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?
Karen says
I had the decision from the Ombudsman about Moneybarn. It doesnt matter there was a suspended repossession order on my house one month before I was given the Moneybarn loan, three defaults from a year before and having PIP, she is saying the loan was affordable and they had all of the information to make an informed judgement that I could afford it. She also said that a new mortgage last year telling me that the mortgage company telling me the loan and mortgage was unaffordable because it was four years after I took the loan out, and the multiple missed payments on the Moneybarn loan are acceptable. I have asked for it to be looked at, but I doubt I am going to get anywhere yet again. It is like the Ombudsman sees my name and automatically rejects anything I put forward. I officially give up.
PF says
Hi Karen,
Sorry to hear this – was this an Ombudsman or Investigator decision?
It seems the FOS are not making it easy for anyone making an affordability complaint against Moneybarn. My complaint has been with an Investigator for more than six months and recently i have had some regular contact with the Investigator who is really putting me through the mill to prove my expenditure, i feel it is me that is wrong for making the complaint. I wouldn’t be surprised if my complaint isn’t upheld.
I would say keep fighting and questioning why they have made that decision don’t give up!
Good luck.
Julie says
Hello everyone,
An adjudicator upheld my complaint for 2 loans with 118. I got an email after 14 days from 118 saying that they agree with the adjudicator and gave me a sum of redress. But I don’t know how they worked it out to get there sum. I did the calculations myself and is almost double what they have told me. Has anyone else had this problem?
I have emailed 118 and asked for a break down of their calculations.
Many Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you give the figures? For the two loans that have been upheld, what did you borrow? How much have you paid to each of them in cash, ignore if it is interest or not. Was the second loan settling the first one? If yes, how much did you receive in cash for the second loan?
Wendy says
Hi Julie
I was just wondering how long you waited for adjudcator to pick you case up with 118 118 thanks
Maria says
Hi Julie
The adjudicator upheld my loan with118118 and the last day for them to reply to the adjudicator was yesterday but I haven’t heard anything. Did 118118 reply by the deadline
Julie says
Hello everyone. Thank you for commenting.
Sara, So Loan 1 was taken out in Feb 2015 was for £1500 payable over 24 months. Repayments were £120.20 per month. I paid for 13 months which totals £1562.60. Then in April 2016 I took out another loan. Loan 2 was for £2504.61. I borrowed the principle amount of £1500 so the rest of the money was to pay off the remaining on Loan 1 which was £1004.61. Loan 2 was £200.50 per month which again I paid for 13 months which totals to £2606.50. I then paid the remaining money in a lump sum which totalled £2127.61.
So in total for both loans, I paid £7301.32. Takeaway the principal amount of £3000 that leaves £4301.32. That amount is not just the interest as late fees were added aswell. And it’s not including the 8% statutory interest. I hope this makes sense.
The email I received from 118 agreed with the adjudicator but only offered me a refund of £2700, plus £300 Statutory interest. I have asked them for a break down in their figures because I can not work out how they got that number.
Hello Wendy. It has taken a year for my case to be picked up by an adjudicator. I sent my complaint to the FOS in July 2019 and it was picked up in July 2020. The adjudicator upheld my complaint on the 11th Sep 2020.
Hello Maria, The adjudicator gave 118 till 25th Sep to respond and they responded the day before on 24th.
Many Thanks everyone
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I agree 118s numbers look too low, but yours look too high to me.
You have actually borrowed £4004.61, not £3000. You have counted the settlement of loan 1 in “what you have paid” but you also need to count that amount in “what you borrowed”.
For loan 1 you paid £1562.60 in monthly payments plus £1004.61 from the settlement with the second loan which is £1067.21 in interest and charges.
For loan 2 you paid £2606.5 in monthly payments plus £2127.61 which is £2229.5 in interest and charges.
So overall you should be refunded £3296.71. Plus statutory interest which should be at least 25% of the refund amount so the 8% bit is wrong as well.
Julie says
Sara
Thank you for getting back to me.
Aww, ok. I understand. It makes things a lot more confusing. Why would it be 25%? The letter from the adjudicator said 8% per year from the date the overpayments were made.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes but I was guessing your last loan ended in 2017? so that is three years ago = 24%
You have done the right thing asking for a breakdown, 118s offer sounds a LOT too low.
Julie says
Yes that’s right. Last payment for loan 2 was made in December 2017. Thank for your help. It is much appreciated. Yes I did email them asking for a breakdown because they just gave me a sum. Didnt explain how they had come to that figure.
This is what I recieved:
This email is further to recent correspondence regarding the above mentioned complaint.
As you will be aware, the complaint was upheld by the Ombudsman Service and therefore, there are certain steps we need to take.
Due to the above mentioned decision, I can confirm that a refund of interest is due to you. The total refund of interest due is £2702.06.
In addition to the above, we must also calculate the 8% statutory interest that’s due on the refund – this has been calculated as £399.16. Please note that we have not deducted tax from the refunds and as such, you may need to declare the refunds to HMRC, but this will be dependent upon your tax status.
I typed their statutory interest wrong in my previous post.
Julie says
Hello Sara,
I recieved a breakdown today from 118. There was a 3rd loan which I didnt include in my earlier posts before because it had already been agreed that the interest on that loan had been wiped and that I only had to pay the remaining balance which was £594.65.
Loan 1 £1500, Paid £1562.60
Loan 2 £1500, Paid £4734.11
Loan 3 £2000, Paid £1405.35
Total Advanced £5000, Total Paid £7702.06
Refund £2702.06.
Robert mills says
Here’s an odd one
2 long term loans taken out one the same day ( financial mess at the time ) Evidence supplied via bank statements etc
1 adjudicator upheld and agreed
1 Adjudicator said the complete opposite and company did nothing wrong
????????????
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are you saying bank statements were supplied to the lenders before the loans were given or to FOS now?
For each loan – was it upheld or rejected? who was the lender, how large was the loan and what was the monthly repayment?
Has this just happened?
Robert mills says
Before they went to the FOS they were both supplied
Both large loans – one with bamboo one with avant
Both the same amount funny enough both taken on the same day
Don’t get how one ajudicator is so in favour get the other ones adamant avant haven’t done anything wrong?
Both monthly payments £190/210 a month
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok, there does seem to be a random element here. Ask for the rejected one to go to Be looked at by an Ombudsman.
John Paterson says
My complaint against Logbook Loans ( Loan2Go ) was upheld by an adjudicator however they have disagreed and it’s been sent to an ombudsman. I had till 17th September to add any further comments for the ombudsman which I’ve done. Does anyone have any idea of timescales once its referred. It’s been a year so far to get to this stage.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
has it been picked up by an Ombudsman yet?
John Paterson says
Hi Sarah , the last email was from an adjudicator the bulk of which is below.
Your complaint about Loans 2 Go Limited
I sent you and Loans 2 Go Limited my view of this complaint.
An ombudsman will review this complaint
Because Loans 2 Go Limited didn’t agree, an ombudsman will review the complaint and make a final decision. If the ombudsman’s conclusions are different to mine, they will explain why and let you reply before they give you their decision. We’re required to publish final decisions by our ombudsmen on our website. But your details won’t appear in the published decision – they’ll be removed so you can’t be identified.
We should already have all the information the ombudsman needs to reach a decision. But if we need anything more from you, we will let you know.
What you need to do now
If you have any further points or information you want the ombudsman to consider, please send these to me by 17 September 2020.
Nothing since then
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so it wasn’t the Ombudsman asking, just the adjudicator trying to get everything ready for when it is picked up.
I can’t predict timescales here. sometimes the cases move surprisingly fast but I suggest you assume it will be several months.
stu says
Hi John. I have been waiting for an Ombudsman to look at my complaint with Loans2go since January so don’t expect anything soon mate.
John says
Hi Stu , thanks for that. I wont hold my breath then. Can I ask when you put your original complaint in. I was at the start of Sept last year
stu says
Hi john I put my complaint in December 2018.
Roly says
Some good news thus week. 118118 responded to my adjudicator’s findings a few days after his deadline, but they didn’t challenge it and have agreed to uphold my complaint. So, a small refund coming and the remainder of the balance due written off and it will ve removed from my credit report! Yay!!
Still waiting on an ombudsman to rule on my Everyday complaint. The adjudicator disagreed with me, though I cannot for the life of me see how, given other complaints for loans we took out around the same time were all upheld and were for much smaller amounts. We were paying more than we earned at the time on payday loans alone, let alone the credit cards, catalogue debt and household expenses. Went back to the adjudicator with a thorough breakdown, she didn’t really consider it before putting me in the ombudsman queue. It doesn’t matter if this one comes through, but it would be so good to stick it to those firms, who added to our chaos by lending to us.
We know we are partly responsible for the mess we got into, but they shouldn’t have lent to us. I just hope they will start dealing with complaints better.
Chez19 says
Hi Sara I’m going to send an affordability complaint to 118 118 money & Bamboo as you suggested, do I write/email them and ask them for a SAR before I start my complaint, and do you have to pay for them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No & No!
See the article above. The template letter in there includes a request for your personal information (a SAR). It just wastes time to try to get that first before kicking off the complaint.
Chez19 says
Ok thanks Sara, I really appreciate all the help and advice that you give out.
Dave says
Has anyone had any experience of doing this with a log book loan from Varooma? I don’t want to lose my car!
KR says
Submitted complaint last May 2019, picked up by various adjudicators November 2019, adjudicator upheld April 2020 but they refused now awaiting an ombudsman decsion. Definitely a long wait.
Julie says
Has anyone had problems with the Statutory interest on redress given? I believe its 8% per year from when the loan was paid off (Thank you to Sara for the info) but 118 claim it’s a simple 8%.
Njw says
I used to think the same, it’s over the term of the loan though so say you had the loan for 3 years and then it was settled it would be 8% x 3
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No it’s more complicated than that because it’s 8% from when you paid the interest which was spread over the term of the loan, your calculation assumes it was all paid at the start of the loan. A very rough calculation says 8% x a half the term of the loan. Plus 8% for each year after the loan was repaid.
Calvin says
hi all. Update on my EDL complaint. The ombudsman found in my favour which is great news. It followed the adjudicators findings.
Timelines for those interested. Complained November 2018, Adjudicator assigned in January 2020. Adjudicator upheld my complaint March 2020. EDL rejected and requested it go to the Ombudsman. A long process, but happy with the result.
Roly says
So pleased for you! Well done. Hope EDL pay up and fix things for your quickly. Am a bit behind you on the timeframe, but praying it won’t be much longer.
I’m in the queue for the ombudsman on my EDL complaint. Sent to FOS in March/April 2019. Adjudicator didn’t find in my favour, and didn’t even look at my rebuttal, claiming they were waiting for info they’d requested following my email saying I disagreed, but she sent me to the queue in August knowing they probably wouldn’t respond.
Sarah says
Roly
I’m also in a queue for an ombudsman, as the adjudicator didn’t rule in my favour, even though there was key evidence to say that EDL didn’t do what they should have in checking affordability.
Please keep me posted on how your complaint goes.
Many thanks,
Sarah
Chez19 says
Hi Sara, thanks for your reply, I will be sending an affordability complaint to them, I have since found the bank statement that showed I had borrowed £1000 from Bamboo and used £341.82 to settle the 1st loan off with 118 118 money in Oct 2019, then I was offered £2000 in Dec 2019 (via the app) with me not having to complete any expenses etc. As I have quite a lot of debt and also been helping my partner pay some of his house hold bills due to COVID-19 I come to an agreed reduced payment plan with them and have since started paying the full loan amount again, they sent me a letter chasing me for the arrears which I thought was just a standard letter, which I ignored, I rang 118 118 today to find out why my outstanding loan is not showing on the app, to which they replied that have now sold it to a debt collector!!! What should I do, continue with affordability complaint and try to negotiate an affordable payment with debt collector??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, continue the affordability complaint with the original lender and when the debt collector gets in touch, set up an affordable payment arrangement with them.
Chez19 says
Ok will do thank you for your advice, now the debt has been sold to a debt collector does this mean interest is no longer added or will it be already included in the amount owed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is likely that it has already been included in what is owed.
Lisa G says
Hi Calvin,
How long have the Ombudsman given EDL to contact you and refund you? Is it 4 weeks?
My Adjudicator found in my favour for 1 of 3 loans. It went to the Ombudsman who has “provisionally” found in my favour for all 3 loans. EDL have until 03/10 to come back with more info or the ombudsman will rule with what they’ve said provisionally (all 3 loans). Then they’ll give EDL time to refund me.
My case has been with the FOS since Oct 2018.
Linds says
EDL have not responded in the given timeframes to my adjudicator who found partially in my favour for my second top up loan. I must say I haven’t found my adjudicator terribly helpful this time from the FOS (normally i’ve had great experiences so must just be a bit unlucky with who i’ve got this time around) and am not clear on when they will refer to the Ombudsman queue, but I find it disappointing that EDL do not even respond to the FOS in the timescales set out to them!
I guess there is nothing to be done and i’m giving up hope now for a quick resolution of my complaint with EDL but hope others have better luck!
Calvin says
Hi Lisa. Yes, 4 weeks for EDL to contact me. I will contact them next week and set the ball rolling. My refund won’t be huge as I only had 1 loan with them, but it’ll be nice to have and the default removed too. All the best.
Pn123 says
Good morning I had a decision from the adjudicator on a 12,000 loan yesterday not upholding my complaint the figures they gave said I had a disposal of around £180 however when going through it myself my disposal was far less between £5-50 on average
My average wage was worked out at 1700 but some months could be less depending on hours worked
When they did the credit check it apparently showed a small default of £8 and that I was overlimit on a credit card
He has said they should have been concered with some of this data and the checks were not propotiate
They also had my income down as 1957 which was supposedly verified however as said I was earning roughly 1700
With average expenditure totaling 1326 on regular bills and average shopping spend before making the loan payment of 370 once this was taken it made my monthly expenses 1696 on a wage of 1700
Is it worth appealing this I had sent a email back asking for this to be looked into by the adjudicator again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who was the lender?
They also had my income down as 1957 which was supposedly verified however as said I was earning roughly 1700
Are you saying that you declared an income of 1700 on your application because it varied? but the lender assessed your application on a higher “verified” amount?
Pn123 says
Ratesetter I cannot remember the monthly figure I put down by they have said I put 30k a year on application
However it wasn’t that much it was 1700 a month but the 12 months average may 2015 to may 2016 when the loan was taken was around 1450 the wage increased in the few months before the loan a a change of job
However I don’t see how they can supposedly verify my wage at the higher amount also there was no bank statements or payslips looked at
Regards
Matt says
Moneybarn update.
So not good news. The Ombudsman has provisionally not upheld the complaint and overturned the Investigators decision.
The reasons….not clear on my financial situation at the time me outgoings etc and they want to confirm Moneybarn’s stance on gambling. I have sent more info to answer their main questions. One I had expenses for travelling paid by my company which they included as income. And 2 proof of my rent payments in cash (I lived with my parents so paid them cash for house keeping) i got my mum to write a letter to the Ombudsman confirming this.
Very very deflated after 2 years and desperately hoping the Ombudsman changes their mind with the new information 😕
PF says
Hey Matt,
Really sorry to hear about this – though at the moment I am not surprised. Although my complaint is still with the Investigator, I have had quite a few conversations recently and am expecting pretty much the same response. I was in such a bad situation through gambling and most of the family outgoings were paid in cash and I have no bank records so I can’t prove the finance was unaffordable. Although I do have a multitude of bank statements with thousands of pounds of gambling transactions. So frustrating that we are being asked to prove that the finance was unaffordable, surely it should be Moneybarns responsibility to prove it was affordable. The fact that an income and expenditure form was never even completed or bank statements looked at at the time of my application should prove this was an unfair lending relationship.
Matt don’t give up hope, keep fighting maybe Sara has any help or advice. Sara is there anything in Conc. that helps?
Fingers crossed for you.
PF
a. says
I have been waiting for the fos to look at my 118 complaint for months now. They emailed in May saying they had all the information they needed to look at the complaint but have still not got to mine. Today I have recieved an email saying they are discussing how they look at these cases and will get back in touch when they are able to investigate. I understand how busy they are but this is now getting very frustrating!
Dean says
Hi a I did mine in April after the 8 weeks and have been waiting ever since I put the same in with amigo and that’s all done and dusted with. Keep in there it will happen just takes time.
Amy says
Hi Sara do you have details of where to send complaints too Zopa and Hitachi please? I can’t seem to find the email address for them , many thanks 😊
Sara (Debt Camel) says
complaints@zopa.com
complaintsteam@hitachipersonalfinance.co.uk
matt says
Hi PF
The letter from the Ombudsman feels a bit contradictory. They say in one breath if they had checked bank statements and credit report they would not have made the decision to lend and the checks were not proportionate. Large ammounts of payday lending etc. Then they say they haven’t got enough of my financial situation to rule that the loan was unaffordable. Ombudsman says there were several occasions where the direct debit bounced but Moneybarn were never made aware of me being in any financial difficulty!
They say about gambling…. this appears to be a new matter and has not been considered by Moneybrn in it’s final response but it appears Moneybarn is willing to let us consider this new point in this complaint. If I am mistaken about Moneybarn’s’ position
on this might Moneybarn tell us so in any response it makes to this provisional decision. In any event, I have already found that Moneybarn did not carry out enough checks before it
lent. The history of this gambling especially the amount of the gambling and its
timing on bank statements just before he took out the agreement is something I
think it would have found out about if it had done the checks it should have done. If
Moneybarn agrees I can look at this part of the complaint it would be helpful for it to
comment on this issue too in its response to my provisional decision.
That appears to be my last hope that Moneybarn agree to look at it. Deflated but not defeated just yet
Sara (Debt Camel) says
hen they say they haven’t got enough of my financial situation to rule that the loan was unaffordable.
You have supplied bank statements for 3 months before & three months after the loan was given to FOS?
What do these show? You best hope here is to argue in detail that the statements prove the loan was not affordable in practice.
matt says
Hi Sara
They have all the statements. The initial problem wasthere was no proof of rent etc. I paid my rent in cash t my parents. I have sonce got my mum to write an email to the investigator to confirm this. There are several cash transactions that should match this up. I did fall behind on occasions but the “large cash withdrawals” as the Ombudsman put it should hopefully now tie up with what my parents email says. Secondly my salary and work travel expenses (I worked in Aerospace so a lot of travel expenses previosuly) were all paid from a bank account called “business account”. The Ombudsman asked if I had another acct called business account. I confirmed I didn’t and my old company wrote an email to confirm salary and travel expenses were paid from this account.
Matt says
Further to this complaint.
According to the attached bank statements I obtained payday loans in a very short space of time leading up to application (some on multiple occasions and varying amounts at extremely large interest rates) The lenders I borrowed from are listed below.
wonga
cashongo
quick quid
quid.co.uk
ACTIVE
MR LENDER
TRUSTED QUID
THINK FINANCE
DATA CASH SERVE LTD
WAGE DAY ADVANCE
NOVA LOANS
PEACHY
CASH GENIE
CASH 4 U NOW.
This is clearly someone in terrible trouble financially and someone who was using any form of credit he could obtain to pay other creditors off and fund a gambling addiction that was out of control. To be granted a further loan for a car of over 4 years at £498 a month was not reasonable and unaffordable.
My work expenses were paid on 11/6/13
31/7/13
From memory my acct with Nationwide did not have a card I could use to make payments on as it was a basic bank account. For work expenses I juggled the use of credit cards from
Halifax
RBS
CAPITAL ONE
AQUA
When I returned from my travels I would put receipts into the finance department and they would re-emburse these from an account called Business account, I believe you have confirmation of this now.
I really hope this helps conclude your investigations and agree that Moneybarn leant irresponsibly and to someone who was vulnerable both financially and mentally.
Matt says
Going down fighting at least :-(
PF says
Hi Matt, i’m really pleased to hear you’re not giving up. You are so right the response does seem to be very contradictory. Just reading the response i thought i was reading a complaint that had been upheld! I still don’t see how it is up to the complainant to prove that the finance was unaffordable. Shouldn’t the approach from the FOS mirror that of a rsponsible lender – they have already mentioned that ‘they would not have made the decision to lend’ – this is quite a damning statement – it seems the FOS have lost their stomach for a fight! They have already admitted they are looking for a way to stop the back and forth so want an easier way to settle these complaints but by only having one approach (making complainants prove the loan was unaffordable) they are not judging each complaint on it’s own merit and this is a very new and poor approach from them.
I’m still a little confused with the approach to the gambling – are the FOS saying they need permission off Moneybarn to consider the gambing as part of the evidence in the complaint? If they don’t recognise the harm caused by a gambling addiction and don’t accept it as evidence then it would be interesting to see how a number of gambling charities interpret the approach and dismissal of this dibilitating addiction by both the FOS and Moneybarn.
Keep fighting Matt, fingers crossed for you.
PF
Ms A says
Hi Sara, thank you so much for this site, it’s been invaluable. The adjudicator has just upheld in my favour on 3 x loans with 118 118 Money. I’d since paid the last one off with a larger from my bank.
Mark says
I sent a complaint to 118 September 2019,not upheld so sent to FOS and only 4 weeks ago I got a email saying 118:will contact me directly to refund me £2500.They have not contacted yet but overall it took over a year.
Westley says
Just had my final response from satsuma to say they’ve rejected my complaint, and that the checks they did proved I could afford the loan. At the time I was desperate for money so as I’m sure many do, make there finances sounded better.
I had 5 loans over the course of 3 years. Each time the amounts borrows got bigger, whilst the monthly repayments were more.
I’m still paying off my last one in a repayment plan. For £2000 loan.
Isit worth sending to the FOS?
Many thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Definitely! That is a HUGE loan – it would be worth sending to FOS if you only had 1 loan. But to have 5, each getting bigger – that should have been 4 warning flags to them!
westley says
Is there a certain way in which I should approach the FOS, in terms of email format etc?
Ive also complained about 118 money. Although it was one loan it was a large amount, just as my credit score was starting to go up. I still believe that shouldn’t have been approved as they’d have seen months of bad marks leading up to being accepted. It also lead me back down a bad path with more struggles after i was starting to turn a corner. Same as money boat, although small, was 2 or 3 loans in quick succession which should have been a warning to them. Can I add all these to one email for the FOS or will each one have to be a separate email/subject?
Thanks
Wes.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Stage 4 – send to Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) in the article above has the link to the FOS webpage. That is better than sending them an email.
You need to do this separately for each lender – each is an individual complaint.
Westley says
Thank you. Just finished filling the complaint form out for each companies complaint. Will wait for the response.
Tom says
Hi Sara. A question for you if I may…
I took a loan in January 2016 from Moneyway for £5,500. It was certainly unaffordable – I was in the midst of a monumental gambling addiction and had borrowed over £45,000 from the likes of Avant Credit and Bamboo in the two months running up to my getting the loan from Moneyway.
Around May 2018, my Moneyway loan (which was up to date) was sold to Alpha Credit Solutions and I had to pay them until it finished a couple of months ago.
Two questions:
1) I’d like to pursue an affordability complaint which presumably would be against Moneyway. I think they still exist but note that they don’t do personal loans anymore. Do I write to Moneyway in the normal way?
2) The only entries on my credit file are from Alpha and given the struggles I had, there are lots of missed payments. If I can get a complaint against Moneyway upheld, how do I then deal with Alpha?
Hope that makes sense. Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you complain to Moneyway. Say in your complaint that you want the interest you paid refunded and the negative entries added to your credit record by Alpha deleted.
If your complaint is upheld by them, or by the Ombudsman, these entries should be removed but mention it specifically.
I assume you have already complained about Avant, Bamboo etc?
Tom says
Thank you for the prompt response. I will get a complaint in the morning.
Yes, thanks to your help from this site, I have lodged complaints where appropriate.
Everyday Loans, UK Credit, Amigo, Safetynet and Cashfloat upheld my complaints.
The FOS upheld complaints against Satsuma and Myjar which they had originally turned down.
Bamboo, Lending Stream and Avant Credit I am waiting on the FOS for.
It’s been a very interesting process!!
Tom says
Hi Sara, just following up on this. I sent a complaint in to Moneyway and they came back saying: “We have forwarded your query to Alpha Credit Solutions for investigation as the loan has been sold to them.”
Presumably it is Moneyway that must undertake the investigation as they gave the loan and therefore they made the decision to lend?
Any advice? Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you are right.
Go back to Moneyway and say unless they respond to your affordability complaint you will be sending it to the ombudsman.
Tom says
Hi Sara
I did and they’ve come back to say that it is Alpha CS and not them as Alpha “assumed all liability when they purchased the portfolio” which presumably could be right…?
I’m thinking I’ll just let it run for 8 weeks and if I haven’t heard back, get it off to the FOS. Does that sound sensible to you?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well you could put in a complaint to Alpha and say Moneyway says they have assumed all liability
Tom says
Hi Sara,
I have now heard back from Alpha Credit Solutions and they have ‘dismissed my complaint without consideration of its merit’ because of the time limits (DISP 2.8 of the FCA handbook). They say that for them to have considered it, I must have complained:
a) within six years of what I am complaining about; and/or
b) within three years of when I realised (or should have realised) that there was a problem
They say that I can send to the FOS to ask them to consider the complaint which of course I will – I just wondered if you had any tips, because I can’t see how they are right on any level.
The loan was taken in January 2016 so it is well within the six years. I only realised that I could complain when coming across this website this year but in any event, had I decided half way through the loan term (which was 48 months) that there was a problem, I’d still be within the three year limit so if they are relying on ‘b’, it seems pretty unreasonable. I have submitted and won complaints on loans older than this and they have all been considered with nobody mentioning timescales.
As I say, I will certainly write to the FOS and put my case – I just wondered if you had any particular advice?
With thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if the loan was taken out within 6 years, it is within time. The three year part is irrelevant.
Go back to them and ask if they will reconsider or the case goes to FOS.
Matt says
I’m the same, got a response from Satsuma last week rejecting my complaint. Had so many issues with their response…
Firstly they went to great lengths to explain how good their affordability checks are, claiming they declined loans in Oct/Nov 17 as they weren’t affordable. However they approved loans in Jul 17 and Jan 18 when my financial position was exactly the same. I’ve asked them to provide more details on the declined loans so i can see the difference between them and the approved ones..
Secondly, they providied details on all 9 loans i had with them and disposable income on all loans (their calculations and mine) was between £600 and £1200 a month. Yet all but 1 loan was for between £150 and £500 payable over 12 months. Surely showing so much disposable income but having to borrow such small amounts so consistently should raise alarm bells!!
Finally they mention the first stage of application is a credit file search and they have “strict requirements which must be met before an application can be approved” In particular with the early loans i had my credit score would have been showing as very poor and my file would have included defaults, arrears, late payments, notices of debt management and multitudes of payday, short term and guarantor loans over the previous years. No idea what their strict requirements are as doesn’t appear any adverse information would lead them to declining.
Asked them to clarify a few points and then sending to FOS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you give them a time limit to reply of a week before going to FOS.
Matt says
Thanks Sara,
I emailed them on Monday so if i’ve not heard by end of week will go to FOS next Monday.
Stu says
Hi, anybody had any joy with TM Advances? The adjudicator did not uphold my complaint against them after being refunded by 7 other payday loan companies. This was the only one not to be upheld by them although loans were all taken out roughly the same period. I have sent onto ombudsman for final decision which will be in the next couple of weeks….
Hassan says
Yes, ombudsman overturned adjucator decision and ruled in my favour. Said they should’ve done more checks.
Sarah says
Hi Sara
The ombudsman has upheld my complaint against EDL provisionally, even though the adjudicator didn’t uphold it. Great news and thanks to your support with this website.
They have given EDL until the 1st November to give any additional information and if they don’t I assume the ombudsman decision is final?
What sort of additional information could EDL put forward? Surely if they had anything that could help their case, they would have put it forward in the first place?
Once the 1st November gets here and if they don’t offer anything more, does the ombudsman just send the final outcome a s EDL have to pay up? If so, how long does this normally take?
Many thanks for your help so far.
Sarah
Sara (Debt Camel) says
An Ombudsman’s decision is legally binding on a lender.
I can’t guess what else EDL may say, it is completely case dependent.
Josephine Wild says
I had a loan with Avant credit for £8,500 but got into difficulties paying it back. The loan which was remaining £3,500 was sold to a collection agency and I paid it back in full via a dmp. Can I still claim against Avant?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can. if you win the case, Avant has to settle it taking into account all the payments you made to the debt collector.
John says
An update on my complaint against Loans2go – received an email today with the ombudsman provisionally upholding my complaint on 2 loans ( Loans2go allowed them to rule on an extra loan) . Deadline of 7th November for both parties to provide extra info to potentially change her mind. Fingers crossed
Tyler N says
JOHN – Can I ask how long has it taken for your case to reach this stage with Loans2go?
I sent my complaint to FOS in Oct 2019, been chasing the FOS every month, especially more since it was prioritised with FOS over 2 months ago.. But they still havent assigned an adjucator yet, have you waited like 2 years+?
Sara – my latest phone call with FOS regarding the above, they said they are still waiting for the case file off loans2go..
And i just thought its been a year now.. Really nothing at all still?! Can i do anything else to try speed this up?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you email the FCA at consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and copy this to g.badejo@loans2go.co.uk and ps@loans2go.co.uk
Put LOANS 2 GO (679836) won’t send my case file to FOS as the subject.
I complained to loans 2 Go in [August? 2019]. I sent the complaint to the ombudsman in October 2019. My FOS reference number is [99999999].
FOS have agreed to give my case priority because of [………]
But loans 2 Go have still not sent through my case file. They are being obstructive and trying to stop FOS reaching a decision on my case.
I thought you should be aware of how one of your authorised lenders is just ignoring the Ombudsman.
Tyler N says
Thank you for the template! & the emails addresses.
Not a bad guess on the date usually, but they were extremely prompt here .. Fully rejected my complaint with a final response, 3 days after i raised it.
Hopefully these emails will get the wheels turning! Thanks Sara.
John says
Hi Tyler , I raised my complaint September 2019 . It got picked up by an adjudicator at the start of Aug who upheld my complaint by the start of Sept. Obviously Loans2go disagreed and asked for it to go to Ombudsman. I had a deadline of 17th September to provide further info for the Ombudsman then this latest email today. So in all 13 months to this point.
Good luck
Stu says
Hi John hopefully u get a result. I raised my complaint about loans2go in December 2018 and waited 13 months for an adjudicator. I have now been waiting 9 months for an Ombudsman with no end in sight. I am a tad confused as to how they assign cases.
Shan says
Hi Sara
I sent an an affordability complaint to 118 118, they have emailed me back today to say they aren’t upholding my complaint and they did all correct checks. They also said that I filled out expenditure form and they put their trust in me that I was telling the truth all though I was in a lot of debt at this time and my mental health wasn’t the best which I’ve stated.
They have said I can send it to the financial ombudsman? What do you suggest I do.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you know the payments were too high for you to afford without borrowing more money elsewhere then send the complaint straight to the Ombudsman – where lots of people are winning against 118.
Julie says
Hello everyone,
Has anyone else received separate payments for their redress. I have been paid the statutory interest but not the actual redress.
Many Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not heard of this – who is the lender? It sounds like a cock-up?
Julie says
118. I recieved this email on Wednesday
Good morning,
Thank you for your email.
Your bank details have been passed to the customer relations manager, who will be issuing your refund.
Please note, as outlined in our response, this may take up to 14 working days to reach you.
Our response also outlined your redress amount, which stands at a refund of £2,702.06, plus statutory interest of £399.16.
Regards,
Customer Relations Team,
118 118 Money.
I recieved the £399.16 but that was all.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it sounds like an error. Phone them up and ask.
Shaun says
Good evening,
Sorry to tag on this conversation but just basically had same email has Julie.
I am delighted and can’t wait for the 14 days to pass hoping they don’t go into administration.
My question is though it says tax is not deducted and I might have to declare the refunds. Is this necessary or can I just leave it and let the tax people sort it?
Thanks for any advice
Holly says
I received mine in two payments with In about 4 hours of each other, first the statutory interest the. The refund, but defo worth a call
David Maundrell says
I have just started the process with Varooma, they have sent the first reply with a day and have a quite clear process on the document sent through. Hopefully won’t take too long as the £1100 or so that I have calculated would be very handy right now!
Dave says
Good luck with that! I complained to Varooma in October 2019 via Resolver with no reply, so I complained direct to them in the November. They replied setting out the timescales within a day, and then replied 3 days later rejecting my complaint. As a result I sent it on to the Ombudsman late November 2019. This was assigned to a adjudicator in September 2020, who agreed in my favour late October. Varooma eventually agreed with my adjudicator this month (although it sounds like they couldn’t actually substantiate or provide anything to back up their previous claims). After I had accepted the outcome, Varooma (to give them a small bit of credit), paid up the nearly £7k within 3 days. I’ve seen other comments of longer timelines to reach the outcome too. Hopefully you may be lucky!
Dave says
Thanks for that – that is some payout! Hopefully the detailed complaint I have made will help things along.
I will update you once I get anything back from Ombundsman. I suppose the longer it goes on, the greater the interest element that they have to pay back. In that instance, it is the highest interest paying savings account around!
Liam says
Just had confirmation yesterday the FOS have upheld my complaint about 118 118 money, absolutely thrilled as I really needed that default removed. Just wondered has anyone else won against them, and what were their timelines afterwards? The FOS chap told me they’re (118 that is) traditionally hard to get hold of when they need info, but oddly are very responsive once a decision has been made. I’ve never been in this situation before and have no idea if they’ have previous with accepting the findings quickly, or appealing them?
Shaun says
Hi Liam,
My complaint took a while with 118, but as you have herd once I got the adjudication which was end of September they gave 118 a week to respond which I was happy with and they did reply after 9 days! So things moved very quickly once they respond. Just waiting for pay out now! Good luck 👍
PM says
How long did It take FOS to come back to you? My complaint against 118 was submitted 6 months ago and is yet to be assigned to an adjudicator
Liam says
Can I ask, how long after confirming your refund did it all take? I’ve just had a complaint against 118 money upheld and wondered how they have been with other people timeline wise.
Julie says
I recieved the adujacator decision and on the same day, I received an email from 118 asking for my bank details. I recieved confirmation that 118 had received my email containing my bank details on Monday and my refund was paid on the Friday, in 2 payments. I have not declared to the tax as this is normally something that the company would do and I wasn’t sure how to do it.
Delyth Jones says
118118 upheld my complaint. I didn’t have to go to the fos thankfully. Once they’d received my complaint they gave me the refund within 7 weeks in total.
I also bartered with cash4unow. They were offering the interest of one of three loans. I said I wanted 2 refunding and I got that agreed and paid within 24hrs.
Amigo paid out straight away, clearing almost all of my current loan.
My main outstanding loan (£15000) with polo has not been upheld so I’m off to the ombudsman with that one. Fingers crossed for more good news.
Thank you Sara for the advise and knowledge.
Matt says
Afternoon
I have received notification from FOS have upheld my affordability complaint with EDL and EDL also agree. FOS said I now need to wait 4 weeks for the refund plus interest dating back to 2006!
Are they likely to respond within 4 weeks as they didn’t respond to deadlines throughout the complaint?
Calvin says
Hi Matt. Congrats! My EDL complaint was upheld at ombudsman level a little over 2 weeks ago. I contacted EDL myself after 10days to request final details and they responded with a “we need time to review the findings and we’ll be in touch”. I’ll give them another week and then remind them they have 1 week remaining.
What is the process if they don’t act within the 4 weeks?
Sarah says
Hi Calvin
Was the ombudsman decision provisional, subject to there being no further information from EDL?
EDL have until 1st November to add any information, and if they don’t, that will be the final decision.
I’m sure that if they had anything to sway it their way, they would have done so before now?
Sarah
Matt says
Hi Calvin, good to know EDL are accepting FOS decisions!
I was told if I haven’t heard anything within 4 weeks, to get back in touch with FOS. So they have two more weeks
Lisa G says
Hi Calvin,
What number were you calling EDL on? Is it your local branch that you have called or is there a central number?
I had a provisional decision by the ombudsman. EDL didn’t respond by 03/10 and today I’ve received a final decision upholding all 3 loans. I’d like to chase EDL now but don’t know where to call that would deal with this!
Julie says
Hello everyone.
Still having major problems with agreeing with 118 about the statutory interest. They did send me a table of breakdown. So they gave me back the interest I paid on loans 1 and 2 which was £2702.06. Loan 3 I had the interest wiped and I only paid the principal. But looking at the table they sent, they have paid the interest on singular payments that I made towards the principal amount of loan 3 and only half of what I paid on loan 2. No interest for loan 1. I don’t understand why they have done this. Has anyone else had this problem?
Many Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you asked them?
Ruth says
Hi Sara,
My complaint against 118 118 was agreed by adjudicator but rejected by the company in May 2020, so escalated to the Ombudsman. It was immediately prioritised due to reduced income going on maternity (wasn’t entitled to SMP with starting job part way through pregnancy and had outstanding loans elsewhere)……a couple of weeks ago my adjudicator emailed to say case was now with an Ombudsman so rang for an update today and was told it never had an Ombudsman allocated? I emailed my adjudicator to find out what was going on but just got a standard reply saying it was waiting to be allocated – no explanation…is this normal? Thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No it’s not. Ring again and ask when it will be allocated, point out your case has been given priority.
Shaun says
Good evening, I replied the other day over my 118118 claim. It has been settled all paid. Massively surprised after them accepting the FOS decision how quick it’s gone. So anyone waiting on 118 there is positive news/outcomes.
Just a quick question regarding tax they mention they have not took it. Does that mean I need to ring taxman or just leave it?
Thanks for any advice
Zara says
The fos have come back and upheld my complaint. I’m still waiting for 118 to reply. Have you any indication how long they take to reply and pay out?
Thanks
Liam says
That is exactly me. Friday last week adjudicator agreed with me regarding 118 and they have 14 days to reply I believe, so a week to go.
Nands says
Hi there, has anyone made successful claims against a logbook lender? Various, CarCashpoint or Motorkitty? Any information will be appreciated. My case with FOS, and now referred to Ombudsman, after adjudicator didn’t uphold my claim…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, quite a few have been upheld. You need to set out in writing why you think the adjudicator was wrong. Did they ignore something?
Timka says
I received an outcome from the investigator and he upheld my complaint to Likely loans. Asked Likely loans to refund all interest on all loans (1 loan and 4 top ups)
In that letter he asked Likely loans to respond by 07/10. Today I received an update saying that initially Likely “have initially disagreed with my outcome, so I am currently in discussion with them about it. Once I receive a response I will update you. Thank you for your patience.”
Has anyone else had a similar experience? Don’t know if this should be escalated to ombudsman since Likely loans did not agree with the outcome or does an investigator negotiate something in the end.
Likely loans have been the worst from day one. I had many complaints and have reached many agreements with other companies, Likely loans just do not care whatsoever.
Julie says
Hello Sara,
I was sent a table to show 118’s working out for the Statutory interest but I dont understand it. And I dont agree with it.
I had 3 loans. Loan 1 was paid off in 2015, loan 2 was paid off in 2017. Loan 3, they wiped the interest and I had £594.65 left to pay. All loans were upheld.
Payment made,
17/08/2020, 16/09/2019, 19/07/2019, 28/06/2019, 15/05/2019, 15/04/2019, 15/03/2019, 15/02/2019, 15/01/2019, 17/12/2018, 04/12/2017
Claim amount,
£156.15, £156.15, £156.15, £156.15, £156.15, £156.15, £156.15, £156.15, £156.15, £156.15, £1,140.56
Overdue,
38, 374, 433, 454, 498, 528, 559, 587, 618, 647, 1025
Yearly,
£12.49, £12.49, £12.49, £12.49, £12.49, £12.49, £12.49, £12.49, £12.49, £12.49, £91.24
Daily,
£0.03, £0.03, £0.03, £0.03, £0.03, £0.03, £0.03, £0.03, £0.03, £0.03, £0.25
Total interest,
£1.30, £12.80, £14.82, £15.54, £17.04, £18.07, £19.13, £20.19, £21.15, £22.14, £256.24
TOTAL £418.32
Does this make sense to anyone? xxxxx
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask them where the 8% interest on the loan one payments is shown.
Julie says
I did. This is there response:
We appreciate that you remain unhappy with our explanations, however, there is little else we can say, other than what has been said.
Here is what the Ombudsman Service advised us to do:
To settle Mrs Sage’s complaint 118 118 Money should do the following:
• To add up the total amount of money Mrs Sage received as a result of having been given loan one and loan two. The repayments Mrs Sage made should be deducted from this amount.
• If this results in Mrs Sage having paid more than she received, then any overpayments should be refunded along with 8% simple interest (calculated from the date the overpayments were made until the date of settlement).
You will see from the above, that the Ombudsman Service advised that any ‘overpayments’ should be refunded, along with the 8% interest. Below is the table of what was advanced to you, vs. what you repaid:
Agreement: 178313, 575528, 2164098
Advanced: £1,500, £1,500, £2000
Paid: £1,562.60, £4,734.11, £1,405.35
Total advanced: £5,000.00
Total paid: £7,702.06
Refund/overpayment: £2,702.06
You will see from the above that the ‘over payments’ are the amount of £2702.06. As a result of this, we calculated the 8% statutory interest on the most recent payments you made to us, as these were the ‘overpayments’.
Sarah says
Hi
Can someone please give me a rough idea of the 8% refund would be please.
The refund of interest is approximately £7000. The loan was 6 years and finished in July 2018.
Thank you,
Sarah
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Between £2000 and £3000.
Sarah says
Thank you for your help Sara 😊
Liam says
Just had confirmation that 118 have agreed to my refund of just under £1000, so happy as it as my only loan with them and I was a bit pessimistic that it would be agreed to.
Once they agreed they said it’s 14 working days for refund to reach me, anyone shed some light on actually when it does arrive? I know Satuma (I think it’s them, or PiggyBank) say 28 days but pretty much everyone gets it on day 26. Just wondered.
N says
Hi I’m also in the 14 day waiting period so would also be interested in knowing what date people were paid..
Dave says
Hi there, just wondering if anyone has put a claim i against Progressive Money? Also how the process went? I’ve put a complaint in but got rejected, just awaiting to be picked up by and adjudicator.
Cheers
Lisa G says
Hi Dave.
I put in a case against Progressive Money. Progressive rejected it. I sent it to the FOS in April this year.
FOS have the business file and my statements, credit report etc… I’m too just waiting for it to be picked up by an adjudicator.
Keep me updated on how you get on.
Dave says
Hi Lisa
I sent mine initially in March, and got a response in June saying an adjudicator would pick it up within 4 months, so I may chase this as I haven’t heard anything. But I will keep you updated, as it doesn’t appear many have raised cases against Progressive. Let me know if you here anything? Cheers
Matt says
Hey all
I’ve just been paid out from EDL of just under £14k and that was upheld at adjudicator level. Thanks all and Sara for your help.
Matty
Tom says
Congratulations! Really good news.
I had two loans with EDL – they upheld the first but not the second (now what I was expecting!) so the second is with the Ombudsman. I have to say, and I can see it is not the experience of a lot of people on here, they were really good to deal with! Prompt, helpful and answered questions when I asked them!!
Nic says
Hi, I had a logbook loan in 2012 with Auto Money which I could never afford to repay as I was already in debt with other payday loan companies and had poor credit.
I defaulted and it ended with them repossessing my car, when I was at work they sent bailiffs to my house and threatened my mum for the keys and took the car. The car was worth more than what was left to pay on the loan.
I did set up a an IVA with stepchange but automoney would never accept the low monthly payments so they sold my car.
I wrote it off at the time as it being all my own fault, but now after doing a lot a reading online I realise I wasn’t totally to blame.
I’ve tried contacting Auto Money through their website but they have told me that the owners of the company at the time of my loan were Quick Click Loans and now it is Mobile Money. They say they hold no responsibility- I can’t find any contact details for Quick Click Loans.
Any advice? Do you think I have a claim?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know. You could talk to the financial Ombudsman. But after 8 years there may be very little evidence remaining.
CMcK says
Hi,
I’ve been using rolling high credit loans for ages, and I’m thinking of putting in a claim, but I’m worried it would damage my credit report.
I’ve paid off 118118, I have a loan with Bamboo (4th I beleive inc top ups) and one with likely loans (about 5000 pounds, top up from a 3000 pounds loan). Interest is between 60 – 70% from memory.
Thanks in advance!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Complaining doesn’t damage your credit record. In fact it can improve it as any negative marks are removed if you win the complaint.
If you stop paying that would harm your credit record. If you win the complaint those missed payment markers would be removed, but if you don’t win they will continue to harm your credit score.
But anyway, your credit score must be pretty bad to have to borrow from these lenders!
Maria says
Hi Sara
Can you please let me know who Shawbrook Bank are. I have received a letter advising they are still looking into my complaint! Are they part of Avant
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are a bank, they give loans but under their own name. Nothing to do with Avant so far as I know.
Maria says
Thank you Sara I’m a bit worried as I haven’t had a loan with them but they have sent me two letters updating me on a complaint!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well it will be interesting seeing their response!
M says
Hi, has anyone had trouble with getting hold of Avant Credit over the last few days?
Their website has been down for a while and phone lines just keep ringing through…
I have an outstanding complaint with them but this all feels very suspect!
Pn says
I have a complaint with them currently 1 loan was upheld and the others still being looked at by fos and also raised it with them that they had not updated the credit file since July still awaiting a response so definitely all a bit suspicious
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the website seems to be back up now.
David says
I have just had my reply from Varooma, stating the following :
“Your income and expenditure at time of the loan was reviewed and approved against your bank statements and payslips/contract and your credit check flagged no recent defaults at application. Between applications your credit score increased by 9 points and at neither time were any recent defaults or CCjs flagged at application date.
Your income and expenditure included priority bills and money to other creditors. Your payments to Stepchange also decreased whilst your income remained the same, leading us to believe that your creditors were under control and keeping up payments to a DMP are a sign of good money management.
At time of application, your loan repayments were in proportion to your employment based income and this information was all confirmed in person with a signature to confirm it was a true statement of your financial situation.
We had no proof of a downward financial situation between loans being took out and at time of application.
No refund will be issued at this time.”
Off to the Ombundsman I guess – the fact that I was in a DMP, understated my outgoings and based the income on commissions that were never forthcoming were ignored.
Any advice based on the above would be greatly appreciated – desperately need this loan gone and the large amount of interest repaid!
Thanks,
Dave.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so could they see from your bank statements that you were not getting the income you put down?
how much do you owe them and what is the car worth?
how large are the total of your debts in the DMP and how much are you paying to them each month?
Dave says
Looking at the SAR, they have over-inflated my income and ignored rent (because my wife pays it out of her account) and council tax, which is odd, as I pay that out of mine.
I have about £3,000 left to pay out of a £5,400 – the car is worth about £4,000. This is the second loan – the original one I took out was then paid off and topped up by the second.
I currently owe a total of £54,000 on the DMP and pay £170 towards it each month.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you talked to StepChange about bankruptcy?
Dave says
I did consider it, but there are some things in the future that I don’t want to mess up (my career is also dependent on not being bankrupt…) I will also have the means to sort the debt out eventually – long story!
Basically I don;t want to go down the bankruptcy route.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What sort of debts are in your DMP? When did it start? Have most of the debts been sold on to debt collectors? Any idea when the credit card accounts were opened?
Dave says
Several credit cards and a couple of loans. Most of them have been passed onto debt collection companies, so in time I will seek to make full and final settlements with them at a reduced rate.
The DMP started in January 2018.- basically the fall out of a divorce and being a single parent as a result for a few years!
Credit cards were all opened at least 8 years ago
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well at some point before you make a settlement offer, read https://debtcamel.co.uk/settlements-old-debts-cca/
Kerry says
Hi I was wondering if anybody has had a case against Mobile Money recently? I submitted my complaint to the FOS this time last year and have received a decision from the adjudicator today upholding all loans. I am wondering if Mobile Money are likely to reject the decision and also whether they stick to timeframes given.
Thanks.
Ruth says
Help, is it just me who is confused..another adjudicator has recently agreed he’s been misleading. My case has been a priority at Ombudsman level since May 2020 after 118 118.
22/09 recieved this email “You case has recently been allocated to an ombudsman. We will contact you once we are ready to issue our decision on your complaint.”
07/10 phoned FOS and spoke to a different adjudicator for an update, they said there was no Ombudsman allocated to my case.
08/10 received an email form my adjudicator saying “Your complaint is now waiting to be allocated to an ombudsman for a decision. We will need some time before we can pass your case to an ombudsman as we are working through a backlog of cases waiting for decisions. We will contact you when we have progressed your complaint, if we haven’t contacted you then this will most likely mean your case has yet to be progressed. ” ………..so it was allocated and now not?
14/10 I email my adjudicator back asking for clarification if I was allocated but now not and back in the queue.
Later that day received email from my adjudicator “Your case has recently been assigned to an ombudsman for a decision. This information is not shown on our system so my colleagues will not be able to see this until a decision is issued by the ombudsman. We will need a bit more time before we can progress your complaint and we will contact you once a decision has been made. “
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So it’s with an Ombudsman now, that’s good.
Ruth says
Hi Sara, yes I keep ringing but getting conflicting information…..it’s twice now it has been “allocated” according to my adjudicator when I email him but the FOS people on the phone say they can’t tell from my case file that it has been allocated? How long from allocation at Ombudsman level does it usually take? I don’t mind waiting..it is more the conflicting information. He first said it was allocated 22/9….and then it wasn’t allocated it was in a queue still…..and then 14/10 it was “recently allocated” but when I ring FOS they say they think it’s still in a queue and hard to tell from my case file….?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest not ringing more than once every two weeks.
Ruth says
Sorry to bother you again Sara but my adjudicator just replied to an email from me saying “Dear Miss
Your complaint is still waiting to be allocated for an ombudsman for a final decision.
We will contact you when we have progressed your complaint” …. so now he is saying it isn’t with an ombudsman…am I just misreading the email or is this being as confusing as I think it is…this is the 3rd time time he has said it was assigned to an ombudsman and then not…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok reply to your adjudicator that you have twice been told your case has been alloacted to an Ombudsman (give the dates) but it seems it hasn’t. Say that your case has been given prioprity by FOS and you think this is unreasonable and causing you stress.
C says
Hurray, FOS investigator found in my favour regarding affordability complaint against everyday loans. Anybody any experience of them and if they’re likely to disagree with the decision? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Slow, but they often do accept an adjudicator decision.
PCH says
Great stuff C! Can I ask how long you were from allocating it to the ombudsman and then getting a decision? I’m in their lengthy queue at the minute and whilst I know I’m in for a long wait, just trying to assess how long they may be? Also, was yours a one loan complaint, or multiple (sorry for the personal question!).
C says
Two loans. Made complaint in March 2020 but as soon as assigned to an adjudicator, things happened very quickly. I sent bank statements on Monday and she had sent her assessment to EDL on Wednesday.
Will be interesting to see if EDL dispute this
Kelly says
I’ve just received my final response letter from Mobile money. They will not uphold any of my 12 loans I’ve had from them between 2009 and 2014 but have offered me £650 out of goodwill?? They have said they are not obliged to investigate as the loans are over 6 years. Would it be best to accept the £650
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you send the case to the ombudsman, they will usually decide they can look at older loans.
Have MM sent you the details of the loans?
Do you have your bank statements from that time? It can be possible to win an ombudsman case without bank statements, but it is easier if you do.
Kelly says
Thanks for your reply MM have sent me the loans I had most were back to back. Unfortunately I only have 2 bank statements from 2014 the rest are from an old account that was closed 6 years ago
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So it is difficult to predict what you would get by going to the ombudsman.
You could try going back to MM and negotiating. Perhaps say you would be prepared to setle for a refund of interest on the last two loans – do you know how much that is?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you know how much interest you have paid on the loans?
Kelly says
Upon looking at the statements it’s around £3000
Kerry says
I had 6 loans between 2009-2012. Mobile Money said they would not look into them so I sent them to FOS. I had a reply last week to say that they could only see bank statements for the last 3 loans and were happy to uphold them but would consider the others if I managed to send the statements in. I sent all the statements in from before the first loan was given and they ended up upholding all 6 loans so I think it is certainly worth trying to get hold of them if you can. My old bank said that they couldn’t give me bank statements over 6 years but they could produce a list of transactions (which is basically a statement anyway) though I did have to call a few times before getting through to somebody that was willing to do it for me.
Tyler N says
Hello Sara,
I had a 3 year gambling addiction (took over £22k of loans with all the lenders that would accept me) so i thought it would be good to share, especially with the awareness being raised elsewhere at the moment.
This complaint is about Bamboo.
I must admit Bamboo’s response has been great once i mentioned and shown my gambling problem.
I had 4 loans
– 1 in 2018 for £1200
– 3 in 2019 for £1000-£1200
3 repaid, latest loan outstanding with £1770 balance.
Complaint sent Sept 2nd 2020 using basic template from this article.
Final response received Oct 24th, fully rejected complaint.. Based on i passed the automated checks, they verified my income using a agency and my credit history was apparently excellent and i had around £1000 of disposable income. offered 3 months of loan payments as good will £280ish.
Asked them if they were willing to discuss it further as i didnt agree on disposable income as i wouldnt of included my excessive gambling in my outgoings, my credit history wasnt excellent as bamboo would offer their highest apr rate on all my loans and the fact 3 £1000 loans in a year didnt raise any triggers in their automated decision systems.
they responded same day asking for statements of 2 months prior to each loan, i sent them over October 29th
Today fully upholding my complaint and added 8% interest saying the FCA would agree they have a responsibility in being aware of vulnerable customers having problems such as patterns of excessive gambling and were generally very understanding about it.
Total refund £1860. (mainly used to clear balance). But £1770 balance paid off, removed off my credit history and £90 in my pocket!
Best of luck anyone who is going through anything similar! No matter how deep you’ve dug your head in the sand, with patience and determination you can retake control of your life one step at a time!
Dave says
When filling out the Ombundsman form, can/should you use the following? :
“A number of things were either ignored, or missed off during the process, that with hindsight, I feel meant that my financial position was inaccurately reflected during the application. I was so desperate for the money at the time that I may not have checked the details closely enough.”
Any advice appreciated!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you get details of what was on your application in the SAR?
Dave says
Yes – lots is missing on the application that I am detailing as bullet points. I assume that my signature stating that I agree the figures won’t stop the complaint in it’s tracks?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, it is good to be more detailed. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-lender-says-lied/ which has some reasons why some applications are inaccurate.
It is just as important to also point out the things the lender knew (from the SAR) which should have made them realise they needed to check your application carefully and verify the numbers.
Nick says
Hi, just a quick one. I used to get cash till pay day loans with Ramsdens, basically you wrote a cheque for £100 and dated it to your pay day and they would give you £75 per cheque in cash there and then. I have all the cheques being paid and some bouncing (due to the financial mess I was in), am I same to claim for these and who do I raise the complaint to? Is it direct to Ramsdens or do they have another owner? Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send a normal payday loan complaint to complaints@ramsdensfinancial.co.uk
Nick says
Thank you for the speedy response. I will email them now. Thanks again :-)
Ferg says
Hi there, I took a loan with a company called loans.co.uk, now owned by Elderbridge. I have the full SAR and having gone through this several times I’ve noticed a few things. The chap who came to my property on behalf of loans.co.uk states in his report, ‘a clean house with a very nice pet cat’, this is in the SAR in black and white. I’m not sure about proceeding with this as it’s a secured loan, however the interest rate has increased quite significantly and the fees and arrears charges are exorbitant. Does anyone have any advice regarding these type of loans, or this company in particular.
Best wishes
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When did you take the loan? Was it originally with First Plus?
How much has the interest rate gone up?
Ferg says
Hi Sara, the interest rates doubled from around 6% to over 12%. I’d nerd to double check the details, first plus may have been the broker, I’ll check though.
paul says
Hi All,
I have a 118118 loan that was sold to Lowell. I ve been paying it to them from 2018-present day and reduced the balance from 4800 to 1800.
Is it normal for each month to be marked as Default on my credit report? i ve not missed any payments to them so far.
Many Thanks, Paul
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is normal. once you defaulted on a loan it will always be marked as defaulted.
BUT was this loan affordable at the time you were given it? Could you make the repayments and still manage to pay all your other debts, bills and living expenses, or this leave you so broke you borrowed more? Read the article above because a lot of people are winning complaints about 118 loans.
If you did win the complaint, interest would be removed – so the balance would probably be cleared and you would get a refund. And the default would be removed from your credit record.
paul says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for getting back to me. I was in a payday loan mess caused by gambling. 118118 rejected my claim even though they gave me a top up loan when i had a number of payday loans open so I ve sent it to the FOS.
Lending Stream also rejected my complaint even though I was taking up to 3 loans per month with them sometimes days apart. I only sent them to FOS last week so im in for a long wait i think!
Many Thanks, Paul
David says
Hi there,
I received an email from adjudicator at FOS today saying 118 had agreed with his decision that both of 2 loans were lent irresponsibility and I should expect a reply from 118 within 4 weeks.
The second of the two loans was sold to a debt collector (they have been great to be fair and not bothered me whilst FOS was looking into this).
The first loan I had was was for £1000 and paid in full around £1250ish. The second loan was for £2000 paid £1600 and remaining £1600 was passed to debt collector.
Will 118 pay the refund directly to myself and allow me to set up a payment plan with debt collector? This would allow me to cover other, higher interest debts. Or will they retract the debt with debt collector?
Kindest regards
David
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Almost all lenders will buy back the debt from the debt collector or settle it directly with them. Paying you the money and you deal with it is very unlikely.
Rebecca says
Hi David, how long did it take for 118 to reply to the adjudicator if you don’t mind me asking?
Thanks