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?
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
Mark says
Hi Sara,
Just a quick question but ill set the scene.
In Dec 2019 a Ombudsman upheld my complaint with Advantage finance, but they didnt agree and provided some more points. It then got passed to another ‘Experienced’ Ombudsman who has turned the complaint down. Its reads like a upheld complaint: Not enough checks done, lots of gambling and payday loans. However i told advantage that i didnt have any Housing costs as i had recently broken from a relationship and moved back home. Advantage still included £550 housing/bills costs in my affordability calculation, but they didnt includes all the payday loans. The Ombudsman is saying the loan was affordable because i didnt have those costs at inception of the loan. The loan was for 54 months and i moved into my own place a year after. So although they wasnt valid at inception they where valid during the course of the agreement.
The loan looks affordable without those housing costs but once included its not affordable. What would your opinion be?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how large was the loan?
was the loan affordable at the start if the payday loans were considered?
is this a final decision from the Ombudsman?
Mark says
Hi Sara,
It was a Car finance loan for £5000 ish for 54 payments of £175 ish and its the ombudsman provisional final decision.
If the payday loans and housing costs are included then it was definitely unaffordable.
Also with the gambling and high limits on credit cards and overdraft it shouldn’t have been given.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is doubtful whether the housing costs should have been included as you didn’t have any when you applied. But the payday loans should have been. And if your credit was poor (was it?) then you can argue they should have verified your expenses from your bank statements, in which case they would have seen the gambling and should have rejected you.
Mark says
The housing costs where added to the affordability checks by Advantage due to sustainability of the loan. The loan term was for nearly 5 years so they needed to make sure i could pay the loan for the duration. This turned out to be correct as i moved into my own place a year later, leaving me to make 40 payments with the housing costs. My credit was very bad – Payday loans every month before and after the loan was given, over limit or very close to on my overdrafts and all credit card maxed out.
I get the feeling the ombudsman is looking for ways to reject the complaint rather then upheld – On the basis of all my other complaints and how they where dealt with. Apparently Advantage have received praise for their lending practices (Recently) so a decision against them would contradict this (Advantage have used this in their argument)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Apparently Advantage have received praise for their lending practices (Recently) so a decision against them would contradict this (Advantage have used this in their argument)
I would be surprised if the Ombudsman paid any attention to this.
So Advantage treated you fairly by adding the housing costs.
BUT if they saw your bank statements, they should have declined because of the gambling. And if they didn’t see your bank statements, your poor credit record and payday loans suggests that they should have looked very closely and asked for the bank statements to verify your expenses.
Mark says
The ombudsman has said they didnt do enough checks, including asking and looking at bank statements. However he says that if they had, the loan was still affordable (Excluding Housing costs) Can Gambling be classed as an expense or how is it put down?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think the point to argue is that no responsible lender would have given you the loan if they could see you had a major gambling problem.
Mark says
Thanks Sara,
I will go down that route, the Ombusdman wouldnt let me speak with him like others have before so i have to send it through the adjudicator, who i dont rate very well – Compared to others i have dealt with.
What other options are available if it doesnt get upheld, am i allowed to ask for another ombudsman to look at it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, this is the end of the road. After that you can only go to court.
Mark says
Hi Sara,
The decision was his final one but he has lots of information wrong, he has based calculations on figures which I believe have been lost by the transfer of Ombudsman. The 1st ombudsman upheld but the 2nd has now rejected. Is there any way to complain about the service? I accept I have lost this one but if I can help others win I’m happy to do what I can.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You said this was a provisional decision? If it is, it is not final and you should carry on arguing and make those points.
If it is a final decision you can put in a complaint but so far as i know the decision will neot be changed.
Tyler N says
Hi Sara,
I have a complaint with 118 for 2 loans, they agreed the second loan was lent irresponsibly but the first loan they said they had done enough checks as my credit history didnt have any missed payments or recent defaults.
So i asked for a SAR request from 118 to see if id have a chance with arguing for the first loan.
I recieved it today all of 464 pages! My eyes are sore.
But i have two questions so far.. In the application, all my expenditure for rent, council tax, utilities, food, card and loan repayments, insurance, childcare is absolutely zero £. (clearly not correct, ive always declared some of my outgoings like rent, insurance and food).. Why would i need a £1200 18 month loan if i apparently had £1471 disposable monthly income and or the fact no one in the world has ZERO expenses.
Is this a point worth arguing or am i barking up the wrong tree chasing for the first loan?
Also.. Usual expected application details like Name, Address, monthly Income.. But there is one.. “number of Facebook friends”.. Why would a 118 loan application even have this ?
Thank you as always!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So this is absolutely worth pursuing. If you had applied with zero in all those fields, 118 should have queried it, not given you the loan.
One possibility – is that you might have seen on some credit report that you were “pre-approved” for a 118 loan – does that ring a bell?
Or you may have applied to some other lender who turned you down and you were then passed on “down the ping tree” as the bad credit lenders say to 118?
Or of course there may simply have been some computer error at 118 and they didn’t record your application details.
But whatever the cause, it is going to be hard for them to say they checked and your application was fine if there is no record of it.
Tyler N says
Thank you Sara, il get on with it then :).
You’ve helped me hugely turn my life around over the last 12 months.
Mark says
Hi Sara,
I thought it was his provisional decision and I have been emailing the Adjudicator, first email on the day the decision was given (20/09/20) and he has only just replied saying it was the final decision.
I haven’t been able to speak with the ombudsman like previous times and the adjudicator has been an absolute shambles, not returning email, blatant ignoring I would say and not passing on information I gave for the ombudsman.
I told him the expenses where missing a few payday loan payments and even in the ombudsman’s updated decision these are still missing.
I tried to make dialogue with the ombudsman but he declined. I can accept if the decision didn’t go my way but I feel really let down by the service.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is very unusual to speak with an Ombudsman. Normally you just talk to the adjudicator.
JA says
Hi Sara, I won a case against Oakbrook finance in aug. In the claim It was agreed they will remove all adverse info from credit file.
It’s now been 3 months of me chasing them to do it but they’re not doing anything. I’ve tried contacting my adjudicator again but no response. What do you suggest I do? Really frustrating tbh..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do they ignore you or just say it will sorted and nothing happens?
JA says
Just saying they’ll sort it and nothing happens
robyn says
Hi folks.
I had the adjudicator rule in my favour against my Everyday Loans claim. Everyday loans have agreed. Adjudicator now said that everyday loans will be in touch to resolve and sort it out. Anyone know how long they usually take? Adjudicator said they have 4 weeks?
Thanks
Phil says
Hi Robyn
Congratulations on your win
How long did EDL take to respond to your adjudicator?
The reason I ask is my adjudicator upheld my complaint last week and has given them 14 days to respond.
Bob says
I’ve just had mine upheld on the 6th, heard nothing yet. Adjudicator gave them 2 weeks. Hopefully soon
C says
Adjudicator saw in my favour with EDL. Deadline is tomorrow for them to respond. Zero as yet
Robyn says
They’ve already responded to adjudicator to agree with her findings, but now they have to get in touch with me to arrange the refund etc. Just don’t know how long I’ll be waiting for that. It’s took about a year in total from start to finish.
Bob says
How long did it take EDL to respond to the adjudicators decision? My adjudicator has given them 2 weeks to respond to his findings?
PH says
HI Robyn,
Congrats on the win! I think they’re obliged to respond in the 4 weeks, but don’t be surprised if they take most of that!!
Is yours a single loan or multi loan claim? How long ago did you submit it? Just trying to gauge my chances and wait time!!! Thanks! PH
Robyn says
About a year in total! They really dragged their heels!
Shaun says
Hi wonder if someone can help me , i had a loan with everydays loans well 2 ive defaulted and owe them money, i complained and the asjudicator did notnupgold my complaint. This then went to oubudsman and they still did not uphold my complaint. They have suggested offering me a payment plan to sort out the debt. Would you accept or leave it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have other problem debts as well?
Shaun says
Nothing that has been sorted out. Dunno whats best to accept or decline. The debt would come off my credit file in 2 years time. Whats beat or do i try sort it out with them directly or wait for everday loans to contact me ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
With other problem debts, I suggest you talk to StepChange about a debt management plan. Then they can pay EL their sahre of what you can afford every month.
See https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
If you ignore the debt, EL are likely to take you to court for a CCJ. So some payment plan is needed. Goping through Stepchnage makes your life a lot simpler.
Shaun says
So its beat to agree with oudbusman to accept and they do a payment plan? Dont really want to go in a debt management plan since my credit score is only just under average and past defults come off my file in a few years . A dmo would make my credit file go bad for another 6 years?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If the debt is already defaulted on your credit record, a payment arrangement or a dmp will make no difference.
Shaun says
Hi sara, what im saying is if i open up a dmp it will show on my credit file im on a dmp and start the whole 6 yr clock over again?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A DMP itself does not show on your credit record – it’s not like an IVA or bankruptcy.
Instead every debt in the DMP is marked – but if these debts are already defaulted – like the EL one – then the DMP will make no difference. They will still drop off 6 years after the default date.
And if they are in a payment arrangement there may be no change or possibly a default may be added, but that could be good as the debt will drop off sooner with a default date being added than if they are repaid in a payment arrangment.
Jey says
Hi Sara,
The Likely Loans complaints email doesnt work. We need to go to their website to file a complaint:
https://likelyloans.com/complaints-procedure
Cheers,
Timka says
I am so confused about the 8% statutory interest… 118118 has agreed to pay out £1270.12 interest plus 8% statutory interest. They have calculated the 8% interest as just £70 which is not even 8% of the total refundable amount. The loans were between 2017 and 2020 and the last loan did not even have interest since it was removed as a result of complaint. All loans have been paid off already.
I have asked them to clarify but I know some other people have had issues with their 8% calculation so not sure if I should just go ahead and accept.
Julie Ann Sage says
Hello.
I had this exact problem. What they did on mine was calculate the overpayments as the last payments that you paid on the loans, not the interest that was paid and then added some interest onto the single payments.
Timka says
I went back to them and it appears they have only calculated the statutory interest on my last 9 payments and have not included the 25 previous payments. I asked them to re-calculate. They have to take all my payments into account as the verdict was to refund interest on all my 4 loans plus the statutory. I will see what they say.
Julie Ann Sage says
Yes that’s what they did with me. So they will calculate those last 9 payments as the over payments and put interest on the individual payments made. I did complain to my adjudicator about this but he agreed with 118.
Julie Ann Sage says
This is the response I had from the adjudicator.
Dear Mrs Sage
Thanks for your email.
I think based on your email and breakdown of your own calculations I understand why you may be reaching a different figure.
The settlement would involve the business calculating the overpayment from the date it is made. So, from the date the amount borrowed is repaid each individual repayments is considered an overpayment from that date and the 8% is calculated on the figure overpaid until the settlement. The overpayments are not added together and then the 8% calculated.
I hope this makes sense and if you have any further questions please get in touch.
Kate says
I have finally – after a long 19 months, had success with Satsuma/Provident. They dragged their heels every step of the way- rejected my complaint, didn’t answer in the time frame set out by the Ombudsman, didn’t answer the Ombudsman in the time frame set out – but eventually agreed to the Adjudicators decision AND I received my cheque from them on the last day they had to respond to me. I am now debt free, there were several other lenders I have gone through this process with, but Satsuma were by far the worst I have had to deal with.
Thank you Sara for all the advice you have given to me and others – believe me there is light at the end of the tunnel – keep going!
Timka says
Sarah, may I please ask for your advice. Via FOS outcome, 118118 agreed to refund interest on all loans (4 in total), total refund amount £1270. They also have also specified statutory % as £70 which seemed too small. I queried the calculations and they came back with a table. What they have done is they have taken my most recent loan re-payments Oct 2019 to July 2020 which add up to the refund amount of £1270 and calculated 8% statutory from those most recent payment dates. They have completely discarded my other 25 payments starting from Aug 2017 until Sept 2019. To add to this – the last loan had no interest at all as that was waived at the local stage complaint with 118118. Can they legally do this? Is there anything I can do to argue this? I would appreciate any advice. Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you make any payments after September 2019?
Timka says
I did make payments monthly also after Sept 2019 (until July 2020 when I paid all off). I now think they are calculating it correctly as ombudsman’s letter says: “If this results in Miss XXXX 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).” – that text in brackets allows them to do it.
Nesta says
Hi,
Is anyone having difficulty reaching Avant via phone? Also when i login to my account there is no information about my loan available. It all appears to have disappeared. I can’t see my balance when my next payment is etc
My complaint is still with the FOS awaiting to be assigned to an Ombudsman
Nesta says
I have a complaint about 118 118, this was logged in September 2019. Only towards the end of June i was assigned an adjudicator but she must be the slowest working adjudicator in the whole FOS.
I asked for an update and was told they were still looking into it, i mean there are 6 loans in total but does it really take so long to decide on affordability? I have sent all my bank statements and they have had a full case file from 118 118 since July.
Don’t want to keep chasing up out of fear i get a decision made against me but it seems a ridiculously high amount of time to be spending on one case.
Anyone experienced anything similar or have any advice?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Gosh. I suggest you ask what is causing the delay and whether you can Supply any further information.
njw says
I’ve got a similar one against TFS loans. Raised with FOS in Sept 19, Picked up by adjudicator in July 2020 Found in my favour but company disagreed I’ve been told it will be another 6 months before an ombudsman even picks it up
shaun says
Good evening,
After great success with 4 claims I recently been knocked back by the FOS adjudicator on 2 cases.
Firstly by satsuma which was a surprise because I had loads of other loans round them times and I thought that would be definitely one I got going off the others that got accepted, I have responded saying weren’t happy because off reasons I pointed out now she says I need to back evidence up for loans 4/5. I still think it’s wrong is it worth pushing to ombudsman level or just go for 4/5.
Also avant it’s taken ages but got this knocked back also I was quite confident on this because loans were as follows
Loan one 07/09/2015 £1,000 12 months £98.48 23/12/2015
Loan two 23/12/2015 £1,000 36 months £47.15 08/02/2018
Because close together but they said the right checks were done, at the time of avant I had a large NatWest loan and so much gambiling but that was it were as at satsuma I had multiple loans.
Sorry for all information but is it worth pursuing or a case of win some you lose some?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Satsuma – how large were each of the loans in order? What evidence does the adjudicator want for loans 4&5 – have you sent your credit record & bank statements?
Avant – has the adjudicator decided the loans were affordable for you?
shaun says
Hi Sara,
That was the loans from satsuma
1 08/10/2015 08/01/2016 13 £400.00 *£190.80
2 15/01/2016 18/04/2016 13 £250.00 *£119.25
3 12/08/2016 12/09/2016 13 £200.00 *£95.42
4 05/10/2016 06/10/2017 52 £400.00 *£66.34
5 06/05/2017 06/10/2017 12 £450.00 ┼*£141.04
For loan 4/5 she basically saying –
With regards to loans 4 and 5, we would have expected Satsuma to have carried out further in-depth checks, but for loans 1, 2 and 3; I don’t think this would’ve been proportionate, and could rely on the information you provided them at that time.
The information you provided to me, to demonstrate financial difficulty, the information for loans 4 and 5, did not cover the period that Satsuma would have seen, had they asked for additional information from you, such as bank statements. The information you provided me regarding your credit information was not full credit report, therefore I could not view any information, that if Satsuma did a full credit check, would have highlighted any other short term lending.
I’ve sent statements as screen shots now they don’t seem good enough the way I’ve done it after accepting them first time around.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it will be hard to win an argument that 1-3 are unaffordable – the loan amounts dropped each time and there was a gap of several months between loans 2 and 3.
What credit report have you sent? If it isnt a full one. I suggest you download a TransUnion statutory Credit report from here: https://www.transunionstatreport.co.uk/CreditReport/AboutYou
Can you download your bank statements as pdfs and send those?
shaun says
I didn’t send in any credit reports just screen shots of statements. Pretty poor really but only way I new how to do it.
Is it a case of just downloading my report and sending it? Or do I search for the dates of the loans?
Thanks Sara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
download the whole credit report.
Also if this is the same adjudicator, ask if it makes a difference to the Avant case.
John says
I have a claim with 118. Adjudicators ruled in my favour. How often do they decline his desicion.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They accept quite a lot.
John says
118 118 just got back to me. 5k wrote off 2k back to me. How do I donate to the up keep of the site.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A small donation your local Citizens Advice would be great!
Lisa says
Hi John
How long after you received a decision from the adjudicator did it take to hear from 118? I know each case is different.
John says
Can I cancel my DD payment to them then. Also had 5 Amigo loans 3 upheld so I refused and it sits with FOS at the moment. They ran along side each other with payday loans missed payments credit cards maxed. Could that be similar outcome. Amigo even said the 3rd party wage confirmation was correct but it was 500 out and bank statements prove this. If all goes well I will make a donation to the site.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you repaid more than the amount you borrowed?
Good luck with Amigo case, if they had your income out by £500 that could have made a lot of difference.
John says
Yeah 118 paid more.
They will owe me 3600
Steve says
Hi John. Can I ask when you sent your claim to the FOS for 118 ours has been with FOS mid September so just trying to gauge how long it will take for an initial response.
Cheers
Chris A says
Hi Steve. Seen you were looking for a rough idea of 118 timeline and thought I would let you know mine. Claim picked up by adjudicator on 11th August 2020 for a single loan of £2000. Received Phone call and email upholding my complaint on the 2nd December. 118 have until 15th December to respond. Hope that helps and good luck!
Robert says
Hi Chis I received a phone call and email this morning form the FOS upholding my complaint they a few weeks to reply. Can you tell me did all go okay with your complaint?
Chris says
Hi Robert. Congratulations on your claim. 118 responded to my adjudicator decision by sending me an email about 5pm on the very last day of the deadline agreeing with the decision and asking me to reply directly to the email with my bank details. They said up to 14 days to receive payments but I received them 6 days later. Payment is split into two, interest & refund. Going by the wording of the email they accept all adjudicator decisions
shaun says
For avant – the FOS think they never acted irresponsibly but then put this –
I think AvantCredit should have taken steps to build a more detailed picture of your financial situation. This could have included performing a credit search, or asking you for more information at the time of lending – for example, payslips, bills or bank statements that showed your income and expenditure.
The credit search shows all of your accounts were up to date, you didn’t have any defaults, and you hadn’t missed any payments for over a year. You’d taken out one payday loan in the previous six months, but none in the previous three months.
Taking everything into consideration, given the amount and terms of the loans, I think AvantCredit’s checks were proportionate. I haven’t seen anything which suggests they should have concluded that you wouldn’t have been able to sustainably make the repayments you needed to for these loans. So, I think their lending decisions were fair.
text here.
Inbetween last paragraph they go through my expenditure saying I had disposable income of £539 left
Sorry if this is complicated it was a lot to type so copied and pasted
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I had disposable income of £539 left
is that correct?
shaun says
In both applications you told AvantCredit that your income was £1,875, however your bank statement showed your income was actually £1,352.32. AvantCredit used the lower figure when assessing affordability, and I’ve also done this, as this seems to be the correct figure. You told AvantCredit you had bills totalling £620, including your car, but it’s not clear if you were including any debt repayments in these figures.
The credit search for loan one shows your debt repayments were £439, and your bank statement shows other bills totalling £186.23. After paying the new loan payment of £98.48 you were left with disposable income of £628 to pay for things such as food and travel.
The credit search for loan two shows your debt repayments had increased to £589. As this loan as taken only three months after loan one, you gave the same information in your application, and you’d made your repayments so far for loan one on time, I think it was reasonable for AvantCredit to base their assessment on what they’d seen on your bank statement for loan one. Taking into consideration your new loan payment for loan two of £47.15, you were left with disposable income of £529.
So they say like I can never remember having that much free at the time
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you need to sit down and look at the bank statement you sent Avant – add up all the expenses on there – was anything missing? were your bills 9rent, council tax, utilities etc) what you put on your application? what was the rest of the money spent on? How much gambling (if any) was there? If Avant saw a statement with a lot of gambling, I think they should have declined and if your adjudicator won’t change their mind, ask for this case to go to an Ombudsman.
Julie Ann Sage says
Hi all.
How long does Neil Iveson take to reply to emails normally? I know he is really busy and he did email me last Wednesday. I did reply the same day but he has not replied yet.
Many Thanks
RS says
I emailed him yesterday and had an out of office until 19th November which is maybe why he hasn’t replied.
Timka says
Just wanted to drop a message for those who are anxious about Likely loans refunds. The struggle was real, they initially did not agree to adjudicator’s decision to uphold a refund on my 4 loans but then my adjudicator must have persuaded them somehow and they agreed. LL have not been in touch with me at all after it was referred to FOS, not even to agree the refund amount but looking at the sum it is about right. Overpaid money just appeared in my account today plus my outstanding balance of nearly 2k is gone.
Some stats: initial ruling by FOS (adjudicator) was on 23/09. Oakbrook was given time until 07/10 to respond. They did not agree to outcome initially but then agreed on 04/11. Ombudsman said they will get in touch with me to sort out the bank details and refund amount but they never did – even after I called them twice to check. Money just appeared in my account which I used to borrow money from them today. So 7 working days later after they agreed to FOS. Warning though – I still had the same account details, not sure what would have happened if I had changed them as they did not let me confirm it via phone and I never got to talk to the right department over the phone. Good luck everyone, good things happen.
Timka says
Sarah, I also want to say such a huge thank you to you. You have transformed my life – since I started reading this forum, I have not taken one loan out not to mention payday loans and I had so many of them before. I really am so grateful.
J says
Can you kindly advise whether an affordability complaint is still pursuable with Minicredit as I had read on your site that they have gone bust? My loans date back to 2013 which was around £600 in arrears which was later sold to OPOS and suddenly the balance had ballooned to £2,600 by then of which was all later settled via my DMP. My complaint would be both on the affordability of the loan as well as the legality of all of the charges that they imposed afterwards.
I’ve had successes with the more recent cases from guidance from your site but it’s because this one dates back to 2013 and the fact that they sold the debt to OPOS – would I complain to Minicredit or OPOS in this case? I have to say by far OPOS in all my years of constant payday loan borrowing had been the most aggressive at the time (calling my work place non stop..unbelievable).
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This was a comment left earlier this year https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-loan-refunds/comment-page-195/#comment-370355 – I haven’t heard anything positive or negative since then.
Mal says
Does anyone have any experience of how long it takes Everyday Loans to make the redress payment after they agreed with the FOS adjudicators recommendations. So far EDL have delayed every part of the complaint, they were late with the DSAR file, they were well past the 8 weeks time period of providing a response to my complaint and even with the complaint response they used the incorrect figures. I am glad they agreed with the adjudicator and hope they make payment quickly to end this very stressful experience.
Bob says
How long did they take to agree with the adjudicator? Mine has given them 2 weeks to respond to his findings
Bob says
Hi mal
I’ve just had everyday loans agree with adjudicator. They’ve been given 4 weeks to get in touch. How long was yours ?
PH says
Hi Bob,
One loan or multiple? Just trying to gauge my chances of success! Can you also let me know timelines on yours – when it was submitted etc?
Thanks
PH
Mal says
Hi Bob, they have been very good. I have phoned them and asked for the settlement letter to be sent via email, which needs to be signed and provide bank details. My understanding is that they have 4 weeks to make payment but it could take longer. They emailed me the settlement letter which I signed and sent back, they make payments every Wednesday via BACS. I am hoping to get my payment next Friday. Will be glad this is over and done with but I will say they kept to their timescales and for that I am grateful.
H. Jones says
Hi Sara
To cut a long story short I had a logbook loan with Motorkitty. My monthly income was reduced and I reached out to make lower payments. They initially excepted but then decided to change their minds and issue repossession letters. I make a complaint to the FOS as I felt the loan was unaffordable and irresponsible as at the time of taking it out I was in a DMP and had a gambling problem. I kept making payments to them of amounts I could manage as often as I could. Then one morning I woke up and my car was gone. I contacted them but they ignored me. Last month after a year of waiting my adjudicator upheld my complaint asking them to refund all interest and add 8%. Motorkitty refused and it’s now in the ombudsman queue. What I am wondering is the if the ombudsman agrees with me what would happen if my car has already been sold at auction? The adjudicator couldn’t even explain to me he said he wasn’t sure. I’m wondering if you’ve seen this situation before?
Craig says
Hi Sara
In December 2015 I was really struggling with mounting debt. Payday loans, credit cards and car finance were making it impossible to reach the end of the month. I took a loan for £10,000 to pay these off and was only able to do this by securing it on my home. The loan was with 1st Stop and over 10 years. They paid all my outstanding loans and those of my partner with £1600 being paid to me. This was what was left after all debt had been settled. Since then I have just about got my finances in order but still have to watch the pennies. By the time the loan period has expired I will have paid back £30,000.
Am I able to make a complaint about this as I feel that it is a case of “taking advantage” of my circumstances. I initially made an application to another lender where the repayments were much lower but this was refused and they referred me to 1st Stop who they suggested would be able to help. I currently pay just over £300 per month.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is why debt advisers don’t suggest consolidating debt with a high cost secured loan :(
What interest rate was the loan at? Was it fixed or has it changed?
Craig says
It’s fixed at 30%
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good god. That was a terrible decision back in 2015.
But was the loan unaffordable? It sounds as though not, if you have got rid of your other debts and not run up new ones. You aren’t behind with bills?
Craig says
No….I’ve let the credit cards go to their limit again but always make minimum payment. One has been suspended due to persistent debt rules. I have a credit union loan with a balance of £3000. The payments for this are taken off monthly salary at source
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, then make an affordability complaint. I haven’t seen anyone win one against a secured loan, but few secured loans have that high an interestrate!
Craig says
It’s says on agreement form
Amount of loan £10,000
Acceptance fee £1,000
Introduction fee £500
Total credit £11,500
Total charge for credit £20,444
Interest charge £18,944
APR (variable) 42.29%
Interest rate per annum 30%
Period 96 months
APR
Laura says
Is there a template letter for a debt collector who has bought the debt. I had a car on finance with the car finance company, this is still on my credit report, I have previously emailed the new owner of the debt with no response and its over £5000. I contacted the car finance company who have told me to contact Arrow Global but not sure what to ask them for. I no longer own the vehicle, tbh, I think it was repossessed. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am trying to sort my life out and finances from when I was younger. The account was opened 27/4/14 for £11,385, unfortunately later that year my daughter suffered respiratory arrest and was left with a brain injury, this meant our lives were turned upside down and I had to give up work. This has impacted my finances for the last 6 years and I want to get back on my feet. Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am very sorry to hear about this.
Are you now able to work?
Can I ask if this is your only problem debt, or just the biggest?
Do you have a mortgage or are you renting?
Did you make any payments to the finance at all? Have Arrow contacted you?
Laura says
Hi Sara, thanks for your response. No its not my only, but definitely my biggest. Your website has been invaluable as I had plenty of payday loans, I have been a single parent for 20 years and tried my best but have had horrific luck and made poor decisions. Unfortunately, after my daughters issue I developed fibromyalgia which has affected my mobility and my cognitive abilities. Currently private renting. I have previously tried to contact Arrow Global via email but received no response. Since August I have been going through my credit file and trying to reduce my debts, I have managed to go from a score of 23 to 253 so am keen to continue the way I’m going. Any money I could get back would be a blessing as it would all go to sorting out my historic debt that is lingering on my credit file. Thank you for your efforts
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can I ask what benefits you and your family are getting?
Laura says
I have recently made a claim for UC as my carers income support stopped to to carers allowance suspending my claim without reason. I tried to contact them 4 weeks ago but they never responded. My daughter and I both receive PIP, me the enhanced care and standard mobility and her the enhanced mobility and standard care. She is now 21 years old so no longer a dependent.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So several points.
1) you should be able to get a Carer’s Element in UC – it’s the same as carer’s allowance. If you don’t get this, or if you have any other benefit problems, talk to your local Citizens Advice.
2) If you are the carer for your disabled daughter she is your dependent, even if she is an adult.
3) You haven’t actually paid any money to this car finance debt, so no affordability claim is going to get a refund.
4) Given your health condition and your daughter’s, I think you have a good case to ask Arrow to write off the debt. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/less-common/write-off/. You will need to provide evidence of health, the pip claims and it will help if you can also supply an income & expenditure sheet showing you can only make a very low payments to this debt. Citizens Advice can also help you with this.
5) you should consider asking for write offs for the other debts too.
6) if the requests for write offs do not work, then you should consider a debt relief order to clear these debts. It will wreck your credit record for 6 years but does that actually matter if you get a fresh start from the debts?
Sam says
Hi Sara, I messaged back in the summer regarding 118 money loan.
I originally sent the complaint in Jan 2020, no response so sent to FO via resolver tool.
June/July 118 rejected the first loan, but upheld the top up loan which I agreed the redress of loan 2. Received the redress and closed the case in resolver.
An adjudicator emailed me in Oct asking for details as were assigned the case. I emailed back advised loan two upheld and readdress received but the adjudicator has emailed me advising they think loan 1 should be refunded and have contacted 118 to advise and have until 24th Nov
As I accepted 118 previous is this something 118 would look in to?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know, sorry.
Sam says
Ok no worries. As I closed the case on resolver thought that would be the end of it. See what happens and will let you know.
Thanks
Sam says
Hi Sara, just to update I have had an email today from 118 advising they will be refunding loan one following being contacted by adjudicator. I am very surprise but very pleased to be getting further refund before Christmas. I shall make a donation to CAB. Thank you for all your advice.
John says
Hi Sara,
Does this cover doorstep loans like Pinewood Finance Co?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is a separate page for doorstep lenders, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/refund-doorstep-loans/
Steve says
Can anyone help me please. I have had a complaint put to avant credit now since July and I just keep getting a generic response. I raised this with the FOS anyway but wondered if Anyone actually gets or got a response from Avant credit. And as the FOS have such a backlog I feel that Avant are just going to keep palming me off.
Also they all seem to come from the same person so I think it may be a generic signature and not really being looked into.
Tyler N says
Hello Steve, my issue isnt with Avant but is similar to what your experiencing, which may give you an idea..
I first complained about Drafty around March 2020, after 3 months of receiving the same of 2 generic messages repeatedly with no response to my complaint, i sent it over to the FOS.. Waiting game begins..
2nd November I had a email from FOS with a message from the lender..
“Dear Sir/Madam,
We are writing in reference to the FOS complaint received on behalf of Mr
We acknowledge your email dated 16th October, 2020, we would like to reiterate that Drafty never had the chance to deal with the complaint.
Hence, we believe that Drafty should get a fair chance to investigate the issue and share our findings with the complainant. Shall he remain dissatisfied with the outcome,he can definitely escalate the complaint and involve the Financial Ombudsman Service to look into his concerns.
Also, we would like to confirm that we would be sharing the final response in line with the 8 weeks’ timelines. We have also attached our Complaints Handling Procedure for customer reference.”
In relation to your complaint, expect a long wait if your complaint isnt moving with Avant.. You’ll have to wait for FOS to contact them. When Avant eventually respond.. expect the FOS to allow the lender a further 8 weeks to send you an initial first response.
Hope its of some help, good luck :)
Steve says
Your a star Tyler. So in a nutshell they are trying to postpone the inevitable. I guess in the hope I give up. I had 5 cases out for loans when I was in serious financial hardship (finally getting back on track) 4 have been upheld. This one is the only one which is outstanding and is one of the larger ones I am still paying off on a dmp. In reality this should fall under the same category as the rest. But I ain’t p lol inning on getting a response any time soon. Lol
Tyler N says
It sounds unlikely you’ll get a response this year but it will eventually happen.. The FOS queue is moving now, ive had a few responses recently, but just keep up the dmp payments in the time-being and it could end up being a slightly better settlement anyway next year since your still making payments :). Take care mate
chrisc says
I have a complaint with avant it has taken nearly 14 months to get to the adjudicator stage and it took them 14 weeks to reply to get a response from them after my initial complaint it seems one person crops up who sends most of their emails she has the initials LD. I sent mine to the fos as soon as the 8 weeks were up and they continued to fob me off until week 14 where they rejected my complaint. I am still waiting for a decision but am more hopeful now someone has been assigned to my case
John says
Approx 5 weeks after issuing a provisional decision the Ombudsman has issued a Final Decision in my complaint against Loans2Go and upheld both loans I complained about. Now just the wait to see how compliant they are. I’ve calculated the refund to be a 5 figure sum , hopefully their maths agree. This is the last of my complaints other than a few Payday Loans which are in administration so another thank you to Sara and other posters for your help and advice.
Lea says
Hi john
Great news! Just a question how long were you waiting for an ombudsman queue after adjudicator?
Thanks
Lea
John says
Picked up by adjudicator start of August with decision at start of Sept. Roughly 2 and a half months from being sent to ombudsman when Loans2go disagreed with adjudicator. Initial complaint sent Sept 2019
E says
Looking for a bit of advice. Provident have replied today and not upheld my complaint in regard to my Satsuma loans. I had 7 loans in total with the last 3 being run alongside each other. I am going to escalate to FOS but wanted to double check if I should state that I have had successful redresses from Wonga, Payday Express, My Jar and Amigo – would that strengthen my case as these were lenders I had loans with alongside my Satsuma loans – they’ve identified they’ve lent irresponsibly yet Satsuma is the only lender that let me have more than one loan with them at once, and claim they acted responsibly! Or should I leave that bit out?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It helps your case that you had a lot of other high cost credit at the time. It doesn’t help that you won the other cases.
E says
Thanks Sara, il mention the other lenders but not the redresses in that case!
Phil says
Hi, Ive got a loan with Future Finance and they have charged me ridiculous APR and I feel I was taken advantage of as a student who desperately needed money. At the time I was doing an unpaid internship after just leaving a part time job that varied between 16 and 30 hours and they lent me 8 grand with no proof of income. Ive followed your steps above and showed that I also had evidence of Online Gambling with my only income being student loans. As a desperate student I took the loan as it said the payments were only £5 a month for the first year, however they have just added that year on as interest, ive recently started paying back the full installments of £214 , and the total amount payable has already increased to 11,000 with it due to rise to 16,000 by the time its paid off. This has led me to borrow money off my parents to help me make my bills for the first time since I was 18 (im 25 now). Do you think I have a case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know, I would be interested to see what they reply to you.
Craig Wallace says
Received an email today from adjudicator stating that First Response had agreed to his resolution which was to refund interest paid plus 8%.
Sent off a reply agreeing to this action only to receive a further email from adjudicator stating that First Response had recontacted stating they were changing their view and will be contesting the adjudicator’s view.
Strange!!!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh! never heard of that happening.
Laura says
Hi Sara, do you know how far back you can go with these door step loans etc. My issues started back in 2005 when I fell off the tax credits payment system and was only working part time hours. I had a mortgage with SPML which fell into arrears, I had car finance with welcome finance and a secured loan with welcome finance as well as Shoppacheck, provident, CLC, Greenwood’s. I made some poor choices and am trying to make up for it now. I did receive money back from welcome for PPI claims not sure if its tge same as affordability complaint. I’ve sent requests to all barring welcome finance and today received a phone call from CLC advising the company I took my loans out with, ended in 2010 and no longer exists but they have records from 2008 of loans I had with the company that no longer exists and said I can’t complain. Is this correct? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. I did ask her to send me what information she holds and stated it would have a bearing on other complaints I was making showing existing loans at tge time. Not received anything yet but will chase if necessary. Many thanks Laura
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can go back to April 2007.
I suggest you send the CLC complaint to the Financial Ombudsman and kept them sort out what happened to the old company.
Lisa says
Hi all
Anyone having trouble with Amigo responding to the adjudicator. My case has been upheld by FOS and they were asked to respond in September, they have requested an extension 3 times and the 3rd date FOS have given them has passed on 13th November. The adjudicator has said they have passed this to a senior level but they are aware that Amigo are struggling ti respond in a timely manner. Is there anything that anyone else has manged to do to get a response from them?
I am also due a response from 118 on 26th November from the adjudicator upholding my complaint, has anyone else been at this stage and know what the likelyhood that they will respond on time?
Tyler N says
Hello Lisa :)
I cant help with Amigo but I’m sure someone else might be able too..
My experience with 118.. they responded 6:02pm on the final day.
Lisa says
Thank you Tyler, only 3 days to go then!
Andy says
Hi
My Jar are asking me for bank statements and pay slips from the time of my credit application (Nov 17). The issue I have is that I’ve moved banks so need to request old statements from previous bank and my payslips are sent electronically so only goes back to April 19, meaning I will need to request from my employer.
I have sent them screenshot from my credit file to show multiple payday loans active at the time as well as other accounts being in default. They have said they can’t accept screenshots as it isn’t their policy and have told me to send them a full copy of my credit report so they can ‘investigate fully. My question is how do I go about doing this and is their response acceptable, it feels like they are being deliberately awkward?
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is no need to provide payslips if you can provide bank statements that show your pay. The Ombudsman never asks for payslips.
I suggest you set about getting the bank statements now. It won’t be hard but may not be quick, and you may well need then if Myjar don’t make an offer you think is reasonable and so the complaint goes to the ombudsman.
re your credit record, I suggest you get a copy of your TransUnion statutory credit report from here: https://www.transunionstatreport.co.uk/CreditReport/AboutYou. It is simple to downloan and can be forwarded to Myjar and later attached to your Ombudsman complaint if that is needed.
Andy says
Thank you for the quick response Sara, really appreciated.
I will download my credit file this afternoon and send to them and contact my previous bank. I have one account still in default (satisfied in Sept 2020) as it was only applied a month before I took the MyJar loan. At the time I had 2 other accounts that were in default but dropped off my file in June of this year. Is there any way I can request a backdated copy to evidence this or is this information ‘lost’?
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t get a backdate credit report.
If you used the template letter from the article above you will have asked for a SAR. That should show you what Myjar saw when they did a credit check.
Neil Cooksey says
Provident email sent.
I have had loads of loans from them since 2011,so should get some success.
I had a couple of doorstep loans from Loans at home and Morses.
A couple each in fact.
Both have been turned down.
Looking at your records,that is normal,so is it worth going to the FOS.
Also I had an expensive loan with Progressive Money in 2017 for 3 years.
Borrow £5000 and pay back just shy of £9000.
They have turned me down.
Has anybody had any joy from them.
Vic
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Best place for discussion about doorstep lending is https://debtcamel.co.uk/refund-doorstep-loans/ but no, probably not worth taking 2 loan doorstep cases to FOS.
Progressive money though, it is well worth taking these large loan cases to FOS if you know That making the repayments left you so short of money you had to borrow or get behind with bills.
Yabba says
Adjucator ruled in my favour. Waiting in queue for ombudsman since April 2020.
Jo says
Hi,
I’ve just received an email from provident for satsuma loans agreeing the loans were unaffordable and made me an offer but I’m not sure if it’s good or not
Loan 1 – 24/12/2016 100 total paid 189.60
Loan 2 – 1/6/2019 1000 total due 1992 which I defaulted on after paying 2 instalments of 166
Got sold to debt collection at 1660, and I’ve paid them monthly 20 total 140 so amount still owed is 520
This is their calculations in the email
Interest paid towards account 89.60
8%interest 28.08
20% tax 5.61
Refund due 112.07
Redress used to remove outstanding balance 112.07
Payable balance due 548.00
Gesture of goodwill write off 548.00
Balance due 0
But it doesn’t say anything about second loan interest or 8%I can’t make sense of it.
I know people have struggled with provident and had to go to fos.so not sure what to do any advice is greatly appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you paid £89.6 interest on first loan/.
On the second you have paid 166 + 166 + 7 lots of 20 – is that right? that comes to £472
That is less than the amount you borrowed on the last loan, so you haven’t actually paid any interest at all. They have taken the interest from the first loan but that still leaves you owing a balance.
This they have written off as a gesture of good will.
Unless you think you have paid in total more than £472, then this is a good offer to clear the debt. They should aslo remove the default from your credit record.
Jo says
89.60 is correct and 472 is correct and they said they will clear my credit file.
Thank you Sara for the advice and clarification I will be accepting this offer.
Nina says
Hi Sara. Just needed your advice. I’ve been in debt for so many years now, started taking out small payday loans and then it all spiralled out of control and I ended up taking 3 very very large loans. Recently my family found out and they were shocked at the situation I’d landed myself into. They’ve helped me pay off my entire 118. 118 loan which was as almost £5000. I’d taken 3 top ups with 118. My question is, can I still make a complaint in regards to irresponsible lending as when I took out that loan I had at least 6 small loans and also a very large loan with Amigo.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can, use the template letter in the article above. The fact the loan was repaid doesn’t mean that it was affordable for you!
You can also complain about the Amigo loan if you feel it too was unaffordable, that the repayments caused you to get deeper into debt elsewhere. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/ for a different template for guarantor loans.
Nina says
Thank you Sara. The only issue is I still have £9000 outstanding to pay on the Amigo loan, despite paying £395 for over 14 months now because the interest is insane.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t argue the interest is too high – you won’t win a complaint about that.
But if making the repayments had caused you a lot of difficulties, then they may well have been “unaffordable” and you can complain about that.
Pete says
Anyone else had claims back from onstride
Had a email early this morning not upholding any loans had these loans and at the same time was taking loans from avant and just before the last loan had a loan of 12k to consolidate debts bit shocked and disappointed but will be appealing
2016-05-16 £2,000.00 £749.70 Rejected
2015-12-30 £3,800.00 £463.90 Rejected
2015-11-25 £3,700.00 £34.65 Rejected
2015-10-12 £2,200.00 £106.07 Rejected
2015-10-08 £300.00 £4.59 Rejected
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you looked at a Claim against Avant?
Pete says
Yes avant went to fos and was upheld
Calvin says
Hi all. I have a car finance complaint with the FOS and recently the investigator came back not upholding my complaint. He stated that the lender’s checks weren’t thorough enough, but said that if they were, they would have unlikely found anything different. He refused to take into account gambling transactions and cash withdrawals as these only show up on statements; which the lender doesn’t have to request. Therefore, only essential bills were considered by him. I had defaults, missed payments, took out a separate loan (which was seen as unaffordable by the FOS) all to help keep up with finance repayments. However, I eventually couldn’t keep up and defaulted. The car was repossessed 6 months after getting it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you ask for the case to be looked at by an Ombudsman.
Chez19 says
Sara, Help! I need your advice please, got a rejection letter from 118 118 money re 2 loans, I’m really concerned 7 worried that they state I clicked on the app “If false or inaccurate details are provided & fraud is identified, details will be passed to fraud prevention agencies?! I’m guessing this is because in my complaint I put ” I understated some of my expenses. This was because I wasn’t very aware of the amounts I was spending and completed the application hastily and I wanted to hide the fact I was spending some of my money on gambling. You ignored the evidence on the credit check that my position had got more difficult OR you didn’t do a new credit check” To be honest they didn’t ask me for bank statements of proof of my income…also I put this has put extra pressure on my mental health, 118 118 state they will send me a (DMHEF) Debt & mental health Evidence Form to investigate further if I want, never heard of this, is it common? And what is it please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you ignore their threats and send the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. 118 often say this sort of thing and nothing everu seems to happen when cases are sent to the Ombudsman.
A DMHEF should not be requested by a creditor just because someone has said they are suffering from anxiety or depression. See http://www.moneyadvicetrust.org/creditors/Pages/DMHEF-creditors.aspx which says:
– Before using the DMHEF, creditors should ask themselves whether evidence actually does need to be collected? This involves considering whether further evidence is really needed to take fair and proportionate action.
– If further evidence really is needed, creditors should ask themselves whether alternative evidence is available which could do the same job as the DMHEF? This includes considering whether copies of prescriptions, patient letters, or other materials confirming the customer’s mental health situation, might be used instead.
Chez19 says
Ok thanks Sara, do I need to mention the DMHEF that 118 118 suggested I complete when I refer to FOS? My anxiety/depression that I suffer from currently has been brought on by the menopause and I have not gone to my GP for quite some time, all this extra money pressure and worries is just making it all worse :-(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
i would just ignore it. If FOS ask about it, you can explain your situation.
PS it might be a good idea to talk to your GP. Mental heath problems from the menopause are real and there may be some help available for you.
Alison says
I had this with 118118 also…so I had 3 loans with them between 2015 to 2018. They are not upholding the first 2 loans between 2015 to 2016 and have stated the above. They are upholding the 3rd more recent loan and offered me the interest to be refunded of over £1000. Can I still ask ombudsmen to take loan 1 and 2 further?!
Thanks
Alison
Sara (Debt Camel) says
These threats from them seem to be a bluff as nothing happens if you do take a case to the ombudsman.
But if they have made this offer a “as a full and final settlement” or “in settlement of your complaint” then you can’t accept that and take a complaint about the first two to FOS, you have to reject their offer and take all three loans to FOS. There is no risk that FOS will not uphold any of them – that doesn’t happen.
Ricky says
Hope someone can help.
I have a loan with savvy. I borrowed £300 for 8 months, signed the credit agreement etc. And I am currently able to afford repayments of £75 a month for 8 months and I am 4 months into my repayments.
I have just checked my statement though and realise that the total amount repayable is £600 which is double the amount that I borrowed?? Do I have any grounds to complain of extortionate interest rates like this? Or will they just say “well you signed the agreement”??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do I have any grounds to complain of extortionate interest rates like this?
No – this is short term lending and the amount charged is at the maximum the regulator allows.
Have your circumstances got worse since you took the loan? is this because of anything covid-19 related?
Also do you have other problem debts?
Ricky says
I have other debts. The payments are manageable but I have got in touch with stepchange today to set up a dmp. I am on less salary now than before I took the loan out
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s a good move. Better than trying to borrow your way out of a debt problem.
Sophie says
Hi Sara,
So I had a log book loan in May 2019 for £850, interest £1071, total repayable £1921.
In my complaint I mentioned that I prioritised paying this as if I didnt they would take my car from me, which I needed to get to work which left me behind with other Bill’s and starting a spiral. I did not have any top ups.
this debt has now been repaid and I recently submitted a affordability complaint.
They said
“Based on the initial salary details provided of £1500 this gave a surplus of 22% we are responsible lenders and a minimum of 10% is required. The wage slips that you provided actually show an average salary of £1615 which equates to a 29% surplus, this covers the monthly loan payments.
You signed agreement that the statement of income and expenditure information provided by you was accurate so I am surprised to learn that you misled and deliberately misstated your circumstances.
As responsible lenders we take numerous factors into consideration and the checks that we completed were proportionate for the loan value.
In conclusion, we do not accept your complaint.
However, we would be willing to offer a goodwill gesture of £100 in full and final settlement.”
Do you think this is worth taking to the financial ombudsman or just cut my losses and accept the offer they have given me.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You know if it caused you a lot of other debts problems – if it did, then you probably have a good complaint to go to the Ombudsman Where you could get 10 times their offer if you win.
If you want you can try to negotiate – go back and say that £100 is not acceptable for the problems the loan caused you and say you would be prepared to accept ££500 to settle the case quickly… I have no idea if they might agree, but there isn’t any point in asking for all the interest back – in a negotiation you have to give a bit.
Sophie says
Thank you Sara for your quick reply.
I will give it a go and see what they say. Thank you. Take care
JC says
Just had an adjudicator rule in my favour against TM Advances On 2 loans one being a £3k loan wherein total repayable was £9200 and £1500 back in a one loan too so could be up £7500 if they agree with the decision.
Worth a try on these high interest bad credit loans.
JC says
TM Advances have rejected the decision so this is now going to the Ombudsman
ugo says
Hi,
Would the template letter for making a complaint re unaffordable lending still apply if addressed to a debt collector?
The debt collector bought the debt 16 years ago.
Thanks, Ugo
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What sort of debt was this originally? Have you been making payments to it?
Ugo says
Hi Sara,
It was a loan from a bank in America, First National Bank. The bank doesn’t exist anymore and was bought by GE Money. The debt was bought by a debt collector, Link Financial in 2004, a year after the loan was taken out. I have been making payments to it, the most recent payment was in October 2019. I haven’t made any payments since then. I was hoping I could go down the unaffordability route with the debt collector, extinguish the debt and perhaps even claim back interest that they have charged over the years.
Ugo
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Affordability complaints can’t be made about loans before April 2007.
I suggest you read https://debtcamel.co.uk/ask-cca-agreement-for-debt/ – it is possible that might help you with the remaining balance.
Ugo says
Thank you for the speedy reply. I looked at the link you sent and unfortunately the loan is pre 2008 and over 25,000 so it looks like the Consumer Credit Act doesn’t apply. Is there anything else you could suggest? Would it still be worth asking for the CCA agreement? The debt has been sold at least once to a debt collector, possibly twice.
Ugo
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much do you still owe? Was this a secured loan?
John says
This will be my final update regarding my complaint against Loans 2 Go. After accepting the Ombudsmans Final decision it has only taken 9 days for them to calculate and pay my redress of over £10k after tax ( I will claim some of that back ). Took from 1/9/19 to 27/11/20 to resolve so dont give up. Good luck to everyone and thank you all for your advice.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well done!
Stu says
Congrats on ur win and for the info on how long it took to resolve and payout. Really starting to get frustrated as to how these complaints are looked at though. I will now be 1 year waiting for an Ombudsman to look at my case and 2 years overall since I first complained to the Ombudsman!
Raj says
Well done on your win John. My timeline is similar to yours with Loans 2 Go. The ombudsman has just upheld my complaint.
How long after the Ombudsman’s decision did it take Loans 2 Go to accept their decision?
Robert mills says
I got a decision in April 2020 that the adjudicator wouldn’t be upholding my case against avant…
The same day I’ve escalated it to the ombudsman, and it’s still not been looked at. I understand the current crisis but surely nearly 8 month after it was already looked at is a bit of a joke?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you asked about progress?
Robert mills says
Yes and basically got told it’s in line.
despite a current crisis, it does not take this long I think it’s because due to covid people are saying their in financial trouble and having their cases looked at quicker. This case started in early 2018!
Maria says
Hi Sara
I have had a final response from the adjudicator in respect of my complaint with likely loans they did not uphold my complaint so l asked for it to be sent to an Ombudsman and this is the reply from the adjudicator:-
“As Likely Loans didn’t have the full report that was generated at the time of application they provided a copy of the report generated . As your credit file covers several years it allows me to see what information would have been available at the time of application to Likely Loans. And based upon the information provided, I am unable to say that Likely Loans acted unreasonably when providing you with this loan and they would not have needed to see your bank statements. I hope this has answered your questions. Should you have any further please feel free to contact me. Please let me know if you still wish for this complaint to be reviewed by an ombudsman for a final decision and if so, your reasons for this.”
Can you advise me on how l should respond
Maria
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what would your credit record have shown at the time of the loan?
Maria says
My credit score was extremely poor and shows lots of loans credit cards and missed payments
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok then you need to make a list of what was on your credit record at the time. Point out this is what LL would have seen if they had looked properly. And that it’s not fair if they can get away with saying they didn’t see something because they haven’t kept enough records.
Repeat that you want the case to be looked at my an ombudsman.
Yobba says
Has anyone had luck with credit union large personal loans complaints? They are regulated by the FCA.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A couple of people have had CU refunds I think.
George says
Hi Sara,
Got a claim going through with Amigo at the moment but thought I would try my luck with Moneyway/Secure Trust Bank as it was at the same time and I struggled with payments.
It was for car finance in May 2016 which is now paid off. The credit/payout was £2,999 and I made 35 payments of £121.04 and one final payment os £131.04.
Any idea what redress I could be due on this?
Thanks in advance!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no, sorry, car finance is not simple.
Dave R says
Just heard good news from 118118, they are upholding my complaints and refunding everything as well as removing a default from a few years ago. They’ve said it will be a payment of £2,300 and a statutory interest payment of £250. Does anybody know if this will come through as two separate payments or one amount? They’ve said it will take up to 14 working days – anybody have any experience of how long they typically take to refund the amounts?
Dave R says
For anybody in a process with 118118, I received the money in two payments on December 11th, so just over a week after accepting their offer,
Al says
Hi Dave
I’ve received an email from 118118 today saying they may be partially upholding my complaint, awaiting confirmation from debt collection agency of balance outstanding and they’ve requested back, I’ve confirmed I paid in full end of October. I think the loans add up to around £3000-4000 over the space of 2/3 years. Can I ask how much you borrowed for the compo you received please? Thanks
shaun says
Good evening sorry to be on again. It’s regarding bamboo
I have been liaising with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) in relation to your existing complaint.
Having re-reviewed your complaint I am satisfied that proportionate creditworthiness and affordability checks were undertaken before your loan was approved. All of your credit was up to date and you had a healthy disposable income to be able to comfortably afford the monthly repayments. You have repaid us well and it seems the funds from your initial Bamboo loan were used for its intended purpose of ‘Debt Consolidation’ as your debt balances had decreased at the time of your second loan. There is no evidence to suggest that Bamboo’s decision to lend had caused a detriment to you.
After the above they have offered me £500 as good will gesture as a swift resolution now if they see everything was ok why offer me £500
I’m has anyone had this before? Or shall I ask the FOS just scared they might say they shouldn’t offer me that and they take it away of question it.
Any advice really appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
bamboo do sometimes seem keen to settle. Can you say something about the complaint? Is the loan paid off? How much interest did you pay?
shaun says
This is some of the details I just can’t remember if I went full terms with the loans.
22/07/16 – £2500 – £1203 total charge for credit 23 month
30/10/18 – £1200 – £2919 total charge of credit 60 months
05/04/19 – £1200 – £2932 total charge of credit 60 months
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you not ask Bamboo for a list of your loans and the interest you paid? If not, go back and said you would like to consider their offer but you need to know this first.
shaun says
No it was just on my account with them. Il do that Sara thanks I’ll email them straight away and see what they come back with.
shaun says
Sara sorry this was received today, I contacted FOS they said haven’t got a case handler yet.
Total interest paid – £2,166.81
We feel the £500 gesture of goodwill is generous considering you had paid us well and there was no evidence of financial hardship at the time of the applications. As a well-paying and long standing customer of Bamboo we were disappointed that you felt the need to take your complaint further.
While we maintain the stance we took at the time of our final response letter, we hope this offer is satisfactory in full and final resolution of your complaint.
Just don’t know what to do for the best.
Any advice would be appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it sounds as though you only have to have the last loan upheld to get more then £500 back? Of course no idea how long it might take.
shaun says
My first loan with bamboo needed a guarantor does this help proving unaffordability in anyway? Basically wouldn’t let me get one without help?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It probably shows your finances were ina mess at the start – the question is, how much of a mess?
shaun says
I had 6 loans to various other lenders at the time and gambling also. This is what’s making me think to wait for the FOS.
Wes says
Had my satsuma complaint picked up by an adjudicator end of last week, took about a month to be picked up from when I first sent complaint.
Adjudicator has come back saying she’s requested some more information from Satsuma, as he said he’s noticed I had another loan which I paid off during the 14 period cooling off period
And that satsuma didn’t send any information/evidence of the data bureau checks they had done.
Is this the trying to drag out the situation or likely that they didn’t do proper checks in which they avoid sending over?
Tim Smith says
Just put a claim in against Bamboo loans, Has F.O.S. been upholding these claims?
Jo says
Hi,
Finally had an adjudicator decision on Likely Loans.
Loan 1 = £1000
Loan 2 = £664.35 early consolidation of loan 1 + £900 top up = £1564.35
The adjudicator’s view was that LL should not have proceeded with loan 2 as my income had reduced and my outgoings increased, making it unaffordable. They have requested LL should “add up the total money Mrs W received as a result of having been given loan two. The repayments made should be deducted form this amount.”
I expected LL to take either the £900 or the £1564.35 figure into account. My repayments for loan 2 total £1517.14 so this would leave me with a £50 balance or a redress – either of which I was happy with (obviously would prefer the redress but would just be happy not to have the debt!) But instead, LL have disregarded the consolidation into loan 2. They have said loan 1 balance (including the interest) was £1823.04 and with the £900 of loan 2, that totals £2723.04. I have paid a total of £2428.66 over the 2 loans leaving an outstanding balance of nearly £300 still to pay.
I’m really frustrated by this – are they allowed to do this? I have written back to the adjudicator for clarification and sent a copy of my second agreement which clearly states it replaces the contract and T&Cs sent on the previous loan. How can they suddenly decide not to uphold the settlement agreement that was part of loan 2? Any ideas?
Thanks
Jo
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This sounds like the “unpaid interest” argument that Amigo is having a dispute with the ombudsman about. Tell your adjudicator this.
Dave says
Hi Lisa
Just had a response back from the adjudicator and they have found in my favour. Whilst Progressive did make some checks they weren’t in depth enough and would have noticed my financial issues. They have until December 21st to respond, although I’m sure they will reject and have to go to Ombudsman.
In the event it goes to an Ombudsman, what are the chance of them disagreeing with the Adjudicator?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ombudsmen agree with adjuicators in 90% of cases.
Dave says
Hi Sara
Based on those percentages I’m guessing something big would have to have been missed by the adjudicator for them to go against me?
Thanks for the info.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It doesn’t really work like that. Adjudicators normally get it right. But if the ombudsman thinks it’s wrong, it doesn’t have to be very wrong…
Dave says
Hi Sara, I’ve dug out the email from the adjudicator and the reason behind finding in my favour is I had 3 credit cards (maxed out) 2 at £5k and 1 at £3k. When I got paid it didn’t take me out of my overdraft, also they had to increase the loan to cover an additional Payday loan. My credit file also showed numerous Payday loans with different lenders in the 6 month previous to application.
On this basis would you think an Ombudsman is likely to agree with adjudicator?
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Ombudsman agrees with the adjudicator in 90% of cases – fingers crossed for you.
Lisa G says
Hi Dave.
That’s good news, you’re half way there! Hopefully they’ll agree with the adjudicator. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you!
My case is still waiting to be allocated. I put it in to the FOS a month after you, so it shouldn’t be too much longer.
Will you please keep me updated as to whether Progressive agree with the adjudicator or if it has to go to the ombudsman. And also how long they take to pay out. Just so I’ve got an idea of process and timescales with them.
I’ll also keep you updated with my case (if you’re interested?!)
Thank you. Lisa :)
Dave says
Hi Lisa
Hopefully they’ll accept the finding, but I doubt it. I’ll update as soon I hear anything. 👍
Yeah keep me updated, hopefully you get the same result.
Cheers
Dave says
Hi Lisa, Happy New Year!
Just heard from my adjudicator and Progressive have rejected their findings and requested an Ombudsman look at it, as expected.
Any updates on your case?
Cheers
Lisa G says
Hi Dave.
Im so sorry it’s taken me so long to respond.
The adjudicator did not agree with me, they found in favour of Progressive Money. That was on 13th Jan 2021. I disagreed and asked for it to be looked at by an Ombudsman and it was put into the queue then.
Today I’ve heard back from the ombudsman and they’ve agreed with me that Progressive Money lent to me irresponsibly. It’s a provisional decision, I’ve agreed with it obviously and Progressive have until 13th April to respond with further evidence.
Have you heard back from the ombudsman yet?
Lisa.