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?
scott says
Hi
I have been looking at my old credit cards which were unaffordable, they were taken out over a relatively short time period.
Four of these credit cards are with New Day – Aqua, marbles, opus and fluid.
I am looking for some advice, should I write one complaint letter/email to New Day regarding the above credit cards or write seperate complaints to each credit cards.
Thanks in advance.
Scott
JA says
Hello, I’ve had an ombudsman decision on my aqua complaint upholding the irresponsible lending side which is great but because the default on my file is actually from the debt collection agency Cabot Financial the FOS can not ask aqua to remove it. When I’ve contacted cabot they have said the default was set by aqua but it was there debt? Rather confused what to do tbh , I have contacted cabot again to see what they can do but feel like im just going back and forth here.
What would you recommend please?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What is the date of the default – is it before or after the debt was sold to Cabot?
JA says
I believe it is the date they sold the debt to cabot – Aqua from what I can see aren’t on any of my credit files. Cabot put the default on there in aug 2017 when it was sold to them
Craig says
Hi Sara i have this morning received notice from Capital One that they have upheld my complaint but i think they must have got their 8% calculation wrong what do you think?
A refund is being provided of £627.52, which is made up of all the interest and fees we’ve charged to your account. This refund includes 8% statutory interest, however this interest amount is taxable as required by HM Revenue & Customs.
This refund is broken down by:
Fees: £69, Interest: £551.63, 8% statutory interest £8.61 minus £1.72 of tax.
I have the 8% statutory interest at £49.65 minus £9.93 tax = £39.72 is this correct?
Regards
Craig
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Over how long a period was this interest that is being refunded charged? did it stop being charged at some point or has it continued up until now?
Craig says
It was a credit card I took out 4 years ago with a £500 limit
Sara (Debt Camel) says
and you are still paying interest on it? And it is being refunded back to the start? Was it maxed out early on?
Craig says
It’s only the statutory interest I think is wrong they have it at £8.61 for four years
Craig says
Yes it was maxed out early on and yes i was still paying interest till they wiped the balance
Alfie says
Hi Craig,
Well done on winning your case with Capital One! May I ask how long the process took for you from your initial complaint to it being upheld
Craig says
i put my complaint in on the 4th April so not that long the only thing i found confusing is i have 2 cards with them and they upheld the first one for being unaffordable but not the second one, surely if the first one was the second one must be???
Paul says
Vanquis have agreed to the decision made by the adjudicator on my complaint which is good but I’ve noted from the decision letter to Vanquis initially that he didn’t mention removing any adverse findings from my credit file following the increase. I responded to the adjudicator to clarify this and he said:
“Yes I would expect them to do that as they will be returning the account to how it was before the increase. So yes any adverse information should be removed“.
He’s come back today saying they’ve agreed to his decision but I’m concerned that he hasn’t mentioned the adverse findings and credit file issue to Vanquis. Will they just remove this without it being mentioned by the adjudicator and if they don’t and in time i follow this up directly with them and they refuse to remove it, where do I stand?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If they don’t correct your credit record, first ask them to do this and then go back to your adjudicator if they refuse.
Paul says
Thanks Sara and thank you for all of the information you’ve provided in this site and in comments. Over the last two years I’ve been able to sort myself out financially and get myself into a position I just couldn’t see possible and that’s thanks to these complaints and the help you’ve provided throughout during this time. It’s been a long road but it’s been worth the journey!
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It can be a long haul – glad you are much better off now!
Craig r says
Hey does anyone have email details to follow companys to complain to.
Evanques
Littlewoods
Aqua
Cap one
Laura says
If you go onto each of they companies website you have mentioned and “contact us” section the details are there. There isn’t a secret list!!
Craig says
This email. OK to send them all
I want to complain about irresponsible lending by you for my account number my date of birth is 26/11/1989. The email address I used for this account was ******* You should never have allowed me to open an account with such a large credit limit. When I applied you should have checked my credit record and you would have seen I had recent missed payments to my other accounts with default on some of my accounts.
You should never have increased my credit limit . At that This should have shown you that I could not repay my balance within a reasonable length of time, so you should not have let me borrow more.if you had properly checked my credit record before increasing my limit, you would have seen 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.You should also have realised that I was having difficulty because the late payment charges you added to my account
* I had missed payment on other accounts
*I had already asked you on the phone if it was possible to stop adding interest for a while.
I would like you to refund me all the interest I paid and any late payment charges on my account I would also like any late payment and default markers to be removed from credit records after this point.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can use the same email if it is right for everyone you are sending it to. Some catalogues may have given you a really low credit limit early, there the increases are the main problem.
David says
Hi Sara, I am currently waiting for the FOS to look at two cases regarding PPI refunds with Egg (Canada Square Operations). One was a credit card from 2002 that had PPI included, which was then paid off (£10k) using a new personal loan with them in 2004, to which another £3k of PPI was added.
During a brief conversation with an FOS adjudicator they told me that if I was unhappy with the way card PPI + interest was rolled into a loan & then more PPI added to that figure, it had to be a separate complaint. Can you suggest the best course of action to lodge this unfair/irresponsible practice complaint? Do I have to approach Egg again in the first instance, assuming it doesn’t fall under the heading of PPI complaints, which deadline of course has now passed?
Secondly, the card complaint was partly upheld under Plevin rule & the loan complaint was also upheld and cheques issued for both (I am disputing both calculations & card complaint rejection decision). I have not cashed either cheque, concerned this may be deemed full & final settlement with no further redress. Would I be safe to cash these without affecting my FOS cases?
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This forum is a better place to ask as they are more likely to have seen this situation before: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1251243/ppi-reclaiming-discussion-part-iii
Lynn says
Hi Sara,
Do you have an email address for aqua (new day) please
Annie says
Hi, I had a very surprising phone call from the FOS this morning regarding my Very complaint. I sent this to the FOS in December 2018 and had heard nothing since a letter back then to say they had received the complaint. So shop direct have agreed to refund all interest and charges since 2015 with 8% interest and remove any negative marks from credit report. Very agreed to settle before the adjudicator or ombudsman made any decision so it looks like they may now have came to some sort of agreement With FOS on the criteria for irresponsible lending/increase of limits. Hopefully anyone waiting a long time will hear good news soon.
So happy as this is my last case at the FOS, I was fortunate to get refunds from wonga, P2P and quick quid before they went into administration then amigo and now very. Total back now has been around 14k. Financially I am in the best place I have been for a long time and I owe it all to this site and the dedication from Sara. Good luck to all that are waiting.
Laura says
Exact same situation here yesterday! So bizarre after what feels like forever, congrats
Marie says
I just wondered if anyone has had much joy with capital one. I’ve only just put my complaint in, I had one credit card March 17 with a limit of £1500, they then approved another in oct 17 with a limit of £750 and then later in oct 17 increased my credit limit on the first card to £2250. I was in a spiral of loans, credit cards, a £2000 overdraft and store cards and did not ask for my limit to be increased. I was a full time student at the time. I’ve sent bank statements and submitted a SAR too as I can’t access my online account and all statements etc from the time were on there. I’ve paid the bigger one off now but the other is now with lowell and I’m paying it back monthly.
Laura says
Yes I did. Similar situation full time student. They sent all the statements via DHL which was Random but I received a cheque in the post pretty quickly, I found them fair and quick. Good luck
Laura says
Hi everyone,
Said I would come back and update on my last case when the time came and randomly Shop Direct made me a offer before adjudicator and after being with FOS for almost 18 months. I’m pleased to say that’s just under £3000. It’s been a really long journey of ups and down. I lost out on my Wonga refund of just over £16,000 (yup) by matter of days but it is what it is. This site has totally turned my life around and I can’t thank you Sara enough. I found this site one night unable to sleep in November 2017 and that’s me now totally debt free and with savings. You can turn it all around for sure. I won all my cases with the exception of Barclaycard credit card which oddly I felt that was a strong case but FOS said they did follow industry guidelines etc so fair enough. Shop direct think they call themselves Very group now were absolutely the worst I Dealt with by a country mile so I will be sure to enjoy this refund. Good luck everyone
Annie says
Hi Laura, have you had any contact from
Very yet regarding your refund? I sent them a message a week ago and can’t get through to them on the phone. Just don’t want them stalling after they made an offer.
Laura says
No none I came on to see if you had any movement! My adjudicator said to get in contact if I heard nothing after 4 weeks. I fully expect to have to contact him. Of all the companies i dealt with during the whole process they were absolutely the worst. Just horrible so don’t expect that to change now!
Laura says
I came home to a letter from Santander today to say that they are giving me a refund on a credit card I had years ago. Defaulted and paid off and since come off my credit report. Absolutely amazed to read they are paying me £4788!! This is a life changing amount of money and has come completely out of the blue
Sara (Debt Camel) says
out of the blue? you hadn’t made a complaint?
Laura says
Nope. Hadn’t even given them a second thought! Was glad when the default came off my credit file and that was the last I thought about them!
William says
What did the letter say please as I have an affordable complaint in with Santander as well?
Shaun says
I need to do this!
Why did the say they were refunding you?
Louise says
Hi Sara and everybody,
I finally got a response from the FOS regarding my complaint against New Day (2012-present) This is quite a long and complicated story and while the adjudicator upheld my complaint, the Ombudsman didn’t and maintained that New Day have not done anything wrong. I seriously disagree with this.
Background: In 2012 I took out AQUA card during a period of gambling and poor MH. Within a month, I had maxed out the card and couldn’t pay off the debt. My file states that I am vulnerable and have history of gambling. I entered into DMP with StepChange and AQUA were paid through them. In 2014, my MH declined and I was gambling again and I am ashamed to say that although I was DMP, I was now taking out payday loans to fuel this. Bearing in mind that I was still on plan, AQUA contacted me to offer me a credit limit increase and that I could opt out. The credit increase was like red rag to a bull, I took the increase and started using a card that I had not used in over 2 years. This led to a breakdown in the DMP and again difficulties in paying off the balance. I entered a DMP again in September 2017 and a year later took out an OPUS card (New Day) which quickly got into trouble. I am pleased to say that my financial difficulties, gambling and mental health are significantly better now.
The FOS reponse is in my reply
Louise says
While the adjudicator upheld my complaint, the Ombudsman didn’t and I think it is because of receiving the incorrect information – what do you think? Their arguments are:
Aqua card: I’ve looked at everything that happened from the time when Mrs B needed help from StepChange up until the credit limit was increased in August 2014. Mrs B was on a payment plan for just over a year, from September 2012 to October 2013. This was intended to get her back on track with her finances. But in October 2013 StepChange was satisfied that Mrs B was no longer experiencing financial hardship and terminated its involvement in her financial affairs.
Over the next nine months Mrs B showed no signs of being in financial difficulty. In the circumstances, I’m satisfied that it was reasonable for NewDay to increase the limit on her card. I don’t agree with the investigator that it was “likely”. Mrs B would fall into financial difficulty due to the increase in her card limit. The available evidence shows that she’d not been in a payment plan since October 2013, she’d maintained payments without any difficulty since then and had no arrears or missed payments reported on her credit file.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so at what point did your DMP end? Do you have emails from StepChange about this?
Louise says
I think my DMP ended at the end of 2014 AFTER I had taken out the increase. I have bank statements to show I was still paying step change and no payments are made directly to AQUA.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you talked to StepChange about this? Why did the ombudsman / New Day think it had finished before?
Louise says
I only received the response yesterday and haven’t received a response from StepChange yet. My bank statements show that I was paying regularly to StepChange until August 2014 after I had received the credit increase and new card from AQUA. I was in such a mess that I just stopped paying StepChange. I am hoping that they have just made a mistake with the year. I am hoping that this will change the Ombudsman’s mind. Thank you for your replies.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so you just have a provisional decision from the Ombudsman. Say you would him to reconsider as your DMP was still underway when Aqua increased your credit limit. Give the sequence of events
– open account mm/yy
– start DMP including account mm/yy
– account limit increased mm/yy
– stop paying DMP as not affordable mm/yy.
And attach a copy of the bank statement you have for the month before the credit limit was increased, showing that you were paying StepChange at that time and say StapChange were paying Aqua so they would have known you were in the DMP if they had checked before raising your limit.
Louise says
Given this, I think the evidence shows that it was more likely Mrs B would not have any difficulty with the increased credit limit. Although I acknowledge Mrs B had had past financial difficulties, it appears that by the time the limit was increased she’d overcome these and that her finances were stable.
In the circumstances, I’m not persuaded NewDay did anything wrong when it increased the credit limit in August 2014. This means that I’m not going to order NewDay to refund any 3 interest or charges on that account, or remove any information recorded on Mrs B’s credit file.
These are my arguments;
Took out AQUA card in 2012 with a credit limit of £800 – at the time I was suffering with MH problems and exhibiting problem behaviours. Within a month of having this card, I hit my limit because I was using the card to gamble – This is recorded on my file with the company.
I contacted the company and explained that I was unwell and unable to cope with all of my debts due to my financial hardship. In September 2012 I entered a DMP with Step Change.
StepChange say that in October 2013 my arrangement with them ended – this is incorrect and I have bank statements to prove that I was still paying into my plan. No payments were made to AQUA from me, they only came from my DMP.
New Day wrote to me and said that my card limit would be increased while I was still on the plan. At this point, my mental health was declining, my behaviour was erratic – I had started gambling again and taking out other payday loans. This is irresponsible, even though I had not “opted out” of credit increases – it doesn’t mean that I should have been offered them.
The increase of the credit limit fueled my spending habits and this is what led to the breakdown in my DMP with StepChange.
matt says
Does anybody have a complaints email address for Aqua and Barclaycard please?
Maria says
Hi for both aqua card and barclaycard I went via Resolver
Glen says
Great news in my final quest for refunds, I speculated in a complaint against Marbles and Aqua, I said they shouldn’t have given me increases in my limit as per advice from this site, also through in the mix I had gambling problem and their checks weren’t good enough.
As per most of my complaints I never thought I would get anything but it’s worth a go, costs nothing.
Today I got a letter upholding my complaint , it took about 11/12 weeks from sending the email, I’ve been offered £1750 which I’m well happy to accept, I’ve now had £10,000 back through the advice of this wonderful site
My journey ends their unless Mr. Lender spring out of the closet. Wonderful result.
Anon says
Great news regarding aqua I’m awaiting a response now submitted back in Feb and keep getting told they are close to a decision
Had 4k limit with multiple gambling transactions on the card like yourself
matt says
Hi All
Any complaints email address for Aqua and Barclaycard would be appreciated. I want to manage the complaints myself rather than use a company to do it
Cheers
Marie says
I sent my capital one complaint to their main enquiries email address and they forwarded it on. They only offered the option to complain via post or phone and I didn’t want to use either of those methods. I heard back from the complaints team to acknowledge my complaint within about 2 days
Laura says
All the email address are on the companies own website pages under “contact us”
JA says
Hello some advice needed please.
Aqua are purposely ignoring the decision made by the ombudsman which I thought was a legally binding decision once it has been made.
Aqua are saying they are doing another review of the complaint? I’ve waited a year or so from start to now with this complaint and I don’t know what to do..
The fos have said that aqua are to get in touch which they haven’t it’s now been 5 weeks this the ombudsman made the final decision.
Losing patients now, what should i do?~
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Talk to your adjudicator. This must feel very stressful but it will get sorted.
Michelle says
Email the ceo of aqua with a copy of the ombudsman decision and say how stressful this is for you that it hasn’t been resolved as per the legally binding decision
Ceo is john.hourican@newday.co.uk
Good luck
JA says
Sara – I have contacted my adjudicator and has recommended putting in another complaint.. When this one has taken a year to resolve I don’t feel like I should be put to the back of the queue.
Michelle – Thank you so much for the email, I have sent one across in hope I get treated more fairly and it is resolved asap.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
starting another complaint doesn’t seem like a good idea to me!
I suggest you email the FCA at consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and copy this to executiveofficecomplaints@newday.co.uk.
Email subject: Aqua/NewDay (690292) are refusing to pay out a final decision from the Financial Ombudsman
Give your name, postal address. Say FOS has upheld your complaint and attach a scan or photograph of the FOS Ombudsman decision. Say this is now 5 weeks later and all New Day will say is that they are reviewing the case.
Say this has taken more than a year and New Day seem to be dragging this out for as long as possible which you don’t think they should be allowed to do.
End by saying you know the FCA will not look into your case but you want their supervision team to be aware of this very poor complaint handling.
JA says
I have just sent an email, Thank you for your help. Hopefully get to the end of this soon.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
fingers crossed. there is a court procedure you can go through but it’s little used and the county courts aren’t doing a lot of normal business at the moment, so trying other pressure first is the best idea.
Dale says
Has anyone had any joy with shop direct? I had my complaint rejected in August 2019, I put this into the FOS within hours of the rejection, it has been sat with the FOS since August last year, whenever I have chased updates they have responded to 2/21 emails and to get hold of them on the phone is impossible, I spoke to a guy about 5 months ago who told me it was awaiting to be appointed to an adjudicator, it is coming up to 1 year, shop direct apparently could not locate my file and since then I had an email off them informing me they’ve closed my account… convenient. Any help or advice is appreciated.
Laura says
I put my complaint on dec 2018 and it was only
Picked up three weeks ago. They have a huge backlog because the FOS was “taking to the business directly” to try and get them to start dealing with complaints fairly but I gather things have started to move as I had a offer even before adjudicator looked at case despite them rejecting 18 months earlier
Dale says
Shop direct we’re throwing out all and any complaints, I challenged their initial final response letter as it was so contradictory and then they re issued what they called a “final final response” letter. Again rejecting, I believe I have a very strong case, I know most people will say that but in some complaint me I’ve thought I have little to no chance of winning but this is one I genuinely believe I should win. Hopefully given the timescales you have just given me I won’t be too far off some traction maybe a couple of months, but the FOS responses are abysmal to put it generously.
Annie says
My shop direct complaint was with the FOS from December 2018 so roughly 18 months and out of the blue I got a phone call followed by email On 30th May to say that shop direct had made an offer to refund all interest and charges. I accepted and the FOS told them this the same day. I sent shop direct emails with no response then phoned them to be told that they posted a letter to me on the 25th may and a cheque was processed then same day which could take up to 21 day, the letter arrived yesterday which took a week so wasn’t expecting the cheque for a few weeks but it arrived today. So in the bank and should clear tomorrow. So hang in in there and hopefully they will agree to more cause without the FOS having to investigate.
Laura says
I think they just rejected all complaints. I went from nothing to an offer of just under £3000. I was the same I knew I would win at the FOS but I’ve made made a offer before adjudicator looked at case. Fingers crossed for you. Agree the FOS could be better at communicating timescales but it’s a free service that hugely benefits us and they are absolutely snowed under so I do think people
Have to adjust expectations and be prepared for long waits, as we know!
Annie says
Hi Laura, I managed to phone them a few days ago and they said a letter was issued on 25th May and a cheque was requested that day which would take up to 21 days to be issued. The letter arrived yesterday so that took a week to arrive so ill be expecting the cheque in a few weeks, if not I will chase them up again. Have you had any correspondence from them yet?
Laura says
Not yet Annie. Have a look at trust pilot under shopdirect. Seems they often take months to issue cheques but I can’t say I’m surprised one bit. If I don’t have it by the 4 weeks I’m going to let the adjudicator deal with it! Anything to make the process longer. I will keep you updated
Annie says
Laura, low and behold my cheque arrived this morning! How did you get on?
Micheala says
Hi Annie, just wondering from what date was your final response received and when did you receive your cheque? My response was issued and accepted the 2nd of July and I keep asking them just to confirm it’ll be with me by the 30th of July but they say they can’t confirm that? Just moving into a new home start of August and would be nice to know timescales from someone who’s received theirs. Many thanks!
Jess says
Hi,
Just had a decision from vanquis rejecting my Irresponsible lending claim as they upped my credit limit from 250 to 1000 at a time when I was in a payday loan vicious circle. I have just today forwarded in on to FOS first time I’ve ever used FOS. Does any know an average timescale for FOS just for reference
Case says
Hi Jess
I went through exactly the same thing.
I waiting around 6 weeks to receive a reference number from the FOS, then a further 2 months for an adjudicator to pick it up.
Jess says
Aww thanks!! Just wasn’t sure of the process. Have you had a decision from them?
Case says
Yes. Initially it was fully rejected by the adjudicator so I asked for an ombudsman decision, and it was partially upheld. As a result I had around £800 in interest and charges credited to the account, and I’m paying off the balance in installments. From start to finish the whole process took around a year.
JL09 says
Good Morning,
I would like to complain to Newday and Capital one.
Do these both have to be done by letter as I can’t find an email address anywhere?
Thanks Guys!
Claire H says
Hey I used a site called resolver to put in a complaint with Newday, capital one will also be on there too
Diane says
Good morning, I have 2 issues.
I put a ppi complaint regarding a credit card I had with RBS from 1997-2003. There was no debt when I closed it, I did, however, claim on it at the end of 2000 as I was actually advised to even though I didn’t realise I had it as I didn’t need it, they paid out just over £2000 which obviously went on the card. They withheld my complaint but said the amount paid in 2000 exceeded the amount I was entitled to now. They didn’t provide any evidence of that figure or how they reached it which I’m sure they are legally required to do. I telephoned and the lady said she would try and get that out to me which could take some time! Has anyone else had any similar problems and did they come back with a different offer…
The other issue is not having heard from Shop Direct and unable to contact them, telephone number is not answerable anymore??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you ask about your PPI issue on the MSE forum where people have a lot more experience of them https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/reclaim-ppi-other-insurance
Glen says
Evening all, I fancy making a claim against MBNA for unaffordable limit given, I’ve been successful through the template with Aqua.
Does anyone have a direct email address to send my complaint to, thank you very much in anticipation.
ciara says
Hi Sara
I made a complaint to Barclaycard and they have got back to me saying they do not uphold but as a goodwill gesture they refunded £993 into my Barclaycard account ( so came off my balance) I didn’t accept their offer of this it was just done – can I still pass on to ombudsmen?
My complaint was that they shouldn’t have increased my credit limit from £1000 to £2000 leaving me in more financial problems when I had already struggled with payments when my credit limit was £1000.
what do you think? can I forward to ombudsmen?
thanks
Ciara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how much extra interest do you think you have paid?
Glen says
Good news yesterday, the £1784 I was awarded from Newday on my Aqua and Marbles claim landed into my bank account , always a great feeling .
JA says
Congrats, Newday are dragging out my complaint upheld with the FOS. They sent my redress calculation today which was over £100 less than what was supplied to me in sept. Luckily I have all my old statements and can clearly see they’ve not included 6 months worth of default fees :))
Such a poor company.
Jamie says
Can I ask how you contacted newday? I have an issue with both Fluid and Aqua and just wondered if you contacted them individually or contacted Newday?
Thanks
J
Newton says
Hi Sara,
Amongst a multitude of other loans and cards I’d been provided since 2014, Newday provided me with the following during an ever increasing spiral of debt:
Aqua – Opened March 2015. Opening limit £250. Increased to £400 Sept 2015. Increased to £1,000 Feb 2016.
Marbles card 1 – Opened July 2016. Opening Limit £400. Increased to £1,000 November 2016.
Amazon – Opened November 2017. Opening Limit £500. Increased to £1,200 August 2018.
Marbles card 2 – Opened January 2018. Opening Limit £100.
Do I have a case in grouping all these together?
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, I think so.
Anita says
Hi everyone. Have someone recently contacted Shop Direct by phone? Does anyone have a contact phone number that actually works?
Thank you
Lou7 says
Hi all,
I have two questions. I had a card from capital one and that went into my debt management plan but then they let me have another one, can I complain about irresponsible lending? The second question is I had a catalogue that kept increasing my credit limit and it reached £9000. They only recently started reducing it when it was put into my debt management plan. Any advice would be appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can complain that Cap One should not have given you the second card.
For the catalogue, did you mainly make minimum payments?
Lou7 says
Hi Sara,
Yes I made minimum payments on the catalogue but paid extra when I had borrowed from payday loans etc and had items on buy now pay later.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well it is worth complaining about the catalogue because 9k is a HUGE amount. You need to be arguing that the minimum payments are unaffordable so they should not have increased your credit limit so far, and if they had looked at your financial situation before offering a larger limit they would have seen your increased used of payday loans and worsening debt situation.
Lou7 says
Thanks Sara. I will have to write to Capone as I can’t find an email address and their website says to log into account to make a complaint but I can’t do that either. I will also complain to Littlewoods and see how things go. Thanks again
Lou7 says
Hi again,
My first card with Capone was put into my DMP and then a few years later I applied for a second card. I had it for a while with a credit limit of £2500 and used all that too and it was added to my dmp later on. Will this go in my favour or not when I complain?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s the fact they gave you a second card while you were in a DMP that was wrong. That is what your complaint should focus on.
Lou7 says
Thanks Sara
Kwesie says
Hi Sara, I had an Capital One credit card which was defaulted in August 2015 for £1808. Debt was sold onto a DCA who has from time to time sent a payment request letters, which I haven’t replied to or made any contact with.
Is worth putting in a complaint to Capital One at this stage?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you think the card limit was increased too high?
Kwesie says
Hi Sara, you I do believe so started off with £250 and later on £750 final increase was £1200 all this was automatic
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so the only downside of making a complaint is that at some point, certainly if your win, the debt collector may find out and will then probably expect to be paid.
When the debt collector isn’t causing you any problems, you may not think this is a good idea. But really the chance of the debt collector forgetting you is very very small, so it may well be worth trying to get this sorted now with a complaint to Cap One
Kwesie says
Thank you for the advice
Mon says
Hi Sara,
I want to put in a complaint with very as I have had an account with them for over 15 years and always struggled to pay, they have increased my limit numerous times over the years and it’s crippling me, however I am worried to do this as I don’t want a negative mark on my credit file, if I continue to make payments as usual and put in a complaint can they leave bad marks?
Thanks so much
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No they can’t.
But these complaints can take a very long while to settle. Is this your only problem debt?
Lou7 says
Hi all,
I have posted off my complaints to Capone and Littlewoods today. I found an old account statement and my credit limit was £9725. It’s now on my dmp and I put that in the letter too. Fingers crossed.
James says
Hi Sara
Thanks to your site I am now debt free & been able to buy a (small) car and pay for the insurance, I won a claim against lloyds with regards to my overdraft & received £6k back, in the same time period the Ombudsmen told lloyds to repay the interest & charges I paid, Lloyds also gave me a £5,000 loan this was repaid last year, I believe I have a very strong chance of getting back the interest I paid seeing as this is in the same time period of my overdraft repayment, however I want to get an idea of how to work out the stat interest, I paid Lloyds £194.90 per month (I paid them £1800 ontop of the principle in interest & charges), do I simply add the 8% per year from the very first charge of £194.90, or so I take it from the first repayment of £194.90 after I had paid the principle back, or would it be a % of each £194.90 repayment ?
I’m unhappy with how lloyds worked out my stat interest on the overdraft charges and have gone back to the Ombudsmen (obviouly over the moon with £6k I got), but any help on this from you would be great….
Who better to ask
Thanks
James
Sara (Debt Camel) says
unfortunately the details of how to calculate this are not actually written down anywhere. if you feel the calculation Lloyds used is unfair, you can explain this to the Ombudsman.
Claire H says
So I had some news today in regards to Newday, i sent a complaint to the for irresponsible lending 03/02/20 through resolver, I waited for the 8 weeks and then escalated it to FOS, I then recieved a letter 26/04/20 stating that my complaint would not be upheld and that they have done everything correctly (which they didnt) so I also informed FOS of the decision on the same day. Today (15/06/20) I received an email from FOS for my complaint to be investigated by an adjudicator so fingers crossed for a good outcome, Does anyone know how long it usually takes for the adjudicator to make a decision and has anyone had any luck with Newday?
Mark says
I had a nightmare with new day they just ignored my case made a complaint about 3 credit increases within 18 months increasing my limit from 1200-4400 which was crazy considering amount of payday loans and other credit I had. Sent the complaint in last October, and only contact from them was to say they had acknowledged my complaint. I then sent numourous emails in March, April. I received a letter to say they weren’t upholding my complaint in early May. I was then contacted by Fos who had assigned an adjudicator and within 2 weeks newday had made an offer of 2000 plus all fees I’d paid over the last 4 years total refund was 2500.
Claire H says
Thank you for your reply, that is amazing news, fingers crossed I get a good outcome, I had lots of payday loans on my account and all my credit cards were maxed out, what made it even worse was I was up to my limit with an Aqua card and they then gave me a £1200 limit on a marbles card, I think it is pretty obvious they didnt look at my credit report before accepting me, I got in so much trouble with my Aqua card my debt was sold off to a collection company. Thank you so much again you have given me a glimmer of hope.
Paul says
They told me they weren’t upholding my complaint. I complained about 4 credit limit increases from £900-£3,550 in the space of 12 months. Once it went to an adjudicator, Aqua offered me somewhere in the region of 1k which I refused. The adjudicator sided with NewDay which I was shocked about to be honest. I felt I had a really strong case and provided a lot of evidence. It’s been in the queue for an Ombudsman since the beginning of February now.
Paul says
Do you know how much you paid in interest on the card? And how long ago were the increases?
Claire H says
Hey, I have no idea unfortunately as it doenst show on my credit fine anymore, I took the card out in November 2014 but in January 2014 I had just finished my DMP and my account was littered with payday loans, my debt for Aqua was sold in september 2017 and I ha e only just finished paying them off, I wish I knew all the details I do remember 2 of the limit raises were fairly close together.
paul says
i have just managed to get a redress of £700 from Very
All Very have just taken £700 off my bill ( was at 1700 now 1000)
THey gave me a credit increse 2 years ago without me asking
Sent the usual irresponsible lending letters and success
I disagree with the companies 13 payments a year getting people in trouble as everyone gets 12 pays per year,
All if you have had issues charges with Very pleaseget on this – Process took 12 weeks – I would say a win for the little man,
Yet again Thanks Sara for your assistance on this site
Lou7 says
Hi all,
I have sent letters to Littlewoods and Capone. How long shall I give them just to acknowledge my complaint? I had to send letters because I couldn’t access my cap one account and there was no email address for Littlewoods. I just need to know the letters have got there. Any info would be appreciated.
Paul says
Always best to send using a signed for service
Lou7 says
Thanks Paul. I may send them again then just so I know they have been received.
Jamie says
I had a credit card with aqua they increased my credit limited three times when I was basically 85% near the limit. I was a student they done no checks and I struggled to pay it. It got sold and now I have a CCJ registered. Can I complain about this debt? Is there anything I can do to get money back? I was so broken at the time from university stress ect I didn’t do anything then as I was young and just thought I was ruined nothing I could do. Please advise me!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago was this?
Jamie says
It was 2016, but CCJ last year.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, that is pretty recent. I suggest you read the article above and if you think they shouldn’t have increased your credit limit, put in an affordability complaint
Jamie says
I have, I’m going to await a response. Thank you!
To be honest I was 18, and given a credit limit of £5000. I would say it has literally destroyed my life in some sense.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if you win the complaint the CCJ should also be “set aside” – legalese for deleted.
Jamie says
That’s amazing. I have a good job now but all the debt is just preventing me from moving on with my life now. The sleepless nights have returned.
Mr a says
Refund from newday of just under £1200 to be taken off balance should the plus 8‰ be added to this like other claims
Lou7 says
If you owe money but are lucky enough to get a refund do they take what they owe you off the balance?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes they do.
Lou7 says
It’s been a week now and I haven’t had any acknowledgement of my complaints to Capone and Littlewoods. Do you think I should send the letters again but send them recorded delivery so I know they definitely got there?
E says
They have 8 weeks to respond. They may not acknowledge. Took a few weeks to tell me they were looking into complaint and then at 8 weeks I got a letter saying they needed more time due to lockdown which is completely understandable and I am happy to give them that time as I know what it is like trying to work from home.
Lou7 says
Thanks for the info E.
JL09 says
I sent them a letter and within 2 week they responded with a rejection. Off to FBO but at least they’re responding sharp!
Lou7 says
Thanks JL09. I will just hang in and keep waiting. Fingers crossed for everyone
Lou7 says
Had an acknowledgement from cap one but the card was the old one so had to send another letter saying it’s the second card I am complaining about. Does it matter if the card debt is with a debt company?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no, you still complain to the card co.
Claire Hadley says
Hey I had the same kind of thing with Newday complained about Aqua and they sent me a letter about another card I had with them marbles, I called them and they said they look into all the cards on the account with them, I’m hoping it’s the same with capital one
Lou7 says
Thanks Sara and Claire. Much appreciated.
Lou7 says
Do I need to request old info for Littlewoods and capital one? I haven’t done this, I just sent off letters of complaint.
JL09 says
I had a credit card with capital one, in which i defaulted, entered a payment plan, and cleared the balance. 2 Months later, i got another credit card from them, then defaulted, and paid off again. Do i have an affordability claim based on this?
Thanks in advance
JL09
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it depends a bit on how large the credit limit was for the second one. What else would your credit record have shown at that time? How long ago was this?
JL09 says
£350 I think the second one. Was in Feb 2016 and there were various other missed payments on my file.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a pretty tiny credit limit. The monthly repayment would have been very small, you may have problems arguing it was unaffordable.
Lou7 says
Hi all,
Roughly how long have people waited for a response from Littlewoods and Capone? It’s only been 2 weeks but had acknowledgement letters from both companies. Any info would be appreciated.
AN says
Hi I’m reading all these with interest in was contacted a few months ago by Newday to say that my credit limit was increased in error and paid £144. I had on 2018 been £2500 I borrowed money against my house but the only way the funds could be paid was directly to pay off credit cards – new day reduced the limit to £300 then in May 2019 Increased the balance to £1550 During this time my credit file remained very poor and payments were often late with the exception of the three months before the £1550 increase due to me being self employed and not always aid ion the same date. Would it be worth making a claim?
Tan says
I sent my complaint to Very in May 2019, and they send me a final response stating they won’t uphold my complaint. I felt I had a good case so I emailed complaint to FOS. My case was still in queue, I lost hope, then out of nowhere, I was contacted by FOS stating Very have offered a redress + interest of nearly £5k. FOS advised me they haven’t started looking into the case in detail and couldn’t advise if this was a fair offer or not from Very but due to my current circumstances I said yes as keen to pay off some remaining debt and this is a large payment. I accepted in case Very went into administration like some of the other companies. I had already lost out to Wonga and WDA. However my question, by me accepting this offer, does this mean shop direct won’t look at my Littlewoods account? This account was opened in 2005. I had severe charges, and tons of late fees applied on this account. I would be grateful for any advice Sara. I realise this is past the 6 year mark.
Tan says
My other question is, I find it very weird after such a long time and Very sending me a final response stating they won’t pay redress and then out of nowhere they are offering redress? Is there something going on with Shop Direct? Any light that can be shed on this? I am very grateful for my redress and appreciate but curious to know.
Micheala says
Hi tan, I’m also as surprised as you as I am getting a refund from them too. I’m just wondering if you’ve had any updates yet? Or received your cheque as yet ? Thanks!
Tan says
Hi Micheala,
I received a letter from shop direct stating they are processing my refund. With a breakdown of Interest and charges, they advised it will take 21 days to receive the cheque. However, when I spoke to their customer services they advised 14 days until I receive a cheque and that was 3 days ago. They also advised they will update my credit file, however they already have removed all negative info from my credit file. I hope you get yours very soon.
Micheala says
Thanks for that Tan! Just wondering what number you called them on just so its easier to follow up on. Hope you get your cheque soon :)
Tan says
Thanks Micheala
Very – Customer Care Team on Freephone 0800 092 3355
J says
Hi Sara,
I’d be grateful for some advice. I received a refund from HSBC a couple of weeks ago, out of the blue, for almost £1000. The letter they sent states this was a refund of charges applied as a result of me going in to an unarranged overdraft between 10/03/18 and 08/07/19 and HSBC not sending me text messages to notify me it was happening.
Extremely happy re: the unexpected refund. During the time period they refunded me for, I was in a situation where my overdraft charges took up income that I needed to live and I was unable to bring it within the arranged limit as a result. I have 5 missed payments listed on my credit file for my HSBC overdraft between March-July 18 due to this. I asked HSBC today whether they would consider removing these markers as all overdraft charges had been refunded in this period, but they refused. They stated that the charges were applied correctly as a result of my account conduct, but the refund had been given due to their lack of notifying me the charges would be applied, so removing any negative credit file markers would not be possible.
I would appreciate some advice on whether their response is correct, or something I should pushed further with them. Many thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you had been informed about the charges, could you have paid them?
J says
No, sadly. I would still have been unable to.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That makes it harder to argue that the marks are unfair.
You could send HSBC a complaint in writing if you want to take this a step further.
Paul says
They failed to notify you on the days you were incurring the charges which means you were not given the chance to pay money in and rectify the problem each day. This is true regardless of if you could afford to do that or not. This is why they have refunded you and it is definetely worth saying they didnt notify you and therefore didnt give you the chance of avoiding the situation as they are supposed to
Stan says
Sara, can you please advise. I had Card Guard card protection policy with HSBC a long time ago. Are people still able to claim this back please, directly from the bank?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know, I suggest you ask HSBC.
Micheala says
Hi :)
So on Thursday I got a surprising email from shop direct finance advising they uphold my complaint and I’ll be getting a refund! This was their final response. I just had a couple of questions to ask to see if anyone had previous experience with them or their refunds. Firstly, they’ve advised to wait 28 days for the refund to be issued by cheque, standard refunds for irresponsible lending claims is 28 days, I was just wondering if anyone has had a refund from them and if it is usually done within this time period? Also, I was paying my outstanding debt to them through a debt recovery company, I believe Lowell, and the letter also states that once they get this back from Lowell they’ll then issue the refund. Ive asked the decision maker to clarify this because it sounds like on one hand they’re saying il get my refund in 28 days but then also they won’t do it until Lowell respond which the decision maker told me can take a couple of weeks? I’m just confused as I thought they had 28 days from when they gave the final response and it was accepted and the wording makes it sound like the 28 days don’t start til they get the debt back from Lowell. Thanks for any advice at all guys :)
Paul says
Basically they will want the account back from lowell as and refund will be used to clear this balance first and if anything is left they will then issue you a cheque for the difference. For example say your refund is £2,000 but you have a balance of £800 with lowell they will pay off the £800 and send you a cheque for £1,200 which is the difference
Micheala says
Hi, thanks for your reply. Sorry what I mean is they’ve already confirmed the amount to me so the outstanding debt is being wiped and I’m getting a refund for admin fees and interest and 8% interest etc. It’s just I’m confused as to when the 28 days start, if it’s from when I got my final response or from when they have the debt back from Lowell? Have you had a refund from shop direct yourself? And if so do you know how long roughly the refund took?
Many thanks!
Lou7 says
Hi Micheala
I have sent off a complaint to Littlewoods. Did your complaint take long to be sorted? When I had the letter acknowledging my complaint they said because of COVID they were running behind with complaints. From beginning to end did you have to wait long?
Micheala says
I believe it was maybe January time I made the complaint so took about 6 months to get a response really. They said they sent me a letter on 8th of June advising that they were having delays or that. I never received this letter but I got the response on the 2nd of July by email with their final response. It’s alot more than what I expected I’m just hoping they don’t go into administration like so many other companies are these days. Good luck with yours!
Lou7 says
Thanks for the info Micheala, much appreciated and glad u got a good result.
bebe says
hey micheala,
when did you first put your complaint in?
Congratulations!
Kind Regards
Bebe
Micheala says
Around January time so roughly 6 months ! Good luck to you :)
bebe says
Sara,
I have put a complaint for irresponsible lending in with very about 4 weeks ago, the interest is now crippling me, I have found an 0% credit card that will cover my balance that I would use to clear the balance so I am not paying their interest charges, my question is, if i do this will this affect my complaint as i will have cleared the balance of £2000?
Thank you so much for this website and all your help!
Kind Regards
Bebe
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no it won’t affect your complaint. You should then get a refund in cash if you win the complaint rather than it being used to reduce the balance.
Dale says
Complained to very in July 19, August 19 my complaint was rejected (on the final day of the 8 weeks), I argued my case to the point very had to reissue a final response letter as it was so contradictory, seems as though they have a flat rejection policy in place like lender stream the payday lender. Anyway I put my case straight into FOS in August 19, I have been assigned a case number but I had an update in October 19 off fos stating that very still hadn’t provided my file to them, I have chased for an update off fos every 2 weeks since and they are not replying, I cannot get through on the phone either, it’s so frustrating after nearly 1 year as I know I have a strong case. Is anyone else in my situation. We all appreciate FOS and all they do but their response times are utterly shocking and totally unacceptable. I’m blatantly being ignored.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
IT is possible to get through on the phone. I suggest you try again and tell FOS you want to put in a complaint because you have still not had an update on your case and your requests are being ignored.
Dale says
Hi Sara thanks for your reply. It’s an I feel got frustrating timelines, ive now sent 13 emails without reply from FOS and although I understand the backlog (I’ve already had 4 cases settled in the past 12 months) this seems like it’s been put to the bottom of an ever growing pile. And that they don’t work back in date.
Lou7 says
Had an email today to say Littlewoods are reducing my credit limit. They have started doing this since it was put into my DMP.
Jennie says
Hello all,
Can I just ask anybody who complained to AQUA, what was the complaints process was like?
I put a complaint in may 1st regarding unaffordable lending.
So I had a letter the following week to say they had received my complaint.
4 weeks later another letter to say they were sorry it had not been resolved and were still working on it.
Roughly 8 weeks another letter saying they were sorry it had not been resolved and they they wanted to make sure they have reviewed and addressed all concerns, and that they have made good progress, they said since 8 weeks has passed I could forward onto ombudsman but they hope I can give them the opportunity to resolve this.
I did forward my complaint onto FOS at 8 weeks.
Then yesterday I received a text apologising for the delay.
Is this standard?
I feel they have been very good keeping me updated with it all regardless.
Thanks :)
Marie says
I received my final response within the initial 8 weeks, it was a rejection so I need to forward to FOS but it does mean that aqua are able to meet the 8 weeks for some of us at least.
Paul says
Hi,
I have had my case with Vanquis upheld and given my refund amount but it looks low.
I have checked my DSAR and it says every month Billed Finance Charge. Is this another name for monthly interest as I don’t know.
Anyone know.
Thanks
Paul
Jess says
Hello. Was this upheld by vanquis or adjudicator? I complained to vanquis who come back quick to reject it forwarded it on.
Thanks!
Paul says
Hi,
It was upheld by the Ombudsman, the complaint was sent to them in October 2019.
Thanks
Brian says
UPDATE on my Aqua Complaint:
Received an email today Ombudsman basically agreed with everything the Adjudicator said (every increase shouldnt have been given, refund 8% plus £100 for the stress)
Now I guess i have to wait for yet more heel dragging from Newday.
Should be worth the wait though expect the refund to be in the region of £6000. Plus I have paid the credit card in full off already so its all money in my pocket! I expect they will be cancelling the account very shortly…good riddance!!
Marie says
Has anyone had any joy with TSB? I put complaints in 8 weeks ago in relation to my overdraft (£2k as a full time student and single parent) which I could never clear and continued to go over and also a loan. I’ve had a letter to acknowledge my complaint but nothing further since.