Have you had a catalogue, credit card or store card where your credit limit was too high? So high that the monthly repayments were hard to manage and you got into more debt?
Many people were originally given an OK limit, but the lender kept increasing them.
You may have a good complaint that the lender was irresponsible in allowing you to borrow so much that the debt was unaffordable.
This article explains how to complain and ask for a refund of the interest you paid
Contents
What is “affordability”?
The following is my summary of the regulator’s rules:
- a lender must check if credit is affordable when you apply for it. A mortgage lender will ask for bank statements, but a catalogue offering a £200 credit limit doesn’t have to go into so much detail;
- a lender should also make new checks when deciding to increase a credit limit;
- credit isn’t affordable if paying it leaves you short of money for your bills,everyday expenses, and your other debts;
- if you have to borrow more most months, this would not be affordable. This could be borrowing on the same account – making a credit card repayment but then using the credit card to pay for food so the balance never drops is “borrowing more”;
- you have to be able to repay the balance within a reasonable period of time. Paying the minimum amount is OK for a short while, but not for a prolonged period.
How to complain
Good reasons to complain
If the lender could see any of these on your credit record, they should probably have declined your original application:
- recent credit record problems: defaults, missed payments, or arrangements to pay, mortgage arrears, payday loans;
- you already had a different credit card with the same lender where you were only making minimum payments and were using it for essentials like food and petrol. If you were given two credit or catalogue accounts by the same lender, often the second one should never have been given.
- other credit cards where you were near your limit and persistent overdraft usage. Here is an Ombudsman decision saying Zopa should not have given quite a low initial limit in this situation;
- a level of borrowing that looks too high in relation to your income.
Your credit limit should not later have been increased unless you could afford it. In addition to the points above, the following should have also warned the lender you were in difficulty already:
- making minimum payments for a long while;
- using a lot of your limit for a long period;
- a lot of gambling showing on the account statement;
- recent missed payments or an arrangement to pay on this account;
- your overall level of debt on your credit record has gone up a lot.
You don’t need all the details to complain
When your lender increased your credit limit, you don’t need the exact date. If all you can say is “you increased my credit limit several times” that is fine. You don’t need to ask for copies of all your statements – you would get a ton of paper!
But getting your credit record can help. You can’t go back and see exactly what your credit score was in say 2018, but take a copy of your current credit record as soon as you complain (get your free TransUnion statutory credit report). That will show what the pre-2018 problems were that the lender should have spotted.
Template to complain & the email address to use
The best way to complain is by email. It’s free, instant and you have a record of what you sent and when. Here is a list of credit card and catalogue email addresses to use.
In the suggestions below, I’ve invented some examples for the bits in italics in brackets. Change/delete these to tell your story.
I want to complain about irresponsible lending by you for my Barclaycard account number 987654/444. My date of birth is dd/mm/yy. The email address I used for this account was myaddress@whatever.com.
Then say they should never have given you the account:
You should never have allowed me to open an account with such a large credit limit. When I applied in 2015, you should have checked my credit record and you would have seen I had recent missed payments to a credit card and a default only two months before on a loan.
Or say that they should not have increased your credit limit:
You should never have increased my credit limit in 2015. At that time I had only made minimum payments on this credit card for a long while and/or I was using a very high level of my credit limit.
If you had properly checked my credit record before increasing my limit, you would have seen that in the two years since my account with you was opened, I had got additional late payment markers and defaults and/or taken out a lot of other credit. This should have warned you I was struggling with my finances and it was not responsible to lend me more. By increasing my credit limit you made my financial position worse. Instead you should have offered me forbearance by freezing the interest on the card.
I do not know the exact months of these credit limit increases. In your reply to this complaint, please tell me the dates and amounts.
If the lender should already have known you had problems with your account, mention these
You should also have realised that I was having difficulty because:
of the late payment charges you added to my account
of the gambling transactions showing on my card statement
I had missed two payments to you the year before in 2017
I had already asked you on the phone if it was possible to stop adding interest for a while.
End with asking for a refund:
I would like you to refund me all the interest I paid and any late payment charges from the point the account was opened
OR
I would like you to refund me all the interest I paid and any late payment charges after you increased my credit limit in 2018.
I would also like any late payment and default markers to be removed from credit records after this point.
I understand that if I take this complaint to the Financial Ombudsman, 8% simple interest is usually added to a cash refund.
Points to think about
Timing
These complaints can be made if your account is still open, or if it is closed and settled, or if it is with a debt collector (NB the complaint goes to the original lender, not the debt collector.)
You can complain if you already have a CCJ for the debt. Add a sentence to the template saying you want the CCJ removed as part of the settlement of your complaint.
If you have had an IVA or bankruptcy after these problems, or if you are still in a DRO, then ask in the comments below, as this can be complicated.
Old accounts
The Financial Ombudsman (FOS) can only go back to April 2007, when the law changed to allow these complaints.
Many lenders will reject complaints about something that was more than 6 years ago and say the ombudsman won’t look at them. But FOS will often look at old problems if you have only found out in the last three years that you can make the complaint.
If your account was opened in 2015 but the lender increased your limit in 2018 and 2019, then the two limit increases are within the last 6 years and can definitely be looked at.
However, complaints about things that happened more than 6 years ago may be hard for you to produce much evidence for. But if you feel you have a strong older case and you have some evidence, then take it to the Ombudsman and let them decide!
An alternative approach for old accounts
If your account was opened a long while ago and you defaulted and still owe a balance, perhaps in a DMP, think about asking the debt collector to produce the Consumer Credit Act agreement for the account.
If the current creditor can’t produce a proper copy of the agreement, the debt cannot be enforced in court and you can simply stop paying anything to it. This applies to all credit cards, store cards and catalogues.
It may be that the balance on the account is larger than any refund you might get. In which case if the CCA agreement cannot be produced, you would be better off.
Is a refund what you really need?
This depends how large your current financial problems are.
Complaining about newish debt will often only get the interest removed – you still have to repay what you borrowed. Don’t spend months arguing with lenders and going to the ombudsman if you will still be in a mess even if you win.
So phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000, tell them you are thinking about affordability complaints but you would like to know what your other debt options are.
Poor reasons to complain
You can’t complain just because the interest rate was high or because you have paid them a fortune over the years.
A poor credit score on its own isn’t a reason why you shouldn’t have been given an account. But if your credit score was poor because you were having a lot of problems with your existing debt, the account should have been refused.
You won’t win an affordability complaint if something unexpected went wrong later in your life. If you had been managing a credit card fine for years but then you lost your job or separated from your partner and you defaulted, this isn’t the lender’s fault.
Don’t be put off by a rejection or a poor offer
Lenders often reject good cases
If a lender rejects your complaint or offers a low “goodwill” gesture, don’t be fobbed off – they want you to give up.
In particular, if the lender says you had made all the payments to them on time so they had no reason to think you had problems, you can ignore this. Or if the lender dismisses your complaint as the account was opened over 6 years ago.
When you have a Final Response from the lender – or after 8 weeks if you haven’t had a Final Response – send your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Don’t delay doing this!
Is a “partial uphold” good enough?
If the lender says they should not have increased your credit limit in June 2018 when your limit was increased and they will give you a refund of interest for balances over the previous limit, that may sound good. It is sometimes called a partial uphold or a partial refund or proportionate interest.
But often the amount of money refunded in this situation is a lot less than you might expect. So tell the lender you want to consider their offer but need to know how large the refund will be.
Often you were already in a difficult financial situation at that point, with cards close to maxed out, being used for everyday essentials and only paying the minimums. At that point the lender should have stepped in and offered to help you by freezing all interest. That is why a partial refund is often not good enough, you should have all the interest refunded from that point.
How to send a case to FOS
Send FOS a complaint using their online form. You can use bits of what you put in your complaint to the lender. If the lender has rejected your complaint or given a poor offer, say why you think this wrong.
The FOS form at the end asks you to add supporting documents. Don’t worry if you don’t have A copy of your credit or finance agreement – lots of people don’t and the lender will supply a copy to FOS if FOS asks for it. Don’t delay sending a complaint to FOS while you try to get this from the lender.
If your credit record shows that you had other debt problems, send FOS a copy of it. If you have kept some, send the oldest one you have, otherwise send the current one. Also get your bank statements if they will support your complaint and send those to FOS too.
FOS is a friendly service but not fast. Just use normal English, not legal terms. Using a claims company or a solicitor doesn’t help or speed this up.
Ask questions below!
There are hundreds of comments from readers who are using this template. It’s a good place to see how these complaints often go and to ask any questions.
FAQs about Affordability claims
Can you get an overdraft refund?
Could a Debt Relief order help you?
Ruth says
Hi Sara, I’m starting to get responses back from the various creditors (all rejecting my affordability complaints). So far I’ve only brought 1 creditor complaint to the Ombudsman. I’m wondering, if I raise the others, will the Ombudsman look at everything at the same time? Or will it be in isolation?
This is a rejection from PayPal, as an example, for March 2019 and at this point I had 3 loans and 4 credit cards:
monthly income of between £2001-2500 and approximately £1000-2000 in monthly expenditures. From these figures (we use the mid-range in our calculations), we determined that you had a monthly disposable income of £750. Finally, the debt-to-income ratio data and affordability measure provided to us by the Credit Reference Agency indicated that you were not overindebted at the time of your application.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send them all to the Ombudsman. They are all looked at separately but don’t delay in sending these. If you send bank statements to help with one Ombudsman case, they can be used for the others as well.
Ruth says
Thank you for getting back to me, Sara, really appreciate it!
I’m still waiting on my bank statements from 2017-2019, but will send them to the Ombudsman as soon as I get them.
Marie Davis says
After a company rejected my unaffordability claim and I didn’t go to FOS, can I ask them to look at my claim again? I’m angry with myself for not escalating my complaint to barclaycard as I feel they treated me badly
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no I am sorry, they will just reject a second complaint.
Ruth says
Hi Sara, I’ve had my first response from the investigator, but I have no idea if I should accept. Please can you help?
“gesture of goodwill, HSBC has agreed to refund debit interest of around £1,331.20 from 25 July 2018” until May 2019.
“My thoughts on the offer
I haven’t carried out an investigation yet – so I can’t confirm whether the offer is a fair one. You also don’t have to accept the offer at this stage.
That said, having considered all the information you and the business have sent so far the offer does look like it could be a reasonable way to resolve things.”
I think this is the complaint to HSBC about increasing my credit limit a few times after July 2018, when at this point I also took out 2 payday loans, a Barclaycard, an Amex and PayPal credit. I was banking with them, in my overdraft for years and had a >£10k loan with them opened in 2017.
There’s about £3k left on the HSBC credit card.
the offer also mentions this:
“HSBC have said that from looking at the statements, it is apparent your account would have defaulted on payments despite the increase. And therefore, HSBC will not remove any correctly reported adverse information to the Credit Reference Agencies.”
I’m a bit confused why they’d say that but reject that they shouldn’t have increased my limit?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what happened in 2019 – did you default?
have you also complained abut the loan? and the overdraft?
Ruth says
I started a DMP in 2019, with all my creditors included.
I’ve complained about the loan, as well, which has also gone to FOS.
I’ve not complained about the overdraft, as i first had it from being a student, so it was interest-free… interest started in 2015 and I don’t remember a month where I wasn’t in my overdraft.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
send in a complaint about the overdraft too!
and other debts in your DMP!
So they are refunding all the interest you complained about on the card, from July 18 to Aug 2019 when it stopped on the DMP – correct?
What is the default date on this? If it is July 2019, it will drop off your record in July 2025. You may decide you don’t care much about getting that removed as it wont be there for much longer.
If you do want it gone, then you could argue that you are complaining about other debts as well. If HSBC hadnt given you loan, and hadnt charged you so much interest on the overdraft you wouldnt have had to take out payday loans and get in such a mess. So the argument that “you would have defaulted anyway” isnt right – you defaulted because a lot of lenders, including HSBC, loaned you too much and they should all have to remove the damage to your credit record.
Ruth says
I’m not sure if that’s all the interest, as I can’t find my credit card statements from then. I’ll ask if that is all the interest.
The default date on HSBC cc is confusing. On equifax it says n/a and experian says settlement date 21st July 2020. So I’m not sure?
I’ve complained about my other debts, but on what basis do I complain about my overdraft? I just had bad financial role models and was awful at managing my money. When I went into my DMP they refunded charges and interest on my overdraft for a couple of months, I think.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well the amount may be right – it doesn’t jump out as being wrong. But if you feel uncertain, ask about it.
It doesn’t look as though there is a default date on experian. In that case you want the payments arrangement or missed payments removed. Or if will be on your record until July 2026
The typical complaint about an overdraft is that you were in it all or very nearly all of the month for a prolonged period of years. Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/get-refund-overdraft/ which talks about overdraft refunds and has a template
Ruth says
Thank you, Sara! I’ll ask for the payment arrangement markers to be removed, in that case.
I’ve just finished reading the overdraft link and had a flick through my statements from 2017-2019 and I never exited my overdraft in that time and it was even increased slightly! I’ll use your template for too.
Thank you so much for educating me on all this! I live well within my means these days but had no idea the banks were basically enabling my bad financial management.
Karen says
Hi Sara
Just want to ask i have JD Williams and I got it in 2021 my credit sore was not to good then it still not really good now it’s only 562….they give me a credit off £200 in 2021 i was paying service charge for a few mouth….then the credit limit started to climb in 2022 £3000 credit limit….the last thing I got was a phone in 2022 and still paying….I owe now over £700 most of that or all of it is interest but I dont pay the service change now….could you please advice me what can I do about this
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What is this service charge? To do with the JDW account? Or your house?
Karen says
Hi Sara
I don’t know what the service change was it was on my bill that only came on when I got the phone…it stoped in October 2022…and went to interest charges….sorry its not £3000 credit limit I got it was 2,500 credit limit….is there anything I can do about this….what I still owe and the interest…..I have rang JDW about this but I got no were with them it seams they don’t want to listen….Is there any Advice you can give me about this please
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send JDW the complaint template and change it to ask for a refund of interest and other charges including the service charge
PS please don’t leave duplicate comments
Karen says
Hi sara
Sorry for the duplicate messages and thank you for the advice
Thank you
R says
Hello,
Firstly I love your website I think it’s amazing!!!
I entered an IVA in August 21 due to spiralling debts.
I had various credit cards but I had accounts with Barclays and MBNA and they consistently upped my credit limit (and all it was doing was allowing more interest to accrue on the debt).
I’ve read the section that complaining and having an IVA can be more complicated and I’m just seeing if you had any advice?
Many thanks.
R
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large were the credit card debts that went into the IVA? How large were the total debts? How much are you paying to the IVA a month (and is this affordable).
R says
The total was around 20K (there was other debts too, the total was around 25K).
I pay £323 at the moment but that’s going up to £363 due to more disposable income due to my car hire purchase coming to an end and I’ve financed the balloon payment at the end.
Yeah , they payments are affordable.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Winning an affordability complaint about a debt in your IVA will normally just reduce the balance in the IVA. This doesn’t mean the IVA ends sooner, unless you are near the point where you have Paid the IVA debts in full and have also paid the IVA firms fees.
R says
Yeah I thought that would be the case.
When you say Iva debts, I’m assuming you mean the full amount I owed to the creditors?
I have payed the firms fees back, this was done with my first few payments I believe.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes the full amounts owed at the start of the IVA. The IVA forms fees may increase if your payments have gone up or if the debts are reduced.
Jennifer says
Hi Sara,
I have 2 Halifax credit cards (one originally a balance transfer card , 0% for 12 months only in 2019, but I could never afford the repayments in time and got in increasing levels of debt trying to clear this) and one with Lloyds (also 0% b/t for 12 months opened at the same time). At this time I was on a very low self employed income, some months earning nothing at all. I was using these cards to try and get out of a huge debt with Barclaycard but it was a big mistake.
I have now ‘paid off’ these cards but only by using another balance transfer card for a much longer 0% period!
Is it worth making an affordability complaint for these as I believe Lloyds and Halifax are connected? The limit wasn’t increased but they were unaffordable and I don’t believe proper checks were done on my many other debts in 2019. I am concerned that Halifax is one of my bank & savings accounts but there is barely anything in itnow and certainly wasn’t at the time of these cards. Other than some savings for my tax return in Jan. My main bank account with HSBC was hugely overdrawn at the time I applied for these cards too. I know obviously I can only ask them to refund the interest but that’s still a significant amount. Is it worth doing and won’t affect the small amount of savings in my Halifax account?
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large were the limits?
Have you looked at an affordability complaint to HSBC about the overdraft? to braclaycard about the huge balance you were trying to clear with these cards?
Jennifer says
Hi Sarah,
First card was for £2000, other cards were £1000 each. Minimum repayments on all and living in my £1600 overdraft at the time. I had a £6000 debt with Barclaycard (currently with the ombudsman) and my overdraft with HSBC was refunded after a complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok the limits aren’t huge, but the lenders should still have been able to see your heavy overdraft usage. These are complaints that it is worth trying
Sam says
How can I prove I only found out that I could complain three years ago? I’ve had a complaint rejected for Littlewoods catalogue for an old account. Admittedly, it was closed in 2011, but I genuinely believe they shouldn’t have lent to me and I genuinely didn’t know I could complaint. Any advice would be useful thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you have your bank statements from when the account was opened?
when the account was closed, did you owe any money?> Do you still?
Sam says
Thanks for your reply. Yes I have bank statements from back then. I owed money when the accounts closed – they both defaulted as I couldn’t pay any longer (there was two accounts with the same company but different catalogues). I paid one of them off via Capquest with a settlement offer a couple of years later, using my student loan. The other I’m still paying for now via Lowell’s. They say I should have realised I had cause to complain well before now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how large is the Lowell balance?
Sam says
It’s just over £1k now. It was £5.5k when the account closed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is this rejection from Littlewoods? Or FOS? If it is from FOS, is it from an investigator/adjudicator or a second level “Ombudsman” decision?
Sam says
No the rejection is from Littlewoods/Very group. So before I send it to the FOS, I wanted to see if there’s any way I can prove I didn’t know I could complain until now.. I’m not sure how this can be disputed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There isn’t a way of proving this. You can explain that you though your financial difficulties were all your own fault because you didint know that a lender has to check affordability, so you had no reason to complain before you knew this. give details of when and how you found out.
But with an account that was closed more than 6 years ago, you may find this difficult as if a case like this came to court it would be likely to be rejected because of the Limitations Act. I’m not saying don’t try, but it may not be easy.
An alternative for the remaining Lowell account is to ask Lowell, not Littlewoods, to produce the CCA agreement for the debt, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ask-cca-agreement-for-debt which explains about this.
Louise says
Hello, the FOS have responded with some questions regarding my complaint about my very account. This has taken some time as it has surpassed 6 years and I am unsure on how to best respond to some of the questions they have asked:
When did you became aware the account was causing you to struggle financially?
Who or what did you blame for the issues you had repaying the credit?
When did you first realise the business may have been at least partly to blame for your financial struggle?
What prompted you to complain now?
Is there any reason, such as exceptional circumstances that prevent you from contacting the business, why you didn’t complaint sooner?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you give some background on this account? When was it opened? when were any limit increases? Is it still open, if not what happened to it?
Louise says
The first account was taken out in October 2007 with a limit of £400, the limit was reduced to £350 in May 2008 due to arrears, a default issued in May 2009, and the debt sold in July 2009.
The second account was taken out in March 2016 with a limit of £1,000, the limit was increased to £2,000 in October 2016, and increased again to £2,500 in December 2017.
In all honesty I had completely forgot about the first debt, I would have been 19 at the time and I’m nearly 37 so I assume very has confirmed this to the FOS as it was not me. The second time I took out credit it was for an appliance for a flat I was renting at the time and I was temping through a recruitment agency. I would have been paying minimum payments and over the years I have cleared the debt a couple of times with a credit card and then worked the balance back up. Thankfully I’m not in that debt cycle anymore.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you want to purse a claim about the first account or are you happy to let that drop? As a matter of practicality, unless you have your bank statements from back then it may be hard to win.
is the second account still open? when would you say the debt cycle ended, and how did you manage this – was it pay rises? much lower expenses during lockdown? getting a partner and so sharing expenses?
Louise says
I am happy not to pursue a complaint about the first account opening. This was part of a DMP.
The second account is still open. I have moved the debt over to a 0% balance card. Very then asked me to update my account details with my current salary which is higher than when I first opened the account and reduced to £500. Around two years ago I told my husband about my debt and he contributes more to the monthly outgoing to try and allow me to clear my outstanding debt.
I understand I created the situation I am in and I am working on this now, but I was paying minimum amounts when they increased my credit and I was never asked to update my details until I complained. Could I also argue that given I did have an account in the past that was sent to collections should have taken into considering when increasing my
Credit or has too much time passed between the accounts?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so tell FOS you arent complain amount the first account. I think you probably cant complain that this means they shouldn’t have given you the second account at a low limit, but the question is should they have increased that
Common answers to those questions are often as follows, tailor these so they say what is right for you:
“When did you became aware the account was causing you to struggle financially?”
My debts have been increasing since 2016 but for years I was trying to manage them through 0%balance transfers. This account was just part of my overall finances and I just saw it as something I had to deal with. I was aware my debts were increasing, but as I was making all the payments I didn’t think of it as struggling – I had previously been in a DMP so I knew there was help if I was in major difficulty but it didn’t feel like that. In retrospect I should have been much more concerned about the increasing debt levels but I felt I was just about coping.
“Who or what did you blame for the issues you had repaying the credit?”
I blamed my rising debt levels on myself for borrowing too much. I was making all the minimum payments so I didn’t clearly identify this as an issue. two years ago I told my husband and he let me pay a low share of the bills so since then I have been able to pay more.
“When did you first realise the business may have been at least partly to blame for your financial struggle?”
When I found out this year that a catalogue lender should have made affordability checks to be sure that any increased credit limit could be repaid in a sustainable way, and that only being able to make minimum payments or borrow to clear the balance was not sustainable.
“What prompted you to complain now?”
I saw a post on Instagram about affordability complaints in [month?] and I made a complaint soon afterwards. If I had know earlier I would have complained earlier.
“Is there any reason, such as exceptional circumstances that prevent you from contacting the business, why you didn’t complaint sooner?”
no
Kirsty says
I completed a full and final early settlement for my IVA in 2023. However, I do believe I fall under the criteria you gave in the blog. I was a full time student when I took these out and only working part time jobs when I received unaffordable credit limit increases. When I started my IVA I was only earning £828 a month and paying minimum monthly payments on the following debts
Barclaycard : £5,127
PayPal: £5,982
Santander: £1,796 (overdraft)
Aqua Card: £2.2K
Monzo: £749 (overdraft)
I also don’t have access to these accounts anymore since they shut down during the IVA. What would you suggest?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unless you had a house with equity or other assets to protect, this looks like a classic example of where an IVA was inappropriate… but there is nothing that can be done about that now.
Who was your IVA with? And how much overall did you pay to the IVA? This is relevant to your question about making affordability complaints…
Kirsty says
Oh I definitely know it was mis sold, the tactics used were awful. In total I paid £7,738.94. My mum put up £4,800 for full & final early settlement
The IVA was with Creditfix
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so you paid quite a lot less to the IVA than the debts plus the IVA fees.
This matter because if you win an affordability complaint against a debt in your IVA, the refund would only be the interest added. And the lender is entitled to “set off” that refund against the amount of debt that was written off at the end of the IVA… so it sounds to me very unlikely that you would get much back. And Creditfix may choose to claim any refund going to you saying it needs to be paid into the IVA even though it has completed.
Annoying, but in this sort of case the IVA was your revenge against your lenders.
Olivia says
How long on average does it take the banks to respond to the complaints and how long on average from the first email is a payment offered (if confirmed)?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This can be very variable. Sometimes very old cases are rejected very quickly. Sometimes a refund is offered very quickly. Sometimes the bank waits until nearly at the end of the 8 weeks allowed by the regulator. A few cases go over 8 weeks, but not many.
I am afraid you can’t guess at (say) 5 weeks in, that you are going to be offered something or that your complaint will be rejected – it is is likely that no one has actually looked at it.
And banks reject many good complaints, which then need to be sent to the Ombudsman. Don’t be fobbed off by a long rejection letter!
Matt says
Hey
I made an affordability complaint to Vanquis regarding a credit card limit increase. The account was opened on 9th June 2018 and I made the complaint on the 12th June 2024. As this was 3 days over the 6 year limit they rejected my complaint.
I passed this onto the Ombudsman stating that I am making an affordability complaint regarding the credit limit increase, which was applied 15th August 2019. The initial Investigator has agreed with Vanquis, saying that they cannot investigate it as the account was opening more than 6 years prior to the complaint (3 days). I have asked them to pass it onto the Ombudsman to make a formal decision as I believe because I am making a complaint regarding the credit increase, which occured less than 6 years ago, it should still be within the limit.
What are your thoughts? Am I fighting a losing battle?
The investigators originally reason for not following through with it is that he said I should have been aware that I could complain in 2020 when the card defaulted. Which is more than 3 years ago.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This may sound irrelevant, but was the account sold to a debt collector? If so, when?
Claire says
Hi put affordability complaint on credit card with Zopa when account opened in May 21 with credit limit of £500 (never changed) I just feel I should never been given it. Administrator come back said he doesn’t feel Zopa done anything wrong with information there had of my credit file with it only been 500 limit against my income. I had 2 loans 3 credit cards very account car finance. When I look at my bank statements 3 months prior to opening this account it does show I have money end of each month. This was due to 2020 been Covid went into beginning of 2021. Do I send then and my credit report
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This reply is from Zopa? or FOS?
Had your debts been increasing in the year before the application?
Claire says
It’s from FOS said he has checked what information there have sent what was on my credit report before there gave me the credit card. I haven’t sent my bank statements to FOS the credit card balances were growing
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS wont say Zopa should have investigated closely eg by looking at your bank statements if they think Zopa did enough checks.
£500 is a pretty low credit limit – ask the FOS investigator what credit report Zopa checked?
Claire says
I will ask do I send my credit report with the email?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well you dont know which credit report to send
Claire says
I didn’t realise all different ones mine from Experian
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so its worth asking – then you can get the one that matches what Zopa claimed to have seen
Fran says
Hi Sara can you also make a claim for unaffordability for loans with banks? I took out a loan from Lloyds originally about 10 years ago and over the years I increased the borrowing amount very significantly, nearly every year till 2019 to be able to keep up with living expenses etc, I also had 2 credit cards with Lloyds at the same time that I increased my limits with, my main current account was also held with Lloyds at this time. Is this too old to complain about? I also have a credit card from bank of Scotland I first took out in 2012 which again they increased my credit limit over the years and I used for living expenses, do I have a case here or are the accounts too old? I went on a DMP in 2021 for these debts which I’m still paying off now, about 17k left. I haven’t asked for CCA yet either.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can win complaints about bank loans – and this sounds like a good case! See https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/ which has a template.
Make a separate complaint about the loans and the credit cards. But in each refer to the other one eg “I also had a large loan from you – I am making a separate complaint about this – which is another reason you should not have increased by credit limit”
Expect lloyds & BoS to reject these as “too old” and send straight to the Ombudsman where they may go slow but you may get a good result.
re CCAs – can you list the current debts in your DMP?
Fran says
Thank you Sara that’s useful to know!
In my DMP I currently have the below
-Two Lloyds credit cards now with Lowell
– One loan with Lloyds now with Lowell
– Bank of Scotland credit card now with Lowell
– pay pal credit now with Moorcroft
– Barclaycard now with PRA group
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what are the balances on these?
Fran says
They are now currently at
–Two Lloyds credit cards now with Lowell £356 opened in 2014 and £1287 opened in 2018-this one is the only one without a default strangely
– One loan with Lloyds now with Lowell £10,329 first loan opened in 2015
– Bank of Scotland credit card now with Lowell £2238 opened in 2012
– pay pal credit now with Moorcroft £1424 opened in 2018
– Barclaycard now with PRA group £2804 opened in 2016
When I first went on my DMP in 2021 I had about 40k of total debt. My first loan with lloyds started off at 6k in 2015 and after a number of increases was 17k by 2019. All of my credit cards limits were also increased a lot over the years with me only making minimum payments, taking out more credit in order to keep up with these payments.
Fran says
Hi Sarah I just wanted to updated you on my complaints, the first one was rejected by PayPal so I sent it to the ombudsman last month which I’m still waiting to hear back from.
Then I heard back from Lloyds about my loan which they are refunding me all interest I paid from 2017 which is £8700 of the £10,000 I had left to pay which is clearing most of my remaining loan and is great news! They also agreed to refund me all interest on my two credit cards from 2017 (as they said that’s the point they should of not interested my limits and they can see I was in financial difficulties) which cleared one credit card of £1287 and most of the smaller one of £356 plus transferred me an extra £616 interest they owed me. They said they will also get back to me regarding bank of Scotland credit card soon and it will likely be the same outcome they will pay off the remaining balance of £2238 plus owe me more. So thanks so much for your help it will hopefully finally help me be debt free next year!
I am still waiting to hear back from Barclaycard on my complaint for a credit card which i still owe £2800 on, which will be 8 weeks in a few days time since I sent it to them. Should I then send them another email or just send it straight to the ombudsman? I’m hoping it will also have a positive result as all these cards where increased/taken out around the same time. Thank you so much for your help Sara!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you had any acknowledgement from Barclaycard?
Fran says
Yes they sent me a text the same day which sounds automated saying Thanks for raising your issue with us.
We have received your complaint and we will contact you shortly. This was 25th October and Iv heard nothing since.
Shall I call or send them another email?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well this doesnt sound anything to worry about. You will probably get a reply on the last day. If not, the day after, give them a ring and ask
Fran says
Thanks Sara I’ll give them a call. With my Lloyds loan they agreed the last 3 increased loan amounts were unaffordable in 2018 and 2019 and have refunded me all interest since 2018 however they have said they won’t be removing the default as the smaller loan I had with them before the increases they believe was affordable and so they said I would I would still have defaulted. Is there a way to argue this and get the default removed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
which loan defaulted?
Fran says
I defaulted in 2021 with the most recent loan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well, that doesn’t make any sense. Tell them if they don’t remove the default you will be going to the ombudsman and if you do you will also ask for the first loan to be refunded
James says
Has anyone complained to American Express or Natwest before? Interested to know whether they’re known to be helpful or unhelpful, and timings etc.
Also, does raising a complaint increase the risk of them closing the account/calling in the debt (or whatever the right phrase is) to be paid immediately?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A credit card lender can’t call in a debt to be paid immediately (unless you default). They can close an account but that’s unusual – if they do you can continue paying it off as before, just not use it any more.
Always expect any lender to reply towards the end of the 8 week period – quicker is a bonus but you shouldnt expect it.
Claire says
Reply from fos regarding Zopa credit cards when I asked what credit report was used
Zopa completed their credit check and income verification using Equifax. I appreciate the credit report is also something you could also have provided a copy of, however we ideally have to go off the information the business knew at the time of the lending, which is why we use the credit report they have provided.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok get a Statutory credit report from Equifax. https://www.equifax.co.uk/Products/credit/statutory-report
Claire says
Ok once I get this do I review it or send it to FOS
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you review it – look through and see what it shows as being open when you applied to Zopa
Linsey says
I’m hoping I can get advice here, I’ve had an account with Littlewoods for around 15 years. For the whole 15 years I would say most months I have a £12 charge for late payment fee as you have to pay every 4 weeks rather than the same date every month so I would pay on my payday but sometimes it would fall before. I must have been charged so much for these fees and I’m in so much financial diffuculty do I have any chance of making a claim?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What is your balance? Have you only made minimum payments, or have you sometimes cleared most or all of the balance?
Linda says
Hi, I have an unaffordable lending complaint in at the moment, the ombudsman has forward their findings to the credit card company which went in my favour and they have replied to them. The ombudsman has emailed me and said this..
I have heard back and they have stated that they will send me the information required for me to investigate the merits of your complaint.
What exactly does this mean?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no idea! Ask your investigator if the lender is objecting and has supplied more informtion.
Linda says
All ended well – I have heard back this week and will be getting over £3000 refunded into my bank from the credit card company. Thanks to helpful advice on this site. Happy Christmas!
Sb says
Hi Sara,
I logged a complaint with Barclaycard, when they originally gave me a credit card in 2014 my limit was 7k. My monthly salary was 1k, within a few years my limit was then increased to 10k. I was gifted some money and brought the balance down to 3k. However for years now I have not been able to bring the balance down. I believe I should have never been given a card with such a high limit on a low salary. Barclaycard have rejected the complaint due to timescales being over 6 years. I have sent to the ombudsman who are looking at this but need extra time given timings too, has there been any success with complaints over 6 years?
I also, logged a complaint with Plata last year they gave me a loan for 13k (I have a low credit score) with interest added this is now 21k, I said they should have looked at my borrowing and not given me the loan (maxed credit card) they rejected the complaint. Is this worth sending to the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what date was the Plata loan?
Sb says
It was in March 2023
Sara (Debt Camel) says
definitely send it to the Ombudsman if you feel it was unaffordable, with the repayments causing you difficulty
SB says
Hi Sara, in relation to the above. I have had a reply from the investigator about my Barclays CC. They agreed to look at the complaint despite it being over 6 years due to the account still being active. In the investigators response she agrees that proportionate checks weren’t completed then went on if checks were completed at the time I would have had the disposable income for the card so has not upheld the complaint.
The basis of my complaint is, when I opened the account I was earning a low wage yet was given a balance of 8.6k since the opening of the account I have always remained at a high utilisation only making minimum payments I believe throughout the time I’ve had the card Barclays should have done more – my credit rating has been low and lending increased. Do you think this is work escalating further?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if checks were completed at the time I would have had the disposable income for the card
Do you agree with that?
SB says
I disagree I had another credit card that was also maxed out, I had a car on finance. Since having the card my situation has gotten worse not better.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The question here is whether your situation got worse because of this car and the other car and car finance – if it got worse because your hours were reduced, or your expenses went up, that doesn’t mean the card was unaffordable when it was opened.
Have you been able to supply bank statements or other evidence about your finances in 2014?
Eilidh says
Hi Sara,
I’m raising complaints on 2 CC’s with Fluid & Vanquis. Opened in 2018, I’m concerned they will reject complaint outright as almost 6 years since opened.
Fluid repeatedly increased my limit from 1200 to 6700 – during this time I was making mini payments & charged over 34% APR. I was using it for everyday spends as my income was basically used solely on debt repayments. I was able to balance transfer couple of times during this time to my vanquis card but would continue due to the credit limit. I don’t believe that full checks had been done at each limit increase as was maxed out on all other cards, had 3 other cards with CL around 400 within same time frame & for 6 years they have not increased the limit at all due to it being unaffordable.
Credit score is ok as never missed payments – I had to borrow more and continue to borrow to meet these min payments.
A family member offered an interest free loan so I could clear both cards and any other debt – only at this point I realize I’m not fully to blame for the debt I’ve accrued.
Do you think I should go straight to the ombudsman service due to the time frame / potential rejection of complaint? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have to give a lender 8 weeks to reply, you cannot go straight to the ombudsman.
Eilidh says
Hey,
I’ve had final response from vanquis and all credit limit increases have not been upheld.
They have increased from 500 to 1000 to 1750 to 2700 to 3750 to 4000 and to 4800. They could see that my borrowing dramatically increased during this time from 2451 to 11088 to 15300 to 15100 to 16000.
They did not ask any affordability questions and automatically applied the increases and didn’t ask about any income changes.
Was just looking for advice if it’s worth taking this further with the FOS as they have very quickly sent a final response not upholding my complaint at all.
Thanks :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when was the account opened? when were the increases? and were you only making the minimum payments?
Eilidh says
Hi,
The account opened 15/08/18 – first increase 14/02/2019 then again 17/12/2021, 14/04/2022, 13/09/2022, 14/02/2023 and 14/07/2023.
Yes, for the majority of the time I was making minimum payments. Other than twice when I was able to balance transfer to another account but I quickly used the balance again in full after doing this.
Thanks
Eilidh
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I would send it straight to the ombudsman
Olivia says
Hi there
I’ve had my first response from Amex and it’s a rejection, should I go back to Amex and ask them to think again or should I go straight to the ombudsman at this point? There email did not say it was the final decision however I’m not sure what I can go back to them with, would I re-iterate my points?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did it say you had the right to go to the Ombudsman? Did they say anything other than a long winded version of we think we made good checks/
Olivia Whelan says
They have looked into the case (so this was the 2nd piece of correspondence with them after them confirming my email), this email confirmed that they had looked into it and didn’t see an issue.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so it didnt tell you you had the right to go to the Ombudsman?
Olivia Whelan says
Sorry yes they ended the email saying I had the right to go to the ombudsman. Should I do this next?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, no point in trying to get them to change their mind. You know this caused you problems so ask the Ombudsman to look at it
James says
Just want an idea of people’s thoughts on my situation, I have amassed a large sum of debt from credit cards in the last 5 years to the point it’s become unaffordable. However this is through Lloyds increasing my limit over 3 different cards and totalling a limit of over £30k. All of these are now interest bearing and I’m stuck on where to go on this? I know this probably isn’t the same but I’m not sure which way to turn.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are these your only debts?
HJ says
Hi Sara,
I sent my complaint to FOS regarding Aqua on the 20th September, I got the automated acknowledgment from this.
I received another acknowledgment on 30th September with my case number.
During this time New Day have also ‘text’ me to say they are investigating my complaint (despite the fact I already received my final letter from them!).
Should I ask the FOS for an update or is this a normal amount of time to be waiting?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
this is normal – FOS will be asking New Day to supply their case file.
Nick says
Hi Sara,
I currently have a 5 year (and 1 month) old default on my credit file resulting from an unpaid Aqua (newday) credit card. I am considering making an affordability complaint against them as at the time I applied for the card, I had multiple recent defaults from pay day loans and other credit cards on my credit file. I was downing in debt at the time and I have records of dozens of pay day loans I was cycling through each month using one to pay off the other – including often missing payments or outright defaulting due to a prolonged period of mental illness. Somehow I managed to max out the card quickly (£600 limit, which was never increased if I recall correctly) and maintained the minimum payments for a year and a half until I could no longer keep up.
I live in Scotland, so I believe debt here becomes statute barred after 5 years. I have not had any contact with Aqua since before the default was registered over 5 years ago, nor have I had any contact with Link Financial who bought the debt.
The original default from Aqua no longer appears on my credit file, but the one from Link Financial does and won’t drop off for another 11 months.
If I am unsuccessful with my affordability complaint, am I correct in thinking Link Financial would still be unable to enforce the debt since it wasn’t acknowledged for over 5 years and it will still drop off in 11 months?
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest that you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 – they have expert Scottish advisers that can help you. Explain you are thinking of making an affordability complaint.
Nick says
Will do, thanks for the advice!
Kate says
Hello,
I need advice, please. I sent a complaint to Littlewoods, whose final response was they did everything correctly. I then sent it to FOS. FOS investigator says they can’t look at it due to time limits. It’s past 6 years, but although I complained within 3 years of finding out I could, FOS investigator argues that ‘I ought to have reasonably known I had a cause for complaint earlier’. When I asked how do they came to this conclusion there’s no explanation. They say it doesn’t matter that I didn’t know I can complain, but this doesn’t make sense at all. If I’ve never heard of such a right and thought my financial situation is my fault only, why would I complain? I did explained them that, but they still won’t budge. What is even the point of 3 years limit, if they can just say ‘you should have known back there and then’ and case closed?
I even showed them the case on Ombudsman website which is pretty much like mine and yet that case is an example when it’s accepted and mine is not. I really don’t understand how do they decide whose late case is accepted and who not?
They, however, agreed that Littlewoods partially responsible and there was irresponsible lending, but time is not on my side.
Next step, if I don’t agree with investigator, my case goes to Ombudsman.
Is there a point trying to argue with the investigator further? Is there anything I can show, prove them somehow I am not out of time?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When was the account opened and when were any limit increases?
Is the account still open, if not when was it cleared or defaulted?
Kate says
Opened in aug, 2010.
There were many limit increases which happened every other month for 3 years from £750 to £10000.
Account defaulted in late 2014 or early 2015, sold in April 2015. I’m still paying it off.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how large is the remaining balance?
do you have banks atements going back to 2010?
Kate says
Over £6000
Yes, I do have all bank statements. Strangely nothing was asked by investigator from me. However they received information from Littlewoods, agreement, statements, etc.
Natalie says
Hi Sara. Do you have any idea whether the FOS are upholding complaint over the 6 year limitations. I am waiting to hear back about a complaint with Very(shop direct) it was been with the investigator for nearly 3 months now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
tell me about your Very case – when was the account opened? limit increases? is it still open, if not when was it closed or defaulted?
Natalie says
The very account was opened in 2009 and they keep increasing my limit up to 10k. The account is still open and I am now paying £400 a month.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you know when the last credit limit increase was?
Is this your only problem debt?
Natalie says
Last increase was in 2015. I was only making the minimum payment and had other loans and credit cards with high balances. I was also constantly in my overdraft.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes some complaints over 6 years are being upheld – I heard today about a big payout from Very dating back to a credit limit increase in 2012. These cases are individual, I can’t say yours will be upheld, but the fact the account is still open makes it easier.
Natalie says
I’ve heard that some banks are not accepting the FOS decision regarding complaints over 6 years and are going through the courts. I am hoping this won’t be the case with Shop Direct.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So do I – but the decision I have just seen was the offer from SD.
Ruth says
I put in an affordability complaint to Lendable after they gave me 3 loans for £2500, £3000 and £2500 all within the space of 2 years.
They have sent a final reply saying that even though they could tell I was using credit cards to to survive and that these went up on each occasion that the onus was on me to weigh up my finances before signing for the loans – is it worth going to the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
definitely
Fran says
Hi Sara
I have sent a complaint about PayPal Credit I had from June 2018 of £1500 that they then increased to £2500 April 2019 and then £3500 October 2019, during this time I also had a large loan and 4 other credit cards that I was paying min balance on. These are now all in defaults and Iv been in a DMP since 2021 still paying them off. I made an affordability complaint to all my lenders in the last few weeks and pay pal have come back saying they carried out the right checks, I had enough income and no defaults at the time so they are not accepting my complaint and it’s their final decision. Do you think it’s now worth going to the ombudsman with it?
I also sent a complaint about a large loan I had and two credit cards with the same bank that were all increased a lot over 7 years from 2014 till 2019 and who my main bank account was also with at the time, I just had an email reply from them about the complaint asking me to call them to give them more information about the complaint is this a good sign and what might info might they want?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did paypal say you could take the complaint to the Ombudsman?
the bank loans – when was the last one cleared? do you still have a card balance?
Fran says
Yes PayPal said I could take the complaint to the ombudsman at the end of their reply.
I’m still paying off the bank loan with Lloyds (now with Lowell) on a DMP, have about 10k left. The last increase was in April 2019 to 16k.
Philip says
Hello.
I have complained to MBNA for irresponsible lending using the templates provided on this site. They have contacted me 5 weeks after the initial complaint with around 20 questions they want me to answer. They have also requested bank statements for my current account 3 months before each time that my credit card limit was increased. Is this normal?
Many Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What are the 20 questions?
How long ago were the limit increases?
Philip says
The questions are around the lending. Why I feel they were irresponsible, how did I intend to use the card, why MBNA played a part, what was the income I was receiving etc.
The limit increases happened in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Were you only making minimum payments when the limits went up? Did you have other debts that were increasing?
Do you think the original limit was unaffordable?
Philip says
Yes I have only ever made minimum payments on this card as long as I have had it. Yes I have had 2 other credit cards and 2 loans alongside this. The original credit limit was £6500 but by the end was £14000
Philip says
So I have had an email update from MBNA today to say that the complaint has been reviewed. They believe that when I took out the card it was affordable but They have accepted that the credit limit increases were not affordable and have accepted responsibility with a view to refund me around £1500 in interest and fees. I took out a substantial amount of money transfers in the cards which all had fees but their response to this is that they can see I was taking money transfers out but they will train their staff to be more vigilant in future. Do you think I should refer onto FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you think the original limit was affordable?
What were these money transfers for?
Is MBNA only refunding interest charged on balances over the first limit?
Philip says
The original request to open the account was affordable I guess. However it became unaffordable with the credit limit increases. They have offered to refund the fees and charges from the first increase on the credit limit.
The money transfers were used for making normal payments in my bank account as I was struggling to make payments to other debts, there was also lots of gambling transactions which MBNA have recognised
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are they refunding the money transfer fees?
Philip says
No they are just refunding the interest on the account after the credit limit increase. I asked in my complaint for them to refund the money transfer charges too but they said the following:-
While a Money Transfer is indeed a permitted transaction under the terms and conditions of the account, I understand your concern about the frequency of these requests over a relatively short period of time. This activity could have been an indicator of your financial circumstances.
Typically, we reach out to customers about financial difficulty if they’ve consistently missed payments or made them late, and otherwise rely on customers to inform us if their circumstances change. However, I recognise it can be challenging to ask for help when it’s needed. With this in mind, I’ve provided feedback for our processes to be reviewed, aiming to prevent customers like yourself from falling through the cracks in the future.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My guess is they are only refunding the interest charged on a balance over the 6500 it was opened with – is that correct?
how large were the limit increases? Bewteen opening the account and the first limit increase, was there gambling showing on the account and a lot of money transfers?
Philip says
Is there a way to send you their letter addressing the complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no. Just copy out the bit with the offer
Philip says
I’m truly sorry to hear about the financial challenges you’ve been experiencing with your MBNA Credit Card. It’s clear that you’ve been striving to manage a difficult situation, and I can only imagine the stress this has caused you. You mentioned, given your circumstances both then and now, we shouldn’t have given you the credit card or increased your credit limit, and that you believe we’ve been irresponsible in our lending.
While we’re declining your initial application because there was no indication at the time the account was unaffordable, I want to acknowledge your concerns about the credit limit increases. We didn’t manage this correctly and we’re committed to addressing this issue and making things right for you.
We’re making a payment of £1,500.37
As we shouldn’t have increased your credit limit, I’ve made a payment of £1500.27 to your account ending 5012.
This payment is a refund of all interest and chagres you’ve incurred since your credit limit was increased.
We also noticed that you completed several Money Transfers (MT) over the lifetime of the account, which were transferred to your bank account:
● £250.00 14 April 2023 that incurred a fee of 10.00
● £500.00 on 11 April 2023 that incurred a fee of £25.00
● £500.00 on 15 May 2023 that incurred a fee of £20.00
● £300.00 on 15 June 2023 that incurred a fee of £12.00
● £300.00 0n 05 July 2023 that incurred a fee of £13.50
● £300.00 on 21 August 2023 that incurred a fee of 15.00
● £500.00 on 11 December 2023 that incurred a fee of £25.00
● £500.00 on 01 June 2024 that incurred a fee of £25.00
As a result, you were able to benefit from reduced or zero interest on the balances transferred from the other provider through the Balance Transfers. Additionally, the Money Transfers allowed you to use the funds as needed once they were transferred to your bank account.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when was the account opened and what was the limit then?
was it originally a 0% offer? how much interest did you pay between the account opening and the first limit increase?
Rach says
Hi, oh my goodness I have come across you site after seeing a TikTok about how helpful you are and for the first time in a long time I feel like I can address my finances!
I have a lot of loan / credit card debt on a low salary and have just sent an affordability complaint to all of my creditors. My question is – if they come back with a low / partial offer and I decline it and eventually take to the FOS – if the FOS end up deciding in their favour do they still have to pay me the low offer or will I get nothing at all?
Thanks so much!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No point in generalising, let’s talk about actual offers if you get them!
Can you manage to make all the minimum payments at the moment? These complaints aren’t usually a quick fix if you can’t…
Rachael says
Yes I am just just about affording them but only because my partner has taken over all of the household bills while I try to sort myself out
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can that carry on for 6-12 months?
Rachael Evans says
Yes I think so
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok, so good luck and let me know what offers you get. Because when you have a big mess, you donT want to accept a low ball offer when you coul£ get a lot more by going to the Ombudsman
James says
Hi Sara,
Can I make an irresponsible complaint to stop interest being charged as 0% balance transfer period is ending next month? The limit provided is £12k, very high considering at the time I had other credit cards close to limit with other lenders and heavily utilising my overdraft.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you afford to pay the higher minimum when interest is charged?
are you being refused for balance transfers?
how heavy is your overdraft usage – all or almost all days of the month?
are you paying interest on any other cards?
James says
– It will be a struggle to pay when interest is charged.
– Refused for all balance transfers.
– At the time of application i was heavily utilising overdraft and i was fully maxed out on overdraft usage until i received a refund.
– Interest charged on other cards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I think you should talk to StepChange about a DMP (https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/guide-to-dmps/) to get interest frozen on all the cards, not just this one coming to the 0% end.
And start affordability complaints against the other cards! But these complaints take too long to be of any immediate help, so a DMP gets you into a safe financial space where you can wait while the go slowly through the Financial Ombudsman, as many good complaints are rejected. And this one where no interest has yet been charged is almost certain to be rejected by the lender.
James says
What would your advice be if I can afford the interest payment?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then you can just make affordability complaints about all the cards and the overdraft. But these could take many months to go through – 6-12 often as many have to go to the Ombudsman. Can you really manage for that long without borrowing more?
And if you don’t win them all, you may be a better offer if you had got a DMP as well as making these complaints
Olivia says
Hi Sara
I’ve had an email from FOS to say they are starting to look at my MBNA complaint after determining they can look at following the 6 year limit ruling. I submitted this complaint in January this year so been a while. They’ve asked me for my bank statement from 2016, but my current account at the time was closed and they (RBS) say they can only provide statements for up to 5 years after closure of an account. What is the FOS response likely to be to that? They’ve also asked me for a breakdown of my expenses which will be hard to provide with any accuracy without seeing my statements.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is the problem with old complaints, there may not always be much evidence. Was your credit limit increased?
Do you have old P60s that would show income?
Olivia says
Hi, yes I will be able to show income. They provided me with three credit cards in the period of time between August 2016 and February 2017 and also increased the limit of one of them in feb 2017. We were buying a house at the time so expenses would have varied massively and I don’t think I’ll be able to relay to them exactly what would have been on each application so a bit worried they will accuse me of lying on the forms (which I wouldn’t have done). It’s likely when I applied for the first card it was perfectly affordable but my position is that by providing me with three cards in that short space of time and then when I obviously maxed out the balances it was a massive jump in my credit and when interest started being charged it was impossible to manage. I had other credit commitments at the time too. Is not being able to provide statements likely to work against me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Things are simpler with bank statement, but you have to work with what you have.
When was the RBS account closed?
Olivia says
They closed in August 2019 when I entered a DMP. They state on their website that they will only provide history for 5 years so I can’t request back past 2019, and also that I have to either visit a branch or write to them to request history (they don’t make it easy!) I’m wondering about just going into branch anyway to see what they say but we don’t have one very close by anymore. I thought the FOS may appreciate some effort on the matter though…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think going into a branch is a good idea.
RBS’s privacy statement (https://www.rbs.co.uk/content/dam/natwest/assets/personal/documents/privacy/RB-privacy-notice.pdf) says:
We (and other NatWest group companies) normally keep customer account records for up to ten years after your relationship with the bank ends, whilst other records are retained for shorter periods.
You can also try making a subject access request. Start by using this form: https://www.rbs.co.uk/gdpr-triage-page.html. Be clear what you want – you want statements from date – to – date, or, if they cannot be provided, you want the information that would have been contained in those statements
N says
Hello everyone, I recently put in an affordability complaint with Santander about credit card (17/10/24). I received a call today 14/11/2024.
An advisor asked me to confirm where I was working when I applied for the credit card in 2019, which I confirmed, she then asked if I was getting any money anywhere else or if I had other accounts that I received credit into which I did not.
Has anyone had this type of call? Surely they can see what money was coming in at the time, I was only about 1200/1300 yet I was given a credit card with 2500 limit immediately.
She said I would get a response asap now I’ve confirmed the details. Just wondering if that’s a good sign ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Some people gets calls from a bank – it seems to be rather random, it isn’t necessarily good or bad news.
Lois Harmer says
I’ve submitted 3 affordability complaints to lenders so far and 2 have been rejected. I’ve escalated the 2 cases onto the ombudsman, and in the automatic email acknowledging the submission of my claim it says ‘ If we can help, you can expect to hear back from us within 7 days.’
It has been 10 days and no communication from the ombudsman so far. Should I be concerned? They are both textbook cases of unaffordable lending with UK creditors
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No need for concern. FOS will look into your cases. This is just a pretty silly automated message everyone gets. Phone them up and ask what is happening if you haven’t had any acknowledgement in a month.
Dave says
What are the chances of the Ombudsman overturning the initial decision from the adjudicator?
I was really disappointed in their decision so have asked the Ombudsman to take another look.
The adjudicator basically just said it was affordable as I missed no payments and paid one loan off early and quoted National statistics. My gambling addiction was so severe almost every transaction on my bank account was related to gambling yet they didn’t mention my bank statements or gambling once in their decision. I was only paying loans off early if I had a big win from gambling and would then take another loan out if I lost. I don’t feel my case was looked at as an individual and based on my income to debt ratio. Worrying thing is one of my other complaints has now been picked up by the same adjudicator.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Gambling cases aren’t standard. Often your income can look good. So asking bout the chances in general doesn’t help, it depends on the facts of this case.
Which lender was this decision about? It was a card?
At the time you applied for it, how much other debt did you have? Had it been increasing over the previous year?
Adam says
Hi Sara,
Quick question, or two, I’m currently under the investigation of a FO case handler to look at my case for affordability against MBNA, will the fact that they are owned by Lloyds Banking Group have any bearing? Especially when in July I won an overdraft case against Lloyds for affordability? Could this win against affordability from Lloyds impact my case against MBNA? It was from a card I got in 2004, and whilst I know about the time bar, I feel the £3000 limit they gave me was not affordable, many missed payments and late payments later I finally managed to pay it off in one go in 2022 thanks to a family member, I show a history of debt which was a large overdraft and other missed payments on other things…so with the affordability won on overdraft will this consideration on my credit cards be used??
You do amazing work, thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
was this limit ever increased?
how far back do you have bank statements?
Lloyds didn’t take over the MBNA accounts until 2017
Adam says
It went from £1000 to £3000 in 2007 I think, that was the only increase.
I have bank statements back to 2011
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So the affordability win against lloyds cant affect a decision about MBNA giving you a car and increasing the limit in 2007.
You may find this hard to win if there is no evidence about your finances that far back
Jenny says
Hi,
I have submitted a complaint to Lloyds and they rejected the claim by email but I cannot open the file (it says it’s an old Word file) with the reasons. They claim to have sent it by post twice, but it still has not arrived and it’s weeks ago now. Where do I stand with referring this to the ombudsman when I haven’t got their full response? Many thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can send it now. Tell FOS that Lloyds have sent you a wod doc you cant open and claim to have sent 2 letters you havent received.
Lauren says
I put in a complaint with Very for unaffordability who initially rejected my claim so I took it to the financial ombudsman who then agreed my account was unaffordable when it was opened! Very conceded and agreed to refund me £350 which halved my £700 account and now with no interest accruing, it feels like repaying my account is achievable in a reasonable time now! Thanks for the information Sara, would never have done this without you!
Bea says
Hong did Very take to refund you, they’ve just agreed to to and FOS ruling in my favour and wondering how long it takes you to get refunded.
Lauren says
Hi, it only took 4 weeks I think it was. If you have a balance outstanding they will take the refund owed off your account
W says
Hi Sara
With your support and the help of this website we have successfully challenged MBNA with your affordability complaint template. The whole process has taken about 8 weeks in total. It was assigned to an investigator who was really lovely and helpful without being judgmental. This account was originally opened in 2014 so it is a long-standing account with persistent debt.
After a thorough review MBNA found the complaint in our favour, and refunded an amazing £11,691.75!!!! As this exceeded the credit card balance we also received almost £2000 into our bank account yesterday. We received the news in the morning on the phone, and the money was transferred within the hour following the call. MBNA have taken the decision to close the account following this refund, but we are not sad about this! This action has reduced our debt by almost £10,000, and reduced our monthly outgoings by almost £400. Truly amazing!
MBNA have assured us that all credit agencies will reflect this update within 60 days and remove the past 7 years of account data, which also means that the adverse credit markers will disappear, leaving us in a much stronger financial picture over all.
I cannot recommend this website more – the outcome is superb, the template easy to follow, and the advice is top notch. For something that took the best part of 15 minutes to do, this is the outcome we have achieved.
THANK YOU!
Ruth says
I put a complaint in against vanquis for irresponsible lending which has now gone to the ombudsman after no reply whatsoever from vanquis. I have phone then this morning to try to organise a payment plan for my debt as I am really struggling to meet even the minimum payment to be told that unless I withdraw my complaint they won’t set one up but if I withdraw my complaint I will be able to set one up and they will reinstate my card – is this something they are allowed to do? To refuse to set up a payment plan?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no, that is appalling. How long has the complaint been with FOS?
Ruth says
Only since 17th November but it hasn’t been picked up yet as all I’ve had is an email that I had to reply to saying I agree to them looking at my complaint. The lady also said that if I don’t make my minimum payment on time this month fees would be applied which is now causing me more concern
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what number did you call?
is this your only problem debt?
Ruth says
I phoned 0330 099 3000
And no I have other debts one including Lendable who I have also raised a complaint about but they have agreed to a payment plan for 6 months
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK you could try again by calling 0330 099 3002. If you want to do this (see below for what could be a much better alternative) then be clear that you are calling because you cannot afford to make the minimum payment, you want then to accept less and freeze interest and charges. Say this has nothing to do with the affordability complaint you have made which have sent to the ombudsman and which you do not intend to withdraw. Say you do not want to be able to use the card.
But this seems likely a massive hassle and very stressful for you.
Instead I think getting a debt management plan from StepChange would be a good idea. If you talk to StepChange they can organise a breathing space now which stops Vanquis (and your other lenders) adding interest or charges for 60 days, so through to start of February.
During that time you can get a debt management plan set up for all your debt including Vanquis and Lendable. One affordable payment a month to Stepchange, new interest stopped.
Winning affordability complaints will then speed up the DMP a lot by reducing the balances.
https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
Ruth says
I have just rang this number and they were just as unhelpful although this time they said they will help set up a plan if I remove the complaint and they will look into it (they ignored me for the given 8 weeks) I refused and they said in that case they can’t set a plan up as there is a block on the card. It is so frustrating that a company like Vanquis can treat customers in this way and get away with it. I will look into Step change now but thank you so much for your advice
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When FOS pick up your case, tell the adjudicator what happened and that Vanquis tried to persuade you to drop the complaint.
In the meanwhile, a breathing space will give you a peaceful xmas and new year and a DMP will get things on a safe financial foundation after that.
Faye says
Hi Sara,
I have recently submitted complaints to Barclaycard and Halifax from 2015. They have responded and asked me to provide bank statements for this period and information on my other borrowing. I don’t have this as I also closed the bank account I was using at the time many years ago. How can I respond to this?
Many thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are these cards still open? Did they increase your credit limit?
Stacey says
I came across debt camel posted on someone’s social media, I saw that someone had mentioned about affordability complaints and after seeing peoples success stories I thought why not I’ve got nothing to lose and used the templates provided which were so straightforward and easy to adjust to my own individual complaints. My first complaint with Zopa was not upheld and I am taking that to the ombudsman as advised. But today I heard back from Vanquis for a credit card I had with them which started as a credit builder card at £500 but with numerous increases went up to £5000 limit. They have partially upheld my complaint with a nice £4,394 refund!! This card has been paid off and closed for a while but wow I couldn’t believe it!! Just before Christmas too! This will now help pay off a bit of debt I still have giving me now peace of mind! I still have two more I am waiting to hear back from so hoping they too get upheld. Thank you so much for the advice on this!
ems says
Hi
I had 2 credit cards with Barclaycard 1st card was £9000 limit given in 2015 and then second was £6500 limit on 2017. Barclaycard replied within a week of my complaint saying that as as the account is over 6 years old it’s too old. I have said to them that I didn’t realise I had cause to complain until 2024 and previously just blamed myself. In 2020 I paid one card off and my other cards limit was reduced. I have been in a constant cycle of debt since having these cards and have had other claims upheld with other lenders. I have also defaulted on open account. It’s now with pra group who have been unable to find cca request. So not paying anything. Is it worth pursuing with ombudsman or should I leave this be? Il
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large is the balance with PRA?
When did you ask for the CCA and what was their reply?
Ems says
Hi. The balance is 5500. They have not yet been able to provide the cca.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago did you ask for the CCA? What was the date of the Barclays rejection?
Ems says
Hi I asked for. The cca in September 2024. Barclays have only just rejected complaint last week
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What exactly did PRA say?
Ems says
They said that at the moment they can’t locate the cca from Barclaycard so therefore the debt is unenforceable. Since then they have not said anything until recently where they sent me statements via email and another letter threatening their legal team if I don’t respond within 30 days. However, they still have not produced CCA.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So definitely tell PRA in writing that you will not be making any payments while the debt remains unenforceable.
The question is whether to take the Barclaycard rejection to the Ombudsman…
These cards have been active within the last 6 years – the Ombudsman may well decide that they can look at the complaint. The problems are:
– unless the refund is over £5500, that wont get you any cash back
– there may not be much evidence about what happened in2015 (unless you have old bank statements?) so even if the Ombudsman agrees to look at it, you may not have the complaint upheld
– there is in theory some possibility that if you win the complaint and the refund is less than 5500, then during the interaction between PRA and Barclaycard to adjust your balance, Barclaycard may supply PRA with the CCA. I have never seen this happen but I suppose it could.
But the problem with not going to the ombudsman is that if PRA turn up with the CCA after more than 6 months, you are beyond the date when you can choose to take Barclaycard to FOS.
There is no easy answer to this. If you decide not to go to FOS and PRA pops up with the CCA within the 6 months to go to FOS, then you should immediately do that.
A says
Can I ask if making these complaints have any adverse effect on your credit? Also would it work if you accepted the increase knowing you can’t afford it but need it to survive?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The complaints don’t show on your credit record, win or lose. No other lenders can see them, apart from the lender you complain to and any other lenders in the same group.
Sometimes a lender will close your account, but you don’t have to clear the balance straight away and provided you carry on paying at least the minimum amount each month this wont show as a payment arrangement or default.
It makes no difference if you accepted the increase or even asked for the increase – the lender should still have made sure it was affordable for you.
A says
I am so nervous but have just sent the first one off to Vanquis and included that they just increased the APR tp 49.9% as well! Fingers crossed 🤞
Going to try Newday for the Fluid and 2nd card with Marbles. They seem to be more difficult bur like you say nothing to lose.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Has Vanquis just – in the last month – increased the interest rate?
Rob says
My elderly mum applied for a credit card with Natwest last year. She thought that there was a glitch with the application so repeated the process. 2 separate cards then arrived – identical cards, identical credit limits etc. She has two customer numbers that are just one digit apart from each other. She should not have applied for the card, however she was in a bit of a pickle and was just trying to fix things quickly. She has now used most of the credit on both cards and has not had to reach out to us for help. I am furious that a high street bank would give a 74 year pensioner 2 identical cards with a 4k limit on each on the same day – would this be a case of irresponsible lending?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sounds like it. But should she have been given 1 card with a 4k limit? Does she have other debts? Does she own her house?
Does she use the internet much?
Rob says
Hi, thanks for your reply
Yes, at the point of application she had 3 other credit cards all pretty much maxed out and being paid at just the minimum levels. She does own her house outright – would that affect their lending decisions? All of the debts that she has are unsecured.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then both cards sound unaffordable – you can complain about those. Butr she probably also needs advice on how to manage the other debts.
Laura says
What caused you to become aware that there was a problem with the lending you were given and that you’d suffered negatively because of it?
What caused you to realize someone else may have been responsible (at least in part) for the problems you were experiencing and that this other party was Tesco Personal Finance PLC?
Why did you only raise a complaint in July 2024? Were there any exceptional circumstances which meant you couldn’t complain sooner?
Tesco Personal Finance PLC has referenced a notice of persistent debt sent to you in August 2020 being the point which should have triggered your awareness to raise a complaint. When you received notification that your account would be defaulted, who did you blame for being in this position?
Any suggestions about the responses to the questions the obusman have asked me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Laura,
I can help with these.
when was the credit card opened?
what were your finances like during Covid? did you take any payment breaks?
when was the debt defaulted?
Philip says
When completing affordability complaints for credit cards…I’ve received one complaint upholding and giving me a refund, then 2 rejecting my complaint. All were around the same time. Do you recommend always sending to FOS for rejected complaints?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes probably, if you think the limit was too high at the start to be manageable or was raised too high later.
What did the rejections say? (Ignore all the guff about how wonderful their systems are and how you could have rejected limit increases.)
Philip says
So MBNA upheld that they had irresponsibly increased the credit limit and paid back the fees from that point. Virgin increased the credit limit from £9000 to £14000 and I have cleared the card a couple of times with balance transfers or other loans but then still maxed out the card. They refuse that it was irresponsibly leant to me. I have therefore forwarded this one to the FOS. HSBC also rejected any wrongdoing, I had a £10,500 credit limit which they agreed to increase to £12,000 after I sent them three months payslips, all payslips were in overdraft and had multiple gambling transactions on them. I again paid £10,000 off this card with a consolidation loan and then again used the credit up to a limit. HSBC then 6 months after increasing the limit to £12,000 dropped it to £6,000 giving me a weeks notice to sort moving the money elsewhere
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes I should send HSBC too to FOS
Rob says
I am considering putting in a complaint to Creation due to what I believe is irresponsible lending. Between 2014 and 2017 Creation allowed me to take out 4 credit cards. In March 2017 they also approved me for a 10K loan.
I understand that I had to have complained either within 6 years, or within 3 years of realising that I had grounds for a complaint.
I did contact Creation in April 2017 regarding the credit cards. At that point I was unwell with depression and asked if they could help with interest. They put my account on hold to allow me a period of interest free. At no point did I mention that I wanted to complain. I honestly thought that it was all my own fault and I was simply asking for some support – will this be an issue for me in terms of the 3 year rule? Will they claim that I should have complained back then??
I never actually discussed the loan with them – this ran it’s course and ended in 2021. I kept up with all repayments however to do this I had to rely on other borrowing. I can now see that they put me into a terrible position financially and that this was the start of my debt spiral.
Would I have any chance of a complaint using the 3 year rule?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You definitely have a chance of a complaint.
Did the creation cards come off the interest free pause? Did you mention to them that you were depressed or unwell? Do you still have the cards or when were they closed?
Were you only making minimum payments on them when they gave you more cards? When you applied for the loan?
How large was the 4 card balance when you applied for the loan? did you have other debts as well
Rob says
Hi,
No the cards have remained on the interest free pause as I have contacted them every 6 months to update my circumstances. Interestingly I have not received a statement or any correspondence for any of the cards for 5 years – I just keep making the direct debit. I did pay a load of interest on the cards prior to the interest freeze. The total balance of the cards when I applied for the loan was £12K and I was only making minimum payments on the cards at the time. I am amazed that the loan was ever agreed. I was very honest with them about my mental health in 2017 and I sent them evidence of my mental health condition. I have also emailed them regularly updating my condition. Not once have I mentioned complaining. I have always ( up until recently) felt it was my own fault.
I had significant other debts at the point of applying for the loan – I had a Barclaycard owing £17K making only minimum payments, a second Barclaycard owing £4K paying minimum and several other debts. My debt load had increased over 2-3 years.
Also… the cards are still open and I still owe 5K on them
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So the Ombudsman is now more likely to agree to look at any cases where the debts have been open in the last 6 years – that is both the creation loan and cards for you.
I suggest you put in two complaints, one about the loan (use the template here https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/) and one about the cards (use the template in the article above these comments).
Add to the standard loan complaint template:
– Creation should have seen that you were already struggling with the 4 credit cards they had given you, which you are making a separate complaint about, and they should not have given you the loan.
– you had discussed your mental health problems with Creation after taking out the loan, but although they froze interest on the cards, they didn’t offer to help you by reducing the payments on the loan, or removing the interest from the loan, which they should have seen was unaffordable
Add to the credit card templates that:
– creation should not have kept giving you cards.
If Creation rejects either of these complaints. send them at once to the Ombudsman
Rob says
Thank you. I have just checked and I have not received a single credit card statement since 2020 . Previous to this I used to receive an email each month telling that my statement was ready. Is this also worth mentioning? There was actually a 5th creation card however this is now paid off.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Why not?
MrsSBP says
Hi Sara,
I’m wondering if I may be eligible to make a case. I was discharged from bankruptcy in 2019 and was accepted for a credit card on the same day. I applied by chance thinking I could start to build my credit score and then my spending habits/cost of living spiralled again resulting in 9 credit cards. I’m currently looking at starting a DMP because I’ve ended up in a bad financial situation again. All of my debts are with are no longer with the original creditors and I’m in breathing space. Anything to help pay towards the debt would be helpful if I had a case.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large are the debts in total? how much can you pay a month in a DMP?
MrsSBP says
The debts are now around £17000 with the added interest, late payments fees etc. I’ll be able to afford about £100 per month towards the DMP at the moment but things may change and hope to pay more if personal circumstances change
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was the breathing space set up by StepChange?
MrsSBP says
Yes, it was set up by stepchange
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, you should be able to win several affordability comlaints, I expect. And a DMp with StepChange will get the interest stopped.
The problem is that with so many card, I would be surprised if you can get more than half the outstanding amount refunded and it could be less. And that still leaves you with very large debts to clear. I think you should seriously consider insolvency again. Your DMp payment is on;y a bit above the £75 limit for a debt relief order. It may well be by April, with council tax, water and other increases, that you may then qualify for a DRO. So start the DMP, see how that goes and start off affordability complaints. Then perhaps review everything in May?
MrsSBP says
Thanks very much for your advice. I will look at sending some off even if it helps and I get some money back to reduce the debts slightly.
Do you think I should just amend some of the templates you have to suit my situation?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes
Bella says
Hi Sara,
I had a complaint for 2 Shop Direct accounts upheld by the FOS. I was advised on 2nd December that they had accepted this and informed on 10th December that they would settle with me directly. Today I got an email saying that this is going to the ombudsman as shop Direct doesn’t agree. This is confusing and not ideal so close to Christmas, are they allowed to change their mind?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s unusual, I haven’t heard of this happening before. you could ask your adjudicator why they had changed their mind and say you think this is unfair. Do you currently owe a balance on these accounts?
Natalie Ryan says
Can I ask what Shop Direct account this was I.e. Very etc. I currently have a complaint with FOS and hoping this is upheld, but do not want the same problem as you. I am also concerned Shop Direct will try to put a hold on all complaints and take it to court for any over 6 years.
Sara do you have any updates regarding Very and agreeing to payout on any cases over 6 years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Shop Direct will try to put a hold on all complaints and take it to court for any over 6 years.”
Shop Direct aren’t going to try to go to court – asking for a case to go to the Ombudsman is annoying but in 90% of cases the ombudsman agrees with the adjduicator.