The administrators say people may be allowed to submit claims in November 2020, if sufficient funds are available in the Administration for a distribution to be made to unsecured creditors. The administrators will also explain then what people who have already submitted claims, or who had claims agreed but not paid when the company went under, need to do.
But that “if” clause is important. The administrators are saying that there may not be any money to distribute, so in that case there would be no point in people submitting claims.
This is in line with the Administrator’s Proposals published in August which said:
Based on current estimates, it is uncertain whether there will be a dividend to unsecured creditors. As a result, at this stage we are not adjudicating customer redress and others unsecured creditor claims.
I don’t know how likely it is that there will be no money left. It may just be the administrators being very cautious. It may depend on how much they have sold the loan book to Perch for.
But even if there is no money to pay out, many Sunny customers will be concerned that their claims should be assessed as they will want unaffordable loans removed from their credit record.
Background
Sunny was a large UK payday lender. See Sunny heading for administration for the background to the decision to go into administration and other Sunny articles.
Elevate Credit International Limited (“ECIL”), which traded as Sunny, 1 Month Loan and Quid went into administration on 29 June 2020. KPMG were appointed as Administrators.
Sunny joined the long list of lenders which have failed in the last year because of the increasing refunds to customers who had been given “unaffordable payday loans“: QuickQuid, Moneybox 247, Swift Sterling, Piggybank, Nextcredit, Peachy, Uncle Buck.
Administration is not a good result for customers – the FCA should act
Although I am encouraging people to put in complaints, they are now not going to get the full amount of compensation that FOS would have assessed.
This is not an acceptable situation.
In the case of Sunny, the FCA has known for several years that Sunny was not making good offers to complaints. Why has the FCA allowed this to continue?
And why has the FSCS not been extended to cover customers who have been given unaffordable loans?
I listed my proposals in More payday lenders go under – was anything learned from Wonga? and they remain relevant now. With every high-cost lender that goes under, the need for action by the FCA gets more urgent.
Comments on this article are now closed.
Please leave any comments on: 500,000 Sunny customers owed refunds will get little or nothing
Cheryl Edwards says
It’s so frustrating that they have added previous settled loans to my credit file and I have no way of contacting them to ask why? It’s like being stung by them all over again. Why on earth add old settled loans, my score dropped 27 points after this and it was just starting to look healthy again……so frustrating ☹
D says
Any idea why this is happening same here looks like they have removed some but added again with different prefix ie -ELEVATE as opposed to just elevate listed previously
cyrilv says
Same here, the last satisfied default under “Elevate” was removed and re-added under the prefix “-ELEVATE”. This default is due to drop off on the 15th August. It has been added to the “closed loans” section of Equifax where the original one was. I do hope that this is just an admin thing and that it will fall off on that date as before. Equifax and Creditkarma remain unchanged for now, Experian up 17…
D says
I contacted their customer service and was advised this update is a change in name between clearscore/ equifax. It should have no negative impact in long run just a change in name. I have no idea why they’ve done it should just remove them from customers credit files the pain they put everyone thru
James says
Hi Sara,
I had Loans with sunny over a year ago now and had already had a payout from complaining with them back then by following your guides. However today when checking my credit report it showed that about 20 Elevate credit accounts were added to my report in July 2020 and then just below that the same 20 were listed but this time said removed?
Do you have any idea why this would have happened or if it’ll have an affect on my credit?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no idea why but if you read the other comments it has happened to a lot of people.
James says
Just see that after I’ve posted, I have contacted them for an explanation I’ll come back here with the response for others should I get one.
Thanks again
Cheryl Edwards says
Same happened to me James, I hope you can get somewhere and speak to someone, I’ve got a feeling it’ll be radio silence…
Steven says
Hi,
I recently raised an affordability complaint with sunny (elevate). I am a little concerned by the response (see below), is this true based a precedent set elsewhere? Or will cases be investigated even if there isnt money to distribute?
I actually dont care about any form of refund, I just want them off my credit report…
Reply – “If your enquiry relates to an affordability claim, your claim will be logged but will only be processed if the Joint Administrators determine that there are sufficient funds available to make a distribution to customers and other unsecured creditors.”
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is an interesting question but my answer is very long – I will write an article about it!
LL says
Hi Sara, I received this same response from Sunny and was a bit confused about what it meant exactly?
(I’m pretty sure I have a good claim with them 21 loans in about 9 months – I’m not worried about getting a refund, just hoping they’ll write off the remaining balance)
Steven says
Thanks. Could you reply here when you do? Interested in the answer to this.
Wilson says
I have a question about sunny I’ve got 4 unaffordable Outstanding loans ( my case is C)) I’ve stopped doing payments what can I do if that affects my credit score? (Or will that affect my credit score?)
By the way, I’ve contacted them saying I couldn’t afford as my wife is not working due to covid and im on low income, then they told me to fill an assessment form which I did, then on the website said there that I was in financial difficulties and I should contact debt management companies, they never got back to me in phone or email…
Ive sent an unaffordable complain when they went into administration…
So my concern now is my credit score and what shall I do
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your credit score is harmed by not paying but as it sounds as though you can’t afford the repayments, so you don’t really have much choice about what to do, do you?
If you win the claim all negative marks will be removed from your credit rating.
Wilson says
Thanks Sara, I’ll wait for the claim to be settled , I’m sure I’ll win
Matt says
Hi Sara,
I successfully made a claim against sunny back in 2017, in which the compensation covered paying off some of the outstanding payday loans. Which I have confirmation of on email, but I have just found out they haven’t reported the settlement of those payday loans to the credit reference agencies. Is it worth complaining again given the hinderance to my credit score (I was debt free in 2017) or just get them to actually action reporting the settlement of these back to experian etc?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Contact them and tell them they still haven’t finished the agreed settlement of your previous complaint.
Matt says
Hi Sara,
They just sent me the below, is that acceptable or should I push for them do to this now?
Thank you for your recent call with us.
Having investigated your account further we can confirm the remaining balance on your sunny loan should have been removed.
We apologise this has not been completed, however, due to our company being in administration we are currently unable the write off. Once we are able to complete this we will do so with urgency.
If you have any further queries please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Kind regards,
The Sunny Team
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think that is acceptable. Administration or not, there is incorrect information on your credit record. I suggest you go back and ask when this will be done as under GDPR you have a right to have incorrect information corrected.
Matt says
Thanks for your help Sara, I will go back to them and hopefully they will correct asap!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That would be good, I am not very hopeful but is definitely worth a try.
Fm says
I received very confusing email today saying sunny administers if you have existing complaint but if you object?Really so if object is there s chance you get more than thuppence back or what are implications the email was as clear as mud ??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was it long? Can you copy out the bit about objecting?
Mat Hall says
Yes I had the same email very confusing for me, glad I’m not alone in not understanding it.
Wilson says
I had the same email
Tyler N says
Hi Sara,
I have attached a summary of the email, Would there be any benefit in objecting or are we better off letting the administration take its course as it could effect if there is enough money to allow any sort of unsecured creditors redress?
Email :
If you are receiving this email, it is because you have previously submitted a complaint and the Joint Administrators believe that you may have an unsecured creditor claim against ECIL. The Joint Administrators are required to provide creditors with a copy of the Administrators’ Proposals and are seeking a decision by deemed consent that the Administrators’ Proposals be approved. The Administrators’ Proposals will be deemed approved unless 10% in value of creditors object by 3 September 2020 (“the decision date”).
You do not have to do anything upon receipt of this email, unless you wish to object to the proposed decisions that are contained in the Administrators’ Proposals.
The Administrators’ Proposals
The Administrators’ Proposals document contains important information about the administration of ECIL, including a background to why ECIL was placed into administration and information regarding the Joint Administrators’ strategy for conducting the administration.
The Administrators’ Proposals document is available at http://www.kpmg.co.uk/ecil.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Proposals warn that there may not be enough money to make any distribution to unsecured creditors – which includes customers who are owed redress for unaffordable lending.
At the moment it’s NOT clear to me that there is any benefit in objecting to the Proposals, but I am having a think about this.
Tyler N says
Thats what i thought to be honest, if you think of anything id be interested to know.
Thanks again Sara, Hope your keeping well!
Di8 says
Received the same email also!
Would like to follow the feed with what happens now
Matt says
Hi,
Can we not see whether we can get enough of us to challenge the Administrators to go to the parent business Elevate Inc….who pulled the business as they knew they would have to pay back millions. They have continued trading without a worry for all of us!
I’m sure there must be a case for them “Piercing the corporate veil” to wash their hands of their responsibilities!
@Sara what do you think?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am not aware of anything that would help you. Sorry.
Tyler N says
I had a decent read of the proposals yesterday and one of the details was the now Administrators Ed Boyle conducted an investigation in 2019 with Sunny into different routes of winding down, if the business weakened, and the court said before allowing the administration to take effect “this prior investigation had no effect on why the company applied to assign administrators”..
As much as i hate to say it the courts and UK laws are onside with Sunny so it would be impossible to force the US company to pay their dues or not take back their secured loan out of Sunny’s accounts before any unsecured creditors. Sunny was a limited company which easily protect the US parent and their overall funds.
Sunny’s bank balance looks low after the 2 secured loans, employees wage and other creditors are paid first. It looks to be less than 1million left available to share between up to 550,000 customers (if all complain).. We’ll be lucky to get £2.
AJM says
I have over 20 loans. Complaint to Sunny and refuted. Went to FOS and they agreed with my claim. Sunny then offer around £80 and I obviously declined. I did my workings and was due around £1400 plus 8% tax. This went back to FOS and they agreed with my workings and we’re in the process of liaising with Sunny. We get hit by Covid so there was a backlog of complaints and then obviously Sunny go into administration. Pretty hard to take when FOS have agreed with me and they were in the process of telling Sunny to pay the amount id suggestion.
Matt says
Yes, agree
However, the UK business was essentially its parent.
Inc borrowed for Ltd and profits were distributed up the line. Effectively a shell business.
Anyway, another example of poor ethics in the financial sector emanating from the US and a UK law that seemingly favours the greedy and morally inept.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the UK business was essentially its parent.
That isn’t correct -the US company is massively larger than its UK subsidiary.
BigP says
Hoping for some advice. Had loans with Sunny totalling £1000 – recently made an affordability complaint but also offered what I thought was a fair compromise to clear the amount owed and remove the negative marks from my file.
These loans were taken out in 2016 – I’ve made payment plans on and off and have paid off £700, but with fees, interest etc, I still owe £900. I had offered to pay the remaining £300 if they agreed to uphold my complaint and settle as I had outlined (ie. having borrowed £1000, and ultimately paid back £1000) but just got the stock response as others above.
These are the last big negatives on my credit file, I’ve managed to get everything else back on track and under control – given the nature of the response my question is-
I am I better to hold off and wait for a verdict either way, or try to make a partial settlement to improve my credit file, hoping the complaint’s upheld down the line.
Defaulted in 2016, so another couple of years before it drops off my account fully so this is something else to consider?
Lastly, my reasons for doing this are with a view to applying for rent to buy/co-ownership scheme, but any payday loans need to be settled within the last 6-12 months.
Any input most appreciated!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If this was pre administration, you would have been unlikely to get all the loans refunded and so be able to settle for £300. Normally the first few are excluded. So your offer may not be seen as a fair compromise.
If you pay in full now to try to improve your chance of a mortgage you are likely to receive very little (and there is a possibility it will be nothing) back later.
If you don’t pay the debt may be sold to a debt collector who may take a more pragmatic view of being offered £300 for a debt they may have paid less than £50 for. But they may not. Or the debt may not be sold.
Lastly I have to say I am not a fan of shared ownership. Some of the problems are set out here: https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/shared-ownership-what-to-watch-out-for/. It is easy to assume you will be one of the lucky ones it works well for, but the costs/stress if you are not can be large. In addition, in these uncertain times I will say that you can get much more support from the benefits system if something goes badly wrong in your financial lives if you are renting than if you are buying.
BigP says
Thanks for the reply Sara,
Is there much difference in impact on credit score, between a partial settlement and full settlement? Understand that a full settlement will always bode well, but considering the trade-off between this financially and making a partial settlement in the knowledge the Sunny claim may be upheld or my score will at least improve 12 months on.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A partial or full settlement does not affect your credit score at all. It may make a few lenders more willing to lend to you, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/dmp-partial-settlement/.
But most mortgage lenders now want payday loans to have been settled more than 6 months before – many are asking for 2 years. By that point the Sunny loans will have dropped off your credit record anyway.
Katy says
I have 4 outstanding loans with Sunny that have been partially paid but I can’t afford to pay the remaining balance which totals £800
Can I still raise an affordability complaint with them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you have other problem debts as well, loans, credit cards, catalogues?
Katy says
Yes I have 2 outstanding credit cards and 2 catalogues
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So yes you can submit an affordabilty complaint but this may take a VERY long while to get an answer. Like a year. I suggest you do this asap as they may take action sooner eg by selling loans where there is no complaint in to a debt collector.
But you can’t rely on this helping you out of your general financail problems. If you are struggling now, you also need to ask for a lower affordable repayment. But it can be hard to get a low one one agreed. A better approach may be to set up a debt management plan with StepChange, see https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx and include the Sunny loan in that and your other cards catalogues and any overdraft. If you later win the affordability complaint it will speed up your DMP.
Richard says
Just seen an update on the Sunny website today., that will be of interest if anyone has outstanding loans. They have sold part of the outstanding loan book, and written off some outstanding loans. Emails are being sent out on or around today to let people know if their loan has been sold or not
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Thanks!
The administrators have assessed the customers with outstanding balances to see whether they have a Claim and – if they have – have reduced or written off that amount. Loans that are being written off will be deleted from credit records.
Information about claims will be published in November: “Further information regarding the process for making claims in the Administration will be published on the Sunny website in November 2020 and we encourage you to monitor the website for this update.”.
If you think the reduction / write off is insufficient or if you didn’t have an open balance, you can submit a claim then.
But the administrators are saying If there are enough funds available to pay a distribution to unsecured creditors, then the Joint Administrators will determine a process for agreeing creditor claims and provide an opportunity for claims to be submitted.
It isn’t clear to me at the moment whether this is just a precautionary note or whether there may be no money to distribute. We will find out in November.
Karen james says
Update to my previous post. I raised a dispute with Experian and my credit file was updated on Oct 2nd. It took 4 weeks to hear back. So I raised a dispute with the other CRAs today.
Mat says
Have just spoken with Sunny as I had a similar problem with an incorrect report on my credit file. On 6th October they struck a deal with Equifax which means that any errors will now be updated asap. It may take a bit of time to show on CheckMyFile etc. but if you get a report directly from Equifax, I am told the errors should be amended much sooner. Hopefully good news for you
Marcus says
I had a similar experience. However, mine were temporarily suspended from the CRAs as they did not hear back after 28 days. However, today, it re-appeared as not paid (even though it was paid months ago). Phoned them and all looks ok their end. I was asked to email bureauamends@elevatecredit.co.uk with details of the incorrect details for them to manually fix. Here’s hoping it will be sorted soon.
Mat says
Great news for me I had £580 outstanding but probably had a very good claim and it has been written off.
Katy says
I’ve just had my outstanding balance wiped by the administrators, ideal!
Hector says
Sunny has just written off a set of four loans I took out totaling over £2,000. I am very pleased.
Jordan says
That’s positive news for people.
Hopefully the administrators are removing defaults from the written off loans.
The Ombudsman ruled that the 2 defaults I received from Sunny should be removed but the went into administration before they could remove them.
Rachel says
I think they are. The email says they will be updated and marked as settled?
Ian says
My loan totally written off! No complaint!!
Hector says
I posted yesterday about my loans being written off. After calculating how much I would still owe had my affordability complaint been upheld and all interest paid being deducted, it turns out I would still owe over £1,000.
Note that I was only making small token payments on my balance – had I continued to make these payments until the loans were settled, it would have taken me almost ten years to clear them. But with interest frozen it didn’t bother me one bit.
I suspect that Perch Capital probably had no interest in purchasing debt that was to be amortized over such a long period, thus the debt was written off. So surely that was also a factor at play.
Regardless you have to give credit to the administrators in respect to the time it has taken them to reach this point, especially when looking at the Quickquid administration which is dragging on endlessly.
Andy says
I also received an email yesterday informing me my outstanding balance of £1700 was written off. Very good news and was quite surprised.
Camron says
I have also received an email saying SUNNY have cleared my balance but it was defaulted, does that mean it will go off my credit file completely? Or does it come up on your credit file as “settled”.