Have you had a credit card, store card or catalogue where your credit limit was too high? So high that the monthly repayments were hard to manage and you got into more debt?
For some people the limit was too high at the start. Others were originally given an OK limit, but the lender kept increasing it. or it was OK while the 0% offer lasted, then unmanageable.
You may have a good affordability complaint that the lender was irresponsible in allowing you to borrow so much.
This applies even if you made every payment on time, as you may have borrowed more elsewhere.
This article explains how to ask for a refund of the interest you have paid.
Contents
What is “affordable”?
The regulator’s rules
Even if you made every payment on time, the debt may still have been unaffordable.
The following is my summary of the regulator’s rules:
- a lender must check if credit is affordable when you apply for it. For a very low limit, not many checks are needed;
- a lender should make similar checks before increasing a credit limit;
- credit isn’t affordable if paying it leaves you short of money for your bills, normal expenses, and your other debts;
- if you have to borrow more most months, this would not be affordable;
- you must be able to repay the limit set within a reasonable period. Paying the minimum amount is OK for a while, but not for a long time.
Good reasons to complain
If the lender could see any of these on your credit record, they should probably have declined your original application:
- a level of borrowing that looks very high in relation to your income; or
- you had a different credit card with the same lender where you were only making minimum payments; or
- 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; or
- recent credit record problems: defaults, missed payments, or arrangements to pay, mortgage arrears; or
- recent payday loans or a lot of recent credit applications.
Your credit limit should not have been increased unless you could afford it. In addition to the points above, any of the following should have also warned the lender you were already in difficulty:
- making minimum payments for a long while;
- often taking cash out on the card;
- making a minimum repayment but then using the card to pay for food or petrol so the balance never drops;
- using most of your limit for a long period;
- significant gambling the lender was aware of;
- recent missed payments or an arrangement to pay on your credit record;
- your overall level of debt on your credit record had increased a lot.
NB many cases are won when someone has never missed a payment.
You don’t need to know the dates and amounts of any limit increases before you start your complaint – my template asks for these.
0% balance transfers
Here the lender should check that you would be able to repay the whole limit within a manageable length of time (say 5 or 6 years) taking into account that interest will be charged when the 0% term ends.
So if you were ok during the 0% term but then you couldn’t afford the payments when interest started being added, you can complain. Ask for any interest to be refunded and to be able to repay the rest with no interest. Don’t make a complaint about a BT that is still at 0%, it’s much easier to wait until the 0% has ended.
Do I need to know the limit and date details?
No. My template below asks for these. The lender already knows the details so it doesn’t help your complaint by listing them. Don’t delay making a complain trying to find these out.
Think about these points before complaining
You can complain about open or recently closed accounts
These complaints can be made if your account:
- is still open; OR
- it is closed and settled within the last 6 years; OR
- or if it is with a debt collector and you defaulted within the last 6 years (NB the complaint goes to the original lender, not the debt collector.)
If you have had a DRO, IVA or bankruptcy after these problems, ask in the comments below, as this can be complicated.
Old accounts
Many lenders reject complaints about a card opened more than six years ago and say the ombudsman won’t look at them.
FOS may look at these “old” accounts if they have still been open within the last six years. But you are much more likely to win if there have been limit increases in the last 6 years.
If your account was opened in 2017 say, but the lender increased your limit in 2021, that limit increase is within the last 6 years so it can definitely be looked at. You can always get bank statements going back six years, even from closed bank accounts.
A alternative for old defaulted accounts?
If your account was opened over 6 years ago, 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 asking for this rather than making an affordability complaint.
Is a refund what you really need?
Any refund sounds good, but is your problem much bigger than this?
Complaining only gets the interest refunded – you still have to repay what you borrowed. If the debt is newish, you may still be left with a large, unaffordable balance.
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.
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, this isn’t the lender’s fault. But you may still need help to get interest stopped on the cards – talk to StepChange or National Debtline about getting new interest stopped when you are in difficulty.
How to complain
The email address to use
The best way to complain is by email. Find the email address here:
Credit card and catalogue email addresses
Start with this template
I’ve invented an example so you can see how a complaint could read.
Change/delete the bits in italics to tell your story. Miss out any dates if you don’t know them, this isn’t a problem
I want to complain about irresponsible lending 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.
Put this in if you think the lender may have an old address for you
I have moved and my home address is now xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Please do not send any letters to any older addresses on your system.
Put this in if you don’t know some details
I do not know the exact months when the account was opened or any credit limit increases or decreases. In your reply to my complaint, please tell me the dates and amounts of all limit changes, even if these happened over 6 years ago.
Then say IF they should never have given you the account:
You should never have allowed me to open an account with such a large credit limit.
On my income with my regular household expenses and other debts I could not manage to repay that amount in a reasonable time.
[if you had already missed payments] When I applied, you should have checked my credit record and would have seen I had recent missed payments to a credit card and a default only five months before on a loan.
[If this started as a 0% transfer: You should have seen that I would not be able to clear the balance in a manageable length of time, and that after the 0% period ended, I would struggle to pay the higher minimums once interest was being added.]
AND / OR say that they should not have increased your credit limit:
You should never have increased my credit limit. 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 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.
If the lender should 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
I had missed payments to you in 2023
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 2021.
OR
I would like you to refund all the interest I have paid since the 0% period ended and allow me to clear the balance without adding interest.
I would also like any late payment and default markers to be removed from my credit record. (do not mention this if the credit record for this card doesn’t have problems)
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.
Here are some bad or irrelevant comments lenders sometimes make when rejecting a complaint:
- you made the payments to them on time – that doesn’t mean you could manage a higher limit;
- the account was opened over 6 years ago – if it was still open in the last 6 years the Ombudsman may look at it;
- you accepted the limit increase – that doesn’t make a difference! The increase should not have been offered if it was unaffordable.
You know if this card or catalogue has caused you difficulty – it’s easy to send a case to the independent ombudsman. Don’t delay doing this!
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 bother to send A copy of your credit or finance agreement – the lender will supply that if FOS asks for it.
Send FOS a copy of your credit report, they always want to see it. If you have any old credit reports, send the oldest one you have, otherwise send the current one. You can download a statutory TransUnion report for free.
Also get your bank statements if they will support your complaint and send those to FOS too. Do not wait to be asked by FOS for these.
Ideally you want them 3 months before and three months after the account was opened and before /after any limit increase
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?
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.
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
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.
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?
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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 £10,000 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
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
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 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?
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A. says
Marie, 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.
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.
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!!
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)
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.
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
A.
Yes, i had mine upheld in June. They dragged it out for 32 days after accepting the decision. Hopefully yours is much sooner.
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.
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
A
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!
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.
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,
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.
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.
Chris says
Laura,
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.
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!
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/
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?!
Taylor says
Supposed to be *£5.5k
Kiradevil34 says
Hi Sara,
Following a complaint made to shop direct through lowells, they have now issued a county court claim against me regarding this debt. I have informed them there is a dispute and a complaint made to the FOS so they were fully aware of my position. They pingponged letters which never answered my question for shop direct final response and their letters contain several personal errors! I have up writing to them as in my eyes I had informed them several times a complaint was with the FOS so their action should have stopped.
I don’t know how to defend their claim and I consider it very vexatious considering they knew I was disputing the debt! Is there anything I can do??
Thank you in anticipation xx
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh, this is very unusual.
I suggest you do three things all at once, asap:
1) send Lowell complaintsresolution@lowellgroup.co.uk (copy it to their solicitiors if t=you have their email) a complaint immediately saying that they have started court action about a debt despite being told by you that you are disputing the debt with Shop Direct. Say this is in breach of CONC CONC 7.5.3 R which says “A firm must not ignore or disregard a customer’s claim that a debt has been settled or is disputed and must not continue to make demands for payment without providing clear justification and/or evidence as to why the customer’s claim is not valid.” and CONC 7.14.1 R which says “A firm must suspend any steps it takes or its agent takes in the recovery of a debt from a customer where the customer disputes the debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds.”
2) tell FOS that Lowell has started a court case about this debt, despite being told that a complaint is underway and ask if FOS can give priority to resolving your case
3) talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about how you should defend this claim. If you ignore it you will get a CCJ in default.