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?
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!
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.
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.
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.
Andrew says
Hello, I just wanted to post for info for anyone complaining against Bamboo loans.
I used the template on here to submit an unaffordability complaint on a £2,000 loan, issued in Jan 2020.
The initial response from Bamboo was that they believe their checks were adequate and that they believe that there was no fault on their part. They offered to refund £50 on the total £673 interest paid on the loan (the loan was paid off in full, early after 8 months).
I replied to their email hilighying several inaccuracies with their final response, mainly relating to my finances and accounts, which they had not described accurately in this letter. I told them that I suggest they strongly reconsider and that I will look to pursue the full amount plus 8% statutory interest per year, bringing the total to roughly £800 if I won against them through the FOS. I informed them that I would not consider settling for anything less than £500 but expect them to reconsider with my highlighted points and issue a full refund plus interest.
They emailed me back within 24h insisting that they belive they have done nothing wrong but are willing to refund £500 to settle the complaint now, taking a ‘commercia view” to settling the case.
They improved their offer by 10 fold within 24h of a strongly worded and factually correct rebuttal to their weak ‘final response’.
Do not accept a low offer from this company and hit them with cleat, accurate and consise point.
Good luck everyone.
Rd says
Good morning Sara.
I had a loan with 118118 and I put in an affordability complaint (May 2020). They rejected the complaint, so I sent it to FOS. They upheld it and told 118118 to remove interest and negative info from credit file, which they did.
Before I put in the complaint they had sold the loan to PRAC and BW Legal was managing it (Dec 19). 118118 told PRAC/BW Legal the new balance is to repay borrowed amount only.
I have now paid off the balance with PRAC/BW Legal, but they are refusing to remove the default as they say the complaint was not with them and the default they put on will stay on my credit file.
Can you please advise what to do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you complain to 118 that they should have told PRAC to remove the default.
Megan says
I took out a loan in 2015 with 118 and this loan was paid off last year.
I have complained to the company and they will be refunding charges and interest and the statutory interest.
The total for the charges and interest is £1091.52 and they have advised the statutory interest is £299.93.
I’m not sure if this is right can you help please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It doesn’t look wrong to me. It’s about 3.5 years worth.
If they take 20% tax off, you may be able to reclaim this from HMRC – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/
Andrew says
Good morning Megan,
How long did it take 118118 money to issue a final response to your complaint?
I complained to them 7 weeks ago and haven’t heard back from them yet.
Megan says
Hi Andrew,
They took about 8 weeks to issue me with a final response.
Rosie says
Megan have you been paid out yet? I received an email confirming my redress on 23/6/22 and to reply to the email with my bank details and it would be paid within 2 weeks but I haven’t had any reply and nothing has gone into my bank
Megan says
No I haven’t yet. I did call 118 last week and the person I spoke to said I need to wait 14 working days, which is next week.
Rosie says
That’s great thank you so much, hopefully they won’t mess about it
Megan says
Fingers crossed.
If I hear anything else I will update this post.
Rosie says
Hi Megan, I’ve received this today –
Thank you for your email.
Your bank details have been passed to the customer relations manager, who will be issuing your payment.
Please note, as outlined in our final response, this may take up to 14 working days to reach you (14 working days from the date you provided your bank details)
I replied with my bank details on 23/6/22 so not sure if it will 14 working days from then or 14 working days from now. At least things seem to be moving!
Rosie says
Hi Megan the payment has gone in this afternoon, hopefully yours will be quick xx
Megan says
Hi Rosie,
I’ve been paid out today.
Did you have 1 payment or 2?
I’ve not been paid the 8% Statutory Interest, only the refund of the the charges and interest from the loan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that is odd, I don’t remember anyone mentioning that before.
Rosie says
Hi Megan, I had the interest paid separately but on the same day, interest payment came first then 2 hours later the payment
koyem says
Hello
Can you make a complain against natwest I have £9,000, £7,000 and £3500. loans?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can. What matters is if the loan repayments are too much for you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you have more than one loan at a time? Were they your bank, did you also have an overdraft or a credit card with them?
koyem says
Yes they were only months apart those three loan. I have over draft as well of £4,000. I don’t have credit card
Sara (Debt Camel) says
was one loan paying off the previous one, so they were getting bigger – £3500 then £7,000 then £9,000?
or did you list them in order so you too the largest first then two other smaller loans in addition?
what were the loans for?
did the interest rate on the loans increase each time?
was the overdraft of 4000 also with NatWest, and how much of that overdraft did you use each month – did that increase?
(sorry for all the questions – some of them won’t be relevant, but until I know the answers I can’t guess which!)
koyem says
My first loan was £7000 then after 3 months I was approved for another loan for £9000 then again after 6 months I was approved for £3500. They were different loans and my overdraft was always £4000. They were fixed loan repayment. I was in arrears with them and I spoke to them I requested if they can put them together so I can afford the repayment because I was struggling during Covid but they refused they said that I am not entitled to restructure my loans because I was in arrears.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So this may well be a good complaint. You can just send in the template letter in the article above, changing it so it lists the three loans.
If you want to know any more, can you answer all the following questions
1) How large are your arrears at the moment?
2) Was the interest rate on the last loan higher than on the first loan? This matters because it shows NatWest knew the last loan was more risky.
3) when you took the first loan out, how much of your overdraft were you using and for roughly how many days a month were you in your overdraft? When yopu took the last loan out, were you using more of your overdraft and/or for longer each month?
4) what was the rough date of the last loan?
koyem says
My balance is roughly £10,000 and they have put all my loans together including my overdraft. And Moorcroft is now the one dealing with my all my accounts with NatWest.
Sept 2017 my First Loan was granted £7000
March 2018 my Second loan was granted £9,000 and
June 2018 my third loan was Granted £3,500
May over draft was increased from £100, to £4,000 on March 2018 and from August 2018 I was using my over draft about £3900 monthly until October last year that they put all my accounts on default. I am currently on DMP with stepchanged.
Unfortunately I can find my loan agreements.
Thanks again Sara
“““`
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK then definitely send a complaint about the loans using the template above. But also read https://debtcamel.co.uk/get-refund-overdraft/ and add a paragraph in your complaint to say they should not have increased your overdraft to £4000 in March 2018, the same time as giving you the second large loan and ask for all your overdraft charges to be refunded from that date.
koyem says
thanks Sara
Sam says
I had a loan with Bamboo which was later sold to a debt purchaser for 3X the original loan amount despite me having made payments towards it.
If I wish to make a complaint about irresponsible lending would I approach the debt purchaser or Lantern?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You complain to Bamboo. They are losing a LOT of these cases, send it to the Ombudsman if they don’t reduce the balance with Lantern to what you borrowed less what you have paid so far. You also want Bamboo and Lantern to remove the defaults from your credit record. But you only complain to Bamboo – they have to sort things out with Lantern.
Sam says
Thanks Sara,
Is it normal what they’ve done?
I borrowed £1500, made about 6 months worth of payments before I entered a DMP. They then sold the debt to Lantern with a balance of £4000.
It seems scandalous that they can do this
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did they stop adding more interest and charges when you went into the DMP?
Sam says
I don’t think so no
It seems like they added all the interest on at the very start of the loan. The default was for the amount borrowed plus all the interest for the full 4 year term despite it defaulting about 6 months in and going to Stepchange. They then sold the default balance to Lantern.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes this is what normally happens with a loan in a DMP. If you win your affordability complaint, all the interest is removed.
Nes says
Hi Sara,
I complained about likely loans in 2020 they rejected my claim but the FOS reviewed and upheld my complaint.
Likely loans were instructed to remove all negative information. Just recently i have looked at my credit file in more detail and likely loans have put a marker of payment arrangement for 3 consecutive months. My understanding is that payments arrangements on an account are viewed as a negative. So this goes against the FOS ruling. Are you able to advise further please if i am correct in assuming this is a negative and then if i have a case to go back to Likey loans?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yea, I suggest you ask LL to remove it no put in a new complaint if they refuse.
Ben says
Hi
I have been waiting the site for a while and used the advise to make a number of successful claims but recently my luck seems to have run out and while I have escalated a number of issues to the Ombudsman they were not upheld, the most recent are,
1. Avantcredit – initial affordability complaint rejected, and reviewed by the adjudicator in Nov 21 and rejected saying it was affordable. Still awaiting ombudsman decision, but I have been told the ombudsman is may reject this as its over 6 years.
2. JD Williams – Initial complaint rejected, and the adjudicators initially upheld my complaint but the calculations arrived at were no redress and the default would remain on my file until the balance was clear. Naturally I rejected this and the Omdudsman has ruling in my favour with different criteria so awaiting details of the actual redress but not expecting much
3. Vanquis – Initial complain rejected, adjudicator rejected and ombudsman rejected. All on the grounds of being out of time
4. Natwest – Initial complaint rejected as out of time, raised to the ombudsman and awaiting adjudication
Any suggestions on what to do about Avancredit and Vanquis if these are rejected?
Ben
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If FOS complaint is rejected by an Ombudsman then your only further option is to take the lender to court, realistically you should talk to a solicitor before deciding to do that.
Laura says
I am feeling that i have messed up completely with a complaint.
I had so much trouble with Car Cash Point threatening to repossess my car. I had letters upon letters complaining to them about how they were dealing with me and the mental torture they were putting me through and how their behaviour was threatening etc. The last letter i sent them last year was about the way they were not allowing me to deal with the matter in a proper way etc and asked them for all SAR details and told them i would be complaining to the Ombudsman about how they were dealing with me. Subsequently they never sent any SAR details and we came to an agreement wherein i had to borrow 1800 to settle the agreement. All in all i paid back around £5800 for a loan of £2000.
Laura says
I yesterday put in affordability letter using the template and asking for my SAR details and explaining this loan should never have been granted to me and that if proper checks etc were made they would not have given me the loan due to gambling transactions etc.
They have responded this morning with my SAR details and said we dealt with your affordability complaint in January 2021.
I responded stating they did not respond to my affordibility complaint or irresponsible lending as this is technically the first complaint i have made re same. I stated that the complaint i made then was in relation to the pressure they were putting me under and trying to settle the loan and the agreement we reached at that time was to settle the loan. I explained this was the only response ever reached with them and they did not ever address my affordability and irresponsible lending complaints as i never technically made that complaint.
I could cry now as i feel i have completely messed up and not sure what to do now.
Can anyone help?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you did not make this complaint then, you are entitled to make it now. Ask them if if they would like to respond now or would they prefer you to go straight to the Ombudsman.
Laura says
There are so many issues with it now. Not sure how it will go. When I looked at one part of my letter I actually did refer to affordability ( my main complaint was around how they were treating me and demanding 2000 in a day etc). Essentially they came back to me at that time via email offering settlement of 1800 which I took. I took the complaint re how they treated me no further. I have copies of all correspondence at that time as everything was via email. I constantly checked it maybe every 15 mins around that time as it was so stressful.
Laura says
When I sent letter in now complaining they essentially said we already replied to this but didn’t send SAR details but we attach them now. I explained I never actually made a formal affordability complaint ( on reading the wording I did include those words) but stated that you never actually replied. They have attached a letter replying to an affordability complaint in full which I can state I have never seen before and can confirm 100% they did NOT ever send. Firstly all correspondence they sent via email even if it was attached letters. I have everything except this one as they did not send it. I am absolutely flabbergasted.
I cannot believe they are passing off a full and final reply with a date on it from January 2021. I remember this period so vividly and knew every piece of correspondence, email or attached letters I received and this was not one of them. Further to that they had emailed 3 days before this supposed letter offering settlement of 1800 yet this letter makes it out like we now offer you 1800 to settle. Is there anything I can do about this? I could cry I am that frustrated. I have told them I dispute the letter ever being sent and that I have asked the ombudsman to investigate. They have ignored me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you did make an affordability complaint before, this is obviously a lot more difficult.
But send your complaint to the Ombudsman and ask them to look at it.
Laura says
Thanks Sarah. Would it be something seen before that a company sends a reply maintaining they dealt with something at the time when in fact it never existed and is now being fabricated ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It isn’t something that I can remember.
Laura says
Thanks Sara. I added a part about affordability into one of the letters but they came to agreement with me to pay and so never actually responded to me in relation to any complaints I had. The initial email has came back from ombudsman’s office now to give me a reference number and told me it be passed to an adjudicator
Does this mean they have decided they can investigate or if it was time barred would they have told me that now? I definitely did not get a response from car cash point and when queried with them they conveniently say they posted this letter to me. Despite never posting anything and responding to everything else via email. The response makes no sense either as they look as if they are offering me to settle when it was already made via another email. Surely I cannot be time barred if I never received a response.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sympathetic to the points you make but really I can’t guess what is going to happen in this case.
Natalie says
Hi Sara, me again! Been waiting for something to come back from the FOS regarding complaint with MoneyWay. Had this today… (shortened as too long)
The car finance was taken out in 2015 which is more than six years ago so I need to establish when Miss Smyth was aware or ought reasonably to have been aware of cause for complaint.
It’s worth pointing out that a consumer doesn’t need to know for sure they have cause for
complaint just that something may have gone wrong.
Miss Smyth has argued that she became aware that she had grounds for complaint when she was reading a forum in 2022 and she raised her complaint shortly after this.
However, I think she ought reasonably to have been aware earlier than this. I think it would
have been apparent that there may have been a problem with the car finance shortly after it was sold. Miss Smyth likely would have struggled to pay her monthly repayments and I think she would have been aware that there was a problem with the finance.
Based on this I think that the six-year part of the rule would apply as this would have given Miss Smyth longer to complain – until 2021.
If you decide that you don’t accept what I’ve said, then please let me know by 12 July 2022. If I can’t resolve things then an ombudsman here can look at everything again and make a decision. If I don’t hear from you by that date we might not be able to look at your complaint again.
I have already sent a reply (below), but do you think this is just dead in the water now?
I do not agree with your decision.
Thinking there is a ‘problem with the finance’, is not the same thing as thinking it is unaffordable, or that I’d have grounds to complain about it. I didn’t think anything had ‘gone wrong’, I just knew I was paying a high interest loan.
I was not aware until very recently that you could even complain about such a thing full stop, let alone years after you have had the finance accepted and repayments made.
The car was used for me to be able to commute to my job, it was even left out of my StepChange consolidated repayment because I knew the car would be taken away from me if they were to receive a lesser payment. Therefore I scraped the £300 monthly repayment together, despite being in financial difficulty.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That looks a good reply. Tell the adjudicator that if they don’t change their mind, you would like the complaint to go to an Ombudsman.
Natalie says
She replied to me this morning with the below, is there something else I should say for the ombudsman to read? I have until the 13th July to submit anything further… feel like banging my head against a wall. How can I counter what she’s said about complaining when the payments became unaffordable? I don’t understand her point of view really, yes they became unaffordable – but that didn’t make me think I could complain?! Only that I couldn’t keep up the payments (I actually did pay every payment until the VT anyway)!! Perhaps I need to say that actually. I never defaulted this loan, just did a VT as I was over the 50% amount.
Thank you for your email. I understand my assessment is disappointing, but I have to be objective and look at when it would have reasonable for you to know you had cause for complaint. As explained in my assessment, I think that would have been when you struggled making the monthly repayments.
An ombudsman will review this complaint
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Try this – do make sure it is all exactly right for your case:
I have read the 2 key Ombudsman decisions about payday loans https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/17783/payday-loans_time-limts_final-decision-lender-C.pdf and https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/17784/payday-loans_time-limits_final-decision-lender-D.pdf. It seems to me that the approach used there is directly applicable to my situation.
One says “Mr H would also have been aware, or ought reasonably to have been aware, that he was paying an increasing amount of interest the more loans he took out. So I think that Mr H also ought reasonably to have been aware that he may have suffered a loss, or that he was suffering a loss as he was taking out these loans. But I wasn’t persuaded that Mr H realised that Lender C might’ve been responsible for his repayment problems – nor did I think that Mr H ought reasonably to have made that connection either. In my view, Mr H would, quite reasonably, have seen Lender C’s offer of further loan as a solution to his problem, rather than a cause of it.”
The other said:
“Mrs W appears to be an intelligent and articulate individual who is capable of using the internet to access information. But I do not think it necessarily follows that a reasonable person in those circumstances, who became aware of affordability problems with her loan and who understood that she had suffered loss as a result, would also become aware that her difficulties could be due to failings on the part of the lender. In my view, a reasonable person in Mrs W’s circumstances would be more likely to take personal responsibility for the difficulties she faced.
I am satisfied that a reasonable person in Mrs W’s position could not reasonably be expected to have understood from her contract with LENDER D that the lender had an obligation to check that her loan was affordable before agreeing to provide it to her.”
Like Mr H and Mrs W, I realised that I was paying a lot to Moneyway and that this was causing me a lot of problems. However I thought this was my fault for not being better with money – I didn’t realise Moneyway should have checked that the repayments would be affordable for me, so I didn’t see Moneyway as the cause of my problem and so I did not realise I had a cause to complain about them. As soon as I found out about affordability complaints, I made one.
Natalie says
Thank you very much for that info.
I sent it the other day, pretty accurate for my situation despite them being payday loan cases.
I got this back:
‘Thank you for your email. I have added these on to your complaint for the ombudsman to review.
It is worth pointing out that the two decisions raised are payday loans and I think the circumstances differ to the ones in your complaint. However the ombudsman may have a different view and will address this in their final decision.’
Just wanted to ask you whether it’s worth me saying anything else (like regardless of the fact they’re payday loans, the 3 year clause is relevant in all irresponsible lending/affordability complaints).
What do you think?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well you could reply that you can’t see that the fact they were payday loans makes a significant difference and the three year clause applies to all types of complaints.
Maria says
Hi Sara
I took out a loan with 118money about 3 years ago which has now been paid off finally. The loan was for £3300 and in total I had to pay off £6700 over 2 years.
It was a horrible 3 years and I had other payday loans on top of this.
Even though I have paid my 118 loan off, could I still complain about this and ask for some sort of refund? I feel that the interest was so high and they shouldn’t have given me the loan in the first place.
Thank you,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can!
And also make complaint against the payday lenders if the loans were large or you used the same lender several times.