The repayments on many loans and car finance are too high to be manageable so people get deeper into debt trying to repay them.
When you applied, a lender should have checked a loan would be affordable for you – often they did not check properly and you should never have been given this loan.
This article describes how to complain, with a template to use. Many people have won complaints using this. If you win, you will get the interest refunded in cash. If you still owe a balance, the interest is removed so you only have to repay what you borrowed.
These complaints do not hurt your credit record if you carry on making the loan repayments while the complaint goes through.
Contents
A quick overview
What types of loans?
- this includes high cost, bad credit lenders, bank loans, and credit union loans;
- you can complain if you are still paying the loans, it has already been repaid, it has defaulted, or you have a payment arrangement/DMP;
- a consolidation loan may have been cheaper than the credit cards it cleared – but it could still have been unaffordable for you!
- you can also use this approach for car finance. But if you are still paying car finance, you may have a better option than an affordability complaint, so read HP/PCP car finance problems first. And then read Car finance affordability – what you get if you win a complaint
- if you have a guarantor loan, read Refunds from guarantor loans as it’s different and the guarantor may be able to complain as well;
- the complaints here do not apply to mortgages.
What is “unaffordable”?
The regulator says “affordable” means:
you can make the repayments without hardship or having to borrow elsewhere.
This isn’t just for “bad credit” loans – you can win a complaint about a loan from a major bank. But as bad credit loans have very high interest rates, they are more often unaffordable.
For large loans, a lender should have made adequate checks at the start. The larger your loan, the worse your credit score and the more other debt you had, the closer a lender should look.
If your loan was fine at the beginning and only caused problems later when you lost your job or your mortgage repayments went up, you are unlikely to win an affordability complaint as this could not have been predicted at the start.
How does this work?
You first make a complaint to the lender saying the loan was unaffordable and ask for a refund of the interest.
There is a template here you can adapt to say what happened to you. Send it by email.
The lender has up to 8 weeks to reply. Lenders reject many good complaints, so you can send a rejection to the Financial Ombudsman.
Complain to the lender
Email addresses for lenders
If your loan has been sold to a debt collector, send your complaint to the original lender not the debt collector.
It’s easiest if all communications are by email – free, instant and you have a copy with a date stamp to show the ombudsman.
For banks, see this list here: email complaint addresses for banks.
For car finance and logbook loans, see this list: email address for car finance lenders
Here are the email addresses for some non-bank lenders. There are a lot of other smaller lenders, including many Credit Unions. If your lender is not listed, ask in the comment below for an email address.
Abound (used to be Fintern) complaints@getabound.com
Admiral loansquality@admiralgroup.co.uk
Anico complaints@anicofinancialservices.com
Avant Credit emailcomplaints@avantcredit.co.uk
Bamboo Loans complaints@bambooloans.com
Better Borrow enquiries@chetwood.co
Creation customercare@creation.co.uk
Everyday Loans – for loans after 31 March 2021 complain to complaints@everyday-loans.co.uk using the template in this article. It is no longer possible to make complaints about loans before that date
Fair Finance complaints@fairfinance.org.uk
Finio Loans (rebrand of Likely Loans) complaints@oakbrookfinance.com
Fluro (used to be Lending Works) cx@fluro.co.uk
Koyo loans info@koyoloans.com
Lendable complaint@lendable.co.uk
Lifestyle Loans info@lifestyleloans.co.uk
Likely Loans – see Finio
LiveLend support@livelend.co
Loans by Mal (Monthly Advance Loans) Complaints@loansbymal.co.uk
Loans 2 Go read Loans2Go – how to complain
MBNA mbnaonlinecomplaints@mbna.co.uk
Moneyline headoffice@moneyline-uk.com
My Community Bank complaints@mycommunitybank.co.uk
Novuna (used to be called Hitachi) ComplaintsTeam@NovunaPersonalFinance.co.uk
Plata complaints@plata.com
Plend complaints@plend.co.uk
Progressive Money complaints@progressivemoney.co.uk
Quick Loans customerscare@quickloans.co.uk
Reevo complaints@reevomoney.com
Salary Finance (Neyber) complaints@salaryfinance.com (for loans, not “pay advance”)
Savvy info@savvy.co.uk
Shawbrook Customercare.team@shawbrook.co.uk
Snap Finance customer@snapfinance.co.uk
Tandem pl@tandem.co.uk
TM Advances info@tmadvances.co.uk
Updraft complaints@updraft.com
Vanquis customer.relations@vanquisbank.co.uk
Zopa complaints@zopa.com
118 118 Money complaints@118118money.com
Use this template
Email the lender to begin your complaint. Put AFFORDABILITY COMPLAINT as the subject of your email.
Template for you to adapt:
Please confirm the date this loan started, the amount, the interest rate and the monthly repayments. [don’t include this if you already know the information]
I am asking for a refund of the interest and any charges I paid, plus statutory interest, and to delete any negative information from my credit record. [the refunds for car finance can be a lot more complicated than this, see but this is all you need to put in your complaint]
I also want the CCJ that I have for this debt set aside. [delete this sentence if you don’t have a CCJ!]
I attach copies of my bank statements and credit report from the time I applied for this loan/these loans. [delete if you don’t yet have them yet, but they help your case if you do. Even if they show gambling, that supports your argument the loan was unaffordable.]
I didn’t know that the lender was supposed to check that I could repay the loan without having to borrow more. I only found out in [2024] when I saw a newspaper article in the Sun/an advert on Facebook for refunds/a friend said they had made a complaint/whatever. So I am complaining within 3 years of having found out that I have cause to complain. [only put this paragraph if some of your loans are more than 6 years old. It explains why you haven’t complained before. It’s only an example so change it so it really covers what happened to you!]
Add extra information if you want – see below for some ideas – you don’t have to do this.
Do you need a payment arrangement now?
If you want an affordable payment arrangement now, add a sentence to the complaint saying this. These complaints may take months to sort out – a payment arrangement can get your finances into a safe place:
- a payment arrangement shows on your credit record, but if you win the complaint all negative marks will be deleted
- talk to a debt adviser such as National Debtline if you want to know more about payment arrangements
- but don’t risk a payment arrangement for car finance or a logbook loan – one would put your car at risk.
Other details to add if you want
The template above is fine, you don’t have to add a lot more details.
But you can add extra points if they apply in your case, for example
- my bank statements and credit record (attached) show that I was unable to afford the loan repayments.
- this was a large loan, you knew I had poor credit and may have been in a difficult position so you should have tried to verify my income and expenses. If you had done this, you would have rejected my application.
- during a telephone call, your agent suggested some figures should be lower to get my application accepted.
- if the lender was your bank – you should have seen from my bank account that I was in financial difficulty, I was using my overdraft a lot, I was only making minimum payments to my credit card from you.
And some examples of points about top-ups:
- a credit check would have shown that my finances had got worse since the first loan
- I had said the first loan was to consolidate debt, but you should have seen that this hadn’t happened.
While you are waiting for a reply
Try to get copies of your bank statements from 3 months before a loan to three months afterwards. You can get statements from closed bank accounts, normally going back 6 years.
Also get a statutory credit report now and download it. You can get one from TransUnion. Do this as soon as possible as sometimes the details change, so you want a full one saved to show the Ombudsman later if necessary.
Do not wait until the Ombudsman asks you for credit records or bank statements – you want them ready to hand. They really help your case as they prove your financial situation when you took the loan out.
You should get a response from the lender within 8 weeks. If you don’t, phone them up and ask when you will get it – a couple of days is worth waiting for but many responses are rejections, so don’t wait weeks for one, go to the Ombudsman straight away.
Go to the Ombudsman if you don’t get a good offer
Don’t be put off by a rejection! Or if the lender said it was your fault because your loan application wasn’t accurate – the lender should have made checks.
Sometimes a lender will send a long, complicated reply designed to make you look as though you should give up. If they say the loan was over 6 years ago, see below for “time limits”.
I suggest you rely on your instinct – if repaying the loan caused you a lot of problems then send it to be looked at by the Ombudsman.
If you aren’t sure, ask in the Comments below this article. You only have 6 months to send the complaint to FOS, so it’s best to do this as soon as possible.
It isn’t usually worth trying to negotiate with these lenders, you are just wasting your time.
Send to Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
It’s easy! Use the “do it online” option to send a complaint to the Ombudsman. It asks you for all the details they need.
The main part of your complaint can be a version of what you sent the lender in your complaint. Add any more details you want, including pointing out mistakes in the lender’s reply. Also attach:
- the reply from the lender
- Trans Union statutory credit record
- bank statements starting 3 months before first loan
- do not worry if you don’t have A copy of your credit or finance agreement – lots of people don’t. The lender will supply a copy to FOS if FOS asks for it. Don’t delay sending a complaint to FOS while you try to get this from the lender.
Other information that may help your case
Don’t delay sending a case to the Ombudsman while waiting for this information.
If you don’t have the bank statements from the time of the loan application, get them now. You can get these going back at least 6 years even from closed accounts. And you can often go back a lot further with an account that you are still using.
This is a good point to ask the lender for a Subject Access Request (SAR) if you are missing information that may come in useful at the Ombudsman. This could be your loan applications, all credit and other affordability checks and assessments, and a statement of account for the loans, and – if you think this will help – a record of all phone calls.
Your lender will have details of how to ask for this information on their website – it’s often included in their Privacy Policy, with a link at the bottom of web pages.
“Is there a time limit?”
You can’t complain about a loan that started before April 2007 – that is when the law changed to allow these complaints.
Lenders will often reject a complaint if the loan started more than 6 years ago.
But the Ombudsman can look at a complaint about older loans where you complained within 3 years of finding out you have a “cause to complain”. So if you have only just heard that a lender should have checked the affordability, you can take your complaint to the Ombudsman if the lender rejects it as too old.
The Ombudsman also has a 6 month rule. You must send a complaint to the Ombudsman within 6 months of getting a reply from a lender. So don’t delay!
Need some help?
Don’t use a claims management company. They are expensive and often incompetent and use a similar template to the one in this article.
Instead ask a question in the comments below.
Can you get an overdraft refund?
Refunds from cards and catalogues
Get a car finance commission refund?
Ernestkola says
Good afternoon Sara … pls l need advice for girlfriend she took car finance.. from advantage finance limited in August 2015 for £3000 but paid off the loan… she put unaffordable complaint in but they reply today and regent the complaint .that she need to complain to a business within 6years of the event happening .. unfortunately because of the time limit we are unable to at the complaint.. pls l need advice she want to reply to them ? They give her options to reply back .. or go to Ombudsman…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send it to the Ombudsman is my suggestion.
Mark says
I got myself into a bit of a financial mess between 2013-2018 I had multiple pay day loans with Lending Stream , Mr Lender , My jar , Quick quid
In addition to loans with Avant Credit , Likely loans as well as numerous credit cards
Over the past few years most all the payday lenders were paid off and I recently came across your website with regards to making a claim I logged complaints with each company and was successful with cash euro net and I am awaiting on the others
I currently have one credit card with 118 money and have no issues with them , in the height of my money issues I took out two loans in quick succession with 118 money increasing the amount each time this was at a time I was paying off all types of payday loans
If I submit a claim with regards to irresponsible lending will it affect my current agreement with them as I have no issue with the credit card they have given in recently and I use it more as a credit builder but I do have an issue they gave me 2 loans in 2016 & 2017 at 79 % Apr knowing I was struggling?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t see why it should. I don’t remember anyone saying they had a problem with this.
jason hunter says
Hi is it ok to make a complaint to a car finance company whilst still in the agreement?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, but the redress you are likely to get depends on whether you have repaid the amount you have borrowed so far… have you?
jason hunter says
Hi Sara,
I have two finance agreements one with blue motor finance which is coming to the end of the agreement and the other is money barn which is over half paid. I am currently in a dmp with Stepchange.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so that sounds as though you have paid more than the amount you borrowed to both agreements. That makes redress easy if your complaint is upheld – any remaining balance is written off, you keep the car and are refunded the difference between what you borrowed and the amount you have paid.
Both Blue Motor and Monetbarn have been losing a lot of complaints at the Ombudsman. So don’t be fobbed off by a rejection saying they made all the necessary checks. Take a copy of your credit record now. And get your bank statements for the 3 months before and 3 months after each finance application.
jason hunter says
That’s great I will do thanks for your help
X says
Hi Sara,
My complaint was upheld by FOS and loan company accepted it. Do I need to contact them asking for refund or do I just wait until they contact me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They should contact you
Sally says
Hi Sara
My complaint against carcashpoint has been upheld by the ombudsman on January 18 th , and had given them 4 weeks to add any additional information if there was , ombudsman also mentioned that a final decision will be made if he doesn’t hear from any of the parties after 4 weeks .
I have emailed the ombudsman after 4 weeks and she came back to me and said that carcashpoint has not replied to the provisional decision and she has no time frame as to when the final decision will be made .
I have emailed every 2 weeks after that ,just to see if there is any progress but the ombudsman has not been replying to my emails anymore .
Is there anything I could do to find out as to what’s going on?
How long after provisional decision does the final decision has to be made if no additional information is provided?
Can the ombudsman change his decision even if no other information is provided ?
I’m so worried as I was hoping to get the refund soon .
Any help would be very much appreciated
Thanks sara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a very long time to be waiting. I suggest you f]hone FOS up and say you want to make a complaint about the time that is being allowed here.
Mitchel says
Hi
I have an ongoing complaint with a log book lender who I have heard may be going into administration. What happens if they end up owing me money? Can they refuse to pay out due to other creditors?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if a lender goes into administration when they haven’t paid a refund, you become an unsecured creditor in the administration.
Which lender is this?
Mitchell says
Greenlight Credit . So theres a chance I may not get paid if upheld?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh, Varooma. They aren’t much mentioned – nothing this year so far and no comments about people having problems being paid.
Last year they made several people poor offers while a case is going through FOS, people then went on to win their case when they turned it down.
Dave says
I am still waiting one year for an Ombudsman to look at my Varooma claim that was rejected by an adjudicator first off. I argued that they weren’t looking at the evidence properly – it is clear that I could not afford it and was in a DMP at the time.
First submitted 3/11/2020
Reply from Adjudicator 15/3/21
Passed to Ombudsman 22/3/21
Still waiting despite several phone calls chasing FOS……
mitchell says
did you get a original offer? i would accept if now they may be going under . i heard havent lent for over a year now
Maria says
My complaint to avant credit was not upheld and they now do not agree with the adjudicator’s decision and it has been passed to an Ombudsman. Does anyone know how quick the ombudsman’s decision takes?
JC says
I had a decision from an ombudsman 3 weeks after the adjudicator sent it to the next level. I hope this helps.
Avant don’t seem to answer at all.
Martin says
Hi, JC
I’m in the same position my ombudsman outcome pretty quick (within 2 weeks) as Avant didn’t reply. I’m still waiting on a payout – the ombudsman upheld on the 16th March. Just wondering if you have been paid yet?
JC says
No I’ve not been paid yet. I haven’t heard anything since I accepted the ombundsman decision on 24th March.
Did you hear from avant after the ombudsman upheld your complaint!?
Martin says
Yes, I emailed them a week after the ombudsman outcome and they did get back to me advising 4 weeks for the calculations – this is next Wednesday. Fingers crossed we both here soon!
JC says
Hi Martin
Did they get in touch with you in the end?? I’m hoping yours was resolved, which would give me some hope!
Martin says
Hi JC. The 4 weeks is up on Wednesday. I emailed them today to give them a friendly nudge as I haven’t heard anything yet. I will update here once I get a reply/calculations.
Martin says
Hello! I got a reply today – it’s a shambles they are saying that they are refunding the amount to reduce by outstanding balance with ACI ( who it was sold too) and as I have an outstanding balance I’m not Entitled to the 8% even though the ombudsman advised to include. I paid of my balance with them in October 2021 so I own nothing. Every time you email it takes weeks for a reply. I have emailed them and advised that they have not looked at it right and to sort it asap. Hopefully yours will be more straight forward.
JC says
Hello,
I got an e-mail with avants decision today! They’ve given me calculation of what my redress will be and asked for bank details!!
How quick is it resolved after that!? Is it like our previous dealings, where they’ll wait till the last minute!?!?
I hope yours is all sorted now!
Martin says
Hi JC, yes I got my calculations on Tuesday and payment was on Thursday. So you should get it any day now!
Col says
My complaint has been with the Ombudsman for 6 months and still not been looked at.
Lee says
8 months has been the typical wait in an Ombudsman queue. Both Ombudsman have took up to the 8 month stage to get in touch.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would say that is at the longer end of the spectrum.
Mel says
Hi Sara, what have most peoples experience with Everyday lending been after ombudsman decision? I’m on day 27 and they just don’t tell you anything about when settlement letter will be ready. I know someone said theirs had been sent after 10 days, but that was after they agreed with adjudicator. Just seems that they drag their heels when they don’t agree…fed up with them is an understatement!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is your decision from an adjudicator or an Ombudsman?
Mel says
It’s an ombudsman decision
T says
My ombudsman issued a provisional decision in my favour and gave them 4 weeks to provide any more evidence, everyday loans paid out my redress 2 weeks later before the ombudsman issued the final decision, I hope yours gets sorted soon that seems like a long time to wait
Mel says
This is a final ombudsman decision, they issued it on 8th March and gave them 28 days to get in contact and settle but they have not contacted me at all. The adjudicator said he is really disappointed and has chased them himself today…they have been awful. If nothing tomorrow, there’s going to be a strongly worded review left on trustpilot and whatever else I can access !!
Ossie says
The ombudsman made a final decision in my favour on the 10th March , I still haven’t heard anything from EDL 4 weeks will be up this Thursday seems like if the decision goes against them they will drag their feet.
Mel says
They are dragging their feet for sure, I spoke with a lady this morning who was irritated by the fact that I wanted answers and that if nothing is done I will take further legal action to recover my money. She said that she would ask if my case could be ‘fast tracked’ to which I responded ‘there’s nothing fast tracked about my case, you’ve already had 4 weeks to settle!’
Then, they will take the full 2 weeks to refund once settlement letter issued. Nightmare
JC says
Hello
What happens when the ombudsman agrees with your complaint?
I can’t get in touch with the adjudicator, he want reply to an email or phone call.
I was just wondering if avant now gets in touch with me?
Ernestkola says
1.Good afternoon Sara…. l just need your advice pls.. l make a complaint for my car finance for 3 different cars 2015 and 2018 and 2020 .. have send the car finance my bank statement … that got alot of gambling and payday loans transaction on it… 3month before and 3month after…. hope is ok to send my bad credit record to them aswell pls?
2. I make complaint a complain to barclays for my overdraft and loans but they regent it.. overdraft £3400.00 April 2009 ,£4.000.00 may 2009, £4.500.00 July 2009 and aslo July £10.000.00 barclayloan.
Hope is ok to send to FOS pls? Am just worried about the years is too long (2009) what do you think pls?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
1. yes send them copies of your credit recoerd
2. send the Barclays overdraft and loan complaint to the Ombudsman. Explain that you have only recently found out you could complain and this is within the last 3 years. Often the Ombudsman will look at older cases.
De says
Hi there,
I made an irresponsible lending complaint to Bamboo, I’ve received a response today offering me £300 goodwill gesture and a write off of the remaining balance of £762.57. Should I accept this?
Thanks D
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you give some details. Was this the only loan from Bamboo? How much did you borrow? How much have you paid to it so far?
De says
I had 2 loans, the second of which paid off the first;
Agreement Date: 04/09/2017
Loan Advance: £5,000
Settlement Amount (to be used to clear any existing Bamboo loan): NA
Interest Amount: £6825.37
Total Amount Payable: £11,825.37
Repayment Term: 60 months
Monthly Repayment: £197.09
Total Repaid by Customer: £3,350.37
Status of Loan: Closed
Agreement Date: 11/02/2019
Loan Advance: £656.45
Settlement Amount (to be used to clear any existing Bamboo loan): £4,493.40
Interest Amount: £3137.29
Total Amount Payable: £8287.14
Repayment Term: 36 months
Monthly Repayment: £230.20
Total Repaid by Customer: £7524.57
Status of Loan: Open
Many thanks for your assistance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so you paid £3842 in interest on the first loan. (3350 in monthly payments +4493 settlelent amount less the 5000 borrowed.)
The second loan you borrowed 5149 (656 in cash plus 4493 to settle loan 1) and have paid 7524 so far. So you have paid £2375 in interest so far.
So their offer of 1062 (good will plus write off) looks pretty poor to me. What do you think?
If you want a full refund on both loans – which would be a write off plus a bit over £5000 in cash – you may as well reject it and go to the Ombudsman now.
But Bamboo will sometimes compromise, so you could go back and sau you think FOS would uphold bothe loans as being unaffordable, but in the interest of a speed settlelent you would be prepared to just accept a refund on the senid one, so a write off of the balance and £2375 in a cash refund? Would you be happy with that?
Tim says
Hi all. Just a quick note. Put a complaint in with Oakbrook mid Srptember 2021 for unaffordable lending.They rejected this in December 2021. 3rd April adjudocator unheld my complaint and Oakbrook agreed to remove all my interest and remove negative credit markers . So from start to finish less than 6 months. So dont give up it could be quicker than you think.
Barry says
Does anybody have experience with Lendable? I have two loans worth around £12,000 which I am about to default on. I was (still am) in a DMP when I took them out, so I know I shouldn’t have but I don’t think they should have lent me the money either. The monthly payments of around £500 were too much and I struggled for a few months before I had to give up.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have started to see them mentioned a few times this year. This sounds like a good complaint, send it to the Ombudsman if they reject it or make a poor offer.
Can I ask about the rest of your finances? How much are you paying the DMP a month? Was that too much, so you were left so short you have had to borrow more? Are you buying or renting?
Barry says
I am paying £300 to my DMP. I had to borrow more to keep up payments. I have a mortgage on my house.
Lendable rejected my complaint quickly saying that the loans were affordable.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send the complaint to the Ombudsman then. Those were very big loans, lendable should have made sure they were affordable.
Louise says
I put a complaint into lendable for a loan of £5000 lendable didn’t upheld and went straight the ombudsman and they have upheld. Good luck with yours
Barry says
Does anybody know how long it takes an Ombudsman’ to make a decision? Adjudicator has upheld my complaint but it seems Lendable are not communicating and so it has now gone to an Ombudsman.
Mel says
Hi Sara, I have had my settlement letter from everyday lending. I paid £7016 in interest and the loan was settled in 2019. They are saying that they calculate the total interest at 8% £358 so my refund is £7016 plus £358 this seems wrong ? Or have I missed something?
Mel says
So my total refund is £7311?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the 8% does look wrong. What date in 2019 did you settle the loan?
is the £358 after tax has been deducted?
Mel says
Hi Sara,
Apologies the loan was taken in 2019 and settled in 2021 and the ombudsman states to refund that timeframe at 8% which with 20% deducted for tax I expected around £800, not £358.
So all in all it’s £7016 in repayments plus £311
I am totally fed up with them so I’m inclined just to accept and be done with it – the loan will be removed from my credit file aswell.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What date in 2021 was it settled? Was that a large final settlement or was it a 2 year loan?
Mel says
The loan was taken in August 19 and settled in July 21, I settled by early repayment. The loan was supposed to be for 60mths
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then the 8% looks ok to me. You settled it about 9 months ago so you should get 6% statutory interest paid less 20% for tax.
Nice result though!
Mel says
I know, but looking forward to finally having all of this behind me now. I accepted the offer this morning but at least now I don’t feel like I have been short changed with the 8% ! Thanks Sara
Os says
Do you know when they will pay you ?
It’s been over the 4 weeks since my complain was upheld by the ombudsman and not heard from them, I just called this morning and they promised to get back to me today. If I accept the offer I’m sure they will make me wait further until I get paid.
Mel says
They say up to 2 weeks after you sign. I rang them on day 28 and they say they are understaffed so taking longer to send out settlement letters. I don’t doubt they will take the full 2 weeks to pay !!
hayley says
Hi Sara,
I have sent an irresponsible lending complaint to first response finance this morning. At the time of them giving me a car with 16k finance I had a CCJ, 11 defaults and many unpaid bills. I have a copy of my credit report now but how do i obtain one for back in October 2019 when they lent it to me, as its different now to what it was at the time. However its still not good, all they’ve done for me is increase my monthly payments to cover debt.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your current credit record will be fine.
MC says
Hi All,
I like many others seem to have problems with Avant Credit. I’ve had my complaint upheld and the FOS stated I’m due a refund of all interest and charges plus 8% simple interest, and all information relating to this loan removed from my credit reports. Yes I’m still waiting for the refund and it’s been 4 weeks since the deadline for them to contact me has passed! Has anyone at all had any luck with Avant Credit yet? My main concern was the default they added to my credit report under ACI/Perch capital as the debt passed to them. I have since contacted ACI and made them aware of the situation and they – without hesitation – removed the default from my credit reports. I just wanted to let anyone know who is waiting for Avant Credit to act (if the debt has been passed to a DCA) then contact them and ask them to remove the default themselves! Now its just a case of waiting for the refund! Hopefully this can solve half of the issue for anyone..
JC says
Has this now been resolved?? I’m still waiting on a response from avant, who have 2 weeks !
Just wondering if they will!
Lucy says
Hi
Can I have some information on making irresponsible lending complaints whilst in an IVA? Santander, Vanquis, aqua these are included in my IVA
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is likely any refunds will be paid to your IVA. If they are VERY large this may help to end your IVA early.
Daniel says
Hello Sara I took out a credit card 3 years ago with 118 and I was getting in a mess with it and was only paying the interest each month has I could only afford the minimum payment , in the end my mom had to pay it off for me , would I be in a good position to put in a complaint with 118? Thanks in advance for any help .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how high was the credit limit at the start? did they increase your limit?
had you also taken a loan from them?
Daniel says
It was for £1500 and no it never got increased it was that from the start and I never took a loan with them .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok that is a pretty high starting limit for a high cost credit card. Did your credit record show a lot of other financial problems at this point? what interest rate was it, do you remember?
Daniel says
I had another credit card at the time with vanquis for £1000 so I’m guessing that would of shown up on my credit file I can’t remember what the interest rate was at the time sorry .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think this is a complaint worth making. use the template on the credit card page here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/
Daniel says
Thank you Sara il use that template you recommended.
Daniel says
Sorry if it’s a silly question but do I just start off with this part of the template when complaining? I want to complain about irresponsible lending by you for my name of card or catalogue account number 987654/444. My date of birth is dd/mm/yy. The email address I used for this account was myaddress@whatever.com.
Then say they should never have given you the account:
You should never have allowed me to open an account with such a large credit limit. When I applied in 2011, you should have checked my credit record and you would have seen I had recent missed payments to a credit card and a default only two months before on a loan. Then the rest has they reply? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to use the template on this other page https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/ – please ask any questions in the comments on that page
Michael says
Hi Sara
Back from 2003-2007 me and my wife got in to a lot of debt with lloyds tsb approx £30k plus debt around 6k with other lenders.
There was a culture then with them to always call us with account reviews account upgrades and even cashiers saying you can borrow this borrow that. The later of the debt was a 23k loan with them in early 07.Looking back in hindsight I was lured in to lower Apr consolidation which was good to a degree but didn’t help me to ever clear.
At the later part of the debt our debt was more than what we earnt in a year.
The crunch came summer 2008 it was too mush and we started a debt plan with stepchange which we finished April 2021 paying back every penny. A lot of the tsb debt was sold off to debt company’s after a year or so and in the best part I didn’t pay hardly any interest in the plan.
Researching tsb I saw an article online regarding Lloyd’s 2005 lending practices and thought that’s exactly what happened to us back then.
Question is after paying most of our spare income out on the 12 years losing out on being free from debt and lowering quality of life do I have a valid angle to complain about affordability iresponsable lending. I feel that I got stacked with debt with them and had to suffer until recently many thanks michael
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Most lenders weren’t regulated by the FCA until April 2007. As a bank, TSB would have been. So you could try making a complaint. I have never seen anyone win a complaint for so long ago though. How much information do you have about the loans before 2007 though? I don’t know what the bank will have retained.
Michael says
Thank you for your reply ,back in 2015/16 they had records of loans used with an upheld ppi claim plus I have records of the last credit cards and loan with them on the start of the stepchange payment plan if that helps.
I do realise in 2008 I could of opted for an Iva and saved 7 years or so of payments which would of balanced out the amount of there wrong doing.But at the time I blamed myself thought I borrowed it I’ll pay it back but gutted really as over the past year I’ve thought no it wasn’t my fault kind regards Michael
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is a great shame you did not opt for the IVA which would have saved you money and years of your life.
You can start the complaint and persevere as long as possible. I am just warning that sometimes there is little information about very old credit.
Daniel says
I was exactly the same with the same bank , I’d have regular bank account reviews and was constantly offering me upgrades , credit cards, loans , increase of overdraft and it soon got out of control and went down hill from then.
Michael says
The same happened to my mother in law not to the same degree I’ve been in sales for years but they duped me.
The un canny way of making your feel important and privileged I recall. I’m going to give it a go remember a lot plus have some evidence they had records 5 years ago plus the stepchange docs what would be the best template to use for me to add my case to do you think any help would be greatly appreciated regards Michael
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you are just, or mainly, complaining about loans? use the tmplate on this page but change it a LOT so it gives a lot more details about what happened.
Michael says
Loans mainly but in general also Thankyou for your help
Cocodog411 says
Hi Sara,
I have a question for you. I have a current loan with TFS Loans. I used a claim company to make a claim for irresponsible lending in 2021 and they rejected the claim. The claim company said they didn’t think it was worth sending to FOS given what TFS had replied. At that time my partner suffered a Brain Aneurysm and for obvious reasons the claim was not on my mind. In late January this year I asked the claim company to send this to the FOS anyway as i had read similar cases that had actually been upheld. They agreed to do this but the FOS came back to say I had gone over the 6 months to involve them from the initial rejection but once I had explained why I had missed the deadline they agreed on 8th Feb 22 to look into it, which was great. Obviously since 8th Feb TFS have gone into administration and even if the FOS do uphold my claim I would potentially get nowhere near what the redress would have been had the claim company forwarded the complaint in 2021 so my question is if this is the case can I make a claim against the claim company??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As TFS are in administration, FOS will not make a decision on your claim, they will pass it back to the administrators.
I suggest you wait and see what happens – if the administrators uphold your claim, you could try complaining to the claims company.
Cocodog411 says
OK thank you Sara. Just have to wait and see what happens.
Jax says
Hi complained to a loan company that my loan was unaffordable. They have rejected my complaint saying they did all the appropriate checks. They have said that if I have any further information to support the complaint to send it, otherwise its their final decision. I’m wondering whether to just escalate it to for or whether to send bank statements to them. They show lots of gambling unfortunately. Loan was for 4k over 3 years. Maxed out credit cards, lots of cash withdrawals and often making the minimum payment plus other loans and I was always in my overdraft. Any thoughts please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is this lender?
Jax says
Hi Sara, it’s Zopa
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Definitely send bank statements – gambling on them supports your argument that the loan was unaffordable. I would also tell them the case goes to the Financial Ombudsman in two weeks if they do not accept your complaint = you dont want this to drag on for too long.
Jax says
Excellent. Thanks Sara.
Jax says
So I’ve had my response from Zopa. I sent bank statements to them and this is what they have said.
Looking into your application, your statements were not required and not assessed at the time of application. In any case, using some of your available overdraft usage would not be a reason to decline your loan application, therefore our decision remains unchanged.
I was using all of my overdraft and the bank statements I sent showed loads of gambling and more money going out than coming in. They have ignored the large cash withdrawals on credit cards too. Sent to the Financial Ombudsman without delay!
Casey says
Hey,
I have a pounds to pocket loan but closed in 2018.
Could I do this? Could I do it with previous and existing car insurance?
Also would you advise doing with a Barclay loan once closed if I still have an existing loan with them and a current account?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am afraid it is too late to make a complaint about Pounds to Pocket – they are now in the very late stages of administration and the deadline to make a claim was over a year ago.
I have never heard of anyone winning an affordability claim about the interest added onto car insurance when you pay it monthly.
If you have a current Barclays loan you think is unaffordable, you should complaint now, there is no reason to wait until it has been settled. How much is the interest rate on this? Do you also have an overdraft with them? A Barclaycard?
Kaz says
Hi Sarah
I had a loan with one of the car companies mentioned – just paid last payment. However at the time I worked part time, had an amigo loan, defaulted on credit cards and couple of catalogues (though catalogues are off file now) and I spent the next few years living in overdraft (probably after first month’s payment). I only ever sent them my payslip (checked emails) do I have a claim?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So the car finance made a bad position worse? That sounds like a good claim to me.
Also your overdraft – were you in it literally all month, not even getting back “into the black” when you were paid? Did your bank increase your overdraft limit?
Kaz says
Was in it every month – other two bank accounts gave me overdraft then increased those. I lived in my overdraft for 3 years after taking car loan. Lockdown helped my finances a lot! Does that make a difference?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like you were borrowing more because of the car finance then.
“Affordability” is a test that is applied at the start of the loan – the fact that your finances got better during lockdown is not relevant.
veronica says
Varooma are saying that they cant investigate my complaint as its been over 6 years and they have no information about me. will the FOS be able to look into this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have any information about the loan(s)? How old are they?
Zoe says
I was just looking for some advice on an old HSBSC account. In 2004 I was earning around £14,000 and HSBC gave me a credit card with a limit of £5,000 roughly £100 a month minimum payments which I maxed out. In 2007 I took out a loan with HSBC to pay for a car and consolidate my credit card. The loan was over 7.5 years at £270 a month. My wages were roughly £15,000. They did not however close my credit card and in time I maxed it out again. So I was earning less than £1000 a month with payments to HSBC of £370 on top of rent and bills of around £400. I ended up topping up my wages with savings money each month. Around 2008/9 a friend told me I shouldn’t be paying PPI so I asked HSBC to review my loan and take these payments off. This resulted in a new loan over the remaining period at a lower amount each month if about £230. On top of the loan and credit card I also had a £500 overdraft which I was always in. I often exceeded this gaining over £100 each month in unarranged overdraft charges.
I appreciate most of this occurred pre 2008. But is any of this something I could claim irresponsible lending for? I managed to make all the loan payments which ended in 2016 but defaulted on the credit card in 2014. My overdraft was just transferred to Santander when I opened an account with them in 2010. The combined debt to them was the equivalent of 2 years wages.
Thanks as always
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how large was the overdraft when it was transferred to Santander in 2014? what were your wages at that time? did you get a lot of unarranged overdraft charges from Santander?
Zoe says
I transferred in 2010 I’ve always been in my overdraft with them. It was only £500 but I’ve had it for 12 years. As soon as I was paid I was using my overdraft. In 2010 I took home after tax around £1,050. Thank you
Also yes I have had lots of charges authorised and non through Santander.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So all the HSBC credit is simply very old. Unless you have kep old bank statements etc, there may simply be little or no evidence about the credit and how affordable it was. The fact you had savings also complicates any complaints.
But it may be worth making a complaint to Santandar about the overdraft if you were in it every day, even when when paid. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/get-refund-overdraft/
Zoe says
I thought it might be too old. I did put a complaint in to Santander. They responded in a few hours which I was quite shocked by saying they did nothing wrong and if I didn’t tell them I was having financial difficulties (during 2014 – AKA the pay day loan era) then that’s essential not their problem. It was quite an abrupt response !
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send it straight to the Ombudsman., The FIS basic rule is they can look at any issue that is less than 6 years old. BUT they can also look at complaints where someone has only become aware that they had a reason to complain within the last 3 years…. So tell FOS yo7 knew before you were in financial difficulty but you thought that was your fault for not being good wit( money, you have only recently found out a bank should have reviewed your overdraft annually and checked it was affordable for you.
Dan says
Hi Sara, firstly thank you for all of your advice on this site. I want to run something past you and ask for some advice re Avant credit – I applied for a loan of £6000 back in 2016 (Jan 2016) it was unaffordable and within months I defaulted on the payments. Looking back through my emails I’m ashamed to say I buried my head in the sand and ignored. This resulted in a CCJ and I am now making payments of £80 a month through a company called TM legal (since May 2018) I started this with the figure owing of £6648 (which was explained as court fees and interest)
My question is can I make a claim of unaffordability – I had three credit cards maxed out, was lending from lending stream, quik quid, payday U.K. sunny and myjar. I was going through a very bad break up around this time and I’d also racked up debt through credit cards on bingo slots.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can – complain to Avant. And in your complaint say that you would like Avant to arrange for TM Legal to set aside the CCJ
Dan says
Thanks Sara – sent last night and received acknowledgement today.
taruk says
Hi all,
i was wondering if anyone has managed to get a redress from advantage finance, i have put a complaint for a car finance loan i took out with them, in 2015. At the time i had a high number of payday loans coming in and out of my account due to accessesive gambling. i have had response from them saying that they are unable to give me a redress and as a good will gesture they would refund me 94.00 for charges occurred for late payments.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you send this straight to the Ombudsman. Can you get your bank statements for that time?
taruk says
yes ive sent them to them to advantage finance, they show a large amount of gambling and 4 payday loans
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok then send them on to the Ombudsman.
Laura says
Just to update, the FOS have finally provided a final decision today in my case against Bamboo.
I first complained to Bamboo in October 2020 on a loan that had been repaid. They offered to pay redress of 20% of the interest paid so I took it to FOS. The adjudicator found in my favour June 2021 but bamboo disagreed so it went in the ombudsman queue. Due to health issues I was made a priority case at the start of this year and today I got my response. I’ve worked out interest and 8% simple interest will give me just shy of 5 figures. I will finally be debt free and can start rebuilding my relationship with money.
None of this would have been possible with Sara and this site, so thank you for sharing your knowledge and helping so many people! A donation will be going to CAB once the money hits my account
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Very good result. Well persevered.
C.A says
Hello,
My Mum took out a car loan from Funding Corporation in 2011. (FC) She complained in 2019 and FINALLY received FOS response upholding her complaint 2 weeks ago.
The loan was for £6,999 (August 2011) and was repaid in 60 monthly instalments of around £206. The total amount
paid back, including interest was just over £13,061.
She got a call last week from FC asking for her bank details and they told her they couldn’t disclose how much she would be repaid…strange!
Today she’s received £8,955 in her account from them with no explanation of the break down or how this was calculated. I’ve told her to call them and request a breakdown and to provide her with the tax certificate.
I was just wondering how to calculate how much she should be repaid, as I know there’s the 8% interest that should be included too?
FC have been awful and dragged this out for as long as possible. I’m just so HAPPY it’s been upheld. This complaint was sent in 2019!!
Thanks!
CA
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The interest she has paid is 13061-6999=£6062.
So the rest of the money must be the 8% interest they have added on.
It’s hard to work out what the 8% should be. But if they have taken 20% tax off it, that looks fine. yes they should tell her what the tax figures are – 8% interest (that is the gross figure) and the tax taken off
Natalie says
Hi Sara,
Further to my last comment where I asked if it was worth complaining to MoneyWay even though I had VT – I submitted the complaint with bank statements 3 months before & after (took forever to get those sorted), and their response has come back today (below). Is it worth going to the FOS? I had entered the comment regarding just finding out I could complain in my submission. Thank you!
Your complaint was received on 23 March 2022. The event you complained about was irresponsible lending as you have stated that the loan was unaffordable.
Your Agreement commenced 12 May 2022 and the last contractual payment received was on 19 March 2018. You voluntary Terminated the Agreement on 09 June 2018 and the vehicle was collected.
Due to the above, we are of the view that your complaint has been made too late and therefore will not be investigated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you send the complaint to the Ombudsman straight away. Yes the contact started over 6 years ago but the Ombudsman can also look at any complaints raised within 3 years of you becoming aware you had a reason to complain.
So in your complaint to the Ombudsman say Moneyway has rejected your complaint as it has been brought too late, but say that you only found out recently that a car finance lender should have checked the loan was affordable for you, when you were trying to find information about your QuickQuid claim and came across the Debt Camel website which has a page on car finance. So you think this falls within the “three years since you became aware you could complain”.
Also send your bank statements to the ombudsman.
Ernestkola says
Good afternoon Sara.. you need quick advice pls.. l make a complain again marsh finance (car finance) for 3 cars on 19/3/22 … 2 cars paid off and the 3rd still paying at the moment.. during this time l have alot of payday loans ( pay loans 5days l bought the first car )and alot gambling transaction on my bank statement before but the car. l request (SAS) for all the 3 cars and affordability check .. but l just received the information now… with only one cars has affordability check information… is that ok to ask them why they don’t provide me the affordability check information pls? But still waiting for there final decision which they said in 2 weeks time they will get back to me. Any advice pls?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes I suggest you do ask them about that.
Ernest says
Good morning Sara hope you have a lovely Easter break … just give you a quick update on my complain against marsh finance.. l just received a call from them now about my affordability check and the guy told me they don’t have the information for affordability checks( meaning they did not do Affordability check me… l told him to send me email to confirm that… he reply by say no because still look at my case at the moment .. what do you think l should pls? If l get this payout my life will change because is alot of money thanks so so much for this website
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just wait until you have the response from the lender – or until it has been 8 weeks if they haven’t replied. Then send it to the Ombudsman if it was rejected.
If you haven’t already done this, get your bank statements all sorted out ready to go to the ombudsman.
Sim says
Just want to share and say big thank you to Sara for this site and advise
After I raised to FOS that I was not happy with Bamboo’s offer and as per Sara’s suggestion to send it to FOS this is their reply today
Good afternoon,
We have received notification of the escalation of this complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), therefore the case has been passed to me to review.
Following my initial investigation I am of the opinion that there are grounds to support the claims made and have decided to overturn our original decision and uphold the complaint.
To date you have repaid a total of £3,255.51 against the combined loan advances of £2,629.09.
This means we will arrange for your remaining balance with Lantern Debt Recovery Services Ltd to be waived and the account closed, and you are due a refund of £626.42.
To enable me to action this refund, I require the following details from you:
Sara (Debt Camel) says
excelllent!
Sim says
I have also request the loan to be removed in my credit file and this is their reply.
Good afternoon
Thank you for your recent email and for confirming your bank details.
I have now passed the redress request to our finance department and you should receive the funds in your account within 7 working days.
Additionally, I have requested for the loan to be removed from your credit file. Be advised that any changes made to your credit file can take up to 8 weeks to reflect, unfortunately the time scale is out of our control.
Kay says
Hi Sara
If I have excepted an offer that my account to be cleared and closed on a loan after an affordability complaint, can I still forward to the FO, as I feel I excepted there offer without realising what refund I was really entitled to !
I have contacted the loan provider but they said I excepted the original offer and so will not discuss further.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no, sorry, it is too late.
Jess says
Hi Sara I have just had my loan with safety not upheld by an adjudicator. Who said they was not irresponsible in lending. It’s was a period I was in my overdraft constantly and had 3 other payday loans. I have asked for it to be looked over again or sent to an ombudsman. Has anyone been in the same position as me being not upheld from borrowing from safety net. Thank
Sara (Debt Camel) says
quite right to ask for this to go to an ombudsman.
When you say you were in your overdraft “constantly” do you mean every day of the month? You were even out of the red for a few days when you got paid?
Jess says
I was in the red most of the time I borrowed from them even after being paid.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then I suggest you also read https://debtcamel.co.uk/get-refund-overdraft/ and consider making an affordability complaint about the overdraft
Jess says
Thanks you Sara, regarding safety net do people usually have success after going to the ombudsman.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Ombudsman is upholding about 80% of running account credit complaints and SNC are the largest provider of this sort of lending
LENNY says
Advice welcome.
I took out finance on a car (hp) with carshop, finance provided through moto novo finance. This was dec 2017.
I was in a sticky position, hence getting a.car on finance. My credit history at the time was shocking, owed money to many creditors.
I was accepted although, never asked for wage slips, proof of earnings or anything of the sort. I was desperate for a car, needed to travel.100 miles a day for work and back. I have maintained payments, but had to set up a dmp, a few months after this, as could not adhere to minimum payments with creditors. It was a plan spanning 60 months, so due to end this year.
Is there any point in me putting in an affordability complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes this sounds like a good affordability complaint. Having to enter a DMP a few months after the finance started shows you couldn’t manage the payments.
Get copies of your bank statements for the three months before the loan and send those with your complaint as they will help.
Send it straight to the Ombudsman if Moto novo reject it, don’t be fobbed off.
LENNY says
Thanks for the reply, I switched banks since taking out the finance, and am unable to obtain statements for this period, any suggestions?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you can still get bank statements from closed accounts – complain now without them but also set about getting them now. so you have them when you complaint has to go to the Ombudsman (as it very probably will).
LENNY says
Thank you for your advice
RD says
Hi Sara.
I had a complaint rejected by 118118 money. I sent it to FOS, who upheld it and 118118 accepted. They sold the loan to PRAC, who instructed BWLEGAL to begin court proceedings to get money owed (Interest was removed). A letter of claim was sent to me.
I’ve told them that the FOS have investigated and sent them the report, but they have told me as the loan was sold to them they are within their rights to be court proceedings.
Can they do this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They sold the loan to PRAC after 118 had accepted the FOS decision?
RD says
They sold the loan before. Account was assigned to a debt purchaser in December 2019. They accepted FOS decision in March 2021.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
and have 118 mony paid you redress? or are they still sorting this out?
RD says
I still owed money, so they worked the amount out and informed the debt purchaser. If the initial loan was deemed unaffordable, shouldn’t the debt purchaser treat the loan they bought in the same way?
They’re treating me as if I took the loan out with them and as if there has been no affordability complaint upheld. They’ve also defaulted the loan as I wasn’t able to pay towards it for a few months.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then I suggest you lodge a complaint with PRAC.
Have you received a claim form from the court or a letter Before Claim from BW Legal? Have you responded to this?
Dez says
Hello sara my complaint was not upheld by an adjudicator. I’ve asked for it to be sent to an ombudsman. Do they tend to agree with the original decision by the adjudicator?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you explained why you think the adjudicator’s decision is wrong?
Carli says
Hi I have gone against an adjudicator previously and the ombudsman agreed with me, it is worth persuing.
Carli says
hi all, has anyone ever had any experience in getting a compliant upheld with Money Barn? I had a large car loan when i was in financial difficulty and just emailed my compliant. They were a horrendous company to deal with at the time so i wont hold my breath for anything positive now….
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes lots of people have won cases at the ombudsman against them. Don’t be fobbed off if they reject your complaint, send it straight to FOS.
How long ago did you take the finance out?
Carli says
it was originally taken out in 2015 over a 5 year period, however due to financial difficulty and going back and forward with them over payment arrangements it was finally paid off in 2020
Sara (Debt Camel) says
expect Moneybarn to decline this as the application was over 6 years ago and send it to the Ombudsman who can decide to look at older loans when someone has only just found out that the lender should have checked the finance was affordable.
Nat says
Hi,
I have had 2 loans with everyday loans one in 2020 for 3000 and then they topped this up to 6000 in 2021 when they invited me in for a review. The first loan was to consolidate some credit card spending which was at about 10000 accross different accounts as well as a safety net credit account which needed 900 paid off. When they invited me back in 2021 they offered to top up the loan and pay off more of my credit, however they would have seen that they were actually repaying off one of the cards I had respent on since my last loan. They did not take into consideration within this loan that I was 75% month in a 1000 overdraft also. After a month of starting to pay back my second loan I ended up in a debt management plan with payplan as it all got too much to afford and felt like I was never going to get to an end point. I wish I had of done that sooner in hindsight. Do you think there is any argument in a claim against everyday loans ? They are also the only company not freezing my credit in my DMP and it’s really getting me down as will be paying off for the next 6 years
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes I think this sounds like a good complaint.
J says
Has anyone had any dealings with Avant Credit? I didn’t even realise I had a loan with them and going through old paper work and found I had paid 38% interest and I used it for debt consolidation.
I also had a loan with Everyday who confirmed today that they would write off the interest but I still need to pay the balance. Any advice?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lots of complaints upheld against Avant. They aren’t lending anymore but are still paying out.
Everyday Loans – how much did you borrow? And how much have you paid to them so far?
J says
Thanks Sara.
Will await Avants response.
Re every day. It was around £3000k about £2k interest. I’ve paid around £600/700 off.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then they should reduce the balance to 3000-600/700 = 2300/2400. That is what the Ombudsman would say. but they should also allow you to repay that at a lower more affordable rate and it should not hurt your credit record.
Oddball says
Hi there. I had a loan with them. Borrowed 3k. I used the template that was placed on this site from kind Sara and they emailed me back within two months. They paid me back all my interest and original borrowing. Also cut my last few payments off. I got 4.5k back. No hassle from them whatsoever
J says
@oddball.
Thank you for that!
I only asked for the interest back…kicking myself in the foot know haha thought that was a reasonable outcome if I can get one! Fingers crossed
Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is what you should ask for – that is all you will get back from the Ombudsman.
Emma T says
Hi Sara
I was just wondering what happens if you want to make a complaint but had an IVA? I had a £3000 overdraft and £4000 credit card with Halifax, and a £4000 loan with Everyday Loan (also had QQ loans) while only making around £1000 per month. I entered into a full and final IVA in 2017 and received my completion certificate in 2019. Is it still possible to make a claim against the companies?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes but it is possible your IVA firm may claim the money – which IVA firm was it?
Emma T says
It was Keenan CF in Belfast.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry I don’t know what they would do.
Steffany says
Hi Sara, I have had loans with 118118 and Bamboo. They are currently being paid through my DMP via stepchange. Can I still claim while on a DMP?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can. being in a DMP is a good situation to claim in – you are in a safe financial place, not being pestered by the lenders. If you win, your balance in the DMP may be reduced or cleared and your DMP will end much sooner.
Both 118 and Bamboo are rejecting or making poor offers on a lot of complaints and so are losing a lot of cases at the ombudsman. So don’t give up if they reject your complaint.
Bamboo will sometimes negotiate so if they make you an offer, think if it really is good before accepting – come back here and ask if you aren’t sure as you can’t change you mind later.
Steffany says
Thank you for your quick response :) I will give it a go and see what happens!
Elle says
Hi all
Bit of a strange one – adjudicator found in my favour for both bamboo loans I had. I was suprised at the second one as I had begun to pay off some of my debts at that point and was in a better financial position so wasn’t holding hope on this. But adjudicator said I was still using overdraft, and had taken out loan with 118 not long before and had a new job that paid less so he felt I had more debt and less income. Bamboo didn’t agree and it’s gone to ombudsman. Ombudsman has asked for bank statements for the 3 months prior to both loans. I’ve already provided these to the adjudicator but because I make a lot of transfers between accounts they want statements for my other account too. My worry is if I provide this they might see I had more spare money and could have therefore afforded the loan, is it therefore better to refuse to provide these in the hope they’ll go with info already held by adjudicator?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No. People who don’t provide information that is asked for are likely to lose their complaint.
Andrew says
Does anyone know who I should ring regarding quickquid I had a partially upheld claim in 2020 I have had no email about the payout people have been starting to received I have tried 4 times spending over 3 hours on hold in total and tried 3 people at grant Thornton but no joy no one comes back to you
JJ says
Hi Sara.
I’ve got a loan with Likely Loans and I made a complaint last year but the FOS didn’t find it in my favour. Could I complain again?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No. You can’t make the same claim twice. Was your decision from an adjudicator/investigator or an Ombudsman?
JJ says
That’s a shame. It was worth asking. It was with the ombudsman.
Thanks for the quick reply.
John says
Can you claim interest back on a loan that’s been ongoing for 10 years or more ?
they are credit union loans
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Possibly – can you give some more details? are there a series of loans going back 10 years from the start? or several loans all 10 years old?
John says
It was a few loans. I was paying the loans and none was coming off at times.mas they was taking it as the interest they put on that month. Now there threatening me with court as I haven’t paid anything for about 16 months or so sense the covid. And only heard from them a couple of months ago . Thanks john
John says
What’s the template start with Sara I have to use please .? About claiming on my credit union loan please
? Thanks John
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the one in the article above these comments.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can. Use the template letter in the article above and as this are CU loans, add a sentence in the first paragraph saying:
Giving me these loans which I could not afford was not treating me fairly and is a breach of the FCA’s PRIN 6. which says “A firm must pay due regard to the interests of its customers and treat them fairly.”
LadyA says
Hi,
Can I put in a claim against VW Finance?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes.
Is the finance still running?
Amae says
I put in a claim to MotoNovo and got a decision in email from them upholding my claim after submitting further bank statements. I have had an email the next day stating the decision was reviewed by a senior handler and they are not upholding my claim- has anyone had experience of this before?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no! send it straight to the Ombudsman.
Amae says
Thank you – not had their final Decision by email yet – was just an email from the claim handler explaining it had been reviewed by a senior manager. Thank you will send it straight to the ombudsman
Nick says
Has anyone experience of claiming against every day loans? Are they proving successful or rejecting?
Steven says
I had mine upheld, they literally left it till the last possible day to respond before I sent it to the FOS.
They’ve stated in there eventual response to my claim “I have found evidence to suggest that some of the necessary affordability checks were not carried out during the loan application, therefore this made the loan unaffordable.”
So you have every chance of being successful.
Stuart smith says
Hi I have a complaint for an 18k car loan upheld and have asked to keep my car can they repossess or default the loan evwn though the complaint says they have to close account . Is it no loan owing I can keep car ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how much did you borrow? how much have you paid so far?
Chris says
Hi Sarah. I’ve used your advice to help me to apply for quite a number of refunds – thank you. My debt has significantly reduced and my credit rating has significantly improved as a result. I am now in a position where I can apply for a mortgage. I have received a decision in principle and now beginning the full application process. The mortgage broker has requested my bank statements and they are querying some of the deposits shown on the statements. These are the interest refunds from affordability complaints. My question is do you think these could be held against me in my mortgage application? I.e. do you think a mortgage lender would potentially dislike the fact that I have made affordability complainants and received refunds? I know it’s hard to know for sure but I would appreciate your thoughts. Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it’s like getting a PPI refund. You were charged too much and some of it was refunded. No one has had a problem with this that I am aware of and several people have come back to say how they got a mortgage that they had no hope of before getting refunds.
Che says
Hi Sara, I have two questions below. Would appreciate advice on both.
1) I had a Llyods credit card that I defaulted on and ended up with a CCJ (not really sure when as in which year this was or the history of payments/credit amount etc). Is there any way to find this info? I have been paying drydens fairfax for while now £50 a month and this will be paid off in November to them directly. Then it will be settled and the CCJ removed I believe. Is there any way to get any of the interest/charges back from llyods in this scenario?
2) How can I find my credit history over a 20 year period? Issues started with my post as my family members died and I was travelling for 10-15 years and had no fixed abode, was house sitting and never in one place long (or could use their address) but now my credit score is low even though I have two credit cards I can’t apply for anything else. Wondering if there are any past episodes I can claim for loans and credit cards that I have forgotten about
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago did you take The credit card out? When did it default?
You can look at your past emails? And your credit records. You can’t make claims for things before April 2007, but you may struggle to go back that far. So what has happened in the last 10 years say?
Che says
I believe the default is nearly 6 years old but I have no idea when the card was taken out or how to find out? I don’t have access to old email accounts unfortunately.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have little information it may be hard to win complaints.
But you can try with this Lloyds one. The best template for card complaints is on this other page: https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/. You can ask for the dates as part of your complaint. As you are complaining about tsomething that happned more than 6 years ago it is very likely that lloyds will reject the complaint saying it is too old – you will have to send it to the Ombudsman.
Read that article about credit card complaints.
Lee says
Hi Sara,
The adjudicator has just picked up my Nationwide Loan. How should I respond to this only submitted my complaint last year when put other complaints in.
Email
I’m the investigator who will be looking into your complaint about the loans you had with Nationwide.
My understanding of your complaint is that you’re unhappy Nationwide gave you additional borrowing which you’ve said was irresponsible. You accept you agreed to a loan in 2006 and have said you feel a loan such as this shouldn’t have been consolidated with extra borrowing more than once. But you’re unhappy with the loans taken out in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. Because you don’t think you should have got the additional borrowing, you’re asking for the interest charged to be refunded along with 8% simple interest.
Please let me know if I’ve missed anything or misunderstood your concerns.
In order for me to see if this is a complaint I can consider, I’ll need some more detail from you about what led you becoming aware you shouldn’t have been given the loans you were. You’ve said you repaid the loans in 2015 – was there a reason you didn’t raise the complaint then or any sooner than you have? I just need to make sure I have enough information to start investigating before I can think about giving an answer on what’s happened.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The points you need to make are (make sure these are right for your case, delete bits and add details so they are):
– in 2015 you knew these loans had caused you a lot of problems, but you blamed yourself for this for not being good with money. At that point you had never heard that a bank or building society should have checked a loan was affordable for the customer so you had no idea the Nationwide had done something you could complain about.
– you heard about payday loan complaints but you thought that was because the interest was so high, you didnt realise the same affordability rules apply to other sorts of credit.
– you found out about bank complaints in [mid 2021] when you found the pages on the Debt Camel website about them. So you have complained within 3 years of realising you had a cause for complaint.
Lee says
Thanks Sara.
Sim says
Hello
I have the same scenario. I have a loan with egg way back 2008 and and this loan has been sold to different debt collector and the last one was with arrow and I did not win the court case and I had CCJ with this loan. I have now paid this under drydensfairfox. Can I still complaint about this us unaffordability. I had so many default and that time I don’t about this, that you can complaint about your loan only this recent years, but Egg does not exist anymore but it Canada Square dealing with this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I doubt you can do anything about this.
Rachel says
Hi Sara!
I took out car finance with Moneyway back in December of 2014. At the time I was on maternity leave and also taking out constant loans from
QQ & Wonga while making payments to Capital One and Vanquis credit cards, a JD W account and a company called Reliable Collections.
I had to Voluntarily Terminate the finance as I couldn’t afford the repayments. Would this be worth a complaint?
Thanks in advance!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can complain. It may be hard to get details of your finances in 2014, but if you have these (perhaps you are still with the same bank?) then you may be able to get them.
Rachel says
Thank you! Yes I am still with the same bank however my statements online only go back as far as 2015. Will these be required?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you can probably get statements from further back if you ask them. Your bank statements basically show that the finance wasn’t affordable – 3 months before the application to three months afterwards is bext.
Ross says
If you visit your branch and ask for the dates required, and advise that the Financial Ombudsman service requires them, they’ll be more than happy to help. I’ve had no issues for all of my requests 😇
Rachel says
Perfect thank you! I’ve managed to order them via my app 😀
Graham says
Hi all,
Just an update to hopefully reassure someone that patience pays off.
I made complaints against Likely Loans last March. They didn’t acknowledge the email for ten weeks. I got in touch advising them of the 8 weeks to reply. Whilst I waited for a response, I took the complaint to the FOS. In July, Likely Loans refused my complaint, stating quite a lot of non-factual reasons. I responded advising them it was clear they had neither read my credit report at the times of the loans nor during their investigation and that I’d already raised the complaint with FOS.
FOS contacted me last July, advising me they would look into it in due course.
In November last year an ombudsman contacted me to inform me he was dealing with my complaint. In December he advised he’d agreed with my complaint. I then didn’t hear anything more till January, when a different ombudsman got in touch to say he was now looking into it.
I sent him bank statements and all the info I’d sent previously.
In March, he emailed that he was upholding my complaint and that Likely Loans had been contacted.
Within 8 days, he emailed me a redress offer from Likely Loans, which I accepted and 7 days after that the money was in my bank.
Although it took some time, most definitely worth doing.
Thank you very, very much for all of your efforts and the information on this website, Sara. It’s a wonderful thing that you do to help people.
Reid says
Hi sara, how is statutory interest calculated ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
see https://debtcamel.co.uk/interest-payday-loan-refunds/