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 will get the interest refunded in cash. If you still owe a balance, the interest is removed so you only have to 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?
- this includes high cost, bad credit 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 could still have been unaffordable for you!
- you can also use this approach for car finance. But if you are still paying car finance, you may have a better option than an affordability complaint, so read HP/PCP car finance problems first. And then read Car finance affordability – what you get if you win a complaint
- if you have a guarantor loan, read Refunds from guarantor loans as it’s different and the guarantor may be able to complain as well;
- the complaints here do not apply to mortgages.
What is “unaffordable”?
The regulator says “affordable” means:
you can make the repayments without hardship or having to borrow elsewhere.
This isn’t just for “bad credit” loans – you can win a complaint about a loan from a major bank. But as bad credit loans have very high interest rates, they are more often unaffordable.
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 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 repaying the loan caused you a lot of problems then 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 to FOS 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 the Ombudsman can look at a complaint about older loans where you complained within 3 years of finding out you have a “cause to complain”. So if you have only just heard that a lender should have checked the affordability, you can take your complaint to the Ombudsman if the lender rejects it as too old.
The Ombudsman also has a 6 month rule. You must send a complaint to the Ombudsman within 6 months of getting a reply from a lender. So don’t delay!
Need some help?
Don’t use a claims management company. They are expensive and 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?
Litahash says
Thats great thanks Sara
PH says
Everyday Loans have failed to respond to the 8 weeks initial deadline, so I emailed them. They said that CV19 was the reason that they hadn’t replied.
I kindly reminded them that the investigation should never take the full 8 weeks anyway (deadline was last Friday) so I have advised that they will now be contacted by the FOS to adjudicate.
Aware I may be in it for the long haul now, but I’m not allowing EDL to play any games any more.
Complaint first filed on 07/02/2020
FOS first forwarded on 07/04/2020
Will update when it’s been picked up :(
AJ says
Hey guys ,
I’m on week 9 awaiting final response from 118. I have logged multiple requestst through live chat, emailed them and left a voicemail with there automated phone line. I’m currently in a DMP and 118 take up over 50% of that with debt sold to a collector. My question is shall I see it out a little longer hoping for a response ? or go to the FOS I was reluctant to do this as I don’t want to keep paying 118 money through my DMP while my case is being investigated over months.
Any advice please , thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Going to FOS will not reduce the chance of getting an OK offer from 118.
And delaying doing this delays the date of a decision from FOS.
Fee says
Can anyone share an email address for 118 that actually works please? All the usual addresses plus a few I found by digging around bounce back non deliverable. I’ve yet to manage to make contact. Thanks
shaun says
Hi there, I’ve recently had some success with a few companies and not so much with others. 118 have rejected my claim. I had 4 loans pretty much 1 every year over 4 year period. There basically saying I agreed to repayments my expenses I submitted said i could afford etc etc.
There saying it’s fraud to lie on this form, is this a bit of scaremongering not to press on to the FOS?
I have got my statements up and there’s gambling all over the statements plus other loan companies all in statements at the same time as 118. Does this make for a good case to push on to the FOS or should I take the decision on the chin?
I’ve had success with a few complaints now so thinking it’s the same but the fraud bit got me a bit worried.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Liam says
Send it to FOS, they rejected mine on the same basis. But FOS upheld it because they added to my debt. I only had one loan with them. Because I didn’t advise mine was for debt consolidation.
St123 says
Hi.
I would send the statements across to 118complaints, also contact the FOS.
I emailed FOS too to advise of the complaint and cc’d in 118, a day later offered me redress back for my second and top up loan.
Hope that helps
Catherine says
I only had one loan with 118 and they rejected my complaint and made similar comments ie fraud,inaccurate information.
Took to FOS and it was upheld and refund received.
Do not give up.
I had tons of other other loans and statements littered with gambling.
Request your DSAR report if you haven’t already as it may have some good data to show what they could see at the times of each of the loans.There should be a credit check report each time you applied.If the data worsened or more credit use etc etc then that will help.
Shaun says
Thanks so much all for replies 👍👍
shaun says
Sorry just another bit of advice if possible. Is it wise to show 118 or the FOS my statements with gambling on would all this go to prove my case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Definitely show the statements. They prove the loan was unaffordable and that if the lender had looked at the statements before lending they would have seen the gambling and not given you the loan.
shaun says
Thanks Sara, it’s just I can’t remember showing them statements, it was just a form online saying my income etc. I don’t think I had to send proof of income although can’t remember for sure.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes but the point is if they had asked, then they would have seen …
shaun says
Great. Sorry to ask tedious questions 😂 thanks again!
Lilly says
8 weeks deadline Friday just gone for 118 response, rang them today and have been told I will have a response by the end of today! (Already passed onto FOS!) anyone had any successful stories recently?
JD Williams refund £240 on way to me, £600 SNC refund received 3 weeks ago and MYJAR currently with FOS. fingers crossed good response from 118 but don’t have my hopes up.
DM84 says
Hi Lilly,
I had completely forgot about my JD williams one. It has been in about a year and 9 months.
How long did it take to get to an adjudicator?
PF says
Hi all, has anyone had any luck with the FOS/ Moneybarn recently? My complaint was picked up by the FOS Investigator on the 31st Jan and we had some emails to and fro with additional info. Then on the 25th February, the Investigator said he was looking at all the information he had in preparation to issue his assessment. I have emailed a couple of times since but he still hasn’t issued his assessment, is this normal for this type of complaint? I have had a number of complaints from PDL’s to installment loans picked up and resolved in much less time, in fact, one with loans 2 go picked up by an adjudicator on the 11th March and all completed within 19 days.
Thanks.
Karen says
I’ve currently got one with Moneybarn. I’ve just received an email that due to Coronavirus etc all staff are working from home, do not post anything as it’s not being opened etc. I just think the delays are due to home working etc. I haven’t received replies for the two complaints I have going with FOS so guessing we won’t hear until they are back to work
MOHAMMED M says
hi I just made a claim for money barn for a car loan i have bad credit and default on a loan did tell them all this still gave me a loan for 6500 pounds not sure how I got it
Karen says
Heard moneybarn are really bad, even refused an adjudicators decision. Good luck, they are difficult because they say they are designed to lend to bad credit people
Ashley wigham says
Does anyone think avant credit are about to go under? I’m due to receive a decision however if it’s a good one I’ve got a feeling I won’t get any of it the length of time it’s taking.
Put a complaint in November 2018 and it’s been passed from pillar to post with someone apparently
Looking into it now again. They haven’t been lending for all this time so be very surprised if their still open by July
Catherine says
So I have a upheld complaint from FOS against Avant,I phoned and emailed after 1 week from accepting refund as not received calculation.
They said they are running on very low staff numbers and most working from home but their system is not designed for home working,hence longer delays.
I was also told that the redress for any complaints is not calculated by the team in the UK as it’s a US company so any refunds have to be calculated and approved by the finance team in the US, then passed on and processed by the UK complaints team when approved.
Avant regularly have periods when they stop lending and given the current circumstances,a lot of lenders have done this.Its not surprising as with lack of staff and access to all their systems limited.
I have been told if I do not receive my calculation in 14 days to contact them again.As soon as it hits 4 weeks given by the Ombudsman I will be asking that they push for the business to resolve.
Bob says
Mine is coming up to 6 weeks, ombudsman have emailed them again to give them a nudge.
Catherine says
Hi Bob,What did the complaints team say the delay has been?Not really good enough in your case taking 6 weeks as wasn’t in lockdown then.
I have said that the FOS gave 4 weeks to refund and if I don’t receive in 4 weeks then I will be raising another complaint and reporting to the FCA for unacceptable delays in processing refund and causing further financial stress.
No way should it take 6 weeks to calculate and transfer a refund even in the current situation.
I’m pretty sure they will still be collecting loan repayments from customers and dealing with payment issues at the moment which is the same team so why they can’t settle refunds promptly is not on.
The frustrating thing is they won’t give you the email or number of the team responsible for calculating and approving redress.
Catherine says
Hi Bob
Have you heard anything from Avant yet?
Andrew says
Hi Chris
Did ccp come back to you today worrying what they emailed Mel bet they still lending even though office is ‘closed’
Sara any idea what stance the FOS would take leave it on back burner til they reopen or be forceful and say they still have a obligation to deal with it especially if the business is still running?
chris says
Hi I emailed my Adjudicator yesterday to ask for an update. My guess is that he will give them another 2 weeks and then it will go to the Ombudsman for a final ruling. Interesting that the website actually says right at the top ‘We are open now’! I have had logbook loans with other companies in the past but they have been perfectly fair and up front. CCP are aggressive and deiberately obstructive. I had two loans with them but got redress from Provident to pay off the bigger loan. I got the settlement figure but no workings out. It was more or less in line with my expectations but not to give a break down seems appalling to me. I have also had no confirmation from them that this loan is closed so I had to ring them. I have had a lot of experience of paying off high cost credit but these people seem like cowboys on the wild west frontier, sling shotting their way through people’s lives and, seemingly, without fear of regulation. My fault for getting involved. Lesson learnt.
chris says
Just heard from my Adjudicator. He says he has not heard back from the business. He has now given them until April 16th.
Andrew says
I don’t expect much off mine then funny how ccp still state they are open but email the FOS to say they are not in office and unable to reply
Andrew says
Did you get a update Chris once the 2 week extension passed mine was adj gave them until today but given them another 2 weeks which I am not happy about at all
Sara
Do you know what ccp trading like had 3 other lenders go under whilst with FOS so hope this doesn’t go same way
Andrew says
Any response Chris?
Mel says
Interesting how their Covid-19 update on their website advises customers to contact the office if they are experiencing difficulties so clearly they are still operating which is very frustrating!
R says
Today is the penultimate day that Likely Loans have to come back, to my adjudicator, to advise if they agree (or disagree) with his findings. It’s a bit frustrating as, if they disagree, I just want it queued for an ombudsman to get this cleared up once and for all. This is my final complaint and I can’t really see how LL can disagree, with his findings, as his conclusions are rather damning. The final day, for them to respond, will be tomorrow. However, as it’s a Bank Holiday, I don’t expect either my adjudicator or LL to be working? I feel a lot of these companies just do this, on purpose, to frustrate the process even further? I’ll keep you all updated, especially for those of you in a similar situation.
Bella says
We have been impacted by the everything going on at the moment and 99% of our creditors have been fantastic, straight forward and helpful. However Likely Loans are stalling and are now saying the FCA has changed the date to the 14th April not the 9th April for help to take place. Likely Loans reluctantly gave me a 30 day stay on my April payment and assured me that it wont affect my credit score. This is after four times of contacting them by email and telephone. Barclaycard are still sending payment reminders even though payment holidays are in place. Just thought I would see if anyone else has heard about the date change.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, but most lenders are already being helpful, as you have found.
It sounds as though you have a lot of debt?
Was the horribly expensive Likely Loans loan already causing you to struggle? IF it was, then also think about sending them an affordability complaint as the article above says
Bella says
Thank you Sara. I have irresponsible claims in on three of them and we are using money that we have had refunded from previous claims to pay others off. Hoping in the next 12 months to be debt free – this is just a bit of a stall but will get sorted out. We are lucky as we aren’t behind with anything so the help is good.
Bella says
Still nothing in place with Likely Loans and the advisor was quite aggressive. We do not know how much income we will have by the end of the month. They want exact figures. They also wanted to know why we are in the at risk category – medical history and why we have been told not to come into work for 12 weeks. They have put one payment holiday in for us for April agreeing not to report to credit agencies and then I have to ring again – that will be five times. It is so stressful – everybody else has been great. The quicker I get rid of this loan the better.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
urghh – they are such a difficult lender but this is very poor.
This is what the FCA says in its guidance to lenders:
Where a customer is already experiencing or reasonably expects to experience temporary payment difficulties as a result of circumstances relating to coronavirus, and wishes to receive a payment deferral, a firm should grant the customer a payment deferral for 3 months unless the firm determines (acting reasonably) that it is obviously not in the customer’s interests to do so.
I would say it is NOT reasonable to ask you for exact figures. But at least you have one month’s break and the lender has to give you three months, so just make a diary note to go back and ask again in two months time.
Meld says
Hey everyone,
so good news today, Everyday Loans have agreed and accepted the Adjudicators decision, he’s said they will contact me directly with regards to refund within 4 weeks. It took just over a year for case to be picked up and decision made. Good luck to everyone. And thanks so much Sara all you’re advice along the way has helped massively.
Mel
CJK says
EDL have been the most horrible to deal with. Adjudicator found in my favour start of January. EDL basically said they ignore adjudicator and expect the ombudsman to pick it up. Eventually they came back and did they agreed with the second loan which I was fine with, took the adjudicator another 4 weeks to tell them that. Now waiting on them contacting us with information, so far been 3 months to get to this stage – terrible company to deal with!!
Robyn says
How long did it take for the adjudicator to pick up your cases? I referred mine in December last year but hasn’t been picked up yet. Just wondered approx how long it’s gonna take? It’s my biggest loan I have, and is on my DMP so would love to get a refund as it means my DMP will almost be paid off!
CJK says
It took around 18 months for it to be picked up, sent in June 2018 picked up end of December 2019.
Meld says
It took 11 months for Adjudicator to pick up my case once picked up only a month to make the decision and hear back from EDL. Silence from them with regards to me redress though. Good luck
Fraggles23 says
EDL asked the adjudicator for an extension but then failed to respond. Very strange behaviour!
Does anyone know how long it took for the ombudsman to pick up cases?
MelD says
Yeh I agree. When I first complained to them after 8 weeks deadline I emailed saying I still hadn’t heard from them and they asked for more time, they took an extra week and then said they wouldn’t uphold my complaint. I have noticed though they’ve been strict with the deadlines adjudicator has given them with emails back and forth, but now they have agreed with my adjudicator and said they will refund me iv heard nothing from them. Good luck let me know when you are any further forward and likewise I will too.
CJK says
EDL sent the settlement letter by email today, have given them bank details as requested now just waiting on refund – took long enough and I honestly thought I would have to go back to adjudicator after 4 weeks. This site has been amazing. Will let you know when refund given.
Meld says
Congrats great news at a such a crappy time. Glad to hear it. I’m still waiting on them contacting me with redress amount but happy to wait as long as it takes, seems like I’m not long behind u with each step. Thanks for update.
Mel
Fraggles23 says
Excellent news! Anyone got an email address for EDL?
Meld says
complaints@everyday-loans.co.uk
Meld says
Any updates ? Still haven’t had contact about refund yet. 2 weeks left of deadline……
CJK says
Received refund yesterday after sending an email to the person who generated the letter. It was all very quick from our adjudicator sending to them and refund but the before part took 3+ months
Meld says
Received redress email today. A lot more than I thought so I’ve calculated wrong. But delighted all the same. Hopefully not long for payment.
Meld says
Sara can I ask, EL have to deduct 20% tax off interest before it’s paid to me, if this tax of the 8% statutory interest they are due me, or is it off the interest I have paid them due to be refunded ?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it’s only off the statutory interest that is added. The refund of interest is your own money you are getting back, it’s not taxable.
You may be able to reclaim some of tax deducted, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/
Meld says
Ok that’s great thanks for that
LiamD says
Hi guys. Just wanted to see what people success has been like with the likes of JD williams and Jacamo. I took the accounts with them around the same time as my payday and unsecured lending (upwards of 15k debt) all the loans have been refunded to me (many thanks to the website for that) just want to know what the best approach to take when dealing with Catalogues!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
read https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/
Lilly says
Hi Liam. I had 4 different accounts with JD Williams, all £150. I had a reply after 4 weeks telling me they have upheld my complaint on 2 accounts (didn’t even mention other 2 accounts!) and I will get cheque of £260 in 7-10 days. (Both accounts was paid off over 6 months ago!) I rang today after trying for 2 weeks to get hold of them as still no cheque and wanted an update on other 2 accounts and within 2 hours a manager rang back and said he will be looking at other 2 accounts tomorrow and I will have an email by 2 o’clock of my refund amount from other 2 accounts plus they will send me an extra cheque of compensation for the inconvenience of messing me around!! So I’m quite pleased considering I thought they would be hard to deal with!
Robert says
Hi,
Where do I get a contact email address for JD Williams please?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
general.enquiries@jdwilliams.co.uk – out COMPLAINT as the subject line
for catalogue complaints, read https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/ which has a better template letter.
Catherine says
Can you send a letter of claim to a lender if they take a unreasonable amount of time to issue a agreed refund to give them one last chance to pay money owed before taking to small claims?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the lender and did they offer the amount directly of via the ombudsman?
Catherine says
Avant Credit Via FOS. Hearing on here that some people still haven’t received calculation of refund nearly 6 weeks on is making me think of other options to get my money before they go under.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK so that was an adjudicator decision. It’s not legally binding. If it was an Ombudsman decision there is a special procedure to follow, not a normal money claim.
The trouble with a normal money claim is it is not fast! If they put in a defence you are very unlikely to get a judgement within 4 months. Could well be twice that.
Catherine says
Ok thanks for that, I will wait until it hits 4 weeks and then if nothing I will ask adjudicator to email them again and if not I guess I’ll have to get a Ombudsman to make it a legally binding decision and go from there if they still don’t pay it.
It’s so frustrating that they can pay loans out in hours but take weeks to issue refunds.
Even in the current circumstances I think 4 weeks is a very reasonable timescale to resolve and honestly should be sorted much quicker.
Thanks Sara
Can Any one with a upheld Avant loan tell me how long it took to receive calculation and funds?
Bob says
Mine was the ombudsman’s decision and it’s been nearly 6 weeks. They were given 4 weeks to get in touch with me. I’ve phoned, emailed AvantCredit but keep getting same response “it’s being calculated”. Ombudsman have emailed them again to speed things up. How long do you give a company to respond? What is the next stage?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Bob,
in theory you can enforce a Final Decision from an Ombudsman through the courts and send round bailiffs, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/enforce-financial-ombudsman-decision/. But I don’t know how much property there is in England that belongs to Avant that bailiffs could actually seize. And anyway most bailiff enforcement has stopped because of Cornonvirus.
R says
Had some rather wonderful news, this morning. After, initially, rejecting my complaint, Likely Loans have now agreed with the adjudicators assessment. After the removal of tax, I will be receiving back just short of £3000 and I couldn’t be happier. Once again, a huge thanks to Sara, and this wonderful website. That’s my last complaint, done & dusted, and my journey is (finally) over. Keep going folks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Brilliant – don’t forget to reclaim £200 of that tax deducted back!
R says
Thanks Sara,
Will do!
frogman says
Hi R, How many loans did you take out from LL and when did you first complain ?
R says
Hi frogman,
I took out an initial loan, then a top up. I first complained, in July 2019. Likely Loans rejected my complaint, in August 2019. I sent to FOS, just after and had minimal contact, until an apology email, in January, advising that their would be a delay. I then had a call, out of the blue, from the FOS adjudicator on 27/03/20. He advised that he had investigated, and was upholding both the original loan, and the subsequent top up. Likely Loans had until 10/04/20 to either accept or reject his views. I heard nothing, up until 09/04/20 and then it was the long Bank Holiday weekend. He tried to call me but, I was at work and missed his call. He then sent me an email, saying that Likely Loans had accepted his points which, ironically enough, were near on the same as what I raised in the original complaint. As has been said before, a lot of these companies are just trying their luck, in the hope that people will just give up. I very nearly did give up, after my Avant complaint was rejected but, had I done that, it would have cost me just under £3000. That’s why I say, stick with it. You’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain!
frogman says
Thanks very much for sharing the details R, it’s definitely worth hanging in there. I complained to LL just over a month ago but I have braced myself for a long one, same with Amigo, Sunny and Satsuma that I have on-going complaint with. I only took out one loan with LL though so I am not that optimistic. I&E clearly showed it wasn’t affordable but I had a good credit rating at the time, perhaps why I got the loan. Its all paid off now but over £2k refund would be nice. Well done for winning the fight with LL. Was yours all paid off too but complaining?
R says
You’re welcome!
Yes, it was all paid off, so full monies all due to me :)
Matt says
Hi
Can anyone help with working out what a rough settlement figure would be?
Borrowed £2500 from Varooma in June 2018, have been paying £225 per month so around 22/23 payments so far.
Online calculators are showing settlement figures of £2100 or so. Surely I haven’t just paid £400 off the principal amount? I’ve paid best part of £5000 to them!
I have a complaint in which they didn’t respond to and is now with FOS but I can’t see it being looked at until after I’ve finished the payments.
If the settlement figure was low enough I could probably scrape it together and then happily wait for it to be looked at, but in the meantime, £225 a month is hammering the finances.
Many Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What was the term of your loan?
Have your household finances been impacted by Coronavirus?
Matt says
36 months.
Fortunately I am not impacted by the pandemic but it is still a large chunk taken each month.
Just had an email from them stating “Until 13th may early settlement is £1311.90. Any instalments paid in the interim, deduct off that figure”
Does that make sense/sound reasonable?
Thanks :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long has your complaint been with FOS?
£1311 is about 5 months worth of payments – do you have this amount of money?
Matt says
Only since 13th March.
I have been working overtime recently so may be able to pay it off at end of April.
Its a shame it won’t get picked up for a while as the bank statements from the time have lots of gambling transactions and payday loan repayments on them. I think I have a strong case.
In a much better position now having gradually cleared debts, ceased gambling and a better paid job.
Thanks again Sara, you’re a star!
Conor says
Hi Sara, dunno if you can help. I have had an automated pay in today of £830 with only the reference 100935. I was not expecting this payment nor had any communication from any of my ex lenders to this effect. Do you have any idea if this could be redress from a payday loan company? I have messaged my bank but obviously they have more urgent queries to deal with at present. Many thanks, Conor
Conor says
UPDATE: I have searched my spam emails and had one from Avant Credit on 7 April saying they were giving me a goodwill payment of £830 as while my complaint was not upheld, the criteria they use now would have excluded me from approval. Very pleasantly surprised and shocked but that is it cleared up. Thank you again Sara for the tips and advice on submitting complaints. Have had redress payments now from Wonga, Avant, Safetynet and Cash4unow and waiting on a couple of others for final responses. :)
tom Collinson says
Hi Sara
How do i claim the tax deducted back off a refund please
Sara (Debt Camel) says
read https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/
Catherine says
2weeks so far and still no refund calculation from Avant.
Think their is literally one person working with initials LD, as that’s the only person that seems to respond, not that I’ve had any replies for weeks now,why they can’t send a email explaining the approximate delays at processing refunds I don’t know.
It’s just very poor service when most of the customers due refunds are in desperate need of the money that is rightly theirs and you just get ignored even when you explain your difficulties.They won’t give you a manager email, they don’t answer the phone, or voicemails or emails or messages online.
It’s so frustrating and upsetting to not have my issues acknowledged or a response to tell my a time that I could expect a resolution.
Bob says
Nearly 7 weeks and I got a email with the refund calculations. Now I’ve got to wait up to 30 days for the money.
Catherine says
Did you get the email today?Ive finally had a email to say the calculations are complete but they can’t tell me what they are until approved by senior management.(suddenly there is a senior manager)
Bob says
That’s what took so long, the approval.
Catherine says
That’s ridiculous that it took 7 weeks for someone to check the calculation.Well I was told yesterday that I will receive the calculation via email by the 17th and this morning told it was waiting approval so if I don’t receive it tomorrow then I will be emailing everyday until it’s done.
How can it possibly take 7 weeks for a manager to check even in the current circumstances and why on earth have such a process, why wouldn’t you just get the manager to do the calculation and approve and cut out the middle bit.
Fingers crossed you get it soon.
Catherine says
Did you get a calculation 7 weeks ago and then approval today???or is today the first time you have been given your refund information??
Bob says
Calculation took 7 weeks when the ombudsman gave them 4, I was phoning everyday but was being fobbed off. Got in touch with the ombudsman and they sent a email. Next day AvantCredit sent the calculations. Now it’s 30 days for the money
Catherine says
Hi Bob,Hmmm Well they are either lying ie telling me the calculation is complete just awaiting approval or my past emails have worked and they escalated it to be sorted sooner.
I’ll see if email arrives tomorrow as they said,I think looking at timelines from others on this site they got their redress in bank within the 30days.
Again not sure how it takes 30 days to send when it took less than a day to have loan originally transferred.
Hopefully we will both get our refunds in the next few weeks.
Let me know when you get yours please.
Catherine says
Hi Bob,Today Avant approved my refund and said I can expect it in my bank in 30days.
Hopefully you receive yours soon aswell and quicker than 30days.
chris c says
I have had dealings with LD and totally agree with you my case is also with the fos currently she seem to be the only person dealing with UK customer services for them.
chris says
Just to update on my Loans2go redress. Received £1062 into my bank account today. This is about 3 weeks after the FOS got in touch to say they had agreed to refund interest on all my loans. Great news. I started the complaint in May 2019 so this has been less than 12 months. Good luck to everybody else. Donation going to the Trussell Trust.
Lee sharratt says
Hello. They had mine in August. So I guess I’m a few months behind u. With things what they are. Could be longer
L v says
Mine has benn allocated an adjudicator recently so hopefully mine wont be long either.
craig says
i got a loan with 118 118 and struggling to pay. they did not do any checks for a fact as when i made the claim i accedently put a wrong dob and they have used this as my dob which aint my dob. i did a complaint and theu said its my fault and that did all the recent checks. which if this was true they would seen my dob was wrong on my form. i will hold my hands up and admit i had a gamling habbit so got a loan and was accepted i told them that the income and expenditure they said i did was what they used. but they didnt give me anything wen i asked for sar reqest. i have sent all this to obmasman but doubt i will get anywhere.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you have other problem debts too?
Catherine says
Had 3 complaints that took the same adjudicator well over 8 weeks to issue a response,not held by the same Ombudsman that looked at all three.
Incredibly frustrating to read the decisions which literally say the same as the adjudicator and were issued in only 1 week after been passed to them,which I’m sorry but that doesn’t suggest that each complaint was reviewed as a fresh case.
I was asked to provide more bank statements for both current accounts as different bills came out of different accounts and there’s no mention of the expenditure from one of them.
Deep down I knew they would just agree with the adjudicator who did not consider loads of comments I made and even said that one of the businesses could not show what checks it did but apparently even so she thought they lent responsibly.
Disappointing but not a lot I can do when they just ignore the information you give.Cant win them all I suppose,just hope that the 2 businesses the complaints were against are understanding about repaying the loans as I am on a payment break due to covid19 so in arrears.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry to hear that. You have won your Avant, Satsuma, 118, Amigo and George Banco cases, who are the three lenders you have lost against?
Catherine says
Hitachi,Shawbrook bank and Chetwood financial(livelend)
R says
To be honest with you, I find some of the decisions rather baffling. The adjudicator, then the ombudsman, rejected my Avant complaint, as they both said it wasn’t fair to expect Avant to know about my gambling addiction. This was even though I’d taken out multiple payday loans, credit cards all up to the max and my bank statements, all littered with gambling transactions. Then, when they investigated my Likely Loans complaint (which I expected to lose) they upheld, based on the facts that I had taken multiple short term loans, credit cards all up to their limit and because if they’d looked at my bank statements, they would/should never have loaned to me. Work that one out?
DM84 says
Yep, I struggle with that. No consistency, no reasonings, rigid in once they have made deisions. I wish I hadnt put in my complaints. The stress of it and the over thinking afterwards were not worth it at all in the end. I’m not imagining it. The FOS to me feels like they flip a coin because I have won cases for certain facts that have gone against me for other. I lose sleep over my likely loans decison, no credit check, multiple loans, 3 defaults, gambling everywhere (20000 worth of transactions in one month for a pay of 2000 a month) and yet I win with 118118 for 1600 pounds worth of gambling transactions.
They have a statement which says the loan must be sustainable. On all cases I had no disposable income with 3 weeks left till pay day. It should really be that simple.
Bob says
How long does Avant usually take paying people out? They’ve allowed themselves 30 days.
D Jacues says
Hello. Recently beem offered a refund. But thet are saying they cant process cheques etc due to the covid19 isolation rules etc. Neither can they refund via BACS because of GDPR rules. I kind of get the Covid 19 excuse but not the Gdpr excuse. Why cant they just refund me via my new bank details If i agree?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who is the lender with these bizarre excuses?
D Jacues says
Hi its with Fernovo.
Would all their staff be working from home ??? Surely if they can pay out loans still they can pay me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply that how they organise it is their problem, but if you aren’t paid within 14 days you will be sending the complaint to the Ombudsman
Gg says
Hi Sara,
My complaint was rejected by Moneybarn explained that checks was done/including bank statements (only for my wife) But this is a joint application and the payment go thru my wife. MY POINT AS CO – APPLICANT THEY didn’t check my income and expenses in detail or ask bank statement and I had a gambling problem during that time but no record that I share payment with my wife. Is it worth to bring my complaint to FOS. your advise is appreciated.
Thanks
GG
Sara (Debt Camel) says
could your wife afford the car without getting any money from you?
Gg says
She is struggling if I can’t give money a month.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If her bank statements showed she could easily pay for the car and all her bills, yours wouldn’t matter, but as she was relaint on money from you then they should have checked that.
I suggest you send this to FOS if you both feel that the loan was unaffordable.
R says
Still waiting for contact, from Likely Loans, with reference to my refund. They agreed with the adjudicator assessment, last Tuesday and, since then, a wall of silence. I asked the adjudicator if he had made them aware that I agreed with the resolution and, to be honest, he got a little ‘narky’. It was only because on another complaint, the company said (3 weeks down the line) that they hadn’t been made aware that I accepted the outcome and that’s why they hadn’t made contact. I know we’re in strange times but, there’s a real irony in that they have paused lending to assist ‘existing customers’. They have failed to respond to my email (not even an acknowledgement?) and there’s no point in writing a review. on Trust Pilot, as their reputation on there is horrid and they don’t even bother to respond to the reviews?
lisa says
hi all ive had a complaint in with Mobile Money which is similar to logbook loans, complained in July 2019, rejected as they were older than 6 years, adjudicator picked this up in January, Mobile Money slow in providing information, due to being older than 6 years it had to be reviewed to see if FOS can look into my complaint, Adjudicator agreed all 8 loans can be looked at. Finally hopefully light at the end of the tunnel. Anyone had any dealings with Mobile Money? i had 8 loans in 19 months, thousands of pounds of gambling transactions and no affordability checks carried out.
Bill says
Hi Lisa, my case is same as yours practically, loans and times, just had reply from mobile money after 8 weeks, not upholding due to 6 over six years and they don’t hold any information, I find it strange they don’t hold any information but Informed me at the start I had 9 loans, dates and interest paid!
So work that out if that’s having no information?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it may mean they no longer hold any information about your application.
Do you have your bank statements going that far back? They should show whether the loan was unaffordable.
lisa says
Hi Bill, did they provide you with a DSAR file, they emailed this to me which had everything, every application, every loan agreement, itemised list of all phone calls and file records,ie missed payments, late payments, dates i requested top ups etc. If you havent already ask them to email this to you. My loans were 2012-2013.
Bill says
Hi Lisa,
After the initial contact in February, they sent me details of the 9 loans from 2010-2011, I wasn’t sure how many I had, probably 5, but they sent me details of the loan dates with how much interest they applied on the loans which came to £1.150, was shocked how much interest I paid for the loans, I’ve sent the complaint to the fos after receiving the final decision from MM
Lisa says
Hi Bill. Ok that’s good to hear, my claim was held up in the fos queue as they didn’t know how to label it, it was sat in short term lending for a long while and then advised this was in the wrong queue so be worth chasing that up
lisa says
Hi Bill, Good news today, FOS have partially upheld my Mobile Money complaint loans 4-8 which is what i expected, slight complication on the fact that loan 8 i voluntary gave my car up and my adjudicator needs to ensure I am put back into a financial position should i not have had the loan, they sold the car at auction to clear the debt, but need to check this was a fair price, am curious what they advise mobile money to compensate me on this? Long road to go still as they may not agree but feel its all moving the right way.
C says
So I’ve submitted affordability complaint to everyday loans. Eight weeks for their response is next week and they’ve said it may be delayed due to limited resources due coronavirus). I’ve asked if payments can be paused until I receive a response and they’ve said no.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then send the complaint to FOS tomorrow.
Are you finances affected by coronavirus?
C says
Thanks. Our finances are always poor hence wanting to end these nightmare loans. Should I let EDL know that I’m sending to FOS in the hope it may spur them on to respond?
Simon says
Hi Sara,
Just had my complaint turned down by Everyday Loans. I have also asked for a payment holiday as we have extra bills with the corona virus to which the answer was no.
Can they refuse the payment holiday?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what are your extra bills? is there a reason they said No?
Simon says
Hi Sara,
Everyday Loans replied because we are in arrears although I explained we work for the NHS and have moved to different sites and it’s costing £300 more in travel expenses.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, I suggest you go back to them and say that https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/finalised-guidance/personal-loans-coronavirus-temporary-guidance-firms says
“Where a 3 month payment deferral is not considered appropriate, firms should without unreasonable delay, offer other ways to provide temporary relief to the customer in accordance with treating the customer fairly. This could include reduced payments or a rescheduled term. This could also include a payment deferral of fewer than 3 months if, for example, the expected loss of income is for a shorter period, or accepting a sum below the normal payment due if, for example, the loss of income is partial.”
and ask them how else they propose to help you over this period?
Say if they do not come up with positive assistance you will be complaining to the Financial Ombudsman and also reporting them to the FCA.
E says
Has anyone had any luck with Varooma? I am now at 7 weeks since my complaint – they e mailed today to say they are still investigating and hope to come back to me within the 8 weeks timeframe.
Linds says
Varooma rejected my complaint, it is currently with the FOS since Sept 19 and waiting to be picked up by an investigator.
lisa says
Hi Linds, have you spoken with FOS, my mobile money complaint was sitting categorised incorrectly in the wrong queue, which caused a massive delay, i submitted to FOS in September also and luckily after a few calls to FOS i spoke with someone who could see it was categorised wrong, and within a couple of weeks it was assigned to an adjudicator, my case is still on going. They dont have a section as such for log book loans.
Linds says
Hi Lisa,
I haven’t spoken to them so I will give them a call just incase. Thank you for the advice.
KR says
Had to send ours to FOS from last May and was picked up March 2020 by the adjudicator who agreed 4 weeks ago on 4 loans and has given them an extension to reply as they missed the first deadline but I half expect they ignore this one ending this week and drag it out as long as possible or they will ask for an ombudsmans decision and have the adjudicators decision reviewed.
chris says
A quick update on my complaint against CarCashPoint. They have agreed with the adjudicator’s decision and will sort out a refund within 4 weeks. Will post again with the amount when I know it. First complained in July 2019.
Andrew says
That’s great news Chris
What was the time line from when your adjudicator gave decision how many extensions did ccp ask for and did they adhere to them, they have asked for two weeks
Andrew
chris says
Initial decision from the Adjudicator came 25th March. CCP had until 8th April. Adjudicator then gave them until 16th April. Got the phonecall today confirming that they had accepted the ruling.
Mel says
That’s great news Chris and gives me some hope. My complaint went to FOS April 2019 but 2 loans are over 6 years and CCP are stalling their response to a request for more info from my adjudicator saying the office is closed due to Covid-19. I hope they don’t take the full 4 weeks to pay you.
Jane Y says
Just had my final response from Likely Loans on the 1 loan I had. They have upheld my complaint agreeing to repay all interest plus the 8%.
Happy days!
R says
Well done Jane! Will need to be patient though, as they agreed to my adjudicator a week ago and refund but I’ve not heard a peep. No request for bank details or, for that matter, anything at all. Sigh.
Jane Y says
They asked for bank details and registered address and said payment will be in around 10 day
R says
There’s hope for me then? Haha
Jane Y says
Yes indeed. Had another email thanking me for my acceptance and will pass on details for payment. Have you had any dealings with Acant Credit?
Aaron says
Hi Jane,
That’s great news! I have put in a similar complaint and my question is how long did it take from raising the complaint to getting the response that it’s been upheld?
Thanks so much for your help,
Aaron!
Jane Y says
Hi Aaron
It went over the 8 week period. When did you put your complaint in.
Aaron says
Thanks Jane,
About 3/4 weeks ago, so I’ll sit tight for now. I have several complaints with several PayDay Loan providers.
Many thanks,
Aaron
Marie I says
How long did the process take? I only put my complaint in last week, but have complaints with 5 companies now (all at different stages) and some are taking 13 plus weeks to even allocate them.
chris says
OK so the refund from CCP will come to £218 plus 8% stat interest. I only complained about the top up loan. Worth putting a few numbers out there for anybody thinking about a logbook loan from this company. I borrowed £2186 in August 2018 from them at £235 a month for 3 years. I topped up another £500 in January 2019 for a further £70 a month and then again in July 2019 for another £65 a month. The two later loans were to be paid back over 5 years. I was paying £370 a month. Had I paid to full term I would have paid nearly £16500. In the end, because of the ruling on this top up loan and a refund from another lender, I have been able to pay the whole lot off. The car is now free from finance. But I have actually still paid £7246 – nearly £4000 on top of the capital. I received a settlement figure for the original large loan but no breakdown. The settlement figure for this top up loan has been offered with, again, no breakdown. I have not received annual statements or anything which indicates the progress of my account. I am not going to pass comment on this – these are the facts. Believe it or not, I actually fear these people.
Andrew says
Just had a message from a different adjudicator (don’t know why) that ccp disagreed with adj decision and now onto ombudmsman gutted
Does any one have a idea of timescale from adj to ombudsman I have waited over a year to get to this stage
Andrew says
What do you mean you fear them gave they said how long for your refund?
I cant believe how much I was paying out on interest
R says
A week and a half, after Likely Loans agreed to my adjudicator decision, and no contact (with reference to bank details etc..) AND an email, I decided a different approach. I logged in to my account, and went to the ‘contact us’ and raised a fresh complaint. Within an hour, I had received a response, apologising for the delay, and just asked me to confirm that my HSBC bank details were correct (although it seemed odd that I had to chase THEM to confirm if my bank details were correct, when they were refunding just shy of £3000?). After a further email, thanking me for confirming and that these details had been passed on to their finance department, I received the refund 2 hours later. In the new complaint, I was polite and made them aware that I understood that the situation, with Covid-19, wasn’t helping. However, this approach seems to have worked. So, I would suggest that, if you’re waiting and they appear to be dragging their heels, just raise a fresh complaint via their ‘contact us’ section.
Bob says
£3700 hit my account today from AvantCredit, so it took 8 days into the 30 to receive it if that helps anyone.
Catherine says
Hi Bob,Just saw you’re comment,so checked my account and my Avant credit refund gone in too.Very happy as only 3 days after I received calculation.
A weight has been lifted.
Happy for you too.
PM says
Has anyone had any recent communication with 118, Likely Loans, Bamboo or Amigo? I’m into my 8th week after raising complaints but other than the generic acknowledgement mail, I’ve received nothing. I’ve requested updates which have fallen on deaf ears. Working on the assumption that these will be rejected at the final hour and they’ll need to be referred on.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
many of them you may just get a “we need a few more weeks” responses not a rejection. I suggest that for all those lenders you send the case to FOS at 8 weeks as they very often reject good cases.
PM says
Thanks Sarah. I’ll definitely be referring this as soon as I hit the 8 week mark. Are the instalment / guarantor loans picked up by the same department within FOS as payday loans? I’m still waiting for another case to be picked up that was sent 3 months ago
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think guarantor loans have a separate team.
Em says
I have given 118 14 weeks to respond now and nothing apart from an auto email. Have called them today to say I’m going to be taking things further. The woman on the phone says she will chase up that department and mark the file as urgent.
Mk says
Hi, I put in my complaint at the end of January -29th i think, they had acknowledged it, however they emailed a couple of times saying that they needed more time, I finally got the end result today, which is obviously way over the 8 allocated weeks. x
Kate says
Hi, I was wondering if anyone had had any luck with the Ombudsman even assigning their cases to an adjudicator recently? I sent a couple of complaints to the FOS around October last year. One for Bamboo Loans and one for Likely Loans. Both very similar complaints. The bamboo case was looked at and resolved before Christmas last year and the Likley Loans one has still to be given to an adjudicator to look at. They have advised they have the business file and have had it for months. I just don’t understand how two complaints of the same nature, sent at the same time have clearly been dealt with so differently?
Has anyone else had something similar happen? In the meantime I am still paying Likely Loans their monthly agreed installment that I really can’t afford.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have your finances been affected at all by coronavirus?
Kate says
Yes I have been furloughed and my income is a lot less as I was on 0 hours contract so only being paid a couple of shifts a week rather than the full time hours I was doing
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then you can ask Likely Loans – and any other lenders – for a 3 month payments break, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/coronavirus-more-help-debts/
JA says
Unfortunately looks like the team dealing with high cost loans are quite small. I’ sent my likely loans complaint in may/june – Still not been picked up. Also been waiting since sept for two ombudsman decisions on two cases.
Lisa G says
Hi. My Everyday Loan complaint was sent to FOS in Oct 2018. Was picked up by an adjudicator in Jan 2020. In April 2020 (this month) adjudicator ruled that loan 1 should be refunded but not loans 2&3 due to insufficient evidence. Apparently my bank statements aren’t enough (I think they are) and EDL cannot find any paperwork at all for any of my loans. Due to them not finding their paperwork they agreed with the adjudicator On loan 1. I’ve asked it to be sent to an ombudsman because I believe loans 2&3 should also be refunded. It’s been in the ombudsman queue since 21/04. For high cost loans it’s a long wait. I’m hoping the ombudsman queue doesn’t take too long.
Charlie says
Help needed with this. I had several loans with satsuma, I put in a complaint with them, not upheld. Went to ombudsman, adjudicator upheld the last one of the three loans. All fine, I accepted the findings but satsuma didn’t respond by the deadline so he has now put it forward to an ombudsman for a final decision. Is this normal practise?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is what normally happens.
Matt says
Fuming. Bamboo upheld a complaint last year and knocked the capital off of my second loan with them leaving a balance of around £800 to pay. I’ve been paying the remaining off monthly. Today I have had an email from credit Karma saying Bamboo have registered a default against my account!
I’ve emailed Bamboo. Has anyone else experienced this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, see this comment from yesterday: https://debtcamel.co.uk/sold-to-dca/comment-page-5/#comment-361167
Matt says
Sorry I missed that one.
Surely they can’t just add a default. I called Bamboo and they said they are no longer handling my account. Worrying.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They can sell your account, but the debt collector buying it should have been told that the account should not be defaulted.
Go back to Bamboo and say either they sort this out with the debt collector or you will be sending your complaint to the Financial ombudsman.
Andy says
Left a complaint with 118118 about a loan and top up loan which I’m still paying 9 weeks ago. After giving them a weeks grace I emailed them and got a response saying they “hope” to have issued me a final response within 21 days which would be a full 12 weeks from the date of complaint. Any advice or do I just wait it out?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would send it to FOS now as 118 often reject good complaints.
B says
I made a complaint with varooma, they have declined my complaint, due you think is worth sending it too FOS, I am still paying varooma.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Definitely worth sending to FOS because from what I can see varooma decline all affordability complaints, even the very good ones!
Ben says
Hi
Just to let you know I had my complaint rejected by everyday loans I phoned them and argued my case with the person who issued my final response she still didn’t agree and I said I would be forwarding it to FOS she said that was fine she then phoned me back 10 minutes later and agreed with me and is now upholding my complaint and issuing a refund by Wednesday
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh interesting…
Meld says
U had anything yet Ben? I’m still waiting…..
Ben says
Yes recieved my offer yesterday of £2700 refund and will be in my account by Friday definately worth arguing your case with them
Meld says
Sorry thats what I meant had my offer also, told me it will be in by Friday. Great news. Will let you know when mine hits
Meld says
That’s mine in the bank.
Thanks Sara for helping me along the way
Ruth says
Had an adjudicator go in favour with my complaint against 118 money for irresponsible lending. Anyone had any experience on whether they tend to agree or disagree with the adjudicator? Thankyou in advance.
JA says
Hey, Hopefully they agree with your adjudicator. When did you send your complaint to the FOS before an adjudicator picked up your complaint?
Ruth says
Fingers crossed! Unfortunately it did take a long time, originally submitted August 2019! However, the FOS were very good to me and speed up my complaint as I am due to start maternity and not entitled to any maternity pay…so if you are in financial difficulty I would always give them a call and see what they can do.
David says
Hi guys, just finalised a claim against 118 through an adjudicator. 118 money weren’t responding to them and was due to by 01/04/2020. After numerous calls, emails and complaints about service, I eventually sent an email to the compliance director of the company yesterday, who had someone get in touch with me today! Refund to be in my bank account today, over £1000 from one loan that I had with them! Thank you everyone for your help!
David says
In response to how 118 treat the adjudicator decision they agreed in full with FOS
Ruth says
That’s great news for you! Thankyou for updating us, fingers crossed I’ll get a similar outcome. Due to hear 11/05 so will do similar if no response by then
Ruth says
Hi David, do you have the email address for the compliance please? Looks like they’ve ignored the adjudicator for my case!
Danielle Stewart says
I had adjudicator agree with my complaint but 118118 totally ignored it so it’s gone to ombudsman.
Ruth says
Ah sorry to hear, what a pain! How long ago did it go to the ombudsman? I have another complaint that was rejected and has gone to the ombudsman but it’s taking a while…
A says
Hi Sara
Just a quick message to say that my redress claim has been upheld by Likely Loans. They have sent me the following figures:
__________________________________________________________________________
Total Principal Loan £4,000.00
Payments made £4,555.26
8% Statutory interest from the date principal loan amount repaid £5.20
less 20% tax (based on the 8% calculation below) £1.04
Total Refund Payable to you £559.42
__________________________________________________________________________
Doe this look correct to you?
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much have you been paying a month?
Fee says
Has anyone had Everyday loans block their email? I’ve reached the 8 week mark on my complaint, I’ve now referred on to the Ombudsman and I tried to email them to advise them of this – they’ve still not replied to my complaint alto it has been acknowledged. Also I’ve asked them repeatedly about freezing interest and they’ve ignored these questions. Now today I get the message back “MESSAGE BLOCKED” when I try to email “complaints@everydayloans.co.uk” Why would they do this/can they do this? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you been affected by Coronavirus?
Are you still making payments to this loan?
Do you have other problem debts as well?
Fee says
yes to all 3. Why would they block me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know. Can you phone your local branch? They should deal with your coronavirus request for a 3 month payment break promptly, it is separate from your affordability complaint.
Julie says
Avant credit.
I complained in Oct and they refused in Dec. Sent to the FO on the 10th December, after chasing up with the FO they still have not received the business file from Avant..
Are there any time frames that Avant have to send the info to the FO?
Thank you
Catherine says
I would email Avant and ask them to confirm 1- if they sent it 2- what email they sent it to and if they could possibly send again.
My avant complaint was sent to FOS in Dec,they too said Avant hadn’t sent the file in March 2020 but they had sent it and the FOS had not logged it correctly on their system.
Julie says
Thank you I will do that.
Julie
Julie says
I emailed Avant and they said they sent the info to the FO on the 13th december.
I asked if they could resend the information and they said no 🤷♀️
Emailed the FO to let them know the info was sent from Avant on the 13th dec hopefully they locate it.
Julie
Catherine says
They should be able to find it with the date.Avant confirmed that they sent the file on a particular date and my adjudicator was able to search the system and locate it.She then confirmed and apologised that for some reason it had not been logged on my case file.
Fingers crossed they locate it and you get your response.
Lisa G says
Hi. Can anyone tell me how long they’ve waited for an Ombudsman to review their case?
My adjudicator found that loan 1 should be refunded against EDL, but not loans 2&3 due to insufficient evidence.
I provided everything I had but she said the bank statements I have aren’t enough. I argued that EDL took copies of my bank statements so surely they’d have them?
I informed the adjudicator I’d like the ombudsman to review. She said she had to write to EDL first with her findings. I didn’t get a copy of that. EDL replied to say they agreed with her findings for loan 1. I also did not get a copy of that. I asked for the case to be referred to the ombudsman.
My case went to the ombudsman queue on 21/04.
I called FOS on 24/04 to make sure it was in the right queue and asked for a copy of the acceptance from EDL for loan 1 (just for my records).
It turns out EDL can’t find the information they held for me and were unable to provide the adjudicator with any details, and due to this lack of information they accepted the adjudicator ruling for loan 1, which now makes perfect sense as to why the adjudicator didn’t address the fact that I said EDL would have the information… they don’t, they can’t find it.
I’m wondering if this will strengthen or weaken my case with the ombudsman? I also think it was a bit shady of the adjudicator to not be upfront with me to say EDL couldn’t find the information on me, or that because of that fact, that’s why they accepted loan 1.
Jason says
Did you email the adjudicator with what you discovered? Agree slightly shady. I’ve just wait 7 months from adjudication to ombudsman FYI
Lisa G says
Hi Jason. No I didn’t. I’m not sure it would do any good? I wouldn’t really know what to say? Do you think I should? 7 months… thanks, that gives me an idea of how long I’ll be waiting.
Fraggles says
Ive been waiting since Jan. 6months is the normal wait time, might be more now that we are in a Pandemic
Lisa G says
Fraggles, are you waiting for the ombudsman because EDL didn’t get back to your adjudicator? Did it go to the Ombudsman in Jan?
I’m kinda hoping it’s not going to take that long, especially as my complaint went in Oct 2018… but by the sounds of it, I’m wishfully thinking.
Fraggles says
Yes, went to the Ombudsmen in Jan as EDL failed to respond in time to the adjudicator…despite them asking for an extension.
Matt says
Finally received a call from Bamboo.
Despite upholding my complaint for unaffordable lending and wiping the interest on the second loan so I only had to repay the capital they registered a default and sold my acct this month. Last year they agreed a repayment plan for the capital, which I have stuck to! They have been incorrectly reporting the balance on my credit file since then. I requested to be put right but they said they couldn’t change this until the remaining balance was paid.
I owe them £340 but now a big default marker is on my file. They said the default is correct as the account has been in arrears (payment plan) since December.
I will send this to the FOS. I guess some others may encounter the same issues I have so just a heads up.
PM says
I’ve been waiting on replies from Amigo, Bamboo, 118 Money and Likely Loans and hit the penultimate 8 week mark this weekend. Bamboo sent me a last minute response which rejected my claim, but I’ve had nothing from the others despite receiving promises of a response only 1 week ago. I can appreciate they are probably operating with skeleton staff, so I’ve referred these straight on to the FOS and will ride it out now.
RD says
Hello all.
I’m after advice.
In 2018 I took out many loans totalling up to £20,000 to fund my gambling addiction. I’ve stopped gambling and have not since June 2019. So far the only positive.
I was paying the loans back at the first, but as I was gambling more, I missed payments. The loans now have been defaulted and sold to a debt collection agency.
Do I have a chance of having interest clear, so I’m left to pay amount borrowed.
Im in a very dark time in my life and now I regret I will struggle to pay off loans. I understand it is all my fault, but I’m trying to fix this situation.
Thank you in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes there is a chance, it depends on what each lender should have seen when you applied for the loans. But affordability complaints are not quick and you may not win them all… so unless you have a house with equity, it may be better for you to look at bankruptcy and just get a clean start. Can I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about your options?
RD says
Hello Sara,
George Banco is the biggest, £10,000. I already had £20,000 in debt from 9 different lenders with missed payments. Can they demand the amount from my guarantor?
The other 9, totalled £20,000. I got all in the space of a month. As responsible lenders should they have checked my credit file to see what my payments were and compared them to my wage? The first 2 loans monthly payments would have been ok to stick to, once I took out my living expenses.
Will bankruptcy affect my chance of a mortgage with my wife. Also with the George Banco loan, would they chase my guarantor if I file for bankruptcy?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
George Banco is the biggest, £10,000. I already had £20,000 in debt from 9 different lenders with missed payments. Can they demand the amount from my guarantor?
If you stop paying they will. Or if you go bankrupt.
If you win an affordabilty complaint – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/ for borrowers of guarantor loans for a special template – the interest is removed from your debt and the guarantor can also be removed. At that point you can put it and all your other debts into a debt management plan or indeed go bankrupt.
What is your guarantor’s financial position? could they really have afforded to make all the GB repayments and still pay their own debts, bills and expenses?
Will bankruptcy affect my chance of a mortgage with my wife.
Yes. But it also clears your mountains of debt. How long will it take you to repay that all if you don’t go bankrupt? See https://debtcamel.co.uk/bankruptcy-iva-dro-credit-rating/
The other 9, totalled £20,000. I got all in the space of a month.
Then some, possibly many, of these lenders may not have seen the other loans when they ran a credit check on you… In which cases you may find it hard to win an affordability complaint.
Where you are now it sounds as though your top priority has to be sorting out the GB loan. So while that complaint is going through, you can try complaints to the other lenders. Then review your overall position in a few months time and see how you are getting on?
RD says
Thank you for taking the time to reply to my questions.
I have sent emails for the affordability compliant, so now I will wait and see.
I have one last question… All the loans have defaulted and show as defaults on my credit file. I understand they will be on my file for 6 years. I have worked out it will take around the same time for me to pay off all my debts.
Is having 11 defaults on my file better than having a bankruptcy or IVA or DMP? They all will come off my credit file around the same time anyway.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is having 11 defaults on my file better than having a bankruptcy or IVA or DMP?
Insolvency (bankruptcy or IVA) is worse. It can make it hard to rent privately without a guarantor. But your credit score must be in the poor or very poor category already, so that’s pretty marginal. But if you are thinking ahead to mortgages, what matters isn’t your credit score now but the time to repay all the debts and then save a deposit. With such a large debt mountain you are likely to find that is quicker with bankruptcy! You can get a mortgage 6 year after bankruptcy, by which time you should have saved a decent deposit. If you have to pay the debts off first, it will probably be much more than 6 years until you have saved the same deposit.
There is normally no reason to consider an IVA if you have no assets to protect – it does not make it easier to get a mortgage in future than bankruptcy and you pay much because of the longer period, so it delays the time you can start saving a deposit. Also 30% of IVAs fail, leaving you back with the debts.
A DMP will make no difference to your credit score if all the debts have already defaulted.
BUT all this premature. You have to sort out that guarantor loan so kick off that complaint and you may as well try the complaints against other large bad credit lenders too. See how that goes then look again at insolvency in 6 months or so. It may help you to talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about his, now if you want but definitely in 6 months to properly assess your debt options in detail.
RD says
Wouldn’t let me reply to your last comment.
I would like to say thank you for your advice Sara.
I now have a clear plan of how I can move forward and clear this mess.
I will keep everyone update, in case I can be of help to other.
Thanks again.
RD says
Hi Sara.
I’ve opened complaints and safeynet Credit have said my complaint has merit.
They have offered this:
redress all the interest that you have paid (£78.05), plus statutory 8% interest (£5.21). We will deduct 20% (£1.04) from your statutory interest and pay this to HMRC.
We will also remove any interest that has accrued on your outstanding balance (£64.00) and then deduct the interest you have paid plus the statutory 8% interest from your principal outstanding balance (£200.00).
This will leave a principal outstanding balance of £117.78 which remains payable. Any adverse markers relating to your SafetyNet account at this time will be removed from your credit file.
I borrowed £200
RD says
Our offer is made on the basis that it is in full and final settlement of your complaint.
Are they able to demand what is remaining to be paid in full? Also the loan is with a collection agency, who do I pay?
frogman says
Hi RD,
Your debt problem is half-solved by stopping gambling and for someone who is in a similar situation, probably worse, I know what it feels like.
Get a spreadsheet and list all your debts and relevant details such as account number, monthly repayment, loan term, debt collection agency details etc. This can be overwhelming and scary but don’t worry, it’s one of the fundamental steps to get you out of the mess. If you haven’t spoken to National Debtline or Stepchange as Sara advised, do so, you will be able to understand what option is best for you (It depends on your circumstances). Over 7yrs, I managed to lose £100k+ gambling and I still have about £60k debt. I have so far managed to avoid bankruptcy and IVA… I am on a Debt Management Plan. I went the DMP route as I had far more to lose with bankruptcy or IVA. Stepchange literally saved my life, I couldn’t deal with my creditors, they were too many, almost all lenders out there. I had a good job and a good credit rating. Credit file is smashed now (best thing that happened to me as I now have no access to loans). Once you’ve got a bit of stability with your finances, you can then start looking at the individual loans you took out to see if you can claim interests back. I have had some success, thanks to this website and I am waiting on decisions from the likes of Amigo, Sunny, Satsuma, Likely Loan.
RD says
Hello frogman. I hope you are well.
Firstly, well done on paying off 40k. That is a massive chunk and you are well on your way to being debt free.
Stupid mistakes and an addictive personality has got me in this terrible mess.
[edited – sorry I don’t allow people to post their email addresses]
frogman says
Sara is right on the money…get started with the guarantor loan, there’s nothing to lose and a lot to gain if you win the complaint. Those loans are a killer. For example, I have been with Amigo since late 2015, if I am lucky to win my complaint, I will have almost £7k outstanding wiped off, about £2k refunded and no more £316 monthly repayment. That’s massive BUT it’s only a dream now except I win the case. I considered bankruptcy when I went into DMP in 2018 but due to my personal circumstances, that would have set me back almost x3 of what I owed. On Mortgage, I am in the same boat as you, looking at the next two years but that all going to be in my partner’s name… no chance of me sorting out credit file before then but that’s something for the future so I wouldn’t worry about that too much for now.
RD says
Thanks for the advice also pal.
First time, my mind is clear and now I have a solid plan with what to do with my life.
Hope all goes well for you.