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?
Nes says
Hi Sara,
I have 3 credit cards with NewDay all with a very high utilisation rate and each one has had huge credit limit increases.
I want to make a complaint, do i make one complaint to complaints@newday.co.uk and mention all 3 card details or should i send a complaint for each one separately?
Thanks
Nes
Sara (Debt Camel) says
One single complaint. You can argue that for the two accounts you got later, they should never have given them to you if the first account was close to maxed it and you were paying the minimum.
Nes says
Hi Sara,
I have noticed since i have submitted my complaint. NewDay have now changed the status on all of my accounts to ‘Disputed’ on my credit report. This has resulted in a 96 point drop on Clearscore. Has this happened to anyone else before? I am still making my payments so i am guessing this status is just temporary and won’t have any long term ramifications?
Thanks
Nes
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are you still making payments?
Nes says
Hi Sara,
i am still making my payments as I have worked hard to try and fix my credit file over the last few years. I am making the recommended payment for all 3 cards i have with them.
I’ve never come across ‘Disputed’ status so just wanted some feedback on this and if this is a temporary thing?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it should be temporary. I’m not sure the disputed flag is taken into account in credit scoring either.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have had it confirmed from Experian that they do not take a dispute flag into account when calculating a credit score.
MH says
Hi Nes
They have done the same with me. I have an Aqua and fluid card with them both £2700 limits. They have also closed both cards after I realised when I tried logging in and couldn’t and had to do a password reset. The balances are both zero. They were supposed to reply by 12th April – sent to the FOS on the day
MH
Steven W says
New day cowboys!!! As soon as you complain they get quite nasty, petty and unhelpful. Notice how they send emails and online messages offering limit increases then suddenly only reply by post when you complain.. unless you have access to a scanner they know it makes it more difficult to send stuff to the FOS. They also closed my account and marked it as disputed and told me repay £6000 for fluid and marbles. Utter cow boys.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As I have said before, you can just take a photo of the letter and attach that to the FOS form.
Las says
Hi I haven’t had any reply using the capital one address given, can you just confirm the correct one I should be using? Also should I get an automatic reply do you know? X
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when did you send in your complaint?
Las says
About 3 weeks ago x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you have an open account with them?
Nes says
Thanks Sara, I have just sent my complaint in.
I was looking at my credit file on totally money and i noticed i was basically exhausting close to 95% my credit limit and they gave me regular increases and more accounts. I went from £300 to £4000 on my Aqua. £600 to £2600 on my Marbles and Fluid has gone from £1500 to £4500. All the time my utilisation jumped too. Now the interest has become several hundred every month making it so difficult to bring the balances down.
I have won several complaints already from short term lenders and high interest long term loans. Hopefully i can get this one resolved too.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
sounds like a good complaint. Send it to the Ombudsman if its rejected or they make you a poor offer.
Steven W says
Similar to you Nes I sent my new day complaint to the FOS last week…. New day are proper cowboys. My situation sounds the same as yours and according to them that is perfectly acceptable.
Nes says
What response did you get from NewDay? Did they outright reject your complaint?
Amber says
How long did you have to wait for NewDay to respond? Did they take the full 8 weeks? I’m on week 5 and nothing still.
Steven W says
Newday took until the very last day of week 8 to respond by post. As I said, proper proper cowboys, they play the game then reject outright. The thing is of all the creditors I have dealt with this is by far the strongest case for irresponsible and unaffordable lending but they see it as your problem, they closed my account there and then and told me to clear £6k!
Sorry to be negative but all the other creditors have been ok with me, but Newday are just spiteful and financial cowboys.
Amber says
Ive had the initial letter from them to say they are investigating but then nothing. i’ve since tased fr my SARS i again, an acknowledgement but then all quiet. i’m really hoping they don’t take the full 8 weeks. I had 2 cards with them not convinced they’ll find in my favour but i use want to know either way.
Darren says
I’d agree. Took them 9 weeks to respond to me, said they sent me a letter and they hadn’t. Then agreed a refund but miscalculated it, they’d underpaid me. Told them and they said it would take another few weeks to sort out. Left it 4 weeks and heard nothing so referred it to FOS. FOS took 7 months to even start looking into it. They’ve agreed a further refund and said that could take another 4 weeks.. just a mess they are.
Mike_p says
I had “fun” with them too. I accepted an investigator decison to have all interest refunded, and about three weeks later I saw some credits on my account, but they made no contact with me about it at all. It seemed too low to me so I thought I’d check it, only to find that lots of my previous statements had disappeared from the app. After making a SAR to get the statements I worked out that they had only refunded the interest over the credit increase instead of the whole interest. I pointed this out to the investigator and they eventually said they had made a mistake and that their decision should have just said the interest over the limit increase. I escalated it to an ombudsman and they also said that the investigator had made a mistake, but did change the decision to say that all negative marks should be removed after I had cleared the balance.
You can draw your own conclusions as to what happened, but I’ve made quite a number of affordability complaints with other lenders and haven’t had mistakes anywhere else.
LAS says
No it’s an affordability complaint
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you can still make an affordability complaint if you have a balance. But if you don’t and so you cant use the app, I suggest you ring then in a couple of weeks to check they have the complaint.
Charlotte says
I had numerous credit cards and also loans taken out at the same time causing me to go into debt which I couldn’t afford to pay back. Due to this I had to enter into a DMP as I couldn’t afford to meet all the minimum payments every month and even when I could due to the interest it never made much of an impact: most of my loans/credit cards have now been included in my DMP. Can I still write to them and claim unaffordable lending or is it too late now because I’m in DMP with them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Being in a DMP is a very goo£ time to make affordability complaints. Winning can speed up the DMP a lot.
Luke says
Hi Sara,
I made an affordability complaint against Very on 22/02/23 and they sent me an email on 14/03/23 saying they will be in touch as soon as possible with an outcome. On 15/03/23 I received an email from NCO Europe saying my debt has been passed to them. Does this mean I will still be sent a final response from Very or do I need to raise with the Financial Ombudsman now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
NCO Europe saying my debt has been passed to them.
That sounds like they are collecting the debt on behalf of Very.
Your complaint agains5t Very continues – this is not a response to your complaint. You can’t go to the ombudsman until you have received a reply OR it has been 8 weeks.
Louise says
I’ve just been reading this article & was looking for some advice. I’ve been in a debt spiral for more than ten years… im 31 and it started pretty much about early 20s & progressively got worse & debt got higher. I had a credit card with Marbles.. £300 limit for about 3 years. Its important to mention here that even with £300 limit I would consistently exceed my limit as I’d pay minimum, then use the credit to spend due to lack of disposable income… then the interest would hit and I’d go exceed the limit EVERY MONTH. I always paid minimum as my other higher debts where racking up so it was always a low priority to clear… come July 2022 they upped my limit to £1300 and then again in November 2022 to £2150. As you’ve probably guessing due to my lack of disposable income and the vicious debt cycle… I’ve used all the credit and now my minimum payments have jumped from £25 a month to £170 a month & the interest rate is ridiculous… I do feel this was very irresponsible of them. I was a bad choice to offer this credit to despite the fact I made minimum payments. Its now one of my highest cards & combined with my other debts, its crippling me financially. I’m determined to do something to get out the debt this year, I want to do it the right way i.e pay it off rather than an IVA or DRO but just can’t see the light after 10 plus years. Would I have a case here if I logged an unffordability complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The right way is what is best for you – if you have too much debt to repay then a debt relief order can give you a clean start. You should not cionsider an IVA unless you have assets to protect such as a house with equity.
As your Marbles limit was only increased in summer last year and before that it was very low, you are very unlikely to get a refund of more than the interest added since last summer. This sounds unlikely to clear your balance.
So I suggest you should talk to StepChange about a debt management plan for this and all your other debts, where interest would be frozen.
In a DMP you can make an affordability complaint to Marbles and possibly other debts. But the DMP gets you into a safe place.
Mikey says
Hi Sara, thank you for this site, it really is amazing. I’ve put in a number of unaffordable complaints and I have had some good results so far. Today a partial refund on a Barclays card for £600 (interest and fees). I’m going to send it to the FOS as Barclaycard only went back 6 years and did a refund on balances over 950 but I believe it should be from the initial increase in 2016 and should be a refund on amounts over 500, not the 950. The difference between the two could be around £2000. So I figure it’s worth a shot with the FOS. Thanks again for this site, reading people’s stories and seeing my own successes gives me hope!
Karl says
Hello, may I ask if you have any suggestions on how I respond to this;
Our records show we declined a request you made to increase your credit limit to £2,000 on 11 March 2019, which is more than three years ago. We would expect that at this time you ought to be reasonably aware that you had cause to complain and so the three year period has also expired.
I mean obviously I didn’t know I could complain then as I didn’t, I believed that my only way was to borrow more and when the bank said no I thought I didn’t have another option.
My account was opened in 2014. I applied for an increase in 2019 and was denied. I’ve continued to pay interest. Is this something that now needs to be sent to the ombudsman
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Ombudsman can look at any complaint about something that has happened in the last 6 years. So they can look back at your overdraft for the last years because the bank (who wa it) should have reviewed you overdraft to make sure it was affordable every year.
The 3 year rule only comes into play when you are complaining about something that happened more than 6 years ago. So for you that would be before 2017. And as you point out, the fact they declined a limit increase does not mean that you became were that the current limit was unaffordable. Nor that the bank should have made sure it was affordable.
So send this to the Ombudsman I suggest!
Nadine W says
Does the complaint need to be raised to the company or the ombudsman within 6 years?
I have a complaint with Aqua, the credit card account was opened 2014 but received an increase from £500 to £1300 in April 2017. I made my complaint to Aqua on Febuary 2023 so that would be within the 6 years, however, because of their 56 days to respond, this will take me into the middle of April. If that is the case, and I need to send it to FOS then would it still fall into the 6 years? or would it be considered out of the 6 years?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
this seems a bit of a grey area, I don’t remember someone’s complaint being rejected for this reason… but send your straight to FOS, no delay at 8 weeks or whenever you get a reply.
Las says
Hi Sara
Can you advise if there is any give on the 6year rule? I thought I read something where you could possibly have 3 years after that in some circumstances? It’s a capital one card from 2014 but the increases were 2016/2017
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, FOS can look ar anyththing in the last 6 years and may decide it can gio back further if you have only recently found out you the lender should have checked about affordability eg if before that point you thought it was your fault for borrowing too much, not the lenders fault at all.
Richard says
Hi all,
I had 2 capital one cards. One card with a limit of £1000 provided to me in 2016 and one with a limit of £200 provided to me in 2018. I will submit a complaint to Capital one as I think the first one was unaffordable and the second irresponsible. Wondered if anybody knew what the general stance would be with the first one?
– would it not be considered because of the time frame or would they consider it, but perhaps only from 2018 when the second card was taken? Or perhaps something else.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was the limit ever increased on the first one?
Richard says
No it was never increased in the first one, it always stayed at £1000.
Does that mean it’s out of time? Or will the 2018 card issuing keep the first claim alive? So to speak.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It doesnt mean that it is out of time as the ombudsman can consider any case where you have complained within 3 years of becoming aware you had a cause for complaint.
And you can argue that apply for the second card in 2018 should have resulted in a check on yiour current card, so at that point they should have reaslised you were in difficulty and froxen the charges on your account.
Richard says
Thank you.
Richard says
Hi Sara,
Can you tell me if a bank agrees that the credit limit should never have been increased so then refund you but also then lower the credit?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes it will often do that.
Jodie says
Hello,
I am writing for advice. I have written irresponsible lending complaints to Next PLC, MBNA, and Barclaycard, using your template (thank you). I have received responses from Next and MBNA who say that they have not been irresponsible in their lending, which I have forwarded these to the Financial Ombudsman.
I have been contacted by Barclaycard, who have agreed with my complaint and have awarded me the interest in the amount of £2314.29. The situation is that I have had this credit card since 2017, I was part-time employed and given around a £7000 limit. They have increased the limit on multiple occasions, the latest was due in January. I commenced university in 2018, therefore, was not employed during this time. I have paid the credit card off on occasions, with debt consolidation, however, mostly I have just met minimum payments. I recognised a spiral in January of this year where I have now entered a DMP with Payplan as I was using the card to pay for essentials such as groceries and fuel. The outstanding credit on the card was £5658.39. With the interest refunded it is now £3332.24. They said that they would not refund the 8% on top of the interest refund, I am awaiting written correspondence as this was over the phone, however, I just wonder whether you recommend me send this to the financial ombudsman also, or whether you think what they have done is fair.
Thank you
Jodie
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What did Barclaycard say they were upholding? all the interest? all after a certain point? All the interest over a certain amount?
The debt consolidation – who were the loans from?
Was Barclays your bank – did you also have an overdraft with them?
Jodie says
It was a telephone conversation with them, he was difficult to hear, I’m not sure that he stated the dates, but he said he will send a letter in the post explaining it all, I have taken two loads out, one with Halifax and one with The Post Office to consolidate credit cards over time. No I’ve never held an account with Barclays.
Thanks for your reply :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I think you should wait and see what the letter says. It may be that this is not a good offer and it should have started earlier.
Were those loans hard to repay, so you ended up having to use the cards again? If they were, then complain about them too.
Hayley says
Hi Sara,
My credit card debt has been sold to a debt agency. I have just found out about irresponsbile lending so I wrote to the original lender, they say the debt has been sold. I’ve written to the debt agency, they say I have to take this up with the orignal creditor.!! Where do I start?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Go back to the original lender – they made the poor lending decision. Who was this? Did you clearly say this was an affordability complaint?
Jax says
Well I sent my complaint about the saga with MBNA and PRA to the Ombudsman as MBNA are refusing to remove the negative information from my credit file as per the adjudicator decision that they agreed to last August. Debt had been sold to PRA. Looks like I now have to wait yet again for 4 months at least for the complaint to be allocated to an adjudicator. Not happy!
NV says
Has anyone had any case with Vanquis recently? My claim is coming to week 8 and I’ve not heard anything other than the initial acknowledgement?
Colin says
I received a second acknowledgement to say they were still looking at my claim and to apologise for the time it was taking. But that is it would hopefully be looked at and decision made before the 8 weeks were up.
Clearly not holding my breath though.
Nicole says
I’d give them a call to try and chase up…. My experience is they take between 3-6 weeks, one being recently and one last year!
When I complained last year they told me in their acknowledgment email ‘ We’ll always try to resolve your complaint as soon as possible. If we haven’t resolved it within four weeks, we’ll contact you to let you know’
At the four week mark they got back in contact and said ‘We’re writing to let you know we’re still investigating your complaint. Thank you for your continued patience. If we haven’t resolved your complaint within eight weeks from when we received your complaint, we’ll contact you to let you know the next steps.’ They provided a final response at the 6 week ish mark….
As you’ve not heard anything in the 8 weeks I’d contact them and see why and if they have an update.
Was your initial acknowledgment the automatic reply or were now investigating and something with a reference?
Steven W says
Vanquis like most creditors replied on the 7th day of the 8th week but they did refund me all interest going back 10 years, this was the best result I have had, but they did take the whole 8 weeks. They also promptly paid the compensation. Good luck.
NV says
Thank you all, I appreciate the feedback. It’s good to hear there have been good results too!
NV says
How long did they take to pay you? I had a successful claim but no redress as yet. i called them on 14th to give my bank details, as of today 22nd still nothing in my account. When i call them they just say its been passed to the finance team. Sick of waiting. I don’t know if they’re just playing around or should i keep waiting?
Nicole says
Do you have an outstanding balance or did they ever sell the account on to debt collection company?
My complaint was upheld but it took 4 months to have my account returned. Once returned and I was told the redress amount, the money was in my account within 2 working days. They did say it could take up to 10 working days though. Have they provided you with a calculation of the redress?
NV says
Hi, I had my card with them and they credited the card with the 2000 but said the redress would be paid to be via faster payment so I gave them my bank details. So I’m waiting for a further 3000 direct to my account. They did all the calculations which seemed correct. They lowered my credit limit too. Literally just waiting for the 3000
mrs leigh says
Hi does anyone have a email template to contact financial ombudsman about irresponsible lending from shop direct.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The one in the article above these comments will do
David W says
Hi Sara. Having thought it was my fault along, I have recently learnt from your helpful site that it is possible to pursue an affordability claim over 6 years old. There are 2 loans and an overdraft with RBS going back to 2007 and 2010 with a total outstanding of around £35k. I have been paying £29.90 a moth towards the 2 loans since an agreement with them in 2016. Should I contact RBS first or go straight to the Ombudsman.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have to go to RBS first.
Laura says
Hi there.
I have an account with JD Williams which I’m now struggling to pay. I opened the account in 2019, but I had previously had an account with them under my maiden name, which defaulted in 2015 and ended up with a CCJ in 2016. Would this qualify as irresponsible lending? I got married in 2018 and updated my name on all my financial accounts, so they would have seen that if they checked my credit file.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What was the credit limit in 2019? Has it been increased since then when you were Only making minimum payments?
Laura says
Credit limit was around £175. It was soon increased to £1750 despite me only making minimum payments
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok so a starting limit of £175 sounds sensible given your past history but increasing to a lot quickly doesn’t. Especially if you were only paying the minimum. So this sounds like a good complaint.
Laura says
I was only paying the minimum, I had also paid nothing towards the CCJ, so it was still active. It seems crazy that they’d let me open another account when I’d gotten myself into such a mess with the last one.
Thanks for your help!
Amber says
I asked for a SARS from New Day but they’ve only included my Marbels card and not my Aqua card. I’ve emailed them saying the request was for both cards, is there a certain time they should get the information to me? I already had to wait 6 weeks for the SARs so another 6 weeks will be annoying!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you already sent them a complaint?
Amber says
Yes I sent the complaint 7 weeks ago. I sent the request for SARs 1 week later
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok well send in the SAR, but send the complaint to FOS at 8 weeks if they have rejected or made a poor offer. You don’t have to wait until you get the SAR.
Steven W says
Good luck with new day! Vile cowboy outfit who know how to play the game. They only send responses to your complaints via post as they know you can’t attach letters to an online complaint form to the FOS… but they send you offer letters to increase your limit by email no problem!! I have dealt with 7 creditors recently and all have been respectful and reasonable except NewDay. Closed my account and told me to repay £6k just because I complained!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can take a photo of the rejection letter and attach that.
Amber says
I’m dreading to hear what New Day say. I’m not holding breath and am fully expecting it to go ombs.
Have you had any luck with your Santander yet? They are often offering ‘good Will’ gestures when they know a complaint is with Ombs. Hopefully I get one of those soon!
Steven W says
Santander have literally just offered to refund me all overdraft charges going back to 2016 so this clears my overdraft plus a few hundred on top! :)
As I say all creditors have been ok except New Day. Proper cowboys.
Chloe says
That’s great to hear Steve. I’m hoping I get this offer too!
How long was your complaint with FOS before Santander offered the refund?
Did they contact you direct or did the FOS let you know?
Steven W says
Hi Chloe Santander contacted me by phone.
James says
Hi Sara,
I am putting together the email for 118 just now, should I put the loan and the credit card on the one email or break them into single emails?
Thanks you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would put then into one. Be clear at the top of the email that you are complaining about bothe the loan and the credit card.
James says
I have done that, thank you, a few quick questions if you don’t mind.
Would it be worth doing it with an old Moneybarn car loan I had, and all the other credit cards which are maxed out but never had a credit limit increase ranging from 200-1000, 6 in total? I am just about managing to make the minimum payment but I honestly do not know when I will have them cleared. They never increased my limit but I feel they should have looked more closely at my finances before they gave me the cards.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how long ago did you take out the Moneybarn car finance?
WIth 6 credit cards, none of which have had a credit limit increase, I think you should be looking at a debt management plan (DMP) to get you into a safe financial position. You are very unlikely to win an affordability complain about a low limit at the start.
James says
Hi Sara,
Those would be manageable if I can win against 118, as they are pretty small but 118 is a high limit with 2 increases, surprisingly both when I was abroad using my credit card plus at the same time they gave me a loan, so I am hoping if I can win that then I will be able to use the interest money to pay them off relatively quickly. 118 is about 3k started at £1000, raised to £2000 then to £3000.
Moneybarn was about 5 years ago and paid off just over a year ago.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suggest you put in any claim against MB asap. If this has to go to the Ombudsman (and MB reject a lot of good cases) then you want it to the Ombudsman before the 6 year point. you can win older cases but they are much slower.
James says
Fund ourselves who I also put unaffordability claim against have not acknowledged receipt of this email. Would you normally leave it a few days and re send it on?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would phone them up is you have not heard anything after 4 weeks. Don’t just send it again!
Amber says
Hi Sara, are you able to advise me on this.
I complained to Capital one regarding two credit cards. They have partially upheld the complaint stating that the card they are not upholding was opened in 2016 and now outside the time limit however they do uphold the card which was provided in 2018 and will send out a cheque.
I want to contest the decision not to uphold the other card but if I do does that mean I can’t cash the cheque that they’re giving me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The 2016 card. Was the limit on this increased? How large was it?
Have they asked you to accept this settlement offer? Read the email/letter they have sent you carefully.
Amber says
The 2016 card the limit was never increased. The limit was £1000.
In 2018 they gave another card with a limit of £200.
They don’t mention anything about accepting the money, just that they’ll be sending a cheque and if I want to complain then it’ll be down to the FOS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In that case I think you can send this to FOS. You may want to wait until you have the cheque first, but don’t forget!
Amber says
Will do.
Thank you so much for advice and this site.
This is my 3rd partially upheld complaint, resulting in a refund of £700.
I have a few more that I’m waiting to hear on but if it wasn’t for this site I would’ve been in the dark still. Thank you
L Taylor says
A successful affordability complaint!
Barclaycard – £3771 refunded
Timeline – approx four weeks – and I called them more or less twice a week to follow up!
I submitted a complaint to Barclaycard using the template letter above, and also via the email address mentioned in this thread.
I wasn’t specific in my complain in regards to what I thought I was owed, just gave the skeleton facts. I was a student when they gave me the card in 2013 with a limit of around £2000 which was increased to £2900 at some point.
I actually closed the account in November – but just came them my last known card number, contact details etc so they could find the account and it’s history.
Now… I put in a claim for just last six years, plus interest. I got a call Tuesday stating the had investigated and found in my favour; I shouldn’t have been given the card I’m the first place and therefore they were refunding interest and geese dating back to 2013 when it was initially given… I didn’t question and accepted the £3771! I had estimated I might get around £2k based on six years, so feel that Barclaycard have treated the situation fairly and with grace and has helped me in a big way.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Excellent.
A limit of 2k for a student was absurd. I wonder how many other people are in this situation?
T says
Hi Sara,
An adjudicator has upheld my complaint but Barclaycard did not respond in time so it has to go to the Ombudsman. Is it common for a bank to not respond and is there any repercussions for them having an Ombudsman have to look at it rather than accept or defend an adjudicators view?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s not uncommon. Sometimes it’s just a delay and the fimr pops up in a week or two and accepts the adjudicator decision.
The only immediate downside to a firm making this go to an Ombudsman if it expects to lose the case is that the Ombudsman decision will be published – you will be anonymised as Mr T.
If FOS finds a firm is doing this a lot, it will try to get them to stop and talk to the FCA about this.
T says
Thanks Sara, any idea how long it generally takes for the Ombudsman to pick it up after an adjudicator view is ignored/not accepted?
On another complaint I have, due to time passed the bank do not have information on checks made etc. Is it still possible to win these complaints?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m afraid the Ombudsman queue can be a bit random. 2-4 months is probably typical but shorter and longer is possible.
The other complaint, what sort of debt was it for and how long ago?
T says
The other complaint is in relation to four loans with Halifax dating back to 2009 with the latest taken out in 2015.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have any evidence about your finances at that time, eg old bank statements?
T says
Yes I have statements etc and details of credit agreements at the time
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then you can offer to share that information with Halifax or send it straight to the Ombudsman
Nicole says
The adjudicator for my complaint made a decision in February but even with extensions of timelines they ignored the decision. I know every case is different but for an example of this time line it was then sent to the Ombudsman on the 5th April and was picked up and a decision made by the 12th April…..
Not that the company have yet to get in touch with me to now resolve!!
T says
Hi Nicole,
That’s really useful, thank you. When you say it was sent to the Ombudsman on the 5th April, do you mean that was when the adjudicator notified you that as the company had ignored their decision they were sending it to the Ombudsman? Did you hear when the Ombudsman picked it up or just heard the decision?
Nicole says
On the 21st March I was told it was being sent on the 5th April or I suppose put in the pile, and in that time I could supply further points to be considered. The company had until the 10th March (which was an extension of the original date) to respond to the adjudicator, but they ignored it!
I didn’t hear when they picked it up but instead just there decision…
T says
Hi Sara,
Have now heard that they have accepted the Adjudicators view so waiting to hear the settlement details. Thanks again for all your help, still have a couple of open cases for other products but hopefully these are getting closer to conclusion as well.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
very good news. And encouraging for other people where a lender ignores an adjudicator decision
Matt says
Hi
Just wondering whether this is worth complaining about…
Got a credit card with NatWest ( £1950 limit ) At the time I also banked with NatWest. Had 5 ongoing payday loans spending around £1200 a month on them. Also spending over a £1000 on gambling.
All these transactions showing up on my statements but NatWest still gave me a credit card! Would they have seen this activity? If so surely it’s worth making a claim… This was 10 yrs ago and I ended up with £10k debt and 7 defaults a year later.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When was your NatWest account closed?
Matt says
Both CC & bank accounts were closed in 2012 and went to debt collectors
I still have all my statements
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Expect NatWest to reject this as the account was opened so long ago. But you can send it to the Ombudsman who may decide the6 an look at it.
It’s good that you have the bank statements as it can be hard to prove unaffordability without them.
Tell the Ombudsman you knew we’re in a financial mess in 2012 but you thought it was all your own fault and you had n9 idea NatWest was partly to blame by failing to check affordability.
Matt says
Will do thanks!
Elle says
Hi Sara,
I’ve been waiting for a proper reply from RBS for a credit card I had back in 2009, after they requested more time twice,.. anyway 14 weeks on they have today said that they don’t uphold my complaint.
They state the usual,.. not much in the way of records left from then to check but from what they can still view they insist that they would have checked my income and credit file at the relevant times etc etc and all was fine.
When in fact I was living in my £5000 overdraft for nearly 20 years (until 2019 with your help and other refunds) I had large debts already with other cards too and I was self-employed so my monthly income was never the same and quite low.
I had simply sent them copies of my RBS card statements but told them to let me know if they needed anything else.
They have now said that they don’t uphold my complaint but if I have anything further to send them then feel free to do so and they may look again but I’m now wondering if it’s going to be better/easier to simply escalate this complaint to the Ombudsman now?
The FOS already have copies of all of my bank statements and proof of income for those years on file from other complaints… or should I let RBS take a another look but possibly take even longer still and still say no?
Thanks again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Go straight to the Ombudsman I suggest. banks rarely change their minds nd they have had a lot of time already
Amber says
Hi sara I have just had successful affordability claim from Vanquis. Thank you for this site, I can’t tell you how much this redress is going to help. They have gone back 6 years to my initial increase and have credited my account and agreed to send me the monies left over, some £3,700! I wouldn’t have known about affordability complaints if it wasn’t for you and this amazing site!
For anyone dealing with Vanquis, they took the full 8 weeks and emailed on the very last day. Their calculations seem fine and say that will pay within 7 days.
Good luck all. Thanks Sara.
John says
Hi Sara
Wrote to you in Feb regarding 118 credit card asking if you thought I should send in a complaint even though they only charge a monthly fee rather than interest.
I remember you saying you hadn’t come across this before so just wanted to update you….
They have agreed with my complaint on the last of the day of the eight weeks that I should not have been offered this form of credit as I already had loans with them that had previously been deemed as unaffordable, they said they should of carried out more checks to my individual circumstances therefore refunding me all of the monthly fees and removing negative criteria from my credit record.
I must thank you for your advice and hopefully this helps somebody else in a similar position.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Thanks for letting us know!
BH says
Hi, I have a complaint with Barclaycard and the ombudsman has upheld this. They agree I should not have been given the credit card. They are looking to refund the interest and fees and will send over the figure once calculated. Should I accept this offer?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you say exactly what is being refunded – not the amount, but what the ombudsman has said?
BH says
They have said the following below, and asked if I accept this offer. I didn’t know whether I should wait for the calculation or confirm that I want interest on this amount?
“Barclays has agreed to uphold it. It doesn’t think the card should’ve been granted. It has said it will look at the fees and charges on the card and carry out its calculations in regard to a refund.”
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok so that sounds like a full refund of all the charges and fees from the start of the account.
Is there currently a balance on the account?
BH says
Yes I still have a balance that was sent to PRA Group.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As there is a balance owed, whether you get 8% simple interest added will depend on whether the refund takes your account back into credit. In this case it isn’t likely to be a large amount.
The Barclays calculation should take account of any money you have paid to PRA. And Barclays should also remove the default and get PRA to remove this as well. Make sure they agree to this before acception their offer.
Ernest says
Good evening.. pls l need your advice on my PayPal credit of £4000 limit before I open the account my credit is very bad … adjudicator ask for 3month bank statement before account open which l provide to him but today the adjudicator ask for 3month statement from other of my bank account… because money going in and out from the account l provide to him. ..my other bank statement l got alot of money there because l just got paid for injury l sustained .so l transfer some money to the account l give him to cover my overdraft that l have spend all the money already because the interest.. what is the advice pls?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If the adjudicator wants to see some bank statements you should provide them.
Ernest says
Ok… but should l explain where the money is coming from? That is for Injury money? Hope the money is not going to have any impact on the complain? I have all the statements
.just want to findout what to write yo support the claim… on the statements show where the money is from injury
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should explain any unusual items on the bank statements.
Ernest says
Goodmorning Sara thanks but do you think the injury money l got paid before the account open will affect my complain?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know. Why did you need the credit with the money in your account?
Ernest says
Open the PayPal account with £4000 later reduce to £3000.. l just used it to buy things online.. just to buy things l need and pay back bit by bit ..but get to a stage .. l have to default the account.. the money l got paid for the injury happened in May 2017 and l hope the account Paypal account dec 2018
Sara (Debt Camel) says
and how much was the PI money?
Ernest says
£16,300 but life-threatening injury – on going injured for life- permanent
injury in 2017 and get paid to my account in may or Jun 2018
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so it was still in thew account 6 months later? I don’t know what FOS will say.
Ernest says
Just checking my bank statement now.. l received the money in my account July 2018 and l open PayPal account in December 2018. I almost spend all the money before December 2018… l spend the money on house renovation.
But injured happened in may 2017 .. l got the money in my account year later. The money is like £700 in my account in December 2018 after spend the money to improve my house
Dave says
Hi Sara,
I had a Halifax credit card with a £10,000 limit, it was near the limit and i was only making minimum payments per month. After some time the Halifax contacted me and suggested I take out a loan to clear the credit card balance and the monthly payments and interest would be lower.
Upon hearing this i applied for a loan with Halifax to pay my Halifax credit card and I cleared the balance and requested that my credit card limit was reduced from £10,000 to £1000 to ensure I didn’t get into further debt
Halifax advised me not to reduce my credit card limit as it might have a negative impact on my credit file , so at this stage I had a £10,000 Halifax loan and a £10,000 credit card.
After a period of 18 months I had used my credit card to the point it was near the limit again and I was making only minimal payments – meaning I am now £20,000 in debt to Halifax
I am considering making a claim of irresponsible lending against Halifax based on the fact they offered me a loan to pay my credit credit card debt with them as I was struggling to pay it , plus they also advised me against lowering my credit card limit
Do you think it is worth me sending a letter in?
Thanks in advance
Dave
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The monthly repayments on the loan – were they more than the minimum payment on the credit card had been?
Dave says
Hi Sara
The minimum payment on the credit card was £245
And the loan monthly payment was £300 but on a better interest rate!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So the consolidation loan was more expensive per month than the credit card minimums you had been paying. Even though the interest rate was lower, this wasn’t saving you money every month. In this sort of situation it’s very easy to run up the credit card again.
I think this is a good complaint. Send it to the Ombudsman if if Hapifax rejects it.
Jade says
Iv put an affordability complaint in to the very group regarding a couple of catalogue accounts I have had. They have had the 8 weeks to reply but have sent a letter saying that I can go to the FCA but they’re going to need longer. I’m just wondering if I should take this up with them now or wait until they provide a final response?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would send it to the Ombudsman now. If they had said – we will have a response by the end of the week that would be different, but you could wait weeks then get a rejection.
Kate says
Hi did you get a response? I’ve just had the same letter at 8 weeks that I need to wait longer .. they say another 2 weeks but I can take it to Ombudsman aswell… not sure what to do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would send it to the Ombudsman now. Very often reject claims or make very poor offers, so there’s no point in waiting.
Joanna says
I have credit cards with MBNA & Virgin with a total credit balance of £38K – until early 2022 I only owed around £6K on both these cards but due to a change in my life I suffered from depression and stupidly became addicted to gambling. As a result the debt due to these two lenders rose significantly and it is clear from my statements from both that the only transactions going through were gambling transactions. I am now almost at my limit with both Companies and struggling to meet the interest and minimum payments, sometimes just transferring debts from other lenders and using my overdrafts. Fortunately, I have managed to block myself and the gambling sites and am finally getting through it but the interest and debt is causing me so much stress that I have become (very nearly) suicidal. I dont know if I have a legitimate complaint but surely both lenders should have realised such a difference in my spending habits particularly over the last few months and should have noticed I had a gambling problem
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you have been making gambling transactions on your MBNA and Virgin cards?
what is the rest of your financial situation like – do you have other debts? are you buying or renting?
who are your overdrafts with?
Mike_p says
I’ve just had a brilliant outcome on a complaint I made about Nationwide increasingt credit limit in 2015. They rejected the complaint and so did the FOS adjudicator, bu the Ombudsman made a provisional decision in my favour saying they should refund the interest on balances above the previous limit. I rejected that and said I wanted all interest and charges to be refunded and Nationwide made an offer to do that. They have refunded me £18,000 which leaves me with £7,000 after clearing the current balance, and they will also remove the default from my credit report.
It’s a bit eye watering to see how much interest I paid, but it’s a good feeling to get it back after all those years juggling money between cards to make minimum payments. Overall it took 22 months from posting the initial complaint to receiving the refund.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Thats a great result.
What has happened to the Ombudsman’s provisional decision? Is it being changed to say what was agreed?
Mike_p says
As I accepted Nationwide’s offer they won’t be making a final decision so it has just been left.
Mike_p says
I’m quite amazed by the result really, if they hadn’t made the offer they’d only have had to reduce the balance by £2000. I nearly gave up and accepted the ombudsman provisional decision as it was as I’ve had three others at that stage that I lost.
James says
That’s amazing well done. Sorry for jumping on the post previously I had FOS decision going against me. I thought that was the last option can you then appeal it further?
Mike,_p says
If you don’t agree with the adjudicator you can ask for an Ombudsman to make a final decision. In my case the Ombudsman ruled differently to the adjudicator to they sente a provisional decision to comment on before they made the final one. I objected and said I wanted all interest refunded and Nationwide offered to do that and I accepted that so the Ombudsman never issued a final decision.
I’ve had three other complaints that were rejected at Ombudsman level and I nearly just accepted the provisional decision. I’m glad I did.
Rebecca says
i have a question please. If the bank rejects the claim, because the account is open over 6 years old and there’s been no increases or anything. Could the FOS say they will look back 6 years from when you submitted your complaint? My situation is, i have had an aqua card since 2014 with a 2000 limit, this has always been at it’s maximum and i’ve been paying the interest only for years. i have not had any other new day cards. I’m worried they will say it’s over 6 years since the account was opened and not believe that have only found out in the last 3 years (as i complained about pay day lending in 2017) but if they went back to 2017 i’d be more than happy with that, is that a possibilty?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That argument doesn’t tend to work with credit cards – it does with overdrafts as there the bank has to conduct an annual review, but a credit card lender doesn’t have to.
Alice says
Long time no post!
Sent a complaint to tescos late last year for increasing my credit card from £4300 to £10500 in 3 years when my max salary in 2021 when I got the 10.5k was only 25k a year with other debts.
Late December my complaint was rejected due to the fact they said I was in receipt of over 3k in November 2021 when they gave the largest increase. I asked them to review this again seeing as my salary was £1400 and any other money I had was from my ex to pay for joint bills. I gave them 2 weeks to review and come back to me or I would send to ombudsman.
Cut to now – never heard back from Tesco after I sent that email OR a follow up email and I haven’t heard since I submitted my case with the ombudsman! Feeling lost and frustrated. Is the fact I haven’t heard back from ombudsman in 4 months a bad sign? Worried I didn’t send enough evidence!
Should I chase Tesco again?
I should add my family have bailed me out and cleared 90% of the debt however I would love to get some money back to be able to pay Atleast some of the money back to them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you have sent this to the Ombudsman? Have you had any acknowledgment of it?
Alice says
Hi, yes sent to Ombudsman- got the standard “thanks for your email” type response saying wait times could be longer in busy periods etc but no contact since the automated email on 25th Jan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it’s only been 3 months. I would wait another month and then phone FOS and ask what is happening.
There is no point in going back to Tescos.
Alice says
I thought it had been 4 but that was since contacting tescos after the rejection, oops! You’re right.
Was just shocked and disheartened to have never even heard back from Tescos after letting them know how incorrect they were. Will hold off until end of May for now then! Thanks Sara
Catherine says
I am just wondering can we submit claims against PayPal credit?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes. Try ppelce@paypal.co.uk
Catherine says
I have just typed out my affordability complaint for my Nationwide Credit Card. However I also have a current account with them with a £3K overdraft. I am worried that if I start this process they may remove my overdraft based on affordability.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are you using this overdraft? how many days a month?
Catherine says
I live in the overdraft – I am never out of it but I don’t think I have a case for an overdraft claim as I moved to Nationwide from another bank transferring my overdraft across. What do you think? Should I submit a case for both?
I have been with nationwide for approx 5 years. My previous bank was Halifax and I was also in my overdraft with them permanently for at least 5 years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In that case you should definitely make a claim against Nationwide and Halifax. read https://debtcamel.co.uk/get-refund-overdraft/ and use the template there
Halifax may refuse to go back more than 6 years, but 1 year of fees back is worth having!
Nationwide would have reviewed your overdraft every year. the fact you took this overdraft over to them from the Halifax doesn’t change the fact they should still have checked affordability.
————————————————————
You should also make a point in your credit card complaint that nationwide could see from your persistent overdraft usage that you were in difficulty and say you are submitting a seperate complaint about that.
And say in the overdraft complaint that Nationwide should also have seen that you had a large amount of credit card debt with them that you were unable to clear.
So you are making two separate complaints but cross-referencing them.
————————————————————————–
So back to your question about whether Nationwide will remove your overdraft. This is a common worry when people make complaints about ioverdrafts but it has in practice been very very rare, just a couple of cases, one where the person hadnt deposited anything into the account for several years. If the overdraft complaint is upheld and the balance is cleared with the refund, at that point the bank often removes the overdraft – but the customers are usually very happy with that.
Catherine says
Thank you so much. This is so helpful. I will submit my claims this evening.
Catherine says
Hi Sara,
Do you have an alternative email address for Nationwide as my email bounced back from the email below?
tina.jones@nationwide.co.uk
Sara (Debt Camel) says
they have now changed the email address on the FCA register. Try karlene.white@nationwide.co.uk
Alice says
After yesterdays post I felt compelled to update -only saying tescos never got back to me after my email they emailed today – not responding to any of my points but instead saying I’m eligible for ANOTHER credit increase of 2k taking my initial £4300 card to £12.5k. Madness! Will be adding this to my case when ombudsman does get in touch.
Neil says
My adjudicator got allocated this time last month to my credit card complaint against LLOYDS. I sent the bank statements and credit report as requested but since then nothing. Is it normal for them to have cases so long?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you email and ask if there is anything else that they need.
Sarah says
I didn’t realise that I was able to complain about irresponsible lending, so I have followed your template and written to N Brown as I have had loads of accounts with them over the years, defaulted and then opened at a new address. I know it was bad, but I had my head out the sand now and I’m slowly paying back. In the end my minimum payments were almost £60 per account with only about £4 going towards the balance. All accounts started small and ended up with 4 figure limits.
I’ve had a reply and they have found 12 accounts for me over the years, so I’m hoping that this will give me a good shot at showing that it was irresponsible to keep giving me new accounts.
Thank you so much for all that you do, I’ve also just sent a complaint to Capital one as I had a card with them which was always close to or over the limit and they then gave me another one! So will see how it goes.
Sarah says
When I say new address, I mean my own new address when I moved house! Not a random address!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the Capital One one you want a full refund of all charges on the second card
Sarah says
Yes I asked them to take both cards into consideration after reading your article and comments.
I’ve also sent a complaint to N Brown for the accounts in my husbands name too. It’s crazy how much they were happy to let us rack up with little prospect of paying. It wasn’t even frivolous things, white goods when ours broke etc and Christmas gifts as I had no free cash.
Just glad I’m out the spiral now.
Sarah says
So I’ve had an initial response from N Brown to acknowledge my complaints. They have found 18 accounts for me in total and 8 for my husband.
It’s embarrassing but I’m facing up to my mistakes. All the non defaulted ones they have removed the credit limits and will look at them too.
Do you think based on the amount of accounts they allowed us to have that we have a good case for irresponsible lending? I would be happy to just get the defaults removed and the balances down a bit. I doubt it’ll be enough to receive any cash, but every little helps now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a lot of accounts! It suggests they weren’t making proper checks. Especially if you were given accounts when earlier ones had defaulted.
Johnny says
Just to reiterate some of the comments I’ve read here regarding New Day. Complete cowboys!
They’ve had my complaint for over 8 weeks, I called them today (9 weeks since they’ve had it) I asked what was going they advised it hadn’t been allocated to one their case handlers and can’t advise any more.
I fully expected to send it to FOS but from the very start their communication has been bad. They only respond in letters, never by email which makes the process longer. Good luck to anyone with a NewDay claim.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Straight to the Ombudsman!
Jane says
Hi Sara,
I want to thank you for such an informative site, i believe you are helping people so much and wish this forum could get to a wider audience, although having said that I wouldn’t want the FOS to be any slower than it already is by receiving more complaints.
I would like advice on two credit cards i have please.
card 1 – Issued in 2015 with a limit of 300, within 3 months increased to 1300. Further increase in 2019 to 1600, decreased to 1350 in 2020.
card 2 – Issued in 2016 with a limit of 300, in 2018 increased to 1000, in 2020 decreased to 800.
The increases and decreases were never requested by me, i assume some type of review was taking place.
If they had looked at my account, card 1 was almost always being used for gambling. card 2, gambling and cash withdrawals. I was at my credit limit with a number of other cards and between 2016 – 2018 had over 100 pay day loans.
They have responded to my complaint stating that it is time barred as i have brought it too late. I have now sent it to FOS. I have explained to FOS that i have had a gambling addiction, abusive relationships and was never in a right mind to start tackling my debt. Having now come out of the relationship in December 2020 and having found out about affordability complaints i am trying to get my life back on track.
Do you think my case sounds like it has a chance?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are both cards from the same lender?
Jane says
Yes they are both the same lender
NewDay. It’s a Fluid and Aqua credit card.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send this straight to the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman can decide to look at problems over 6 years old if you have Only recently found ourt that you have a reason to complain. If you didn’t know before that a lender should have checked for affordability then you may have previously thought the debts were all your fault and not realised that Newday was partially responsible as it failed to make adequate checks.
But if the Ombudsman says in your case it can’t go back further, it can still look at the limit increase on card 1 in 2019 as that is within 6 years.
And the whole of card 2 falls within the 6 year period. So the Ombudsman can look at all of that. As card 1 was being used for gambling, you should argue that they should never have given yi7 the second card at all and all interest and charges should be refunded.
Neil says
So many comments regarding NEWDAY on here. The FCA need to sort them out!
Lynda Parris says
Hasn’t the rules just changed now and it’s gone to 1 year instead of 6? Or is that wrong
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There haven’t been any changes to how far back the Ombudman can go.
Curtis says
If it makes you feel any better, I have just had my complaint upheld by the FOS in regards to irresponsible lending, My initial complaint was for the regular and large credit increases, every time i paid off the card, it would increase by £1000. I had never missed a payment and I did not consider myself to have unaffordable debt. The fact is, they did not do the checks they were supposed to and overlooked important information. They have been ordered to repay all interest with 8% on top. I hope this gives you more confidence with your case.
Mh says
Is this for NewDay Curtis?
Amber says
Hi Sara, are you aware of people having a successful claim with banks who have them 0% cards?
I have three cards that were all initially zero percent, they all had high credit limits, 6k, 7k and 9k. I managed to max them all out a few years ago and now can’t afford the repayments. The banks have all rejected my affordability/irresponsible complaints and have said the zero percent was them helping me and it’s my own fault.
On one of the cards I used it to withdraw cash, I was charged £500 in total for cash withdrawals. But they’ve said this is not their problem.
I’m trying to construct my letter to FOS, I’ve said although the zero percent initially helped the limits were too big and the banks shouldn’t have given them. I was already at credit limits with a number of cards and unable to escape my overdrafts so I don’t even know how I got such cards. Is there anything else I can say to help my cause?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Those are high limits. If they had been low, I would said this probably isn’t worth bothering with. But for such large limits, I think it’s worth making a complaint. I would include a sentence saying [ASSUMING THIS IS RIGHT FOR EACH CARD IN YOUR CASE] that although the minimum payments when the rate was 0% may have been affordable, you could not afford to clear the balance within the 0% offer term and can now not afford the monthly payments now the interest rate has increased and this should have been clear to the lender at the time they gave you the card. Ask for a refund of all charges
Also for the card where you took cash out – did that mean even at 0% you were struglling to make the payments? If so, add this to your complaint.
Were any of these cards from a bank where you had an account with an overdraft? Or any loans? If so, add in a sentence saying the lender should have taken those into account when deciding to lend.
And also look at making overdraft affordability complaints! See https://debtcamel.co.uk/get-refund-overdraft/
—————————————-
But these complaints are very likely to be rejected by the card lender and have to go to the Ombudsman. So they are not a speedy way to imporve your situation… I think you should look at a debt management plan with StepChange, see https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx. Winning affordability complaints will then speed up the DMP a lot.
Do you have a mortgage?
Amber says
Thank you for your advice. I’ll be sure to add the lines stated above as they apply.
I don’t have a mortgage or anything.
Thank you so much I’ll keep you posted.
Mh says
Just an update with NewDay (Aqua &Fluid CC’s). I first had the Aqua card – which they have come back and agreed that they’d part refund some of the charges totalling £401 (I calculated from the statements from my SAR this being £1375!) They then gave me a second card (Fluid) and have stated that they did all the check blah blah and have stated they haven’t done anything wrong even though I had missed payments and over the limit charges on the Aqua card, baffling! I had already sent this to the FOS bang on 8 weeks and only just got a final response out of them after calling them up – them saying they posted it out 2 weeks ago which they didn’t! My total charges are close to £2400 so I’m sticking this one out…Anyway in the FOS queue!!
Mh says
Hi Sara
Forgot to mention they have offered ‘proportionate interest’ after the credit limit increase saying “ as interest always would’ve been chargeable on the initial credit limit this is why a proportionate amount is given and not a full refund of all interest”
Is this normal or just a tactic not to fully pay?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They often do this which explains why the amount is so low. You should reuse to FOS that your financial situation was so poor when they increased your limit that it wasn’t just wrong to up the limit but at that pint they should have also offered you forbearance and frozen interest in your account. So the redress should be a refund of all interest from that point not a partial refund.
Nes says
How long did they take to get back to you?
I am currently on week 5 and still no response from NewDay.
Marry says
Hello, I want to make irresponsible lending claim on catalogue credit. The debt has been sold and I am still paying it. Many purchases were buy now pay later type of purchases. When I couldn’t make original cost payments within time limit, interests were added to that cost and is now part of that debt. For e.g. the £50 table after 12 month BNPL period became £120 table. Can I ask for a refund on this type of interest too?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes just ask for a refund of all interest and charges
John says
I submitted five complaints to difference card providers for unaffordable lending – the complaints were all submitted the same template I had written and all involved complaints over 6 years old.
All five complaints were rejected by an adjudicator due to the time period and all referred to an Ombudsman. On four over the complaints the ombudsman overturned the decision and ruled they could be investigated, even when the companies challenged this decision.
However on the fifth complaint the Ombudsman stood by the decision of the adjudicator and ruled that the complaint was over the time limit and could not be looked at. I have provided the reference numbers of the other four complaints and asked why this ruling is different – I did not receive a reply and was told the decision is final and there is no way of appeal or complaint.
I cannot understand why 4 ombudsmen make one decision and 1 other decides differently and makes comments in the ruling which completely contradict what 4 other ombudsmen have said.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
One that got away. Glad you got the other 4 accepted as being within time.
Sal says
What companies were these if you don’t mind me asking?
Did you say that you were complaining within 3 years of having found out you had cause to complain?
LYNDA says
Hi Sara
I lodge a complain with the OS against NewDay who last increased credit limit in 2016 to £12,000, after ND rejected the complaint.
The OS say I lodged my complaint outside timescales as I didn’t lodge it until June 2022 – about 4 weeks late. The OS Investigator considered the 3 yr rule and said I should have known I could complain in 2018 when ND reduced my limit. I received a Final Decision from the Ombudsman where they accepted I found out about irresponsible lending after I went to Payplan in Oct 2019 and that is when I become aware. I sent them the email I sent to PayPlan dated Feb 2021 about this, as proof when I found out but the Investigator ignored this. I initially complained to the OS about another card with MBNA where I lodged a complaint in 2021 but due to my poor mental health I told the OS I intended to make a complaint on this ND but couldn’t because of how it affects my mental health and can only do one at a time. Due to the other complaint I began attending Wellbeing appointments with my GP. I have asked the OS to refer to the Final Ombudsman for a decision and referred him to the Final Decision which accepted the date I found out. The OS even advertise a case study similar to mine on the website and accepted the reasons why that was late. Is there anything else I can do? If they don’t investigate do I have any other options to challenge them for irresponsible lending, i.e. like a Court procedure?
thanks Lynda
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I hope FOS agree to look at this again. If they don’t then you don’t have any simple options. You can go to court but this is not easy and I suggest that anyone considering this need to take legal advice from a solicitor on their options.
How large are your current debts? You still in a DMP?
Lynda Parris says
Yes still in DMP. In 2019 started and owed over £24000. It was over 16 yrs.
Won irresponsible lending claim against MBNA opened in 2002 but paid me back to 2015 only! Pretty poor really but better than nothing.
I took out secured loan in 2018 to consolidate these credit cards for over £28,000, still £23000 owing on that and another 8 yrs left.
I’ve made a complaint to the OS for the latter, being missold, to me, as although they lent me that much I was still left to pay an outstanding consolidation loan I took out in 2015 for debt (had been paying min payments for 5 yrs prior to that) till Halifax offered me that loan. Around £7/8000 was owing on that at the time and formed part of the DMP.
2 investigators so far found fluent money and optimum credit not responsible as said I didn’t disclose any hardship or struggle to them when taking out the secured loan. I obviously did and my debt and income speaks for itself. the term Also changed around 6-7-8 times before completing. Just over a year later I was in the DMP.
I asked for a final decision from the ombudsman and just waiting but feel they really on side of the banks, not fair or just at all
Yes I am still in DMP owing around £12,000 now. Taken out in 2019 for £24000.
Secured loan taken out to consolidate debts in 2018 owe £23000
So £35000 outstanding on debt
I also have council tax arrears and gas arrears of over £2000.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so I’m not clear which debts were consolidated and which remain in your DMP.
Could you list the debts that remain in the DMp and say when each of those accounts was opened?
MISS LYNDA PARRIS says
Hi Sara
Barclays Bank Plc £874.19 opened 2003
Lowell Financial Ltd (LW catalogue) £189.93 opened 2000 – they charged me late fees recently wrongly and I couldn’t
catch back up
Lowell Financial Ltd (credit card) £2,212.78 opened 2002
PRA Group Ltd – Halifax O/D £790.86 opened 1997 – initially £1,100 o/d
PRA Group Ltd (credit card) £2,514.36 opened 2011
PRA Group Ltd – Halifax Consolidation loan £2,570.99 24/05/2015 borrowed £16,500 to settle debts
PRA Group Ltd – Barclays £1,447.14 opened 2008
Opus/New Day with balance of £1,287 was temporarily taken out of DMP whilst OS complaint is dealt with. Opened in 2002. Latest credit increase was £12,000 in 2016.
It’s hard to read the Payplan details as they don’t tend to state the original creditor, just who purchased them the PRA group and Lowell.
I had 1 Barclaycard, 2 Barclaycard Platinum, 1 with Capital One, 1 with New Day (opus), and 1 with MBNA.
thanks
Lynda
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lowell have charged you late payment fees recently? or the original catalogue did?
The only one of those where there is an affordability complaint is Opus/Newday?
A lot of the others are very old accounts. Apart from the overdraft, it may be worth asking the debt collector (NOT the original creditor) to produce the CCA agreement for the debt. If they can’t, it’s unenforceable in court and you can ask for it to be removed from your DMP. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/ask-cca-agreement-for-debt/.
MISS LYNDA PARRIS says
Hi Sarah
The original catalogue charged lates fees even though i had made the payment so the next month i could not afford to pay the monthly money + the late fees because of my DMP and money allocation and it just spiralled after that. Quite a bit of charges where put on that money before it went to Lowel, it wasn’t the balance i owed. This only happened sometime in the last 12 months. Yes, I have lodged the Complaint with the Ombudsman for the ND account but this is the one they said i was outside the timescale on – last increase to £12000 in 2016 and I lodged my complaint June 2022 – 4 weeks from the last increase. The Investigator said under 3 yr rule i should have been aware to make a complaint in 2018. On 27/4/23 I asked him to refer to the Ombudsman for a Final Decision but have heard nothing since the deadline 28/4/2023. No response at all. I even sent them a case study from their website showing they accepted a claim in a similar scenario as mine.
I will ask for CCA agreements for the other accounts. I asked for this from ND when I lodged the complaint against them but still haven’t received it, nor a copy of my file. Can I ask PayPlan to get it from the debt collector as they are in communication with them or shall I do it directly myself?
thanks, Lynda
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The original catalogue charged lates fees even though i had made the payment so the next month i could not afford to pay the monthly money + the late fees because of my DMP and money allocation and it just spiralled after that.
That sounds to me as though you should make an affordability complaint to the catalogue.
Chloe says
Hi Sara,
I went into a DRO in June 2018, which was finalised in June 2019. Since then, however, I have been able to open cards with 118, Capital One, Vanquis, Fluid and an account with Simply Be. Total owing on these around £8k altogether, and all have given amount increases despite only minimum payments being made.
Do you think I would be eligible for the unaffordability refunds seeing as I clearly shouldn’t have been given access to these accounts when still within the six year DRO period?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Whether you will win an affordability complaint depends on whether the debts were affordable. In theory you could have got a great 60k a year job in 2020 and had no trouble with the repayments, even though you had a DRO before.
But my guess is that didn’t happen. And one of the reasons your balance has been going up is having the make the minimum repayments left you short… In which case definitely make these complaints.
BUT they can be slow to resolve as many have to go to the Ombudsman. I think you should look at a debt management plan now for all the debts – that will get interest stopped, so the amount you can afford to pay each month will all be clearing the debts. Phone StepChange on 0800 138 1111 to find out more about this.
Then if you win any of the affordability complaints, the balance in your DMP will drop a lot faster.
Matthew says
Good morning.
I made a complaint to MBNA using the email address mbnaonlinecomplaints@mbna.co.uk however I have received nothing back. Should I have received an acknowledgement email or can they take the full 8 weeks to even respond?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago?
Matthew says
3 weeks ago
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would wait for another week and then send another email asking them to confirm that have your complaint as you have not received an acknowledgement
Nes says
Hi Sara,
My complaint was lodged in March with NewDay, they have so far not given me any response. I can still login and use my cards too. If they don’t respond once the 8 weeks pass, i know i can refer this to the FOS. However if i do that if they give me a satisfactory response say a week or two later can i simply withdraw my complaint raised at the FOS?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes.
But in practice once you have made a complaint to FOS, most lenders will then tell FOS what the offer is and FOS will tell you and ask if you want to accept it.
Lolls says
Hi Sara,
I entered into a DPP (Scotland) in 2016 with a total of 9 creditors, most balances of 2/3k each, 1 was a TSB loan for 10k that I applied for in the branch & failed the affordability so the manager came along & over-rided the computer. At the time I was only earning 10k a year. My current account was with the TSB & I had been living in my 2.5k overdraft for 10 years. Anyhow my question is, if I was successful at proving irresponsible lending & they agreed to remove defaults would my file then be marked as ‘Arrangement to pay”? I’ve paid off the DPP thanks to an inheritance and all old accounts have disappeared from my file due to default being over 6 years ago, I don’t want them to come back & cause damage again 😕
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no they should not reappear on your credit record.
BUT that is all a long while ago. Do you have records going back that far? You may struggle to prove unaffordability with an account that was closed so long ago.
Lolls says
Thanks for the reply Sara 😊
Luckily I’m a bit of a hoarder so still have statements & payslips etc. I only became aware of the ability to complain last week when 1 of my former creditors wrote to me admitting that they’d treated me unfairly by charging fees & interest when I was clearly struggling which made my situation undoubtedly worse…offering me a refund of fees. This prompted me to look into it and realise that this avenue is available, so I’ll be going for the 3 years since being aware angle. All accounts defaulted in 2016, fully paid & closed in Oct 22. I figure it’s worth a try!
Thanks 😊
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok! Let me know what happens.
Scott says
Hello all
Been reading the comments on here for a while, such promising news.
Sent in a complaint to Newday at the beginning of November after waiting a month for the Subject Access Request for Marbles, Aqua and Fluid cards (£8,000 limit total from Jan 2017). Worked out all the interest and charges and asked for this back alongside complaint. They got back to me after the 8-week deadline in January 2023 rejecting my complaint (unsurprising). Submitted to FOS beginning of February and it has just been allocated to an investigator who has introduced herself a few days ago, so it looks like Newday will wait the full 8 weeks and it will take 3 months before FOS looks at it. Just a heads up!
Dilly says
Hi Sara
Do you think I have grounds to complain – I have 4 credit cards at the moment – Halifax, MBNA & Virgin x2 and all are close to the limit with interest.
I’m hoping I can make a complaint with virgin as I opened these within 6 months of each other. To be honest they’ve all been opened in a really short space of time but I thought virgin I would have more of a success with based on the time frame of opening. Thank you in advance for your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When were the cards opened? How large were the limits and have any of them increased them?
Dilly says
Virgin 1 opened 10/8/19 1900
Virgin 2 opened 16/1/20 2600
Halifax opened 9/5/19 1600 increased to 2500
MBNA opened 2/3/20 – 2900
I wish I could go back to my younger self and kick her but there we go!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so in order Halifax, Virgin 1, Virgin 2, MBNA with the Halifax increase to be fitted into that sequence somewhere.
None of them are in the same month, so each card you applied for should have been able to see the previous cards on your credit record.
Were you only making minimum payments to each card? Did you ever take cash out?
Dilly says
I was trying to over pay a bit but then using again. And yes I think it was on one of the virgin cards I withdrew cash. Thank you for your help so far I really appreciate it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So your arguments are slightly different for each card.
Halifax it may be difficult to argue that the original limit was too high, but for the raise argue that it was too much and they should have seen that you had taken out other credit and were now much deeper in debt.
Virgin – you should Never have been given the second card
MBNA – limit was far too high seeing all the other debts you had and how they were increasing.
Dilly says
Thank you, I will definitely look to contest virgin 2 and maybe mbna if I’m feeling brave enough. I’m a bit worried about doing anything with Halifax as they are my current mortgage provider so don’t want to rock the boat there. Will give these a go and let you know how I get on, thank you again