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?
Alyson says
I’ve just received another email off provident stating it is still under investigation but I can refer to ombudsman, should I do that now, I’ve received no copies of my loans. thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So it has now been 8 weeks? yes I think it should go to FOS. At the moment provident are being very slow and often making poor offers, so not worth waiting for.
Alyson says
It will be 8 weeks on Monday
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok well wait until then
Cath says
Hi
I would send this off to FOS as soon as possible after the 8 weeks. I sent to them in August 2020 and only received a response with a reference Monday just gone. They have written to Provident asking for their complaint paperwork to date.
NB I haven’t yet received an offer from Provident even though I chase every week; it was “assigned” to a handler almost 4 weeks ago now!
Good Luck :)
keith adams says
Similar time frame Mine is 8 weeks on Friday next week. I however have received my loan details.
good luck to you i hope you get the best possible outcome
M kefford says
Hi,
When you reply back to the ombudsman agreeing with the declaration, does it mean the case has been started by them?
Sarah says
Hi Sara,
Looking for a little bit of advice please.
I’ve received my 2nd cheque from Provident today for loans 6-13 that the FOS said they were to refund. It was just a cheque and no calculations and I think it’s too little.
The interest on loans 6-13 to be refunded was £715 and these were from 2009 and 2010. I’ve received a cheque for £875.11, so I think that either they aren’t refunding them all as the FOS said they were to, or the interest calculation isn’t correct.
Do you think this sounds right before I go back again and complain?
Thanks :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It doesn’t sound right to me. Ask them how much of this was 8% statutory interest – that should clarify where the problem lies.
Sarah says
Thanks Sara, I didn’t think it was right when I opened the cheque, but felt it was a bit of a fly move that they didn’t send any calculations.
I’ve emailed Neil back to ask for clarity on what has been refunded.
Thanks again for all your help
Sarah says
Hi Sara,
I’ve emailed Neil a couple of times but still not heard anything.
Would it be best to contact Provident direct for the information as I’m wondering if Neil has classed my case as closed and that’s why he’s not picked it up?
Cath says
Hi
So I had a call from Neil iveson yesterday to discuss my case. I have been emailing him weekly for a while now so maybe he wanted to get rid of me :) anyway after some haggling we have agreed on a figure to settle (which is way more than I anticipated) he said he will sort and I should receive my cheque within the next 10 days. I am very happy especially now as we have to find a new home.
Stick with it everyone, there is light at the end of the tunnel :)
Keith says
Hi Cath
That is great news. Can I ask when you started your complaint? had you passed the 8 week point. Im in the final week currently and have emailed neil a couple of times with no response as yet.
Cath says
Hi Keith
I started my complaint beginning of June and received the normal holding emails periodically.
My advice is just to email Neil weekly; it seems to have worked for me (eventually)
kirsty chapman says
Advice please!
My partners had his final response and they’ve only upheld 2 out his 8 loans which are the smallest, but they’re also going back to 2010. We appealed as they firmly put the responsibility in his corner, but said about being unaffordable, agents not asking for evidence of in/out goings, applications always done beforehand, agents offering loans to pay off old ones, having multiple loans to keep up repayments, missing payments but still approving more, and the complaints manager still said it was his fault and still only upholding 2 loans so only a refund of just over £500 which is being offset against my outstanding loan, even though we’ve mentioned the impact on his health with the stress of it all. We emailed Neil Iveson but someone else called Bethany has dealt with final response and appeal. FOS???
TIA
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Definitely send this to FOS, no point in delaying. provident will automatically reduce your current balance by the £500, this doesn’t matter to your FOS complaint.
There are a lot too many people who are getting offers to only uphold some of the smaller loans. This makes no sense except that it will settle the complaint very cheaply for provident! That is NOT the way a responsible lender should behave and it breaks the regulator’s rules.
Provident should also not be telling people it will only uphold loans after 2010. They are supposed to follow the approach FOS uses which does not include that date. If Provident doesn’t like what FOS does, it should be talking to FOS and the FCA, not misleading customers.
Lottie says
Hi Sara, I have finally heard from Provident. Submitted my complaint 8-8-20 and SAR. Still saying they can not provide SAR for anything prior to 2010, and there were 33 loans prior to 2010. From 2010-2015 I had 9 loans. They have only upheld 1 which was for £700 and offered £312.00 even though the interest alone was £574. Makes no sense. They said unless I can provide evidence to confirm it wasn’t affordable, they don’t feel the missed payments defaults were issue their end . Already referred to FOS but what an insult. I worked out since 1996 – 2015 my loans in total came to £28,000 plus. That’s without interest. I know I defaulted on everyone, re borrowed and even took out new loans a week after or the day after in some cases. They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this. Do you think I might have a case once FOS look at it ? Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think that sounds like a good case to me. It’s a good job this is already with the Ombudsman.
Lottie says
Thank you, that’s the interest from 2009-2015. The multiple loans from 1996-2007 I don’t have the breakdowns, as they have advised they don’t have the information. Hope that makes sense.
Many thanks for your help
Lottie says
Thank you Sara, I worked out the interest from 2009 – 2015 loans was £2.678.50 it’s all the loans prior to 2009 which gave the large amounts borrowed. Do you think FOS will look at any loans from 1996-2009 ? Or would it only be as far back as 2007? Apologies for all the questions. I was trying to gauge if it’s worth waiting. FOS have had my complaints for over 8 weeks, as they really busy. Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS will not go back before April 2007, legally that was the first date they could look at a consumer credit complaint.
(Except that if there was a lot borrowing before 2007, FOS may say you may get all loans from 2007 accepted. Where if your loans started in 2007, you normally don’t get the first few refunded.)
Have you added all the interest since April 2007?
Lottie says
Thank you, that’s the interest from 2009-2015. The multiple loans from 1996-2007 I don’t have the breakdowns, as they have advised they don’t have the information. Hope that makes sense.
Many thanks for your help
kirsty says
Many thanks, I’ll do it ASAP for him he’s dyslexic and so I do all the written stuff!
It’s strange because I had mine sorted over a month ago and only had two of the smaller ones not upheld and had my payout a couple of days later.
Thanks again
Jayne says
Julie Berry- call provident tomorrow and ask them for an update as to when you will receive the breakdown of what is owing to you. I called them on Wednesday and received breakdown Friday and my cheque Saturday
Julie Berry says
I will do, I’ve been patient but it seems waiting my turn isn’t the best option and other people end up jumping the queue, lol, so I’m going to call and pester them too. Lol. Was the breakdown amount the amount you were expecting? X
Jayne says
I think they’ve got that many cases on the go that they’ve lost track of who’s where in their ‘queue’ if they even have one. I had worked it out in a spreadsheet and it was very close to the £13.5k I got.
When you call tell them you’re aware other people that have been waiting with dates after you have received their outcomes and payments. Fingers crossed that you receive it this Friday as cheque issuing day is a Thursday.
Julie Berry says
Thanks Jayne, I’ll call them tomorrow.
Al glad you got offered what you were expecting!
Julie says
Jayne, I called them and the guy I spoke to couldn’t understand why things had just kind of stopped as it was in the final stage, he said he’d escalate it for me. An hour later I got my breakdown figures emailed to me and the cheque will follow within 14 days. I could cry! Its my daughter’s birthday in 17th, and then obviously Christmas. I am thrilled!
Jayne says
Aww I’m made up for you Julie, you should get your cheque this week, enjoy! and happy birthday to your daughter for 17th 😁
Jodie says
How did u get through? Ive rung for last 2 days an the department im getting put through to is working from home so theyve sent an email for a call back?
Julie Berry says
I’ve been calling this number 08009166421 and then pressing one for I’m a customer. The first couple of times it rang for a while and no one answered but then I got a person.
Jack says
There are a few phone contact details for Neil Iveson that may prove to be a more direct in route for those of you that are chasing your complaints. His mobile number is 07747 363505. Office numbers are 0800 9166 421 or 0330 303 7017 Extn 5246. In addition the mobile number for Tom Jeffery is 07718 496909. In our experience we have learnt that it is better to deal with this business in correspondence, as phone conversations give them the opportunity of short changing you on any refund you may be legally due. Good luck.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I agree with Jack. Neil seems to be good at talking people into thinking they are getting a good offer when they aren’t. It’s up to you if you want to take a bad offer, but you need to do this with your eyes wide open, not thinking it is most of what you would get from going to the Financial Ombudsman.
This is not a lender that seems to be in any financial trouble at all. Their third quarter results today has a one sentence mention of complaints saying they were up but within the expected numbers.
Shirley says
Almost 17 months of waiting I have just started to contact them twice a week, its so frustrating.
Shaun says
Whqt date do provident review loans too?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Ombudsman goes back to April 2007. If Provident say “six years” or “2010” or anything else, this is NOT what FOS does.
Elaine says
Jayne did u receive the breakdown by post or email as im waiting to get mines i called up today the adviser said he had the amount but couldnt tell me as it was in final stage waiting on manager to approve
Jayne says
Hi Elaine,
I received the breakdown by post last Friday and then the cheque on Saturday morning
Kirsty Chapman says
When I went back to Provident after my partner had his final response, I confirmed that they had not sent all the information via the SARS and they came back with that under GDPR they don’t have ‘all the payslips’ on file, but I’d told them that I’d only provided 1. It seems that they are trying to push the emphasis on the individual to provide loads of evidence that is not necessary to uphold the complaints, even when I told them that the payment history shows he was unable to keep up with payments they gave him more loans!! They’ve asked him to provide evidence because they have no record of him stating he was having trouble even though the transaction history clearly shows it. I’m going to refer to the FOS today and copy Neil Iveson in even though he’s not responded to any previous emails! It’s so frustrating as I had my complaint dealt with quite easily compared to him, but there’s more money involved and he’s still paying a loan back, but as he has dyslexia it’s down to me to do the ‘fightie’ emails!! Wish me luck!
Lauren says
Hi
I submitted my complaint at the beginning of July 2020. I then forwarded the complaint to the financial ombudsman at the start of September (this hasn’t been picked up yet). I had 23 loans between 2007 and 2010, paying just over £8000 interest. Every loan I refinanced at half the balance. At points I had 2/3loans at one time. During this time I was a stay at home parent receiving Child tax credits and child benefit.
This week I received a final response to say that all loans were affordable as I had an income of £450 per week with a disposable Of £325. This is untrue and I sent in proof of income to show that I actually had an income of £95 per week, increasing to £200 in 2010/11. I asked for proof of the income they had used but they are refusing to supply it. I asked for someone else to look at my claim but I was told that I had signed the forms therefore do not have a claim. Can I insist that my claim is looked at by another handler?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just send this to the Ombudsman now. I think you are just wasting your energy and time trying to get them to look at it again.
Lauren says
Thanks for your reply. I sent it to the ombudsman at the start of September but I haven’t heard anything from them, I’m not sure how long it takes to hear back.
Julie Berry says
For what it’s worth it took the ombudsman four months for someone to pick up my case, and it’s just finishing now, receiving my cheque in the next 14 days so that may give an idea of the kind of time scale at the moment, or timescale for me at least anyway.
Lauren says
Brilliant, thank you
lorraine4820 says
Hi Lauren,
Have you heard anymore from them yet? My partner is in the same situtation they are saying his income was more than what he was getting and he has proof of this. They also told him all loans were affordable.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My advice is the same as to Lauren – send your complaint to the Ombudsman, you are probably just wasting time trying to get provident to look at it again.
Lauren says
Hi
No, I haven’t heard anything at all back from provident, I sent them proof of my income that I had at the time of the loans and requested their proof but they have ignored me since.
It still hasn’t been picked up by the financial Ombudsman Service either. I’m not sure how long it will take to be picked up by the ombudsman (I think this is week 10 now)
Kaz says
Finally some good news, Morses have agreed with FOS and my cheque should be with me within 4 weeks. Just need Provident to get their fingers out now as my deadline passed weeks ago. Thank you to everyone on here for your help and advice. Good luck with your claims, it’s worth the long wait.
Moira says
Hi,
How long are the fos taking to pick cases up at the moment? I have a case with morses and loans at home, both have reference numbers but just wondered what time scales there are?
Many thanks
keith says
Hi all.
Approaching the deadline of 8 weeks this Friday for the 8 weeks from complaint start with Provident. I received a copy of all my loans on October 9th and over the last couple of weeks have tried to contact both Neil and my assigned handler April with no response. I have called for an update and again nothing. On the phone they stated they are working through a backlog of complaints in date order (this to me says every complaint is getting to FOS stage and costing them £550 each time not a great business model to deal with complaints)
Has anybody been able to get anything done within the 8 weeks?
I am a fair man and wanted to deal with Provident directly and willing to take a reasonable offer from them but it just seems impossible to give them the chance I feel is fair and just.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Anecdotally they have HUGE volumes of complaints and haven’t staffed up to deal with them. I suggest you send to FOS at 8 weeks as provident are often making very poor offers, so best to get yourself in the FOS queue.
keith says
Oh I will be. It’s not like I haven’t gave them opportunity to resolve. I have emailed a fair few times with no joy. I Just can’t get my head around the logic every 1000 complaints not dealt with is half a million to the FOS its not good business practise.
Elizabeth says
My complaint went in to Provident early July 2020 and then to the FOS last week as I was fed up with waiting for a reasonable response
Moira says
Hi,
Received my offer from morses, they said they can’t look at anything before 2014 as its not in the last 6 years. Is this right? They are only upholding 2 loans out of 14. Have sent on to fos for them to look at it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS will normally decide to go back to 2007. FOS will ask you when and how you found out about this complaints – just say exactly what happened to you.
eg “I knew the loans were hard to pay but I thought it was my fault for not being good with money. I had no idea that doorstep lenders had to check a loan was affordable until I saw someone talking about it on Facebook in January 2021. That was the first time I realised I could complain.”
Be exact, don’t copy that. it doesn’t matter if you got a Wonga refund then wondered about your Morses loan. If your sister got a refund and told you. THere are no wrong answers.
Debbie says
Hi sara
I cant thank you enough for this site, if I hadn’t of seen this site I would never known about un affordable lending so massive thank you. I started my claim back in Feb when I sent the email to provident. Provident then came back with an offer of £1,002.67 plus clearing the debt I still owed (3,569.75 in total). I wasnt happy with that and I came on here and saw that others where going to the Ombusman so I sent mine. After 9 weeks I finally go the happy news that provident were up holding what the ombusman had said and I’m happy to say I’m getting a full refund + my credit file cleared of some of my loans and an amazing cheque on the way for…………..
£17,563.12.
So thank you sara and everyone on her for all of your journey advice on this. Anyone going through this PLEASE PLEASE DONT GIVE UP. Stay on there case and if your case goes to there internal fos team you can ask to speak to them and they are helpful good luck everyone .
Moira says
Hi Debbie,
Congrats!!! Could I ask how long it took fos to pick up your case? Thanks
Debbie says
I started my claim in February 2020 and it didnt take long for provident to come back with a stupid offer, then I sent it to ombusman. Once your case has been given to a handler it’s only a few weeks after. But you have to stay on there case. Hope this helps you good luck
Samantha says
Good for you well done. I’m going to start mine now
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It may be too late to get a proper refund from Provident, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/provident-satsuma-scheme/
Pat says
Has anyone had any luck with Provident? I’m 5 weeks over the deadline given by FOS. I email the adjudicator every week and I get the same response each time, that Prov have a huge backlog blah blah. It’s getting ridiculous now and I just want it sorted. Also had an email from FOS, Morses are refunding me and a cheque is being sent, this was 2 weeks ago. How long have people waited once told your cheque is on the way? Thanks for any help.
Pat says
Scrap that had a letter from Morses asking for my bank details to pay my redress into. Does anyone know how long it takes to go in your account?
Jodie says
Morses rang me up an got my bank details and only took about 2 days even though they advised it could be up to 28 days
Pat says
I must be in the minority then cus they’ve had my bank details since Monday and I still haven’t received my payment 😫
Elaine says
Sara, ive received my final response from provident offering £16, 500 this was for 31 loans from 2007 to 2015 when I cleared them off this was in line with what fso suggested as i had previously only been awarded 4 loans i january and the paid me just under £4600
After tax so took it to ombudsman, i dont mean to sound ungrateful its a fantastic amount but seems low if i was paid that in January for 4 loans, any suggestions??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
were the 4 loans upheld larger loans?
these 31 loans, do you have a list of them and how much interest you paid on them?
how much of the 16500 is “8% statutory interest”, have they told you?
Elaine says
The loans upheld were as follows i dont have interest amunts just the details of loans
£200
£900
£800
£200
The other lians were all ranging from £100 to £1900 being the highest and a £1700 one i paid them
Off im full just not the interest details
The redress £9863
Interest £8379
Tax £1675
I have all details of previous redress too im just very confused about it all
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you ask Provident for a list of your loans and the interest you paid on each, thats the only way to work out if
The redress £9863
is correct.
Elaine says
Hi thanks il try contacting them before chq comes i have a total of all loans £13, 940 thays not including the 4 refunded already all the dates they were taken and settled just not the interest, the previous redress was£3023, and £2152 interest for 4 loans , do u think it sounds right in your opinion sara before a rock the boat
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m sorry I can’t guess. If a loan was refinanced early, you may have paid very little interest. But some of those loans do sound large so this is worth looking into.
But you aren’t “rocking the boat” – it is absolutely reasonable to ask for the details of the interest you paid on each loan. And if you look at that and realise it does add up to the current offer, then you just tell them that it is fine.
manxcat says
Hi
Can anyone please advise? I started my Provident claim back in July this year, got my list of loans, pretty quickly, In Sept they contacted me to say that I could contact the FOS, which I did, On Oct 14th I got this reply from the FOS, but I want to know, shall I just play the waiting game or do I need to contact the FOS? Is it just a case of waiting for them to get around to picking mine up.
Thank you for the information you sent us. I’m sorry we’ve not been in touch with you sooner.
Like many organisations adapting to the Covid-19 outbreak, we’re having to work differently. For the safety of our staff, and in line with government guidance, our case handlers are currently working from home and we have limited access to our office.
We are receiving letters, but there are delays in opening and replying to them. So please only send us post if you can’t contact us by phone or email.
We’ll be in touch as soon as we can. In the meantime, if you’re experiencing severe ill-health or financial hardship – or your particular circumstances mean that you need our help more urgently – please call us to let us know.
Julie says
Just wait now. It took me 4 months from me contacting the Financial Ombudsman to them contacting me informing me a case handler had picked up the case. I’m just waiting for my cheque from them now but I made my complaint to provident at the end of January so all in all its taken me 9-10 months to get to cheque stage. From complaining, passing to ombudsman. Ombudsman taking it on, ombudsman contacting provident, provident telling them they’ll pay up and provident sending me a letter with the figures of how much they’re paying. I hope this helps.
Manxcat says
Thank you Julie.
Hoping you get your cheque very soon … enjoy … and Stay Safe.
Martin says
Did you get a cheque yet?
Elaine says
Thankyou sara i will go and ask them for a list of all interest and work it out from there
Carly says
Hi all, I started the ball rolling with my claim 13 weeks ago, using the template above. I received 2 letters from provident asking for more time, the last letter I received was along the lines of, we are still looking at your complaint, you can send to the ombudsman if you wish. I did straight away. On the 12th week, I still hadn’t received my breakdown, so I sent Provident another email asking why? They then sent me a link so I could view my DSAR.
I have had 20 loans between 2007/2014 and the interest totals around 10k. Madness!
What do I do next? Are they taking any recent lending into account? And roughly what would be a good offer? Sorry for all the questions, and thank you in advance:)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There isn’t anything to do at the moment.
Provident may well make a very poor offer, it often is with older loans. If it says you can’t go back further than 2011, ignore this as FOS goes back to 2007.
At a very rough guess you might get 12-16k from a FOS offer. Anything under 10k is a poor offer as the 8% added interest comes to a lot for older loans.
Carly says
Thank you. I had a email this morning from FOS with a reference number, they have asked Provident for some information and have asked me to provide bank statements and a copy of my credit file. Is this a good sign? And how would I get my credit file? Thanks again :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It means they are doing the preparatory work in getting your case ready to be looked at.
I suggest you get a copy of your TransUnion Statutory Credit report from here: https://www.transunionstatreport.co.uk/CreditReport/AboutYou.
Mark says
How long are people having to wait for cheques in general?… Got a partial settlement offer from provident on Thursday which I’m happy with ..Just wondered how long it takes for cheque to arrive
Ashley says
Does anyone know how long it takes for Morses to pay refunds into your bank? Called this morning to give my bank details and have been told to allow 28 days!
Jodie says
Mine only took a couple of days after confirming my bank details
Ruth says
Hi
Received an email from the ombudsman today asking to send any other information in by 23rd November whilst they’re waiting for Provident to respond to them – do this mean my complaint has now been picked up?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, it just means they are doing the preparatory work in getting your case ready to be looked at.
Betty says
Can I claim provident refund on behalf my deceased mother
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago did she die? Are you the executor? did she leave a Will?
Betty says
She died 3 years ago, didnt leave a will. My dad and brothers are dead, I am next of kin, cared for my mother and dealt with funeral etc. myself as no other family.
Jack says
Hello Betty – my brother-in-law died in 2016 and we lodged a complaint in 2019. He died intestate with no money and we had to, at Provident’s insistence, obtain letters of administration for his estate. It did not cost anything, as he had no assets, but delayed matters. We were paid out over £13,000 for his 21 loans taken between 2009 and 2016 but had a long battle with Provident and required FOS intervention to force Provident to do the right thing. Good luck and don’t just accept what Provident say. Kind regards, Jack.
Shirley says
Still 17 months and still awaiting an outcome. I rang provident three times last week each time being told waiting for authorisation for my redress. I have also emailed every week for the last four weeks. And asked my claims company to contact the FOS again. Am I being unresonable Sara contacting them so many times. Thanks
P.s. the Fos gave them until 8th October which is four weeks ago and they are supposed to be dealing with it as a priority. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you phone Neil Iveson on 07747 363505
Shirley says
Thanks Sara you dont like to make a fuss but its been so long. Thanks again for your help and that telephone no.x
Kaz says
FOS gave Prov til 2 Oct to sort my redress. I’m still waiting! Email FOS every week and the reply is always the same, Prov have huge backlog blah blah. There doesn’t seem to be a system they are working to. My other half had his cheque 3 days before his deadline! It’s one big nightmare and I can’t wait for it to be sorted.
Jayne says
Ring them Kaz, I think they’ve lost track of where claims are within their system
Caroline says
I am being hassled again from fresh start on behave of provident the loan goes back to 2012 they are still saying the balance is £1298.00 I’ve paid over a £100 already I want to see if I am due a refund
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was this the only loan you had from Provident?
When did you last make a payment to it?
Do you have other debts you haven’t been paying? debts you are paying?
Moira says
Hi sara,
I have refused the offer morses club has sent and have referred to fos. How likely is it that the fos will award smaller than morses did originally? Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t remember any case where this has happened after a lender has made an offer agreeing some loans were unaffordable.
Sarah Heydon says
Hi Sara, do you know anything about Buy as you view?
I was with them for years and had about 10 agreements with them over that time. If I fell behind they would refinance my accounts.
I have all my paperwork and agreements from them and it states that I received nearly £30k in goods from them river the years.
My account with them is cleared but I also have Lowell financial saying I still owe the company £245.
Am I able to make any kind of affordability claim against Buy as you view
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They went into administration 3 years ago. It seems the deadline for making a claim was May this year. You should email manas.marudkar@uk.ey.com to check on this and whether there is anything you can do.
Sarah heydon says
I just email this and it says that the email is undeliverable as domain unknown.
I wonder if that possibly means it is too late
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No it means I mistyped the email address! I have now corrected it…
Moira says
Hi again sara,
Had an email from fos saying they are approaching morses club for information now and could I send various things in. If I upload it to my resolver account can they get it from that? Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did the email come via Resolver?
really you should ask Resolver this.
Moira says
Yes the email came through resolver, I will double check with them thanks
Sgebs says
Hi Sara I have an claim with ombudsman against moneybarn for unaffordable car finance it has been with ombudsman now for nearly a year I was told when I phoned up ombudsman that they are looking at all the cases to find a solution does that mean it’s like the provident claims and the lead case senario again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know, no-one else has reported this.
bernadette says
Hi provident have said they will pay me what the ombudsman has said and they will get back to me with a break down within the next 6 weeks. that seems a long time do they get back before that or do they drag it on?
Karen says
Can I ask what your deadline was for prov to agree with FOS decision? Mine was 2 October and I am still waiting.
Jayne says
Karen, mine was 1st October, give them a call, that’s what I did and I’ve received my refund x
Karen says
Thank you, however after I replied to your post I received an email to say it has been sorted so I am just waiting for the breakdown and cheque. How long did you wait for your cheque once they agreed?
Jayne says
Sorry Karen, my timeline was that my deadline was 19th August for Prov to agree with Fos, I called prov on 1st October and within a hour the FOS emailed me to say Provident had agreed with them.
I called Prov again on 27th October and I received the breakdown via post on 30th October, I received the cheque day after on 31st
Karen H says
Hi
Provident agreed to pay me redress payment in agreement with FOS adjudicator on 8th September & said they would make payment within 4 weeks which would have been 6th October. I hadn’t received any contact & neither had my adjudicator. Over past couple of weeks I’ve emailed their complaints team & also Neil Iveson on maybe a couple of times with no response. Beginning of this week my adjudicator said my case was being passed to a dedicated team tasked with chasing the business. On Tuesday I decided to ring complaints at provident and was told a letter had already been sent out to me & cheque to follow within 14 days. Thought I was being fobbed off but received letter same day & they’d added a notional sum so I wasn’t out of pocket! Just awaiting cheque now… hope it might be today!!
Lauren says
I’ve had a breakdown of my loans now what shall I do?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how long since you sent in your complaint? Is this Provident?
Lauren says
Yes sorry provident, back in July I made my complaint. They haven’t admitted anything just received an email with all my loans on going back to 2007
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if you haven’t sent your complaint to the Ombudsman. I suggest you do this now. provident are often making poor offers, so no reason to keep waiting for their replay.
See https://help.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/help for the easy way to do this.
Jayne says
I received my breakdown on the Thursday and then my first cheque on the Saturday morning (long story)
I would suggest calling them if you don’t have your breakdown next week x
M kefford says
Hi,
Anyone having any luck with loans at home? Complaint been going on for 13 weeks, still no final response, tried calling and had to leave a message for a call back but didn’t call me back last time I left message. I just get told I will hear from complaints handler when they are ready to send outcome. Have sent fos 4 weeks ago but awaiting them picking it up. Can they long it out and wait for fos to deal with? Many thanks
lorraine4820 says
Hi all, just looking for some advice. I have been helping my partner with his complaint against provident. He made the complaint on 27/8/20 so just over 11 weeks ago now, all they keep saying in emails is that the complaint is being dealt with and he will hear as soon as possible. He last emailed them a week ago asking if there was any updates and they have not replied. Getting a bit annoyed with them now as they are fully aware he has a severe mental health problem and that he is on the severe mental health register. A couple of weeks ago he received a letter from them offering him another loan LOL!! Are they even allowed to do this knowing he has made a complaint about mis sold loans and the fact that a remaining debt of £224 owing to them was passed on to capquest debt recovery?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
very poor behaviour by Provident.
Have you sent this complaint to the Ombudsman? See https://help.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/help which is the easy way to do this. Do mention his mental health problems. After the Ombudsman has had it a couple of weeks, phone them up and ask for his to be given priority because of his health problems.
lorraine4820 says
Hi Sara, Thank you for your reply.
I did contact the ombudsman 4 or 5 days ago but just received an automated reply saying about delays due to covid 19 so could be waiting a few weeks with them until someone picks up his case. He is unable to communicate well with people, provident know this but it seems like we’re getting nowhere with his complaint, i said to them should they even be sending him letters offering more loans knowing his situation and that he has an ongoing complaint with them. Their only reply was they would take him off their mailing list. Do you know of anyone else receiving priority due to mental health problems with the ombudsman?
Thanks again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, with significant mental health problems FOS will normally give him priority.
lorraine4820 says
Hi Sara,
My partner finally received a final response letter via email today after 12 weeks of waiting saying they are not upholding any of his loans basically because he paid them all apart from £224 on the final loan. Beacause of this they say he had to mental capacity to accept and pay the loans because he signed for them and paid them apart from the remaining £224 of the last loan, they also say he didn’t make the agent aware he had mental health problems, which he did! Iv’e sent them an essay of a reply asking them to review their decision, i also referred it to the ombudsman 8 days ago, he does not have the mental capacity to understand the loans regardless of what they say and anyone can put their signature to a bit of paper! Here is a list of the loans: 05/12/2013 £200.00 £120.00 £10.00 23/07/2014
1065389981 03/07/2014 £200.00 £120.00 £10.00 04/02/2015
1067318222 25/09/2014 £500.00 £410.00 £17.50 29/09/2015
1101505528 29/01/2015 £200.00 £120.00 £10.00 16/09/2015
1109365450 10/09/2015 £800.00 £656.00 £28.00 07/09/2016
1122190400 01/09/2016 £800.00 £656.00 £28.00 Collections
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It may help if he can get a letter from his doctor explaining that he has problems understanding numbers or managing a budget or whatever.
lorraine4820 says
I’ll try and get him to do that but it’s hard as he doesn’t speak to people on the phone to be able to request this. They are also saying his income was higher than what it was and i have found statements to prove his income was less than they stated. Are they allowed to use Disabailty living allowance into disposable income?
He has paranoid schizophrenia and depression, he was diagnosed with this when he was 21 or 22 he is now 51
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That must be very difficult to manage. With DLA it is ok to treat it as income but a lender has to also take into account any extra expenses that you have as a family because of this.
Have you told FOS about this?
lorraine4820 says
Yes i sent the post office statements to FOS aswell last Thursday and i have just emailed provident again mentioning that, thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That must be very difficult to manage. With DLA it is ok to treat it as income but a lender has to also take into account any extra expenses that you have as a family because of this.
Have you told FOS about this?
lorraine4820 says
Yes it’s very hard for him to cope with, he takes a lot of prescribed medication for his illness. Whenever he has Doctor or psychiatrist and hospital appointments we have to travel by taxis as he can’t use public transport because of his severe paranoia.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is what the DLA is meant to pay for. If the agent knew he had DLA, they should have asked about the extra expenses and taken them into account.
Depression can be associated with difficulty concentrating, communicating and making decisions, memory problems, avoidance, overspending, withdrawing. It may have meant that he would find it hard to tell his agent that he couldn’t afford a loan repayment.
Schizophrenia can also be associated with disorganised thinking/confused thoughts, impulsivity.
Together they may well have meant he couldn’t manage his finances. And if the agent had seen him many times, this may have been quite obvious.
lorraine4820 says
Exactly! The agen knew he was receiving DLA because i was present when he told her, they are also saying his income was more than what it was at the time of taking out the loans. I have found statements dating back to 2013 which prove otherwise, they also say they were not harrassing in anyway chasing the remaining £224. That is also a lie as in july 2017 he was sectioned under the mental health act and in september 2017 he was admitted to critical care ward with severe pneumonia and septic shock. Each time he was in hospital an agent would call round to our house (i wasn’t in where i was visiting him) and leave a card put through our door asking us to ring her regarding his payments, each time he was in hospital she was made aware of this! And then when the remaining £224 was sold to Capquest debt recovery they have been sending letters almost weekly, the £224 he owes is a fraction of the interest added on his last loan. I have asked provident to reconsider their final response but in the meantime i have also complained to FOS on his behalf. You are absolutely spot on in what you have said in your comment above ^^
Jack says
We have dealt with 2 complaints for family members with mental health issues. The first complaint was eventually upheld but only once we had jumped through all the hoops and completed a mental health questionnaire. For the second complaint we went straight to FOS and they upheld on all loans sold. I would say continue to pursue with FOS and apply for mental health evidence only if FOS ask you to. Provident use the Mental Health Act for their own benefit saying they are right to assume someone has the capacity unless there is evidence to the contrary. As you infer, the salesman has no incentive to raise any issues in this regard. Our complaints involved 100+ loans and they were all upheld – we got £40k+ Please keep pursuing with FOS and Sarah is right there is a massive industry focus on vulnerable customers so you should be prioritised. Good luck.
lorraine4820 says
Hi after provident not upholding any of my partners loans last month (after nearly 12 weeks of waiting) i contacted them again on his behalf as i found old post office statements which proves he was not getting the weekly income that they suggested. They replied with the following on 24/11/20: As a new complaint has been logged, following our complaint process, we can confirm we have up to 56 days to investigate your complaint and we will endeavour to provide you with an outcome within this time.
Before getting this email from them i contacted FOS again stating can my partners claim be dealt with more urgently due to his mental health and they eventually replied oon 3/12/20 saying: Your complaint about Provident Personal Credit Limited
Thanks for getting in touch with us about your complaint. We’ve received all your documents and due to your current situation we’ve prioritised your comlpaint.
We’ve now asked Provident Personal Credit Limited to send us the information they have about your complaint so we can look into what’s happened.
Anyone know the timescale of FOS requesting and receiving the information from provident?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you sent the old post Office statements to FOS as well?
I suggest you go back to Provident and say this is NOT a new complaint, it is more information about your previous complaint which you thought they would want to be aware of.
lorraine4820 says
Hi i contacted Provident again on my partners behalf, it’s been twenty days since they opened the new complaint but he received an email this morning saying the following they reckon they aim to give him a response this week:
Thank you for your e-mail.
I have tried to locate a telephone number for you, however, as I could not be certain the number on our file is current, I believed it better to e-mail you.
I am sorry you remain unhappy with the final response letter my colleague, Joanne, issued to you. We have received contact from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) We will liaise with them as required and FOS will contact you directly.
The new complaint logged is in reference to your concern that the interest was not clearly explained to you and the fact your Customer Representative continued to post letters/cards through your door despite you being unwell.
I would like to assure you, this will not take 56 days to resolve and I will aim to have a response to you this week.
Thank you for your cooperation,
Chan says
Hi Sara what do I do if profident have had months with my complaint an just come back with now they cant uphold my complaint it’s all ready with the obudsman now should I contact them back many thanks chan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, tell FOS that Provident has rejected your complaint.
Chantelle says
Ok thankyou Sara is this common they do this or not sorry for all the ? Thanku
Sara (Debt Camel) says
about 80% of Provident cases are being upheld by the Ombudsman. So Provident is making some very poor decisions!
Evie says
Does anyone know how redress affects universal credits? If you make a claim to provident and are successful is all the money you receive classed as earned income? So you when you do your monthly updates with UC would you put all the amount in? I’m just wondering if it worth while me making complaint as my friend recently got a pay off from work due to ill health and now has to go several months without any UC
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is treated as “capital” for UC, not income:
– if you end up with under 6k in the bank, there is no effect on UC.
– if you get over 16k in cash, then you UC stops until your everyday spending takes it below 16k.
– between 6k and 16k your UC is reduced until your everyday spending takes it below 6k.
Also you can immediately pay off any priority debts (rent, council tax, utility arrears) and buy any essentials you need around the house – new mattress, new washing machine etc. A debt adviser can help you look at what UC would see as reasonable spending and what wouldn’t. This is a nice problem to have!
Evie says
Right so all I would do if I was successful would be to update them to say I now have saving of X amount in saving if its over £6000 after I’ve paid of rent arrears etc and maybe update a few essentials around my house? Or would I need to notify them with the amount before any bills and essential were paid? I just wasn’t sure due to the 8% being taxable would they see would see this as me earning money that month and classing it as a wage.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, you report the extra capital as a change of circumstances to UC, see https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/changes-of-circumstances. If you buy essentials, keep the receipts, so you can show the money was spent on X.
I just wasn’t sure due to the 8% being taxable would they see would see this as me earning money that month and classing it as a wage.
I haven’t come across this for UC. UC looks at your capital and invents an income from it, it doesn’t use your actual savings income at all.
Evie says
Ok thanks for the advice. If my fortunate enough to be successful I do have arrears and bills that do need paying off. If I’m lucky to still have over £6000 then i would notify them and keep receipts etc incase it is flagged as to why I’ve suddenly paid tax when I’m currently not working that was my concern.
Sian says
Dear Miss x
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.
So this is the reply I’ve had from provident after emailing them my complaint…. what more evidence do I need to provide as I gave them my account number so they could see my loans etc
Thanks sian
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You don’t need to do anything.
How long ago was your borrowing? do you still owe them money?
Sian says
Have had 3 loans with them paid off 2 and then on my 3rd I had my benefits cut and was only living off child benefit so couldn’t keep up my repayments with them. My first loan with them was in 2014
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds very difficult for you – Provident should have been sympathetic and allowed you to reduce your payments eg to a token £1 a month. Has the last loan been sold to a debt collector? What are your finances now like?
Sian says
I’m now financially stable again thankfully although it’s taken a while… yes it has so if I don’t get anything back for that then I don’t mind but will keep my fingers crossed for the other 2
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is the last loan that is most likely to be refunded, But provident can sort this out with the debt collector.
Lee says
Evening, can you help? With regards to the income tax you pay on the simple interest, i understand you can claim some of this back from the taxman due to it being in your savings allowance of £1000 for basic taxpayers. Do you need to apply to claim this back at the end of the financial year?? Regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/.
You can claim within the year, but if you do you have to be able to estimate your income for the rest of the year.
Lee says
Many thanks
Wendy says
Would be grateful for any advice as how to proceed with a claim for irresponsible lending. Requested SAR from Clc Finance way back last year in early November. They have begun corresponding with me 3weeks ago, an email from a compliance officer followed by a visit that day from an agent telling me one time only offer to wipe last 3loans. I declined the offer, received copies of some of the loan agreements but they say theyve changed buildings 6 years ago and will not look at previous. Been with them over 10years continous borrowing. Hamsard 3225 Limited are the company trading as Clc. My Fca complaint keeps coming up missing pages needed, I’m sending via email and its frustrating. Stuck in limbo, I have a reference number for fca but they havent looked fully at my complaint. Should I just continue with agents at clc, they just say in phonecalls name a figure we will approach our directors,but i have nothing on paper to prove this ? Any advice would be appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My Fca complaint keeps coming up missing pages needed
I assume you mean your Ombudsman (FOS) complaint? Phone them up and say you don’t understand what is maissing.
The loans over the last 6 years – have you added up how much interest you have paid on them?
Do you have any evidence about older loans?
Wendy says
The loans they have sent and circled add up to roughly £4000 interest but I have 4 or more taken in each previous year going back from 2014. I kept all the payment cards and agreements fortunately.
It is FoS sorry, I will try ringing them. The agent seems to be playing on my terrible nerves at present and I cannot get them to write anything down for evidence. They are only communicating because I mentioned emailing their directors.
Will let you know if I get anywhere.
Thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have the payment cards and agreements, that is great. tell FOS you have them and you would like all the loans considered as you have only recently found out you could complain because before that you had no idea that the lender should have checked affordability.
Wendy says
Received a final response via email from the compliance department. Had to chase this up and they said it was sent last month. (Before the copies of all my loans arrived which is quite bizarre). They conclude that I have had 47 loans and they only think the last two were unafforable because all the others have been satisfied in full. I will let you know when FoS get back to me. Thanks again for the helpful advice, would have felt defeated after receiving that but you all give us hope.
Jane Davies says
Hi everyone iv had an email today off fos saying that provident has agreed with them and i should be made an offer soon .. was wondering from others that have got this far how long did it take for prov to mke an offer please …thankyou
Kaz says
I also had this email on Friday so am just waiting for my letter and cheque. Provident don’t seem to be working to any system so unfortunately we just gotta hang in there and wait for the postman! They have 4 weeks to send it so hopefully it’ll be done on the next cheque run (thursdays only!).
Phil says
Hey ladies. Can I ask how long you’ve been waiting since FOS made their decision. Ty
Jane Davies says
16th of sept i had an email off fos to say they thought that 11 of my loans out of 17 were unaffordable they gave prov 28th sept to either agree or disagree ..only today they replied to say they agree with fos ..im waiting now for an offer
Karen H says
Hi,
A week ago I had a letter from Provident with confirmation of redress payment agreed with FOS & today I’ve had my cheque. So thankful to draw a line under that one, it’s been a marathon!!
Thanks so much to Sara & everyone who posts on here, it’s been a massive help.
Phil says
Hi Karen. Can I ask when your deadline from FOS was please x
Karen H says
Hi Phil
FOS gave Provident 12 August date to respond but it took until 8 September for them to reply. They did agree to irresponsible lending at that point.
Hope that helps
Lottie says
Hello Sara, I had a compliant going through with Provident. They have said they will only uphold one of my complaints against all the loans I had from 1997-2015 – and they said they will not look at anything before 2010.because of this, they believe only 1 loan was unaffordable and sent me a cheque for £318 today. However out of all the loans and the amount borrowed and interest by then which is almost £5.000 in interest alone. I feel my complaints should be referred to FOS which I have done. However I submitted my complaint with FOS 8 weeks ago and because they are so busy they have not looked at it yet. As I have several complaints in with them. What do I do with the cheque? I assume not to bank it, incase FOS say their redress is wrong. Any help would be appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell Provident you have sent the complaint to FOS as you don’t think their offer is reasonable but ask if you can cash the cheque and continue with the FOS complaint.
Lottie says
Brilliant, thank you. I will call them tomorrow.
Craig says
Hi Sara, my wife and I both received emails from fos last Monday breaking down what they think is fair and have given provident u till 23rd November to reply. Do provident just agree with fos and issue a cheque? If so could I see the money before Christmas?
J says
Hi mate,
I’m in the same boat and Provident have taken 7 weeks now… I spoke to the FOS and they said that while they say 2 weeks, realistically they’re giving then 2-3 months to respond due to Covid and them having a huge backlog to go through.
Craig says
Hi, thanks for the info. Not great news but I suppose its a little bit more interest. Would have been nice to get it before Christmas. Hope you get a reply soon.
Karen says
Provident were given 2 Oct by FOS to respond to them about my complaint and I only received their response on Friday 13 nov. I chased FOS every week and they just kept saying they have a huge backlog and it’s likely to be 6+ weeks before they respond. They don’t seem to be working to any system so you may get a response quicker, or you may not. My hubbys date was 17 September and he received his breakdown and cheque on 19th sept but it was dated 14th. It’s just a waiting game. Fingers crossed you get it this side of Xmas.
J says
Ok, final hurdle I think(?) as the initial assessment by the FOS was in favour of me and it took 7 weeks for Provident to reply to FOS.
I got confirmation from FOS today that Providents response was being reviewed and I’ll receive a response once they’ve completed it.
Right now, I feel sick as I’m worried about the response as I have no proof or info from the time when I was borrowing from them but my rep at the time knew I was gambling as well as drinking and generally ruining my life at the time – I was not in a good place so it’s sort of their word against mine now I suppose :(
Worst case, if the FOS say no then it’s annoying but not the end of the world as I’m in a much better place and have no real debt but it’s amazing how stressful waiting for a response either way actually is! I’ve even lost sleep over it thinking that there are some unknown shadow people in the background judging me and deeming me a liar and a cheat :(
It’s taking me back to how I felt during the bad old days and really just want it all to be over now, I had felt optimistic after the initial FOS response but now not so much…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
hi J,
how long ago was this borrowing and how long did it go on for?
some unknown shadow people in the background judging me and deeming me a liar and a cheat
That isn’t FOS who don’t think in those sort of judgmental terms. If there is simply no evidence about loans then sometimes they can’t decide the loans were unaffordable. That doesn’t mean they have decided you are lying.
But if the loans carried on over a long period, that tells its own story that the loans were likely not affordable, especially if the loans tended to get larger.
J says
Hi Sara,
These loans were from September 2007 to January 2013 (12 in total) with some larger and lasting 9 months or some smaller and only lasting a month or two but it’s very varied really and all the while I was trying to get out of debt and making larger repayments (sometimes paying a loan off entirely) so it was a mess.
The Provident agent knew what was happening and told me what I shouldn’t tell him (or anyone who calls from their Head Office) but obviously none of that is documented… At one point I had to move back to my parents and he was calling me so I could go meet him in his car so my parents didn’t know what I was doing. I’m not proud of anything from back then :(
But Provident initially rejected it saying that because I was making repayments on time there was nothing to suggest a problem, they’d done necessary credit checks and my outgoings suggested I could afford weekly repayments… the initial response from FOS was that the last 7 were irresponsible based on the lending pattern alone.
Tbh, much of my concern is all in my head – now I don’t get out much or see people face to face (except on video calls etc) my emotions are all over the place and I can literally cry over spilled milk some days haha. I just have my moments…
J
Sara (Debt Camel) says
These are very tough times, especially for people living alone.
J says
Hi Sara,
Yup, they sure are… I trust the FOS to make the correct decision based on the information they have and what I can offer. I was genuinely in such a bad state at the time that all I was thinking about was getting more money to do whatever was on my mind at the time that I just went along with whatever my agent told me to do and say really. I’ve no evidence especially although the FOS did correctly identify that sometimes I was borrowing more and using some to repay an outstanding balance.
The only other information I have is a copy of my old DMP which showed that when I entered into it I had a couple of loans, a selection of credit cards, several payday loans and six mobile phone contracts (get a ‘cheap’ contract and sell the phone intending to use the proceeds to repay some debt but just gamble and drink whatever I got).
As I mentioned above, I can at least look back on this and say never again – although I’ve had a few lapses with gambling, but never to the same degree – and if I’m awarded anything then great, otherwise I know it’s not something I’m entitled to at which point it’s one less thing going on in my head right now :)
Right now, just ending the process is a win for me I think.
Sarah says
Hi there,
My loans ran for seven years between 1993 and 2000. Provide t are saying they’ve got no record of me as they only keep records for six years.
Is there anything I can do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can only get refunds going back to April 2007, not for loans before that date. I am sorry there is nothing that can be done about your very old loans.
Sarah says
Thanks for the reply.
Ah well, At least I know I’ll just be wasting my time getting back to them.
Thanks again and keep up the excellent work you do on here.
sean oconnor says
I wrote to Provident in April had a letter to say they are not upholding any of it. So did FOS and have heard nothing emailed them this week and they said 4 months on they are still waiting for provident to respond and then they can allocate some one to my case
Sara (Debt Camel) says
4 months is ridiculous.
I suggest you email the FCA at consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and copy this to joe.sweeney@provident.co.uk and Neil.Iveson@provident.co.uk
Subject: Provident (700144) hasn’t sent FOS my case file after 4 months
Put in a few short detail about your complaint – how many loans you had, what provident offered (if anything) and the date you sent the case to FOS.
Say you have been told by FOS they asked Provident for your case record 4 months before but Provident haven’t yet sent this which is preventing FOS from starting work on your case. they haven’t yet sent it after nearly 3 months.
Say you know the FCA will not look at your individual case but you thought the FCA should know how slow Provident’s complaint handling is as you don’t think a firm should be allowed to carry on lending to people if it can’t manage to respond to the Ombudsman in a reasonable time.
Manxcat says
Hi Sara
I have just received the following from the FOS, and need to know, how do I get copies of the relevant bank statements, I no longer have the a/c with the bank I used whilst I was active with Provident. I dont even have my a/c number and the branches that were local to me have all closed. And they are requesting my credit file, what period would this cover? The loans in question with Provident are from 2007 to 2013 when I went down the DRO route and my bank a/c got closed by my bank as my bank loan was included in the DRO.
“your bank statements covering the period from three months before your loan(s) until one month after the date you took it/them
a copy of your credit file”
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have a copy of the debts included in your DRO?
Manxcat says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for your swift response
Yes I do, shall I just send them a copy of the DRO?
They have given me til Dec 1st to get the info, shall I also try for bank statements as requested? If so, how ?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should definitely send them the DRO list.
The DRO list should have the account number for your bank account, You can ask them if they have statements, but as the account has been closed for 7 years they may well not.
What other evidence do you have about your finances during this period? Did you have to get an Experian report for the DRO? If so, do you still have a copy of that?
Do you have emails or letters from creditors about new credit or missed payments/defaults?
Manxcat says
Oh Yes I got an Experian report and I have letters for missed payments etc, to be honest once the DRO was “spent” I binned a lot of stuff about my finances as I just wanted to wipe the slate clean, so I only kept all that was used by the CAB for the DRO. I will go have a good root through tonight and see what I can get scanned.
Thank you Sara, lets hope I am successful!
Lottie says
Hello Sara,
I called Provident today, they advised if I cash the cheque I am accepting their compensation, and I can not continue with my complaint with FOS.
However FOS said different: they said, providing the letter does not state its a full and final settlement, I can cash the cheque and it would not hinder my complaint, then should FOS say Provident should pay further redress, they should just deduct the amount they sent off any further redress.
FOS call was recorded and I would be inclined to go with what FOS said, but just apprehensive incase Provident are right with what they say. Are you able to advise what your thoughts are on this please? I don’t know what to do.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
providing the letter does not state its a full and final settlement,
does it say this?
Lottie says
It just says cheque for compensation.
Letter giving outcome says this:
A cheque for £318.55 as noted above will be sent under separate cover, however due to the ongoing situation with Coronavirus (COVID-19) we are operating on limited staff. We are trying to minimise any delays but please allow up to 14 days for your cheque to be received. Please be aware this cheque will be issued in full and final settlement of your complaint and by banking this you are confirming your acceptance of the outcome.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Please be aware this cheque will be issued in full and final settlement of your complaint and by banking this you are confirming your acceptance of the outcome.
So no, you can’t bank it.
If you feel cross about this, then I suggest you tell the FCA, Provident’s regulator. This won’t help your case, but hopefully Provident won’t like it and they will stop behaving like this.
I suggest you email the FCA at consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and copy this to joe.sweeney@provident.co.uk and Neil.Iveson@provident.co.uk
Subject: Provident(700144)isn’t following FOS rules and won’t let me cash their cheque if I take a case to FOS
Say a bit about your complaint – how many loans over how long a period, how much interest you have paid.
Say what the poor offer provident have made is.
Say you think Provident is trying to take advantage of vulnerable people to send them a cheque for a low amount, not in line with what FOS is likely to say, and then refuse to let people cash the cheque and still send a case to FOS.
If your situation is especially difficult at the moment, say this.
Say you know the FCA will not look at your individual case but you thought the FCA should be told the pressure Provident is putting on people to accept low offers and that it isn’t fair.
Lottie says
Hi Sara,
Many thanks for all your help.
I won’t cash it, but I am happy to send the e- mails and to The FCA as I believe they are exploiting Vulnerable people to accept such lower offers.
I believe it’s, knowing Christmas is around the corner, tempting people to accept there low offer.
I really appreciate the help , thank you
K says
Bit of a silly question but has anyone had a cheque from Provident any day other than Sat/Mon/Tues? I know they do their cheque run on Thursdays and was hoping mine may come today but no. I’m also still waiting for Morses to pay my refund into my bank. Theyv had my bank details for over a week now and although they say to allow 28 days I was hoping it would be quicker. I have rent arrears I need to clear and am getting frustrated with all the waiting.
Lisa b says
Do I have to tell provident if I send my case to ombudsman or do I just do I am now over the 8 weeks
John says
Hi,
Is this the same for Pinewood Finance doorstep loan?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it’s the same for all doorstep lenders.
Moira says
Hi sara,
Do you know of anyone higher than the complaints team at s d taylor (loans at home) i can email please? Its week 17 and still no final response from them. I have sent to fos who have given me a ref number and asked for my final response which I havent had. Will fos wait for that or look into the complaint anyway? Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you phoned Loans At Home up and asked?
Moira says
Hi, I have telephoned several times, automated service tells me to leave name number and message and they will ring back, still haven’t. I’ve emailed every other day and been told due to covid its taking them longer to respond. Since holding letter for 4 weeks at week 8 have received no further updates. Thanks again for replying sara.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s very poor…
I suggest you email the FCA at consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and copy this to customerservice@sd-taylor.co.uk
Subject: Loans At Home (FCA 708507) won’t respond to a complaint after 17 weeks
I emailed them on dd/mm/yy. I have had a holding letter from them at 8 weeks, after that, nothing/
I have phoned them several times and just get an automated message asking me to leave my name and address and phone number. I have left this but no-one ever phones back.
I have sent the case to the Finacial Ombudsman, but they are waiting for the lender’s response too.
I know the FCA doesn’t look at individual complaints, but what can I do to get them to talk to me? this isn’t fair.
Moira says
Thankyou very much sara I will do.
Rab Gardner says
Hi Moira
I was in exact same situation as you and did the same as Sarah suggested to you. I got reply from loans at home on 13th November, they said i would have final response within 2 days. Got it on the 16th with all loans upheld execpt for the first one. Money was transfered into my bank on the 17th November.
They surely didnt like the email being sent to FCA. I was also emailing and telephoning them every week. Good luck with yours, and hopefully not long now
Mark says
So i hqve had a phone call from privident stating thqt they do not have to pay before 2010 is rhis correct or are rhey juat pulling a fast one
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They seem to be trying it on… The ombudsman does not recognise this date, they are going back to April 2007.
Mark says
Ok brilliant i have already taken to the ombudsman this week , so just a case of sitting tight and waiting now .they said because of a court rulling they dont have to pay past 2010 so will hold out thanks for rhis site and i will keep updated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This “court ruling” was a court case which didn’t involve any loans before 2011/12, so how that has any relevance to 2010 is a mystery…
Mark says
They said my co.aint was 75 days old an i hadnt had a breakdown or any response so they sent a letter saying they needed more time ,but i coild take to ombudman i saw this thread and all the others and went straight for the ombudsman so will be interesting to see how long that takes .
Beckie says
Hi,
I have had an email from Provident requiring more time the 8 weeks will be the end of the month. I have had no break down of loans.
Naylor’s have not replied at all.
Do I just take it to the Ombudsman without breakdowns?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well wait for the 8 weeks to be up. Then you can go to the Ombudsman.