Swift Sterling, Pounds Till Payday and My Money Partner were trading names of Northway Financial Corporation Limited, a Maltese company.
The Financial Ombudsman won’t look at complaints about two payday lenders, Swift Sterling and Pounds Till Payday, if the loans were before December 2015 because these were loans from a Malta-based lender, not a UK firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
When were your loans? This affects who to complain to
If your loans were before December 2015, then you need to complain to Northway about them.
Some points about these Maltese complaints:
- you can use the standard template letter on the main payday loan refunds page a starting point for your complaint BUT after that everything Maltese is different and this is the best page to ask questions in the comments below
- if that doesn’t resolve your complaint you can’t go to the UK Financial Ombudsman, you have to go to the Maltese authorities. Details in the comments below.
- don’t expect to get 8% extra interest added – that is only for UK complaints.
If your loans were after December 2015, this is NOT the right page for you. Your complaint is a normal payday loan affordability complaint in the UK, you will be able to go to the UK Financial Ombudsman. Move over to the main payday loan refund page as you don’t need to get confused with lots of information about Malta authorities and processes.
Timeline
- December 2015 – the websites and brand names were bought by an FCA-authorised UK company, MMP Financial Ltd.
- January 2016 – the Financial Ombudsman said the MMP take over hasn’t made a difference to complaints about previous loans from Swift Sterling and Pounds Till Payday, and these complaints have to be made to the Maltese regulator, not in the UK.
- After this, people started complaining to the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). There are lots of comments at the bottom of this article about this.
- May 2016 – the MFSA ordered Northway, the lenders’ parent company to refund interest for a few readers who then received cheques.
- the Consumer Complaints Unit within the MFSA is being phased out and replaced by the Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services.
- November 2016 – the FCA is making MMF, the debt collector that has bought many Swift Sterling and Pounds Till Payday debts, refund many customers for its poor debt collection practices, see the bottom of this article.
- December 2016 – Northway has offered to pay some compensation to some more customers.
- April 2017 – the MFSA has told people with active cases that they have been closed and complainants have to go to the Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services. This will feel like more bad news and delays, but the Office of the Arbiter can issue binding rulings in relation to complaints. So hopefully Northway won’t just ignore these decisions as they have been ignoring MFSA decisions. I don’t know how you can enforce a binding ruling in Malta
For the latest on what is happening, see the Comments section at the bottom of this article.
Why can’t you take these complaints to the Financial Ombudsman?
Both Swift Sterling’s and Pounds Till Payday’s websites said in their Complaints Procedures:
“At this stage, if you are dissatisfied with the delay or we have not been able to sort out your complaint to your satisfaction, you can escalate your complaint to an external body (see below).
Step 3 – If you remain dissatisfied
It is important that you give us the opportunity of addressing your concerns first before escalating your complaint as they will only consider your complaint after we have had the opportunity to sort out the matter under our internal complaints process.
You may ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to review your complaint. You should contact the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months of receiving our final response letter. Their details are below: [full address and email details for the UK Financial Ombudsman]”
One reader has received the following reply from the Financial Ombudsman:
“Unfortunately Pounds till Payday don’t have offices in the UK and as a result we are still unable to look at complaints about them. As you said below, their offices are based in Malta and they are regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority. I’m sorry their website seems to suggest otherwise… I agree this is misleading borrowers.“
So if you wanted to complain that one of these lenders gave you a loan that was unaffordable, you have to go through the Maltese regulators, not UK processes.
You may think this is never going to work… But if you read the comments below you will see that several readers have managed to refunds – some of them large – after going through the lengthy process of appealing to Northway (Swift Sterling and Pounds Till Payday’s parent company) and then the Maltese regulator. It has taken many months but with perseverance, you may get a good result.
Has your debt been sold to Lantern (used to be called MotorMile Finance)?
Swift Sterling and Pounds Till Payday have sold many defaulted debts to the UK debt collector MotorMile Finance (MMF), which changed its name in 2018 to Lantern. In November 2016 the FCA has made MMF offer a redress package to many customers because of poor way it has handled debt recovery, so if your debt is now with MMF, read MMF – can you get a write-off or a refund?
Claims against Lantern can only relate to the defaulted debts sold to them. You may still have additional claims against Swift Sterling and Pounds Till Payday for “affordability” problems. Additionally putting in an affordability complaint to the original lender should mean that a debt collector puts a hold on any debt enforcement such as taking you to court for a CCJ whilst the dispute about the original debt is resolved.
How to check a credit score – find the best!
how long do different payday lenders take?
Could a Debt Relief Order help you?
Mark says
Finally a 2nd reply from Northway who are still not accepting responsibility but are offering £1500 goodwill gesture.This offer comes after contact with the OAFS .I calculate that the the interest I paid was £2500.Also it say s that they are time barred. What actually does this mean ?..The loans I had with them where from FEB 2012 to AUG 2014.
£1500 seems a genourous gesture if they believe they did no wrong doing.
craig says
Hi Mark, my loans were between 2007-09 they said in their final response that at that time they didn’t need to make affordability checks and made no goodwill gesture at all. I had over 20 loans with about the same interest as yourself.
I submitted complaint to the OAFS who then attached Northway response saying it was time barred also which i think means its been a period of time since the last financial transaction was made between myself and the creditor thus they are within their rights to not look at the complaint??
In the same email response from the OAFS i had a letter to sign accepting that this goes for mediation so i am now awaiting on a mediation officer contacting me!
I suppose it’s down to you whether you feel that the goodwill offer of £1500 in acceptable or do you pursue this further with the OAFS to get the full interest back!
Cheers, Craig
Mark says
I shall pursue further.. Just noticed the email mentionining time barred looks to have been misdirected ,it dosent apply to me.Upon reading northways reply it seems such a clear case of irresponsible lending yet they admit no wrongdoing.For the first loan they said they checked my credit report ,it would have been very poor at that time and then that the following loans for the next 2 1/2 years where given to me judged on my loan history and imformation i provided (no bank statements.payslips).Also after about a year and half of lending i requested a pay plan of which they did not arrange and then still took the full amount from my account.they admitted this also..It gets worse.Then the following month they loaned to me again for another year.
craig says
i’m still awaiting on my mediation session being confirmed, will keep you informed
Mark says
I just received a letter saying a mediation is the next step.Personally I would like to skip this and let it go the 3rd stage.Will this have any negative effect on my complaint
craig says
I sent away my acceptance of mediation on the 9th May heard nothing since.
The fact they offered you a goodwill gesture even though they said they done no wrong!
craig says
Just to update anyone who is complaining to Northway.
The OAFS have advised that Northway have not accepted the willingness to refer the case to mediation as my complaint is time barred.
My loans were between 2007-09 and Northway say it’s been more than 5 years since the last financial transaction was made.
The complaint will now be sent to the Arbiter for his review and deliberations
Dom says
Hi Craig, I’ve just had the exact same response from them today, so referring to Arbiter too.
Dom
craig says
Hi Dom where your loans same period as mine? more than 5 years ago? i’m a bit nervous about arbiter stage but i suppose it will go one way or the other now. Keep in touch i’ll let you know when i hear back
Cheers, Craig
Dom says
Mine were same period as yours, 07 to 09. I’m surprised Northway didn’t cite ‘time barred’ from the outset of complaint. OAFS at least still will look at complaint. Fingers crossed the Arbiter finds in both our favours.
Dom
craig says
I thought that the same that rather than wasting time they should have stated it was time barred we cut out the mediation and went straight to the Arbiter.
From the OAFS site it looks like we have the opportunity to make written submissions regarding the complaint.
If you was the same as me i was reloaning every month along with other payday lenders so there was no way i could get out of it till it got out of control and i had to come to an arrangement with them all.
As soon as i paid each loan i was reloaning straight away.
Horrible thinking about it all and i just hope the arbiter finds in our favours!
Fingers crossed
Craig
craig says
Hi Dom, i have chased for an update on the mediation process to see how long this would take…..let me know if you have heard anything
Cheers, Craig
Lou says
Hello.
I really need some help.
I received a reply from SS yesterday (Northway)
In their reply is this:
“Our records show that the aforementioned loans were paid in full on the scheduled repayment date of 25 July 2013. However, you then requested chargebacks from your bank for both of the amounts and were therefore reimbursed both the principal and interest on these final two (2) loans amounting to £682.40. This balance remains outstanding to date”
Ok so a few things. This is the first I have heard about this. Bearing in mind it was 2013 I find this a bit odd.
I have checked my bank statements and it does look like this has happened, but I have no recollection whatsoever of this happening.
Swift sterling have never contacted me about this and I had absolutely no idea I owed them money.
They are offering to wipe this out as an offer to my refund request.
I have a feeling that my mother in law paid this debt off for me using her debit card but I will need to double check this.
So questions really are…
How on earth have I not heard about this debt beforehand. Should I just accept their offer and call it quits. I am now frightened I’ve opened a can of worms I knew nothing about and I’m going to end up owing a lot of money :(
Any help appreciated I am really anxious about this.
Thank you in advance
Dom says
Hi Craig,
Within a couple of days of OAFS starting the mediation process, Northway got back to them saying they wouldn’t engage in mediation, so my case has gone onto the Arbiter now. No idea of timescale for this.
Dom
craig says
Hi Dom, just to let you know i have my hearing booked over Skype for 18th June
Cheers Craig
Dom says
Hi Craig, I got notified the same today too, the 18th over Skype.
Quick turnaround! Hopefully we’ll both get a positive outcome
Dom
Craig says
Yip fingers crossed. Just wondering what questions we may get asked apart from the obvious.
I’ll have my bank statements at the ready !
Cheers Craig
craig says
Hi Dom, good luck tomorrow – not sure how it will all pan out and to whether it will be resolved on the day! Fingers crossed!
Cheers, Craig
Dom says
Cheers Craig, good luck to you too. Feel totally unprepared for it so hopefully my ‘wing it’ skills will suffice. Dom
Craig says
Me too. Feeling quite nervous about it. Would be useful to know what kind of questions that might be asked.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Craig, Dom, good luck to both of you tomorrow!
craig says
thanks sara!
Kara says
Good luck! If you are allowed to say anything afterwards, please do. I haven’t heard from Northway since they sent my statement of accounts so I’m a fair way behind you but it would be good to know what the Skype interview involves.
Craig says
Thanks Kara. I’m not sure what happens during the session and quite nervous about what kind of questions I’ll get asked etc but will see what happens. Nobody seems to comment after their session so not sure if allowed !
Good luck with yours also I hope you have a positive outcome.
Dom says
Cheers Sara
African Queen says
Hello Dom and Craig,
I hope by the time you are reading this, you would have resolved with Northway.
My case has been assigned to an Arbiter in Malta and I have been told he is back in the office on Wed this week so I should wait to hear from him.
Please kindly share whatever you can from your experience.
Really hoping it is positive for both of you.
Thank you
Mr and Mrs C says
I have had a goodwill offer from SS for £626 – the interest I have paid is £1400 – I have replied to say yes, I am not sure its worth fighting for this one since they aren’t in the UK, and fortunately or not depending on how you look at it, I have numerous other payday loans to receive offers from/refer to FOS.
Kara says
I’ve just received bank statements after 5months of persuading my bank and these detail 8 loans, averaging £600 each that I took out in 2009-10 with Pounds Till Payday. I wasn’t aware of these when I submitted my complaints to the other 4 payday lenders and the FOS. I need to read through all the info on here before attempting a complaint but would welcome any help from people in similar situations. I’m glad to have made this discovery as it certainly strengthens my other complaints in terms of irresponsible lending, even if it doesn’t come to anything itself in terms of a refund. Thanks.
Craig says
Hi Kara – my loans were between 07-09 with pounds till payday was borrowing £500 every month along with other PDL. Northway have refused to look at the complaint as they say it’s time barred as no financial transaction has been made in 5 years. I have an arbiter hearing on the 18th June with the OAFS in Malta and Northway but I’m not sure what else can be done if they are saying it’s time barred. I hope this has not been a huge waste of time as this has been ongoing since February.
Good luck !
donna stephen says
Hi Sarah,
I wrote to the Maltese financial authorities regarding Swift Sterling. I got a reply from Northway financial saying they had repaid my money after I went into a DMP. However after viewing my bank statements over the 6 month period they were £881 short. They also said there was an outstanding balance of over £1000 and they would write it of if I was in agreement. I contacted them to say I agreed with them doing that but I’ve not heard anything back. I wanted to make sure it would be written off before contacting my DM company…I’ve emailed every week since March… what do I do now?
Thank you in advance
Donna
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so a debt to Swift Sterling is in your DMP? who is your DMP with?
donna stephen says
Mlm cps ltd x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ah , are you in a DMP or a DAS? And can you confirm that Swift Sterling is being paid each month?
donna stephen says
Hi yes it’s a debt arrangement scheme and it’s being paid every month
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK I’ll ask someone who is familiar with DASs to reply.
Alan McIntosh says
Hi Donna
As DAS is a statutory scheme, you need to contact your Continuing Money Adviser, in this case MLM and ask that they do a variation and remove the lender from your DAS.
They may try and charge you for doing a variation (I am not sure of MLM’s charging policy). If they do try and charge you, you can go to a free sector money adviser, who will do it for you.
You can also discontinue MLM as your Continuing Money Adviser, although it depends how they charge your fees.
I will soon be joining a Scottish Government Working Group to draft new regulations for the DAS, so I would be keen to hear how you get on.
What area of Scotland do you live in, as I can possibly direct you to a free money adviser if you have any problems.
donna stephen says
Thank you for this. The amount left to pay is the amount that SS are waiving so that should end my DAS? I live in Highland
Chris says
Does anybody know the arbiters opinion on Northway’s allegation that these matters are time barred? Is the arbitration a worthwhile step? Or shall I prepare for a disappointing outcome that the arbiter is powerless to look at older loans as their involvement – if not the agreement itself – is governed by Maltese law? Thanks in hope
Craig says
Hi Chris. I have an arbiter hearing on 18 June. My loans were between 07-09. Northway refused mediation as they said the complaint was time barred. Be interesting to hear if anyone has had their complaint upheld
Katie says
I’m really sorry for being easily confused. I have some Swift Sterling loans taken out after December 2015, do I go straight to the Ombudsman or email Northway? Again, apologies for being dense!
Gill says
Has anyone had mediation
craig says
i believe a few have Gill.
Northway refused mediation as they said the complaint was time barred.
I have an arbiter hearing coming up mid June
Gill says
Good luck with urs
Gill says
I have mine next week and was just looking 2 c what happens and what is discussed
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So far as I know, the few mediations there have been have resulted in a settlement being reached, but I suspect one of the terms is that people aren’t allowed to say publically 9ie on here) what the terms are…
As a couple of quite vocal contributors suddenly went quiet, you may conclude they were offered a good deal, but that would be a guess.
Kara says
I’ve just had a response to my initial e-mail asking for a statement and raising a complaint. There were 12 loans, as opposed to the 8 that I identified via bank statements, and they’re all 2009-10. They’ve sent the generic email saying they’re not responsive etc. What are the next steps please?
Thanks.
Laura says
Hey everyone just thought I’d let you know that I refused the mediation as I have never used Skype and don’t like the idea of it. Also im on holiday the day they arranged it so they have arranged mediation via telephone. Although this has delayed my complaint quite a lot as this won’t take place until September now, I am happier with a phonecall rather than using skype. Just thought I’d let people know that this can be done.
Gill says
They done my test through hangouts as i dont have skype and it worked. Now they have advised me they are going 2 do by conference call
Mark says
I refused a mediation four weeks ago..No reply since..I have said I would like to to skip the mediation and wait for it to be assigned to the next phase.Does it reduce the chances of success or does it just means it take a lot longer.
Mr and Mrs C says
Hello all, I have applied for a refund from Pounds til Payday via Northway financial.
5 loans in 2010 taken out month after month varying from 100-250
3 in 2013 taken out month after month each for 500.00
I used various other in between times for 4 years, the cycle was broken as I paid all payday loans off with redundancy at the end of 2013.
Northway have come back and said they were affordable and since they were paid off its proved that.
Is this worth pushing to the ombudsman in Malta? Fees paid in total are 786.98.
or should I go back to them showing them bank statements and ask them to reconsider.
Thanks in advance for anyone who can help.
Kara says
Hi Mr & Mrs C. I’m in a very similar situation re a Pounds Til Payday. I had 12 loans around 2009-10 and Northway have sent me a statement of accounts but nothing else, apart from saying they don’t own PTP anymore. I’ve replied saying I want to complain on the grounds of irresponsible lending. I think other people have eventually been offered Skype meetings with a Maltese organisation and perhaps received settlements this way, but I haven’t researched the process yet.
Katrina Follan says
I paid over £7000 over a number of years to poundsTilPayday. I also got into the cycle of borrowing from numerous payday companies leading to using up my overdraft, getting bank charges and ended up in £15000 worth of debt. I had to get a consolidation loan I’m still paying back. £600 a month. I know FO won’t take on poundsTilPayday however I have sent a complaint to them and been advised that the complaint needs to go to Northway Financial services. Has anyone had any success with this company?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes – read all the comments here
katrina follan says
Thanks for the info Sara. Looks like a very long and complicated process with no guarantee of a result but i will persue it anyway.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it is certainly a lot harder than in the Uk
Don says
HI can anyone report if they had success by referring through the Maltese Arbiter.
I have had a derisory goodwill offer, originally 10% of interest charged, now 20% – but I am unsure if I should accept.
What are the likely delays by going through the Arbiter, what are my chances ?
I know all cases are not the same, just wanted some general advice on my best way forward or could I be sacrificing their current off for nothing?
Joe says
I would imagine that the silence from those who went to arbitration on the 18th June is a sign that they were successful
African Queen says
Hello Joe,
I find it astonishing that they haven’t even posted anything to indicate how things have gone. Must be one hell of a gagging clause that they have to adhere to. Especially as they were very responsive on the forum.
My case is currently with the Arbiter and I am waiting to hear. I hope to be able to post something or at least let people know why we can’t say anything, if indeed, that is the case.
Kara says
I imagine it’s a confidentiality clause that the other party use to stop everyone else trying to claim the same amounts etc. I haven’t heard back from Northway since they sent my list of loans. Do I contact the Maltese company or wait for 8weeks?
Thanks.
African Queen says
Hello Kara,
I had to chase Northway for a response and they eventually responded after 12 weeks – rejecting my claim. I then logged a complaint with the Arbiter and I am waiting to hear next steps.
I would suggest letting Northway know that you intend to log a complaint with the Maltese Arbiter and see if that gets a response from them.
Good luck x
Gill says
I still waiting on a decision being made from arbiter. Had my conference call and was difficult to understand what they were saying. Waiting on details of what was said
African Queen says
Hello All,
Update from the Maltese Arbiter – please see below. Not good news. Looks like Swift Sterling have gotten away with this one. :( Sara – any thoughts? Thank you xx
“Please refer to your complaint form, which we recevied on 5 June 2018.
Your complaint refes to issues with Northway Financial Corporation / Swift Sterling going back to transaction carried out between 2011 and 2014. If this is so, we regret to inform you that we are unable to accept your complaint.
According to the legislation which sets up the Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services , if your complaint relates to the conduct of a financial service provider which occurred between 1 May 2014 and 18 April 2016, then you had until 18 April 2018 to submit a complaint for consideration by the Arbiter for Financial Services.
Please refer to the Brief Notes for Consumers available on our website .
Your complaint has been received after 18 April 2018, and therefore after two years from the coming into force of this Act and as such you complaint cannot be upheld.
We will be refunding the payment of €25 which you had originally paid when lodging your complaint with us.”
Joe says
What about all your transactions before 1st May 14?
And what does this mean for claims that are all earlier than 2014?
African Queen says
Hello Joe,
I have no idea at all. I am hoping Sara can help us shed light on this.
The notes that he has referred me do mention 18 April 2018 but how are we supposed to know that??
Just annoyed that Swift Sterling may have gotten away with this one. :(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
All new to me I am afraid :(
African Queen says
No worries, Sara. You win some, you lose some :)
mark says
I have a 3rd response from Northway…Initially £384 then following the OAFS intervention a offer of £1400 and now following skipping the mediation, £1900.All where/are goodwill gestures admitting no wrongdoing.(it seems alot if they did nothing wrong)…I had 32 loans continuley rolling over amounting to £2600 in interest..I asked for refunds on all loans (1 to 32) but i have found the first few loans of any complaint are not upheld so am wondering whether this is a good offer taking into account that loans 4 to 32 amounts to £2300.
Joe says
Could I ask what years these loans are from? Thanks
mark says
Jan 2012 to May 2014
African Queen says
Hello Mark,
Congratulations on your success with Northway.
May I ask if you submitted your complaint before April 2018? My complaint was rejected because I didn’t submit my complain to the OAFS before April 2018 for loans between July 2011 and April 2014.
Thank you
mark says
March 2018
African Queen says
Thank you Mark. I was too late.
On to the next one :)
Donna Steven says
Hi Sara / Alan
I contacted my DAS regarding the email from Northway saying they were foregoing the outstanding amount, however I have just received an email from my DAS saying they can not remove the debt because Northway have not responded to them. I emailed Northway to accept their ‘good will’ gesture but have not had a reply and they have not responded to any of my emails…. What can I do?
Thank you for your help
Donna
Alan McIntosh says
Hi Donna
You can request the variation of your Debt Payment Programme yourself to remove the creditor. This can be done in writing by writing to the DAS Administrator, who is the Accountant in Bankruptcy and whose office is based in Kilwinning.
This is allowed under regulation 36(1)(a) 36(3)(a) of the Debt Arrangement Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2011.
The grounds for your variation are under s37(1)(b) of the same regulations on the grounds you and the creditor have agreed your liability for the debt should be discharge.
The DAS Administrators will notify the creditor to confirm they agree. The problem is if they don’t respond the DAS Administrator will assume there is no agreement, so any proof you have they agreed to write the debt off should be included in the letter.
If the DAS Administrator refused to approve the variation you will be notified in writing.
If he does refuse ask for a review and the decision should be referred to a more senior manager, who hopefully will take a more common sense approach.
Alan McIntosh says
Also Donna, you should argue if they don’t respond they should be deemed to consent by their failure to respond.
Please keep me updated.
Alan McIntosh says
In actual fact Donna, it may be your money adviser has already made the application and it has been refused, so you contact the DAS Administrator and ask they do a review and provide any additional proof you have of your agreement the creditor and also argue alternatively there should be deemed consent.
donna stephen says
Thank you so much Alan… my DAS are saying because Northway haven’t respond to their message they can’t remove the debt.. Northway clearly stated that the amount would be waived if I accepted- which I did- I didn’t get a response from them or to the daily emails I’ve sent since March… I think that they could remove the debt with the email I sent regardless of them responding…I will email them again tomorrow stating the consent part you mentioned.. you’d think my DAS agency would be happy enough to end the repayment to Northway…they have not responded to my daily emails since April or my DAS’s email.. Thank you I will argue that part with my DAS tomorrow x
Team Panda C says
Hi All,
I have an old Swift Sterling account dated back to 2012-14.
I lost my job after ill health in early 2014, before that working sporadically due to my ill health and I informed them and heard nothing.
The outstanding amount appears to have been £480 as I did pay partial payments and had a token payment plan with Stepchange until 2016 that paid them £1 a month.
I complained to Northway after a letter arrived out of the blue in 2017 requesting £715, I also submitted a claim for redress and for a statement of account.
Northway have ignored these requests and so the next contact I had was with Moriarty Law in 2018 when they announced they had the debt and were filing for a CCJ on Northway’s behalf.
Moriarty were helpful at the start and agreed to try and help but the minute I said I didn’t have the money it changed.
I suppose what I’m trying to find out is should I be continuing to fight this with Northway through the Maltese authorities or do I have to accept that the CCJ is now in place (although one minute its filed, the next it isn’t, I don’t know whats going on they are being very wishy washy about it) and theres nothing I can do?
Any info or advice will be greatly appreciated!
Becky says
Hi, anyone had any luck with Swiftsterling? I sent initial letter and they havnt acknowkedged it. Just wondering if there is any point sending the next letter as i know the fos doesnt take cases from Swiftsterling and wondering if thats why they havnt replied?
African Queen says
Hello Becky,
After 12 weeks, I got rejected by SwiftSterling. I took it to the Maltese Arbiter, who replied to me last week to say that I didn’t complain before April 2018, so they could not consider my complaint and refunded the 25 Euros I paid to them. It’s worth checking on the Maltese Arbiter’s website. Your case might be different. https://financialarbiter.org.mt/en/Pages/Home.aspx
It really upset me that Swift Sterling got away with this. I paid over 8K in interest :(
Hope it goes well for you xx
Louise says
I know this sounds Silly African Queen but can you appeal – they offered me and I accepted TBH my loans were from 2011 though through to 2015 and my interest was about 9k I paid. I didn’t get as much as I could – I bet they know these loopholes. Sorry you didn’t win It is so frustrating :(
African Queen says
Thank you Louise. Might be worth a try.
I’ll post any update that I get.
Thank you so much xx
Becky says
Thanks for the advice, i didnt know their was somewhere else you could send it if they reject the claim!x
Joe says
Hi all,
Sadly looks like any of us with older loans are out of luck, gutted, how were we supposed to know about this time limit ????
7. Are there other time limits for
submitting a complaint to the Arbiter?
An Arbiter shall have the competence to hear
complaints if a complaint is registered not
later than two years from the day on which
the complainant first had knowledge of the
matters complained of.
In addition, a complaint may also be brought
to the Arbiter in relation to the conduct of a
financial services provider which occurred
between 1 May 2004 and 18 April 2016.
Complaints which occurred over this time need to be submitted to the Arbiter until 18
April 2018 to enable the Arbiter to consider
them.
African Queen says
It is truly a shame, Joe. I have written to the Arbiter’s office asking if there is an appeal process. Not holding my breath, though.
I have had to accept that SwiftSterling have gotten away with this and I can only divert my energies to the other complaints with a greater hope of success.
It sucks though, but we will all be ok in the end.
Hang in there xx
donna stephen says
Hi
I had loans with them in 2013… they won’t accept responsibility for irresponsible lending but did write the balance off and removed anything on my credit file… keep pushing them ????
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Had Swift Sterling added the debts to your credit record or was this MMF ( now known as Lantern)?
donna stephen says
That I’m not entirely sure about as SS now say they have removed anything… I got an email last year from MMF for £700 but unsure who the debt is with… waiting for them to get back to me!
Dave says
Have recently sent an email to Northway re: PoundsTillPayday loans that i took out from 2007 – 2014. Requested a schedule of my loans and repayments which they have provided but they also replied:
“We are in receipt of your email dated 1 July 2018 regarding your account with PoundsTillPayday.co.uk. We have attached a detailed loan history as requested.
Please be advised that Northway Financial Corporation Limited no longer owns SwiftSterling.co.uk or PoundsTillPayday.co.uk. We are responding as we were the creditor for these loans”
Does anybody know how we go about pursuing our claim or even whether we still can based on when the loans were taken out?
Dave says
Hi guys, I have just had my complaint against Swift Sterling / Northway rejected. I submitted it to them on 24/04/18. Am I correct in thinking that because it was not submitted before 18/04/18 that it is now time barred??
Joe says
I believe that unless a complaint is lodged with the OAFS in Malta by the 18th April for loans prior to April 2016 then we are out of luck.
I have emailed the OAFS to confirm if this is the case but am still awaiting a response.
Gutted as I had loads of roll overs with Pounds till payday
Tony says
Hi all, I was on this thread a while back but have got lost in it somewhat. Well done to all those who’ve had success with refunds. My loans were with PTP 2007-08 and after having no response from Northway last year, I’ve had a same day response today citing it is now time barred (5 years max).
I’m just trying to keep up with the latest, is it worth appealing to the OAFS or realistically are we all admitting defeat here?
Thanks
Tony
African Queen says
Hello Tony,
I have written to the OAFS to ask about an appeal process. This was over 3 weeks ago and I haven’t had an acknowledgement, let alone a reply. No harm in trying – maybe if we are all asking the question, we might get a response.
It is tough to admit defeat on this one as it was one of the largest ones for me. Happy to keep trying.
katrina follan says
So, i’m guessing its a waste of time lodging a complaint to the OAFs now? I was about to go ahead anyway but relectant to pay 25Euros if its a no go. My loans were from 2010-13 £7000 i paid back. Any advice appreciated . such as shame that so many people are having real problems resolving these cases.
Joe says
Sadly it’s too late, I’m gutted as is paid in excess of 10K
This is the response I got from the OAFS when I asked the question
Your enquiry refers to issues with Northway Financial Corporation / Swift Sterling going back to transaction carried out between 2006 and 2011. If this is so, we regret to inform you that we are unable to accept your complaint.
According to the legislation which sets up the Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services, if your complaint relates to the conduct of a financial service provider which occurred between 1 May 2004 and 18 April 2016, then you had until 18 April 2018 to submit a complaint for consideration by the Arbiter for Financial Services.
Please refer to the Brief Notes for Consumers available on our website
If you present a complaint now, and therefore after two years from the coming into force of this Act, your complaint would not be upheld.
Andrew says
Hello,
Has anybody else had an issue with trying to get northway to reply, I Took out a loan prior to 2015 and I have been trying to contact them since December, I get a reply saying “Thank you for your email.
We apologise for the delay in response. We have prioritised your complaint and will do our utmost to respond to you within the coming days.
We thank you for your ongoing patience.” and that’s it, Anybody got any tips on what I could do?
Thank you
Tracey says
Hi. I had loans between 2007 and 2012 with PTPD. I paid out £26,000 after borrowing £20,000 55 rollover loans in total. I have only just found out that I can complain about pay day loans. Am I understanding that I can no longer complain?
Joe says
That’s correct, sadly it’s too late
Lynn says
Have just completed OAF complaints form re PoundsTillPayday (Northway) . Has anyone else had to pay them 25 euros to look into a complaint?
Julian says
I think that’s normal as that’s what others on here have said and it also states that on their website.
Julian says
Hi all,
I had 58 loans with PTP from April 2004 to August 2011. Borrowed around £20k with £5k in interest. Can anyone confirm it’s definitely too late due to the 18th April 2018 deadline to submit complaint to the OAF?
Julian says
Sorry 58 loans from 2008 to 2011 not 2004.
Joe says
It’s definitely too late, I asked the question of the OAF
Julian says
Ok thanks for getting back to me. That’s ashame.
Emily says
I put in first steps letter complaint to Northway in August just prior to the confirmation that the OAF were no longer considering complaints if submitted after 18 Apr. Going through bank statements and emails worked out I borrowed circa £14k from 2009 – 2013 (59 loans), paid interest just over £4k. Received a reply from Northway with a standard response and token “goodwill” offer of a couple of hundred, attaching only one of the loan details and admitting no liability.
Knowing that there’s no recourse to appeal to the OAF, has anyone gone back to Northway with follow up about extent of borrowing and had an adjusted “goodwill” offer, or is it just a case of taking what’s on offer and chalking it up to experience?
David says
We received the same ‘goodwill’ gesture from Norhway who gave us 10 days to accept.
Replied to them asking for an increase but they did not reply so had to accept ‘goodwill’ gesture. Wasn’t much compared to what my wife and I had borrowed and paid back to them but it was something.
Emily says
Thought as much – interestingly their letter was dated 28 August but only emailed on 12 September giving 7 days to accept/respond! Thanks for the update. Might try the same as nothing ventured I guess
Joe says
Why are they making goodwill offers now if you can’t take the claim to the OAF?
Julian Williams says
I got a final response from them too this week. Saying my claim is out of time. My loans (58 in total) were from 2008 to 2011. They say I have a balance of £918 on my account which I thought I paid. Waiting for my bank statements to check.
They said they will write this off as a goodwill gesture abd I have until the 19th September to accept but that I can also escalate to the OAF. Really not sure why they are offer goodwill gestures either.
Julian
Joe says
Ah right with you, they will be offering this as it will be statute barred anyway if you haven’t made a payment or acknowledgement for 6 years.
I thought they were making an offer of payment.
Lucy says
Hi Guys
Need a bit of advice! Just received my final response from Swift Sterling. In total I had three loans. Two paid off, the third is with step change. Total interest and fees paid to date on all three loans is £888.39 outstanding balance on final loan £611.68. Swift Sterling said out of good will they will clear my remaining balance (£611.68). Is this a good deal, and should I request for them to remove all traces from my credit file?
Tom says
Hi all,
I contacted Northway Group in Malta with regards to my Swith Sterling loans.
This is through their web contact page at Northwayfinancial.com
(enquiries@northwayfinancial.com)
I received an automatic email that this is a spam contact/address etc.
Is there any other way to contact them?
Many thanks, Tom
Zizi says
Hello
Does anyone have a link where to send Swift Sterling complaint?
Nat says
Hi, I’ve recieved a final response from Northway financial stating they hadn’t lent to me irresponsibly, despite 13 loans on the space of 12 months, 3 taken out within the same month.
The reason for my comment is in the response they state that I can contact the OAFS in Malta but, they stated ‘that the Financial Arbiter may not be able to consider your complaint if a period of more than two (2) years has lapsed between the date of the final transaction and the receipt of your complaint’ does anyone know if this the true? I’m not sure if it’s worth pursuing if this is the case.
Thanks
African Queen says
Hello Nat,
I also sent my complaint to the OAFS in Malta back in June. This is the response I got. Basically, they are not considering complaints if you haven’t submitted by April 2018. Really frustrating. Might be still worth trying but I didn’t get any response from the OAFS when I challenged this. Good luck x
“Please refer to your complaint form, which we recevied on 5 June 2018.
Your complaint refes to issues with Northway Financial Corporation / Swift Sterling going back to transaction carried out between 2011 and 2014. If this is so, we regret to inform you that we are unable to accept your complaint.
According to the legislation which sets up the Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services , if your complaint relates to the conduct of a financial service provider which occurred between 1 May 2014 and 18 April 2016, then you had until 18 April 2018 to submit a complaint for consideration by the Arbiter for Financial Services.
Please refer to the Brief Notes for Consumers available on our website .
Your complaint has been received after 18 April 2018, and therefore after two years from the coming into force of this Act and as such you complaint cannot be upheld.
We will be refunding the payment of €25 which you had originally paid when lodging your complaint with us.”
Elaine says
I have sent complaint to Northway concerning swift sterling.
I don’t think I will be successful as my loans were between 2012-2014 with an outstanding bill being paid through motor mile now lantern .
I will let you know my complaint news when I receive updates.
Elaine
Kevin Wilson says
I have tired to start a complaint for loans taking out with Swift Sterling in 2013. I filled out the contact from on the Northway Financial website but I have got a message back saying
enquiries@northwayfinancial.com
The e-mail address you entered couldn’t be found. Please check the recipient’s e-mail address and try to resend the message. If the problem continues, please contact your helpdesk.
Does anyone know of any other way to contact them
Jill says
Hi,
I’ve just used this email address….complaints@northwayfinancial.com.
I’ve not heard back yet but will update once I have.
Terry says
Well.
I made my complaint to Northway Financial October 2017.
I had several loans with pounds till payday from 2008-2010 in excess of £10k.
The interest paid on all loans was over £2600.00. All my loans were taken out and repaid.
I have written to the financial arbiter in Malta due to requesting on how to make the 25.00 euro payment and have completed my complaints form ready to submit. I raised the question of the time frame i.e not been registered before April 2018 with them.
They are going to look into my complaint as i had personal issues which refrained me from making the complaint prior to April 2018 this year.
I have since contacted Northway Financial to let them know that my complaint is to be considered (even though they stated it was time barred).
With in 3 hours i received a settlement/gesture of goodwill for £4200.00.
I’ve accepted!!
Tracey says
Hi Terry
I hope yo7 don’t mind me asking but did you p have to show them evidence for your personal reasons or did they just take your word for it.
Joe says
That’s excellent news, congratulations!!
Laurence says
Going through old bank statements I realised I did have Loans with PTP in 2009 (one rvery month for 12 months, although disheartening to read the comments here about my chances)
Anyway email fired off to Northway as you never know…….
tony says
I submitted a claim earlier this year. 10k borrowed and around 2.5k interest.
I became frustrated by Northway not responding and involved the Arbiter. Basically, a bit of a nightmare process. Worth it if you dig in deep. I didn’t receive the 2.5k, but something was better than nothing – especially with Northway being Malta based. My advice (if not time barred) would be to keep going. I got the impression that the Arbiter was inundated over this too, so try and be patient. I was glad to get some money back.
Good Luck
Tony
Tracey says
I too have received a response this morning from the Maltese Arbiter,stating that it is too late for them to consider looking into my case, as the cut off was april 2018. Is there anybody we can approach in the uk who can take our case on?
Lynn says
I have had the same response from the Maltese Arbiter, I had no idea that the cut off date was April 2018. I emailed Northway Financial at the beginning of June this year and they replied stating the would not look into my loans (2008 – 2010) in August 2018. Please keep us updated anyone if we can approach anybody in the uk.
Mark Pulley says
Hi
I’ve just had a response from Northway saying they don’t own swift sterling anymore and they are only responding as they were creditors. Can anyone advise on what action I should take now?
G says
Ive not had a response from the message page on the northway web page, is there a a link somewhere for the maltese regulator/arberter?
Dalton says
I had no reply from that either. However, if you send them an email directly at complaints@northwayfinancial.com then you should get a response.
In fairness to them, they dealt with things fairly quickly and I found them very reasonable to deal with.
I was too late to send it to the arbiter I believe as my loans were very old, so I was expecting nothing but they did offer to write off the remaining balance (which had been hanging around for years). I was happy enough and accepted this but obviously everyone’s case is different.
Ross Lee says
Hi,
I sent the first template letter to Northway (my loans were in 2014) to and have already had a response with an attachment listing my 16 loans. Also stating the below:
Reference 34375651 Outstanding balance £256.13
Reference 35376632: Outstanding balance £115.38
Reference 34377940: Outstanding balance £90.72
Reference: 34379830: Outstanding balance £197.13
Reference 34381409: Outstanding Balance £186.86
We are in receipt of your email dated 28 November 2018 regarding your account with SwiftSterling.co.uk. We have attached a detailed loan history as requested.
Please be advised that Northway Financial Corporation Limited no longer owns SwiftSterling.co.uk or PoundsTillPayday.co.uk. We are responding as we were the creditor for these loans.
Although I can’t even see these outstanding balances on my credit report.
Can anyone advise what i should do and/or how to reply to them?
Thanks
Ross
Rebecca says
Hi Ross,
I hope you managed to find a response to progress your claim with Northway. I am going to contact them for the first and attempt to reclaim some of the interest I paid to Swift Sterling. Did you persue them further and how is it going with them? Thanks
Bec
Sara Datan says
I think I must have been living under a brick – I only found out in Nov last year that you could complain for unfair lending.
I have now got my Poundstillpayday.co.uk statement from Northway and the loans show from 2009-2013 and that I paid over 5k in interest over this period. My grandfather died in 2009 and I had to borrow money for the funeral the first loan was small but it escalated each month and they increased what I could borrow each month. I was depressed and borrowing from other lenders to stay afloat – I am only just getting straight with my life but that is due to a good job, but I am still not where I should be in my life. Had an email from Northway rejecting my complaint and stating that as I didn’t complain before April 2018 and after reading all your lovely posts here, it looks like I shouldn’t even take it further as they wont consider it. I knew I had borrowed a lot but seeing the interest from just one of these firms has upset me so very much. I have made complaints with some UK firms now and will just have to hope for the best. Thanks