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?
Mark says
I was on a site for debt on fb and was worried about the ccj and the woman said oh tell them u want a tomalin order I asked what is it and they said it stops it going to court and you don’t get a ccj so I followed what they said. Stupidly iv since read up and I hadn’t a clue what it meant. I never went to court for a tomalin order and only got sent a form to full in an offer of payment.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh you shouldn’t just follow things someone says on the Internet – and I am of course just someone on the internet…
I’m not clear if you have a Tomlin order here. There is a fee to be paid and the order is filed with the court.
So two things – first you can still complain to Very. Use the template in the article above. Add in that you have been making payment to Lowell and you want the payments you have made to that taken into account and the interest removed from that balance.
You can just do that and see how it goes. Very sometimes (but not always) makes good offers and this could resolve the situation quickly.
The other thing is to talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about this Tomlin order. And then complaint to Lowell about it, Say it looks as though interest is being added which is more than your payments and you don’t think this is treating you fairly.
Mark says
Thank for your help i will try all of the above.
Danny says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for the great source of Information! Your site is helping me progress through a tricky financial situation.
I am currently in the process of setting up token payments with several creditors. I have just found your article above and it dawned on me how much 3 of the credit cards limits have been increased substantially over the years and how much interest I’ve paid during this time when consistently making minimum payments – It’s been a real struggle. My credit score has always been poor and I believe they would have been able to see this before increasing the limits.
Do you think making a complaint during setting up the token payments would be a good or bad idea? Would complaining about it affect their decision on accepting the token payments for example?
Any help appreciated,
Danny
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No making a complaint will not have any effect on a lender’s decision to accept token payments.
Can I ask what your current debt total is? Is it all cards? And is there any prospect of token payments just being for a short time?
Danny says
Thanks for coming back on this so soon Sara, much appreciated. Yes, all the debt is on cards.
There is 7,447 on the 3 cards I mentioned above.
And the current debt total is: 21,977 over 9 cards in total.
Currently unemployed, but I am hoping to only be paying them for the next couple of months while I interview for jobs. Once I have a new job in place I really don’t want to have to go back to paying interest as when I was employed it was crippling and unworkable (paying the minimum, then having to use the cards because I had no money left). Becoming unemployed has helped me realise the crazy situation and do something about it.
I am hopeful to arrange a more realistic monthly payment once I am back in employment. However, if you’re able to give any advice I would appreciate it massively!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a lot. When you get a new job and have had the first couple of months, I think you should talk to a debt adviser about your options. Depending on how much money you have left to pay the debts – because living costs are going up a lot at the moment – a debt management plan may be a good idea or a form of insolvency.
If affordability complaints can reduce your debt a lot, good! That may change what option you go for later.
Danny says
Yes I know :(
Ok great I will do that, thank you for the advice. I have another situation with one of the card’s in which the creditor (Halifax) would not give me a loan to consolidate the debts, but they increased my credit card limit on the credit card I had with them – It definitely feels like it’s my own fault for getting in to this situation and I take full ownership of it, but also I feel a little bit like I fell for some tricks that I just wasn’t wise enough to understand at the time.
I will let you know how it goes and thank you so much for your help!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have another situation with one of the card’s in which the creditor (Halifax) would not give me a loan to consolidate the debts, but they increased my credit card limit on the credit card I had with them
I think that too is worth making a complaint about. They knew enough about your situation to decline you for a loan – so you can argue they should not have increased your credit limit.
TB says
JD Williams 3 times catalogues all taken out around April 2018, complained May 2020, JD williams partially upheld. Removed all charges on one and cleared completely. Removed some charges on other balance was £800 now £330. Other account £1200 did not uphold even though all around same time.
Sent to FOS October 2020, March 2022 found in my favour and JD Williams have accepted. Both accounts credit limit should not have been granted above £125 and all charges, interest and payments made since limit increase to be removed with 8% interest…
Fashion world owe £1200, shouldn’t have been increased past £125 in November 2018. Was paying approx £50 per month.
Simply Be was £800, charges removed to £330 but should be reduced to £125 limit – been paying approx £35 per month.
Any idea approx what amount I’ll receive as I know JD williams are slippery. Also how long did people wait to receive cheques?
Both account are with debtmanagers debt collectors but accounts been on hold since May 2021.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
its almost impossible to guess unless you have the old statements and can add up the the charges and interest added each month.
TB says
So does that mean all charges, interest and payments made above £125 will be refunded?
Also please could you delete my surname
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you copy out EXACTLY what the ombudsman decision said?
Elle says
Hey guys just an updated. Adjudicator has upheld my complaint against Vanquis yay! They’ve said that Vanquis will settle directly but Vanquis don’t communicate via email so I’ll just have to wait to see what happens with my refund and calculations.
Bamboo rejected adjudicators decisions , frustrating as they’ve delayed at every hurdle who knows how long I’ll wait for ombudsman! Why are bamboo the only company that do this, does nothing but delay and in the meantime I’ve got to keep paying them £260 a month until ombudsman allocated! I can’t afford to have any negative marks on my credit report as hopefully getting a mortgage this year
john says
Today has been an interesting day speaking to the FOS.
My affordability complaint about John Lewis mastercard was rejected by the Investigator. I requested the case be escalated to an Ombudsman.
Ombudsman has come back with a decision. He has agreed to uphold my complaint in part.
What I don’t understand is the case has gone back to the Investigator to request more information from the Investigator who rejected the complaint.
I thought there was only two stages to the complaints process?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
An Ombudsman can make any decision they think is fair.
what part of your complaint has been upheld?
What is the extra information asked for?
john says
Ombudsman rejected complaint about two credit limit increases but has agreed to investigating a credit limit increase in 2018.
Investigator has gone back to John Lewis for more information but not sure what he needs. The FOS has had this conplaint for seven months so I would have thought they would be in possession of all the info they need by now.
Bc says
I have also had my claim upheld and Vanquis have agreed with the adjudicator, mine is to cover from the first increase in October 2014 so waiting now to find out what they offer, and so grateful for this page and Sarah’s amazing knowledge and help.
Declan says
Hi
Is there specific email address or avenues I should follow to make such enquires/complaints to the following providers:
Barclaycard, Aqua, Vanquis.
Thanks for all the help
Mike_p says
I complained to Barclaycard and Aqua by post as I couldn’t find a complaints email, they both replied by post and there was no email address listed in the response (only phone numbers). They always make it more difficult when it comes to complaining.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if you still have the Barclaycard, you can complain by secure message.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
For Aqua use complaints@newday.co.uk
Lou7 says
Hi all,
I had a credit card with Vanquis and the limit was £1000 and it’s now in my StepChange dmp. Can I make a complaint to Vanquis for irresponsible lending or not?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can. Did Vanquis increase your credit limit while you were only making minimum payments?
Lou7 says
Hi Sara,
No it stayed at £1000 and now it’s with StepChange they have reduced the credit limit to £950. It’s never been cleared completely. I just paid the minimum and then used it again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok this is harder to win a complaint about but have done this – you have to argue they should have been able to see from your credit record that a limit of £1000 was too high.
Tim says
Put a complaint in agaonst Vanquis credit card. . They rejected this complaint because it was over 6 years ago. Is it still worth sending to the ombudsman. Or will it be thrown out?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Ombudsman will often look at these “older” complaints if you explain that you have only found out in the last three years that the lender should have checked the credit limit was affordable for you and until you thought it was your own fault for being bad with money. Say when & how you found out – did a friend tell you about a refund, did you see an article in a newspaper, did you see a claims company advertise on Facebook, did you hear about payday loan refunds then wonder if the same applied to credit cards… just say what happened.
Elle says
Hi all not sure if anyone can offer any advice – both Aqua and marbles who I understand are both newday, have upheld my complaint – marbles completely and Aqua accepted they shouldn’t have given me an increase in credit limit and refunded from them (it wasn’t worth sending to Fos as the difference would Have only been about £100 if that)
Anyway both are still showing as missed payments on my credit file (negative markers) and they are refusing to remove them as they say even though they shouldn’t have given the increase they still have to accurately report? Is this right? These are the only negative marks now on my report after having all my complaints upheld
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is a pity you did not ask them to remove the negative marks as part of your first complaint.
You can go back to them and make another complaint about this and take it to the Ombudsman if they refuse.
Elle says
Thank you that’s good to know, I actually did ask them to do that in my original complaint as I used the template from here. I didn’t realise I could take this further on the basis of negative markers so that’s good to know. Thank you so much as always
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you may have a problem if they said you accepted their offer in final settlelemtn. But you can say you thought it was normal for them to remove negative marks and assumed that was included as they did not say they would not do this (double check what they told – did they say anything about your credit record?). Say it was unfair to ignore one of your points and not say they would not do that.
This may well have to go to the Ombudsman – but you have nothing to lose here apart from your time to send in an Ombudsman complaint – about 15 minutes.
Elle says
Thank you I will do, it makes no sense to me personally – how can they say the credit limit increases should never have happened – but refuse to remove the negative markers from the increases, it’s not logical at all. In essence that increase never existed therefore should not have any footprint on my report surely?
Laura manson says
Hi Elle
With regards to newday how long did they take to pay you? They’ve upheld my complaint too but still waiting for the money to be refunded
Ernestkola says
Good morning Sara .. l just received this from adjudicator about my capitalone and Ocean complaint.. both card connect together .. capitalone open in 2016 credit limit is £1550 increase 3time and Ocean card £1250 not increase… so you mentioned last week that written in different pages but l dont am doing that am only write through my email ..hope am doing it in right way now pls? Am abit old school online .. l told adjudicator that l will go to Ombudsman… but l dont what to say to support complaint.. adjudicator email attached pls
You have told us that you first became that the lending was unaffordable on 1 January 2019. This is because you were only able to make the minimum monthly repayment and you have also said that you missed payments.
I’ve considered all of the information that has been provided by yourself, the business and information that we hold about your pre-existing complaints. This meant that you had until 1 January 2022 to raise a complaint of this nature. As this complaint was raised on 11 January 2022 with Capital One and brought to this service on 15 January 2022, I can’t say that this complaint was brought in time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Points to make to the adjudicator:
1) English is not your first language so you may not have been very clear,
2) you have been told that FOS can look at complaints that are made within 3 years of someone finding out they could complain. You only found out out at the start on 2019 so why isn’t this within 3 years
3) you found out about complaint when xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (I don’t know what you said before? what did you say happened at the start of 2019?)
4) Capital One increased your limit within the last 6 years, so why can you not complain about the increases?
5) you would like this complaint to go to an Ombudsman if the adjudicator won’t change their mind
John says
Just received this from the FOS I am very happy.
Your complaint about Barclays Bank UK PLC trading as Barclaycard
Further to my assessment on this complaint dated 10 March 2022.
We’ve now received confirmation that Barclays Bank UK PLC has accepted the outcome of our investigation and have agreed to settle the complaint in-line with our recommendations.
I’ve therefore asked Barclays Bank UK PLC to settle the complaint with you directly in the way we agreed. So I won’t do anything more unless I hear from you.
But if you don’t hear from Barclays Bank UK PLC within the next four weeks – or there are any problems – please let me know.
AL says
Hi John,
I’m in the same situation and was wondering how long barclaycard took to settle? Thanks
Tim says
Hi Sara. Has there been many complaints against Capital 1 credit cards? And if so do they usually agree or does it usually go to the ombudsman? Mine atarted with a credit limit of £500 pounds but now it is £3600 pounds paying minimum payments and over the last 3 years i have withdrew over £11000 pounds out in cash withdrawals. In fact my purchase interest for last month was £17.29. and my cash interest was £83.54. That shows what i am using the card for.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think they often reject complaints so expect this to have to go to the Ombudsman.
One or two cash withdrawals a year isn’t a problem. But frequent withdrawals are a sign of financial distress and they should not have increased your limit if this was happening.
But you need to stop using this card while your complaint goes through. And you have a lot of other complainst going as well, how many of these are about current debts? I think you should talk to StpeChange about a debt management plan for all your current debts where interest is frozen – you can still make the affordability complaints and winning them will really speed up the DMP – see https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx.
And if you are still gambling, you need help with atht as well.
Tim says
Hi Sara. Yes i have stopped using the credit card and i am addressing my other debts. I have arrangements on place with all of them. Im going to speak to cap 1 tomorrow about a repayment plan with them also. I have stopped gambling now and if i win my complaints against these loans i will be debt free very quickly. I have make it work now. Last chance saloon. Thanks
Gary says
Hi Sara, I’m trying to get my finances in order best I can. Firstly, I’ve already made all complaints regarding payday lenders and won those (including waiting for QQ to hopefully pay out next month). I think I have strong grounds for affordability complaints going back to 2009 perhaps for a number of reasons having read this section of yours thoroughly. I understand FOS’ 6+3 rule so think perhaps I can go to them if any lenders reject any of my upcoming complaints I’m planning. So I want to complain about credit cards and store cards where I believe I was maxed out at the limits for years. I can recall if I asked for credit limit increases myself, they were automatic increases or if the limit was set that high in the first place on one or all cards. Please can you give me some advice on where to get started with this situation and if it’s worthwhile pursuing my plan? I was in a DMP between 2009 I believe until about 2013 which I still have correspondence for. This was settled and satisfied and now removed from my credit file. Thanks in advance if you can help me get going with this!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s hard to say much when you don’t remember much about if the limits were increased or not. Have these accounts been cleared? If so, how long ago?
Gary says
I think Vanquis kept on increasing my limit from £300 all the way up to £3,000. The balance was reduced to zero in about 2017 when I received over £6,000 redress from Vanquis for a ROP refund. I just can’t recall if I opted into to auto increases or not. Does that make a difference? I had a maxed out card at the limit for years probably since 2010 as I was on a DMP and had some gambling issues too at the time. Do you think I can make an affordability complaint to them? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like a good complaint.
Vanquis will almost certainly reject it as it is over 6 years old, just send it to the Ombudsman to make the decision on.
Gary says
The ROP complaint I had with Vanquis was also over 6 years old and they rejected it. However, I then replied and challenged this outcome with the 3 year rule of when I found out. They then settled my complaint in full. I’m going to use the same tactic again as I only found out via your website about the affordability type complaint. Thanks again for your help.
tony says
Hi Sara I had a credit account with jacamo a few year ago and the credit limit kept getting increased without me asking for it, I was also in a cycle of payday loan debt at the time which I’ve successful complained about, how would I go about putting a complaint in to jacamo would I email them directly as I’m not sure who they use for the credit
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Jacomo is a brand name of JD Williams.
Complaint to Jacomo – use their form here https://support.jacamo.co.uk/hc/en-gb/requests/new?ticket_form_id=360001644480. Select “I have a problem that is not listed” and use the template in the article above for the details.
Tony says
Brilliant thank you 🙏
Mack says
Hi
Does anyone know where to complain about a NatWest credit card. I no longer have the account. Email or address that genuinely works?
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
try https://www.natwest.com/support-centre/how-to-complain/complaint-form.html
D says
I want to encourage all to keep going with complaints to banks and credit cards.
Santander rejected my credit card complaint and even said they would not accept the complaint at ombudsman to put me off.
I sent anyway and adjudicator upheld the complaint saying the card never should have been issued
First They replied saying they disagree and won’t payout but when adjudicator said he was sending to ombudsman, they said even though they disagree with adjudicator they will refund all interest and charges to the credit card. Funny That because they also wrote off the overdrafts charges as a ‘goodwill gesture’
These goodwill gestures and rejections with payouts are fine by me. Although it shows the banks unwillingness to admit fault.
Ernestkola says
Good afternoon Sara… pls can you explain how 3years rule works for pls? I just got confused and l don’t understand the rule and the meaning pls… l took a creditcard 5 January 2016… l want to know when the rule started and end date pls…and also about 6years when the complaint raised.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The main FOS time limit rule is the 6 yewar rule. You have to complain with 6 years of the problem occurring.
So if you are complaining that a credit card limit was too high at the start, the date for that is when you opened the account.
If you are complaining that a limit was increased, the date is when the limit changed.
In your case FOS may decide the opening of the account was outside the6 year rule BUT all the limit increases were inside the 6 year rule.
If FOS says a claim is outside the 6 year rule, it can still look at it if you have only become aware that you had a reason to complain within the last three years.
Three years starts from now and goes back 3 years.
So if you have only found out within 3 years that a lender should have checked credit was affordable, it comes under the 3 year rule.
This is why FOS asks when you became aware you had a problem.
Ann says
I have emailed pretty much all of the payday loan, or high cost loans I took out about affordability complaints.
I took out a barclaycard in November 2015. In March 2016 my credit limit is was £3300, I was never below £3185 in balance within two months. Taking out cash advances 1-3 times a month multiple times a year. In April 2017 my credit limit was increased to £6300 and managed to fluctuate up and down for a few months, laying off a couple grand at one point I think due to a PPI claim my husband recieved. I had a balance of £4600 in November 2017. December 2017 my limit was increased to £9300 and by June 2018, I was back to almost maxed out again due to my husband being sick and off work. I have missed several payments, paying sporadically when I prioritised this over other debts. I have paid down to £6900
I also applied for whatever reason, I can’t remember in Jan 2017 for a second barclaycard which they issued with a limit Of £600. They then increased the limit to £1000 in March 2018, and to £1200 in August 2018. Considering I already had a card at £8352 in March 2018 and at £9163 in august 2018. Would it be considered unfair they issued the second car and limit increases for the second card?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Taking cash advances every month, sometimes more than once, is a sign that you may have been in financial distress. Were you also only making minimum payments before April 2017?
And I don’t think they should have given you a second card.
KH says
Does anyone have the email addresses to complain to capital one and very/little woods? Thanks
emily56 says
I have made a complaint to argos about their credit card, what would happen if they do not uphold this? I was also wondering if i am able to complaint to steady pay please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you can send the complaint to the Ombudsman. Catalogue companies often reject very good complaints, so don’t let yourself be fobbed off – if you know your limit was too high go to the Ombudsman.
Ross says
Well, my farce with Newday just seems to go on and on.
After they told the FOS that my case was ‘time barred’ (causing considerable delay), and it wasn’t, they then advised it was within time limits. The adjudicator then found in my favour, and advised them of this. After ignoring the adjudicator and, eventually, replying after I raised it with their Executive office, they said they wanted the adjudicator to offer ‘further comment’ before looking to see if they wanted an actual ombudsman ruling. After the adjudicator reaffirmed his original findings, and Newday taking the full 2 week deadline to respond, they have now asked for a further extension ‘to consider the adjudicator’s findings’. If this isn’t ‘stalling’, then I don’t know what is? I think I know why they’re reluctant, to accept the findings, as it adds up to a considerable 4 figure sum (and that’s before the 8% interest is applied). I’d like to think that, after all this time, they could just give a yay, or a nay, so we can go forward and find closure, one way or the other. We just seem to be going around in circles?
BT says
My case with NewDay started with the FOS in December 2020 and I am still waiting for a response. They stalled the whole process with the adjudicator and delayed things several times. Adjudicator ruled in my favour and NewDay rejected it, sending the case to an ombudsman. I have been in that queue to be assessed for 8 months now.
I heard I was just allocated to an Ombudsman so I hope it won’t take too much longer now.
NewDay have been despicable.. they upheld my complaint but didn’t remove the default despite me asking. I sent this to the FOS just because of the default marker which would have been a ridiculously easy fix for them given they had already paid me back 1k in redress.
Never again with those guys. I hope you fix your case soon also
Graeme says
Hi Ross. I would prepare for further delay if I was you unfortunately. My case was escalated to ombudsman at the beginning of December after similar stalling from NewDay. I am on the 2nd provisional decision from the ombudsman at present, with a final decision pending for 14 April. I then expect fun and games with the calculations of interest if the experience of others is anything to go by. Hang on in there though, I am like you looking at a large 4 figure refund (hopefully).
Ross says
Thanks Graeme,
If the way they have acted, so far, is anything to go by, then I know what you say is going to be true. It seems they just want cases investigated until they, hopefully, get a decision in their favour. Please keep us updated on how you get on? Mine has been going on since June, last year, so I won’t be walking away.
Mike_p says
I’ve had nothing but trouble with my Aqua/Newday complaint. I was told by the investigator that Newday agreed with their decision, but Newday only refunded the proprtionate interest not the full interest mentioned in their decision. The investigator is now saying they made a mistake in their decision and should have said proportionate interest not full, but they only said that after speaking with Newday who told them they only paid proportionate interest. It seems like Newday are playing the FOS who just want to brush things under the carpet.
Andrew says
Hi Mike
Exactly same situation New Day agreed with all interest then paid proportionate its now got a new adj as other one left to work with the original ombudsman for “clarity”
Absolute joke I have no confidence in getting this sorted at all I asked for a written reason why ombudsman believed new day have complied and not got that either
Mike_p says
I can’t understand why it’s like this, it’s hard to believe it’s the mistake they claim when the same thing has happened to others. The investigator has been dishonest too, saying their decision asked Newday to put me back in the situation I would have been in, when the decision specifically said it wasn’t possible to put me back in the position I would have been in:
“However, on this occasion, I can’t undo what’s already been done – which means it isn’t possible to put Mr x back in the position he would be in if he hadn’t been lent to in the first place. Instead, I have to consider if there’s another way of putting things right fairly and reasonably given the circumstances of this complaint. So, here’s what I think you should do”
followed by
“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’ve asked Newday for a copy of all correspondence between them and the FOS, so I’ll see what, or if, they send.
Graeme says
Hi Andrew/Mike
Did NewDay provide a copy of their calculations to you? I am very interested to see where they have assigned the credit for the interest they have re-worked. My understanding is that it should be assigned to the interest bearing debt in the first instance. My case is with an ombudsman and I have argued that I should receive all interest refunded from the date of the increase in credit limit but he won’t agree to it. However if they re-work the account as I think they should and allocate interest refunds to the initial limit of £600 as this is interest bearing then, I think as soon as this amount is reached in interest refund then they should not be able to refund proportionate interest on the remaining amounts charged on credit upto £3150. I will find out soon enough what will happen I suppose. It is such a draining process, but I will be very pleased when it’s all done
Ross says
I argued that I felt the card I complained about (the second one, with Newday) should never have been granted, as the initial one was poorly managed. The adjudicator stated that he felt the initial limit, on the second card, was affordable. Therefore, I think I’ll be dragged in to this ‘proportionate interest’ saga too. The only way I can see is if they reject the adjudicator decision (second time around), it goes to an ombudsman and they agree with me that the second card should never have been issued. I agree with everyone else though that if they state all interest to be repaid after limit X should mean just that?
Andrew says
Hi Graeme
No I just received form New Day the amount no explanation or nothing
Because I have kicked off they now have two ombudsman looking at it the one who made the decision and originally said new day had complied and another I guess advising and a new adj which is doing the liaising with me
Mike_p says
I didn’t get any calculations or notifications either, it just appeared in my account one day. “Refund all interest charged since the credit limt increase” is a very clear statement, either agree and pay it or disagree and ask for it go to an ombudsman. I’m not sure what’s going on – if it’s a mistake then how can they keep making the same one, and if Newday are playing the FOS then why don’t they clamp down on it?
Tim says
Hi Sara. Do you have the email address for capital one complaints please. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if you still have an open account, sign into it and use the messaging
Tim says
Hi. I tried but i cant get it to work. But i would like to send it by email so that i have a record of the complaint to make a folder to send it all to the Ombudsman when the time right. Thanks
Ernestkola says
Email for capitalone complaint.
Complaintsresolutionuk@capitalone.com
Mike V says
I recently had a irresponsible lending complaint against Natwest rejected by the FOS due to the time-bar, I pressed the Investigator that sustained/reliance of borrowing, should be considered irresponsible. They replied with the following;
“I do wish to make it clear that sustained debt and reliance of borrowing can be considered as a separate complaint and you may want to make a separate complaint to NatWest about these”
I wonder if you have any advice, as I’m still not sure I personally see a difference between irresponsible lending and reliance of borrowing
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what sort of debt was this – card? overdraft?
Mike V says
The initial complaint was about an overdraft. However I have had 2x credit cards and a total of 7x loans with them.
Lorraine says
Could anyone tell me how to make a complaint against Very catalogue as there is no e mail addresses even resolver can’t get in touch with them
Elle says
Hi Lorraine,
I don’t know if there is an ‘official’ contact route but I used Resolver and others have here too and have eventually got replies,.. I just found that they were the last to reply, i.e. very end of the 8 weeks allowed, but their replies were the most thorough out of the 8 catalogue companies I dealt with for my lending complaints.
Siobhan says
Sara I commented a while ago about Vanquis. FOS have upheld my claim.
Situation – Vanquis increased my limit to £1000 within a couple of months of a default and final demand letter.
FOS have asked Vanquis to refund all interest and charge from date of increase.
This was October 2016.
The increase was to £1000 limit. This has always been maxed out and minimum amount paid every month until July 2019 where I paid off in full and then again maxed it out.
I am currently in a DMP. Do you know what sort of figure I would be looking at, would they refund pay off what I owe to Vanquis? I entered my DMP in February 2020.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good result.
I can’t guess how much you have paid since 2016. A refund will first be used to reduce your current balance owed.
If you have your statements, you could add it up. If they come back with an amount which you think is too low, ask them for a statemenst of the account since 2016 so you can check it.
Lorraine says
I have tried resolver there is no details for Very at the moment so you can’t open a case with them I’m not sure what to do apart from writing to them
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have to choose between phone and sending them a ltter. I would send a letter.
Rosy says
Hello, does anyone one have very catalogue & littlewoods catalogue contact details where I can send my claim, thanks
Lorraine says
Thanks for that
Sim says
Hello Sarah
I raised a compliant with Marbles and they reject my complaint .According to them that they increased my credit limit from£400 to £1560 because my balance was over the agreed credit limit. I don’t think that this is right reason. Should I go to FOS
thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like a poor reason for increasing your credit limit. Especially if you were only making the minimum payments to the card.
Yes take it to the Ombudsman.
Tracy Sowerby says
Good evening Sara
I had sought your advice last year regarding vanquis credit card and their calculations of the redress. Eventually myself and vanquis came to a stalemate and I accepted their offer. They were instructed to refund all interest after a 500 credit limit from April 2013 as I was still liable for interest on the first 500. However once they calculated the redress for all interest after April 13 they deducted interest for the first 500 for the same period. After several emails saying this was incorrect I was getting nowhere and my adjudicator stated that they do not get involved with how they calculate it he redress. He suggested I complain again as basically because i agreed with his decision the case was closed. I have today recieved an email with regards to my complaint of the calculations. I feel that the adjudicator did not understand what I was trying to explain with how vanquis should rework the account and only apply the payments I made to the interest bearing part, ie 500. I’ve lost out on the 8% as the redress significantly swallowed up the balance on the account. I just need to be succinct in my reply and explain what it is I’m asking. Hope I’ve been clear. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should argue that if Vanquis are allowed to charge interest on the first £500 but not any more, then each month there is part of your interest that is interest bearing and part that is interest free.
In this case each month your payments should be credited to the interest charging part of the debt, not the interest free part.
What Vanquis are doing is wrong because it is essentially saying that the payments you make reduce the interest free part first, not affecting the part that interest is charged on. That is against the FCAs rule CONC 6.7.4.
Lynn says
Hi Sara,
I’m at my wits end with aqua ! A few months ago I messaged to say I had won my case at the ombudsman. I have had no contact from aqua what so ever and have received the brake down of what was owed from the ombudsman as I chased them up and surprise surprise the amount is way off ! I have been fortunate enough to have been on your page for a while so I requested aqua send me all the information they have on me and today I have went through everything sent evidence to the ombudsman of what the actual amount is owed it’s almost £1000 out !! Aqua have given me no chance to dispute the amount with them at all. I’m I able to make a further complaint from lack of contact and this unfair treatment!
Also people with complaints against newday always check your amounts owed to you !
Ross says
What I would say is do an SAR request, for all of your statements before you accept anything. I have mine and the total amount of interest paid for the period my adjudicator has upheld. I will be asking for a breakdown of redress before I accept anything. Judging by the numerous comments, on this page, Newday are playing both the FOS, and complainants, for fools!
AL says
I challenged my final response from adjudicator with my barclaycard complaint. They had said I had enough disposable income to make payments and barclaycard had done nothing wrong. Adjudicator didn’t about some of my regular payments and debts which came out of another account so once I’d sent all these back in he wanted to go over case again. My question is barclaycard have now asked for a 2 week extension to also investigate which is something thay hadn’t do e before. Could this mean they are not happy with adjudicator’s findings? I’ve not had any updates on what adjudicator now thinks about complaint but was wondering if the companies are told before I would be? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t there are set rules here.
Jax says
I’ve received the outcome from the adjudicator for my capital one complaint today finding in my favour. Does anyone have any experience of whether capital one tend to agree with the adjudicator decision please or whether I should expect to have to escalate to an ombudsman. Thank you.
Emily56 says
I had recently wrote to resolver about vanquis, they have also said that they had acted fairly and asked if I would like to look further or if I am happy with their response. I am not bothered about any refund but I’d like to see if I can get any negative marks from my file removed. Is this possible to ask for now?i I had many pay day loans at this point and it was impossible for me to keep up with any of the payments
Also, loans to go accepted to refund me 100% of the interest on the loan but have said they cannot remove marks from credit file, I replied and said that if a company gives a refund for irresponsible lending then they can remove, this is correct isn’t it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Vanquis – well you can ask, but my guess is they will refuse. The Credit scoring system relies on creditors not bending the rules and unless they think your limit was unaffordable, they should not remove the problems. So It send the case to the ombudsman and you may get some money back as well as your credit record repaired.
Loans2Go – yes that is correct. It’s up to you if you think it’s worth going to the Ombudsman over this. If your credit record is pretty good apart from this loan it probably is. If it is littered with missed payments and defaults, well getting one removed may not make much difference.
suzjsed says
I was wondering if anyone can give me any advice regarding an overdraft. Quite a few years ago my bank allowed a fraudulent transaction to be taken from my account (although they wouldn’t have allowed me use my card for the large amount of money that went out) when i contacted them they gave me an overdraft to cover the amount that had been taken and since then i have been stuck with the overdraft no chanve of being able to clear it and the monthly charges on average 30 pound a month is it worth putting in a compensation claim and what would my chance be of getting any help from them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large is the overdraft compared to your salary going in?
suzjsed says
600 pound and im on legacy benefits as i am disabled.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then I think this is worth a complaint. they should have been able to see from your bank account that you won’t be able to clear this overdraft.
suzjsed says
I was never able to get an overdraft the bank said i didnt qualify due to not working and having a high amount of debt. They only gave me the overdraft because they allowed a transaction to go out of my bank which left me with no money for food.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes that is a good point to make. If they knew you could not afford an overdraft, why did they suddenly give you one? Ask for a refund of all charges on the account.
MikeW says
Hello Sara I have recently got a case uplheld against a credit card company, long story but it was for irresponsible lending ie raising my cc limit several tmes though there was lots and lots of cash withdrawals over few years. I dnt know how to calculat e the 8% interest as it was credit card and different amounts wre charged each month/year. It was mostly cash charges fees, £3 pounds per 100 withdrawal.
The ajdudicator said “They will add together each fee and will use the total for that month using the date of each statement to calculate from. Normally the 8% would only be applied to any notional credit balance however due to the number of years and number of transactions it would now be difficult to calculate the payment that way so instead they will calculate 8% from the date of the statement and not the date you made a payment. This will actually be more favourable for you”
But what does that mean about ‘any notional credit baance?’ Is the 8% only added for when my cc account had a balance? ie when I was still in debt to them directly? Sometimes it was zero balance as I moved the debt to other cards/loans. but I had still paid those fees which got rolled up into the debt and moved. so surely they need to pay the 8% on each £3 fee for each year I didn’t have benefit of that £3.?
Can you clarify for me at all. thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I haven’t actually seen this variation on the standard redress before.
I think it means that if you had a £20 charge in March 2012 that should be refunded, then They would have to add 10 years worth of 8% interest, ie 80%, to the refund for that month, increasing it to £36.
The adjudicator was quite right to say “Normally the 8% would only be applied to any notional credit balance however…” but this means that this is NOT what they are saying shoudl happen here.
The adjducator is also quite right to say that This will actually be more favourable for you – the approach that is being suggested will give you far more 8% interest. It is also massively easier to calculate and means all you questions about what happened when your balance went to zero and then went up are irrelevant.
MikeW says
ah that is brilliant to hear thanks
Louise says
Hi
Hi,
Has anyone got any experience of complaints against JD Williams? I’m currently waiting for my adjudicators decision. I had multiple accounts with them all with large balances despite a poor credit history. I’ve complained about irresponsible lending. I just don’t know if catalogue accounts are treat the same as payday loans etc by the FOS.
john says
Yes I have just had a decision from the FOS re JD. I also had multiple accounts and a CCJ.
JD agreed with the Investigator’s outcome but decided to offer me a settlement which I am still awaiting three weeks on.
Louise says
Thank you!
Elle says
Yes, I have,.. all was good eventually,.. JD Williams didn’t uphold my complaint straight off but once with the FOS and adjudicator agreed with me, they accepted within a couple of weeks and paid up fairly swiftly too. My account with them was Simply Be which I’d had from 2014,.. the redress was taken right back from the first credit limit rise they’d added as they should have seen all the other debt (and other catalogue debts I had).
I hope that helps. :)
Louise says
Thanks Elle
TB says
I recently had a decision in my favour it’s taken 18 months.
Ombudsmen stated should not have gave limit above £125 on both accounts and all interest and fees to be removed however JD williams calculations seem wrong and they have reduced charges from my balances of £1295 and £700 which I think is incorrect.
They are saying cause I had the goods but I’m not sure that’s right
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you gone back to your adjudicator and told them about this?
TB says
Yes, emailed them today.
Louise says
Thanks, I hope you get the money your owed
Jo says
Hi
I complained to them and they didn’t uphold it so I sent to the FOS in May 21. Had it picked up by a case worker in February 22. While they were assessing it JD Williams offered a settlement and admitted their error in most of the issue. They refunded 90% of fees and interest and removed all negative info from credit file (still waiting for that) and my cheque of £1150 has been deposited already. Wasn’t the worst process.
Jo x
Louise says
Hi jo,
Thanks for this. I’ve just had an email back today. Theyve made an offer also but only from 2019 on one account and 2020 on the other. I’ve emailed my adjudicator to say I don’t think that’s fair as I have had the accounts since 2015 and I had really poor credit at the time including ccjs so don’t feel the accounts should have been opened. Hopefully he agrees.
Mara says
Hi Sara
I have a question regarding the affordability complaint to Capital One Card and Capital One Very card that I had in 2017 and 2019 (both were repaid last October).
Do I have any grounds to make a complaint if CO card (limit was 500) and then another Very card were both used up quickly, I had minimum payments paid on them , arrears on both of them ? At the time I was also using my Barclays overdraft in full and my Barclay card was also paid min ever month? It is shown on my statement, I was paying for interest without being able to close both cards (up until Oct 2021). What would be my best argument in this case? Credit limit was never increased.
Thank you in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Those are pretty low limits. As you had 2 Cap One cards, your best bet may be to argue that you should not have been given the second one as the first was maxed out and you were only making minimum payments.
Have you looked at a complaint about the Barclays overdraft? See https://debtcamel.co.uk/get-refund-overdraft/
Mara says
From what I can see on my accounts it was high to start with and a second card shouldn’t have been given at all. I was already paying off existing Barclay card, overdraft , Very catalogue account and couldn’t pay off in full or most of CO or CO Very cards.
I haven’t yet. I was trying to find an email for that on my mobile app. Do you know what’s the best place to write to? My overdraft is still used if full, have been raised from 500 to 820 , and I was pretty much living off it for years.
On another note, thank you for so much for your help and support. Thanks to you I have already raised complaints against Oakam and Littlewoods/Very. Waiting for their responses now:)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you still have the Barclays account, use the secure messaging in the app.
willow says
I had a Capital One credit card 15/03/2016 currently waiting for information to establish what my opening balance was and if it ever increased as I cant remember. During that time I had an Amigo Loan that was topped up from £2000 (Jul ’14) to £4250 in Feb 2015. From what I can piece together I had defaulted payments on a phone contract, missed store card payments and was always well into my overdraft. I got a lot of payday loans to survive and make minimum payments after these. Default date is March 2017 as thats when I started my DMP. There is currently a £47 balance on the card because when I cleared my DMP they told me the wrong amount. Is it worth pursuing a complaint as I have for all my other debts? I’m mainly concerned about how it effects my credit report.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Making a complain doesn’t harm your credit report and if you win it it can improve your credit report.
Of you think the CapOne limit was too high the start, or raised too high, then complain.
Have you also complained about your overdraft?
willow says
Ok thank you, I will go ahead then. The account with an overdraft is closed now. I never complained at the time as I didn’t know it was an option. I remember having a meeting with the bank after constantly receiving maximum charges when they were a thing and they wiped some charges and opened me a different account as I was vulnerable at the time.
Jax says
Posting this again. Any help would be appreciated please.
I’ve received the outcome from the adjudicator for my capital one complaint today finding in my favour. Does anyone have any experience of whether capital one tend to agree with the adjudicator decision please or whether I should expect to have to escalate to an ombudsman. Thank you.
Dominic says
Good evening Sara,
I’m just looking for some advice as what to do as i’m banging my head against a wall, I won a case for unaffordable lending against Barclaycard, this was on 13/12/21 by an investigator, Barclaycard accepted and agreed what the investigator stated, however they have not refunded the interest I paid on the account + the 8%. After speaking to the investigator and asking what is happening, I get met with ‘I’m still waiting for Barclaycard to get back to me, I will be in contact when I have more information’ I then contacted Barclaycard direct who informed me ‘As your now dealing with the financial ombudsman we can’t discuss your account and suggest you speak to them’ Last week I e-mailed the CEO of Barclaycard, within the hour i recieved an e-mail from an assistant who again stated that ‘ as the account was with the financial ombudsman I should contact them as they can’t discuss’ she did however say that on there system is it showing as being settled.
What options do I have, to just wait or do I go down the route of the N322A form I have seen on your website?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was this a Final Decision from an Ombudsman? or a decision from an adjudicator/investigator that Barclays accepted?
Dominic says
It was a decision from an investigator that Barclays accepted. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I am afraid it isn’t legally binding and you can’t go to court to try to enforce it.
Tell your adjudicator that you are now rejecting it and you would like it to go to an ombudsman for a legally binding decision and you would like additional compensation for Barclays poor complaint handling here.
Dominic says
Thank you for your reply, can I reject the decision if they have carried some of the points that the investigator stated, the investigator instructed I be compensated £125 which they paid, he also instructed them to remove all negative feedback which they have done also. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is all a bit of a mess. There isn’t a “right way” to do this because this situation isn’t supposed to happen! Just make a nuisance of yourself and tell FOS how unacceptable this is and how you want it to to go to an ombudsman.
Kim says
Hi sara. Put a complaint in against Vanquis credit card for unaffordable lending. Was £500 pounds but they raised it to £1000 pounds after 5 months. However i was paying minimum payments and i made 11 cash withdrawels in that time. Would you feel that they should have reliesed i was in financial trouble at the time?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think minimum payments and 11 cash withdrawals in 5 months suggest you were having difficulty managing the original credit limit. So instead of increasing it, they should have treated you fairly and offered to freeze interest. So you should ask for a refund of ALL charges and interest after the date they increased it. Sned this to the ombudsman if they Vanquis don’t agree.
Chris says
Hi
I have an aqua credit card I am looking to raise a DSAR as I think I have a valid complaint but can’t find an email address to contact them and feel uncomfortable talking on the phone – does anyone have any contact details for Newday/Aqua credit cards to raise a DSAR?
Thanks
Chris
Sara (Debt Camel) says
use complaints@newday.co.uk for the complaint.
You can also ask for a DSAR to that address.
Ross says
I would also use dpofficer@newday.co.uk for your SAR request. They came back within a matter of hours, confirming receipt. However, be prepared to wait, as they don’t choose to rush to send it!
Jo says
Hi sara
I had several loan with Lifeboat Loans. I think they are closed now . Are they operating with other brand name or incorporated. Just wondering if i can claim from this company. Thx
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Long gone.
Lisa Smith says
I made a complaint to Barclaycard last week in regards to an initial credit limit of £1500
This card was the start of my poor credit journey previous to this I had had no cards hardly any credit. I just had a high credit rating but I quickly couldn’t keep up the repayments.
My claim was rejected the next day by Barclaycard as they say too much time has passed. I originally took out the card in 2012 and they say I should of complained by 2018. I am still repaying this debt – my final payment is at the end of this month.
I have sent to FOS I will update any outcomes.
Has anyone else had any luck with the Ombudsman after such a long time?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am not surprised they rejected it – they usually do. Quite right to send to the Ombudsman.
Ross says
Well, what a huge surprise (said in a VERY sarcastic tone).
After Newday rejected my adjudicators initial uphold, asking them to investigate it a second time (which achieved the same outcome) and then asking for an extension, to consider the findings, they have now rejected it, again.
I have now been advised that it’s queued, for an ombudsman, and asked to add any additional points I may have. As the adjudicator awarded an £100 compensation payment, for the issues caused by complaint, I have now asked for the ombudsman to review this amount, and increase it, owing to the continued stress & inconvenience they have caused, by their constant stalling and delays throughout this whole charade.
I’ve also asked how long, roughly, cases are taking to be picked up (although I do know this is a bit like asking how long is a piece of string?).
The only positive I can take, from this whole mess, is that the next decision will be the final one and legally binding at that.
BT says
To my experience, the FOS won’t change the amount. I did ask this very question many months ago before I was put in a queue for virtually a similar procees you are having. NewDay are experts in stalling these processes. Vanquis was very straightforward in comparison.
Get ready to wait for another 7-10 months as this is the timeline for credit card cases that need to be seen by an ombudsman.
My case went into the queue to be seen by an ombudsman exactly 8 months ago. I heard my case was now allocated so I hope this will end in the coming weeks, one way or another.
Good luck Ross
Mike_p says
Newday have been horrendous for me. The investigator initially agreed a refund with me and Newday of all interest since my credit limit was increased. This was all clearly stated in writing, but when it came to paying the refund Newday only paid proportionate interest on the additional amount over the initial credit limit. I pointed this out to the investigator but instead of trying to keep Newday to the agreement they said they had made a mistake and should have said propotionate interest in their decision.
Jax says
Good evening. Has anyone had this kind of response from fos?
Thank you for your email. I’m still investigating and taking some guidance before I provide my opinion to you.
With the circumstances in your complaint we are currently having all of our opinions checked first before we send them out – this is in the process of being done but there are large volumes of opinions being checked.
Mike_p says
It wasn’t Newdsy/Aqua was it?
Jax says
Hi Mike, thanks for your reply. It’s SDFC.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
SDFC?
Jax says
Shop Direct Finance Company- sorry. It’s Very.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Of course. Blank moment there
Maria says
Hi Sara
I wonder if you can advise me I raised a complaint with Aqua as I was struggling to make repayments due to several debts and suffering with anxiety and depression which I am still dealing with but this was rejected by Aqua the adjudicator and the ombudsman. I am still on a repayment plan with Aqua but now for reasons during furlough applied for a Marble card which is part of Aqua. I am struggling to repay this as well. Should I complain about them giving me the Marble card I am not sure what to do
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you say something about your overall financial situation? How large are your debts? How large is this Marbles one? Are you behind with any important bills? do you have any other affordability complaints underway?
Maria says
Hi Sara my priority bills are up to date but I am struggling with a loan with lendable for £4800 capital one credit card £1400 Aqua £1300 and the marble card is £1200. I only have an Avant credit complaint at present with the Ombudsman
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s quite a lot of debt. I think you should talk to StepChange 0800 138 1111 about your options such as a Debt Management Plan. you can satill carry on with affordabilioty complaints and winning any will speed up the DMP.
Have you made a complaint to Lendable?
yes you can complaint about the Marbles card.
Maria says
Thank you do you know which email I should use
Sara (Debt Camel) says
for what?
Dave L says
As someone who has had numerous issues with Aqua, marbles and Newday , both before complaining to the financial ombudsman and afterwards. Putting up with weeks of stalling , ignoring the lending rules and refusal to investigate a complaint. I would like to encourage anyone who has issues with these companies to complain to the FCA in addition to the ombudsman.
Although the FCA will not investigate individual complaints , every one is logged in a register against the relevant company and obviously the more log entries the more likely FCA will be to take appropriate action at Newday’s Behaviour
Maria says
Marble complaint email
Sara (Debt Camel) says
complaints@newday.co.uk
Dana says
I would like some advise on how NewDay operate with their refunds.
Basically after a year since my complaint to NewDay for both an Aqua card at £2500 and Amazon card at £1000, rejecting the first FOS investigator upholding my complaint, to finally getting the Ombudsman result last week, which upholded my complaint and suggested NewDay refund all interest since I opened both accounts with 8% interest, remove charges and remove from credit file… I’ve been logging into both accounts throughout the week and I’ve seen quite a lot of activity, firstly seeing both balances completely cleared was very nice to see, but in transactions I could see late payment charges refunded to the balance and interest refunded, but the interest seems very low if that’s everything they’re planning on refunding.
I was £400 in credit after the interest refund, which has now arrived in my bank account, but is that it? Is there more to come? The ombudsman said it could take up to 4 weeks for NewDay to deal with it, but this has all happened within the first week. What I’m asking is did anyone else have this experience? If that’s all they’re refunding then it’s way off.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Several people are having problems with the way NewDay are calculating refunds, but yours sound like it should be a very simple case, refunding everything from the start…
I suggest you wait a week and see if any more money arrives before asking them what is happening.
Ernestkola says
Good morning Sara…. adjudicator not uphold my complaint against NewDay .. any advice pls?
Before opening the credit card account, I think NewDay gathered a reasonable amount of evidence and information from you about your ability to repay. I say this because it took into account your self-declared annual income of £26,000 and your domestic and employment status – owner/occupier and employed respectively. It also completed a credit check which showed around £8,400 of active non-mortgage credit and no recent adverse information i.e. no arrears or county court judgements (CCJs), and although there were historic defaults, the most recent of these was over 2 years prior to this application, so although you’ve described these as recent, I can understand why NewDay don’t view them in the same way.
You sent me your credit report that does show you were making repayments towards existing loans, hire purchase and revolving credit. I’ve calculated that these, combined with sustainable repayments to your Aqua card, would’ve taken up around 50% of your net monthly income, but this alone isn’t enough for me to think NewDay acted unfairly when approving the finance You’ve also stated that your overdrafts were steadily increasing but I’ve found that your Nationwide overdraft remained stable at around £3,300 and your Halifax overdraft rose and fell during this
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you disagree with any of this?
Newday didn’t increase your credit limit, did they?
Ernestkola says
Yes pls..not on aqua but increase on marbles -aqua £900 not increase and Marbles increased to £1200 total £2100
As this credit was provided by the same lender, and so increased your overall indebtedness to NewDay, I’ve considered the Marbles branded credit card as being a credit limit increase from £900 to £2,100. The ‘increase’ took place on 23 May 2019.
I’ve reviewed the information and evidence NewDay gathered at that time. Having done so, I’m satisfied that the checks that were completed were proportionate for the increase involved and showed that the agreement was likely to be affordable to you.
I say this because it took into account your self-declared annual income of £30,000, which you broke down to £1,964 per month as part of your Marbles card application.
NewDay’s credit check showed you had around £13,400 of active credit. Since the Aqua account opening, you’d settled three of the accounts you had open at the time, and you had opened four more. I estimate sustainable repayments on these and your new Marbles card to be around £840 per month, and because your salary had increased since the Aqua account opened, the percentage of net pay taken up by these repayments had decreased to around
Sara (Debt Camel) says
were you only making minimum payments to the aqua card?
is anything the adjudicator has said wrong?
were there any gambling transactions on the aqua card? did you take out a lot of money in cash?
Ernestkola says
I only take cash for gambling ..not on the statement pls
Sara (Debt Camel) says
but did you take cash on on the Aqua card?
Ernestkola says
Not sure because the account is closed.. have paid it off and then close the account.. but not sure if l take cash out before I closed the account.l ask them for them information but they said the account is closed they can’t get me the information
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well unless the adjudicator has said something that is wrong, this doesn’t seem a strong case.
Ernestkola says
Ok thanks so much Sara.. l will tell the adjudicator to send it to Ombudsman.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unless you can explain what the adjudicator has said that is wrong, I am not sure there is much point. But it’s up to you.
Becky says
Hi Sara
Could you please tell me the difference between proportionate interest and all interest ?
How does this make a difference to the amount refunded
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This happens when FOS says that the initial credit limit was fine, but it should not have been increased at some date.
If FOS says that the lender should repay all interest and charges from that date, this is “all interest”.
If FOS says that the lender should repay the interest and charges from that date that were incurred because of the increase in the credit limit, this is “a proportionate” refund.
How much of a difference it makes depends on the numbers involved.
If the original credit limit was £400 and it was put up first to £600, then £1000 then £2500 and it was at £2500 for years, then a proportionate refund from the date of the first increase will still be a large amount of money!
If the original credit limit was £500 and it was put up to £1000, then a proportionate refund will probably be quite a lot less than half of the refund you would get from all interest as most of the time your account will not have been completely maxed out.
One argument you can use to the adjuidcator is that when the lender looked at increasing your credit limit, they should have seen that you were already in financial difficulty. Perhaps you had only been making minimum payments. Perhaps there was gambling showing on your card statement. Perhaps you were frequently withdrawing cash from the card. Perhaps your credit record showed recent missed payments or defaults or payday loans or an increasing level of debt.
These suggest not just that you could not manage the increased credit limit but that the current limit was too high, so the lender should have you were already in and treated your failrly by offering forebearance (use that phrase). They didn’t. So the ombudsman should put this right by saying that all interest and charges should be refunded from that point.
Emily56 says
I have a accepted a debt management plan from capital one last week, I was wondering if I contacted them and asked them to remove this and pay this off then the plan would be cancelled and if this could be removed from my credit file ?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you so far made all the minimum payments or have you missed one or paid less?
If you thought you needed one last week, what has changed so you now don’t? A lot of prices (food, bills) are going up at the moment, if things were tight before, then a payments arrangement may well be your best option.
Emily56 says
I am able to pay £100 off tomorrow, and then £100 on the 30th of a £233 credit card, if I did this would the plan be wiped ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is the £233 the total balance on the card? or this months payment?
have you actullay missed a payment or paid less so far?
Emily56 says
Total balance and have missed payments
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As you have missed payments, those will be what harms your credit record, not the debt management plan (usually called a apyment arrangement) that you have agreed.
So if you get the debt management plan deleted, the missed payments will still be there.
If you can afford to clear the balance, it is usually best to do this as soon as possible. BUT do not get into problems with other debts trying to pay this one off. Otherwise, you make your situation worse. Settling this debt which already has problems will only be a small improvement, but new problems on a another debt need to be avoided.
Emily56 says
So would I be better off asking them to wipe the plan and pay as soon as I can? I have paid £100 this morning so I have £133 left to pay.
What do you mean they defaulted in 2020?I have wrote an affordability complaint which they have rejected also
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This got muddled up with some other people’s comments. Can you confrim if you Cap One credit recird shows missed payments (how many?) or a default?
if you have made an affordability;ity complaint about the Cap One card and they have rejected it, send it to the Ombudsman. If you win that, all negativemarks will be removed from your credit record.
Tim says
Hi Sara. Had my Vanquis credit card unaffordability claim rejected because it was over 6 years ago and they said i should have known i could complain within 3 years. I sent my complaint to F.O.S. explaining that i didnt know i could complain about credit card affordability and it was only a few months ago that i found out about this. A adjudicator had emailed me saying he believes that they can look at my complaint and has wrote to Vanquis telling them this. My question is do Vanquis usually accept this or will it go to the Ombudsman to decide if the adjudicator can look at my claim or not?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know, fingers crossed they agree!
Tim says
Thanks Sara. My reading into this is if Vanquis dont agree. The Ombudsman can over rule them and investigate my complaint? But im not sure if that is correct. What is your opinion?. But it could take longer i suppose
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes that is right.
AL says
Hi Sara, just a quick question. I’ve been asked to send in bank statements for another affordability complaint which has now been picked up by adjudicator. At the time I was working part time and was also a student. As my student finance will show on my bank statements they’ve requested I’m wondering if this counts as income and will it affect my complaint? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes it is income. Well not the tuition fee loan but the maintenence loan. That is paid in chunks, so it has to be spread over the whole year.
Jade says
Hi Sara,
Two questions if possible?
Surprise surprise NewDay have disagreed with the adjudicator who upheld my complaint and now has been queued for an ombudsman, do they normally agree with the adjudicators?
I didn’t have my likely loans upheld by an adjudicator and have that queued with the ombudsman also, I know normally there is no point but was asked to provide all the evidence of the all the complaints that were upheld for accounts before this loan (4 in total + plus the 2 for NewDay) do you think they might see that the adjudicator was wrong? (Positive thinking)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ombudsmen normally agree with adjudicators in 90% of cases.
If you have been asked to provide further evidence for the LL case, that seems positive.