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?
Francesca - From Pennies to Pounds says
Always so full of helpful information Sara! I will be sure to share this out.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Thanks, Francesca. Too many people have got sucked into owing large amounts to the catalogues.
Mark says
I had 3 JD Williams accounts dating back to 2011/13 which had very high penalty charges for late or missed payments. Also I was struggling to keep on top of these and the accounts spiralled out of control. One was £700 one was £260 and one was £146. I complained about the face the actual goods only were about 15% of each account. I was in a IVA at the time which was permitted but JD Williams eventually wrote these all off and notified the DCA to return the accounts to them. I admitted I was partly to blame but they were not supportive when I was struggling so I threatened to take them to the FOS. I don’t advise anyone to use these accounts I have learned my lesson.
David @ Thinking Thrifty says
This is great information to know Sara. It’s good to see companies being held to task over irresponsible lending, it has gone on for far too long.
Lesley says
Fab, I’ll be keeping my eye on this, I had 2 accounts with very and additions, haven’t yet put a claim in as I was dealing with payday loans, so will be interested to see the outcome of people’s claims for this!
Marty says
Hi,
I took out a Capital One and Vanquis card at a time when I had 4 payday loans. I was using these cards to basically pay off my payday loans then making minimum payments towards my cards. At the beginning of 2016 I informed my parents that I was in a debt spiral and they helped me pay off all my payday loans and cards. I offered Capital One and Vanquis both 60% as a full and final settlement and both were agreed and paid. Do I still have a case for a refund on the interest charged or would the cards have to be have been paid off in full?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m guessing a bit here, but if you had a refund, then the lender may first use it to repay the “rest” of your debt that you think was wiped out in the F&F settlement because legally the rest of the debt exists, the lender has just agreed they will not pursue you for it. That is what can happen with PPI refunds when there has been a F&F settlement.
Paul says
Hello
I was in a iva but my iva failed but both vanquis and aqua both let me have credit cards but yet my credit file was shown as insolvent and failed iva etc so could i ask for interest back etc and if so how would go on claiming?
THANKS
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A failed IVA should have been a big red warning flag to a lender that you were in trouble – not only would the IVA have shown on your credit record but all the debts would still have been there, defaulted but with balances owing.
I’m assuming you didn’t make large / full payments to the Vanquis and Aquu cards most months. If you were only making low or minimum payments this sounds like a good irresponsible lending complaint.
I suggest you get a copy of your credit record and list out exactly what would have been showing at the point you applied for the cards – the IVA and all the debts. Then complain to both, including this information, say they should have seen this on your credit file when you applied and they should never have given you an account. Ask for a refund of interest and any other charges added. Also mention if either went on to increase your credit limit. And if you applied several months apart, mention on the second one that they should have seen you had already been applying for more credit just a few months before.
Let us know how it goes!
(PS I’ve taken your surname off – not sure you want your full name showing here?)
Dani says
Hi Sara,
I am just looking at complaining to Shop direct and wondered if you could help. I have additions, very and isme accounts. On all three accounts my credit limit increased every couple of months, when should I put the interest from?
I.e
Isme went from £750 in Jan 11 up to £2900 in Jan 2012 (5 other increases in between)
Very went from £800 in Jan 11 up to £7000 in July 2013 (one month before I entered a DMP) (13 increases in between)
Additions went from £1200 in Jan 11 up to £3300 in May 2012 (6 increases in between)
Hope this all makes sense, I want to make sure I have entered the correct information but the information you have provided already is amazing, thank you!! Starting to look at packaged bank accounts as well lol
Cheers
Dani
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Dani, that looks like a classic case of catalogues increasing credit limits without checking they were affordable.
Do you think the original limit was affordable? Could you make the minimum payments without borrowing more the next month? You may decide the Isme and Very were affordable but the larger Additions wasn’t? If you don’t think one was affordable from the start, ask for a full refund of interest.
If you think one of them was affordable at the beginning, but it soon got out of control, I suggest asking for a refund from the date they raised your limit the first time. At that point if they had credit checked your record they would have seen all the other new borrowing you had taken on in January and that should have been a warning you were getting into difficulty.
As you ended in a DMP, did the lenders freeze interest at that point? If they didn’t, it’s worth adding a sentence about this.
Good luck and let us know what happens!
Stefan says
Hi Sara,
In October 2015 I applied for a credit card from Barclaycard. When I made the application the cc limit was 1.200 but when I received the card, the limit was £3.500. In that moment I had some financial difficulties and I used 1k cash from the credit card to pay the wonga loan. Two months before I increased the overdraft limit with £2k more and I had a lot of payday loans on my credit file. In the end Barclaycard sold my account to Asset link, despite that they agreed my to make small payments. Can I complain them to refund the interest and charges from my account? How can I deal with Asset Link? Should I tell them that I dispute the account with Barclaycard or to make to them that small payments that I agreed with Barclays?
At the beginning of 2016 I didn’t know where to take money to pay loans so I took to more credit card with £250 limit from Vanquis and £450 limit from Aqua. To be honest I didn’t expect from them to offer anything. Can I complain to them as well?
Thank you for your brilliant work.
Stefan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can complain to these credit card lenders that they didn’t properly asses whether this debt would adversely affect your finances as your credit record would have shown the large overdraft and long history of payday loans. So you can argue they should not have given you an account. Or you could decide to deal with your Wonga complaint first?
I suggest just carrying on paying Asset Link the same small amount each month.
Lucy says
Just about to make an affordability complaint re very, littlewoods and Next. I paid the minimum amount on all accounts and they always upped the credit limit. Littlewoods is closed and paid off but i borrowed that money from family. The other two i currently have payment plans in place with. I will update when i hear anything back. Is there a template letter for overdrafts with banks? I had an account with lloyds and kept upping the limit each month and never paying any back. I also had a loan with them. They then let me max out another overdraft on another lloyds account? I cant pay them back so i just pay interest each month on both. Is this an affordability case? My loan with them is now at £7500 but started at £9000 and both overdrafts are £1500 and i only earn £11000 per year and surely they could see all this on my accounts? Sorry for the long comment!
Morag says
Hi Sara,
Just to let you know I raised a complaint about the “affordability of my overdraft” from the Halifax. My overdraft was £1000 and they raised it to £5000.This was rejected by the bank and I then I took it to the fos.
I have just had an email from my adjucticator and he has ruled in my favour. He says I have to get all my extra overdraft charges back and for them to keep the £1.00 fee for each day that I was overdrawn.
Hopefully they accept this.??????
Here’s to my catalogue complaint now and I’m still waiting for my provident/Greenwoods which is the most highest in interest I have paid.
Good luck to everyone and will keep you posted.
Thanks to Sara once again!!!!!!
Ross says
Hi Morag,
When you say that Halifax ‘raised it’ to £5,000, then I assume that you requested this, as Halifax (or banks in general) don’t raise limits like they do sometimes with credit cards? I also have a large overdraft with Halifax, which I have been running for a number of years and is rather large in proportion to my monthly salary. I would be interested in raising a complaint about this, as I have been paying £100+ in charges each month for the overdraft (£3 per day planned overdraft charge). I believe they review these overdrafts on an annual basis and I am surprised that Halifax haven’t sent me one shred of information to recommend that I try to get the overdraft down or offer assistance in how to reduce the overdraft, based on the fact that I have now paid £1,000’s in interest and the actual capital sum is still the same. Could I ask what Halifax said please in their response? I am also concerned that if I do complain, Halifax may choose to cancel the overdraft, leaving me up the creek without a paddle or, even worse, close my account. I hope you can offer some advice on what you did? Thanks.
Morag says
My complaint was straight forward. When I joined Halifax I was given a £1000 overdraft which I used. I then asked for a credit card and overdraft but they declined this but they said I could increase my overdraft to £5000 which I did.
I complained a few months ago saying that they should not have gave me this increase as they would not give me any other products and said they should have checked my account as it was full of gambling and payday lenders.
Of course they declined, but thought it was worth an email to the FOS.
My biggest complaint is with provident/ Greenwoods and I hope all these complaints helps.
Please put it a complaint you have nothing to lose! Like me !!!
Good luck
Aga says
Hi Morag,
that’s good news , congrats; I made a complaint against Barclays , they declined straight after they received it – they sent me a note about Supreme Court ruling etc ; may I ask on what grounds adjudicator upheld your complaint ?
many thanks
Morag says
Morning,
Basically they wouldn’t give me a credit card or loan but they would increase my overdraft from £1000 to £5000.
I also complained to the bank and they turned me down straight away . Good luck , it’s worth a try. I am now doing my catalogue!
Worth a shot!
Rachel says
Hi Sara, i’ve just seen this, very helpful about to put in a complaint to Very, over the years my credit limit increased to £3000 without them asking for any details from myself, i would pay off a bit and then they would encourage me to spend more sending letters, i always missed payments as their terms were 28 days and not a specific date in the month so most months the payments would fall before i got paid. This ended up with being passed to a debt collector as the monthly payments were just too high. I have now paid this off in full but would like to complain. If the Debt agency has put the default on my credit file account and not very – if i complain to very and win is it up to very to notify the debt agency to remove the default? thank you again for your help
Nim says
Hi Sara (debt camel),
does this include cards like American Express, where you have to pay annual fees ? and can this be claimed as packaged account?
Thanks
Nim
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It applies to all credit cards.
The term “packaged account” refers to a current account with a fee and a bundle of extras included. I don’t think it would help to use the term when complaining about an Amex card, even if there are extras included.
Nim says
Hi Sara,
do you think it would include the membership fees paid as they were quite high and worth putting in a claim?
Thanks Nim
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The claim should include any charges that were unaffordable. You have to be able to show you couldn’t afford the minimum monthly payment – that is the best test for whether it is worth complaining or not.
Claire says
I complained to the Ombudsman Service regarding Co-operative Bank Visa card continually increasing my credit limit to a level which I basically could not afford. Unfortunately the adjudicator has just responded to say that they have not found in my favour because:
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates the financial services industry. The FCA set out time limits in which a complaint can be brought to The Financial Ombudsman Service. We cannot consider a complaint on its merits if it is referred to us over six years after the event complained about, or if later, three years from the date on which the complainant ought reasonably to have become aware that they had cause for complaint.When The Co-operative sent in their business file they raised an objection to us looking in to the irresponsible lending aspect of your complaint. I know this will be incredibly frustrating for you, but after looking at the evidence, I have to agree. The reason being is, the last time The Co-operative increased your credit limit was July 2005, over six years ago. It is also fair to assume you ought reasonably to have become aware of this from subsequent credit card statements sent over three years ago.
Does this mean case over or should I refer to the Ombudsman for review?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh that is pretty ancient. After 12 years I would be surprised if you do get anywhere. You for example will probably find it hard to produce detailed information about what would have been showing on your credit record in 2005.
Claire says
Thanks Sara. I’ve just responded to the adjudicator asking for the complaint to be referred to the Ombudsman. It seems bizarre that Co-operative Visa card are saying that they didn’t know I was in financial difficulty when I raised it on numerous occasions, missed lots of payments and I also have my current account with them so they would have been able to access my financial information very easily. Let’s see what the Ombudsman says. Fingers crossed
Ben says
I’ve just wrote to Payday loans for irresponsible lending and asked for the interest charges to be paid and there was a lot, especially with all the roll overs and then to Vanquis for a credit card that they kept increasing up to £3000, so I’m asking for charges and interest payments since the increase to be also paid,
I experienced financial hardship but worse than that I was in a Trust Deed so clearly no credit checks whatsoever were done by either,
as any credit search would have highlighted that I marks for missing payments and also a vulnerable case, clearly these crooks care only about making money than actually helping or as vanquis eloquently put, our aim is to put the customer at the heart of what we do, educating and helping them to mange their accounts effectively, makes you laugh really
Fingers crossed
sarah l says
I put a complaint in to littlewoods ans kays on 26th dec and heard nothing back so on 12th jan i then sent a follow up email stating id had no acknowledgment of my complaint reminding them they had eight weeks to get back to me, then the day after i received email from the “executive team” stating they were looking into everything.
I will keep everyone updated on how things go.
Daniel says
Hello Sara,
I have a full response from qq offering to waiver my bill £440 and give me a £600 refund.
7 loans irresponsibly lent of 27. (according to them)
I’ve had huge issues with them about outstanding balance, explain I’ve dropped hours and couldn’t pay and that I needed more advice, but they kept on and even gave me a deadline to pay 31/1/17, then sent to debt collectors on 11/1/17. A day after I told them I was part time. Trying to bully me to pay balance.
I’ve fired back a counter offer as I work out with unaffordable loans I’m looking at £3,000 or more.
Not bad going tho £600 off the bat from QQ. Makes me think I’ve definitely got a good case. Nice to see them admits they’ve lent irresponsibly as well.
Your help has been amazing. Giving them a couple of days to reply and off to FOS I go.
lucy says
If I put in a complaint against my bank for unaffordable overdraft and a Loan will I need to move accounts to another bank or can it stay open and carry on as normal? Just wondered if they would cancel my overdraft if I do this? Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have an overdraft you can’t afford you OUGHT to move banks, whether or not you complain. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/new-basic-bank-account/. Your overdraft with your old bank is then just another unsecured debt you can repay with so much per month. It is best to move accounts before making a complaint against a bank.
Lucy says
Ok thank you i cant afford to pay the whole amount off upfront no. Also if i make an unaffordability claim against next directory how do i know what my limit started off as? I can only see back to 2011 on my credit report? Do i need to ask them for a details? Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can ask them. or just put in a complaint saying it was a lot lower at the start – you don’t have to be precise!
Lucy says
Hi i have just sent a complaint in to new day credit cards my first of this kind. They gave me a card with £2000 limit in 2011 when i had lots of other debts such as loan, overdraft, catalogues and a payday loan. Ive paid the minimum each month and still paying it now. I was also unemployed at the time. Not sure if i have a case but will keep you updated
Andrew says
Hi Sara,
I don’t think I have much of a case here as my credit limits were never increased.
But when I applied to Barclaycard 5/6 years ago for a credit card they gave me £4,500 straight away. This was my first time ever applying for one to my recollection. But at 21/22 at the time I would’ve thought it was a very good idea giving me that big a credit limit, it turns out it wasn’t a good idea. (hindsight’s a wonderful thing lol)
I maxed the credit card out and made minimum repayment’s etc. Had payday loans etc so entered into a DMP at the time. (Already been on your payday loan part of the page and you’ve been brilliant helping there)
Just checking if there’s any point sending a complaint?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it may not have been a very good idea, but you aren’t likely to win this case unless you can show you could not afford the minimum repayments. Which is probably going to be tricky.
Stefan says
Hi Sara,
Do you think I have a case with Barclaycard if they approved me for £1.200 but when the card arrived to me the limit was £3.600. When I made the application the scoring credit wasn’t good and had already a lot of borrowings and a few payday loans. In the end I defaulted and they sold the debt which showed it wasn’t a good idea to borrow me that much.
Is it worth it to complain?
Thanks
Stefan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you have a look at your credit record so you can see if you made the application in March 2013 say, what Barclaycard would have seen in the previous few months – any missed payments or defaults? What was the minimum payment to Barclaycard on a debt near that credit limit – do you bank statements at that time show you couldn’t make that paymentb without borrowinf elsewhere that month, for example increasing your overdraft or getting a payday loan?
Tom says
Hi Sara,
I sent an edited template to fashion world telling them they were unaffordable as at the same time I opened my account in 2012 I was using payday loans each month. My credit limit with fashion world went from £125 in Feb 12 to £1250 in the following year the account was closed in 2016 with a credit limit of £3000.
Here is fashion worlds response I feel like it is unfair so do I have grounds to go to the ombudsman? I was using payday loans monthly until mid 2015…………
————————————————————————————-
[standard stuff on how a credit account works]
In your email you have stated that we continued to increase the credit limit on this account, as a responsible lender, we would advise that Fashion World assess active credit accounts every 28 days.
This assessment uses transactional data relating to the customer account such as payment history, ordering history, balance history amongst other things.
The processes we adopt also include Credit Reference Agency data and we are careful to use up to date information from Experian as to know the financial status of the customer.
The credit limit assigned to a customer account is then determined by a complex set of business rules.
These rules are designed to increase credit limits on customer accounts where we feel it is appropriate to do so, based on the account being sufficiently low risk, using a combination of behavioural scoring and other eligibility criteria that a customer must meet to be deemed suitable for a credit limit increase, or a new account.
As the account was opened online you would have had to click the accept terms and conditions box before your application could be processed.
Our records show you were never charged any late payment fees since opening the account back in 2011.
Outcome
I cannot uphold your complaint that we have been irresponsible lenders in respect of your old account and no refunds due to your requests.
There was no obligation placed on you to utilise the credit facility provided. If you were concerned that the account balance was unmanageable you always had the option to pay off the account balance, at any time.
You also had the option to have the credit limit on the account reduced.
We also have a specialist team who can discuss financial difficulties with customers should they wish to disclose this with us, which in turn I cannot see notes on the account at any point you disclosed such matters with us.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The grounds for complaint to the Financial Ombudsman are that Fashion World increased your credit limit without making adequate checks that this was affordable for you.
Back in 2011, they would not have been able to see that you had payday loans as at that time they were not specifically identified on credit records visible to other lenders. They have said they use Experian – it would be good if you could get your Experian credit report – either pay £2 for this or sign up to their “free first month” and then cancel, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/. Using that you can then say than in 2012 when they increased your credit limit to £1250 they would have seen that you balance to other lenders was £x and your monthly repayments were £y. And then the same for when your credit limit went up again.
You also need to find what the minimum payments were for these higher limits. So you argue “when they increased my limit to £1250, the minimum payment on this amount would have been £85. At that point my income and other expenses were and my other debt commitments were so I could not afford that without borrowing furather each month so it is unaffordable.”
If you only ever made the minimum payments, you can also argue that this should have showed FW that you were struggling with your account even if you were not late in paying, so they should not have increased your credit limit.
Tom says
Made a complaint to Barclaycard about increasing my credit limit from 400 to 800 back in 2014 shortly after I exited a DMP with them. All interest and charges on full balance refunded from the date the limit was increased (£620!) happy me!
Lucy says
Put in a complaint with very 3 days ago and just had a response saying that i could always of decreased my credit limit at any time. But i couldnt as i was up at my limit all the time and could only afford minimum payments. The interest was high so the balance never realy came down much. What do i do now? Is this their final response and i go to focs? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask them if this is their Final Response as you will be going to the Financial Ombudsman.
Tom says
Hi again Sara,
I put in a complaint to ocean finance regarding what I think was an affordability issue on behalf of them giving me a loan last year without confirming my wage etc.
I received this back today.
[standard stuff]
As part of the assessment Equifax verified that the information that you provided in relation to your income was correct. As part of my investigation I have also assessed the information that you provided in relation to your expenditure. In your application you stated that your total monthly expenditure was £545.00 per month. I can confirm this was within the region that ocean would typically expect.
In your application you stated that your income was £1646.67 a month, after deducting your
expenditure, including your new loan payment and had you continued to make the minimum monthly payment towards the debts you intended to consolidate, you would have had a disposable income in excess of £700 per month.
As part of the underwriting assessment of your loan a thorough evaluation was conducted of your credit file. This assessment included establishing how much credit that you had outstanding at the
point of the application, as well as reviewing your conduct on both your live and redeemed accounts. Your credit file showed that you had used short term/payday loans previously. However, this only on 2 occasions and there was not a live payday loan at the point of the application. This would not indicate that you were reliant on payday loans.
I note that in your call of 3 January 2016, you stated that you had taken a loan with 118 within a few weeks of the loan with Ocean. At the point of your application for your Ocean loan this was not present on your credit file, in addition you did not make Ocean aware of this during the application. As such this is not information that Ocean would have been able to consider when assessing the loan’s suitability for your needs.
——————————————————————-
Would you just leave taking this to the ombudsman? I have payday loans on my account from 2012 right up to last year. For some reason they said that I only have 2 payday loans but I don’t.
Thanks
Tom
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was the only thing they said that was factually wrong the fact you only had two previous payday loans? Or were there other factual errors too? I think you should go back to them with more details of the payday and other borrowing that was showing on your file at the time you applied. Send them a copy of your credit record to back this up.
Monthly expenditure of £545 sounds very low to me for someone with an income of £1600+ Not within normal range at all.Was that what you would have saud your expenditure was? Do you remember if they asked in detail about lots of different categories? See https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-lender-says-lied/ which looks in general at how hard it is to get your expenditure right – and if they didn’t ask helpful questions it’s very hard!
Obviously they could take into account the 118 loan (but the Ocean Finance loan is a good reason why 118 shouldn’tn have given you a loan!). But your point is that had the ocean finance loan been affordable, you would not have needed to have borrowed again so soon. It’s evedence that their loan was unaffordable BUT it’s not evidence that they could have known this and declined your application.
susan says
hi,
can i make a complaint to the credit cards i used to have, as i had virgin and egg back in 2012, i no longer with them now as paid it off.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it doesn’t matter if they have been repaid if the lending wasn’t affordable. Check the ‘good reasons to complain’ section above to see how strong your complaint may be.
Shell says
Has anyone had any joy with next or MBNA?
Lucy says
Im just about to send in a complaint to next. I have asked them to send me a copy of my account limits since i opened it as i cant see that far back on my credit report. I havent heard of ant sucess with catalogues etc as yet
tony says
Just made a irresponsible complaint to shop direct has anyone had any news or refunds from them yet?
Lucy says
Hi i made complaints to them regarding very and littlewoods earlier this month. I had a reply from very saying that i could of decreased my credit limit at any point. I asked if this was the final response and then i got a letter saying they were looking into it. Not heard a thing from the littlewoods one yet. Ive not heard anyone have a sucessful claim as yet? But this is new
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As lucy says, these are new complaints. There is a good chance they will be rejected by the lenders – this doesn’t mean it’s a poor complaint! Just that they have to go to the Ombudsman.
Tony says
This morning I had what I assume is a standard reply”
Thank you for your e-mail about your complaint on your Very account.
I’m sorry that you have found it necessary to contact us to complain.
I would like to assure you that all complaints are taken seriously and help us to continually improve customer service.
Should you need to contact us in the meantime please quote the following reference number ******** in order for us deal with your query efficiently.
We will contact you as soon as we have completed a full investigation of your concerns.
Please find attached a copy of our Financial Services Complaints Procedure leaflet.
Once again please accept my apologies.”
Lucy says
I had this from very a couple of weeks ago but nothing since then
Allyson says
Hi, I’m just about to send in a complaint to shop direct who I have 5 accounts with (Very, Isme, Woolworths, K and Co and Littlewoods) the company would increase my limit all the time and it has now got a point where the monthly repayments on them are over 2.5k each month and I only get paid £1400. Not once was I asked about my income or whether I could afford these accounts. Yes I got myself into a mess by using the accounts but the companies need to do more.
Lucy says
Hi im in the same boat but just with Very and Littlewoods. I did use my credit and that is my fault but this is because I couldn’t afford to buy anything with cash as all my money was tied up making minimum monthly repayments to these two. Every time a house hold item needed replacing or my children needed school clothes etc I had to use these companies to buy from. I was never asked for income and outgoing details or if I could afford or would like the increases. My limits started off low in the hundreds and ended up at £3500 very and £5500 littlewoods (I didn’t use all this one though) My income was £500 a month when I opened these accounts. I sent in complaints to these two 1-2 weeks ago. still not heard from Littlewoods but Very have said they are looking into it. Not holding out much hope of getting anything back but may as well try.
Allyson says
I am nearly maxed out on all my accounts with Shop Direct which totals nearly 20k, I don`t get how they get away with offering these credit increases without proper checks. The monthly payments are that high as well. I have not managed to make any payments over the last 2-3 months due to the size of them. Family helped me out with the monthly payments before that but they can no longer anymore. Will send a complaint to them. Please share how you get on if you hear anything back.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Allyson, have you looked at a debt management plan? Stepchange are good people to talk to about this, see https://www.stepchange.org/Howwecanhelpyou/DMPDebtmanagementplan.aspx. This is in addition to putting in a complaint to the lenders – it allows you to “stabbilise” your current finances because it may take many months to get your complaints resolved.
PS I have sent you an email.
Lucy says
Hi I will definitely post any updates here! I ended up paying Littlewoods off with money from family but my Very account is in a payment plan at the moment. from 2011-2013 I survived with payday loans to cover these bills but I also had an overdraft, bank loan, credit card and 3 other catalogues! They definitely should check if people can afford increases and i don’t know how they get away with how much interest they charge too! Will let you know how I get on
Nim says
Hi Sara (debt camel)
Are you able to reclaim default charges on cards more that 6 years ago, and even thought the account is closed?
Thanks
Nim
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If the account was still open within the last six years, I would just put in a complaint and let the FO sort out if only the last 6 years will be considered.
If it was closed more than 6 years ago, I think this is going to be a hard struggle. It might be a good idea to wait 6 months and see how many complaints within 6 years are being won before you try to tackle oder ones?
Lucy says
Hi has anyone tried to claim back overdraft Interest and charges? I don’t know how to start. I had an account with Lloyds and they allowed me to increase my overdraft from 0-£300 and then it kept rising up to £1500 I never paid any back as I couldn’t afford so just paid the interest monthly. This is in the past 6 years. At the time of increasing I had a bank loan with them, was using payday loans, had catalogues, credit card, mortgage and furniture finance. I then opened another account with Lloyds and they let me go from 0-£1000 over drawn event though there was never any incomings or outgoings in this account and my other account was up to the OD limit. Surely they should be able to check my income and what I had going out of my accounts? Does this sound like something I could complain to them about? or is it just a case of I can try to claim any charges for going over a planned overdraft? Any help would be appreciated, Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
HI Lucy,
it says in the above article “A lender shouldn’t increase a credit limit without new checks. Just because you have been able to make your repayments so far doesn’t mean you can manage a larger limit.” and that applies to bank overdrafts as well. If your overdraft was consistently at a high level then they should have looked to see if you could really afford a larger one, as it didn’t look as though you were managing the existing level. And a new account with a new overdraft should have been treated the same, as extra bprrowing. So yes I think you have grounds for a complaint. What you would be asking for is a refund of interest and charges on your overdraft.
Lucy says
Thank you i did read the article but still unsure. I will give it a go and see what they say. As it was two accounts would these be seperate complaints or should i send it altogether? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Definitely one complaint. You are saying the total about they let you become overdrawn was unaffordable.
Lucy says
Hi sara thanks for that I sent them off via complaints email to Lloyds not heard anything back yet but its only been just over a week. I now want to make a complaint to Lloyds regarding a loan that I had with them. Do you think I may have a case? I was unemployed and had been for around 4 months when I took the loan. I was in my overdraft with them by a couple of hundred pounds, I also had an existing loan with them, furniture finance, mortgage and 3 Catalogues. I took the loan to pay off as much debt as I could but I still couldn’t afford the loan as within a couple of months after I started using payday loans, increasing my overdraft and a credit card to help me out monthly. In the end I took out another loan with them to pay it off and the rest of my debts. I am still paying the last loan at the moment. Any input would be appreciated, Many thanks
Al tozer says
Hi,
I was wondering if I have a claim against my Vanquis credit card, I was given it in 2012 when I was half way through an iva and struggling with my bills. I was initially given a £150 credit limit, but this increased to £3000 over approx 18mths, I have had a few missed payments with them and a couple of arrangements to pay over the years.
Thanks,
Al…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
i think that sounds like a good claim. People in an IVA don’t have spare income to pay new debts… and Vanquis can hardly have missed seeing the IVA on your credit record!
Aaron jackson says
Hi, has anybody put an affordability complaint in with vanquis? If so, are they reasonable with there complaints or do they just decline all sorts of affordability complaints.
My complaints about a low amount I had on a credit card, and I then fell in to debt. I received several deafuts and other missed payments, then Just a few months after, vanquis increased my limit dramatically. I then maxed the vanquis card and for 2 years I lived to the limit and some months even exceeded it. They put me in an agreement for a few months but still all I was doing was paying the interest off only every single month for as I say atleast 2 years.
I will definitely be going to the FOS if they outright refuse my complaint. I just wondered if anyone has had any dealings with them and how long and how it was resolved. Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
These sorts of complaints are very new – you will be one of the first. I think you should expect that V will reject it and it will have to go to the Ombudsman.
steve says
mine got rejected by V I am in same situation and i have just been given an ajuduicator, fingers crossed
aga says
hi ,my complaint was rejected by Vanquis ,oryginally i had 500 limit and they increased to 3.5k without me asking for increase,i used that up to pay for my other debts ,will send. it to FOS
Lucy says
Hi sara thanks for that I sent them off via complaints email to Lloyds not heard anything back yet but its only been just over a week regarding overdrafts. I now want to make a complaint to Lloyds regarding a loan that I had with them. Do you think I may have a case? I was unemployed and had been for around 4 months when I took the loan. I was in my overdraft with them by a couple of hundred pounds, I also had an existing loan with them, furniture finance, mortgage and 3 Catalogues. I took the loan to pay off as much debt as I could but I still couldn’t afford the loan as within a couple of months after I started using payday loans, increasing my overdraft and a credit card to help me out monthly. In the end I took out another loan with them to pay it off and the rest of my debts. I am still paying the last loan at the moment. Any input would be appreciated, Many thanks
Lynne says
Hi there,
I wrote to Santander regarding 2 MBNA credit cards I had. During this period I had loans, payday loans and home shopping accounts.
Received the reply that after investigation the matter was closed unless I had statements for the credit cards. I was told they were owned by both Santander or Alliance and Leceister.
On looking at my bank statements I had 3 MBNA accounts one being MBNA Europe. Any advice please!!
Mike says
I had £400 credit limit and capital one increased to £1200
Now I can’t afford it.
Is it worth applying and what happens to the balance should I win?
Do you just get back the extra interest paid and still owe £1200?
Aaron jackson says
If successful with your claim They will refund the interest only that you have paid, depending how much they refund you, you may not see the money.
Let’s say you owe 1200 and have paid 800 in interest.
They will refund 800 interest but they will not give it to you, they will deduct this from the 1200 meaning you still owe 400.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
But the £1200 owed in your example often includes a lot of interest. This is removed as well.
Luke says
I used one of your helpful template letters to complain to Capital One. They provided me with a £500 credit card when my credit report showed a considerable amount of defaults and payday loans. I struggled to meet the minimum payments each month.
Capital One have now replied with a generic response letter. I was wondering if there is a second template letter to send?
Their response was as follows:
We’re sorry you feel we’ve been irresponsible in allowing you to have a credit card with us. We’ve reviewed your application from February 2013 and we carried out rigorous internal checks which allowed us to give you an account. Furthermore, we never discriminate against age, health and circumstance. And we don’t know if a person is unwell or unable to manage their finances without this already being recorded on their credit file.
While your account was open, it was completely up to you if you wanted to use it. We’re regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and we adhere to all of their guidelines, which include treating customers fairly. This means we’re unable to uphold your complaint and we’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. However, if you want to add a Notice of Correction to your credit file, the attached insert explains how to do this.
We also understand that you’d like the interest to be refunded, along with any negative information reporting on your credit file. When your account fell behind with payments, we sent letters and called you to find out how your situation had changed and what help we could give you. As we didn’t receive a payment for a number of months, we were obliged to add late marks and then register a default on your account. Unfortunately, we’re unable to change this decision.
Lucy says
I complained to santander as when they gave me a card with a £2000 credit limit i had been out of work for 9 months and only been back in employment for one month and had substantial debt with overdraft, loan, futniture finance, mortgage and a few catalogues. I had a letter saying they wont uphold my compliant and did the relevant checks. They didnt actually increase my limit they just gave me £2000 straight away. Do you think i have a complaint as they didnt increase my limit? I just dont agree that they gave me one in the first place and was never asked for proof of income or outgoings etc?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you look at your bank statement from the time you took the debt, what were your monthly outgoings to your all the other debts you mentioned? Other bills (council tax, utilities, phone, etc) what was your income?
The question is could Santander have seen you couldn’t manage the monthly repayments?
Lucy says
I have had a look and at the time i took the card i would of been left with about £30 each month. I was relying on payday loans at this time as well as an increasing overdraft. So i suppose without them checking my bank statements or asking for proof of incomings and outgoings they couldnt of seen?
Lucy says
Does it not seem like a good case then? I was never able to afford any payments above the minimum and these were not really affordable as I was using payday loans and overdraft to make payments. I have been paying it back for 5 years so far and still have £100 to go on it. They have rejected it anyway so I just wondered if there was any point in going to FOCS? Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it may be easier to win cases where there have been limit increases, but your situation sounds bad at the time they gave you the account and Santander should have been able to see a high level of debt repayments if they had looked at your credit record. So I think it’s worth taking to the FOS.
I think your complaint to the FIS should look in detail at the debts that were showing on your credit record when you applied – get copies of your Noddle and Experian (vis Money Saving Expert’s new Credit Club – it’s free! see https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/) and attach those. Also copies of your bank account for that month and the previous month – go through and highlight all the essentail bills and debt repayments so you can show how little money you had left.
The argument is that Sanatader whould have seen a very high level of debts on your credit records so they should either not have loaned you the money OR they should have asked you for more details to check affordability, which they didn’t do.
Louise says
I’ve had accounts with Very, Isme, Littlewoods, Fashion World and Marisota, and got behind on payments a number of times in the past and had to enter into payment plans with them. Even after this, I found them increasing my credit limit (for example, I have literally just got back on track with my payments to Fashion World, and they have increased my limit to to £1,600). I don’t have anything to show when the limits on these accounts were increased, or what the amounts were, and since I had got behind and had to agree to payment plans with them, they reduced my limits again. Am I able to ask them for information on the credit limits they have given me in the past, and if so, how can I do this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can contact customer services and ask them for this informtion. If they seem difficult, it may be best to just put in a rather vague complaint, saying that they increased your credit limit after you were ina payment plan and that the higher amounts were unaffordable, so this was irresponsible lending.
Lucy says
Hi i had accounts with Very and Littlewoods. I could see on my credit report what my limits were. I didnt put specifics in my complaint to them i just said i think they were irresponsable for increasing my limit to £2500 without checking that i could afford it etc. I have had two letters from very saying they are looking into it and will have a response before the 8 week mark. I never heard back from littlewoods after i sent a letter and email! I complained to next directory too without specific limits as that goes back about 10 years and i cant remember what my limit started out at but i know it wasnt the £3500 that they increased it to. They are looking into it and said they will be back to me by 4th march or before they have been good at keeping me updated. I will let everyone know when i get an outcome but i suspect they will all go to focs?
CE says
Hi, i have numerous debts with catalogues including jd williams, freeman next curvissa look again simply be ace premier man, Ambrose wilson, little woods ( this is now with a debt collector). I have now defaulted on all of them as i was using pay day loans to fund the minimum payment. Also had 5 payday loans at the time got 3 outstanding (just wrote to all payday lenders about the lending etc so will keep you updated on that) i have wrote and asked for my credit agreements and paid £1. Some have responded, some took the £1 as payment some have not responded. Please can you help as i feel they should not allowed me to take out so many. Also got 2 credit cards with high debts. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did any of them increase your credit limit? If you were only making minimum payments and your credit record would have showed a lot of payday lending you can argue that they shouldn’t have done this. Or if they gave you a very high credit limit at the start. Same for the credit cards.
Ce says
Yes they did increase my limits without asking, what type of letter should i respond with? Also one of them has a credit limit i think of 450, but because of the extra charges occurring i am now over this limit? Have you got a template for the letter please? Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The article above looks at the bits you could put into a letter of complaint.
Ross says
Hi Sara,
I’ve been perusing the internet tonight and had a little bit of a ‘lightbulb above the head’ moment. 2 years ago, I had a random letter, from Citi Financial, saying that they had identified I may have been mis-sold PPI on a loan I took out with them. Sure enough, I filled out all of the paper work, sent it back to them, and they agreed with my complaint and paid up. However, I’ve remembered (tonight) that I had a credit card with a company called ‘The Associates’ which then became Citi Card. I am 99.9% certain that I had some kind of payment protection, or PPI, on the card. Also, I was regularly paying late payment fees and/or over limit fees of £28 a pop. Most months I paid £56 in charges. I tried to reclaim these charges, but they dismissed my complaint, well before I discovered your wonderful site! The account has been closed for many years now (much more than the 6 years, which is causing an issue with my QQ complaint) but I don’t believe there to be an issue with PPI complaints? The only problem I have is that I don’t have any of the paperwork/statements, relating to the account? When I complained about the charges, they did send me a letter, quoting the card number, so it’s obvious THEY still have this information on file/record. Is it worth giving this a try? Back then, I wasn’t on a very good salary and Citi Financial actually sold me the loan, they repaid the PPI on, to help pay off THEIR card!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well worth trying to reclaim PPI on thus card. But make sure your complaint is phrased as a PPI complaint not an affordability complaint.
scott says
After my final response from Barclaycard saying they wont uphold my complaint I went to Ombudsman and they have agreed with Barclaycard regarding my credit card with them.
Lucy says
Thats a shame to hear. Did you have a good case? I have just sent the fos a conplaint regarding a credit card. Not holding out much hope though
scott says
wasnt a bad case. was in 2 minds whether i should complain or not. that was only from the adjudicator though so might take it to Ombudsman, the worst they can say is no i suppose. think i have a better case with Very though, but they are terrible about responding to emails. I will keep ya updated on here
Lucy says
Ok thank you. I have whh i feel is w good case with very too had two letters from them since saying they are still looking into it and they have until the 16th March to respond but no doubt they will reject it
nim says
Hi Sara (debt camel),
Just need some advice / thoughts on this:
1. – Vanquis have agreed to refund the ‘repayment option Plan as follows:
– repayment option plan fees :£164.12
– Associated interest?? – 721.17
– Notional?? interest – £4.62
Charges – £72
Total = £961.90 for period November 2011 ( ROP was for around 8-10 months – not too sure as they have not mention from what date I had it to – but the fees of £162.12 shows I did not have it too long)
Compared to:
Sky card (Barclays) – Payment break Plan:
– period from aug 2005 to mar 07 (19 months roughly £17.50pm)
refund of payments made (as above dates) – £406.36
refund of fees due to PBP 0.00
refund of interest charged on PBP premiums and fees – £26.64
8% interest statutory compensation – includes extra 45 days simple interest – £254.98
Income tax – £50.99
Total refund due – £636.99
So, Sky sound low offer compared to Vanquis as it was from 2005 to date?
Vanquis has not shown 8% interest? and no tax deduction?
Both have worked out differently so not sure what’s going on?
any thoughts?
Best
Nim
Ross says
Hi Nim,
This is really interesting, as I am looking at pursuing Vanquis on 2 points. Point 1 is the repayment option plan, which I don’t believe was worth the paper it was printed on and I paid a lot in to I before I cancelled. Point 2 is that Vanquis kept increasing my credit limit, to the then maximum of £3000, despite the fact that I had made late payments and had gone overlimit. On one month, when I was overlimit, they actually increased my limit, without asking, which put me back underlimit, but not before they’d had the cheek to take the overlimit charge! How did you find them to deal with?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think everyone is finding them difficult. Expect this one to have to go to the FOS…
I do agree with you that their repyment plan is a worthless (see https://debtcamel.co.uk/bad-credit-cards/) – I wish you luck with that one.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s hard to be sure, but it looks as though Vanquis has ended up a lot more, even though the charges were less and for a shorter period, because the vanquis interest was a lot higher… which sounds right.
If you took the Vanquis complaint to the FOS you may get 8% interest added. But most people are happy if a lender gives them a full refund to take this without the extra 8%. If it goes to the FOS it will be more hassle and delay. It’s up to you if you think it’s worth going for that possible gain – which is taxable.
I’ll send you an email about the tax.
Ross says
Thanks Nim,
Which email address did you use for your complaint please? Can’t seem to find one online? Thanks :)
nim says
Hi Ross,, this is the email I used: customer.relations@vanquisbank.co.uk
This is what I wrote:
1. You should never have allowed me to open an account. When I applied in November 2011, you should have checked my credit record and you would have seen that I had door step lending and had missed payments since Oct 2006 on top other mounting debts with other credit cards and loans that I have been unable to pay.
You should never have increased my credit limit during the following years since issuing my card as I had defaulted and had CCJ recorded on my credit report and continued to borrow from door step lender since Oct 2006. I have made payments to keep up with this credit card for a long while, but only to continually reuse the credit and to borrow from other lenders to keep up with payments. This should have shown you that I could not repay my balance within a reasonable length of time, so you should not have let me borrow more. I feel you did not assess my affordability due to inadequate checks.
If you had properly checked my credit record before issuing / increasing my limit, you would have seen that in the 6 years since my account with you was opened, I had got additional late payment markers and defaults and 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.
As a result I could not afford my existing debt and I was having to borrow more every month, year on year. This caused me to get into more and more spiralling debt and financial stress and depression.
2. I would also like to complain about the additional ‘Repayment Option Plan’ added to my monthly charges, but I did not require it and was forced to take it out when I signed up for the card. I therefore request full refund of payments made, and 8% statutory interest added.
3. Please can you send me copies of my statement of accounts showing all charges to the account to date. (this they have not sent and have requested again!!!)
Good luck!!
Nim
CE says
I have just sent in complaints to nationwide credit card and also hsbc credit card. Had these cards and limits were increased while I had other pay day loans debt. Has anyone had any joy with either of these or any credit cards getting a refund. Will keep you all updated.
Lucy says
Next directory have now replied and rejected my complaint so i will try with the fos but not holding out much hope on the catalogue ones
Morag says
Hi
Just to let everyone know that my adjucticator has upheld my complaint against shop direct.
Hopefully they will accept, he wants all interest refunded from the initial increase???
Lucy says
Thats great !! I have a complaint still with Very they have until the 16th to reply then off to focs. I wasnt holding out much hope of winning a case as no one has posted sucess as yet but this is the first positive thing ive seen on it! How far back was your initial increase? Well done!!
Morag says
First increase 2010
Aga says
Hi Morag , how the adjudicator explained his decision in your catalogue case ? I am asking as my Vanquis card declined my complaint and they increased my limit from 500 to 3500 without me asking for the increase
Morag says
He said littlewoods could increase my limit and if I didn’t want a higher limit I could reduce this.but he hadn’t seen any evidence that when the credit limit was increased it was affordable or appropriate, littlewoods haven’t checked anything!
He looked at my bank statements and seen many payday lenders, gambling transactions, overdraft etc , and that’s why he came to that conclusion.
Hope that makes sense.
nim says
Hi Aga,
I am also waiting for FOS for my complaint against Vanquis for refund of interest etc. I have reclaimed the ‘Repayment Option Plan’ which is like a PPI and they agreed they were wrong. Have you had this ROP when you took the card out? check to see if you did as you can get a refund on this too.
Best
Nim
Matthew Gibbs says
Does anyone have a working contact email for Littlewoods? I tried emailing the only one I could find on their site (queries@littlewoods) yet that generated an auto-response mail telling me the email address is no longer in use, and to instead phone customer services.
I would prefer to email of course so that I can keep a record of any conversing I have with them.
Morag says
Hi
When I put my complaint in , I was told it had to be by letter. I called up customer services and they gave me the address.
After that , the response and final letter was also by letter. For me, there was no correspondence at all during the time that was given
helen says
I know I’m clutching at straws here but anyway. In 2002 as an unemployed single mother I went to hsbc to open a bank account, the lady there said that I qualified for a credit card with £1000 limit, I explained I was unemployed and on benefits but I still qualified somehow?? HSBC increased my credit limit many times over the next 7/8 years with out my permission even though I was still unemployed. The interest charges were crippling me and I fell behind and eventually couldn’t afford to pay anywhere need the minimum payments. Luckly cccs now step change helped me get the interest frozen and arranged a dmp. In the past couple of years hsbc have sold the debt on. I’m now making payments to the debt recovery company but I’m still in debt for over £5000 for a credit card I never should have qualified for. Am I right that as it is over 6 years ago I have no right to complain? Until this evening whilst researching ppi, as even though I was unemployed ppi was added!, I came accross irresponsible lending complaints, which I had never heard of before and that I could have complained years ago if only I’d known. ? sorry for the long post.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well first the easy bit – put in a claim for missold PPI today! Bring unemployed is a good reason why you should never have been sold this. It’s simple to do, here is the PPI reclaim page https://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/contact-us/payment-protection-insurance. It’s important you don’t use a claims company as the a refund is likely to be used to reduce your debt, in which case you would still owe the claims company their huge fee! (If you didn’t know the account number of if you had PPI, then you could call the bank helpline and they would tell you, but it sounds as though you do.)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Because the contract is still open I think you can go back more than 6 years. Usually these complaints would be unlikely to succeed because the bank can just say it would have credit checked you but hasn’t retained the records.but in this case you can point out that HSBC should have been able to tell from your own bank account what your income was and that you were in financial trouble. I’m not saying it will be easy, but worth a try?
Claire says
Well the adjudicator has seen in my favour against irresponsible credit limit increases by both Very and Littlewoods. Of course Shop Direct did not agree to the complaints are now with the Ombudsman for decision. Fingers crossed. If I am successful, I think it will be extremely difficult to calculate how much they owe me and to be honest, from how Shop Direct have handled the complaints so far, I don’t really have much trust in them.
Lucy says
Thats great! I have complaints with both of these still waiting final response due next week then off to fos! Didnt hold out much hope but fingers crossed!
Morag says
Hi
Sara told me to get a statement of account, but as you say,how do you calculate the interest. My adjucticator found me in favour and shop direct have asked for my bank statements to see all the payday lending , gambling etc.
How far back have they to calculate the interest from??
Thanks
Lucy says
Will they just go back 6 years also with the catalogue claims? Even if your increase was further back?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If your account was still open in the last 6 years I think the FOS will consider claims for the length of time you have had it open. But:
A) the longer ago the increases were the harder it will be, see my reply to Helen a few comments above.
B) we really don’t know the answer here, this is just me speculating. It will take another 6 months or so before there is any sort of track record so we can say what the FOS will typically do with this sort of claim.
scott says
have you heard back from the ombudsman yet on a final decision?
Morag says
Hi Scott,
I was awarded this, it only went to adjucticator, awaiting to see how much money I am getting back.
Ally says
Hi All
I have held off on making my Vanquis complaint as I had a customer service complaint in with them already. However on Monday I put in my complaint could someone advise if you think it is good. I’ve had a card with them since 2011 my first limit was £500 it went up to £3000 despite me never asking for an increase.
The main thing I have concentrated on is I had 24 over limit charges and over 30 late payment charges as well as interest on those.
I have asked for them to freeze the interest on what I owe while investigating but they have refused can I do anything about that.
Thanks
Ally
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sounds a good case – increasing your limit if you have been struggling with the previous level doesn’t sound like responsible lending to me.
aga says
Hi i don’t know if i already made comment but i received response from Vanquis saying
that they don’t upheld my complaint as they can’t see any wrongdoing, i asked them to send me a list with my charges since 2010 since i opened the account , and by June 2013 i had total of 48 late payment and overlimit charges and default fees , and in June they increased my limit to 2500 due to my account being managed well” what a joke isn’t it ? i replayed today and asked to review the decision before i send to FOS , let see what happens plus as someone advised here , i had ROP since 2010 so much money paid on it since 2010 until now , i stoped paying i have now over 3000 in that credit card , but i read about Rapayment Option Plan and it says it’s not same as PPI is that correct?
Nim says
HI Aga,
You can reclaim the Repayment option plan part, as I did recently and received over £900!! so make a claim separately and tell them you want a refund on this. Will take good 6-8 wks, but you may have paid more into it, I stopped after 6-8 months when I 1st received the card. So hopefully you will get a lot, and will wipe out most of your card debt. I am waiting now for the interest charges to be refunded, they refused, so now with FOS.
Best Nim
Nim says
Hi Aga,
have you put in a claim for your repayment option plan? you should get a fair amount, that will probably wipe out you debt too – out of interest, check your statements and see how much you are paying every month? let me know….thanks
Nim
Jack says
Hi Guys,
For catalogues, are you doing SARs or do you still have proof of limit increases?
Also, I had a Very, Isme, Littlewoods and Kays account (around £10,000 in total limit) – can I put in ONE complaint with the FOS to Shop Direct or would I have to do separate ones?
Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Separate complaints I suggest. When it gets to the ombudsman – as these probably will – you can ask if one adjudicator can look at them all.
Jack says
Okay, thank Sara!
What do you suggest re the credit limits? Could I do a more general complaint regarding ‘limit increases’ and hope that Shop Direct give the FOS the correct information should it come to that?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, you can say “increased by credit limit several times between 20xx and 20xx. I would like you to send me details of the dates and aounts you increased my limits. I don’t think you made proper checks before increasing my limit -0 if you had wou would have seen that …. “
Jack says
Thanks again, Sara!
Last question I promise – these catalogue accounts that I had defaulted in the end and went to a DCA. What do you think would happen in respect to that? If there was a refund from the catalogue company, how would that affect the debt they sold to the DCA?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Often any refund is first used to reduce a balance outstanding. This may mean the original creditor gets the debt back from the DCA.
Nim says
Hi Sara, (debt camel),
If a credit card company has refunded ‘as a gesture of good will’ and to uphold my complaint – with a small offer (PPI claim – 2002) – does this mean they are hiding something? – they refunded charges, but there is no complete breakdown of the amount paid as PPI on a monthly basis, just they have worked it out to be around £88 plus other charges added and tax taken off, come to about £137. Not sure how much I actually paid?
Any comments??
Best Nim
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When did you make a PPI complaint?
Nim says
Hi Sara (debt camel),
just a couple weeks ago with MBNA, filled a form online, printed and sent off. They were quick to respond. I am still waiting on another claim as there were two.
also I have put in separate complaint on charges etc. So hoping to hear soon
Best Nim
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you ask them to give you a statement showing how much PPI was paid in each month and see what that says. If you fdo accept it, you need to make it clear that this is only in relation to the PPI claim, not to your other complaints.
Aaron jackson says
Hi, I originally had an account with very. I then defaulted and after very charged me around another £400 in late payment fees etc they then passed the debt on to Lowell.
I complained to Lowell then to the ombudsman and he said it’s not lowells fault as very charged the extra fees, not the DCA. I have to start to process of my complaint again, but it is my understand that very uses Shop direct as there creditor. Do I put my complaint in to very, or Shop direct? Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Very is a brand name used by Shop Direct. Try emailing help@very.co.uk with COMPLAINT in the title.
Have you read the article above? If your credit limit was increased to a stupidly high level despite you having a poor credit record and only making the minimum payments you could also complain about that.
Morag says
Good news from my adjucticator, Halifax has upheld my complaint against the affordability of my overdraft, refund of just under £800.00.Although they have said they do not agree with the adjucticator but have offered this as a gesture of good will!!!!
Good luck to everyone,
Thanks Sara
Lucy says
After next directory rejected my complaint i sent it off to fos on monday and its already been picked up? This is a lot quicker than when i did my payday loan complaint! Havent heard anyone else with complaints for next so not sure what to expect
Sarah says
I’ve put a complaint to the FOS for next as they increased my credit limit automatically from 300 to 1000 whilst I had 35 payday loans, 4 defaults, two overdrafts and a CCJ … NEXT said they had completed all necessary checks and my credit rating was high which I doubt as I was declined credit cards and bank accounts! I’m waiting to hear what is happening now … have you had any updates?
Lucy says
Just heard from my adjudicator yesterday she says the company did no wrong in increasing my limits and only doing a credit check i am to blame for using the credit! Im sending on to ombudsman anyway
Debbie says
My very debt has been sold to Lowell but I want to ask for a statement of account in order to pursue a claim for unaffordable lending, who to I ask for the statement Lowell or very?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask Lowell. Say you also want to know when they increased your credit limits.
Ce says
Just had this response from nationwide credit card…. I put in a complaint to claim interest as they kept highering my limit (12000 now).
…..our findings
I have investigated your concerns and note that there have been a large number of gambling transactions on your Credit card. In line with our terms and conditions, a cash fee is applied with these transactions and our records show that these were correctly charged.
Furthermore , while I appreciate your comments regarding not being able to meet the outstanding balance, our records show that you have managed your monthly payments on the account was maintained when your credit limit was increased.
I must advise that while we assess a number of factors prior to offering a credit limit increase customers are not required to accept an increase on their account. I cannot evidence that there have been any errors made regarding your credit file or the fees and interest applied to your account and for this reason i cannot conclude that a nationwide error has occured
Is there a template letter that I need to send to the Financial Ombudsman please? Any advice would be truly great.
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Were you often only making the minimum payments? You had payday loans running for much of this time? What would your credit record have showed – any misse payments, defaults? Did you have any other accounts with Nationwide?
Ce says
Hi
Yes only making minimum payments some months were less, had pay day loans, another credit card with a large amount, over drafts, had a current account also with nationwide with over draft,
CE says
Hi
Just wondered if anyone has had any success with overdrafts? If so what template letter did you use? Got complaints in at the moment with nationwide credit card(ombudsmen has just picked this up) hsbc credit card and payday loan lenders, but also got overdrafts too with nationwide and hsbc
Lucy says
I have a complaint with lloyds for two overdrafts. Sent to fos last week as lloyds rejected my complaint will update on here as and when i hear anything
CE says
Lucy, can i ask what sort of letter you wrote please? Think im going to start the complaint process. Thanks
Lucy says
Hi i just used the template from on here but changed it a little. I explained that they let me run up a big overdraft and i feel they did not do appropriate checks etc then let me run up a second overdraft after never paying anything off my other one. I included my incomings and outgoings and a list of my debts such as payday loans, personal loan with lloyds, catalogues and mortgage. Just as much detail as i could and it took them about a month to reject it saying they did no wrong as i did it online there was no other person involved apart from me and an automated system. Will see what happens
Lucy says
Hi I put complaints into Lloyds regarding overdrafts which they allowed me to max out two and a loan which I feel was unaffordable. During the increases and taking out the loan I had of other debts and was using payday loans. I have now had a final response that states the following
When you apply online the credit assessment is an automated one. There is no individual involved other than yourself, so we are not able to identify specific transaction details such as payday loans. This is why we also rely on information provided by credit reference agencies.
It goes on to say that they cannot see that they made any mistake as my application passed their credit assessment process based on the information provided by me and credit reference agencies. If I had told them I was unemployed at the time they may have refused but that was up to me to tell them that.
Feeling a bit deflated. Does this not sound like a good claim? Ill send it to fos anyway nothing to lose
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This sounds like a standard “we followed procedures” reply. This doesn’t mean that their procedures were correct.
Did they ever increase your overdraft on either account?
Lucy says
Hi thank you they increased one when i requested it. I kept increasing it up to £1500 then they let me do the same on an unused account up to £1100 but i always requested it online myself they didnt do it without me asking?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s good for your complaint, it doesn’t matter if you asked for it or not, they should have considered if the increase was affordable for you before allowing it. This is the point to make to the Ombudsman. These are early days for this sort of claim. I don’t have a yardstick to tell how likely one is to suceed.
Allison says
Hi, I have just had the same regarding my overdraft they said because I applied on line they can’t do anything about it and it was my fault! I had a heated discussion with someone on the phone and because it’s over 6 years he said there is nothing they can do. Feel defeated and not sure if can send to the FOS. Allison
Lucy says
Lloyds rejected mine and said it was my fault but ive sent to fos anyway
Charlie says
Hi DC
Looking for some advice about Studio Catalogue. I am currently on a DMP with Step change and had to place Studio on it after my monthly payments to Studio had risen to nearly £150 a month, most of that was service charges and eventually missed payment charges as i was only able to pay the minimum each month. The problem i have is that they refused to take up DMP and have started sending me letters for payments in full. Any advice as they are aware that i am on a debt management plan but are still seeking the balance in full which is nearly £1500
credit limit started of off at about £250 about 5 years ago and gradually increased to nearly £1600 of credit
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you put in two complaints then. If you put these intogether, make it clear that they are two seperate issues you are complaining about,
The first is that you feel you are notr being treated fairly by them as your other creditors have accepted your DMP but they are continuing to ask you to pay money they have been told you cannot afford. Ask them to accept the payment StepChange have offered and freeze interest and charges.
The second is that they raised your credit limit several times without checking that this was affordable for you. If you were only making the minimum payments, they should have taken this as a sign you weren’t finding the previoud level easy and they shouldn’t have added to it. Also point out if your credit record had got worse over this period – would it have shown missed payments and defaults?
Nim says
Hi Aga,
have you put in a claim for your repayment option plan? you should get a fair amount, that will probably wipe out you debt too – out of interest, check your statements and see how much you are paying every month? let me know….thanks
Nim
Nim says
HI Ross, have you put your claim in for Repayment option plan with Vanquis?
Best Nim
Ross says
Hi Nim,
Not yet. I’ve been a bit busy, with work, and I need to ask Vanquis for my statements. These are for an old account, as it was closed, so I can see me having to jump through hoops to get these. I need to tot up what I actually paid, as I know I cancelled it at some point, as did I with all of my other credit cards at the time.
Thanks for asking.
Nim says
Ok, if you have other credit cards, you may have had ‘payment break plan’ which is also the same thing – like Barclays sky / monument card – so check statements – I managed to claim back £630 from sky card, and was quite quick – you can make the claim on the Barclays web site.
Best Nim