In 2018, when Wonga went into administration, people started asking why the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) can't still look at Wonga complaints? And if FOS can't, is there is a guarantee system that would step in if Wonga fails, such as the FSCS? This has become more important every year since then, with most of the major payday lenders failing, including the Money Shop, QuickQuid, Sunny and … [Read more...]
High cost credit news and policy
ICL / Money Shop Scheme ends
A first payment of 4.31p in the £ was paid in May/June 2021. A second, much smaller payment of 0.65p in the £ is being paid on 14 or 18 January 2022. If you do not receive this second payment, see below for what to do. Background to the Scheme This "Scheme of Arrangement" covers borrowers from the ICL brand names, Money Shop, Payday UK and Payday Express, who were given … [Read more...]
Amigo proposes a second Scheme – but is it fairer?
UPDATE - in May 2022, the court approved the new Amigo Scheme. See Amigo's Scheme for details On 13 December 2021, Amigo proposed its new Scheme of Arrangement. The Practice Statement Letter (PSL) is a 21-page overview of the new Scheme. The numbers in the PSL have now changed Amigo says: We hope a successful new Scheme will also allow a changed Amigo, under a new management team, … [Read more...]
Amigo’s Scheme 1st scheme – the timetable that ended in rejection
UPDATE In May 2022, the new Amigo Scheme was approved by the court and went live. See Amigo’s Scheme for details about this. This page on the old Scheme is now no longer relevant. Please leave any comments and questions on that new page. The approval process for the first Scheme (this ended in rejection) On 30 March, the First Court Hearing gave the go-ahead for Amigo to organise the … [Read more...]
Court rejects Amigo Scheme of Arrangement
On 19 May 2021 the Sanction Hearing was held for Amigo's proposed Scheme of Arrangement. On 24 May, judgment was given and the Scheme was rejected. The Amigo Board says : The Board is reviewing all options including an Appeal. A further update will be given in due course. This article looks at the Scheme, the judgment and what may happen next. The proposed Scheme The Scheme was proposed by … [Read more...]
Sunny administration. 500,000 had missold loans, only 3% refunds paid
Background to the Sunny administration Sunny went into administration on 29 June 2020. It was one of the largest UK payday lenders. It joined a long list of lenders who have collapsed in the last nine months: QuickQuid, Moneybox 247, Swift Sterling, Piggybank, Nextcredit, Peachy, Uncle Buck. Sunny’s payday lending model was unusual, often lending very small amounts but very … [Read more...]
Provident closes its doorstep loan operation after 140 years
On 10 May 2021, Provident Financial Group (PFG) announced that it was closing its home credit operation, also known as doorstep lending. Doorstep lending has been at the heart of Provident's business for most of its 140-year history. Agents would visit customers at home, giving loans and collecting weekly repayments. Now Provident says: In light of the changing industry and regulatory … [Read more...]
Provident’s Scheme to cut refunds – background & voting
UPDATE This article gives the background to the Provident Scheme to massively reduce the refunds it is paying, the scheme proposal and the voting arrangements. On 4 August 2021 the Scheme was approved in court. See Provident Scheme – claim a refund for details of the scheme claims and payouts. In March 2021 Provident Financial Group (PFG) proposed a Scheme of Arrangement to reduce the … [Read more...]
No set off in a Scheme/Administration when debt had been sold?
In 2021, the Instant Cash Loans (ICL) Scheme Arrangement, Money Shop, Payday UK and Payday Express customers whose debts were sold to PRAC Financial (PRAC) have not been given set-off between their ICL redress and the loan they still owe. The same situation could occur with other Schemes of Arrangement and other debt collectors. In 2022, it seems to have happened to some Provident loans that … [Read more...]
Provident’s Scheme – will customers get less than 2% ?
Provident is proposing a Scheme of Arrangement to limit the refunds it has to pay to customers making affordability complaints about provident doorstep lending and Satsuma payday loans. UPDATE the Scheme was approved in August 2021. See Provident's Refund Scheme for how it works and how a customer can make a claim The £50m the company is putting up to pay refunds is not nearly enough to pay … [Read more...]