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 get the interest refunded in cash. When you still owe a balance, the interest is removed so you only 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?
- any personal loans, including high-cost 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 may still have been unaffordable!
- you can also complain about car finance. But if you are still paying car finance, be careful – read Car finance affordability – what you get if you win a complaint
- the complaints here do not apply to mortgages or business loans.
What is “unaffordable”?
The regulator says “affordable” means:
you can make the repayments without hardship or having to borrow elsewhere.
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
Castle Community Bank complaints@castlecommunitybank.co.uk
Creation customercare@creation.co.uk
Everyday Loans – for loans after 31 March 2021, see Evlo and use the template in this article. It is no longer possible to make complaints about their loans before that date
Evlo (rebrand of Everyday Loans) chioma.nwachukwu@evlo.co.uk
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 the loan caused you a lot of problems, 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 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 if your loan was still being repaid within the last 6 years, the Ombudsman may well decide they can look at it. So if your loan started in 2017 and finished in 2021, send this to the Ombudsman if the lender says it’s too old, because it isn’t.
The ombudsman may also look at older loans if you had a continuous stream of borrowing which carried on into the last 6 years. So if you had 2 loans, the first from 2014-17, when it was refinanced into a loan from 2017-2021, the Ombudsman may decide they can look at the earlier loan as well. And if you had two overlapping loans, eg from 2014-2019 and 2017-2022, the Ombudsman may look at both.
But if your loans from this lender ended more than 6 years ago, then it is very unlikely you will win a case at the Ombudsman.
Need some help?
Don’t use a claims management company. They are expensive, 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?
samson says
good evening, is it too late to contact myjar and wage day advance for a redress?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Wageday advance – yes too late by a couple of years!
Myjar – you can still send a complaint to myjar@harrisons.uk.com with CLAIM as the subject. The administrators are warning payouts are likely to be very low.
David says
Hi,
Do you think is it still possible to complain about large LoansDirect loan taken 8 or 9 years ago (paid off 4-5 years ago). It does not appear on my credit reports but I can see payments in my bank statements. Or would that be too old?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lons Direct went into liquidation. But they were a broker, not a lender. Can you find out who the lender was?
David says
Unfortunately I don’t remember, on my bank statements I just see a lot of payments to LoansDirect in total over 13k. I can see there is loans direct website still active. Maybe I could call their contact number to find out.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you can try. But look again at your credit records. If you only finished paying the loan 4 or 5 years ago it should still be there, but under the lenders name not any broker.
Loans Direct UK Limited went into liquidation and there is nothing more you can do if they were the lender.
Matt says
Great thread which has proved very helpful. Just a quick question.
I had the adjudicator find in my favour with a loan from Likely and they have until today (8th December) to respond.
Just wondering what the likelihood of them replying in time is and what happens if they don’t respond within the timescale set by FOS?
Thanks
James Aylwin says
They replied the afternoon of the last day of the adjudicator deadline and accepted and then I wrote a review on trustpilot and they paid within 5 days.
Matt says
Thanks for that, did the FOS forward the response on the same day?
I’ll make sure to put the review on trust pilot and hope that does the trick. Assuming they agree with FOS of course
James Aylwin says
I don’t think so but I am bit 100% it may have been the day after. Good luck.
Matt says
Thanks for the responses. Had the response this morning and they have agreed with FOS so due a nice amount back
What kind of review did you put on trustpilot? Any tips grateful. Would be great having refund by Xmas
Simone says
Hi Matt,
I had my complaint upheld against Likely Loans recently and they agreed with the decision. However on my letter it said they would take up to 28 days after acceptance of the redress to pay me – did they say the same to you? I too was hoping for payment before xmas but that doesn’t seem likely
Chris says
Hi Simone and Matt, I’m in a similar position with Likely. Have you had your redress yet? If so how long did it take? Thanks.
shaun says
Good morning,
I made a FOS case against NatWest. I weren’t very hopeful after speaking to them direct it sound like I had zero chance of anything. After me taking a large loan with them at a higher apr with other loans and bills etc….. I took the case to the FOS anyway and been waiting a while but now I got an adjudicator and with in a week a £100 offer from NatWest. This just seems like a token gesture and to get me out the way.
Has anyone had any experience with such a case against a very well known bank? Seems terrible offer and seem as nothing to really lose by carrying on.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Perhaps they think you are desperate for £100 before Xmas…
Do you know how much interest you paid on the loan?
Shaun says
Am not 100% but think it was 22%
Having a quick look through I have had 8 natwest loans from 2017 to now.
Started off small gradually getting bigger reconsolidating one each time.
My current loan was for £14000 recently just opened after re-consolidating although at a lower apr. This Is not the loan am complaining about though. The one am complaining was for a similar amount back in 2018
Sara (Debt Camel) says
22% – ouch.
I actually meant how much interest did you pay, not the rate – because that is possibly the amount that could be refunded.
8 loans over 4 years for consolidation – I think you should say to FOS that you think NatWest should have stopped giving you more loans and offered to freeze interest and let you pay over a longer period from the point you applied for this 2018 loan at 22%. Even if the later ones were at a lower interest rate, those loans were still larger because of the mis-selling of the 2018 loan.
Graeme says
Hi Shaun, I am exactly in the same position as you. £100 gesture vs interest of over £4000 on a £6,200 loan. I had it rejected a few weeks back so I am sending over to the ombudsman today/tomorrow as I have some free time to put it together. I know it is a big bank but I won a case against 118 118 last month and this loan came after that ( and 3 more credit cards, limit increases etc) If I took out the name NatWest I would be almost certain I would win, like you I am a bit sceptical of winning this v high street bank but based on facts alone I believe my case is strong. My finances at the time were horrible and they had hiked my overdraft from £250 to £2,250 only 7 weeks before the loan – and I had almost maxed this out in 7 weeks! I have complained about the overdraft too but they have ignored this so far and are now over 8 weeks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s interesting if NatWest is now making a lot of really token offers to try to head off complaints.
it isn’t the name of the lender that matters. It is how affordable the repayments are and what the lender knew about you when they gave you the loan. If NatWest had recently increased your overdraft a lot, they should have been careful about a loan application and looked closely at your credit record.
Send that overdraft complaint over to FOS as well! Banks are losing a lot of overdraft complaints. I am trying to finish a new article about this – look out for it!
shaun says
Evening Graeme,
Thanks for your reply! It does sound a very similar situation to myself. Speaking to NatWest they really played it down and told me I had money left at end of month etc… I have won 6/7 cases of old loans some small some big. So I do have a bit of hope. I just look at the loans I had and the times I took new or reconsolodated and increasing in lending amount to think it’s really good about! Plus having overdraft and multiple other lending.
I am claiming for 1 loan currently but now I feel like claiming on all the loans with NatWest!! Il see if the FOS make me do this individually or can do it in one go.
Fingers crossed! Good luck with your case.
David says
Hi, I have a question. What if I make affordability complaint against loans from my own bank? Do I still need to attach bank statements or can I skip it due to the fact they can see statements anyways because it’s from the bank itself?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you add a sentence into your complaint saying that your bank statements, which they can see, will show your financial problems at the time and this was a reason why the bank should have known not to give you the loan.
Did you have an overdraft – what was the overdraft limit like? did you also have a credit card from the same bank?
David says
I had a loan and overdraft of -£5000or more. Then they gave me something called refinance loan to pay that overdraft. It was lower interest than being on constant overdraft but I still ended up paying quite a lot more than I borrowed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So say some more about the overdraft. Had they increased the overdraft limit? Had you been in the overdraft continuously for a long period? It may be a good idea to combine a complaint about the loan and the overdraft.
Tim says
Hi . I put a complaint in against Likely Loans and asked them for my S.A.R.S. information the credit report and the income and expenditure profile they used. They told me that they didnt own that information so refused to release it to me. Has anyone else had this responce of them?. Thanks
Max says
Hi Tim,
If it helps, I did a SAR to them (LL)in January after making an irresponsible lending complaint in late 2020.
They just sent me copies of credit agreements and correspondence, but nothing that showed any hard data as to how they assessed my credit worthiness for 4 x four-figure loans in quick succession.
Other companies I SAR’d sent more detailed info than LL, and I noted they were very ambiguous in my (lengthy) complaint rejection letter as to how they approved my applications.
Just send it to the FOS, it took nine months, but I got full redress very recently after they accepted an adjudicator’s decision in full.
Max says
Hi Sara,
Here’s a final update on my 118118 claim for x 4 loans/top/ups taken that totalled more than £10,000 and were taken out over an 18-month period
Refund of £3,000 received via bank transfer on the ninth working (of the 14 they requested) after I accepted their offer via email.
Timescale from accepting the adjudicator’s decision in full – refund of all interest on the four loans +8% simple interest – was just under a month.
I thought they’d try to delay things and reject the ruling on at least one of the four loans, and I’m curious as to why they didn’t “try it on”.
The adjudicator never referred to it, but in my SAR request my monthly expenditure for the applications for the second, third and fourth loans was shown as £O in all categories.
Whether they had IT issues or just used the info from my first loan several months/year earlier is unclear.
Total time from original irresponsible lending complaint to 118118 to money hitting account was two weeks shy of a year.
Just want to say to everyone to keep the faith as it’s worth it in the end.
Max
Ossie says
Hey Sara , my complaint about everyday loans was upheld by the adjudicator who asked them to refund the interest I paid on 2 out of the 3 loans I’ve taken. However everyday disagreed and it’s gone to an ombudsman to now rule on, do you know how long this process usually takes ?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am afraid it seems very variable
Gaz says
It took my case about two months for the final decision. I won my case for 4 loans and have been awarded over 15000. I’m just waiting for the funds to be deposited in my account. They have said it could take up to two week. Merry Christmas
Martin says
Hi
Out if interest, how long did it take Every Loans to pay up. I had an offer via the financial Ombudsman today which I accepted as this has been ongoing for almost two years. I just wondered how long I should leave it before I contact Everyday loans as the Ombudsman says they now no longer involved.
Thanks
fusion says
Hi Martin, out of curiosity? was the offer the amount you’re due or a reduced number? how long did they take to reply to adjudicator?
Martin says
Hi Fusion,
Took over a year to reply to the Ombudsman – they kept saying the delays were due to Covid-19. Then this week I received an email from the Ombudsman to say EL had made an offer, which I accepted as it has been going on for way too long.
fusion says
Hi Martin, how long did every day take to contact after they made the offer, I’ve apparently got an offer but havent seen it yet nor has the the ombudsman. I’m wondering how long I should leave it.
fusion says
Similar position – adjudicator ripped their means testing apart on my claim – I was quite impressed I’m not sure they have much to argue back beside their final response already.
This is for Everyday loans for 15 k over 3 loans a total of 23k despite me owing around 41k already
Mel says
I hope you get a final response from ombudsman soon. My adjudicator report although in my favour was just flawed with mistakes – he should have proof read his findings, wrong names multiple times and even wrong companies! Not surprised EL told him to sod off ! I’ve been waiting 2 months now so not that long but I hope it’s picked up soon so I can put this whole thing behind me
fusion says
Hey ossie, any update on your case did the ombudsman rule in your favour? How long did it take you.
fusion says
So everyday loans had until the 15th to reply to the adjudicator the 15th feb. which has been and gone and they still have not replied to him – he said that he will try them again and give a week for their reply.
if not he will give his final decision. once he has given a final decision what is the next steps and if everyday do not engage or reply to that final decision. do i have to chase everyday regarding or does it go some where else.
Mel says
My guess is they will respond to the adjudicator in the next week or so. Hopefully it’s a positive outcome, but if not it will go into the queue for an decision from the Ombudsman, where the their decision is final
Chris says
Hi Sara
Just want to find out if I’m correct.
118 had partially upheld my complaint (they agreed to 3 out of 6 loans) so I’m taking them to FO for the other 3 that they think it was ok to issue to me.
Just want to find out if FO would reject my complaint will I still get refund for 3 loans that 118 agreed with me to initially ?
Thanks for your help !!
this is answer from 118:
Please note that the above refunds are being offered in full and final settlement of the complaint and it is important that you understand that the offer is being made in settlement of the whole complaint and not just the agreement in question. Should you/your client wish to accept the offer, please reply to this email to confirm your understanding, along with providing your bank details for the refund to be processed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t accept a refund on 3 loans and take the rest to FOS.
FOS will review your full complaint but they typically start from a position that 118 have agreed loans a,b and c are unaffordable so they will only look at whether d, e and f are.
Do you want to say something about your loans? Did 118 uphold the last three? the largest three? or what?
Chris says
Hi Sara
so between July 2015 & October 2019 I had total of 6 loans. they refused to look at 1st loan as it is over 6 years event that I explained that I only find out in 2020 that I can make complaint. then 2nd and 3rd loan they say that ”you were taken through extensive questions to ascertain your circumstances. When submitting the applications, you are asked a number of different questions around your income and expenditure, the reason for the loan and employment details.” and they upheld last 3 loans as they say ” I say this is because I feel that we could have asked more questions of you to be able to fully assess your circumstances; I appreciate that this is not ideal and for this I am sorry, however, it is important to note that I don’t agree that our loans solely contributed to the position you have now found yourself in but I do feel that we could have done more.
now I believe that all loans had been unaffordable as my situation back then (first 3 loans) was similar to when I took last 3 loans.
thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you say how large the loans were, in order of you taking them
FOS will look at loans that are more than 6 years old, but these cases tend to go much slower. If the first loans wasnt larger, it may be a better idea to tell FOS you are only complaining about loans 2-6 but you would like the first loan to be taken into account when assessing loans 206 as it shows 118 knew you had been in a difficult situation for a long while and their loans were not helping you out of it.
Chris says
Hi Sara
1st loan July 2015 for £2000 over 18 months total to repay £3285
2nd loan April 2016 new loan was for £2255 (£1255 to pay for old loan, and £1000 new loan) over 24 months total to repay £4266
3rd loan July 2017 new loan of £2072(£1272 to pay for old loan and £800 new loan) over 24 months with total to pay £3978
4th loan February 2018 loan for £2826 (£1826 to pay for old one and £1000 new loan)over 24 months with total to pay £5306
5th loan August 2018 loan for £3137 (£2437 to pay for old loan and £700 new loan) over 24 months with total to pay £5932
6th loan October 2019 loan £3843 (£1843 to pay for old loan and £2000 new loan) over 24 months with total to pay £5670
118 uphold last 3 loans – refund due £4931 plus £394 interest.
now like i mentioned before all 6 loans were issued to me in similar circumstances so i think I should go back to FO with all 6 loans.
thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Definitely try to get more.
It’s up to you if you want to ask FOS for all 6, or go for the last 5 which will be quicker, and it’s possible they may not give the first one anyway (although they might).
You could also say to 118 that that isn’t acceptable, but you are prepared to compromise on loans 2-6 being refund in the interest of a speedy settlement, although f you go to FOS you think they will all be upheld. I don’t know if they would accept that – tell them it goes to FOS in a week if they don’t reply.
Jax says
Good evening. Made a complaint to Hitachi re irresponsible lending. Of course they did nothing wrong in their response. They have been reporting late payment markers for 24 months instead of defaulting the loan no later than 6 months after my first missed payment. I’m more interested in them adding a default than removing the interest. Am I barking up the wrong tree with this or should I pursue it please? The loan was for 10k over 5 years with interest of 5k. I now owe about 7.5 k.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you think it was mis-sold, send the complaint to FOS. If you win that, all negative marks are removed from your record.
In this situation you probably do not want them to add a default as it would still be on your credit record for another 5 years…
Jax says
Thanks for your reply Sara. I have several other defaults from early 2020 so I was thinking it can’t do further damage and would drop off around the same time as the others. As it stands this debt won’t come off my credit record until 6 years after I finish paying it which will probably be next year, so would stay on until 2028 instead of 2026. I’ll escalate to FOS and see whether they uphold it. It would be nice if those late payment markers for the last 2 years were removed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, let FOS look at the mis-selling claim. If you lose that, look at getting a default date added then.
PM says
I can’t get my head round the FOS timelines. 26 weeks waiting for an Ombudsman and it’s still in a queue as a priority case. Adjudicator is off until new year, so I rang the customer services and was told that it’s likely to be another 3 month wait due to the volume of cases. I even mentioned the timelines that other people share on this site, and was told that those timelines are nonsense and people are lying. Completely baffled by their response and attitude. They couldn’t even tell me what the Christmas working hours would be…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is this Bamboo? I thought you said you weren’t a priority case?
PM says
Yes it is. I didn’t think I was, but my adjudicator told me otherwise when we spoke a few weeks ago.
Laura says
My bamboo case was referred to an ombudsman around the same time as you. Although I can’t get any update on timeframes other than it is in a queue. My case has been with the FOS for a year now, took 6 months for an investigators view and I just have to sit tight.
I’m not viewed as a priority case so I just have to keep everything crossed that bamboo don’t go under while I’m waiting. Although, if it stops others getting into a similar position it’s a win.
PM says
I suppose it’s good to know that we aren’t isolated incidents then. My timeline is 15 months for the adjudicator decision and then 26 weeks until this point. I think Bamboo are still lending so Hopefully they won’t go under. Fingers crossed for the both of us!
Anonymous says
Hi, I would like to make a complain to my bank about irresponsible lending due to gambling issues. The loan was quite large, over £7000. I already paid it off. Would I ask in my complain for refund just the interest or should I also ask for refund me the loan amount itself? Since the bank should have access to my statements they should have seen I was gambling before borrowing me even that I never told them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You just ask for a refund of the interest. (The very rare exception here is where you had already told your bank about your gambling before the loan.)
In your complaint make the point that the bank should have seen from your bank statements that you had a gambling problem.
Do get copies of your bank statements for 3 months before and 3 months after the loan was given – your bank doesn’t need these but it means you will have them ready to send to the ombudsman if your bank rejects your complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Also did you have an overdraft? Was that large and were you always in it?
Anonymous says
Yes I did and when I took the loan I was already using pretty much max limit of it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large was the overdraft? And had you been in it constantly for a long while – how long? It may be worth making a complaint about the overdraft at the same time as the loan.
Anonymous says
Yes it was constantly pushed to the limit. Interestingly they increased the limit few months after the loan! But again as you said I will probably only get interest but not the full amount.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok then complain about the overdraft too. I am writing a new post on overdraft complaints in a few weeks so look out for it… but just get your complaint in and say they never should have increased your limit because of the gambling on the account and the recent loan they had given you.
Jack says
Hi Sara, was wondering if you could help? I have received my DSAR from lendable and have noticed the credit report details 9 active accounts (which is correct) but in the detail of the report there is only 4 and so this is what they have based there analysis on? Any ideas which not all 9 active are detailed. Are they removing some on purpose?
Also what is a average debt to income most lenders will loan up to?
Appreciate your help.
Jack
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No idea. If 9 debts show on your report and thats what lendable were sent they should use them all.
There isnt any such thing as an average debt level that is OK. It depends on your disposable income and your other debts.
Tim says
Hi all. Just had my final response from likely loans rejecting my complaint. Saying they did proper checks and that they did not need wage slips and bank statements on a small loan. Tha e loan was for £5000 pounds with about £3500 pounds interest thats £8500 in total so i dont believe this was a small loan. On my bank statements rhere was lots of gambling debts on there. Also my credit catds balance was £5000 pounds nearly maxed out also loans on my credit file with missed payments. Due to this being my only loan with them will this count against me?. Also they said they did a credit search at the point of my application but there is no record of a hard or soft seach at the time of getting my loan. I have asked them for a copy of the search they did but they have refused saying that they cant supply this because it does not belong to them. Has anyone else had this response from them?. Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
5000 is definitely not a small loan! even when it is your first loan LL should have made proper checks.
I suggest you send this straight to the Ombudsman.
Tim says
Thanks it has already gone today. Ive also emailed likely loans for a break down of my imcome and expenditure information. It is very avaisive grouping all living expensives and out goings together so that i cant check them against my credit file. I know my debts was a lot more than they have stated. They told me they were checked against national office data
Tim says
Hi Sara. Are likely loans telling the truth when they say that they ate not allowed to send me the credit report they did when i applied for the loan because ” it did not belong to them so we cant send it”? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No. It is information about you that they hold. They should supply it
Lucylu says
Hi Sara , I am considering an unaffordable lending complaint regarding my car finance , at the time finance was agreed I had other debts , payday loans , and a large guarantor loan ,I was living with my partner and they would only deem the finance as affordable to me if my then partner agreed that he was covering half the living costs by email to them . Unfortunately the relationship ended and I struggled to continue with payments and currently have 1400 left outstanding ( initial loan including interest was 6000) will the fact that they lent to me based on my partner covering costs be a hindrance or a benefit when looking at whether the finance was affordable. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
was your partner covering half the costs at the time the car finance was taken out?
Lucylu says
He stated that he was paying half as that was what they requested he do , but in reality it was about a third .
Grae says
Hi Sarah ,
Good news ,
I put an affordability complaint into Moneybarn in August 2020 , was rejected by them and I sent it off to the ombudsman on Nov 23 /2020 .
It was picked up by an adjudicator in October of this year , the adjudicator ruled in my favour and gave them until November 29th to respond ( they didn’t ) then another week and they still didn’t respond .
I called Moneybarn and they declined to comment so I then left a review on trust pilot , the next day they were all over it , 2 hours later I had a response from them agreeing to all the adjudicators findings ,
I still had 20 months or so to go on the loan with a balance on £5045 ish , paying £252.26 a month .
The loan has been wiped out and a nice refund arrived into my account today of £2996:00 after 5 days of them agreeing ,
Thank you once again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Interesting that they jumped when you used Trustpilot!
Good result.
Zoe says
I did the same with Trustpilot. Although expecting a delay after my adjudicator decision, I thought 6 weeks was long enough. Also if they were to come back querying anything as they seem to have done to many others I would rather have got that out the way and put back in their long queue asap. I left a review Wednesday evening and had a response by lunch on Thursday. They have said the final stages of the process are underway and I should hear back no later than next week.
I really hope that means they are agreeing with the FOS. I’ll see next week I guess! But Trustpilot does seem to work
steve says
Good Morning Sara, All.
I’m going through a claim with Ford Credit for irresponsible lending. At the time of taking out the car loan, i was heavily reliant on payday loans. A check of my credit file would have shown this. Low and behold, i missed payments, and eventually the car was repossessed. Leaving both a default and a CCj on my credit file from Link financial. At the time and even now, I was suffering with complex PTSD. This morning, i was going over the court files and noticed this: default notice from Ford dated 08 June 16 Served under the consumer credit act. It states, quite clearly ” If you have paid at least one third of the total amount payable under the agreement below, FCE bank may NOT take them without your consent or a court order. You have the right to get back ALL the money you have paid under the agreement set out below. Total amount payable = £12386.80. Amount repaid as at 08 June 16 = £5802.84. Which is more than one third. the sum of £850 in February 2017. Equalling £6,653.0. The date of our returned good hearing was 24 April 2017. With the court order set on 11th May 17. The vehicle was removed before then. Without a court order or my informed consent as a vulnerable person. Now should I pursue this as a breach of contract or as irresponsible lending? Would this be enough for the courts to set aside the CCJ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you have made a complaint and are waiting for the reply from Ford?
what date was the vehicle repossessed?
Steve says
Good morning Sara,
I’ve submitted a claim for irresponsible lending. However, I’ve only just seen the default notice for the car. It was repossessed in April 2017. I’ve only just really become aware of the Potential to claim for irresponsible lending. Due to the nature of my MH issues, I’ve not been able to really engage with anything properly for some time. But now I’m on a war footing.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, then I suggest you email Ford and say you also want to complain that the vehicle was repossessed on 17 April which was before there was a court hearing and order, even though you had paid over a third.
I suggest you wait and see what Ford reply.
steve says
Thankyou Sara. How long do I have to give them to respond? At what stage can I escalate this to the FO? The irresponsible lending claim has been ongoing for a few weeks and I feel I’m getting nowhere with them. I keep getting told the claims handler will contact me “tomorrow” only to find that she isn’t in “tomorrow” and won’t potentially be in this side of Christmas.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
8 weeks.
Steve says
That’s a lifetime. Really don’t have 8 weeks. I’m pretty much screwed. The ramifications are unreal. I have no idea of what I’m going to do. Just so tired of fighting.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you explain what the hurry is? the car has already been repossessed.
What is your immediate problem?
It takes a while for these complaints, especially as many have to go to FOS.
But going to court is also incredibly slow. the average time for a county court case was 51 weeks in 2020 and the backlog may now be worse.
steve says
We had a DIP for a mortgage with Halifax. I was upfront with them about my default with ford/Link. They were fine with it. Put an offer in on a house. Full mortgage application… as I’m in a payment plan, they have rejected me. They said, if I hadn’t entered one and it was just unsatisfied, they wouldn’t have an issue. But as it’s in repayment, they won’t do anything until the default has been removed. We were due to complete next month. My only other option now is a 4.5% mortgage with over £3000 worth of fees. I haven’t even told my wife. I can’t bear to break her heart. This was all stuff before we had even got together.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh dear. There isn’t anything that is likely to get a decision that fast. I think you need to talk to your wife and i don’t see any point in delaying this.
steve says
And that’s the issue. I just can’t face breaking her heart. I’ve already been through one divorce… funny enough heavily linked to my issues with Ford. I submitted the Irresponsible lending claim a month ago. And they just keep stringing it out. When i first called them after the mortgage rejection, i stated that my Mental health is at its lowest i has been for some time. I had spent most of the night contemplating just ending it. I’m just tired of fighting. They promised someone would call back that day. 5 days later, they did. My head is really just shot right now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am so sorry but it seems very unlikely that there is anyway here which is not going to mean she is upset. Please put your faith in her and tell her now – she will be so upset that you didn’t tell her as well as disappointed about the house. Trust me, she would much rather you told her.
shaun says
Good afternoon,
I have a ongoing complaint with NatWest that I have mentioned. I am not really hopeful although was a large loan and I had other credit, gambling etc, so we will see.
But after a bit more advice if possible….
Loan 1 – £13,124 10/11/15 – 31/10/17 ( complaint ongoing )
Loan 2 – £2,911 08/03/17 – 28/02/18
Loan3 – £1,106. 19/12/17 – 30/06/18
Loan4 – £7,217. 06/04/18 – 31/08/18
Loan 5 – £7,890. 06/08/18 – 31/10/19
Loan 6 – £7, 410. 02/01/19 – 31/10/10
Loan 7- £18,827. 04/10/19 – 30/09/21
Loan 5&6 were running alongside each other and I consolidated both with loan 7
Loan 8 currently running £14000 started 3 months ago.
A lot of information but is it worth complaining about these also? I would not have much gambling on these statements because am on a self excluding ban.
But loans 1 to probably 5 there would be other loans etc from other companies.
Any advice much appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what was the interest rate on these laons?
shaun says
Hi Sara,
I am not to sure is there a way I can find this out? I think they were definitely in double figures.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
in that case NatWest knew you were risky… it’s not as though you looked squeaky clean to them with a credit income & credit record – then you should have been offered much lower rates.
I’m not saying this because people can only win a claim with high interest rates, but just to reassure that NatWest should have looked at your situation in detail. That was a lot of loans over a short period. They should have seen from your credit record that these loans didn’t seem to be improving your situation.
I would complain about them all! Let FOS sort them out.
shaun says
Thanks Sara, il put my complaint in next week I do think there’s a case there. It just seems with it being a big name and the tool kit they use when applying, you think they cater for all the issues in there software and comes to the decision correctly. That’s what puts me off.
Il give it a go anyway thanks for your help!!
Thomas says
Good Morning Sarah,
I have had a prompt responce from easylogbook loans saying the loan was affordable. They used all info from the first loan with them to approve the second one. This was in joint names, I was working full time then as well. Second loan i was working 16 hours a week and loan was only in my name. They say They didnt need to carry out checks as they did it in dtetail on loan 1. (18 months previously and I agreed that my income and expenditure was the same. They offered me 250.00 said that loan one was less affordable compared to loan 2 bascically. I said i had won at fos with ccp and i would only accept half of all interest and charges and 8% interest which i said was £800.00. I said this was fair and reasonable. Whats your thoughts please.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large was the first loan? The second one?
Do you agree the first loan was affordable?
Had your credit record got worse between loans 1 and 2?
Thomas says
Hi Sarah, first loan was for 1600 the second for 1000 had to pay back 500.00 extra due to charges added interest etc. Initially i thought the first one would have classed as affordable because it was a joint loan. Yet they point out to me i had a surplus of 46% left after household income etc compared to 31% on loan 1. I was only taking home 173.00 a week and was paying back 70.00 a week in loan repayments before they approved the loan which was 35.00 a week.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
they point out to me I had a surplus of 46% left after household income
but was that accurate? Or had they ignored some debts and bills and living expenses?
So two large loans, the second given when the first had not been repaid. If you have offered something and they refuse, send your complaint about both loans to the Ombudsman.
Thomas says
Hi Sarah the first loan was paid off. New loan was taken out few months after that. They used my previous income and expenditure which at that time i was in full time hours. Not the 16 hours i was being paid when i took the new loan out. They said i miss lead them by saying my income and ependiture was yhe same. Admitting they didnt carry out any checks for new loan
As they used the info i provided from loan 1 bank statements wage slips etc which was over 18 months old.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
nevertheless, they should not assume that nothing has changed from 18 months previously without making some checks. And it isn’t clear to me if the first loan was affordable – you may have repaid it, but did your other debts go up during this time?
If you would like someone to look in detail at your case, send it to the Ombudsman.
Thomas says
Thanks Sarah,
I will send it to F.O.S
I meant to ask you, do i need to send a seperate complaint to easylogbook loans for loan 1 before i send that to F.O.S. as only sent complaint about loan 2 to ELBL?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did their response cover both loans?
Thomas says
Hi Sarah,
No they offered me 250.00 to bring the matter to a close a said the loan was affordable as i had more % left than the first loan which made it affordable. I will just send them a new complaint.
JC says
Hello Sara,
I had a complaint with avant credit which they said they’d acted responsibly in lending to me. I forwarded it to the FOS, and an adjudicator took up my case and upheld.
I’m now awaiting a reply from avant. I’m just wondering, avant can disagree with an adjudicator?
If so, what’s the next steps after that?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If Avant disagree, it will have to go into a queue to be looked at by an Ombudsman.
Alan says
Sara out of interest do you know what the average wait time is once it goest to the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No it seems very variable.
HHJ says
Hi, just looking for some advice, the financial adjudicator upheld my complaint but Savvy refused to accept so it has now gone to the FOS. Im due to pay my next instalment on christmas eve and am wondering if its worth taking my chances on not paying?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you afford the payment or will it leave you short of money for the next month? Do you have other problem debts? Any priority debts?
HHJ says
In truth yes it will leave me short, I had hoped that Savvy would accept the adjudicators decision and that the next instalments wouldnt be owed. £2000 loan, I have now paid £2000 capital back but obviously the interest is still due. Is it worth not paying this month and FOS upholding my complaing meaning they will hve to remove negative information or is it best to just get it paid and hope it comes back as a refund (if decision is upheld)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The two risks of not paying are:
1) there will be a temporary harm to your credit record even if it is then cleared when the Ombudsman upholds your complaint.
2) if the Ombudsman does not uphold the adjudicator decision you will still owe the rest and your credit record will not be cleaned.
There are two risks in continuing to pay:
1) Savvy goes into administration – here if your case is upheld you would not get back the full value of any payments made as you have already repaid more than the amount borrowed. I have no specific reason to think Savvy are in difficulty, but there is some level of risk here.
2) you will struggle to make other debt or bill repayments as this payment will leave you short. These may result in negative marks on your credit record that will remain even if the Ombudsman upholds your case and you are paid in full by Savvy.
For most people the last of those will probably be the most d=significant – making a payment to Savvy that leaves you short will cause you difficulty elsewhere. But this depends on your situation. If you would like to talk it through in detail with a debt adviser, call National Debtline on 0808 808 4000
JC says
Hello sara,
I wrote a previous question about avant credit. They look like they’ve sold their loans to another company, but it lists two new companies that are possibly the new owners. I’m awaiting a response from them after an adjudicator upheld my complaint. The deadline is tomorrow for their decision.
Will this affect the process with the FOS?
I’m hoping I don’t have to repeat the process again!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It says they “may” sell your loan. It doesn’t say they have all been sold.
If your loan has been sold, your complaint is still against Avant, the original lender.
Nas says
Hi good morning I have just been handed an adjudicator for my case. Its regarding a 118 118 loan which was just over 6 years ago. They ask me why I haven’t raised a complaint 6 years after the sale of the loan. What could I respond to this ?
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to explain that although the loan caused you difficulty at the time, you thought it was your own fault for borrowing too much and that you did not realise the lender should have checked affordability, so you did not know you had any cause to complain. Explain with as much detail as you can (who, where, date) how you found out about these complaints and point out you are complaining within 3 years of findin you could make this complaint.
John says
Hi Sara. Can you make a claim against credit unions for the interest they charge ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was the loan unaffordable for you? Should they have realised this?
Heyhoo says
I have claimed against one so far and adjudicator from FOS ruled in my favour. I complained it was not affordable. Two loans. Waiting for next step.
John says
Hi Sara. Can you make claims about credit union loans ?thanks john
Sara (Debt Camel) says
See my reply here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/comment-page-23/#comment-414392
Andrew says
Hi John
I have one in with voyager Alliance I haven’t had the information from them as they aren’t releasing it ie how many loans etc but I reckon I had around seven all topped up never settled only refinanced minimum 3 grand I believe uo to sort of 6 grand all showing payday loans on bank statements
Voyager very unprofessional sent me a reply 12 hours after sending complaint basically saying I had no chance of a refund I took to fos and they told me it was not a “proper response’ waiting another 2 weeks for the formal rejection and this has been in queue for adjudicator since August
mogsy says
Hi Sara, I’ve had a complain upheld by the FOS and agreed by Oakbrook. The complaint was for 2 loans, one back in September 19 which was settled and one which is currently in a payment arrangement with a balance outstanding. My query is, should 8% simple interest be applied to the refund of interest on the first loan, or would it be considered as one account? The overpayment on the first loan was £1253.07 which, if the simple interest is applied could potentially reduce my current balance by about a further £200. Total borrowed between the 2 loans was £5300 and total repaid to date is £4625.37 so I’m being told the balance due is £678.63 (which is slightly off). The FOS said any capital should be repaid but simple interest should be paid on any overpayment. Thanks, and Happy New Year :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did the second loan settle the first loan?
Mogsy says
No it was a completely new loan with a new agreement number.
The first loan was for £2000 and repaid November 20, the second loan was £3300 taken out 5 months later in April 21.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suggest you should go back to them and say that 8% interest should be paid on the first loan. I think it will be closer to £100 than £200 but this is worth asking for.
Mogsy says
That’s great, thank you as always :)
David says
Hi, I took a loan from Moneyway (Secure Trust Bank) and at some point it was sold to Alpha Credit Solutions 8. Now the loan is already paid but I am making a complaint about irresponsible lending. I made a complaint to Secure Trust Bank, but they responded that Alpha Credit Solutions will deal with it because it was sold to them so they forwarded my complaint to Alpha. Now I wonder if Alpha will actually look into that complaint since they weren’t the ones who I borrowed from in the first place. What can I do in this situation?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
One person won his FOS case against these people (£4,700!) – I think he eventually complained to FOS about Apha but I will check with him. Remind me in a week if I don’t get back to you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So this is what happened to the other reader:
1/ I complained to Moneyway (STB) and they forwarded to Alpha.
2/ Target Servicing who administer Alpha’s fund came back saying that it was out of time. It wasn’t on either the six year of three year limit!
3/ It went to the FOS and they confirmed it was in time.
4/ Target on Alpha’s behalf then came back denying liability.
5/ It then went back and forth between Moneyway and Target with both denying liability. The Adjudicator ruled that it was Target/Alpha’s problem.
6/ The Adjudicator then looked at the substance of the complaint and ruled it was unaffordable.
7/ Target disagreed and it was queued for the Ombudsman, when they suddenly got in touch with the Adjudicator to say that they now agreed and it was settled.
They were very difficult at every step and didn’t honour a single deadline, but I got there in the end!
On that basis, you do need to complain to Alpha and send it straight to the Ombudsman if it rejected.
Have Moneyway forwarded your complaint to Alpha?
David says
Yes Moneyway (Secure Trust Bank) forwarded my complaint to Alpha. Now waiting for a response from Alpha…
David says
On that subject, I sent the complaint to Moneyway by email but after they forwarded it to Alpha I received normal post letter saying that they are looking at it. Do you or does anyone know if there is an email address for complaints I could contact Alpha?
Another question if I have to send it to FOS, do I enter company name and address as for Alpha or Moneyway (Secure Trust Bank) ? Because this Alpha seems to have address in Luxembourg.
Daniel says
Hi Sara , I too made a complaint to moneyway/alpha , I have had regular letters saying they are still looking at my complaint and apologising for the delay , it’s now been 13 weeks ( have now sent to fos ) they keep saying the hope I wait for a final response from then before I send to fos , do you think this length of time they are taking is a good or bad thing ? Can’t seem to find many people who have complaint to this company to see others experiences , I had a £12500 loan over 60 months at £342 a month , at the time of taking the loan I had £47000 worth of debt including a £15000 everyday loans , 6 pay day loans and £25k of car finance
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think them taking a long while is either good or bad news. I think they are starting to get more complaints and they aren’t set up properly to deal with this.
It’s good you have sent this to FOS.
Have you made affordability complaints about everyday loans and the payday lenders as well?
Daniel says
I haven’t with everyday loans yet as I paid it off early with the money way loan so didn’t think I’d stand a chance iv won against littlewoods , very, bamboo ( without the need for fos ) and was to late to do satsuma, my jar and sunny .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can still win a complaint when the loan was paid off early.
Make sure you put in a claim to the provident scheme for the Satsuma loan. You may not get much back but it’s easy to do.
David says
Hi Daniel,
When you send it to FOS, what company name you put in the form? Alpha or Moneyway? If Alpha, then what is their physical address?
Also when I googled Alpha their is one called Alpha Credit Solutions Ltd but the one that it was sold too is called Alpha Credit Solutions 8 Sarl – are those two the same?
Chris says
Hi Sara,
A few years ago I put in a claim against Everyday loans ppi product which was unsuccessful. Could I put in a affordability claim?
Thanks for all the help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes. these are entirely different complaints.
Marie says
Hi I’ve got an outstanding complaint with dot dot loans which is with the financial ombudsmun now. She emailed me today and forwarded me a copy that she has sent to dot dot loans stating what she thinks they should do about my affordability complaint. Does that mean that dot dot have to forfill that or can they say no to upholding my complaint and refunding me the interest which is what the ombudmun are saying for them to do ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is this decison from someone called an adjudicator (or investigator)? or from the second “ombudsman” level?
Marie says
From my adjudicater
Sara (Debt Camel) says
in that case, Dot Dot can reject the decision and it has to go to an ombudsman for a final decision which is legally binding. In 90% of cases the ombudsman agrees with the adjudicator.
Yvonne says
Good morning,
I sent a letter to Bamboo yesterday regarding irresponsible lending. I have a response this morning asking for two months bank statements before I took the loan.
I had numerous loans, along with reversals of non loan payments do I list all this in my letter or just send the statements off together for them to sort themselves?
Also as I have two bank accounts one with wages paid in and one for bills out do I send them for both accounts?
Apologies if this is a simple question not sure if I’ll just add more confusion.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would send them both sets of statements.
Bamboo will often negotiate on offers… so if they make you what doesn’t dound like a good offer, , you can go staright to the ombudsman or come backhere and discuss if you would be happy with a larger compromise offer.
Sarah says
I have recently had a complaint upheld by the FOS for 3 loans and Oakbrook agreed to their findings. I just have a question regarding the statutory interest please. The initial loan was the largest and I paid £1587 in interest on that loan alone which was completed in 2016. The final loan was from 2019 and the total interest I paid on all loans was £1978. In their settlement offer they have calculated the 8% statutory interest as £349 which I don’t think is correct. Do I go back to the ombudsman with this or directly to Oakbrook??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Were there gaps between these loans?
Sarah says
Yes the initial loan was taken out in 2014 completed in 2016 and then the 2 further loans were 2018.
JC says
Hello sara,
I’ve forwarded a complaint on to the ombudsman. It was initially rejected by avant, but an adjudicator took the case up, and found in my favour.
However, avant we’re given a deadline of the 22nd of December to reply. I assume there has been no reply, as I’ve asked for an update via email and phone from the adjudicator, who has then not replied to me.
I’d just like to ask if this is normal that it would be this long winded? Also, if avant don’t reply to the adjudicator, does it just stop there?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They will have been given longer to reply. This is annoying, but if they don’t accept the decision, then it has to go to an ombudsman for a decision which takes months. So it makes sense to give them a few more weeks.
Charlotte says
Hi Sara,
I don’t know if you have any suggestions, I took a loan with HSBC in 2017 for two amounts 1 from a CC for around £4000, and one from my overdraft for £2,500, I cannot remember the exact figures.
The full repayment amount was £12,750 give or take a few pounds. I have paid the loan off as of 01/2022.
I complained to the bank, they said the interest was already paid and sent me to the financial ombudsman, my complaint was based on the high interest rate and affordability over the years.
The ombudsman has come back to say the bank were not at fault. I’m amazed that this is the case given the high interest rate and the fact that this has been a massive encumbrance for me financially.
I asked again, and he said I was aware of the interest rate when I bought over the phone. I did not utilise the 14 day cooling off period, etc.
Do you think that there is anyway left for me to get recompense- (only the interest, but it’s nearly £6000 that I paid) now the ombudsman has made a decision (case closed today).
Any advice, many thanks,
CS
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is this a decision from an adjudicator or a second level Ombudsman decision?
While you were paying off this loan, did you other debts increase?
Charlotte says
The person who dealt with my complaint was an investigator, so not second level I don’t think. And yes, if you call an overdraft debt, I have an overdraft now of £2,500, and I got into arrears with my council tax, the outstanding £882 I am now paying off over two months.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suggest you tell the investigator that you disagree, that this debt has led to you getting council tax arreas and an overdraft , and that if he doesn’t change his mind, you would like the case to go an Ombudsman.
Charlotte says
Hi Sara,
Just to let you know, I did what you suggested and the investigator has allowed me to escalate to the ombudsman.
I’m thinking of getting an Subject Access Request, in order to strengthen my complaint. Just looking into it now, it will take another month and then however long to go through the information and re-present my case.
Would you think this is a good idea? Or just use my personal experience as my case… as you noted, I can also show that I have new debt as a result, which before is not stated.
Many thanks,
Charlotte
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think there is any harm in asking HSBC for a SAR. It will probably be some time until the Ombudsman picks up your case. Until, you have the SAR it’s hard to tell what may be there that supports your case.
You have a good case without this, but if it was me I would like to see if there was anything extra in there.
Charlotte says
Thanks Sara for the helpful advice, I’ll do the SAR 😊
Dave says
Varooma complaint – After the initial adjudicator did not agree with me in March (I cannot see how, must have not looked at my credit file properly!) I am still waiting for an Ombudsman to pick up my case. I have called twice in the intervening time and been told it is still in the queue….. Just to manage others expectations!
HB says
What is the quickest time scale people have experienced after adjudicator upholds your complaint but creditor doesn’t and has to go to FOS? – I note above comment of still waiting from March after adjudicator favoured the creditor
Sara (Debt Camel) says
less than a month sometimes happens! But the extremely quick and extremely slow are rare.
HB says
After posting this earlier today my final decision ironically came through at 4:30pm today after only being escaled to FOS middle of december – however ive just deleted the attachment on my resolver dashboard by accident so cant see what the decision is! FOS is now closed for the weekend another 2 days of anticipation!
HB says
THEYVE RESENT IT ME AND DECISION UPHELD!!! :D
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yay!
Vickie says
Now that they have upheld it is that the final decision or can the lender disagree again? I’m waiting for ombudsman to be allocated just now. Adjudicator upheld my complaint but lender disagreed. I’m also a priority case. How long did you wait in the end? My case was sent to ombudsman at the end of November. Im just a bit worried as the lender is no longer lending. Hoping they don’t go bust in the meantime.
HB says
Thats the final decision, adjudicator ruled in my favour lender disagreed, went to FOS middle of december, decision yesterday.
Hayley says
Hi Charlotte, what email address did you use for HSBC? I am about to make a complaint to them about a situation I was in that was very similar to yours. Good luck with the response and I will be interested to know what happens when you escalate to Ombudsman! I wish all the best and hope for a better outcome for you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Hayley, if you still Have an account with them, use a secure message.
Charlotte says
Hi Hayley,
Believing it or not over the phone when I was talking, I just complained about the interest rate to them, and they asked would you like to make this a formal complaint, and I said yes, they then sent me their response to my complaint, which I took to the ombudsman. I hope that helps.
And thanks for your kind comments, fingers crossed! 🤞 Good luck to you too!
Hayley says
Hi Sara,
Thanks so much for your response! I closed my account with HSBC when the loan was paid off so which is why I ask asking if you used a specific email address as I can only seem to find a online form. I will try with that and having read the above comments i will also ask for a SAR. Good luck and please keep me updated :-)
Tom says
Hi Sara
Quick question. I have a complaint against HSBC regarding a personal loan for 25k. It’s a biggie, with potential redress of a five figure sum, and it’s also my last negative account on my credit file, so I am taking it very seriously.
I have now been dealing with my Adjudicator since August last year so it is dragging on somewhat. To be fair to my Adjudicator, she has been very diligent and looked at things very comprehensively.
The issue is HSBC keep disagreeing and asking the Adjudicator to rethink. This has happened a number of times now and each side seems to say the same thing.
HSBC keep making clear in their responses that they are “not looking for a final decision” … which makes me wonder why.
Do you think tactically I am better to ask for it just to go to an Ombudsman at this point? My Adjudicator is pretty resolute in her view but so are HSBC and I don’t feel like all this to-ing and fro-ing is helping.
Any advice gratefully received.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when was there the first suggestion from the adjudicator that the complaint should be upheld?
Tom says
She issued her findings, upholding my complaint in October.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is probably getting to the “put up or shut up” time… Also probably by now it isn’t just your adjudicator, she is likely to have discussed the case with her team manager.
Can I suggest you ask her how much longer this will go on for and whether it would be quicker to just make a decision and let it go to an ombudsman if HSBC disagree with it.
JL says
I am just in the process of sorting my finances out. I have justhad a complaint upheld from Lendable, that went through the FOS. I have one with another company Shawbrook ( personal loan), that I took out after taking two other loans out within an 18 month period. Only problem is that I have a secured loan with the same company and if I made a complaint against that one, would it impact the other one.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was this Shawbrook unsecured loan linked in any way to the secured loan?
JL says
No, there is about 8 years between taking them out as well
Sara (Debt Camel) says
in that case if you carry on with the secured loan payments I don’t think there should be any impact at all.
Jax says
Shawbrook have been the most awful company to deal with for me. I’ve not complained about irresponsible lending to them though. They were an absolute nightmare to agree a payment plan with – took nearly 12 months and 2 complaints to sort it. They write to me every month telling me what my monthly payment is after I have actually made the payment for that month. Payment plan is due for renewal and its de ja vu with them. I’m tempted to put in an irresponsible lending complaint as before they funded my loan they called me to ask about the 10k loan that I had taken out a couple of months before and what I used it for.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good idea about an affordability complaint..
Do you have many payment arrangements?
Jax says
Hi Sara when I got into difficulty in early 2020 I had 16. Now down to 5 including Shawbrook. All of my debts will be paid off this year. I have several complaints sitting with the FOS waiting to be picked up by an adjudicator.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, I was going to suggest StepChange, as Shawbrook would probably not be so difficult with them, but it sounds as though you are on the home stretch!
Jax says
Yes, thank goodness. It’s been really difficult but I’ve managed to reduce my debts by about £40k to date. Can’t wait until August to be debt free!
Tracy Sowerby says
good afternoon Sara
Ive had a complaint upheld for a Vanquis loan taken out in 2018.
They are removing the interest of 1785.45 on a 3000 loan. The loan defaulted back in 2018 so there is still an outstanding balance of which im paying a token payment of 1.00 per month.
My question is the loan essentially has been turned into a 3000 loan. Do they also deduct all the payments that where made which leaves a smaller balance for me to pay off?
thanks in advance.
Kind regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The new balance should be the 3000 you borrowed less the amount you have paid. They should also remove any marks on your credit record and allow you to continue to repay at an affordable rate.
Sally says
Hi Sara ,
First of all I would like to thank you and all this lovely people for this wealth of information provided on this site , started all this claims in October 2020 , most of them were agreed by lender , some went to adjucator and couple went to ombudsman level, I had nearly £23,000 to repay , but I can gladly say , all has been wiped of and I made a few grand which I’m saving towards my deposit,
My last case went to ombudsman in march 2021, and finally today the ombudsman gave a final decision upholding all the loans against CCP,
Could not have asked for more .
Chris says
Hi there,
anyone had dealings with AvantCredit ?
just question with regards to a refund. got an email on the 11th of January saying that it will take up to 30 days and asking me to confirm bank details.
Once confirmed I received another email dated 11th as well saying that it will take 5 to 7 business days. today is 20th we are in day 7 and still nothing. I emailed but no response. any idea ?
thanks in advance
Col says
Avant will wait until last possible moment to pay out. I had horrible dealings with them but got there eventually.
chris says
Thanks for info Col
they just told me to hang on, they have problems with refunds at the moment but they have my details and will be in touch.
i was just worried as I can see on their Website that they no longer issue loans. but since I have my decision from FO already i shouldn’t have problems with refund I hope!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“problems with refunds” – I suggest you tell your adjudicator what they have said.
This is still pretty early, but it’s good for FOS to be informed of odd things.
chris says
HI Sara
thanks for this advice, I have contacted FO and this is their reply:
”You’re correct, there may be serious underlying issues which is why Avant Credit may be avoiding paying. It seems you complaint isn’t the only one that’s in this current situation – as it appears other customers have been having the similar issues.”
”I’ve chased Avant Credit again today, and also escalated the matter to our team that deals with issues like this. As soon as I’ve received an update from either of them, I’ll be in contact with you.”
”Where a business fails to comply with a final decision that has been accepted, the customer can enforce the ombudsman’s decision through the courts, as it is legally binding. This wouldn’t involve having the merits of the case looked at again, as the customer would be simply asking the courts to enforce the decision. There’s also the option to sue the business, and this will involve the courts reviewing the merits of the case. We can’t give advice on this, we can only to let you know the options available. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to this, but wanted to make you aware of your options so you could consider them or seek legal advice.”
….
chris says
….
”The Financial Services Compensation Scheme may also be able to provide information on whether you would be able to obtain compensation from them if the business goes into administration before making the settlement.”
I must say I had the feeling in my guts, deadline for Avant to pay will be 15th of February..
on their website they say they stop giving out loans, on companies house avant still shows as active company so fingers crossed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the FSCS does NOT cover consumer credit lending. You will not get any help from that.
chris says
Hi Sara
15 min after posting this I received full refund :) at 16:59 !!
thanks for all your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
phew. Very good news for you and for other people who are waiting on Avant. Do tell your adjuicator.
chris says
just did it. Avant says
”We are pleased to let you know that your redress payment is being processed. The money will come from an ACI account and should be in your account in the next day or so.”
I think Avant is on last breath and it is matter of time for them to go under.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that may be true, but people have been proclaiming the imminent demise of Avant for a couple of years!
Lee says
I had submitted a complaint against 118 118 loan to which i have now received a final response – not upholding my complaint.
however there is one statement within the letter which has concerned me
” as part of the application form you completed to apply for the loan with us, there is a statement just above the button you clicked on to submit the application which states “If false or inaccurate information is provided and fraud is identified, details will be passed to fraud prevention agencies…” Similar wording is contained within the loan terms and conditions”.
i feel this is quite aggressive and a threat. what do you think about this stance?
also do you think i should now go to ombudsman
my SAR requested form 118 shows a far from perfect credit report
Indebtedness Indicators
Total Balances (All): £ 6,737
Total Balances (Loans/Installment Credit): £ 4,528
Total Balances (Revolving Credit/Budget): £ 2,209
Total Limits (Revolving Credit/Budget): £ 1,931
Balance to Limit Ratio (Revolving Credit/Budget): 114 %
Unsecured Loan Account with a Payment Status of 3 or Worse in Last 24 Months: Yes
Worst Payment Status in Last 12 Months: D
Worst Payment Status in Last 36 Months: D
Public Information
Number of Active Judgments: 1
Number of Satisfied Judgments: 0
Total Value of Active Judgments: £ 318
CIFAS
Number of CIFAS Cases/Filings: 2
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what do you think about this stance?
Several lenders say this. So far as I know no-one has had a problem when they have sent a case to the ombudsman.
How large was this loan? Why do you think it was unaffordable? (NB I am not disputing it, I am just asking you to say a few sentences about it)
Lee says
it was for £2000 i have a credit card with them aswell limit £300 increased to £600. i then received an email saying i was pre approved for a loan and to click the link to apply. so i wasnt really thinking about a loan off them until they sent me the email. I already had debt which was unmanageable pay day loans so thought i would use the loan to pay those off but it just added to the existing debt
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Were you only making the minimum payments to the card when they offered the loan?
Lee says
yes minimum payments only on the card
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then that is another good reason why they should not have offered you a large loan without looking very carefully – on;y making the minimum payments to a card suggests you may not have a lot of spare money to repay a large loan.
Send this straight to the Ombudsman.
Ross says
Hi Lee,
I complained, to 118118, who also dismissed my complaint. They also declined mine and added what you have quoted. I’d say just ignore it, as along with a number of others who try this. I submitted to the FOS, who upheld all 3 of my loans and 118118 agreed with their findings and paid out within days. Don’t be put off.
Lee says
Thanks Ross good to hear you were successful , offers me some hope
Eli says
I took out a loan with EDL in 2018. ) for £3500
The APR was 129.3% – something that I wasn’t told until I was in the actual ‘shop’
5 months later and I could no longer afford the repayments.
I have since and am still in a DMP.
I made an unaffordability claim in Jan 2020 they refused.
An investigator from the ombudsman also refused as when at the time of the loan I was not paying any rent. I did not challenge this.
Recently due to the extordinate rising cost of living and a change in my circumstances I was unable to make the payment to my debt management company and EDL have been hounding me. Telling me they will put a late charge on my account and the interest will rise.
I have asked in writing what the late payment charge is – they have not replied.
So I looked at the FCA and realised the they could not charge anymore than £15? For a late payment charge?
I also have read that
Total cost cap of 100% – Protects borrowers from escalating debts. Borrowers must never have to pay back more in fees and interest than the amount borrowed
Does this apply to me and my interest of 129.3%?
For the debt of £3500 I am due to pay back £9956
This is more than 100% of the debt ?
However I would have thought the investigation from the ombudsman would have picked this up?
I know I cannot make another unaffordability complaint however can I complain about the interest charges? or is there some sort of clause they have managed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Does this apply to me and my interest of 129.3%?
no – it only applies to payday loans which last less than a year. The horribly expensive loans from Everyday Loans are for a longer term so the FCA’s price cap does not apply.
Can you say some more about your current situation – do you have any priority debts eg rent, council tax, energy bill arrears?
How large were the debts in your DMP and have you got any other ones?
Have you told EDL why your DMP has stopped?
EDL have been hounding me. Telling me they will put a late charge on my account and the interest will rise.
really? is this in writing eg a text or email?
Some people have made some odd comments about EL and DMPs but it has never been very clear what they do… I know your DMP has ended, but if you could check some figures, and they aren’t right, you can complain about that…
So £9956 was the total amount you were told the loan would cost when you took it out?
Can you add up what they have been paid so far – by you before the DMP and by the DMP company? If you aren’t sure, ask them by email to send you a full breakdown of the account including any interest or charges added.
Eli says
Thank you for your reply.
What a shame the interest doesn’t apply.
I have had a recent child tax credit bill of £4000. – with an AOE made. I have informed EDL of this. I haven’t stopped the DMP – I didn’t make the payment this month and have asked to redo my budget.
The comments regarding interest and late charges are written in an email from EDL.
I Still have £4189 remaining to pay to EDL. I have calculated it and that is the right figure.
I have asked for a breakdown of my payments to them.
Thanks again.
Eli says
Sorry the whole DMP was at 25000
All credit cards / EDL and a car loan.
I am now at £11700.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh no, AOEs are at a very high rate.
The car loan – is that HP/PCP, because you have to keep paying that. if it’s just a loan from a bank and you bought a car with it, it’s just like any other loan.
If you are redoing your DMP income & expenditure, you should also take into account if your energy bills are going to rise in April a dn council tax and p[etrol – redo the lot now, you don’t want to have to do this all again in 3 months.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you send EDL a complaint saying that you have told them why the DMP payments has stopped, it is because your situation has got worse, but you are now getting advice on your options and you hope to be able to resume the DMP with the payments at a lower level. Point out that threat to add charges and interest do not help people whose finances have got worse and ask them to confirm they will not be doing this, or you will send the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. they are trying to bully you which is unacceptable.
Eloise says
Thank you so much for you help. :)
Ryan says
Hi Sara, you gave me some advice a few weeks.
I made a complaint to Likely loans in relation to a top up loan I had with them. This is the reply I’ve had.
They have upheld my complaint in relation to the original loan. In resolution of the complaint, They are proposing to remove all applicable interest from the loan and any negative markers from my Credit Report.
They are removing interest of £973.59, leaving a remaining outstanding balance to pay on my Top Up Loan of £1,758.88.
So they have agreed that the original loan wasn’t appropriate.However they haven’t upheld my complaint about the top up loan and I believe in the time of my two loans my financial situation had stayed the same if not got worse since the original loan.
I have why they didn’t uphold this complaint but my comment is too long haha.
Is it worth me pursuing this further with Likely Loans and calling them to talk to them? Or should I just accept the
£973.58 off the current loan I’m paying back?
My other question is, if I accept the nearly £1000 decrease the amount I have to pay back, how likely is it this could change my monthly payment? At the moment I’m paying over £200 a month which I’m struggling with so wondered if my monthly payment could be changed now I owe less.
Thanks again for all your help! You’re an amazing person helping all these people the way you are!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you summarise why they rejected the second loan?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so most of their reply didn’t look very interesting, but they said “Your new payment size was only 10.7% more than your previous loan payment.” which may not sound like a lot, but they have agreed the previous repayments was unaffordable! So unless your income had gone up a lot, that suggests the second loan is too.
They said “you had remaining disposable income of £429.21.” – I assume your bank statements would have shown that wasn’t the case.
Also I think they should have wondered why you needed a top-up loan less than a year after taking the first loan.
So it doesn’t sound a good offer to me, but it’s up to you if you want to accept it. You can contact them and say unless the second loan is also upheld you will be going to the Ombudsman.
If you accept this offer, there is no reason why they should allow you to reduce your payments on the 2nd loan. They may, but would probably record this as a payment arrangement on your credit record.
Ryan says
Hi Sara,
So I emailed back saying I wasn’t happy with their outcome and stated the reasons you provided. However they’ve emailed me back saying…
As your irresponsible lending complaint has already been investigated and a final response has been issued, we will not be under taking a new investigation. As outlined in my previous communication, if you are unhappy with the complaint decision you have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.
Is it worth me calling likely loans and pushing further or just straight to the Ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t see any point in phoning them.
Ryan says
Hi Sara, do you think I should go to the ombudsman then?
Is there much chance of them upholding my second complaint? Any idea on how long this may take? I’m thinking of entering a DMP and was wondering how this would affect the length of the plan etc.
Ryan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well the choice is yours.
But if the first loan is unaffordable, why isn’t the second loan?
if you know the second loan caused you more problems, then why not send it to the Ombudsman?
This may take some time to go though at FOS. But if you are in a DMP, you just sit back and wait. If you win your case, then your DMP is going to finish a lot earlier!
bob says
hi, ive got a few questions
1. financial ombudsman ruled in my favour regarding a loan from likelyloans, likelyloans then made me an offer to refund all the interest I paid + 8%, I accepted this offer 2 weeks ago today, the money however still hasn’t been paid to me, I phoned likelyloans this afternoon to enquire about this situation and the man on the phone said I would be paid in 10-14 days time, is there a legal requirement on how long they have to refund me? it looks like they’re intentionally taking as long as possible to muck me around
2. has anyone who had an outstanding satsuma loan had their credit report updated? my report is still showing the defaulted loan and outstanding balance of £750, they said they would change this to £0 and partially settled but doesnt seem to be happening very quickly
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lenders normally have 28 days to pay after a FOS decision.
Have you made a claim to the provident scheme about the Satsuma loan?
bob says
thanks for the info, looks like they’re going to pay me on the last possible day then. Yeh ive made a claim to the provident scheme, dont think ill get much of a payout after they pay off the outstanding £750 but we will see, cheers
Sara (Debt Camel) says
doesn’t matter, if the loan is unaffordable any negative marks will be removed.
bob says
just got a notification from my bank saying likelyloans have paid the money, a nice surprise after they said it would be another 10-14 days only 2 days ago when I phoned them, maybe the phone call worked!
GAO says
I’ve finally had my response from the ombudsman regarding my Likely Loans complaint: the 2 loans received were unaffordable and they should repay me the interest + 8%. I forwarded my complaint to FOS early august and had my case assigned mid december so I assume that was quicker than the average.
I’m happy this is finally over as after my MrLender complaint this would have been my biggest possible recourse £2,000+ expected. With MRLender they only upholded my last 3 out of 8 loans for a total of £2,374, whilst the first 4 were quite small interest wise, I had tried to negotiate for the 4th which would have meant an extra £1,002 ish added to the refund but the offer of a quick payout at a time I really needed the money was too much to ignore. In hindsight I wish I had referred this to FOS – so just letting people know to stick it out!
Other than this, I have had Vanquis refund of £1,679 and currently waiting on FOS to resolve my Drafty and Marbles complaints. I have also complained to Capital One recently but their 8 weeks isn’t up yet.
Will comment again when I have an update. Just wanted to say thanks once again to Debt Camel as you’ve actually changed my life!
Hang in there everyone!!
Martin says
Iv recently complained to Loans 2 go in regards to a loan I have outstanding with them, they’ve came back with a offer to reduce the loan outstaying by 50% , what should I do
Sara (Debt Camel) says
See my reply to you on the Loans2Go page https://debtcamel.co.uk/worst-loan-in-britain/comment-page-5/#comment-467027
Vickie says
Some progress on my case against easy logbook loans. Ombudsman has agreed with adjudicator and upheld my complaint but have given both side 1 month to see if the agree/disagree. They didn’t respond initially in the timeframe from the adjudicator and then disagreed with her hence being sent to ombudsman. If they fail to respond within the time or disagree is this likely to cause problems or be dragged out for longer? They have been as awkward as possible from the start.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If they disagree they will have to say why and that will be considered.
Vickie says
I believe they informed the adjudicator that gambling expenses shouldn’t count as expenditure. Can they keep disagreeing to keep this going in or will the ombudsman at some point just make a final decision. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Ombudsman will make a final decision.
Dave L says
I have to be honest getting really annoyed with My Community Bank at the moment, they seem to be doing everything they can do to to frustrate my claim which has gone to the ombudsman. Complained last January almost immediately rejected , and quite arrogantly in their language too. Put to FOS and finally reviewed by an adjudicator/ investigator in December.
They did not respond to the first deadline and over a month later have got back to the FOS raising new issues but using the same statements as already provided. They are aware of mental health issues and it feels like they are just deliberately trying to be awkward.
I have emailed them today to advise me that given my claim is ongoing , I will not be making a further payment under the payment plan until it is resolved due to the right of set off.
Andrew says
Dave is my community bank like a credit union I complained to kne voyager alliance so arrogant with reply Litherland said we ai t paying you a penny still waiting for a adjudicator since July
Dave L says
Yes they were originally set up as Brent Shrine CreditUnion and now style themselves as my community bank. Their initial reply was very arrogant in no real explanation just a terse no all the checks were carried out and They’ve been obstructive ever since
PM says
9 months and counting since my case was passed to an Ombudsman for a decision on a Bamboo loan. I’m desperate to have a marker removed from my credit file, but the wait goes on. Adjudicator continues to say there is nothing more she can do. Are other people in the same situation?
Laura says
Yep. I’m slightly behind you. Mine was passed for Ombudsman review in June but it is frustrating. It’s 16months since I first complained to Bamboo and it is just dragging on. This is my last complaint outstanding and, if in my favour would have the biggest payout.
I just want it all behind me now so I can start to rebuild.
I really hope you get a decision from the ombudsman soon!
Steven says
How have the rest went? How do you find ombudsman? I ask because I find them very 1 sided towards bank etc, any chance at all they side with them.
Laura says
All of mine have gone in my favour except one.(which was weak to begin with) All except bamboo have been settled at investigator/adjudicator level.
I haven’t found any issues with the FOS at all. They have always invited further comment and allowed me to produce extra evidence if I felt it supported my case.
Steven says
Thank you, that’s all I was asking.
PM says
I’m 24 months in total, it’s my last one too and the only one to get to an Ombudsman. I know the volumes must be enormous, but 2 years… it’s tiresome. I hope we’re not too far away from a resolution
JC says
9 months from the ombudsman? Or is that the time scale for the adjudicator and ombudsman?
My case is with an adjudicator, which has taken 9 months too. It’ll probably go to an ombudsman, and I’m really hoping it’s not another 9 months!!!
PM says
I got my adjudicator decision after 15 months ruling in my favour. It’s been 9 additional Months since Bamboo rejected their decision and it was referred to an Ombudsman. I’ve done everything to escalate too
Jade says
Hi, I was in a very similar situation with Zopa, The investigator voted in their favour and I asked about the negative markers and they told me to contact the company direct to see whether there’s anything they can do due to the stress resulting with my terrible financial position. Zopa agreed to review my case and wanted me to provide evidence that the FOS suggested I contact them to ask if it was possible, I just asked them if they could remove the negative markers due to going through the whole complaint system as a gesture of goodwill so fingers crossed it’s worth a try at least
dyda says
Morning sara, I got reply from an adjudicator for 118 not reply for the their view. Its now gone to the ombudsman.How long is the frame usually for this? thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
sorry it seems to vary a lot. Not much help.
MC says
Hi Sara/All,
The FOS investigator has ruled in my favour that Avant credit lent irresponsibly, yet Avant are ignoring the deadlines and comms from the investigator. I had an email stating ‘We’re having issues getting a response from Avant Credit. Other investigators are having the same issue. I’ll be contacting the relevant team to look into this for me’.
Has anyone had issues like this before? What happens now? Is there anything I can do? Contact Avant myself for example??
This is the only default on my credit file and its hindering our mortgage options. It’s extremely frustrating.
Thanks in advance
JC says
I am currently dealing with avant credit and
I’m in the same ‘boat’ so to speak.
Adjudicator ruled in my favour, gave them a further deadline till today to reply. I assume they won’t and it’ll go to an ombudsman. That’ll be another couple of months.
Terrible really, as I guess they have sold their loans and the process has become a longer one than usual.
I hope you get your situation sorted !!!!
Steven says
From their website
Avant Credit is no longer accepting new loan applications.
AvantCredit of UK, LLC may choose to sell the ownership of your loan agreement to another company at any time.
Let’s hope your claims not too late
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Avant hasnt been giving loans for more than 3 years.
mids13790 says
Has anyone had any joy going through this process involving Lendable. They were the only company who would give me a loan at the time and it was on a very high rate of interest. A couple of months after taking the loan I had to give up and enter a DMP. I had hoped would help consolidate debt (I know now this was a bad idea) but really feel I shouldn’t have passed checks. I had a number of sub-prime credit cards which were close to the maximum although lowish limits on most.
About a year before I also took out a NewDay loan in similar circumstances. Would it be worth taking this process with them also?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They aren’t a large lender and haven’t been mentioned much. One person reported winning a case at the Ombudsman last month.
The same rules apply to all lenders though – if you know this loan caused you major problems and Lendable reject your complaint, send it to the Ombudsman. Many lenders reject strong complaints hoping that people with give up.
Jade says
Hi, has anyone ever had a loan complaint regarding affordability not been upheld however won an affordability complaint about a loan 4 months earlier?
July loan upheld for £2700 with 118 in July 2020 and likely loans for £4000 in November 2020 wasn’t upheld
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is this at the Ombudsman
Jade says
Investigator voted in my favour for the 118 affordability complaint for July 2020 and the investigator didn’t uphold my complaint for Likely Loans for November 2020. I have asked the investigator to escalate to the ombudsman.
I mentioned it was confusing that the decisions didn’t seem consistent
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good choice to send this to an Ombudsman. Also look at the 118 adjudicator decision and exactly what was said there, could some of it be useful for arguing that the LL loan was unaffordable?
Jade says
Hi Sara just a little update for you with regards to this I have just received confirmation from a investigator that my Aqua and fluid credit cards affordability complaints have been upheld also and these are dated from June 2019 and September 2020 therefore it highlights back then I couldn’t even afford it so no idea why the investigator for my likely loan in November 2020 was not upheld it’s so confusing. I have forwarded both the response from 118 and from the investigator relating to the new day cards and recommended that she escalate it to the ombudsman and also review her file as I’m not sure what information she’s been looking at as the other three accounts are all based on the same information?!
shaun says
Hi Sara! Just want to say thanks for advice!
NatWest gave me £3700 today for the loan above! Ecstatic! Now on to the others.
Keep going all know matter how big or small. Good luck everyone 👍
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well done!
Neil says
Hi Sara
I Just had my final response from likely loans rejecting my complaint for unaffordable lending for £3700 over 18 months back in september 2016, They stated it is not a requirement for them to request bank statements as part of their lending assessment for the small loans they offer. Do you think £3700 is small? Even if this was my first loan with LL should they have requested bank statements as this was for over 18 months.
Also they quoted the below
1. Affordability checks
“This included a review of your income, outgoings, information that we obtain from the Office of National
Statistics s and information obtained from yourself to assure ourselves that you could afford the loan and the
repayments would be sustainable”
Not sure what the office of national statistics is but if that showed my outgoing they should have seen I had a serious gambling problem and most of my income went on gambling. My statements would have shown that. I did not mention my gambling outgoings or paydays loans on the application but do you think they should have done a more through check that would have revealed my situation.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s a small loan if you earn 80k a year and have a clean credit record… but I’m guessing you didn’t!
That is a large loan for a bad credit lender to give – LL know that many (most?) of their customers are in some financial difficulty so they should make proper checks on your actual expenses.
And if those checks suggest you should have a lot of spare money every month but they can see from your credit record that you keep borrowing more, then they should ask why, what are they missing.
ONS just says things like the “average single person” spends £125 a month on food. Nothing at all about what you spend on anything.
I think you should send this to the Ombudsman straight away.
Also read https://debtcamel.co.uk/gambling-refunds-loans-cards-overdrafts/.
Have LL sent you the SAR information you will have asked for if you used the template letter in the article above?
Neil says
At the time I was earning £67000 so would you suggest what they lent me was a large loan.
I have requested SAR information which they said will be sent to me via email.
They also quoted the below in there response
We gather information from the credit reference agencies to ensure we have an accurate view of your
financial history, and the pattern of historic lending is included in our credit underwriting assessment.
If they stating pattern of historic lending they would see I would have had payday loans all the time for the past 3 years. I think they only check Experian and not the other 2 CRAs which would have showed more loans that are not recorded with Experian.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think LL should start from the position that anyone applying f0or one of their expensive loans much be in some difficulty… so they should investigate carefully and it seems they didn’t. Send this to FOS now.
Neil says
Thankyou so much for your help Sara. Will keep you posted on the outcome.
Neil says
Hi Sara
As my complaint was not upheld i went back to Likely loans to say they should have carried out more through checks as there product is a high cost loan. I provided them with 3 months bank statements. They came back changing there decision and upheld my complaint. They are offering to refund all interest paid plus 8% and all negative markers removed.
Thanks again for your invaluable advice. Could not have done this without this site.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Very good result for you.