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?
Louie says
I decided to make a complaint to Provident, having come across this very helpful site. I’ve had six loans with a value of £5,170, and £5,317 worth of interest, since 2015, but last year I borrowed £2,500 (as two loans) with £3,480 interest, however I returned the money and cancelled the agreement from a family intervention. Despite the intervention I took out a smaller loan, from being in a really bad place and having been bombarded without pause by text, email and post (You sure you want to cancel? / Can give you that money? / You can have a loan). Anyway, having received my data from Provident, included in the opening letter was them saying how I have two customer account numbers; I was given a completely and very different customer number for that huge loan, that I then returned, and this is news to me. It probably isn’t anything, but I don’t understand, can anyone suggest why that is? With my still outstanding loan, it is on the customer account number I originally had, and thought I only had. So, a new customer number was generated for a big loan, split in two, and only for that loan, and I wasn’t aware of it, let alone why.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you stop worrying about the two different account numbers (why does this matter?) and think whether the loans you have been given were “affordable” – could you replay them on time without having to borrow more money? If the answer is No, then send Provident an affordability complaint for both of your account numbers.
JOJO says
At my wits end!
I will try keep it brief.
Complaint upheld 29.11.18 and £2242 was to be waived. I informed them thanks but I had paid £1250 off this amount and there was £982 outstanding. The debt was with DCA who I paid the amounts to. Eventually agreed the £982 would be sent back to creditor and wiped but the £1250 I would get back from the DCA.
DCA telling me I have to make an indemnity claim via bank to get this money!! This surely.only relates to single DD unauthorised or paid by bank in error not to get a refund following a complaint?
So original creditor passing me to DCA, DCA passing me to indemnity claim. Any advice welcomed.please.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you sent this to FOS? Complain about Provident – it is their job to resolve this. You don’t have to put another complaint in and start the 8 weeks again, provident have not complied with what they said they would do to settle your original complaint. ASsk for compensation in addition to the refund being sorted properly.
Lowell’s suggestion is absurd. As you say the DD was not collected in error. And if you did claim on the DD guarantee and got the money back, the bank would then get it back from Lowell, so there is no point at all in their obstructive suggestion.
JOJO says
Thank you Sarah.
FOS not yet but I will do that today definitely. I guess I was giving them leeway to resolve.
Thanks again
Caroline Robertson says
Just heard from Ombudsman. Looks like i have won but not sure how much. Doing simple interest on each of the loans i got it to £23000+
– Waive the interest for loans 23, 24 and 25;
– Refund all interest and charges that Mrs X paid on loans 7 to 25 (21 April 2007
to 2 August 2014);
– Pay interest of 8% simple a year on all refunds from the date of payment to the date
of settlement*;
– Use the refund to reduce the outstanding capital balance on loans 23, 24 and 25;
– Pay any additional refund directly to Mrs X;
– Remove any entries about loans 7 to 25 from Mrs X credit file.
Provident have til the 15th to respond. Its been a long haul but if Provident agree then its been well worth the wait
James Cochrane says
Well done!!
How did you calculate the interest? Its very hard to reach a figure where loans refinance other loans. This is something I am struggling with at the monent.
What was the total amount they lent to you that is being upheld and over what period? Itll give me an idea on what my mum is due on the case we just won.
Caroline Robertson says
Ombudsman had sent me the details of all the loans they were going to look at which showed the interest on each of the loans. I took the interest and used a simple interest calculator online on each individual loan to get the amount which has given me a rough guide as to what to expect.
Kezza says
Well done, when did you first send complaint to ombudsman?
My loans and over 6 years ones have been with the ombudsman since December 2017
Caroline Robertson says
Mine went in February 2018 but i have mental health issues and a load of info was supplied with my complaint. It was originally at adjudicator within a matter of weeks but because i wanted older loans looked at it took a lot longer
ADAM says
Hi Sara,
Question, on behalf of my Nan if i may ,
she has been using provident loans continually from the mid 80s, up until 2017, is there anything in the way of the unaffordable loans she can claim back?
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Most of these cases do have to go to the Ombudsman – don’t be depressed when provident reject her case, it doesn’t mean it’s weak.
She won’t be able to go to the Ombudsman about any loans before April 2007. so in practice you may as well only complain about loans after that date.
Ian R says
Well Sara just had cheque from provident- much to my surprise they agreed several of my loans were unaffordable-its took them six weeks to decide-least its done now-thought be long drawn out job-Thanks for your advice Regards Ian R
Lauren says
My partner had his provident rep round the other day (case is with ombudsman) but we are still making repayments until a decision has been made. Turns out provident have changed their policy you now have to ASK for a renewal/top up. No more letters or them offering it to you. If you dont ask you wont get told. Guess theyre fed up of paying out complaints due to it constantly being thrown in peoples faces etc!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
With Provident if you ask them you can repay at a lower rate if you are struggling. It may affect your credit record (but any negative marks would be deleted if you win the affordability complaint) but they won’t add any more interest.
Angela says
What’s the first step to claim. I had no idea until I found this post today. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The first thing is to read the payday loan refund page https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-loan-refunds/ – that describes the steps you go through and has a template letter as a starting point.
Then come back and read this article again because there are some “doorstep loan special points” that you may be able to add to the standard payday loan template letter to make your complaint stronger.
Good luck – is this Provident? how many years have you been borrowing from them and do you currently owe money?
Paul Wright says
Hello. I first came to your site back in July 2018, and I set about writing my complaint t letter to Provident, they replied on 14/09/2018 with my customer enquiry report which I requested, never heard anything else off them, then last week I sent them an email asking if they had made a decision, and told them I was now in the process off taking my complaint up, with the F.O.S.
Last week I received an email off them, saying that they sent me their decision on 28/09/2018, and that they had decided I had no case for any refunds!!
I have never had any thing off Provident telling me of their outcome, and in their letter, they told me that because they sent out an email, they didn’t bother sending me a paper copy by post!
I am still within 6months of their decision, is this still worth sending to the F.O.S.?? Been borrowing since 2006 Many thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you are within time to go to FOS. Borrowed since 2006 – definitely go to FOS!
Angela says
I have had a email from an adjudicator at ombudsman re my Provident complaint which has been with them since Dec 17. Loans are over 6 years old and providant saying i should have complained earlier as i had a debt management plan in 2012. Adjudicator wanted my side as to why I didn’t complain then. I simply didnt know i could complain or know about irresponsible lending then. As soon as i did i complained to Provident in July 2017. Anyone else had this response?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes this is a standard FOS question when a lender says that older loans shouldn’t be considered. Points to make when you reply if they apply to you:
– say a bit about what it was like when you were borrowing. eg You didn’t know you could ask to repay a loan more slowly, your agent knew you were in difficulty, but never suggested a payment arrangement, only offering new loans. or You didn’t realise that the lender should have checked you could afford the repayments, the agent never asked for proof of income or expenses or other debts so you didn’t know the lender was supposed to consider affordability. or that the agent always presented the loans as helping you out or doing you a favour, and you thought it was your own fault for getting into a financial mess.
– give some details about how and when you found out about these complaints. You don’t have to be able to “prove” this, just say what happened – did you see an advert for payday loan refunds in October and wonder if the same applied to Provident? Did a friend or relative tell you in September about refunds? did you see Wonga mentioned on the news and you google for refunds?
– you could add that if you had known you could have complained earlier, you would have!
steven says
hi can any1 help me I have sent the doorstep loan irresponsible lending interest letter to morses club and I have had a call from there complaints department to call them back but im not sure what to say as I don’t want to anything to stop my claim any advise please thankyou in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest calling them to find out what they want. If you aren’t clear what they are saying or they want you to agree to something, just ask them to put it in an email as you want time to consider it.
steven says
I have just spoke to them he was realy helpful he just asked if I wanted to send any bank statements or credit file in to help my claim he is sending me a list of my loans and all the interest I have payed on them I said I don’t mind emailing my credit file across is this something I should do ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s good. Sending a copy of your credit record – get a Noddle report – is a good thing to do.
gillian says
hi steven the same with me last year with morse club I put in complaint and within a week someone phoned me and asked if I could supply bank statements and credit file to speed them looking at the complaint I did and I must say they were by far the easiest to deal with within 2 weeks came back with full refund of all loans that were with them and even forward my complaint to welcome finance because they were responsible for the first 12 loans taken before morse club took over money was paid within 7 days hope they are as fair with you
steven says
well done gillian that’s a great result yeah I hope there are as fair with me I have not sent any details in as someone advised me not to so not sure if its the right thing to do or not he mentioned welcome finance to me to and said my fist 2 loans were with welcome finance so he was looking into 8 loans instead of 10 did you get a nice amount back or do they not send everything ?
gillian says
morse club refunded me all intrest on loans 12 to sixteen it was about 3000 pound altogether welcome finance refused on all loans so I have sent this to fos still waiting as loans 1 to 9 are just over the 6 year time I spoke to the fos yesterday and they said they are still in talks with welcome finance about loans over 6 years so will be a wait but I am prepared for that as I have only two claims left with the fos and over the last eighteen months thanks to sara and her site I have had over 20000 pound refunded from payday companies and vanquish credit card all my claims that were refused by the companies were upheld in full when I sent them to the fos so do not be put off if you have to go to the fos they are very helpful good luck thanks again sara you have changed my life for the better I have not used payday companies for 18 months now when I was using them every singe month for over 6 years before I found your site you deserve a medal
Karen says
Hi
I put in unafordbality loans in June of last year with FOS for money shop they came back with 5 out of 7 loans with interest and 8% paying back my diedline was the 8th February 2018 I email the FOS and
I got another email from FOS yesterday saying my deadline was up on the 8th February 2018 and they will chase money shop up for a response if they don’t get one it will go to the ombusman for final descion as money shop as got a delay in answering there email’s will this drag on
Thank You
CarrieN says
Hi Gillian
Just reading your post. I’ve had a few loans over the years with Morses club. Do you call them to complain or send a letter via post? I’m currently in arrears with them at the moment. Many thanks
CarrieN
gillian says
hi carrieN I had to write to them because I could not find a email for them I found a list of all my loans with shop a check on my credit fill and just put the dates I had borrowed in the letter they replied that any before 2014 belonged to welcome finance but they were willing to look into the ones after this date and like I said they refunded all intest I had paid plus 8percent they were very easy to deal with in my case so good luck
CarrieN says
Thanks for the reply Gillian
They’ve asked me to send over all of my bank statements since 2013…… is this correct or do they just need the ones from when I took out the loans? They’ve not been very clear and with other companies I’ve only had to send them a couple from when I took out the loans. Thanks in advance. CarrieN
gillian says
I just sent the ones that covered about 3 months before the loans I took out with them till the month after the last loan I banked with tsb at the time and they were helpful with providing 6 years worth of statements for all my claims and only charged me 15 pound but if you not clear ring up morse club and ask they were very easy and helpful for me
Jay says
Hi guys,
I had a response back covering 54 loans with provident. 46 of these were upheld. I wanted to share the story with you all as the redress was just over £20,000. Its important to get your claims in as this sort of money could really turn things around for you.
Thank you debt camel for the resources you provide
Steven says
Omg well done Jay have fun spending lol
CarrieN says
Wow well done!
Caroline Robertson says
Well done Jay. Just had word of mine, 19 loans refunded. I thought it was around the £23000 mark but its came in at just over £19500. Just scanned and sent my acceptance back so looking forward to the cheque coming. Thank you to everyone on this site, i would never have done this without reading your sound advise. A long haul at 1 year and almost 3 months but well worth it
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Another huge result!
I don’t normally pay much attention to the big refunds – everyone reading this will have know months when the idea of getting £500 paid in your bank account would have seemed like a dream. But in this case it is very good to see Provident be made to pay adequate redress for the amount of money thay have taken from their victims over the years.
Jay says
That’s just it, those involved are victims. The sad state of affairs is that vulnerable people are punished financially simply because of their situation.
I’m more interested in seeing lenders change their ways. I dread to think how many people are unaware that they’re being financially abused by lenders and that there are resources to help them.
Anyone on this thread should help their friends complain if there is a need to do so. The more these lenders bleed cash from complaints, the quicker they’ll change their approach!
CarrieN says
Hi Jay
Did your case go to the ombudsman? Mines currently waiting allocation to an adjudicator, only two months in mind.
Jay says
Hiya CarrieN,
It was refuted, 3 times, by Provident initially. I raised it to the Ombudsman in September I believe, meaning it was a 5 month wait all in all.
Hold on in there, there is a backlog. I’m also of the understand they have a grading process in which they allocate cases and vulnerability is a situation in which they deal with it quicker.
If you are currently in debt and struggling then let your lender know and they’ll have to take steps to ease the pressure.
In the meantime, just put the complaint to the back of your mind. Each day that passes is more 8% interest you’ll be awarded if you win, so the wait isn’t all bad :)
CarrieN says
Hi Jay
Thanks for replying. That timescale doesn’t sound bad at all. Hopefully mine will be similar.
Well done and good luck :)
Caroline Robertson says
Mine went to an adjudicator in November CarrieN so around the 3 months once adjudicator was appointed. Didnt have to go to Ombudsman decided at adjudicator
Jen says
Well done to you both were ur loans both over 6 yrs mines are currently waiting because of the 6 yr marker been at FOS for over a year now
Caroline Robertson says
Mines were Jen
Jen says
Thanks amazing result enjoy your debt free future it must be a weight off your mind this site is brill Sara has been so much help I’ve been on here since may 17 still waiting on 4 lenders till it’s all done with
CarrieN says
Thanks Caroline
Fingers crossed my outcome is good too. Well done by the way :)
Caroline Robertson says
Just wondering if you have received your cheque from Provident yet Jay? and if so how long did they take?
Jay says
Received last thurs, took about 20 days
Caroline Robertson says
Thanks Jay, i collect my post and havent been since last Friday, be good if its sitting there tomorrow for me. That would be the 20 day mark
Jay says
They will get it to you before the 28 day mark as they will have to recalc the interest if there is a delay.
Couple things:
If you’re on means tested benefits take a look into ‘deprivation of capital’ so you spend it on the right things to ensure you don’t get any nasty surprises.
Also, lots of banks do cheque imaging now so you get the money by midnight next working day. Might be worth looking if yours does it :)
Steven says
Hi I keep seeing this 8% interest what is this ?
caroline Robertson says
8% pa is simple interest calculated onto any refund you may get. There are simple interest calculators online that are easy to use
Andi says
Hi
Recently found out my grandmother had multiple loans from Provident for well over 20years.
Unfortunately she passed away a year ago yesterday, and my mother only recently been able to go through paperwork. Last repayment of loan was 2yrs ago.
Is there any option to enquire on behalf of my grandmother now that she has passed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In theory whoever is the executor of her estate can put in a complaint. It works for PPI but I haven’t seen anyone do this with an affordability complaint. Did she leave a Will?
Andi says
Nope didn’t leave a will.
My mom is executor – though she has nothing official.
Going through this paperwork, it’s loan after loan and sometimes 3 at the same time.
There’s statements of accounts, the little blue books – so far we are back to 2010
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can only complain going back to 2007. If this goes to the Ombudsman – and it probably will – you will need to get her bank statements for the period.
Andi says
She never held a bank account
She had a Post Office card where her money was paid into, it was drawn and she just had the cash in the house.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok, then I hope in her paperwork there is sone evidence of what her benefits/pension income was over the years.
Andi says
She never held a bank account.
Provident loans were always paid in cash (noted on some of the agreements).
Only thing she had I. Last 5yrs was a post office account that she had benefit/pension paid into
Jay says
Hey Andi,
Even if her bank statements don’t show the loans, provident will have records of what it lent back to around 2004 so get the info from them.
What her post office statements will show is her pension/benefits being paid in. If she was withdrawing it all right it shows an immediate need for the funds with will help build your case. They hold statements for at least 12 years.
020 7272 1764 is the number to contact them on
Jay says
Hey Andi,
Call post office banks main number on their website and ask about getting the statements for the accounts.
As your mother is executor I believe she can request information from Provident. They’re right in that your grandmother doesn’t have data protection rights but they should have any reason for not releasing information if the request comes from the executor!
Andi says
Provident have sent a reply back regarding a SAR request by stating the are not going to supply anything to myself “as Data Subject Access Requests are only available to be made for living individuals as outlined in the Data Protection Legislation.”
Is there anything else I could say to get the information or should I just continue with IRL claim based on the information I do have.
(2008 to 2014)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Provident are legally correct that they don’t have to respond to a Subject Access request in this situation. Luckily you have her books showing what she borrowed! So just go ahead with the irresponsible lending complaint.
Andi says
Thanks for your prompt reply.
Will this be a problem when/if it goes to FOS as we wouldn’t be able to get the post office account information by way of a SAR?
We do have one single statement that shows her money going in and out on the same day (think it’s about 3-4mths worth)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is easier if you do have more information but it sounds as though there was a LOT of borrowing and FOS will understand why you can’t get other information. Just set off with the complaint and see how it goes!
Georgea says
Hi everyone have you all found provident to obstructive? I have had 10 loans since 2013. I have let any older than 6 years go. I had £3204 worth of loans and the interest for these was 575% or whatever they charge ridiculous. I had alot of the loans refinanced but the most recent loan which was in 2017 was £455 I actually borrowed from my jar to pay this off and I had 2 loans from provident at this time I made a payment of £500 to pay the £455 loan off in full as I’d only had it 3 weeks and they said the payment had to be split equally between the 2 loans they wouldn’t let me just pay the 1 loan off and so they charged me the full term of interest on both of those loans obviously to get more money out of me. In addition to borrowing from myjar to repay these loans I also had 2 credit cards an overdraft defaults on water and 4 accounts with Lowell and I even had to get my landlady to reduce my rent or I wouldn’t have been able to afford my house! The agents were very nice but they advised me to re finance my loans rather than them asking me in writing they also coached me on what to put on the affordability forms. I have entered my complaint today and given them 8 weeks to respond. Does anyone have any experiences of provident paying out without going to the FOS? Am I likley to get anything back for these loans? Any advice appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Provident at the moment are slow and not good at making good offers. You may be lucky but some people with very strong cases just get rejected, so send your case to FOS at 8 weeks.
Jay says
Provident tend to let it go past the 8 week deadline and also reject in full, on the basis that you signed for the loans.
I supplied the FOS with bank statements (annotated), medical records, credit reports and used some of the wording provided on this site.
The FOS were really good and upheld the complaint, so I’d recommend taking it to them with every piece of evidence you can your hands on. There is no fee for getting your data from companies now so take advantage of that!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you want a copy of the data Provident has about you as Jay suggests, email them at informationrequests@provident.co.uk and ask for a copy of all your personal data. There will be a lot!
Georgea says
Thanks for the info I have requested them to send me the info and told them to do so within 14 days and I have set a reminder to go to FOS in 8 weeks. How likley is it that will look at all of my 10 loans within the 6 year period? Am I likley to get redress for all of them or just for a few? The ones from before 2012 I was a student and on benefits but I kmow it will be harder to look into these ones. What is the current waiting time like for responses from the FOS? I can get all of my bank statements from this time as I’m still with the same bank so I can get to work on sorting this out in the meantime.
Thank you everyone for your advise. I had a small success with my jar I am in process with 118 money and also provident so I will update as and when I get info. Sara you are amazing!
Jay says
Response times from the FOS vary, if you look through the thread here you’ll see two factors that seem to speed things up:
1. People waiving any right to have loans over 6 years to be looked at. If you want over 6 years (as far back as 2007) to be looked at, it goes into a seperate pot which has a backlog for the FOS to decide whether they legally can. I had all from April 2007 looked at and it was worthwhile for my circumstances, but that is a decision for you to make.
2. Vulnerability- my case and others on here were prioritised due to the borrowers being in vulnerable circumstances.
The FOS will ofcourse look at anything under 6 years old, as should provident if you ask them to.
Some people have been waiting quite a long time. If you have current debts I would do some research to find a method that best suits your circumstances to get on top of those :) If you don’t have debts any more, then jist focus on making your complaint as strong as possible and accept the wait. It can range from about 6 months to over a year with the FOS
steven says
can any1 tell me how to calculate the interest 8%pa I have tried the online calcs but cant work them out
these are the interest on each loan I took out on the paper work they have sent me:
450
337.0
375
225
450
337.50
all were from 2014/15 thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So that’s a total £2174. Working out the 8% requires the exact date of each payment, but if they were in 2014-2015 then on average they are about 4 years ago. So a very rough guess is about £700. Somewhere in the £600-800 range.
Steven says
That’s great thankyou just have to wait see what they say now lol
Anne says
Hi, I’ve recently found this page and been reading your comments and advice. I did not even know you could claim against these door stop lenders. On Monday I sent Morses(shops check) and provident an email requesting my loans. I’ve had Morses (shopaheck) since 2001, not sure.about provident maybe 2004. I had a call from Morses complaints asking me to forward bank statements and any form of my credit score. I feel that because I’ve had them for so long even though they are meant to be a short term lender I wouldn’t need to provide this. I’ve struggled all this time to get rid of these door stop lenders but they always seem to offer money when I need it. Anyone know the time scale of responding times for my loans details and chances of a refund?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
First you won’t get any refunds for loans before April 2007, there is nothing you can do about this.
It is going to be easier to get refunds if you can get bank statements for as far back as possible. Well not further back than April 2007… That should be easy for the last 6 years but you can go bank further than that with many banks, even if the account has been closed.
At the moment you can ask Morses to consider your complaint as it stands and say you will provide the Ombudsman with bank statements if necessary. But do set about getting the statements now as most big cases involving loans that are over 6 years old do have to go to the Ombudsman so use this time to get prepared.
Anne says
Thankyou Sara, I’ve looked and would have to request these as only go back 7 years online.ive received a letter today from Morses saying that I had 23 accounts with welcome finance/shopaheck and was either settled or sold before this point will be investigated by welcome finance. They are continuing to investigate any remaining accounts. I’ve also received an email from provident saying they are looking into my complaint. Like I say this is all new to me and I could request my bank statements from this time, but will my case still be strong without them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You must get bank statements going back as far as you can.
I’m not saying you can’t win a case without them but it is a lot harder.
Sylvia king says
Might get someone to look into this for me as I’m not the brightest of sparks. Ive been with them since 1998, loan after loan after loan. I suffer from PTSD, Anxiety,Depression and panic attacks so definatley couldn’t do it myself. But it’s probably worth looking into. Thank you aĺl for the tips and information you have shared and hopefully it will help me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have read this article, then I think you can do it yourself! But if you go to your local Citizens Advice they will help.
Amy says
my Nan passed away in March 2018 and we found that at 84 years old she’s had 33 loans, FOS have advised provident to pay us back for 11 as some were over 6 years ago, I’m still awaiting a cheque but it’s been nearly 3 weeks 😦
CarrieN says
Hi Anne
I’m in the same situation as you I’ve emailed everything over that they have requested so I’m assuming we’ve just got to wait now. I have called them a couple of times to see how the complaint is going but they said it can take up to eight weeks.
Anne says
Hi Carrie, I’ve not sent any bank statements or my credit score as yet. I’ve had to request.my bank statements from 2007. Ive had Morses since.2001 but I was solely on benefits til 2005 when I got a job and needed a bank account. Have you had a text? 8 weeks is a long time to find out if your entitled to a refund or not.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Anne,
You will not be able to get a refund for any loans before April 2007 – the Ombudsman can’t look at loans older than that.
Do you still owe a balance to Morses?
Anne says
Hi Sara, yes still paying them off. Had to reduce my repayments as I cannot afford full payments anymore. I remember you saying about not been able to get get a refund before the 2007 time. Hopefully it be dealt with asap, but will wait patiently.
CarrieN says
Hi Anne
Yes I’ve had the text saying who was investigating my complaint so that’s when I called them. Eight weeks is the standard time for most companies I have noticed, however somebody on this website had their complaint looked at within two weeks by Morses club so hopefully it will be the same sort of timeframe for us too.
Georgia says
Hi Sara
I heard back from provident today they have said that non of my 10 loans were unaffordable even though they were refinanced through them several times and more and more was borrowed. They said that basically because I signed for them then I don’t have a leg to stand on. On all of my loans the agent had put a higher income down than what I had despite me showing them my wage slips. What shall I do now? Take to FOS?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes send to FOS. And make the point about your wage slips!
Georgia says
Hi Sara Yes I made a point of this. I have sent the fos the complaint response from provident and attached my credit report. Some if my old defaults that I had at the time have now dropped off. Will that make any difference? I have got all of my bank statements printed off for this time but obviously it’s alot. Do i just need to annonate and send over the statements for 3 months before each loan or send in all of them for the full time of all loans? I would have to post these as there is far too much to upload
Thanks again.
Anne says
Well provident have given me a final response saying my loans between 2006 and 2009 wasn’t unfordable as I did not complain within 3 years of my last loan. So I’ve followed instructions from this site and put my case to fos. Still waiting to here back from from Morses.
CarrieN says
Hi Anne
I had the same response from provident I sent it to the FOS. I’m still waiting to hear back from Morses Club too. I may give them another call to see how it’s going. They will get fed up with me calling in the end lol.
Anne says
Hi Carrie, I received a letter today from welcome finance ( was shoppacheck before Morses if im right) well theyve said there looking into my complaint but what I’ve read on here they have the before 2007 cannot claim , so not getting my hopes up with them. I feel like i have a good case with provident and Morses, but got all my fingers crossed for Morses as more loans on that account. Im hoping for a nice pay out to finally get rid of them. Hope you hear something soon. I will keep checking on your progress.
Sharon says
Please could you give me welcome finances address x
Anne says
Welcome finance
Customer relations
Mere way
Ruddington fields business park
Ruddington
Nottingham
NG11 6NZ
Julie says
Hi Sharon – I wrote to Welcome Finance back in November regarding car finance I had with them back in 1999! I wasn’t expecting to get anywhere with it as the loan was nearly 20 years old. Cutting a long story short, I received a reply saying they weren’t responsible for the PPI and I would have to contact Aviva which is who the policy was with. I contacted them and received a refund of almost £3000 6 weeks later! I don’t know if the same would apply to you, but just thought I’d let you know
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Nice one! PPI is classed as an insurance claim – that is the reason very old complaints can go to FOS. For affordability complaints, the earliest possible date for a refund is April 2007.
Sharon says
That’s great news I just need welcome finances address if anyone knows it pls
Annie says
I’ve still not heard anything.Adjudicator never upheld mine so it has been assigned to an ombudsman but don’t know how many in front of me.I still don’t think IL get anywhere though.Sent my credit file and letters from Benefit Agency with amount I was receiving at the time.Continous refinancing and bigger loans.Hopefully not much longer.
Gareth says
You are in for a long wait my case against provident was sent in may/june 2016 adjudicator didn’t uphold that was Nov 2016 and I have been waiting for an ombudsman every since lol. Have called every other month since and told I am in ‘the pool’ for an ombudsman every time bit of a fare it’s become now tbh.
Michelle says
So have emailed the ombudsman to chase up as provident rejected my complaint and this is the response I got –
As you know Provident Personal Credit, has said we can’t look at the concerns you’ve raised about some of your loans because it says you complained about them outside the time limit.
Your complaint is still waiting to be allocated to one of our adjudicators to resolve this issue. Once this has happened we’ll be in touch with an update.
Feeling a bit deflated, I told them I didn’t know I could complain that’s why it took so long. Anyone else had the same response but won their case??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Provident didn’t used to object to over 6 year loans being considered. But they do now. Possibly because they are having to make such big payouts!
If only a few of your loans are older than 6 years and most are younger you may want to give up on the older ones. But if a lot are older just sit back and wait!
Muchwlle says
I will sit and wait then as majority over 6 years old. Sent to ombudsman back in September and still waiting for adjudicator, is there a time limit on it at all?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no :(
Sheley says
Mines been with the ombudsman since July last year, still not been appointed an adjudicator, rang then last week and they said I’m probably looking at another 3 months before it gets looked at…it’s been a long drawn out process, just hope it’s worth it in the end
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Indeed. Recent decisions have been pretty good, so fingers crossed. Is your financial situation OK at the moment?
Anne says
Hey, I contacted Morses former shopacheck 2 weeks ago, I’ve had a letter and a text saying they are looking into my complaint. Anyone else had a Morses complaint and is it best leaving it a little longer or contact them to see how far am I from hearing an outcome? Thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No point in hassling them. Just wait for their response.
Marie says
Hi Sara, how long do I have to wait before taking it to the fos if I don’t hear anything?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
8 weeks from when you sent your complaint in. But I will be surprised if Morses do not reply to your complaint within this time.
Shelley says
Morning Sara thanks for your reply, no my financial situation is not good, my sister is helping us out, has took control of bank etc as I had so many debts. So I just get a weekly shopping amount and she deals with all bills. Getting there slowly but it’s been hard 😩
Shelley
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Nice sister! Hopefully getting a refund from provident will let you pay off some of the other debts.
Jose says
Don’t know if I would be able to claim off Provident Loan was probably between 2007n 2010.I know I refinanced at least once. To make it less a mo th over many more months as couldn’t afford think was new loan took out not sure if this was once or twice was in extreme financial difficulties. 6 creditcards in Defaukt. But is it worth it… Loan for between £300n £500 I think
Jose
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Why don’t you email provident and ask for a list of your loans, the dates taken out and what you repaid to them. Then you would have more info. One loan on £300 refinanced once may not be a lot of interest – a loan of £500 refinanced twice is a lot more!
lauren says
Just wondering how people are getting on with waiting time for the Ombudsman…
Sent off our complaint to the ombudsman in November, received the letter from them saying it could take 12 weeks to be assigned to an adjudicator, this took us to the 12th February 2019, still hadn’t heard from them so made a call to be told it was still waiting to be assigned. Still haven’t heard anything, anyone else had this issue?
With our complaint we had sent all bank statements, credit reports etc.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is this Provident? Were any of your loans more than 6 years old?
Lauren says
Hi yes it is provident, I don’t think we asked for loans over 6 years to be considered but i cannot remember. Either way no adjudicator assigned yet :(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If there are loans over 6 years old, this is likely to be very slow as provident are saying FOS can’t look at these. FOS are deciding they can, but it’s slow.
If all the loans are under 6 years it should be picked up in the next couple of months.
Angela says
Iv had an email from adjudicator with copy of letter sent to Provident saying he thinks all loans from 2007 should be considered and that he agrees with me that I did not know I should have complained earlier. He has given them until 19th March to respond.
Has anyone else had similar letters and how did Provident respond.
Thanks
Michelle says
That’s positive!! How long ago did u sent to ombudsman ?
Angela says
It was sent Dec 2017 had a email a couple of weeks ago asking for reasons why I didn’t complain earlier and now the present email.
As some loans were over 6 years old this is taking a long time. Hopefully not much longer to wait.
Michelle says
Blimey that’s quite a long time waiting you’ve had ! Least the end is in sight for U. Good luck.
K t says
I had the same letter today and given provident till the 19th March also
Muchelle says
How long since u went to the ombudsman ?
K t says
November 2017
And some loans over 6 years too
Kezza says
Hi have you heard back yet ?
Angela Cheshire says
Nothing as yet. I emailed adjudicator yesterday for an update but not had a reply yet.
Georgea says
I’ve sent my complaint to the FOS about provident too after they rejected my complaint. I sent it last week and I got a temp case number which I diddnt make a note of stupidly as I was busy at work. Did they send you a letter with any info in about your complaint as i have not had anything yet? I put the case in about a week ago should I call the FOS to get a case number? Also did you advise provident you had sent to fos? I am just concious they have put a 6 month time limit on me to submit my complaint. I know there are long delays at fos at the minuet and I am worried they will say it’s out of time. How long was it until you heard something back from the FOS? Thanks
Jay says
Give them a call just to make sure. There is no harm and they’re all super friendly :)
Paul says
Hello
Does anyone have a email address to send a complaint into provident I have been giving all the details of my loans by them which I requests last week now want to send the complaint in
Georgea says
Hi Paul you have to use the contact form on their website initially. They then send you over a copy of your complaint with their initial response (this usually just says they are looking into it) they declined mine and I’ve sent to the FOS but they were quick to reply.
Paul says
Thanks Georgea did you use a template off here I just worked out in 4 years I have had interest on the loans I have taken close to 10,000
Georgea says
Hi Paul yup used the templates off here they are very good. Just explain why it was unaffordable. Provident often say no so be prepared to send to fos. There are some good tips in the origional post by sara
Carrie says
Hi everyone has anyone had any more joy with morses club? I was hoping for a quick resolution like some people have had on here. Im about a month waiting now so only a few weeks to go until I should hear something. It’s frustrating how some companies are dealing with my complaints in rapid time and others are dragging their heels like PDUK.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should get a reply from them in the 8 week time, but it may not be a reasonable offer. Have you added up how much interest you paid on these loans? Do you still owe them any money?
Anne says
Im 3 weeks waiting, not had any statements of loans from Morses, which I know there is a few but I don’t have a book or have any records of my loans, but received all my loans statements from provident. I’ve received all my bank statements from 2006 til present date (don’t think postman was happy with how much post I had lol).
Carrie says
Lol I bet it was a lot of post
Carrie says
Hi Sara
Yes I still owe them money. I’ve added it up it comes to £3500. Hopefully they come back with a sensible offer.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you are currently struggling to make the repayments, you need to ask them for a repayment arrangement now, not hope that an offer from them will resolve your situation.
Carrie says
Well I’m currently in a dmp but the money owed is less than the interest payments that may be due back to me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that’s fine, it will get sorted. What matters is that you not under pressure to accept a poor offer not take it to the ombudsman because you currently have unmanageable repayments.
But fingers crossed you get a decent offer!
Caroline Robertson says
Happy to say i got my redress back from Provident this morning. Provident had apparently made a mistake in the calculation and i received 2 cheques totally a whopping £21004.03 (after tax and im claiming that back lol).
Thank you to everyone on here, the support and advise has been invaluable to me and of course thanks especially to Sara.
Keep fighting folks, dont be disappointed if they refuse at first, keep going but supply the FOS with as much info as possible and if you can get a copy of Providents reasons why they have refused, read it carefully and pick as many holes in it as possible. If they have said they didnt know about circumstances, refute it, they are a door step lender priding themselves on their personal service to say they werent aware because their agent has neglected to inform them is not your problem…its theirs
Carrie says
Wow well done!
steven says
hi all welcome have refused my claim so I have submitted to ombudsman I was woundering how do I upload more evidence to my claim once I have submitted it ?
Annie says
Ive mentioned few times Sara adjudicator never upheld my complaint.Ombudsman said were in final stages now and decision soon .Is it true they usually make same decision as adjudicator.I was on benefits and their was a time I was 90 odd pounds a week with provident due to continuous refinancing and extra loans..agent knew I was single parent on benefits.Whars your thoughts on this
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is true that the ombudsman normally agrees with the adjudicator – but that is because the adjudicator has normally made the right decision! You made the right decision to ask an ombudsman to look at your case, I hope you get a good result.
Annie says
I will let you know although I don’t have a good feeling on it.He says it shouldn’t be much longer.Fingers crossed.Im paying off a loan at reduced payments…one that was done when previous one was in mega arrears and they refinanced it with no written proof of income…a few phone calls from agent to manager and they put it through for xmas
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My fingers are crossed too!
alison cairns says
Got a letter from the FO yesterday dated 7/3/19. About Provident. This has been with the FO since January 2018 and some loans are over 6 years old.
The adjudicator says in his letter to Provident – I think we are able to look at all loans. And that I did complain about all loans within the 3 year limit with my initial letter of complaint to Provident. If you agree/disagree I would like to know by the 21st March 2019. Obviously this is not word for word just a basic idea of what’s has been said. And that they should have complied with certain lending requirements – in particular the requirement to lend responsibly………
I had almost forgotten about this !! I knew it would take longer as I got a letter last year advising of a back log. But it had completely gone out of my mind until yesterday.
So for those that have had refunds – how long from this type of letter would you say it would take to know what was happening? If you were definitely getting a refund? Im asking purely because I have a summer holiday booked and it would be ideal for my spending money !! am I being unrealistic ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So far as I know, Provident isn’t objecting when it gets this sort of letter. but I can’t guarantee that. But it would be a mistake to start planning how and when you will spend the money. Honestly, it’s best to go back to forgetting all about it.
alison cairns says
Was just more of a time scale thing. I don’t need the money for spending money. Is this near the end or still months to go?
Im so glad this part of my life is over and I have not since been down that route :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh several months probably, but possibly well over 6 months it has to go to ombudsman.
alison cairns says
Hi Sarah
Its been with the Ombudsman over a year. This is a letter I got yesterday from them. Saying Provident have to look at loans over 6 months too. They have until 21st March to reply. I was hoping this was near the end :):):)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it’s more like the end of the beginning. Until FOS have decided they can look at it (which is what this letter says they now have) no one has yet looked at any deatils of your case.
Tony says
Just recived letter from adjudicator stating in letter that they justify looking at loans before 2007 as well as others
Jay says
I didn’t think they were able to look at loans before 2007?
Annie says
I actually don’t know what they are looking at with mine.I have about 30 years worth of loans with them.
Tony says
Well he stated that they wernt just looking at some they are looking at all loans
Annie says
You know what Wel find out soon enough.Once provident reply to e mail mines will be reviewed again by ombudsman and answer given .All depending how long it takes for them to reply.Good Luck to everyone waiting hope youse are sorted soon and can put it all behind youse
alison says
Did anyone else feel like they ‘had’ to make Provident ‘ Priority’ payment? My agent would sit outside in her car with her husband if I wasn’t in the previous day and wait for me to get home from work. She said her commission was based on what she collected each week – not how many loans she got people to take out. I was embarrassed when she came more than once a week as Im sure my neighbours knew why she was calling :(…… I was so uncomfortable seeing her sometimes I left the money & book under the mat and just text her & told her to post back. The thought of her hounding me for money more than once a week used to scare me :(
Annie says
That’s funny if I was going on nursery run ok r anywhere I had to leave it under mat as well.I still have balance I’m paying at reduced rate
Anne says
My caller phones me, I’ve blocked her number on my mobile. She used to message me offering loans, begging for new customers offering love to shop vouchers for every customer that gets a loan of her. She phones for me to pay over the phone. I used to text her my bank details to not have to listen to her , but that stopped when they got told they wasn’t allowed to do text payments.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is quite a common feeling. I call this social or psychological pressure on you to pay up.
Anne says
Hi, I’ve just received an HUGE envelope with all my loans and repayments from Morses(shopacheck) and they’ve declined my complaint. It clearly shows my missed payments and loans taken out over and over again. Im taking this to fos but what documents are best to send them? Do I upload everything they have sent me? Any help now would be great.thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, FOS can get that from Morses if they want it.
I suggest you write out an account of your borrowing, saying when you started, when you began missing payments, that your collector knew you were in difficulty – and any of the “special points” I have listed in the article above if you think they applied to you. Now you have all the details, you may be able to add some dates and amounts to this.
Do you have your bank statements for this period? how long a time was it?
Anne says
Hi Sara, I’ve got all my bank statements from 2004. Looking through the paperwork they’ve sent me, they’ve only sent loans from 2014, I’ve had them since 2001.
Carrie says
Hi Anne
Sorry to hear that. What was their reason?im still waiting for a response to my complaint. Good luck with the fos :)
Anne says
Hi Carrie, they said I signed for them, I received a cancel form after I had taken the loan out. Loads of rubbish really. Good luck with your claim, I can see mine been a long case now.
Carrie says
Thanks they’ve got until 11th April to respond by
Annie says
That’s same thing provident says.Tbese firms were out used by vulnerable people who couldn’t borrow from banks etc.Think just the proof of all the refinancing and bigger loans with provident getting more back than customer actually got is proof enough
Carrie says
Hi Sara
My complaint against provident has been picked up by an adjudicator today so how long will I have to wait roughly for a decision do you think?
Jay says
Mine was picked up on the 10th Jan and a decision was reached within a week and a half. It’ll be different for each person but I’m sure there wont be huge variations.
Annie says
Good Luck.Ombudsman waiting on a reply from e mail sent to provident for more information then a decision.Dont know how long they’ll take to reply.Wish it was over now I’ve not felt positive since adjudicator never upheld my complaint.
Carrie says
Hi Annie
Did you get the reply you were waiting for from the ombudsman?
Carrie says
Hi
My case against provident has just been picked up by an adjudicator so how long will I have to wait now for a decision roughly?
Jay says
Mine took less than a week and a half. Not sure if that’s usual but I cant imagine will be much longer than that. Adjudicators have targets to hit. I know this as I work with a few guys that used to be them :) wont be long!
Carrie says
Hi jay
Thanks for replying. I’m expecting about £8k as there were a large number of loans over the period of borrowing. Some are older than 6 years will this be a problem or do they look at the older cases? I hope they do as this figure includes them.
Jay says
They will look at everything from 2007 (April I believe) if you have given valid reason for only knowing you had cause to complain in the last 3 years
Carrie says
Hi jay
Well I didn’t realise I could complain until last year in October when I found this website so I decided to complain then. I also suffer from serious mental health issues and have been in hospital so I wouldn’t have found out earlier as I was in no fit state to deal with this. Will this be a good enough reason?
Kezza says
How do they work out the 8% interest ?
Jay says
Whilst I can’t speak on behalf of what the ombudsman will accept, it does seem a strong reason to me! I hope they do look at the earliers ones :)
Gazza says
I recieved email from adjudicator out of the blue saying they think the loans i took were unaffordable and have given Provident until the 25th March to reply so i dont know what happens next i had forgotten about it as i made my complaint in May 2017 .Just wondering if anyone knows whats next thanks.
Jay says
Provident have 28 days to respond. If they disagree it goes to an ombudsman. If they agree then you get a payout :)
steven says
well I emailed safteynet 10 days ago and they have come back and agreed my complainted and sent me a cheque for 300 pound whooo all thanx to this site
steven says
can I do irresponsible lending against EE ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Probably not.
do you have a copy of your contracts? look at them and see if they are credit under the Consumer Credit Act…
If no, then you can’t make a claim for irresponsible lending.
If they are CCA loans, then in theory you can but unless EE let you have several contracts all at the same time, it’s going to be really hard to win a complaint about this.
ann Turner says
All the Years I have been With Provident I Was So Shocked they turn Me down. I have Paid Last One up. Im on Universal Credits and Ask for Little Loan of £6 a Week Which i Could Afford. I am Distgusted. Many Years I have been With You and amount of Intrest I have Paid as Well.
Carrie says
Hi everyone
My adjudicator has upheld my complaint for loans 4-14 against provident. Does anyone know how likely provident are to agree with them? It was for loans between 2009 to 2013. Thanks in advance.
Annie says
Hi Carrie still not heard anything.Havent got good feeling about it though .Still don’t understand why adjudicator never upheld it.I don’t even know what ombudsman is querying was just told they e mailed provident for more information and would review it all again and get in touch with me.Well done on yours.
Carrie says
Hi Annie
Sorry to hear that. Hopefully it will be resolved soon.
Annie says
All just waiting on them replying to e mail which was sent a week past on Tuesday.Wish they would just answer so it’s over and done with.Would be amazing to win as my loans were all refinanced to bigger and longer larger payments and I never worked even though they had me down as a childminder at one point.I had a disabled child,my own health problems and nursed my father through cancer treatment as well
alison cairns says
Hi
I initially had 2 complaints with FO. Wonga & Provident. Both sent to the FO early last year.
I sent off al my details etc – and of the loans. I couldn’t get all my bank statements going back over 6 years but sent what I could to cover some of the time I was borrowing.
In the meantime – Wonga wrote off my final balance which was around £1400 due to agreeing was not affordable. Out of the blue I got an email from the FO asking for my bank statements – which I had sent. They said they had defo not received them. It was around the time that Wonga went into administration. I decided then that it was probably not worth the hassle of keeping the complaint about Wonga going, due to the administration and the fact they wrote of my balance and removed adverse info from my Credit File. However my Provident complaint is still ongoing and they have just been told by the adjudicator to take into account loans over 6 years old. That’s where we are at.
However im concerned about missing statements. We are a year down from the complaint so that’s one less year I can get. I can go to April 2013 and my loans stopped in 2014 anyway so 95% are previous to this. Any ideas if they ask me for them again?……………… I found it strange they got al the other info………………
alison says
anyone any ideas :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you go back to your bank and ask for bank statements again. Explain the Financial Ombudsman seems to have lost them. They may be able to go back further than you think. Do this now, don’t delay any longer trying to see if FOS can find them.
Have you been asked for these bank statements by FOS? FOS will look at complaints without bank statements but it is easier the more statements you have.
alison cairns says
No they havnt asked for them for this Provident complaint. When I sent them originally it was for the Wonga complaint and I was advised just to send one lot for both claims. I can print off the final years worth involved (2013) but the bank have said that’s as far back as they go.. I would have to scan and email these as im reluctant to post this info again.
Would it be worth waiting to see if im asked ? They have proceeded this far without them due to being ‘lost’..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Go back to the bank and ask again. Try going to a branch. If that doesn’t work, write to headquarters. Being persistent often works! Do this now, don’t wait until you are asked as by then a few more months may have gone.
alison cairns says
Not been asked for no. And has proceeded to this stage.
Bank have said I can only have 2013 (last year to be included in compliant). I would be reluctant to post again anyway. :(
Initially sent with Wonga complaint (both sent to FO same time) as was told only one lot would do for both?
I could only send end of all 2012 & 2013. I may wait and see if they ask as they have already told Provident to look at all the loans.
I sent a copy of an old tax credit award too (which I no longer have) – this confirmed I was a part time worker and a single parent to 2 girls receiving a low wage & tax credits.
Karen says
Hi Sara
I just need some help please I had some loans from provednt 6 in total but they have said they was affordable at the time of me takeing the loans out
Loan 1 took out 18/3/2016 £100
Loan2 took out 16/7/2016 £200
Loan 3 took out 13/12/2016 £400
Loan 4 took out 10/4/2017 £200
Loan 5 took out 18/7/2017 £900
Loan 6 took out 6/11/2017 £600
Is this classed as irresponsible lending as Proveident as said they are upholding my complaint as the loans was affordable at the time plus they were took out after July 2015
Just need some advice please
Thank You
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The fact they were taken out after 2015 is irrelevant.
I think that looks like a lot of borrowing – well worth sending your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. It may be only the last couple of loans are “unaffordable” but that would still be a good result for you. Don’t prejudge this, send the whole case to FOS.
Also send FOS copies of your bank statements from the start of 2016 until about March 2018.
steven says
hi all I sent an email to mr lender about irresponsible lending and I received this back any advice ?
Dear Mr Ashurst
Thank you for your reply.
If you are considering making a complaint, you will need to provide us with detailed information regarding the reasons why you felt Mr Lender lent to you irresponsibly.
Kind regards,
Emily
Complaints Department
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is a very badly worded email. You have already made a complaint. You don’t HAVE to provide any more details, Mr Lender will respond to your complaint even if you don’t give any more details. I (And if they don’t yo can send your case to the Ombudsman – but in practice Mr L do respond.)
I think it’s a good idea to write the Step 2 detailed complaint now you have your loan details (I assume Mr Lender has sent you a list of your loans?). Because that clarifies your complaint. And you can then just use that step 2 letter to write your FOS complaint if it is needed.
But you can just ignore this email from Mr Lender if you want. You will still get a reply from them. Or if you are feeling cross you could reply saying that you have already made a complaint, the FCA’s DISP rules say the firm has to look into Ito whether or not you give any additional details.
Carrie says
Hi
Adjudicator has ruled in my favour about loans 4-14. Does anyone know if Provident usually accept the decision or whether they object? Thanks in advance.
steven says
hi all if you have a default on your credit file who will of put it on is it the debt collectors like Lowell are is it the original lender ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Normally it is the original creditor. Then the debt collector will use the same default date the original creditor did.
Carrie says
Hi Sara
I’ve had a final response from Morses Club. They have partially upheld my complaint for 3 loans out of 15. Should I escalate the case to the financial ombudsman now as I’m unhappy with their response? I gave them all the info that they would have needed so I can’t understand how they have come to their conclusion. My bank statements would have shown that I was struggling to make repayments because of how much was left in my account etc. Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You still owe them a large balance. Can you say what the details of their offer are? Do the loans they are offering a refund on include the ones that are still owing?
Carrie says
Hi
I still owe them £900 they have offered to refund interest on the remaining loans that I have outstanding with them which leaves a balance of £450. The loans that they haven’t considered come to a very large amount of money so I’m definitely not happy with their response.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So they haven’t picked the largest loans or the most recent? This sounds like a poor offer. I suggest you send it to the Ombudsman.
Carrie says
Hi
They’ve picked the most recent ones but left all the largest loans out so I will forward the complaint to the fos straight away. Thanks Sara