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?
Gary says
Hi,sara
Im sorry about posting again before you have had the chance to respond to my post.
I have an bankofscotland ultimate reward account for 9 years that i didn’t actually apply for,i was phoning the bank for a different reason when the operater offered me it,without explaining the ins and outs.
And being a 21 year old,i didn’t think too much of it,but having paid £12-£15 a month for 9 years without even using any of the things on offer,and without any written contract.
I also have a £1600 overdraft,and a £1000 loan with the bankofscotland,which in the last 6 month i have tried to borrow more or increase my overdraft,which they have flatly refused each time,but were willing to give me an credit card 3month ago with a £500 limit.
Would any of that come under irresponsible lending?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The BoS ultimate reward account – read https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/reclaim-packaged-bank-accounts/ as that deals with this sort of refund.
Whether the loan is irresponsible lending will depend on whether you can afford the payments and, if not, whether BoS should have realised this before they gave you the loan.
Lucy says
Has anyone heard back from the Ombudsmen about catalogues lately, and if so, how long did it take? I sent my first complaint to JD Williams in March 2017, and then it went to the adjudicator in May as they didn’t reply. He adjudicator upheld my complain in August, but then it took 4 months for them to confirm that JD Williams didn’t agree with them, so it would need to go to the Ombudsmen for a final decision. It’s now been another 7 months of waiting, and I just want to know how much longer it might be. I sent complaints about Shop Direct at the same time, and they were all upheld at adjudicator stage last August.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s been in the queue for an Ombudsman for 7 months? That’s very unusual, they are normally picked up in 2-4 months. Have you asked why it is taking so long? I suggest starting to phone them every fortnight and ask about progress.
Lucy says
I contacted them in April to change my address, and they replied straight away confirming that it had been done, and said that it had been assigned to an Ombudsman, so a final decision should be made soon. I emailed the person who emailed me that, and the adjudicator last week, but I’ve had no reply. I called this week and it went to voicemail, so I’ll try again today.
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
I made my initial complaints to JDW in September last year. Looking back I didnt realise it was that long ago but just checked my Resolver file. It was passed on to the FOS before Christmas after JDW rejected my claim. The FOS took a while to pick my case up but because of an error with an initial investigator bouncing my claim back as not within the time limits there was a delay. In February it was picked up by a more competent investigator who looked into it and eventually upheld my complaint. JDW appealed so it went to the Omudsman who, lat month, upheld provisionally, giving both parties 28 days to add anything further. The deadline is tomorrow so unless JDW have any jokers to play it will go in my favour and the case will officially be upheld. This has been the longest investigation the FOS have done of mine, with a payday loan complaint completing in just 3 months last year. I hope yours completes soon.
Lucy says
Thanks for letting me know how long yours has taken. It seems as though it can be very different for each complaint, as non of my others have taken this long.
I’ve had no reply to either of my emails sent last week, and I’ve tried calling both of them every day this week and left messages but had no luck. I’ve had the same adjudicator for both of my catalogue complaints, and I’ve always found that my emails asking for updates were completely ignored, and that I would only get a reply if they needed information or had a decision, so it’s just quite frustrating to not know what’s going on. Is there any other way of contacting the FOS and speaking to someone who could look into it and let me know what was going on?
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
Its possible they are on holiday. My investigator is pretty quick at replying though. My Ombudsman decisions were sent by post so I probably won’t hear anything for a couple of weeks now. I go away myself on Saturday so will just sit back and wait. I’m hoping that JDW don’t drag their feet, with their payment however all the interest will soon add up if they do!
Sally says
Hi Sara just wanted to say thank you for all your advice on this wonderful site. I sent an affordability complaint to Shop Direct in April, for 2 Very accounts I had. I have just received the news that Shop Direct are refunding me all Interest and administration charges on both of these accounts. This now means that the balance on both of these accounts are £0.00 and my DMP will end in August 2020 instead of May 2021. Still a long way to go until I’m debt free but I’m heading in the right direction. I am so pleased about this outcome as was expecting to have to take this complaint to the ombudsmen. Thank you again Sara and keep up the hard work.
Victoria says
Good afternoon
Could I get some advise please ? I have recently used this website to help me with pay day loans, however it got me thinking as 8 years ago my mum got in awful difficulty with credit cards and store cards , that constantly increased her limits and gave her more. 4 of then she has been paying £5 a month and still does . The rest were settled for around half of the balance . The total debt at the time was £54,000.
I want to know if it’s possible for us to make a claim on these as my mum had to sell everything to pay these off and I honestly think it was irresponsible of the lenders.
Secondly, with it been over six years should I go straight to the ombudsman or direct to the lenders first.
Any advise greatfully appreciated
Thanks
Vicky
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If your mum got into problems 8 years ago, then it’s very unlikely you will get anywhere with affordability complaints.
But it may be worth looking at whether the 4 she has left are enforceable in court as these are very old debts… She could ask the debt collectors that currently own the debts to produce the CCA agreements for the debts. There is a template letter and more details here: https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/getting-information/credit-agreement-advice.aspx and note that she has to send a cheque for £1 with each request. If they can’t produce the CCA agreement then they can’t go to court for a CCJ so she could just stop paying. This may not work but it is worth trying for really old catalogues, store cards and credit cards.
Victoria says
Thank you very much for that yes I will definitely do that
Thanks
Vicky
Village Idiot says
I checked my JDW account yesterday and noticed a sizeable 4 figure goodwill credit, for the amount an adjudicator had said they should refund.
The interesting part is that the adjudicator had been saying JDW didn’t accept her ruling. They must have finally done so, after I gave the adjudicator extra bank statements and credit reports I was asked for, but either JDW haven’t told the adjudicator, or the adjudicator hasn’t told me.
Either way I don’t mind! I have now paid for the clothes, furniture and whatnot I have bought, but not any interest for it.
Given my case and the ones above, JDW are clearly finding it hard to accept they have been in the wrong, I expect this is a big lesson for them and suppose they will be changing how they lend.
Antony says
Hi Sara,
I have a Barclaycard credit card. I got this after defaulting various times on my nationwide credit card and had also already had a few pay day loans on the go. Do you think I could complain for irresponsible lending?
Kind regards
Antony
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“defaulting various times on my nationwide credit card” an actual default on your credit record or just late payments?
I suggest you get hold of your detailed credit records (here is how to do this for free https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/) and work out EXACTLY what Barclaycard should have see on your credit record when you applied for the card. Then you can list this in detail in your complaint about unaffordable lending – much more powerful than just saying your credit record was poor.
Antony says
Hi Sara, thank you for the reply, my credit record shows the various defaults and late payments on my nationwide credit card.
I have also kept all of the various letters from nationwide stating how it is showing on my record.
Kind regards
Dan says
Hi
I requested a DSAR from MBNA as i have a complaint standing with Ombudsman. I have not been assigned an adjudicator yet. Can i still forward the results to the financial ombudsman?
Also I can see that they have a report called purged and it has a list of dates and information on certain dates. Ie Status removed, Promotion changes on each date. They have blacked a few of the writing out so i cannot see it. Are they hiding something and are they allowed to to this?
Is there anything in particular i am looking for on the 50 pdf they have sent me?
One document called Autoscore SM card, it shows when i appiled and dates, they it has action Override. So much info to swift through
Laura says
Hi Sara, I currently have an unaffordability complaint with Shop Direct for 2 accounts.. just been assigned an adjudicator. I only have statements for last year and a half as they are all online. I would like to know if I had PPI as well, will these statements be included in a SAR if I make a request? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not sure what PPI has to do with this? Treat that as a separate claim. Why do you want all the old statements?
Laura says
I would like to work out how much interest I have paid and thought they may also show if I had PPJ type insurance on them..I think I did but can’t remember back that far (opened in 2012)
Anthony says
Hi Sara,
I was given a second credit card when trying to obtain a replacement card by Santander in 2007 as “they couldn’t find my account on the system” despite sending me bills every month.
I have complained and also escalated to FOS to which I have received this response.
To summarise, you’re unhappy that Santander lent to you irresponsibly when they gave
you a second credit card that you were unaware of. You told me that you were not aware
that a second application was made when all you wanted was a replacement card for your
existing account. You said that you were not in a good financial position at the time and
that they allowed you to build up debt which led to a debt spiral. You told me that you were
maintaining minimum payments as you did not want to have any adverse information
recorded on your credit file. You want a refund of the interest and charges and the
removal of any negative information from your credit file.
This credit card was taken on 6 February 2007. You are complaining about events that
happened more than six years ago, Santander has not given us consent to look at this
complaint
Do you think there is any point in escalating to ombudsman? I have explained that for the last decade I have been in financial difficulty for a variety of reasons and not mentally aware I had the ability to complain.
Simply, giving me additional credit without me applying for it has to be irresponsible doesn’t it.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The problem about really old complaints isn’t just whether the FOS can look at them. Even if they decide they can, there may be very little information still retained by Santander or by you about your situation in 2007. Your current credit report won’t have history going back that far. Do you have bank statements? If you don’t, it may be hard to get them for that long ago. And Santander are unlikely to have retained information about what happened then or credit checks or assessments they did.
I don’t think I can remember anyone winning a credit card affordability complaint from that long ago.
Anthony says
I was afraid that would be the case, makes sense tbh.
Many thanks for your time.
Mrs Cheaplaugh says
Hi Sarah,
I’ve just had my affordability/irresponsible lending complaint against JDWillliams and Fashion World upheld. They have to repay all the interest and charges from my third credit limit increase plus the statutory 8%. Oviously there are many calculations they will have to make. Is there any way that I or the Ombudsman can check that these calculations will be correct? Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not unless you have a copy of all your statements, or at least a summary of what was on each of them. When they come up with an amount, you can ask for the details of how it was calculated.
mrs. cheaplaugh says
Thankyou for your help. I shall wait and see. Looking at other comments JDW Company are notoriously slow at calculating redress. Is there a timescale they should work to? Surely it is in ther best interests to pay out as soon as possible?
Stuart says
Dear Mr ****
your complaint about J D Williams & Company Limited (trading as Fashion World)
Since I referred your case for an ombudsman’s decision, the business has provided additional information which I’ve had consider. I’m sorry to say that having done so, I’ve had to change my opinion on your complaint. I’ll explain why.
The basis for upholding your complaint was that the business had said they’d carried out credit checks but they didn’t show us the results of the checks. We had a copy of your credit file so were able to say on the balance of probabilities that we thought they should’ve seen everything that we could see. That was:
Stuart says
· The Debt Relief Order added on 20 November 2015
· A Barclaycard default added on 20 November 2015 (£658 balance)
· A Quick Quid default added on 24 March 2015 (£399 balance)
· An Active Securities added default on 30 July 2015 (£106 default)
· A Vanquis default added on 30 November 2015 (£420 balance)
· A Myjar default added on 30 June 2015 (£200 balance)
· A Wonga default added on 25 July 2015 (£454 balance)
We’d been able to see this on the Callcredit/noddle credit file which you sent us. However now the business has shown us the results of their checks, I can see that the above did not show up for them. All that showed up was one default, but wouldn’t say that’s enough, on its own, to say the business shouldn’t have approved you for the catalogue accounts as they take other factors into account. Importantly, the Debt Relief Order did not show up on their checks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so what date was your DRO? and did you move after that?
Stuart says
The reason the other defaults and the Debt Relief Order did not show on the business’ credit searches was because they’d checked your Experian credit file. Clearly, not all of the above defaults or the Debt Relief Order was recorded with all of the credit reference agencies (Experian, Callcredit and Equifax) because they showed on your noddle (Callcredit) report but not your Experian report. This is why the business was not aware of the Debt Relief Order.
The first two accounts were opened on the same day. At this time you put your address down as one year and provided a previous address as you needed to provide two years’ address history. The previous address revealed one recently defaulted account and three active accounts. There was no public information found such as a bankruptcy, CCJ, IVA, DRO and no record of any home credit/payday loans. The business therefore opened your account with a small limit. They monitored your account behaviour and gradually increased your credit limits based on that.
Stuart says
The last two accounts were opened four months later. This time you put the time at your address down as three years so didn’t need to provide a previous address and was confirmed on the voters roll. No derogatory data was brought back. This time there were no defaults and again no public information and no home credit/payday loan information.
There was no information received back from Experian that indicated you were on a Debt Relief Order or that you had more than one defaulted account. This could be due to not providing a previous address on the two applications in March 16 and which address the DRO was registered to.
JB77 says
Hi Sara, great website. You have helped me out in the past with payday loans and wondering whether I could pick your brains on overdrafts.
I was offered, by email without asking, a £4,500 overdraft almost a year ago despite a poor credit rating, returned DDs, credit cards over pre-arranged, payday loans and other bits. At the time I was struggling with addiction and planning a wedding, so obviously I said yes. However, I obviously spent it straight away and haven’t been out of it since. Since then I have spent more than £750 on interest, arranged overdraft fees and unarranged overdraft fees. Is there a way I can claim these back in a similar manner to that of the payday loans? Thanks, Daniel
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think the bank shouldn’t have offered you such a huge overdraft given your previous problems. They should have checked that the overdraft would be affordable for you before offering it. As there isn’t a minimum repayment on an overdraft, this isn’t so easy as with a loan – but £4,500 looks like an absurdly large amount.
Send the bank a complaint saying you were given an overdraft which was obviously unaffordable for you, then the bank didn’t properly assess this before offering you it because they should have noticed your poor credit record and your payday loan borrowing. Ask for a refund of all interest and other overdraft charges and for them to agree to you being able to repay the remaining overdraft in affordable monthly installments.
Sarah says
Hi,
Im hoping someone can help. I had a complaint with Barclaycard re irresponoble lending because of 2 credit limits at the time my finances were not that dire. After that i had gambling transactions of ovet £100,000 in and out of my account in two years.
I had a complaint with Barclaycard whick took longer than 8 weeks so sent to the ombudsman. Within a week the ombudsman called me and said that they have been in contact with Barclays and they dont think barclays have not done anything wrong without hearing myside of the story? They said i have till next week to send my information.
I requested a DSAR report and received today, is there anything i should be looking for on here? Should they have decreased my limit knowing i was high risk with gambling transactions?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
” I had a complaint with Barclaycard re irresponsible lending because of 2 credit limits at the time my finances were not that dire. ” could you say a bit more about this? Did you have two separate Barclaycard accounts?
What about your non barclays borrowing, would there have been late payments or defaults on your credit record?
Sarah says
No just one Barclaycard not two.
I did not have any defaults at the time but two loans about £28k in total and other maxed out credit card. I had bad historical history of late payments in 2012 but that was old.
I was always too scared to default. Barclaycard delayed my complaint for 14 weeks and did not even send me statements i requested so did a DSAR request. Do i have a leg to stand on? Have other complaints with the fos, shall i write this one off?
Also, will a decision on this complaint have any implications on any other complaints?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So what did your phrase 2 credit limits mean? What were your earnings at the time? Was BRclays your main bank? And 28k in loans, were these from Barclays? I’m trying to work out what Barclays should have thought that about before they gave you the overdraft.
A decision on one complaint doesn’t affect other ones.
Sarah says
So my credit limit was increased twice in 14 months from £3000 to £7000. My salary was approximately £1,750-£1,800 pm at the time. My loans were £300 and £365 payments per month at the time and were not with Barclays. They didnt know about or ask about my living expenses.
I do not bank with Barclays just credit card. The adjudicator mentioned they have not been irrepsonsible within 3 days and told me to provide any evidence they were in the next few days before making a final decision.
Do i really have a leg to stand on with this complaint? Should barclays have realised i was gambling too much on cc just before and after credit card limit increases? I had 2 other credit cards and totalled about £5k in debt plus £1000 od.
I was always scared to default so borrowed from family and friends to cover.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The SARs should have showed the credit checks Barclaycard did. I assume there was one before opening the account? Did they also do one before each of the limit increases?
I think if your credit reports would have showed you owing 28k in loans, other credit cards (maxed out?) at 5k and a 1k overdraft that looks like a LOT of debt for someone on your income. So they should have carefully considered if you could afford the limit increases – it sounds as though they didn’t. If at that point a human (as opposed to a computer) had looked at your statements they would have seen all the gambling so it was irresponsible to continue to lend.
It’s not the gambling on its own here. If you didn’t have the other loans, I would say this wasn’t a good case. But you already had a LOT of debt.
Point out to the adjudicator that the FCA’s CONC rulebook says:
CONC 6.2.1 R
(1) Before significantly increasing:
(a) the amount of credit to be provided under a regulated credit agreement; or
(b) a credit limit for running-account credit under a regulated credit agreement;
the lender must undertake an assessment of the customer’s creditworthiness.
(2) A firm carrying out the assessment in (1) must consider:
(a) the potential for the commitments under the regulated credit agreement to adversely impact the customer’s financial situation, taking into account the information of which the firm is aware at the time that the increase in (1) is to be granted.
And that your two credit limit increases were significant.
Sarah says
So the adjudicator phoned me and stated that Barclays had done check ie missed payments and ccjs before increasing my limits and stated that she didnt think barclays did anything wrong after 3 days of investigations. I mentioned to her she is being bias due to the fact I have yet to provide i information to her relation to the case ie review DSAR report. It happened really quickly once the ombudsman found out Barclaycard delayed complaint they prioritized and fast laned the case.
Thank you Sara, I will build a response email to her and highlight these issues!
Anita says
Sarah,
Your last post made me think.. If I have complained to the lenders and debts were sold I am still obliged to make agreed repayment, is that right?
All of my catalogue accounts have been sold.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you should inform them of the complaint against the original lender and try to set up affordable repayments. These repayments don’t reduce the amount you could get back with your complaint.
If you have a lot of debts you can’t manage, it’s usually easier to talk to StepChange and ask them to set up a DMP for you – this could only be temporary if you get a lot of refunds, and if you don’t it will leave you able to manage on a monthly basis without having to borrow again. See https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
Tim says
Hi Sara
I know this is unrelated to payday loans but can the same complaint be made with overdrafts? I have had an overdraft for about 5 years paying around £1.20 a day in interest. Any advice would be great
Sara (Debt Camel) says
These are tough complaints to win. If you had your limit increased when you already had big debt problems on your credit record, that is probably the best complaint to make. But you can’t rely on that working, so also read: https://debtcamel.co.uk/overdraft/
lilly says
Hi Sara, i have a vanquis credit card. I have been with them a little over a year, in this space of this short time they increased my original 500 limit to 1500 and finally 2250. Being on a limited income, benefits i was having to make the payments and rolling the balance so i would always have to use what was put on including having to transfer money from a smaller credit card in order to pay this one. After the increase it got to much, it was the same time i was also relying on payday loans as i would make vanquis payments out of payday loans. I contacted them last month and asked for help in regards i couldnt pay until a few days later, they offered no support so when i did manage to make the minimum payment they took the majority of it for interest, late fees and over limit charges. When i was given the increase i my balance was 1480 but they still increased and i am maxed out simply from struggling to keep up with payments and being stung by the minimum payments and interests each month just to having to roll it over. would i have a complaint against irresponsible lending? thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think those sound like large increases for someone living on benefits, I think you should complain and ask for a refund of the interest.
You need to expect that Vanquis will reject this complaint – so don’t be put off when that happens, just send it to the Ombudsman.
Also look at whether you have been given unaffordable payday loans, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-loan-refunds/.
But these complaints can take many months to go through, somyou also need to get yourself into a safe financial position so you can manage without borrowing during this period. I suggest you talk to StepChange about setting up a debt management plan, see https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
Lilly says
Thank you Sara
I have currently sent irresponsible lending complaints to all payday lender so far I have had one rejection and have taken it to the ombudsman But am yet to hear back. Now it’s just a waiting game. I have been in contact with vanquis in order to change payment dates and have found them helpful but with all the information they have had off me I do think it’s laid all my issues bare and they should see they were lending irresponsibly
Shem says
Hi
Please can I ask if there is any risk of a credit card company decreasing a limit that you are actually using if you make a complaint – particularly if it is based on unaffordable credit increases? I have heard of card companies decreasing credit limits that are not being used but are they within their rights to reduce it while you are using it and make you instantly over your limit and start demanding repayment of the amount over?
I ask because I am minded to complain to vanquish who steadily increased my limit to 3k despite my poor credit history and score, I have been at this limit for over 2 years now, only ever paying the minimum and then using it again straight away, now with the minimum payment increases % I’m struggling even more to make the payments but I’m worried they if I complain they will decrease my limit leaving me hugely ‘overdrawn’ and demand an even higher repayment!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“are they within their rights to reduce it while you are using it and make you instantly over your limit and start demanding repayment of the amount over?” that wouldn’t be fair and I haven’t heard of this happening to someone who has made a complaint.
Donna says
Hi I have tried to make a complaint to very, I have rung them and they said I need to make my complaint to Lowell who they sold my account to. I have emailed them they have said that I would have know about the interest and charges and that this is not something they would deal with as they werent the original lender. My complaint is because very increased my credit limit from 400 pound to 2500 and I was always paying minimum payment and spending my credit limit straight away. I have other debts and defaults showing on my credit file and was in a debt management plan should I just send this complaint straight to ombusman? Thank you for this info as I have already done my pay day loan complaints and had £616 refunded from lending stream, £575 reduced of my balance from company dealing with mini credit claims, my balance wiped from 247 money box £545 and I’ve got payday uk and quick quid loans with ombusman at the moment ????
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Go back to Very and say your complaint is against them as they were responsible for the unaffordable lending. If they tell you again to talk to Lowell, say you will be going to the finaicail ombudsman immediately.
Donna says
Thank you will do
mrs. cheaplaugh says
I would go back to the catalogue company. I have had 2 complaints upheld against JDWilliams. I had repaid the debt to Lowells, it is between the catalogue and the debt collectors to hammer out any compensation. The catalogue knew how much you owed before the debt was sold. My interest will be calculated from the third limit increase to the date my debt was paid off. Good luck.
Barbie Girl says
Hi I had my Aqua Credit Card frozen about 18 months ago. They raised my limit over and over again then in the end decided that if I wanted to keep my card usable they would increase my interest rate. I said no. I cannot use the card now and am paying minimum amount each month. Sometimes a bit more. They are still charging interest. Can they do this? I pay about 250 a month. My balance is about 5900.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can put in a complaint to Aqua that they raised your credit limit to an unaffordable level without doing proper checks that you could manage this. See the article above for how to do this.
Yes they can still charge you interest – but you can also ask them for an affordable repayment plan and for them to freeze interest on your account. Do you have other problem debts as well?
Barbie Girl says
I used to have problem debts but as these cleared I found my outgoings on my Aqua card increased as the limits rose. My credit history has always been poor , my history which runs concurrent with the life of my Aqua account shows 2 CCJs, and defaults. I was also using QuickQuid at one point and have recently had an affordability/irresponsible lending case upheld by the FO.
During the life of the account, there were 2 ccjs and 3 defaults occur yet they continued to raise my limit from £100 through to £5450. There are also several cash advances on the account occurring around the payment due dates: I was paying the minimum payment, withdrawing as cash and paying back in before the statement date. This was cyclical behaviour.
Daniel says
Hi,
I recently put in an affordability complaint into Vanquis on behalf of my father in law. His credit card limit started at £250 before rising to £1000 then £1500 – This is a man who is on benefits with no salary/income. One of the increases came when he rang them to say he would struggle to make his minimum payment that month and he was told it was okay as he was in fact eligible for an increase in his limit – This debt was eventually sold to Lowell at over £2000. All sounds very dodgy to me, do you think theres a chance of success on this one? We have a few of the statements which show he was at the limit almost every month and paying just the minimum.
Kind regards,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds worth a complaint!
Susie says
Hello all.
I know I’ve been really stupid and ran up a lot of catalogue debt it’s now £500a month repayments and I simply can’t afford it. I really don’t want to tell my husband but if I inform them (shop direct) I can’t afford £500 but £250will this go negitibrly on my credit record? Supposed to be moving next year and I don’t want to ruin. It all. Any advice please
Sara (Debt Camel) says
An arrangement to pay will be recorded on your credit record. But if you can’t pay the 3500 (ouch!) you don’t really have any other option.
I am afraid you are going to have to tell your husband about this – even if your credit record wasn’t affected, this borrowing and repayment would show up on your bank statements and credit records and would affect a mortgage lender’s assessment of the affordability of a mortgage.
Sam Wolf says
Hi Sara, I currently have a Credit Card with Vanquis and catalogues with Shop Direct, Freemans and Express Gifts.
I want to put complaints in with all of them, however I am still using them, and they both have open balances. Will they close my accounts if I put a complaint in for affordability? If they don’t close the accounts and I am due a refund, will they use the refund to pay off the open balances?
Thanks.
Sam
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Will they close my accounts if I put a complaint in for affordability?” I don’t remember other people having this problem.
Yes any refund will be used to reduce the balance on your account.
re Vanquis – are you currently paying for their ROP add on? Check your statement to be sure!
Shells says
Very closed my account because I complained!
Shem says
Hi Shells
Do you mind if I ask what happened to the balance and monthly interest?
Shem x
Shells says
Hi, to my surprise they refunded all interest in 6 yrs, this cleared my balance and a further cheque of around £1400 for me. But the letter stated they would be closing my account x
Shem says
Hi Shells,
Wow, Can I ask if you used the templates provided? I know everyone’s situation is different but would be great to understand how to tackled the complaint to such a favourable outcome without the ombudsman
Shem x
Shells says
Hi Shem, I used these templates, it wasn’t even a very long letter, I just say d they increased my limit even tho I’d had 2 defaults on my account in 2014 re payday loans. After around 11 wks I got letter stating that they did not admit irresponsible lending but would refund all interest in last 6 yrs. but they were closing my account. I see your comment paining to aqua? I have complaint with adjudicatior at present x
Shem says
Hi Shells
I’m putting my complaint into very tomorrow, I also had 2 defaults and multiple payday loans with months of missed payments showing in my report and yet they raised my credit 3 times in 6 months despite this and a missed payment and the interest applied taking me over my limit at times. Can I ask what email address you used to complain? and did they take the full 8 weeks to reply?
Re Aqua, (well it’s NEWDAY to be specific as it was the subsequent Marbles account that I think was the most irresponsible) I have used their on line web form for complaints yesterday but had no email receipt or contact or anything as yet.
Shem
Shells says
Shem, I just used the online on their website, after 11 weeks I got a letter out of the blue from them. Good luck, I’ll let you know how I get on with aqua as currently with adjudicator
Anita says
Sarah,
Can you please advice. I mentioned my problem before but let me explain recent situation.
I spoke to the complaint department (bank) in regards to my overdraft which has been increased 4 years ago to & 1300(I was already with DMP then). I was never able to get over the overdraft limit since then. I lodged a complain requesting refund of all the charges they took out. Cutting the long story short I have been offered £100 as a good will gesture I kindly declined. They going to send me a final response soon
My question is do I have any chance to win this case if ombudsmen look into this?.
I appreciate your help.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well there is a chance, but these complaints aren’t often won. Up to you if you want to try. Otherwise ask for your overdraft to be added into your DMP and get a new basic bank account.
Anita says
Thanks for your reply. I will add it to the DMP definitely. But frankly there was a irresponsibility on their side letting me go further into the debt and charging me around £40 per months. Should not they decrease a limit knowing I am constantly within overdraft? Sorry I might be wrong but just a thought. Wonder if Ombudsman could qualify this as irresponsible lending.
Thank you for your time. Appreciate your help.
Charlene says
Hi,
My mom have both littlewoods and very account. She stopped working when she had my brother so she couldn’t afford to pay monthly. An agreed a minimum payment. We sent a complaint letter for PPI for both account but they said she doesn’t have one. She had paid so much in late charges as well. Is there a way she can refund any charges and/or interest she had paid?
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did they increase her credit limits after the point she had stopped work and started having a lot of late charges?
mrs. cheaplaugh says
Well the plot thickens after my complaints with JDWilliams and Fashion World got upheld by the Ombudsman. They had 4 weeks to contact me so after 3 I called for an update. They told me that the person dealing with my complaint was out but would leave a note for them to get in touch as they had until a certain date to respond. Roll forward to the deadline. I called and they said that the person dealing with the complaint hadn’t received the Ombudsman’s final decision and had emailed them for another copy (emailed the day before the deadline, just to add). In my opinion they are being evasive. If there was no letter, how did the advisor I spoke to last week know what the deadline date was? Sneaky or what? It sounds like they are going to try and string it out. Should i get back in touch with the ombudsman or just go to the small claims court? It’s not such a small claim, I have calculated my redress which totals nearly £2000.
LO1 says
Hi Sara
Please could you advise:
i sent a complaint to Next who increased my credit limit from £400-£3600 suddenly despite a number of default notices on my credit record and PD loans at the time.
They replied 2 weeks later, and have agreed “as a gesture of goodwill” to pay back all the interest and late payment fees to me since the credit limit increase in October 2016, they declined paying back the 8% simple interest. The problem being, my file was passed to a debt collector with whom i fell behind again, and subsequently received a default from in 2018. The default is registers on my file as being From Next, not from the debt collecting agency.
As such, i wondered if i am now able to ask that Next remove this default? Their final response to me stated the following in relation to this:
“.. I’m afraid it isn’t going to be possible for me to remove the late payments or default we’ve recorded on your credit file, as this is factual information. To explain, we have a duty to accurately record how your account has been run, as this forms part of our contract with the credit reference agencies themselves. And other lenders need to view and rely on this information to make their own credit-based decisions..”
They seem rather amenable to discussion-how would you suggest i proceed?
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though Next just asked the debt collector to try to collect the debt, they didn’t sell it to the debt collector, which is why the default comes from next.
Will there still be a balance on your account when the interest is refunded? If there is, you may want to ask for an affordable arrangement to pay it to be put in place. Do you know how much you can afford?
If Next had agreed that they shouldn’t have increased your credit limit, you can argue that the default is unfair and should be removed. But the problem is their offer is just a “goodwill” one. It is however rather a good offer! it’s up to you if you think it is worth the risk of rejecting this complaint and taking the case to the ombudsman when the only issue you have is your credit record markers – It could take a considerable time and the Ombudsman may n0t agree that the markers should be removed.
LO1 says
Dear Sara
Indeed you were correct.
I took the goodwill gesture and have now paid the outstanding amount on the account.
Never will I have another catalogue account!
Many thanks for your help
Anita says
I spoke to the bank. I explained my spiral kind of lending from them and the fact they gave me overdraft bigger than my monthly income while I was in DMP. They offered £100 as a good well gesture.
Thinking about going to the ombudsman but how to start the process and what information they need?
Thank you again for your help
Anita says
Sarah,
Thank you for your reply. I don’t want to clog the ombudsman. Just thinking that having overdraft bigger than income is similar to the payday loan situation when can not get out of it and they happily charge you £40 per month. They surely have not done a proper credit check. Just thinking if bank should be more responsible than payday lenders? In my opinion yes. Hence my temptation to challenge their decision even if they paid me £100 as a good will gesture. Also it may be a sign there was a wrongdoing on their side.
What do you reckon..
Appreciate your help and time. Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The problem is that your opinion about what ought to happen – and mine – isn’t relevant here. There are regulations about when a bank can increase your overdraft limit but they are very general and do not say the bank has to look at your credit record. I am not saying don’t take the case to the ombudsman. I am just saying you should be aware it is much harder to win these cases. The £100 getsture isn’t a lot – but if the bank has actually agreed to freeze interest and charges on your overdraft that should help you to start clearing it.
Anita says
Very true. Thank you again
Zara says
Hi Sara,
I would like to put a complaint through to Aqua Credit Cards, New Day ltd but there is no e-mail address to submit my complaint to.
There is an online form and contact number only.
Is there an e-mail address?
Barbie Girl says
I put in a complaint on their website and videoed sending it for the record. They did actually send an acknowledgment letter about a week later anyway.
mrs. cheaplaugh says
They have now written to me denying any irresponsibe ending. I have now forwarded this case to the FOS for review.
Shells says
Hi, has anyone an email for Vanquis complaints? Thanks
M says
Hello
I contact Vanquis today to make a complaint. My points were I started with a limit of £500 in 2011 then in 2013 that increased to £1500. another 3 years later 2016 this was increased to £2500 and finally in 2017 I was offered to go to £3500 but refused as I knew all I was doing on this account was paying minimum monthly payments, incurring late payment fees, going over my credit limit. I made the point of you increased my limits not realising I am paying minimum payments struggling to keep up and incurring lots of charges during having this account . I am hoping I can get something back from this I asked for the 8 percent interest and anything else they would offer to refund me.
for anyone who is wanting to complain to them either call/ email contactus@vanquisbank.co.uk
hope this helps and I hope I get something back from this!
Anita says
Hi Sarah and all
Quick update. Trusted quid offered to repay outstanding £118. Had 3 loans with them. Ask them to reconsider and they offer additional £29 as a good will gesture. As paid £500 interest today asked them for £250 final settlement. Let’s see.
Capital one not upheld my complaint. They gave me one card, then another after a year and then increased a limit. Also send another request for reconsideration.
Thank you again for your help
Robert says
How do I find out when Aqua Card increased my credit limits and by how much?
Today I found out that they have passed my account to a third party for collections. My payments were up to date but they told me it was a ‘business decision’
Shells says
You can get this from Noddle, just click on aqua and it brings up more details
Mr and Mrs C says
Confession time – I set up a studio catalogue account in late 2015 with a credit limit of £150.00 , I was in debt management and had a bad credit history but still needed Christmas presents for my daughter. I set up the account in my married name – although I have never changed my name since I got married so no credit record exists under this name, DOB and address. Over the course of 2016 Studio put my credit limit up every 2 months to £1950.00 which I used as I am stupid. I had made late payments and had default charges. I have now cleared the account through a payday loan refund. Am I able to claim for irresponsible lending as no proper credit checks have been done due to no one existing of that name and DOB, or is this opening a can of worms as in all honestly I have fraudulently taken out this account even though the person named was me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think you will get anywhere with this one – it’s hard to argue they didn’t do proper checks when you gave details you hoped they wouldn’t trace back to you!
Shem says
Hi
I’m confused by this, if you are legally married and took your husbands name it will have been recorded, I’m not aware that you would need to do anything for this to be linked/updated to your credit record? Mine was certainly updated automatically, ultimately updating my new name but reflecting my maiden name in the ‘alias’ section. Even if I’m wrong or have miss understood and you mean you didn’t legally take your husbands name surely if all the other main and basic details were supplied, post code, date of birth etc they would have matched this to your Credit file easily enough?
I can’t imagine Its just a case of altering your surname to successfully obtain credit as that would leave a huge hole for potential fraud in today’s day and age, but yes if that has happened I’d be very wary of then raising a complaint!
I’m not an expert but a quick check of your credit file will confirm or deny if both surnames are tied to your credit file.
Shem x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Mrs C said she never changed her name when she got married. Your credit record will only be updated if you told your bank or credit card that you have changed your name, otherwise they don’t know that you have. I never changed my name when I got married and there is no trace of my husband’s name on my credit records.
Anita says
Dear Sarah. Got an email from quick quid saying my complain is rejected as is outside the of the time limit. They say it is a final response but they have not send any info I have requested. Can’t remember how many loans I had really. What shall I do. Appreciate your advice. Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, you should send your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman – who is arguing with QQ about whether they can look at loans over 6 years old. I think the end of this argument is coming soon, so just ignore it and send your complaint in.
At the same time, send QuickQuid an email to GDPR@quickquid.co.uk asking for a copy of all your personal information.
Thomas says
Hello, I have received a email from Barclays following my complaint and they would like to ring me discuss further, should i accept or keep it email based?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unless you hate the idea, I suggest phoning them. If you aren’t sure what they are are saying or they are trying to get you to accept something, you can say you would like them to put this in writing so you can consider it.
gary says
Hi Sara,
I have had a credit card with Halifax since 2007 where Halifax consistently increased my credit limit over the period of 5 years to £8500 until circa 2014 where they closed my account. I am currently still paying off the balance which is at £3500. During the period when my account was open i used the card to withdraw cash on a very regular basis and normally paid off the minimum interest per month, this was all during the period where Halifax continually increased my credit limit. My family found out about the credit card balance and helped me obtain a loan from Halifax in my name to clear the balance, stupidly when cleared i began withdrawing cash from the credit card again until the balance was at its limit. I have since paid various amounts into the card over the last 4 years as i am no longer able to use it as the accounts closed, this has reduced the balance but i predominately pay just over the minimum each month. Since the card was taken out in 2007 but is still open with a balance can i make an affordability complaint? and do you think i have any chance of success?
Thanks
Gary
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can I ask if you have other debts as well?
gary says
Hi Sara,
The long answer is yes, initially when i obtained the credit card i had a £2300 overdraft with Natwest which is still at a a maximum each month to this date, i had a couple of small student loans also with Natwest at roughly the same time as the credit card all of which were h i paid off long ago as they were only for a year. But throughout the years i have had a vast amount of payday loans from numerous lenders all of which i have made successful claims against thanks to your website. During the period of when my credit card account was open for use i had multiple payday loans with the cheque centre and moneyshop using them both on a regular monthly basis, although these are not shown on any credit file as both companies failed to report my loans hence winning my complaints with them. The majority of my other payday loan lending was done once Halifax had closed the use of my credit card.
I have also made a successful PPI claim against Halifax for the credit card in question which i mainly put towards reducing the current balance. Also approximately around 2 months ago Halifax credited my balance with approx £500 due to incorrect interest being added to my account, i did not make any complaint for this and was unaware until notified by a letter.
Thanks
Gary
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so the card balance should now be pretty low, so it’s only really the overdraft which is a problem? I suggest you open a new account with a different bank and switch to using then, then just pay off more than the charges every month to clear the overdraft.
I doubt whether you will get anywhere with an affordability complaint as the limit increases were mostly more than 6 years ago. And the fact your card had been cleared would have made it looked as though you were managing ok.
gary says
Hi Sara, the card balance is still at £3500 so not low at all, during the period of increases in credit limit which occurred roughly every 6 months i was continually using the credit card to withdraw cash and only ever paying the minimum back a month. Would this not be a case of irresponsible lending if im paying the minimum and withdrawing cash on every credit increase?
I would suspect that the reason my account was closed by Halifax was due to the prolonged period of only repaying the minimum a month even if i did manage to gain a loan and pay of the balance off for a matter of months before maxing the card out again?
Has anyone else had success with similar circumstances? The amount of interest i have paid on this card over 11 years would be shockingly high if i calculated it.
Thanks
Gary
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m not saying it was responsible lending, just that because it’s so long ago you are likely to have trouble winning the complaint. But you are an “old hand” at affordability complaints, so give it a go if you want!
Shem says
Hi guys
Ok so today I have raised complaints with Vanquis and NewDay. Both provided me with cards at the very peak of my financial crisis with payday lending and it was clearly evident from my file that I was in a cycle of repeated dependence on pay day and high interest borrowing ant that my outgoing far exceeded my income irrespective of what I had guessed at on my applications even a simple quick glance at my file would of shown the state I was actively in. I noted that I recognise the products are designed for people with less than perfect history but stressed that my situation was evidently extremely dire and current.
In addition despite being declined for an increase on my £400 limit by aqua in December 2016 who sighted the information from credit reference agencies as their reason, in amongst my desperate further credit applications was one for a card from Marbles, who promptly accepted and gave me an instant £900 limit! I had no idea they were both the same company NEW DAY.
I have emailed Vanquis on the email referenced in the conmplaints procedure although their website says they will not give account info by email, but as a phone number or post was their other alternative I have tried anyway. For NewDay it was an online form….
Anyway I know Sara mentioned these types of complaint are relatively new so I will keep you posted.
Best
Shem
Shells says
Shem what’s email for Vanquis?
Shem says
Hi Shells
I used contactus@vanquisbank.co.uk as so one on here provided it previously but I also sent to customer.relations@vanquisbank.co.uk as I found it buried in their online guidance somewhere…..the emails seem to have been sent successfully but I only have yahoo on iPad so can’t obtain a read receipt and I also read on their ‘contact us’ page that they won’t provide details via emails do ive had no confirmation of receipt from them.
If anyone else has had contact via email it would be good to know?
Shem
Shem says
Hi
Just to let you know I have received receipt with a complaint reference number from Vanquis today, the receipt has come from the ‘customer.relations@vanquisbank.co.uk’ email address
Hope this is useful
Shem
Sophie says
Hi, i’m sure i have a good case against Very. It’s closed now as I consolidated my debts to help get me out of the hole of massive payments i had to make to several places. This shouldn’t matter though should it? The account was opened late 2009 with a starting credit of £400… over the next 2 years that raised to £1,800 (the first to £600 was within 3 months of me opening it!). I only have a few paper statements to hand, but they show over a further 3 years it was increased another £3k to £4,800 (my final credit increase sometime in 2012/13). I was young and wreckless and just accepted the increases even though i was only paying the minimum and on a few occasions missing payments/making them late. Do you think I have a strong enough case here despite me closing the account? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This sounds like a complaint that is well worth making.
sophie says
Thanks Sara. Do you know if anyone else has had any success with interest fee payback from catalogue credit after they have settled/closed their account?
sophie says
Hi Sarah, Following up on this. After nearly 8 weeks i called Very for an update, and they’ve said they’ve not upheld my complaint. The letter went out this week with their findings, i’ve yet to see it, but I’m not sure if I have a strong case any more and if i should send this on to FOS once i receive it. Any advice on whether FOS are likely to uphold my complaint when Very have said they won’t? Is there anything else i can send to FOS to help my cause? I’ve already got all my statements, and have found past experian reports which shows my poor credit rating when they were simultaneously increasing my credit limit every other month. Is this a good enough case? i’m in a poor place financially due to the massive debts i built up and then subsequent debt consolidation load i had to get to pay them off, so i just feel defeated having had this rejected when i thought i had a solid case. Advice needed!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Most of these cases are rejected by the credit card/catalogue lender – it doesn’t mean you have a poor case, just that they are trying to fob you off.
It doesn’t matter that your account is closed, but it may be a lot more difficult because all or almost all of the credit limit increases were more than 6 years ago. The fact that you had some missed / late payments helps your case.
Who was the consolidation loan with and did you struggle to repay that? Do you mind saying how large your debts are at the moment and if you are making payments to all of them?
Sophie says
Hi Sara, thanks. i thought it was a fob off attempt but it’s always hard to know if it’s a genuine one or not!
I took the consolidation load with Hitachi, and i’m still paying it back (its just the one payment i make each month, which is manageable just about). Overall took around £20k to cover the Very account, credit cards and an overdraft (but sadly i am back in my overdraft…).
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you are back in your overdraft, that suggests that the Hitachi loan isn’t affordable. Cn I suggest you talk about your options to StepChange? Because your debts seem too big for the an affordability claim to make much difference. https://www.stepchange.org/
Sophie says
Thanks Sara. Yes i have been in touch with them before, but i haven’t set up a token agreement yet as I wasn’t sure if (at the time when i spoke to them) if my situation will change. It will do, but not until next April at the earliest. I will revisit them again.
Heidi says
Can somebody advice me please. I’m 2 years into a debt relief order and shortly after vanquis offered me a credit card. Stupidly I accepted it and have since racked up 2250 debt on it (maximum) I have contacted them to explain, I’m self employed on a low income and am struggling with the debt. The best they would offer is to freeze my account and lower the interest for 3 months. This isn’t actually going to be much help as after the 3 months, all the money I will have paid will disappear in the high interest again. Will they be likely to offer a longer period of grace? I’m really worried I’m going to throw all my income at it, for me to be left with just as bad debt at the end. This is my only debt which is a blessing but I feel they were not very helpful.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you put in an affordability complaint to Vanquis as the article above suggests. This says they should never have increased your credit limit to an unaffordable level and you would like a refund of all the interest added. Put a sentence on at the end saying you would like to agree an affordable repayment arrangement for the balance and for them to agree to freze interest on the account. You need to stop making the minumum payments if you can’t afford them.
Heidi says
Thank you Sara, unfortunately, I racked up this debt with a gambling addiction that I am now tackling so I can’t imagine they will be willing to help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s not a question if whether they are “willing” to help. If you were soon out if a DRO, then raising your credit limit that high doesn’t sound like something a responsible lender should have done! So complIn about this and ask for a refund of the interest, if this happens your balance should drop a lot! If they say No, take the case to the Ombudsman.
Heidi says
Thank you Sara, ive emailed them so I will wait to hear!
Steve says
Has anyone managed to have any luck with Next? I’ve just received my DSAR from them, and they increased my credit limit from £1000 to £5000, even though I was just making minimum payments, and my ‘indebtness score’ was ‘high risk.’
My balance never went above £1300 so I don’t think I can complain about the high credit increase, but I did end up going into arrears with them and then I defaulted due to payday loans/credit cards etc.. Is it worth trying an irresponsible credit increase complaint, and try and get the negative markers removed from my file?
Shem says
Hi Steve
I’m not an expert and no experience with Next myself but If the credit increase was given to you at a time when you could not afford to repay any further borrowings then I would imagine it’s irrelevant that you only used £300 of it as it would still potentially be £300 more than you should of been lent. To be honest if you struggled with £300 of the provided credit increase the fact they had given you the opportunity to spend a further £3700 beyond your means of repaying Just helps illustrate that they weren’t acting responsibly, (subject to the information the credit agencies held supporting your negative position and the checks they made not being sufficient of course)
You have nothing to lose in making the complaint if you feel they were at fault.
Good luck 😀
Shem
Ziz says
Keep us updated how it progressing! I just submitted complaint to New Day as i had two cards with them Marbles and Aqua and they were increasing limit whiles I was only paying minumum payments and also had other loans and credit cards.
Brs says
I did the same to Newday for marbles and aqua, had responses stating that they believe they have lent responsibly, so these have now gone to the Ombudsman. Don’t think Newday will ever admit to irresponsible lending and given the fact that I can only pay minimum payment and the forecast for both cards to be paid off is May 2048 I can’t see how that is responsible.
z says
BRS- keep us updated how it progresses. I have made a similar complaint and feel like the response will be the same.
Robert says
Hi, I made an affordability complaint to Very on the 15th August due to the fact they were automatically increasing my credit limit making the minimum payments unaffordable. They have recently emailed back telling me that as part of their commitment as a responsible lender they have lowered my credit limit. Do you think this is because of the complaint email I sent them? Will this put an end to my complaint case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who can tell, but it certainly isn’t an answer to your complaint, they have to write to you with that.
Neil says
Heading to the ombudsman with Vanquis. Offered me a credit card with a £250 limit – due to ‘good account management’ upped this to £2000 within 2years, my only income is benefits and a small pension. Their final response says they did everything right despite accepting that my total debt levels were increasing over the course of them increasing my limit. Paid minimum levels for practically all of the time, the debt ended up at over £2300+ and is still outstanding with a collector. They didn’t look at my incomings and outgoings – purely income (as I said this was benefits).
Elle says
Hi,
I have 8 catalogue accounts. I’m self employed, I’ve only paid minimum payments each month, missed a few pay by dates, but never didn’t pay. I owed around £10,000 all told and I was attempting to pay around £350 a month in all from an unknown wage (being self employed).
I have a joint mortgage, with my partner with a borrowing facility that runs alongside it, so we used some of that to pay off the debt. Well now I’m obviously paying that back, but my credit score etc are now very good.
Due to this debt issue I could and still can’t contribute to our mortgage payment monthly, my partner is now paying that all from his wages. I pay the food bill, pension, and my new debt with our mortgage account.
Do you think I might still have grounds to claim for irresponsible lending even though they’ve been paid off? i.e. as I’ve still had to borrow to do this and still paying it off.
All of these catalogues raised my credit limits several times (at least 3 x others 6 times) without my asking. Do you think I can claim for them allowing me to take out an account/s with them in the first place, especially as 4 of them are from the same group (2 from another group) and two independents I’d think that any credit checks should have already shown late payments to some, I’m just not sure what they could see back then between 5 – 10 years ago.
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can try, but you may find it difficult for any credit limit increases more than 6 years ago.
Shem says
Update on New Day claim.
On the 19th September I raised an irresponsible lending complaint with New Day in respect of Aqua and Marbles credit cards via their online contact form. The main crux of my complaint was that in the midst of the height of my payday and high interest credit spiral where I couldn’t afford my outgoings with out further borrowing I was declined for a credit increase for my existing Aqua card (starting limit £400) and subsequently applied for a brand new card by ‘Marbles’ and was instantly given a card with a starting limit of £900. I have since found out they are the same company which makes the refusal of an increase of £400 existing followed instantly by approval for more than double that dubious to say the least……anyhoo, today I got a one page letter containing one paragraph advising they were not upholding my complaint, no breakdown or explanation of how theyve arrived at that decscion just stating at the time they issued the Aquacard they completed ‘relevant checks’. They do not mention the Marbles card at at all. I intend to ring them tomorrow to establish if the complaint has been split and if this is simply in response to the Aqua card and something else will follow for Marbles or if this is their absolutely pants response to both, in which case I will be off to the ombudsman with a complaint about their complaint investigation as well as escalating the irresponsible lending aspect.
Shem
z says
My situation is very similar but I had both credit cards increase very quickly to 2K Marbles and 3k aqua. Not heard anything back from them yet.
Begs says
Hi Shem I think you need to raise 2 separate complaints, one for each, I too did the same and they reapinded to each one stating that they are confident they were responsible in their lending, these have now gone to Ombudsman again as 2 separate complaints and I have had a confirmation for each of them stating that they are looking into them and I should hear something in 4 weeks
Shem says
Hi Begs
Ahh ok, I had just submitted my complaint using the generic ‘New Day raise a complaint by email option’ although it’s actually a web form so you get no record of your complaint! The complaint was clear it was for both cards, particularly after being declined for an increase on £400 on one but thn immediately after being approved for a new limit of £900 on the other. I then received a letter saying they were investigating with no mention of a specific card and then a further very, very brief and vague response not upholding but only referencing Aqua (the £400 one) I’ve used the web form again (as no one ever answers the complaints resolution number stated on their letters) asking if for them to address the Marbles card aspect……will wait and see if I hear anything else in the next 2 weeks and if not I’m going to just go to the ombudsman.
Maybe as these kind of irresponsible lending complaints are fairly new regarding credit cards they may be wary of upholding and setting precedents, hopefully if the ombudsman begins to find in favour for some of these complaints these companies might start to do thorough investigations to thes complaints and respond fairly instead of just sending rejections out as standard.
Shem
Jason says
Hi,
Has anyone complained and had any luck with Barclaycard? I had numerous payday loans , 4 credit cards (maxed) and 3 bank loans when I applied in 2013 and was accepted. My credit limit rose to over 4K without me ever applying despite paying back minimum payment and using it to pay bills so my wages could pay off payday loans.happy to report payday loan free and now tackling credit card debt. Tia
Andy says
Hi, I am wondering about 2 things here, firstly has anyone had any joy claiming against Freemans catalogue for affordability complaints and/or PPI (not sure if they added PPI). My second query is that I sent the FOS my Shop Direct affordability complaint nearly 6 months ago and in July was told that FOS are checking the jurisdiction on Shop Direct complaints so it has been in another queue for over 3 months is this usual and is there anyway to speed this up?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think Freemans did have PPI. I don’t remember anyone mentioning them here.
Shop Direct – what they say to you in their response to your complaint?
Lucy says
Hi Andy. My JD Williams complaint has been with the Ombudsman since last December, as they disagreed with the adjudicator’s decision to uphold my complaint. I’ve also been told that they’re taking longer to make decisions on these, as they’ve had a number of complaints about catalogue companies. There doesn’t seem to be any way to speed this up, and I have no idea how much longer it will take, as I just keep being told that they’ll hopefully have a decision soon. I had a complaint about Shop Direct upheld in 2016 and it only took a few months as they accepted the adjudicators decision, so I wish I done them all together now! Fingers crossed for a decision soon.
mrs. cheaplaugh says
Hang In there with JDW. I have had 2 complaints with them upheld, they disagreed so it went to the Ombudsman who upheld in their final decision. I have had my interest and charges refunded plus the statutory 8%. It has taken 12 months to sort, they also stalled the refund process so many times but I finally received my cheque last week.
Lucy says
Hi Sara
I sent my complaint to the FO on Friday, but do you think I have a strong case?
In 2012 I was approved a credit card with NatWest £2000. In 2015 they automatically increased my credit limit to £2750. I informed NatWest that I thought the increase was irresponsible because most months I only made minimum payments, and I was using a very high level of my credit limit each month. Furthermore, I went over my credit limit on four occasions prior to the credit limit increase, with the credit card being in arrears in July 2013 and June 2014. I also took out eighteen pay day loans before the increase.
NatWest refused to uphold my complaint stating that I did not exceed the credit limit before the increase, when I did. This can be shown on statements and my credit report. They claim that it was affordable as some months I managed to pay more than the minimum. This was only because I was borrowing from pay day lenders. They also claim that the bank would only undertake a new credit search should you request a limit that is higher than what their system has automatically applied. Which I am confused about as I never asked for the increase.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
paying more than the mimimum does weaken your case.
“NatWest refused to uphold my complaint stating that I did not exceed the credit limit before the increase, when I did. ” definitely point that out to FOS!
“the bank would only undertake a new credit search should you request a limit that is higher than what their system has automatically applied. ” then you should tell FOS that this is not reasonable – how can their system decide what limit is suitable if it doesn’t look at your situation?
Yasmin says
I raised an unaffordability complaint with shop direct. My credit file had a balance of zero for that account and shown as satisfied back in 2015. For some unknown reason, they sell my account account to Lowell’s who immediately placed a default on my file. SD say I had an outstanding balance of £644 on my account, my credit file did not reflect this at all. Lowell’s said they refused to remove the default as SD told them to put it on there, even though there was no default on my file prior to them taking over my account. SD then investigated my unaffordabiltiy complaint and came back to say they could not reach a decision as to whether it was unaffordable, so they agreed to refund charges and interest and close my account, they reduced my refund by the amount they said I owed them. I told them to still look into default, Lowell’s removed the default but SD then put default on 1st Sept. my question is, can they do this, can they apply a default like this when there is no account?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think the first thing is to sort out if there was a balance at all? Have you asked SD for a statement of account from say 2013 to the current day?
Yasmin says
Hi Sara
They sent a SOA through which made no sense and it showed a balance, but they agreed there are items on there that shouldn’t be on there. there was nothing on my credit report showing any thing from SD with an outstanding balance. They then put the default on and I don’t know what this relates to. They have written off my balance their end and have agreed with the irresponsible lending claim still put a default on my credit report, can they do this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What balance did their SOA show?
“they agreed there are items on there that shouldn’t be on there” were they specific about these items – if so, what did they add up to?
This matters because if there shouldn’t have been a balance, then (a) they should not have deducted the alleged number from your refund and (b) there should be no default.
If there should have been a balance, then you can still argue to have it removed but it is more complicated.
At the moment I suggest you go for the simple approach and go back to them saying:
“You have accepted that the balance of £664 on the Statement of Account you sent me on dd/mm was incorrect, including items that should not have been there. I don’t think I had a balance at all, my credit record has shown zero since 2015 and you have never contacted me saying that I owed any money. So it is not right that you have reduced my refund by £664 and you should not have added a default to my account. I would like you to correct both of these errors or I will be sending my complaint to the Ombudsman.”
Yasmin says
Hi Sara
Thank you, there was a balance but no one could reconcile it. I questioned why they reduced my refund but they just sent me a cheque and I still told them this doesn’t end the complaint. Can I just check a couple of things:
– if they say there was a balance, should this be on my credit file?
– can they put a default on my file even though they themselves have closed off the account their end and put the balance to zero?
– I know you said it complicates things but what argument do I have to get this removed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is much simpler to argue there should not have been a default because you never had a balance – they have admitted some figures are wrong, they have never corrected it, it never showed on your credit record, they never asked you to pay it etc.
In this case you should get a larger refund and the default removed.
If you want to argue that there was a balance but the default should still go, you have to know what the balance was, when it arose, and then argue that they told you after that date (what date?) there was no balance – this is more complicated and I don’t see how you can do it if you don’t agree there was a balance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you say you will be sending the case to the Ombudsman unless they refund you the extra £664 and delete the default.
Shem says
Hi
A bit of progress with NewDay re my combined Aqua / Marbles complaint. I received acknowledgment re the Aqua account within 5 business days and a further ‘not upheld’ a week later – neither mentioned the Marbles element of the complaint at all which was a crucial part given that being declined for a credit increase with my existing Aqua limit of £400 lead to my application to Marbles (not realising they were Brands of the same company) and I was instantly approved and given an opening limit of £900. I sent a chase / clarification query via the same online form that I raised the original complaint with but heard nothing. Today I persisted with their complaints helpline number and spoke to a really nice lady who is going to seek clarification and an updated response. She did advise that my recent chase/clarification was received but was classed as a ‘comeback’ which take longer to respond to. She also initially advised that her understanding was that although both are NewDay products they would have differing lending criteria and the notes she could see suggested that the pending Marbles response would be along the same ‘it’s designed as a product for those with poor credit history’ etc as that I received from the Aqua product. I explained the issue was my credit issues were not ‘past’ . She pledged to update me today or tomorrow at the latest …
Shem
Shem says
Hi
As promised the helpful NewDay complaints lady got back to me but with a boot more info and a question. She actually admitted her surprise that the risk team had confirmed they DO try and align riteria and lending descsions buys them sadvised she had been unable to find record of the Aqua limit increase request and decline that I had advised in my complaint was very shortly before my Marbles application. I knew I was right so went though my emails while she was on the phone and was able to confirm and date stamp the declined request which was actually 2 days before I applied and was accepted for their Marbles product. She has taken the info away to provide to the risk team.
Hopefully that is strong evidence that there was an error oversight in their usual lending protocols but I’m happy to give them more time to investigate as only just over 3 weeks in from the original complaint and at least it seems they are looking at my specific details rather than relying on their default rejection response.
I know it’s doubtful but if anyone has had past experience with NewDay complaints it would be good to know how you got on.
Shem
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I agree it is always good when a lender appears to be actually thinking about your complaint!
Shem says
Hi
So nice lady called back today but with a u turn, they are now saying their products are different and have different criteria so it is entirely possible to be declined for a limit increase on a £400 on one NewDay product but then be instantly approved for a starting limit of £900 on another. Outcome they are not upholding my complaint. She also said whilst I am free to go to the FOS they work closely with them on a daily basis and all they will do is confirm and reiterate NewDays processes for me.
Well we will see I guess!
Meanwhile I’ve had a ‘we are still investigating’ from vanquis, only 4 weeks in so that’s fine .
Shem
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would make the point to FOS that you feel they were were trying to stop you taking your case to FOS, ask FOS to listen to the recording of the call, and say yiunthink this is an unfair way to handle complaints.
Rosie says
Anyone, any idea what the approximate waiting time is from business rejecting adjudicators decision to being picked up by the ombudsman ? Adjudicator agreed that Aqua hadn’t acted fairly and partly upheld my complaint. That was at start of August. Aqua disagreed and was therefore referred to Ombudsman near the end of August.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Typical three to four months, some faster, some longer. Excludes Wonga.
David says
Hi,
I haven’t posted on here in a while, I have had a case with th FO against Vanquis for 26 months, it was a case on affordability, last month after dragging their heels the FO gave Vanquis 2 weeks to accept their findings, FO agreed with me as I had credit reports to show they shouldn’t have upped my limit when they did, this was in 2011, Vanquis did not respond so was being sent to an Ombudsman to look at complaint again, then a week later Vanquis accepted the findings, which was amazing, after speaking to the FO Vanquis have admitted making a mistake in accepting the findings, my FO says this case has ‘wider implications ‘ in how they assess future complaints , Vanquis are also saying that they are struggling to come up with a settlement amount as they are unsure how to work out this settlement as I have already had a ROP complaint upheld, they have tried to get the ruling changed so they can take the settlement off the amount owed on the card but have been told that wasn’t in the ruling they agreed to, I must say it is brilliant watching Vanquis struggling to come up with a settlement amount and I must admit to making weekly calls to them asking for an update, they did ask me not to call until I heard from them, my response was that I asked the same when I was struggling with debt and they ignored me so I will continue to call them when I see fit. I will let you know when they finally sort themselves out.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
First, well done!
Some sympathy for Vanquis in trying to think how to do this calculation… it is headache inducing. Although… What were the EXACT words of the Ombudsman’s decision?
I have no idea why FOS didn’t say it could be offset against your balance! But Vanquis should have asked for this earlier.
R says
Hi, sorry to post this here but seems best place to get good responses.
It’s about overdraft but also relates to payloans. I was in a cycle in 2013 and ended up applying for a £5k loan from the Halifax to try clear the PDL’s. The application was immediately declined, that same week I was able to increase my overdraft from £200 to £5,100 …. with the Halifax!!
5 years on, i’ve managed to get this down to £2,850 thanks to various PDL refunds, but then last year they announced OD fee’s would be changing and what was costing me £45 per month would now cost me £130. I’ve been struggling since.
If i had been granted the loan, it would have been paid off 3 years ago and cost me £600. To date, i’ve paid £6,000 in fees and still owe £2,850 which is so frustrating. At the time of applying for the OD (which was increased daily by £500 over 10 days) I would have had over 150 settled / active PDL’s on my credit file.
Any advice? I’ve complained to them today asking to clear the OD as a gesture, but they were suggesting That if my complaint isnt upheld I could instead enter into a repayment plan to clear the debt within 12 months at a cost of £220 per month.
Do i have grounds to take this to FOS if it’s not upheld? It’s keeping me awake at night, i’m so stressed out
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Overdraft complaints aren’t easy to win, but your case sounds very strong because of the loan refusal. To refuse you a loan but give you the same amount of money on a more expensive overdraft suggests that they didn’t properly assess increasing your overdraft limits. Not only did they not check on your credit record, but they also ignored your past history with the Halifax which included the recent declined loan application. I think you should send this to FOS if they do not clear your overdraft as you have suggested.
Matt S says
Hi R,
I complained about my overdraft given to me by Nationwide. I was in a bad place with payday loans and gambling. Had never been accepted for any form of credit with Nationwide when one day logged in to my account and there was an offer of an overdraft. I took it and within 4 weeks had maxed it up to £4000 (originally £800, then £1200, then £2000, £2500, £3000 and finally £4000). Kept applying for increases and they kept accepting before finally refusing when it hit £4000.
Took almost a year but eventually the Ombudsman found in my favour that they should have done further checks before allowing me to continue increasing it. Got almost £3300 refunded. It’ll take time but its definitely work pursuing it.
R says
Thanks For sharing Matt! Feel much more confident knowing the Ombudsman sided with you.
I worked out last night that Within 7 days I increased it from £200 to £4900 in £500 increments. I’ve repaid £2,500 of it by reducing it down and have paid £3,880 in
charges (including unauthorised charges).
If i was to be refunded the charges along with 8% interest it would be over £4,000 so i’m hoping they opt to wiped the remaining £2,850 of it knowing there’s a chance it could cost them another £2,150 if the FOS uphold the complaint.
Fingers crossed! This overdraft has been keeping me awake at night! With £140 of charges every month I can’t see how it will ever get repaid.
R says
Hi
I’ve had an account with capital one that i’ve just been making minimum payments on for 10 years, i was then able to take out a second credit card with Capital one, called Think Finance.
If i wanted to complain, what am i asking for? Is it interest on the second card or the balance to be wiped completely? Any advise would be great
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have to be able to show that you can’t afford the payments on the new card. What is its credit limit? What is the credit limit on the first card and did Capital One keep increasing it?
Do you have any problem debts showing on your credit record?
R says
Limit on old account is £400, limit on new card is £1,500 which hasn’t been increased since opening. Credit file shows a large amount of settled pay day loans and 6 other credit cards all maxed out and regularly over their credit limit.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I think that sounds like a reasonable complaint. These often aren’t easy to win, so don’t be disheartened if Capital One reject your complaint, just send it to the Ombudsman. And make sure you spell out all the payday loans and other credit cards Capital One should have seen on your credit record at the time they offered you the second card.
R says
Thanks for your help. But what am i able to gain? Is it for the balance to be wiped or refunded interest and charges?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A refund of the interest and charges on the second account.
annie says
just thought I would update you all on a complant to shop direct/very catalogue.
I made a complaint in July and had a few letters from them to say they were investigating and would have a decision asap. Their last letter in September said they were sorry but we’re still investigating but would have a final response within 2 weeks. I decided to send to the ombudsman at that point however decided to phone them last week for an update.
They phoned me back to say they had been inundated with complaints and we now dont issue replies to some complaints until the ombudsman got involved. she said they worked ciosely with the ombudsman and their investigations went hand in hand.
this didn’t exactly fill me with confidence.
annie says
hi guys
another update. I logged into my very account today to see I have been refunded just over £2000 interest and fees.
when I called they advised no 8% interest had been added and could not tell me from what date interest had been refunded. o dour they will follow up with a confirmation letter.
my question is, they have not given me a chance to agree or disagree to this and the credit has been applied to my account. does this mean it is final and I can no.longer continue with my complaint which is already at FOs?
I calculated the refund should be much more so can ï.persue this or do I just have to accept?
any help is greatly appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have an adjudicator assigned yet?
SB says
Hi Sara and everyone,
Like many here, I have been in a spiral of debt for many years. Not to make excuses but I suffer with depression and anxiety, this makes it really hard to manage finances and I let things slide as well as previous problems with gambling.
I took out an AQUA card in 2012 and used it to gamble, I had. I defaulted quickly after and started a Debt Management Plan with Stepchange. For two years, things were going really well and I was paying off my debts through the DMP. However in 2014, while still on the DMP and completely out of the blue, AQUA wrote to me to tell me that they had increased my limit. I took out the replacement card and quickly increased my debt to £1600. This increase led to a new spiral of debts, I took out a Luma card and numerous payday loans.
In 2016, I realised that I could not carry on like this. I contacted AQUA and Luma on the phone more than once and they refused to set up a payment plan on the phone and asked me to send all this documentation. I told them that I had poor mental health and just wanted to set up something there and then. Basically, they stopped chasing me after a while and I know that Luma sold on my debt. I have not dealt with them for over 2 years.
SB says
I have since started a new DMP and Stepchange have informed me that they can’t set up plans with AQUA and Luma. I really can’t face phoning them. I have contacted them via email asking for details as to where my debts are and for a statement of transactions.
Basically, my question is, do I have a case with either of these companies? I don’t think that AQUA should have offered me a credit increase while I was still on DMP. My credit file was full of payday loans and they knew that I had a gambling problem in the past as well as poor mental health. When I complain, should I mention the gambling or will it go against me? I know that I have borrowed irresponsibly, but they have also lent irresponsibly. Do I wait for my DMP to be set up before I complain?
Thank you to anyone for any replies.
SB
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“I don’t think that AQUA should have offered me a credit increase while I was still on DMP.” I agree!
“they knew that I had a gambling problem in the past as well as poor mental health” do you mean you told them specifically about gambling an mental health? that makes a very strong case – it’s not IMPOSSIBLE for them to lend to you later, but knowing about these problems means they should have been extra careful and checked your credit record etc – which they clearly didn’t.
I would go ahead and complain now.
SB says
I have since started a new DMP and Stepchange have informed me that they can’t set up plans with AQUA and Luma. I really can’t face phoning them. I have contacted them via email asking for details as to where my debts are and for a statement of transactions.
Basically, my question is, do I have a case with either of these companies? I don’t think that AQUA should have offered me a credit increase while I was still on DMP. My credit file was full of payday loans and they knew that I had a gambling problem in the past as well as poor mental health. When I complain, should I mention the gambling or will it go against me? I know that I have borrowed irresponsibly, but they have also lent irresponsibly.
Thank you to anyone for any replies.
SB
Annie says
Hi Sarah
Just after my last post the postman arrived with the letter from Shop Direct.
They have basically said they done nothing wrong but as a gesture of goodwill they have refunded interest and charges but not any additional interest and will not remove info from my credit file. They have specifically said that they do not uphold my complaint.
I really don’t know what to do,with this can you advise please? I really don’t think this decision is correct but they have already applied the credit to my account does It mean it’s the end of the line?
I hope I don’t seem ungrateful but I really struggled with this debt and they have told me that in December when the account I sent up for review ( it is with the specialist support team) I would have to increase my payments to over £500 pe4 month to avoid it going to an external debt collector.
thank you Sarah x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s not the end of the line unless you are happy to accept this. If you aren’t, tell your adjudicator and also ask SD for an explanation of how they calculated the amount.
Gemma says
Hello, not sure if this has been mentioned before in the thread so apologies in advance.
I have already had successfull claims regarding PPI on loans and credit cards. Is a claim regarding the increase of various credit card limits classed as a separate complaint or would this of been taken into account when PPI was refunded?
I have 3 credit cards Vanquis, Luma and Capital One (Luma I believe is part of Capital One) . All 3 of these cards have increased my limit, more than once. I can always only ever afford the minimum
I appreciate your advice.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Affordability complaints are nothing to do with PPI.