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?
Michelle says
Hi I’ve had a response from Very to say they can’t reply within the next 4 weeks which is when the 8 weeks is up but will respond once investigated and will send me an update in the meantime. How long do I give them to reply? I’m hoping this means it’s not a straight no or is this their usual response?
mike says
Hi Sara, do you think I’d have a reasonable case against Vanquis, if they gave me a card at the height of my payday loan nightmare, in late 2013? And several credit limit increases through 2014 and 2015? At the time of getting the card, I had multiple arrears inc mortgage, and at one point 6 live payday loans coming out each month and on my file? At the time of the increases I’d only make minimum payments, and still had multiple payday loans live. I’ve had great success claiming against the payday loans, thanks to your wonderful site, but hadn’t considered my credit cards until a recent newsletter from your regular emails. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Credit card affordability complaints are not as easy to win as payday loan complaints but that sounds well worth a try! Don’t be depressed if Vanquis reject it – take the complaint to FOS.
Mike says
Thanks Sara! I’m going to try it, got all my evidence all sorted from my other complaints.
Joseph says
Hi Mike, i won a complaint agaisnt Vanquis and Aqua for same reasons as you have. I’m still waiting on my capital one credit card outcome. I would say take to FOS! I had both card balances wiped (£450 & £500) and all missed payments etc off my credit file.
Mike says
Thanks, I’m going to submit a complaint, the FOS have already got all
My bank statements on file from my other complaints so if Vanquis rejects I’ll be in a good position with evidence for the fos.
Rachel says
Hi sarah can you please help me.
Your overdraft being turned into a refinance loan, then ten months later; you’ve have tried to borrow again in May 2016 but was declined at this time. But only five months later, you were granted a £1,000 overdraft in October 2016. One month later another £600, then only one month later and you’re granted another £400. Taking your borrowing up to £2,000, then later to £3,000.
TSB ignoring your complaint from 12th November 2018 and you’ve had no contact from them.
They didn’t assist you by putting your account on hold whilst there was an investigation as they sold the debt to Moorcroft.
The original loan amount was for £3,200 and you’ve paid ten months, but the balance is £2,450. So they have added interest to this.
Your complaint is about them allowing you to borrow £3,000. But on average your wage was £400. How you were supposed to pay this back without financial difficulty.
After struggling the first time with a £1,000 overdraft, why would they give you a £3,000 overdraft on your wage with pay day loans and gambling on account and they shouldn’t have let you borrow.
The bank can see how you run your account and should’ve known from 2012-2018 that you’ve been in financial difficulty that’s got worse and they really haven’t helped your situation as they shouldn’t have lent you the unaffordable overdraft.
Adjudicatora findings, not upheld.
More to come next comment
Rachel says
TSB have said they don’t just include wages and their regular review doesn’t consider the type of transactions, it only considers the turnover and whether there are returned items, etc. So the type of expenditure wouldn’t be noticed.
If a customer makes a borrowing application online, TSB use an internal decision system along with information provided during the application process.
This helps them build up a picture of a customer’s current circumstances and their likely ability to repay, a customer’s credit score and they make every effort to ensure that they don’t borrow to customers who cannot afford to repay. Its response reflects common and accepted industry practice. I am satisfied with their response regarding this.
I appreciate you’ve mentioned the overdraft limit being £3,000 and your average wage was only £400 per month. But as mentioned, I think on balance the bank would’ve taken various factors into consideration when approving you overdraft limits.
Overdrafts limits are not directly linked to the amount of an individual’s salary, I’ve also noted other payments were credited into your account at times other than your monthly salary.
With overdrafts, an affordability assessment isn’t completed because there is no monthly repayment for an overdraft as they don’t know how much of the limit a customer may utilise.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is this a final decision from the adjudicator – they will have said you can ask for it to be looked at by an Ombudsman – or have they asked you to come back with any comments?
“Your overdraft being turned into a refinance loan” did you ask for this or did TSB suggest it?
“they make every effort to ensure that they don’t borrow to customers who cannot afford to repay” this isn’t good enough. they are only looking at the risk to TSB in not getting their money back. They should also be considering it from your point of view – does the additional credit help you or make your position worse?
Rachel says
I had 1000 overdraft and the bank asked me for it back at once which i didnt have. So they turned it into a refinance loan. I paid this off at 100 per month plus 10% interest. I then borrowed 1000 overdraft. Then another 600 then one month later 400 then few months later another 1000. I then was paying £50+ charges/interest every month. So i asked for this refinance loan this time so i could get the balance down. But while paying the £100 per month i was struggling as i had around 13 lenders and around £10000 debt to them
If i had the refund of interest ive paid it would help me pay outstanding debt. This is final from adjudicator unless i have any NEW information to the above which jve already said to him. I think its really harsh. Ive had millions of pay day loans and gambling and really thought i would have this upheld. The adjudicator did say i can ask for ombudsman final desicion. I feel a bit lost
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, I think you should go back and say something like
“I feel I have been unfairly treated. TSB demanded I repay the overdraft of £1000, then hed to give me a refiance loan to do this. So they knew at that point I was in trouible. But they then gave me an overdraft again and increased it three times. I think they were only concerned with the risk from their point of view, they were not thinking at all about whether giving me this extra credit was actually helping me. And despite being on notice that I had previously had problems with my overdraft, they did not look at my credit record, which would have shown a lot of payday loans, or at my bank statement, which would have shown a lot of gambling. I would like you to reconsider your decision and if you don’t, I would like this to go to an Ombudsman to be looked at.”
Change that so it is accurate and hasn’t missed anything important out.
Rachel says
I was on maternity leave aswell for the first refinance loan 2014. And the 1000 overdraft october 2016 i was also on maternity leave from july 2016. So the bank would have seen the maternity money being paid into my account. Roughly £400 per month. Also got tax credits to help pay bills etc.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Also add that you were on maternity leave to what I wrote.
Rachel says
Tsb have also sold my debt to morcraft who put it on hold for a couple of weeks until the adjudicator came up with his answer. What should i do, pay them or ask for it to be on hold as im going to send it to ombudsman now? Do u think i have any chance? Sorry for lots of questions. I havnt dealt with anything like this and dont know what to do
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell Moorcroft the case is still ongoing at the Ombudsman.
What are the rest of your finances like at the moment? How are your payday loan complaints progressing?
Rachel says
Okay thank you very much. I have had lots of balances reduced and upheld. And after 8 months of payment plans and hardwork im in a much better place, i can see light at the end of the tunnel, all thanks to you. I have been waiting on sunny, drafty, my jar, 118 and satsuma to be picked up from adjudicators from novemeber 2018. This is when i came over your site and complained to everyone and stopped paying tsb
Rachel says
30th june 2014, i was in difficulty and reffered to step change charity from TSB. 3rd of july 2014 only 4 days later im in more difficulty and my overdraft was turned into a refinance loan. .
10 months later, im obviously still struggling as i have tried to borrow again in may 2016but was declined at this time. ONLY 5 months later, im granted a £1000 overdraft in october 2016. one month later another £600 then only one month later and im granted another £400. Taking my borrowing up to £2000! Then later to £3000! I was on maternity leave september 2016- september 2017 and received around £400 and some tax credits to top up my wage to help me pay the bills. From 2016-2018 i had 122 closed loans with sunny pay day loan company alone. This is only one company, i have used 20+! They were all open and closed quickly as i was borrowig off the next company to try and save as much interest as i possibly could as i could not afford anything and was really struggling by this point. The bank can see how i run my account and should have known from 2012-2018 i have been in one big financial mess thats got worse and worse and they really have not helped the situation at all! They should not have lent me the unaffordable large overdraft.
Rachel says
The above was my defence complaint to the adjudicator so u have a clearer picture of whats happend
James says
Hi I have had an Aqua Credit Card since 02/09/17… In the first 6-9 months my limit increased to £2,400. In 2018, I slipped beyond my credit limit 9 times. Since March I have missed consecutive payments (and obviously my balance has increased considerably). On each missed payment I am charged £12 default+£12 late payment fee, so £192 and counting just in fees. The minimum/recommended payments have in many cases been £200+ which is not sustainable.
On the basis of the above do you think there is a reasonable claim that Aqua’s increase of my CL was irresponsible?
Thanks,
James.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This may well be a good affordability claim.
It does depend what your situation was while they were increasing the limit. If say you could afford the payments then, but later lost your job, that would mean their increases were probably ok as it was only a later event that caused problems.
Have you asked them to freeze interest and have a payment arrangement?
James says
TBH I feel a bit paralysed with the amounts of minimum payment they have been looking for. I should have mentioned, in the last week or so they have written to me to end the agreement and passed the debt to ‘Arvato Financial Services’. I have not yet made contact with them. Should I complain to Aqua in the first instance and then delay Arvato on this basis?
I missed 7 payments in 2018 post-increase…. is that in itself not justification the increase was too high?
Also the effect the payments then became higher exacerbated the debt and my credit position.
I would not cite job loss as an issue- to my mind the lack of substantial affordability checks and my inability to regularly service that type of limit were more the issues.
Any thought?
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“I missed 7 payments in 2018 post-increase…. is that in itself not justification the increase was too high?”
not if the reason you missed them was because of something unexpected that happened AFTER the last increase. But if nothing unexpected happened, they it does suggest the limit went too high.
I suggest you send Aqua a complaint that they increased your limit to an unaffordable level AND talk to Arvato, say you want an affordable payment arrangement and for Aqua to freeze interest.
Pete says
Hi Sara , hoping for a bit of advice if possible.
I have recently put in a complaint to shop direct about my Very account with them which my credit limit has gone from £250(in 2012) to £10000(currently) , the 8 weeks are up and I received a letter from them advising they could not give me a final response yet, but expect it to be completed within 2 weeks
Should I give them the 2 weeks they ask for , or should I send it straight to the FOS knowing that it will take time for the FOS to start looking at it anyhow
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would give them the two weeks. But no longer!
Michelle says
Hi Pete this is the same response I received, 8 weeks are up soon, going to get all my evidence together and wait an extra two weeks as suggested before going to fos
Barry says
My debts are old but not more than 6 years and have been passed to Lucas credit services and Lowell Solicitors, so how would I go about taking the unaffordable route as I don’t have any details apart from the statement from Lowell Solicitors. At the time I was an unemployed student, with a family and bills but my credit limit kept getting raised until ultimately I couldn’t afford the repayments. Any help you could give me would be most appreciated!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The article above explains what to do. There aren’t the easiest of complaints to win, but if you think you have a good case, go for it as some people have got good results.
You could also talk to a debt adviser about a debt management plan to get you in a secure footing while the complaints are going through?
Joseph says
Finally won my case against Aqua! They really dragged it out and objected to everything but Ombudsman has upheld my complaint. Refund of all interest and charges plus removal of info from credit file. Balance is only 250 but should get back approx 400 as I’ve always missed the payments. Anyone have a complaint against Aqua stick with it!!
Bogdan says
Hi Sara
I have had almost £9000 in debt from 5 payday loans, Aqua, Vanquis, Capital One and also an £900 overdraft from RBS and £3000 in tuition fees I had to pay back to university because I (allegedly) received those money when I was not supposed to. I have put them all under a DMP with StepChange in 2015. I used to pay 117 a month, now I got a good job, I changed to 330 a month to finish sooner. I already used Resolver and put some claims against Payday UK, Payday Express and MyJar. I used to have 2-3 payday loans at the same time with a high utilization of my credit cards. My limit was increased at least twice a year on every card. Do I have any chance of receiving something from the credit card providers and/or the RBS overdraft?
I can give more details if needed.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s worth trying the high-cost credit cards. these cases are all quite individual, it’s not easy to say how good a case you have. Overdaft cases tend to be harder. If you think your bank should have realised you were in trouble, then give it a go.
Louise says
Hi Sara,
I hope you can advise as to whether this complaint is worth sending to the FOS. I made a complaint to Capital One for irresponsible lending. I took out a credit card with them in 2014. At the time, I was in a DMP and although I was earning good money, I was gambling heavily and not managing my finances at all. They intitally gave me a credit limit of £1,000 and quickly increased the limit to £1,250. I made low or minimum payments and was never able to clear the card. When I phoned them to advise them that I was in financial difficulty and suffering with mental heath illness, they refused to set up a payment plan with me on the phone. At this point, I had been in contact with Payplan and I was told that my disposal income across all my debts was not enough to start a DMP and to just make an arrangement to pay with the creditor. Capital One refused to do this and I was very ill at the time, not coping with anything at all. C1 kept saying that they needed to deal with a 3rd party to set up an arrangement to pay.
In their response letter, C1 do acknowledge that they should not have increased my credit limit and have refunded me £355. I am pleased about this but they have dismissed my complaint about the way they treated me while I was in financial difficulty. C1 claim to not have received documentation from Payplan to set up a DMP but they would n’t have as I could not set one up due to lack of disposal income.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Provided you paid more than £355 in interest after you phoned them, yes.
Louise says
Thank you but the debt was sold to Robinson Way so I really don’t know. This is now part of a DMP.
Also, they are sending me a cheque. If I cash it, can I still complain to FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well there isn’t any point in complaining that they didnt let you set up a payments plan and so they charged you interest if they have already refunded all the interest. You could ask your DMP provider if RW have been charging interest.
Jen says
I have three separate JD Williams accounts. Simply be, Jacamo and Fashionworld. Should I complain about these three separately or together. Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest one complaint.
Jen says
Thanks Sara. You’re a fantastic help.
Kate says
Question re FOS. My complaint re Capital One is now with the 2nd adjudicator to look at my complaint, the first person handling it moved department. The 1st adjudicator advised they had all the information require from Capital One and the case was being passed to someone else to investigate. The 2nd adjudicator contacted me and said they required further information from Capital One and they then contacted me again 2 weeks ago to say they now have all the relevant docs to proceed with the investigation. I emailed yesterday to ask for an update and she said she was working on it and should have an answer soon unless she needs more information from the company? Is this normal practice?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Credit card complaints are often less predictable and more information can be requested.
Gary says
Hi
Well I sent a complaint via resolver to jd williams 29th April I received the usual acknowledgment letter in the post dated 3rd May.
The eight weeks was up yesterday and I messaged them via email (to what I think was the right address) obviously no reply as yet. I’m wondering what’s the best course of action I don’t have a number to call to see how it’s progressing and not even sure that’s the right call, I didn’t want to simply go straight to the ombudsman if there’s a chance the final response is in the post?
Any guidance is appreciated
Thanks
Paul says
I’ve just sent two complaints off against Aqua and Vanquis through resolver for increasing credit limits when this wasn’t affordable.
Out of interest, how successful have people been with these types of claims compared to the payday loan complaints?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are harder to win but some people have had good results.
Dale says
Has anyone ever had success with very? I never requested a credit increase and was only earning 1250 a month but had a credit limit eventually starting from 400 upto as high as 2000 at one point. I then fell into serious arrears as I couldn’t keep up with the minimum payments and had all sorts of charges on top. Have I got a genuine case? I know I was silly by spending that sort of money as obviously it’s beyond my means but they upped it time after time without me ever requesting it.
Michelle says
Hi dale I have a similar case to yours I am at the 8 week mark they have sent two letters to say they are investigating but need more time, I will give them a few more weeks then go to the fos.
Pete says
Hi Dale, i have a complaint with very which is with the FOS at them moment.
I started with a credit limit of £250, I now have a credit limit of £10000 and I know part of it is my own stupid fault for using it , but feel they raised my limit continually every time I came close to my limit they would increase it.
They asked for 2 more weeks at the end of the 8 weeks, I gave them it , but they still did not reply so I have sent it to the ombudsman.
It’s 3 weeks since they asked for 2 more weeks and they have still not responded
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“a credit limit of £10000” is that 10,000? or a typo for 1,000?
Pete says
yes it’s £10,000
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Wow
Dale says
I submitted my complaint to them 2 days ago so still very early for me. Just wondered if anyone else had suffered the same as me, which it seems they have but worse!! I feel it is still a genuine case of irresponsible lending, I hope I don’t have to go to the FOS I have many cases with them at the minute and they seem to take forever to resolve. The problem with very is they charge a very high interest, I think I’ve paid roughly around 1500 in interest over a 3 year period.
J says
Hi Sara
I had a complaint against Aqua that was rejected by the Adjudicator but the Ombudsman has partly upheld it but given me a provisional decision . I had increases from £550 to £1,250 then to £2,250 and was finally increased to £3,500 in 2017. The balance with fees and interest is now at £3,956.66. The ombudsman has said they are asking Aqua to refund all interest and charges it’s applied to my account since the increase to £3,500 in March and remove adverse info from my credit file since that increase. Its my understanding that the only the sum of around £400 will be waived. Is that the case? I have to revert to them by tomorrow with any further info. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you have to look at your card statements and work out how much has been added in interest and charges since March 2017. It could be a lot more than 400 depending on the interest rate and how much you have been paying e month.
John says
Hi Sara,
Have you heard of anyone having success with more mainstream providers such as Tesco, Barclaycard, Halifax or Lloyds? Had all of my complaints refused with the banks and the Tesco with the FOS investigator.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is this for overdrafts or credit cards?
John says
credit cards
John says
I’ve had a variable experience with the FOS so far. My Tesco accounts were opened in November 2017 and Feb 2018 (for £2000 and £900 respectively) by which point I already had debts of over £50,000 across 5 other cards. FOS has rejected the complaint at the investigation stage. Says that Tesco did checks and were entitled to rely on my information. I showed a salary increase of £600 per month after tax in income between those 4 months – no questions were asked. And my credit score had got worse. And they could see multiple limit increases, higher borrowing in the year prior on the other cards and historic payday loans. In the 11 months prior to opening the first account in November I had spent £32,371 on my cards. And another £8800 by February. So I was pretty disappointed by the FOS response.
I have another investigator looking at my Barclaycard complaint. No response as yet but it has appeared much more thorough as a process. They have asked for my bank statements to cover all 3 limit increases between July 2016 and June 2018. With this complaint they seem interest to understand my outgoings and other borrowing to see if the payments were affordable.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can I ask if you are buying or renting?
John says
we own our house and pay a mortgage
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can I ask about the underlying problem because these debtsd are huge but you must have a good salary. Have you had a business failure or a gambling problem for example? You can’t rely on affordability complaints doing more than scratch the surface of that scale of debt, unless you are clearly overpaying all your debts every month, I think you should be taking debt advice on your options, I suggest you talk to StepChange.
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
I have a case against Aqua provisionally upheld by the Ombudsman. I had nothing further to add and the deadline passed. After 2 weeks I contacted the FOS for an update. They told me Aqua had asked for extra time, which passed last week. I called again today and they told me everything was with the Ombudsman now. Could the Ombudsman overturn their provisional decision or just alter it? I do not know what else Aqua could add at this point in their defence I am just worried that it will all fall apart.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The most common result is that an ombudsman upholds the adjudicator decision. Sometimes they change it slightly. It’s unusual for an Ombudsman to change the decision completely.
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
The Ombudsman disagreed with the adjudicator. I’d appealed the adjudicator’s decision. The Ombudsman swayed in my favour and upheld my complaint so gave a provisional decision. I’m just waiting for the final decision. Aqua wanted more time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Ombudsman can do anything they want. They will look at any new evidence and see if it changes the picture. If an Ombudsman upholds an adjudicator decision, it goes straight to being “final”, but if the Ombudsman changes the decision, it goes through this “provisional” stage to allow both sides to again comment or put forward new information. It is a fair but sometimes protracted process.
Mary says
Believe it or not, I have 2 capital one credit cards(one is think money) and 2 new day (one marbles and one aqua)
Should I complain about each individually or together?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
2 complaints, one to Capital One and one to New Day.
Fey says
Hi Sara
Just realised my account payments keep getting higher and higher. I just found out they are charging me 57.9% apr. Is this possible? In the beginning it was 49.9% variable apr. I just feel that 57.9% apr is rather steep
Can you advise?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it’s not illegal… just horrible. You should have been informed when they increased the rate – if you don’t think you were, you should complain. When it went up you should have been given the option to stop using the account and keep it at the old rate.
Are you still using the account? What is your balance and what is your credit limit? Your month minimum payment, how much is it and how much of that is interest?
Fey says
Thanks for your response Sara.
I dont remember if I was informed. But either way I was not given an option as you have described above. Balance is about 3100 limit is about 3675. Minimum payment last month £125 account interest was roughly £60.
Joseph says
How long has everyone been waiting for their credit card case to be seen by an ombudsman? Mine has been in the queue for 2 months! (Classed as a priority case) – Capital One if that makes any difference. Anyone else?
Shells says
I’m
Waiting almost 2 months for an ombudsman too as I rejected the adjudicatior decision
Mary says
Does anyone have an email address for capital one and new day?
Joseph says
Just received my payment from AQUA credit card of £845.42, which i assume they’re going to take off my balance which was £250 so a decent £595 in my pocket! (They only paid on the final minute). Glad it’s over with this one, last one is Capital One!
L says
Hi Sara
I’m wondering whether it’s worth putting a complaint in against Barclaycard for a credit card I was given in 2010 with a starting credit limit of £8,500. I was a student nurse at the time with a very small bursary every 3 months only.
I defaulted in 2016 and currently have a balance of £6,875 with How it Portfolio holding., thanks.
L says
Apologies I was a qualified staff nurse by then(I can’t count!) But does this seem an irresponsible starting credit limit?
A. says
What is everyone’s experience of time taken at FOS. My complaint started being looked at by an investigator two weeks ago – it’s against aqua. Should I expect this step to take at least a few months? Thanks
Katie says
Hi,
Mine was picked up by an investigator early may and took about 4 weeks to say that they agreed and all interest and charges should be repaid from 2nd increase onwards. Aqua did not agree so it was sent to Financial Ombudsman. Hopefully they agree. Will update when I hear back,
Katie
Scott says
Hi A and Katie,
When did you submit your complaints to the FOS?
Scott
A. says
Mine was sent to FOS on the 25/04/2019 and was picked up by an investigator on the 28/06/2019. Not had any decisions for investigator yet
A. says
Just a little update on my aqua complaint. Got a reply from adjudicator today upholding my complaint from the 2nd limit increase all interest and fees to be refunded. Hopefully aqua agree and dont drag it to ombudsman.
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
Mine took a while to resolve, the adjudicator thought they didn’t do anything wrong but I stuck to my guns and went for an Ombudsmans decision. They upheld my complaint and ordered Aqua to repay my interest after the 2nd increase. It’s going to be a lot. Aqua have dragged it out, lied and basically looked inept, reading through the ombudsmans findings. They have a couple of weeks left to pay up now. It’s taken about 10 months from initial complaint to resolution. Well done with your result, hopefully Aqua won’t drag it out for you.
Katie says
Mine was submitted JULY 2018!! I had another case picked up by this investigator that had only been there a couple of months so asked about this one and she took this on for me as well.
Scott says
Thanks A and Katie,
Mine was submitted 2/2/19, got an email 14/2/19 saying 12 weeks but I still haven’t heard anything.
Hope you both get good settlement’s.
Scott
Katie says
Update to above I had a provisional decision from Ombudsman. Although they agree with adjudicator that from 1st increase to credit limit
which was £250 to £750 in first 3 months then ended up at £1900. The way they are working it out differs from adjudicator. They should work out the interest charged on purchases and cash advances made when the account owed more than £250 then deduct that from the outstanding balance, which is £1900 and write off 50% of any amount greater than £250 that is still owing after taking the above steps!
Katie says
I have asked the adjudicator how this will work out as I think I will still end up owing them money! Even though the Ombudsman agrees the Credit Limit should not have been increased.
Joseph says
Hi A, I just won my complaint against AQUA, adjudicator did take a while as (I personally find) AQUA were extremely obstructive the whole process. I won in the end, adjudicator gave them 30 days to pay out and they paid me on the 31st day. Keep going, they’re not a fun company to deal with. Even when I won they refused to talk to me saying their FOS team is based in Leeds and they don’t have number.
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
I have had a provisional decision in my favour against Aqua. Still waiting a final decision. Aqua asked for a time extension. Did you have to wait long between a provisional and final decision? My provisional decision was on 13th May then Aqua extended to 26th June. Its a frustrating wait. I first complained in october last year. Well done on your win!
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
Lo and behold I had my final decision letter today. My case is upheld! I am so happy! They have a lot of calculating to do now, I have a copy of my Aqua file so have a pretty good idea what they owe me although they have to give me a breakdown anyway. Anybody thinking of fighting these people, my advice is to go for it. Stick to your guns – my adjudicator thought they did no wrong, I argued the toss. In the end I asked for the Ombudsman to look at it. They did overturn the adjudicators decision so it can be done.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
excellent news!
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
It is! I am still waiting for my refund and breakdown but it shouldnt take long. I was going through some old letters yesterday and found the original knockback from Aqua. In it they noted my CLIs stating that invitation letters were sent out for each one. They lied to the Ombudsman saying that I’d requested the first increase. I said I didn’t remember. It didn’t change the outcome but I was pretty livid when I read the letter again which says in black and white that they invited me. I have a spreadsheet calculating every piece of interest they charged and how it calculates the FOS statutory 8% simple interest. I know how sneaky these people are now, lets see if our figures tally.
C says
Seems as if Halifax are ignoring me about my overdraft complaint for irresponsible lending. I submitted through resolver 2 weeks ago and didn’t even receive an acknowledgment email, I’ve now resent the complaint through their actual website and hoping to receive a response! Very frustrating and rude.
A. says
I have just emailed my investigator for an update for my case against Aqua. They have informed me that they asked the business to provide information which they have recently provided so they are now in a position to review my case but cant give a timescale – has anyone else been in this position and how long did it take for you? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
These cases can take a while but if you look at Joseph and Mrs Cheaplaugh’s comments just above, there have been some good results recently!
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
Indeed, it will take a while. I initiated my complaint against Aqua last year. November I think it was. It got picked up about January this year. As I’d had previous cases relating to the same time span with other companies they already had copies of my (then) credit file and bank statements. Once the adjudicator had looked at my case he didn’t want to uphold my complaint. By this time it was about end of March/beginning of April. I persevered and eventually asked for the Ombudsman to take a look at it. I got my final decision this week. It was a long process but worth the wait.
Dale says
Has anyone ever had success with claiming back old overdraft charges with HSBC?
Robert says
Yes, I have. I did it myself with template letters, got over £1100. Good luck!
Dale says
It’s been a month since I lodged a complaint with very. Still nothing I will keep you all posted. Has anyone ever had a refund off them?
Joseph says
Hi Sara, I had a case with Capital One rejected at an adjudicator because they felt the limit increase was fair (from £200 to £800). I disagreed because on my credit like, after only having the card for 8 months, I went over my credit limit balance 3 times and was charged on these months accordingly. I don’t really still understand how this isn’t enough, but not sure what else I can say apart from reiterate the above statement? Why is this not a good case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did your credit record show other problems had occurred in the 8 months? Increased use of payday loan? Other defaults? More borrowing in total?
Then your argument can be that Capital One should have looked more closely at your case because you had 3 times gone over the limit and if they had, they would have seen /this/ showing that your financial position was getting worse and it would not be responsible to lend. Point out that this sort of card is sold as a credit builder card to improve people’s credit ratings but yours was getting worse not better.
Chris says
I have had a rejection from JD Williams. Their letter hardly deals with the issues so I am planning to send my complaint to the FOS. My credit limit increased 7 times within 18 months from £150 to £2000. They say they checked with Experian every time they increased the limit. My own experience of a check with Experian is that my credit file with them is so bad, I always get refused if anybody checks with them.
“Looking at you account, I can see several orders were placed on a regular basis and payments were generally kept up to date”. I am not sure how that justifies their position. The letter goes on to say “During the time you had a credit account with us, there has (sic) been occasions when you have been late resulting in a £12 charge”. Those charges were coming in more regularly as the credit limit was raised. Could there be a connection I wonder??
They have sold the debt to Lowell’s in January 2018 and they advise me to contact Lowells for further information. I am assuming that this is irrelevant if I decide to put in a complaint.
I have put in a number of complaints in the last few months but the letter JD Williams has produced is the worst I have received. I’ll keep people posted.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
tell Lowell you are disputing the debt with JD Williams and are sending the complaint to FOS.
Chris says
Thnx Sara – will do. Have just sent complaint to FOS.
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
Keep it up Chris, I had accounts with JDW and Fashion World. The FOS do look at these accounts and if you can provide your credit report from the time you had the account they will be abe to see any adverse events. In my case, JDW was unable (or unwilling) to say what checks they made when increasing credit limits. I had adverse credit at the time with defauts, CCJs and Payday loans. With this in mind the adjudicator upheld my complaint. JDW appealed so It went to the Ombudsman who also upheld. Mine had gone to a DCA and I’d paid it all off by then. It went back 6 years so my redress was just over £2000 in the end. It may take some time but will be worth the wait. Good luck.
Mrs and Mrs C says
Oh my word Chris, this sounds like the exact same letter I got. Word for word! I had accounts with Viva la Diva and Simply Be, they bumped up the initial credit limits from £200 on each account to £2000 and £3000 giving a combined total credit of 5k. When they responded they had only looked at one account and ignored the VLD account. I reference to FO last November and they have just picked it up now. My debt too was sold to Lowells as I couldn’t afford the repayments, and eventually went into Debt management. FO have written to them asking them to look into my case again. Good Luck
James says
So after nearly 7 weeks I got an FRL from Aqua for increasing my limit from 900 to 2400. Lot of mention of ‘their criteria’ but nothing to counter my claims of not demonstrating affordability. They claim I never told them I was struggling financially, even though I missed payments. Sounds like one for the Ombudsman. 😢
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
Do it James, it will be a long wait but worth it. If you can show you had adverse credit on your file such as defaults or ccjs or other borrowing during the life of your account. Don’t be put off by their claims that you never told them you were strugging financially, its a smokescreen. Stick to your guns too if the adjudicator doesn’t uphold. Keep pushing for an Ombudsman’s decision. Good luck.
Marie says
Does anyone know if I have any chance with nearly £20,000 in credit card debts due to 8 years of gambling addiction? Totally my own fault. I am literally paying the minimum each month just to keep them off my back and the interest they add back on puts me almost back where I was the month before. I have not gambled for 18 months now and have put every possible measure in place, however I am left with this horrible debt that I cannot afford to pay. I have only £60 a week left after paying my bills which is left for food etc for family of four.
I messed up and want to pay my debt but the interest is gruelling. Some rates are 56% apr and I am not getting anywhere. It is a real trigger for me to have this much debt while I am trying to recover. I have asked several times to lower my interest, have defaulted a couple of times and also they can see gambling on my account yet still give me high credit limit increases that only the cards with high interest give you. I had no choice but to use the increases for cash advances for food etc or sometimes to pay other bills. I only paid the minimum payment for years, yet still they increase and I accept them because I was addicted to gambling and knew that I needed it. Is there any point going down this route and telling them about the gambling or approach from another angle based purely on affordability? I am no longer a gambler and want to move on from the whole thing. Anything I can do I will do, to make things better for my family.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
WELL DONE. 18 months clean is a massive achievement.
You are absolutely right that having this weight of debt is a huge burden in your situation, and a possible trigger to start gambling again in desperation or despair. So although you have a chance to win these complaints, and see below for how to make a good complaint, the most important thing at the moment is to get your finances into a safer position. These complaints can take many months, possibly a year or more to go through. That isn’t a reason to give up on them, but you can’t survive on that little money and have that much stress for that long.
So phone StepChange https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx and ask about a Debt Management Plan, where the interest on your cards will be frozen (it isn’t guaranteed to be frozen in a DMP but it usually is and you can complain if it isn’t!) and you make one affordable payment a month which StepChange divide between your creditors.
If you then win complaints against the cards, the amount you owe will be reduced as some of the interest you have paid is refunded. This will hugely speed up your DMP, so it doesn’t matter if at the start it looks as though it will go on for a very long while.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So how to make good complaints…
It’s not a choice between “a gambling complaint” and “an affordability complaint”. Your cards are unaffordable and have been for years because making the minimum payments leaves you too short of money for food and other essentials.
So your complaint is basically an affordability complaint, and then the fact that the cards could see your debts were increasing from your credit records means they should have looked more closely – then they would have seen gambling payments on the cards, lots of cash advances and only making minimum payments – all signs that you were in financial difficulty already and it was not responsible to increase your credit limit further.
You say you asked them to lower the interest – did any of the cards increase your credit limit after you had asked that? If they did, that is another key point to make.
expect your complaint to be rejected by the card company, it doesn’t mean you have a weak case, send it to the ombudsman as soon as that happens.
Marie says
Thank you so much for your replies. I appreciate the information and advice. The credit card companies say they can’t lower my rates and yes, they have increased my credit limit since defaulting and since asking for lower rate. Aqua is the biggest problem. They put back on 75% of what I pay in interest and for some reason, even though my balance goes down somewhat, the interest I am charged the following month goes up! I asked them about this and they just talk about compound interest and a lot of things I don’t really understand. They tell me the only way they can reduce my interest rates is if I get out of persistent debt by paying what’s called a recommended additional payment but I can’t afford to and they know that. They actually increased my interest rate by 10% once I filled it up with debt and said the new rate reflects that I am a risk due to persistent debt from making minimum payments. They were apparently within their rights to vary the interest charged which is completely unfair.
I am going to look into the advice you have given me and see what steps to take next. Thank you.
A. says
I gambled a lot on my aqua card and they kept increasing my limits! They rejected my complaint so it was sent to the ombudsman where its been upheld from an adjudicator and aqua are to refund me interest and fees from the 2nd time they increased the limits. The adjudicator said that aqua should not profit from my gambling problem and mentioned I had used the card over 50 times in one month for gambling and getting charged £3 each time. Aqua are terrible but the fos definitely dont holding gambling against you!! Good luck with your complaints!
Marie says
Sorry to hear you had similar issue. Thanks for the advice. I feel I might have a case against them. It’s only now that I am far enough away from gambling that I can start to address all this debt. Before, it was just too difficult and I had to shut a lot of it out just to get by and count my days as my mental health really went downhill. Addressing the debt was causing relapse after relapse and although I was just about able to keep up with repayments by living off just a few quid each week, it was always the interest that bothered me more than anything because it punished me over and over again and wouldn’t let me get ahead. Now, 18 months GF, I am in a stronger position to start dealing with this.
I was worried that gambling would go against me and also because I accepted the increases when I could have just said no. Easier said than done with a gambling addiction though. The increases were always £1,000 in one go and they give you a date for the increase with the option of accessing it straight away if you want to. Total nightmare starting that option in the face when you have a gambling problem.
Many thanks A. and Sara. I will start putting all this together.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lots of good points there to go in your complaint to Aqua and, later, the Ombudsman.
Fey says
Hi Sara
Very have taken 2 monthly payments from me in 1 month. They class 1 month as 28 days. Is that legal? That means whilst there is 12 months a year they take 13 payments a year. How can that be?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it’s not illegal if it was made very clear to you when you set the account up. But if it referred to monthly payments then I would not expect them to be every 4 weeks.
Emily says
Hi Sara,
Do you think it’s worth me taking Barclaycard to the fos? I complained to them back in February 2019 and they disagreed but wanted to take off £74.99 my outstanding balance as a ‘goodwill gesture’. I had multiple increases during the period of 2016-2018 where I was just paying the minimum payment each month. I often used the card for gambling transactions etc too. I haven’t gambled in over a year or so now. What do you think? I’m currently paying them £1 a month on a repayment plan and they have frozen all interest and charges. My current balance is £3647.34.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it’s worth trying. these cases arent as simple as say payday loan refunds, but it’s worth a go because you know that their credit increases caused you difficulty.
Joe says
Does anyone know if aqua tend to agree with adjudicators? Do they ask for more time? And if they do accept how long do they take to refund and give u a breakdown? Cheers
Rosie says
Joe,
Aqua have been terrible to deal with. They totally disagreed with the adjudicators decision (Aug 18) so was passed to the Ombudsman who made provisional decision (Jan 19) and partially upheld my complaint. I wasn’t happy with this and supplied more info to back up my complaint. Aqua never responded or at best delayed the whole process and it is still dragging on.
Then a few weeks ago, I received a letter from the FOS advising that the Ombudsman who issued their provisional decision on this case, is not now in a position to be able to make a final decision. So it was passed to a new Ombudsman to make their own new provisional decision.
The irony of this is that the new provisional decision was again partially upheld in my favour but on better terms than the original decision. Therefore Aqua’s deliberate attempts at delaying things have worked against them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you were the one that objected to the Ombudsman’s new decision? Even though it was better for you than the original decision from the adjduicator?
Rosie says
Sara,
Bit confusing there, Adjudicator more or less upheld my complaint, Aqua disagreed, so went to Ombudsman who provisionally disagreed with adjudicator and only partially upheld my complaint.
I then supplied more evidence to back up my complaint. Now as the original Ombudsman is not in a position to make a final decision, a new Ombudsman was allocated and has made a new provisional decision which is better than the original provisional decision.
Hope this makes sense. Has been at the FOS since March 18.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, from this point it shouldn’t go on much longer!
Tim says
Hi Sara. Can the same principles be applied for mobile phone accounts. I managed to get 10 mobile phones with a service provider averaging £65 per device. My monthly phone bill is huge and i am struggling to repay the amount each month. i was onl credit checked the once and not each time i took a new mobile device out. I had a very poor credit file at each point with an active default and numerous late payments. Should the phone operator done more vigourous checks?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do these mobile debts show on your credit record?
Tim says
Hi Sara, yes they all show as seperate credit agreements
Scott says
Hi Tim,
You may be able to get out of your airtime contracts but the problem here is that the phones themselves will be under separate contracts.
Getting the phone contracts cancelled would mean that you would have to return the phones as they are basically on hire purchase.
I am assuming that you got high end phones like iPhone xr and have flogged them on for cash?
Be prepared to have to come to some sort of payment arrangement for the value of the phones as I can’t see the Ombudsman agreeing to you benefitting from the sale of these.
Scott
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good. If these are on your credit record, then they are Consumer Credit Act agreements and the lender should have paid some attention to affordability.
They may be HP contracts but they may not be.
Do you have the legal contracts for the phones? Just for one of them will do, they would probably have been emailed to you or sent by post. Why don’t you dig one out and say what it says. What was the amount you borrowed, how much interest was added? Is the term Hire Purchase mentioned?
In an affordabilty complaint, you can only get a refund of the interest part, you still have to pay back the amount you borrowed. That could be a lot for you. People typically do this sort of thing if they are a big finacial mess or have a gambling addiction – did you?
What is the rest of your current financail situation like?
Tim says
Hi Scott/Sara,
Yes they were top spec phones and on 24 month contracts some 36. I had a severe gambling problem and selling these for quick cash was an easy option for me.
I was surprised at how easy each application was and the very fact I was accepted. MY credit reports would have been atrocious at the time .
The contracts themselves are split into two aspects – what appears on my credit file is the credit agreement for handset device cost which you effectively lease for the duration of the contract with the handset being yours once paid. I did sell the majority of them for easy cash.
Now I am left with the burden of paying off the contracts.
The handsets were on 0% finance and I have no issue in repaying what I owe for them, it’s the airtime I cannot afford to pay on top – my argument is here that I should not have been able to accumulate so many contracts when my credit score was as bad as it was. I had no way of affording such payments and my file would have shown this. I have been in arrears on and off at present and I am struggling to stay on top.
At present i am in recovery, i have stopped gambling and I am trying to pay off all my debts. The phones take up so much of my income its depressing. If I can cancel the airtime it would be a big help. I havent used any of the data or minutes on any of the contracts bar one which is the phone i am using.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though a debt management plan would help you. I suggest you talks to StepChange. All these mobile contracts can be included in that. It’s really important for recovering gambling addicts to get their finances under control as otherwise there is always the risk that you may slip and decide to try to gamble you way out of your problems. Which of course won’t work…
How large are your total debts?
The problem with affordability complaints is that the lender under the handset agreement had to assess affordability, but those are 0% interest contracts so there is no interest to be removed. The airtime contracts are it credit contracts so affordability doesn’t apply…
I think it may be hard to win a complaint here. You would have to argue that setting up two contracts for each phone was artificial, that there was really only one agreement between you and the mobile co and so you be should be refunded the airtime charges.
Scott says
Hi Sara,
Ofcom are wishing to ban linked split contracts but at present it does appear to be industry norm.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Thanks, FOS may follow that but they have wide powers if they feel a customer has been treated unfairly eg by the very large number of contracts
Tim says
In total I am looking at around 10k across all debts.
I have closed all betting accounts and requested a ban from all the sites I was registered with. I havent gambled for 8mths now and have no urge to. I have seen the error of my ways and determined to get on track.
I will argue the point you made reference that they should be classed as one contract and not seperate agreements. Will let you know how i get on. Thank you for your help
Marie says
Well done, Tim. 18 months for me. Sign up with GamStop if you used to gamble online, it’s an all in one self exclusion. It literally saved my life. Just got to deal with the mess I made now, a rather hefty £20,000 on credit cards with hideous interest rates. I pay nearly £800 a month and just under £500 goes back on. Living off just £60 quid a week for family of 4. Keeps the punishment going doesn’t it?
The companies let me bury myself with debt but am currently looking into what can be done. with the help of this very useful site.
Out of all the cards I gambled on, only my bank cared enough to ring me during one of my relapses to ask if everything was OK and stopped further deposits with my debit card.
They should not allow gambling on credit cards, they tell us constantly to only gamble what we can afford but allow you to charge your gambling to credit? This should be obvious to them that you have a problem but I guess it’s okay so long as they clear themselves of any liability and tell you not to. Good luck with your case.
L says
Hi Sara
I am in a Dmp, all debts have been sold on to Debt Agents.
Can I still make unaffordability claims against the likes of Argos, Vanquis and JD Williams?
My account with Halifax is closed but got a letter Friday to say they have refunded me £594. Ref my overdraft and not taking appropriate action following an assessment of my financial circumstances, this has come off the balance I still owe. A nice surprise!!!
Just wondering if its too late to complain about others as debt has been sold on.
Thanks
L
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can! Good luck, these Claims take time but just keep going.
Dave says
Just wondered if there is any hope of getting any help if I exaggerated my income on credit application due to gambling addiction. I did not gamble on the credit cards but needed credit so that I could still buy food and pay the bills for family. I do not gamble anymore and haven’t for over a year, but have lots of debt to still pay off and although I can just about pay the bills, the interest is high and makes it hard to make any sort of progress. I accepted increases too to hide my losses.
I included total household income as personal income because I had a gambling problem and getting credit was the only way to keep secret from my family that I had lost money in the bank. I didn’t know what else to do at the time and was not in control at all.
Now that I am clean, I still want to pay my way but am struggling with the high cost of debt and can’t pay much more than minimum on my cards. I have £16,000 still to pay across 7 cards but am afraid to approach the issue because I was not entirely honest in my application with regard to income. Interest is my biggest issue but feel I am stuck with it because of my past.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could complain that they shouldn’t have increased your credit limit so high without further details checks which would have shown all the other debt you had. these complaints aren’t easy to win – expect the cards to reject it so it has to go to the Ombudsman.
If you are struggling, talk to StepChange about whether a debt management plan could help you. You can do this and ask for a refund.
A. says
Well aqua were due to respond to the adjudicator’s decision by today and I have heard nothing from them or the adjudicator. What happens now? More waiting? Thanks
Joseph says
I just won my case with the ombudsman about AQUA, they’re deffo up there with the most difficult company I had to deal with. They rejected and objected to nearly everything to do with my complaint, but I ended up winning anyway as it was straight forward (according to the adjudicator) that it was irresponsible lending. Also, they had 30 days to comply with refunding the interest and they called me on day 32 to do this after chasing again with the ombudsman. Very difficult company, but keep pushing, you’ll have the last laugh!!
A. says
I found out yesterday they had disagreed with a lot of what the adjudicator has said so the adjudicator needs to liaise with them first before it can go in the queue for the ombudsman. Feels like more delaying techniques. Companies should get an additional fine if they dont agree with an adjudicator but the ombudsman upholds the complaint. I really believe they are just delaying things now.
Joseph says
Yes, I completely agree. My adjudicator tried to communicate with them as well after they rejected but they ignored him and then ignored the ombudsman (they didn’t supply any further information as to why they objected). As I said, they made me wait, but I got the last laugh and so will you!
A. says
Fingers crossed! How long did it take from when the adjudicator made a decision to aqua finally paying out?
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
I’m still waiting for my redress. They had 28 days, I am currently on day 24 and still waiting. (2 of these days are the weekend)
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
A, – Aqua are very good at delaying. They requested a 2 week extension to respond to the Ombudsmans provisional decision, which didnt change anyway. Now they have told them they are waiting to hear from their other team. Still waiting for my payment. Deadline is today.
Joseph says
It was 32 days after (ombudsman gave them max 30 days). Stall stall stall!
keeley says
I have recently complained to Lloyds Bank for bank charges and high interest, which goes back to 2010. The only reason I have left it this long is because it is only recently there has been so much press to complain. Lloyds have dismissed the complaint because we have not complained before then. Are they able to do this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you could send the case to the Financial Ombudsman but that is pretty old, I would be surprised if the Ombudsman will consider it.
Brian says
Going to put in an irresponsible lending complaint with aqua but wanted to get some opinions first.
Basically my card was run to the limit for a couple of years until my debt problems were outed to my family who lent me money to clear my debts. So I paid off the balance of my card which was £1850. The following month they upped my limit to £3500. Then 12 months later after I had run it at its limit again for a few months I took out a loan with avant (who I have successfully claimed against) and again paid off the balance. Again the very next month my limit was upped to £4500, then once more to £5800. My complaint really is that I didnt request any of these increases and it seems the second I’d paid any meaningful part of the balance they jumped on the chance to increase (quite heavily) my limit. The reason this was irresponsible to me is that for 11 months of the year my card was run at its limit whilst barely making minimum payments then one big payment they didnt even wait to see if I my financial situation had improved or I ran my account any better before adding £1000’s to my credit line.
Am I wasting my time complaining against them. I know it was unaffordable but convincing them/ the fos might be a little more tricky?
Joseph says
Hi Brian, sounds like a good complaint to me. I would submit it too them, but don’t hold you hopes up with an upheld complaint. Not sure if you’ve seen my previous comments, but these and QQ were the most difficult companies I’ve had to deal with – nothing spectacular, just extremely obstructive and will reply at the final hour every time.
Brian says
Yeah I cant see them letting this one go easily as the interest I have paid and have requested they refund is quite frankly eye watering! Sent it all off this morning anyway and am just preparing my Capital One complaint (gave me a second credit card when my first with them was over it’s credit limit)
Joseph says
I’ve heard that Capital one do that, very strange/foolish. I would say (in my opinion) if you were struggling, that this is a clear win against Capital One.
Kate says
I had the same with Capital One, 2nd card when i was over my limit – adjudicator at FOS did not uphold my complaint. sent them credit report and bank statements showing how many loans, cards and other debts i was juggling and she still refused to uphold it – asked her to send to Ombudsman but not holding my breath on this one……
Mark says
I got a credit card from Capital One in 2012 for £500 ,given to me me at a time when I had lots of payday loans far outweighing my monthly salary.Up until 2018 (when I got lots of refunds from pay day lenders and able to close the account) all I had repayed is the monthly interest of £20 to £30 to keep it below the credit limit..
Is this a complaint worth forwarding.
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
Give it a go. They will argue that their card was for people with poor credit and thats why it was given you in the first instance. As you were only making the minimum payments / paying interest and you can demonstrate that you had spiralling debts during the life of your account you could argue that the credit was unaffordable . Did you have any credit limit increases? I won a payday loans case through the FOS and am now waiting for my payment from a won credit card case against Aqua. I would say go for it you have nothing to lose.
Emily says
Does anyone have an email address for aqua which i could submit a complaint to? I can only see on their website a telephone number or address.
Thanks!
Brian says
I did it through resolver and got an email reply instantly saying my complaint has been passed onto one of their complaints experts but they will only deal with the complaint via post/phone “for security reasons” going forward,
Paul says
I have a claim in against Vanquis which is nearing the 8 week deadline which I submitted via email as I did with my other complaints. They’ve just text me with the following:
Vanquis will attempt to call you today regarding your complaint. Reaching a fair outcome is important to us and we want to ensure the information we have is complete.
Is this unusual? I’ve had claims with payday lenders etc before but none of them have attempted to contact me when nearing the 8 week deadline.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Some payday lenders used to try this, they mostly gave up because of complaint volumes.
If Vanquis propose a settlement and you aren’t convinced it is good, ask them to put it in writing so you can think about it.
A. says
Aqua update – so after rejecting my complaint and disagreeing with fos adjudicator – aqua have now accepted the adjudicator’s decision and have asked for time to calculate redress owed. Has anyone been in this position and know how long the business takes to work this out and then do they get a further 28 days to pay?
Joseph says
Yes, i had mine upheld in June. They dragged it out for 32 days after accepting the decsion. Hopefuly yours is much sooner.
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
Mine was upheld in July, their 28 days is up , I’m still waiting. I’ve contacted the Ombudsman twice. One called me back telling me Aqua were waiting to hear from another team, the second one emailed me back saying they are slow to respond, that was 2 days ago.
A. says
I think I’ll still have a bit of a wait then! The adjudicator hasn’t said the 28days to pay out has started for me yet just that aqua had asked for time to calculate. Not sure if they provide the fos with the calculations and then the 28days start or not. But on the upside they accepted the adjudicator’s decision (a few weeks after rejecting it) which has at least saved me from going through the ombudsman. Hope everyone gets their redress soon!
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
They called me today to finalise. If Aqua have accepted then the adjudicator probably won’t give directions as such but I would think that 28 days from the day they accepted would be reasonable surely? I would think that Aqua will contact you from now on. Have you had a closure letter from the adjudicator?
A. says
No closure letter just a quick email that said – Just to let you know, the business has accepted my decision. They’ve asked for time to calculate the refund based on my recommendations.
I’ll update you as and when they provide more information. –
Hopefully not too much longer now.
A. says
Got my closure letter! Also asked the adjudicator if it was 28days they had and she said yes but it is better for aqua to action it quicker – think that is because I have an open account that will still have a balance after refund. Will wait and see how long it takes.
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
Great! It shouldn’t be too long now. Received my payment on day 35 of ’28’. 👍
A. says
I’m on day 9 of waiting and they have just added more interest and fees to my account. They can manage to do this but not process a refund on to the card….
Emily says
As I can only see the last 6 months of statements from Aqua i have asked whether they can provide me with older ones. Theyve said its £5 for one statement and £10 for 2 or more which would be posted out to me.
Has anyone else done this?
Joseph says
Hi Sara, sort of a strange situation hope you can help. As I’ve posted, I’ve had 2 credit card complaints upheld the past 2 months. Vanquis one happened first, and they just said they would wipe the balance and call it quits (I was happy with this). Aqua one upheld next, and they refunded all charges and interest the same. But for some reason, Aqua cleared the balance and paid me what was left over, but Vanquis did not, they just cleared the balance of £546.60. What I found strange was after this, is that how could my total redress be exactly what I owe on the card? I rang Vanquis FOS team today and she said “we thought the best action might be just to delete the card/balance so you didn’t end up in a payment plan if you owed us any money”. My main argument is that they have chosen the ‘best action’ but I am adamant that they have not refunded all the intrests and charges, as this would equate to £950!! (£403.40 after the balance cleared and this payed directly to me). The woman from Vanquis kept asking me why I was not happy with the card being removed, but I asked her did you actually work out the interest that I paid and she said no I just thought clearing the balance was best (no calculation)!! She is going to ring me back as I demanded an ACTUAL calculation as I am sure I am right. Is this normal? Should I contact my adjudicator??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There aren’t enough of these complaints for the lenders to have a firmly established procedure. See what they send you then decide if it’s worth talking to your adjudicator.
Joseph says
Had a phone call before they’ve worked it out as they should’ve done and a cheque for £157.44 is now in the post :) worth me checking that
Yvonne says
Hi, wondering if you can help. My husband and I had a joint account with Lloyd’s bank, we had an overdraft and I was irresponsible and asked them online to increase my overdraft repeatedly, they could see that I was paying charges and interest and hardly any money was going in but they allowed me to increase it to £14000. Yes I know I was stupid but I kept spending. They kept charging interest, late payments, a lot of money was charged for every letter they sent me £35 each time. Eventually they closed the account and sent it to debt collectors. This was around 2010 or 11. I heard nothing for years and then out of the blue I heard from them literally just as it was about to be removed from my credit file. They threatened to take me to court, I had to engage a solicitor for advise which I could not afford and then they said because I acknowledged the debt, it was now live again and I had to agree to pay £100pm from 2016, the balance was £11447.81, I’m still paying it and I still owe over £5000. Can I complain they were irresponsible and also that they kept charging me for interest and communication which obviously made the debt a lot larger
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can complain, but if this was a joint account, they would be entitled to take into account your husband’s income as well as yours. Also this was a very long while ago – it may be that the Ombudsman will not be able to consider the complaint because of this.
re the credit record, contacting Experian is useless – you have to ask the lender to correct the error. Send your complaint to Lloyds in writing, not on the phone, and then sdend it to the Financial Ombudsman after 8 weeks if it is not sorted.
Yvonne says
Further to my last comment as there wasn’t enough room. Can I complain they were irresponsible and also that they kept charging me interest and for letters, which obviously made the debt a lot larger. We paid £15pm to Experian for a few months as it wasn’t free for a full report and the debt actually shows on my husband’s credit report as 2 different defaults for the same amount of £11447.81 twice. So it looks like we were actually in default to Lloyd’s for £22.895.62. We contacted Experian for a correction and they said we had to contact Lloyd’s. We phoned them and got the complete brush off. What can we do now?
Si says
Hi some urgent advice needed please.
I had on my list to make an affordability complaint for my capital one and Vanquish cards which have relatively small balances left but were opened at the time my credit report was dismal 2015 with a new ccj , mortgage arrears and council tax arrears ,etc.
I have paid some of the balances down on these two cards while paying off mortgage arrears which are now thankfully clear.
Only issue is now I have received a letter from Nothampton County Court with a CCJ claim from Lowells debt collectors which means the balance of £500 on both needs to be settled by the 30 August or they will enter judgement against me .
Would you advise me continuing with the affordability and ticking the box to say its being disputed or would you advise me trying to borrow money to clear this (from I am not sure where yet ) and then continuing with the affordability claim
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m sorry I can’t really guess how likely you are to win the claim – it is great pity you didn’t put in the complaint earlier!
Are you saying both debts are listed on the same Claim Form? That sounds very unusual.
I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about whether they think you have a defence. If you defend the case, it will take many months to go to court so you will get some time to get the money together to pay them.
Paul says
I submitted a case against Aqua directly to them back in early July for increasing my credit limits 3 times in a period of 7 months back in 2016. I provided them with lists of payday loans, long term loans, credit cards, all outgoing payments and incoming payments and my credit file and stated that I couldn’t afford the credit increases they gave me. I was only making the minimum payments on my Aqua card and I was at the limit the whole time up to now.
Whilst that complaint was in, I cleared the balance on this card (£3,550). Which was my credit limit. Aqua predictably turned my claim down 2 weeks ago so I’ve forwarded this to the FOS.
Yesterday, Aqua sent me a letter with the following:
‘Following the most recent review of your Aqua account, we have reduced your credit limit from £3,550 to £250. In line with our commitment to responsible lending (and in line with our terms and conditions) we feel this limit is more appropriate’
Back in 2016 I had debts coming out of my ears! My outgoings were more than my incomings and I was snowed under. Now, my finances are in really good shape and yet they turn down my complaint and then reduce my limit when my finances are fine but back in 2016 when I was in a bad state, they deem that it was irresponsible and I could afford that? How does that make sense? Have they shot themselves in the foot here? Is it worth going back to Aqua and arguing this or just forward to the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They can reasonably argue that your complaint means you don’t want a high credit limit, so they think a lower one is more appropriate. It doesn’t mean they have agreed they raised it too high.
I wouldn’t pay much attention to this. Your complaint is already with FOS. I very much doubt Aqua will revisit it,
Paul says
If your finances have improved that much then you dont need one of their cards at all especially when there are much more affordable ones out there
JA says
Hello, I’m currently awaiting a adjudicator to pick up my aqua credit card case for upping my limit from £250 – £1000 when I had lots of missed payments, paying minimum etc..
Well I received a SAR today from my old DMP – Baines and ernst. I forgot that Aqua was on my DMP to pay off the £250 and they still upped my credit to £1000 when I was on a plan lol? I can’t believe I didn’t notice this sooner when I put the complaint into them. I have forwarded the documents showing my debtors , monthly payments etc to the FOS so when my case gets picked up hopefully the adjudicator will see this.
Surely this is a big no no for a credit company to give more funds when the customer is already on a Debt Management Plan?
Regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“I forgot that Aqua was on my DMP to pay off the £250 and they still upped my credit to £1000 when I was on a plan lol?”
wow, a great point to make to your adjudicator when one is assigned.
R says
I’ve just submitted a complaint, to Barclaycard. I’ve held the account for many years and they upped the limit from a modest amount to £4400 over a period of time. For many years, I only ever made the minimum payments, routinely went over limit (being charged £12 per month, every month) and also using my card for cash advances and gambling transactions. Fortunately, I have been gambling free, since January this year, after signing up with Gamstop (the best thing I ever did!). However, I believe Barclaycard were very ‘blinkered’ when I was in this mess and if somebody making constant cash withdrawals, going overlimit and only ever paying the minimum amount (for years) wasn’t a trigger for a ‘responsible lender’ then I don’t know what is. Ever since I have been gambling free, I have taken a good look at what I’d been doing and it’s made me shudder. Has anyone else had experience of dealing with Barclaycard in a similar situation please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just send them an affordability complaint, saying they didn’t check properly before increasing your limit so high. Other people’s experiences don’t really help here, first because there haven’t been that many cases and secondly because they are all quite individual.
R says
Thanks for your response Sara, always appreciated.
There’s a real irony here, now that they are sending me emails about ‘persistent debt’ which I know is something that the FCA have now told all businesses to look at. I’ve had the account 20+ years and I dread to think the amount I have paid in interest & fees. I have advised them that I would like to come to an amicable agreement and avoid the FOS, where possible. I’m not sure what the outcome is going to be but, when they review the account, I believe it won’t make pretty reading for them. I’ll just sit back and wait now. Thanks again.
Dale says
Had an affordability complaint to very declined today, despite demonstrating financial hardship through my credit file and bank statements. They upped my credit limit from 400 to 1950 without me ever requesting it and I fell into huge arrears. Their excuse? My household income. Not mine. My household income, that you have to put in at the START of opening a very account, I argued that before any credit increases my financial, and household financila circumstances were never confirmed in case they had changed. But they rejected this also and stuck to their guns. It seems they play the rule book to the letter and in all honesty seemed so desperate to find a loophole to reject my claim. Horrible horrible company and the claims handler was not pleasant either. Off to the FOS. Realistic chances of success???
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They aren’t really “sticking to the rule book” at all, as the regulator’s rules say they should make sure significant increases to credit limits are affordable.. they are just hoping you will go away.
Definitely send this to the Ombudsman who can look at the actual facts of your individual case, I can’t make any guess as to your chance but other people are winning some cases against the catalogue and high interest cards so it’s well worth a go!
Laura says
Has anyone had a shop direct case picked up yet by the FOS. I submitted mine in February and got the acknowledgement, sent off all my admin for them. Then I got a “there has been a delay” letter and then nothing? I know the FOS are run off there feet but just thot I would ask you all first
Sara (Debt Camel) says
These cases do seem to be going slow :(
If you are struggling at the moment, can I suggest talking to StepChange about a DMP? It would take the pressure off you. And if you get a good balance reduction / refund in the end, it will then really speed up the DMP.
Laura says
Thanks Sara, I got a massive refund from P2P and used it to clear all my credit cards and loans and I now only have shop direct debt. I wrote before saying I was going on maternity pay and they refused £100 a month proposal. (On debt of £1877) I’ve just been paying the £100 a month anyway and they haven’t bothered to call or harass me I presume this is because it’s at the FOS. Horrible company
Chris says
Not a Shop Direct one but a JD Williams one for me – same response from the FOS – ‘too busy at the moment’. Just need to hang in there.
MM says
Got a good result with Barclaycard with a unfordtable lending complaint with the Ombudsman upholding a complaint. To be fair I complained in January to Barclays in January and they handled it quickly and gave me a goodwill payment (the last 6 interest charges applied to the account worth £291.28). But I thought there was a strong affordability case in term of the credit limit increases, it was a bit a battle with the adjudicator. But eventually have come out with a refund total refund of £1,940.50. This goes with a refund of £274.70 from Capital One. So well worth putting in complaints to credit card companies and battling away.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well done – it’s good to hear of people winning cases against high street lenders as well as the bad credit cards.
As that is an Ombudsman decision, it will be published in a couple of months. I will look out for it!
Rachel says
If you have an affordabilty complaint against vanquis. What should/could happen in the meantime. Do they put account on hold until dealt with or freeze interest if they have been asked too? They said they couldnt do this..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you afford to make the minimum repayments?
Rachel says
The guarntor is my sisters partner whos is also on a dmp. Its with bamboo
Rachel says
Its for my mum. She cant. She has 2500 limit for the past 4 years.
She has been paying 400+ interest/charges per month. And can never sort the balance out. And no she cant manage.
She has been bankrupt and also a recent dmp that finshed then credit card. They upped her limit a few times before she got stuck.
She has put an affordabilty complaint in and asked for a payment plan with frozen interest or account on hold. They have sed no?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so is this vanquis balance her only debt?
Rachel says
No she also has a guarntor loan as well, for £3000, but payments roughly £250 a month.
I think she possibly has a payday loan aswell.
She is behind with a couple of her priority bills aswell. So this vanquis bill is just making everything so much worse. She should never have been allowed this size of limit. It was always going to end this way, her being unable to pay it
She also owes friends money and very and little woods. I feel she is going to end up the same way. Bankrupt/dmp. But is trying to stop the mess before it goes further as been there done it.
Mum gets 1400 in wages and pays 1400 out. 300-400 is vanquis. Some interest and a little bit of balance tht she has to spend again to have enough to buy food etc. And has been living like this for a couple of years
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is her guarantor? and the guarantor lender?
Rachel says
The guarntor loan is with bamboo. And its my sisters partner that is the guarntor
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you may be right that this is heading towards bankruptcy (or possibly a DRO).
She has sent Vanquis a complaint, now she needs to tell them that she can only afford to pay them £1 or 35 a month – whatever is gebuinely affordable, and ask them to freeze interest. She isn’t asking them if she can do this, she is telling them. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/token-payment-debt/
I think she needs to put in a complaint about the Bamboo loan, as otherwise her gaurantor will get chased for it when she can’t pay it. The good news is that a lot of affordability complaints about guarantor loans are being upheld at the Ombudsman, but this can take some time so getting it underway is important. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/.
And it may be worth your partner’s sister also putting in an affordability complain and asking to be removed as the guarantor – there is a different template letter for this, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/
Rachel says
Hey sara would you be able to give ne any advice on wat to say or do with vanquis please
Rachel says
Thank you so much for advice
Joseph says
Hi Rachael, I recently won a complaint against Vanquis – They refused to freeze the interest but did lower the payments for me to £10 while I was sorting the complaint out. They told me they only stop the interest if they account is in arrears and you can’t pay, but if you’re even if you’re 1p under your credit limit they won’t (didn’t with me). Good luck !
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you can complain to the Ombudsman if a lender won’t freeze interest. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/creditor-wont-freeze-interest/
Shells says
20 months ago I complained to provident. They rejected, sent to fos, for the last q16 months or so I was told was on hold due to as over 6 yrs old. Then out of the blue I got email from adjudicator saying he upheld my complaint on loans 3-13. They failed to reply by the 8th aug so now I’m queue for ombudsman. I can’t believe how long this has been dragged out. Anyone similar?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
These cases are taking a VERY long time. On the upside, some people are getting some large payouts in the end!
Taylor says
Anyone had luck with Shop Direct (Very / Littlewoods)? If so, what was your timeline?
I’ve put in an unaffordability complaint to each – approaching the 8 week mark shortly so will be sending it right to FOS on the day it hits 8 weeks!
I had a credit limit of £3,500 with one and £2,000 with the other over the same period of time. Each one increased my limit every time I was about to go over without checking my file whatsoever. I’ve downloaded my file and it doesn’t look like they checked this with each increase whatsoever on the more recent ones.
Never missed any payments but I was continually at my limit over 2 years for each one at the same time.
I ended up taking a loan with Santander and paying them both off and closing the accounts to prevent my spending habit!
Hoping that I have a case?!
Scott says
Hi Taylor,
What other borrowing did you have?
A complaint can’t be won just for them increasing your credit limit if you were not struggling to pay them.
Getting a loan from Santander must have ment that your credit file was in pretty good shape.
Scott
Taylor says
I had 3 Maxed out Credit Cards (one of them sitting at £5,500k) and during the timeframe about 15-20 PDLs. My credit file was not good with borrowing sitting at around £45k. I have no idea why Santander gave me a loan, but they did..
Scott says
Hi Taylor,
Seems like a good case.
Have you also thought about the credit cards, dis they increase your limit? And also the payday lending is worth complaining about if you had lots of loans.
Scott
Taylor says
Yeah, I’ve put in complaints for these also – pretty confident about these. Just never seen anyone get anywhere with Shop Direct so interested to see if anyone has won cases against them.
No my credit card was set as this limit when I opened it many years ago. The interest is also pretty low compared to other items I’m trying to pay off.
Thanks Scott :)