Have you had a catalogue, credit card or store card where your credit limit was too high? So high that the monthly repayments were hard to manage and you got into more debt?
Many people were originally given an OK limit, but the lender kept increasing them.
You may have a good complaint that the lender was irresponsible in allowing you to borrow so much that the debt was unaffordable.
This article explains how to complain and ask for a refund of the interest you paid
Contents
What is “affordability”?
The following is my summary of the regulator’s rules:
- a lender must check if credit is affordable when you apply for it. A mortgage lender will ask for bank statements, but a catalogue offering a £200 credit limit doesn’t have to go into so much detail;
- a lender should also make new checks when deciding to increase a credit limit;
- credit isn’t affordable if paying it leaves you short of money for your bills,everyday expenses, and your other debts;
- if you have to borrow more most months, this would not be affordable. This could be borrowing on the same account – making a credit card repayment but then using the credit card to pay for food so the balance never drops is “borrowing more”;
- you have to be able to repay the balance within a reasonable period of time. Paying the minimum amount is OK for a short while, but not for a prolonged period.
How to complain
Good reasons to complain
If the lender could see any of these on your credit record, they should probably have declined your original application:
- recent credit record problems: defaults, missed payments, or arrangements to pay, mortgage arrears, payday loans;
- you already had a different credit card with the same lender where you were only making minimum payments and were using it for essentials like food and petrol. If you were given two credit or catalogue accounts by the same lender, often the second one should never have been given.
- other credit cards where you were near your limit and persistent overdraft usage. Here is an Ombudsman decision saying Zopa should not have given quite a low initial limit in this situation;
- a level of borrowing that looks too high in relation to your income.
Your credit limit should not later have been increased unless you could afford it. In addition to the points above, the following should have also warned the lender you were in difficulty already:
- making minimum payments for a long while;
- using a lot of your limit for a long period;
- a lot of gambling showing on the account statement;
- recent missed payments or an arrangement to pay on this account;
- your overall level of debt on your credit record has gone up a lot.
You don’t need all the details to complain
When your lender increased your credit limit, you don’t need the exact date. If all you can say is “you increased my credit limit several times” that is fine. You don’t need to ask for copies of all your statements – you would get a ton of paper!
But getting your credit record can help. You can’t go back and see exactly what your credit score was in say 2018, but take a copy of your current credit record as soon as you complain (get your free TransUnion statutory credit report). That will show what the pre-2018 problems were that the lender should have spotted.
Template to complain & the email address to use
The best way to complain is by email. It’s free, instant and you have a record of what you sent and when. Here is a list of credit card and catalogue email addresses to use.
In the suggestions below, I’ve invented some examples for the bits in italics in brackets. Change/delete these to tell your story.
I want to complain about irresponsible lending by you for my Barclaycard account number 987654/444. My date of birth is dd/mm/yy. The email address I used for this account was myaddress@whatever.com.
Then say they should never have given you the account:
You should never have allowed me to open an account with such a large credit limit. When I applied in 2015, you should have checked my credit record and you would have seen I had recent missed payments to a credit card and a default only two months before on a loan.
Or say that they should not have increased your credit limit:
You should never have increased my credit limit in 2015. At that time I had only made minimum payments on this credit card for a long while and/or I was using a very high level of my credit limit.
If you had properly checked my credit record before increasing my limit, you would have seen that in the two years since my account with you was opened, I had got additional late payment markers and defaults and/or taken out a lot of other credit. This should have warned you I was struggling with my finances and it was not responsible to lend me more. By increasing my credit limit you made my financial position worse. Instead you should have offered me forbearance by freezing the interest on the card.
I do not know the exact months of these credit limit increases. In your reply to this complaint, please tell me the dates and amounts.
If the lender should already have known you had problems with your account, mention these
You should also have realised that I was having difficulty because:
of the late payment charges you added to my account
of the gambling transactions showing on my card statement
I had missed two payments to you the year before in 2017
I had already asked you on the phone if it was possible to stop adding interest for a while.
End with asking for a refund:
I would like you to refund me all the interest I paid and any late payment charges from the point the account was opened
OR
I would like you to refund me all the interest I paid and any late payment charges after you increased my credit limit in 2018.
I would also like any late payment and default markers to be removed from credit records after this point.
I understand that if I take this complaint to the Financial Ombudsman, 8% simple interest is usually added to a cash refund.
Points to think about
Timing
These complaints can be made if your account is still open, or if it is closed and settled, or if it is with a debt collector (NB the complaint goes to the original lender, not the debt collector.)
You can complain if you already have a CCJ for the debt. Add a sentence to the template saying you want the CCJ removed as part of the settlement of your complaint.
If you have had an IVA or bankruptcy after these problems, or if you are still in a DRO, then ask in the comments below, as this can be complicated.
Old accounts
The Financial Ombudsman (FOS) can only go back to April 2007, when the law changed to allow these complaints.
Many lenders will reject complaints about something that was more than 6 years ago and say the ombudsman won’t look at them. But FOS will often look at old problems if you have only found out in the last three years that you can make the complaint.
If your account was opened in 2015 but the lender increased your limit in 2018 and 2019, then the two limit increases are within the last 6 years and can definitely be looked at.
However, complaints about things that happened more than 6 years ago may be hard for you to produce much evidence for. But if you feel you have a strong older case and you have some evidence, then take it to the Ombudsman and let them decide!
An alternative approach for old accounts
If your account was opened a long while ago and you defaulted and still owe a balance, perhaps in a DMP, think about asking the debt collector to produce the Consumer Credit Act agreement for the account.
If the current creditor can’t produce a proper copy of the agreement, the debt cannot be enforced in court and you can simply stop paying anything to it. This applies to all credit cards, store cards and catalogues.
It may be that the balance on the account is larger than any refund you might get. In which case if the CCA agreement cannot be produced, you would be better off.
Is a refund what you really need?
This depends how large your current financial problems are.
Complaining about newish debt will often only get the interest removed – you still have to repay what you borrowed. Don’t spend months arguing with lenders and going to the ombudsman if you will still be in a mess even if you win.
So phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000, tell them you are thinking about affordability complaints but you would like to know what your other debt options are.
Poor reasons to complain
You can’t complain just because the interest rate was high or because you have paid them a fortune over the years.
A poor credit score on its own isn’t a reason why you shouldn’t have been given an account. But if your credit score was poor because you were having a lot of problems with your existing debt, the account should have been refused.
You won’t win an affordability complaint if something unexpected went wrong later in your life. If you had been managing a credit card fine for years but then you lost your job or separated from your partner and you defaulted, this isn’t the lender’s fault.
Don’t be put off by a rejection or a poor offer
Lenders often reject good cases
If a lender rejects your complaint or offers a low “goodwill” gesture, don’t be fobbed off – they want you to give up.
In particular, if the lender says you had made all the payments to them on time so they had no reason to think you had problems, you can ignore this. Or if the lender dismisses your complaint as the account was opened over 6 years ago.
When you have a Final Response from the lender – or after 8 weeks if you haven’t had a Final Response – send your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Don’t delay doing this!
Is a “partial uphold” good enough?
If the lender says they should not have increased your credit limit in June 2018 when your limit was increased and they will give you a refund of interest for balances over the previous limit, that may sound good. It is sometimes called a partial uphold or a partial refund or proportionate interest.
But often the amount of money refunded in this situation is a lot less than you might expect. So tell the lender you want to consider their offer but need to know how large the refund will be.
Often you were already in a difficult financial situation at that point, with cards close to maxed out, being used for everyday essentials and only paying the minimums. At that point the lender should have stepped in and offered to help you by freezing all interest. That is why a partial refund is often not good enough, you should have all the interest refunded from that point.
How to send a case to FOS
Send FOS a complaint using their online form. You can use bits of what you put in your complaint to the lender. If the lender has rejected your complaint or given a poor offer, say why you think this wrong.
The FOS form at the end asks you to add supporting documents. Don’t worry if you don’t have A copy of your credit or finance agreement – lots of people don’t and the lender will supply a copy to FOS if FOS asks for it. Don’t delay sending a complaint to FOS while you try to get this from the lender.
If your credit record shows that you had other debt problems, send FOS a copy of it. If you have kept some, send the oldest one you have, otherwise send the current one. Also get your bank statements if they will support your complaint and send those to FOS too.
FOS is a friendly service but not fast. Just use normal English, not legal terms. Using a claims company or a solicitor doesn’t help or speed this up.
Ask questions below!
There are hundreds of comments from readers who are using this template. It’s a good place to see how these complaints often go and to ask any questions.
FAQs about Affordability claims
Can you get an overdraft refund?
Could a Debt Relief order help you?
Joe says
New Day havent responded to the adjudicators decision,which was found in my favour, before the deadline of 14/02 that was set. What happens now and what are peoples experiences with them in the past after they have missed first deadline?
Ross says
Hi Joe,
My deadline was 11/02, after the adjudicator upheld my complaint 2 weeks prior. They failed to respond and have also failed to respond to his chaser, which he sent on 14/02. I had requested it be queued for an ombudsman, as this seems like it’s just going to drag on but, the adjudicator is confident they will sort this at their level. Unfortunately, I don’t share their confidence but, we will see….
Laura says
I’d like to know this too. NatWest had till 08/02 ignored the adjudicator till after this date when she kindly chased for me and now have asked for more info which she has supplied……stalling much !
N says
I know this isn’t newday but i had a complaint with santander and they had 3 different deadlines .in the end it took them 8 weeks to agree with my adjudicator
Laura says
Thanks for your help. Don’t mind if it takes longer as long as long as they do come back to me
Mike_p says
They are being very difficult with me. Initially they replied to the adjudicatior the day they made the decision saying they agreed with what they said. A few weeks later they refunded me some interest but it was only half of what they agreed to refund, the adjudicatior asked them about it but now they are ignoring them.
Andrew says
Hi Mike
In same boat ombudsman stated all interest, New Day have refunded proportionate now the adj is having to go back to Ombudsman to see if New Day have complied
C says
I had my complaint upheld by ombudsman on 4th Jan. new day had 4 weeks to contact myself to process refund. Chased for an update this week & have been advised new day are waiting on the debt collector who my debt was sold to advising on balance. New day have been asked to buy back the debt before they can process any refund and remove default from my credit file.
Chris says
Hi Sara,
Wonder if you could advise, I had a Lloyds bank account around 10 years ago, I did not have an overdraft on the account. I took out a loan with Wonga, one month Wonga took the full balance of the loan back, around £800, I only had around £100 in the account so my account went around £700 in to an unauthorised overdraft, my Lloyds account was then closed and passed to Moorcroft, I was paying £1 p/m for quite a few years, then upped to £10, I am still paying this off, do I have any case I can raise with Lloyds due to them not reversing the Wonga payment due to insufficient funds?
Thanks
Chris
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you remember if you used to get direct debits or standing orders or other payments rejected as you did not have enough money to pay them?
Chris says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for your reply, it was a while back but from memory yes, all other payments were rejected.
Thanks
Chris
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I haven’t seen what happens when someone makes this complaint.
But it seems imprtant to emphasise that they would normally reject payments that took you into an unauthorised iverdraft and so why did they let a large payment to a payday lender go through. Say Lloyds did not treat you fairly by allowing this.
Expect this to be rejected and send the complaint to the Ombudsman.
Chris says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the advice, much appreciated, I will proceed and let you know how I get on.
Thanks again
Chris
Tom says
Good evening all,
I have received the final decision from adjudicator regarding irresponsible lending complain I made against Aqua/New day.Just wanted to check if anyone here had their complaint rejected at adjudicator stage but later on upheld by Ombudsman? Thank you in advance for your feedback.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
These cases are all very individual. Can you say why you think the card was unaffordable?
Do you think your adjudicator has missed soemthing?
Tom says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for your reply.
At the time when Aqua had increased my limits 4 times during one year I had 6 pay day loans with total repayments of £1500-£1700 per month as well as bank loan around £250 and overdraft with limit of £5000 utilised each month.The adjudicator in his response mentioned that I had enough disposable income to cover the credit card payments where in fact I was borrowing more to pay off the previously taken loans, this was the case for years until I have finally took control of my finances recently.
Thank you.
Tom
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I think you should reply to the adjudicator saying this and ask for your complaint to go to an Ombudsman. What do you have to lose?
Tom says
Thank you very much for your advice Sara.
I have replied to adjudicator and in case that they will not be willing to review my case again, will request for my complaint to go to Ombudsman.
Best regards,
Tom
Lynn says
Hi Tom,
This happened with me, it was originally rejected but the ombudsman upheld the complaint.
Andy says
Hi , I’ve had a complaint upheld by the adjudicator and Barclaycard have agreed to it , does anyone know what sort of timescale is involved with Barclays calculating the refund and paying the refund ? Thanks
Andrew says
Within 2 weeks
Andy says
Great thanks
P. says
Hi,
My case was upheld by an adjudicator against Newday but today it has been passed to the Ombudsman. The adjudicators email says its now in a queue which is taking 3/4 months.
Is this correct or is the Ombudsman looking at cases quicker.
Thanks
P.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it doesn’t sound wrong but times can vary.
Lee says
P. My aqua new day complaint was upheld, but I asked for it to be sent to the ombudsman, as didn’t agree with the Adjudictor fully.
It was sent to the Ombudsman on 6th December and is yet to be picked up by them. So you will definitely be waiting at least 3 months. Hoping mine will be picked up soon as started my complaint with Aqua back in May 2021. So has taken ages to get to this stage.
Pep says
Update re my complaint against barclaycard.
Barclaycard didn’t agree with the investigators decision that the FOS were able to look into my complaint as it was more than 6 years old so it went to an ombudsman to decide.
They have decided that they can look into it as I complained within 3 years of knowing I could complain (amongst other factors).
Hopefully now the FOS investigate and agree with me that they lent irresponsibly.
I was living on the credit limit and a large number of late payment/over limit charges.
Ross says
Just a quick update, on my Newday case.
Owing to them not responding to my adjudicators findings, within the time given, and ignoring the subsequent chaser, I decided to put a very unflattering, but factual, review on Trustpilot. A couple of hours later, and they have responded, with an apology, and asking for further info to help deal with the issue. I know there’s no guarantee anything nay fond of it but, for those awaiting Newday responses, it may be worth a punt. Each card brand has its own page, on Trustpilot (mine was Marbles). I’ll let you know what happens.
Mike_p says
Thanks, I’ve just tried that with my Aqua one. They responded quickly initially saying they agreed with the investigator, but then only refunded half of the interest due and haven’t responded to anything since. I don’t have any statments in my app prior to Spetember, I don’t know if it was the complaint or my DMP which triggered that, but I foresaw this kind of problem and had pre-emptively obtained all statments via a DSAR so I can see the exact interest I paid.
Mandy says
Hello Sara
I have just heard back from the fob stating they agree my credit increases should not have been put in place and Vanquis should refund me all interest paid, my questions are, do they have to issue a refund if the fob say this? And secondly if they do issue a refund is there a time limit that they must do this?
Thank you
Mandy
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Mandy.
the decision you have is from someone called an investigator or an adjudicator?
If it is, Vanquis has to agree to it. If they disagree, this goes to the second “Ombudsman” stage. The Ombudsman agrees with the adjudicator 90% of the time.
A decision by an Ombudsman is final and legally binding on Vanquis.
So at the moment you have to wait for Vanquis to accept or reject the decision.
If they accept, they should refund within 28 days.
Ross says
Hi all,
Does anyone have an email address for Newday please? I have gone through the previous comments (where I am sure someone posted one) but, can’t seem to find it. After reading others comments, I now believe I need to raise a SAR request, for my statements, to check what actual interest I had paid on the account I complained about. In hindsight, I should have done this at the beginning but, as I have closed the account, I no longer have account access and I don’t trust writing them a letter, as I’ll probably never get a response! I also think an email may be quicker….
Mike_p says
I got a copy of all my statements by emailing dpofficer@newday.co.uk (which I got from https://www.aquacard.co.uk/privacy-policy)
I got an acknowledgment within a few hours and the statements about three weeks later.
Ross says
Cheers Mike,
I’ll give that a go!
Thanks
Ross says
Hi Mike,
Just to let you know, I had a response from the data protection officer, at Newday, this morning advising that my SAR request was being processed. Thanks so much for the info, and saving me a lot of hassle too.
Cheers,
Ross
Chris says
Does anyone have any recent information regarding how long it is taking JD Williams to do their redress calculations? It’s been nearly two weeks now and nothing so far, even though the FOS 8 week timeframe for the final response has now expired. JDW have said that they will pay redress in their final response, I just don’t know how much or when. Thanks.
Empts says
I’m still waiting over 2 months so you’ve a while yet. They accepted adjudicators decision beginning of January. I’ve emailed them a couple times and just get standard reply of We do not have an update yet. I have now emailed the adjudicator asking if there’s anything more I can do.
I will owe them money but want to pay it off – I haven’t seen the calculations yet either.
Max says
Hi Sara,
First the good news, a decent sum of money hit my account this month after NewDay finally transferred redress from my December ombudsman victory against Marbles and Aqua.
I’m still waiting for their calculation and confirmation of how much tax was taken, and then I’ll run the numbers against my own figures secured via a SAR request.
Now the bad: I have a quick question on Wonga’s reporting to credit agencies as my complaint against a Vanquis loan from late 2017 has been rejected at adjudicator level.
The FOS argues that as my Transunion report (from 2021) shows half a dozen Wonga loans up to January 2016, yet nothing after that, Vanquis did nothing wrong.
But I borrowed £5,000 over eight Wonga loans in 2016, and a further £8,000 over 14 loans in the first 10 months of 2017.
Do you know why that significant payday loan activity would not be picked up by the credit agencies?
My Clearscore (Equifax) report mentions “WDFC account/s added” multiple times, but no details.
My free Experian credit club (MSE) report does not mention them. If I paid for my Experian report would it show in that?
Thanks, as always.
Max
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Paying for the Experian report will make no difference at all.
Did you make a complaint to the Wonga administrators?
Max says
Yes, I did, and got only a fraction of the £3,000 I was due.
I’ll send some more info to FOS next week but feel this will be going to the next level.
Max
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then my guess is Wonga removed the unaffordable loans from Experian but failed to delete them from Equifax properly. You should point this out to your adjudicator,
Max says
Hi Sara,
Am pleased to say after evidencing the removal of the aforementioned Wonga loans from my Transunion credit report, the adjudicator has quickly reversed their original decision and now ruled in my favour. I now have to wait for Vanquis’ response, so will update this thread in due course.
As I have an outstanding balance on my Vanquis credit card (subject to another FOS complaint) then I assume any redress will be offset against that.
Cheers,
Max
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it will be offset.
Max says
Thanks, Sara.
Vanquis has accepted the adjudicator’s ruling so I expect my CC balance with them to be reduced by around £700, including the simple interest.
Regards,
Max
Xubo says
Does anyone have a contact email for putting a claim in against littlewoods, I put one in last year and they said I wasn’t entitled to anything but I want to disagree with them, but can’t find anything
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t make the same claim twice. If the reply from Littlewoods was less than 6 months ago, send it to the Ombudsman immediately, do not waste time trying to argue with Littlewoods
If it was more than 6 months ago, this is now too late :(
So check TODAY when you got that reply from them.
Xubo says
It was back in May last year so to late, so yes I’ll take it to the next step thank you
What I don’t get is very upheld the complaint but littlewoods never, are they not the same company ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“yes I’ll take it to the next step thank you”
I am sorry but I can’t have been clear.
If the rejection was more than 6 months ago THERE IS NO NEXT STEP.
You can’t go to the Ombudsman.
And you cannot make a new complaint as it would be rejected as it had already been dealt with.
There is now no way to make an affordability complaint about this.
Brad says
Could you do a new separate complaint for irresponsible lending? Which would be different to an affordable lending complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no. They are two ways of saying the same thing here.
Fred says
I called the ombudsman today to see why it’s taken 18 months so far not to hear anything for my complaint with littlewoods.
They just said they are busy because of the pandemic and hasn’t been picked up yet to an investigator.
Very frustrating as I’ve had others that were at the same period that have long been resolved.
Elle says
Hi Fred,
Can I ask have you heard anything since? I have a Littlewoods/Very complaint with FOS too, same amount of time as you and whilst they acknowledged that they had my complaint as I’d escalated it from Resolver as Littlewoods/Very didn’t uphold, I’ve heard nothing since. I sent a message 2 weeks ago to the FOS via the same Resolver case route but still had no reply… like you I’ve also had all other catalogue complaints dealt with and had FOS outcomes since sending all my complaints together back in Sept 2019. Thanks.
NG says
Hi Sara,
I sent an affordability complaint to Vanquish last month about a credit card that defaulted 6 years ago today. They responded today saying they are not upholding my complaint because the account is more than 6 years old.
They said that “We think that part of your complaint was made outside of these time limits but this is a matter for the Ombudsman to decide. If the Ombudsman agrees with us, they will not have our permission to consider your complaint and so will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances.”
Could you advise me on whether to still go ahead to Ombudsman, please?
Thanks for being so helpful here and on another post you advised me re car finance.
NG
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what was your complaint abount?
Ng says
It was about getting limit increases and struggling to pay. When I got the card I was self employed on a very low nearly nothing income. At the time I was single mother of 2. Towards the end I wasn’t able to pay the hundreds they were asking for minimum payment.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds a good complaint.
Yes I would send it to FOS and include a bit saying
“I have only found out Ithat Vanquis should have checked the increeased credit limits would be affordable for me recently. In [January] an [a friend told me about them/I found an article on the internet about loan affordability and then looked for credit card claims/ I saw a claims company advertise on Facebook/whatever actually happened to you] and so I have complained within 3 years of becoming aware I had a cause fro complaint.”
Ng says
Thanks Sara, appreciate it
Katie Woolhouse says
Hi, does anyone have the email address for affordability complaint for Littlewoods please ? Thanks
Craig says
Just an update 7 weeks from when the FOS upheld my complaint to Newday (Aqua) FOS have asked for my bank details – they haven’t said what the redress is and I have asked for a breakdown to make sure it is correct….
Ross says
Hi Craig,
Was this from an adjudicator or a final ombudsman decision? I’m nearly 4 weeks and still waiting for Newday to respond to my adjudicator decision. Very frustrating.
HB says
Me too, adjudicator gave them until 14th feb, then had to extend deadline until 1st march.. still not heard anything. Saw advice re. leaving trustpilot review, to which they responded too ( we will look into this) but still nothing.
Craig says
Hi Ross, this was final ombudsman decision. They gave Newday 4 weeks to get in touch to resolve the complaint which they never so chased it at week 5. Will see how long the redress takes to be paid and also have still to be advised on a breakdown of the payment.
Craig says
Have you tried emailing regulatoryenquiries@newday.co.uk & executiveandmediacomplaints@newday.co.uk there is also a phone number 0371 522 5167
Ross says
Just sent an email, for what it’s worth. Thanks for the tip.
Ross says
Thanks Craig,
Did Newday fail to respond to the adjudicator decision or did they ask for an ombudsman to review your case? As they’ve had 4 weeks now, to respond to the adjudicator decision, I’m getting to the point now where I just want it queued for an ombudsman as it’s just getting daft now.
Craig says
Hi Ross. They had 4 weeks to respond to ombudsman provisional decision in December pending any further evidence. They never responded so it was made final in January. Prior to the ombudsman decision it had been with adjudicator who did not uphold my complaint so I asked for an ombudsman to review and they upheld it !
Ross says
Thanks for the info Craig, much appreciated. Slightly different, in my situation. Adjudicator didn’t uphold all of the complaint (I was of the opinion that the card should never have been approved) but he upheld from the first increase onwards. I’d be happy if they’d just agree or disagree so I can get it sorted, once and for all. Hope yours get sorted soon!
Craig says
Checked my bank account tonight and there has been a credit of £185 into my account from NFT Main disbursement. Googled it and it’s newday! Nice of them to tell me how much redress I was getting back from them – not! I requested a statement from them a couple of weeks ago so once I get that I’ll be able to work out hopefully if the redress is correct
Graeme says
NewDay took 6 weeks to respond to an adjudicator decision for me. The case went to Ombudsman, I think around 2nd/3rd December. I had a provisional response last week. The provisional response is to uphold the complaint about increases from £600 onwards on Aqua Card (up to £3,150) and refund all ,charges and fees from that point and interest over £600. The ombudsman does not provisionally uphold the complaint about the second Marbles card or the increase on it. I have supplied further info relating to the second card increase in the form of a letter from NewDay (Aqua) increasing the rate of interest on my Aqua card due to (in part at least) the way I managed my account and info from 3rd party’s etc. this was sent 2 days after the Marbles increase. I have also queried the interest position as I fear NewDay will embark on some kind of proportional refund and be difficult with supplying the calculations. In fairness the vast bulk of redress would be from the Aqua card so it’s not a disaster. Just frustrated that it may drag on for a few more months at least. I had the adjudicator decision in first week of October 2021!
Ross says
Thanks Graeme,
This, pretty much, sounds like the direction mine is going to take. I argued that, as I had an existing financial relationship (with Newday), and the way that account was handled, that they should never have approved the second card. Whilst the adjudicator said he thought the initial approval was acceptable, he didn’t feel the subsequent increases were. As with you, it’s not a disaster because the vast majority of the interest & charges came from the higher limits the adjudicator has upheld. However, on Sara’s recommendation, I went back to the adjudicator to ask where Newday should have noticed that I had issues, financially, and where they should have offered ‘forebearance’. Unfortunately, I am unsure as to if the adjudicator understands this point as he told me, 2 weeks ago, that he was having to consult on this, with a colleague, and I’m still awiting a response from both him and Newday.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I WILL BE MOVING ANY COMMENTS ABOUT OVERDRAFTS
to the new page for overdraft complaints: https://debtcamel.co.uk/get-refund-overdraft/
Jo says
Hi Sara
I have a complaint against jd Williams for irresponsible lending that’s just been assigned a case worker with the financial ombudsman services. I have sent over proof of all the payday loans I had at the time, my ccj, missed payments etc. But the care worker has asked for a copy of my credit file from the time 2016/2017 (I am able to view some info if I go back that far on ClearScore) sure this isn’t right to ask for that because loads of the info has been wiped off after the 6 years?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
All you can do is supply your current report, unless you happen to have kept any old ones?
TransUnion is often a better report to send as it tends to be used by more catalogue lenders, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/
Ross says
Well, after emailing the executive department at Newday, they came back to say they had responded to the FOS a few days ago. After emailing the adjudicator, he states that they don’t agree with his view and require further comment from him, before they decide if it should be reviewed by an ombudsman. I did point out that if they disagree, then surely it has to go to an ombudsman? He still states that it’ll be much quicker to have it resolved at adjudicator stage but, I can’t seem to see what else he can say, which will make them feel any happier about it, as (to his credit) he was very thorough in his response and evaluation to the case. Just seems like yet more stalling to me 🙄
Mike_p says
Do you have an email address for tjem? They told my investigator they agreed with their response but only actually refunded me half what was due, and now they are ignoring the investigator,
Ross says
Hi Mike,
Look further up the thread, as Craig posted the ones I used. However, they only told me to go back to the FOS, so not sure if it will do any good but, worth a try.
Mike_p says
Thanks, I emailed them but they just said they were talking to the FOS investigator so I should follow it up with them. I’m sure if I was offering to pay them money it would be a different story!
El says
Have to say I had a really surprising response from Newday. After coming across this page (had only been engaging on historical payday loans and sporadically checking the QQ page comments), I complained about an Aqua credit card on the off chance. It was issued in 2017 with £250 limit that swiftly escalated to £4500 over a number of increases from 2017 – 2020. At the time I had a loan and two CCs, but during the period of increases I took out another loan and another CC. Because of minimum payments and levels of borrowing I sent the complaint in beginning of Feb, received a response today with an acknowledgement they shouldn’t have offered the increases past the £250 had they check credit accounts, and have refunded all interest, late payment fees and over limit fees to the account. This has wiped the current balance and I just need to contact them to arrange the refund of the rest. They have closed the account with immediate effect, so can no longer log on to the app, but a bit of surprise especially the swift reply. Appreciate it won’t be the same for everyone but would say it is always worth a try.
Danny says
Hi El,
That’s great news! Can I ask when you got in touch did you use the above example letter? Was there any specific language you used or was it just explaining that their decision to up your credit limit was careless and you’ve paid excessive interest?
Any help appreciated,
Danny
El says
Hi Danny, yes I used Sarah’s template and tailored it to my circumstances, pointing out the amount of borrowing I had at the time of the first limit increase and then the additional credit accounts I took out during the time they subsequently increased the limit again and again. I also attached a copy of my Transunion credit report that showed the historical borrowing and minimum payments. I think as Sarah says, the more open you are and specific with the details, the better as gives a clearer picture for them to assess your complaint.
Laura says
Hi El
Newday have also amazingly agreed with my complaint (well mostly, from when they increased my limit above 250). Can I ask when you gave them your bank details, how long did they take to pay you? They’ve said 3-5 days to me but with everyone else having issues with them thought I’d ask you! Cheers
Carl says
Hi Sara
FOS have upfield my complaint with Vanquis and they have to refund all interest etc after fighting them on letting me complain from 6 years past. FOS has found in my favour but Vanquis have not replied to them which they were given 2 weeks it’s now nearly 4. Any ideas if I can contact anyone to move this faster. I read previously Vanquis are fast at responding. Investigator chased them twice now but still nothing.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
this is an adjudicator decision? or from the second “Ombudsman” level?
Carl says
It was adjudicator decision but it did go to ombudsman to be looked at to decide if could include past the 6 years because Vanquis declined to let me. Ombudsman agreed it could be included so it went back to adjudicator who made this final decision.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you could leave them a bad review on Trustpilot saying the Ombudsman has said Vanquis should refund you all the interest charge on your account – Vanquis were supposed to repond to the Ombudsman by dd/mm but haven’t – I have not idea if they might respond to that
HB says
Newday have now missed 2 deadlines set by the adjudicator and the adjudicator seems to be very arsey when i call up to find out what happens next, just keep being told she’ll let me know when she has an update.
Mike_p says
They are causing trouble for me too. The initially told the investigator they agreed with their decision that they should refund all interest since the credit limit increase, but then only refunded interest on the increased balance. They are now taking weeks to reply, saying they only refund proportionate interest with no reference to the original decision, and are sending attachments that won’t open when asked for an interest breakdown. Curiously most of my statements disappeared from my app and I had to make a DSAR to get hold of them to check the interest. I tried leaving a bad trustpilot review and contacting them on the email addresses above but they just brushed me off. It’s only about £120 but I’m not going to let them put me off.
Andrew says
Hi am in same boat new day was told to refund all interestvgrom credit limit increase but refunded proportionate, ombudsman are now saying they have complied and I can’t take the matter any further
Absolute joke
Ross says
Same with me. Adjudicator wrote to them, upholding my complaint, and gave them 2 weeks to respond. 2 weeks passed, and then nearly another 2, before they came back to say they disagreed. They stated that they wanted ‘further comment’, from the adjudicator, before deciding if they wanted an ombudsman to investigate it. From the very start, they have done nothing but to stall and frustrate the whole process. Funnily enough, I’ve just emailed the adjudicator, to ask for an update. In the meantime, I am awaiting my statements, which I asked for as part of a SAR request, so I know how much interest I have paid. I will not be accepting a single penny, until I have the breakdown (assuming they either accept or an ombudsman rules in my favour). Mine started in June, last year, so it is lengthy but just hang in there.
Carl says
Does anyone have any timescales as to how long Vanquis take to pay out after accepting the investigators decision?
chris says
Hi Sara
just completed my complaint about barclaycard to FO, please advise if that’s ok,
account opened in July 2005 with limit £740. Barclaycard should never have increased my credit limit in December 2008, four times in 2013, three times in 2014 and 2 times more in 2015 & 2016 bringing it to total of £9500. From December 2005 I went over credit card limit until September 2006 and again in October 2006. In November 2006 Barclaycard removed my UK cash advance facility. Then I was maxing my credit card until August 2007 when I went over my limit again. In October Barclays Bank added £1520 overdraft and £250 reserve which I was using every month and relying on it.
Between September 2008 and December 2008 I was near the credit card limit. In December 2008 Barclaycard increased my limit from £740 to £1480, just before this increase of my credit card limit I have been over my overdraft limit few months July, August, September and November 2008. After that increase from December 2008 until March 2011 which is roughly 27 months I only managed to stay in my overdraft limit 6 times, all other months I was over my agreed limit. In February 2009 I went over my credit limit until April 2009, after that I was struggling until September 2009 when I went over my credit limit until May 2013. I also started to use Pay Day loans from end of 2010 beginning 2011 to make sure I have enough money to survive…….
chris says
….In 2013 after being over my credit limit since September 2009 I received PPI refund that helped me clear a bit of a balance then Barclaycard increased my credit limit 4 times (May from £1480 to £2000, July from £2000 to £2500, October £2500 to £3000 and December from £3000 to £4000), each time it was increased I had been using my credit card to very high level of my credit limit. I had Barclays Bank overdraft always maxed out every month even going over my agreed limit in the past, also I had overdraft increased in September 2012 (from £1520 to £2270) & February 2013 (£2270 to £3020) by Barclays Bank and I was always using it to maximum every month which Barclaycard would see, also I could not come out of my overdraft as it was more than my salary. I have been using a number of Pay Day loans I was paying back and taking new ones and I was borrowing money of my friends to make sure I will have enough to survive to the end of the month. After limit increase in May 2013 I went near my limit for next 2 months and then in July had another increase. In September & October I went over my limit again but Barclaycard increased my limit again in October. Then I went over the limit again in November & December but Barclaycard again increased my limit in December 2013…..
chris says
….[very long extracts edited out]
now i want to check if last part is ok…
I would like Barclaycard to refund me all the interest I paid and any late payment charges and any over credit limit charges after Barclaycard increased my credit limit in December 2008 with 8% simple interest. I would also like any late payment and default markers to be removed from credit records after this point
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry but there is no point in you listing every detail of what happened to you here. You just need to describe what happened to FOS.
That last bit looks fine.
Zou says
Evening Sara, can I make a complaint to halifax about a credit card. The limit is £1100 which they offered me in June 2020. It’s been a struggle to pay it off the past 6 months always only being about to pay the minimum which goes towards the interest. Would I be able to make a complaint about irresponsible lending from them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what were your finances like in June 2020?
What are the rest of your finances like now – do you have other problem debts? Are you behind or struggling to pay important bills?
Zou says
Yes the main reason I haven’t been able to pay more than the minimum is because I just manage to pay my important bills. So don’t have much left at the end of the month.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have other cards, loans, Buy Now Pay Later or catalogues that you are paying?
Have you looked at how much your energy bills, natyional insurance, broadband, mobile, council tex etc will be going up in pril?
(I do get round to answering your question, but I am just trying to see the full picture.)
Zou says
I have other cards but this is the only credit card, which has been a struggle for me. Im finding it difficult to the pay electric and gas bill My national insurance will be much higher from April. Water seems to be going up slightly every year. Thanks Sara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so you can make a complaint to Halifax but I can’t tell how strong it is as you haven’t said anything about what your situation was line in June 2020,
These complaints can take a very long time to go through – expect Halifax will reject it and it will have to go to the ombudsman.
As you are already in difficulty and this will get worse, I suggest you should talk now to StepChange about a debt management plan for all of your debts including this Halifax card. See https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
A DMP will get you into a safe position while your complaint goes through – if you win it, your Halifax debt will be reduced and your DMP will end sooner.
Las says
Hi Sara
I went to fos about very as they only held up part of my complaint, anyway after 9 months I got an email from FOS investigator introducing himself and asking fir bank statements etc which I did about 3 weeks ago, just wondering what’s the usual rough timescale after the initial contact from them…. Assuming it’s still a long process? Xx
Mike_p says
Mine have been between 4 and 8 weeks, a lot depends on how difficult the lender wants to be in supplying information (they’ll remind you within a day if you miss a payment but take weeks or even months to respond when it involves them paying money)
Ross says
I was told I’d have a decision by early December, which turned out to be late January. After 4 weeks of stalling, mine was rejected (by the company) and now waiting to see what happens after my adjudicator gives them ‘further comment’, which they have requested before deciding if they want an ombudsman to look at it. Constant stalling and, as Mike says, they’d be quick enough to chase if you hadn’t paid them but, not the other way around!
Tim says
Hi Sara. Just had a complaint with Vanquis rejected. They told me because it is more than 6 years old. Got card in 2012 and closed in 2017. Card limit started at £500 pounds uptp £1000 pounds increased again to £2000 pounds and then finally increased again to £2500 pounds my credit score has always been very low. And i was always using doorstep loans with continuous lending. Am i correct that i can send this complaint to the Ombusman now? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can.
Were you making only minimum payments for all or most of this time? That is a point to emphasise to FOS. If you only cleared it in the end with a loan, point that out.
Also tell FOS how and when you found out about these complaints – did someone tell you, were you sent a letter by Provident about their Scheme and that caused you to look into the subject as you had not heard of affordability complaints before, did you read an article… FOS can look at complaint when someone has only found out in the last three years they can complain.
Get your bank statements now going back from when you closed the account as far as you can. It’s possisble to win ombudsman cases without these but easier with them.
Tim says
Yes i was making minimum payments and taking cash withdrawels quite a lot. In the end the only way to clear the balance was to close the account and set up an arrangement to clear it. My bank statements were always up to overdraft limit and lots of gambling on them. Also using doorstep loans to pay minimum payments
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Definitely point out the min payments and cash withdrawals. Taking cash out occasionally is fine, but they are expensive and a sign of finacial problems so Vanquis should not have increased your limit if you were making quite a few.
abdul hussain says
hi
my newyday complaint was upheld, however i am not happy with the offer, what can i do
please advise
Sara (Debt Camel) says
upheld by newday? by the Ombudsman?
Abdul hussain says
Hi sara
Was upheld by newday. I complained on the 31st January 2022 and recieved upheld letter on the 10 feb 22.
They said that when i applied in january 2018 i had 8 defaults that were 3 years old and ccjs of 6300 dated from 2015. Despite that they still offered me a card aqua, limit of 1200. They said they felt the account was suitable for me.
After the initial limit of 1200 they since increased 6 times and as of this month it is 7650. They said the increase from 4200 in jan 2020 to 5200 in 2021 was not suitable, so they have refunded a proportionate interest refund and cash fee refund of 485 to reduce my current balance, they have closed my account. I still owe 6500.
I want to challenge them to say, they should never have opened the account for me, with my ccjs and default.
Also the increases after 1200 should be refunded upto the last increase, and why proportionate interest not all the interest.
Shall i ring them it take to fos??
Thank u
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should send this straight to FOS. FIS a normally say it’s ok for a bad credit card to offer an account with old defaults and CCJs but you should say that although a credit limit of say £400 may have been manageable, £1200 at the start wasn’t. So ask for a full refund from the start.
abdul hussain says
thanks sara, i will send my complaint to FOS
Lee says
Abdul. Your case sounds very similar to mine. They refunded and closed my account on proptional basis. I still owe a balance. They won’t freeze my internet on remaining amount either.
Definitely take it to the FOS but be prepared to take it as far as the ombudsman stage, so you could be waiting a while. I tried to counter offer with New day but they just ignored my reasoning and I wasted 4 weeks doing this.
It was late August 2021 when New day gave the final response and upheld it on a proportional basis.
Then in late November 2021 FOS Adjudictor believed I was due extra, but I didn’t fully agree with them on the limit it should apply from and since 6th December 2021 is in the ombudsman queue. Sara on here helped in me massively on what I needed to point out to the ombudsman.
I feel I have a very strong case but be prepared for the long wait and to take it to the very last stage.
How I think is you have nothing to lose as they have closed the account. I’m still having to make payments on the outstanding balance. My increases and limits are very similar to yours.
Good luck.
abdul hussain says
Hi Lee.
yes, i will take mines to the FOS to see what they come up with it.
When i received my letter in the post, they said, after reviewing my account they felt the account was not suitable for me. but fail to mention in the letter how they were gonna put things right. they then talked about my increases and said the increase from jan 2020 to 2021 was not suitable and agreed the small proportional interest.
when i called them up about the letter, they said the complaint handler will call me back, 3 days later i had another letter, stating that it was a typing error and the account was suitable for me. how bad is that!!!
i still owe 6500, they wont freeze interest, as Sara said they should have given me a low limit to start with, especially will my 3 ccjs and 8 defaults, instead they kept increasing upto £7650.
i would like them to refund interest from £1200 to 7650 and agree on a payment plan to reduce balance, do i have a chance?
cheers
Lee says
Hello Abdul. Sounds like you have a strong case. You need to make sure you have requested to your statement of account (SOA) from New day.
This evidence proved that I had 4 times gone over my credit limit in 6 months period before my 3rd increase of 6 for me. At this stage I also have evidence I called them and asked them to freeze interest instead they just put me on a reduced rate of interest, but still increased limit the further 3 times. I also had 83 cash advances over a 5 year period so incurred charges from this.
They refunded me about £2400 so far but I think if I win I’m due about a further £4,500, which would clear the balance and give me about £1,500 redress.
They only wanted to pay propo
Mike_p says
Yes, make sure your get a copy of your statement’s and check everything against them. They told my investigator that they agreed to refund all interest but they only paid about half that! It was only because I had got the statements and checked that I realised. The investigator is trying to sort it out with them but they are just ignoring them at the moment.
Shelly says
Hi Sara,
I entered a Trust Deed in Sep 2021. (I live in Scotland)
Halifax, Next and Marbles all increased my limits at the height of in affordability and only making minimum payments for years.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you talk to a Scottish adviser about whether it is worth making these affordability complaints: le4ave a question in the comments on this other website https://www.advicescotland.com/home/protected-trust-deed/ or use the web chat on that site
D says
Sara,
My adjudicator has upheld my credit card complaint against santander. They may disagree and send to ombudsman but its pretty strong the adjudicator report lots of gambling paydays etc.
He has asked them to refund all interest and charges since opening the card as he believes it should not have been given at all.
My question is does all interest and charges even include the charges for international transactions which I had to pay for using gambling sites in America? Technically they are charges. What do u think?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know. It would include faster payment charges in the UK.
Ross says
Personally, I would say that if the adjudicator has stated that they should refund ALL interest & charges, then it means just that. I can’t see how they can be selective in this? Just my opinion though?
Laura says
Has anyone ever had a NatWest complaint upheld by adjudicator but they are just not getting back to them? Original date was 08/02 to reply she then gave them 22/02 then 07/03….still nothing. Fed up now!
Laura says
They’ve finally agreed to uphold the adjudicators decision! Yay! Thanks so much for this page. They no have 4 weeks to set it right as per the FOS timeframe
Sara (Debt Camel) says
good news!
Jo says
Hi Sara,
I’ve complained against jd Williams and they’ve offered a settlement. They are saying they did lend irresponsibly and have offered a refund of interest etc and removal of adverse credit details. My question is this, the debt went to a debt collector and it was them that defaulted it. Does jd Williams remove this too?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you still owe the debt collector a blance?
Jo says
No I paid everything fully last year.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have JD Williams taken into account the money you paid to the debt collector?
Jo says
Yeah they’ve said they will refund me all interest and admin fees direct to me once they confirm the balance is at £0. My main concern is the default, I’ve asked them will they clear them but they’ve gone out of their way to point out that the defaults are with Cabot (which I know) so do you think the defaults will still be removed? They have said they will remove adverse information from my credit file but doesn’t specify. I’ve asked but they are taking ages to get back to me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, well they should ask Cabot to remove the default.
Jo says
I really hope so. This is my last debt and last negative market. Once that’s gone I’ll be able to go for my mortgage (deposit ready to go too) I’ve had loads of help in this site so thank you so much xx
Dean says
hi sara, how long do 118 take to refund after being upheld. thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
best place to ask is on the large loans page: https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/
Andrew says
Hi Sara
I still have had nothing from the Ombidsman in writing as you suggested as to why the believe New Day have complied with decision by paying proportionate interest and not ALL as stated in decision
I spoke with the adjudicator who was liaising with ombudsman who states its end of the road, decision cannot be overturned and I accepted the decision I stated I accepted all the interest back not what new day perceived to be all
Is there anything more I can do ?
Mike_p says
I’d be interested to know how you get on as I’m in a similar position. The investigator decision said “Refund all interest and charges applied to Mr X’s account” and I replied saying I accepted that. I got a refund on my account about 3 weeks later, but after checking my statements I found it was only half what should have been paid. I rasied this with the investigator who said:
“Dear Mr X
Apologies for the delayed response due to being away from the office. NewDay has replied:
‘When we calculate redress we don’t refund all interest the consumer paid, we only refund proportionate interest. It looks like the consumer has added up all interest he paid on this account for the months of August 2020 to May 2021.’
I haven’t commented yet, as I’m unable to open to open their attached document to show how the redress was calculated. I’ve asked them to resend this asap and by 7 March.
Kind regards
X”
I’m still waiting to hear more, I can’t see how there can be any question on this as they very clearly haven’t refunded what I agreed to. Everything is in writing and I’ve sent a copy of my statements showing all the interest charged.
Andrew says
I don’t know how they get away with it to be honest they apply their own interpretation on it and it seems the fos is powerless to intervene
I was especially annoyed when the adjudicator said I agreed yes I agreed with all the interest not what they thought it should be surely there is options for this
Mike_p says
All I can think of is to make an official complaint to the FOS about the service they have provided. If Newdsy disagreed and it went to an ombudsman who upheld it then it would be legally binding, so I don’t see how they can get away with lying about agreeing with the decision.
Craig says
Similar position too. I received a refund of £185 last week but believe that is quite low. I’m still waiting on my statements being sent so I can work it out.
Evie says
Hi Sara,
Can I bother you with a question. I have old credit cards that I went into a DMP with. One on question I last paid on 2017 and cleared the balance. I tried to complain and they said it’s 6 years from opening the account? But surely if it was open until 2017 it should still be valid to complain about ? Thank you so much 😊
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, send the complaints to the Ombudsman and explain how you have only recently found out that the lenders should have checked that limit increases were affordable for you. Say when and how you found out – did a friend tell you? did you see an article in a newspaper about some other sort of refunds?
Also look at a complaint to Shop Direct.
Evie says
Thank you I will. I genuinely only did find out as before reading your webpages and doing research I was clueless! Thank you for your advice it’s very appreciated!
Darren Willis says
Thank you again for such wonderful help. Last Monday I wrote to aqua credit with the above template and last night they refunded me £2300 onto my credit card. Just over a week and no hassle. Haven’t even received there reply yet just the money.
Siobhan says
Hi Sara,
New day have agreed to refund unfair charges on credit cards I had with them.They sold the debt to Cabot and say that is who will receive the refund. Can they do this? I thought I should get the money?
Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are they refunding all payments?
Have you been making payments to Cabot?
Have they agreed to remove the default / missed payments and make Cabot do this too?
Siobhan says
Hi Sara,
No they are not refunding all payments and they say that the defaults were reported correctly. I have never paid Cabot anything
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok so can you say what they have agreed to refund?
They are right that it is normal that a refund is first used to clear a balance owed. If your balance is a lot more, then my thought is are they really offering a big enough refunds?
If this goes to the Ombudsman you may get a bigger refund, possibly much bigger refund, and the defaults would be removed.
Mike_p says
I’ve had this back from the investigator which sounds like a total cop out. They didn’t say Newday should put me back in the position I’d be in now, they said it wasn’t possible to put me back in the position I was in now so they had looked at another way of putting things right, I really can’t see why it’s become such a problem, if Newday disagreed I should have been been told at the time so I could decide what to do.
“Dear Mr. X
I attach the calculations from NewDay. I’ve relooked at my recommendation and I can see you’re right – it did ask NewDay to refund all the interest and charges from the date of the limit increase.
But it also said that NewDay should put you back in the position you would have been if the limit increase hadn’t happened. And as the application itself and the granting of the facility of £600 in my opinion wasn’t irresponsible, you would have paid interest on the original borrowing until the account was closed, as shown in the attached. I do apologise for the confusion.
“
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That isn’t reasonable. Go back to your investigator and make those points – you accepted what the decision said. So did newday. the decision was clear. newday have no right to now seek to get it changed.
What was your financial position at the time of the increase? was it clear you were already in trouble? If it was, then you should also argue that the decision to refund all interest was the correct one, as newday should have seen your difficulty and it was not treating you fairly to to carry on charging interest.
(There are also arguements you can make that even if there is a “proportionate refund” newday have not calculated it reasonably. But they are complicated and i wouldn’t mention them now, you want the original decision which newday accepted, complied with. If in the end it has to go to an ombudsman (because you did NOT accept what Newday have done) then come back and ill talk about the calcykation issues.)
Mike_p says
Thanks, I’ve gone back and said that. I had a SafetyNet Credit account open at the time as well as a couple of Payday loans and was making minimum payments so Newday would have seen I was in trouble.
I’m really struggling to see why the investigator is so reluctant to sort it out – it was a clear decision, I clearly said I accepted it, and the interest refunded is clearly not the full amount. I’ve been through the whole process properly, waited months for responses, provided information when requested, kept up with all the payments I agreed under my DMP, yet they think they can get out of this.
Mike_p says
The investigator is saying this now, they seem to be trying to fudge over the fact that redress was agreed but not honoured.
I sent NewDay my view of this complaint on 12 January 2022. You both accept what I’ve said about the limit increase on your account, but you’re unhappy with redress NewDay have paid since my assessment.
My assessment asked NewDay to refund all the interest and charges you’ve paid to date from when your credit limit was increased. However, in my most recent email I let you know the redress I should have asked NewDay to pay, given that the original borrowing wasn’t irresponsible.
You disagree and point out NewDay would have seen in July 2020 that you were struggling financially. Therefore, NewDay should have stopped charging interest at that point.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you can reply that you and Newday both accepted what the original decision was so you don’t see why Newday is allowed to change their mind.
Also you have pointed out that you think the adjudicator’s original decision was correct.
Say that if Newday doesn’t pay you what the adjudicator’s original decision said, you will be rejecting it and want it to go to an Ombudsman.
Mike_p says
Yes I’ve made both of those points and it is going to an ombudsman now. The investigator is acting like they’d changed their decision, but when I queried the amount they made no mention of a different redress amount. It was only when Newday sent their calculation that the investigator changed their stance to fit what Newday had done.
It’s only £150 but I don’t see why I should lose out on something I didn’t agree to.
Mike_p says
They are saying this now which sounds as if they are backfilling things to cover what Newday have done. Newday would have seen the same decision I did, if they had replied objecting to it then that should have highlighted a difference to the investigator. (As it was I only noticed after going through my old statements). When I queried it the investigaor also only reponded to me after they had got a reply from Newday (saying they only refund proportionate interest) – they could/should have looked at their decision and replied straightaway.
“Thank you for your email. I’ve concluded that the limit increase NewDay applied was unfair. However, my assessment incorrectly asked NewDay to refund all the interest since the limit increase. It should have asked NewDay to refund all the interest from the date of the limit increase but only on the additional borrowing. You’ve clearly stated your position and why you think all the interest should be refunded to you when you said:’Newday would have seen that I was struggling financially at the time of the increase and should have stopped charging me interest, therefore your original decision that I agreed with was the correct one. ‘ It’s not our process to issue a revised assessment. My email on 10 and 14 March explained the redress I had proposed was incorrect – and I’ve apologised for the confusion my error has caused.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so it goes to an Ombudsman.
siobhan says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for your reply.
They gave me an Aqua Card in 2014. credit limit then was£250.00. Between then and 2017 they increased it 6 times to eventually £3750.. Even though I had 9 defaults on my Credit record and over £20.000 of Debt showing. They say I had £72.00 in over limit fees and they have calculated a refund of £1048.02. which they are paying to Cabot.
Marbles Card issued in 2015 with a Credit limit of £1250.00, which increased another 3 times to end up at £5100.00 in 2017. Even though again at application I still had the 9 Defaults and over £20.000 of debt. They are saying this is correct and they will refund nothing, and not remove any Defaults as they were applied correctly. They sold both Debts to Cabot in 2019, so I find it very unfair that they are paying them the refund. Do you think I should refer this case to the FOS. Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know how they calculated the Aqua refund? it sounds quite low.
It is normal to clear the debt collector balances, but if you get a larger refund this may still give you some cash back, plus 2 defaulted debts sortes and the negative marks removed from your credit record.
As they aren’t offering you anything for the
Siobhan says
Thanks Sara, no they haven’t said how they calculated that interest refund. I’ve sent it to the FOS anyway, nothing to loose
John says
I had three accounts with JD Williams.
I made an affordability complaint JD Williams rejected it.
I escalated to Ombudsman Investigator agreed with me and interesting JD Williams now want to make me an offer.
I have a CCJ from JD so presumably this will be set aside as part of the settlement.
This whole process has taken nine months but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your CCJ was from JD? That would be unusual, it would normally be from a debt collector.
You need to make sure that removing this CCJ is included in the offer – you can’t assume it will happen if you accept an offer which doesn’t mention it.
John says
Yes it was from a debt collector presumably who bought the debt.
I will make sure it is removed as part of the settlement but who would apply to the court to set it aside would it be me, the collector or JD?
Will let you know what settlement is proposed when I receive it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the debt collector would have to do this. Well you could, but it would cost you, so it’s simpler if they do.
Jo says
Hi John, very similar situation to mine. They’ve offered me a settlement and quite a decent one too so I accepted. I had to get them to spell it out that the adverse credit from the debt collectors would be removed as they kept avoiding it but they did specify that the debt needs to be paid off before any credit file adjustments would be made. Not sure if that info is helpful to you or not. Good luck with your claim x
John says
Thanks Jo.
I just read the Investigator’s email again JD have to re-purchase the debt back. I will ensure this includes setting aside the CCJ.
I had three accounts with JD owe:
£45.56
£75.70
£275.80
I hope the settlement offer wipes off all the debt.
Cheers
Jo says
Fingers crossed it will! Good luck x
Mara says
Hi Sara
I would like to ask a question.
Between years 2012 and up until now I have had payday loans taken, had Capital One cards (without raised limit)and had account with Littlewoods/Shop Direct/Very. All this time I was paying off minimum payment on my Barclaycard
Shop Direct account has been in arrears for at least a few years at some point, limit was raised a few times (even though I had been struggling with Wonga/QQ/Money shop loans). Last Autumn I have closed the account, paid in full. Can I make a complaint now towards Shop direct at least?
The problem is that I am not in UK right now and don’t have a home address there.
Thank you in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can make complaints from abroad. It may be more hassle to get the money transferred if you don’t have a UK bank account, but you seem to be posting from an EU country so it should be possible.
You can also make complaints when accounts haven’t been closed.
Mara says
Thank you so much for such a prompt response. I still have my UK account open as I am still paying off Barclays overdraft and Barclays card (last things to be paid).
What if I don’t have records- just bank statements?
Is Oakam Ltd is still an option for me to make a complaint about or as they are in administration right now it will be a waste of time?
Where is the best place to send the complaint to Shop Direct/Very/Littlewoods ? They are very hard get to and only post their phone number on the website , but not the actual email address.
Thank you so much for your help. It would be nice to get something back.
AL says
Hello Sara, I have had the adjudicator partially uphold my barclaycard complaint. He has said that barclaycard should refund all interest from may 2019 when my credit limit was raised above a certain amount. My question is that I only was in this higher amount for 6 months then they reduced it again to the previous amount. Does that mean they will only refund for those 6 months or is the refund still from then to present day?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What were the exact words the adjudicator used, can you copy them into here?
AL says
So, here’s what I think should do.
1. You should refund all interest and charges that arose as a result of the credit limit increase in March 2019, above the initial borrowing of £5,320.
2. If the borrowing is still in place, you should reduce the outstanding capital balance by the amount calculated at Step 1.
3. If, after Step 2, there remains an outstanding capital balance, you should ensure that it isn’t subject to any historic or future interest and/or charges. But if Step 2 leads to a positive balance, the amount in question should be given back to xxx and 8% simple interest* should be added to the surplus.
4. You should remove any adverse information recorded on xxx credit file as a result of the interest and charges
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So in March 2019, were you already in big financial problems? Only making minimum payments? did your credit record show your other debts had gone up?
AL says
I had been living in overdraft for ten years but I don’t think this will make any difference to the complaint at ombudsman level as they didn’t really give a very good outcome in relation to my barclays bank overdraft complaint at ombudsman level so just think I should accept the adjudicator but I can’t work out the refund
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well that is your decision. But you will only get 6 months of refund then. And that may be a lot less than the interest you paid during those six months as what the adjudictor has said means you will only be refunded for the interest charged on the borrowing over £5,320.
Ross says
Morning Sara,
I’m now becoming very despondent, with reference to my Newday case. 3 weeks after they rejected the adjudicator view, and asking him for further comment (before deciding if they want an ombudsman to review it), I am still waiting to know where we are with the case. I emailed the adjudicator, yesterday, asking if they’d managed to provide the ‘further comment’ Newday requested and at what time do we decide it has to be queued for an ombudsman.
I also think they don’t know what to do with reference to your suggestion about when they should have shown forbearance and I’m not sure if this is also causing a delay?
Is there a point where I just state I want it queued for an ombudsman? I would like it sorted at adjudicator level but, with what’s happened (so far) I don’t have much confidence it can be.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So as you know there are several people here with a similar problem. My guess is FOS will soon realise that these aren’t individual problems but all the same issue with Newday. getting the issue resolved is the bit that matters, if you try to force your case to the Ombudsman level, it will still be waiting on FOS talking to newday about the issue.
Bc says
Hi Sarah,
Had a decision on the affordability complaint against Vanquis, the adjudicator has fully upheld the claim, and recommendations are for all interest and charges from the increase after the first one of £500 be refunded, Vanquis agreed to allow to go back over 6 years, I had the card march 2014 and still have a balance of £3850, they increased the limit to 4000 and since 2017 have been making the minimum payment, I sent the complaint in June last year and Vanquis have given a response date of 25/03/2022 to respond and also advised them that they have an ombudsman available should they reject the decision, I’m hoping they accept as it would clear the card, close it and hopefully further refund, as of June last year the SAR details added up to £11890 from after the first increase, Sarah do Vanquis normally accept the adjudicators recommendations, and just like to say that without this page I would have just left it after they initially rejected it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
and also advised them that they have an ombudsman available should they reject the decision,
That is quite unusual. My guess is the Ombudsman has seen several cases like this and wants to get them sorted.
do Vanquis normally accept the adjudicators recommendations
I don’t know. But what they normally do may not be relevant here.
Bc says
Thank you for your reply, I will let you know the outcome, and hopefully if it goes through at this stage it maybe give a little hope to others in the same position, this would really make a huge difference.
Mara says
Hi Sara. I have a question. What is the best email to contact Shop Direct/Littlewoods/ Very to send the complaint? The only email that I have found is creditagreements@shopdirect.com. They don’t seems to give an option to send a direct email. I was going though comments, but didn’t find many about Shop Direct group complaints. Thank you in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
there isn’t an email :(
A lot of the comments may mention Littlewoods or Very or one of their other brands rather than Shop Direct.
Laura says
I emailed the ceo and said I expected it to be passed onto the correct dept….and it was!
nick.mcbrien@shopdirect.com
Mara says
Thank you so much, Laura! I will try that email.
Andrew says
Hi an adjudicator has ruled in my favour for all interest and charges to be refunded, on my creditcard from day one. I am unsure what this comment means. If these adjustments put Mr H’s account in credit then any outstanding amount should be refunded, along with 8% interest. I recently cleared my balance so owe nothing. When will 8% king in from? Thanks Andy.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Once the interest is removed, at some point earlier your account would have moved into credit. That is when the 8% would start.
David says
Hi Sara
Although I’ve claimed recently on PPI and payday loan accounts, I’ve never really considered seeking a refund from a credit card company, which is daft really given in my case the sums involved have been far in excess of the others. When I think back twenty years or so ago I was being automatically given credit limits gradually increasing beyond 15000 for a single card which I stupidly spent up to with zero chance of paying back or realistically servicing for many years.
I accept it would probably be too late to claim now but if I did at least consider giving it a go, would it be expected for a card company to still retain records of my card activity from right back until the late 1990s and would they be obliged to send me this information on demand? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t go back before April 2007. That is the first date that these complaints were able to go to the Financial Ombudsman. PPI went back further but that was insurance, not consumer credit.
So what has been your finacial position since?
David says
Still in debt, around £25k although that’s actually manageable now and half of what it was at its worst.
Barclaycard was the worst card in question, I’m currently on a payback plan with them after years of minimum payments.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so when did Barclaycard last increase your credit limit?
David says
Just checking over my last 6 years of statements (back to November 15):
Nov 15: Limit 6K , balance 5.8K
Jan 16: Limit increase to 10K
August 16: Limit increase to 11.5K, balance 7.9K
March 17: Limit increase to 13K, balance 9.7K
At it’s worst my balance headed to around 11K around September 17 but I managed to repay some to get it down to around 7.2K.
September 18 – Limit reduced to 7.35K where it has remained ever since.
Payment plan began Jan 21 (170 per month, no payments missed), balance is down to £4.7K
Sara (Debt Camel) says
And in Nov 16 you think you had only been making minimum payments for a long while?
David says
Most definitely, yes!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then you could make a complaint and ask for a refund of all interest charged since Nov 16.
OR you could first send them a Subject Access Request asking for details of when they increased your credit limits since 2007. You cant go back before that but you can go back over 6 years.
David says
Thank you so much for the advice!
I’ll probably go down the subject access request route as from memory the worst of it was around 2010 so it’s worth pursuing.
Mack says
Hi
I’ve got a NatWest credit card I’m still paying off via Cabot finance.
It was full of gambling transactions and they increased my limit a few times.
This was in 2008 though…. Is that too long ago to claim?
Many thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is worth a try. Expect NatWest to reject it and send the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.
Ross says
After Newday asked my adjudicator to reassess my case, he has told them that he stands by his original recommendation that the case be upheld. He has now written to them, for a second time, to state this. It’s now a case of whether they accept, after rejecting his initial decision, or wanting it looked at by an ombudsman.
I am hoping (but not holding my breath) that they accept. However, I have stated that I won’t be accepting any redress until I a) review my statements (when they decide to send them, 3 weeks and counting since requested) and that they don’t try to go down the ‘proportionate interest’ route, as I have seen has happened to some others on here. Will keep you all updated.
Mike_p says
Yes be very careful with Newday. I’ve made a few complaints and dealt with some difficult lenders who dragged their feet etc, but Newday are the only ones who have tried to change something after they agreed to it. My statements took three weeks to come through.
Ross says
Thanks Mike,
You’re one of the guys who has kindly helped me realise this and I will also be wanting a breakdown prior to accepting anything. I doubt they’ll accept the adjudicator decision, as it’s going to be a hefty amount of interest (5+ years, at an extortionate interest rate). However, you never know, they may surprise me?
Jax says
Hi, I have several complaints lodged with the FOS. My catalogue complaint has been picked up by an adjudicator almost 2 weeks ago. I lodged a complaint about a credit card almost 2 months before the catalogue account but that one hasn’t been picked up yet. Does anyone have any information about how long it usually takes for the adjudicator to come to a conclusion after the case is allocated please. Also, I’m confused as to how come a complaint that was escalated to the FOS first still hasn’t been allocated. Should I contact them? Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Does anyone have any information about how long it usually takes for the adjudicator to come to a conclusion after the case is allocated please.
That depends partly on how it takes to get all the info they need.
the lender should have sent over a case file, but is any of it missing?
Have you supplied a copy of your credit record and your bank statements from that time? Don’t wait to be asked!
It seems a bit random when cases are picked up.
If you get on OK with the current adjudicator you could ask if they could pick up the ctaligue complaint?
Jax says
Thanks for your swift response Sara. I’ve sent bank statements and my credit report. As far as I am aware they have all of the information they need. Excellent idea! I’ll ask the adjudicator about the other complaint 😀
Mike_p says
My recent ones have taken between one and two months to get a decision after an adjudicatior picked them up. It depends how complicated the case is and how difficult the lender decides to be.
Jax says
Thanks Mike!
Eve says
Hi,
I posted two complaints for separate lenders to the FOS a month ago and still haven’t heard anything. Is this quite common at the moment?
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know, most people send FOS an online complaint. I suggest you phone FOS up and ask if they have been received
Eve says
Hi Sara,
Sorry I did mean an online complaint.
On another note. I sent a complaint to Aqua regarding irresponsible lending. My credit limit was increased from 300 to 6200 over a few years. Despite having large amounts of other credit. I recently took out a loan to pay off aqua to avoid the high interest rates. Do I still have a case even though my balance is now 0 with aqua? I was paying minimum payments up till then and had to take out other credit to manage my payments with them.
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah! But you haven’t had any acknowledgment back from FOS? That is unusual – do phone them and ask.
Yes you can still complain about aqua even though it is paid off. You had to borrow to clear it, which doesn’t mean that it was affordable.
Eve says
Hi Sara,
I’ll get in touch with them tomorrow and check they have received them!
Okay thank you I’ll send this to the FOS.
Tim says
Hi Sara. Got a complaint with the Omsbusman against Vanquid. They have sent me my DARS information before they increased my limit from 500 pounds to 1000 pounds. I was only paying minimum payments and my balance was always near the limit. Also in 5 months i withdrew cash out of atm 16 times. Do you think they should have realised i was dependant on getting cash out of machine. And not increased my limit?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes. Taking cash on a regular basis is a sign of financial problems, especially if you were only making the minimum payments. .
Jo says
Hi Sara,
Had my response from JD Williams as they settled with me through the FOS before the investigator could make a decision. £1060 refund and all negative info off my credit file. Thank you so much for this website. I am officially debt free and have excellent credit for the first time in 17 years. Mortgage here I come xxxx
Mara says
Hi Sara,
After sending the complaint the Very Group, I have received the immediate answer that my registered address is different than in their system.
They want a UK proof of address.
As I mentioned earlier, I have left UK 1.5years ago. HMRC customs sent already Tax return on my new EU address last summer.
Should I give them my current address (EU one)? Can they reject my claim only on the base that I have moved? I still have my UK current account opened as I am paying off the Barclays overdraft. Or I can just send them the EU proof of address?
Thank you in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They can’t reject your complaint just because you no longer live in the UK. You will be able to send this complaint to the Ombudsman.
Send them proof of where you are living at the moment.
Mara says
Thank you so much for a prompt reply, Sara. I will do that right away.
Tim says
Hi Sara. If i win my Vanquis credit card claim at the ombusman. Will i be able to claim over limit charges. Late payment fees. And cash withdrawel fees?. I have been looking at my SARs and there is about £700 pounds in these fees alone. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Probably – the standard redress is for the lender to remove all interest and charges so you just repay what you borrowed.
Mark says
Hi i had a catalouge known as very I owed £1900 and came out of work i message them and asked them if i could have the account put on hold and if i could pay £50 per month as i was struggling. They turned me down and the debt got sold to lowell and their sister company Lowel solicitors was wanting a CCJ i was advised to eneter in a Tomalin order and the debt has gone upt to £4000+ im paying £3 per month is there anything i can do? this is a debt from 2018/2019
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who advised you to get a Tomlin order?