The repayments on many loans and car finance are too high to be manageable so people get deeper into debt trying to repay them.
When you applied, a lender should have checked a loan would be affordable for you – often they did not check properly and you should never have been given this loan.
This article describes how to complain, with a template to use.
Many people have won complaints using this. If you win, you get the interest refunded in cash. When you still owe a balance, the interest is removed so you only repay what you borrowed.
These complaints do not hurt your credit record if you carry on making the loan repayments while the complaint goes through.
Contents
A quick overview
What types of loans?
- any personal loans, including high-cost lenders, bank loans, and credit union loans;
- you can complain if you are still paying the loans, it has already been repaid, it has defaulted, or you have a payment arrangement/DMP;
- a consolidation loan may have been cheaper than the credit cards it cleared – but it may still have been unaffordable!
- you can also complain about car finance. But if you are still paying car finance, be careful – read Car finance affordability – what you get if you win a complaint
- the complaints here do not apply to mortgages or business loans.
What is “unaffordable”?
The regulator says “affordable” means:
you can make the repayments without hardship or having to borrow elsewhere.
For large loans, a lender should have made adequate checks at the start. The larger your loan, the worse your credit score and the more other debt you had, the closer a lender should look.
If your loan was fine at the beginning and only caused problems later when you lost your job or your mortgage repayments went up, you are unlikely to win an affordability complaint as this could not have been predicted at the start.
How does this work?
You first make a complaint to the lender saying the loan was unaffordable and ask for a refund of the interest.
There is a template here you can adapt to say what happened to you. Send it by email.
The lender has up to 8 weeks to reply. Lenders reject many good complaints, so you can send a rejection to the Financial Ombudsman.
Complain to the lender
Email addresses for lenders
If your loan has been sold to a debt collector, send your complaint to the original lender not the debt collector.
It’s easiest if all communications are by email – free, instant and you have a copy with a date stamp to show the ombudsman.
For banks, see this list here: email complaint addresses for banks.
For car finance and logbook loans, see this list: email address for car finance lenders
Here are the email addresses for some non-bank lenders. There are a lot of other smaller lenders, including many Credit Unions. If your lender is not listed, ask in the comment below for an email address.
Abound (used to be Fintern) complaints@getabound.com
Admiral loansquality@admiralgroup.co.uk
Anico complaints@anicofinancialservices.com
Avant Credit emailcomplaints@avantcredit.co.uk
Bamboo Loans complaints@bambooloans.com
Better Borrow enquiries@chetwood.co
Creation customercare@creation.co.uk
Everyday Loans – for loans after 31 March 2021 complain to complaints@everyday-loans.co.uk using the template in this article. It is no longer possible to make complaints about their loans before that date
Evlo (rebrand of Everyday Loans) chioma.nwachukwu@evlo.co.uk
Fair Finance complaints@fairfinance.org.uk
Finio Loans (rebrand of Likely Loans) complaints@oakbrookfinance.com
Fluro (used to be Lending Works) cx@fluro.co.uk
Koyo loans info@koyoloans.com
Lendable complaint@lendable.co.uk
Lifestyle Loans info@lifestyleloans.co.uk
Likely Loans – see Finio
LiveLend support@livelend.co
Loans by Mal (Monthly Advance Loans) Complaints@loansbymal.co.uk
Loans 2 Go read Loans2Go – how to complain
MBNA mbnaonlinecomplaints@mbna.co.uk
Moneyline headoffice@moneyline-uk.com
My Community Bank complaints@mycommunitybank.co.uk
Novuna (used to be called Hitachi) ComplaintsTeam@NovunaPersonalFinance.co.uk
Plata complaints@plata.com
Plend complaints@plend.co.uk
Progressive Money complaints@progressivemoney.co.uk
Quick Loans customerscare@quickloans.co.uk
Reevo complaints@reevomoney.com
Salary Finance (Neyber) complaints@salaryfinance.com (for loans, not “pay advance”)
Savvy info@savvy.co.uk
Shawbrook Customercare.team@shawbrook.co.uk
Snap Finance customer@snapfinance.co.uk
Tandem pl@tandem.co.uk
TM Advances info@tmadvances.co.uk
Updraft complaints@updraft.com
Vanquis customer.relations@vanquisbank.co.uk
Zopa complaints@zopa.com
118 118 Money complaints@118118money.com
Use this template
Email the lender to begin your complaint. Put AFFORDABILITY COMPLAINT as the subject of your email.
Template for you to adapt:
Please confirm the date this loan started, the amount, the interest rate and the monthly repayments. [don’t include this if you already know the information]
I am asking for a refund of the interest and any charges I paid, plus statutory interest, and to delete any negative information from my credit record. [the refunds for car finance can be a lot more complicated than this, see but this is all you need to put in your complaint]
I also want the CCJ that I have for this debt set aside. [delete this sentence if you don’t have a CCJ!]
I attach copies of my bank statements and credit report from the time I applied for this loan/these loans. [delete if you don’t yet have them yet, but they help your case if you do. Even if they show gambling, that supports your argument the loan was unaffordable.]
I didn’t know that the lender was supposed to check that I could repay the loan without having to borrow more. I only found out in [2024] when I saw a newspaper article in the Sun/an advert on Facebook for refunds/a friend said they had made a complaint/whatever. So I am complaining within 3 years of having found out that I have cause to complain. [only put this paragraph if some of your loans are more than 6 years old. It explains why you haven’t complained before. It’s only an example so change it so it really covers what happened to you!]
Add extra information if you want – see below for some ideas – you don’t have to do this.
Do you need a payment arrangement now?
If you want an affordable payment arrangement now, add a sentence to the complaint saying this. These complaints may take months to sort out – a payment arrangement can get your finances into a safe place:
- a payment arrangement shows on your credit record, but if you win the complaint all negative marks will be deleted
- talk to a debt adviser such as National Debtline if you want to know more about payment arrangements
- but don’t risk a payment arrangement for car finance or a logbook loan – one would put your car at risk.
Other details to add if you want
The template above is fine, you don’t have to add a lot more details.
But you can add extra points if they apply in your case, for example
- my bank statements and credit record (attached) show that I was unable to afford the loan repayments.
- this was a large loan, you knew I had poor credit and may have been in a difficult position so you should have tried to verify my income and expenses. If you had done this, you would have rejected my application.
- during a telephone call, your agent suggested some figures should be lower to get my application accepted.
- if the lender was your bank – you should have seen from my bank account that I was in financial difficulty, I was using my overdraft a lot, I was only making minimum payments to my credit card from you.
And some examples of points about top-ups:
- a credit check would have shown that my finances had got worse since the first loan
- I had said the first loan was to consolidate debt, but you should have seen that this hadn’t happened.
While you are waiting for a reply
Try to get copies of your bank statements from 3 months before a loan to three months afterwards. You can get statements from closed bank accounts, normally going back 6 years.
Also get a statutory credit report now and download it. You can get one from TransUnion. Do this as soon as possible as sometimes the details change, so you want a full one saved to show the Ombudsman later if necessary.
Do not wait until the Ombudsman asks you for credit records or bank statements – you want them ready to hand. They really help your case as they prove your financial situation when you took the loan out.
You should get a response from the lender within 8 weeks. If you don’t, phone them up and ask when you will get it – a couple of days is worth waiting for but many responses are rejections, so don’t wait weeks for one, go to the Ombudsman straight away.
Go to the Ombudsman if you don’t get a good offer
Don’t be put off by a rejection! Or if the lender said it was your fault because your loan application wasn’t accurate – the lender should have made checks.
Sometimes a lender will send a long, complicated reply designed to make you look as though you should give up. If they say the loan was over 6 years ago, see below for “time limits”.
I suggest you rely on your instinct – if the loan caused you a lot of problems, send it to be looked at by the Ombudsman.
If you aren’t sure, ask in the Comments below this article. You only have 6 months to send the complaint to FOS, so it’s best to do this as soon as possible.
It isn’t usually worth trying to negotiate with these lenders, you are just wasting your time.
Send to Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
It’s easy! Use the “do it online” option to send a complaint to the Ombudsman. It asks you for all the details they need.
The main part of your complaint can be a version of what you sent the lender in your complaint. Add any more details you want, including pointing out mistakes in the lender’s reply. Also attach:
- the reply from the lender
- Trans Union statutory credit record
- bank statements starting 3 months before first loan
- do not worry if you don’t have A copy of your credit or finance agreement – lots of people don’t. The lender will supply a copy if FOS asks for it. Don’t delay sending a complaint to FOS while you try to get this from the lender.
Other information that may help your case
Don’t delay sending a case to the Ombudsman while waiting for this information.
If you don’t have the bank statements from the time of the loan application, get them now. You can get these going back at least 6 years even from closed accounts. And you can often go back a lot further with an account that you are still using.
This is a good point to ask the lender for a Subject Access Request (SAR) if you are missing information that may come in useful at the Ombudsman. This could be your loan applications, all credit and other affordability checks and assessments, and a statement of account for the loans, and – if you think this will help – a record of all phone calls.
Your lender will have details of how to ask for this information on their website – it’s often included in their Privacy Policy, with a link at the bottom of web pages.
“Is there a time limit?”
You can’t complain about a loan that started before April 2007 – that is when the law changed to allow these complaints.
Lenders will often reject a complaint if the loan started more than 6 years ago.
But if your loan was still being repaid within the last 6 years, the Ombudsman may well decide they can look at it. So if your loan started in 2017 and finished in 2021, send this to the Ombudsman if the lender says it’s too old, because it isn’t.
The ombudsman may also look at older loans if you had a continuous stream of borrowing which carried on into the last 6 years. So if you had 2 loans, the first from 2014-17, when it was refinanced into a loan from 2017-2021, the Ombudsman may decide they can look at the earlier loan as well. And if you had two overlapping loans, eg from 2014-2019 and 2017-2022, the Ombudsman may look at both.
But if your loans from this lender ended more than 6 years ago, then it is very unlikely you will win a case at the Ombudsman.
Need some help?
Don’t use a claims management company. They are expensive, often incompetent and use a similar template to the one in this article.
Instead ask a question in the comments below.
Can you get an overdraft refund?
Refunds from cards and catalogues
Get a car finance commission refund?
Danii says
Hi Sara,
I did an affordability complain to PayPal. They declined it and I referred to FOS. The FOS got back to me to say they were contacting Paypal directly as my copy of the letter didn’t show the right to refer to FOS. (It was there I had just missed it on the screenshots)
The contact from FOS seems to have triggered a second complaint with Paypal. They declined it again – but said they would reach out to me to discuss options.
They are offering me a payment plan, freezing all interest and giving me manageable payments. Credit account would be suspended while on plan including my regular PayPal wallet.
I’m thinking the FOS compliant may fail as reading comments here I opened the account before PayPal joined the FCA and had no increases.
Are there any downsides to me taking this offer from PayPal I can’t find much information on this type of agreement with them? I’m a bit worried on the impact on my credit record, but PayPal said that would only happen if I default on a payment. Should I wait till the FOS confirm their position? Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have payplan said in writing that this won’t affect your credit record?
Danii says
Hi Sara,
I asked for something in writing explaining what they were offering and this was sent to me.
Below is an explanation of how the Reduced Payment Plan works. For us to look into the reduced plan we would need an Income and Expenditure report done by you. We can send this to you via email to be completed online.
Repayment Adjustments
If you make repayments that are less than your minimum payments due, this will be reported as a missed payment on your PayPal Credit account with the Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs). If you keep your account up to date, we will not report that there are missed payments. We will suspend all interest and fees on your PayPal Credit account while you’re enrolled in the plan.
Notice of Default:
If your arrears accrue, we are required to send you a Notice of Default. This would affect your credit file as you would not be meeting the minimum agreed payments, and after 3 months your account would default, and this can stay on your credit file for up to 6 years.
Usage of Credit Facility:
No further use of your credit facility is permitted while a repayment program is in operation. Additionally, your standard PayPal account will also be limited during this period.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok so they are saying that they won’t charge any interest, that reduces the minimum payment and if you make those your credit record will not be affected.
You may well have a problem getting a refund from an old PayPal account – so are you happy with this?
Danii says
I think it would be beneficial to help me clear the debt quicker. I was just a little sceptical as I couldn’t find examples of them offering this to others.
Is there a risk of them defaulting the account and selling the debt on if I enter into this arrangement?
I can see from other commenters winning an affordability complaint success seems low as the account opened in 2019 before Brexit..
Thank you for reviewing this Sara.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t see enough of these “old Paypal complaints” to know if they have offered this to other people.
They have said that they won’t default you if you keep up with the minimum payments. These minimums will be lower because they are stopping charging interest
You are right that many people have found it hard to get a refund of an account opened pre brexit where there hasn’t been a later credit limit increase.
Danii says
Hi Sara, I spoke to PayPal again and they admitted the first advisor has given me slightly incorrect info.
The new advisor said the account would show as an arrangement to pay on my credit record as soon as I enter into the payment plan but the rest still stands only late payments/missed payments or less than minimum would default the account. I don’t know how bad that is? I assume it stays for the full 6 years post me paying off the account?
My only concern is I am a solo home owner and would like to move in 2-3 years which is why I am trying to get on top of the debt!
Should I consider taking this over with someone like citizens advice or a debt charity?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“I assume it stays for the full 6 years post me paying off the account?”
yes that is correct. This will make it hard for you to get a new mortgage in 2-3 years. But I don’t know how realistic that hope is if you don’t accept this offer to freeze interest.
You can talk to Citizens Advice but I am not sure what else they can add.
Bc says
My complaint regarding AA Bank of Ireland loans is with adjudicator and he’s had the bank statements and is now asking for the credit report, I’ve got one from downloaded from Equifax but it’s not got details of these two loans, when I have checked the other credit reference agencies there not on there either, would this affect my complaint l
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what other reports did you look at?
Are they the BoI loans you are looking for?
Bc says
I’ve looked on Experian and Trans union, I’ve also checked on clearscore for the AA Bank of Ireland loans X2, not sure if this will make any difference to the adjudicator decision.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well this is odd, but actually the adjudicator does NOT want to see the debts your are complaining about, but all the other debts you have
Bc says
Thank you for your response, I have another complaint whereby the adjudicator is now registered looking at the two loans from Zopa as he didn’t uphold the larger one but did for the smaller one, so after telling him I wanted it to be looked at by an ombudsman he’s now relooking at both and has requested further information from Zopa, so I’m hoping he comes back in my favour, if not I’ll just ask for it to go to the ombudsman this time.
Peter says
A FO Investigator has ruled in my favour for a £6000 loan with Zopa. Their findings are as follows:
*It’s not fair for Zopa to be able to charge any interest or charges under the credit agreement.
*I should pay back the amount borrowed.
*Zopa should also remove all adverse information regarding this account from my credit file.
*Any capital balance remains outstanding, then Zopa should arrange an affordable and suitable payment plan with me. Once I have cleared the
balance, any adverse information in relation to the account should be removed from my credit file.
I would effectively have a £2.5k balance to settle if the payments made are taken off the capital balance.
Please can I ask, they have until 1st May to respond. Are Zopa likely to agree to this? Is it in their best interests to settle now or let it go to an actual Ombudsman? Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is no reason for Zopa to go to the Ombudsman unless they think this is a wrong decision. Banks usually prefer to settle quietly once they think they are going to lose.
Peter says
Thank you. When the loan capital is finally repaid do the loans get removed from your credit file?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This depends on the lender. Some delete the loan straight away. Others just remove the negative marks.
Peter says
Zopa have raised a few points in response to the view the investigator sent them on 17 April 2025. They have responded to the points they raised and are now currently awaiting their further comments.
Should I be worried that they will go against the investigator’s findings? I thought I had a win in the bag but maybe not!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it’s hard to guess without knowing what the points are
John Paul says
Hi Sara
I sent the template to N Bolton Finance, I had a response from an ex barrister who said he is working on their behalf for the business for compliance matters, he has since responded but has been very intrusive has sent screenshots of my LinkedIn profile and deeds of my family members house and different documents showing the value, I’m not very happy about this and feel it’s a breach of confidentially and concerned he may contact employers or family members, what do you suggest I do here?
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How many loans and how large have you had from them? How long ago did you complain? And what was the response?
Z says
Hi,
I note you have said an ex-barrister, please check on the BSB website to check his history for example if he’s been banned from the profession etc.
You can also report him to the BSB.
Nate says
Hi,
I had a CCJ on my credit file, back in 2019. Satisfied 2021. Did an affordability claim and won, entry/debt removed from credit file. Do I still need to declare this to a mortgage lenders?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
was the debt cleared or are you still making payments to it?
Megan says
Hi Sara, I just recently found your page (from someone posting on tiktok) I’m just wondering if you know if I can make an affordability complaint in ireland or is this just a UK thing? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry this is only for the UK
Megan says
No problem thanks for responding
Joanne says
Lenders have knocked us back so wanting to take our case to FOS but we no longer have access to the statements as husband has forgotten his login details for the old account. Is is worth going ahead without the statements?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
he can get statements going back 6 years even from a closed account. Send the cases to FOS now and also ask his old bank for them, so you have them ready when FOS asks for them
James says
Dear Sarah,
Please would you give me an email address to complain to Novaloans Ltd t/a” Cash for now” This debt was passed to BW legal and a CCJ was issued (unpaid). BW Legal now say the case has been closed but the last letter they sent me was November 2021.
I also need to complain to” Uncle Buck” who became insolvent. This debt was passed to Conexus, who last contacted me in Sept 2022, warning of an upcoming doorstep visit to a previous address.
Neither of the above have my current address. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Novaloans has also become insolvent.
Why did BW say the case has been closed?
You have no realistic hope of getting a refund back from either firm.
James says
Thank you for your reply Sara
I tried to register with bwlegal on their website, using my name and entered their reference number and the response was “this case has been closed” I will send them an email and ask for the reason.
Presumably, I will still need to pay back the “Uncle Buck” loan via Conexus, who I will also email.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As you aren’t being pursued for either, why not just save up some money so you can Make an offer to clear one if it ever gets back in touch?
James says
Thank you Sara. Unfortunately I have many other debts which I have no realistic hope of repaying. I have registered with Stepchange and I am adding all the loans as I manage to find out the current creditors as many of my debts are old and have been sold on to recovery companies and / or solicitors. I’m working on my budget and there won’t be much left available for paying my creditors.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you buying or renting?
Do you have any non defaulted debts?
Any loans taken in the last few years?
Marie Barker says
Does anyone please have a complaints address for hitachi loans? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
they have changed their name to Novuna, see the list in the article above.
Robyn says
Can I do this with Updraft? Only made one payment but they should’ve looked better at my affordability
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes!
But how much difficulty are you in at the moment?
R says
A lot. 1.7k into a 3k overdraft, £25k in loans and £5k credit card. Drowning is the word . All accumulated from trying to consolidate unaffordable debts, not from anything luxurious
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I think you should also look at a debt management plan with StepChange, see https://www.stepchange.org/setting-expectations.aspx
That is in addition to making affordability complaints. Against all your current debts AND and others that you have cleared in the last few years with a consolidation loan. Winning any will reduce the time it takes to end the DMP and can help improve your credit record sooner.
But affordability complaints take too long and are too uncertain on their own when you are Drowning. A DMP gets you into a safe financial space where you can be less stressed, get out of the endless cycle of using credit to pay credit, and send rejected affordability complaints to the Ombudsman and not mind the time it takes
Robyn says
Can I do an affordability complaint to credit cards as well? And any loans that I paid off but was in a better position when I took them out?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes – slightly different template for credit cards, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/
Yes you can complain about loans that have been repaid. But an affordability complaint is a test about the lending at the time the loan started, so it depends what you situation was like then, not what you situation was like a few years later or now.
Claire says
Hi I followed your amazing template letter and sent in to amendable last week and recieved a response today that I think is a positive one the main response was this:
‘On this occasion, whilst I can see that our standard affordability checks were met, I can also see that certain information within your credit file could have warranted us asking for additional information in relation to your financial circumstances at the time the loan was granted. Notably, consistent usage of your overdraft and a high degree of reliance on credit cards, minimum payments and cash advances. These were indications of potential financial distress.
Outcome
We will therefore freeze the interest on your loan moving forward, and will waive the interest and charges that have accrued on your loan so far. Any interest or charges that have accrued to date will be credited to your loan account.
Please be aware that these procedures will require a period of 7 to 10 business days to be finalised.’
I think this is a positive outcome but just wanted to check should I go back and ask for interest on the interest they are crediting to my loan to be added or can I not do this as there is still an amount outstanding? This loan defaulted in 2020 and I have been in a self managed DMP for the last 4 years so the interest accrued would be up to that point.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Which lender is this? How much did you borrow and how much have you paid them so far, including the normal monthly payments and your current lower ones?
Claire says
This is with Lendable (sorry auto correct in my post!) I borrowed £11,000 and have £4323.91 left to pay.
I was paying £350 repayments from September 2018 until November 2020. I defaulted and began £62 a month repayments from as part of my self managed DMP from December 2020 and am still paying these now.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So can you check EXACTLY how many payments you have made to them, when you quote months I cant tell if that includes the months or if you took the loan in Sept 18 so the first payment was in Oct 2018 etc.
Also was there no gap between stopping paying the £350 payments and making lower payments in the DMP?
Claire says
Hi Sara so I have just gone through the loan history and I have repaid in total so far £11,425.18
23 x £350.36 (the full repayment)
54 x £62.35 (the reduced payment plan that is still in place)
I didn’t pay for one month and then then accepted the payment plan and defaulted the account.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you have already paid more than the £11k you borrowed. You should Be expecting a refund of the extra £425=you have paid and for the balance to be cleared.
I suggest you reply Asking them to confirm that this clears the balance and refunds you a small amount in cash.
That would be a full refund. There should be small amount of extra 8% interest added.
Claire says
Amazing thank you for your help I will respond today!
Danii says
Hi Sara, I’ve referred two HSBC loans to the Financial Ombudsman (FO) for affordability complaints. The investigator has now come back with some initial questions.
HSBC has told the FO that I was in arrears on one of the loans in 2020 and 2021. The investigator’s question is along the lines of: “HSBC has confirmed you were in arrears in 2020, so I think it’s likely you were aware then that there was a problem with the lending and that it was causing a loss.” He’s asked the same question in relation to 2021.
This feels like he’s suggesting I should have raised the complaint back in 2020/2021. If that’s the case, would he be considering it out of time (i.e., outside the 6-year or 3-year-from-awareness rule)? The loan started in 2019 and was refinanced into the second loan, which began in 2022.
I don’t agree with HSBC’s characterisation of the arrears. What they are referencing is actually a Covid-19 payment holiday I took at the start of the pandemic due to the global uncertainty. I resumed payments as agreed once the holiday ended, and I have checked; this was never reported as arrears to the credit reference agencies. I personally don’t think this is related to realising the loans were unaffordable as he is suggesting but wanted to get your thoughts before I reply to the FO.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you explain what happened in 2020. Clearly that was caused by covid concerns, something that was happening at that time and there is no reason why you should have leapt to the conclusion that HSBC had made a mistake in lending to you in 2019. You can also point out that HSBC weren’t worried by you taking a payment holiday either as they refinanced the loan in 2022.
Samantha says
Hi,
I made an unaffordable lending complaint to Fund Ourselves, they partially upheld my complaint and stated that money would be in my bank account in up to 10 working days. That was on 31st March, as yet, I have not received any refund. Any emails are being ignored and phone calls being palmed off telling me that they have contacted payments team to chase and can’t give me a timeframe to get back to me.
Has anyone else had this same experience with Fund Ourselves and gotten the refund or am I unlikely to see this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What was this “partial uphold”? what did they accept and what didnt they?
Samantha says
Hi Sarah,
This is what they partially upheld:
“Based on our investigation and the information you have provided us with, we are satisfied that the loans were affordable. However, we partially uphold your complaint as we believe additional checks should have been completed to ensure affordability prior to loan 6.
To put things right, we offer to refund the interest paid on loans 6 – 7, totalling £740. 8% statutory interest will also be included for loans 6 – 7, totalling £103.40. Therefore, the total amount to be refunded will be £843.40. In addition to this, we will also remove any adverse information recorded on these loans, if any. If you accept this offer, this will be a full and final settlement of your complaint.
Please find the breakdown of statutory interest on loans 7 – 9 below.
loan 6 – £55.77
loan 7 – £47.63
Please respond to this letter via email by 14 April 2025 if you wish to accept these terms, and we will go ahead and process the refund. Please allow 7 – 10 working days for the refund to be completed.
I appreciate that you may be disappointed with our decision. However, if you wish not to accept my findings, you may pursue this matter by alternative means to The Financial Ombudsman. ”
I accepted the offer, they stated that this would be processed in up to 10 working days, but I have still not received a refund and don’t know what to do now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you think that was a good offer? how large was the 4ht and 5th loan and were there any gpas between repaying the 4th and taking the 5th? and between repaying the 5th and taking the 6th?
Sarah Smith says
Hi, I have several loans/CCS dating back to 2006/7 which we spent a long time paying off in an agreement with payplan (since 2009). However I came out of our repayment plan with payplan in 2022 as felt the balance just wasn’t shifting fast enough and decided to try to sort it myself. I feel strongly that at least one of the loans was irresponsible lending, it was taken at a time when banks were literally throwing money at people and we didn’t have much trouble getting extra money to consolidate other debts. The problem I have is that I have no access to the account as the bank closed my accounts and have no bank statements or paperwork for any of the loans. The debts have all been sold on to collection agencies and I still have people chasing me. I have got as far as complaining to Santander and they have rejected the complaint saying I don’t have a case. I have not yet contacted the FOS as wasn’t sure if there was much point? I’d love some advice as no-one can seem to help me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Its hard to win a complaint about debts that are so old and likely to be impossible with bank statements to prove they weren’t affordable.
What are the current balances? As there are so old, the current creditors may be unable to produce the Consumer Credit Act agreement for the the debts
Rebecca says
Hi, I complained to abound regarding affordability and they have rejected my claim but advised they can give me a goodwill refund of £450.
The loan was £8k, do you think I should go to the FOS or if I do go to the FOS and they reject it will I lose the £450 offer too?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is this loan now settled? If it is, how much have you paid in total to them?
If it isn’t, what is the balance still owing and how much have you paid so far?
Rebecca says
Hi, The loan is now settled from earlier in the year. I took out another loan to cover that one, initial loan was for £8.5k with £500 agreement fee. Just checked my records and I paid roughly £1236 in interest, as I repaid early, then the agreement fee ontop.
Not sure whether to go straight to FOS now or just take the £450 goodwill but also don’t want to end up with zero
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you would get back £1736 + a pretty small amount of 8% interest
My guess is that Abound don’t think they have a good case, or they wouldn’t have offered you anything. But it’s possible you might lose the £450 offer if you don’t win the FOS case.
Ellie says
Just had confirmation from ombudsman that they’ve upheld my complaint to Zopa. Refund of £3399 coming to my loan making it a shorter time to pay back.
Thanks so much for your letter template and advice to go to ombudsman!
Chris says
Hi Sara,
Was wondering if you could offer some advice, I have unsecured debt across loans and credit cards that I am paying £900 a month to (minimum payments for the cc and contractual payments for the loans). I earn a reasonable good income but with the rent having increase £200 over the past 2 years and the CT, Elec, Water etc all gone up by a total of another £150-£200, I now find that all my disposable income is used up on these debts and I am left with next to nothing to cover food, unplanned expenses etc.
I am unsure if an affordability complaint is the right thing for me to do as when taking out these debts I was probable just okay albeit very tight but with the cost of living increasing it has made it unmanageable. I really want to offer a reduce payment and hope they may freeze some or all of the interest so I can bring down the £900 to around £400 giving me enough breathing space for food/unplanned expenses etc.
Would it be best for me to initially reach out to the lenders and see if they would be prepared to do this, it would not be a short term thing I would likely need it in place until the debt is repaid. Would it be better for me to do this first and then possible put in an affordability complaint on the couple of creditors where I may have a case, or does it not make any different to the likelyhood of them agreeing to an arrangement.
Any advice appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As you have several creditors and it is going to take a while to clear the debts, I suggest it’s better to get a Debt Management Plan with StepChange, rather than try to make payments arrangements with each of the creditors. It isn’t a question of “hoping” you can make lower payments, you clearly cannot afford to pay the minimums at the moment.
Here is a link to StepChange: https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx. Do not leave any debts out! And do not underestimate your expenses – you want safe amounts in there for groceries, clothes, some entertainment, presents, dentist, car costs, replacing household good etc etc. Say Yes when they ask if you would like to save a small amount each month.
I suggest getting this going now. And in a few weeks making affordability complaints, not because you can’t to this the other weay around but because it’s important to get into the safe financial space of a DMP now, and affordability complaints can take a long while, especially as many have to go to the Ombudsman.
Affordability complaints are then a great way to try to speed up a DMP
Kelley says
I wrote to Updraft 8 weeks ago with an affordability complaint in relation to 2 loans that I took out last year. They responded quickly to outline that they had 8 weeks to respond but that they would probably do so much sooner, or would be in touch within 4 weeks if they needed longer than 8 weeks. They haven’t been in touch since, and also didn’t respond to my email asking where things were up to.
Shall I take it straight to the FOS?
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The 8 weeks were up when?
Kelley says
Just yesterday. Do I need to give them longer or can I get it to the FOS?
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think I would probably wait until Wednesday
Kelley says
As if by magic, they have just replied today. They are upholding the complaints on both loans and removing the original interest, so my overall remaining balance should be reduced from £24k to under £12k. And they are going to set up a repayment plan, so I can reduce the monthly payment if I want. They haven’t mentioned 8% interest – is that potentially due here? I have made payments of £5k across the loans, and the APRs are around 22%.
Thanks for your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
excellent!
8% interest is only due here if a loan is cleared, so you are getting a cash refund. That doesn’t sound likely here
Kelley says
Okay, thanks. So each loan balance should be reduced to original loan amount (without interest) minus payments made to date?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
exactly
Warren says
Hi Sara, Is it normal to be rejected at first when making a complaint I have put in multiple complaints over loans and credit cards? Starting to wonder if I should bother sending it off to the FOS all have come back with the same response pretty much all checks were mate ect. Is it still worth it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Many lenders just seem to reply saying they made all the checks, they know many people will give up.
If you want You can Describe each of the complaints here, or just send them to the Ombudsman
Jane says
Thank you so much for this template. I used it to send a complaint to Lendables for my two loans. They upheld my complaint and waived all interest and fees. So one loan is now fully paid off and a refund of my over payment in my bank and the second loan is reduced greatly and now a manageable loan I will have paid off soon. Without the template I would not have known what to put.
Amy says
Hi,
I sent a complaint to Tesco Bank, they gave me a £25,000 loan in February 2024 when I had lost my job in November. I had not previously defaulted on any payment but the huge monthly repayments have made my life difficult to manage. I didn’t get another job for a couple of months more and the salary which significantly lower and used the money for life expenses etc. We have a big mortgage, two nursery age children.
They have come back and dismissed the claim saying that ‘based on data and statistics’ I was a low risk candidate with a good credit report, even though there had been no income coming into my bank account for the 3 months prior to the loan.
Should I send it to the Ombudsman – they said I misrepresented myself on the form putting my old jobs salary but surely they should have checked I had an income?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tesco wasn’t your bank?
Do you have other debts at the moment?
What interest rate was this loan?
are you back in work?