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
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?
T P says
Hi all,
I submitted an affordability complaint to the financial ombudsman about Specialist Motor Finance. The adjudicator upheld my complaint but SMF rejected/appealed it. It has now gone to an Ombudsman who will make a final decision. I reached out to my point of contact in the Financial ombudsman and asked how long the ombudsman would take to make a final decision. They said they do not have a time frame but would provide an update once every 2 months. This has got me worrying that it is going to be a very long and drawn out process. I originally complained to SMF in March 2024. Has anyone else been through this? How long did you have to wait from the adjudicator handing the case over to an ombudsman to getting a final decision.
Thank you :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would say 2-4 months is common, some less, some more.
Sammy says
Hi Sara
I was wondering if this would apply to an NHS Credit Union loan?
I originally had a loan of £5,050 in April 2023 and then applied for a further £4,800 in November 2023. The first loan was used to pay off debt (overdrafts, credit cards etc) but fell back into habits and took a second loan out to pay off that debt and now i’m in £8,020.79
Thanks,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it does.
And also look at affordability complaints about the debts you cleared, the overdraft, cards etc.
Sammy says
Debts I cleared? Would I be able to make an affordability complaint about stuff that is cleared?
I did have a Glasgow Credit Union Loan and that has recently been cleared..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, anything that has been cleared in the last 6 years you can potentially make a claim about. This applies to loans, cards and overdrafts.
There may be a problem about producing evidence if the borrowing started a long time ago unless you have, or can get hold of, your bank statements for that time.
Sammy says
I originally had a GCU loan in 2019 which was used for a funeral.
I then applied for one in February 2021 – this was approved. I then applied for a top up in March 2021, again this was approved. I then applied for another top up in June 2021 and this was unsuccessful.
I applied for another top up i’m sure? in June 2022, this was successful. I then applied for another top up in July 2022 – this was unsuccessful.
I then applied for a top up AGAIN in April 2023 and was successful. I then applied for another top up in November 2023 and this was unsuccessful. I also applied for another loan in September 2024 and this was unsuccessful too.
I’ve had missed direct debits and paid late quite a few times..
As you can see, I’m not the best with money😬, actively working on this though..
Would I have a chance with the above?
Thanks Sara,
Sammy
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It may depend on the dates of missed and late payments, but this seems well worth a try. Complain about them all.
but have you also complained about the debts you cleared with these loans?
Sammy says
Replying to your latest reply – “It may depend on the dates of missed and late payments, but this seems well worth a try. Complain about them all.
but have you also complained about the debts you cleared with these loans?”
Nope. I didn’t know what an affordability complaint was until yesterday when I stumbled on this page.
I took loans out to clear debts and then got into debt again so had to take loans out to clear those debts, never ending 🙄
I am going to try and complain about all debts, just need to figure out the wording of everything..
I have one overdraft with Santander, one with both TSB and BOS – these are student accounts though.
Previously had a Capital One card, 118 loan, and GCU loan. I currently have a Vanquis card, Aqua card, Zopa card and still have the NHS credit union loan (as well as my overdrafts)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is a lot of debt. I doubt your problem is caused by bad habits so much as unaffordable debts leaving you short each month.
You should not expect these complaint to resolve your current situation speedily – they may take many months if they have to go to the ombudsman as a lot do – and you may not win them all. I suggest you talk to StepChange about a debt management for all your current debts so you can make one lower monthly payment. This harms your credit score but it must already be poor. Winning any of the complaints will then make the DMP finish sooner and help to clean up your credit record quicker.
Bc says
Hi, hopefully you can advise, I have affordability complaints going on with Fos against Zopa for two loans, Zopa upheld the credit card. I’m now on a payment plan for the loans but when I received the email with the details I noticed that the balance on the first one was £6000 less than is detailed on the app I have and the second one is £650 less than the app balance. I have sent both emails to FOS so he could see I’ve entered a payment plan, but I’m not sure what to do about contacting Zopa about the very large differences in the balance’s, the app has all the details of the payments made so I’m not sure whether to get back to them or just wait the outcome from fos as if it’s upheld and he uses the figures from their own balance used then I would get more back, please let me know what you think is best to do.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when I received the email with the details
what email was this? from who?
Peter says
So Novuna rang me asking for bank statements and followed up by email. Should I comply? Doesn’t sound right to me. Shouldn’t they have asked for these at the time of issuing the loan? The fact that they want them before the risk team has asked was also of concern to me. Thanks.
“Thanks for your time just now and for calling me back. As I advised, I’ve forwarded the details of your complaint to our Risk Team to review. to review and will keep you updated with any information that I receive from them. Just so you know, it can take a couple of weeks for the review to be completed.
As I mentioned, the team may ask me to request further evidence from you to support the complaint, such as three month’s bank statements prior to the application in March last year. Would it be possible for you to send me these, so I have them already if required?”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should send these if you can get them. They are the best proof that a loan was unaffordable and supplying them means there is a better chance your claim may be upheld now by Novuna and doesnt have to go to the ombudsman.
They also show Novuna that you are well organised and have the evidence that the ombudsman will want to see – which may also encourae Novuna to settle directly with you.
Peter says
Thank you. Would it matter if there are multiple bank transfers and gambling transactions?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No.
Bc says
Both emails were from Zopa repayment department with the payment plan and both had the outstanding balances as less than on the Zopa app,
Should I contact Zopa or wait for the outcome of the Fos investigation into both the loans.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest waiting. if you win the complaint the balance will all need to be changed anyway
SQ says
Hey looking for some advice please.
Heard back 118 who have rejected my two loans as affordability complaints advising they feel they did enough checks.
They have however provided me with a ‘goodwill’ refund and have told me they have already sent this to my bank account and that the email was their final response.
I now want to take this to the ombudsman.
Do I have to tell 118 that I want to pay them back or reject this offer? I don’t know where I stand on them giving me the money and me then waiting on the ombudsman to review and make a decision
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have they asked you to accept this “goodwill” offer?
SQ says
No, they haven’t asked me to accept.
They wrote the following : –
Based on the financial information available at the time of lending, I will not be upholding your complaint. However, I recognise that your disposable income after lending left a very limited margin for unexpected expenses, and I will be offering a gesture of goodwill in acknowledgment of this.
And followed it up in a summary by saying :-
I have arranged for the redress payment of £810.30 to be made to the bank account number ending ****
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Both loans are now settled? How much did you borrow on each and how much did you pay to it?
and they havent cleared the last loan?
Do you have any priority debts?
SQ says
One is settled and the other remains open.
No they’ve not cleared the remaining loan. And I’ve no priority debts.
I borrowed £1500 in the initial loan and repaid this early with funds from another loan. I paid £1846.39 on this loan. This was repaid on the 11.01.22.
The second loan was for £1650 and opened on the 01.04.22. This is still active and I have currently paid £1798.83 to this with £1471.77 left to pay.
Repaid £3645.22 in total so far with 27 payments of £54.51 remaining.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is very weird.
Can you make an overpayment to the 118 loan?
SQ says
Yes I could use this goodwill towards the loan amount. I was just wondering where I would stand since this has now been sent to the ombudsman, should I keep this money to one side for now in case they ask me to pay this back?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well its up to you. My guess is the 118 debt is probably your highest interest, so paying it off that is the best use of the money
Bc says
Could you please advise what this means, on clear score it’s saying two of my loans with Zopa have been marked as negative status, I’ve had replies from Zopa that they’re not going to uphold and I’ve sent to FOS, both are now on payment plans, I’m really not concerned about the credit score moving up slowly, as I know I can’t take any further credit, and I’m just looking to clear what I have, so I just didn’t understand what it meant.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I dont know what report you are looking at but being on a payment plan means your credit score will be affected. This is because of the paypent plans, not your complaint. If you win the complaint, the negative marks should be removed.
What other debts do you have?
Bc says
Two loans with AA, both with FOS
Two loans with Zopa both with FOS
One loan with Hastings with FOS
One with Better Borrow, one paid off both complaints with FOS
Two paid off loans with Vanquis and both with FOS
The outstanding ones are all on payment plans
Chloe says
Hello please could I ask for the email address for complaints to NewDay (used to be Aqua)?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/email-addresses-banks-credit-cards/
Also there is a different template for credit card complaints, it’s over here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/
AK says
Hello in 2018 I took aura credit card 3000£ limit that later within months was increased to 4000£.Interest was 45% .Since 2018 I paid approx 10 000£ interest.im single mom renting low income.I was clueless and at the time credit was given I had 10 000£ debt already.Is there anything I can do to claim interest back? Shouldn’t it be less than 100%? They say it’s self managed account.Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Aura isn’t a name I know – is this a UK credit card?
Annie says
Hi, I have various credit cards all pretty much maxed and a loan with NatWest. I have 2 queries- my partner and I took out a secured loan with pepper money. We did have to complete forms about existing debt and we said we would be using the loan for debt consolidation and home improvements.
Anyway, since taking the loan I’ve again spent on my credit cards, I know that’s my fault, but should proper have loaned us if we already had significant debt, even if we said we would pay it off? It’s hard to fall back in to the trap of using the cards when they are there with available credit!
My second question- we had a new kitchen from Wren on finance. We did not complete a credit check as far as I am aware. They only asked for our salary, not other information. Where do we stand with that?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was repaying the pepper loan the reason why you had to borrow more? How long ago was this loan?
was the Wren finance charging interest?
Takunda says
Hello Sara,
My complaint for irresponsible lending by Moneway got rejected. The reasons for the rejection was that the loan moneway gave me was affordable. I provided my bank statements for 3 months the prior to the loan. At the time and up until now I was living off my overdraft. I was also living off pay day loans to keep afloat but the investigator dismissed these as small loans and didn’t take into account that I was having to borrow from wage day soon after I got paid. I also paid my rent in cash at the time as I live in shared accommodation but he pointed out that my bank statements did not reflect this. I also borrowed from friends to keep afloat and would repay them
When I got paid and would then pay back when I got paid and then re borrow from them. I also had another pay day loan which I was using to keep afloat. The investigator concluded that I had enough disposable income but this was not the case.
Is it worth me appealing this decision. I was struggling financially at the time and still am.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes it is. Car finance is a long term large commitment, you need to clearly have the spare cash each month to afford it.
Tara says
I’ve made an affordability complaint to Lloyds for 2 loans, they’ve written to me to ask for more information such as, bank statements from any other bank accounts I have or savings accounts and any other debts. They are also asking me to explain why I’m deciding to complain now, asking has there been a change in my circumstances etc.
They said if they don’t hear from me they’ll make of a decision with the limited information they have.
My current account is with Lloyds and I’ve also complained about an overdraft and a credit card.
Do I need to speak to them about my reasons? I didn’t know I could complain until I found your page.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That looks like a standardised request you have been sent. Reply saying that your complaint gives the reasons and that as your bank they can see your bank statements
Tara says
Thank you, I wasn’t sure if it was a case of, if I don’t give them any more information they’ll reject my claim straight away. I’ll response with what you’ve said and see what they say, thank you for your quick response and helpful guidance!
Mr X says
Hi There
Just wanted to share my success story.
I took out a loan with Novuna in 2022 for £9,500, I didn’t even know that banks had a responsibility to check affordability when applying for loans so stumbling across this website via a tiktok was a huge surprise! I was intrigued as I knew my debt position wasn’t great.
Using your templates I was successfully able to prove it should not have been given, I’ve just had £4,500 in interest and charges reduced from my balance with them. Novuna rejected my claim, as did the initial investigator at the FOS but I appealed that and the Ombudsman at the FOS sided with me and upheld my complaint.
Please don’t be put off by rejections, there’s hope if you have a good case, it just needs to be put in front of the right person. The appeals process with the FOS is simple and can be done easily yourself.
Thank you Sara for your website, this is a massive relief!
Susie says
Fabulous news!! Just out of interest, how long did this process take?
Dani says
!Just thought I’d let you know I sent an affordability complaint to JN bank for a £7500 loan and they rejected it. I then forwarded it to the ombudsman the investigator also rejected it and I’ve just heard back from the ombudsman and they have upheld my complaint and are refunding me the 8% interest not sure how much this will be yet but I just wanted people to know to not give up if they are rejected by the investigator!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well done!
DebtFreeWannaBe says
Hi all,
I’m hoping I can ask a question please.
I have had a card in persistent debt for a while with MBNA a couple years now, they have restricted the use of my card and notified me I am in persistent debt.
I opened my mobile banking with Lloyds to find they were happy to offer me a 25k loan which I have essentially been living off of whilst working. There is a lot of debt on the background which I tried to clear but has significantly crept back up.
As well as this Lloyds also have me a 15k credit card at the same time.
Would it be fair to raise a complaint on the basis that MBNA share credit information with Lloyds as Lloyds own them and they should have known I was struggling.
I’m so worried they will take some action against me and I can’t risk late payments as it could lead to me losing my job. Although I worry that is not a million miles away from happening.
Is there any comeback from the lender at all once I raise this complaint?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much debt overall did you have when you applied for the lloyds loan and credit card?
How much do you have now?
How much do you earn a year?
Alex R says
Hello Sara,
I’m looking for some advice and hoping you can help. I’m in 60k of debt, with lenders chasing following a series of missed payments.
I was made redundant in Jan 2022. The stress compounded my existing state of depression, loneliness, and burnout that developed during the pandemic, so instead of attempting to go straight back into work, I decided to take a 1-2 month holiday to reset. As one thing led to another this ended up turning into a 2+ year holiday, an overseas relationship I didn’t want to end, and my savings depleted (£40k). On top of that, an additional £56k (before interest) of borrowing
Here’s the timeline of events:
Jan22 – Jun23: Redundancy. Monzo savings depleted, £10k. HSBC savings depleted, £10k. HSBC ISA depleted, £20k. £600 remaining.
Jun23: Monzo loan accepted, £25k. Not honest on application, stated I was still employed earning £45k+.
Jan24: Money transfer from Virgin CC to Monzo, £2.7k.
Feb24: Monzo loan / money transfer depleted. HSBC loan accepted, £12.5k. Same app details.
May24: HSBC loan depleted. 2nd HSBC loan accepted, £12.5k. It topped up existing loan to £25k. Same app details.
Aug24: Between Feb-Aug24, Virgin increased my credit limit. Money transfer to Monzo, £2.9k.
Today: Back in UK, funds depleted. Receiving universal credit.
Before redundancy my salary was paid into HSBC. While abroad I was transferring out £1-3k p/m from my HSBC account & ISA to Monzo to cover daily expenses. This pattern didn’t change for 2+ years. The latter HSBC loans were then, in part, used to maintain existing Monzo loan and Virgin CC repayments.
Is there a case here that HSBC should have carried out better affordability checks? Monzo too?
Should Virgin have increased my credit limit?
However, I am extremely concerned that having not been honest on my loan applications I could be convicted of fraud. Is this likely?
I believe my credit file was good at the times of requesting credit. No red flags except for a £25k Monzo loan taken out 8 months prior to HSBC’s loan, no missed payments.
Any advice will be much appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so how much do you owe to which banks at the moment? And when do you expect to get a job?
Alex R says
HSBC: £31k
Monzo: £23k
Virgin CC: £6k
It would be difficult for me to predict when I’ll get a job. I’ve come close on many occasions but not been selected at the final stage. A lack of vehicle is also limiting my choices.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you tell them all you are out of work and can only offer a token payment.
A conviction for fraud is very very unlikely. The police seem to have no interest in this. But it’s possible any of them could place a fraud marker on your CIFAS account which will make it very difficult for you to obtain further credit.
Obviously their affordability checks could have been more thorough, to say the least. However when a lender has a customer who has previously been able to repay large amounts from savings and that customer lies on applications, you may find it hard to win affordability complaints. And if you do, they only reduce the balance by removing interest, so it sounds as though you will still owe a massive amount. It’s hard to tell if making affordability checks will cause them to consider fraud, or whether they may anyway as the balances are so large.
if you go bankrupt you are very likely to get a Bankruptcy Restriction Order. And if at that point the lenders decide to consider fraud it is possible that the debts will be left outside your bankruptcy.
I think you need full debt advice. I suggest you phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000
Alex R says
Thanks for the information Sara.
Just to clarify in case it might change anything, I wasn’t repaying any of the loans from savings. My savings were already depleted before taking on any credit. The loans themselves were then being used to make repayments.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think it changes anything
Alex R says
Ok, appreciate your advice. Thank you.
Danni says
Hi Sarah,
Thanks to the advice from your site I submitted and won an affordability complaint with Barclaycard which was outside of the 6 years. Interestingly in that case the FOS sided with me that the card was completely unaffordable from the start when issued in 2003 rather than just the limit increases.
This made me think again about a loan that I had with HSBC dating back to around the same time in 2000, I was 20 years old and it was for about 20,000 I was not on a massive salary. Maybe 10,000 a year. I did a PCP claim on it years back so may have some documentation kicking around about it and possibly some bank statements from some of the time.
Is it worth submitting a claim considering it is so old?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The law that these claims are based on came – s140 of the Consumer Credit Act, normally called “unfair relationships” – came into force in April 2007. Your credit card would have been continuing after that time. A loan in 2000 would probably have ended. This may cause a complaint about the loan to be rejected. But if you have The bank statements from 2000, it’s up to you if you want To try.
Jamie says
Hi there- just received good news from ombudsman- Moneyboat tried to refund me for a single loan out of 12. Ombudsman’s sided with loans 6-12 all refunded. So anyone thinking of taking a rubbish offer don’t ! But it will take several months but it’s worth it. Quick question- they’ve gave Moneyboat 2 weeks to reply- is this normally long winded and I’m guessing they’ll wait till the last day to respond ? Thanks for all the help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
excellent!
I haven’t seen enough reports about how long MB take to respond to an investigator decision to be able to guess.
Antonia says
This is amazing. How long did it take for the ombudsman to respond on the case with Money boat as I have one outstanding
Jamie says
16/10/24 was the day I sent away my complaint, takes time but worth it. Moneyboat have tomorrow to get back to the ombudsman to say if they agree with his decision or not, I’m assuming they’ll take as long as they can before paying out…. Just the way it is sadly.
Antonia says
Thanks amazing result though. Keep me posted if you hear back? I submitted my original complaint to Moneyboat on the 18/10 and then to ombudsman on 4th November so I’m really hoping for an update soon. Thank you for providing these updates, it really does help.
Jamie says
Sorry that date was when I went to ombudsman, not when I originally complained, ombudsman upheld my complaint just waiting to hear if Moneyboat agree. Tomorrow is the last day to get in contact but hear they can request more time to try drag it out. No problem
AL says
Hey! Apologies if this is confusing. I’ve just had redress paid after I was awarded all my interest and fees to be refunded from a loan I took out in 2018. Lloyds have said that they have calculated the simple interest from 2022 when the initial amount would have been repaid. Is this correct? The money I got back was around 10% of the total interest I was refunded but I thought they were due to calculate payments from the date that money was taken? I’ve spoken to the investigator at the FCA and they’ve said to take it up directly with the bank.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is a common way that 8% interest is calculated. How large was the loan? What month did you take it out in 2018?
AL says
The loan was for £15000 and was taken out in August 2018. The loan was repaid in full by May 2024.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
And how much were you paying a month? Was this settled early?
AL says
The amount was £377.70 per month and yes the loan was settled early and I paid of £2000 using a credit card but the actual loan didn’t finish until May 2024 (it was a 5 year term but due to payment holidays lasted 6)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then a lot of your interest was paid when it was settled in May 24. 10% fir the statutory 8% interest doesn’t sound wrong to me.
Peter says
I’ve had a complaint upheld on a loan with Novuna for £15,000. I’ve been repaying this back for the last year or so at £395 a month. This was three weeks after the complaint went in.
I’ve not had any further information regarding it being upheld yet but what might this look like please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Add up the total amount you have paid. so if you have made 12 payments of £395 = 4740. Thwn take that away from the amount borrowed, so 15000-4740=10,260 – that should be the new balance
Bc says
Is wage day advance still trading as I have previously had loans from and thought I’d make affordability complaints with them, looked on your list but couldn’t see the email address for it.
Thanks in advance for the reply.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No they went under in about 2018
Lucy says
I complained to the HSBC, and was dismissed, re overdraft charges, following your advice, I took the claim to the Ombusman, and just before Christmas was refunding over £4000 from the bank! Thanks so much :D
Jamie says
Hi wondering if I have a case here, I’ve been through a lot of lenders I used in a vicious payday cycle. One that slipped my mind was mr.lender. After some hassle they eventually gave my my borrowing summary-
£200- 16/03/20 repaid 25/06/20-£294.40
£200- 17/07/20 rapid early 23/07 £209.70
£230- 30/07/20 repaid 15/10/20 £329
£250- 23/10/20 repaid 01/04/21 £429
£250 – 14/05/21 repaid early 27/05/21 £260
£200- 02/06/21 repaid 19/08/21 £280
£200 12/09/21 repaid early 13/09/21 £201
£200 08/10/21 repaid 05/01/22 £297
Gambling/ other loans were the reasons for repaying some early but constant pattern is clear. Would it be worth it ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Definitely. Paying early doesn’t matter. That is a long chain of repeat lending.most gaps less than a month, none more than 2 months
Mr Lender should have noticed the pattern and stopped. Or looked at your credit record and then realised you had a big problem and then stopped.
With low loan sizes, its hard to know what you would get at the Ombudsman but a refund from loan 5 or 6 is my guess
Becca says
I just wanted to share a bit of good news from Zopa. I took out a large loan with Zopa, made an affordability complaint, which was rejected by Zopa so have taken this to the ombudsman. However I made a second complaint about a different smaller Zopa loan which the complaint has been upheld before even taking it to the ombudsman. I wasn’t even going to complain about the second one as it was smaller. Huge thank you to Sara for the templates – they have been invaluable 😃
janet says
Can you put in an affordability complaint for a loan secured on your house?
In 2022 I took out a loan for £40k secured on my house which was in retrospect the source of all my financial turmoil since. it was way beyond my means and has lead to spiralling debt. The loan was through equifinance. I am just concerned around the ramifications because the house is secured on it.
Any advice please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is very little experience to go on, expect any complaint to be rejected by the lender and for it to have to go to the Ombudsman which can be a slow process. If you keep up the monthly payments, it isn’t clear that this could have any ramifications for the house. If you make this complaint, let us know how it goes?
If you have taken out further unsecured debts (loans, cards etc) then you can look at affordability complaints against those – and also at a debt management plan with Stepchange https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx to reduce the payments to them to an affordable level
If you aren’t paying anything to the unsecured debts and it is still hard to keep up with the mortgage and secured loan payments, you need urgent debt advice – making affordability complaints is NOT a speedy process and you cannot reply on it working when you have a problem with priority debts. Talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000
Jane says
Please do this if you think you have had unaffordable lending. I wasn’t sure but with advice from Sara gave it a go. Bamboo Loans initially said no but after sending to the Financial Ombudsman Service they have made an offer to refund the interest which means that the loan is going to be paid off and I’ll get a refund of around £450. This is such a relief!
Bella says
Hi debt camel,
I need your help.
18 months ago I took out a loan with castle community bank.
Last May I started to fall behind with payments due to falling into debt with other loans. I tried to contact CCB countless times and sent numerous emails explaining my situation and trying to set up a payment plan, but heard nothing back.
I received a letter a few days ago reading ‘formal demand’ with the below
The balance currently due is stated above. Should we fail to receive payment of the above sum and in line with the Agreement, we reserve the right to place your account with a specialist external company and/or consider issuing court proceedings against you for recovery of the sum due. As specified in the Agreement, if court fees or debt collection agency costs are incurred, these additional costs and related interest will be added to your outstanding debt.
I called the number provided to me on the letter but they advised that my account has been passed onto ARC already?
Please can you help. My balance outstanding is £322.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The balance currently due is stated above.
is that the £322 amount?
can you say how large this CCB loan was and what interest rate?
What other loans do you have – are you up to date with all of those?
Bella says
Yes £322 is outstanding.
It was £1500, APR 37.8%
I have payment plans in place with my other loans.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
To be clear, you have contacted them by email several times offering to set up a payment plan and you have never had a reply? What contact have you had from them before this letter?
Can you list the other debts that you are paying in your payments plan please – lender, rough balance, amount you are paying a month
Do you have any other debts that you are making normal payments too? Any arrears on bills?
Are you buying or renting?
Bella says
I have had no contact from them before this letter.
I have a loan from moneyboat I am paying off (interest was cleared after affordability complaint) I pay them £40 a month (£300 left). I have a loans2go loan that I pay £50 a month (£1000 left but my affordability complaint is with the ombudsmen to get this reduced), vanquis credit card which is £25 a month (£300 left) and an RBS credit card which the minimum payments are £25 (£2000 left). It is a lot as I had financially difficulty last year and got roped into bad interest loans.
I am renting and not behind on normal bills.
My total balance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you talk to StepChange about a debt management plan for all of your debts, including the ones already on payment arrangements, this CCB loan and the two cards you are making minimum payments too. This is the simple and fair way to treat all your creditors. https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
CCB are less likely to be concerned if they are receiving regular payments from StepChange.
Winning affordability complaints will reduce the balances in the DMP and speed it up. You can also complain about this CCB loan and about the two credit card – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/ for a template for card complaints.
If you had any high cost debts that were cleared in the last few year, you can also look at make affordability complaints about those.
Bella says
I’m not going to use step change as I don’t feel I need to. I my concern was more about the fact they’d advised my debt may be passed onto another agency, then when I spoke to them on the phone it had already been passed on without informing me. Is this allowed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, they don’t need your permission or to inform you before a debt is sent or sold to a debt collector.
My reason for suggesting StepChange was CCB don’t seem to be easy to deal with. Using StepChange for all the debts, not paying some and not others, may be seen as a fairer option.
Sarah says
Hi, I’ve had a complaint about car finance unaffordable lending rejected by the investigator. On the grounds that they didn’t need to look deeper in to my finances because a) it wasn’t large enough an amount to warrant it (it was nearly £10,000!) and b) even though there were defaulted accounts on my credit report, they were old ones and therefore nothing for the finance company to worry about.
My argument is that had they asked for further information they would’ve seen gambling, debts etc but I’ve asked for it to go to the ombudsman for review and the original investigator has replied further arguing his case and asking if I’m sure I want it to be referred because he’s already answered my concerns…is this normal??? Surely that’s inappropriate?? Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What else was on your credit record when you got this loan? Overdraft usage? Undefaulted credit cards and loans?
Sarah says
Yes, overdraft usage. Credit cards and old payday loans that hadn’t been paid off or cleared. Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would reply that this was a large loan for several years and it was secured on the car, so there should have been better checks that it was affordable and you want an ombudsman to look at it
Anthony says
Hi Sara.
I recently contacted Koyo Loans about irresponsible lending using the template you have provided. I stated that due to my low income and my current debt outgoings, this put a strain on me financially for the 2 years I was paying it off. The amount was for £5000 (£6193.55 with interest). This worked out as £257.94 per month. They have responded by post, outlining the checks they did which included checking my bank account and credit score. They concluded that they take partial responsibility but feel that when providing the loan, I passed the checks as I had on average £346.28 disposable income and the loan was taken out under debt consolidation fore the £4000+ debt I had already accumulated. This is what the loan was used for in part but due to bad spending habits that originally landed me in debt, the cards cleared with the loan were eventually used again. This took my disposable income to £90 a month which resulted in taking out further loans and credit cards as time went on to get by. They finalised the letter by offering me a good gesture £100 and an offer to clear a default on my credit file. Is this worth taking to the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This loan has been cleared?
Anthony says
Yes I’d finished paying the loan off late 2023
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well, you paid about £1200 in interest (less if you settled early?), so an offer of £100 isn’t very generous. You could ask them to increase it to a few hundred more? But if you want a chance of getting all the interest back you will have to go to the ombudsman.
Anthony says
Thank you :) I did think the £100 offer seemed like a hopeful attempt to deter me from pushing further. I will contact and propose a little more!
Anna says
Hi I did an affordability complaint with PayPal credit- they’ve refused the complaint but offered £611 (all fees and interest since I was given credit) as full and final settlement- not accepting my complaint. It means I’m left with about £1000 still owing is it worth me accepting or taking to FOs?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you asked to be able to repay the balance at 0% interest?
Jamie says
Hi there ! Been waiting for quidmarket ( stagemount ltd) getting back to my case handler at FOS. He had till last Friday to get back- meant to be getting the interest for my last few loans refunded- roughly £700( great result) however he’s emailed me today to say the business has not got back to him within the 2 week time frame he gave them. He’s chased them up and gave them another week. Is this common? Are they going bust? Seems mad for them to Ignore him unless it’s a delay tactic to not pay out until they have no choice. Thanks again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This unfortunately quite common. It doesn’t mean they are going bust