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?
Ruth says
Hi Sara, I’m starting to get responses back from the various creditors (all rejecting my affordability complaints). So far I’ve only brought 1 creditor complaint to the Ombudsman. I’m wondering, if I raise the others, will the Ombudsman look at everything at the same time? Or will it be in isolation?
This is a rejection from PayPal, as an example, for March 2019 and at this point I had 3 loans and 4 credit cards:
monthly income of between £2001-2500 and approximately £1000-2000 in monthly expenditures. From these figures (we use the mid-range in our calculations), we determined that you had a monthly disposable income of £750. Finally, the debt-to-income ratio data and affordability measure provided to us by the Credit Reference Agency indicated that you were not overindebted at the time of your application.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send them all to the Ombudsman. They are all looked at separately but don’t delay in sending these. If you send bank statements to help with one Ombudsman case, they can be used for the others as well.
Ruth says
Thank you for getting back to me, Sara, really appreciate it!
I’m still waiting on my bank statements from 2017-2019, but will send them to the Ombudsman as soon as I get them.
Ruth says
Hi Sara, I’ve had my first response from the investigator, but I have no idea if I should accept. Please can you help?
“gesture of goodwill, HSBC has agreed to refund debit interest of around £1,331.20 from 25 July 2018” until May 2019.
“My thoughts on the offer
I haven’t carried out an investigation yet – so I can’t confirm whether the offer is a fair one. You also don’t have to accept the offer at this stage.
That said, having considered all the information you and the business have sent so far the offer does look like it could be a reasonable way to resolve things.”
I think this is the complaint to HSBC about increasing my credit limit a few times after July 2018, when at this point I also took out 2 payday loans, a Barclaycard, an Amex and PayPal credit. I was banking with them, in my overdraft for years and had a >£10k loan with them opened in 2017.
There’s about £3k left on the HSBC credit card.
the offer also mentions this:
“HSBC have said that from looking at the statements, it is apparent your account would have defaulted on payments despite the increase. And therefore, HSBC will not remove any correctly reported adverse information to the Credit Reference Agencies.”
I’m a bit confused why they’d say that but reject that they shouldn’t have increased my limit?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what happened in 2019 – did you default?
have you also complained abut the loan? and the overdraft?
Ruth says
I started a DMP in 2019, with all my creditors included.
I’ve complained about the loan, as well, which has also gone to FOS.
I’ve not complained about the overdraft, as i first had it from being a student, so it was interest-free… interest started in 2015 and I don’t remember a month where I wasn’t in my overdraft.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
send in a complaint about the overdraft too!
and other debts in your DMP!
So they are refunding all the interest you complained about on the card, from July 18 to Aug 2019 when it stopped on the DMP – correct?
What is the default date on this? If it is July 2019, it will drop off your record in July 2025. You may decide you don’t care much about getting that removed as it wont be there for much longer.
If you do want it gone, then you could argue that you are complaining about other debts as well. If HSBC hadnt given you loan, and hadnt charged you so much interest on the overdraft you wouldnt have had to take out payday loans and get in such a mess. So the argument that “you would have defaulted anyway” isnt right – you defaulted because a lot of lenders, including HSBC, loaned you too much and they should all have to remove the damage to your credit record.
Ruth says
I’m not sure if that’s all the interest, as I can’t find my credit card statements from then. I’ll ask if that is all the interest.
The default date on HSBC cc is confusing. On equifax it says n/a and experian says settlement date 21st July 2020. So I’m not sure?
I’ve complained about my other debts, but on what basis do I complain about my overdraft? I just had bad financial role models and was awful at managing my money. When I went into my DMP they refunded charges and interest on my overdraft for a couple of months, I think.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well the amount may be right – it doesn’t jump out as being wrong. But if you feel uncertain, ask about it.
It doesn’t look as though there is a default date on experian. In that case you want the payments arrangement or missed payments removed. Or if will be on your record until July 2026
The typical complaint about an overdraft is that you were in it all or very nearly all of the month for a prolonged period of years. Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/get-refund-overdraft/ which talks about overdraft refunds and has a template
Ruth says
Thank you, Sara! I’ll ask for the payment arrangement markers to be removed, in that case.
I’ve just finished reading the overdraft link and had a flick through my statements from 2017-2019 and I never exited my overdraft in that time and it was even increased slightly! I’ll use your template for too.
Thank you so much for educating me on all this! I live well within my means these days but had no idea the banks were basically enabling my bad financial management.
Karen says
Hi Sara
Just want to ask i have JD Williams and I got it in 2021 my credit sore was not to good then it still not really good now it’s only 562….they give me a credit off £200 in 2021 i was paying service charge for a few mouth….then the credit limit started to climb in 2022 £3000 credit limit….the last thing I got was a phone in 2022 and still paying….I owe now over £700 most of that or all of it is interest but I dont pay the service change now….could you please advice me what can I do about this
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What is this service charge? To do with the JDW account? Or your house?
Karen says
Hi Sara
I don’t know what the service change was it was on my bill that only came on when I got the phone…it stoped in October 2022…and went to interest charges….sorry its not £3000 credit limit I got it was 2,500 credit limit….is there anything I can do about this….what I still owe and the interest…..I have rang JDW about this but I got no were with them it seams they don’t want to listen….Is there any Advice you can give me about this please
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send JDW the complaint template and change it to ask for a refund of interest and other charges including the service charge
PS please don’t leave duplicate comments
Karen says
Hi sara
Sorry for the duplicate messages and thank you for the advice
Thank you
R says
Hello,
Firstly I love your website I think it’s amazing!!!
I entered an IVA in August 21 due to spiralling debts.
I had various credit cards but I had accounts with Barclays and MBNA and they consistently upped my credit limit (and all it was doing was allowing more interest to accrue on the debt).
I’ve read the section that complaining and having an IVA can be more complicated and I’m just seeing if you had any advice?
Many thanks.
R
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large were the credit card debts that went into the IVA? How large were the total debts? How much are you paying to the IVA a month (and is this affordable).
R says
The total was around 20K (there was other debts too, the total was around 25K).
I pay £323 at the moment but that’s going up to £363 due to more disposable income due to my car hire purchase coming to an end and I’ve financed the balloon payment at the end.
Yeah , they payments are affordable.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Winning an affordability complaint about a debt in your IVA will normally just reduce the balance in the IVA. This doesn’t mean the IVA ends sooner, unless you are near the point where you have Paid the IVA debts in full and have also paid the IVA firms fees.
R says
Yeah I thought that would be the case.
When you say Iva debts, I’m assuming you mean the full amount I owed to the creditors?
I have payed the firms fees back, this was done with my first few payments I believe.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes the full amounts owed at the start of the IVA. The IVA forms fees may increase if your payments have gone up or if the debts are reduced.
Jennifer says
Hi Sara,
I have 2 Halifax credit cards (one originally a balance transfer card , 0% for 12 months only in 2019, but I could never afford the repayments in time and got in increasing levels of debt trying to clear this) and one with Lloyds (also 0% b/t for 12 months opened at the same time). At this time I was on a very low self employed income, some months earning nothing at all. I was using these cards to try and get out of a huge debt with Barclaycard but it was a big mistake.
I have now ‘paid off’ these cards but only by using another balance transfer card for a much longer 0% period!
Is it worth making an affordability complaint for these as I believe Lloyds and Halifax are connected? The limit wasn’t increased but they were unaffordable and I don’t believe proper checks were done on my many other debts in 2019. I am concerned that Halifax is one of my bank & savings accounts but there is barely anything in itnow and certainly wasn’t at the time of these cards. Other than some savings for my tax return in Jan. My main bank account with HSBC was hugely overdrawn at the time I applied for these cards too. I know obviously I can only ask them to refund the interest but that’s still a significant amount. Is it worth doing and won’t affect the small amount of savings in my Halifax account?
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large were the limits?
Have you looked at an affordability complaint to HSBC about the overdraft? to braclaycard about the huge balance you were trying to clear with these cards?
Jennifer says
Hi Sarah,
First card was for £2000, other cards were £1000 each. Minimum repayments on all and living in my £1600 overdraft at the time. I had a £6000 debt with Barclaycard (currently with the ombudsman) and my overdraft with HSBC was refunded after a complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok the limits aren’t huge, but the lenders should still have been able to see your heavy overdraft usage. These are complaints that it is worth trying
Sam says
How can I prove I only found out that I could complain three years ago? I’ve had a complaint rejected for Littlewoods catalogue for an old account. Admittedly, it was closed in 2011, but I genuinely believe they shouldn’t have lent to me and I genuinely didn’t know I could complaint. Any advice would be useful thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you have your bank statements from when the account was opened?
when the account was closed, did you owe any money?> Do you still?
Sam says
Thanks for your reply. Yes I have bank statements from back then. I owed money when the accounts closed – they both defaulted as I couldn’t pay any longer (there was two accounts with the same company but different catalogues). I paid one of them off via Capquest with a settlement offer a couple of years later, using my student loan. The other I’m still paying for now via Lowell’s. They say I should have realised I had cause to complain well before now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how large is the Lowell balance?
Sam says
It’s just over £1k now. It was £5.5k when the account closed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is this rejection from Littlewoods? Or FOS? If it is from FOS, is it from an investigator/adjudicator or a second level “Ombudsman” decision?
Sam says
No the rejection is from Littlewoods/Very group. So before I send it to the FOS, I wanted to see if there’s any way I can prove I didn’t know I could complain until now.. I’m not sure how this can be disputed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There isn’t a way of proving this. You can explain that you though your financial difficulties were all your own fault because you didint know that a lender has to check affordability, so you had no reason to complain before you knew this. give details of when and how you found out.
But with an account that was closed more than 6 years ago, you may find this difficult as if a case like this came to court it would be likely to be rejected because of the Limitations Act. I’m not saying don’t try, but it may not be easy.
An alternative for the remaining Lowell account is to ask Lowell, not Littlewoods, to produce the CCA agreement for the debt, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ask-cca-agreement-for-debt which explains about this.
Louise says
Hello, the FOS have responded with some questions regarding my complaint about my very account. This has taken some time as it has surpassed 6 years and I am unsure on how to best respond to some of the questions they have asked:
When did you became aware the account was causing you to struggle financially?
Who or what did you blame for the issues you had repaying the credit?
When did you first realise the business may have been at least partly to blame for your financial struggle?
What prompted you to complain now?
Is there any reason, such as exceptional circumstances that prevent you from contacting the business, why you didn’t complaint sooner?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you give some background on this account? When was it opened? when were any limit increases? Is it still open, if not what happened to it?
Louise says
The first account was taken out in October 2007 with a limit of £400, the limit was reduced to £350 in May 2008 due to arrears, a default issued in May 2009, and the debt sold in July 2009.
The second account was taken out in March 2016 with a limit of £1,000, the limit was increased to £2,000 in October 2016, and increased again to £2,500 in December 2017.
In all honesty I had completely forgot about the first debt, I would have been 19 at the time and I’m nearly 37 so I assume very has confirmed this to the FOS as it was not me. The second time I took out credit it was for an appliance for a flat I was renting at the time and I was temping through a recruitment agency. I would have been paying minimum payments and over the years I have cleared the debt a couple of times with a credit card and then worked the balance back up. Thankfully I’m not in that debt cycle anymore.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you want to purse a claim about the first account or are you happy to let that drop? As a matter of practicality, unless you have your bank statements from back then it may be hard to win.
is the second account still open? when would you say the debt cycle ended, and how did you manage this – was it pay rises? much lower expenses during lockdown? getting a partner and so sharing expenses?
Louise says
I am happy not to pursue a complaint about the first account opening. This was part of a DMP.
The second account is still open. I have moved the debt over to a 0% balance card. Very then asked me to update my account details with my current salary which is higher than when I first opened the account and reduced to £500. Around two years ago I told my husband about my debt and he contributes more to the monthly outgoing to try and allow me to clear my outstanding debt.
I understand I created the situation I am in and I am working on this now, but I was paying minimum amounts when they increased my credit and I was never asked to update my details until I complained. Could I also argue that given I did have an account in the past that was sent to collections should have taken into considering when increasing my
Credit or has too much time passed between the accounts?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so tell FOS you arent complain amount the first account. I think you probably cant complain that this means they shouldn’t have given you the second account at a low limit, but the question is should they have increased that
Common answers to those questions are often as follows, tailor these so they say what is right for you:
“When did you became aware the account was causing you to struggle financially?”
My debts have been increasing since 2016 but for years I was trying to manage them through 0%balance transfers. This account was just part of my overall finances and I just saw it as something I had to deal with. I was aware my debts were increasing, but as I was making all the payments I didn’t think of it as struggling – I had previously been in a DMP so I knew there was help if I was in major difficulty but it didn’t feel like that. In retrospect I should have been much more concerned about the increasing debt levels but I felt I was just about coping.
“Who or what did you blame for the issues you had repaying the credit?”
I blamed my rising debt levels on myself for borrowing too much. I was making all the minimum payments so I didn’t clearly identify this as an issue. two years ago I told my husband and he let me pay a low share of the bills so since then I have been able to pay more.
“When did you first realise the business may have been at least partly to blame for your financial struggle?”
When I found out this year that a catalogue lender should have made affordability checks to be sure that any increased credit limit could be repaid in a sustainable way, and that only being able to make minimum payments or borrow to clear the balance was not sustainable.
“What prompted you to complain now?”
I saw a post on Instagram about affordability complaints in [month?] and I made a complaint soon afterwards. If I had know earlier I would have complained earlier.
“Is there any reason, such as exceptional circumstances that prevent you from contacting the business, why you didn’t complaint sooner?”
no
Kirsty says
I completed a full and final early settlement for my IVA in 2023. However, I do believe I fall under the criteria you gave in the blog. I was a full time student when I took these out and only working part time jobs when I received unaffordable credit limit increases. When I started my IVA I was only earning £828 a month and paying minimum monthly payments on the following debts
Barclaycard : £5,127
PayPal: £5,982
Santander: £1,796 (overdraft)
Aqua Card: £2.2K
Monzo: £749 (overdraft)
I also don’t have access to these accounts anymore since they shut down during the IVA. What would you suggest?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unless you had a house with equity or other assets to protect, this looks like a classic example of where an IVA was inappropriate… but there is nothing that can be done about that now.
Who was your IVA with? And how much overall did you pay to the IVA? This is relevant to your question about making affordability complaints…
Kirsty says
Oh I definitely know it was mis sold, the tactics used were awful. In total I paid £7,738.94. My mum put up £4,800 for full & final early settlement
The IVA was with Creditfix
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so you paid quite a lot less to the IVA than the debts plus the IVA fees.
This matter because if you win an affordability complaint against a debt in your IVA, the refund would only be the interest added. And the lender is entitled to “set off” that refund against the amount of debt that was written off at the end of the IVA… so it sounds to me very unlikely that you would get much back. And Creditfix may choose to claim any refund going to you saying it needs to be paid into the IVA even though it has completed.
Annoying, but in this sort of case the IVA was your revenge against your lenders.
Olivia says
How long on average does it take the banks to respond to the complaints and how long on average from the first email is a payment offered (if confirmed)?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This can be very variable. Sometimes very old cases are rejected very quickly. Sometimes a refund is offered very quickly. Sometimes the bank waits until nearly at the end of the 8 weeks allowed by the regulator. A few cases go over 8 weeks, but not many.
I am afraid you can’t guess at (say) 5 weeks in, that you are going to be offered something or that your complaint will be rejected – it is is likely that no one has actually looked at it.
And banks reject many good complaints, which then need to be sent to the Ombudsman. Don’t be fobbed off by a long rejection letter!
Matt says
Hey
I made an affordability complaint to Vanquis regarding a credit card limit increase. The account was opened on 9th June 2018 and I made the complaint on the 12th June 2024. As this was 3 days over the 6 year limit they rejected my complaint.
I passed this onto the Ombudsman stating that I am making an affordability complaint regarding the credit limit increase, which was applied 15th August 2019. The initial Investigator has agreed with Vanquis, saying that they cannot investigate it as the account was opening more than 6 years prior to the complaint (3 days). I have asked them to pass it onto the Ombudsman to make a formal decision as I believe because I am making a complaint regarding the credit increase, which occured less than 6 years ago, it should still be within the limit.
What are your thoughts? Am I fighting a losing battle?
The investigators originally reason for not following through with it is that he said I should have been aware that I could complain in 2020 when the card defaulted. Which is more than 3 years ago.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This may sound irrelevant, but was the account sold to a debt collector? If so, when?
Claire says
Hi put affordability complaint on credit card with Zopa when account opened in May 21 with credit limit of £500 (never changed) I just feel I should never been given it. Administrator come back said he doesn’t feel Zopa done anything wrong with information there had of my credit file with it only been 500 limit against my income. I had 2 loans 3 credit cards very account car finance. When I look at my bank statements 3 months prior to opening this account it does show I have money end of each month. This was due to 2020 been Covid went into beginning of 2021. Do I send then and my credit report
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This reply is from Zopa? or FOS?
Had your debts been increasing in the year before the application?
Claire says
It’s from FOS said he has checked what information there have sent what was on my credit report before there gave me the credit card. I haven’t sent my bank statements to FOS the credit card balances were growing
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS wont say Zopa should have investigated closely eg by looking at your bank statements if they think Zopa did enough checks.
£500 is a pretty low credit limit – ask the FOS investigator what credit report Zopa checked?
Claire says
I will ask do I send my credit report with the email?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well you dont know which credit report to send
Claire says
I didn’t realise all different ones mine from Experian
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so its worth asking – then you can get the one that matches what Zopa claimed to have seen
Fran says
Hi Sara can you also make a claim for unaffordability for loans with banks? I took out a loan from Lloyds originally about 10 years ago and over the years I increased the borrowing amount very significantly, nearly every year till 2019 to be able to keep up with living expenses etc, I also had 2 credit cards with Lloyds at the same time that I increased my limits with, my main current account was also held with Lloyds at this time. Is this too old to complain about? I also have a credit card from bank of Scotland I first took out in 2012 which again they increased my credit limit over the years and I used for living expenses, do I have a case here or are the accounts too old? I went on a DMP in 2021 for these debts which I’m still paying off now, about 17k left. I haven’t asked for CCA yet either.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can win complaints about bank loans – and this sounds like a good case! See https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/ which has a template.
Make a separate complaint about the loans and the credit cards. But in each refer to the other one eg “I also had a large loan from you – I am making a separate complaint about this – which is another reason you should not have increased by credit limit”
Expect lloyds & BoS to reject these as “too old” and send straight to the Ombudsman where they may go slow but you may get a good result.
re CCAs – can you list the current debts in your DMP?
Fran says
Thank you Sara that’s useful to know!
In my DMP I currently have the below
-Two Lloyds credit cards now with Lowell
– One loan with Lloyds now with Lowell
– Bank of Scotland credit card now with Lowell
– pay pal credit now with Moorcroft
– Barclaycard now with PRA group
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what are the balances on these?
Fran says
They are now currently at
–Two Lloyds credit cards now with Lowell £356 opened in 2014 and £1287 opened in 2018-this one is the only one without a default strangely
– One loan with Lloyds now with Lowell £10,329 first loan opened in 2015
– Bank of Scotland credit card now with Lowell £2238 opened in 2012
– pay pal credit now with Moorcroft £1424 opened in 2018
– Barclaycard now with PRA group £2804 opened in 2016
When I first went on my DMP in 2021 I had about 40k of total debt. My first loan with lloyds started off at 6k in 2015 and after a number of increases was 17k by 2019. All of my credit cards limits were also increased a lot over the years with me only making minimum payments, taking out more credit in order to keep up with these payments.
James says
Has anyone complained to American Express or Natwest before? Interested to know whether they’re known to be helpful or unhelpful, and timings etc.
Also, does raising a complaint increase the risk of them closing the account/calling in the debt (or whatever the right phrase is) to be paid immediately?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A credit card lender can’t call in a debt to be paid immediately (unless you default). They can close an account but that’s unusual – if they do you can continue paying it off as before, just not use it any more.
Always expect any lender to reply towards the end of the 8 week period – quicker is a bonus but you shouldnt expect it.
Claire says
Reply from fos regarding Zopa credit cards when I asked what credit report was used
Zopa completed their credit check and income verification using Equifax. I appreciate the credit report is also something you could also have provided a copy of, however we ideally have to go off the information the business knew at the time of the lending, which is why we use the credit report they have provided.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok get a Statutory credit report from Equifax. https://www.equifax.co.uk/Products/credit/statutory-report
Claire says
Ok once I get this do I review it or send it to FOS
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you review it – look through and see what it shows as being open when you applied to Zopa
Linsey says
I’m hoping I can get advice here, I’ve had an account with Littlewoods for around 15 years. For the whole 15 years I would say most months I have a £12 charge for late payment fee as you have to pay every 4 weeks rather than the same date every month so I would pay on my payday but sometimes it would fall before. I must have been charged so much for these fees and I’m in so much financial diffuculty do I have any chance of making a claim?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What is your balance? Have you only made minimum payments, or have you sometimes cleared most or all of the balance?
Sb says
Hi Sara,
I logged a complaint with Barclaycard, when they originally gave me a credit card in 2014 my limit was 7k. My monthly salary was 1k, within a few years my limit was then increased to 10k. I was gifted some money and brought the balance down to 3k. However for years now I have not been able to bring the balance down. I believe I should have never been given a card with such a high limit on a low salary. Barclaycard have rejected the complaint due to timescales being over 6 years. I have sent to the ombudsman who are looking at this but need extra time given timings too, has there been any success with complaints over 6 years?
I also, logged a complaint with Plata last year they gave me a loan for 13k (I have a low credit score) with interest added this is now 21k, I said they should have looked at my borrowing and not given me the loan (maxed credit card) they rejected the complaint. Is this worth sending to the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what date was the Plata loan?
Sb says
It was in March 2023
Sara (Debt Camel) says
definitely send it to the Ombudsman if you feel it was unaffordable, with the repayments causing you difficulty
Eilidh says
Hi Sara,
I’m raising complaints on 2 CC’s with Fluid & Vanquis. Opened in 2018, I’m concerned they will reject complaint outright as almost 6 years since opened.
Fluid repeatedly increased my limit from 1200 to 6700 – during this time I was making mini payments & charged over 34% APR. I was using it for everyday spends as my income was basically used solely on debt repayments. I was able to balance transfer couple of times during this time to my vanquis card but would continue due to the credit limit. I don’t believe that full checks had been done at each limit increase as was maxed out on all other cards, had 3 other cards with CL around 400 within same time frame & for 6 years they have not increased the limit at all due to it being unaffordable.
Credit score is ok as never missed payments – I had to borrow more and continue to borrow to meet these min payments.
A family member offered an interest free loan so I could clear both cards and any other debt – only at this point I realize I’m not fully to blame for the debt I’ve accrued.
Do you think I should go straight to the ombudsman service due to the time frame / potential rejection of complaint? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have to give a lender 8 weeks to reply, you cannot go straight to the ombudsman.
Eilidh says
Hey,
I’ve had final response from vanquis and all credit limit increases have not been upheld.
They have increased from 500 to 1000 to 1750 to 2700 to 3750 to 4000 and to 4800. They could see that my borrowing dramatically increased during this time from 2451 to 11088 to 15300 to 15100 to 16000.
They did not ask any affordability questions and automatically applied the increases and didn’t ask about any income changes.
Was just looking for advice if it’s worth taking this further with the FOS as they have very quickly sent a final response not upholding my complaint at all.
Thanks :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when was the account opened? when were the increases? and were you only making the minimum payments?
Eilidh says
Hi,
The account opened 15/08/18 – first increase 14/02/2019 then again 17/12/2021, 14/04/2022, 13/09/2022, 14/02/2023 and 14/07/2023.
Yes, for the majority of the time I was making minimum payments. Other than twice when I was able to balance transfer to another account but I quickly used the balance again in full after doing this.
Thanks
Eilidh
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I would send it straight to the ombudsman
Olivia says
Hi there
I’ve had my first response from Amex and it’s a rejection, should I go back to Amex and ask them to think again or should I go straight to the ombudsman at this point? There email did not say it was the final decision however I’m not sure what I can go back to them with, would I re-iterate my points?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did it say you had the right to go to the Ombudsman? Did they say anything other than a long winded version of we think we made good checks/
Olivia Whelan says
They have looked into the case (so this was the 2nd piece of correspondence with them after them confirming my email), this email confirmed that they had looked into it and didn’t see an issue.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so it didnt tell you you had the right to go to the Ombudsman?
Olivia Whelan says
Sorry yes they ended the email saying I had the right to go to the ombudsman. Should I do this next?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, no point in trying to get them to change their mind. You know this caused you problems so ask the Ombudsman to look at it
James says
Just want an idea of people’s thoughts on my situation, I have amassed a large sum of debt from credit cards in the last 5 years to the point it’s become unaffordable. However this is through Lloyds increasing my limit over 3 different cards and totalling a limit of over £30k. All of these are now interest bearing and I’m stuck on where to go on this? I know this probably isn’t the same but I’m not sure which way to turn.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are these your only debts?
HJ says
Hi Sara,
I sent my complaint to FOS regarding Aqua on the 20th September, I got the automated acknowledgment from this.
I received another acknowledgment on 30th September with my case number.
During this time New Day have also ‘text’ me to say they are investigating my complaint (despite the fact I already received my final letter from them!).
Should I ask the FOS for an update or is this a normal amount of time to be waiting?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
this is normal – FOS will be asking New Day to supply their case file.
Nick says
Hi Sara,
I currently have a 5 year (and 1 month) old default on my credit file resulting from an unpaid Aqua (newday) credit card. I am considering making an affordability complaint against them as at the time I applied for the card, I had multiple recent defaults from pay day loans and other credit cards on my credit file. I was downing in debt at the time and I have records of dozens of pay day loans I was cycling through each month using one to pay off the other – including often missing payments or outright defaulting due to a prolonged period of mental illness. Somehow I managed to max out the card quickly (£600 limit, which was never increased if I recall correctly) and maintained the minimum payments for a year and a half until I could no longer keep up.
I live in Scotland, so I believe debt here becomes statute barred after 5 years. I have not had any contact with Aqua since before the default was registered over 5 years ago, nor have I had any contact with Link Financial who bought the debt.
The original default from Aqua no longer appears on my credit file, but the one from Link Financial does and won’t drop off for another 11 months.
If I am unsuccessful with my affordability complaint, am I correct in thinking Link Financial would still be unable to enforce the debt since it wasn’t acknowledged for over 5 years and it will still drop off in 11 months?
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest that you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 – they have expert Scottish advisers that can help you. Explain you are thinking of making an affordability complaint.
Nick says
Will do, thanks for the advice!
Kate says
Hello,
I need advice, please. I sent a complaint to Littlewoods, whose final response was they did everything correctly. I then sent it to FOS. FOS investigator says they can’t look at it due to time limits. It’s past 6 years, but although I complained within 3 years of finding out I could, FOS investigator argues that ‘I ought to have reasonably known I had a cause for complaint earlier’. When I asked how do they came to this conclusion there’s no explanation. They say it doesn’t matter that I didn’t know I can complain, but this doesn’t make sense at all. If I’ve never heard of such a right and thought my financial situation is my fault only, why would I complain? I did explained them that, but they still won’t budge. What is even the point of 3 years limit, if they can just say ‘you should have known back there and then’ and case closed?
I even showed them the case on Ombudsman website which is pretty much like mine and yet that case is an example when it’s accepted and mine is not. I really don’t understand how do they decide whose late case is accepted and who not?
They, however, agreed that Littlewoods partially responsible and there was irresponsible lending, but time is not on my side.
Next step, if I don’t agree with investigator, my case goes to Ombudsman.
Is there a point trying to argue with the investigator further? Is there anything I can show, prove them somehow I am not out of time?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When was the account opened and when were any limit increases?
Is the account still open, if not when was it cleared or defaulted?
Kate says
Opened in aug, 2010.
There were many limit increases which happened every other month for 3 years from £750 to £10000.
Account defaulted in late 2014 or early 2015, sold in April 2015. I’m still paying it off.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how large is the remaining balance?
do you have banks atements going back to 2010?
Kate says
Over £6000
Yes, I do have all bank statements. Strangely nothing was asked by investigator from me. However they received information from Littlewoods, agreement, statements, etc.
Natalie says
Hi Sara. Do you have any idea whether the FOS are upholding complaint over the 6 year limitations. I am waiting to hear back about a complaint with Very(shop direct) it was been with the investigator for nearly 3 months now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
tell me about your Very case – when was the account opened? limit increases? is it still open, if not when was it closed or defaulted?
Natalie says
The very account was opened in 2009 and they keep increasing my limit up to 10k. The account is still open and I am now paying £400 a month.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you know when the last credit limit increase was?
Is this your only problem debt?
Natalie says
Last increase was in 2015. I was only making the minimum payment and had other loans and credit cards with high balances. I was also constantly in my overdraft.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes some complaints over 6 years are being upheld – I heard today about a big payout from Very dating back to a credit limit increase in 2012. These cases are individual, I can’t say yours will be upheld, but the fact the account is still open makes it easier.
Natalie says
I’ve heard that some banks are not accepting the FOS decision regarding complaints over 6 years and are going through the courts. I am hoping this won’t be the case with Shop Direct.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So do I – but the decision I have just seen was the offer from SD.
Ruth says
I put in an affordability complaint to Lendable after they gave me 3 loans for £2500, £3000 and £2500 all within the space of 2 years.
They have sent a final reply saying that even though they could tell I was using credit cards to to survive and that these went up on each occasion that the onus was on me to weigh up my finances before signing for the loans – is it worth going to the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
definitely
Fran says
Hi Sara
I have sent a complaint about PayPal Credit I had from June 2018 of £1500 that they then increased to £2500 April 2019 and then £3500 October 2019, during this time I also had a large loan and 4 other credit cards that I was paying min balance on. These are now all in defaults and Iv been in a DMP since 2021 still paying them off. I made an affordability complaint to all my lenders in the last few weeks and pay pal have come back saying they carried out the right checks, I had enough income and no defaults at the time so they are not accepting my complaint and it’s their final decision. Do you think it’s now worth going to the ombudsman with it?
I also sent a complaint about a large loan I had and two credit cards with the same bank that were all increased a lot over 7 years from 2014 till 2019 and who my main bank account was also with at the time, I just had an email reply from them about the complaint asking me to call them to give them more information about the complaint is this a good sign and what might info might they want?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did paypal say you could take the complaint to the Ombudsman?
the bank loans – when was the last one cleared? do you still have a card balance?
Fran says
Yes PayPal said I could take the complaint to the ombudsman at the end of their reply.
I’m still paying off the bank loan with Lloyds (now with Lowell) on a DMP, have about 10k left. The last increase was in April 2019 to 16k.
Philip says
Hello.
I have complained to MBNA for irresponsible lending using the templates provided on this site. They have contacted me 5 weeks after the initial complaint with around 20 questions they want me to answer. They have also requested bank statements for my current account 3 months before each time that my credit card limit was increased. Is this normal?
Many Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What are the 20 questions?
How long ago were the limit increases?
Philip says
The questions are around the lending. Why I feel they were irresponsible, how did I intend to use the card, why MBNA played a part, what was the income I was receiving etc.
The limit increases happened in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Were you only making minimum payments when the limits went up? Did you have other debts that were increasing?
Do you think the original limit was unaffordable?
Philip says
Yes I have only ever made minimum payments on this card as long as I have had it. Yes I have had 2 other credit cards and 2 loans alongside this. The original credit limit was £6500 but by the end was £14000
Philip says
So I have had an email update from MBNA today to say that the complaint has been reviewed. They believe that when I took out the card it was affordable but They have accepted that the credit limit increases were not affordable and have accepted responsibility with a view to refund me around £1500 in interest and fees. I took out a substantial amount of money transfers in the cards which all had fees but their response to this is that they can see I was taking money transfers out but they will train their staff to be more vigilant in future. Do you think I should refer onto FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you think the original limit was affordable?
What were these money transfers for?
Is MBNA only refunding interest charged on balances over the first limit?
Philip says
The original request to open the account was affordable I guess. However it became unaffordable with the credit limit increases. They have offered to refund the fees and charges from the first increase on the credit limit.
The money transfers were used for making normal payments in my bank account as I was struggling to make payments to other debts, there was also lots of gambling transactions which MBNA have recognised
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are they refunding the money transfer fees?
Philip says
No they are just refunding the interest on the account after the credit limit increase. I asked in my complaint for them to refund the money transfer charges too but they said the following:-
While a Money Transfer is indeed a permitted transaction under the terms and conditions of the account, I understand your concern about the frequency of these requests over a relatively short period of time. This activity could have been an indicator of your financial circumstances.
Typically, we reach out to customers about financial difficulty if they’ve consistently missed payments or made them late, and otherwise rely on customers to inform us if their circumstances change. However, I recognise it can be challenging to ask for help when it’s needed. With this in mind, I’ve provided feedback for our processes to be reviewed, aiming to prevent customers like yourself from falling through the cracks in the future.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My guess is they are only refunding the interest charged on a balance over the 6500 it was opened with – is that correct?
how large were the limit increases? Bewteen opening the account and the first limit increase, was there gambling showing on the account and a lot of money transfers?
Rach says
Hi, oh my goodness I have come across you site after seeing a TikTok about how helpful you are and for the first time in a long time I feel like I can address my finances!
I have a lot of loan / credit card debt on a low salary and have just sent an affordability complaint to all of my creditors. My question is – if they come back with a low / partial offer and I decline it and eventually take to the FOS – if the FOS end up deciding in their favour do they still have to pay me the low offer or will I get nothing at all?
Thanks so much!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No point in generalising, let’s talk about actual offers if you get them!
Can you manage to make all the minimum payments at the moment? These complaints aren’t usually a quick fix if you can’t…
Rachael says
Yes I am just just about affording them but only because my partner has taken over all of the household bills while I try to sort myself out
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can that carry on for 6-12 months?
Rachael Evans says
Yes I think so
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok, so good luck and let me know what offers you get. Because when you have a big mess, you donT want to accept a low ball offer when you coul£ get a lot more by going to the Ombudsman
James says
Hi Sara,
Can I make an irresponsible complaint to stop interest being charged as 0% balance transfer period is ending next month? The limit provided is £12k, very high considering at the time I had other credit cards close to limit with other lenders and heavily utilising my overdraft.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you afford to pay the higher minimum when interest is charged?
are you being refused for balance transfers?
how heavy is your overdraft usage – all or almost all days of the month?
are you paying interest on any other cards?
James says
– It will be a struggle to pay when interest is charged.
– Refused for all balance transfers.
– At the time of application i was heavily utilising overdraft and i was fully maxed out on overdraft usage until i received a refund.
– Interest charged on other cards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I think you should talk to StepChange about a DMP (https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/guide-to-dmps/) to get interest frozen on all the cards, not just this one coming to the 0% end.
And start affordability complaints against the other cards! But these complaints take too long to be of any immediate help, so a DMP gets you into a safe financial space where you can wait while the go slowly through the Financial Ombudsman, as many good complaints are rejected. And this one where no interest has yet been charged is almost certain to be rejected by the lender.
Olivia says
Hi Sara
I’ve had an email from FOS to say they are starting to look at my MBNA complaint after determining they can look at following the 6 year limit ruling. I submitted this complaint in January this year so been a while. They’ve asked me for my bank statement from 2016, but my current account at the time was closed and they (RBS) say they can only provide statements for up to 5 years after closure of an account. What is the FOS response likely to be to that? They’ve also asked me for a breakdown of my expenses which will be hard to provide with any accuracy without seeing my statements.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is the problem with old complaints, there may not always be much evidence. Was your credit limit increased?
Do you have old P60s that would show income?
Olivia says
Hi, yes I will be able to show income. They provided me with three credit cards in the period of time between August 2016 and February 2017 and also increased the limit of one of them in feb 2017. We were buying a house at the time so expenses would have varied massively and I don’t think I’ll be able to relay to them exactly what would have been on each application so a bit worried they will accuse me of lying on the forms (which I wouldn’t have done). It’s likely when I applied for the first card it was perfectly affordable but my position is that by providing me with three cards in that short space of time and then when I obviously maxed out the balances it was a massive jump in my credit and when interest started being charged it was impossible to manage. I had other credit commitments at the time too. Is not being able to provide statements likely to work against me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Things are simpler with bank statement, but you have to work with what you have.
When was the RBS account closed?
Olivia says
They closed in August 2019 when I entered a DMP. They state on their website that they will only provide history for 5 years so I can’t request back past 2019, and also that I have to either visit a branch or write to them to request history (they don’t make it easy!) I’m wondering about just going into branch anyway to see what they say but we don’t have one very close by anymore. I thought the FOS may appreciate some effort on the matter though…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think going into a branch is a good idea.
RBS’s privacy statement (https://www.rbs.co.uk/content/dam/natwest/assets/personal/documents/privacy/RB-privacy-notice.pdf) says:
We (and other NatWest group companies) normally keep customer account records for up to ten years after your relationship with the bank ends, whilst other records are retained for shorter periods.
You can also try making a subject access request. Start by using this form: https://www.rbs.co.uk/gdpr-triage-page.html. Be clear what you want – you want statements from date – to – date, or, if they cannot be provided, you want the information that would have been contained in those statements
N says
Hello everyone, I recently put in an affordability complaint with Santander about credit card (17/10/24). I received a call today 14/11/2024.
An advisor asked me to confirm where I was working when I applied for the credit card in 2019, which I confirmed, she then asked if I was getting any money anywhere else or if I had other accounts that I received credit into which I did not.
Has anyone had this type of call? Surely they can see what money was coming in at the time, I was only about 1200/1300 yet I was given a credit card with 2500 limit immediately.
She said I would get a response asap now I’ve confirmed the details. Just wondering if that’s a good sign ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Some people gets calls from a bank – it seems to be rather random, it isn’t necessarily good or bad news.