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?
Pendarlo says
Hi.
Wondering if I could get some advice.
I took out a £1000 loan with Avant Credit a few years ago and managed to pay it off. My credit report was littered with pay day loans and huge outstanding amounts of credit with other providers. The say I paid off my £1000 with Avant they gave me the option on applying for another loan and offered £4000. At this point, I had a huge amount of outstanding credit, numerous pay day loans and a salary that didn’t cover the monthly repayments. They did request a bank statement for this second loan but looking at the statement I emailed them, it showed lots of other debt repayments, gambling and payday loans. It would be obvious to anyone the financial issues i was having at the time.
Would this be a good enough reason to complain? I am currently on a DMP and haven’t repaid the full £4,000 yet.
Thank you for your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
from what you have said, that sounds a good reason to complaint the 4k loan was unaffordable and as they should have noticed the gambling on your bank statement 9assuming it was significant) they should not have given you the loan. Getting the interest removed will speed up your DMP.
How large are the debts in your DMP? how much are you paying per month?
Mag says
Hi,
It would have to be very reduced payments as i was made redundant from my job, and am now just receiving carer’s allowance. So would definitely be a struggle :-( . No other debts now. This was last one. I asked for a top of loan of £1000 and they talked me into having £5000. My weakness i know but struggled ever since, nowhere near enough checks were done. i’m convinced there is no way they should of given me this loan.
Donna says
Has anyone had experience with high cost catalogues like Jacamo and Simply be?
Just had a complete turn down from them with not even a goodwill gesture. Should I send this
to the FOS? Has anyone had rulings by the FOS against the catalogues and if so, do they take long?
Sean says
Hi all, got an email from FOS about my compliant against Bamboo “Bamboo loans has now told us it would like to make an offer in full and final settlement of your complaint. And we wanted to let you know about this offer so that you can decide whether or not you want to accept it.”
How long will it take Bamboo to get back to me?
L jones says
Hello Sara
I’ve finally had a response from amigo after sending my complaint in January. They’ve offered to refund all interest I’ve paid, however I queried the amount of 8% statutory interest as it’s only a fraction of the amount it should be. I understood it to be 8% of the interest but amigo are saying it’s only offered on overpayments so in my case a refund of £1800, they’re paying £28 interest. Could you advise if this sounds right please? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is £1800 the cash you are getting?
are you repaying a current loan? if yes, how much are your repayments a month?
did you have previous loans? were any of them cleared completely before you took the next loan?
L jones says
Hi Sara
yes £1800 is the offer they’ve made which is a refund of all interest plus £28 (8% simple interest)
I think it may be because I repaid the loan within a year of taking it out. My mum cleared it for me to save me paying more interest. I took out one loan in March and then another in may which cleared the balance of the first loan. I then repaid in full in the December.
Thanks
Fred says
Hi Sara,
I have a complaint ombudsman and the investigator has upheld my complaint.
The company is now disagreeing with this decision. I believe it’s very much a delay tactic as others have mentioned as they have been very slow on stages of my complaint. If anything the investigator has made my complaint even stronger than my original complaint.
If it has to go to the ombudsman do you know how long extra it would take? (obviously a bit longer in the current climate)
Thanks Fred.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the lender?
Fred says
Avant. They seem to be stringing it along as possible. I am still paying them but I have paid more than I have borrowed back already.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what is the rest of your financial situation like, do you have other problem debts?
Fred says
Yeah I am still paying other things and have salary reduced.
Though they still waiting to hear from them As they went back to them to get their response after giving them some more information.
Also just to add. I have about 1 year of payments left to go. I would hate for me to pay whilst waiting only for the firm to close and get pennies back in a few years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So your options now are:
1) to continue paying if you can manage this, with he risk that they may go under (I have no info that that is imminent)
2) to stop paying them and accept you will get a default on your credit record, although it will go if you win your complaint
3) to put all your debts into a debt management plan if other debts are also difficult
4) to ask Avant for a 3 month payment break if your income has been affected by Coronavirus. This has no downside if you win your complaint, as any extra interest incurred will be removed.
frogman says
Hi Sara,
Just to quickly update you and Andrew on CCP. They’ve come back again this morning saying they are drafting their response and wanted to check if I have changed my mind on the proposed £1200 goodwill. (I paid £3585 interest in total over just 11months) To be honest, I feel like I have a very strong case against them. Apart from their ridiculous offer, they’ve been very very nice on the phone and have now said £1400 final. I have accepted this and taken £2185 on the chin. It’s a shame as I would have taken this to FOS but the current wait time is crazy. Lessons learnt, never ever will I use logbook loan or guarantor loans. These two loans have set me back massively in the last few years. It’s bad enough losing money gambling.
Natalia says
CCC rejected my complaint today after 3 days even though the bank statements provided when applying for the loan were full off gambling transactions. Off to the FCA I go!
Lewis says
Hi, I have taken out 2 loans with EverydayLoans over the past 2 years. One for 1 year and then one the next year almost straight after. I had accepted the loans when i wasn’t in the best place financially & They made me believe it was going to build my credit up but in reality it made me more in debt but now with very high interest. Would it be worth me putting in a complaint?
Hope to hear back from someone, Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you feel the loans were “affordable” – could you make the repayments each month and still pay all your other debts and bills and living expenses, or have you had to borrow more of got behind with bills?
Lewis says
I ended up having to take out credit cards/overdraft to live most months. Luckily i’m not in that position anymore due a family member helping me out, Which i am currently paying back.
Would it be worth me taking up a complaint do you think?
Thanks Sara.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds to me as though the 2 Loans were not affordable, so it is well worth making an affordability complaint. There is a template in the article above you can use.
Lee widdop says
Hi can I make an affordability complaint against a credit union? If so how do I do this?
Thanks lee
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Same as against any other lender.
Lee says
Thanks is it a classed as a payday loan or high street loan? Thanks again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is classifying the debt?
Lee says
Hi it is with 1stclass credit union so was just wondering which template would be best thanks lee
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Use the template on this page.
Sam says
Hi Sara, thank you for this page. 118 just advised my affordability claim has been accepted for 2nd loan (top up following 1st loan). And the 2nd removed from my credit file.
I defaulted on the loan in Dec 2019 after putting a payment plan in place for arrears. £1304 left to pay, the loans last payment was meant to be paid back Feb 2020.
I put the affordability claim in in Jan 2020.
I was worried they would pass the loan to debt collector,I contacted them Feb asking could we just settle it (wipe the remaining balance).Indian call centre advised I would need to offer something so £500 to settle (but made it clear this would involve me borrowing from family). They advised they’d sent to manager.
Mid March (Just before Covid 19 hit) Not heard anything so called again, had to go through process again as they didn’t seem to have a record of offer, but I offered a more realistic £300 this time.
In April I called spoke Cardiff office, he Apologised and said he would make sure my offer was looked at. Literally an hour later he was calling me back to say he had spoke to the higher bosses and they had agreed. I then got the £300 together and paid and settled in April.
I was so so pleased that they had wiped the £1000 off and the monkey was off my back. As they had done that I was really surprised when I got the above offer for refund. Had I not stumbled across your site I would still been burying my head. speak to the lenders, be honest and they will help.
Sam says
From 118 “You will note that I have not upheld your complaint regarding the first agreement; however, I will be upholding your complaint regarding agreement and the reason I say this is because unfortunately, due to a technical issue we are unable to view the credit file that was used to make a decision on this application and therefore, we cannot fairly defend this aspect of your complaint. Please note that this aspect of your complaint is being upheld purely because we cannot obtain the information needed to review this part; not because we have done anything wrong.
As a result of the above, as you have repaid more than the loan amount on agreement a refund of interest is due to you. You have paid a total of £7509.71 to the loan and therefore, the amount of £2870.09 can be refunded to you and once the amount of £2870.09 has been refunded to you, this would mean that you would have only repaid the loan amount with no interest. Please note that I will also be reaching out to the Credit Reference Agency to ask that the loan is removed from your file – this can take up to 90 days to be completed.
In order for us to issue the refund to you, we need you to confirm your bank details.
In addition to the above refund of interest, we must also calculate the 8% statutory interest that is due on these sorts of refunds – the 8% has been calculated as £169”.
Sam says
Had my redress payment today.
Surprised it was so soon. Has allowed me to pay two other loans off early. (Loans2go & Bamboo).
Satsuma have emailed today saying they are upholding, £101.12 cheque will be in the post.. was surprised as was only 1 loan with them. But super happy will remove from my credit file.
Just waiting on Loans2go (gone to FOS) and bamboo. Digits crossed as the Loans2go are a terrible company with ridiculous interest rates.
Thank Sara :)
Lou7 says
Hi all,
I had a complaint with Onstride which was sent to the ombudsman. An adjudicator didn’t agree with my complaint and so I sent it to the ombudsman for a final decision. I waited over a year and the decision never got sorted but onstride are now in administration, I won’t get anything back now will I? Any info would be appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the QQ administration page https://debtcamel.co.uk/quickquid-casheuronet-administration/ is the best place for questions – but realistically you should expect to get little back. But any defaults should be removed.
Lou7 says
Thanks Sara
Tracey says
Has anyone made a claim against mobile money and been successful. I requested all the statements to my loans and they were very fast to reply and send me all the statements but then said I would have to wait 8 weeks for them to reply with an outcome.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
expect them to reject it and to have to send the case to the Ombudsman. Where people have won some cases, so don’t be put off if you know the loan was unaffordable,
Linds says
Has anyone had any luck with 118 118 after going to the FOS?
I sent my complaint to the FOS in July 19 and I’m still waiting for it to be picked up by an adjudicator?
Linds
Paul says
Sent mine to FOS at the same time and mine is yet to be picked up too.
lisa says
Hi All update with regards to my Mobile Money complaint (log book loan), complained in July 2019, not upheld due to being over 6 yrs, sent to FOS in September 19, adjudicator picked up in February, was a few complications due to topping up loans and voluntary giving my car up to clear the loan. Loans 4-8 were upheld, and adjudicator awarded me to be refunded all interest, + 8% + money from the the sale of vehicle. Mobile Money accepted in just under the 2 weeks they were given along with a break down of redress which i have accepted and they state 3-5 days for money to credit. Am overjoyed!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that sound like it might be a lot? Hope it is!
lisa says
Hi Sara, amount wasn’t overly big, due to my gambling habit i used to loan against the vehicle make 1-3 payments, have a win pay off and then reloan and the cycle carried on, towards the end was re-loaning, luck ran out and gave the car voluntary. They sold the vehicle for a fraction of the value at auction, overall my redress was just under £2k and I have put a claim in for the tax refund with HMRC. Thanks for all your advise as always.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah well, it’s all behind you.
Bob says
Sara if I send a credit report now to the adjudicator, all the unaffordable loan complaints ive won have been removed. Would this be a problem?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you not have a copy from earlier?
Bob says
Nope, my bank statements show everything going out, would this be enough?
Would the fos have credit reports from my previous complaints?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think FOS will still have your credit records.
JD says
Hi. Does anyone know why EDL website is down? General Maintenance or foreshadowing of things to come?
I know they stopped accepting new applications when lockdown started and have been paying out a lot lately. Had anyone heard anything?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
their other brands (George Banco, TrustTwo and Loans At Home) all have websites which seem to be working, so probably a glitch or maintenance.
Zoe says
Hi I started a complaint with 118, they have sent on to me SAR, but said nothing in relation to complaint is that normal or is there a way I should chase that.
Lo says
They took ages with mine. Around 6-7 weeks. They also just declined but I have gone back and haven’t heard anything for over a week so will be sending to FOS
Adam says
Hi Guys
Firstly thank you Sara this dite is amazing and has helped me.
I have a complaint against 118 118. Adjuidcator upheld in my favour.
I was paying the loan monthly and I had 2 final payments expected to be made in July and August due to covid 19. So my loan term was extended from the original date of june to august.
Last friday 19th June I recieved a text from 118 saying my loan had been paid off to my suprise. They wiped the remaining balance off.
I called them and confirmed it was not sold to debt collectors and no further payment is needed. I’m of course happy they have done this. I questioned if they were in agreement with the fos upholding in my favour.
My question does this mean there possibly doing a redress calculation as is quiet a big sum I am due if there in favour of the adjudicator?
Has anyone else experienced anything similar.
I’ve had similar experience with Satsuma where they wiped the loans and were later in favour with the fos.
Thank you
Adam
Dj says
I’m in the exact same position they have closed my account sent me a txt but not heard from them or the FA ..still waiting for a response hopefully means they will give a redress back can’t see why not ….have you hear back ?if so how long did it take for payment ?
Andrew says
Hi Chris
How long did ccp take to pay you or anyone else that can let me know would be great
Sam says
Hi Sara I’m just wondering if u could help me work this out plz I have got a complaint in against loans2go log book loans has any one had an affordability compliant upheld against these
Loan 1 cash recieved £500 made 3 payments of £82.78
Top up £1000 cash recieved £605.90
Payments made £1345.02
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It doesn’t matter what the company is, many people have won logbookloan cases at the Ombudsman so if L2G say No, send it straight to FOS.
Stevan says
I have 118118 complaint in and due to hear back off them next week. Thats the 8 week period up but expect them to say they need more time to investigate.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s up to you if you want to give them more time. You can send the complaint to FOS straight away at 8 weeks.
stevan says
I will sending straight to FOS after next week.
matt says
Just had a call from my investigator who upheld a complaint which Moneybarn rejected. Apparently it is with an Ombudsman but all cases with them are delayed due to “high level people” from both organisations talking to each other and trying to resolve something. He couldn’t tell me what.
Any idea what this could be Sara?
PF says
Hi Matt, you have my sympathy. I have been waiting for the FOS Investigator to give his assessment on my complaint against Moneybarn since the end of Feb. I was advised in the middle of May that my complaint was back in the hands of the Investigator after some high-level discussions had taken place during March/ April. At the end of May, I was advised that the Investigator was upholding my complaint but the FOS were trying to work with Moneybarn to get them to accept more Investigator decisions so still hasn’t issued his assessment. It’s very disappointing to hear that you have been told they are back at the discussion stage and that my Investigator hasn’t communicated this to me directly.
Look on the bright side at least you have got in the queue for the Ombudsman :)
Best of luck you get a decision soon.
PF
Matt says
Hi PF
Pretty infuriating, I originally complained in August 2018! And sent to Ombudsman in September 18!the case is so old it’s on their old system I am told! Adjudicator originally disagreed with me, until I highlighted some points (mainly large payday loan useage and after a few months came back (said he consulted with a senior colleague) and upheld in January). Moneybarn rejected one March and have been waiting since then for an Ombudsman.
I have lost a large amount of potential refunds due to the Wonga and Quick quid delays and am getting a little concerned Moneybarn might go the same way! Potential redress for this is around 8-9k. I just hope the Ombudsman agrees with the Investigator as this will put me nearly debt free after 10 years of misery!
Matt says
Also PF, wishing you all the best in your case! Hopefully not much longer for either of us.
PF says
Cheers Matt,
I have just emailed my Investigator to get an update, especially as the news about Sunny has just come out. If I hear anything useful i’ll let you know.
PF
Matt says
Just had an email saying Ombudsman asking for bank statements and a couple of other bits of info.
Fingers crossed!
I can see all of them going to the wall eventually
Tony says
hi guys heard from adjudicator today with reference to my wifes likely loans. he has agreed that the lian should not have been given and has passed back for likely loans to reply by 09 July. Fingers crossed that accept adjudicator decision will be over 1k plus a little interest. keep at it there is light at end of the tunnel. I also have one at FOS for likely loans and have just been assigned adjudicator. They upheld my initial top up but refused the initial loan. I would like to know what checks they did differently for the initial loan. I’m not holding my breath..
Em says
Hi! I can’t quite believe it. I complained to Amigo loans in January and today heard back they have upheld my complaint and getting a refund of 3 grand!! I can’t believe it. They have said will be in my bank with 15 days, has anyone had to wait longer?
Thanks so much for this great site!! Happy Friday!!!
Linds says
Hello,
My refund was in my account on the 7th day! I don’t think it would be any longer than 15 days.
Lo says
Hi Linda, how long did you wait to hear back from amigo?
Jay Ant says
Has anyone been successful with on stride? They show on my credit karma report but not my Equifax report. I have emailed them but no response yet.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are in administration, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/quickquid-casheuronet-administration/
Andrew says
Hi so I have been told I will get loans 1 to 4 refunded how do I work out the simple interest first one was 2012 last one cleared 2015 I never cleared one though they rolled over I worked out all I paid minus how much they gave me so I have a rough amount
When do I start the interest calculation for loan 1 when loan 2 was issued and use the amount from then to present day and do that with 4 different figures?
Also with sunny seperate loan adjudicator was just about to make a decision but hasn’t yet will they continue to work on it or will it be put on hold now?
TIA
Jay Ant says
Anyone have any experience with Avant. They have responded with their normal we will get back to you email. Just wondering how easy they are to deal with. I had a £4500 loan and paid £1682 in interest over a 13 month period. the account was closed in 2015 after I paid it off with another loan. Hoping to get this back with interest.
Julie says
I complained in Oct 2019. Heard. Back from them about 6/7 weeks later They refused. Sent to ombundsman in Dec 2019. They picked it up in May and then sent findings to Avant last week to say they agreed I was irresponsibly lent to and they recommend them to refund interest etc
Heard bk from ombundsman today to say that Avant have agreed to settle and they should be in touch within 4 weeks to arrange refund.
I’m hoping sooner rather than later 🤞 Good luck
jaz says
Hi Sara
I had a reply back from my adjudicator saying 118 118 money has accepted to pay back 2 of my loans from the 4 I took out with them, 118 118 money mentioned across the 2 loans the total advance to me was £2,750 and that I repaid them back £2938,27, my balance remaining on my last loan was £506 which their said their have cleared off, and to refund me £188,27, but I have added the total what I had paid back so far, it was £4.760,59 in total that I have given them, and their saying I payed a total of £2,938,27, iv got the statements of the 2 loans showing how much I have paid so far towards the 2 loans, and it has added up to the total of £4,760,59 at the moment as it stands. I have made the adjudicator aware, and their have emailed 118 118 money to show how their come with the calculation, it’s been 3 weeks and still not heard anything,
Sarah says
Hi
I wonder if anyone on here had put in a complaint to EDL and the adjudicator agree with them that their loan was affordable,
It has gone through to the ombudsman, but I know that they tend to agree with adjudicators.
When I applied for the loan, I had payday loans coming out of my ears. When they checked 1 bank statement, they chose to ignore the fact that I had missed my mortgage payment that month, plus I’d got a £179 payment going out to my dad for a car loan (in his name), which again they chose to ignore. When i got the SAR from EDL, they had circled the £179 payment and written ‘one off payment’.
Considering the loan was £5 (which equated to 10k with interest), I argued that they surely should have checked more bank statements, especially with the missed mortgage payment and £179 payment showing.
The adjudicator just couldn’t see where I was coming from, it was as though he was looking at completely different statements to what I was looking at.
I just wondered whether many cases do come back with a difference of opinion.
Many thanks
Sarah
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think that sounds like a good enough case to take to the ombudsman.
You may want to write out a short explanation saying why you think the adjudicator’s decision was wrong and ask your adjudicator to send it to the ombudsman.
Sarah says
Thank you Sara
It has already been sent to the ombudsman so I will drop them an email stating why I didn’t agree with the adjudicator’s decision.
Thanks again for your help
Sarah
Tom says
Hi Sara, Avant credit came back to me at the 8 week mark saying they hadn’t yet been able to look at my complaint. Is there any point my sending it straight to the ombudsman? Presumably they won’t look at it until Avant have replied? I asked for a timescale and they came back to say they had ‘no idea’ when it would be looked at!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s up to you. If they had said you would get a reply next week, then waiting would be reasonable. Without any indication I would have thought you may as well dent it to FOS now.
Craig says
Hi Sara,
Along side other payday loan complaints that I have with the FOS at the moment I also have 2 complaints about logbook loan companies (I went through a really really tough financial time 8-9 years ago and was desperate). One is with Mobile Money and the other is Loans2go.
The one with Loans2go was 4 loans and the FOS decided to uphold my complaint on loans 2 and 4. Loan 2 resulted in me surrendering my vehicle and loan 4 after they have removed the interest and charges I have over paid by about £380.
As I didn’t trust Loans2go to play fair I asked the FOS to get a settlement figure before accepting and low and behold Loans2go tried to say I still owed money on Loan 2 which swallowed up the over payment from loan 4.
The issue I have with this is that I got Loans2go to email me to say that my surrender of my car on loan 2 was ‘Full and Final’ settlement which they did (I have forwarded a screenshot of the email to FOS) so my question is this, Can a company who have emailed me to say that the car has been accepted as full and final settlement then say there is an outstanding balance 5 years after because they didn’t get enough from the sale of the car? As I understand it full and final settlement means just that? I have rejected their settlement with the FOS adjudicator and it has now been passed to an ombudsman but I just wanted help with the legal side of Full and final settlement. Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you can reasonably say that as L2G accepted your offer in settlement, it would be unfair to unpick that settlement and claim you still owed them money from that.
It’s not so much “the legal side” as making out an argument to FOS that is reasonable and centred around fairness.
Craig says
Ok thank you, Loans2go originally agreed that they were going to repay myself the £51 they got for the car ( before I had asked for a figure) but I have since replied to the FOS to state that it would be unfair for them to do that as this was accepted as full and final settlement for loan 2 so I would only be looking for the overpayment to be returned with the usual interest. Thank you again
Linds says
Is anyone still waiting for an adjudicator to pick up a complaint against 118 118?
Mine has been nearly 12 months and still not been picked up. The FOS assure me it is progressing but it does not feel like it 😞
Craig says
Hi Linda,
My complaints are not 118118 but are Mobile money and Loans2go and have been with the FOS since April last year. Although some other payday loan complaints I submitted at similar times came back a few months ago so I’m not sure if there’s a set amount of time?
Linds says
Craig,
Thank you for your reply, hopefully we get an update soon.
Thanks
Paul says
Hi Linds, I’m in exactly the same boat as you with 118. I’ve had mine in with them for roughly the same amount of time and they haven’t picked mine up either. I’ve enquired about it a few times and they’ve come back and said it’s with a different department and there’s a queue etc etc etc. Majorly frustrating.
chris says
Just a positive note to leave for those with 118, I took two loans out with them, one for £2200 and in February this year a top up one for 3500 with interest of just under £1500. I only complained about the second loan as the original one I accept was affordable. They got back to me today exactly eight weeks to the day upholding my complaint against the second loan, waving interest and removing it from my credit file.
Thank you to everyone on here!
Ricky says
Same. I received a final response from 118 118 saying they are not upholding my complaint due to me lying about my expenses. Of course I underestimated some of my expenses, I wasn’t going to put down Mr William Hill and Mrs Ladbrokes (betting shop) as expenses. They are saying this can be seen as fraud. I supplied them with bank statements with various betting transaction.
Stevan says
I had a response from 118 118 saying they are not upholding my complaint due to me having enough income to meet the payments and that I had underestimated my rent by 200 pound. They also said it fraud by not declaring the correct expenses. I didn’t get asked for any bank statements. but at the time I had multiple PD loans and other high interest loans on the go.
I have a 118118 credit card to which they have said in the above response that it will be closed due to the nature of my complaint and I will need to organise payment or repayment plan with them. Surely the loan and credit card are separate items?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
118 are being aggressive about rejecting complaints and alleging fraud, but as with other lender that try this (Uncle Buck did, Money Boat still do) they never seem to follow through with their threats of you send your complaint to FOS.
What are your finances like at the moment, can you afford the card repayments? Your other debts?
Stevan says
Hi Sara,
I am able to meet all my financial obligations and in full time work. I got into a serious rut 2 years ago with PD loans and credit. managed to get back on top of it all. At one point I was 30k in debt. I stumbled across these site and managed to claim over 2.k back from sunny and satsuma. still got claims against amigo 3k redress accepted and at day 14. lending stream 2k claim with FOS. My jar 8k with FOS. 118118 is the final company at roughly 2k.
not missed a payment on the CC and its only 400£ limit.
Thanks to help am in a much better position financially and will never go back to the place I was a few year ago.
Sam says
Hi Sara just wanted some advice I put a complaint in to loans2go last week and they have just emailed to say my loans was affordable but as a good Will gesture they will take 50% off the balance and let me set a payment plan up just wondering if to accept or send to fos
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how much did you borrow? how much have you paid so far? what is the current balance?
Sam says
Hi Sara I have just worked it out and I lent £1100 I have paid back £1500 and they Are outstanding payments as I haven’t paid since January they have said I still owe £1500 but Will half it as a good Will gesture but it looks like to me I’m just paying interest back any ideas of what to reply thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then that isn’t a good compromise for you, is it.
If you want the refund of the £400 you have paid so far, you may have to take this to the Financial Ombudsman.
But if you would be happy if they just right off the balance, then you could go back and say their offer is not acceptable, if they will write off the whole balance and remove any negative marks on your credit record then you are prepared to accept that as a compormise, otherwise you will send your complaint to FOS.
Sam says
Thanks I’ll email them now and see what they say I’ll keep u posted
Ricky says
Bamboo Loans have rejected my complaint on the basis they followed all the appropriate and proportiante checks. Even do my SARS showed my indebtness to be 96% at the time. They ignored priority bills such as Rent and council tax and used ’high tech tool’ to determine disposable income. Bamboo are now saying if I pay the advanced funds borrowed of £3000 they will waive off all the interest. I don’t think this is a fair offer. Does this give me hope if I send this to Ombudsman?
I did go back to them but the manager was arrogant and signed off the email with ’this is our final response on this matter’.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So they have offered to remove the interest so you only repay what you borrower?
If that is right, then that is all you would get from going to FOS.
How much are you supposed to pay a month and what can you really afford?
GH says
I’ve posted on here before about likely loans. I borrowed £2500 in May 2018 . Only ever had this loan with them. I’m still paying it back now, I’m on a payment plan balance still £1500. I put in a irresponsible lending complaint. At the time I had multiple paypay loans with other lenders. I had their final response today saying its not being upheld as they state they saw no other payday loans on my credit file. I have my experian credit file clearly showing open loans with other lenders when my application was made. Before I go to the Financial Ombudsman has anyone here argued the final response with them in their favour before going to the FOA. Tia
Tony says
my wife has just had upheld at FOS. likelylians said they did enough checks. adjudicator said they didnt and if they had looked at her credit record and constant overdraft she would be borrowing more to repay the loan. just awaiting LL to agree and hopefully around 1300 in interest back.
GH says
Thats great thanks for the feedback, how long did it take with the Ombudsman? I’m expecting a wait tbh
Ricky says
They have said they would only remove the interest if I pay the £3000 in one lump some. I can’t really afford it. Monthly payments are £207 also I’m getting redundant end of the month.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah no, that isn’t reasonable. Send your complaint to FOS and also tell Bamboo you need a 3 month payment holiday as you are losing your job at the end of the month because of Covid-19 (I assume that is the reason?)
Bev says
Hi Sara,
I received an email today out of the blue from FOS to say that Shop Direct have made an offer which I have accepted. However one of my accounts with them which was a Littlewoods account was sold to Cabot and eventually went to a CCJ which I have now paid off. I asked the FOS if I would be able to get the CCJ set aside as they have now made an offer, they advised that because Shop Direct did not file the CCJ then this would not be possible but I was wondering if I contacted Cabot it might be possible.
Any advice of this would be great.
thanks
Bev
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Does the offer you have accepted include refunding the money you have paid to Cabot?
Samuel Webber says
Good afternoon.
I have been making overpayments on a logbook loan and built up around £503 in the green due to overpayments. As these are not within the contract.
I have requested if i can be refunded my overpayments due to financial problems this month.
They have turned around and said no.
Is this a legal requirement to hold and retain overpayments considering its not their money as it is outside of contractual monthly amount.
Any help and advice greatly apriciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Why were you making overpayments, was this to reduce the interest you would be paying?
Sam webber says
Hi Sara
Thanks for the reply
Just to clear down the balance as best as i could usually 40-50 extra each month
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am afraid that was a mistake. A lender is not there to act as a savings account for you. Have you asked if you can miss a payment this month because of the overpayments you have made?
Bev says
Hi Sara,
No I don’t think so, it just says refund of buy now pay later interest and administrative charges. They advised that shop direct will contact me directly to sort things out and will apply the 8% once the offer is accepted.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did this just refer to some BNPL deals? Had you bought other things on the account as well?
Bev says
Everything I purchased was on my credit account so buy now pay later I can’t remember there being any specific deals. This was some time ago, 2011 and I don’t have any of my old statements. When I originally complained, shop direct just sent me details of how many credit limit increases i had but not a breakdown of my actual payments
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In that case you could go back and say you were expecting a refund of all interest and charges, including those added by the debt purchaser relating to the CCJ.
Bev says
OK many thanks for your help Sara.
Bev
C.Jones says
Hi Sara
I have a question. I have an unaffordable loan case against Motorkitty at the moment with the FOS. I have had an email today from my case worker who has found in my favour. What I don’t understand is that in his email he is asking them to remove interest, take away my previous payments from the initial loan, and if there is a balance left that I owe from the £100 loan taken allow me to pay it back at an affordable rate, or If they owe me money refund it with the 8% interest. Where I’m stumped is that they took my car away (in the most horrendous way) and it’s currently been at an auction house for 4 months. They won’t reply to my emails about my belongings or anything etc. If my car sells say for £3000 then will they be allowed to just keep that money? I know I have already payed the £100 loan back With previous payments as I’ve worked it out, but does it mean they will still profit from me when my car sells? I know about bill of sale but if the loan was unaffordable in the first place surely I have some right there too? Any help is much appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Go back to your case worker and say you think your car should be returned as well.
Linds says
Hello,
I just want to say a thank you to Sara and this site, it has saved me thousands of pounds just with the help and guidance.
Whatever the reason maybe that we have come on this site, to get help, we need to understand we chose to take out the loan in the first instance.
I have affordability complaints with the FOS which I’m waiting for a response, but I completely understand the reason I am on this site, receiving this help, is still down to me.
We have to understand the basic line which is if I have borrowed an amount, for example £100. I at least need to pay the £100 back, it’s the interest that is the main point.
If you do receive an offer from your lender that says (for example “you borrowed £100, your total amount to pay back is £320 including interest, however you have paid £80, we will accept a payment of £20”, that would be a fair answer. Because you borrowed £100, you have paid back £80 so far, therefore £20 to pay. (The lender has removed the interest).
That is reasonable because you did take the £100 and spend the money so paying it back is reasonable.
I have suffered with a lot of debt due to gambling and it has ruined my life, however I understand it was ME that has made the problem. I feel so thankful to this site because I can redeem some money I lost, but it does not take away the reason why it happened.
Bob says
I had an email from the FOS adjudicator in my favour regarding a 118118 loan this morning.
How are 118118 at the moment with regards to settlement, are they dragging their heels through the ombudsman or are they settling painlessly?
Stevan says
Hi, did you get rejected and a harsh email saying that its fraud if your figure were not correct for your expenditure?
Im in the process of going to OFS
Anon says
My adjudicator also went In my favor for 2/3 loans and wrote to 118118 back in March giving them 2 weeks to respond……….I’m still waiting for 118118 to respond to my adjudicator
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell the adjudicator you want the case to go to an Ombudsman.
Calvin says
Hi. I wonder if I could kindly get some advice please? I complained about my car finance loan (which I defaulted on) and referred it to the FOS when it was rejected by the company. This was picked up by an “investigator” (not adjudicator??!!) in March 2020. I provided all bank statements and details to evidence what I believed was irresponsible lending. I was kept up to date with progress every 2 weeks but was told that the Covid situation has impacted everyone’s ability to access files etc. At the end of May 2020, my investigator emailed me to say that they’re still awaiting details from the Car Finance company but my complaint was now being looked into by one of their colleagues who will be in touch to discuss. It was very vague and I asked why someone else was now looking into it and if this meant I was going to the ‘back of the queue’. Again, a vague response was received. I still haven’t heard anything about this complaint and unsure on whether it’s just a waiting game?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When did you send the complaint to FOS? I think it is worth asking again if the lender has sent over the case file.
Calvin says
Hi. I sent this to the FOS in August 2019. It’s just that I don’t know who is now looking at my complaint? The investigator who was looking at it has sent it to a different department. But I haven’t heard anything for over a month now. I fear I’m now at the back of the queue! I’ve emailed the generic customer service team and they just said “they can’t give a time frame of when it’ll get looked at”. Frustrating as it was assigned and now it’s not
C.jones says
I made a complaint last September! about a logbook loan I only last week received an email from the adjudicator who found in my favour. So 10 months I’ve waited. I think there is a backlog
PF says
Hi Calvin, you have my sympathies. I have a complaint currently outstanding against Moneybarn that was picked up by an Investigator in Feb 2020 but has consistently stalled, I get the impression the Investigator is working against some high-level red tape. Due to the fine issued against Moneybarn earlier this year by the FCA, the FOS are treating Moneybarn with ‘kid gloves’.
A recent upheld Ombudsman decision against Moneybarn led to a 16 page write up of the reasons why the decision had been upheld (definitely one of the longest write-ups I have seen!) but I have heard that a car finance complaint is quite complicated.
Good luck and keep checking in with your Investigator.
PF
Josh says
Hi Sara
Would I be right in saying that fostering income should not be used in assessing someone affordability too pay the loan for 118?
My parents had too remortgage their house too pay it off .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
was this your loan or your parent’s?
Josh says
This case I’m talking about is my parents ,they had multiple loans with 118.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
i think Fostering income is income. It is fair to count it if it is regular and satable AND if the extra costs of fostering are taken into account.
Have your parents put in an affordability complaint?
Josh says
Yes they have lodge a complaint now for both of them at same address for Multiple loans. Thank u for all the Info
Linds says
Hi,
Just wondering if anyone has had any luck with Varooma. My complaint has been picked up by an adjudicator today.
Thanks
Linds says
Firstly thanks Sara for this super helpful site.
I’ve just had a complaint upheld by the Ombudsman adjudicator with Avant Credit and the refund paid within a week! This marks the third one that I have won at the FOS and 4 direct with lenders. It’s making a huge difference.
I have a question more generally – has anyone won against Everyday Loans at the FOS? I have a case waiting to be picked up.
As you have to go for an appointment in person and they do look at your credit file and bank statements with you, I wondered how the Ombudsman viewed that in terms of doing proportionate checks?
In my case with EDL I took out one loan and provided information on all my payday loans that I would pay off using the EDL loan. Within 6 months I applied for a top up loan and at my appointment I again showed all my payday loans (all different from the original ones). They initially turned me down in the appointment for a top up due to affordability, but I was desperate and asked them to look at any other options and they went away and came back with a higher interest rate over a 5 year term.
Looking at it, I think I would perhaps have a case for the top up loan being unaffordable after they saw the same pattern of my payday loan borrowing and initially said no in the appointment.
I just wondered if there were some others who had gone to the FOS and had any experiences to share with how they viewed things?
Fred says
Hi Linds. If you don’t mind me asking how long did you have to wait for the Adjudicator to pick up the case I had the investigator uphold my case but Avant do not agree. I really hope it won’t take too long to be looked at by the ombudsman.
Thanks Fred,
Lindsay says
Hi Fred,
Sorry to hear that Avant didn’t agree.
I was lucky and they did agree with the first round opinion of the adjudicator in my case so I didn’t have to send it to the Ombudsman. It took about 6 months to be picked up once I sent it to the FOS initially. I hope you end up with a good result for you!
Fred says
Thats great, :)
I’m already about 6 or 7 months in or so. it’s been a month since it has been passed on for an ombudsman to pick up.
I fear it’s going to take forever.
Calvin says
Hi Fred. I have an Everyday Loans complaint waiting for an ombudsman. The adjudicator found in my favour but EDL disagreed. This went to them queue for the Ombudsman in March 2020. I have no idea how long I’ll be waiting but I read further back on this blog it could be anywhere between 8-10 months. My adjudicator said that no-one from the FOS have been furloughed and they’re actually moving though complaints more efficiently due to “same work volume, less distractions”!!
Fred says
I actually got a email from the ombudsman today to say the are upholding my complaint. I am over the moon. :) only just took over a month from investigator to ombudsman.
Linds says
Fred thats fab news!!
Julie says
Hi linds,
Well done on Avant. Can I ask, once Avant agreed to settle with the adjudicator how long did it take Avant to get in touch with you? Or did you get in touch with them?
Avant have agreed to settle mine with the FO just wondering how long it usually takes.
Thanks
Linds says
I took the “pro-active” approach and I got in touch with them & said that I understood that they had agreed with the FOS and could they send me the calculation. Perhaps I should have waited for them to get in touch with me but I have a current loan so my settlement had an impact on what’s left to pay on the principle of that loan so I used that angle in terms of wanting to sort things out quickly.
They took a few days to come back to me but after they did, things move quickly and i got the refund within a week which i was not expecting, as I only asked for the calculation and thought i would have to wait 30 days for the refund.
Good luck and I hope you get your refund soon also!
Linds
Julie says
Hi,
Thanks very much. I may give them an email and ask.
Thank you
Julie says
Hi linds,
I emailed them, they replied saying it was being calculates, then had another email today to say it has been processed and I will receive the funds in my bank account within 30 days. I’m glad I sent the email I feel maybe had I not it would have maybe been a longer turnaround. Really pleased :)
Julie
Linds says
Oh thats great news Julie – i have actually found Avant ok to deal with through this process since they agreed with FOS – much better than some companies! I hope it will hit your bank account before too long :)
Julie says
Yeah I found they agreed with the FO pretty quick, well before the 2 weeks to respond, that the Fo give from findings.
My origional complaint even tho refused was responded to the week before 8 weeks was up so all in all has been quite quick from complaint.
I’m still waiting on a ombundsman decision about buddy loans-
Buddy loans seem to have dragged their heels throughout the whole process and my complaint to them I feel was 1000% stronger than my complaint to Avant.
Thank you
Julie
Mo Lavery says
Just wondering if anyone has had a successful compliant upheld against 1st stop home loans. I had ccj and over £15,000 of credit card debt. We had been looking to remortgage to clear the lot. The financial advisor said we got turned down by all banks but that 1st stop would lend us £20, 000. We realised it was more expensive to pay back than our mortgage. We haven’t stopped paying it even though it has made us default on our credit cards and loans just to keep the payments up. The interest is skyhigh and it is making me ill worrying. During the time just after our credit card companies increased our limits to double what they where and allowed me to open a 2nd new day credit card and a 2nd capital one credit card. I am in a very stressed situation, with no money to pay the other debts, StepChange asked all of them for token payments but most have sold them on. The others agreed. The girl in citizens advice mention unreliable lending and asked me to have a look on line. Thanks for any help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You didn’t clear the credit card debt with the 1st stop loan? Or you did but then ran it all up again?
Martin says
“We haven’t stopped paying it even though it has made us default on our credit cards and loans just to keep the payments up”. Hang on – you have taken that loan to repay ALL credit cards and loans?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes but it is possible the loan was used to clear the cards etc but then more debt was taken on because the secured loan repayments were too high to be manageable.
Shaun says
Anyone one a compaint into safety creditnet before ? And how did it go?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
lots of people! If you still owe them money, cancel the CPA to them with your bank. These are often some of these easiest complaints to win as they can see from your bank account how much trouble you are in.
Fred says
Hi, I have they where actually very easy to deal with, I cancelled the payment authority with my bank and sent safetynet a clear statement saying I do not authorise any cpa.
They upheld my complaint and refunded all my interest without having to go any futher.
Ella says
Hi Sara,
I wondered if I could make a complaint about future finance student loans, I took out a £5000 loan and didn’t realise the interest is the same amount £5000, I was paying money each month for 18 months and it only covered interest payments so didn’t actually pay any of the loan off, I’ve now defaulted as it was unaffordable from the start.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t remember anyone mentioning them, there is a problem that the initial repayments are low until you finish studying so I am not sure how they would have to assess “future affordability”.
Linds says
Just an update for **Varooma**.
Complaint submitted to FOS on 27/09/19.
Adjudicator picked it up on 06/07/20.
Adjudicator found in my favour and submitted decision to Varooma on 08/07/20.
Awaiting outcome from Varooma.
Linds
Ricky says
Hi
Have anyone been rejected either by 118 118 or Bamboo loans only to send it to the FOS and get the complaint upheld?
Both companies are been aggressive in the sense they are flat out rejecting complaints without even looking to resolve the issue with the customer. They are more than happy for the complaint to go to the FOS. Both my complaints are with FOS at the moment but due to Covid-19 the general wait time for case to be picked up is 4 months that’s what they told me.
James says
Over 6 weeks since I sent my complaint to 118 118 Money. Has anyone been offered compensation lately or are they declining the majority or complaints to prolong the inevitable and force us to go to the Ombudsman?
Ricky says
From my personal experience they are declining all complaints, you cannot even negotiate with them and are more than happy to send the complaint to the FOS
Linds says
Has anyone had any success with Varooma? After the adjudicator upholds complaint?
Thanks
Linds
KR says
My husbands adjudicator agreed they rejected so now waiting for ombudsman to pick up, been told it could be 6 months, originally submitted May 2019
GH says
I made a complaint last June to my bank for a loan i was issued of £15,000. It was to clear a £15,000 credit card with them. I made a complaint for irresponsible lending as I had only been self employed for 3 months and prior to that was employed via a agency with no contracted hrs, so wage varied week to week.
Also after the issue of the loan the bank left me with the £15,000 of credit, split onto 2 credit cards, each with a limit of £7,500.
Shortly after taking out the loan my partner at the time took voluntary redundancy due to having some mental health issues. My income was effected by this as was taking time off ( I was a self employed driving instructor). Inevitably the credit cards were slowly becoming maxed out. So know was struggling to pay loan repayments and 2x £7500 credit cards.
The bank didn’t uphold my complaint as thought I was complaining about PPI which I’d already claimed back, (I’m complaining about irresponsible lending). It was picked up by Ombudsman and 8 weeks passed so the Ombudsman prompted bank. Today I had a call from bank to say they aren’t upholding as it was all taken out over 6 years ago etc. It was 2005 I took the loan. I am though still paying it at £50pm.
The Ombudsman is being informed of banks decision then assume they will decide if I have a claim.
Can I ask if you think that I have a strong case for irresponsible lending and if others have won similar cases.
TIA
GH says
I’m saying its irresponsible as firstly I wasn’t in stable employment and didn’t know if my business was viable so early in. Then it was irresponsible to let me continue with the cards. Surely they should have been withdrawn.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have never seen a case won before April 2007 when the Financial Ombudsman started being able to see cases about consumer credit. I would be surprised if the Ombudsman will look at this case.
Neil pickering says
Hi,
Firstly I’d like to say thank you as this website has helped me get money from payday lenders, unfortunately Wonga went bust and I got a very small amount back and waiting on Quick Quid results, never the less thank you.
I realise I’ve got to do one for likely loans as I had 3 loans with them over 3 years after one ran out I got another so I must chase them, the one I’m uncertain about is Bamboo loans, I got a £4000 loan to clear some debt but due to bad credit the interest is £5,825.97, this was to pay off my van loan and wonga debt at the time, still leaving me with likely loans plus credit cards, do you think I have a case to go for bamboo loans?
Thanks for your time once again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The affordability rules are the same for all lenders. If the loans are small like most payday loans you need to have borrowed several times from the lender before the lender had an obligation to look at your finances in detail. But for large loans like likely loans and Bamboo, you can win cases with only one loan.
So if the Bamboo loan repayments caused you problems, having to borrow again elsewhere or get behind with bills, then send them a complaint.
Don’t delay with these complaints, send them in asap and keep on top of them. It can be easy to think “I’ll send that to the Ombudsman in a couple of weeks” and then 6 months have passed and it’s too late.
sianyy says
Finally had a response from the Ombudsman today upholding my complaint with Satsuma!
Took a £2,000 loans that they agreed was unaffordable, the adjudicator initially didn’t uphold and after a long 6 months in the Ombudsman queue I finally have had it upheld. Luckily I have repaid this loan so should be getting all interest back! Hopefully Satsuma agree and I can get this tied up and closed asap! I see that they can drag their heels with paying out but hopefully as its Ombudsman level and not adjudicator it will be sorted quickly.
Thanks to Sara I have managed to reclaim back over £10,000 in successful complaints!
Linds says
Hello,
An update regarding Varooma Log Book Loans.
Varooma did not uphold complaint.
*Sent to FOS on 27/9/19.
*Adjudicator picked up on 06/7/20.
*Adjudicator upheld complaint on 08/7/20.
*Varooma agreed with FOS on 13/7/20.
Awaiting refund for £6,300.00.
KR says
That’s amazing, well-done, still no joy with my husband’s sent it last year got allocated to an adjudicators in April and decision May 2020 and they cannot confirm if Varooma rejected it so sent for a final decision. He’s had various adjudicators involved and it’s just got really complicated so it’s very frustrating as neither party is providing updates
Mike says
Hi all
Adjudicator come back and agreed 3 loans issued to me were borrowed irresponsibility however I’m expecting them to refuse and for it to go to a ombudsman. However a very interesting here one to read.
The above confirms that within Mr X application, 118 118 had reason to believe the figures provided for his expenditure were inaccurate once compared to his credit file. So, it seems 118 118 adjusted Mr X I&E, proceeded with the application and concluded that the loan was still affordable.
118 118 also provided evidence to confirm that for Loan two they followed a similar process. Mr X provided an I&E showing his expenses as £710 per month and 118 118 verified via his credit file expenses of £996.50.
If they come back and accuse me of fraud I’ll just give up.
Linds says
Hi Mike,
Don’t give up it will be ok, they are just doing this as it makes people feel like giving up.
Please stick with it and I have faith you will get back what you deserve.
I nearly gave up with Varooma, they rejected my complaint and in there final response letter they made me feel it was my fault and I just felt terrible. I left it and then 2 months later I thought about it and sent it to the FOS. I thought I have nothing to lose.
It took a while for it to be picked up but they have agreed with the Adjudicator and they are refunding me £6,300.00.
I expected them to disagree and wait for the Ombudsman, but they agreed within 3 days.
I’m pleased I didn’t give up.
Linds says
Update for Varooma Log book loans.
Agreed with Adjudicator to uphold my complaint on 13/07/20.
Refund for £6,300.00 in my bank account on 14/07/20.
KR says
Well done Linds I really hope my husbands case is sorted, it’s confusing why some are sorted quicker, it’s been a long 14 months
Linds says
Was your complaint picked up by the adjudicator 14 months ago? Or is it still waiting to be picked up?
KR says
It was sent May 2019 acknowledged July 2019, first adjudicator picked it up March 2020 then second adjudicators made decision in husbands favour, Varooma ignored deadline then it was extended to which they ignored again despite been open and finally he got another adjudicator to which Varooma said they had not received anything so it was sent again. My husband called today to say they did reject but was not told this aand its in another que, he’s feeling very let down by the whole process.
Linds says
That’s awful to hear, such a long and unacceptable process.
Has it now gone into the Ombudsman que?