks or have you had to go to the FOS
Marc says
Hi Sara,
After complaining to Provident 26 June 19 about two loans i had with them, they turned me down for my complaint on 23 Sep 19.
I then sent the complaint to the FOS 11 Oct 19, they got back to me on 18 Nov 19 and asked for my bank statements etc, which i scanned and sent to them.
Today i had a surprise in the post! a cheque from Provident for the interest on the two loans i had plus the 8% simple interest and they withheld 20% for HMRC – Income Tax.
Really surprised that it took such a short a time to get my redress sorted, AND they didn’t even ask me to accept the offer, they just sent the cheque! Which was £34.12 less that the total interest i paid but getting the 8% interest on top made up for this shortfall.
Thanks again Sara for your help from this page, could not have done it without you and looks as if Provident are not really putting up too much of a fight now.
Loan 1: £400 – Total paid back £684
Loan 2: £1000 – Total paid back – £1710
dawn lee says
So I received an offer on the 18th Dec and accepted it. How long have people waited from acceptance to receiving there cheque(provident) . I know its going to be longer for me bacuae of the Christmas period but was just looking for an average. Thanks
Deb says
Hi. I accepted providents offer on the 3rd December and my cheque was here on the 13th. So hopefully yours won’t be long at all.
Dawn says
Thank you deb
Sarah P says
Hi
Has anyone received compensation without escalating
Jay says
Yes my nan received £3.5k but it was a fraction of what she is due. We actually get a decision this week so I’ll be able to tell you what the difference is.
Sarah Perring says
That would be good thank you
I’ve phoned them again and they’ve told me they are looking at complaints from Aug/Sept at the moment so there will be a delay as mine was 25 Oct
I’ve also escalated it to the FOS too
Jay says
Just had a response. Provident upheld 3 loans and gave 3.5k.
FOS have upheld 36 loans. Big difference. Go FOS!!
Sarah Perring says
Wow that’s amazing love to know how much she gets now
Jay says
Sarah I have worked it out at around £19.5k after the £3.5k refund is deducted
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Fingers crossed!
Jay says
Lol I have everything crossed. Provident have until 29th Jan to accept so we still have that hurdle!
ste says
well… after 26 months, there is light at the end of the tunnel. ive just received an email that provident has finally given in. the interest for 12 loans from 2007 approx £4.2k to be refunded.
Dear Mr xxx
Provident has made an offer to settle your complaint – and the offer is in line with the recommendations we set out in our letter of 3 June 2019. I’ve attached a copy of this letter for reference.
The business hasn’t provided a breakdown of the offer, but as we know it’ll follow the recommendations we made, we think it’s a fair way to resolve your complaint.
what happens next
If you’d like to discuss the offer, please let us know as soon as possible.
Otherwise, you don’t need to do anything. If we haven’t heard from you by 6 January 2020, we’ll assume you’re happy with how we think your complaint should be resolved – and we’ll tell Provident to contact you to arrange settlement.
Yours sincerely
mr xxxx| Lead adjudicator
so for others waiting, dont give in, it looks like provident are beginning to comply with the FOS.
happy new year to you all :)
alison says
Well done – at last eh !!
Exact same email I got on the 23 December. Im getting £5300 – they made an offer on loans 6-22 – Adj suggested 4-22 but I don’t know the difference. I do know though it wouldn’t be much and not worth battling out another year. I accepted immediately (couldn’t believe my eyes and it was out of the blue :) ). I got another email yesterday saying they had now forwarded my acceptance to Provident and they should be in touch within 4 weeks. Im not bothered really if it does take the full 4 weeks – im just happy its been resolved.
I will let you know when I receive the Cheque Ste
ste says
well done and thank you.
ive seen a few mention they got their cheques after only 10 days of acceptance although im not holding any hopes of getting it that quick. (a bit of winter sun would be nice though lol) im just glad its now (almost) sorted as i had convinced myself provvy would find a way of wriggling out of paying up.
all the best for 2020.
Alison says
To you too. I hope by the end of this month. Happy 2020
Kayleigh says
Did u just send letters yourself
Chris says
Hi, i phoned up on the 31st and was told they’d received my acceptance. Have you received your cheque yet?
Kelly McCandless says
Hi all and Merry Christmas. So great to see so many finaly getting some results from provident. I wanted to just update on my own case. Not with provident but similar. Loans at home (S.D Taylor) 32 loans complaint rejected July 2018 and sent to ombudsman. Finaly picked up by adjudicator start of this year who then left so have waited on it getting picked up again. It was picked up start of December and received letter yesterday to say loans 1-4 were affordable but loans 5 to 29 have been upheld. All interest fees and charges on loans 5 to 29 to be paid back. 8% simple interest on individual payments calculated from the date payments were made to the date the complaint is settled. I Have emailed back as 3 loans in the middle were not listed but apart from that I am delighted with result. They have until 10 January to reply. I know by some comments about provident that this is only a small step in what could be a lengthy process. I haven’t seen many cases with loans at home but I will update when they reply to see if they play the same games provident does or if they are more complient. Good luck to everyone still waiting on results. Hang in there. Glad to see these companies finaly being held accountable for the misery and debt they have left so many vulnerable people in. Happy new year everyone. Let’s hope it is prosperous for you all.
Kelly
Lynette says
I put my complaint in to provident in May 2018 then fos July 2018 and still waiting for it to be picked up. I had 52 loans over 12 years, emailed beginning of December and still waiting on a reply, very frustrating, I’ve just emailed again today. Loving the comments that people are finally getting payouts though, gives me a bit of hope.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest phoning them up if they don’t get back to you within a week.
Lynette says
I’ll do that next week if I’ve still not heard from them🙂
Lisa G says
Does anyone have different a number I can call for Provident. I want to discuss my FOS complaint with them but when I call their regular customer service number I can’t find anyone who can give me any sensible answers.
Thanks :)
Linda says
Hi everyone, just heard from adjudicator, Provident have agreed with them about my refund, I first sent to Prov in March 18, then sent to fos in May 18. Never heard anything till August 19 when I heard that fos had sent off to provident, then just heard from adj on 30th December that provident had agreed with them.
Can’t believe it, £26,567 refund I am so happy I never thought it was going to happen.
So good luck to you all and stay positive
Sara (Debt Camel) says
brilliant, what a great start to the new year for you!
Linda says
Thanks Sarah, this site helped me a lot, can,t thank you enough…
Sarah Perring says
That’s absolutely amazing news what a fab new year boost so very pleased for you
Sarah
Linda says
Thanks Sarah xx
Petra says
What a fantastic result. Well done. I’m submitting my complaint now so let’s hope its a good outcome in about 18 months 😊
Petra says
May I ask how much your total loans were as I have had thousands of pounds over the years
Rob says
Got my offer today and happily accepted.
Just under 9.5k refund and the writing off of nearly 2.5k still outstanding. I’m absolutely made up!
Morses, YOUR NEXT!!!
Julie clarke says
I have just started the journey with Morses last week after winning my provident claim. Week done with ur refund
rob says
Morses have until the 10th to reply before I can escalate. There’s an even better chance of winning that claim so I’m fairly hopeful on that. My partner also has the same claims against both companies and with similar figures, although our morses claims will be less than the prov claim.
Some of these results on this site really are life changing for alot of people and I can’t thank Sara enough.
carol says
Hi
Congrats on your news!!
You mentioned Morses, I am waiting for a decision after adjudicator upheld my complaint
My complaint with provident was not upheld over a year ago am I out of time to complain to the FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes :(
Carol says
Thank you for the reply Sara x
Helen says
Hi Rob,
Congratulations on your refund …
Ive been reading through all the comments and its given me a kick to go after Provident. I had over 30 land with them over 8 years!
Just out of curiosity, what was the bulk reason behind your claim? Unaffordability, high interest or irresponsible lending?
I ended up in an IVA due to all this mess… nearly over now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you are in an IVA this is pointless – any refund will go to your IVA not to you.
Rob says
Sorry only just seen this. My complaint was for irresponsible lending. I wouldn’t have known about it had I not stumbled across this site. The complaint will take quite a while but well worth doing. How long is left on your iva?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Actually how large are the debts in your IVA? because if you get a VERY big refund from provi, that may clear them all.
Danielle says
Hi guys,
Just an update on my complaint. Well basically the ombudsman have stated they don’t check calculations and Provident are insistent their Maths is not wrong. Basically we are going backwards and forwards every 2 weeks with no progress. I can see this going to the ombudsman.
I have sent 2 word documents with full breakdowns and Provident have sent a figure plucked out the air and a second document just stating what amounts they used and dates, with no actual maths.
They insist they are right and their figure will not change.
There is an issue where they gave me a fresh start loan years ago which was interest free to consolidate the debt of 2 loans. They have tried to say that the two loans were written off so they are deducting that capital from my refund. The balance of those loans minus interest was 560. The fresh start loan was for 930 so 370 is interest from the original loans. The subject access request quite clearly states no cash is given for a fresh start loan and it is a loan to consolidate debt.
The adjudicator decision tells them they have to refund interest on those 2 loans aswell so I cannot see how they are trying to justify it.
I hope it doesn’t go to the ombudsman but if they are so stubborn and adjudicator’s will not step in, I think it will.
My advice to anyone on here is check your refund amounts.
Julie clarke says
Hi has anyone had any luck with Morses ? . Do they usually settle in the 8 weeks time frame ? . Provident took two years with ombudsman . I do and don’t want to start a Morses complaint if it will take that long again .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think the cases should be moving a lot faster in future as the Ombudsman has now decided they can look at over 6 year loans. So what happened in the past may not be a guide to what happens now. Does it really matter how long it takes? Put the complaint in and check how it is going once a month.
Danielle says
I’m approaching the 8th week this week with Morse, they have sent me a message saying they will get a decision to me before the 13th of January, so basically, next week ( which is exactly 8 weeks) .
Rob says
Same here, my 8 weeks is up on the 10th.
I think they are receiving more of these complaints lately and don’t have the staff numbers to deal with it. A guy there called “Steve” seems to be dealing with everyones complaint.
Danielle says
Well I haven’t heard anything today so they have one working day left until their own deadline date, which is extended because of Christmas and new year.
rob says
I spoke to them this morning. They would only tell me that a letter is going out in the post today. They are taking things right to the wire now by the look of it. On the plus side, my adjudicator at fos that dealt with my prov case has said if I need to escalate morses then to let her know and she will get it made a priority. I don’t mind too much if that happens as I’ve received a big payout this week already so I’m not destitute.
Danielle says
I don’t mind waiting to be honest as long as it’s the correct amount. I’m still in a debate with Provident about my refund so it may be a while for me yet.
Rob says
The Mrs had a letter today from the ombudsman upholding 6 loans. I estimate it to be another 9k coming our way after my 9.5k offer received yesterday. What a start to the year. Both waiting for answers from morses aswell.
Tony kennedy says
Good Afternoon all.
Just been reading your posts and very pleased to hear some of you have been paid back. I had several loans with provident over at least 20 years. I am pleased to say I am now debt fee due to just finishing my debt management plan.
Does anyone think it would be a good idea for me to submit a claim to provident?
John says
Hi Sara,
I made a complaint to Provident with regards loans took few years ago. I have been in constant communication but ever since the 56 days passed, they haven’t really been straight forward me. I messaged them over week ago and they got back to me saying that they are still investigating and would get back to me in “due course”. I replied and requested for a specific day/date since the 56 days has already passed and their response doesnt specify how long they needed. I messaged them few times but same response.
What do you reckon I do, should I escalate the issue or give them sometime? Problem is they are reluctant to be specific which isnt really helpful.
Good Afternoon,
Thank you for your email below and your ongoing patience whilst awaiting a response for your complaint.
Please be assured that your complaint is still under investigation and we aim to give you a response as soon as possible.
We apologise for the time taken and inconvenience caused.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you send it straight to FOS. I very much doubt anyone has looked at your complaint at all. Do you currently owe them any money?
John says
Yes do owe them £2000 which is still been paid off..repayment plan to a company they sold the loan to.
Sarah Perring says
That’s exactly what I’m getting now and I have escalated it to the ombudsman who have said they have delays too
Vee says
So I sent the template letter around a week ago and got this reply
Thank you for contacting us to tell us of your concerns.
We do take your comments very seriously and we are committed to resolving your complaint quickly and to your satisfaction.
In support of our investigation, you are welcome to provide any evidence you feel is relevant to your concern(s). In order to avoid any delay, please can you provide us with any additional information / evidence within the next 10 working days via email at newcustomer.complaints@provident.co.uk, in writing using the address at the foot of this letter or ring us on the number below. However, should you require more time, please contact us within this timescale to let us know.
If throughout your journey with us you inform us of any sensitive information regarding your health or changes to your personal circumstances we will only use the information to help us review your account; it will not be used for anything else and we will only share this information with third parties who help us to manage your account. If you do not wish us to hold this information please let us know and we will remove it or if you want to discuss your circumstances in more detail please contact us on the number below.
– – – – – – – –
Thing is I only ever had a card and the agent collected when I was at my friend’s, she was only ever in my house once when I first got my first loan, obviously I don’t still have the cards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can just ignore that if you have nothing else you want to send them.
Joan Reilly says
hi wonder if anyone can help i had a number of loans over a number of years mostly paid off by new loan taken out this finished around ten years ago don’t have any paperwork as moved house since then, anyway i can claim any help grateful
thanks J
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can only claim for loans after April 2007. So there may be about a few years of loans you could claim for. You can put in a claim using the template letter above, but if you have no evidence at all of the loans it may be hard if Provident can’t easily locate your account. Do you still have the same bank account? Would that show any of the loans or payments?
joan says
hi do have same bank account but this would not help as no funds paid i go it. Thanks for your help J will send letter to see what happens don’t try don’t get
Thanks again
Joan
Andi says
Hi all.
My complaint has been escalated now with Prov (up until yesterday unassigned submitted 27nov) due to the urgency of closing the Estate of my nan.
Once you get the FOS email stating they have now contacted Prov, what time frames have people been seeing?
Andi says
Is it correct that that the FOS give Provident 2weeks + 3working days to respond?
The lady I spoke to would not confirm a time frame as Provident are very busy (aren’t we all?)
She did say if nothing is received they would use the details I’ve submitted?? How can they do this when I myself have been waiting on information. I’m probably missing 3-4yrs of loan information.
Paul Wakeman says
What an amazing start to the New Year. In May 2018 I submitted a complaint to Provident on behalf of my partner which then got rejected. She had 8 loans from 2013 – 2016 and we both ended up getting in to a lot of debt (I’ve also got some good news but will put that on the appropriate thread) so the complaint then got forwarded to the FOS. In November 2018, we got the letter about lead cases etc and then out of the blue in December we got a letter from the FOS saying my Partners complaint had been upheld and what recommendations they made. I was expecting a long drawn out process going back and forth but Provident accepted straight away and after accepting on 31 Dec 19 we have today (08 Jan 20) received a cheque!!
So, Provident were advised and agreed to do the following:
Write Off remaining balance of £5,180.49
Issue a redress with 8% Statutory Interest of £4,811.68
Remove all 8 loans from my Partners Credit File
After reading all of the comments about Provident I honestly was expecting a long drawn out process but don’t think it could have been much quicker after confirming acceptance.
Good luck to everyone else waiting and I’ll post on the appropriate threads later about other good results that my Partner and I have had thus far. Don’t think we could have had a better start to 2020!
Lisa G says
UPDATE: Provident have finally agreed with the adjudicator. They have 28 days to action now. I’m really pleased. I’ve also just received my Satsuma redress.
In total I’ve received a refund of £14,851 in the means of money refunded, interest wiped on an outstanding loan and balances cleared. I’m really happy, thank you Sara.
I still have my Everyday Loan and 118118 complaints with the FOS, they been with them since Oct 2018 and Jan 2019 respectively… still waiting to be picked up by an adjudicator.
Also have Wonga, WDA and The Money Shop redress to come, although it will be small. I’m guessing £300 from Wonga (shroud have been £6K but am guessing it’ll be 5pc in the £, if it’s more than that I’ll be happy) and about £40 back from WDA (should’ve been £900).
The Money Shop redress would’ve been in excess of £8K so probably a few hundred there too…. will just have to wait and see.
I’m happy so far though. And will be pleased when all of these are amended on my credit file. That’ll be a massive improvement to my score (hopefully!)
alison says
Morning
I got my cheque yesterday. Accepted 23rd December. Had email to say FO had forward my acceptance. (this was 30th December) and got the monies yesterday….. Very quick – so Ste yours shouldn’t be long :)
Sara – the tax thing I cant quite get my head round. I have no other refunds due – this was a one off. I earn approx. £16300 per year. I was taxed £510. Can I claim the full amount back ? Ive seen the form. Do I just fill it in and wait for another cheque ?..
Thank you so much for all your help/advise :):)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can fill in the R40 form now if you can accurately predict your income for this tax year. Or wait until after April when you get your P60 so it’s easier.
You don’t have to claim an amount, just complete the form with your income, the 8% interest that you received from Provident and the tax they deducted.
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/
alison says
Done. Thanks. Quite straight forward really.
alison says
Just a thought – wont effect CTC will it? The refund was £5376 so I assume all will be ok as its not over the £6000 you can have in savings
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is not “income” for tax credits. If you are under the 6k savings limit there should not be a problem.
ste says
wow that was quick. i hope you enjoy spending the money.
and remember dont get anymore doorstep loans lol ;)
alison says
yours should be soon :):)…………
Rob says
Thank you Mr postman! Just got my prov cheque for £9.508! (Partner due roughly the same soon)
I paid £652 tax on the interest which I’m sure I’ll get most if not all back due to lack of earnings this year.
Morses deadline is tomorrow before escalating to ombudsman but hopefully I won’t have to.
Sara, thank you for your help and for this website. You have changed many lives massively and I’m one of them. Let me know if I can donate some cash somewhere of your choice.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A donation to your local Citizens Advice would be brilliant. Each Citizens Advice is a separate charity, iften reliant on finding from the local council who is having to make big cuts.
Rob says
No problem. Is there a quick way to cash this cheque or is it a case of pay it in and wait a few days?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Some banks let you pay in a cheque on your mobile by photographing it?
rob says
Cheque imaging. I’m with NatWest who are a bit behind with that at the moment. I’ll just pay it in as normal and wait. You can usually draw on it in 3 days.
Lynette says
Phoned and told I was still in the pile to be picked up, so I’ve submitted my shopacheck one while i wait, no response as yet from them🙂
samantha mills says
Just been given a ref no from financial ombudsman does this mean my case has been assigned n I can expect correspondence n hopefully a result ant time soon for my provident case does anyone have rough timescales thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A reference number is usually sent in the first couple of weeks. how long is it since you sent your claim in? Do you still owe provident any money?
samantha says
Claim to provident 18th oct .esculated to fos 13th
Dec,no 12loans fully paid and final 3loans were sent to Lowell’s which now states accounts under review on credit report on the default part.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, that is very quick for FOS to have assigned your complaint to an adjuicator to look at. I think you are just being told the reference number.
Have you told lowell that you are disputing the debts as you have an affordability complaint in at FOS?
samantha says
No I have not been in contact with Lowell’s at all there default date is 5/4/14.
The account under review in default section only appeared after I complained to provident I presumed they had contacted them
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should inform Lowell yourself. I would be surprised if Provident have.
Shebs says
You have to inform Lowell when I was doing my provident complaint they never informed Lowell and they had bought the debt from provident and it was over £11000 I also told them I was complaining about morses which they have 2 accounts they said they need to know
Gemma says
Hi I have 1 week befor the 8 week deadline from provident and my agent called me today to ask why I submitted the irresponsible lending claim, I told her straight that I believed she didn’t do the correct checks. Used out of date payslips etc and now she is threatening me although I have no proof of this. What should I do??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell Provident that you are being threatened by your agent and you will be including this in your complaint if it has to go to the Financial Ombudsman.
If you still owe money, have you asked for a payment arrangement?
Gemma says
I have asked and that was why the agent originally contacted me….. I shall give them a call tomorrow :(
Shebs says
Hi Sara just wondering if anyone had any success with skyline direct I complained to them and so did my daughter my daughter did covers some runs for them for about six months they settled her by offering 148 she challenged them and within an hour they updated it to 448 but no calculation of how they got to this she has taken it to ombudsman
But my complaint wasn’t upheld and in there final responses they even put in the final response that I worked for them and had an income I have even emailed there chairman as this is untrue
My complaint is I had no income as I gave up work because of I’ll health but as my husband worked I got no benefits I was trying for my work pension but it didn’t come till 3 years later as I had no income the agent just put in my husbands income and just put figures in boxes they have said if I can prove no income they will look at it again but as I was not in receipt of benefits I had no proof
And also demanded there source of information as to I worked for them no reply have taken to ombudsman has anyone else had problems with them and I would urge if you have been a customer to claim
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“they have said if I can prove no income they will look at it again but as I was not in receipt of benefits I had no proof”
would your bank statements how this?
Shebs says
It is my husbands account only showing his wages going in but that’s his private business but in there final responses they said I had £276 left each week I wrote to them to say I didn’t know where they got there figures from as my husbands wage was 400 and we had mortgage council tax gas elec shopping car payment so didn’t have much left after paying that each week the agent must have put in a lot of rubbish
Julie clarke says
Hi does anyone have a contact for provident to chase up cheque I’m due please . Thanks
Jay says
If over 28 days contact the adjudicator at FOS
Julie clarke says
Is it 28 days or 28 workikg days you count . Accepted offer on 18 th December . Does it come recorded delivery or just in normal post .
Steven says
So the adjudicator gave morses club till yesterday to reply after them wanting more time in December .
I havent heard anything from adjudicator would you email her or just wait
Ang says
I submitted my provident refund claim 8 weeks ago, recieved an email the other day advising it had not been looked into yet but they would be in touch, I know I am able to escalate but would like to avoid if possible as I’d like to see what they offer first. I called them earlier and they couldn’t provide me with a timeframe as they are working through a large number of affordability complaints, has anyone recieved a refund offer from provident without escalating and roughly how long did you wait? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send it to the Ombudsman now. Provident are very slow and don’t often make good offers, so this is not worth waiting for. it’s easy to send a complaint to the ombudsman, it can just be the same as what you sent provident.
Mrs Tina Stanley says
Hi i put in my claim for morses new years so early days yet kust had a manager call to ask why i stopped payment so i explained that i am waiting for uc to be worked out will that hinder my claim do you know by any chance tia
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No it shouldn’t. But you should also ask for an arrangement to pay when your UC is getting paid. It could be a while until your complaint is sorted.
Mrs Tina Stanley says
Thanks Sara we set up an agreement gor the next 3 months and will then go from there
Louise Bates says
Hi, I was caught in the spiral of borowing more and more money from provident and constantly refinancing loans. I was only able to escape by using some inheritance money to pay it all off in the early part of last year.
I only realised today that I had any redress regarding this so I am obviously at the start of a long process. My question is how do you know if what, if anything, is a good offer from provident.
I have been using them for over 20 year & obviously I know I cannot claim for anything before 2007.
TIA
Louise
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The complaint asks for a list of your loans and the interest you paid. Without that, you can’t guess.
Shirley says
I didn’t find this site until after a claims company offered to deal with my loan, but have been interested in all the comments and really pleased for everyone who have received refunds. My claim was put in beginning of July 2019 and went to fos middle Sept 2019. I have checked on credit karma and the interest alone from 2012 till 2017 is over 20,000. Had prob loans since 2000 always rolled over. Not sure how long it will take but like I said this site gives me some hope. Thanks Sara.
Linda says
Hi all just received my check today from provident, accepted from the fos on 30th December, so not a bad timeframe, it was wrote out on the 8th, so happy.
emma says
i have been having loans off provident since early 90s never not been out of debt with them i put in a complaint september 2019 they only looked at the last 3 loans i told the fos i dont have evidence for all the other loans but had most loans at a previous address provident have said they cant find anymore loans they are lying as i have had lots and lots of loans from them. they have made an offer of 153.00 and to write of 570.00 from one i still owe on. its a joke the interest on the loan was 400.00 so why are they offering 153.00 i am fuming i have had around 50 loans off them
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when did you move from your previous address? is there any evidence in your bank statements of these loans? do you have any evidence for any loans apart from the three provident have identified?
emma says
hi sara it was around 2011 i moved and no i payed by cash to the agent so i dont have any evidence to prove this and i no longer have the payment books is there any other way i could get proof on these loans
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So there were only the three loans after you moved? I don’t suppose you are still in contact with the agent?
emma says
hi no they left so i would not be able to ask them either and the last 3 loans are the only ones i had evidence for
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I think you may well have a problem. It’s hard to see where you can go with this.
The last three loans, how much interest did you pay on the first of them? On the second? The last loan, how much did you borrow? How much have you paid to it so far?
emma says
so the loans were first loan was 400.00 interest was 240.00 second loan was 500.00 interest was 410.00 third loan was 700.00 interest was 719.00
and they have offered me 152.00 and 560.00 to write off the last loan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much, if anything, have you paid to the last loan?
emma says
i still owe 570.00 on the last loan and fos said that provident agreed that after the 1st loan i should not of had the second and third loan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry but I am asking if you know how much you have paid to the last loan. Without that i can’t tell if the calculations for the last 3 loans looks right.
emma says
about 830.00 i have payed so far on the last loan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Right so they they should refund you £410 interest for the second loan. And for the last loan you have paid 830 and the loan was £700 so you have paid £130 interest on that.
So you should get the last loan written off AND a refund of £410 + £130 = £540 plus 8% interest.
Does it look as though they are offering this? or less?
Steven says
I have had an offer of 1700 from morses club which I have accepted but they have taxed me 150 on it how do I claim this back ?? I would just like to say a massive thankyou to this website for all the help and advice
Bill says
Hi everyone, regarding SHOPACHECK, I received a reply from the adjudicator informing me MORSES club dont have to have liability to uphold loans I had with shopacheck in 2008-2009, I believe Morses club took over from Shopacheck in 2015! So my question is who takes responsibility for shopacheck loans pre: 2015?
PS I had 7 loans with shopacheck, 4 of them are with Lowell’s
gillian says
hi bill I put in a complaint with morse club in 2018 for loans I had with shopacheck from 2010 to 2018 they upheld all loans from 2015 to 2018 and told me the others were with welcome finance(I had never heard of them just shopacheck)they sent my complaint on to welcome finance for me.welcome refused all loans so I sent it to the fos in may 2018(12 loans) I was not assigned a adjudicator until November 2019 she informed me that all loans before 2011 could not be looked at due to welcome entering a scheme of arrangments in march 2011 it took her one day to upheld loans 7 to 12 welcome disagreed she give them until the 16th of December to provide more evidence in defence on the 16th of December welcome went into liquidation (so no payment for me now)she is still waiting for welcoms liquadertors to inform the fos to what is going to happen next hope this helps
Bill says
Hi Gillian,
My complaint exactly same as yours plus the same time adjicator got in touch with me in November 19, I have passed my complaint to an ombudsman but adjudicator didn’t mention welcome finance!
Thanks for replying,
Bill
David Appleby says
Hi I sent my complaint about provident to fos in September 2018. It’s not been picked up by an adjudicator yet I rang yesterday and was told it’s in a queue for the specialist team due to the amount of interest involved. Have you heard of this before
Lucy A says
Hi ,
Provident are coming up to there 56 days on Friday. They haven’t sent me the loans information I requested. Can I still forward it on to FOS?
I had loans through them and Greenwood.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can. Put in your complaint that you have asked for a list of the loans and Provident have not supplied them
Lucy says
Lovely thank you for your help
emma says
no sara they have just made me an offer of 153.00 and fos said i had until 30th january to let them know but it seems to low what should i do now i have emailed the fos back and explained this but they have not emailed me back. should i get in touch with provident and ask them to look at it again because it seems low or wait for fos to email me back
emma says
how do you work the 8% out sara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when was the second loan repaid?
emma says
hi sara i think it was 2017 the loan was payed
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So perhaps 20% might be added as 8% interest onto the second loan.
emma says
thanks sara. so shall i contact provident and explain the offer is not right or the fos
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Or both?
Darren O Donnell says
Hi sent all my details to the ombudsman November 2018 never heard back till today they said they are upholding my complaint on 16 of my 18 loans from 2008 to 2016 the only 2 there not is the first 2. Provident has still the end of month to respond does anyone know how long this can take till I get a payout thanks Darren
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like it will be a good result – let’s hope provident accept it.
Provident used to ignore or reject… but in November / December they must have accepted about 500 decisions and paid out. I hope this means they will be accepting new adjudicator decisions more promptly but time will tell. What happened to other people say 6 months ago may no longer be relevant.
Dave says
It’s really encouraging to see so many of you taking control and (eventually) getting refunds (or being in the process of getting one). I have been in a cycle of debt ever since I was 18 (I’m now 35). Companies like Provident, Wonga etc, have been able to take advantage of people in difficult situations for years.
I too have offers of redress from pay day loan companies but it makes me so angry that these are such a small % of the total claim value. I logged a complaint with Provident just before Christmas and, after reading all your comments, I’m hopeful of greater ‘compensation’ in this case. The interest has been astronomical on loan, after loan, after loan.
Thanks for sharing all your comments and experiences. It gives me hope!
kym says
I have received a letter to say that my complaint with FSO has been upheld and provident have to pay me back all the interested on all payments and 8 % on each payment across all my my loans since 2010 and they have 4 weeks to sort my offer out . Does anyone know if provident send you offer first and then you have to accept it before they send refund. They all so have to amend my credit file.
Linda says
The adjudicator rang me and told me provident had agreed with them and told me how much refund I was getting, that was the 30th Dec, I agreed to the amount. I received my check on the 14 th Jan. Never had to get in touch with provident at all.
kym says
Can you help me please I won the case against provident.. The loans were sold to Lowell and I disputed them at court and myself and the court mediator and Lowell came to a payment plan . The court mediator told me to go for a refund with provident and this has been upheld now with FSO and provident have to pay me all interest back and 8% per loan .. My question is provident don’t own the loan anymore so will I get the refund and what will happen with Lowell now these loans go back to 2008
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That was great advice from the court mediator!
Provident have to sort out the loans with Lowell. This normally means they buy them back and settle them. All the money you have paid Lowell will be taken into account when working out how much interest you have paid, just as though you had paid it to provident.
Has Provident agreed with the adjudicator decision?
Kym says
Hi Sarah
Yes FSO agreed with Provident to pay charges and 8% on all loans from 2010 to date I get the offer.
Kym says
How Sarah .. the FSO said that Provident agreed the Adjudicators decision . I have been paying Lowell not provident as when it went to court it was with Lowell. The adjudicator knew all this. Does provident tell the adjudicator what the offer is and then he calls me with the offer. In my letter it said provident are working out how much they wl refund me and if I have not heard from provident in 4 weeks to call provident.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s up to Provident how they sort out the CCJ and the debt with Lowell. I suggest you wait the 4 weeks and then talk to Provident. Come back here if they aren’t helpful!
PS stop paying Lowell anything! Right now!
Jane Davies says
Hi there just wondering how far back are loan records kept for by prvodent…iv put in for loans from 2007 up until 2012 ..but no longer have any paperwork at all on them .so i relise that my chances of claiming are slim if they no longer have them to look through .. loving reading everyones winning stories
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It seems random. They have some not others.
Jane Davies says
Fingers crossed they will have mine ..thanks for reply i will let you know the outcome lol
Lucy A says
Day 56 and Provident emailed saying they are still looking into my complaint and would be in contact. After reading everything on here I have just finished referring it to the FOS.
I am still waiting for the list of loans and interest paid off on Provident for the loans I had with them and Greenwood, hopefully FOS has more success trying to obtain them then I did.
Caz says
Hi I am thinking of making a claim and need some advice do you think it would be better to do a joint claim or two separate ones me and my partner both had provident loans over the years my partner had them to start with but needed to pay off a loan but couldn’t borrow enough so we were encouraged to take one out in my name then we were in a cycle of using his loans to pay mine and mine to pay his until we took a bank loan to clear them all and get rid of provident.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Separate claims. Otherwise the joint claim moves at the speed of the slower one!
Caz says
Thank you for the advice x
Julie says
Hi finally got my provident cheque today after three years of waiting for my case to be Settled. Now starting my morses complaint and putting in for My partners to do his provident too . I can’t remember what you send on the first instance by email to start the complaint . It’s been that long 🤦🏼♀️My partner has no paperwork for his past loans.
Chris says
Hi Julie,
When did you accept their offer? I got confirmation from provident that mine was accepted on the 31st January but have not yet received the cheque.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
31st of December???
gillian says
hi sara I have just got a letter from fos about my claim about welcome (shopacheck loans) saying now welcome in liquidation there is nothing else they can do.,the adjudicator had upheld loans 7 to 12 (I calculated this is about 3000 pound in intrest paid between 2012 to 2016)it says if I want to carry on I should contact the liquidators and it is now up to them if complaints will be upheld or not.is it worth me carrying on with this or will they just say no we do not agree as welcome did, also is it worth informing the fos that I was not happy due to the fact that I sent complaint in sept 2018 and it was not even looked at till nov2019 (took adjudicator from Friday to Monday to come to a result so not a complicated case)I I have also found information on the internet about welcome going into liquidation in dec2019 dated october2019 so surely they would have known that it there was probably no point in even looking at the case thank you again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should be sent a letter by the administrators including a Proof of Debt form.
I suggest you send in that form before the deadline which is the end of March. You can leave box 4 blank. In box 6 put “Redress for unaffordable loans from Shopacheck between 2012 and 2016, customer reference 12345678 (or anything else that will let the administrators link your form to the loans they have on file)”. Leave 7 & 8 blank. In box 9 I suggest you put “see FOS adjudicator decision upholding a refund on these loans” and attach a copy of the adjudicator decision.
I don’t know how much you may get back from the administrators but it is worth a try!
You can complain to FOS if you like, but I doubt it will get you anything.
gillian says
ty again sara I downloaded the form and will send it off I will not lose anything by asking them
Sam says
Hi Sarah I asked few weeks ago about my provident account been sent to Lowell’s n said noticed they put account under review after I’d complained to provident I have received official letter today from Lowell’s saying they are investigating due to complaint I have made to provident.sounds as though provident been in touch with them to make them aware n hopefully they come to a agreement on the 3loans with them and provident agree to the 15 loans from 2007 to 2012 I had with them .what do you think have you heard Lowell’s contacting someone like this before .thanks
Kelly McCandless says
Just an update on my above comment on 31st December. Adjudicator upheld loans 5 to 29 with loans at home and gave them until 10th january to reply. I sent updated paperwork as it was 32 loans in total. Contacted adjudicator again today for update. Loans at home did not reply by the 10th so she has given them until 2nd february , so it looks like they are going to drag this out. My question is if they miss the next deadline to reply, what would normally happen? Would they get another deadline? If they dont reply at all does the adjudicator make a final decision?
Thanks
Kelly
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry it’s case by case here. there is no normal in this sort of situation.