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Swift Sterling & Pounds Till Payday – refunds and complaints

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?

Swift Sterling and Punds Till Payday are not UK companies and the Financial Ombudsman can't look at what they doBoth 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.

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Author: Sara Williams Tagged With:

Comments

  1. I like many of you didn’t think that they would give me any sort of refund, paid £1800 in interest with the last loan in 2015.

    They’ve denied all fault, but offered £600 as a good Will gesture, they’ve said I can take it further but as it’s been more than two years they won’t allow the authorities to look at it.

    I assume it’s a case of run whilst you can?

    Reply

    • Hi Liam,

      In the same case, I had around 50 loans with them with an amount of broker fees of £3000 but with a last loan made in 2012.

      I understand that I’m too late, just discovered today all those possibilities of refunds.

      I still decided to sens them a fairly nice email, showing them all my loan agreements and asking them to refund a part of their high, if not extortionate fees at the time.

      Lets see with what they are coming back.

      Does anybody has tried to ask advice a financial lawyer if there was something to do with the “time barred” thinggy ? Because I guess we are so much in the same situation that it would not be expensive for each of us to make a group court case, does anybody has any information about such a possibility ?

      Reply

  2. I actually got pretty annoyed with them as I felt they weren’t sending me the information I’d requested, I then received a very apologetic email saying they had sent it on each occasion I had asked – it’s worth checking your junk folder.

    I was hoping for more money back originally, but found out via this that most people are being denied because of time barred.

    Sent a complaint where I spoke in detail about the roll over of loans and the erratic nature of the lending on 11th April, had a reply 17th and accepted. Confirmed 18th April, I can see that they sent the money instantly via my bank as it shows it’s pending, as it’s bank holiday though I should get it Tuesday. I found them extremely decent to deal with and a lot better than some others!

    I didn’t see the point in chasing more money when they clearly said they’d deny the arbiter a chance to review it and judging by everybody else’s experience the arbiter has.

    It’s worth a shot, stick to the facts!

    Reply

  3. Hi Liam,

    Thank you for this message it is very encouraging as I had 30 loans with them from 2012-2014 and I have written to them last week regarding my situation so hoping for the best. Can I ask when did you put in your complaint and how long did it take then to respond?

    Thank you.

    Reply

      • Hi Liam,

        That’s great did you put in your complaint this year, I haven’t heard anything as yet I put my complaint in on the 5/4/2019 I had an email back saying it was a public holiday but for the 19th March. I will chase up tomorrow what email address did you use?

        Reply

        • What is the email address? I cannot find it anywhere and I have completed the online for twice now! Please, can someone help me :-(

          Reply

        • Thanks Sharyn,
          Due to me missing the cut off date; I sent them a long email outlining my financial circumstances, the untimely death of my father and the knock on effect it had on me; but sadly I just received the same automated “dear John reply”. Fingers crossed you have better luck. S

          Reply

          • I literally put in my complaint on April 11th and received the money yesterday.

            I too was after the deadline, that’s why accepted without any arguments!

            I haven’t seen anyone else with any luck recently, have you Sara?

            Their reason for the refund was because of the hardship I’m facing now, paid out almost instantly though so I’m happy!

            Good luck!

  4. Hi All – I have has initial rejection from Northway for my loans between 2012/13. These successes I am reading about, were these all as a result of contacting the OAFS in Malta? Thank you.

    Reply

  5. complaints@northwayfinancial.com

    Is this email genuine ?

    I contacted them and I had a reply asking me for more details about my borrowing, even though I did have attached all the details of my borrowing (each loan agreements I made with them) and I’m waiting, they told me they would send a response in due course. My email was OK, not threatening, just saying that seeing the month after month borrowing I made from them, it was obvious that it was to cover my monthly expenses from a month to another month, waiting for better days. I was admitting also my responsibility but I want them to recognize as well the extortionate fees they were putting upon me where they made a lot of money on my precarious situation at the time.

    I’m just wondering if this adress email is not a scam to retrieve some personal details from you, it would be easy to set-up seeing that everybody is eager to retrieve a bit of money out of some extortionate fees at the time…

    When I search fro this email adress on google, it never comes up anywhere hence my doubt.

    Anyway, will keep you updated if any news at all.

    PS : I have done some search on northway financial and they have been banned from working in the US a while ago so I guess, if they genuinely gie back some money, it must mean that they are trying to avoid to be banned from Europe for example. There is as well corruption about Malta letting them operate their business with a license, it looks like they should not.

    Reply

  6. I sent a polite e-mail on the 20th April and received a reply on the 25th, e-mailed them details of loans taken out 2013 – Dec 2014 ( 13 number ) and asked for a refund. They responded saying they would look into my complaint. I emailed them again on 4th May asking if there had been any progress on a my complaint, they have e-mailed me back today saying the matter was still being looked into and they would respond in due course.
    Bit surprised not to have received a flat refusal but as a previous poster states as theyre barred from business in the USA perhaps theyre conscious of losing license in the EU as well.

    Reply

  7. What is the best email address to send to northeast. I keep getting a bounce back but at the same time an automated reply. Not had actual response yet from them
    Thanks

    Reply

    • Simon

      Thank you for the advice.
      I used this address and got a response.
      I believe with Swift Sterling I am relying on a goodwill gesture only. The Maltese Arbiter will not look at Swift Sterling cases any longer.
      Between July 2013 and December 2015 I had 29 loans from them and borrowed close to £11000 and repaid more than double that.
      I had written this off so anything that I receive will be an unexpected bonus

      Reply

  9. Hi all,

    It is now almost 4 weeks I sent my first email to them, nice and polite, attaching all my loan agreements to the email. They got back to me pretty quickly asking for more details and that they would answer me soon. I did not receive anything in the last 2 weeks apart another “we are looking into your complaint and will send a response in due course” when asking where they were with my complaint. I did send again an email lately being a bit more “aggressive” and telling them that I ws looking into contacting a lawyer to investigate the possibility to sue them for irresponsible lending. I then received quickly an answer saying that they were in the final step of completion of their response to me that should come in the coming days.

    Honestly, I’m very doubtful that anything will happen, or they are just gaining time for I’m not too sure what or it is a fake email and somebody who is doing a prank.

    Reply

    • It’s so strange, I had mine actioned from complaint going in to payment within a week! They should get back to you!

      Reply

      • Liam,

        I found it fascinating that just the day I received a rejection email from Northway, you are posting on that subject, fascinating and suspicious at the same time….

        Anyway guys, do not bother too much, I’m pretty sure that there is no money given back by Northway, they defo have no reason to do it until forced to do so.

        I will create an email address later on and I will encourage people who would like to explore some more legal EU route against Northway to contact me.

        Thanks

        Reply

        • I can 100% assure you I am not pretending to be someone other than Liam and I genuinely did receive a refund. If you check earlier posts, you will see how surprised I was at receiving it too as I’d see most people being knocked back, I wasn’t trying to rub salt in the wounds but give hope to this still waiting.

          Reply

  10. Rejection letter received on monday for loans taken out 2013 to dec 14, said that basically it wasnt their problem.

    Reply

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