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?
Caroline says
Hi,
Getting ready to complain to Provident about irresponsible lending. Had numerous loans from them spiralling back over 18 years. Always been on disability benefits. Last loan i was coerced in my opinion to taking out, i had almost paid them off completely. Been paying them back for 2 years and still owe them £1800. When i took the loan out i told them i was going to lose tax credits in a few months, they still gave me the loan. Got into difficulty when i lost tax credits and got payments reduced to £15 a week but struggle to maintain this. I pay them through phone call to main office but recently have a bitch of woman been at my door despite them knowing its an office payment and no one supposed to come to my door. Complained to manager who agreed that she shouldnt have been there. Now she is phoning and texting to say i havent paid when payment came off my bank account last week, when i told her i had made my 4 weekly payment she wants the next one in 3 weeks. Feels like she is harassing a vulnerable person who has mental health issues, so i have had enough and going to put a claim in. Hopefully i stand a reasonable chance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Make sure your complaint is clear that you have two separate issues.
1) that you were given an unaffordable loan when the agent knew you were going to lose tax credits. Ask for the interest to be removed from this loan.
2) that you have been visited at home when you shouldn’t have been and phoned and texted to pay more than you can manage – ask for compensation for this.
Caroline says
Thank you. Will let you know how i get on. I wrote to them last night highlighting the issues (its actually been over 20 years) and stressed the disability issue which are both physical and mental in nature and stated that i think they took advantage of a vulnerable person who kept telling them i was about to lose income. I did complain about the visit, phone call and texts too.
Caroline says
Just looked at mine on my credit file. The loan i had almost paid off was for £5250 with one or two payments left at £178 and another that was £2834 and down to £2834. They cleared these off on 6/8/14 and gave me 3 new loans all dated the 2/8/14, 2 for £1902 and one for £2114. Dont understand why it wasnt all in one amount, why the 3 separate loans. Had standard reply back from them before Xmas but nothing since. Im prepared to take them to Ombudsman with this if i dont get anywhere
Caroline says
Sorry 2nd loan of £2834 was down to £1112
Caroline says
Reply back from Provident today, i presume its a standard reply
We are sorry that we have been unable to resolve your complaint at this time.
We can assure you that investigations are still ongoing and this matter is receiving our urgent attention.
We aim to have completed our investigations within the next 28 days
Suzanne says
Mine is at 14 weeks today, you will continue to get emails after the 28 days asking for another 14 days. There was a lady on here not long ago said her mother’s was completed in 15 weeks so I’m assuming mine shouldn’t be too much longer until I get a reply from them
Caroline says
Just put my complaint into to Financial Ombudsman, gave them all the info i could including a few months bank statements from before the loan, statements showing when i lost tax credits and statements from my income as it is now. Also gave them copy of my credit report which shows exactly when i got into trouble paying and showing the 3 loans for the same date plus the previous loan which has one payment to go before being cleared. Dont think i missed anything out and i hope its enough for them
Caroline says
Got a letter from provident yesterday telling me im in arrears on all 3 accounts for the total amount of what im due them and to speak to my local manager about it…erm i did thats why im on reduced payments for past 2 years. Still this letter will come in handy if i need to go to Ombudsman
Caroline says
Reply from Provident this morning asking for a further 14 days. I’m off to the Ombudsman
Caroline says
Another reply from Provident this morning asking for a further 14 days as expected. I have already contacted the Ombudsman, sent in all the info along with copies of bank statements for a couple of months when i took the loan, another couple of months when i lost my tax credits, child benefit and sons DLA money and also sent a few months of recent bank statements as well as a copy of my credit history which matches when i took the loans out i was fine but shows that when i got into problems was when i lost tax creds etc. Not heard back from Ombudsman yet but its only been a week since i put complaint in
Griff says
My wife just had £978 back off provident interest.
do you except the cheque you get off provident ..?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Provident have probably sent you a letter with the cheque saying which loans they are refunding? the question is, is that enough loans? If you don’t think it is and you want to ask the ombudsman to look at your case, don’t cash the cheque.
Jen says
Hi all please don’t just go by provident statement of account, I checked my loans against my old payment books(the 1s i could find) and they had left 1 out. Also checked my credit report on noodle (free to do) and compared to the statement that they sent the missed loan was on my credit report and another 5 (totalling 2500) don’t know why they are “missing” loans from the statement that they sent. Sent another complaint with loan details of loans they had left out asking these to be taken into account in my claim. Hope this helps some.
Cassandra Anderson says
Hi I have had an email from financial ombudsman asking for 3 months of bank statements from before I took the loans! I can only go back to 2006 on my banking app so screen shotted and sent them. They have also asked for copy of credit file? How do I get it please? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Ombudsman is unlikely to want to go back before 2007 anyway, so just send what you have. All you can do is send you current credit record, there is no way of getting an “old” one.
Angela Harvey says
Hi I am just doing my complaint now is it worth me saying how around 3 to 4 month I did not have an agent dealing with my account and that in that time my circumstances changed and I am struggling to get back on track with my arrears due to them not doing there jobs
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it is worth adding that at the bottom say “In addition I have another complaint …..” to make it clear it’s not a part of an affordability complaint – which is about how Provident should not have given you a loan in the first place. But it is another very valid complaint. Many people have been badly messed around this year by Provident changing its agent and you shouldn’t have to suffer because of this.
Julie Stephenson says
Hi I had numerous loans with provident over 20year, I made a complaint and they have come back with details of 1loan from 2003 saying it’s all they had on system…and that I was paying that loan until 2014!(it was for 700) I don’t have any details of the loans I had or my book as my agent kept that. I’m sure I had more loans between 2003+
I have gone to the omnbusman but they said it won’t matter as they have no details….is there anything I can do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is unusual. I don’t remember anyone else having a problem with loans over a long period not being traced by Provident.
Would there be any trace of the loans on your bank statements? If you were given cash and paid in cash, there may not have been :(
But the loan from 2003 to 2014 – that doesn’t sound right either. Perhaps you had one loan and kept refinancing / topping it up? HAve you asked for a statement of that loan?
Jen says
Julie I had loans from provident not on my statement of account, I found an old book with 1 not mentioned either, found them out from my credit report here https://www.noddle.co.uk it’s free to sign up to and it’s the only report that has provident loans on it, check the option for closed accounts as well as open 1s, it even says on most of mine that payments were 6 months in arrears( some took an extra 2 years 2 pay off) yet they kept re lending 2 me hope this helps.
I’ve just had e.mail saying their 8 wks is up but they need another 2 wks to investigate. Worth a try and it’s free to check it.
Good luck
Aida says
Is it true that ombudsman will only look at complaints from 6 years ago? And even if provident are taking a while, do they still offer a full refund or will try with lower offers? I am asking because I received a letter asking for another 14 days and wondered if it’s worth waiting if they will actually fully refund me or take it to ombudsman anyway. Also, I wouldn’t have any more records of loans (even though I did have them) that are older than 6 years as they would have dropped off my credit report. Provident also when sending statements said, they wouldn’t consider older than the statements I had received.
Aida says
And happy new year ????
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can’t say the Ombudsman WON’T look at loans older than 6 years, but I haven’t seen a case in which they have.
Because the repayments on Provident loans are so much lower each month than payday loans, it is unusual to get a “full refund”. Often only the later loans are refunded even if they are all within 6 years – but these refunds can still be a lot of money! Provident are erratic with what they offer – if you have an outstanding loan it is often to just wipe that.
Nicola says
Hello, has anyone sent a complaint to mutual? Just wondered what there response process was like.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are one of the much smaller lenders, I can’t remember anyone mentioning them.
Nicola says
Would this be a problem with me complaining to them? Would it be thrown out?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It just means you are the first person who has commented. There is no reason to think that means your complaint will be especially difficult! If they reject your complaint, come back here and give a summary of it and see if people think it’s worth going to the Ombudsman – if often is as the Ombudsman is upholding over half these affordability complaints, so the lenders are often getting it wrong.
Nicola says
Wonderful Thank you very much, I have sent the complaint to Mutual, no acknowledgment email as of yet but it’s still early days irl keep you posted.
Maxine says
Just heard from provident said I should hear back in 14 days they said there a lot of complaints
Stacey says
Good luck , I put my in August got home tonight to a response. Over 13 loans they are giving me nothing. Off to the ombudsman I go x
Maxine says
I went to the ombudsman I had 30 loans over 20 years so did my husband
Jess says
Provident have been telling me 14 days from the start of December send to the fos
Mike says
Hi
With reference to my pursuit of getting a refund from Morses/ shopacheck
Having my complaints both declined I sent off to FOS and heard back from them this week, initially wanted the final response letters which I have now sent.
I have just been on the FOS site and searched cases they have investigated, on 3 in the last year and all 3 were not upheld by investigators or ombersman!!!
So quite worrried about it now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The decisions site can be very misleading as it doesn’t include the 90% of cases settled at the adjudicator level. If a lender settles all good complaints at the adjudicator level, there will be hardly any complaints against them showing as upheld!
Also in this case there are just very few complaints I suspect.
Mike says
Hi Sara
I have been in touch with FOS and they require the usual statements,dates of loans,reference numbers, correspondence and my credit report.
Difference sites sometimes contain a few different bits of information so do I send multiple copies? Also which bits do they want as there are different sections to the credit report.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest sending just your Noddle report and the full one. Only send another one as well if there is something important showing on that.
Mike says
So you just open the report and print it all ?
I have other loans and some show on noddle and some show Experian
Would showing these loans help my case on top of the Morses/ shopacheck loans?
Mike says
I like you you tube attachment ‘ Doris day’ like she sings whatever will be will be!!!
I understand
Thankyou ????????
Mike says
I have complaint in against provident started beginning November have since then been contacted saying need another 28 days to look at it just got update under a day before escalating to next stage saying they have had problems since upgrading system and have more complaints so need another 14 days to hopefully final decision do I wait as seems delaying or escalate instead many thanks
Maxine says
Me 2 said another 14 days had so many loans over 30 years
Jen says
I’ve just had another e.mail saying they need another 14 days that’s the 2nd e.mail for another 14 days, 1 for another 28 days before that ????
Mike says
Think I will wait 14 days if still no progress will escalate
Maxine says
I went to the financial ombudsman to start with so did my husband let u no how I get on
Maxine says
Got a letter from provident got to wait another 2 weeks
Amira says
How many 12 days extensions have you had from provident please? I’m on my second but also escalated to ombudsman.
Jen says
I’m also on my 2nd
Victorya says
Hi!
I was just wondering has anyone had any success with Provident when the didn’t miss payments?? I didn’t miss my payments because the agent told me he would come to Pub where I worked if I was not at home and I didn’t want people to find out about my loans!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes they have – missing payments and then being given more loans helps a complaint but a loan can be unaffordable and provident should have checked even if there were no missed payments.
Victorya says
Thanks for your reply!
I’m just worried that Provident will decide just because I didn’t miss payments that there wasn’t a problem. I did have 18 loans with them and all but the first one of them was issued before the last one had been paid off. I even had 3 loans at the same time!
Christine says
Hi all I had loans with providential Greenwood and morses about 10-15 yrs ago I was on benefits but haven’t got any paperwork or info for then I used to always top them up when they were nearly finished can someone let me know how I go about to find out if I’m entitled to anything back please as not good at this sort of thing please thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you haven’t borrowed from them in the last 10 years or so?
Christine says
I became a new customer last July
Julze says
I had loans with provident and greenwood and they keep emailing me saying they can’t find my account. Even though it’s still showing as closed on my credit report
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you sent them a copy of your credit report?
Sam says
Hi I’ve had a few loans off the provident I was in my early 20’s when I got these the biggest one I got was around £1000 and the interest was so much I struggled to pay it back and I still owe around £3200 over 2 loans, I’ve been paying bits and bobs off them over the past few years, nothing consistent, am I eligible to get a refund as I still owe money or can I get them cleared for irresponsible lending and also how would it effect the workers who knock at your house? If there’s an ongoing case? Hoping someone could give me some information
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can complain if you still owe money, this may reduce or even clear the amount you owe.
The people who collect the money used to be self employed but they are now a Provident employees. I don’t think they can lose any money if you make a complaint but obviously they would prefer you didn’t!
steve says
Adjudicator upheld my complaint against Provident and they have agreed. Does anyone know how long they take to send out a cheque?
Wendy says
Provident took 6 weeks for mine
Stacey says
Ok so I’ve been waiting since September for Probident to get back to me regarding my unaffordable lending complaint. After numerous letters holding it for a further 14 days today they tell me they don’t see an issue! Has anyone one a provident complaint at the ombudsman? It’s so fustrating I takes so long to get back to me just for that response , they have also sent my partner the exsactly same letter! X
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it’s a shame you waited – send it to the ombudsman now – people have won cases there!
Sal says
Dear Sara,
I complained about a logbook loan company MOBILE MONEY.
I was 12 days out of the so called 6 year expiry when I complained.
What pains me is that these people were very crooked and evil!
They would have taken something like 15k off me and repossessed my car too.
SOB!
is there any way? anyway at all to get the ombudsman to retrieve my details and contract…?
Any way that I can squeeze in the 6 years?
HELP please.. :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send it to the Ombudsman to make the decision – explain you complained as soon as you were aware that yiu could.
Sal says
Thank you so much.
I will try.
Simon says
Hi Sara,
Please could I ask, I had a complaint in against Provident for 3 loans, the adjudicator rejected the complaint saying they hadn’t done anything wrong. I asked for it to got to the Ombudsman which she did and have just had the final response also rejecting it. My question is I was not told when it was sent to the Ombudsman and only found out when it was rejected, the letter from them says I have to Accept or Reject by the 15th what would happen if I do neither or Reject? I disagree with the result obviously and feel that Provident have lied claiming I made all payments on time and paid each loan off before taking another but this is not true I know I missed many payments and never paid any loan off before taking out another I always took another one at a Higher amount to use some to pay off the existing one but do not have my loan book any more to prove this. Is there anything else I can do?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“I was not told when it was sent to the Ombudsman and only found out when it was rejected”
This is normal – unless the Ombudsman changes the adjudicator’s decision, it goes straight to a Final Decision on the grounds that you and the lender have both already had the opportunity to comment on the adjudicator’s decision
“the letter from them says I have to Accept or Reject by the 15th what would happen if I do neither or Reject?”
I think they will treat that as a rejection. A consumer (not a lender) has the right to reject an Ombudsman’s decision and then sue the lender. This is hardly ever a good idea, if you want to consider it you need a good solicitor to help you.
“feel that Provident have lied claiming I made all payments on time and paid each loan off before taking another but this is not true I know I missed many payments and never paid any loan off before taking out another I always took another one at a Higher amount to use some to pay off the existing one but do not have my loan book any more to prove this.”
That’s incredibly annoying. I am sorry you didn’t mention this at the point the adjudicator rejected your complaint. I would have suggested that you think about paying £10 for a Subject Access Request to Provident, so you had full details of what Provident thought your payments were.
“Is there anything else I can do?”
A consumer (not a lender) has the right to reject an Ombudsman’s decision and then sue the lender. This is hardly ever a good idea, if you want to consider it you need a good solicitor to help you. I think you have to see this as one you have lost.
Jen says
Did you get a statement of account from them using Sara’s template letter, I copied and pasted it onto their complaint form on their web page, it arrived 2 days later, by post, if you check your noodle credit report it shows late payments on provident loans to (but not as much detail as their SOA)
MRS X says
I put a complaint in with provident back in August. To which they still haven’t given a resolution. The ombudsmen have sent me a letter stating they are upholding my complaint and I need to sign to say I agree or not agree. My question is as this us rather a large sum what is the likely outcome if provident doesn’t agree? They haven’t communicated with the ombudsmen at all throughout the process despite acknowledging to me they have heard from them. There have been complications along the way with false details and signatures (Which I still haven’t decided what to do).
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is is a decision from an adjudicator at the FOS or from an Ombudsman?
MRS X says
Adjudicator I believe.
His emails and responses just say investigator.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok, then this is the first stage at the Ombudsman. Most cases are settled at this level, but if Provident don’t agree, it will be sent to the second stage, where “ an Ombudsman” looks at the case. An Ombudsmans decision will be legally binding.
MRS X says
Fingers crossed provident respond quickly then. My family feel they are not going to agree with this decision lightly. Fingers crossed to all with complaints though. It takes a long time and you’ll definitely need patience!!
Ella says
Good morning
We have had a response from Provident detailing what is happening with our claim and thought we would share it.
‘We are sorry that we have been unable to resolve your complaint at this time. We have recently made changes to the way we operate and have experienced some issues during the transitional period. We would like to apologise for this and assure you that we are taking measures to enable us to delivery the high level of service you expect from us and appreciate your patience throughout this period of change. As a result, we are experiencing a higher level of complaints than usual. Please be assured this matter is receiving out urgent attention and we will write to you again within the next 14 days with either an update or our final response. In view of this and in line with our complaints procedure you have the right to refer your complaint to the FOS, free of charge, but you must do so within six months of the date of this letter. If you do not refer your complaint in time, the FOS will not have our permission to consider your complaint and so will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances, for example, the FOS believes that the delay was as a result of exceptional circumstances. Please find enclosed an explanatory leaflet which provides information on the FOS website. Should you wish to contact me, please feel free to do so on the direct line below.
Ella says
We are interested to know whether this is the same letter that everybody receives at eight weeks.
We think it is a stalling tactic as we sent everything with our complaint, the loans, credit history and payments. The letter looks like it was printed weeks ago and the ink has mirror-imaged onto the blank parts of the letter, so as ‘insert date here’ one. We are giving them 14 days extra then going to FOS and we are also going to ring them to let them know. We can’t really see any valid reason for giving them more time as they have all the information.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It looks like a standard letter – there is nothing in there that suggests anyone has even looked at your case. Lots of people have then received a request for an extra 14 days… it’s up to you but I wouldn’t bother to give them any extra time, just send it straight to the FOS.
Jen says
I’ve had that letter 3 times now go to the FOS
Ella says
Thank you Jen and Sara. I thought that would be the case. I will prepare the file and get it sent over.
MRS X says
I had that letter about 20 times :( get it to to FOZ as quickly as you can. I waited around because they told me not too. Foz have completed initial response and now I’m waiting for a resolution from provident by the 9th as they still havent completed their own resolution yet (after 6 months) ask provident for copies of all agreements too. I found a couple of forged signatures and incorrect employment details.
CHRISTINE K TURNBULL says
yes, just had same letter the day before escalation is due
Lucy says
Hi, I’ve had lots of loans off both provident and shopacheck, I couldn’t pay these in the end along with other things and I am now paying all these back through a dept management company. Do u think I have a chance of getting any money back if I complain.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is well worth trying! What can happen when you still owe money is that any interest is removed from the balance, so this could speed up your DMP repayments.
Lucy says
I sent my letter off to morses and have received a letter today saying I have to ring them within 14 days to talk through my complaint, should I ring them or keep to email so that everything is in writing.
Sam says
Hi just wondering if someone could help me, I’ve had a few provident loans over the last 5 years one was particularly bad and I shouldn’t of been given it really and the interest was really high on it, looking into claiming about irresponsible lending, just got two issues one, will it affect my credit score or show on my file when say applying for a mortgage in the future that I’ve claimed for irresponsible lending and two my Mum is worried that it will affect her because she has a provident loan of her own and we live at the same address so she’s worried about issues when they are coming to collect her payments if I put a case in? Sorry about the essay just trying to look into this as best as I can
Thanks Sam
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Making a complaint will not harm your credit score – indeed if you win the complaint any credit record problems for the loans will be deleted.
It shouldn’t affect your mum at all either. But can she really afford the repayments? Perhaps she should be looking at making a complaint too.
Sam says
Ok thanks for the reply, she’s just worried that they will be awkward with her but I told her that it will be a complaint that’s being dealt with higher than them, so I’m guessing the door to door collectors wouldn’t even know to be hoest, well I’ve said I will see how my one turns out so she may do herself
Sue says
Iv had a case with the ombudsman against morses in since September only had the acknowledgment email saying morses had 12 weeks to respond this is now up and still not heard anything I had numerous loans of morses and shop a check too scared to add the interest up let’s hope I get a little something back. Also provident sent me same stalling letter now I’m going to get that one on way to ombudsman
Mike says
Hi sue
I am also waiting on the FOS with a complaint against Morses .
I have had to separate my complaint of 50 loans into 2 different complaints 1-22 against Shopacheck/WFS and 23-50 against Morses.
Have you been through the adjudicater stage already and waiting on the Ombudsman now?
If so do you mind what the initial outcome was and what they said? Why did they give Morses 12 weeks, for what reason ?
Sue says
Hi they just said morses had 12 weeks to reply to them I thought I’d would of had even a email saying they had been in contact but so far nothing still waiting ,
Mike says
In addition to my last comment
After being given their final response and sending my complaint to FOS I still text my agent to make nominal payments on my existing loans .
She is aware I have made the complaint and never had any of her customers do this before so is not knowledgable about the procedure. Anyway getting to the point she says she has heard nothing during or after Morses rejected it, she said even her manager had not heard anything either.
Just got to question how ‘thorough’ they actually investigated the complaint.
Sam says
Hi mate just wondering did your agent know you made a complaint because you told her, or are they made aware of this by the company? Just because I’m thinking of making a complaint regarding a provident loan and my mum is worried because she is still going to be coming to the house to collect payments on a loan so could be awkward
I’m just wondering how it would work if you made a complaint with outstanding loans you see
Claire says
The adjudicator agreed that provident gave us unaffordable loans and gave them till this Friday to respond spoke to adjudicator today and he hasn’t heard from this is it likely to go to the ombudsman anyone had any experience with provident?
AK says
Provident answered to my adjudicator two weeks later than given but from the adjudicator’s decision to the arrival of the refund cheque there was just one month. They accepted my adjudicator’s decision and he ruled in my favour on 100% of loans
Wendy Rayne says
When were your provident loans taken out! Provident have just rejected my claim on the grounds they were too in 2006 & 2009?
Thank you
AK says
In 2016 -2017, only 3 loans but £1000 each
Griff says
Hi Sara just been told I don’t have a claim against them and Greenwood’s I told them that the agent would give me loans to pay off existing loans
Have sent my complaint FOS
Max says
How long does it take the fos take
Janet says
I had 11 loans in 15 months totalling £5500 mine went to the adjudicator In September decision received November adjudicator stated Provident had done nothing wrong :( it went to an Ombusman beginning of December and I’m still waiting. Not holding my breath that the decision will change. Some have had success with the FOS it seems to be hit and miss unfortunately. Hope you hear soon in your favour :)
MRS X says
Uodate: after 6 months of waiting for provident to give me a response to my complaint I have today heard that they are not upholding my complaint. The investigator from the ombudsman is going to call them tomorrow to see what’s going on as he had investigated and upheld the complaint (provident did not respond to their requests for information). Provident asked the investigator for even more time to investigate even though the fos gave them until the 9th (fri). I’m wondering if they’ve done this to chance their luck with an ombudsman or if they really do have a lot more info? Has anyone been through anything similar? Any tips on info to get to back my complaint when it goes to the ombudsman? I’ve called the bank to get statements.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Getting your bank statements can be very useful evidence to support your case. I have seen a lot of cases where a lender says they want more time and its usually because no-one has yet looked at the case…
MRS X says
It has been with a complaints handler in provident and I’ve been speaking to him since the beginning of Jan. He implied that he recommended a couple of the loans were unaffordable and had sent it to head office for authorising He said that if he was saying no he would have sent the letter straight away, which indicated to me that they would offer something!!! I’ve got statements from 2008 coming from the bank as that’s when the account was opened. Fos recommended all loans from 2007 be refunded. The statement will also show I wasn’t working where the provident agent had recorded on documents that on a timeline wouldn’t make sense. One month she said I’d worked somewhere 7 yrs and 4 months later put it worked somewhere else for 2!!??! That along with a lot of missed payments and rolled over loans I was feeling hopeful but now I’m not so sure after this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
All I can say is Provident are really in chaos at the moment. No news is not bad news, it’s just no news. It sounds as though there is a lot of evidence to support your complaint. It is unusual for the FOS to say that all loans from 2007 should be refunded but you have evidence so it is possible – but you will probably get a great payout even if the end result isn’t all of them!
Francesca says
Hi I’m looking for some advice regarding a provident loan, well a few! So I complained to them a few months back about it which they decided not to uphold. I took it to the ombudsman who has got back to me recently. He is asking for bank statements from a 2 year period, I’ve sent these across but the only problem is.. my husband, boyfriend at the time was transferring money across to my account to ‘put away’ as such as he was struggling himself with debt! So my accounts never looked like I was struggling financially, but I genuinely was! You can see some of the money being transferred back to him throughout the month however he’d often use my card to make purchases as well, then on quite a few occasions he’d owe somebody money which was sent from my account! I feel like there going to take one look at my bank statements and completely dismiss it! Should I explain this to him or should I just wait it out and see what he says? They just don’t do me any justice at all. Any help or advice would be massively appreciated!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
All you can do is try to explain this to your adjudicator. I would get this sorted, now, rather then hope he won’t norice the problems! Pick two or three months in a row and go through the statements and analyse all the transactions that were really your husband’s. But if the reason you were struggling is because you were paying some of his debts, then you may find it hard to win this case.
Francesca says
I’ve explained it all. He took it all into consideration! However provident are now claiming I had £500 weekly disposable income and that they had confirmation of this from my employer? They are also claiming I told them I had £200 maintenance coming in also! This is all complete rubbish and I never told them any of this! In my final response letter from provident they’ve said they used this new technology thing which tells them if my income is in the norm from what I told them if that makes sense? And they used that to determine if the loan was affordable! The thing is every time I got a loan out I was unemployed? I rang the adjudicator the other week and explained that they never asked for my income and expenditure after the first loan was issued and that I was on benefits and provident we’re taking £200 a month from me! And he started to sway more in my favour! However this morning I’ve had an email from him basically saying how provident did all the correct checks? But there lying? I’m so angry I don’t know where to go from here or how to prove there lying? He has my bank statements and can clearly see I was unemployed at the time the loans were issued? I’m at a complete loss!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
” However provident are now claiming I had £500 weekly disposable income and that they had confirmation of this from my employer?”
ok, I suggest you go back to your adjudicator and say it is not your responsibility if your collecting agent lied to Provident. Say you were not employed at this time. Ask them to produce the evidence that “your employer” said you were, as you are sure this either does not exist or it has been fraudulently created by your collector.
If you don’t get anywhere, ask for the case to go to the Ombudsman level.
Francesca says
I’ve emailed him and tried to ring him! I’ve pointed out he has my bank statements which clearly see at the time the loans were issued I was not in employment and he received these from my bank and cannot be edited and the ‘evidence’ he is going on is letters from provident which can easily be adjusted to their liking! I really don’t think he’s going to change his mind! Do you think the ombudsman is likely to see a different view to him? Thanks for your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, I think you should say specifically in writing that you would like to see a copy of the “evidence” from your alleged employer because you do not believe this exists.
You could also consider sending Provident a Subject Access Request (SAR) asking them to send you a copy of all the information that they have about you, this takes a month and now it is free. But it would be interesting to know what they have.
Yes an Ombudsman does overturn adjudicator decisions. In your case it is certainly worth trying!
Mandy says
You’ve previously said that you’ve only recently found out that you could complain about all of your loans. If you can, please can you provide any further information around how you became aware that you could make a complaint about these loans? Hi Sara this is what iv just received from my adjudicator for loans of 6 years and over for my irresponsible lending complaint against provident and sd Taylor. Do I just say I read about it on social media or something like that ? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Exactly. There are no right or wrong answers here, just say what happened. If you saw payday loan refunds mentioned on Facebook, or if your sister sent you a link she saw, whatever…
I am sure you realised ages ago that you were just trapped by this borrowing – but that doesn’t mean you knew the lender had been irrsponsiblemormthat you could complain. So just say when and how you found out about this.
Sue says
Just received a letter today presumably from adjudicator saying they are agreeing with morses even though in one year I had three loans in 6 month each getting higher no one contacted me for any more details just took there word they mention 7 loans even though in last 6 years Iv had 11 going to put to ombudsman but I don’t think they rarely over rule pretty much wasting me time but in for a penny.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is this the final decision from the adjudicator? Sometimes people get an earlier letter and they think that’s it, but actually you can go back at that point and ask the adjudicator to look again because you think A, B and C are wrong, or have been overlooked.
If the adjudicator has the wrong number of loans, you need to go back to them urgently even if this is a final decision and point this out. This is a “factual errror” which should be corrected.
But could some of the loans be Shopacheck loans which need a separate complaint?
Not many adjudicator decisions are overturned by the Ombudsman because they are normally pretty good decisions! But you have borrowed a lot and your case is well worth taking to the second Ombudsman stage. You need to write out why you disagree with what the adjudicator has said, send this to the adjudicator and say you would like it forwarded to the Ombudsman.
Sue says
Thanks for replies Iv wrote back saying I’d like it to go to ombudsman my letter just says investigator I wasn’t asked to produce anything or even spoke to anyone at one stage I had 3 loans in three months totally 1500 in total they had thousands off me it’s took since September il see what outcome is but I’m not holding out much hope
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you supplied bank statements? If you haven’t been asked for these, you should supply them now.
Lucy says
Hi, can I just ask how people communicated with morses after sending off there complaint letter. Is email better than telephone.
Sue says
Hi I always used email and letters recorded delivery i wanted to keep proof of conversation
angela sheridan says
just got my letter from provident I have been lending money from them since 1989 and they tell me Iv only ever had three loans of them from 2009-2010 and that they cant find any other loans. they have sent me paperwork from that time period since the 1st loan on their paperwork is for £500 this proves they are lying because when you take out a loan with provident they only let you have up to £200 first time in fact my first loan from provident was in the shape of shopping vouchers and it was £50 and that was back in 1989 I remember it clearly because I had to pay back £60 in total it was only after that that I was allowed money and then it was only for £100 a time I even remember my biggest loan of them which was for £2000 and that was back in 2004 when my daughter got married. everytime the collector came to the door she would ask me did I need any more money and I cant remember how many times I paid one loan of by borrowing again but provident said they have fully investigated my claim and they are satified it is all in order How can I find proof to prove they are lying about the amount of loans I have had and how much each one was if they have destroyed the evidence
Sara (Debt Camel) says
First you have no chance of any refund before 2007, before that date the Ombudsman can’t legally consider complaints.
You can send Provident a Subject Access Request if you want, this takes a month and it’s free. There is no guarantee it will produce any additional information. If the data is not in Provident’s system, nothing you can do will get hold of it I am afraid. They are not legally obliged to have retained details of your pre 2009 loans.
Jen says
If u had any new loans in the last 6 yrs they might be on your noddle credit report, mine were, even the 1s provident didn’t send in the statement of account including the re financed 1s, it’s free 2 check on noddle
Maria Johnston says
Hi
I’ve sent a complaint letter to Provident, I still have outstanding loans with them which I asked if I could freeze payment whilst they investigate my claim. I received an acknowledgment letter but no answer to wether I could freeze payments, has anyone else done this? Thanks M.
Janet says
My complaint has been with the Ombudsman since November 2017, my payments have been on hold with Provident since then.
Max says
I turned down from provident saying they done nothing wrong giving us loans they took our books of us so no prove with loans gone back to the ombudsman hopefully we’re here something soon
Max says
Is there any chance getting a refund from provident
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes! See this comment yesterday on a different article : https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/comment-page-1/#comment-255633
Sue says
I had doorstep loans from Provident over many years from the 80s onwards. I had numerous loans at a time and frequently had to roll one loan into another. Has anyone successfully claimed from older loans such as this? I no longer have reference numbers or details.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry, it won’t be possible to claim for loans before 2007.
Angela says
Thanks to this website i have received £600 Sunny, £300 payday. £790 ROP from Vanquis.and £1900 from Provident. Provident loans also with the Financial Ombudsman. Thanks for the template letter
Sharon says
Can I ask when the loans were from and how many did you have?
Angela Cheshire says
Could only claim within the last 6 years. Sunny was 1 loan. Provident i had 2 loans but they only paid out in 1. The ither is with ombudsman. Vanquis was a credit card
Annie says
Hi Guys
just wanted to let you all know about my success with Provident,
just received a cheque for £12,997.12, nearly £13.000
It has been ongoing since July last year, Provident originally said no they had done no wrong, off it went to FOS, an investigator has had it since January, she upheld my complaint and Provident agreed and two weeks later I got the cheque.
I wouldn’t have know I could complain let alone know how to do it if it hadn’t been for Sarah and Debt Camel,
So a great big thank you to her
Kerry taylor says
Hi I have a case with provident for irresponsible lending , been with the financial ombudsman investigator since January 2018, she has looked into my complaint but has now asked
senior colleagues within the organisation to see if there is anything they can do to look into the previous loans. So someone else within the organisation will be looking at the case at a wider scale before it goes back to the investigator to issue her opinion
Did you go through the same procedure with your complaint ?
Annie says
Hi Kerry
yes the investigator did say she discussed my case with senior colleagues,
Perhaps that’s why my case took so long
it was worth the wait!,
Julze says
Had a reply from loans at home. They are refunding the intrest on my 2 loans. They are doing it as a gesture of good will as they don’t have any of the loan details e.g.: what I said I earned and the signed agreements) they are refunding all the intrest but not the 8% they said this is because it’s a good will gesture and not that they have found they lent irresponsibly.
Have you come Aceoss this?
I’m thinking of taking it as it is all the money I paid
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes some payday lenders do this. It’s your call, but to me getting back the interest seems a reasonable offer. Have you repaid the last loan? Were there any late payments or defaults on your credit record for these 2 loans?
Julze says
I repaid the last loan. Loans were from 2013. I have accepted the offer. I’m just happy to get back what I paid. The 8% would have been nice but I’m booking a holiday this week. So I’ll take the interest and have a great time with that.
Just one more company to go then I am all done
Paul says
Hi
I’m looking at making a claim against Provident and Myjar, has anyone had success with this?
What should my initial letter or email look like, has anyone got a template.
Regards
Paul
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, lots of people have received refunds from both of them.
Myjar is a normal payday lender – use the template letter here https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-loan-refunds/ and that’s the best place for questions.
For Provident, take the same template letter but read the article above ^^^^ as that looks at extra things that may be relevant for them as they are a doorstep lender.
Eva says
I had success with my jar without going to fos. They acknowledged my complaint and sent statement of loans but didn’t hear back from them till couple of days before the 8 weeks. They came back with final offer but I didn’t agree with it so went back to negotiate. Got what I wanted. The guy was really quick responding to my emails and it was easy to negotiate with them.
Provident took ages responding they finally sent final response 1 month after the 8 weeks refusing flat any wrongdoing. So I’m now taking time to right proper complaint to the Ombudsman with every detail I have. Good luck with your complaints and keep us posted
johan says
Can you still get money back from Provident and Shoppacheck even if you didn’t completely finish paying what you owed them????
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, but a refund will first be used to repay any balance still owing.
tony says
Regarding SAR i did this with provident and when I sent my file off to the adjudicator provident said that they did not hold any record of my files I sent back to the adjudicator saying that this was a total fabrication of lies my case is now with an investigator
Mimi says
Can an investigator change her mind? When my case finally allocated, the investigator didn’t uphold my complaint. I was annoyed because I asked on numerous occassion if I should send bank statements etc and she said it wouldn’t be needed. However, I replied to her with why I disagreed and sent evidence of the bank statements, luckily had a credit report from last year that show several defaults, which wouldn’t appear now as they’ve gone over the 6 year duration. Also explained every point she made in details, as I felt like she only took their side and never once gave me the opportunity to explaine mine. After accepting that she will take my evidence into consideration, from your experience from community feedback, is there a chance she will now uphold my complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes they can – and do – change their mind. People should always send their bank statements for these complaints – don’t wait to be asked!
Elizabeth wynn says
Hiya got a loan for a thousand pound last June of morses club but I’ve dealt with them before as kds any way I’m still paying the loan but I told my agent I was struggling to pay and he offered me more money on top of what I’m already paying so another loan and more interest have I got a case or not
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s not good. The agent should have offered to let you repay the loan over a longer period. I suggest you complain and ask for the interest to be removed from the current loan.
Elizabeth wynn says
How do I make a complaint when I’m stil with them don’t want things to be awkward with my agent thanks for replying x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lots of people have worried about this. Basically you have to choose between doing what is best for you and your family and being nice to your agent… having said that, no-one has so far reported any problems with their agent after making a complaint.
Caroline says
Letter from Provident this morning now asking for my GP to fill in a form relating to my mental health conditions. I dont really want them to have my personal medical information, do i have to do this? I do know its on my medical records as me suffering from panic attacks, anxiety, severe reactions to stress and a suicide attempt but i dont see why they have to go into my medical info when its clear i was on disability benefits since 1991. They have until the 10th of April to give me a final response for the Financial Ombudsman.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is always a tough decision. Medical records are so private. But lenders should handle complaints from people with mental health difficulties more sympathetically and them asking for evidence could be a positive sign that they want to help.
Just being on disability benefits could mean you had problems walking or arthritis. It’s not a proof of mental health difficulties.
(incidentally, I have deleted your surname on all your comments just in case you have used your real name.)
Caroline Robertson says
Thanks Sara. I didnt use my real surname.
Ive been reading up on the form so it looks like i will hand it into my GP surgery on Monday morning with a note for my GP. I didnt like the thought of them getting the info but i think it was just an initial reaction. If i can prove i have suffered from panic disorder,anxiety, etc since 1991 it should go in my favour for all the loans over the entire 20 years with any luck. I will keep you informed of any progress with Provident
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is also worth pointing out that your agent must surely have known at least a part of your problems…
Caroline Robertson says
Good idea. I will also photocopy the form when my GP has filled it in and keep hold of it for the F.O.
Providents time could be up by the time i get this info back to them. My GP surgery is not the fastest at getting info back quickly
Caroline says
Just phoned my GP surgery and i will be charged for them filling out this form.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is very annoying. There is talk about banning these charges but that doesn’t help you now. I suggest you tell Provident you can’t afford to pay the £x and offer to send them other stuff – do you have letters showing any appointments with any mental health services? Are you on any medication – if so you could send prescription list? Have yo kept copies of PIP or ESA applications and/or and replies mentioning your condition?
Caroline Robertson says
Hi Sara,
My form is now ready at the surgery for collection so i will collect it in the morning. I am on 2 different lots of anti depressants and have a copy of my prescription list to send along with the form. I have also emailed them telling them i suffer from fibromyalgia and have issues with fibro/brain fog (thought that every little helps). They were giving me until the 21st to get this form done and back to them which is a bit of a cheek imo, that was only 5 working days from receiving it. I know from doing my PIP and ESA forms that my GP writes down all my medical history of panic/anxiety disorders, etc. The form is costing £18 and i am sending the invoice along with it to Provident. I will have another look at my last PIP form but if i remember rightly, my mental health conditions were mostly ignored due to government change in policy last year on mental health and they concentrated more on the physical side, i am one of the ones whose PIP claim will be looked at again by the DWP
Caroline Robertson says
Good report from my GP regarding my issues. She put them down as diagnosed in 1998 and is ongoing. I was happy with what was written. Posted all the info off to Provident by 1st class signed for post, they have the GP report, the invoice for the £18 which i have asked to be reimbursed to me, a copy of my repeat prescription and a note from me stating that i have been a customer of both Provident and Greenwoods for 20 years and i would like them to consider all the loans i have had (unlikely but worth a try). I gave them details of all the loans shown on my credit files ongoing and settled and added in that during the periods of 2012 to 2014 i was using payday loans to pay them (also on my credit files). I reiterated that i have been on disability benefits since 1998 and these should not have been used as income as they are needed to cover the costs of my care and extra expenses due to my disabilities and informed them that at least 3 of their managers and agents were aware of my disabilties.
Hope i didnt leave anything out
Debbie Sturgess says
I sent a complaint to loans at home 3 weeks ago but still haven’t even received an acknowledgement. Do I resend ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, just send to Ombudsman after 8 weeks.
Mike says
Update on my Morses/shopacheck complaint. Sent FOS December , investigator got in touch 3rd Jan for information then 28th Feb adjudicater introduced themselves.As they are 2 separate complaints was relived when they said they would pick up both.
I should get an outcome end of next week with regards to the Morses but because some of the shopacheck are over 6 years they have to referred to a specialist team.Despite Morses taking over 2014 some are within the time frame. Fingers crossed I get Fridays answer in my favour…..nervous!!
Mike says
Update from my previous post.
Adjudicater said they would hopefully be able to give their opinion by yesterday.
True to their word they got in touch yesterday explaining due to the number of loans they apologised that it would take a little bit longer as a lot of information on file and has taken longer than first thought.
Hopefully will be in touch middle of next week.
They have been brilliant and great communication, hopefully will give me some good news very soon …..I hope!!
Good news or bad news that is the question….hoping as its taking a little longer is good news ?????
Jay says
Hi, has anyone taken Provident to court if all fails with ombudsman final decision? interesting to know if any one had to go to court?
Jay
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not heard of anyone doing this. I suggest anyone thinking if it should consult a solicitor.
Mimi says
My complaint wasn’t upheld by the adjudicator either for the second time. I asked her to escalate to ombudsman. She first said I could afford it, then said I couldn’t afford it after I have sent her evidence but should have taken it up with provident at the time. I don’t understand why so many complaints with regards to provident haven’t been upheld. I am also interested in taking them to small claims court if all fails with FOS.
For getting a solicitor… Will I be entitled to free legal aid if I have car insurance?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“free legal aid” free legal aid has quite a specific meaning… you wouldn’t be entitled to that. Whether your car insurance would cover you for suing someone I have no idea, you would have to ask. Also this is pretty specialist stuff – you will need a solicitor that has a lot of experience in consumer credit litigation.
Mandy says
Hi Sara. My adjudicator didn’t uphold my complaint against provident so I asked for it to be sent to the ombudsman . The ombudsman looked at it and asked for additional information which i sent over . Iv just had a email from my adjudicator today saying that the ombudsman has passed it back to her to relook at the additional information to see if this would change her decision .I thought once it got to the ombudsman they decide whether to agree or disagree with the adjudicator decision
Ross says
Had a decision back from my claim against Provident. The Adjudicator upheld my case of 6 years continuous borrowing. Cant thank this site enough. I have been able to claim over £18,600 in payday loans with about £9000 still being looked out at adjudicator stage. The provident claim is about £6500. Thank you so much Sarah. Glad to be out of the payday trap and able to breathe again .
Tam says
Hi all, I wonder if anyone is abke to advise ne. Thanks to this website I have currently got complaints in with multiple payday loans companies, Ffinancial ombudsman and most recently very catalogue. It had me thinking would I be able to put in a complaint with the company oakam? I can’t seem to find much information anywhere but they are a shop however they think of themselves as an alternative to door step loans. I’d be grateful if anyone could let me know it would be worthwhile. I was with Oakam for years took out numerous loans all whilst having various payday loans and a catalogue to pay off.
Thank you in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes definitely complain about Oakam – numerous loans suggests irresponsible lending.
Ross says
Hi there,
after some help if thats ok.
I’m thinking of making an irresponsible lending claim against Provident / Greenwoods for loans taken out from 2000 until 2013. There was a break in between however of a fe yeards around 2004 – 2007. Am i still able to make this claim?
I also took out various cheque cashing loans whereby the I game the company cheques for say £1000 and they gave me cash until payday when they would bank the cheques. This happened around 2000 – 2004. Am i able to make a claim for these also? I think this was with Cheque Centre. I have just had a successful claim against Cheque centre for payday loans and was wondering if this would affect me going back further. I’ve only just realised that you can claim for the cheque cashing part of it.
Any help at all would be great…
Thanks,
Ross
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You will not be able to take any complaints for pre 2007 loans to the Financial Ombudsman, for any lender. So just claim for the 2007+ loans
Deborah says
Hi I’ve just complained to provident about the loans I had from 2009 until 2013. Can anyone say how long before they acknowledge my complaint? And how long would I wait before I contact the FOS? Many thanks.
Deborah says
Also, when I go to the FOS I see people are sending bank statements, but with provident it was always a cash transaction, never a bank payment. Is this a problem? Thanks.
Maxine says
How long does it take for the fos to make a decision to get a refund from provident
Mike says
Mine is also with the adjudicater but not provident but Morses .
It will be 3 weeks for me today…. the adjudicater told me hopefully this week, so hopefully today !!
How long have you been waiting?
Mike says
Also when she said it would take a little longer. I asked if she would like any further information to support my complaint which she replied no , she did not need anything else from me.
Hopefully that is a good omen,
And close to an outcome
Mike says
Ok guys
Just emailed the adjudicater as she had not got back to me.
She relied quickly saying she had finished her investigation and was in the process of typing it up, which would be done early next week.
She said she was upholding my complaint saying a vast majority of the loans were unaffordable!!!!!!
I had 27 with Morses so am so happy !!!!
Will let you know the outcome next week????
Mike says
The other half of my complaint were 23 loans with shopacheck/WFS but because some fall out of the 6 year bracket as Morses took over in 2014 will have to wait longer as some referred to specialist team where some fall out of the bracket.
But would like to think if they are to uphold most of the Morses loans I do hope they can do the same with the shopacheck.
They all rolled into a manic 7 year spiral!!!
I can finally see some light!!
Mike says
Well just hope this gives you guys hope that the adjudicater can rule in your favour when you complain about Morses!!
I was not hopeful but I was wrong….like I said earlier hopefully you can get a complaint upheld against shopacheck/WFS maybe!!
michelle says
Hi Mike,
I hope its ok for me to jump in, I’m glad to see you had loans upheld. Today i sent away my complaint to morses, since 2012 I’ve had 37 loans (32 settled and 5 active) totalling £34,000 i still make my weekly payments although they are causing hardship, i will be speaking to my agent about reducing my payments. Could you tell me how long it took you from sending original complaint to them finding in your favour?
many thanks
Michelle
Conor Mawhinney says
Hi
Me and my wife were in a tough spot alot of years ago and got lots of provident loans, big ones too. Most of them were paid back apart from the last one we got which went to a collector. The problem is I have no evidence of this. We changed bank accounts a couple of years back and closed our old ones and I cant remember my customer number or any details of the loans we got. Can I still apply for a refund?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
roughly how long ago?
Conor Mawhinney says
Between 2010 and 2012. So six to eight years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Provident complaints over 6 years are going to be hard to win. But you could start of with asking Provident to send you a list of your loans.
Sharon says
Can I ask if you think I have a strong case I can’t believe I’m putting this but had 34 loans with provident between 2011 and 2015 equating to £34,000.00 do you think I’ve got a chance on irresponsible lending also vanquis credit card of 3000 in 2013-2015
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a lot of borrowing. If you only get a refund for the loans within the last 6 years it should be a good one!
Vanquis – do you remember if you were paying for something called ROP?