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?
Becky says
Hi Sara I’m hoping you can give me some advice ? My complaint about capital one was not upheld by the adjudicator so I asked for it to be looked at by an ombudsman,this has no happened and he has party upheld my complaint saying no enough evidence for first increase but from then on it was obvious it was unaffordable !, this is all great but he has also said he will not add simple interest as I did still except the lending…this was a credit card and all increases where instigated by capital one I didn’t ask for any of them…I’ve read hundreds of previous decisions on the fos website for unaffordable lending and simple interest is always added,I feel it’s unfair but am nervous to go back to the ombudsman and ask why/ if hel change he’s mind and add it..feels abit like I’m being made an example of…how do they work it out. . …? As I may be worrying over a small amount and then it’s not worth the hassle…can you give me your opinion on this please sara…the deadlines today so I need to act quick
Kind regards
Becky
matt says
Hi Becky
How long have you had the account for ? as the longer it goes back the more it could be worth but if only a year or 2 then it wont be a lot anyway so might be best to just accept as it is, but if 3+ years then could be worth it, also was the card a build credit account ? ie to help you improve your score ? if so then they send letters or emails out warning you about increases and giving you the chance to decline it otherwise they increase it automatically after a few weeks. so that might be their meaning of you accepting the increases
Becky says
Hi Matt I’ve had the card since 2009 and the ombudsman has upheld my complaint from March 2010….the interest I paid is approx £5500 so don’t know how much simple interest would be !! Do u have any idea ?
Kindest regards
Becky
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like a good result to me!
If you always ran a balance , then you would have been paying interest at the card rate – this is what you are being refunded. 8% interest only applies in situations where you weren’t being charged interest. So for a payday loan that you repid, you paid that amount of interest and get it back with 8% added.
Sarah says
Hi Sara,
About two years ago I paid off my Vanqyis credit card. I agreed a settlement figure with them which was 50% of what I owed. I was told that the account would be closed. So as far as I was concerned that was it. Vanquis card paid off. I’ve just recently received a letter from them and a debt collection agent asking for payment for the rest. are they allowed to do this? Do I have a complaint against them? If I do is there compensation for this?
Matt says
Do you have anything in writing from them confirming you made a full and final settlement on the account?
Sarah says
Hi Matt
Not that I can find, I have made notes on who I spoke to and when. I even think I had a bit of an argument with one of them there as they wouldn’t send me one
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, Well you need to put in a complaint to Vanquis – email customer.relations@vanquisbank.co.uk with COMPLAINT – ACCOUNT BALANCE as the title.
Say what happened. Give as much detail of the phone calls as you can. Tell Vanquis to listen to the call recordings. Attach a copy of your bank statement showing the payment of half the balance as agreed.
Point out you haven’t received any communication from them for 2 years [I assume this is right?] so you had no reason to think this hadn’t been resolved then.
Ask for written confirmation that this is an error and you do not owe them any money.
Also check your credit record. If that says zero balance, point that out. If it doesn’t, ask for that to be corrected too.
Sarah says
Thanks Sara, the last time I had contact with them was march 2016 when I made the payment so I will get on with that today
Phusita says
Hi Sara
Please can you help me
Today I get offer from Paydayexpress for £293 of 12 Loan I have with them
Should I accept they offer ?
Lending period
Number of loans in lending period
Overall Decision
Total interest paid
Total 8% interest
Total 20% tax deduction from 8% interest
Total Redress
17/05/2013 – 31/05/2013
1=£100
Funds lent responsibly
05/06/2013 – 30/01/2014
7=£1664
Unable to determine
30/01/2014 – 31/07/2014
2
Agreed fund lent irresponsibly
£233.68
£74.53
£14.90
£293.30
01/08/2014 – 31/10/2014
2=£200
Funds lent responsibly
Please give me advice .
Jon says
anyone had any experience of Barclays Partner Finance Club account?
Shannon says
Had a complaint with Shop Direct regarding Littlewoods account. No final response by 8 weeks so sent to FOS. Was partially upheld by adjudicator as Shop Direct couldn’t provide information for one of my credit limit increases. Account ran for 9 years, multiple missed payments, two payment plans, very low income when account was opened and multiple credit increases.
Adjudicator advised that they need to do checks at opening of the account but after that they said “The main thing they need to consider is whether the minimum payment would be affordable to you based on the credit limit you have – not that the credit limit amount is affordable on a monthly basis. So they need to see whether you will be able to keep up the monthly repayments based on their knowledge of you as a customer.”
So the affordability of catalogue complaint is looked at differently by the FOS than payday loans. Thought this may be useful for anyone else with catalogue complaint.
Shannon says
And Shop Direct also refused to let the FOS look further that 6 years back as well.
John C says
Hi Shannon, how long was your complaint with the FOS? I’ve just spoke to Shop Direct this morning about my Littlewoods & Very complaint, as their 8 weeks is up and I’ve been told a letter went out in the post today telling me they are not in a position to come back to me (in other words no-one has looked at my complaint) and asking for 4 more weeks, or I can go to the FOS
Sarah says
I would just go to the FOS now, I’ve got two weeks before the 8 weeks is up and if I don’t get a response from Littlewoods by then I will be sending to the FOS straight away. I’m also in a situation with JDWilliams for who I have five accounts with, the adjudicator upheld all and JDWilliams did finally agree, they were given the 28 days to provide my redress (I have no idea what it will be) and it’s been nearly 11 weeks and they still keep saying they need more time to do the calculations. Don’t give them more time than 8 weeks as they could say they need more time after the extra 4 weeks they are asking for
John C says
I was just curious as payday loan complaints are now taking at least 3 months, but some other complaints are considerably less. If a catalogue complaint was looked at within a few weeks then I may have given Shop Direct a little more time, however if it is a similar few months then i’d get them sent off now. Some people seem to have had some success with SD, however it looks like a few months since anyone got anything directly. Interestingly I was looking at both Littlewoods and Very on Trustpilot and their reviews are simply appalling for a company as big as this. Over 13,000 reviews between them and both rated 1 star. No-one replies to anyone’s issues, customer service none existent. Makes me wonder how long they can continue to trade like this
Sara (Debt Camel) says
One reason why payday loan complaints take longer is that the FOS has adopted a standard approach because they get so many of them and this is very thorough. At the start it was a bit random, depended on your adjudicator if you got asked for bank statements, now it’s routine at the start. Unfortunately catalogue complaints are still at the early, random stage. – it’s not always good to get a quick answer , my advice is to insist on supplying at least some bank statements to the adjudicator even if you aren’t asked for them!
John C says
Very true Sara. Fortunately the FOS already have all my bank statements and I have copies on PDF if an adjudicator needs them quickly. For a long time I was making the minimum payment, but spreading it across 4 or 5 different payment methods – pay the min payment on a credit card, use the £10 avail balance towards paying my Littlewoods account, do the same for 3 or 4 credit cards. Order a new PlayStation, sell on ebay, use for gambling and paying back payday loans….repeat…..
Isobel Kilgallon says
How did u get on can i ask with jd williams
Sally says
Hi Sara,
This is probably a bit of a stupid question but can you put a ppi complaint in and also put a complaint in for irresponsible lending at the same time.
Sally says
It’s for a very and woolworths account (shop direct)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes. But I suggest doing them as separate complaints and preferably on separate days – in the second one, you can make a note that “This complaint is separate from and in addition to the complaint about xxxxx sent to you on dd/mm/yy.”, so it’s easy to get one accepted and take the other to the Financial Ombudsman.
Tony says
Bit of an update, put in affordability claims for a vast array of credit cards I’ve had over the years, rejected by most, Barclaycard and a couple of others pending.
Had a letter from m&s a couple of days ago saying they had received my complaint and were investigating.
Came home today to a cheque for 104 pounds but with no explanation why. ????
I’m thinking a letter will follow?
Do you think they will remove the default and missed payments from my credit file?
Becky says
Well just to say thank you for all your help,have had my complaint against capital one partly upheld by the ombudsman after the adjudicator rejected so there is always hope,so if your in the same position,keep fighting til the end…this resulted in £5500 refund of interest and charges..I am so chuffed…worked out capital One increased my credit limit when I was over my limit which apparently is a big no no !!! This resulted in being the main reason my complaint was upheld so it’s worth checking if that’s happened to you and pointing it out to the fos !!!thanks again for all your help…I’ll be back soon as aqua are next on my hit list !!!
Kindest regards
Becky
Mikie says
This may be of interest for shop direct complaints, I had 2 for unaffordable unprompted credit limit increases whilst only paying the minimum, then maxing them out, all at the same time as the height of a payday loan nightmare (I was actually selling items bought from shop direct to live)
They rejected my very and kandco complaints, went to FOS, was assigned different adjudicators for each. First adjudicator (kandco account) rejected within days and I sent to ombudsman as I thought the standard of investigation was very poor, almost like a copy of the shop direct letter rejection (I was managing my account well by only making the minimum payment apparently !) and that their terms and conditions lets them do what they like basically.
The other adjudicator investigation was more like the successful ones I had with my payday loans, asking lots of questions about my outgoings etc.
interesting thing is this, she wrote yesterday to say that she is not going to make a decision herself and has instead referred it straight to an ombudsman (following a discussion) as “they are taking a special interest” in these types of complaints currently. Also, she took the trouble to find my other shop direct complaint and ensure that they are linked together as she felt it was very important that the ombudsman knew this! Now, it just shows you, not all adjudicators are the same and I think there’s a really good chance that I may get a positive (if slower) result now!
John C says
Fingers crossed you get a result Mikie. Do you mind me asking how long the Very complaint has been with the FOS?
Mikie says
Thanks bud, they’ve been with the FOS about 5 months
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
Your situation sounds similar to how mine was. I had 2 accounts at the same time from the same catalogue group. Racked up a lot of debt in increased credit limits. Both defaulted at a balance of over £1000 each. I had debt problems with QQ payday loans at the time and was eventually doing the same as you and selling items bought on credit to make ends meet. They were horrible times. I got redress with the help of the FOS from QQ which, I hope, will strengthen my affordability case with JDW. Although I was paying on time, I was using the credit to make ends meet. I had a call from the FOS today saying they were still looking into it but were very interested in the fact that JDW wouldn’t disclose (‘for business reasons’) or couldn’t disclose or provide evidence what credit checks they made on me at the time. Fingers crossed something will come from it.
Charlene says
Hi,
I send an affordability complaint to Very but they said they can’t help me because the account has been passed on the collection team. What should I do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did they say you had the right to take the credit complaint to the Ombudsman?
Charlene says
No. They just said that they can’t help and I should call them instead.
Can I still make a complaint in other ways?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was this in an email/secure message or on the phone?
Charlene says
It was through the contact section in my account.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good, so this is in writing.
I suggest you reply “I am making a complaint that you should not have increased my credit limit to a level that was unaffordable. This was irresponsible lending. I want an answer to this complaint and I will be taking it to the Financial Ombudsman if you do not agree. I will talk to the collections department about making a monthly payment arrangement that I can manage, but that is separate from this complaint.”
Does that sound right? You can obviously change it so it is.
Charlene says
I will send that.Thank you so much for the help Sara. I will keep you posted.
Fiona says
Hi, has Welcome Finance ever been included in an unaffordability claim, I borrowed from them 7 years ago and still owe the same amount now despite paying every month
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so a secured loan from over 6 years ago? I think that would be very difficult, I haven’t seen anyone try it.
Mr and Mrs C says
Hi Fiona, I too have a Welcome Loan – taken out in 2009 and we have also never missed a payment. We took a Welcome loan as we had bad credit and that’s all we could get, its secured against our house too and we still have another 6 years left.
Sarah says
Has anyone had any success with any of the JD Williams brands? My adjudicator upheld my complaint October last year and the catalogues agreed the beginning of this year. It’s now been almost 12 weeks and still have not had any redress or the calculations made. My adjudicator has been brilliant and had been really helpful but don’t want to keep bothering her with my frustrations of how long this is all taking. Has anyone’s taken this long? Is this being done purposefully? As JDWilliams have given three different excuses so far when chased about why it hasn’t been done
Eva says
I had redress from JD Williams for my SimplyBe account direct. They told me they sent me Final response on the 8th week but 6 weeks later nothing. I then called and was told it’s waiting for the cheque to be signed and then both will be send out. Had to call them every week. They always told me they have so many complaints they have backlog. All in all waited for the cheque 7 weeks after the 8 weeks. Oh and they don’t do bank transfers due to policy.
Sasha paton says
Hi Sarah can i ask did jd williams tyrn down yor complaint and what was the complaint based on? I ask because i got a final response from jd williams yday saying they do not feel it was irresponsible lending to allow me to have 9 accounts with the brand simultaneously with high limits so i have sent to fos
Sarah says
Hi Sasha, I put in a complaint for 5 accounts with JDWilliams going back to 2009. jDWilliams only responded regarding two of the accounts and they didn’t uphold my complaint they said that I’d managed my accounts well which I really didn’t plus I was in an IVA at the time. As they didn’t uphold my complaint I put in my complaint in June last year, the FOS were very good and helpful and upheld my complaint, it did take a while for the adjudicator to uphold my complaint but she’s been absolutely brilliant! I’ve found JDWilliams to be a complete pain but if you had 9 accounts I think you’ve got a very good case! 9 accounts is a lot I thought 5 was bad but I personally don’t think it’s responsible to let anyone have more than than 1. I have my fingers crossed for you
Sasha paton says
Thanks so much for your reply, i know i thought it was bad too but according to them they didnt feel it was irresponsible even though in there own words there were occasions i missed payments etc. Ill keep my fingers crossed as well then. Thanks so much
Michael says
Hello it seems to be a trend with jd Williams to let people have multiple accounts (noted they no longer allow this) I have 3 accounts with them all defaulted totalling around 3k I complained to them re irresponsible lending and got a response in December stating that they do not agree with me however had took over £600 of charges from the account. I complained to the fos and still ongoing they have not knocked it back as yet so hopping for a good outcome. They increased my limits monthly despite missed payments late payments , I complained to them about financial difficulty and they continued to apply interest and charges I did this twice in writing. So it would seem they must know that giving people multiple accounts was a bad idea as now you only get one for all their brands
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
I had 3 accounts with the JDW group. They sent standard final response letters for all my complaints. I sent it all to the FOS who have upheld but JDW still deny any wrong doing. It will now go to the Ombudsman for a final judgment. The JDW group could not or would not provide evidence of the credit checks they took when they made credit limit increases. If they had used my credit report they would have seen my financial commitments and other debts. Because they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) provide this evidence the Investigator upheld my complaint. I am hoping for a final decision from an Ombudsman soon.
Sarah says
Hi, I would really appreciate any advice here. Is there anything that can be done when a creditor is taking so long on paying out on an adjudicators decision. I’ve waited over 12 weeks now for calculations of redress from my catalogues and each time they keep fobbing me off. They’ve given me several different excuses so far for why the calculations have not been completed and keep telling me to go back to the FOS. This is costing me time and money now and today they still tell me it’s going to be another week and I doubt it’ll be done then either I know it’s all down to patience but I think the time they’ve had is getting a little ridiculous. I don’t want to keep bothering the FOS as they have been really good but how much longer can this take. I’m having to phone debt management companies every four weeks to explain what’s happening as they’re chasing me for payment for these catalogues when I don’t even know if I owe anything now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
sorry but going back to the FOS is the best thing to do :(
Sarah says
Thanks Sara, I will just have to do that.
Andy says
I have finally got a response from Shop Direct regarding my girlfriends account, she had 4 catalogues with them for 10 years up to 2015, I started complaining about this 8 weeks ago today and have now discovered there were actually 7 accounts, They have said they have completed their investigations into the affordability complaint and will send a final response within 2 weeks. I have also received a letter stating that ppi was on 1 of 2 accounts dating back to 2008 but cannot understand why they haven’t checked all 7 accounts for ppi. They really seem quite clueless as they have changed the case number 3 times in 10 days and every time I ring they find another account that hasn’t been included.
Should I just pass it all to the ombudsman to tidy up or wait and see if i get their final response in 2 weeks? even though it has already been 8 weeks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This does sound a mess. Have you asked to confirm if there was a PPI on all the accounts?
Andy says
Yes, I asked from the start for all 4 accounts (now 7) to be checked for PPI, I am planning on ringing them again tomorrow for an explanation. Am I right in saying that because my girlfriend has been out of work & claiming sickness benefits for 20 years they should never have applied PPI as they want us to fill in a long questionnaire explaining why we are complaining. With regards to the affordability complaint they are saying that accounts were sold based solely on credit ratings and are not interested in the fact my girlfriend was only getting £100 a week sickness benefits throughout the 10 year period that they let her open 7 accounts and increased limits to £5,000 on most of these accounts. Final response due in 12 days so I will update you with their findings.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“because my girlfriend has been out of work & claiming sickness benefits for 20 years they should never have applied PPI ” yes
T says
Hi does anyone have any experience of claiming back from Aqua? I first got my credit card from them in 2013- as a student with a 500 limit. Despite only making minimum payments, my credit limit was continually increased to the point where last May it was increased to 4500. The minimum repayments were not affordable and they have closed my account and I now owe 5300. Do you think I will be able to claim as this is irresponsible Lending- baring in mind I had several payday loans ongoing?
Cheers
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it sounds like it’s worth making an unaffordable lending complaint. Have they now stopped adding interest?
louise says
Hi T – I have put in a complaint recently in relation to aqua and marble for the same – awaiting a response from Newday. Due to the same as you!
T says
Hi,
What email address did you use to complain?
Louise says
Hi T,
I Will check I have just received a response through the post today from them saying it has been passed to one of their handlers and they want to come to a mutual solution – have you managed to find the address for this (email)
Apologies only just logged onto this forum tonight again as I have that many I am dealing with. If not I will email it you it was to newday complaints.
Chris says
Hi Sara,
I had a late payment with a credit card during 2014 at the height of my PDL use, at the same time there were two force payment arrangements put in place by paydayuk and payday express which they’ve removed as part of the refund. Is there any possibility of getting the credit card late payment removed due to PDL use and recognised affordability issues at the time.
Thanks Sara.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not unless you can argue that your credit card limit was increased to unaffordable levels. See the above article – these complaints are harder to win than payday loan refunds.
david says
i was not so lucky, adjudicator came back stated Very had done nothing wrong as I was maintaining my account well enough otherwise, despite at least 2 overlimit and 2 late payments within the last 12 months. they claimed they had performed checks when required and before upping my limit as well as the fact that I did not reject the increases.
I think this is a cop out but to be honest I don’t think I can be bothered taking it any further.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it’s up to you. All you need to do is write to the adjudicator saying why you think this is wrong and wait for the case to go to an ombudsman.
Sandra says
Hi Sara, just wondering if you could please give me some advice? I opened a case with Littlewoods
for irresponsible lending and received a refund. I asked them when I complained, if they could also
remove the negative markers that they had put on my Credit Report. They have not done this (the refund was
sent three months ago). I’m just wondering what I should do.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did they reply to your complaint or just credit your account?
Sandra says
They sent a letter which said ‘ Whilst SDFC strongly rejects the suggestion it has been irresponsible in the way that it has provided your credit, it has not yet been possible to complete a detailed review of your account to determine your complaint’
Sandra says
They are ignoring my emails (I have been asking them again to remove the negative markers on my Credit Report). Should I now take this to the Ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you send them one more email, saying if they do not respond confirming that they will remove the negative markers you will be sending your complaint to the Ombudsman in a week.
Mr and Mrs C says
Hi Sara
Has anyone successfully claimed from RBS for irresponsible lending. I have taken out in excess of 5 loans with them 2008-2014 as their employees would suggest you were getting a better rate, or we can lower your monthly payments/term each loan was a consolidation loan to pay off the previous loan/overdraft/credit card etc one employee even drove out to my workplace to get a signature on the loan paperwork they were that desperate for the sale. By the end of it I had taken out a 5 year loan for 35k which was twice my annual salary!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t remember a case but this sounds like it’s well worth a try! You need to set out the details of your borrowing from them and why you feel the latter loans were irresponsible lending.
Did you have any PPI on these loans? If so, also set about reclaiming that.
Mr and Mrs C says
Hi Sara
I have heard back from both RBS credit card and loans already both have been rejected. It is worth taking RBS to the FOS or not?
Rob C says
Hi Sara, in 2009 I was given credit card with £100 limit by capital one, this was constantly maxed out and late payments. Over the next 5 years this was pretty much the same, as well as from 2012 I had 16 months of mortgage arrears, 14 months of loan arrears with Lloyd’s and God knows how many payday loans through to 2014. Even with all this capital one then gave me a second account with £750 limit even though it was clear by my existing credit card and defaults on credit report I wouldn’t be able to pay back, card got maxed out and missed payments or late payments and charges and still paying the last of it off now through debt collection agency. Is there a claim here against capital one for the 2nd card?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like a good complaint. make sure your letter includes all of the points you mention!
Linda says
My complaint against Vanquis credit card has been partially upheld with the FO. My adjudicator agreed that the final credit increase was not responsible given my financial circumstances at the time which I think is a fair decision. I must admit I am pleased as I know people have had varying degrees of success with credit card complaints. Vanquis have another week to respond to the adjudicators decision. Fingers crossed they wont raise any objections as I did provide a lot of evidence for my complaint. Does anyone else have experience of Vanquis complaints that have been upheld just wondered if they get back quickly following a decision?
Louise says
Not as yet Linda – however, final response is due by Saturday so I will keep you posted. Well done!
Mr and Mrs C says
I have tried RBS for putting up my credit card to a 10k limit, minimum payment became £225 a month, at the time I banked with RBS also, had loans with them for 25k costing £450/month- they have replied to say that the limit was on my statement each month and if I couldn’t afford it I should have declined – fair enough. At the time of all this I was going through a divorce and trying to keep a mortgage going with a child on my own and not exactly thinking straight. Not sure its worth taking to the FOS.
Scott says
Hi,
Did you default on your mortgage, credit card or loans?
Scott
Mr and Mrs C says
Hi – have never defaulted on my mortgage. I did default on both the credit card and loans with RBS and am in debt management now. the credit card is paid off, but the loan is still outstanding with RBS and will take me about 25 years to repay through debt management.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“if I couldn’t afford it I should have declined – fair enough” no it’s not fair enough – a lender is supposed to check that credit is afford\ble, it’s not just up to the customer to decline it. If they knew you had other large loans, then they should have taken that into account as it reduces the amount you could afford on the credit card.
I’m not saying you would definitely win if you go to the Ombudsman, but think through what happened when… when did you get the 25k loan? was your credit limit increased after that? what else was showing on your credit report at the time, did you have car finance or other credit cards etc?
John C says
It seems I’ve had some kind of result with Shop Direct. Not had anything from them yet but logged into both my accounts earlier and I’ve had around £500 refunded onto my littlewoods account, half for fees and half for adhoc items which I presume is interest for buy it now pay later items, and around £2400 onto my Very account, £120 fees and the rest interest. It’s about 10-11 weeks since I put in my complaint and at 8 weeks I did decide to go to the FOS. Interesting to see what my letters might say and if they remove the late payment markers on my account. Let’s hope so, or no reason not to let an adjudicator look at it, as I’d really like that to happen. Still shows the minimum payment I need to make on my Very account as over £1k so hopefully they correct that too
John C says
Dealing with Shop Direct is a bit of a shambles. I rang their complaints number I hadn to ask when I’d receive some correspondence on the refunds I’d received on the 13th April. The lady I spoke to couldn’t tell me anything about them, just a letter had been sent out yesterday, 10 days after the refunds had been put on my accounts, telling me they would be dealing with the FOS going forward as I’d raised my complaint with them. Seems a long winded way of doing this as I could just as easily close my complaint with the FOS if I was happy. Suppose I have more chance of getting negative markers removed from my account via an adjudicator. I’ll update when I hear anything else
Craig says
I’ve had my response from Aqua. They had increased my limit to £1500 after I had the card for 3 months in 2015 I also had payday loans and a bad gambling habit so was taking out several cash advances. Eventually couldn’t pay min payment in the January and have been paying £10 a month ever since on an arrangement. Their response stated that they didn’t have to make any affordablity checks and I didn’t have to accept the increase etc. I’m going to submit my complaint to the FOS tomorrow.
Craig
Linda says
After the initial good news that my Vanquis complaint was upheld by my adjudicator I learnt yesterday that vanquis has challenged the decision. My adjudicator hasn’t elaborated as yet just said he needs to speak to someone else about this and he will get back to me in a few days. Not quite sure what that means but fingers crossed for a positive outcome
Tina says
Hi Linda, just checking how you are getting on with your claim with vanquis as I have one with them too and the 8 week deadline for them to respond to my complaint is tomorrow.
Many thanks
Laura says
I made a complaint with Vanquis too…didnt go to FOS. They paid £426 onto my account on the day or day before 8 weeks was up..got the letter of explanation the week after.
Linda says
Hi Tina my complaint was initially upheld by the adjudicator then Vanquis submitted additional evidence (a recorded phone call) of me telling them I was struggling financially and now it’s been turned down by the adjudicator completely his reasoning is that there was a change of circumstances?? He still acknowledges all my payday loans etc but has done a complete about turn and played it down compared to the initial decision, I was gobsmacked. I’ve put forward additional argiment/evidence but in all honesty don’t hold out much hope. I’ll refer it on to an ombudsman if all else fails but again they usually agree with the adjudicator
Dan says
Hi
Can you please advise me on my two credit cards for marbles and capital one. Again, to note I used these cards to feed my gambling addiction. Now I’m back on my feet after lots of help i want to get my finances sorted out.
I tended to go over my limit but then I’d win and pay a big whack off. Been stop start repeat over 2 years and capital one and marbles have both given me a bigger limit. Worth complaining?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s going to be hard to win a case where you often pay off a lot of the card balance, sorry.
Trevor says
Hi,
Not sure if its worth complaining to Barclaycard. Have 2 credit cards taken out whilst had a high loan in place.
Barclaycard gave a second credit card with a high limits even though have been only making the minimum payments on the previous card and had missed some payments some months and always at the limit or slightly over. The new card was given with a high limit and accepted straight away. Is this worth a complaint.
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it’s worth complaining about the second card. Missing some payments on the first card and only paying the minimum should have been a warning signal to them.
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
I have had a response from the FOS investigator regarding my affordability/irresponsible lending case ith Fashion World/JDWilliams. She has upheld my complaint but they still deny responsibily. She reommended a refund of all the interest on both accounts from after the second credit limit increase and to add the satndard rate of interest at 8%. She is recommending handing it to the Ombudsman now for a final decision. Has anybody’s case been upheld by the Ombudsman? If so how long did it take for a decision? Thanks.
Andy says
Shop Direct are so clueless, I have been chasing them since 12th February for PPI and an affordability complaint, whenever I ring them they give me a different story with no updates on my complaints, I passed the PPI complaints to the FOS last week as they couldn’t update me, yet this morning they have told me that a final response with offer was sent last Tuesday for 1 of 7 accounts but they cannot discuss this offer over the phone. Why do they have to complicate things so much, I received a letter yesterday dated 2 weeks ago requesting more time on the affordability complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well I suggest you send the affordability complaint to the FOS too. Make it clear this is in addition to and separate from your PPi one as the PPI ones go to a different team.
Carol says
Afternoon, I’m still ploughing through my complaints. Quick question please. When I complain to Capital 1 shall I use there ‘Resolver’ complaints thingy? Carol
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can do, but Resolver don’t have an Affordability or Irresponsible lending option for Capital One. You can use Credit card and Other if you want.
Paul says
Hi Sara, I have complained to shop direct about unreasonable lending on my very account (also have Littlewoods but haven’t done this yet) my credit increase 1210% over 3years even with me having defaults on credit file. I have received a letter below yesterday
Further to our letter of 09/04/18 regarding your complaint in relation to your Very account.
Due to ongoing investigations, unfortunately we are unable to provide you with a final response to your complaint at this stage. However, we are aiming to send you a final response within the next 4 weeks.
Please accept our apologies for the delay and thank you for your continued patience.
If in the meantime you would like to discuss your complaint further, please do not hesitate to call us on 0344 811 8515.
We do hope that you appreciate we are progressing your complaint as quickly as possible, however as we have not completed our investigation within 8 weeks, you can now refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Please find the attached leaf
Do I hang on another 4 week or go to FOS?
Cheers
Paul
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would go now – they will carry on investigating but if they turn your complaint down at least you are already in the FOS queue.
lukabale says
I had two Shop direct PPI complaints upheld, for one i received the decision and a cheque for the amount within 8 to 9 days of the complaint being upheld.
The second one was upheld the following week, and i was told by their PPI team that the decision had been sent out two weeks ago the 25th April and a cheque was also sent out as well, but as of today Ive yet to receive either. I phoned yesterday about this but, was told someone else would phone me back but Ive hear nothing. Their PPI team can only tell me that the decision and cheque was sent out on the 25th, nothing else to substantiate this.
Is there anything else i can do in regards to this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If they haven’t called today, call them again tomorrow. Ask what the procedure is for sending you a new cheque.
Andy says
I have also been told by shop direct that PPI refund was done on 24th Apr, yet I rang yesterday and they said they are still investigating and had sent a letter on 19th Apr requesting a further 4 weeks (not received). On a brighter note they have said they are sending several hundred pounds for my affordability complaint but they are offsetting half of this due to debts having been in a debt relief order some years back. I have the final response and have noticed they are calling this refund a good will gesture and have not added a penny of interest, they have also only looked at 6 years worth of data even though the accounts were opened over 10 years ago. I feel ripped off.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well if you get a PPI refund, they won’t be able to use some of that to offset the debt written off as the affordability complaint has already covered it…
You are unlikely to get a refund going back 10 years if you take this to the FOS. It’s not impossible so you can send it if you want, but just don’t get your hopes too high.
Nancy M says
Hi Sara, sorry wasn’t sure where to write this but hopefully
You can help. In 2011 I got a graduate account with Lloyd’s that had a £2000 overdraft. Roughly 5 months later they removed the overdraft facility without warning and so my wages that month were swelled and i’m Still paying the remaining debt of too a company that bought the debt. Is there anything I can do about this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s been over 6 years, I think that is too late to complain about what Lloyds did I am afraid.
Laura says
Can I just ask for people’s experiences for Very refunds/ irresponsibilty complaints. Feeling disalussioned, thought I had a really good case and got final response from them today (already sent to FOS), not upheld..has anyone had complaints not upheld by Shop Direct but upheld at FOS????
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes! In fact I think more complaints have been upheld by the Ombudsman than by Shop Direct.
Laura says
Thanks Sara, know it will take a long time..but reassuring to know people have won..
Carly says
Hiya
I set up a payment plan with Argos at the start of the year as I was behind on my payments and they have now defaulted my account, but I have just realised that they are still charging me interest at 29.9% and taking this off my monthly payments of £50 – is this correct process if I have informed them I am in financial difficulty?
Thanks C
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry a few questions:
Have you asked them to stop adding interest and charges?
Is the interest more than the £50 you are paying?
Have you sent them an income & expenditure statement showing this is all you can afford?
Do you have other problem debt where creditors have frozen interest?
Carly says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for coming back so quickly – I don’t think I asked them to stop as I just assumed they would as all my other creditors have down this or significantly reduced the interest. The interest is over half of my payment every month, I completed an income and expenditure with them on the phone to go through affordability, but actually I am now struggling to make the £50 payment so I think I will need to contact them again to reduce this amount.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok so at the same time, ask them to freeze interest and list your other creditors who have already done this!
Carly says
Thanks Sara I will do, I didn’t realise you could request this I thought the creditor had to decide that!
Lou7 says
Any advice would be appreciated. Has anyone complained to capital one? I had a credit card which I hadn’t paid off and after a few years I had another which had a credit limit of £3,500. Can I complain about irresponsible lending? And if so has anyone been successful. Many thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Some people have won cases against credit card and catalogues, usually where there has been a second card and/or the credit limit has been increased a lot.
James Jonez says
Good Evening.
I’m in need of some advice.
About 1 and a half years ago I took out 3 MBNA cards.
At the time I was earning 24k per year and had a loan from HSBC for £8500, a Zopa loan for £3200, two credit cards through Barclaycard and Halifax worth £6000.
When j applied for the first card, I was automatically given a credit limit of £5000. Having moved out the previous year I was in need of money to keep on top of my other bills as well as general purchases for my place. Realising the credit limit had been reached, I applied for a second and to my surprise, automatically given a credit limit of £5000. Again stupidly I was using it for other payments as well as food purchases while making minimum payment as that was all I could afford.
One month later I had an unexpected expense so went for a nuba card (MBNA financed). They gave me a credit limit of £1000.
I understand that borrowing was my own stupidity but at the time I felt it was needed.
My issue is I’m now I’m struggling with debt and wanted advice on if it was right for MBNA to lend 3 cards of 3 months totalling 11k taking in to consideration my debt at the time I applied and my salary?
Is there anything that can be done?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you could complain that MBNA did not investigate whether you could afford the second and third cards adequately.
James Jonez says
Thank you for your advice,
How would I go about this?
As stated, two allow 3 cards totalling 11k (even though I never requested these limits they were put on from the start) in 2-3months after running credit checks seems a bit excessive. I know it was my fault as I spent the money. Do you think they would consider a reduction in the debt?
Regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The article above looks at how to make an affordability complaint ^^^
If you win an affordability complaint a typical award is to remove the interest from the outstanding balance,
S says
Hi Sara
I had a Halifax credit card with £250 limit only in 2003, the same time as I was a student with a student overdraft at this and another bank and no regular income. I ended up with a series of charges for non/late payment – do you think it’s worth starting a complaint on the basis that my only income was student loans?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is ancient history, I don’t think there is any chance of winning a complaint.
S says
Ok thanks Sara, don’t want to waste my, the banks of the FOS time if there’s no point.
Jasmine says
Hi Sara
I have credit card with Lloys £1500 in 2009 at the same time they give me a personal loan for £5000 at that time I only have £800 income .
I miss a lot of payment all the time
Do you think can I Complain to Lloyds about credit card because after 2014 the bank put the loan and the credit card to one payment . And I have borrowed a lot of payday loans also
Thank you for your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think that is a long while ago – you are very unlikely to win the complaint.
Jen says
Hi is there any evidence of next upholding affordability complaints? They increased my limit to 3500 and I am really struggling to afford the repayments on my pension. Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
From memory (the word “next” is not something I can search for in the comments as it crops up too often) Next normally refuse but several people have won by sending a case to the Ombudsman.
Do you have other debts as well?
Kelly McCandless says
Hi Sarah
I am looking for a bit of advice. I am in Scotland and I know Scottish law varies. I stumbled across your Site while looking into Vanquis ROP . Since then I have found great advice on various things that I am now looking into thanks to your informative site.. Last week my mum received a cheque from NBrown Ltd for £277. This was for a product miss-sold For JD Williams Catalogue.
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-4692394/N-Brown-reveals-40m-hit-flawed-insurance-products.html
This wasn’t something we claimed for. It was an automatic refund to customers and this is being rolled out from Jan 2018 to Jan 2019. Here is my problem. My mum passed away in 2014. I am unsure what to do now. I am reluctant to contact them in case they cancel the cheque. Do you think if I contact the company with a copy of the death certificate they can change the name on the cheque (made out to payee only) This would then be split between my 2 sisters and I? Or would I have to apply to the Sheriff court to become executor 4 years on for the matter of £277? I know this may seem a small amount, It was a product missold to mum she would be entitled to it
Thank you for any advice you can give
Kelly
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry I have no idea what would happen in Scotland. I will ask someone who may know to have a look at this.
Kelly says
Thanks Sarah just to give you a bit more detail. I was mum’s next of kin. Mum passsed without a will but also had no estate so no need to have an executor appointed. My younger sister and I bought the house with mum and had a survivor ship case which meant it automaticaly came to us. All I needed was her death certificate to close a few accounts.
Kelly
Alan McIntosh (Advice Scotland) says
Hi Kelly
I am sorry to hear about your loss.
The situation is your mum’s right to the money falls to her estate. As there is no other estate and ownership of her house has been dealt with by the survivorship clause (meaning it never formed part of her estate), and your mum passed away intestate (meaning she did not have a will), it would not be worth your while getting the courts permission to deal with the estate.
I would recommend writing to the firm, providing them with a copy of your mum’s death certificate and ask they change the name of the payee on the cheque. Most firms should do this for small amounts to avoid unnecessary costs for the family.
If you explain that you are your mum’s daughter and winding up her affairs, this should be enough. However, if they want more reassurance they are giving the money to the correct person, you could get your sister to sign it also, or send the invoice from the funeral directors for the funeral, as this also normally shows who is winding up the estate.
Kelly says
Hi Alan
Thank you very much for your advice. This has been a great help. I will get a letter off to them with mum’s death certificate requesting a change of name. Your help was much appreciated.
Kelly
Alan McIntosh says
No problem Kelly. Hope that works, if it doesn’t, give the sheriff clerk a call in your local sheriff court. Just ask for the civil office and say it is about winding up an estate. It is one of the functions of the sheriff clerk to advise on winding up small estates in Scotland.
Kelly McCandless says
Hi Alan,
Just a quick update. I called the company this morning before writing to them and explained to them the situation. I told them whom I was and that I was winding up mums affairs and that I had been advised to contact them to have the name changed. The guy I spoke to was so kind. He confirmed what you told me I would just need to send a copy of The death certificate and a copy of ID for my self. There will be non charge to change the name. Once they have received the documents it will take up to 21 days for a new cheque to be issued. Thank you once again for your advice as it has made the situation a lot easier. I didn’t think I would be dealing with this type of thing almost 4 years after losing mum. THank you also Sara for passing my query to Alan.
Sincerely
Kelly
angela says
I requested a copy of information about accounts that I had held with Shop direct and I received a letter today and can see that I had youon an Littlewoods catalogue from 11/11/1996 – 08/04/2000 . I was not aware of even having this . I was only in part time work at that time therefore doubt this would have covered me for unemployment etc . Is it too far back to claim back the payments and interest ? every little helps !!
thank you
Angela
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you had PPI you may be able to reclaim that, but nothing else going back that far.
angela says
yes I had PPI on that account , hadn’t even heard of that back then ! would I just contact
Shop Direct in the first instance although it was with Littlewoods mail order ?
Angela
Louise says
My husband passed away last month but he was given credit cards when his credit was very bad. As he is no longer here, can I claim on his behalf?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can, see https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/reclaim/2016/06/i-reclaimed-35000-owed-to-my-late-husband-using-mses-ppi-guide which covers the case of PPI but the approach also applies to other complaints.
However these are not particularly easy cases to win and you may have difficulty in obtaining all the evidence you need. I’m not saying don’t try, just saying you will need to be persistent and will probably need to take the case to the ombudsman.
Jasmine says
Hi Sara
I have making complain to Vanquis credit card. In March My balance is £750 They have been uphold my complain and clear all my balance and give a refund back to the card and give me a new card with £750 to limit credit .
So I have been use the card spending now my balance of new card £700. I now can’t pay back minimum payment of £120 because I have a lot of payday loan to pay back so I decide to going to StepChange.
What do you thing about this ?
I know I should not use the card to pay back some of payday loan .
Thank you
claire says
Hi there, just wandered how long peoples case had been assigned to an adjudicator at FOS before receiving a decision. My case was assigned at the start of March, but still awaiting a decision regarding my Aqua complaint
alana says
I am starting an Aqua complaint shortly. is this for a credit card?
I am not sure what to say or do. did you email them or send a letter?
they increased my limit alot and now i am in alot of financial difficulty.
did you go to awua to complain and then go to FOS?
Tom bar says
Hi I’ve had some good success with advice from this website in fact £14k of claims payed out and around £18k worth with the Ombudsman. All down to irresponsible lending with payday loan company’s. But its got me thinking cause all the while I was going through hell with payday loan company’s lending me silly amounts my bank also allowed me to up my overdraft to £5000 even though I was only earning £1600 a Month and already had a maxed credit card of £7500 with the same bank. Has any one ever claimed against a bank for lending irresponsibly??
DK says
That is diabolical. I’m absolutely flabbergasted that any BANK would allow someone a £5k overdraft, on top of a £7.5k credit card when you don’t even earn enough to be able to clear your overdraft alone in a month. If that’s not irresponsible lending, then I haven’t a clue what is. Well done on your successes so far. £14k and a potential £18k is incredible. Never give another pay day lender the satisfaction!
Tom bar says
My thought exactly. Worst of all they could see these loans coming in and out every week and still allowed me to up my overdraft. I’m gunna look into if anyone else had any success with it before perusing it myself.
Nathan says
I’ve not complained about irresponsible lending to a bank, but I have made a complaint to a bank about unfair charges.
The complaint was partially upheld, but the consequence of it was that they decided the ‘banking relationship’ had broken down and that I should move to another bank. Called in a £800 overdraft and £1500 credit card. Was all above board on their side, as it was in the t&c’s.
It was a few years ago now, and I’d hope they weren’t that petty anymore, but caused me loads of problems at the time.
I’m not saying don’t do it… just beware of the potential consequences against what you might get back. At high street interest rates, are you going to get back enough to make it worth while? And that is assuming you win.
Tom bar says
No longer with the bank and now owe them nothing. So they way I see it I’ve got nothing to lose. If I’m claiming back interest and fees they were over £150 a month for 3 years at least. I’ll do some research before doing it and keep you posted on what happens.
Tom bar says
Well I’ve got all evidence from having to get a full copy of 6 years worth of bank statements. So wen I get a min I’ll go through it all highlight all charges and fees the send them a little email see how I get on. While I’m at it I may as well try claim back for my package bank account. I love this website thanks all
Jonnmym says
I’ve just done the same claim and basically adjudicator has said I opened the account 9 years ago and can only go back as far as 6 years however I was aware of charges from 2009 and should have claimed within 3 years of knowing there was an issue so didn’t uphold. Have sent to ombudsman but very doubtful
Mr and Mrs C says
Hi – I currently have one with the RBS for irresponsible lending. Over the course of about 7 years they suggested I re loaned to “save money” gave me an overdraft of £2000, and £10000 credit card. At that time I was going through a divorce with a child to support. Each loan was for more money to reconsolidate more debts I had got myself into, with the final loan being more 3 x the amount I earned spread over 10 years. Each time they would pay off my credit card (but never took it off me) and I would rack it up again, as I was struggling so much with the loan repayment and mortgage I put petrol/food/clothes on the credit card. RBS were so desperate to get sales they even drove out to my workplace to get my signature on one loan. over £1,000 of bank charges for overdraft/bounced DDs. They wouldn’t let me close my bank account as their loan ‘had to’ be taken from a RBS current account. I hate RBS with a passion. Eventually with support of new partner I went into debt management.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like an excellent complaint, Mr & Mrs C. Send it to the Ombudsman if RBS reject it!
Matt S says
Hi Tom,
I complained about my overdraft with Nationwide. They originally gave me a £800 overdraft, allowed me to increase it to £1600 within 2 weeks and gradually to £4000 in a little over a month when almost all of it went on a gambling addiction. Their business file originally had allowed me a £2000 limit but they continued to allow me to increase it.
I complained and Nationwide claimed they had done nothing wrong, so I went to the Ombudsman. Took almost a year in total but Ombudsman found in my favour and Nationwide had to refund all interest and charges I had paid over 4 years.
Well worth complaining, and it seems you have a good case!!
Tom bar says
Mine was same down to gambling. Definitely gunna stick a email their way. Thanks all for the advice
Mr and Mrs C says
Good Morning all, I have had a response from Simply Be and I am not happy with it, they have refunded £60 via cheque for some admin charges, but they say they have lent responsibly and that my account was paid off in full in March 2012. This was actually because they sold the debt onto a debt collector – it was actually only cleared last year via debt management with said debt collector. They have also said “looking at your account payments were generally kept up to date and this indicated that you were able to manage your account and have a higher credit limit” again, not entirely true, I was making minimum payments only. Is this worth taking up with FOS? I don’t think they have looked at this properly if they think I paid the account off in full in 2012.
Sean says
Hi Sara.
I am looking for some advice I have a very account, I have had it for around 6 years. Is there a way of requesting a statement of account from them?
I know they increased my credit limit a couple of times even though I have missed payments and always made the minimum payment. But can’t remember any details and they are no longer available on my online statements.
I did pay off a large chunk last September though as I received some inheritance. Would this go against me if I attempted to make a claim?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can ask Very for copies of your monthly statements.
Having paid off a chunk won’t go against you – your complaint is that the repayments were unaffordable for your income.
Sean says
Thanks for the reply.
Would I need to need to use the first template above and ask for monthly statements instead of loan details?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you put in a rather vague affordability complaint saying they raised your credit limit to unaffordable levels, no dates, no numbers. Then after that is underway, phone very on 0800 092 3355 and say you want to make a subject access request for copies of your monthly statements. Make a note of who you talk to. Don’t mention the complaint, just ask for your personal data.
Sean says
I will have a look at the link you posted.
Thank you.
Also I have contacted quickquid regarding this and they have asked for bank statements and payslips which I will say I will provide to ombudsman. But they have also asked for copies of my credit file so do I need to provide this?
Thanks.
Laura says
Your credit file should show the limit increases..that’s where I got my information from as don’t have old statements from Very.
MCspoon says
Hi Sara
I have today had my complaint rejected by my adjudicator. He said that Littlewoods did the correct credit checks when I first opened the account and they do not have to carry out any further credit checks after this. Even though over the next few years I was relying on payday loans and ended up on a DMP, while Littlewoods continued to increase my limit. This is all on my credit file but they never checked it so wouldn’t have known. I had many late payment charges as well as only ever paying the minimum each month. He said they were not required to do any further checks as they only have to follow their own lending criteria and that because I made regular repayments (even though they were only the minimum) I was a good customer and they would have had no reason to not lend me more. He also said that I didn’t use up all available credit – which is true but the amount available was actually at my limit on my statements because of buy now pay later charges but they don’t count that.
Should I admit defeat or will I now have the option of asking the Ombudsman to look at it? Adjudicator said he will issue his response in writing shortly. I was under the impression that they had an obligation to do credit checks when offering an increase in credit and this is what my complaint is based on but adjudicator says they don’t have to,therefore they had no way of knowing I shouldn’t have had credit increases. Any advice would be great here, thanks so much.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you pay off the BNPL items in time, or did you and up paying interest on them?
MCspoon says
No I’m still paying it off through my DMP with StepChange (including the BNPL huge amount because I didn’t pay it off within the year)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did Littlewoods increase your credit limit after you had failed to pay off the BNPL in time?
PS please don’t put anything in the URL box when you reply, that is mean if you have your own website
MCspoon says
Hi, I can’t find anything on my credit report as it only goes back to 2017 for this account now but I’m pretty sure that’s when I defaulted on my payments as they became unaffordable once the BNPL was included. So it was then passed on to debt collectors – and I added them to my DMP.
Ben says
What happens when I don’t have details of when the limits were increased or what payments were being made? The debts have been sold on now to PRA Group and Noddle is no longer showing the history. As I no longer have the bank account I was using or any way to log in online to my accounts I can’t check this info
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
Hi I have had both of my cases with JDWilliams upheld in principle, depending whether they decide to add any defence in the next 28 days. My claim was passed over to the Ombudsman as they did not see that they had done anything wrong. They argued that because I was making payments on time that I was coping financially. I was , in fact struggling desperately. I was spending up to my ever increasing limit. JDW are arguing that I could have said no at any point. Would it be prudent at this point to tell them that although I was spending to my limit I was actually selling the items I bought to make ends meet? Or should I just let sleeping dogs lie? The Ombudsman has already ruled in my favour but what if JDW come back within the next 28 days and use the argument of spending to the limit as a conscious acceptance of their offers. They increased my limit from £175 to £1300 on two accounts simultaneously over a period of 8 months.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“what if JDW come back within the next 28 days and use the argument of spending to the limit as a conscious acceptance of their offers” that would be a strange argument. I don’t think you should try to work out what they might say – if the Ombudsman intends to change the adjudicator offer then you will have a chance to respond to the Ombudsman’s agreement.
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
Thankyou, this is my last chance to respond before the Ombudsman/adjudicator makes their final decision. I may just let things rest. JDW haven’t been able to / refuse to disclose how they made credit decisions. At best they have been incompetent, at worst evasive. I don’t think they have any jokers to play now, at least I hope not.
Village Idiot says
Hi Mrs Cheaplaugh, do you know whether the decisions made so far in your case are still by an adjudicator (the more junior of the roles) or has this already gone up to an ombudsman? I fear mine is about to go from adjudicator to ombudsman because the catalogue firm are disputing the adjudicator finding.
Sara: I presume the firms can escalate it to the ombudsman without penalty? Part of me feels that if a firm escalates it to an ombudsman when an adjudicator has said s/he is absolutely certain an ombudsman wouldn’t find differently, they should be fined for timewasting…..but I wouldn’t want that to apply to me as a member of Joe Public, and then maybe I suppose that wouldn’t be fair.
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
Hi My case was passed to the Ombudsman because JDW insisted they did no wrong. While the Ombudsman agreed with the adjudicator, their finding was slightly different but was still upheld in my favour, provisionally. JDW more than doubled my credit limit on two accounts over a period of 3 months. Unless either myself or JDW had anything else to add, (I don’t) , then my case will be upheld and all interest and charges on both my accounts will be awarded plus 8% from a certain date. The case will close in a couple of weeks or earlier if JDW relent. I can wait, however…just let the interest rack up in the meantime.
marie says
hi sara can you help i opened a capital one credit card in 2010 in 2013 it went to a dmp and is still open .i have some older statments with ppi on them .is it to late to complain.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That doesn’t sound too late – put in a PPI claim asap.
NB do it yourself, as any payout will first be used to reduce your current balance, so if there is a claims firm you wouldn’t get any cash to use to pay their fees.
Adam says
Would this apply to PayPal credit ? They gave me an initial limit of £750 while I had defaulted accounts and unpaid loans on my file , the ammout far exceeded what I would be normally offered, and I was turned down by most payday lenders.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The problem is Paypal is based in Luxemburg. If you go to https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/ua/legalhub-full and look for PayPal Credit Agreement and SECCI, can you download that? That may give some details on how the loan is regulated and whether you can take a complaint to the Finanical Ombudsman
Paul says
This has only taken 7 months, but after going to the FOB, Littlewoods have agreed to refund me all the interest I have paid over the last 6 years on my account as well as refund all charges that have been added. They have also agreed to remove all future interest from buy now pay later items I had purchased. This has reduced my balance with them from £9,600 to £1,787. Which I’m happy with as I don’t mind paying for the products I’ve had it was just the interest that was destroying me. It takes a while to get these things sorted but its defo worth while keeping chipping away at them.
Lucy says
Hi, I had accounts with jd williams, naturally close and premier man, who do I send the complaint to about irresponsible lending.
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
Hi Lucy, have you complained to the company yet? If not, complain direct or go through Resolver – https://www.resolver.co.uk/ They have a certain amount of time to respond and give a final decision before you proceed to the next level at the Financial Ombudsman who will investigate. It’s a long winded process, I am a couple of weeks away from my complaint being upheld but it does take time, several months in my case. Good luck.
Dam says
Hi,
I made a complaint for irresponsible lending to MBNA and they have come back to me with a response that they are still investigating with complaint and its 8 weeks today. They want another 2 weeks to gather facts on the complaint
The complaint was due to them allowing me to gamble my full limit sometimes £6,000 in one go in a day and have transactions of over £100,000 on my cc and they increased the limit.
Should i wait and give them extra time to investigate, do i have a leg to stand on at the ombudsman?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds like a good case – the problem is that you can’t tell if they will actually use the extra 2 weeks to make an offer or they are just delaying. You could replay that the complaint will be sent to the ombudsman if they don’t make an acceptable offer in the next two weeks? Do you have your bank statements and credit report sorted so you are already to send in the FOS complaint?
Dan says
Regarless of the credit limit increase, I was withdrawing and depositing £40,000 month and then making small repayments then larger repayments and they allowed this. I do not think they will make an offer.
I have requested a credit card statement for when i took cc out twice but they have not sent me one yet and keep referring to the complaint. I have a credit report.
Do i have a case for irresponsible lending with large deposits and withdrawals from and to the gambling company?
Also i would say i have paid minimum payments for 80% of my time with the cc company
Sara (Debt Camel) says
From experience, it is going to be easier to argue against the limit increase than to say they should have closed your account.
Making minimum payments is only really a strong argument if you do this all the time – and if you were making frequent deposits (even though you then withdrew the money later) this would mean you were paying more than the minimums.
You don’t need the card statements to go to the Ombudsman, you need your bank statements for the period – do you have these?
“I have requested a credit card statement for when I took cc out twice ” sorry what does this mean?
Even though you don’t need your credit card statements to go to the Ombudsman. I think it would be useful to get as much information from MBNA as you can. I suggest you ask them for a copy of all your personal information. This can take up to a month to arrive, but it will be with you before an adjudicator starts work on your case if you ask now.
Dan says
Hi,
What is that form for?
Why do i need bank statements? Abit confused because payments were from creditcard? I do have the bank statements.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That form is a Subject Access request, asking for all your personal information from MBNA. This will include everything you would have got from all your statements. The extra info is things like your credit agreement – normally there won’t be anything interesting there, but one person this week had a SAR back from a payday lender where there was an internal file note saying the computer said no to a loan but it had been over-ridden – anything like that would help your argument that your credit limit should not have been increased.
You will need bank statements to go to the Ombudsman as this is what the Ombudsman checks to make sure the MBNA repayments weren’t affordable for you. For example if your bank statements showed you were putting money away in a savings account every month, you aren’t going to win your case.
Mike says
HI,
I made a complaint to JD Williams regards irresponsible lending based on my credit history at the time.
As expected they believe they did everything properly – So I sent a complaint to the financial ombudsman.
An adjudicator has emailed today regarding my complaint. They have asked for the following:
a copy of your credit file – (obviously some of the defaults are gone now as 6 years passed some debts) I will supply this anyway and explain
correspondences between you and J D Williams – This is not an issue
a copy of your J D Williams’ statements – I don’t have these, are they able to request from JDW
anything else you’d like me to take into consideration – I was going to state about payday loans – But most of this “evidence” was from an bank account I know longer have access to. I have some from my account that I can still access showing one loan increasing every month prior to opening JDW account. I also have the statement from debt collection for this and court form which is all sorted with agreement.
Is there any advice or help anyone can give me on this to help make this a successful claim?
Thanks
Mike
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can say that you don’t have the correspondence with JDW or the statements, but you assume they can ask JDW for these – if not say you could put in a Subject Access Request if that will help.
Definitely explain about your payday borrowing. You need to try to get bank statements from this closed account to support this, also send over the bank statements for the later period of borrowing that you do have.