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?
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/
Chris says
Varooma has gone into administration.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
thanks for the update.
Dave says
I have had a complaint with the Ombudsman since March Last year against Varooma and it is still in process – what happens now they re in administration? Does that kill off my claim?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes I am afraid FOS will return your complaint to the administrators to decide.
Sally says
Hi Sara ,
My final case against car cash point has been settled today , I mentioned earlier that a provisional decision was made by ombudsman in January 2022, but for some reason a final decision was not issued , I called in and fo said they see no reason as to why it has not been issued and she would follow up on it, within a week the ombudsman made a final decision upholding the provisional decision made , I didn’t wait for car cash point to contact me , I emailed theire support and director nick Kramer attaching a copy of the final decision 2 days ago and to my surprise I got the breakdown yesterday and also asking me to confirm my bank details , I got paid today , was surprised it was so quick after a lengthy wait by the ombudsman,
Thank you Sara for all the valuable information provided on this blog , I would have never bothered to even try to claim any money back , but due to you and this site I went from -18k in 2020 to + 10 k in 2022.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good to end with a win on the last one – and what a turn around from 2 years ago!
Dez says
Didn’t realise there was only a 6month timeline to appeal a decision Ie: (118). Could it be overruled, because it’s taken this long to pluck up the courage to challenge back after their rather Intimidating reasoning within the initial decision. ? Is it worth raising, is there a chance the it may get looked at?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did the decision from 118 say you had to go to the Ombudsman in 6 months?
Richard says
I recieved this from 118 loans
Good afternoon,
Thank you for your email.
We can confirm that your concerns have been raised with the email address registered on file.
If you’d like to update your email address, we’d need you to call us to do so.
I’ve also email myjar and ferratum to see if I get any joy with them
Katie says
Hi all
My complaint about MoneyBarn has finally been picked up by FOS…taken almost a year.
Has anyone else gone to FOS for Moneybarn? How long did it take after being picked up?
They’ve asked for my credit file and bank statements so far.
Grae says
Hi
My complaint was sent to the FOS in November 2020, the adjudicator gave a response in October 2021 , they ignored the deadline set out by them , but after writing a review on trust pilot they quickly responded and agreed with there findings .
My loan was wiped out and received a cash refund of around £2500 about a week later
Katie says
Thanks Grae. How long at the point of the adjudicator picking your case up did it take for them to come to a decision?
Mike says
Hi my complaint against Moneybarn was picked up by an FO adjudicator in December. I’ve sent in all my evidence and bank statements to the FO. A decision hasn’t been made but that’s only because moneybarn just don’t get back to the FO after requests for my business file. Into the fifth month now and they still haven’t replied to the FO request. I think what makes it more frustrating is that there are no time scales set by the FO for them to reply, and I’m told Moneybarn are busy. This worries me because Moneybarn weren’t great communicators when I put my original complaint in. So can’t understand why a timescale for response isn’t being been set by the FO especially after almost 5 months of asking.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
5 months is way too long, they aren’t normally that slow.
I suggest you do two things:
1) leave them a bad review on Trustpilot https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.moneybarn.com
2) email the FCA and copy Moneybarn on the email. The FCA doesn’t look at individual complaints (that’s what FOS is there for) but hopefully Moneybarn will hate their regulator being told and this may kick them into action.
To do this, email consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and copy this to complaints@moneybarn.com and compliance@moneybarn.com.
Subject: Why hasn’t Moneybarn sent my file to FOS?
Give your name, address, Moneybarn customer number and FOS reference number.
Give a very brief summary of your complaint – no more than a couple of sentences.
Say Moneybarn rejected it so you sent it to FOS on dd/mm/yy. Say FOS has apologised to you for the delay but Moneybarn hasn’t yet sent them your case file. Point out this has been 5 months and say how stressful this is.
Say you think if an FCA authorised firm cannot deal with Ombudsman requests in a reasonable length of time they should have to stop trading until they staff their complaints function properly.
Mike says
Thank you Sara that’s really helpful. I didn’t know what to do especially when I was told by the FO that no timescale was set for them to reply which made no sense as it was just open-ended. I was also told it had been ‘escalated’ but when I asked what this actually meant I got a really vague response back again with no timescale. I know its just the business file they are waiting for as I’ve sent everything including a zipped file full of documents I received last year from Moneybarn after I submitted a SAR request to them. So there’s nothing more I can do. I’ll follow your advice now. Thanks again.
Mike says
Hi Sara. I thought I’d give you an update on the same thread you gave me advice on initially (which I took thank you). At last, after months of waiting for Moneybarn to send the FO adjudicator my Business File, and the FO having to escalate my complaint as they just weren’t responding to her. I presume they have now, as I received an email from the adjudicator stating ‘she has all the information she needs’. This was two weeks ago and nothing since. There has been so many delays on this complaint due to Moneybarn holding things up I wondered now the FO have ‘all the info they need’ whether to expect another long wait or whether I should maybe hear of a decision soon? I didn’t know whether to email the adjudicator to ask?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would give it another couple of weeks and then ask if there is any more information you can supply.
Katie says
I have my whole file (allegedly) as I requested it when I put in my original complaint to Moneybarn. Should I send this over to FOS?
Mike says
I would. I put in a SAR request to moneybarn when I complained. They sent me my file through, about 16 or so documents I think. I sent all this info to the FO.
Kathryn says
I need help. Lots of loans took out when I was an alcoholic and in an abusive relationship. ombudsman have looked at my largest 5 yes 5 and said the time is up to claim..I didnt know to claim as it hasn’t long been made public knowledge. Its not a small amount. In fact its potentially life changing for me as I can pay for much needed surgery and a house move. The earliest was 2012 and latest 2015. All to mobile money. Also avant credit should of paid be by 23 march….yep still waiting
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is this a decision from an adjudicator or a second level decision from an Ombudsman?
Steffany says
Hi Sara, I sent emails to 6 lenders on the 27th April regarding affordability complaints. 4 of which have at least acknowledged receipt and issued my SARS. Polar Credit and Mr Lender are yet to send any acknowledgement. Is this normal? I appreciate they have upto 8 weeks to try and resolve the complaint. Also, apologies if this is in the wrong thread as they are pay day loans. Thank you for all your advice and hard work :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Seems normal – you can phone them up if you want to check they have it. Mr Lender have the annoying habit of replying by post.
Andrew says
Hi Sara
Had a credit union complaint upheld for 8 loans at adjudicator level and company have agreed
They are
March 2013 £3500
April 2014 £500
October 2014 £2000
April 2015 £2100
Jan 2016 £4000
July 2017 £2000
Nov 2017 £1530
May 2018 £6000
The adjudicator was quite critical of the paperwork provided as they migrated computer systems so couldn’t provide what they had or hadn’t done etc so my question how will they begin to work out my redress ?
I owe them 3000 but have 1300 savings so you pay through payroll and they take some in to savings which you can’t touch rest goes to interest payment other goes to principal worried they will just pluck a figure out of thin air
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have, or can you obtain, details of the amounts you have paid them?
Were all of these loans “new” loans or were any refinancing previous loans?
Andrew says
Well no I have a app which shows old loans last entry shows what was credited to close that loan down and them my bank account which shows what was paid out to me
The last loan still shows 3100 owing but with 1400 in savings to offset against amount owing
It’s decreasing interest as more payments are made so I pay 203 permonth 20 is to savings think around 42 per month to interest rest is principal
I tried a amortisation table which shows around 3 1/2 grand paidn on last loan so far
Andrew says
No Sara I have no details I have checked 6 off the loans and the amounts they have stated is the amount of money that hit my account I did not ever pay off any off the loans I paid a bit off then re borrowed I suspect the Apr was around 15 percent
Lee says
unfortunately my complaint to 118118 as not been upheld by the ombudsman so i guess thats the end of the road for this one. he concluded that
“I think that a reasonable and proportionate check ought generally to have been more thorough”
“I think 118 118 Money should have done further checks to assure itself that Mr XX would be able to repay the loan in a sustainable way over the 24 month term and carried out a more thorough review of Mr XX’s finances. As I can’t see that this was done, I don’t think that the checks carried out before providing Mr XX with this loan were reasonable and proportionate.” However , I can’t see anything that would have clearly indicated that its loan was likely to have been unaffordable
Very bizarre findings do you think?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
To win an affordability case, two things are needed. First that the lender failed to check affordability properly. Second that proper checks would have found that the credit was unaffordable.
In this case the Ombudsman doesn’t agree the loan was unaffordable for you.
Shireena says
Hi, has anyone recently had a complaint with creative finance t/a Motorkitty?
My complaint was upheld by the ombudsman and I received the final decision on 21st April but have still had no contact from them. I’m meant to hear from them by 19th may but they’ve been so incompetent, I don’t feel like I’ll get any contact. I emailed them the same day I received the decision as my contact details had changed since I had the logbook loan with them. Still no response to that email either and it’s been almost 3wks. It seems they are no longer trading as the phone just divert to voicemail! I’ve been trying to call them for the past week. Anyone had any issues or know where they have disappeared to? Thank you
Ananda Classens says
Sorry to say, but you won’t get the money from them via FOS. I had to get it via a court order, Ie. Warrant of control and send bailiffs. It was a long and very frustrating situation. Ps. The FOS can’t actually inforce their decisions…
Shireena says
I had a feeling this was going to be the case!! How long did the enforcement process take for you? Did they have to pay you extra interest as they didn’t settle within the 4 week period? Also, how long ago did you go through this? Thank you x
Sue Kay says
Hi Sara
I have a log book loan with Varooma which I discovered today have gone into administration. I have been paying reduced payments as I have been seriously ill and have been unable to pay the full monthly amount. Do I carry on making these monthly payments to the Administrators and will they now have the log book for my car ?
Many thanks
Sue
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, your loan carries on as normal. Was this your first loan from them? How much do you still owe?
eds says
Hi Sara,
Please could you advise me on what to do with this dilema? I took out loans with car cash point from 2015 until 2019 and as I was a compulsive gambler the money went on that. They did not look into things properly and I sent them a template email (as advised by yourself) around 5 weeks ago giving them 6 weeks to respond. I thought I would remind them that they had a week left to respond before I took things further and received an email yesterday saying the following:
Thank you for your email. Please note we responded to you on 29 March; this letter was posted to your address. We can of course forward you another copy of our letter. At that time we offered you interest redress of £7,100.93 for the concurrent loan agreements. You have of course settled your final agreement now.
I asked for a copy of the letter to be sent again but I worked out that the interest I paid back on all loans totals £29,483.00. I have all the documents saved so it is an accurate figure of just interest paid back. I do not want things to be delayed only for them to go into administration like many companies have done and get a fraction of the money back which is much less than what they have offered me. Any advice, please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So this is a difficult decision and I don’t think I can say anything useful as you are aware of all the pros and cons.
£7k is a decent amount of money to risk, even if it isn’t a good offer on your complaint.
I have no particular reason to think car cash point is in financial trouble but Varooma went into administration recently so it must be a worry.
eds says
Hi Sara, Firstly many thanks for the information. I told Car cashpoint that i did not agree with what they offered me and asked for an explanation, they refused earlier loans due to the timescale of 2015 and that i waited to put in a claim. They also mentioned other stuff but I know I had a very good chance if I went to the Ombudsman, but it takes so long and companies could go into administration so I asked for a better offer and was told £10000 so I accepted this today and have already been paid out. I know it is not even half of the interest but at least I have got it in my account!
Katie says
Just wanted to update on my complaint to FOS about Moneybarn. They’ve said I should never have been lent the money, and that no more should be paid, and all interest should be returned to me and adverse markers removed. Awaiting confirmation from Moneybarn 😊😊😊
If agreed, I’m looking at approximately £6k back. Will update when I hear back.
Mike says
Hi Katie. Well done on having your complaint upheld. Good news. Could I ask please, I’m currently awaiting a decision from the FO about Moneybarn, how long was it from when the adjudicator picked your complaint up to receiving your decision. I know all complaints are different but mines dragging on a bit now and it will just give me a rough timescale. Hope you don’t mind me asking.
Katie says
Hiya
They picked it up last week. I sent it to them almost a year ago.
When the adjudicator contacted me, I sent him everything I had from my SAR, which I think helped 🤞🏻
becca says
I commented previously about an irresponsible lending claim against Creation Finance Ltd. Well just wanted to say, the fos and then also ombudsman have agreed with me and i am due to be refunded anything above the original amount borrowed with simple interest on top. They have 4 weeks from me agreeing with the decision which was the 28th April. Has anyone any experience with creation in this sort of scenario. Ive contacted them
By phone to prompt them into action and they have stonewalled me with none answers and silence. Is it realistic to be thinking due to this they will leave it until the end of the timescale? Its driving me mad the lack of communication
Gary says
Hi
I got a complaint going through FOS about 118.
I had three loans with 118 1)2500 2nd) 2700 3rd) 3200
FOS said that the first two uneven though wrong they can’t is it unfair but 3rd loan shouldn’t haven been given
And recommend all money used should be rolled in it one and payments should be deducted and interest and charges should be refunded.
Could you please explain if that’s all payments on loans to be deducted
And the process on refunded etc
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was this a decision from an adjudicator or an Ombudsman?
Did you have more than one loan at a time, or did the later loans pay off the earlier ones? Do you still owe a balance on the last loan?
Gary says
It was a adjudicator
They were top up loans
So original took out £2500
Then 16months later took out a top up loan of £1500 which took the balance too £2700 and then 8 months later took other top up loan of £850. went to 3200 obviously without interest so £6009 with interest
Still owe £5100 on it
Yes last loan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how much have you paid to the last loan so far? Just the cash payments. ignore if they are interest or principal.
gary says
About £900 so far
As done two payments before entering in to dmp
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok then your balance should drop to 3200 (what you borrowed) less 900 (what you have paid – that should include any payments in the DMP) = £2,300
A big improvement for your DMP!
BUT do you think the first top up was really affordable? Why did the adjudicator think it was?
gary says
Oh definitely big improvement thank you
Lack of information, as no bank statements and wage slip can’t be found at present time. He didn’t say they should’ve done more but can’t see that it’s unfair at the moment
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how long ago was the 1st loans and the 1st top up? Why can’t you get bank statements, you can get them even from closed accounts.
Andrew says
Hi Sara
So voyager credit union agreed with 8 loans the adjudicator told them to refund I am a bit confused about the workings out
March 13 3500, Apr 2014 500, Oct 2014 2000, Apr 2015 2100, Jan 16 4000, July 2107 2000, nov 17 1500, may 2018 6500
All the amounts bar the last one is what hit my account I never repaid any in full always taking another one so it looks like they have calculated interest on just the principal not principal plus interest if that makes sense only the last amount looks correct ie so you borrow 500 and its 750 say with interest , you pay 300 back you owe 450 balance if you then take a further 1000 put surely thel loan isn’t for a 1000 its 1450 minus early settlement etc
Am I getting confused with front loaded interest or is it standard
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“All the amounts bar the last one is what hit my account”
are you saying that for the first loans you received cash payments of 3500, 500, 2000 etc?
But for the last loan you received less than 6500?
I can help you work this out but you need to know for each loan:
– the amount borrowed (not including interest)
– the amount of cash you received
– the amount you paid to this loan not including the final settlement when you took the next one out.
The term “front loaded interest” is not helpful in trying to work out what your refund should be.
Peter says
Hi sara can I still get a redress from myjar?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you have a current loan?
Peter says
I payed off my loan in 2015
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well you probably still can make a claim but you need to do this asap and it’s possible it may be too late. Also Myjar is expected to only pay out a very small amount.
jason hunter says
Hi Sara is this worth sending to the ombudsman?
Dear Mr Hunter
Thank you for contacting us on 18 May regarding your existing complaint. I’m really sorry to hear you’re unhappy with the service we’ve provided.
I understand you feel the bank encouraged lending.
I’m sorry to hear you recall feeling this way. I appreciate you have only recently found out you can raise an irresponsible lending complaint, but I’m afraid as the matter happened more than six years ago, this is not something we are able to investigate further for you.
As detailed previously, your complaint falls outside the time limits set by the Financial Conduct Authority for us to review complaints.
These being if what you’re complaining about happened more than six years ago, and if you’re complaining more than three years after you realised that there was a problem.
The lending happened in 2011 and 2012 which is more than six years ago. The products could have been closed if you had decided they were not right for you and if this was done within what’s known as the “cooling off” period, they wouldn’t have affected your credit score.
I regret the information outlined in my previous correspondence is correct and the bank’s stance on your complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the lender? What sort of credit was this?
jason hunter says
This was RBS it was loans, credit cards and overdrafts they used to ring me up to refinance every couple of months offering a better deal on interest rates and ended up being over a £10000 loan I ended up in a dmp
jason hunter says
Well maybe not every couple of months but regular
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think that is worth persevering with.
FOS will often look at older debt cases – it is their decision not RBS’s. You know this credit made your life worse, so take it as far as you can!
jason hunter says
Thank you Sara
Phillip says
Can I still make an affordability claim against varooma?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes. They ar win administration but you can still make a claim.
Justin says
Good morning, I submitted a complaint back in 2017 with 118 money, after I submitted the complaint my financial situation got much worse, I lost access to the email account that I made the complaint with, which I was never issued with a final response that I recall, I resubmitted my complaint and explained the situation this was the response,
As we’ve already investigated and issued our final response on your previous claim of irresponsible lending, we will not be reinvestigating this issue. Our final response was issued on 11/09/2017.
As you’re now outside the time frame in which you have the right to escalate the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), we will not consent to them reviewing this case.
Where do I stand regarding this situation,
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m sorry but it’s too late. What is you4 current financial situation like?
Justin says
Thank you for your reply, finally debt free after several years Using this site for many years which I can only thank you for all the advice you post here for those in need
Dale says
Hi All, for anyone wondering about affordability claims and timescales at the FOS i can now share my timeline of events.
22nd June 2021 – Complained to the business
23rd July 2021 – Business rejected my complaint
23rd July 2021 – Sent to FOS
7th January 2022 – Case assigned to an adjudicator who gets in touch to ask for the usual info (bank statements, credit file etc)
21st January 2022 – Upholds in my favour, gives the business the standard 2 weeks to respond
4th Feb – Deadline day and the business queries the decision, granting them a week extension
11th Feb – Business never bother to respond so it is passed to an ombudsman for a final decision
23rd May – Ombudsman agrees with adjudicator, upholds in my favour, business now have up to 28 days to settle with me directly.
as you can see from the above this is a timely process, be patient, the finance companies will try every delay tactic possible. be proactive, get your bank statements and credit report ready, to not hold up the process any more than it already will be.
Expect for the complaint process to run 12 months from start to finish, any sooner and that is a bonus.
Good luck everyone and thank you sara.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who was the lender?
Dale says
Motonovo
Ariaf says
I originally had my claim upheld by MotoNovo, then reviewed and rejected, so have sent to ombudsman. MotoNovo cited various reasons for rejecting. They sent my SARS by email and it had someone else’s personal details including bank details and loan history! My credit application does not have income/expenditure, so not sure how they can say it was affordable I’d the checks were no completed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you should ask MotoNovo for compensation for the GDPR data breach – the going rate is about £150.
Richard says
Hi Sara
I put in an unaffordability complaint to 118 and also
My jar 24/7 money box and ferratum on th 5/5/22
I received a reply from 118 (saying sorry I felt that I had felt this way and my jar (redress of £365)
I have know received a debt letter from azzuro associates for 118 money saying I owe £ 940
My last payment too 118 was in 2018 on a payment plan
I actually thought that I had payed it off
Has you can see I’ve had numerous loans over the years
I was just wondering what to do about azzuro they said I need to reply in 14 days about this matter
Your help is much appreciated
Richard
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have received money from MYjar?
I suggest you send the 118 complaint to the Financial Ombudsman – 118 often rejects a lot of good complaints.
And ask Azzuro for a statement of the account as so far as you were aware it had been repaid in full.
Richard says
No not yet this is what they sent me
2114274
£ Redress Value
Redress – Balance Reduction £2.27
Redress – Unsecured Claim £329.57
Total Combined Redress £331.84
Balance Reduction
You do not need to take any action in relation to the reduction in the balance of your loan as this has automatically been applied to your account and no further monies are due from you in respect of your loan(s). We would therefore urge you to cancel any standing orders or other payment methods that you may currently have in place. For the avoidance of doubt, any monies received after receipt of this email and before you may have had an opportunity to cancel any standing orders or other means of payment will be refunded to you. My jar
Anon1 says
Hi Sarah, I’ve done a bit of an experiment and needing some advice please? My credit record has never been great and I check clearscore and credit karma daily. Over the last couple of months I’ve had 4 credit cards approved and 3 high interest loans. I had a lendable loan for £4750 in Oct 21 which I was OK with the repayments. On 19th May I was approved for a £5250 loan from novuna through clearscore which I used to repay the lendable loan and have some extra money. I’ve now been approved for a £6250 loan from novuna through credit karma. I have 14 days to cancel without any charge.I’ve paid off the lendable loan with some left over and now have the extra £6250 on the way.
As I said, a bit of an experiment as I have 14 days to cancel without charge. I didn’t fill in any additional details for any of the loans nor provide any evidence of income/expenditure etc.
My question is, should I cancel the third loan or keep the money and raise an irresponsible lending complaint after a couple of months? (Both loans from novuna are £215 a month, first over 3 years, second over 4 both at 30.4%) there’s no way I could actually afford both repayments but think its out of order that the company has so easily authorised both loans through 2 different brokers without any additional checks.
I know I should cancel the second loan but after reading so many comments on here I would love to keep the money and pay back only what I borrowed (without additional interest) over the 4 years!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it’s up to you. I can’t guess if you will win the complaint. Sounds a pretty stupid thing to have done to me and repaying the loan sounds sensible.
And why on earth have you taken out 4 credit cards?
Emma Wilson says
I have had my Everyday Loans complaint upheld by the Ombudsman. Could someone help me work out what I should be getting back? I took the loan in July 2018 and borrowed £2000. I repaid £4508.64. With the 8% extra recommended by the Ombudsman, what should I realistically be getting back from them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When was it repaid? What were the monthly payments?
Emma Wilson says
It was repaid in May 2020 and the monthly repayments were £187.86
Emma Wilson says
I will add that I paid off the balance of the loan in one go in May 2020.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you have paid £2508 in interest that will be refunded. Plus very roughly about £500 in 8% interest, – 20% tax will be taken off the 8% but if you are a basic rate taxpayer and this is your first refund this year you can reclaim that tax deduction back from HMRC
Emma Wilson says
How do you go about reclaiming the tax deduction please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/
Hitch says
Hey Sara
I have had a car finance in 2016. The car cost £6500, and I have paid in total £12800. Paid £6300 interest. Made a complaint to the car company, and they rejected my claim. Sent to the FOS , and the adjudicator uphold in my favour. She asked them to Refund all interest including adding 8%.
I just want to know how much roughly I will get back from them.
Thank you ever so much.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When was the finance paid off?
Who is the lender and have they accepted the decision.
Hitch says
The loan was paid off July 2020. Lender was The Car Finance Company. My adjudicator contacted the Liquidators. First they disputed the outcome, and sent in more info. My adjudicator rejected their finding and upholds my case again. She gave them until the 30 of this month to decide.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If they accept, you would get back 12800-6500=6300 in interest plus about 1000 in 8% added interest.
I hope they accept and don’t drag this out to the Ombudsman level.
Hitch says
Hello Sara
They disagreed with the adjudicator. Now the case is the Ombudsman 😕
I just to ask what are my chances now that my case went to the Ombudsman please?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Ombudsman agrees with the adjudicator in 90% of cases.
Hitch says
Hey Sara,
The ombudsman final decision upheld my comp, and asked the liquidators (Quantuma) to at me within 28 days
Quantuma, emailed me on Friday, and this’s the email I received, but didn’t understand it.
We note that your complaint against the Company has been upheld by the Financial Ombudsman (per attached email). You are therefore an unsecured creditor in the liquidation, however, we must ensure that all creditors are treated equally and as such we will not be in a position to make a distribution to unsecured creditors until such time that all other potential unsecured claims have been submitted and agreed. This process might be protracted (due to the provisions of the Limitation Act) but please be assured that we are working with the director of the Company to try to identify potential claims in the hope of concluding the process as quickly as possible.
Please complete and return the attached Proof of Debt form. Please note that the director of the Company has calculated your claim in the liquidation (in accordance with the Ombudsman’s judgement) at £7,686.99 per the attached excel document.
I confirm that we have emailed Arrow to request they write off the debt and also arrange for adverse data to be removed from your credit record.
Any thoughts about this email?
Thank you so much 😊
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That looks normal for an administration. At least they are clearing your balance and credit record rapidly.
Do you agree with the calculation of your claim? does that take account of any money you have paid to Arrow?
I have given some notes on how to complete the Proof of Debt form here https://debtcamel.co.uk/wonga-letter-oct-2018/
Hitch says
Good morning Sara
Thanks for your reply. Yes o do agree with the calculations. I don’t have debts because I’ve paid the loan in full. Do you think I’ll be able to get the refund within 28 days??
Thank you so much
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry but it is likely to take a lot longer than that. And you may only get a % of the full amount paid – it depends how much money there is left to be divided between the creditors.
Hitch says
Hey again Sara,
I was paying Arrow global from 2019 until I paid off the loan in July 2020.
Also, I was paying GCC servicing was part of Go car credit, from 2017 until 2019, when Go car credit sold the remaking balance to Arrow global.
Received a cheque for £250 this week, when I called them they told me this has nothing to do with the ombudsman decision. Thank was the charges. They told me that I have to wait for the remaining refund.
Do you think, now the liquidators will ask Arrow global, and Go car credit to refund me the money as I was paying both of them?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can’t really guess what the liquidators will do in this situation I am afraid.
Hitch says
The loan was paid off July 2020. Lender was The Car Finance Company. My adjudicator contacted the Liquidators. First they disputed the outcome, and sent in more info. My adjudicator rejected their finding and upholds my case again. She gave them until the 30 of this month to decide.
Thank you
Rebecca says
Hi Sara, I need some advice again. The company Have been instructed on the 29th of April to contact me “to set things right” does this mean that they have 28 days to contact me to say they are calculating the refund. 28 days to calculate it and tell me or 28 days and they should have refunded me? Im a bit unclear on this part of the process. And is it calendar days or working days?
Any advice appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is this decision from an Ombudsman? Who is the lender?
Rebecca says
Yes final ombudsman decision was made and i agreed with it on 28th april sent to creation finance on the 29th april
James says
Oakbrook finance rejected my claim, so I went to FOS and they’ve contacted me saying they’ve contacted Oakbrook and that Oakbrook will be contacting me!! What should I expect???
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hard to guess!
Simon says
Hi,
So, I complained to blackhorse about unaffordable car finance using your template. Surprisingly they have upheld my complaint straight away and admitted that there checks did show that the finance was unaffordable for me.
They have agreed to write off the liability of £2,045 and pay me £1,135 (cash deposit and payments made towards liability, 8% interest)
They then state ‘I have not refunded any of your monthly full contractual payments made prior to voluntary terminating the agreement and handing the car back as you have had full use of the vehicle during this time’
My question is, should I just except my lot or send this to the ombudsman? They have admitted fault after all?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large were the monthly payments?
Simon Gutteridge says
£250 per month
Stuart says
Good Morning,
I have finally had an Adjudicator pick up my case.
My Car loan with Moneybarn was taken out 2014, i complianed about them in jan 2022, as i read an article about them possible ledning irresponsibly.
The adjudicator has stated that: “I now need to determine whether you ought to have reasonably known you had cause for complaint sooner.
Does this mean they could rule against me as for time barring? and how likely is this?
Many Thanks
Stuart
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS always checks for time barring when a loan was taken more than 6 years ago – but they have another rule that says you can complainn within 3 years of finding you had cause to make a complaint. So many of these cases are accepted.
You need to explain what happened and make two points.
First that although you knew from 2014 that the MB repayments were high and causing you problems (I assume? put this into your own words!) you didn’t realise that MB should have checked if the car finance was affordable for you, so you had no idea they had done anything wrong. As it was a secured loan you knew you had to pay it or lose the car so you never thought about telling MB that you were in difficulty at that time.
Second explain in more detail when you found out that a car finance lender should have checked for affordability – what article did you find? You made a complaint soon afterwards?
Dan says
Hi Sara, about 6 weeks ago I sent a complaint to Avant I reference to an unaffordable loan I took from them in 2016. I took some advice from you beforehand explaining that as I couldn’t afford it I hadn’t paid anything but that after been issued with a CCJ I began to pay TM legal a sum of £80 a month and am still doing this.
In my initial email to them I explained that I would like the CCJ set aside and explained that I didn’t know that they had to check I could afford the loan and also that I didn’t know that I could claim and only knew I could after seeing an advert on Facebook and that I was claiming within 3 years of finding out.
Today I received this response;
We are writing in regards to your complaint concerning the
affordability assessment undertaken prior to making a credit decision for your loan application with AvantCredit.
On review of your account, it appears your loan was funded
more than 6 years ago on 23/01/2016 and was closed over 3 years ago on 06/08/2017. As such, we reject your complaint on the basis that it is outside of the time-limit to be considered.
Thank you for your patience during our investigation of this
matter.
Warm regards,
AvantCredit UK Resolutions
I am a little confused as I am still paying the loan through TM Legal who I assume purchased the loan and the fact that they state that this is outside of the time limit. My question is would you pursue this and do you think I have a good case?
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you send your complaint to the Ombudsman.
Explain that they have rejected it as the loan is over 6 years old, however 6 years ago although you knew the repayments were too high for you to manage, you thought this was your own fault for taking the loan and you had no idea Avant should have checked the loan was affordable for you. So you didn’t realise you had any cause to complain, even when you were taken to court for the debt you had no idea there was anything you could do, you never defended the court case and it went through by default.
Also say more about the Facebook advert – when exactly did you see this? Did that then cause to google for affordability complaints?
Danielle says
Thanks again Sara for your advice. Have sent to the ombudsman and will let you know the outcome.
Andrew says
Hi Sara
I had a 118 loan which was given to azzuro tp collect and then passed to a company called nco I put in a affordability complaint and won at fos I received a letter from nco saying account was settled (thought it was wrong at time as was still a balance once interest taken off )
Just had a letter from azurro saying assignment transfered back and I owe them 4 grand (balance would have been 900 at a push) can they legally pursue me if another company has sent me a letter saying its finished even if its a mistake?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Go back to Azurro and point out you have won the FOS case and ask for a statement of account for the debt.
Richard says
I will keep an eye on your comments it put a claim in against 118 before I had a reply
Received a email off azzuro
Them I recieved an email off 118
Saying We can confirm that we’re still investigating the details of your complaint and as such, we’re not yet able to send you our final response.
We apologise for the delay, and we aim to respond as soon as possible, but within eight weeks of the date you originally raised your complaint (as per FCA guidelines). If, at eight weeks we are not in a position to issue our final response to you, we’ll send you another email with your rights to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service.
so il wait and see what happens
Becky says
Hi,
Has anyone had any luck with getting a refund from Barclays partner finance?
I submitted an affordability complaint in March and they turned it down, is it worth taking to the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What was the interest on the car finance? Has it been repaid?
Becky says
In total the cost of the car was £8917, including the interest which was £2270.40. I have around £800 left to pay
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so you have repaid more than you borrowed.
If you win an affordability complaint, the remaining balance will be celeared, the car will be transferred into your name and you will get a refund of the interest you have paid. At the moment that would be about £1470 but that will increase with every payment you make while the complaint goes through.
You know if these fiance payments have caused you a lot of problems – if they have, I suggest you send the complaint to the Ombudsman. Attach copies of your bank statements for 3 months before and 3 months after the car finance was given.
Amz says
Hi Sara
I sent any affordability complaint to The Money Platform last week, they have already responded with the following;
Thanks for your email and bringing this to our attention, we disagree with your charge of irresponsible lending but we would like to settle this account with you personally.
I have had a look at your personal details and wanted to check some of them with you for the full investigation:
You told us on your application you had a post-tax income of £2,916.00 and monthly mortgage payments of £550.00.
Remember that providing false information to obtain credit is Fraud.
The credit reference agencies also showed you have monthly credit commitment costs of £1,428.00 per month.
On this basis you appear to have plenty of affordability for this loan (maximum monthly payment of £557.33)? Let us know if anything is wrong in our calculations so I can look further and pass this back?
The income they have stated is my gross figure. I don’t remember filling this in incorrectly but I guess I must have. Do you think I should not take this any further?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It isn’t fraud if someone incorrectly puts down their pre tax income.
What was the interest rate on this debt? What would your credit record have shown at the time you applied – was it good? Would it have shown that you had recently had problems or increased the amount of credit you had?
What were your other expenses – council tax, utilities, insurance, food, transport, clothes etc?
Amz says
Interest rate over the loan was 67.20% it was £1000 paid back over 3 months, I paid £1,416 back in total.
I think at the time my credit rating was ok, I had no defaults/missed payments at that time. It would have shown that I had maxed all of my credit cards and that I taken a pdl recently.
I don’t remember it asking me any other expenses and I cannot see my application on the portal just a contract.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suggest that you reply that you don’t recall them asking for much information when you applied for the loan, but that they knew from your credit record that your cards were maxed out and you had recently had a payday loan, which suggets that you did not have a lot of spare income available. They also knew you were in trouble or they wouldn’t have offered a loan at 67% interest – so they should have made more careful checks. Say the case goes to the ombudsman if they don’t agree to refund the interest.
Amz says
Thank you- should I address the fact that my salary figure is incorrect?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you say (assuming this is correct!) that you don’t recall what the loan application asked for or what you entered, but that amount sounds like your gross income before tax.
Dave says
And, I had exactly the same issue when I made a complaint with them they rejected it almost immediately, and it went to the ombudsman . They never asked for monthly expenses just what my rent or mortgage was each month.
Funnily enough they rejected the adjudicators decision and was upheld in part by the ombudsman. I had no future issues with it. If you go on the FOS site you can find it under gracombex and Mr L. Just don’t worry they’re making empty threats.
Amz says
Hi Sara
Thanks for your help so far.
Money platform responded offering me £25 as full and final settlement, which I rejected, they then counter offered at £75, which I will also be rejecting. Does this show they think I have a good case to take to the ombudsman or are they just trying to settle to avoid it going there?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is hard to guess!
Jason says
Hi Sara,
I don’t know if you have come across this before. I have a £9,700 loan at 19% interest with salary finance. During the time I applied for the loan I had raked up thousands of debt in just a matter of months and was desperate to consolidate it as the amount of cards were too much to bear. Is this something I can complain about? Had SF looked during my application they would have found that I had taken out 1000’s in a short space of time and my credit score was falling fast. If I complain would I loose my job? Thank you for your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Salary Finance says “We value your privacy. The loan agreement is between you and Salary Finance. When applying for a loan we will verify your salary, start date, date of birth, and other details that your employer has for you on their payroll (this is to check that you are, who you say you are). Usually, if you take out a loan your payroll department will know that you have a Salary Finance loan but we won’t tell them the total amount you have borrowed or any other information you have shared with us. All we send your employer is a file each month which provides a payroll ID and an amount to take from your salary.” – so your employer should not even be told that you have complained. And your job should be unaffected.
Can I ask why you had a lot of extra debt in the months before taking this loan?
Did you use the money to consolidate the cards?
Were the repayments difficult to manage at the start? Are they difficult to manage at the moment?
Jason says
I lost my job due to covid and used credit cards to tide me over whilst looking for new work. Was burning through them stupidly fast and as soon as I was able to apply for SF with my new company I did just to have the one payment. Now I am struggling with the payments for daily needs. I don’t want to complain and then loose my new job.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Were the repayments ok at the start, but now aren’t because of price rises?
or were they difficult even from the begining?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am asking as if the repayments were originally to high, then this sounds like a good affordability complaint.
But if they were originally fine, then you won’t win an affordability complaint but can still ask Salary Finance to agree to a payment arrangement. If you have other [problem debts, then putting them all into a debt management plan including the Salary Finance loan may be a good idea. Talk to StepChange about this.
Jess says
Does sending the letter have any impact on credit rating? Will it show up as working hard to improve my credit rating.
Took out a lendable loan in Jan 2021 for £5000 for 24 months, Oakbrook finance (likely loans) in April 2021 for £2500 for 12 months and 118118 money in June 2021 for £3000 for 12 months.
So £10500 in loans (all while on sabbatical at work so no actual cash flow incoming). Repayments £327.73 for Lendable, £224.43 for LikelyLoans and £313.95 for 118118 money.
Lendable then said I was eligible for another loan so I ended up taking out a £10,000 November 2021 for 30 months with a repayment of £462 a month.
I used some of this loan to pay off the first lendable loan and the likelyloans but spent the rest of the money. I also didn’t pay off the 118118 money as I’d have had to phone up not pay off the app. So £800 a month just in Loan repayments.
This is on top of an overdraft and multiple maxed out credit cards!
I still have £9000 to pay off my lendable loan but feel the lending was irresponsible. But I don’t want it to negatively impact my credit score now as I only have the £462 to pay off the lendable loan now and this is technically doable. Is it worth sending the emails anyway?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Making a complaint won’t affect your credit rating if you carry on making the payments while the complaint goes through, at the lender and then at the Ombudsman (where many of these complaints have to go as a lot of lenders reject good complaints.)
I suggest you make complaints about all these loans. The lenders should have seen all the other borrowing and looked deeper at why you were borrowing so much and would the repayments really be affordable.
The maxed out cards – has the card increased your credit limit to an unreasonable level?
Your overdraft – how large was it? Was there a pronlonged time – more than a year – where you were in your overdraft for all of the months, evey day? And where the overdraft was larger than your income?
Jess says
Thanks for such the quick reply. I will send the emails later. As I only have the one payment now of nearly £500 it’s manageable so will be able to pay it while awaiting a decision.
The cards are from my younger days when I was stupid. I suppose £3500 while a student is a lot but these are almost paid off now.
My overdraft is from my student days £2000, have struggled to pay it back seen as I have had so much other debt to pay off but once the lendable loan is paid that money will go towards my overdraft. I am in my overdraft every month! My income is just over the amount of my overdraft so £2200 so as soon as I pay a bill I’m back in it!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it may be worth making a complaint about the overdraft, not that it was set too high when you were a student, but that when you started work, the bank never reviewed the overdraft and realised it was too high for your salary and offered help. Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/get-refund-overdraft/ and have a think. You can change the template to say the student loan was fine but the bank should have reviewed it after 2018 or whenever, when they should have seen it was unmanageably high for you.
K says
Has anyone has claims upheld with moneyway? Or are you currently in the process? How long has it taken? Will it have to go to ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Only a couple of people have had complaints upheld by moneyway directly, most have had to go to the Ombudsman. Also last year they seemed to be delaying a lot, but no one has mentioned this recently so perhaps they are now better organised. But if it gets to 8 weeks I would send it straight to the Ombudsman then, don’t let them delay for another few weeks as they may well turn you down.
K says
I’m on week 8 and just received SAR from MW. On one of them it says ; “recommendation unaffordable” do I fire off to ombudsman now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds as though they may decide the loan was unaffordable and that you claim should be upheld.
Have you had the decision on your claim yet?
K says
No not yet. Week 8 was Tuesday passed – just received SAR today and saw that paragraph on one of the documents. Not sure of my next step?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So is it more than 8 weeks since you submitted the complaint or it it 8 weeks next Tuesday?
K says
Heading into week 9. Off to the Ombudsman I go as not heard anything else despite THEIR own notes stating the word unaffordable twice and DTI of over 180%!
K says
Thanks Sara for all your help. Complaint has been upheld 😁
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Excellent
Dominic says
Good afternoon, have won several cases through the financial ombudsman but have found the investigator and ombudsman on my case against everyday loans to not want to listen to any of my points of view or listen to anything I’ve had to say.
Needless to say the ombudsman ruled in Everyday loans favour, which I find staggering to say the least. How do I go about taking Everyday loans to court and what’s the process involved? Regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry to hear this.
I don’t know of anyone that has won an affordabilty complaint in court after losing a FOS case.
I only know of one case at all that has been won, see https://goughsq.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Kerrigan-v-Elevate.docx
– I think you may need to talk to a solicitor about this.
Dominic says
Thank you for your quick reply Sara. I just can’t understand it really, I feel I’m just going to have to complain through the ombudsman route and just accept it. The ombudsman herself stated in her findings that I had been given a top up loan very quickly and that everyday loans had used a figure for my salary that was £300 above what I would normally be paid. Also the investigator e-mailed me on the 23/05/22 to say that she still had my case and it was waiting to be passed to an ombudsman on the 26th I received a final decision, no communication between myself or the ombudsman and what seems like 2 days maximum or her going through the evidence, very disappointing. Am I write in thinking once a final decision has been issued, nothing will change? I have emailed the ombudsman back asking for her to look over the case with evidence to contradict what she has said? Thanks again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the ombudsman should have considered any points you had made before, including those to the adjudicator saying why you disagreed with the decision. The decision can’t be changed if it is now Final, but you could make a complaint to FOS if the ombudsman ignored a key piece of your argument.
Thomas says
Hi Sara,
My complaint was upheld at ombudsman level. She agreed with her adjuicator.
The part to put things right she says
Remove all interest and charges from the loan account and TREAT ALL PAYMENTS Thomas made as payments towards the capital
Then the bit about simple 8% calculated from the time of overpayents and charges arised to the date of settlement.
Iv had other complaints upheld and cant recall them wording it like that. What does she mean by treat all payments Thomas made payments towards the capital.
Huge Regards And Thanks.
I
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This just means that as all interest is removed your payments must have been reducing the capital owed. I don’t think it has any other significance
Hannah says
Hi,
I currently have an open complaint with Barclays regarding my previous student overdraft. If Barclays or ultimately FOS agree that I was lent to irresponsibly and the credit is wiped. Will this impact any future lending or my credit score at all?
I have explicitly stated it was unaffordable at the time it was taken out (I was a student with no job and no previous credit ever) – not that it’s necessarily unaffordable now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You are unlikely to win a complaint about a student overdraft – they are at 0% interest and nothing is charged until you are in work. So you need to argue it was unaffordable at the time they started to charge interest.
Making a complaint doesn’t impact your credit score. If you win the complaint, it may improve your credit score as negative marks may be removed.
This other page is the best place for questions about overdraft complaints: https://debtcamel.co.uk/get-refund-overdraft/
Gary says
Hi so I had a claim going through the ombudsman about likely loans. I received an email from adjuctor dated 25/2/2022 and I needed to respond by 11/3/2022. In order to continue, however I never got that email until yesterday 12/6/2022 as it was sent in to a junk folder and when I read the information it was all wrong. I had two loan that I was complaining about, the adjuatcor had already made a pre judgment on one loan and never mentioned anything about the other loan. But what they did was give the account number for second loan as the first loan. I’m just abit worried as I’ve only just seen this mistake that my time limit will be up.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to talk to the adjudicator urgently as they may have closed the case.
gary says
If they have closed the case, can it be reopened?
Also what it looks like too is that they have only look at one loan,
Where there was two loans taken,
A loan taken in 2017 and a top up loan in 2018
It looks like they have only passed judgment on the first loan and not looked at second loan
So if that’s the case can I start a new case for the top up loan with a another account number
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you need to ask the adjudicator
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Anyone with a 118 card – have you just had an email increasing your interest rate? I was wondering how many people have received these.
K says
Yes and for the second time in the last 12 months. It’s like a pattern first credit limit increased then few months later the interest rate is hiked up! It’s becoming unaffordable now. Trying my hardest to get rid of it so I can close it down.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They should have given you an alternative to stay on the current interest and stop using the card?
Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/ and think if you can make an affordability complaint about them.
V says
Hi Sara I’m on week 10 and not yet submitted to FO. Should I ask company for update or is best to just go straight to FO?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the lender? have you had an acknowledgment of your complaint?
V says
Secure Trust Bank. Acknowledgment received not long after complaint and SAR also received. Do I tell them I’m sending to FO?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you phone them up and ask why you have had a response to your complaint. Just incase they have posted it or something…
Jayne says
Hiya I’m due redress from 118 regarding an affordability complaint reference a loan. I received the email and redress amount last week but still haven’t received payment has anyone else received redress from 118 and roughly how long did it take to receive the amount into their account?
Rosie says
Hi Jayne, have you received yours yet? My redress was confirmed 23/6 and still waiting for payment. Did you just reply with your bank details?
Jenny says
Hi Sara
I made a complaint to 118 money regarding 3 loans I has between 2015 & 2017. They replied yesterday to say they do not believe they were irresponsible in approving the loan applications, but they have offered me a redress of £350 as a goodwill gesture. I don’t think this is fair, considering I took 3 loans amounting to £7814 with £6243 interest paid in total.
Do you think it is worth going back to them to ask for more? Or shall I just refer this to the Ombudsman?
Thank you for all your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is quite a large goodwill payment.
How large were each of your loans?
Jenny says
My loans were for £2000, £2000 and £3814
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know if they are likely to be prepared to negotiate. If you want to try this, you could go back and say you would be happy to settle for a refund of the interest you paid on your last loan.
I think it’s VERY likely the last loan would be upheld as unaffordable by the Ombudsman and you may well get a refund of the other loans as well.
Jenny says
Thank you very much. I will give it a go and if not then I’ll take it to the FCO. Appreciate the advice as always Sara!
Jenny says
Hello Sara I just wanted to update you, 118 have got back in touch and agreed to refund the interest paid on the last loan which is £2510.90 – I feel this is very fair so I will be accepting their offer. Thank you again for your advice and for running this fantastic page.
n says
Hi Sara!
Recently passed on a complaint to the Ombudsman service for 118 118 money. They decided to uphold my complaint and as 118 118 could not provide further info it became legally binding to do what was asked in order to put things right etc. however, I have not heard a thing from 118 118 money, and it’s coming up to four weeks. The debt was sold to lowel and they have no idea of what’s happening either. What do you advised? :(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell your adjudicator when it gets to 4 weeks.
Gary says
Can I take a debt collection agency to the FOS for given false information?
For example I received a letter from one saying that they are as a lender they are bound to give me a default notice on my credit file..
But they not a lender, only a collector. They didn’t lend me money only brought the debt off the original lender
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did they really say they are a lender ? or just a creditor?
gary says
They said as a responsible lender we are bound to give you a default
gary says
Yes they classed them selfs as a lender not a creditor
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the debt collector?
It’s odd, but FOS may say that they can’t see how you were harmed as a debt purchase is entitled to add a default.
Do you have any reason for disputing the default? Do you think it should be earlier, added by the original lender?
Jax says
Hi, does anyone have any experience of how long it is taking for an irresponsible lending complaint regarding a loan to be picked up by an adjudicator at FOS please? I have had all of my credit card complaints allocated and investigated and also my complaint against Very has been concluded. I’ve been waiting 8 months for an adjudicator to pick up a loan complaint but the timescale to pick up credit card complaints has been significantly shorter.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who is the lender?
Jax says
Hi Sara, it’s Hitachi
Natasha says
Hi has anyone made a affordability complaint to Automoney Motor Finance? They were called London & Surrey finance before.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t remember the name. Have you made a complaint?
Natasha says
Not as yet I just wanted to know if anyone has made a complaint, to find out the success rate!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t remember the name, so you may not get any replies. Many smaller lenders tends to reject all complaints hoping you will give up and go away – just send your to the Financial Ombudsman if this happens, it doesn’t mean you have a weak complaint. whatever they say!
Do you have current finance?
Natasha says
Ok I understand, no the finance finished last year.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That makes the redress straightforward.
Thomas says
Hi Sara,
Could you please work out some nunbers for me. I paid 36 months @117.36 the loan was for 2,500
I had my redress fufures today and I even know they are wrong. The lender 1 plus 1.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You paid £1724.94 in interest on the loan. How long ago was it settled?
Thomas says
Hi Sara,
It was the 04.06.2020 I had also paid £185.00 in charges there redress was this
Redress 1682.51
Interest 338.44
Deductions 67.69
Total £1953.26
Already e-mailed then with clompletion statement and asked for the correct calculations.
Thomas says
Hi Sara I just got a responce to my e-mail. They said the figures they have given me are correct. They had to pay back above the captital loan. Im lost be onest.
Cheers Thomas
Sara (Debt Camel) says
go back and say you borrowed 2500 and you have paid 36 lots of 117.36 – whaihc is a toal of 422.96. So the redress is 4224.96-2500 =1724.96. Pluis the 8% statutory interest,
Thomas says
Thanks Sara,
Why are they reitorating themselves as they said the ombudsman said for them to do.
It dosent make sense. They say the figures are correct to what was above the capital borrowed. The figures you said are correct. Plus there was an additional 185.00 in interests during the duration of the loan which was charges above the interest added on etc… which were all to be refunded. They insist there total redrsss will be paid tomoorrow. They never asked for any bank details at any point today. I gave them in the last e-mail when they kept saying they were doing as they were told by final decission from ombudsman.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If they refuse to explain how they have calculated the redress figure, tell your adjudicator.