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 it too high.
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 have paid.
Contents
What is “affordable”?
The regulator’s rules
You may have made every payment on time, but the debt is still unaffordable.
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 £400 credit limit doesn’t have to go into so much detail;
- a lender should also make 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 balance 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:
- 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;
- 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;
- making a minimum repayment but then using the card to pay for food or petrol so the balance never drops;
- using a lot of your limit for a long period;
- significant gambling the lender was aware of (this could be gambling on your bank statement if the credit card lender was from the same bank);
- recent missed payments or an arrangement to pay on this account or any others on your credit record;
- your overall level of debt on your credit record has increased.
When your lender increased your credit limit, you don’t need the exact dates before you start a complaint, my template asks for the details.
How 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 for the banks and major lenders.
Template to use
I’ve invented some examples so you can see how a complaint should read. Change/delete the bits in italics to tell your story.
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.
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 2018, you should have checked my credit record and would have seen I had recent missed payments to a credit card and a default only two months before on a loan.
AND/OR say that they should not have increased your credit limit:
You should never have increased my credit limit in 2021. 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.
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
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 2021.
I would also like any late payment and default markers to be removed from credit records after this point.
Think about these points before complaining
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 six years ago and say the ombudsman won’t look at them. But FOS will often look at these “old” accounts if they have still been open within the last six years, although you may have problems producing bank statements or other evidence from a long while ago to show that a limit was unaffordable.
If your account was opened in 2015 but the lender increased your limit in the last six years, then those limit increases can definitely be looked at. And you can always get bank statements going back six years even from closed bank accounts.
A better approach for old defaulted 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, this isn’t the lender’s fault. here you may still need help to get interest stopped on the cards – talk to StepChange or National Debtline.
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 had made all 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 open in the last 6 years the Ombudsman may look at it;
- you could have rejected the limit increase – they still shouldn’t have offered it if it was unaffordable.
You know if this car or catalogue has caused you difficulty – it’s easy to send a case to the 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 worry if you don’t have A copy of your credit or finance agreement – lots of people don’t. 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 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.
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?
Lou7 says
Hi all,
I know this is probably the wrong place to ask this, but I don’t know what to do. I had a letter yesterday from Barclaycard saying they want to pay me some money, but the letter is dated 31st July and it states I only have 30 days to respond. Does this mean I have lost out? Any info would be appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you say some more about what the letter says? How much are they offering and why?
Lou7 says
Hi Sara,
It says at the top a review relating to your Barclaycard. Then it says they had written to me previously about a payment they would like to make and that within 30 days I should provide my account details otherwise they won’t send any other letters and I won’t get any money. That’s all it says but the letter is dated 31st July and I only received it yesterday.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Oh! I suggest you phone them up, say you have just received thus letter, you don’t know sgatig relates to as you never had the previous one.
It may be the refund described in here https://debtcamel.co.uk/barclays-refund-customers-arrears/. If it was, then depending on your situation and what they offered, other people have managed to get more by going back and arguing that it wasn’t enough.
Lou7 says
Thanks Sara. Can they refuse to pay me a refund though because it’s out of the time limits?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds unlikely, but it’s hard to be sure without knowing what the refund was for!
Kate says
I’m getting contradictory responses from NewDay. I have a terminal illness and they have written off my Debenhams card (“in view of your circumstances we will no longer seek to collect the balance on your account”) but have refused to do so with my Aqua card. They sold my Aqua card to a third party despite CONC guidance to the contrary. I have a complaint pending with the FOS to a least get some of the interest written off since the credit limit had been repeatedly increased since I opened the account. It started at £1500 in 2015 and was £7000 when I defaulted.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry to hear that.
Aqua were aware of your health problems at the time they sold the card?
Have you asked the debt collector to consider writing off the balance? Some debt collectors will do this when a customer is terminally ill.
Kate says
Aqua were made aware of my condition when I defaulted. Their agents Arvato said they would ask for the debt to be cancelled but it was sold on before anything happened.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In that case I think you should be asking FOS if your debt can be written off. Not just reduced as it is unaffordable. Good luck.
Have you told FOS that you are terminally ill? they will usually prioritise your case.
Kate says
Thank you. It would be one less thing to worry about.
matt says
NEWDAY/AQUA
Investigator just told me that he cannot currently work on the case as they are talking internally about these types of cases and how to handle them so all on hold at the moment!
Paul says
This is frustrating.
I had a complaint in against Aqua which the adjudicator rejected even though I thought I had an excellent case.
I was told about 3 weeks ago that it had now been assigned to an Ombudsman but I haven’t heard a word from that Ombudsman or anybody else on it so this might explain things.
Gary says
Hi Matt,
How did you contact Aqua/Newday to start with? Did you write to them? I ask because I’m struggling to find an email address? Thanks.
D says
Would I be able to complain about a Halifax overdraft? I needed to pay another creditor and thinking I had no chance due to a horrendous credit rating, full of missed payments and defaults, I tried to apply for an overdraft anyway and they gave me it with a small limit, somewhere around 200.
As I reached that limit, they increased it repeatedly over a few weeks to over £3000 which I could never have paid back. Shortly afterwards they asked for the full amount to be paid off, which I just could not do, it has since been to court and has been settled, leaving me very short every month for a few years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago was this? I assume it was a debt collector that went to court?
D says
I can’t put exact dates on unfortunately, within the last 6/7 years, the CCJ is on my file still as it was only settled last year
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, well this sounds like it is worth a complaint. Also say you want the CCJ set aside so it is removed from your credit record.
Lou7 says
I rang Barclaycard up today and they are giving me £59. But have to send out the previous letter because I didn’t receive it and that’s the one you have to fill in. Thanks Sara.
Gemma says
Hi Sara, I’m looking for some advice for my mum as my dad has just passed away and my mum is left with a mortgage plus a reserve. The mortgage should be cleared by insurance but she has £54000 owing on their reserve. The bank (barclays) has increased this reserve by a few thousand twice a year so my mums debt has continued to increase. What I’m wondering is would it be worth putting in a irresponsible lending complaint? Every time they have increased it she has been at her limit and she hasn’t made payment toward clearing it in years as she has been unable to. She went for a loan a few years ago which was declined (at this point her reserve was at (39000). Any advice would be welcome, thank you x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I haven’t come across a case like this.
How much of the £54,000 is interest, do you know?
Gemma says
I’m not sure but my mum is paying £200 a month interest on it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So she has just started to make these interest payments? Previously they weren’t paying anything?
I suggest she should ask Barclays for a Statement of Account for the Reserved account. This should show all the amounts she has borrowed from it, the interest that has been added and the repayments that were made.
Has she had to ask for the Reserve account to be increased each year, or was this automatically done as part of the mortgage agreement?
Gemma says
I will ask her to get some statements. She has been paying the interest the whole time just not able to clear any of what she owes.
It was barclays she approached for a £3k loan who declined and told her to remortgage. Since then they have raised her reserve by £15k in the last 3 or 4 years. She is also is maxed out on her barclaycard. Surely this suggests it wasn’t affordable?
Gemma says
She has been making the payments of interest the whole time but hasn’t been able to bring the amount she owes down. No she has never asked them to increase it. I just don’t understand why when she approached barclays for a loan they said no to lending to her but then continued putting her reserve up by another £15,000 over a 3 or 4 year period which is more than she asked to borrow. She also has a barclaycard with them which she has also maxed out.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it is worth putting in a complaint. I would steer off using the term “irresponsible lending” and say that Barclays treated her unfairly by allowing the borrowing on the Mortgage resrve to accumulate at a time when they knew she had a lot of other debt and they were refusing her other forms of credit. Ask for the interest to be removed so she only has to repay what was borrowed. If the £200 a month is not affordable ask for this to be reduced to a level she can manage.
Barry says
I have received an offer from Aqua but I’m not sure what to do. I received 3 credit limit increases and they upheld my complaint in respect of the second one but not the first or the last. I was in a DMP when I took the card out and was still in the same DMP when the final limit increase was given. Is it worth going to FOS or could I lose my current offer if I do?
It is just over£2,200. The balance on the card is £3,200.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so that is substantial.
I suggest you go back and say their decision doesn’t make any sense, as they have agreed the second limit increase was unaffordable the third one much have been as well. Say you will be sending your case to the Ombudsman if they do not revisit this within 2 weeks.
If you would be happy for the balance to be written off and the account closed, you could suggest that as a compromise.
If this goes to FOS in theory you could get less but in practice that never seems to happen. Oftern FOS just accept the 2nd increase is unaffordable – as both of yiou agree that – and look at the thirst increase.
Tom Halbert says
Had the same kind of situation myself Barry. Aqua (new day) offered a refund of around £2298 for just 1 of my credit limit increases, the 2nd one, going from £1250 to £2250. I had 3 more credit limit increases afer that going up to a balance of £5950. I immediately contacted FOS with the offer from Aqua and waiting to hear back obviously.
Gary says
Hi Barry/Tom,
How did you contact Aqua/Newday to start with? Did you write to them? I ask because I’m struggling to find an email address? Thanks.
Tom Halbert says
Hi Gary, I applied through resolver.co.uk. I just searched for aqua credit card or newday on their site and the process was automatic from there. My complaints were sent to aqua/newday and responses came from aqua/newday through the site.
Mark says
Please could someone advise, is there 1 address or email that i send it too or do i need to find the lenders address or email and then write to them 1 by 1 many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have to complain separately to each lender. And if they reject your complaint or make a poor offer, you send that as a separate case to the Financial Ombudsman.
How many lenders are you talking about?
nikki says
I originally had several catelogue accounts: littlewoods, very, Isme, grattan etc, pretty much all of them. Over the years these credit limits were increased and when the companies joined together, i had several accounts in the same name. I ended up geting into too much debt and was unable to pay them and went into arrears with all of them. That was 9 years ago and i have 3 left that i am still paying. The debt has been sold on several times but i continue to pay each company accordingly.
I have all my old statements and letters as i felt it important to keep theses for the defaulted accounts. I feel they were extremely irresponsible with their lending especially when the companies joined together and i had several accounts with the same company. I wondered if i have a case here. Any help and advice would be much apprecated. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how large are the remaining debts?
Nikki says
2 are under £500′ 1 is just over £1000 and the biggest is just over £2000
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, you may want to ask the current debt collectors for a copy of the CCA agreement for the debts. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/ask-cca-agreement-for-debt/ which explains what this is all about and think if you should do this.
William says
I just received an unexpected 500GBP credit from Barclays without any explanation and I wondered what it was about. I googled it and landed here. I guess Barclays is waking up the sleeping dogs here, because if they refund it to me voluntary, something must be up.
From 2012-2015 I was in a rough patch and living on my credit cards. Barclays, Aqua and Vanquis constantly increased my credit limit and I landed in 10.000 GBP debt. Meanwhile I paid of 4.000 GBP. But I am still paying every month 300GBP to clear those debts. Probably paid off over 6000 GBP only on interest and fees in the last 3 years. This information could be a life saver. I checked my credit report and yes there is sufficent evidence that they shoudln’t have granted me the credit increases. And Barclays voluntary refunds confirm this. Ofcourse I am responsible for my own debts, but these are bad practices. Now I am maybe looking forwrd to some unexpected funds and an early clearing of all my debts! I’ve used your templates and will keep you posted.
Thank you so much for your assistance @Debtcamel and a small thank you for Barclays for “waking me up”
Kim says
Did you get anywhere with Aqua and Vanquis? I have almost the same issue, with the same lenders for similar amounts so curious how you got/are getting on.
Paul says
Barclaycard:
After they sent me a letter stating they shouldn’t have increased my limit in the past and they apologise for this, I started the complaint process with them on irresponsible lending.
They’ve completed this and come to the conclusion that they didn’t lend irresponsibly and so aren’t upholding my complaint. However, he said they shouldn’t have increased my limit and so they’re giving me as a £75 gesture of good will. I don’t understand how they can say they shouldn’t have given me the increase yet that isn’t irresponsible? Anyway, they’re putting this decision in writing.
My concern which I raised with him is if I accept that gesture, will it affect things if I then forward it to the FOS even though I may have accepted the gesture of good will? The complaint handler reassured me twice that it wouldn’t impact forwarding it on to the FOS and it’s just a gesture of good will.
Would this affect anything?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if they have said you can accept the goodwill gesture and still take your case to FOS, then that is what you can do. Make a note of when they told you this if it was on the phone.
Paul says
Thanks Sara. I’ll just accept it then.
Molly says
Just asking for any information or help I’ve never had a credit card in my life over 2 years ago I got a email saying I could have a aqua card I was really excited I I’ve always wanted one so I filled it in and got excepted for £300 limit so I bought a jumper in a statement I only had to pay £5 off then I went to the atm a few different times to get £20 out for the last two years I’ve been paying £50 a month every month the problem is I thought I had any day in that month to pay it I was sadly wrong even though I pay £50 every month you get a late payment charge of £12 so today I still owe £289 and I still keep paying more of wot it tells me to pay a frend told me you pay your full balance off in the same month so you don’t get charged I’m not really good at reading and writing really I should have read all the terms and conditions I dont work due to mental health problems since the loss of my mother with cancer then 4 months after my dad pass away he had a stroke . I was just happy I was getting a credit card problem was I didn’t know how to use it properly I think by paying £50 a month I will getting there but I can’t see that happening soon unless I pay £300 all them months of paying £50 if I could save I would have a lot of money put away so depressing
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Very depressing.
They should send you a statement every month. This may be on paper by letter. Or it could be an email. Or you may have to login to your account to see it.
Can you find a recent one?
You need to look for three things.
First there will be something which says what the minimum payment you have to make that month is – what is it?
It will also give a date you have to pay this by – when is it?
And it will also say somewhere how much interest they have added that month – how much is that?
Can you afford to pay it all off?
Are you still using the card?
Lisa says
Hello
I emailed FOS today to ask if there had been a decision made on how they are going to handle cases where there are complaints against credit cards, they replied straight away saying there is still no update on their process. Has anyone had similar where FOS have them on hold until they look at their internal processes?
Paul says
I was told about 4 weeks ago when I asked for an update that an ombudsman had now picked up my complaint against Aqua but I’ve not heard from the Ombudsman if they have picked it up so I presume my case falls under this too.
Maria says
Hi all, can anyone assist. I had a complaint with Vanquis which was not upheld and they kept insisting that my credit card limit was £500 when it was increased to £2000. I sent my complaint to FO who did not uphold the complaint for the same reason. I have now received a statement from Vanquis after so many months which does show the increase in credit limit from £500 to £2000 and also shows the gambling. Do l email the FO back with this statement or start a new complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you get a decision from an Ombudsman or an adjudicator?
how long ago?
Maria says
Hi it is signed off investigator claim management ombudsmen
She gave me 7 days to reply and she would send it to an ombudsman but I was very unwell so missed the deadline when I replied she said my being unwell was not an excuse and closed the case
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Oh dear. How late did you reply?
To be clear, Virgin told FOS you were wrong and the was £500 but your new statement shows it is £2000?
sammie says
Hi,
I am not sure what to do but could anyone help me? I have a VANQUIS credit card with a balance of £4000 i have had this for a few years now but i was a student when i first applied for it, since then my credit limit has increased in a short space of time and the interest rates are massive! i was stupid and got a loan out to repay the card as it was high interest, i then used the card again as when i left university as i had no job etc, i am in a right mess and i just need this card to be gone, i have other bills like car finance and a mortgage with other credit cards but with a balance of £1500, i do not want to enter a DMP or anything like that as i got the card in the first place to repair my credit score after a relationship breakdown 5 years ago, but the reality is that i cannot afford the monthly payments and afford to live its getting relentless.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You may not want a DMP but that could be a good option for you.
You can make an affordability complaint to Vanquis, but these complaints can take a VERY long while to go through and it can’t be guaranteed that you will win one. A DMP for all your unsecured debts (not the mortgage or car finance) would put you in a safe position to be able to make the complaint and wait until it is resolved.
Have you been paying all your debts so far? Have you taken any payment breaks because of Covid-19?
Sammie says
Hi sara, so I have contacted capital one and arranged a payment plan with them to pay £16 per month this does show on my report but not as missed payments or defaults so I though this might be the way forward…I’ve had a 3 month holiday break with vanquis now it’s up they have requested £79 interest charges and £189 for the monthly fee this is ridiculous! I cant afford to pay this! Do you think using ur template and trying the irresponsible leanding route with them will work?? I was a student when they continued to increase my limit to £4000 in a short period and if course I used it as I had no steady income…I didnt think it would spiral out of control this bad..but the interest is killing me, I paid off £700 in 2 months broke myself to have my statement still say I owed £3800 how??? This left me deflated and reluctant to pay them! They are taking liberties surely!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This 3 month holiday break – was this because of Coronavirus? or are you paying for Vanquis’s ROP product?
What are the rest of your finances like – do you have other credit card/catalogue debts? Loans? Overdraft?
Sammie says
Hi sara,
Yes this was due to coronavirus, and yes I have a loan and bike finance no store cards and another credit card from capital one that limit is £1450.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK I suggest you should tell the unsecured lender – the loan, Capital One and Vanquis, not the boke finance if that is HP – that you can’t afford the minimum payments and that you want a debt manabgement plan. This will affect your credit recoerd, but if you can’t make the minimum payments, there really isn’t an options. Talk to StepChange about this.
Vanquis should remove the interest they have added during the payment break, Soi that will help get yiour overall debt down a bit.
You can also try making affordabilty complaints but these can take a VERY long while to go through. You can’t expect these to be sorted out by the lender, most cases need to go to the Financial Ombudsman where they can take 6 -12 months. So a DMP gets you into a safe position while this happens.
Ani says
Hi, this is regarding Barclaycard. This is my mum’s account, and I am the second card holder in the account and have been using it throughout over the past few years. The credit limit was initially set at about 5,000 and then they started to increase it to I think 8,000 and then 10,000 and then 13,850. 13,000 is owed back to them and minimum payments have only been made throughout. What I wanted to know is can a complaint be made to Barclaycard for irresponsible lending on this basis that they kept increasing the credit limit even if only minimum payments were being made? Now they have sent persistant debt warning letters and they will suggest a paydown plan which will be high. If they knock of some of the money owed that would be some sort of relief. And where do I make the complaint to with Barclaycard? Any idea?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Has your mum just had one? What dud it say?
Maria says
It was 2 days after and the vanquis statement shows £2000 and all transactions
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, go back to FOS, say you think your case was closed unreasonably fast and Vanquis have now sent you a statement showing your limit is £2000, which is what your complaint said despite Vanquis telling FOS it was only £500.
Let us know how you get on?
Maria says
Hi all,
After many emails and telephone calls to the Financial Ombudsman they have emailed today to say that due to the new information provided in respect of the credit limit they have now re-opened my complaint and will keep me updated on progress.
I will let you know their second final response when it is received. Fingers crossed its a good one.
Maria
Sara (Debt Camel) says
excellent. It is rare for FOS to reopen a case, but as you have clear evidence the lender didn’t tell FOS the whole truth…
Chrissy says
After discovering Debt Camel & Resolver = Small refund from Wonga but adverse credit history removed (450 off 10k plus), Awaiting administration details for CashEuronet, ICL, Elevate etc., Received £750 back from SLL on first complaint as there had been an error their end, Very (Littlewoods) first letter of complaint compensated over £8500 and Very (Kays) compensated nearly £4000, I lost my case against MyJar strangely but have now cleared this account, 118118 (passed to DCA) total has now gone from £4500 to £195 – one loan via FOS and one loan on first letter due to an error their end. I now have ongoing complaints in with: Vanquis, Lloyds Loan me & hubby each!, Lloyds card me & hubby, Barclaycard (just rejected – off to FOS). I have done my research , copied, pasted and snipped as much info as I can from various credit reference agencies (TotallyMoney is very clear for snipping info). Very frustrating as it all takes a long time but I’ve learned to be patient and to do my homework first. I believe that if you truly have a good case the truth should come out. Thank you Sara for this website my total debt is dropping ever lower thanks to you!
AJ says
Hi, My partner as had a reply back from the FOS regarding a complaint about irresponsible lending from Aqua(Newday). Unfortunately the adjudicator agrees with Aqua and doesn’t think they’ve been irresponsible.
However, there is a couple of things in the adjudicators report that don’t add up!
Firstly, Aqua said that they carried out a credit check each time there was a credit increase but state that it wasn’t until 2016 that any payday lenders appeared on her credit file. However, her credit file shows a payday loan in Feb 2014(the first Aqua credit increase was issued in March 2014, then July 2014 and Dec 2014). She then had further credit increases in April 2015, January 2016, June 2016 and December 2016 and through this period she had 9 payday loans. She also had 2 doorstep loans over this period, 1 taken out October 2012-2015 and 1 2013-2015. We are pretty sure she had more i.e. Wonga etc but think they may have been removed from the credit report after claims.
Secondly, in the report the adjudicator state’s….. ‘You said that you had numerous payday and doorstep loans. But generally speaking, we wouldn’t say that a customer having payday or doorstep loans would automatically mean that a customer shouldn’t be offered a credit facility or be declined an increase in their credit limit.’??? Surely that’s the reason why they shouldn’t be cavalier in the increases in the first place.
We would be grateful of any advice and what to do next. Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you go back to the adjudicator and say you think New Day’s Credit checks would have shown more payday loans and other debts. Say you have asked ND for a SAR to show this. Also say you accept that you should not be rejected for credit just because ayou had payday loans and other debts, but you think the amount of other debt you had Means that New Day should have carefully assessed if you could afford an increased credit limit. Ask the adjudicator to reconsider and say you would like the case to go to the Ombudsman if the decision is not changed.
Also phone ND on 0333 220 2520 and say you want to make a subject access request for a copy of all your personal data, including but not limited to (use those words) all credit reference checks they made on you and any other assessments of affordability before credit limit increases or at other times.
AJ says
Hi Sara,
She has a SAR from Newday which we have also sent to the adjudicator. So surely the adjudicator should be able to see if Newday are trying to cover up the evidence!
Will do as you say about going back to the adjudicator but do you think it would be a good idea to send them a copy of the credit file?
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, but what did the SAR show? Did it show the credit searches?
AJ says
Hi Sara,
Just had another look at the SAR and lo and behold, no sign of any credit searches!
Should we go back to ND and ask for these or just point it out to the adjudicator. Bearing in mind the adjudicator needs a response before Oct 5th?
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Both. Tell NB you would like to see the credit searches as they would have showed a lot more debt and point out to the adjudicator that ND have not included them in the SAR.
maria says
Hi all
I have had a reply from Vanquis who surprise surprise have said that they are standing by their final response and not upholding my complaint even though they increased my credit limit from £500 to £2000 which they said was not the case (customer services sent me my account summary which clearly shows this!!!). I have forwarded all this to the financial ombudsman but have not yet had a response. Sara is there another email address for Vanquis l can send my complaint to CEO, Director etc. please.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Try CEO Malcolm.lemay@providentfinancial.com.
I don’t normally suggest doing this, but as Vanquis seem to have told FOS yiur limit was only £500 when it was £2000, this us what you should emphasise, and attach proof.
Maria says
Thank you Sara,
This is a section of the paragraph from the financial ombudsman “Vanquis offered you a £500 credit card, Vanquis review their customers card accounts to assess whether there is eligibility for a card increase. However, I can see no information which shows that the amount was increased for you” and this is a section of the statement showing the increase:-
StatementDate CreditLimit CurrentBalance
2012-11-15 500 £476.16
2012-12-16 2000 £2,072.65
2013-01-15 2000 £2,211.83
2013-02-17 2000 £2,138.93
2013-03-17 2000 £2,138.65
2013-04-15 2000 £2,194.17
Its so frustrating and annoying that both Vanquis and the FO have not taken me seriously and ignored me.
Thank you so much Sara for all your help in everything on this site it has helped me and so many others enourmously.
2013-05-15 2000 £2,192.76
Mae says
Hi Sara
I sent this letter to Virgin Money – some bits cut as too long to post (and also plan to send a similar one to Barclaycard). They have come back today and rejected my complaint regarding irresponsible lending. Should I now take it to the FOS? I’m currently in a DMP. Should I change the letter before sending to Barclaycard?
You should never have increased my credit limit in 2016. At that time, I had only made minimum payments on this credit card for a long while and I was using a very high level of my available credit and had to keep switching the debt between my this credit. 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 and it 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. When I first opened the account I was working full time, this however changed in 2008 and my salary halved. As a result, I could not afford my existing debt and I was having to borrow more every month.
I would like you to refund me all the interest I paid in balance transfer fees and I understand if I take this complaint to the Financial Ombudsman, 8% simple interest is usually added to this sort of refund.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would like you to refund me all the interest I paid in balance transfer fees
What do you mean by this?
Mae says
I kept having to switch my cards around to get a 0% deal but it was doing me no favours as I wasn’t getting anywhere with paying the balances off and juts managing the minimum payments and then having to use other cards to borrow more. Just got into a vicious cycle.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok, in that case the interest and fees will have been pretty low. And your credit rating must have been very good to get these deals. And Virgin may argue that providing a balance transfer facility was not increasing your debt but reducing the cost of it… I suspect you may find this complaint hard to win.
Are you having problems repaying the current balance? Have you had letters about “persistent debt”?
Mae says
There is now a default on the account due to entering the DMP so I have had the letters. The same with Barclaycard although their credit limit increases were crazy. How do you think i should amend the letter for Barclaycard. Should I go back to virgin or straight to FOS? Thanks for your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You just need to say what happened.
How large are the total debts in your DMP? How much are you paying a month to it?
Mae says
Approx £45k and paying £117 per month. What sort of compensation do I ask for or do I not ask for anything?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can try what you have asked for but (a) you may well not win the case at FOS and (b) if you do any refund isn’t going to make much of a dent in your debt mountain.
Are you buying or renting? Do you expect your finances to get better or worse over the next few years?
Mae says
We own our home and I’m determind things will get better. Hoping to remortgage in the future to pay some of the debt back.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are your incomes secure? What is your house worth and how large is your mortgage?
Is your DMP with StepChange?
Mae says
Yes income is secure. Mortgage is £259K and house probably worth around £360K. We failed on affordability to use the equity to pay off some debt when we remortgaged back in May.
The DMP is with PayPlan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did PayPlan discuss an IVA with you instead of a DMP?
Mae says
Yes, apparently too much equity in the house to do it.
Ryan says
I just want to thank Sara for all she does. I have just received a final response from Very.
They have agreed they owe me £3368.12. This has cleared my balance on their account and has left me with a cheque coming in the post for £2130.81!
Thank you so much Sara!
Fay says
Hi Sara,
I have a next directory account since 2006, I think i had a limit of £500 then but over the years up untill now they have kept on increasing my limit from £1000 to between £5000. I have mostly paid mimimum payment to them. I have statements from 2009, Do you think making an irresponsible lending complaint be worth it? My debt has spiralled out of control by borrowing more.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you acquired a lot of other debts over this period?
Fay says
Yes, my total debt is now nearly £7000
Each time they changed my credit limit I was not informed once
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok this sounds worth a complaint but it may depend a lot on how often you have paid more than the minimum.
If you are having problems paying the minimum, ask for a Lower payment arrangement and for the interest to be frozen – affordability complaints can take a VERY long while to go through and you can’t be sure you will win so you need to get yourself into a safe financial position while it goes through.
Fay says
Also my total debt is between 5 different creditors my remaining balance witg next is about £300
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ah so you have paid off a lot of the debt. If this as by taking out a loan or so, that isn’t a problem for an affordability complaint. But if you haven’t “shuffled” the debt elsewhere, but have paid it down by repaying more than the minimums a lot, then you may struggle to argue that the credit limit increases were unaffordable.
If you are having difficulty making payments now to this and your other debts, with 5 creditors I suggest you talk to StepChange about a debt management plan, see https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx. That is easier than trying to make 5 different payments arrangements. A DMP can also include an overdraft and stop the charges on that.
Fay says
Hi Sarah,
About 90 percent of the time i paid minimum payments, when the amount became to much I got some of the balance transfered onto a credit card, from there on by debt gradually started increasing. Should I bother with making the irresponsible lending claim with next directory?
Also if I was to get a DMP it would take too long to pay it back
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m not saying don’t complain, I am saying this may take a long long while and may not get you a result which makes much difference to your overall debt situation.
So you have to tackle your debts. If a DMP will take too long, StepChange can help you look at your other debts options. Are you buying or renting? If your finances are likely to improve over the years a long DMP at the start doesn’t matter as it will speed up later.
Fay says
Hi Sarah,
Ive decided to setup my own DMP with some of my creditors for the meanwhile, if things dont improve I’ll try to apply for a DRO. Will it possible to get a DRO if I already have a DMP with creditors?
Thank you for your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can.
Chez19 says
sorry just another question, I had a previous loan of £1000 from 118 118 money back in July 2018 and paid it early (£341.82) which cleared it, I got this money as I took out another payday loan to try and consolidate some of my debts, 118 118 then they offered me another loan of £2000 via the app as I have a credit card with them too (credit limit £250) I didn’t have to answer any questions ie expenses etc, just pressed apply and I got it! Now I’m struggling to pay it as I mentioned to you before, is this a good case for unaffordability?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you took a payday loan to consolidate debts? Who was the lender?
Chez19 says
Hi Sara, sorry I can’t remember who I used to pay this as I have had so many loans off different companies over the years :-( I would of checked my bank statement to see who the money came off but I no longer bank with Barclays and don’t have them anymore!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how long ago were these loans?
you need to try to get your bank statements as they help with affordability complaints – this can be done from closed accounts.
Chez19 says
The first one was July 2018 and the second was sometime in 2019, will Barclays charge for copy of the bank statements? How far do I need to go back?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you need bank statements from 3 months to three months after each loan. Barclays shouldn’t charge for this.
They will help with who your payday lenders were and with any claims against 118 money or payday lenders that have to go to the ombudsman so set about getting them now, before they are needed.
But send 118 your complaint now, template here https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/, no need to wait for the bank statements.
Chez19 says
Ive since found the information, I took out a loan for £1000 from Bamboo and paid 118 118 money the settlement amount of £341.82 to clear the loan, and spent the rest, stupid I know but it was there in my account.
Tom says
I have been in £1000s of of credit card debt for years, currently my total debt is at around £16,000 in credit cards alone. Vanquis kept putting my limit up from the original 1k to where its at now, and ive since taken out 5 cards with 2k limits(all now maxed out and interest free period expired) that all had 18 months interest free on balance transfers. I originally used those to pay off my overdraft(as the interest was killing me as it was a 2.5k overdraft with lloyds) plus paid vanquis off fully, and cancelled a couple of cards i had already like marbles with high rates.
I now pay around £550 a month towards credit cards plus around £60 a month interest on my overdraft, with all my other bills i end up having to use the credit cards to live, meaning i am never able to actually pay them.
Do i have a case with anyone? Halifax allowed me to have two cards, both 2k limits one was around 2 years ago and the other 18 months ago(so the no interest rate has just ended for that too). Another of those cards is for Lloyds with a maxed out 2k limit, they gave me that despite me being 3k overdrawn and in a lot of other credit card debt at the time(id estimate CC debt was around 8k when i took the first 3 cards out 24 months ago).
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You may have a case against Vanquis for increasing your credit limit so high. But if you reduced the balance a lot at least once this will make it harder to win.
If you were getting 0% balance transfers offers then your credit rating must have been pretty good and almost by definition these reduce someone’s cost of borrowing, so it will probably be easy for the lenders to justify offering you these.
But your current situation is unsustainable. You cannot borrow your way out of this sort of problem and it is now much harder to get 0% balance transfers in any size.
I suggest you talk to StepChange about a debt management plan, where the interest is frozen and all your money goes to reduce the balance each month. https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
Tom says
Thank you for the reply, I will look into the debt management plan, I understand the severity of the situation im in which was not helped by a loss of income because of covid. It meant I had to take payment holidays on the cards I could afford to, but most of them I couldnt afford to as they were maxed out, so the interest each month of the holiday would have taken them overlimit so I havent risked it. In regards my credit rating, it is actually the highest I can remember it, according to clearscore its above the national average which I find absolutely ridiculous given the sheer amount of credit card debt and credit utilisation rate.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Where you have taken a payment holiday, ifyou now go back to the lender and say you cannot afford to resume normal payments and ask for interest to be frozen and to pay Lower affordable amount ( or even a token £1 a month), you should also ask for the accrued interest over The payment break to be waived. This is what the FCA rules say should happen but I suspect some lenders will need to be reminded about it…
Getting this extra interest removed will reduce the debt going into your DMP.
moira says
Hi I wondered if anyone can help, I had a credit card with monument years ago, have tried to track them down but can’t find anything. I wasn’t working at the time but they offered me a credit card over the phone and increased the limits several times. I still owe thru a debt collection agency over £1500 but can’t find any details on monument themselves. Anyone know what happened to them?
Izzy says
Hi Sara,
I’m not sure where to ask this or if you deal with this type of complaint, so before I type it all here I’ve added a little info.
I have a miss-sold Packaged Bank Account complaint w/Barclays for an Additions account. They have already upheld a similar complaint for a Packaged Premier Account but not this one.
I believe they miss-sold this account as it was upgraded without my knowledge, i.e. it just became an Additions account overnight. Later when I queried it, I was told to keep it as it was the only way to keep my overdraft facility and it came with lots of useful addons.
I escalated this complaint to the FOS in Jan this year and just heard back today. The FOS guy doesn’t think Barclays did anything wrong! In fact the FOS email read just like the Barclays final response letter, some of it almost word for word.
I can ask the FOS to look at it again if I reply by the 14th of Oct and/or send to the Ombudsman for a final decision if needed. There is a fair bit more to this story e.g. hassles in getting data and a telephone transcript from Barclays (which I still don’t have 9 months on) and them not supplying me with any proof of my signing up to this account.
So my questions are, is it worth pursuing, do these types of cases ever get any further than this? Is there anything I should be concentrating on to get them to even acknowledge that Barclays did something wrong by upgrading an account without seeking permission? Thanks Izzy.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think if you feel strongly that this has been unfair to you, then you should ask for this to go to an Ombudsman.
Barry says
Hi,
I wrote to Barclaycard about un-affordable lending and was told they were ignoring my complaint as it was out of time (more than 6 years since last increase and more than 3 since i should have known)
So i went to the ombudsman – the senior investigator has come back with the same, saying i should have know when i joined step change in 2015.
The account is still open ( with link financial) I have to let him know whether or not to escalate it to an ombudsman < – not sure what he means as i thought that's who he was?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how old were the credit limit increases you were complaining about?
Barry says
Hi Sara
I have been told that they were in 2013
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok that isn’t that long ago, so you can produce evidence about your finances at that time?
If you have some evidence to show your problems at that time, this mat be worth taking to the ombudsman level. Your argument is that when you went to StepChange you realised your finances were a mess and you couoldn’t afford the repayments, but you did not realise the lender had a duty to consider affordabilit before increasing your credit limit, so you thought you had just been foolish and you didn’t realise that was a cause to complain about the lender. Say when and how you found out about making an affordability complaint.
Barry says
I have it all on my latest credit report dating back past 2013 with all balances, although i have nothing to prove that i was actually using it to buys food, petrol, and the like as i was stuck in a vicious circle at the time.
Barry says
Hi Sara,
I have email the ombudsman back with what you suggested with a better credit report (experian credit club), interestingly however i have just found that my credit report says my limit was increased to £9350 in 2014.
Ill see what he comes back with
thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that is a good point to emphasise to the ombudsman!
Charlotte says
Hi, I have a credit card with Aqua that I first got when I was 18. After 3 years of only making minimum payments and reaching the limit they increased my limit from £100.00 (which is what I requested as it was supposed to be a credit builder) to £6500 and I never requested this but as this increased it periodically the payments just got higher and higher. Do you think it’s worth complaining?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If the minimum repayments got so high they were unmanageable so you were having to take out more debt (possibly on the Aqua card!) to manage, then yes that is worth a complaint.
JP says
Do it :)
I just got back nearly £3k from them in similar circumstances to you… Assuming that minimum payments became too much for you anyway.
Good luck! They decided to refund it on the last day of the 8 weeks complaint period.
JP says
I want to say a huge thank you Sara to you and to the members of this site also.
The comments on these articles provided me with constant reassurance when I sometimes nearly gave up hope on both my financial situation and these refunds.
I have just received £3k back from Aqua after massive credit limit increases. I got back £3k from Very the other day too and 118 Money have just agreed to refund £1,200 in interest.
I have Satsuma, Moneyboat and Lending Stream with the FOS now so fingers crossed for those. Satsuma has been a nightmare though and approaching ten months now. Keeping the faith though!
Cannot thank you enough for the templates etc. These have completely saved my future.
Paul says
On 1st May, an adjudicator ruled in my favour on a complaint against Vanquis on credit limit increases but didn’t mention anything about removing adverse findings from my credit file. I went back to the adjudicator querying why this was missing from the decision letter. He came back saying “I would expect them to do this” and “yes any adverse information should be removed”. Vanquis settled the complaint by repaying me. Between July-Now I’ve been going back to the adjudicator advising that adverse information hasn’t been removed. He stopped responding for a month until Friday when he said “ We have now had a response from Vanquis who are disputing whether ‘reworking’ the account should include removing credit reference information. I have gone back to them to tell them we would expect this to be done as part of the rework and so I am just waiting to hear back from them.” I knew this was going to be an issue as it wasn’t in the decision letter to begin with as I’ve had decisions before where it’s been specifically stated that the business needs to do this and this time it wasn’t mentioned. It’s been 5 months since he made the decision and now Vanquis are saying they don’t agree with having to remove adverse findings. I’m concerned and annoyed and have no idea what happens next.
Josh says
Could you please provide Vanquis email address if you dont mind. I would like to make a complaint. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Try customer.relations@vanquisbank.co.uk
Ana b says
Ombundsman is not taking any more cases unless they are water/energy complaints?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry what are you saying? Are you talking about the Financial Ombudsman because they don’t normally get energy/water complaints…
Paul says
Anyone noticed that there’s no decisions either way on any credit card or banking cases on the ombudsman site since mid August?
I’ve been waiting ages for an Ombudsman to look at my Aqua case.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS decisions normally take 4-8 weeks to be loaded on the decisions site. This doesn’t mean no decisions are being made!
Dale says
Has anyone had any joy with having a case looked at by shop direct (very) by the FOS. I submitted my case in August 2019, I’ve chased over 25 times in emails and 50+ phone calls and all the FOS ever tell me is that very haven’t provided my business file and they have granted numerous extensions. I am not getting anywhere and it’s emotionally draining me, I know I have a very strong case but no point of escalation. I get circumstances are fragile for the FOS, but 14 months is utterly insulting.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Phone FOS up and say you want to put in a complaint. If Shop Direct won’t supply the business file, FOS needs to stop giving them extensions and consider your complaint without it.
Also email consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and copy this to suzanne.edmondson@theverygroup.com.
Put SHOP DIRECT (312190) REFUSING TO SEND MY FILE TO FOS as the subject.
I complained to Shop Direct in [June 2019]. I sent the complaint to the ombudsman in August 2019. My FOS reference number is [99999999].
FOS have asked Shop Direct for the business file many times but it hasn’t been sent.
I thought the FCA should know that one of their authorised firms is just ignoring the Ombudsman – this isn’t fair!
Paul says
I’ve just had an adjudicators decision overturned in my favour by an Ombudsman on my complaint against Aqua. All interest and charges to be repaid plus 8% interest on all 4 credit limit increases dating back to 2015. Emotional at the moment getting that decision. Absolutely changes everything for me for the better.
Does anyone know what a query is on a credit file though? The ombudsman has stated the following:
Mr XXX credit file shows status markers for a missed payment and an arrangement to pay in relation to the Aqua account. I understand Aqua’s point about a credit file showing a true account of a customer’s payment history. My view is that Aqua lent irresponsibly and his account shouldn’t have reached the credit limit it did. So, Aqua should take steps to record a query against the missed payment and arrangement to pay information on Mr T’s credit file.
Would the above be better for me than a missed payment or no real difference? I ask because I’m looking to get a mortgage and wondered if that’s better than a late payment or no change?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have no idea how a mortgage lender would view a Q. I suggest you tell the Ombudsman you think this is unsatisfactory. Point out that https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/consumer-credit/unaffordable-lending says
“We’re also likely to tell a lender to make sure their customer’s credit file doesn’t have any adverse information recorded about the loans where we’ve identified proportionate checks would have shown that the borrower couldn’t sustainably repay the loan.”
and that in all these cases removing these negative marks means the credit record “no longer shows the true position”. Say you think a Q may well be viewed as a problem when you apply for a mortgage and you do not feel this is fair.
Paul says
Thanks Sara, I’ve gone back with something like that and a little bit more.
Wes says
My cousin wants to send a complaint to ‘Very’ however there’s no email for this?
Only an address to write to them?
Hj says
I used resolver and they responded by post and they upheld ☺️
Kim says
I’ve been using resolver and not had a single response from them.
Sally says
Hi Sara ,
I just had a weird update on my credit file
I had a affordability claim against aqua credit card, my balance was £2665 .
Today it’s been 8 weeks and I had no reply from aqua .
But on my credit report , aqua (Cabot) has Updated my balance from £2666 to £250.00
Is that normal ? I have emailed aqua but had no reply
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I guess it’s either some error, or Aqua have decided to offer a refund.
Sally says
Thanks Sara ,
Just received a reply by post from aqua , partially upholding my claim and reducing my balance from £2665 to £250,
I’m happy with the outcome .
Thanks again for this great website full of ideas
Fiona says
Hi
Just wanted a bit of advise, my partner has had a credit card for the past 10 years with HSBC. About 2 years ago the limit was increased without him being made aware at all, the limit went from £3,500 to £4,500 without letting him know at all. This caused him to spend without realising more money, once he did realise he called the bank and they said because he was sitting at the top of the limit and he had been making just over the minimum payments he was eligible for an auto increase. Unfortunately this caused him to fall into debt and is struggling to make the minimum payments. Is there anything he can do re a complaint? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was he often paying over the minimum payments each month? What would his credit record have looked like when they upped his limit – would it have shown a lot of other debt?
Fiona says
He was paying a few pounds over the minimum such as £3 more. Then he missed a few payments between July and October 2016 and then went over the credit limit in November. By January 2017 he had been given the increase.
He didnt have any other credit at the time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then that sounds like a good reason to complain the limit increase was unfair.
Jamie says
Hi. Anyone got the complaint email for Aqua please?
Nic says
Try aquacardservices@newday.co.uk
Rebecca jackson says
Hello I am just after some advice for my mum.
For years she has had a Grattan catalogue account, which there have been consistent late payments on but they continued to allow her to access new credit agreements despite a charge of £72 per month in late payment fees alone being added to her account from 2014 (10 months out of 12) then up to 2017 where there were charges each month due to not making minimum payments. In the meantime they continued to give her new buy now pay later agreements. We’ve sent a complaint they’ve responded after 5 months not upholding the complaint just stating they would have carried out a check initially and for each other plan but they no longer hold these records therefore aren’t upholding the complaint.
We’ve sent it to the ombudsman does anyone think it’s worth contacting them again saying that they’ve not answered any of the questions regarding late payments and the charges or just let the ombudsman deal with it. We think she’s got a good case and it will amount to thousands so possibly they’re trying to put her off?
Any advice welcome!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I doubt they will change their mind. I suggest you just leave it with FOS.
Rebecca jackon says
Thanks Sara :-)
Leanne says
Hi,
Just wanted to update – I was given an AQUA card in 2017, within one month they doubled my credit limit to £400, within 12 months it was increased to £1500. I had gambling transactions and regular missed or late, minimum payments.
I submitted a complaint in July which was ‘lost’ and after pushing today I have had confirmation that all interest and charges have bene refunded, wiping my balance of over £700 and with a small refund coming my way :)
tom Halbert says
Hi Leanne, great to hear that news. Waiting for a decision myself on 3 credit limit increases after being refunded for the first increase they gave. Can I ask what was involved in your ‘pushing’?
kind regards, Tom
Marlene says
Hi,
I’m posting on behalf of my son. He is 29 years old and has mental health problems. I’ve just discovered that he’s got a Barclaycard with a credit limit of £11,000 which is at its maximum! I have no idea how he managed to get it but he’s now received a letter from them stating that they realise he was given a credit limit too high and that the account has been closed. Looking at his online account it doesn’t appear to have been closed at all but is racking up interest. He’s received a text today stating that they want him to fill in a budget form and then call them in 24 hours to discuss whether or not they can help him. He won’t call them as he’s in a state of high anxiety over this matter which has exacerbated his mental health problems. I really don’t know what to do about it as I definitely can’t pay the £254 monthly minimum repayment they are asking for. I’d be grateful for any advice. Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s nice of you to try to help. The first rule in this sort of situation is you mustn’t endanger your own finances by paying his debts. There will be a debt solution for him and the best thing you can do is support him through this.
If he phones Barclaycard with you there, he could get through security and then ask them to talk to you?
Can you say something about his finances…. does he have a job? Does he live with you?
Does he have other debts? You need to ask clearly about this… if you aren’t absolutely sure this is the only one, you need to try to persuade him to check his credit record and see if anything else emerges. Also ask to see his bank statements. It may feel intrusive, but no one can help if they don’t know how bad things are.
Dale says
Thanks Sara, the FOS have come back to say they granted yet another extension to very now the 21st October. FOS confirmed they first requested the business file 31st October 2019!! I’m at a loose end and the FOS are just not helping.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you sent that email to the FCA?
Dale says
Yes 2 days ago, still awaiting a response. It does say a 2 day SLA so hopefully this will provide some traction to my case.
Dale says
FCA have come back to say they’ve logged this and informed the companies FCA team but moving forward now will they investigate and push very to provide my file to FOS as FCA said that from now I just need to keep liaising with FOS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the FCA will not investigate your individual case – that is what FOS are there for.
Pablo says
Hi Sara, as always thanks for this invaluable site. Since finding it I’ve been slowly working through my debt. With Vanquis Credit Card I owe £850 via Lowell Group who now collect on their behalf. At the time of using the card I was having trouble with money and using the awful pay day loans etc.
In 2018 I received a refund from Vanquis of over £435 that they took from my Card Balance for the mis use of interest charged in the Repayment Option Plan. I still have the email from them where they apologise for charging it and admit they were wrong. Should I still be needing to pay back this £850 to Lowell or could I claim against this ?
Many Thanks,
Pablo
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So the Vanquis balance was passed to Lowell after Vanquis had refunded some ROP?
How large was your Vanquis credit limit? Had they increased it a lot when you were only making the minimum payments?
Pablo says
Yes that’s correct. They passed it to Lowell after deducting some ROP. I can’t remember the full limit as such a long time ago but I believe it was around £1750 mark. They did increase it and I would of been making minimum payments at the time.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This ROP refund by itself doesn’t mean the rest of your balance was wrong or they increased your credit limit too high. So the balance with Lowell is still owed.
Read the article above – it is possible to make an affordability claim saying they increased your credit limit too high, these aren’t particularly easy cases to win, but if you feel the credit limit was too high, then put in a complaint to Vanquis. Not to Lowell.
Pablo says
Thanks Sara
Sam says
Hi Sara
I am wondering whether you can help me. I have two defaults that I’m trying to remove from my credit file.
The first one is with NatWest Bank and relates to a student overdraft. I agreed to repay the overdraft on a monthly basis but I could not meet the payments as I was also paying off another overdraft with another lender and I also had other debts. I defaulted after three missed payments in November 2015. I then made a new payment arrangement with them and I eventually cleared the debt. Is there any way that I can argue that they should never have given me the graduate overdraft in the first place as I already had a student overdraft with another bank and I really wasn’t earning that much money at the time? Could this get the default removed?
The other default is with Capital One. They gave me a credit card with a high credit limit which I spent and couldn’t pay back. They sold the debt to Lowell who recorded the default. Can I ask Capital One for my statements even though they have sold the debt to Lowell? It was in 2016 and I can’t remember when they gave credit increases and I missed payments. I asked Capital One and they said they can’t give me them because they sold the debt to Lowell. They did tell me that the default letter is dated August 2016 and they will send me a copy of this as Lowell have registered it as October 2016.
I look forward to hearing from you
S
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is there any way that I can argue that they should never have given me the graduate overdraft in the first place as I already had a student overdraft with another bank and I really wasn’t earning that much money at the time? Could this get the default removed?
You could argue that. See the article above. It may depend on how large the overdraft was. £10,000 is obviously a lot less affordable than £750. These cases aren’t easy to win, but if you think it was unfair and it caused you difficulty, then make your case.
You can ask Capital One for the statements, but you don’t need them. Just send them an affordability complaint if you think they set your credit limit too high.
Sam says
Thanks Sara. I will give it a go and report back on how it all went. Thank you
Sue says
Has anyone had any success complaining to their bank who were also lending (current account, overdraft, two credit cards and two loans ) while trapped in a payday loan cycle? I’ve won all of my cases for payday loans (£18,000 refunds but that includes £9000 from Wonga) but while this was going on my bank was also lending to me. I’m a single woman on one income but my debt repayments were £2600 every month on a take home wage of £2487 so I literally didn’t even have living costs. I’ve cleared all my debts but I am not sure if this is something worth Persuing but part of me thinks they could actually see my statements and debt repayments more clearly than payday loan companies? Any advice most welcome
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how was your bank lending to you – loans, credit cards, overdraft? For credit cards and overdrafts, did they increase your limits?
Sue says
Hi Sara, I had to loans with them that I would refinance with them that’s started off at £3000 and were £12000 in the end I think it was 9 loans in 6 years. New ones taken out the same month paid off repayments were around £550 a month. Overdraft was £2000 that was as a student in 2009 and was continually at the maximum until I managed to clear that this year. Credit cards were £500 and £3500 and have been sitting at the max for over 10 years until cleared at once this year with redress. I wouldn’t be out of debt if it wasn’t for redress
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that’s a lot of bank loans! what were the interest rates?
Sue says
Started at 4% and 12% the bigger they got. Also had a Santander bank loan running at the same time. I had a good credit score and wasn’t kidding payments but I was borrowing absolutely everywhere all the time to juggle it all 😥
Matt says
Anyone have any idea how long Very are taking to give final response, it’s been over 10 weeks since I sent in my complaint to them. I rang the other day and all they could tell me is that’s it’s been sent to the Legal department!
Sue says
Legal department made me laugh. In other words someone has hung a sign in the call centre saying “legal department” I contacted very after required 8 week and said I had not had any communication that they couldn’t make the legal required timeframe so I would give them three more days then send to FOS. They didn’t respond in 3 days so sent to FOS and mentioned that, won by claim at FOS also
African Queen says
Hello Sara,
I hope you are keeping safe and well.
I hope you can help me with my query.
I had 2 Barclaycard accounts – one was opened in 1995. I was then offered another card not long after which I didn’t apply for. Credit limits were increased at different times.
I struggled with making the minimum payments and in the end, the accounts were closed. A default was registered on my credit file for one of the cards. I eventually paid it off and the default eventually came off earlier this year after 6yrs. This had a major impact on my credit score as you can imagine.
I am still paying off the second card. I have just over £500 left to pay. I have not missed any payments.
I haven’t received a letter – I suppose because both accounts are closed.
Is it worth me making a complaint to them?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think its worth bothering with complaints about anything that happened pre 2007.
African Queen says
I thought so, just thought I would check.
Stay safe
Sara (Debt Camel) says
And you !
louise says
Hey any advice would be greatly appreciated im currently paying off debt managers, I have written complaint to FW and have just recieved my final response. I want to take it to ombudsmen i have also asked for access to my data. They have basically said they haven’t done anything wrong. I was paying minimum payments they upped my credit regularly (they said that they informed me that I could stop the increases at any time i don’t remember Seing or hearing anything didn’t even think this was a thing) and that they had completed credit checks again i don’t believe this happened as if they had they would not have increased my credit as I had numerous payday loans spiraling out of control. They were also not helpful at all when it all finally became too much for me they whacked on charges etc for missed payments when I had already told them my financial situation.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FW is Fashion World I assume.
So you have two things to complain about to the Ombudsman – the way they increased your credit limit without checking property it was affordable and the extra charges they unfairly added when you tokd them you were in financial difficulty. Make sure your complaint makes this point clearly.
What is the rest of your current financial position like?
Louise says
Thank you,
They say that they did all the checks each time and that my credit record showed it was positive for each increase…. I don’t see how it did and I don’t believe they did as I say if they did they would have seen the amount of payday loans that I had. At the moment I am on universal credit single parent…. the problems I had were short term a year ago I asked them for a couple of months grace to get my act together they then messed everything up and it was passed onto debt management…. they say they won’t refund any charges or any adverse history.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok, send it to the Ombudsman and ask him to have a look at both the problems.
Scott says
Hello. I was wondering if you can help. In 2019 i was in financial hardship. Had a bad gamling problem also. I had about 12 creditors on my credit report which were all in arrears and default with a total amount of about 20k. This included payday loans and overdrafts in arrears and payment plans with 3 other banks. I applied for a 3k loan with hsbc and was accepted. They also gave me a 2k overdraft and 1.5k credit card. A day later i increased the loan to 10k and was accepted. I was in a mess when i applied for all of this and have been in arrears with them after only making two payments. I sent an irresponsible lending claim to them yesterday as they should never have accepted me for any credit with the amount of debt i had and the arrears and defaults i had..
Do you think i will have a chance of winning this claim.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What did you say you wanted the loan for?
What is your current financial position – how much do you owe in total? Are you buying or renting?
Have you looked at affordability complaints to the payday loans?
Scott says
Hello
It was for a car which i ended up not getting. My financial position is now worse and i have been successful with irresponsible lending with a few creditors. Safety net credit upheld my complaint and that loan was only for about £600 which i had taken out 2 months before this one.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so how much do you owe? and are you buying or renting? I guess your income is good?
Scott says
Hi just want to update.
Natwest didnt uphold my complaint for irresponsible lending for giving me 2.5k overdraft. Stated that there was no issues on my credit file in 2016. I was in arrears with various payday loans and credit cards and had a live default for 20k loan with tsb plus my bank statements with them prior to getting the overdraft shows a bad gambling problem.
Nationwide didnt uphold my complaint for 2k overdraft. They stated that if i had a live default they would have upheld it but experian didnt report a default to them. I produced my credit report to them which shows a default but they refused to change their mind blaming experian for not telling them.
Barclaycard, aqua and vanquis im waiting on replies.
Hsbc im waiting on a response and thats been 6 weeks.
I dont seem to be having much luck.
I have escalated to the ombudsman for likely loans, nationwide and natwest but not getting much luck.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lots of people expect the Ombudsman will go badly, but it may not!
Scott says
Hi the loan was 10k and its now 14k. Ive been in arrears since january. The overdraft is 2k and credit card 1.5k. My salary is 43k. I private rent and im also behind on rent due to all my debt. I was already in arrears with all creditors when they gave me all the loans etc.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are you making any payments to the loans and credit cards at the moment?
How far behind with the rent are you?
(I do stop asking questions in the end, honest!)
Scott says
Hello.
I have been on a payment plan with the loans, overdraft and credit card since january. I pay £50 to loan and £10 to credit card but nothing to overdraft. I was 3k behind in my rent but got payment plan for that too.
I am getting by but i think hsbc should never have given me all this finance. At the time i was desperate and even payday loans wouldnt give me finance as i was in arrears with so many creditors.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As you have rent arrears, I suggest you need formal debt advice. What I am writing here is just some pointers to think about, I do not know your full position. It is worth an hour of your time to go through things in detail with a debt adviser. Phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
So your rent arrears will be cleared when? If this is soon, so at that point you can start paying more to your unsecured debt, then that will be good.
If it isn’t soon, then I think you need to reduce the payments arrangements to a token £1 per debt and throw the extra money at the rent arrears.
I think you are right that HSBC should never have given you the loan. But if you win the affordability complaint (use the template here https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/) it only removes the interest from the loan. That will still leave you with a mountain of debt. This is why an affordability complaint is not the solution to your situation, you still need a long term plan in addition to making this complaint.
If you are still using the account with an overdraft, I suggest you should switch to bank somewhere else. With no overdraft. Then the overdraft becomes just one more debt to repay.
Scott says
Hello.
Im gutted as dont seem to be getting any success here. Hsbc just emailed me not upholding my complaint. They stated that there was no default on my reports and the loans which were 3k then increased to 10k, overdraft of 2k and credit card of 1.5k was affordable and it was not irresponsible lending. I sent them a credit report which clearly shows default and all the debt i was in and the fact i was behind with all payments. I dont understand this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send your complaint to the Finacial Ombudsman. these affordability complaints are quite new and a lot of lenders are just rejecting them but the ombudsman will look at your full situation and decide what is fair.
Scott says
Hello
I sent to the Financial Ombudsman today. Do you think i have a chance? I don’t understand how they can say i dont have defaults when i have provided my credit reports which clearly show them. Has anyone else had any success with banks especially hsbc?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you have a chance! I can’t guess how likely this is. people are only just starting to win these complaints gainst banks, they are pretty new so there is little experience to go on.
Dale says
Hi Sara I am still struggling with my shop direct case. The FCA have logged my complaint email but still no traction other than that. My case is approaching 15 months old and I email FOS every single day chasing. They’ve responded in total 4 times out of 41 emails in the space of a year. I was given a high cost credit specific email off them on my last phone call, they are even worse, it’s blatant they are ignoring my emails, Is there any way you can escalate at the FOS? What else can I do now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your case hasn’t been picked up by an adjudicator?
Have FOS been sent your case file my the lender?
Dale says
No it was requested on 31/10/19 and they have been granting shop direct extensions ever since. I have followed your initial advice of contacting the FCA and CCing in the shop direct contact however that hasn’t progressed anything. I am now not getting any support from FOS at all and just ignored and they keep giving shop direct more extensions when will this end it’s been a whole year. I have asked FOS for escalation details but they are ignoring me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
right, phone FOS up and say you want to put in a complaint, that they need to look at your case and not allow Shop Direct to just ignore requests for your case file.
Dale says
I will call however is there also not an email address I can also complain to about how my case has been handled, there is nothing in their website either?
When you call the FOS they actually have a recorded message encouraging to email rather than to call, on that basis that’s the majority of my chases, in total since 31st October I have actually sent 54 emails, received 4 back, and made 19 phone calls. My last response off them was by email on 5/10/20 and I have chased 6 times since then.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As they are ignoring emails, I really thinking phoning is a better idea.
N90 says
Is a reduced settlement bad for my credit. Ive had bad credit for the past 5 years or more. Im slowly getting there with complaints and asking those who have refused for a reduced settlement. My credit score is creeping up slowly but all creditors told me a reduced settlement would have a big impact on my credit?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have these debts had a default added on your credit records?
What sort of reductions are you being offered?
What sort of debts were these?
N90 says
I had a loan with likelyloans they didnt uphold my complaint and i left it too late for the ombudsman. My loan was for £1000 over 2 years but i paid back £1100 then i missed payment. Then coronavirus happened so they out me in a payment holiday. I asked them for a reduced settlement in august they offered £384 so i payed that. I have no default yet from them.
N90 says
I also asked safetynet.credit they upheld my complaint last year and wiped off my remaining balance. But i still had 330 to pay them. They offered me £150 reduced settlement figure. I paid that and ive had q notification on clearscore that its up to date on my next report.
Paul says
Reduced settlements are good if you can afford to repay all your debts this way and can do so without borrowing more elsewhere. Yes they will likely affect you for the next 6 years on your credit file but means you will no longer be getting chased for those debts. But there is little point unless you can clear all your debts at the same time or within a short time from each other as it will affect you for 6 years from the last 1 being cleared and no point in clearing all but 1 as they could still take further action etc… and claim you treated them unfairly etc…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes they will likely affect you for the next 6 years on your credit file
It will be less time if the debt is defaulted
But there is little point unless you can clear all your debts at the same time or within a short time from each other as it will affect you for 6 years from the last 1 being cleared
I don’t agree.
If you can only settle with a couple, you are still saving money on those debts. So it will be quicker to pay the others.
they could still take further action etc… and claim you treated them unfairly etc…
I have never heard of this happening. I think it is a myth.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This article looks at the general issue of credit records and partial settlements: https://debtcamel.co.uk/ff-credit-record/
Creditors like to make a partial setlement sound bad. But often it’s the best way to clear off a lot of debt and make the debts that remain more manageable.
N90 says
Thank you i jist have a complaint with loans 2 go them im done with all settlements
pam says
Hi Sara, i was wondering if you can help me. i applied for my first credit card back in 2018 with capital one which was accepted even though i had missed payments on my credit file from a very account and another catalogue account which was closed in 2017.
shortly after taking out the credit card i had reached the maximum limit of £750 and was only able to make the minimum payments each month due to being on a low income.
i decided to take out another credit card with aqua that had a 0% balance transfer rate so I transferred the balance from my capital one account to this aqua account, stupidly i spent on both the cards and ended up reaching the credit limit on both, aqua have continued to raise my credit limit, since opening it, it has gone from £450 to £1,200, to £2,500 and now at £3,900, the interest on this balance is over £150 a month, i have asked them for a freeze on the interest but they refused. i have taken out other credit cards since and an overdraft, my debt has now spiralled out of control and i feel no one is willing to help. i owe just over 20k now and with a 12k income i am struggling, i have sent off the template letter about irresponsible lending that’s on your website to aqua, capital one and the bank about my overdraft as they continued to up my overdraft totalling now to £4,500 to try and recover some of the interest i have paid, do you think i have a chance?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What payments are you making at the moment?
Can I ask if you are buying or renting?
pam says
i am paying aqua the minimum payment of £150 which only just covers the interest, im paying the bank £60 a month in interest on my overdraft but that’s due to them adding a lower interest rate on my account due to the coronavirus which is due to end this month and goes up to 39.9% I’m not paying anything off this account either, just the interest. i am currently renting
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK so I think they sound like good affordability complaints to HSBC. But you can’t rely on them working anf the complaints can take a very long while if they have to go to the Finacial Ombudsman.
It sounds as though you have some money to pay to your debts, but with the overdraft interest shooting up, not enough to make all the normal repayments. So I think you should talk to StepChange about a debt management plan. https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx.
A DMP would have you make just one payment a month to StepChange and they divide it between your creditors and ask them to freeze interest and charges. StepChange don’t charge any fees, so all your payments reduce your debts, arent eaten up in the interest added each month.
Then if you win a complaint against one lender, that will hopefully cut a chunk off the balance you owe, so your DMP gets faster.
Chris says
Quick update on complaint against Premierman t/a J D Williams. Complaint in to the FOS June 2019. Adjudicator assigned in April 2020. Email from adjudicator yesterday to say, yet again, they are unable to make a decision and are still assessing. I guess that having somebody assigned to the complaint in April means it has moved along the line but I really do not understand why it has now taken 6 months in the hands of the adjudicator. Overall, heading for 18 months delay – even with COVID, that seems unreasonable. BTW the case is not complicated! Opened the account with £150 credit and, within 18 months, the limit was £2500 with monthly repayments at £95 and monthly interest at about £85. Lots of default charges and was eventually forced into a DMP by this as well as my other debts.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you reply asking what the delay is for – do they need more information from you? or from JD Williams?
Chris says
They say they have evrything they need from both me and JDW. Will keep you posted!
Gary says
Hi I am in a similar position and the fos came back with this;
“ As a free service we are currently dealing with a huge number of cases. At this time the service is currently considering our approach to working complaints against the business. We are having to consider and read through very detailed business information and documents. Consequently, it its taking longer than we would wish. However, be assured we will progress your case as soon as possible. I appreciate your wish for us to begin our investigation and I am sorry it is taking longer than expected. However, I would ask for your continued patience whilst we determine the best possible way forward.
I will be in touch as soon a we are in a position to progress the investigation further.”
They also emailed the other day to check in and say they are still looking at it. So I think it’s literally a volume thing and the fact half of the people ate working reduced hours also I think.
Amy says
Hello, I told my friend about your site Sara and she wanted to know about Argos , is there a way of her putting a complaint in for that ? She only ever paid the minimum payment for a long time as she couldn’t afford any more than that , they put the amounts up and the interest was extremely high.
Thank you 😊
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This page has the right template letter to complain if she feels her limit was increased so high the repayments were unaffordable.
Nina says
Am i eligible for a refund? Took a provident loan a year ago. During first home viast I informed the agent about ny husband’s long term ilness (my financial situation was bad already) and that it could affect my payments but she said it’s ok, because it’s me who takes the loan, not my husband. Later, things went wrong and I couldn’t afford to make a payments. During one of the home visits the agent suggested I can take another loan to pay the old one but I refused. Am I eligible for a refund of interest on current loan?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you have only had one loan? how much did you borrow?