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?
James l says
Hi,
What should have been looked at for Varooma to see if the loan was affordable or not – should they have checked credit file?
Thanks
Linds says
Hi,
From my adjudicators findings, the loan should have been sustainable for the full term of the loan(s). Varooma did check my income and expenditure and they did a credit check. However at the time I had the 2 loans, I was struggling with a gambling problem and I was on a DMP. So if they had checked in more detail they would have seen these on my bank statements.
Fully understand it was my problem that I had so much debt, but they added to it.
I repaid what I borrowed in full so I have been refunded the interest.
If you have paid each payment every month it doesn’t mean it was manageable, if you have to borrow more to cover outgoings, it should not have been given.
I’m not sure why some get sorted straight away and done take along time.
Stick with it and I’m sure you will get the outcome you deserve.
Becky says
Hi Sara
Could I please ask for your advice regarding aqua credit card.? I made a complaint regarding irresponsible/ unaffordable lending tothem…they responded saying partially upheld as the last limit increase was unaffordable.they say that I have a £153 refund for the difference in the interest I would have paid between the two credit limits but don’t agree that any thing else was unaffordable or irresponsible..However they have closed my account because I complained and have left the refund as a credit on the account…I’m waiting for ombudsman t9 come back to me as don’t agree with the decision have made.but wonder what you take is on Aqua closing the account and refunding to a source I cannot access..what’s worse is I’ve clearly told them I suffer from massive anxiety issues ect ect ..I find it difficult to deal with all this and feel like not only have thy treated me bad originally this just takes the biscuit …
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If the account is now in credit, you can ask for that to be paid to you.
But assuming it isn’t, then this money has been used to reduce what you owe and is what normally happens.
Good luck with the Ombudsman.
n says
Hello, I’ve just had an adjudicator find in my favour regarding 2 Likely Loans I had. The adjudicator has given likely loans until the 21st July to respond. I just wondered if anybody has had dealings with likely loans and do they usually agree with the adjudicator? Thanks.
GH says
I’m waiting for my case to be picked up by the adjudicator after Likely Loans didn’t uphold my claim. How long did your case take to be picked up and a decision made?
Glad this is coming to a close for you and you receive your payment soon
ant fitz says
Hi, I have won my case with amigo for unaffordability complaint, (had a severe gambling addiction at the time). I did not have to go to FOS. I took on a £3000 loan, made 6 payments before topping up to £7500, I have paid £10968 over 3.5 years. They have offered:
1. The removal of all interest charges under the loan agreements;
2.A refund of any payments you may have made in excess of the capital amount of the loan agreements, along with 8% simple interest; and
3.The removal of any adverse information from your credit file in respect of the loan agreements.
Im obviously happy about this, but they have said they will give me a redress figure of what i am owed. I thought it was pretty straight forward, and i would be owed everything i paid above £7500 +8% but i am reading its more complicated and i have no idea what i am due to receive. Do any of you guys know how to work out a rough figure?. Thanks in advance.
JA1209 says
Has anyone had any luck with Savvy?
n says
Hi, thank you. I have waited 11 months from my initial complaint so quite a long time but relieved it is coming to a close. Hopefully you won’t be waiting much longer. Good luck !
Andrew Fritz says
Do you have to wait another year when the company doesn’t agree with the adjudicator and it goes to a ombudsman to review? I’ve got three that haven’t agreed with the adjudicator and I feel like I’ll be waiting another year because of it now
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ombudsman waiting times can vary. A lot.
James L says
Hi,
Once and adjucatior picks up your case – how long does the lender have to reply to them?
Thanks!
Rosie says
Just had result with Myjar and have had interest & charges removed from £2000 loan. They initially disagreed with adjudicator, another adjudicator took a look at it and came to same conclusion. Myjar then accepted the decision. That was my final complaint, glad all over now and can get on with my life now.
Joseph says
What’s everyones opinion on 118 118 complaint times/attitudes? They’re my last one after a loonngg 18 months battle with payday/credit card complaints.
Pj says
Is there much difference between a investigator and a adjudicator at the fos
Had a investigator email my back in June had various emails back and forth and says he hopes to give a answer by the 24th
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no – different names, same job.
Pj says
Thank you for your quick reply
Shaun says
Has anyone ever done a compaint against everday loans? If so what was the outcome ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes! Expect them to reject your complaint and send it to FOS where quite a few are being won.
Calvin says
Hi Shaun. I made a complaint in September 2018 for 1 loan that I believed was unaffordable. It was rejected and I sent to the FOS. It was picked up by an adjudicator in February 2020 with a decision in my favour March 2020. Everyday Loans rejected and it’s now been in the queue for the ombudsman. I’m expecting 6-8 months. Good luck with yours.
Hazel says
Hi I wonder if anyone could offer me some advice . I put a complaint in against Log Book Loans a few weeks ago and they have replied that they can’t investigate further as my loans were over 6 years ago . My loans were taken out in 2011 and 2014 . Is it possible to take this to the FOS or would it not be worth my while .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS is usually deciding it can look into these “over 6 year” loan cases – sent it to FOS asap.
Robert mills says
Hi Sara just had a interesting reply where 2/3 loans issued to me 118 apparently amended the expenses figure I supplied have a read of this
Mr X understated his expenses by significant amounts for his first two loans – we’re unable to evidence whether this also happened for his third loan also. 118 118 would have been aware of the difference between the information volunteered by Mr X and the information they were able to verify. For this reason, more checks should’ve been done to verify his expenditure.
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.
Interesting think I have a good chance? I have a feeling they will refuse the third loan based on that
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is that reply from?
Robert mills says
The adjudicator it got submitted over a year ago
Sara (Debt Camel) says
was there a gap between loans 2 and 3?
Robert mills says
Yes a year and a half. Don’t know if it’s worth holding out for loan 3 if they refuse
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think that depends on how strong your case is for loan three on its own.
D says
Has anyone had any sucess against Bamboo. They have me a loan approx 1 week after taking a 118 118 loan and didn’t ask for bank statements.
Joseph says
I’ve seen people have success in the past. I was curious too see what they’re about and just seen an £8,000 loan would cost you £15,323.68 so a total payable of £23,323.6. Jesus christ how do these company’s get away with this ?! Astonishing
Lisa says
Mine is a very similar situation, Bamboo rejected so I have sent it off the FOS and awaiting reply.
David says
I received a reply from bamboo yesterday, declining my claim but still offering me £450, I replied to decline and say I was referring to ombudsman and received an email and phone call today increasing offer to £1000, even though they are still not admitting wrong doing. If my claim is upheld fos I’m expecting around £4000, hopefully I’ve made the right decision to decline.
Lisa says
Fingers crossed for you. I had similar today. I had a phone call off Bamboo on Friday asking me to go over the details as they had heard from FOS. I went over everything again on the phone and today had an email offering me a goodwill gesture of £500 leaving me £495 left to pay. I declined and said I was happy to await the outcome from FOS as I have won similar cases. Will wait to see if they respond and increase the offer. I have one late payment so I have asked for a full refund of interest (will just mean I have overpaid by about £50) and for them to clear the negative missed payment on my credit file.
Lee says
Hi everyone,how long do lending stream take to reply after adjudicators decision?
Tony says
from the time ll agreed with adjudicator money was in account within the week
Andy says
I have an adjudicators decision in my favour against 118118 Money for a loan.
They’re being very obtuse, they were expected to reply by Friday but won’t even confirm if they have received the FOS decision let alone what they’re planning to do about it. My emails are ignored and I’m just bounced around the Manila call-centre with the same excuse of ‘we can’t see any of that information sir’.
Any suggestions or experiences with this and what they usually do?
Kind Regards,
Andy
sam says
did you get this sorted Andy?
the opmbudsman have ruled in my favour and wondered how long itll take them
GH says
Sara I’m after some advice please. I made a complaint regarding irresponsible lending. The complaint is a historical loan and the bank and adjudicator have both said it can only be considered if there are exceptional circumstances that caused me not to raise the complaint within the 6yr time limit or within 3yrs of knowing I had cause to complain.
I have had a gambling problem for many yrs that I am now overcoming. Can this in your opinion be used as a exceptional circumstance.
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how old is the loan?
GH says
The loan is 2007. Can you advice if my gambling problem could be considered as a exceptional circumstance that caused my not to complain within the time frame please.
This is something I am very ashamed about and am embarrassed to mention to the adjudicator. So will onky mention it if it counts as a exceptional circumstance towards my claim
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The usually accepted exceptional reason is that you were not aware that a lender should have assessed if the loan was affordable so you only became aware you had a reason to make a complaint in [October 2019] when you found out about affordability complaints when [you saw a newspaper article in the Sun, saw a Facebook advert from a Claim Company, was told about it by a friend…. whatever actually happened to you].
You need to be aware that there may be VERY little evidence about what the lender checked or your circumstances at the time for such an old loan. This may be difficult to win.
GH says
My understanding was that I had 6yrs from the time I took out the loan, if that passed 3 yrs from the tume I had cause to complain.
This is from the adjudicator:-
I do appreciate you have explained that it was only in the last two years that you realised that you had a case for complaint. Within the last 2 years you have made claims for refunds of interest on payday loans and it was whilst claiming these that you realised you could do the same for the irresponsible lending of the loan and credit cards through Lloyds.
Whilst I do understand this, I can’t agree that this amounts to exceptional circumstances or changes the outcome of my findings. I say this because you don’t need to know to complain, for the time limits to start. You only need to know you have cause to complain. And from the point in which these debts were sold on, as you state within your own testimony you are aware of, ought to have made you realise then to complain. So, this complaint has been made out of time and as such we are unable to consider this matter.
I made my complaint within 3yrs of being aware, how can I argue this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply that you were aware that the loan was causing you difficulties from early on [assuming that is correct? don’t just say something because I put it here, I am trying to get you to articulate your own story] but at that point you were not aware there any regulations about affordability so you did not realise the lender had failed to follow the rules and did not knowe you had any cause to complain. Instead you thought it was your own fault for getting yourself into a financial mess.
Ask for the decision to go to an Ombudsman if the adjudicator does not change their mind.
BUT do think about what evidence you have about your financial position in 2007. If you don’t have anything or very little, you are unlikely to win this complaint even if FOS decide they can look at it.
Ruby says
Is it possible to put in an affordability complaint to vanquis credit card and littlewoods? If it is where would i find this information please.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/
Robert says
I have had a response from 118 118 Money just shy of the 8 week deadline with an offer to uphold 50% of the loans I took out with them. The offer is poor and the rationale for the refund differs between each loan. I have replied with a counter offer and will update you with the response.
N.B. I am conscious that I am giving away few details at this point, but I want to settle prior to providing more information
A says
Likely loans upheld my complaint in May 2020 and said that if I replied within 1 week I would receive my money and all would be settled. I replied via email through both my outlook account and through the resolver portal but still haven’t been paid, to add insult to injury they continue to take money from me monthly (£230 a month) and have served me notice on arrears. I escalated to Ombudsman at the end of June but absolutely zero response to any emails I send to Likely Loans or the Ombudsman I feel like I am trapped in an echno chamber – what do I do? Do I freeze any further payments? They had upheld my complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should definitely cancel further payments.
Was your complaint already with FOS before LL offered the settlement?
A says
Hi Sara
No I escalated to the Ombudsman after LL offered the settlement and I accepted. This was all done through the resolver portal. I escalated up to the financial ombudsman when I wasn’t getting a response. I will try and cancel payments to them now!
A says
Hi Sara, hope you are well.
Flash forward to 2021 and I’m rebuilding my credit files (slowly!) and I notice that on my transunion credit report Likely Loans is still showing as “open” with a balance of £3,681. And “closed” on my clearscore credit report with a balance of £3,681….
This was in my letter from them:
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
and if you remember they kept taking money off me! so they actually ended up paying me £1,065. So as far as I was aware I had £0.00 owing…so shouldn’t my balance state £0? It looks awful stating I have a balance of £3,681 owing. :(
Many thanks
A
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m fine!
yes, the loans should be showing as closed with a balance of zero. Tell LL to correct…
Lee Walker says
Re Bamboo, taken over a year but, complained after a rejection of my complaint to FOS….Fos asked for some details and then investigation started…they found in my favour and wrote to Bamboo. Email from Bamboo today asking to accept and confirm bank details. I have and £1300 coming back to me in 7 days time, all this even though I fully repaid 2 years ago..happy days.
Thomas says
Hi,
I have received the below from likely loans…. is this a good offer as it’s all confusing me
My decision
In consideration of the above I am not upholding your complaint in respect of the top up loan. This is because Likely Loans considered your income, your credit history and monthly creditor commitments at the point of your application for credit and this did not suggest that the loan was not affordable at the point of application.
However, I conclude that your complaint regarding your original loan has been upheld on this occasion. This is because my investigation has revealed that further checks should have been undertaken at the point of application to ensure that the loan was affordable.
In resolution of your complaint I am therefore proposing to remove all applicable interest from your original loan and have also recalculated the interest on your top up loan to reflect the removal of interest from your original loan. I can confirm that the new total interest repayable on your top up loan will be £512.12 instead of the original figure quoted of £737.27
Original amount borrowed loan 1* = £1250.00 + Total amount repayable loan 2 (with recalculated interest) £1712.12 – Total £2962.12
Total Payments received = £2422.60
Remaining outstanding balance to pay = £539.52
Thomas says
Hi, can anybody help with the above?
How can they say my first loan was unaffordable but the top up loan wasn’t?
Would you accept the offer or has anyone got previous of going back to likely loans and they make a better offer?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“How can they say my first loan was unaffordable but the top up loan wasn’t?”
They could be trying to settle your complain very cheaply, which if course thye shouldn’t do… Or there may be some technical problem with their records for the first loan.
If you know the top up was just as bad or worse, then send the case to the Ombudsman.
I don’t know if LL will negotiate. If you would be happy to settle if they clear the outsatanding debt you could suggest that as a compromise? But if you think you should be getting cash back you will probably have to send the case to FOS.
Kat says
I took out £5000 with likely before this top up thing even started only had 1 loan with them and after likely rejecting what I said, I send it straight to the FOS got an email back saying they agree with FOS and I’m getting £4982 back. (Did take a while but worth it in the end)
if you don’t feel 💯 % happy with this offer, reject it and take it further.
SEG says
Hi Sara,
I have complained to OPOS/KAPMANA about a bad loan they purchased from Minicredit back in 2014. I have filed an unaffordability complaint to them and they came back with the following statement:
“Neither Opos Limited or Kapmana Limited are the company with whom you entered into this loan agreement The company was Microcredit T/A Mini Credit, who have since entered administration and no longer trade in the UK.
Neither Opos or Kapmana offered you a credit facility, did not undertake any consideration of your loan application, did not offer you any loan facility and so have not lent irresponsibly. Furthermore, neither Opos or Kapmana has applied any interest or charges to the loan/s issued to you by Mini Credit.”
Ok I do understand that.
My question is: Given that they have not lent to me (only purchased the debt) and Minicredit have gone bust long time ago, do they have the right to report this previous debt as a default on my credit report? Do I have the right to request they actually remove this in its entirety from my credit files?
Is there any advise you can give or where I can find further information? I was looking at your website but couldn’t find anything relating to such an issue.
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes they do have that right :(
But when did you default on the debt? is there a default date on the credit record, if so, what is it?
SEG says
The start date is listed as 27.08.2014 when Mini credit approved the loan.
I wen t into payment arrears in August that year and finally on 12.10.2014 the debt was assigned to Opos to chase.
I had already entered into a DMP with Kensington Finance at the time and authorised them to contact Opos / Kapama in regards to my debts and started making small payments towards the outstanding debt to them via my DMP.
So, Opos/Kapama should have listed the default date
on the credit report around October / November 2014.
Instead, I can see its entered as 29.07.2016. That doesn’t make any sense and looks to me they reassigned the default date from the original to a later one. Can they do that?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I wen t into payment arrears in August that year
but you said the loan was taken out on 27 August?
SEG says
Sorry no it was 27th July 2014 when the loan was taken out and I went straight into arrears in August
JA says
Hello All,
I have finally had my adjudicator send the views of my likely loans complaint upholding irresponsible lending. He mentioned some key points showing that my outgoings were more than income , no expenditure done by likely loans and that I was on a DMP when being given the loan.
Timescale was unfortunately very long, Complaint opened with LL in April 19, Sent to FOS July 19. Picked up by FOS July 20.
Do people know if likely loans tend to agree with adjudicator or are they ones that like to just disagree and go to Ombudsman?
Thanks
Tony says
my wife had hers upheld and ll agreed with adjudicator
ja says
Ah okay that sounds promising. Did they get back to the FOS in the two weeks allocated ?
Cheers
GH says
Likely Loans refused to uphold my complaint so I’ve sent mine to the FOS. Sounds like I’ll also have a long wait for it to be picked up looking at your dates.
Kelly says
Hi first time posting on here. I have just had adjudicator decision on 4 loans from satsuma. He has upholded loan 4. I think loan 3 should be included as was taken the day after settling loan 2 and more checks should have been carried out. I have been in a bad lending cycle with other lenders and adjudicator has mentioned this in his findings. Is it worth going back and saying this or asking for ombudsman to look at this. Thank you for your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how large were loans 1,2 and 3?
Kelly says
Hi Sara they were Loan 1 £1000
Loan 2£100
Lonn 3 £1000
Loan 4 £100
Kelly says
I dont know if more information would help with my question I did send all my bank statements and credit report which shows gambling transactions alot of (I have self excluded and not gambled in 6 months) constantly in £800 over draft two large catalogues open on report and a number of payday lenders on report showing aswell.
JA says
Yeah unfortunately high cost loans seems to have a much smaller department dealing with them. Hopefully you wont have to wait as long as I did.
Good luck.
Anne says
Hi,
My complaint Re Mobile Money Ltd has been upheld and Mobile Money has agreed with adjudicator to refund charges and interest etc.
My question is, does interest refund include the interest I paid for early settlement? (They have not provided a full breakdown yet )
And does anyone know how long it takes for them to process the payment?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It will normally include all interest and charges unless the adjudicator decision limited that in some way.
Anne says
Adjudicator said all interest and charges, so if that includes early repayments then I’m look at a refund in the region of £6k which is amazing, especially as I have cleared all my debts with previous payday loan redress.
This will be a nice fresh start in my bank account
William Rowan says
Hi Anne, good result for you, can I ask how long from initial contact with the fos to where you are now?
Bill
Anne says
I made a complaint to MML back in 2018 there was then lots of discussion about the 6 years plus so it was sent to FOS
I was contacted in October 2019 by FOS who confirmed they will not consider loans 6 years plus, and it was 2 weeks ago when the adjudicator finally issued a response to MML upholding my complaint for 5 of the 7 loans.
I got a form to sign this morning to accept the offer and they say money will be in my bank in 3-5 days. (I’m hoping it will be in before 3 days)
Bill says
Thanks Anne, what year did you first borrow from?
Bill
Kevin says
Hi All, I’ve had a complaint upheld at the end of Feb by likely loans. They agreed to remove interest from my loan, but the loan was sold to Cabot Finance 18 months a go. The interest still hasn’t been removed and now Cabot have offered me a 70% off settlement discount. Should the refund of interest be paid to me or Cabot? Why are they making me this offerthe ? Any advice greatly appreciated , thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you been asking LL why they haven’t done this?
Cabot will happy to get 30% off you because they probably paid LL a lot less than 30p in the pound for the debt.
Kevin says
I’ve asked ‘LL, but no reply. If I were able to take up Cabots offer, what would happen to the refund of interest?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell LL is you don’t get your refund in the next two weeks the case is going to the ombudsman.
If you settle with Cabot, then I don’t know what will happen.
Kevin says
Thanks for your reply. Presumably Cabot won’t refund the interest and charged as they bought the full debt. So should ‘LL refund the interest to them or directly to me? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
LL can sort this anyway they want. They can refund Cabot, they can refund you or they can buy the debt back from Cabot and cirrrect the balance once it is their debt. You need to ask LL what they are planning to do and when before you should think of settling this with Cabot.
Charlotte says
It’s now been over a year since I made my complaint to trust two (everyday loans), which has been escalated to the financial ombudsmen following the steps you’ve mentioned on this website. Although it took some time, my adjudicator gave the final result on the 10th of July, giving trust two until the 24th of July to respond. They haven’t replied at all, so I reached out to my case handler who informed me that they haven’t responded, so he’s given them a further 2 weeks to respond before escalating this to an ombudsman to finalise the complaint.
I’m left quite annoyed, and I understand this is out of the hands of the FOS, but its already taken this long to get here, and late into the investigation trust two stopped responding to requests for information so I don’t understand why they’ve been given a further two weeks in which they are unlikely to respond before escalating this higher. I have a payment due to trust two on the 10th, so had hoped this would’ve been sorted out by now, given the result of the final decision.
Is there anything I can do to hurry this along further? As trust two are being so difficult and prolonging my suffering I don’t have faith they will act quickly and fairly throughout the rest of my complaint.
Agniva Banerjee says
Hello All, I had a high interest loan from Everyday loans in 2015 and a top up in 2016. Apart from EDL, I had borrowed from 6 other lenders. Finally, in 2018, I had to enter a DMP. Luckily, my financial situation is much better now, and I am hoping to finish my DMP by early next year.
I complained to EDL in early 2019 as I thought the lending was irresponsible. However, they got back to me, saying that they did not do anything wrong, and rejected my complain. I being naive and a non- financially orientated person, took the response as final and did not forward it to the FOS. Considering the fact that it has been more than a year, can I reopen the case with EDL or take it to the Ombudsman, or I have missed the boat?
Thanking you in anticipation.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have missed the boat I am afraid. Well done on being so close to finishing the DMP though!
Agniva Banerjee says
Hi Sara, thanks a lot for your response. I thought so.
However, Thanks a lot to you and team debt camel. You have really helped me pull through. During desperate times, I went through your website and comments almost everyday. Its only because of you and your team, I have reached this point where I am hoping to live debt free soon. Thanks a lot. You guys are amazing.
d says
Sara I’ve been rejected for a mortgage due to my likely loans loan which I am still paying off just now the monthly payment im not in arrears or that with them but apparently its classed as a payday loan?
Will this stop me with other providers or is it very much an individual company decision?
The one I applied with said j had to be 6 months clear of payday loans
Any help appreciated
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large is your deposit? When will the LL be paid off?
D says
Likely loans have around 10 months to go.
Deposit is 5%
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is this Help To Buy?
D says
No.sara credit union 100% mortgage.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry no idea, that is a very unusual lender.
Most lender would not treat LL as a payday lender but equally most lenders want a 15% deposit at the moment.
Paul Cowings says
Hi,
Has anyone had a car loan from welcome finance. Mine was high interest, sold to 3rd party claiming thousands still owed etc
Is it worthwhile pursuing as I’m aware they’re not solvent? Any advice greatly appreciated, thanks
Robert mills says
How long does 118 take to pay out?
They have agreed with ombudsman but it said it can take up to 8 weeks
sam says
please let me know how long it takes! mines agreed so waiting to hear back from 118 about payment now
sam says
So the final response I had from Bamboo. I’m a little confused by it. I presumed my account was held by Lantern as detailed below.
We are writing to advise you that the below account(s) have been sold to Lantern Debt Recovery Services Ltd (Lantern).
The transfer assigns all of your previous lender’s rights, as the owner, to Lantern Debt Recovery Services Ltd. Any future contact should now be made directly to Lantern.
I had this response from Bamboo:
We therefore agree to refund the interest and charges that you have paid against the loan. To date we have received payments of £820.47 against a capital loan advance of £1,200.00. This means that there is an outstanding balance of £379.53 to repay. Once this amount has been repaid, we will remove any negative information from your credit profile.
Your account is currently held by Lantern Debt Recovery Services ltd and they have informed us that you are currently making payments through a debt management plan.
If you are happy to accept our offer, please inform us within 7 working days of receiving this response and we will contact Lantern to make the relevant adjustments to your account.
So my questions are:
1. Should Bamboo be offering me a breakdown of what I’m actually being refunded? There doesn’t seem to be anything in their response.
2. Should Bamboo be discussing this with Lantern?
3. Should I accept this?
Many thanks for any help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s not very clear, is it.
Do you know the total of payments you have made to Bamboo? And to Lantern?
sam says
My Bamboo account doesn’t show me and since Lantern took it on, it looks like the payments are around £200.
I was going to email asking for a breakdown of payments, then how much interest was attached to each of those payments, and finally the total amount of interest and charges being refunded.
Would that make sense?
Thanks again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s a complicated way to get to the answer.
Much the easiest way to look at this is to not bother about how much of each pay was “interest” and how much was “principal”. Instead just ask Bamboo for the total of payments made to them – you may be able to see this from your bank statements, your credit record, or a statement of account from Bamboo.
You borrowed 1200. If you have paid Bamboo £820 (which is what their email suggests) and you have paid Lantern £200, then overall you have paid £1020. Interest has to be removed so you only have to repay 1200, so you still have a balance left of £180.
So the Lantern balance should be changed to 180. (Or Bamboo should buy the loan back from Lantern and you would owe Bamboo 180 – it’s Bamboo’s choice what to do.)
work out the total of payments made to Bamboo and to Lantern. Is this more or less than you borrowed?
Jo says
Just wondering if any one can help. This is a little different to a complaint so hopefully its in the right place.
I am having issues yet again with Everyday Loans. I currently have a complaint in with the FOS awaiting review.
I have however kept up with the payments (via a DMP and now a SM DMP) I have 2 payments left (thank god!)
Never had a statement of account from them since taking the loan in early 2017 but i have kept track of all payments. I have my final balance at £320. I called them for a balance, they gave me a figure in the region of £450. Why? they said cause of interest. This loan was front loaded and extended from 36 months to 44. I get they are entitled to put more interest on because of the extra 8 months but, should they not have told me? I asked for a statement of account – they sent me a list of my payments. I said a statment of account incl interest and advices on additional intrest they are unbeknowingly charging me, they said they dont do that. Isnt is legal to have to send me a full statement?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I get they are entitled to put more interest on because of the extra 8 months but, should they not have told me?
Actually there is a very good case that they should NOT have added extra interest on because of the longer time. In a debt management plan creditors are asked not to add any more interest. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/creditor-wont-freeze-interest/. This is what you need to complain about.
Of course if you win the FOS affordability case this is all academic, as all interest will be removed.
But I think it’s worth sending them a new complaint now asking them to remove the extra interest they have added.
Lindsay says
I have a similar problem with EDL except not in a DMP so situation is slightly different.
I am trying to pay mine off faster to avoid paying so much interest, now that I am in a slightly better position but unlike other lenders its hard to get clarity on this from EDL as they want you to have to pay the full interest.
They will not provide you with a figure of what your loan principle is if you ask and if you receive a statement of account it will not break down interest versus loan principle, it will only show your payments, so while I was able to receive a statement of account though Jo but it really doesn’t show you much.
I recently made a lump sum payment of £1000 off my current £4900 balance and when i contacted them two days after the £1k payment to see how this had reduced the loan principle they would only give me the settlement figure which was £4600, which I am assuming its because they charge you a month’s interest ahead. But when I asked for clarity they wouldn’t help and kept saying that their system didn’t give them that information.
They really keep you in the dark about how your payments are actually allocated to your loan principle and the interest – i tried to raise a complaint about the lack of clarity but didn’t get very far.
I hope all our EDL cases get picked up by the FOS soon and we get a favourable results!
Jo says
Hi Lindsay & Sarah
thank you both for your advise.
Sarah – I have issued a complaint. This company are the only credit to act bullyish and aggresive – cant wait to be rid of them but anyway i will see how my complaint goes.
Lindsay – They really keep you in the dark about how your payments are actually allocated to your loan principle and the interest – they are supposed to provide explanatory statements I believe at least once a year. I have had none, and they refuse me also. I have emailed the information and question to the FCA so i hope to get clarity on this shortly.
Just awful – I am pretty much at the end of my involvement with them thankfully!
Bob says
Just had my adjudicators decision against MyJar.
I had 2 loans with them, MyJar have agreed with adjudicators decision saying loan 1 was unaffordable but loan 2 was ok. This is ok but all my late payments were on loan 2. £1900 back
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So overall you are getting a refund of 1900? The last loan is already cleared? Or it is now cleared?
what was the reason the second loan was decided to be affordable?
Jackie says
I had a loan with 118 118 money for around £3k which I stupidly took out to try and pay off all my other pay day loans etc and have it all come off as a single payment. I really struggled with repayments and went onto a payment plan then they sold my debt to another company. Does anyone have any idea where I stand with this for making a complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a large loan, 118 should have checke4d carefully it would be affordable. Just because the repayment would be less than the payday loans were doesn’t mean they were affordable for you!
You make the complaint to 118. If it is upheld then 118 will sort out the debt which they have sold.
Are you currently paying the debt collector?
Jackie says
Thanks for your response! I was about to start paying the debt collector but then COVID-19 happened and I called them to say I couldn’t make any payments just now and I haven’t heard back from
sam says
Hey All
118 118 money(Madison) lent me a couple loans which its taken over a year and a half to get sorted has now been decided in my favour from the ombudsman!! so happy with this result.
Has anyone had the same?
Just wondering on lead times from decision to paying , if they’ll accept or deny, do they respond in time etc…
JA says
If an ombudsman has made the decision it’s final. If an adjudicator has given there views upholding they usually give the company 2 weeks to reply.
Maria says
Thank you again Sara l Finally received a response from everyday loans saying:
“ Your loan was taken in August 2019 for £4100 over 36 months to consolidate debts at a repayment of £250.80 a month making total repayment £9028.80. It appears your monthly payments may not have been sustainable therefore I agree you should only repay the amount owing of £1466.60. You should speak to your branch to repay the amount owing as I understand you have been effected by the pandemic”.
I think its a good result any comments
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much have you paid to this so far?
Maria says
Letter says to date you have paid £2633.40
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK so they are proposing to remove all the interst so you only have to repay the 4000 you borrowed. And as you have already paid £2633, that means they are changing your balance to be £1466.
That is a good offer from them (unless you think they have the numbers wrong of course!)
You can now make a payment arrnagement to repay this at a more affordable rate – which may only be £5 a month if your finances have been badly affected by coronavirus. They should not add any more interest onto this.
Maria says
Thank you Sara I will call them on Monday and arrange a repayment plan it feels so good to only now have this debt and a credit card compared to this time last year thank you so much again for this website 🙏🏻
Linds says
Update for 118 118
I submitted my complaint to the FOS in May 2019, I received a response yesterday (30/07/20) from an Investigator saying they have completed my investigation and have the result.
I took 1 loan from 118 for £3000, the investigator has agreed it was unaffordable and said I should only have to repay what I borrowed.
My outstanding balance as of today is £1927.00.
From what I have already paid to 118 through my DMP, I will now owe them £4 and the loan will be repaid and closed.
Happy with the outcome and that is one less debt I gave to worry about.
kat says
Anyone know how long roughly for Likely Loans to payout?
Thanks
JA says
I think I’ve read they take 10 days , How long did they take to respond to your adjudicator?
Tony says
if LL have agreed to refund usually within 5 days of agreeing refund.
Paul says
How long did they take in the end?
Matt says
Hi
I got a loan with bamboo to pay my bills & rent as had 5 other payday loans and 3 maxed out credit cards.
Is this worth pursing as only had the 1 loan with a top up?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large were the loan and the top up?
Matt says
Initially £1k with a £600 top-up
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a large loan, you can get refunds from the first loan when it is large so this is worth a try if you think the repayments were unaffordable for you.
Linds says
Hi Matt,
I only had 1 loan from bamboo but I submitted an affordability complaint. They upheld it and agreed I should only pay back what I borrowed, which was my original loan amount of £1000.
It’s worth submitting a complaint 👍🙂
Jaz says
Hi Sara
I just received a payment of £1605.63 into my bank and the 8% statutory interest that’s due on the refund they paid me £8.74 in total, I just wanted to know is that 8% statutory interest right on the £1605.63 interest refund their payed me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who is the lender? Were you still paying a balance, if so at how much a month? And how much was written off?
Jaz says
Hi Sara
The lender was 118 118 Money, their was a balance remaining of £531.65 which was written off, I was paying off £101.24 a month.
Loan amount £2,000
Actual Advance £2,000 Instalments £155.98
Internal settlement £0.00
Total paid £2,432.07
Loan amount £1,281.65 monthly Instalments £101.24
Actual Advance £750
Internal settlement £531.65
Total paid £1,923.56
Total advanced: £2,750
Total paid: £4,355.63
Difference: £1,605.63
Their revised offer is;
Refund of interest of £1,605.63 and the 8% is £8.74, in addition amending your credit file.
Dj says
How long did you wait to hear from them I’m still waiting for payment ….no one has got back to me after they agreed Adjudicator decision …was it paid as a BACS or bank transfer on the day …my 8% is £38 on a refund of 1000
Jaz says
Hi Dj
They gave 118 money up to 4 weeks to get back to me and pay the refund, there replied back just after 4 weeks from the time their was given, and said their will pay me in 14 working days, their payed me on the 10th working day, which was yesterday, and it got paid straight into my bank account, it was a long wind but it paid off, just going to raise the concern about the 8% their payed me. hope this helps. Good luck
Sara (Debt Camel) says
to clarify, was £2432 the total of the monethly installments you paid to loan 1? And £1923 to loan 2?
But the 8% figure is definitely wrong. I suggest you go back to 118 and ask them how it was calculated.
Jaz says
Thank you Sara I will get back to them straight away many thanks again
Jaz says
Hi Sara
That’s right £2432 was the total I payed to loan 1 and £1923 was the total for loan 2
sam says
Hi Jaz
what DJ said, how long did it take them to reply to you? and how long for paying out?
Robert mills says
I’m still waiting for them to come to me. It was only agreed last Thursday that I was to receive a refund so it may take a few more weeks yet
Danielle says
So I complained to the FOS last year about avant credit as I’d had 4 large loans for them over the last few years with a balance remaining on the last loan. The complaint was upheld in January with them stating refund on interest for all 4 loans offset the remaining balance then refund me the remainder and remove the default. I received the refund back in March time and thought nothing of it. Then yesterday got an email from avant stating they were adding a default as they have received no payment for months and I have a remaining balance of 1900 to be paid, baring in mind my refund was much more than this. Turns out they had refunded me the full interest and didnt take it off the balance so I still owe them. I have checked my credit score and they removed the default from 3 years ago but now looks like I’m going to get another one this month. I’m absolutely gutted as thought I was getting somewhere with my debts and my credit report and now feel like I’m back to square one. Do you know if it’s worth complaining to avant again about this? I dont have the money to pay it all off now
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“with them stating refund on interest for all 4 loans offset the remaining balance then refund me the remainder and remove the default”
That was the FOS decision?
How large a refund did you get?
Danielle says
Yes that was the FOS decision. I got about 2200. But I just assumed they had done what was told and the money is gone now as this was back in Feb/March time. I dont know what to do now
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, reply to Avant and say they are being unreasonable, they made the mistake, you didn’t realise what they had done because they never sent you details of how it was calculated. So you reasonably assumed the refund was correct and you have spent it. If you have had covid-19 problems or used the money to pay priority debt mention that too! Also say that they should not have registered a default without even telling you you owed any money as you had no idea. Say you want the default/missed payment markers on your credit record removed and for them tp accept a [payment arrangement of £x a month to the debt.
How much can you actually afford> Do you have other problems debts or priority bills at the moment?
sam says
Anyone had 118 agree with the ombudsman and pay out?
wondered what lead times were like with them.
ruled in my favour and they have till 14th to respond.
Linds says
Hello,
I was just thinking the same, adjudicator ruled I my favour against 118, they have until the 13th to respond.
sam says
Hi Linds
no response yet I take it?
Deadlines Friday for me but not holding out hope!
Anon says
My adjudicator went back to 118 in March with a 2 week deadline to respond and I only got a response last week. They have agreed with my adjudicator but unsure on the timescale for payout from them
Wendy says
Hi
How long are people waiting for an adjudicatior to pick up for 118 118 cases
Thanks
Linds says
Hi Wendy,
I submitted my complaint in May 19, it was picked up by adjudicator in July 20.
Wendy says
Linds
Thanks for reply wow so I got a long wait on this 1 then ,good luck with your case x
Steve G says
Hi all
Recently rejected an offer from 118118 money as they would only to refund interest on the most recent 2 of my 7 loans i have had with them and wouldn’t diffident even offer the 8% interest.
As such had two questions if i may ask for other peoples experience
1:- I Had to raise my complaint to the Ombudsman via email but have not yet received confirmation they have received it. On there website it says it can take up to 8 weeks to even get confirmation of email but this doesn’t sound right to me has anyone had experience of this timeline and how long a simple confirmation takes?
2:- I notice 118118 have removed the remaining balance from my current loan even though i rejected there offer. Most of the remaining payments could have been considered interest anyway but normally my payment would be due on Friday. Does anyone know if they can or will likely reinstate this balance now i have rejected there inital offer.
Thanks in advance
K says
So Vanquis rejected my affordability complaint even though I was on a DMP, basically saying that it was affordable for me. Is it worth escalating this to the FOS do you think? Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how large was your credit limit? did they increase this?
K says
The credit limit was £1200. They didn’t increase. Thanks.
JA says
Has anyone had Likely Loans reply to there adjudicator recently? They seem to be dragging there feet with mine..
JA says
They have finally responded to my adj and agreed with them thankfully. Does anyone know if likely loans will contact me directly to organise the redress? And if so, How long roughly?
I just want this one done as its my last complaint and unfortunately taken since april 2019 Thanks
Tony says
LL will pay into yr account within 10 days once they have agreed . I m waiting on them agreeing to mine from adjudicator but repaid the wifes within 10 days of agreeing
DM says
Hi Sara, thanks again for all your help. Just after some advice. I had a loan with Bamboo for £3k over 3yrs which I topped up to £3.55k three months later over 4yrs Loan was then passed to lantern with the full amount including interest which was in over £8k after making reduced payments. My initial complaint was rejected and I followed up with FOS as per the advice on the site In Jan and just got an email stating they will waive the interest as a good will gesture so still owe £1.2k from the initial loan which I am more than happy to pay. Question is has anybody accepted an offer of good will and had the marks removed from their credit file also? I have e-mailed to request they do this but wondering if anybody else has had any success with getting defaults removed and am I right to accept the offer?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds a good offer unless you think there is anything wrong with their figures and they are not taking into account what you have paid Lantern.
Tony says
bamboo seem to be doing this. I also had mine declined but when I emailed back to say I would take to FOS they replied that as goodwill gesture they will refund half the interest. loan is paid so il take that rather than months at FOS
Ryan says
Hi,
I currently have a logbook loan with Varooma for £6,500.
I have made 4 payments of £433.33 totaling £1733.32.
Recently contacted them to settle the balance as I wanted to sell the car, but the settlement figure came back at £6935.55. When I queried why the total remaining balance was higher than the original loan amount after I have already made 4 payments I was met with hostility and mis-information, but I have now received a full breakdown of the schedule for how principal and interest is applied against my account.
Out of the £1733.32 paid, only £41.18 has been allocated against the actual loan amount and the rest took as interest!
My question is, is there any legal guideline around how much a company may allocate against the the principal and interest amount of payments we make? I was not given any information about this when I first applied and was told there was no early repayment charges as well. Do I have a case against this sort of thing?
I’ve requested all the information they hold about and the initial phone call going over all the information.
Thank you in advance,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Asking for all the information is a good move.
There is a legal forumla, it is set out in The Consumer Credit (Early Settlement) Regulations 2004 – https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/1483/made.
In most cases where people complaint, the calculation turns out to have been correctly done :( The cost of settlement for high interest loans is high :(
You could try putting your numbers into here https://www.financecalcs.co.uk/Calcs/Settlement.php – but I haven’t checked that gives correct results.
Were these monthly payments affordable? Read the article above… If they have left you struggling, think about making an affordability complaint and ask for a refund of the interest you have already paid. But these cases take a LONG while to go through, so don’t put off settling this loan in the hope of winning the complaint.
Matt says
Small update
I am still waiting for an Ombudsmen to look at my Moneybarn complaint. I’ve chased a fair amount of times but still no movement. It’s now 2 years since my original complaint!
The investigator upheld my decision but Moneybarn rejected and it was allegedly picked up by an Ombudsman in April, I guess it’s collecting dust on their desk as I’ve had no decision at all yet. Frustrating. The redress here could be life changing and I’ve been stung by both the Wonga and QQ admins so a little concerned a similar ending may await.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should be talking to FOS on a weekly basis about why there is no movement here.
Matt says
Hi Sara
I’ve been doing just that. No real updates and I don’t want to be a problem to them. I never get any answers and you can’t speak directly to the Ombudsman it is assigned to. The investigator is quite difficult to get hold of as well. Not the best but trying to be patient.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Phone up and say you will be making a complaint unless you get some information about what is happening. FOS may be waiting for MoneyBarn to respond, but if this is the case, you should be informed.
Matt says
Thanks Sara. I will call on Monday and do that.
Many thanks as ever for this site and your hard work
Matt says
Hi Sara Out of interest If I need to. Who do I complain to about the FOS case handling and what is it likely to achieve. I don’t want to poke the bear so to speak?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just call the normal FOS phone number. Be very polite and say you just need an update on what is happening to your case and say you do not want to have to put in a complaint just to try to get this.
Matt says
Hi Sara
I sent an email chaser saying I felt it was taking too long etc and just received this. Do you think I ask them to raise the service complaint?
Thank you for your previous email, my apologies that you feel this has taken too long. If you would like me to I can raise a service complaint with a manager and ask them to review the handling of the case.
In relation to the final decision from the Ombudsman, I can see that the Omudsman has begun the decision and is in the process of their investigation. I will send an email requesting an update and will let you know what the response is.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply that all you want is an update and that you would rather not raise a complaint if you are kept informed about what is happening and the cause of any delay.
Matt says
Thanks Sara
I will let you know what I get from here of course.
Calvin says
Hi Matt,
I’m in a similar position with EveryDay Loans. It took 16 months from sending compliant to FOS for an adjudicator to pick it up. The adjudicator found in my favour but EDL rejected. That was in March 2020. It’s been in a queue since then. I was told it could be up to 6 months. Hang in there!
Matt says
Hi Calvin
I’ve been patient and was really happy in April it seemed the end was near when an Ombudsman finally picked it up. 4 months later and I’m left with more frustration!
Hope you get the resolution you hope for soon. Crazy amount of time to be waiting.
Shaun says
My is being looked at as we speak by the adjuicator regarding everyday loans fingers crossed.
Matt says
Hi Sara
Update.
So the investigator on Monday promised me an update by the end of the week, so yesterday as I had heard nothing I emailed him. I got an auto reply to say he had left the FOS! Feels like he fobbed me off as he knew he was leaving!
I called up and was told that indeed he had left and a new investigator had been allocated the case and that the Ombudsman was still looking at it. The guy I spoke to said he would send an email asking for an update as promised by my previous investigator. He also said there was a strange red mark against the case and that usually indicates the business are being obstructive or something but couldn’t tell me more!
2 years and counting since I sent this case to the Ombudsman.
Robert mills says
My adjudicator ruled in my favour Thursday 30th of July but 118 still have not got in touch with me
I’ve spoken with them and they’ve told me it can take up to two months for someone to get in touch with me as the complaints team doesn’t have a phone number? You would think after all this they would just close the case
sam says
The adjudicator normally gives them 2 weeks to reply like he has with mine once they make a decision.
But that doesn’t mean that they will reply I suppose….
Robert mills says
Sorry I’ve typed that wrong, they agreed with the adjudicator on the 30th so I’m still waiting for 118 to contact me for my refund
sam says
i’d be calling them daily and trying to get an answer! they’ll probably take 4 weeks to pay out i’ve heard
Tony says
118 were great with me complaint not even at 8 weeks and replied to say they agree with top up but not 1st loan. said they would pay out within 14 days. here’s hoping
Lisa G says
Hi all. A question.
My Everyday Loan complaint is now with an Ombudsman. The Ombudsman has had it for 4 weeks today.
I’ve not heard anything from them, they haven’t requested any more information from me or Everyday Loans.
Does anyone know roughly how long an Ombudsman takes to make a final decision? I know they are thorough but I’m looking for an average time frame.
Thanks!
Calvin says
Hi Lisa,
How long did you wait from the adjudicator referring to the ombudsman picking this up? I’ve been waiting 3 months now.
Thanks
Lisa G says
Hi. My case has been in the ombudsman queue since 21/04/20. But I put in a hardship case with the FOS to get it looked at quicker, which is why it’s been picked up sooner. I don’t know how long it would take otherwise.
Pete says
Onstride / casheuro portal now open for claims good luck to everyone submitting I know know one will get the full amount due but hopefully plenty with balances that can be reduced or written off
Chris says
Hi Sara. An ombudsman made a final ruling in my favour against Savvy loans (Valour Finance) on the 30th July 2020. I accepted his decision the same day. On the final decision email he gave me until the 27th August to reply. Would that mean Savvy must refund me the interest by that date or do they have 28 days from the 27th to refund? Thanks, Chris A
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think its 28 days from when FOS tell the lender you have accepted. Have you talked to the lender and provided your bank details?
Chris says
Thanks for replying. I phoned the lender to ask if they had received the ombudsman decision and all they said was they had received it and will respond to me by no later than the 28th August. They didn’t ask for bank details.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do they have your correct bank details? If not, tell them what they are.
Chris says
They should as my details are the same from when I had the loans but I will phone them again tomorrow to confirm them. Here’s hoping they will actually talk this time instead of rushing to get me off the phone
Luke says
Finally coming to an end after years of pay day loans I took sunny for 2.1k last year. Also last year I put in a complaint about 118 money they took 8 weeks to respond down to the day. That was at the start of December last year!! Sent off to the ombudsman and got a response from them 3 weeks ago. (So roughly 7 months waiting) After a few emails back and forth they have now received all information from both parties. Does anyone know how long this process takes from here on out? I have about 7k riding on this one with all the interest I payed. Also 118 response was a point blank refusal, Claiming nothing was irresponsible.
sam says
i am waiting on them to agree or not with the ombudsman decision, they have till friday!
did they reply within the time lines and agree with yours? i’m hoping they reply by friday and the 4 week wait starts for payment! i am owed 2k!
Robert mills says
118 are a total joke you will be waiting for 2 months for someone to get in touch with you to receive a refund let’s hope it’s not part of the plan to announce as bankrupt so they don’t have too.
2 months for someone to get in touch with you when it’s already been agreed with a ombudsman is a total joke
sam says
they had till today to respond to the ombudsman and they’ve emailed them, accepted their fault and emailed me saying they’ll pay within 14 days for me!