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?
PM says
Complaints against Likely Loans, 118 Money and Bamboo all upheld within the space of a week of each other (12-14 months total wait time to get to this point). Likely loans accepted the decision and agreed to refund me within 14 days. 118 and Bamboo are dragging their heels until the end of the deadline before showing their hand. Above all else, I’m grateful that these will be off my credit file. Many thanks to Sara for the continued support on this site.
Jade says
Hi PM, I have complained to all 3 of those companies too within the last two weeks, I have already received a final response from Likely loans where they didnt accept and have forwarded to FOS. Issue with Bamboo was that I got a 12 month loan and paid off 6 months early yet was charged the full loan amount and interest and had no rebate at all.
PM says
Hi Jade, All 3 rejected my complaints too but the FOS upheld all my complaints against each of them. Some of my loans were also settled early but they were still deemed unaffordable. Good luck with your claims.
GAO says
Hi, congrats on getting your refund from Likely Loans – how did you complain as I’m having difficulties? Thanks :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What sort of difficulties?
GAO says
Hi, I tried to email the loans one listed here but there is just a response that the inbox is a no-reply inbox. They give you a link to enter complaint online which I did complete but then the screen would just go blank with no confirmation of them receiving it. I tried on safari and google chrome browsers. There is a number but it looks like it’s only for current customers?
Sarah says
So I contacted them just to see if there was anything I could do with my account and there first offer without even asking or rasing a complaint was to wipe the remining amount but no refund of intrest could be done???
I then mentioned about wanting a refund for intrest and they are looking to opening a complaint now.
Katy says
Hi,
I was after a bit of advice, I have just had a complaint upheld by FOS for a loan. The loan caused me to go into a DMP as I wasn’t able to keep up with 2 credit card payments and the loan payments. As the loan has been written off and interest reimbursed I have paid off the credit cards in full now. As the loan has been written off do you think it would be worth me contacting the loan companies and asking them to consider removing the defaults? My payments were always on time before I took the loan out. I have already complained to the credit card companies and Fos but it wasn’t upheld. As the credit cards were always paid on time previously and it was the loan that caused me to go into arrears is there anyway they could help?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think that is unlikely to work. So far as the credit cards are concer3end they have accurately reported your payment record to the credit reference agenceis and they did nothing wrong in giving you the credit.
Tony says
118 agreed with my compalint regarding an unaffordable claim, they agreed to reduce my balance on the account by the overpaid amount which had been sold to lantern as a default, and also to remove the default from my credit file. They balance was adjusted fine however my credit file still shows the default after nearly 6 months. Ive contacted both lantern and 118 regarding this, lantern say they need confirmation from 118 and 118 just keep saying theyre in contact with lantern. Is there anything i can do to get them to finally sort this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Say a complaint goes to the Financial Ombudsman if they haven’t got this sorted by the end of June. And you will be asking for compensation.
Ben says
I had loans from 118 and put in a complaint which they replied to with a very long response explaining that they could not uphold the first loan but then went on to day the other two loans I had would be refunded as a “gesture”. While I guess I could take this to the Ombudsman and try to see if all the loans would be refunded, 118 have already offered a large refund £2k+ and clearing up my credit file so agreed to their offer.
That was on the 28th of May and they said I would have the refund in 14 days, still no sign of it!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Phone them up and ask?
Ben says
Not been able to find a number for the complaints team, they seem to be email only and the general helpline does not even answer I just sat on hold for 40min until I got a message the call centre was closed
Sara (Debt Camel) says
try siwan.jones@118118money.com and 0292 0548000
Steffy says
Hi
Loans 2 go have come back to me today, I took out a loan for £250 paying 18 payments of £57.18
They are not upholding my complaint but offering as a “guesture of good will” to wipe my remaining balance of £342.82
I have paid 12 payments of £57.18, totalling £686.16 meaning I have paid £435 in intrest already! Let alone what they are willing to wipe. Do you know if they are willing to compromise? Or if it’s a good offer and should just accept?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is worth trying. You could say you would be happy if they clear the balance and refund £217 – half the interest you have already paid.
If you want all the £435 back you probably need to send the case to the FOS
Steffy says
Hi Sara
They wouldn’t do half the interest but offered £100 which I’m more than happy to accept!
Thanks for your all help :)
David says
Hi sara I emailed 118 money about irresponsible lending per your template. I looked at my clearscore account yesterday and saw that 118 money had added an account on my report .the comment says this could be because you opened a new account which obviously I hadn’t or a lender has just shared some info relating to an old account.
Can you advise what this means? Is it a good or bad thing or is it just standard? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
was the 118 loan showing there before? what does the report now show?
Cathy says
Hi, I have had exactly the same thing happen. Why would they not register the loan beforehand? I was able to pay mine off early back in January but this week it has appeared on clearscore after sending in a complaint!
Richard Kilbride says
I’ve had the exact same thing happen. Not sure if it was showing before, but this month’s update states that it has been added, so very confused
Joseph says
Just an update to my final complaint with First Response Finance for irresponsible lending (was in a lot of debt at the time). Above email for them worked a treat (thanks Sara) – (johnf@frfl.co.uk) as he is the head of complaints. Car finance £5000 + interest £4216.000 = £9216.00 over 48 months. Half way through the agreement at the moment. Complaint took 5.5 weeks to resolve and was upheld, got the following redress offer:
All interest will be removed from the agreement totalling £4216.
The outstanding balance on the agreement is £4,144.00; therefore remaining £72 will be refunded. (Difference between £4,216 – £4,144 = £72)
Compensation will be provided at 8% of the interest portion of payments made, totalling £244.51.
Please reply to this email to confirm you would like to accept this offer and provide the bank details for which you would like me to credit the £316.51. **Also went back to them asking for actual compensation for their wrong doing and they added £100 so waiting on a £416.51 refund and car is all ours now.
Overall I would say a good company for the complaints process – agreed they’re going to mark my credit file as fully settled also. Thanks again!
KP says
Fantastic news! Well done
David says
Hi it wasnt there last week but now clearscore are doing weekly updates and it came up yesterday as new account added and when I clicked what does this mean it says ‘this could mean that you opened a new account or it could mean a lender has shared some information relating to a old account ‘?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you ignore these update messages and look what the details actually say.
Graham says
Hi Jade,
Did Likely Loans respond within two weeks?
I submitted affordability complaint to them 28/03/2021 and still had no response. I’ve complained via FOS, as assumed I’d hear nothing from Likely Loans after 11 weeks.
Jade says
Hi Graham,
I got a response from them within 2 weeks but wasn’t upheld so forwarded to FOS and got my reference number this morning.
This was the email address I got the response from Likely from – complaints@oakbrook-operations.onmats.com
Graham says
Thanks, Jade.
Very quick response from them. I’ve been checking my junk folder daily since March and had nothing back from them.
Good luck with the FOS complaint!
Dave says
I had a very good and fast response from Safety Net Credit – one simple email and £1200 back in my account – amazing result!
Still waiting for the Ombundsman to get back to me on my Varooma complaint after the adductor ruled in their favour – been waiting since the end of March – anyone else waiting on Ombundsman and any rough guess on response times?
Thank you so much Sara for you help so far – fingers crossed on the Varooma one to come good now too!
Sarah says
Interesting to see how your varooma goes, I’ve just started my complaint with them.
KP says
Hi Dave,
I currently have a complaint going through. It has been with an adjudicator for the last 6 weeks, the company have agreed with the adjudicator, but have failed to answer the questions, so I got an email from the adjudicator saying it was being passed to an omsbudsman and currently it is about a 2 to 3 month wait before it will be picked up.
Julie Siddle says
How long did you wait for the response please?
Kst says
I’d like to thanks to this site once again. Last week, after only 2 weeks, I managed to get Bamboo to remove 100% interest of £4095 on an unaffordable loan and today, after only putting my complaint in 3 weeks ago, had Everyday Loans remove 100% interest of £1477.36. EDL’s are also removing the default from my credit file. Took me 5 mins to put the complaint in. So worthwhile doing.
Thank you to Sara and this site.
Domonique says
Hi Sara
I took out a guarantor loan back in 2016 for 2500 with TFS loans.
I was working part time 16hrs plus I was getting child tax credits. This was before universal credits came into affect.
My mum was my guarantor and my kitchen ceiling fell through cos I had a flood so I had borrowed money to fix it. And replace what I needed.
When I applied for the loan they only asked for my pay slips and 3 months bank statements. They never asked about my expenses. At the time I was in arrears with my rent and council tax. When they did a credit check they saw I had a ccj and an unpaid phone bill. And told me to confirm in writing that I had paid it so they have it on my records. Even tho it wasn’t paid off yet. And accept me for the loan. Never asked me about my expenses. And at the time I didn’t really understand the process of loans as it was my first time taking a loan out. But because of my arrears I had previous it left me short of money after paying for everything at the end of every month. So I asked for a advance and I also took out some other payday loans to get me by. Because I took out and advance on my initial loan my total was 5000. And the interest totals it to 12,900 for 60 months. So am paying 7,900 in interest. And I deffo have not been able to afford this for such a long period. Iv struggled a lot. Have default a few times. I have made a complaint about affordability. So am just waiting to here but does this sound like I have a case or not.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is this a shared ownership property?
Musarat says
I complained about Savvy I had 3 loans in consecutive after each other they did not feel I had a case and rejected it. I then complained to financial ombudsman and he agreed with Savvy even though my complaint about Avant at the same time who I only had one loan with was upheld so confusing
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It depends how large the loans are. You should not accept an adjudicator decision if the loan was large and you know it was unaffordable – ask for it to go to an Ombudsman.
Katie says
Avant have upheld my claim!! Just waiting on calculations etc now.
Moneybarn have refused theirs. Said they made it very clear at the start of the agreement what it would cost and I made the decision to go ahead. Do I now go to FOS?
Grae says
Moneybarn reject all there complaints , so yea go to ombudsman, my complaint has been in with the ombudsman since November and I’ve not heard anything , although I have called to chase it to be told they have a department dealing with Moneybarn ,
PM says
Have Bamboo Loans rejected the adjudicators findings for anyone’s claim? They’ve done so with mine and it’s now been referred to an Ombudsman for a final decision. Is this likely to be another 12 month wait?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
some people are now getting Ombudsman decisions much quicker – it seems a bit random
George says
Hi Sara
I’ve put in irresponsible lending/unaffordable complaint to everyday loan using the template and was rejected and now it’s with the ombudsman.
It has been picked up by an investigator and in the email it’s mentioned unaffordable and not irresponsible lending.
Should i be considered about that it’s with an investigator and not an adjudicator!
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Irresponsible lending and unaffordable lending are usually much the same thing – as the template says:
“I am making a complaint to you about irresponsible lending. You should never have given me this unaffordable loan/these unaffordable loans.”
Investigator and adjudicator are names for the same role.
KP says
Hi Sara,
Quick question if I may.
I have a dispute going through the omsbudsman against H&T. They said they will make a goodwill gesture to settle after agreeing with the adjudicators decision. Anyway, the adjudicator has asked what this offer was made up of, but has had no response, so it has been sent on to an omsbudsman for final decision.
My question is, while the omsbudsman is involved, is H&T allowed to make contact to offer to settle?
The reason I am asking is, H&T have emailed me saying they are looking into the complaint further, but in the same breath, saying they can’t discuss it until its finished with the omsbudsman.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I should just ignore that email – they aren’t asking you for anything are they?
KP says
So H&T didn’t answer the adjudicator, so it has now being passed to an ombudsman for final adjudication. I have until the 13th of this month to supply any further evidence.
Hope the ombudsman is quick in looking at it.
George says
Thanks a lot Sara,
I have had a lot of success using your template and chuffed with the results.
Your one of a kind guiding all the people with their finances i cannot praise you enough.
All of those will know how satisfying it really is once they get rewarded with positive outcomes, it’s just another lease of life.
Massive praise Sara 🙂
Rebecca says
I wonder if you have any experience in this happening to anyone else? I sent my varooma complaint to the FOS two months after the 6 month referral time. No one ever said anything. I have been waiting 7 months for it to be allocated. It finally has been and my adjudicator rung me said she’s received most information from the company and was just going to ask them for one more thing and she would make her judgement. She emails today and says that varooma are now saying they don’t give permission for them to look into the complaint as it’s out of the timescale. Can they do that all of a sudden? When they’ve known for 7 months it was with the adjudicator and sent them info? I’m really angry as I’ve been waiting for this to be sorted and now they’ve tried to squash it
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was there a reason you didn’t send it to FOS within the 6 months period? Normally FOS kick these out pretty quickly?
Rebecca says
Not really I just forgotten that I hadn’t sent that one over. Do you think they will just refuse to look into it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes I am afraid that is very likely.
Annie says
Has Likely loans upheld any complaints.How long do they take to get back to you.
Ross says
Personally, I haven’t seen anybody say thru have. However, the FOS upheld mine and they accepted the adjudicator decision and paid our relatively quickly.
Jade says
Hi Annie, I got a response within a couple of weeks from Likely loans where they didn’t uphold the complaint so now with the FOS
CMcK says
They rejected mine, and unfortunately so did the FOS. Likely Loans do plenty of checks apparently, just with a low threshold as to who they’ll lend to. Never mind.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They do sometimes, here is a recent one https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/comment-page-25/#comment-424157.
But very often they reject good cases which are then won at the Ombudsman, so if you know repaying the loan caused you problems, don’t give up, send it straight to FOS! Here is a recent one:https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/comment-page-25/#comment-427464
Annie says
When you e mail Likely Loans regarding Irresponsible Lending.Do they acknowledge your e mail or just give you an answer when ready.
Ross says
If I remember, correctly, it’s an online contact form via your online account. It may have changed now though, so best to check?
Annie says
How long from start to finish with them and FOS for an answer CMcK.Thanks Ross I sent my complaint via e mail and by letter to Likely Loans head office by recorded delivery.Il wait and see
George says
I was wondering does 118 118 normally agree with adjudicator decision?and how long do they take to pay out
Thanks for a great site
Musarat says
118118 refunded my interest I had paid and when I said I wanted the remaining loan wiped off they agreed too after I threatened to take to financial ombudsman. So push along with it and good luck
George says
Thanks for your reply
They have agreed with my adjuactor to pay out the whole 3 loans I had ,how long did they take you to pay out if you don’t mind me asking
Musarat says
It took 2 weeks after they agreed to pay out
KP says
Hi Sara,
Hope this is in the thread. I put an affordability complaint against the company who I financed my car with. I received the SAR yesterday and have noticed 3 things that stick out like a sore thumb.
1 – it says I have no dependents – but the back statements they have show payments going out for the children.
2- it states during the review process of the application that the max repayments cant be greater than X amount, but the actual repayments are greater than this value.
3 – required income stated for finance is X amount, but actual income was less than this.
So with the above factors, I feel it will strengthen my claim against them.
Do you think it will help as ive spoken to them and raised these points and the gent agreed with me and was looking into it.
Do you think the above points will have any bearing on the decision?
Thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Those sound good points to have spotted!
Who is the lender?
KP says
Hi Sara,
Apologies for the delay. The lender is Marsh finance. The case handler has been pretty good thus far, calling me every week to give me updates, it was on Friday I mentioned these points to him and he did clarify that it was what he was looking more into.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, sorry no idea what sort of decisions they take. If they reject it tel them it goes to the Ombudsman in a week unless they reconsider. If they make what doesn’t sound a great offer, come back here before accepting it?
KP says
Thanks Sara, personally I think they will reject it. Although they could surprise me and make an offer. Will let you know what the outcome is.
KP says
Hi Sara,
I have just received a call from the lender regarding the points I raised as mentioned above. They are saying this was done by the broker and not them.
So it looks like they are trying to get out of it.
What I would like to know, shouldn’t they have double checked everything before financing? Otherwise a broker could just send everyone through?
So to me, it looks like 1 – affordability and 2 proportionate checks.
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The lender is the one who made the decision to lend, not the broker. It is the lender who was responsible for making sure that adequate checks were made that the loan was affordable for you.
The lender may in practice allow the broker to make the decision, but in that case the broker is acting as the lender’s “agent” and the lender is still responsible for the lending decision.
Your complaint is that the loan was unaffordable – your bank statements and credit record should show that. And that the lender failed to make proportionate checks whcih would have shown the loan was unaffordable.
KP says
Hi Sara,
Many thanks for your reply.
I have just emailed Marsh, stating it what you had wrote in my own words.
I have also asked for some clarity on how they got the figure of my monthly income.
I will update when I hear anything more from them.
Thankyou for all the help and assistance and the the great work you do here for everyone.
KP says
So Marsh have sent an email with a letter about the 8weeks. They also phoned and explained that they are almost at the decision. They did say that they agree that proportionate checks were not adequate, but were still looking at the affordability side of it.
So, I did say, that why they have been in contact weekly, I would wait for a week or 2 before going to the FOS.
So hoping I hear this coming week from them.
KP says
Hi Sara,
So Marsh have concluded the complaint.
They said they didn’t do enough proportionate checks, but will not be upholding the affordability complaint (which I expected).
In light of the proportionate checks not being good enough, they have offered me £30 by way of compensation.
Needless to say I have sent this to the FOS, so it’s just waiting now.
Feel rather insulted with the compensation they have offered for the proportionate checks complaint.
Leoni says
Sara! Thanks to one of your templetes and today I received a refund of £2332.59 from likely loans! Over the moon!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
great!
James says
Did you go to the financial ombudsman? Did they agree with adjudicator or wait for a final decision? How long did they take to pay the refund?
Leoni Rudge says
Hi James
No ombudsman involved, direct to the lender. They confirmed refund on the Friday, money in my bank on the Monday :-)
James Aylwin says
Thank you.
Leoni says
Hi all!
I’ve had a recent experience with likely loans and saw a few people asking about it, so here’s how it has gone for me!
Emailed my affordability complaint on 31st May
7th June – they request more personal details about me saying they could not see a file for me 🤦
I replied with what they requested.
I then heard nothing until this morning, where all of my documents were sent as a DSAR response at 11.15am in two separate emails, then 11.28 I receive a final response!
”
We shall remediate this by refunding all the interest which you have paid towards this loan. You borrowed an amount of £3,500.00 and you made repayments totalling £5,271.75. You are therefore due an interest refund of £1,771.75. With an additional 8% interest amount of £560.79, this brings your total refund to £2,332.54. For your convenience, please see the breakdown below:
Payments made: £5,271.75 – Loan amount £3,500.00 = Refund of £1,771.75
8% simple interest per year: £700.99 – Tax at 20% of £140.20 = Interest of £560.79″
Happy days! Now just to wait to revieve it, I hope it comes through!
Annie says
Well done Leoni.Mines just away last week by email and written letter by recorded delivery which has been signed for.My loans started with 500 pounds then top ups which is refinancing finance.Interest in interest.Never once have they asked for proof of income.My Clearscore shows negative score with defaults.waiting to see what happens with everything crossed
Leoni Rudge says
Fingers crossed for you! Keep us updated – hope you get some back!
Annie says
Was that it all through in just over a month then If you sent on 31st May.My letter went to Likely Loan head office and I’m sure it was Oakbrooke Finance the e mail address was.Who did you send yours to Leoni
Leoni Rudge says
yep all done and dusted within a month.
Refund confirmed Friday and in my bank yesterday.
I emailed complaints@oakbrookfinance.com x
Annie says
Just had e mail from complaints team asking me to email original one I sent as they can’t seem to find it.Hopefully they act on it now.
Annie says
I got e mail at 6.30 this morning from Likely Loans giving me a reference number and asking for my previous address my address and email address I used.They then said they would be looking in to it.Did you get this
Graham says
Hi all,
Seems Likely Loans don’t have any consistency. I submitted a claim to them by email on 28th March this year, using the template on here, from Sara. I heard nothing from them, not even the info I’d requested, until yesterday.
I got an email saying they had received my complaint and in 8 weeks time, I’d be eligible to contact F.O.S. This was over 12 weeks after I’d first written to them.
I’d already followed Sara’s advice and written to F.O.S a few weeks ago. Will wait and see what happens but not overly confident Likely Loans will respond in my favour
Elaine Burns says
I have checked my bank statements for Likely Loans and can’t believe I took a loan out then 5 top ups its only when u see it in front of you that you can see how bad things were. Sent an affordability claim in and it’s only been 2 weeks so hopefully they will agree
CSS1978 says
Hi All,
I’ve finally put in a complaint with AvantCredit for being mis-sold a loan back in 2015 with interest the loan was around £10000, I fell in to difficulties, contacted them they agreed a short terms reduction in the monthly payments which I didn’t miss and before that agreement was up they sold the loan off to TM legal services and ever since while I’ve been making monthly payments, I’ve had nothing but a constant harassing and bullying emails from them despite be going in to great detail about how I found my self in that situation, they don’t care, since opening the complaint with AvantCredit, I’ve stopped payments as I believe if my claim is upheld for mis-selling me the loan then I’ve paid around £1000 to this TM legal services which they owe me, yesterday I emailed both companies as this shoddy debit collection company is threating me to take me to court, I keep you all posted on how my claim goes, I opened my complaint with Avant on 19th May using the template off here, thanks Sara for the tmeplae
CSS1978 says
So Avant came back the day after me chasing them up on my complaint, and they’ve rejected it based on they acted responsibly, I’ve now opened a complete with the ombudsman, hopefully I might get some where with it via this route.
Dani says
Hi
I was in a similar position where Avant quickly rejected my appeal. I escalated to FOS who found in my favour and within a week of their decision I had around £2k in my bank from Avant and confirmation the account will be removed from my credit files. Hopefully you get the same outcome.
Good luck :)
Dani
A says
Hi Dani
This gives me hope. I’ve just had an adjudicator find in my favour with my claim against Avant. I hope, as in your case, that Avant honour this rather than playing the long game.
Aidan says
Hi,
I have had two complaints upheld against Everyday Loans. They have been instructed to payback interest plus 8%.
Loan 1 – May 2016 £2500
£194.85 june
£194.85 july
£194.85 aug
£300sept
£194.85 sept
£1100 Sept
£194.85 Oct
£700 Nov
£12.65 Nov
Interest paid £586.90
Total £3086.90
Loan 2 is more complicated
£7500 took out Sept 2017 which i am still repaying, but with differing amounts as the complaint was in with the Ombudsman for 18 months before it was upheld.
£301.72 Oct 2017
£301.72 Nov 2017
£301.72 Dec2017
£301.72 Jan 2018
£301.72 Feb 2018
£301.72 March 2018
£301.72 April – Nov 2018 x 8
Jan 2019 £99.61
May 2019 £75
June 2019 £75
July 2019 £75
Aug 2019 £1.99
Sept 2019 £9.99
Oct 2019 £19.53
Nov 2019 £21.50
Dec 2019 £20
Jan 2020 £20
Feb 2020 £20
March 2020 £10
April 2020 £10
May 2020 £10
June 2020 £10
July 2020 £15
Aug 2020 £20
Sept 2020 £20
Oct 2020 £20
Nov 2020 £20
Dec 2020 £20
Jan 2021 £20
Feb 2021 £20
March 2021 £20
April 2021 £20
May 2021 £20
June 2021 £5
Total £4921.70
I am completely at a loss to how much i am owed in redress. For loan 2 i am assuming almost all the payments went against the interest on the loan rather than the capital, as this is what my annual statements indicate.
Can one of you kind people give me a rough indication on how much i should get back as am hoping that amount will cancel out Loan 2 and i can get on with my life.
Thanks,
Aidan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so loan 1 was cleared completely before loan 2 was taken out?
can you add up the total of all payments you have made to loan 2 – ignore if they are interest, just add up the amount you have paid them.
Aidan says
Hi,
Yes Loan 1 was cleared completely before loan 2 was taken out.
Total amount for Loan 2 paid back so far is £4921.70 ( I borrowed £7500 ).
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you paid £586 interest on loan one which will be used to repay the balance on loan 2.
On loan two you have paid £4921. Now interest is removed from this loan you have to repay just the 7500 borrowed.
So you will still owe 7500 – 4921 -586 = 1993. Less the 8% interest you will get on loan 1, which will be less than a couple of hunderd.
So you will still owe a balance on loan. 2. Everyday loans will have to allow you to repay this at an affordable amount, can’t charge interest and wmust remove the negative marks on your credit record.
Aidan says
That’s great, much better than the £18k they wanted for loan 2.
Thanks.
Julie says
Has anyone had any joy with loans 2 go I r entry took a loan out with them because I was desperate but the repayments are 376 over 24 months on a 3000 loan which I can’t afford they asked for my wage slip but no bank statements I am sure when I did the quote it was a lot less repayments then what they sent me after I accepted.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, L2G often makes lowish goodwill offers to reduce a debt by a few hundred, but a lot of complaints upheld in full at the Ombudsman. 3000 is a VERY large loan and they should have verified you expenses as well as your income.
DAVID KIDD says
Hi I put a complaint against 118 and safety net on 26th may and they have both came back this week to say they are still looking into it and will give a final decision before ths 8 weeks are up.
Is this a positive,negative or doesnt matter sign?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it doesn’t mean anything about your case – it’s not good or bad.
Lee says
Hi Sara.
I have received a hard copy of my TransUnion credit report as sending all my compliants via my personal mobile /email but using my work laptop to create my compliant letters to send home to my phone.
I cannot save an online version of my credit report as my phone and work laptop block the TransUnion credit site but managed to print the form off to request via post.
The hard copy of my report is like a booklet must be around 50 pages with over 1000 previous payday loans etc and credit card debts etc history in.
My question is my Nationwide compliant needs to now go to the FOS. Should I send the compliant in the post with my credit report to the FOS. Or send via the online portal and just post my credit report to them.
Should I ask FOS to scan my credit report and provide link reference so when other compliants get sent to them through the portal they can refer to this? Should I fill in another TransUnion form to get a second copy of my credit report in hard copy for me to keep incase?.
Bit unsure what to do and feel this is delaying me proceeding with a number of compliants I still need to do.
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
could you use a friend’s phone to download a copy of the report? A bit of hassle now, but it will save you the postage and mean you still have a copy yourself.
If not, I would send your complaint to FOS using their online form, wait until FIOS have sent you a reference number for your complaint and then post the report with a covering letter giving your details (names, address etc) and the FOS reference number and also say that you are likely to be making other FOS complaints so you want the report to be available for them.
Dave says
Still waiting for FOS decision about Varooma. I rejected the adjudicators decision at the end of March and rang today to be told it is still in a queue to be seen by an ombundsman – anyone else in the same boat? Compared to SafetyNet, who coughed up all interest and the 8% within 6 weeks without any fight, this is frustrating!
PAUL says
I complained about likely loans and the FOS upheld my complaint last November (after LL rejected).
Anyway, its so frustrating as there is a balance to pay which I have no problem paying – but LL had sold to Cabot – who had given to Mortimer Clarke to manage. LL don’t want to know now.
7 months later and the default still shows with the higher amount before redress, despite the FOS telling LL to rectify, which they agreed too.
I have had no communication from Cabot or Mortimer since LL replied the end of last year.
I asked my adjudicator at the FOS to try and speed up – but they have said they have written to LL twice now, and as they sold to Cabot they have to wait for Cabot to rectify (which I assume they don’t want to to make more difficult for me) as its technically nothing to do with LL anymore.
Anyone else had this problem / any suggestions apart to sit and wait…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you spoken to Cabot?
PAUL says
Yes, sorry didn’t mention I spoke to Cabot earlier in the year who told me to deal with Mortimer.
When I spoke to Mortimer, they had a higher figure outstanding than LL had agreed with the FOS, when I queried why it was higher they said speak to Cabot who didn’t know what I was talking about and said the debt is with Mortimer to settle (as Cabot own). So going around in circles. To be honest I thought the FOS would have pulled rank and told them to sort – but despite them writing to LL twice now with no resolution I’m not sure what to do. LL did write back to the FOS after the first letter and said they were getting onto Cabot.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send Cabot a complaint by email. Mortimer is their agent, Cabot is responsible for the fact that your credit record is wrong. Say if it not resolved in a month you will be asking for compensation for this.
JC says
I am thinking of taking my complaint with avant to the FOS. They rejected my complaint, but many other loan providers have found my case to be worthy of a redress refund.
1- How long does it typically take for the FOS to deal with a complaint?
2- Does an affordability complaint affect a mortgage application in any way?
Many thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Timescales are erratic – but does that matter?
Do you still owe a balance? When do you want to apply for a mortgage?
JC says
I was hoping it would all be over before I applied for a mortgage. I’m planning on doing so in august 2022. I just don’t want anything hanging over me if that makes sense.
Even with precious affordability complaints, would they impact my application?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you still owe a balance?
Jc says
No I don’t owe a balance. Both loans I took out from avant are paid off.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In that case it cannot affect a mortgage application. How could the lender even know about it?
(It can only affect a mortgage application if you still owe a balance to the loan and you stop paying while the complaint goes through, so your credit record is harmed. The negative marks are removed if you win the complaint, but if you apply for a mortgage before then, you have little chance of being offered one.)
miles says
Can I do anything about historical secured loans from banks.
I was given several large unaffordable loans in 2004.
Would it be worth a shot?
What are the FOS time limits of 6+3?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The legal basis for the complaints being discussed here was a change in the law in 2007. That was the same date that the Ombudsman became able to look at lending complaints.
Steve says
Hi Sara,
Can I please ask how moneybarn works. I had a car on finance and then returned it after half the term. So I’m a nutshell just paid the interest I presume. I could be wrong. Have I got grounds for a compliant on that? I am not sure. I realised that this was at the same time as my other debts and fell behind on a few occasions.
Steve
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much did you borrow? how much did you pay to it?
Steve says
The vehicle was worth £5900 I paid I. £6400 then handed the vehicle over to moneybarn as they said they needed to see if it was worth the value of what was left on the loan which would of been £3447. And any difference they would send me an invoice for.
They wrote back and said that the vehicle was worth that value and they would not chase me for anymore payments.
Hope that makes sense
Steve
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though you handed the car back rather than voluntarily terminated the contract – is that right or do you not know the difference between these terms?
Steve says
Sorry no not sure. I purchased the car through another finance company (Fowler’s finance – who have gone into liquidation now). I believe they tried multiple lenders and moneybarn were the ones who provided the loan in the end because of my financial background. then I was given the option to end the contract after half the term, but had to give the car up if I did that or continue the contract until the end of term and keep the car. It became a bit too much in the end so I asked them to provide me with the option to give the car to them in return of clearing the balance.
The car initially was never there’s it was owned by another garage/finance company.
I think that is the voluntary terminate contract option. I could be wrong though sorry 😞 please correct me as I am not sure if I have got that wrong 😊
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s hard for me to guess what has happened. I suggest you call National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 and tell them what happened and ask them about making affordability complaints.
Victoria says
I submitted a complaint to the FOS in March 2021 regarding loans taken out with Varooma. I received a decision from the FOS a couple of weeks ago, saying they agree with my complaint and Varooma should repay all interest and charges back to me, plus 8% statutory interest.
Varooma have until tomorrow to respond.
I’m just wondering if anyone else can share their experiences of Varooma…did they respond to the FOS outcome? Did they send through redress figures quickly? Did they pay out the refund?
Graeme says
Hi
I put my complaint into the FOS last September against varooma , had 6 loans in total 5 being top ups ,
My complaint was only picked up my an adjudicator in may and they emailed last week to say they had all the required information . So don’t know how long it takes for them to make an initial assessment ,
Mary says
Hi Sara, Can you advise me?
I recently took out a loan with a company called Lifestyle Loans and have missed 2 payments due to experiencing financial difficulties and I have already received a Default notice and 14 days to respond before enforcement actions is taken! I thought that these were only issued if 3 months or more payments have been missed? I looked at my credit agreement and no timescales for default notices has been listed.
I have had issues with this company from the beginning and have submitted an affordability complaint to them (gave me a loan even after checking my bank account and seeing that I had gambling transactions and spending more money than I had coming in) and they gave me 30 days breathing space while they looked at the complaint from 08.06.21 but then issued with Default notice on 26.06.21.
I am in the process of setting up a DMP now as really in a terrible situation and this debt covers a 1/3 of my balance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am interested to hear this, the whole point of a lender using “open banking” to check a loan application is that they should be able to spot problems such as gambling 🙄
I think the default notice is a red herring here. The 3+ months refers to adding a default to your credit record. A Default Notice is a formal letter sent under the Consumer Credit Act, not related to your credit record.
But the more interesting question is whether you can make an affordability complaint about this loan – and I think you should if you think your bank statements show that the loan was unaffordable.
How much did you borrow? What are the other debts in your DMP?
Are you getting help with your gambling?
Mary says
Hi Sara, thanks for your reply.
I have submitted an affordability complaint against them as the evidence is huge against them as irresponsible lenders as they even asked about my PayPal payments to gambling companies.
Total loan was for £5000 over 48 months.
I have discussed with stepchange and have been given options to review and been put on breathing space for 60 days. I have been in contact with GamStop and self exclusion has been applied.
DMP would consist of 3 loans (including lifestyle loans) and 4 credit cards.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not really sure how Breathing Space helps you here, seems rather irrelevant. How much can you pay to the DMP each month? Are you buying or renting? What other options did StepChange suggest?
Are any other of your debts high cost credit it may be worth making an affordability complaint about?
Let me know what Lifestyle say in reply. And send it straight to the Ombudsman if they reject it.
Mary says
Managed to work out a figure with DMP team which is affordability for me to pay each month and have included Lifestyle loans in the plan too. StepChange were a little concerned by the default notice being received so soon and then when they went to register them on the DMP, both registered addresses couldn’t be found on their systems. They are registered with the FCA though but full of red flags with regards to how they handle business already. They have until 16th July to respond then 100% sending to the FOS
The DMP team have given a couple of options including DMP or IVA but DMP is going to be more like the best solution for me due to the ability to reduce the timescales If and when (fingers crossed) I have received refunds or compensation from the number of affordability complaints I have raised! (All 7 accounts registered on the DMP) I was given a credit card with Zopa and a £1000 increase on my Vanquis card within a space of 2 weeks of hitting defaults with my loans and cards.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unless you have assets to protect (a house with equity? a car?) then you should rule out an IVA.
Also in an IVA, if you win any affordability complaints, all the money goes to your creditors, it doesn’t reduce your IVA payments or mean the IVA ends earlier.
A DMP is much better “holding option” while affordability complaints go through.
Definitely complaint to Zopa & Vanquis then – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/ for a template.
Mary says
Thanks for your help Sara! I will definitely keep you updated RE: Lifestyle Loans, have you heard of them at all?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, new one on me. I have now added them to the list in the article above.
Mel says
Has anyone had any luck with claims against 118 money?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes! Although many good claims are rejected by 118 so the claim has to go to the Ombudsman.
Mel says
Ok thank you, I will allow the 8 weeks then get on to fos if need be.
Richard says
I had a claim accepted from 118 118 money. They wrote off the interest and charges and I only had to pay back what i borrowed. It was directly from them and did not have to get the FOS involved.
Richard says
Good morning.
I complained to Everyday loans regarding an unaffordable loan and they then rejected my claim saying that they did all the proper checks and it was indeed affordable. I then went to the FOS who upheld the claim in my favour. The outcome was that Everyday loans will have to refund myself any interest or charges. The loan was for £2000 over 2 years so i will be looking at getting about £2200 back from them.
They have accepted the outcome an I am now waiting for their offer which can take up to 4 weeks. Just thought I would share a positive result.
Houghtonguy5 says
Hi,
I had a similar experience with Everyday Loans. They rejects my complaints about the two loans I had from them. Took it the FOS who upheld the complaint on my 2nd or “top up” loan. My loan was for £7,000 which I repaid in full. Received my offer on last week which amounted to a staggering £14K including overpayments and interest!
Well worth escalating to the FOS!!!
Richard says
I have just had an offer from Everyday loans. My loan was for £2000 and I paid this off in full. I have been offered £2228.63 from them for overpayments from interest and charges. They offered me this within 2 weeks of them excepting the decision that the FOS made. Hope this can help people going forward who have had claims rejected by them and that it can work going to the FOS.
Sian says
Hi Richard,
How long did it take for Everyday Loans to respond to the Ombudsman’s decision?
I have just had my ombudsman response today confirming unaffordable lending.
Thanks
Sian
Tom says
Hi Sara,
A bit circuitous but I had a loan with Moneyway. This was sold to Alpha Credit Solutions 8 (the loan wasn’t in arrears, it was simply that Moneyway sold a portion of their loan book). Target Servicing administers loans/collections etc. on behalf of Alpha so my complaint is in fact against Target Servicing.
I just wondered whether you had any experience of these outfits as, so far, they seem to obfuscate at every turn.
When I originally complained (first to Moneyway, then to Alpha and finally to Target), they rejected it out of hand as it was out of time. It wasn’t out of time – on either the six or three year time limit. I appealed to them but they were intransigent.
It went to the FOS in October and has been picked up in the past week or so. Again, they are objecting on the basis of the timescales. The Investigator has told them that they are wrong but still they won’t accept it. He is therefore saying that he will have to issue a jurisdiction view in the first instance which will then have to go to an Ombudsman if they still won’t accept his findings: they have said that they won’t. This means I’ll likely be more than a year on before they even start engaging with the actual complaint.
I suppose the only thing that I can do is persevere but wondered if you had any advice. It seems to me like an egregious abuse of the system designed to frustrate me at every turn, rather than actually addressing the complaint at hand.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is this an affordabilty complaint?
why are Target Servicing saying this is out of time? I am just curious as to what they possibly be thinking of!
What happened to your complaint about Moneyway?
And about Alpha Credit?
Tom says
Hi Sara,
Yes it is an affordability complaint.
In short, I complained to Moneyway who forwarded it to Alpha who forwarded it to Target. Target aren’t disputing it is they who should be dealing with it as I think they are the ‘servicing’ part of Alpha (in essence) and when Moneyway sold the loan they sold the liability for any complaint.
As to why they are saying it is out of time – the reason mainly seems to be ‘because it is’!
My complaint was lodged with them in September 2020 and with the FOS in October 2020. The loan was taken in January 2016 so very clearly within the six year time limit.
In terms of the three year time limit, my complaint was submitted to them within twelve months of the intended conclusion of the loan term which is an eminently reasonable timeframe I’d have thought. Further, I only became aware in 2020 that I was able to submit complaints to lenders that had provided unaffordable lending products so I think I fall within the three year time limit, too – not that this has been an issue I have encountered before.
In turning it down on ‘out of time’ grounds, they have only ever spelled out the three and six year time limits but never articulated which they think I have fallen foul of (though given I am well within the six years, it must be the three).
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well that is ridiculous – the 3 year part is never relevant if you are within the 6 years and, as you say, you are anyway within 3 years.
I suggest you
1) tell FOS that you would like additional compensation for the absurd attempt to delay your complaint
2) tell the FCA (their regulator) what you think of this very poor complaint handling.
To do this, email email consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and copy this to julie.eastty@targetgroup.com and lee.sparey@targetgroup.com
Subject: Target Servicing (454569) is trying to stop FOS looking at my valid complaint
Give your name and address, any Target Servicing reference number you have and your FOS reference number
Explain you have sent an affordability complaint about a loan taken in January 2016 to Taregt Servicing. There is no need to explan why you think the loan is unaffordable, that is for FOS to looks at, you are just telling the FCA about TS’s very poor complaint handling.
Say that although the loan was taken within the last six years, so FOS can clearly look at it, TS are saying it is outside the timescale, for reasons they have not explained and said FOS needs to issue a jurisdiction view. This is all delaying the handling of your complaint.
End by saying you know the FCA will not investigate your complaint, but you thought they ought to know how poorly one of their authorised forms is handling complaints and failing to co-operate with FOS.
Tom says
Excellent. Thank you so much!
Tom says
Hi Sara,
I just thought I would update you on this … out of interest more than anything and because they are driving me wild!
Target (ie ACS) have now accepted that the complaint IS in time for the FOS to consider, after extensive toing and froing with the Adjudicator from the FOS.
On the same day that they accepted that it was in time, they then said that they are not responsible for the selling of the loan and therefore it’s not their problem – despite never having previously raised this, and specifically saying in their final response letter that they have “assessed my complaint about the sale of the loan”.
Their attempts to obstruct me are so maddening!!! I emailed the FCA as advised above but got no response from them, or from the people at Alpha copied!
Grrrrr.!!!!
Nicola says
Has anyone has any success with Lendable?
Sarah Dargan says
Varoom have just replied to me 6 weeks after directly contacting them. Is this a good outcome please and advise on what to do next
Further to my acknowledgement email, I can confirm I have investigated your complaint fully and will be upholding your complaint for the reasons below;
I appreciate your patience whilst I have looked into this.
will be upholding your complaint but wanted to lay out the reasons below.
I took into account everything you mentioned and I did disagree with the
I am not upholding due to affordability but more so due to your full financial situation.
Your credit score did decline over the course of your relationship with Varooma and whilst your debt ratio did also decrease, I can see a CCJ was registered . we should have done further checks into your full financial situation and for this I do apologise.
To resolve the complaint I propose:
We close down the open loanWe remove all advserse information off your credit fileWe refund you a balance of £3000 this is the overpayment of interest and added 8% for loans 2/3.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so you had 3 loans from them?
It isn’t clear if they are upholding all three, I think it looks like just loans 2 and 3?
Do you know how much you borrowed and how much you paid to each of the first 2 loans?
The last loan, how much did you borrow and how much have you paid to it? What is the current balance?
Sarah Dargan says
My initial loan was taken out in 2016 – for a total of £1300 term was 18months total
repayable was £2665.08
On this loan payments were made by myself as follows
21/01/2017 – £148.06
21/02/2017 – £148.06
03/04/2017 – £154.50
03/05/2017 – £153.17
02/06/2017 – £153.17
Total – £756.96
06/06/2017 – was a early settlement paid in order to reloan of £1440.49
Total including this £ 2,200.45
2nd additional loan was issued on 03/03/2018
Loan amount was £2,200 over a term of 12 months
Replayable amount was £3740.04
On this loan Payments made were as follows
Sara (Debt Camel) says
06/06/2017 – was a early settlement paid in order to reloan of £1440.49
was the settlement 1440? or was that the cash you received from the top up?
Sarah Dargan says
As far as I knownit was just refinanced so they paid the remaining off and added to 2nd loan.
I received 2200 cash from what I can remember/see
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so what was the £1440.49 number?
When you get a top up loan that settled the previous loan, if the loan is 3000 and you receuives £1800, then £1200 was used to settle the previous loan.
Has Varooma sent you you the details fo eacu of your loans? What you borrowed, what you repaid? If you don’t know the numbers its a bit hard for me to see what is happening – I can’t tell from what they wrote if they are upholding all 3 loans or just loans 2 and 3?
Sarah dagan says
varooma also said : the additional interest is from 04/03/18 theres no breakdown I can supply as I use a electronic link, but you over paid by 2886.82 then additional.
Would you like to accept ?
Any money refund will be done within next 7 days
i then asked for a full breakdown and got this reply : Hi
Il have to put this on hold whilst I do this manually for you . we don’t usually give breakdown unless through the FOS as we then deduct tax from you My workload should allow me to get this to you by Monday at the latest
I will ensure no further payments are took on your loan for you
im confused as to what this means
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you reply that you want to know for each loan, how much you borrowed, what your monthly payments added up to, what any final settlement payment was and what the current balance outstanding is. Also how much the 8% interest they have added is. Say you need this to understand the offer they are making.
Sarah Dargan says
Absolutely il send that across right away. Thank you for your help and support with this matter its most appreciated.
Sarah Dargan says
Final offer has been reviewed and works out to be £3265.78
Loan 2 – £1382.20 interest plus 8% annual from date of payment ( £299.39) = £1681.59
Loan 3 – £1504.62 interest plus 8% annual from date of payment (£174.31) = £1678.93
£1678.93 + £1681.59 = £3360.52
Minus 20% tax on the 8% = amount to be paid to you £3265.78
I am only upholding the complaint for loans one and two when the AOE was applied and the ccj. I do not believe loan 1 was not not affordable.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So its gone up a couple of hundred just because you asked for a breakdown…
They say “I am only upholding the complaint for loans one and two when the AOE was applied and the ccj.” but they have given you numbers for loans 2 and 3, not loan 1.
” I do not believe loan 1 was not not affordable.” presumably the doubt “not” was an error and that is supposed to read “I do not beleive loan one was not affordable”
They got an attachment of earnings on loans 1 and 2? or 2 and 3? Did they get the CCJ or was that a different lender?
do you think loan 1 was also unaffordable?
Sarah Dargan says
I do and I’m also checking the date of the ccj
Lottie says
Hi Sara,
I am after some advice if possible?
FOS have now upheld my complaint against loans 2 go in respect of 3 loans they should not of lent in respect of unaffordabilty. If they agree the redress they would owe, would be in the region of £10-£13k depending on what date they calculate the 8% interest from.
Have you had any experience of Loans 2 go paying out in your experience? – I appreciate every case is different, and there are no guarantees, but wondering if they are likely to pay out or if they tend to refer to back to the final stage of asking the Ombudsman to look at it. 1 of the loans the smallest is goes back to 2011 and the other two which were big ones were 2013 and 2014.
Any intel would be great, I am not getting my hopes up and preparing for another 1 yr of the ombudsman to look at it. We’re 1 yr I’m already with it.
Many thanks
Lottie
Hazel says
Hi
I am in a similar position , FOS are presently investigating my complaint with Loans to go . My complaint went in over a year ago and FOS emailed me 4 weeks ago to say they now have all the information required and have now started their investigation .
Lottie says
Hi Hazel, just an update on my L2Go complaint.
FOS adjudicator upheld all my complaints, and said L2GO should pay all interest back including stat interest. Just to give you an update, L2Go still do not agree with FOS and have said the Ombudsman needs to look at the complaint now. We’re already over a year In, and I am now told the ombudsman can take over a further year to look at it. It’s not starting to look hopeful now.
I hope they agree to pays yours though. Good luck with it
Hazel says
Hi
Loans to go had up until yesterday to respond to the adjudicator so I’m guessing I will be in the same position as you . I will let you know once the adjudicator gets back to me
Dan says
Hi Sara
I have made complain against 118 money , I had 2 loans with them and thats their answer:
We have now investigated your complaint fully and would like to apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused you.
We understand that you are unhappy that we approved your loan applications; you feel that we were irresponsible in doing so.
118 118 Money do not allow customers to have more than one active loan agreement at a time.
With the above in mind we are satisfied that we acted correctly in approving your loan application for the first agreement and as such we will not be upholding this aspect of your complaint. For the avoidance of doubt, this means you remain fully liable for the loans, interest and repayments.
You will note from the above that we have not upheld your complaint regarding the first agreement; however, we will be upholding your complaint regarding the last agreement.
Do you think I should accept this offer or its better to pass it to ombudsman?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what exactly have they offered you?
Dan says
That they will remove £1452.09 from the account which means that the balance will reduce by £1452.09 and this will also mean that once the remaining balance has been paid, i would not have paid any interest on the last loan and also they will be reaching out to the Credit Reference Agency to ask that any negative information regarding the upheld loan applied to your credit file by 118 118 Money are removed .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok and is that number correct for the second loan? How large was the loan? How much have you paid so far?
And what about the first loan? How large was that? Do you agree the first loan was affordable?
Hazel says
Hi Sara
FOS has upheld my complaint from Loans to go , these were two loans dating back from 2011 and 2013 , they have asked Loans to go to refund all the interest and charges to date , what exactly does this mean . They have given them up to 27th July to respond
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When a loan has been decided to be unaffordable, you still have to repay what you borrowed, but the lender has to refund any interest and charges they added. Plus 8% statutory interest – I assume your FOS adjudicator said that too?
Hazel says
Hi Sarah
I paid off both loans so don’t owe anything , FOS have asked them to refund all the interest and charges paid to date and 8 percent simple interest should be added as surplus
Sara (Debt Camel) says
good, that is the standard award. If you know the details of how much you paid to the loans I can work out roughly what you should get?
But we are assuming at the moment that L2G accepts the FOS decision.
Hazel says
I had two loans with them both of them, the first loan I’m sure was around £1300 and I paid back £6410.82 .After I paid this off I took out another loan and it was around the same amount, I paid back £7184.00. I can’t believe I paid back this amount of interest .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If those numbers are right, you should get back over 16k…
A miller says
Sara what do u mean assume L2g except FOS decision isn’t the FOS decision final and binding
Hazel have u been paid out yet
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A Final Decision from an Ombudsman is legally binding. An adjudicator decision isn’t – either you or the lender can reject it and ask for it to go to the Ombudsman. 90% of cases are settled at the first, adjudicator stage.
James says
Likely loans have agreed with the FOS. How long do they take to process the refunds.
Richard says
They normally have 28 days to respond to yourself with a settlement offer. If they don’t then go back to the FOS and they will then chase.
james says
They have replied and accepted. I am just trying to figure out how long until i receive the refund. Some people say there refunds were settled on tuesday and paid by friday. I am just trying to get a rough idea slash ballpark timeline so I can plan. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Nina says
Hi James. I accepted my redress on the 29th June and I received an email the next day that likely loans will pay out in 28 days. Still waiting
Jess says
Hi Sara
I got a 118118 money loan then a month later they give me a credit card. I already had paydays loans around 4/5 different credit cards. I want to be an affordability claim for both. You have already told
Me the wording but I. Can’t find my comment? Could you please advise me again.
Also I got a loans2go in jan is there different wording for this. And also Drafty aswell.
Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
your previous comment was here https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/comment-page-23/#comment-427219
For Loans2Go see this separate page https://debtcamel.co.uk/worst-loan-in-britain/
For Drafty use the standard payday loan template here https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-loan-refunds/
It sounds as though you owe a lot of money on outstanding loans? I strongly suggest you cancel the DD and/or CPA to the lenders and talk to StepChange about a debt management plan. These complaints can take a long while to sort out, you need to get yourself into a safe financial place while they go through.
HJ says
Hi Sara,
how long do you usually have to wait for an unaffordability complaint? I took a £2000 loan out with Savvy 08/05/21 and have only made 2 payments so far, but they asked for no proof of income nor expenses and had multiple gambling transactions at the time in addition to 3 other loans, 6 maxed out credit cards and 2 maxed out store cards.
This is still irresponsible lending right? Would i stand a chance if i sent a complaint in already?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, what matters is if they made the right decision in early May – you don’t have to wait for a year or more.
So should Savvy should have realised the loan was unaffordable. How large were your total debts when you applied compared to your income?
HJ says
Thanks Sara I will submit, is the best bet to ask them to remove interest and just pay them back the amount I borrowed?
Roughly (including car finance) c22k on a 30k salary before tax
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, with just the one loan.
It sounds as though you have a lot of debt. Can I suggest you talk to StepChange about a debt management plan? See https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
HJ says
The car finance makes up c14k of that and have cleared c2k
off since then. Also Due refunds from SNC, Very & Drafty in coming weeks so will be in a good place again come October but thanks for the advice!
Yan says
Hello Sara
I was wondering if I would be able get a credit card balance cleared from Halifax which I took out a year ago (June 2020) from Halifax. They gave me a limit of £1,100 and have been struggling to pay it off because of my reduce hours at work . Would they be able to clear my balance and close my credit card account. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They could do this – a lender can do anything they want in this situation if they decide you should never have been given the credit in the first place.
But it is VERY unlikely they will do this. in 99 cases out of 100 the Ombudsman only says interest has to be removed from an account, you still have to repay what you borrowed.
Can you say more about your financial situation in June 2020? And about your situation now – do you have arrears on any bills or other problem debts?
Andrew says
Hi Sarah, I’m currently in the process of using resolver to complain about irresponsible lending in the past.
I have had a reply from likely loans who said they believe there was nothing wrong at their end when agreeing too loan. Am I right in thinking next step is FOS? I have bank statements for all of time I was borrowing money from different providers and want to know how far back from when loan was taken out should I send as evidence to FOS? Is it 2,3,4,5 or 6 months worth before the loan acceptance?
I was gambling massively at the time of all of the borrowing and can clearly be seen in bank statements. I was loosing my pay then borrowing money to gamble more and then on the next pay day I was having to pay back loan sometimes in full then to just take out loan again sometimes with same company sometimes use different.
Most loan amounts was in region of £300-2000 and these where solely due to my gambling addiction. I earn a decent wage which they was aware of and my out goings where minimal at the time of loans, surely they would of known this and flags be raised when see constant borrowing and look at credit history/bank statements.
Hope you can answer some of these, thanks Andrew.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Am I right in thinking next step is FOS?
yes if you think the LL loan was unaffordable and LL would have realised this if they had looked properly at it
I have bank statements for all of time I was borrowing money from different providers and want to know how far back from when loan was taken out should I send as evidence to FOS? Is it 2,3,4,5 or 6 months worth before the loan acceptance?
For one loan, normally 3 months before and three months fter is enough.
but if you may be sending a lot of other complaints to FOS, then you may as well send now the bank statements for all of them. Then next time you can tell FOS to use the statements supplied with your other case.
Most loan amounts was in region of £300-2000
So how much you borrowed from one lender matters. If you just had one loan of 2000 then def send it to FOS – for a large loan they should have looked closely.
If you just had two loans of 300 then you may not win a FOS case.
But if in doubt send them to FOS, it is their job to make this decision.
Andrew says
Thanks very much for reply Sara that’s helped me for the next step!
Wendy says
Hi my adjudicator found all 3 of my loans for 118118 money was irrosponsible leaning and she gave them till last Tuesday to reply to her ,which they haven’t so she’s sent them another email ,I just wonder what 118118 are like if adjudicator have found in your favour
Thanks great site
Adam says
Hello. I have a series of loans with Mobile Money going back to 2009. Can I still put a claim in for these or is it now out of date?
HoughtonGuy says
Hi,
I put in a claim for several loans from Mobile Money and ended up getting a settlement which included one loan which was over 6 years old. Well worth putting in the claim, it will be up to the FOS to consider whether the claim is valid and/or which loans it will consider.
Lottie says
Hi Sara,
FOS have upheld 3 loans I had with Loans to go, from 2011-2013. Depending on if Loans 2 go agree, and do not ask the Ombudsman to look at it, they need to pay back all interest, fees and additional charges, plus 8% stat interest.
Loan 1 – 1257.12 borrowed in 2011- last payment made in 2013 – the interest was £2333.32 – there were also lots of charges and fees , but I am not sure of the breakdown on those.
Loan 2 – July 2013 – completed August 2013 loan amount £1200 repaid one month later, but with interest and charges of £789.00.
Loan 3 – August 2013, loan amount £4000 – repaid £8790.00 final payment made august 2015. Not sure how much in additional charges yet, but I know it was a lot.
If they pay out, do you know roughly how much I would expect to get back please?
I appreciate its not going to be exact, and I know there is possibly quite a bit in charges and fees that were extra on top of the interest.
Have you heard if they are accepting FOS upheld complaints, or are they likely to do down the ombudsman route.
Many thanks
Lottie
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Loan 1 – well you say you paid 2333 interest – there isn’t any other number for me to go on…
Loan 2 – ditto, you say 789
Loan 3 – that looks like you paid 8790-4000=4790 in interest and charges.
Plus very roughly £4000 in 8% added interest.
If any of these were “top up loans” and you were basing the numbers for loans 1 and 2 on what the paperwork at the start of the loan said, your numbers for loans 1 and 2 could be a long way off.
Lottie says
Hi Sara,
Thank you –
Loan 1 – 2011 amount paid £3509.32 – loan amount was £1257.12( that was including the re- loan amount.
Loan 2 – amount paid £2726.26 – amount borrowed £1200.00. They did reduce the loan by £1432.00 in interest waiver as it was paid in full within 3 weeks of taking the loan in 2013.
Thank you for information on loan 3.
Have you had any experience of loans 2 go paying out, without asking the Ombudsman at all.
Many thanks for all your help.
Lottie