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?
MK says
Hi Sara,
Just an update on my Vanquis complaint. The FO found in my favour and wrote to Vanquis on the 18th January asking them to remove all interest and charges from the original loan amount and update me within four weeks with the balance now owing. I have yet to hear from Vanquis and have gone back to the FO who will chase them. Is this normal practice for Vanquis to take so long?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was this a decision from an adjudicator or an Ombudsman?
MK says
It was from an adjudicator who said Vanquis had accepted his finding and to contact me within 4 weeks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so Vanquis have accepted it.
How much have you borrowed and how much have you paid to this already?
MK says
Hi Sara,
I borrowed £3000 and l have paid back £1,440 so far and when l checked the balance yesterday l have outstanding £3,674.00.
MK
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So on those numbers you would expect to see the balance be reduced to £3000 – £1,440 = £1560
Do you want to set up a payment arrangement for this? If you do, I suggest you contact Vanquis and say so.
MK says
Thank you Sara I will contact them and arrange this once I have heard back from the FO with their figure
Catherine Duggan says
How has everyone got on with a complaint against Lendable? I emailed them however I have not received a response.
Next week it’ll have been 8 weeks since I sent my initial complaint. I have sent chasers but not had a single response or acknowledgement.
How is everyone else doing with a complaint against Lendable?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
lots of them have to go to the Ombudsman. Have you phoned up and asked?
M says
I speak from experience and this is typical Lendable awkward behaviour, they will keep you waiting and respond just in the nick of time, I would say you will hear from them the day before the 8 week deadline, perhaps two
Sam says
I have a current complaint in.
I first raised it in Sept 2023. They had acknowledged it but didn’t give a response by the 8 week mark so I referred it to FOS 12th Nov.
Lendable rejected the complaint in Dec.
11th Jan an adjudicator was assigned.
Throughout Feb some queries from adjudicator.
8th March adjudicator issued decision in my favour.
Currently waiting to see if Lendable accept or if it’ll go to actual Ombudsman.
I am expecting them to reject it and go all the way.
Sara’s advice is golden, make sure you have supplied your bank statements before and after the application, the more evidence the FOS has to make a decision the better.
Sam says
As I was writing the above the adjudicator has come back to say Lendable has accepted their decision to uphold.
I had contacted Lendable on the 9th March to highlight the adjudicator had issued a decision and asked that they review and respond as quickly as possible.
I’ll still have some principal to pay but can arranged a realistic payment plan and most importantly the default will be removed once it’s paid.
Robert says
Hi Sara,
I left a comment a few months back about a couple of loans with 118 money. They gave me a £1000 gesture of goodwill payment for distress and inconvenience however I referred to the FOS anyway.
The adjudicator came back recently and said one loan was not irresponsible lending but the other was after assessing bank statements and gave 118 chance to respond.
Today the adjudicator got back to me and said they have responded and “strongly disagree” that it was unaffordable lending and have provided “extra information” for the adjudicator to look it which they said they are going to do to assess the claim fully.
I am a bit concerned now as I don’t know if the adjudicator can change their mind and if this is likely, I’m unsure as to what they could have provided that would mean this would change that would be more relevant than my bank statements and credit report from that period?
Just a bit confused about what happens next and how likely it would be that an adjudicator would change their decision on it being unaffordable lending? The adjudicator gave them a list of “make right next steps” if that’s any help into if this will be overturned or not.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes the adjudicator can change their mind. I can’t guess how likely this is.
Do you agree the other loan was affordable? Because if not, this is the point for you to argue about that and ask the adjudicator to change their mind on that… say you only accepted in the interest of a quick settlement.
Grace says
My loan has been sold to another company – can I still complain to the original lender?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes – it is the original lender that made the poor decision to lend to you. If this upheld, by the lender or by the Ombudsamn, the lender will sirt out the position with the debt collector.
Cyndy says
Sara two months ago I won a complaint regarding irresponsible lending from the ulster bank regarding 4 loans. Three of these loans have been paid off by taking out a bigger loan each time. The adjudicator asked the bank to refund interests paid on them ( which they did) and to allow me to pay off the latest outstanding loan of £10400 interest free. The bank agreed with this but each month interest is still added on and until I contact the bank each time to remind them then it is removed. Should I really have to ring them every month for the next 3 years to keep reminding them of the agreement. I have contacted them also on their online correspondence form but never get a response.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No you shouldn’t. But I would wait another two mints and then send them a complaint and ask for compensation.
Niki says
Hi Sara,
I would appreciate your advice. I have recently made a complaint to car finance company re irresponsible lending. It was rejected. At the time the finance was taken I was with DMP and I should not be offered any finance products. is it worth to go to the Ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago was this? was this finance just replacing some previous finance of much the same monthly payment? did the car finance company take into account your payments to the DMP?
Basically the question is, was this car finance affordable? the fact you were in a DMP makes it less likely that it was, but it’s not impossible. And you won’t win a c complain just because of the DMP if the finance repayments were manageable and didnt cause you difficulty with the rest of your finances.
James says
Hi Sara,
So after ombusman ruled in my favour that anything after the 2k increase should be refunded and all charges and interest after the increase from 2k-3k 118 have come back and said they will refund £319 and make Lowel aware.
Now I know this is wrong as I was paying £112 in interest per month plus the balance is sitting at £3750 with Lowell but the original balance is £3000 so there is at least £750 to be refunded before all the interest payments.
I have went back to the ombudsman but do you have any advise on what I should be doing? 118 are a shambles to deal with.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So after ombusman ruled in my favour that anything after the 2k increase should be refunded and all charges and interest after the increase from 2k
Are you sure that is what the Ombudsman said?
Might they have said you will get a “partial refund” of the interest charged on the part of the balance that is over 2k?
Do you feel 2k was an affordable limit? What was the previous limit before that?
Suzanne says
Hi
I got approved for 2 loans with Zopa back in 2020 £9000 in feb and £11000 in September, due to being on maternity leave and husband on furlough. I sent complaint to Zopa and they have came back rejecting the complaint. Do you think I could take this to the ombudsman? In the same year I also got approved for two credit cards with virgin which I’m also waiting to hear back after putting in an affordability complaint. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what did Zopa’s rejection say?
Suzanne says
This was their reply.
My findings
I can see that you were approved for a £11000.00 loan on 04th September 2022 and another loan of £9000.00 on 20th February 2022. After assessing your application, I am unable to agree that the decision to approve the loan was irresponsible.
When assessing any loan application, we consider several factors including (but not limited to) credit profile, credit history and affordability. Decisions are made based on information given in the application itself and obtained from various Credit Reference Agencies.
My conclusion
Following the reasons above I have not upheld your complaint on this occasion, however if there is further evidence that you can provide to support that the loan was unaffordable, we would be happy to investigate your complaint further.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should send that to the Ombudsman.
Charles says
Firstly, thanks for everything you do with this site, it really is amazing!
I took out car finance in 2015, and I believe the loan was unaffordable to me. The purchase price of the car was 11,850 and the total amount I would repay was over 17,000 (over 60 months). Repayments of nearly 300 per month, with my take home salary of around 1200 per month.
I’m currently awaiting a response from the finance provider, Barclays Partner Finance, and I have chased them as we’re past the 8 week deadline.
As it was in 2015, do I have any chance of a successful claim? Should I go to the ombudsman now, or should I continue wait for the company for their final response?
Thanks again!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would wait for a couple of months. I have just heard to day of someone getting a reply from them so they are working their way through them presumbaly
Charles says
Hi Sara,
Just following on from my message above, I have no received a letter from Barclays Partner finance.
They have made an offer of £50 – is there a standard response to reject this and ask for more?
They said they uphold my complaint as they’ve identified an element of poor service.
They then go on to say that it was checked that I met their lending criteria, credit check, affordability check etc were carried out.
They then ask for 6 months bank statements from 2015 (3 months before and 3 months after I took out the car loan) – will getting these have any impact on the claim? Is there anything I should avoid showing them?
Thank you
Charles
Sara (Debt Camel) says
does their email suggest they will reconsider the affordability if you supply the bank statements? If it does, I suggest you send them.
If it doesn’t, and it isn’t clear why they want them, I suggest you send this complaint to the Ombudsman now. Who will want to see those bank statements.
Charles says
Hi Sarah,
I have now received an updated final response from BPF in relation to this claim.
Despite my low earnings at the time (around £1000) per month, and history of payday loans on my account in the months leading up to taking out the car finance, they have not upheld my complaint.
They have said that they carried out appropriate checks, and for the first 14 months of the loan I made payments on time. It’s worth noting that I treated this as a priority bill, and other payments were affected so I could make this payment. After 14 months I went into arrears, but BPF tell me that I made a payment arrangement and stuck to it. The wages I received on my bank statement were around £1000 a month and the car repayments were £285 per month.
I will now refer this to the Ombudsman – please could you let me know how I can best present this case, and what information I should include.
Thank you so much
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your bank statements show how unaffordable the finance was. Point out to FOS your low income and payday loans.
This will probably go slowly as the finance was taken out over 6 years ago. But FOS can choose to look at these older cases.
Once you have sent the complaint to FOS, I suggest you also send BPF a question about whether there was any discretionary commission included in your finance. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/car-finance-commission-get-refund/. If BPF had accepted your affordability complaint and paid out, there would have been no need to make this other claim. But now they have rejected it, ask them about discretionary commission as well. So you will have two claims running concurrently.
Charles says
Hi Sara, I’ve now heard back from the ombudsman, they are looking into this further. They have asked me the following questions:
– when did you become aware that there was a problem with the lending, for example that it was unaffordable for you? What made you realise this?
– did you suffer any loss due to the agreement, and if so in what form and when?
– if you did suffer a loss, who did you blame for you being in that position? and why?
– were there any exceptional circumstances that prevented you from bringing the complaint forward before?
In relation to the above, the impact on my mental health is one reason why I didn’t raise the complaint before – I was also not aware that I had the ability or right to make a claim. In addition, I took out additional finance in order to help with repayments.
Are there any tips you can give me on answering the above? Is there anything specific I need to include?
Thank you Sara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“after 14 months I went into arrears, but BPF tell me that I made a payment arrangement and stuck to it.”
does this mean that after 14 months BPF agreed to lower repayments and you kept to them?
Charles says
After 14 months I was unable to make a payment, due to financial difficulties. Barclays agreed to spread the arrears from this payment across the next few payments cycles (I believe 6). I stuck to that arrangement.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So typical answers might say something like (but change these so they are right for your)
– when did you become aware that there was a problem with the lending, for example that it was unaffordable for you? What made you realise this?
I ran into problems and missed a payment about a year into the agreement, but BPF let me make a payment arrangement to clear the arrears over the about 6 months. But at that time I had no concept of lenders having to check if credit was affordable and I blamed myself for my poor finances not BPF. So while the finances was causing me problems it didn’t occur to me that this was a problem with the lending as such.
I found out what “unaffordable” meant in [month/year] when I came across an advert from a claims company / a friend tod em about it / I saw a post on social media {whatever actually happened to you]. At that point I realised that BPF could not have made adequate cheks before lending to me.
– did you suffer any loss due to the agreement, and if so in what form and when?
Trying to make the repayments to the car finance cause me a lot of trouble and led to me having to borrow more from other lenders. And because of the missed payment to BPF this borrowing was very expensive. SO I think it was a major contributor to my debt problem.
– if you did suffer a loss, who did you blame for you being in that position? and why?
As I said, at the time I thought it was my fault because I had borrowed too much for my income and let things get out of hand.
– were there any exceptional circumstances that prevented you from bringing the complaint forward before?
No
Charles says
Hi Sara,
I’ve now had an update on this. The ombudsman deemed that I had use of the car for 50 months, and therefore should have paid for use of the car – they gave a figure of newly £11,000. Barclays have said that my total repayments to them add up to around £11,300.
So the compensation offered to me, via the ombudsman is around £300+ 8%.
To me, this feels totally inadequate. Having looked back in detail at my finances at the time, and the position I was left in, I don’t feel this is anywhere near sufficient compensation.
The ombudsman have said I have a timeframe to accept the offer – what are my options if I don’t accept the offer? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long did you have the car for? what happened at the end of that?
Charles says
The initial agreement was 60 months. After 50 months I handed the car back – there was a fee of around £600 which included a collection fee, and the costs for early settlement.
I have also updated the ombudsman further to let them know I put a SORN on the vehicle 40 months into the agreement, as it wasn’t affordable for me to run the car. I’m not sure if they’ll adjust the time I had use of the car from 50 months to 40 months because of this.
Looking back at my finances at the time, I was approved for nearly £300 a month in car repayments with BPF. I also had 2 other active credit agreements with BPF totalling nearly £200 a month (they would have known about these when they accepted me for the car finance). I also had further credit agreements on top of this. The FOS have acknowledged the above, and have seen evidence from bank statements.
The FOS has also said “The credit data shows 14 settled payday loans, a majority of which were taken out in the 12 months prior to this loan application. This gives the impression of someone who was significantly reliant on credit.”
My income at the time was around £1200 a month, after tax.
Looking back at how awful my situation was at the time, it’s far worse than I thought. I had to borrow further, at an expensive rate of interest to help cover the repayments. I don’t feel that £300-£400 is anywhere near sufficient with the above in mind
Sara (Debt Camel) says
there was a fee of around £600 which included a collection fee, and the costs for early settlement
And those amounts are all included in the £11,300 Barclays says you paid them?
I have also updated the ombudsman further to let them know I put a SORN on the vehicle 40 months into the agreement, as it wasn’t affordable for me to run the car. I’m not sure if they’ll adjust the time I had use of the car from 50 months to 40 months because of this.
that is an interesting argument and would get you quite a bit more money.
I was approved for nearly £300 a month in car repayments
what was the interest rate on this car finance?
I also had 2 other active credit agreements with BPF totalling nearly £200 a month
have you also complained about those?
I had to borrow further, at an expensive rate of interest to help cover the repayments.
have you made affordability complaints about those debts too?
Charles says
1. I don’t believe they have included it. When I called Barclays and asked for the total I’d paid to them, they gave me a figure just under £12,000 (around £600 higher than the figure they gave to the FOS) – which likely includes the final settlement figure.
2. I will reiterate this to the FOS, are they likely to recalculate even though BPF have already made an offer?
3. The interest rate was 12.2%
4. I haven’t made complaints about these, but I plan to now I remembered them – these will be right on the cusp of 9 years ago
5. I have made complaints about the rest
Thank you Sara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should add up what you paid them, not rely on their arithmetic. Ask for a statement of account from them anf preferably check it against your bank statements
I don’t know. Its important to emphasise that you could not afford to drive the car as it was unaffordable.
Charles says
Hi Sara,
I’ve had a response from the FOS to say they will calculate fair use of the car, and take that from the money I paid in total. They’ll then add 8% interest per year for each year I had the car. That will equate to around £3000.
The FOS have asked if I agree to the recommendations. Would it be recommended to ask for an additional amount based on the long-term financial impact this has had? (the FOS has focused on the impact during the agreement) if so, what is a fair % to suggest? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This sounds like a more normal settlement.
If you took out later high cost borrowing, then you can make affordabi;it complaints against that too.
Laura says
Hi,
I recently won my first claim (I have 4 in) for irresponsible lending against Finio, they had until yesterday to respond to the investigator and they haven’t. I’m not sure what happens now, I was hoping to reduce the payment asap to ease the pressure but looks like this month it will be staying the same.
Should I follow up myself with them or leave it to the FOS?
Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Leave it to FOS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
two questions
– Has anyone had a recent letter (spring 2024) from Barclays about a refund that has arrived out of the blue, not in response to a complaint?
– Has anyone with a case at FOS about “jurisdiction ” – wanting a refund for overdraft charges over 6 years ago – had an odd message from an investigator/adjudicator about this?
D says
Hi Sara
No to the Barclays question
Not quite sure what you mean about the ‘jurisdiction’ question, so don’t know if this is relevant. But, my partner has been waiting on a jurisdiction decision (for a number of months) and was told by the adjudicator, about a week ago, that ALL jurisdiction decisions were on ‘hold’. They apparently did not know why, but confirmed that NO jurisdiction decisions could be issued at the moment, until this had been lifted.
D says
Sara
Just to clarify, this wasn’t in connection to an overdraft complaint but in relation to a large loan, but the adjudicator was clear that ‘all jurisdiction decisions; (over 6 years) were on ‘hold
D says
Hi Sara
Any thoughts on my reply to your question? My partner is still waiting for a jurisdiction decision (over 6 years). The reply from the adjudicator was odd – that all jurisdiction decisions are on hold for everyone. Given your questions, have you heard anything about jurisdictions that you can share? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am making some enquiries. Does your case have a part which is under 6 years? or is it all over 6 years?
D says
Hi Sara
Thanks for your reply. It was all over 6 years old
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes there does seem to be some sort of review going on. I hope it will produce a simpler, clearer check as to which cases can be looked at
Beth says
My partner has just received £6300 from Sainsburys for several loans he had in a short period of time – 4 in total, where they allowed him to refinance and take others out to the point he was paying them about £800p/m for 3 loans at very high interest rates. Sainsburys of course declined initially saying they couldn’t go back further than 6 years, although FOS agreed to look back from the beginning as he had only just learned about irresponsible lending.
Sainsburys continued to fight it and rejected the case handlers decision (to uphold), sending it to an Ombudsman and once at that level, it was upheld in my partners favour (and very quickly).
If you’re contemplating sending to the FOS, you absolutely must – it takes less than 15 minutes to send the initial form and if my partner had taken Sainsburys final decision at face value he wouldn’t be £6.3K better off right now.
It’s certainly not the quickest process in terms of decision making as they’re so busy and sometimes a case handler decides not to uphold either BUT you should follow through to Ombudsman level and if you’ve got a strong case, you might just find yourself better off financially.
Thanks Sara!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
great result!
Christiana says
Hello Sara,
On March 26, 2024, I submitted claims for unaffordable loan lending to Halifax. The amount I owed was £15000 and was recently paid off with great hardship, however I believe it was unaffordable, which is why I filed a claim. I received a call from them today (4 April 2024), 7 days later, informing me that Halifax did not agree to my unaffordable loan application and had rejected my claim. Should I wait until I receive the formal letter from Halifax before submitting my claim to the Ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it is better to wait for the letter. There may be some points in the letter that you want to inform the Ombudsman that you disagree with.
r says
Hi Sara,
I was a compulsive gambler from 2018 – 2022, During this time i had taken several loans, credit cards and constantly in the red with my Overdraft. I earnt a decent income of over £2000 and had no other commitments apart from a car. My question is does being a compulsive gambler reject any complaints that I put through as the unsecured lending was based upon my disposable income? I did take out Loans with my own bank too but i am worried if i make a complaint they will close my account down.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This article looks at how gambling affects affordability complaints https://debtcamel.co.uk/gambling-refunds-loans-cards-overdrafts/
What is your current financial situation like? How many days a month are you in your overdraft?
R says
I am pretty much in my overdraft most months, i relapsed last month but am back on the mend and blocked all gambling activity.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should be making complaints to your bank about th overdraft and loans.
And open a new account with a different bank where you have no history of gambling. You need a clean start for your banking.
James says
Had 1 of my complaints with Moneybarn upheld by them today at just short of the 8 week deadline. Didn’t agree with there fair usage calculation of over £5k for 21 months, especially as I know they sold the car for similar to what I paid after I returned it but happy to have the almost £10k outstanding cleared from my credit file and almost £1k refund.
A sencond complaint for a paid off agreement with them has been forwarded to the FOS as they refused to look at it as over 6 years old.
Sara T says
Hi Ive had a response from natwest saying they don’t agree with my complaint for several loans, I was using several loans, credit cards and payday loans there was no late payments but only minimum payments made. They have said as they do a credit check and ask for income and expenditure if theres no automatic flags they don’t need to check and so don’t agree, baring in mind some or the catalogues and credit cards have upheld and refunded, is it worth ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How many loans did you have? Did one repay the previous one? Did the amounts or interest rates go up?
Sara T says
There were 7 from 2017 to 2022 all been repaid and dont know interest rates but borrowing amounts went up each time. Some were 2 loans at a time all debt consolidation. They just said its on me to of afforded them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
straight to the Ombudsman! Natwest should have noticed how the amounts were rising , suggesting the loans were not helping you
Claire says
Hi
I have a complaint in with NatWest that’s with the administrator did this take long to resolve NatWest had up till today till respond to administrator wondering if it’s end up going further?
Sarat says
One of mine is from 2017 so natwest didnt uphold any so currently with ombudsman, it was assigned in may so as of today still finding out if there allowed to investigate which seems strange 3 months to find out if they can investigate or not! Obvs my opinion and regarding my circumstances they know there guilty but Ive given up checking an chasing, I’m suspicious as the less known companies realise there mistake and upheld yet the huge major lenders don’t get upheld 🤔 same time frame same payday loans same timescale.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS is currently revising the way it makes these “over 6 years” decisions. Thats why they are going slow. I am optimistic that this will result it FOS making better decisions and being able to go back further.
Sandra says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for all your hard work. I’ve just put in some emails for refunds on the interest. I wanted to check if you are still paying off the loan but it’s sent to debt collectors, so you can request that you now pay the loan back to them? Also would you still be paying interest on it? If they do accept that I can pay the loan back to them and not the debt collectors, would that be on the original repayment agreed upon when taking out the loan? The reason I ask is because I’m currently paying the debt collectors lower than the monthly payments I was paying the loan company. And I’d want to increase what I’m paying at the moment but couldn’t afford to repay the original monthly sum when the loan was taken out.
I may be ahead of myself as I’m only at the beginning of this process, but thought it’s better to know this now!
Thanks,
Sandra
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your complaint goes to the original lender. If it is upheld by them, or by the ombudsman, the lender has to resolve your debt with the debt collector. They may buy back the debt. or they may adjust the balance with the debt collector.
EP says
Hello Sara
I have just a had an outcome from my investigator in favour of the bank regarding my loan and credit card complaints.
I found analysis of the investigator to be extremely weak, basically starting the bank had done nothing wrong despite offering my 6 loans and 2 credit cards within short period where the entire time I was heavily using my overdraft.
There appears to be no consistency with other rulings made by the FOS in similar cases and the investigator seemed to be more interested in my transactions involving eating out and clothing than the hundreds if not thousands of gambling transactions.
I have asked for my complaint to be reviewed by the Ombudsman but I am shocked by the extremely poor analysis undertaken by the investigator.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have set out a short summary of what the investigator has missed /ignired?
EP says
Hello Sara
Yes, I have provided a summary of what I feel the investigator missed and/or ignored and asked that this be placed on my file for the ombudsman.
With one of the larger loans the investigator even said the bank didn’t carry out proportionate checks but still feels it was affordable for me so does not rule against the bank.
Fred says
sounds exactly like my complaint.
I’ve had a several and the investigators have been excellent and ruled in my favour.
but for one (which I feel is the largest) I am getting this standard response saying they didn’t check it properly but I could afford it. but I clearly couldn’t
Nikki says
I took out a £20,000 loan over 60months with lendable in 2021. My income was £1900 per month, I was always at my max overdraft of £1600 and had numerous credit cards maxed. The repayment on this loan is £500 per month. For a while I managed this but I was also gambling (transactions showing on my bank statements but these weren’t requested). Since then my debt has spiralled and I’ve taken out 2 further loans in June and August 2023 for 4,500 and 5,500 respectively. I am now at a point where I just can’t keep up. I’ve sent affordability complaints to all 3 companies this week and have already had a rejection from lendable saying they felt they carried out proportionate checks. I feel that the length and amount of the loan should have warranted further checks. My mental health has suffered terribly and although I took out the loans I do feel it was irresponsible of them. Should I go to the ombudsman? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s a very large loan. If this was the cause of a lot of your subsequent problems, yes go to the Ombudsman.
But if the interest is removed, will you still have difficulty repaying it? Sometimes it’s better to look at getting a clean start through insolvency. How much do you earn?
Nikki says
Thank you Sara. I’ve now paid off 34 out of 60 payments so almost £16,500 of the principal loan amount but the interest was £10,000 meaning there’s still £13,000 to pay and I just cannot manage like this for a further 2 years. If they’d take the interest off and let me pay the remaining £3,500 of the principal loan (even a slightly lower payment whilst I paid that off) then that would massively help.
My job has changed and my income has gone up but approx 75% of my monthly wage goes on paying loans and credit cards.
I would really prefer to no go down the insolvency route but I’m struggling.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then yes, go to the Ombudsman. But this can take many months to go through – as the amounts are so large it may be more likely that it has to go to the second Ombudsman stage. I strongly suggest you consider a debt management plan for all your debts to get you into a safe financial space while all your complaints continue. Winning any will really speed up the DMP and if you don’t win, then you are in a sustainable, improving situation.
Talk to StepChange about this.
Nikki says
Thank you for your advice Sara. And for all the help you give to people on here. Much appreciated
M says
Nikki, I was in an almost identical situation to you. £20k Lendable loan taken out in 2018 – had further borrowing after that.
Lendable rejected my complaint but I pushed on with it. I had 3 months’ bank statements prior to the loan being approved as evidence when I forwarded the complaint on to FOS, I also requested a SAR from Lendable – there is a section in the application form pages entitled ‘affordability checks’ and mine was completely blank. I also forwarded my credit report which showed I was already in a lot of debt when they approved the loan.
Lendable were difficult, they threatened me with a home visit from Fieldcall Limited – they already had medical evidence on their files from my GP re my mental health but they ignored it. I put in a further complaint about their behaviour and the home visit didn’t happen. The adjudicator at FOS upheld my complaint and £9k in interest and fees were wiped. I didn’t let them get away with their bullying tactics either, they awarded me £200 compensation which also reduced the balance to £3,500 which is now cleared
I waited around 2 months for an adjudicator to pick up my complaint. Either way, please get to the safe place that Sara advised. I know your anxiety levels, I’ve been there, but things will calm eventually. I really hope you get a good result, stay determined and best of luck.
Nikki says
Hi All
Just to update in this… the FOS are still looking into the complaint against lendable but the other 2 complaints I made were upheld by the companies and the interest was removed so that has really reduced the outstanding balances. I’ve also agreed a more reasonable monthly payment to clear those remaining balances in an affordable way.
Im so grateful for the support I received on here and relieved that I am hopefully now going to be able to get myself into a position I can manage.
Nikki
Fred says
I have a complaint in with the investigator level.
I took a loan of £7k but at the time I had multiple large loans cards maxed out and always in overdraft.
although I never had missed a payment it was really tight finanically. the additional loan put me in negative position every month. I had debts larger than my annual salary (not including mortgage)
The Invesitagor says they didn’t check properly when giving me the loan but looking at my bank statements they said I can afford it so don’t uphold my complaint. However the bank statements previously are not a true relflection as it had a one off bonus so my pay was different for the 3 months due to the bonus and tax adjusting. The lender didn’t have access or request these bank statements when I applied. I have explained this but they don’t seem to agree.
I don’t agree with their findings and have asked for it to go to the ombudsman, do you think I have a case.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think from what you have said that you need to emphasise the unsustainability of maxed out credit cards which you were only making minimum payments to.
Lauren says
Hi I went to ombudsman as Updraft rejected my complaint. The adjudicator agreed with me and upheld my complaint updraft rejected their decision and is now waiting on the ombudsman to make the final decision. How long does it normally take to get allocated to ombudsman and do they normally agree with adjudicator? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s typically about 1-3 months at the momen. Can sometimes be very quick, can be longer
They normally agree but but it is really case by case
C says
In April 2020, the Ombudsman successfully held up our complaint against Barclays Partner Finance (BPF) for unaffordable finance. We received a letter in December 2023 saying that they owed us just over £6,000 in interest as a result of assessing as unaffordable. After contacting BPF they said that we actually owed them over £15,000. It transpires after some digging that they never carried out the Ombudsman’s instructions from April 2020 to make credit/debits to in effect cancel out any loan and there has been a monthly default on the credit file ever since. The saga is still on-going, BPF have offered £750 as an apology. Absolutely ridiculous. As the Ombudsman, understandably are in a tricky position to get involved as it was over 4 years ago, we potentially will need to raise a new complaint with them. I have contacted BPF myself in the hope of getting a resolution.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So what should BPF have done in 2020? Was this just clearing/reducing the balance you owed? Or did they owe you money at that point?
Do they now agree that they got this wrong?
C says
It was clearing balance and removing adverse markers from credit file. I had a statement from them at this point showing zero balance. Then in December 2023 got a letter saying that BPF had reviewed the loan and shown that they had not correctly assessed the affordability and that they were refunding the interest in the sum of £6,043.10 but they were deducting from the monies we owed them. I contacted them to say we owed them nothing and this is when it’s come to light that they have not carried out any of the Ombudsman’s instructions.
Yes they do but I’d like to understand from them where the £6,043 comes into the equation. The stress that this has caused since December 2023 has been phenomenal.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you think they may have owed you that much in 2020? After writing the debt off?
let’s go back to your situation when you won the FOS case.
Had the car been repossessed / handed back?
Did you pay a deposit?
How much did you borrow? (ignore the interest added on)
How much did you pay BPF?
C says
Unsure. In December 2023 BPF said that they owed us just over £6,000 in interest as a result of assessing as unaffordable. We won the case based on affordability so I’m guessing they owe it is.
Repossessed ☹️ the ombudsman decision was:
Refund the deposit of £2,701.97 and add 8% simple interest on this amount from the date it was paid until he gets it back
Refund the £11350.00 that was paid when he ended his prior agreement to part exchange his car for the new finance. Also add 8% simple interest on this amount from the date it was paid until he gets it back
Remove any adverse markers from his credit file;
It can deduct £3811.88 from what it owes him to reflect the outstanding balance due from the agreement (where Mr Ashmore had of the vehicle).
It can deduct £11202.94 from what it owes him to reflect the outstanding balance from the previous finance agreement
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that seems an unusual decision but it’s way too late to query it.
But it doesnt look to me as though BPF is likely to owe you £6000…
E. says
Hi Sara,
The FOS have recently rejected my case RE a loan from Sainbury’s Bank. £6500, 11.9% APR, repaying £186pm for 48 months. The loan was taken to consolidate other debt (this didn’t happen, and I obtained 2x other loans since then). However, they’ve got back to say that even with this, the loan would have been affordable and Sainsbury’s did all of the relevant checks and they are also satisfied that I read and signed the loan agreement (this was done in desperation to obtain the loan).
Should I reject the initial FOS ruling, and what can strengthen my case for escalation.
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was there a reason why you didn’t consolidate?
who were the two later loans from?
E. says
Hi Sara,
To be honest, it was mainly poor money management and a later change in personal circumstances (split up with partner, and moved in with a friend and cost of living expenses went up – also income reduced to part time for 3 months after the loan was taken out).
Later loans from Monzo and RBS – for £1100 and £2000 respectively – RBS complaint rejected at 2nd Ombudsman stage as the amount paying back was low. Monzo currently being looked at just now.
My income at the time was around £1600, with consistent overdraft usage over 6 years. FOS have referred to the fact that my disposable income based on ONS would have been sufficient to clear loans and overdraft etc.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so would the Sainsburys loan have been affordable if you had consolidated and not switched to part-time and had your expenses go up?
E says
Hi Sara,
I believe the Sainsbury’s loan was still a significant financial obligation, even had this happened and personal circumstances not changing etc. I also think that despite maintaining payments on previous loans, credit card minimums (this was actually cleared though only due to receiving hardship funding through university), and consistent overdraft usage (maxed overdraft all of the time) – my consistent levels of debt would be a red flag and they shouldn’t have lended.
I appreciate that Sainsbury’s had informed me of the interest rate and what I would be paying back. However, at the time, having glanced at the interest rate, I believed this to be 11.9% of the total loan, with my calculations below:
£6500 loan
11.9% interest: £773.5
Total loan payable: £7273.5
As such, with my calculations, I believed the repayable loan to be substantially less than what it actually was: £8108.64. This perhaps speaks volumes of my extremely poor financial literacy.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes the 11.9% is actually per year, not a one off charge.
I think you are going to struggle to win this one. You may have more luck with an overdraft complaint to your bank at the time
E says
Hi Sara,
Just wanted to update you and thank you so so much for the templates! My complaint against Monzo (Overdraft) has been upheld, and they have to pay back interest dating back to 2021 – this will clear my current OD balance of £700, and some extra + simple interest – that I will put towards paying off other debts. This is a massive relief!!
Monzo have until 22nd May 2024 to reply to the investigators case, just wondering from experience, are they likely to disagree and drag this out longer? If they let it go to Ombudsman level, are they likely to rule in favour of Monzo despite the complaint initially being upheld?
Thanks again for the templates and help with this! You are a lifesaver.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I haven’t seen enough Monzo complaints to have any feel for whether they are likely to accept the decision or take it to the Ombudsman level.
FOS say that in 90% of cases the ombudsman agrees with the adjudicator/investigator.
E says
Thanks Sara – Ombudsman also upheld my complaints on 3x loans taken out with Monzo, so just waiting to see what they say now.
VS says
Hi Sara,
Submitted a complaint to Everyday Loans which they have rejected so have sent my case to the Ombudsman. Just wondering what your thoughts are.
I have had 2 loans from ELL – the first was from 2019 for £15K and my complaint through the NSF scheme has been upheld, just waiting on payment to come through. The second was in 2022 and was for another £15K – £10K to pay off the original loan and the rest was to consolidate 2 other smaller loans. At the time of taking out the second loan I also had significant other debts on credit cards, etc.
I submitted a complaint for the second loan based on the fact that it was used to pay off the first loan (which they have upheld as being unaffordable) and the fact that I was on maternity leave when the second loan was issued and I don’t feel their checks sufficiently took into account childcare costs. They have responded to say that because my income had significantly increased since the first loan this would have taken into account childcare costs which makes no sense to me given that no checks were made on what these would be?
I have sent on to the ombudsman but am unsure whether they can take into account thr previous loan as this has already been settled through NSF?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the Ombudsman can’t give you a refund for the first loan, but they can take it into account when assessing whether the scond loan should have been given
VS says
Thanks, I wasn’t making a complaint to them about the first loan as I know this has to be done through the scheme but wondered whether they would take this into account. ELL didn’t even mention the first loan in their response even though my complaint was based on the fact that I only needed the second loan because the first was unaffordable.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes FOS should take it into account. Tell the investigator from FOS that you want them to do this
NB says
I am looking to raise an affordability complaint to the ombudsman but my current mortgage rate expires within 6 months. Will this affect my credit score?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is your mortgage lender? do you just want a new fix or to borrow more / change lenders?
NB says
Natwest. And probably just a new fix for now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
an affordability complaint aboiut loans will not affect you credit score.
And NatWest has signed the Mortgage Charter – they won’t do any affordability or credit checks if you only want a new fix.
HG says
Thank you for your advice on refunds!
I have sent a lot of emails (for historical and current lending), over the past 2 days and already I have had a response from RateSetter who are upholding my complaint for unaffordable lending of a loan I took out a few years ago.
They say that they will refund the interest and initial fee added to the loan and I am to pay the remaining amount. Should I be asking for 8% interest also?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
not if the refund doesnt clear the balance
HG says
Ok, thank you. Essentially, I will be left with a remaining balance ~£3k to pay which is only capital, without the interest or fee which was taken off the total payable and my payments to date.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that is the normal result for a loan where there is a lot to go.
JS says
Just wanted to say, I used Sarah’s brilliant advice and put in an irresponsible lending claim to Admiral for a loan they lent me.
They responded, acknowledging it and asking for bank statements or pay slips, which I was very apprehensive about, but once I got written confirmation from the lady looking in to my complaint that they had never asked for them or received them at the point of application, I sent my bank statements over.
Within a day she came back to me and upheld my complaint refunding all interest and charges since the loan started and stopping all future interest and charges along with reporting to the CRA so there would be no negative impact to my credit file.
Just incase anyone is apprehensive about sending such details, just get written confirmation they haven’t already got them/asked for them.
Couldn’t have done this without the invaluable advice from Debt Camel.
Sp says
Oh thats so useful. I have submitted an affordability complaint tonight for Admiral as they lended 11k personal loan in 2018, when i was already paying amigo as a guarantor and paying 2 credit cards as well minimum payment, and my wages were never fixed for the prior period it was between 1k and 1.9k.I can’t remember if they have asked for statements or not, but that would have definitely flagged these up if it would have been looked at. Since 2019 i am on DMP for this exact loan :/
Gemma says
Hi Sara,
I just wanted to thank you for the templates. I put in an claim against Novuna 2 weeks ago, I just received an email stating they have upheld my claim and I’m going to be getting over 7k in interest back! This allows me to clear my other debt, thanks once again for all you do x
HG says
My response from Shawbook (comments welcomed):
I write further to your investigation (reference xxxxxx). I had two loans, the first loan was taken out on 01.2018 and the top up loan on 07.2022.
It is evident that when I applied on both occasions, you should have thoroughly examined my credit record. Had you done so, you would have discovered that I possessed multiple credit cards that were dangerously close to their limits, with only minimum payments being made. Additionally, I had missed payments on a credit card and had taken numerous cash advances, particularly with Barclaycards (please refer to the attached images). I missed payment with Shop direct (multiple occasions in 2017 and 2018) and a Creation credit card (2017), please refer to the images attached.
As can be seen in the full credit report, many of my creditors were near or at their credit card limits. Furthermore, I had multiple loans, such as my Barclays loan initiated on 06/2011 with a monthly payment of £336, car finance with a monthly payment of £238, and a mortgage with a monthly payment of £685. All of this crucial information which was available to see on my credit report should have been thoroughly reviewed, and had it been done so, I would not have been offered an extremely large loan. It was not possible for me to sustain the payments and my history of minimum payments, my applications should have been rejected. However, you exacerbated the situation by granting me additional credit, which I utilized to pay off other debts or cover essential living expenses.
I’d like to also point out that my bank accounts would have also provided information which meant I should not have been offered a loan. I’ve attached a copy of the 2017 annual statement of my main bank account – which should have been looked at for the initial loan. No less than 119 fees had been applied for my overdraft and there had been 10 unpaid transaction fees. This is clear evidence of my inability to keep up with repayments, thus making a loan unaffordable to me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There isn;t much point in trying to argue with Shawbrook. Send the complaint to the Ombudsman to look at.
HG says
Hi Sara,
If some of the complaints for irresponsible lending have come back and said I’ve already complained (which may have been the case) a few years back and that I didn’t go to the ombudsman, is that pretty much it, it can’t be opened?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes… sorry, you cant make the same complaint twice
Rebel says
Hello sara ,soo I challenged tandem loans on being mid sold loan and unaffordability, after contacting them and being brushed off and down beaten I contacted ombudsman even then that didn’t agree with me at first but I knew the cost cause I really struggled and hardship to pay it all off including COVID wages down to 65 percent ,but today I got my verdict and they agreed with me …..soo happy
Sara (Debt Camel) says
great that this worked in the end!
Happy Mom says
Absolutely thrilled to have won my final complaint and have now recieved the following refunds all from Barclays!
£2708.12 – Interest refunded from a loan
£4700 – Overdraft charges refunded
£6300 – Credit card interest refunded
Total £13708.12 amazing!!
HG says
That’s fantastic. Do you mind sharing if you did this all as one complaint to Barclays? How long ago did you have accounts?
Nes says
Hi Sara,
My complaint against Specialist Motor Finance Limited was rejected by them. I then raised this last year with FOS, the adjudicator upheld my complaint. However SMFL did not respond to the outcome even though i accepted the decision. This meant having to wait for an Ombudsman to pick my case up. Last week the Ombudsman agreed with the outcome the adjudicator reached and upheld my complaint.
I have accepted the outcome, my question is do you know how long SMFL will now have to calculate the figure they owe me and send my refund? I have found this company to be nothing short of pathetic when it comes to communication.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
28 days.
Nes says
Thanks Sara, my refund is in excess of £8000 plus 8% interest.
Is the interest calculated on the final sum so say my total is £8132 so 8132 x 1.08?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My previous reply was a typo – it should have said 28 days.
The 8% finance is per year – what data did you refinance? At that point what was the settlement amount?
Nes says
Thank you for confirming, i’m hopeful SMFL will try to resolve this within the allocated time.
I took my finance with them in 2019 and i was repaying over £500 a month until June 2022.
When i refinanced in 2022 the settlement figure was £11900.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so your refund is less than the settlement amount in 2022. That means that the 8% interest should start in June22, so about 22 month. That is about 14% extra you should get.
Nes says
Hi Sara,
SMFL are now trying to find a way out of paying me. When I settled my loan with them I refinanced with another car company. The other company repaid my outstanding balance. Today they are asking for proof and are saying as I didn’t pay they don’t feel I am due anything back.
I have since spoken to the FOS who have advised SMFL are wrong and any money above the initial loan amount they have received on my agreement must be refunded regardless of who paid it. This was just rejigging the same debt. I honestly haven’t come across a company that makes it so difficult for customers despite a binding agreement in place.
I have got the email address of their CEO who I have reached out to directly Simon.Bayley@smfmotor.com
If anyone else is having issues, reach out to him as that may be the only way to get them to pull their finger out.
Tom says
Hi all
I sent an affordability complaint to Special Motor Finance company on the 26th April 2024, I received an initial automated email back to say “ Thank you for your email. We have now received this and will respond in due course.” but have not heard anything else. I have sent a chase up email but not had a response.
Can I send this straight to the financial ombudsman?
Thank you :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, you have to wait for a decision OR until it has been 8 weeks with no decision from SMF. So another months waiting
Nes says
They are a terrible company, look at the case studies on the FOS website. They are notorious for not responding to adjudicators, persist with your complaint they will try and make things difficult but keep at it.
Reject any low ball offers, I suspect you will need to take this to the FOS once the 8 weeks are up.
William Campbell says
Hi I can’t get credit reports for year the account was opened so will 3 months bank statements be enough
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how long ago was the account opened?
William Campbell says
2015, 2016 and 2017 there’s 3 accounts
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok I suggest you get bank statments for the whole of that period then
William Campbell says
From 2015 to 2017 ? It’s got lot of transactions on gambling will this cause me issues
Sara (Debt Camel) says
they support your claim that the credit was unaffordable.
Old loans like these are 99% likely to be declined by the lender so it will have to go to the Ombudsman. Who always asks to see bank statements
Michael says
In the process of being taken to court for a car loan (last payment made Feb 2018) and amongst other things, I want to file ‘Irresponsible Lending’ as part of my defence but not sure how to word this.
I was working PT at the time of the loan given and the repayments (if you add in the money to set aside for a final balloon payment) came to a little under half my take home pay (monthly). In addition, I already had a (car) loan with them, which had been subject to HEAVY interest. They gave me a minimal amount back for that car and the money left owing, from the first loan, was added to the new debt, and interest was added again to that amount. The final amount to repay was near £15k for a car worth £7k.
Just need help with my wording for this Irresponsible Lending part of it. I will add statute barred (as part of defence) as well, although default issued Jan 2019.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you talk to National Debtline urgently about this defence. Also post on Legal Beagles forum https://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/court-claims-and-issues.
It may be best to make. Complaint asap and try to get the court cases put on hold until the complaint is resolved rather than try to use unafforda Lending as a defence. But I cannot advise on court cases
M says
Hi I have affordability complaints for loans against Santander and HSBC that I believe should not have been issued. Does anybody have a complaints email address for Santander and HSBC as I cannot find one online. Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The article above has a link to the page with bank emails
MyDebtRecovery says
Hi Sara,
When I was approved for a loan with everyday loans in January 2023 (of £2000) I was asked for the names and numbers of 2 guarantors, but these 2 names are not mentioned on the paperwork. Is this a guarantor loan?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Everyday Loans never issued guarantor loans under that brand – they were all done under either the names of George Banco or Trust Two.
George Banco and Trust Two stopped providing loans in November 2020.
I don’t think your loan can possibly be a guarantor loan. I haven’t heard of anyone being asked to give the names of two “guarantors” for an Everyday Loan… I hope this hasn’t happened to other people who may be put off from complaining because they think there is legally a guarantor when there isn’t.
I suggest you send an affordability complaint about this loan using the template letter in the article above. I would be very surprised if the names of your “guarantors” are ever mentioned. If they are, let me know!
Claire Williamson says
Hi
Is it to late to complain to every day loans as I missed the deadline on 31/12/2023
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When was the loan taken out?
Claire Williamson says
In April 2019
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, I am sorry it is too late.
Claire Williamson says
Hi
I would like to make complaint to NatWest for unaffordable lending do you have an email address
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is a link to bank emails in the article above
Claire Williamson says
Hi I had reply from fos said my case would be passed to an investigator this was on 13/6/24 do you normally wait few weeks/months for it to be picked up
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it’s very variable!
Claire says
Hi
I have received a response from the administrator if you can help. Some background I had loan 7500 June 16, July 11650, July 17 15400 then the final one is 19450 June 18 which is due to finish in September I just kept topping them up bad management of my money I have been asked:
t – but it’s not so clear whether you raised your complaint within three years of becoming aware or three years of having being reasonably aware of a cause to complain.
With that in mind, and assuming you’d still like us to consider the earlier loans, I need some more information from you. You said the loans were unaffordable.
What prompted you to raise your concerns about irresponsible lending when you did?
What stopped you from raising these concerns sooner?
Why didn’t you think the lender had done anything wrong sooner?
Are there any exceptional circumstances that prevented you from bringing the complaint earlier? If so, what were they and how did it prevent you from complaining?
Can you help?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Common answers to questions are along these lines;
“What prompted you to raise your concerns about irresponsible lending when you did?”
I found out from social media [add more details about how and weh – did you see adverts from claims companies on Facebook? see someone talking about a refund on Instagram?] early this year. At that point I realised NatWest could not have made affordability assessments for my loans and so I complained.
“What stopped you from raising these concerns sooner?”
I knew my debts were getting worse but I blamed myself for bad money management and each time I topped up I resolved that I would improve and so things would get better.
“Why didn’t you think the lender had done anything wrong sooner?”
Because I thought my financial problems were my own fault. I had made the previous loan repayments so it seemed natural that my bank would help me by lending me more and I didn’t have a reason to think NatWest were wrong to not have better affordability checks as I didn’t know they were supposed to. If I had known earlier, I would have made a complaint then and not take out the later loans.
“Are there any exceptional circumstances that prevented you from bringing the complaint earlier? If so, what were they and how did it prevent you from complaining?”
no.
Claire says
Thank you I have replied NatWest have got until beginning of August so I will keep you updated
Grace says
I just wanted to thank Sara and share just how powerful these complaints are.
At the start of 2023 we were £78,000 in debt. We entered in to a DMP and by July we each had 6 defaults at least on our credit file. It was scary albeit necessary!
I started the complaints over the summer holidays 2023, not expecting anything but coming to the conclusion that I had nothing to lose.
I’ve had all our complaints back now and the results are staggering.
We had 7 complaints upheld, all but 1 were rejected by the lender.
1 loan was wiped completely.
Due this and interest refunds our debt balance is now £36,000.
We’ve have £1500 back in cash refunds
We only have 2 defaults on our credit files, one on my husbands will clear once we’ve paid the product off.
It was also incredibly powerful to have the vindication that someone should have stopped our financial situation spiralling a long time ago.
We both now feel that we have a financial future and will pay all our debts off in a few years.
Louise says
Hi
So I put a complaint in to BOI for a loan that was issued in 2021. They of course did not uphold my complaint and I sent it straight to the ombudsman. The initial investigator actually agreed with me, but the ombudsman has not actually provisionally not upheld my complaint and has said that even though BOI was irresponsible not doing more detailed checks, and that my bank statements show I was managing my credit well. I need to work out the figures but the calculations between the two investigators for my disposable income is different.
I had five credit cards and two online shopping accounts, and not even three months prior I had taken out a loan for 13000 for debt consolidation and then applied to BOI for a £22000. A couple of the credit cards limit was low because of the first loan,
The ombudsman had also mentioned in their findings that BOI had previously offered me a 12 month plan but I don’t remember this? I had phoned to say I was struggling financially about a year into the plan, and they went through all of my bills and money on the call and then told me that at time they couldn’t help but I should seek advise to help manage my expenditure etc.
I feel really deflated as I thought I had a strong case with the initial investigator being in my favour. They have given me until 17th June to provide anymore information that might support my case but I think my chances are slim at changing their decision.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you asked the Ombudsman for the details of the the disposable income calculation as you don’t think this is right?
Louise says
No I haven’t but I will email and ask, I thought it would also be worth asking about the 12 month offer as I really don’t recall this happening. Is there anything else I can ask/do that would help strengthen my case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The best thing is to provide a detailed explanation of your bank statements at the time the loan was issued showing it was unaffordable. Finding out what the ombudsman’s calculation was can help making you realised that *this bit* is wrong or missing.
Charlotte says
If you’re thinking about doing an affordability complaint but aren’t sure, please listen to my story.
I took out a £7000 loan with Everyday Loans and had to pay back £25k with interest and charges. I felt I had been mis-sold the loan and my first complaint was upheld but with a very small open gesture of £50. I then re complained using Sara’s template and as I had paid back the £7K already was refunded the overpayment and the interest wiped. They also will remove all negative marks on my credit score.
I couldn’t be happier. I burst into tears when I saw that my complaint was being upheld. I couldn’t have done it without Sara’s template and support. Thank you Sara.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a great result!
for anyone wondering, Charlotte’s first complaint was saying that the interest hadn’t been properly explained to her. That isn’t the same as an affordability complaint – that is why she could “re-complain” because it was actually a new complaint.
Claire Williamson says
I had a loan with every day loans for 7500 my interest was a lot I thought I couldn’t complain as I missed the deadline of 31/12/2023 as my loan was before 2021
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is right – you can only make an affordability complaint about an everyday Loan that started after Iafter 31 March 2021
Nes says
Sara is this potentially an option to start a complain with a lender.
I had a complaint for irresponsible lending but i missed the deadline to raise with FOS, can i complain based on the interest was misleading and it wasn’t explained to me properly?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unlikely. She lost that first complaint, it’s really hard to win those.
Dave says
Had a response from My Community Finance not upholding my complaint which I expected as its only taken them a few days to respond.
I took a 7k loan out in March 2023 which is ridiculously high for me in my opinion on a salary of less than 30k
They said ‘As you had passed all of our internal checks at the time of application, we had no reason to request
any further information, such as your bank statements. As such, we would not have information
regarding any gambling transactions present’
Surely for a 7k loan they should be checking my bank statements?
They said I had no recent payday loans but weeks before I took a loan of £600 with Loans2go and £500 with another loan company a few days later. I also had current loans with 118 and Lendable and in the day before I took the 7k loan out I took a 1k loan out with another lender. This was on top of the credit cards I had to pay each month.
Embarrassing looking at the state of my bank account it’s just full of loans and gambling transactions, have informed them I have sent to FOS. Surely I have a good case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds to me as though there was a lot of debt showing on your credit reports. They should have taken that into account and if it looked as though you had borrowed a large amount in a short period of time they should have looked closer eg at your bank statements.
Dave says
Thanks I sent to the Ombudsman yesterday and as I was completing the form I feel even more confident as my finances are a mess, several large loans and getting larger each time.
Have received a response from The Money Platform which was one of my small but regular loans with interest of £500 in total today offering £50 so have asked if this is their final response so can send to The Ombudsman.
M says
Hi Sara,
Just looking for a bit of information. I complained to Lendable and they rejected. I sent to FOS who have today sided with me and have given lendable until the 27 to agree. They have advised they need to put it right y removing interest and agree a plan with me for going forward. I have not missed a payment so far but if I do agree a lower amount than the original amount. Which is £370 (would like to pay around £200) would this affect my credit record? I.e arrangement to pay or default? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No it shouldn’t
Dave says
Hi Sara,
Hope you can help with this one.
I made a complaint to salary finance and it has been upheld by the financial ombudsman service.
Salary finance has removed all interest which is great as it practically halves my debt with them.
I spoke to them in May and set up a payment plan with a reduced payment and they have now updated my credit file with an ‘Arrangement to Pay’ notice. As I won the complaint I was under the impression that the couldn’t add any derogatory remarks except if I was to default.
Salary finance have said that as there is still a balance capital so they are able to do this to inform other lenders that I can’t afford to pay. Surely this is not the right response after winning an irresponsible lending complaint.
I have emailed the adjudicator too however she is out of the office until 24/06/24.
Thanks for reading.
Dave
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sometimes FOS says no negative marks. Sometimes it says the lender must remove the negative marks when the debt is cleared.
HG says
Betterborrow not upholding my complaints. Do I go straight to FOS? Copied below BBB response
You requested a quote for a loan of £12,000 over 48 months, for which we confirmed the monthly repayment figure as £314.71. We gave you the opportunity not to proceed with the application if the repayment figure wasn’t affordable.
As a responsible lender, we verified the details you provided during your application. We completed a number of checks (including a full credit search) with Credit Reference, Anti Money Laundering, and Fraud Prevention Agencies. Collectively these checks were completed to give us the confidence that the loan was affordable for you, in addition to verifying your identity.
During the application process, you declared your income and expenditure details. We reviewed this information alongside your credit file to assess your financial position at the time of your application. This gave us confidence that you’d be able to afford the monthly instalment of £314.71.
In the final stage of the application process, the loan details including the term, interest rate and monthly repayment amount were shown to you again to make sure that you were happy with these before deciding to proceed with the loan.
This information was in the credit agreement that you confirmed you’d read and were happy with before you entered into the loan contract.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Were these loan repayments hard from the beginning?
HG says
Sorry, one loan. Yes / I’m not sure if I should argue with BB and supply bank statement evidence or go straight to FOS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Go straight to FOS. And send the bank statements to FOS,
Lorna says
Hi Sarah I received an SMS from NSF last year saying I may be eligible for refunds for unaffordable loans from Everyday Loans. It said it was going through a court process. I received no further communication from then. I’ve just found out that I missed the deadline to submit a claim (it closed December 2023) but my thing is I received no communication from them telling me that I had to make a claim by this date.
Absolutely nothing! I’ve seen a post from you somewhere saying that a claim could still be made (but not via NSF). Can you please tell me how I can do this? Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When did your Everyday Loan start? If it was after 31 March 2021, you can make a claim using the template in the article above. If it was before that date, I am afraid this is too late and there is no way to now make a claim.
Lorna says
Ah It! Was before so have missed the boat. Thanks for clarifying. Also this is a great blog!
Sarah says
I have made a complaint to Bamboo re unaffordable lending. They have refused the complaint but as a ‘goodwill gesture’ responded with an offer to write off the remaining balance which is approx £300. The loan was for £3k with a total repayment of £4037. I responded as I believe the case is strong enough to win at the FOS with a counter offer which they have refused. Should I go back to them again or just send to FOS
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send this to FOS now.
E says
Hi Sara ,
Thanks for all the hard work you do with this website, it’s been invaluable to me.
I have had an unaffordable lending complaint upheld by the ombudsman about a 118 118 money loan obtained on 2021. The loan was £4000 with £7894 to be paid in total. I went onto a DMP in 2021 which was all cleared in April 2024. This loan was sold onto JC acquisitions and I made a full and final settlement with them in April, in total it was a reduction of about £1700, my account is settled and closed.
The investigator at the ombudsman says I should ‘pay back the amounts she has borrowed’ and ‘ If this results in (ME) having paid more than she received, any overpayments should be refunded along with 8% simple interest’
The investigator does go on to say that the debt should be bought back but as there is no balance then this can’t happen… I am wondering about the compensation amount, will this be all interest refunded or will they take the full and final settlement amount into account ?
I hope this makes sense,
Thank you
E
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The interest you paid will be refunded.
So if in total you paid 7894 – 1700 = 6194 then you should be refunded 6194 – 4000 = 2194.
So you don’t get refunded the interest you didnt pay because of the early settlement.
The defaults on your credit record should also be removed by both 118 and JC.
Nes says
Hi Sara,
My complaint was upheld by the Ombudsman after Specialist Motor Finance Limited rejected it. This complaint dragged on and SMFL were a nightmare to deal with. The ignored the adjudicators ruling and which led to the intervention of the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman upheld my complaint and they were obliged to repay me a sum in excess of £9k.
They tried every move in the book to find a way out but in the end there was no way out for them.
Thanks again for this site and my message to anyone dealing with SMFL, persist with it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
very good news for you. And great advice about dealing with difficult lenders!
G E says
Hi Sara,
Thank you very much for your guidance provided on this website. I can see that so many people have benefitted from the information you provide and I know I certainly have.
I currently have a few complaints submitted to the FOS. The first complaint was submitted about a month ago, and I received the confirmation email about 3 weeks ago confirming that they are going to deal with the complaint.
Do you know what the current waiting times are for complaints to be dealt with?
Thanks so much
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They seem pretty quick at the moment until your case involves making a decision about something that happened over 6 years ago. Who is the lender?
GE says
The lenders are Natwest and Monzo. Both rejected my complaints to them.
I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on my complaints if possible.
The Natwest complaints relate to four loans:
1. £5,000 September 2020 (15.9%)
2. £9,000 June 2021 (20.5%)
3. £7,500 February 2020 (25.9%)
4. £12,960 May 2023 (22.9%)
5. £7,250 December 2023 (18.9%)
I am complaining about loans 2-5. I also had a number of external debt including multiple credit cards, two overdrafts regularly maxed out, and other loans, totalling between £25,000 – £35,000.
The Monzo loans were for:
1. £7,000 August 2022 (don’t know APR)
2. £9,500 top up January 2024 (18.9%)
At the time of both Monzo loans, I also had large external debts including the Natwest and other loans, credit cards and overdrafts totalling between £25,000 – £35,000.
My concern is that in September 2022 my salary increased to £70,000 and so I am anxious that the FOS may say that the loans were affordable after that time. I would be very grateful for your views.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so that is all within the last 6 years.
who were the overdrafts with and were you in them all or most of the month?
GE says
I had an overdraft with both NatWest and Monzo and it varied but I was frequently in the overdraft for the whole month, and sometimes for part of the month
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then make the point in your FOS complaints about the loans that the bank could see from your overdraft usage that you were unlikely to be able to replay a large loan.
Dave says
Hi I submitted a complaint to Bamboo who have responded agreeing to reduce my balance by £600 which is the total interest on my loan so great result.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was that the total interest added? Or just the remaining interest?
Dave says
It was the toal, 2k loan with £2,600 to repay
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK! good result as you say
HX says
Hi Sara / I complained to the FOS for irresponsible lending by Shawbrook, two loans. I received a final response from Shawbrook this year about the first loan. The second loan still under investigation. I didn’t realise that I must have already raised the complaint in 2019. Shawbrook mustn’t have realised this also since they issued a second response this year. Do I have any argument?
From FOS investigator:
I’ve noted that a final response to your complaint was sent by Shawbrook Bank Limited to your home address on X 2019. This means that we needed to have received your complaint by Y 2019. As we received the complaint on X May 2024, it falls outside of the six-month period for complaints to be eligible for consideration. Although you received a new final response letter dated x May 2024, this was sent in error, and the investigation and outcome were the same as the one you received in 2019. So, the new response and referral rights don’t supersede the old ones.
Although I understand why you’ve raised this complaint, I’m afraid that the timescales involved in this case don’t make it an eligible complaint under the DISP rules, and I’ve not been made aware of any exceptional circumstances that prevented you from bringing your complaint sooner.
This doesn’t affect your right to complain about the second loan you took in 2022. Shawbrook Bank Limited are currently investigating this loan, and I’m awaiting a response regarding it shortly.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So thinking back, do you not remember anything about a previous complaint?
HX says
No I don’t, it was shock and I said this to the FOS. They said they could provide the letter.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask for a copy of your complaint and of the letter, saying you have no recollection of either.
HX says
Ok, I’ve sent an email requesting both.
My finances were at the worst during this time and it ended when I broke down to my family (I had suicidal thoughts, a very emotional time for me) and so things were hazy as it’s not a period of time I like to look back on. My family lent me money to pay off the worst debts and to leave me with some disposable income.
If they do come back with a letter and final response, is that case closed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
let’s see what the complaint was!
HX says
They can only provide the FR, but not the complaint I made in 2019
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What does the FR say? Does it sound relevant to your case? What does it sound as though the complaint was?
What date was the second loan from them?
HX says
The second is 2022 and the FOS and Shawbrook are working on this (even though no FOS….), due a response tomorrow.
From the FR in 2019 (I’m a little disappointed that I must have sent a complaint and didn’t realise I should have gone to the FOS as I actually had a really good case!):
My summarised understanding of your complaint is; you do not believe Shawbrook carried out
appropriate affordability checks before accepting your application for credit.
As with all financial institutions, Shawbrook uses agreed criteria to assess the
creditworthiness of potential customers. For commercial reasons, I am not able to disclose
the criteria in this response. However, as your application for credit was accepted, I can
confirm that you satisfied the required conditions.
Shawbrook is required to carry out appropriate affordability checks, but this does not mean
that a full assessment of a person’s income and expenditure is necessary. Any income and
expenditure information that we do obtain as part of your application is provided by the
applicant.
I have asked for the figures you provided to be manually checked as part of the complaint
investigation. When applying for the credit, you noted a number of unsecured debts with
balances but did not include a monthly payment. In these instances, we have used a
minimum repayment equalling 5% of the balance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you send any complaints in 2019?
Had you even heard of an affordabaility complaint…
because
a) it’s odd that they can’t produce a copy of you complaint
b) it’s odd that they didnt reply to you when you complained saying you had already complained about the first loan
c) it’s odd for them to give you a second loan after you had complained about the first
d) there is nothing in that reply that suggest it was a reply to you… nothing that clearly references you situation, it was just very vague
HX says
Yes, I did make a few affordability complaints but I didn’t see your website at this time otherwise I would have provided more evidence so part of me thinks it is possible that I did make a complaint. Do you think it’s worth seeing what the response is for 2022? Then I can use your points below to go back on the first.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No. if you want to challenge the first one, you have to do this now. if you are happy to give up on the first loan, then say so.
HX says
Ok, I’ll challenge the first one tonight, thanks Sara
Martyn says
Hi Sara great site and thanks for the advice.
What do you do if you win with fos and the company ignores the result, I’d there a next step what do you do?
The decision was final from the ombudsman and the emails were sent out on the 31st of may the lender is virgin loans.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell your adjudicator that they haven’t paid.
Martyn says
Hi Sara I contacted my adjudicator.
And the reply he got was below am not sure what this means:-
Good morning
Thank you for your response. I’m sorry to hear about your situation.
I contacted Virgin to which they replied ‘The bank escalated our concerns of your Service’s finding to Jag at Relationship Management level and therefore we were not presently in a place to offer settlement on the terms suggested’.
I’ve asked them to provide a response to my view as soon as possible.
Kind regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So I suggest you go back to your adjudicator and say that you understood that a Final Decision from FOS was legally binding so why is the adjudicator asking Virgin to provide a response?
If this isn’t sorted out this month, come back and I will suggest what further you can do.
Martyn says
Hi Sara
Virgin are stone walling myself and the FOS now, and there has been no movement its been 8 weeks since the decision.
Thanks
M
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok as it has now been over 2 months, I suggest you do 2 things:
1) Email consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and copy this to customerrelations@virginmoney.com and david.duffy@virginmoney.com
Subject: Virgin Money has not paid me after a final Ombudsman decision
Give your name, address, a Virgin customer number and FOS reference number.
Give a very brief summary of your complaint – no more than a couple of sentences.
Say this has been upheld by an Ombudsman in a Final decision which you accepted in dd/mm/yy. Attach a copy of it to your email.
Say this was more than 2 months ago and despite you contacting the Ombudsman and Virgin Money several times they have not even acknowledged that they will be paying you.
Say that failing to pay a customer after a FOS Final Decision and ignoring your contacts about this is very poor complaint handling and a breach of DISP 1.4.4 and of the new Consumer Duty.
If you are in financial difficulty, describe this (don’t exaggerate – Virgin Money are in the wrong here even if you are a millionaire!)
Say you will be starting a new complaint about their poor complaint handling and asking for compensation, but you thought the FCA should be aware of this. Ask for this email to to be passed to the FCA’s supervision department.
———————————————————–
2) send a new complaint to Virgin
Email customerrelations@virginmoney.com and david.duffy@virginmoney.com
Title – very poor complaint handing and a breach of consumer duty
(You are not complining here about the original problem – that has been decided. You are complaining about Virgin’s complaint handling.)
Give your previous complaint reference number and attach a copy of the FOS FD.
Detail the attempts you have made since the FD to get Virgin to respond to you.
If Virgin were also very slow in responding to the ombudmsn (eg did they never respond to the adjudicator decision?) mention that too.
Point out that Virgin has been in breach of DISP 1.4.4 and they have also been in breach of PRIN 12 “A firm must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers” .
If you are in financial difficulty, describe this (don’t exaggerate.)
Ask for the FD redress to be paid as soon as possible and for an additional £500 in compensation for the poor complaint handling.
———————————————————-
I made up the £500. There is no standard at the moment for what you can reasonably ask for.
Let me know how this goes!
Martyn says
Thanks Sara
I sent both emails I’ll keep you posted.
Thankyou for the help and guidance.
Much appreciated
Martyn says
Hi Sara
I got the £500within a week so the emails worked but still nothing on the onbudsman result so nearly 3 months after getting the result.
They say they have escalated it but that’s 2 weeks ago.
Regards
Martyn
Claire Williamson says
Hi
I put an affordability complaint into Vanquis with a loan I took for £3000 April 2023 i couldn’t afford it and it got sent to debt collection which I pay back £50 a month started last month.
I’ve had a response from Vanquis today saying there upheld my claim because there can’t satisfy themselves lending was suitable
The re worked loan to remove all interest and charges leaving only 3000 I initially borrowed treated all payments I made totalling £983.04 as repayments. Leaves balance off £2016.96 owed for me to contact loan team to work with them and there will remove adverse information from my credit file.
Sorry for this been long but I’m unsure what to do next do I agree with figures? Or send it to FoS or do I work with Vanquis come with an agreement?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you agree that you have paid them £983 in total so far?
How much can you afford to pay a month?
Claire Williamson says
The monthly amount was about 135 per month I think I’ve paid about 10 months I’m assuming I will have to check with them. To be honest I’m paying 50 pounds back a month I wouldn’t want to pay anymore. I’ve put a few affordability claim in for a few loans I have there with FOS waiting on admistror to pick them up
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so go back through your bank statements or credit card statements and add up what you paid.
If it is 983, then Vanquis’s numbers are right. If you have paid more than 983, go back to Vanquis and ask them to correct this – no need to go to FOS if they get this right.
Claire Williamson says
I’ve found it 134.72 a month loan was over 36 months at apr of 34.09
Thank you I don’t think it is right but I’ll get the figure tell them. Once I do this should I just wait for reply before I agree what I will pay back each month. I also want to thank you because of this site I’ve managed to do this and for other loans and credit cards I have.
Claire Williamson says
So I believe I’ve paid 1033.04 as I paid £50 on 2nd July to moorgroup which it’s probably not gone to them yet.
At the bottom of the letter it states
This leaves a balance of £2,016.96 owed. The Vanquis Bank Loans Team would be willing to work with you to put an ease to any worries you may have and to come to an agreement for the remaining balance. They can be contacted b
Does this mean I can try argue case about paying it back as there should never lent me the money caused me stress last 6 months
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Vanquis isn’t going to agree to clear the balance. And neither is the Ombudsman. That only happens in incredibly rare situation when the lender absolutely knew that they shouldn’t lend to you eg if you had told them a few months before that you had a gambling habit and you did not want to be loaned any money.
The Ombudsman in 99.99% of cases will say you have to repay what you borrowed.
Claire Williamson says
That’s fine I’ll go back and say how much I’ve paid and come to an agreement how much I can repay I’m assuming I will stop paying moorgroup pay Vanquis
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s up to Vanquis. They still own the loan and are just using Moorcroft to collect it for them.
lotr212 says
Hi Sara, I have just become aware that it is possible to complain about irresponsible lending. I believe I have a case, but would appreciate any thoughts before I begin the process. Back in Sep 2016 I started university full time as a mature student. Up until this point I was working full time for years, and had used the same bank throughout. In Oct 2016, I logged into my banking app and was presented with a pre-approved loan for £9000. I did not apply for this loan, but jumped at the opportunity as my income had significantly decreased over the past month and was going to stay that way for my 3 years at uni. I clicked yes, set the repayment term and the money was in my account instantly. The same thing happened just a few months later for £8000, and again I clicked yes. After a year or so I started struggling with the repayments. I made numerous calls to the bank over the years, they combined the loans into one and set up lower payments etc, but it remained unmanageable. I have not made a repayment for a few years now, and the loan has been passed to a debt collection agency. Do you think I have a case for irresponsible lending, or is it too late for me to complain?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What is the rest of your financial situation at the moment? How long is it since you have made a payment? What are the current balances? Is the debt collector being very pushy?
lotr212 says
My financial situation at the moment is ok – I defaulted on 5 accounts in 2020 including the large loan previously mentioned. Out of the 5 accounts, 1 has been paid off, 3 have agreed regular payments made each month and will be paid off by early 2026, but the large loan is not being paid at all yet. I heard nothing about it until I received a letter recently, saying the account had been sold to a debt collection agency. My last payment on the loan was in 2019 (although from 2016-2019 I would regularly miss payments as they were simply unaffordable for me as a student working part time). The current balance of the large loan is £15,800. I have a few credit cards that have not defaulted (totalling £1500). And I have the 3 defaulted accounts that are being paid (totalling approx £4000). So far the debt collector is not being pushy at all. I’m not sure whether I should put an affordability complaint in to the original loan provider first (a high street bank) or set up a payment plan first?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would get the affordability complaint going now.
Also consider complaints against the other defaulted debts – just because your bank (who is it?) is the worst, doesn’t mean the other lending decisions were reasomable.
If the debt collector becomes pushy, you will need to make an arrangement to pay and that may mean reducing what you pay to the other defaulted debts.
What is the total that you owe at the moment?
lotr212 says
Thank you Sara, that’s really helpful. The large loan is with Barclays, and I will certainly look to complain about the other defaulted accounts too (especially as one of these was a Barclays credit card). The total I owe at the moment is just over £23,000. If irresponsible lending is proven, do banks ever write off loans?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not normally. Unless there are issues about health or there is no prospect of your situation imnproving and you can pay very little.
This is why I asked about the total. I think you have to be realistic – you can’t really say your situation is ok with these large defaulted debts, one of which you aren’t making any payments to.If you will be left with 13k of debts after winning some complaints (I just invested that number, I have no idea what you may get back) and 13k is impossible to repay, then you should probably consider aa form of insolvency such as a Debt Relief order at the moment to get a clean start. And not waste time with affordability complaints.
Set yourself a time limit – 6 months? – and review your situation then in the light of how well the complaints are going?
Dave says
Great news on a £5000 loan from Lendable that I’ve already paid off in full.
They are giving me a refund of all interest and charges plus 8% . So will be £1380 plus 8%
They gave the below explanation, wonder what the new information they received.
‘All of our affordability criteria were met to lend you the funds at the time the application was approved. With that said we did receive information during the application that suggested that the loan may not have been affordable for you, and I believe this should have prompted further checks from Lendable.’
Dave says
Just reading through my email from Lendable offering the refund and they say the below. Does this mean they are taking 20% off the interest I should be paid back?
‘We will add 8% simple interest for any period you may have been deprived of money which is in line with the approach taken by the Financial Ombudsman Service. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has issued guidelines which state that any additional redress or compensatory interest is subject to an obligation to withhold income tax at the basic rate. We’ve therefore deducted income tax at the basic rate from the interest included in the refund. ‘
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Only the 8% extra interest added is taxable as saving – the refund part is your own money money you are getting back and isnt taxable.
If you have had interest deducted many people can reclaim some or all of it from HMRC, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/ for how to do this
Dave says
Great thanks for your help again, this money will allow me to make an offer in my other debts to get out of debt sooner.