Have you had an email or a letter from Vanquis saying it is refunding you some money? In late 2018 tens of thousands of people are getting these refunds.
Nice? Yes, but it may be too low…
Some people are being given tens of pounds when I think they should get hundreds. And people getting hundreds should be getting thousands!
There were no details of the refund in the email or letter sent to you, so there is no way for you to check it is accurate. I have seen many refunds across loans and credit cards and I think these ROP refunds look too small to be correct.
Vanquis has provided a detailed example on its website. I think there are two major problems with this example.
Vanquis don’t agree and they say that people who have queries should contact them. So it’s time to complain!
Contents
The background to these refunds
In February, the FCA told Vanquis to give refunds to a million customers who had the Repayment Option Product (ROP) for their credit cards. This is because you were charged interest on the ROP and Vanquis never explained this to you – so Vanquis should refund all the extra interest you paid.
For more details, read my article Vanquis ROP – a million customers will get refunds.
The first refunds started to be paid to customers with active Vanquis accounts in May and June. But they looked surprisingly low…
I had seen a lot of customers complain about ROP in 2017 so I knew what the refunds they had received. Those 2017 refunds also included the ROP itself – but that didn’t account for why the 2018 refunds are so much smaller.
The two problems with Vanquis’s detailed example
In August Vanquis finally published a detailed example in the FAQs. It’s here, under How is my Repayment Option Plan interest refund being calculated.
I see two major difficulties with this published example. It is possible there may be other problems as well.
1. Purchases should be repaid before ROP charges
It says:
Step 2: Once the cash balance is paid off, any remaining payment is shared between purchases and the Repayment Option Plan in proportion to their balance.
That is simply wrong.
The ROP was added to your account as though it was something you had bought with your credit card. You were then charged interest on the ROP at the normal rate on your Vanquis card.
But this extra interest was never explained to you, so the FCA says you should be refunded the interest – that is the same as saying no interest should have been charged.
The FCA’s rules (CONC 6.7.4) say that where your card balance is composed of transactions which carry different rates of interest, your monthly payment should be used to pay off the amounts with the highest interest rate first.
So your monthly payments should, in order:
- first be used to clear any cash withdrawals as they are charged at a higher rate of interest.
- then be used to repay what you bought with the card and the interest that has been added because of those – these are charged at the rate of interest of your card which may have been 39%, 49%, or even more.
- lastly be used to clear ROP and the interest that has been added because of this, because these should have been charged 0% interest.
If this is done, unless you usually repaid all or almost all of your balance every month, the amount of ROP in your balance will continue to get higher.
But in its calculation Vanquis isn’t doing this. Instead it is using some of your monthly payment to repay the ROP instead of using it all to pay off your purchases.
This may sound technical but it makes a huge difference to many people’s refunds. Compound interest at Vanquis’s high credit card interest rates adds up to a lot of money!
I think Vanquis should: rework all the calculations so that ROP (and the additional interest charged because of it) is paid off last.
2. The calculation stops too soon
The second problem is the point at which Vanquis stops the refund calculation.
Vanquis sent customers a letter or an email in late 2016/early 2017 detailing the cost of the ROP and the extra interest being charged. The FCA agreed that Vanquis didn’t have to give a refund for the extra interest charged after a customer received that email, on the grounds that the customer could have cancelled the ROP at that point.
So Vanquis says in its FAQ:
we have stopped the calculation 30 days after sending the email.
But this is unfair.
Suppose that £500 of your Vanquis balance was caused by the ROP charges. And suppose that you read this email, were horrified at the cost of the ROP, and phoned Vanquis up and cancelled the ROP.
This would have stopped your ROP problem getting any worse, but that £500 is still sitting in your balance and you are still being charged interest on it every month. Just cancelling the ROP doesn’t get rid of this accumulated ROP so you should get this ongoing interest refunded to you.
I don’t think what Vanquis is doing is in line with the FCA’s Final Notice, which – in my opinion – Vanquis has misinterpreted.
I think Vanquis should: carry on refunding all interest that relates to any ROP that was charged before the email. This should only end when the refund calculation is made. For ROP payments that were charged after the email, Vanquis doesn’t have to refund the extra interest added on these.
Vanquis don’t think there is any problem
I made these points to Vanquis. They replied:
We are confident that we are doing exactly what the FCA has required us to do in the way that they require us to do it and are complying with the letter and spirit of our regulatory obligations. We are unable to cease to follow the direction from, and agreement with, our regulator at your request. Our focus remains on completing the programme as quickly and as accurately as we can for the benefit of all of our customers. Additionally, as we have previously mentioned, the calculation for customer refunds has been verified by an independent third party to ensure that the calculation is accurate.
This is a simple denial. It doesn’t address my points about the fairness of the refund calculation at all.
How this affects your refund
If you normally repaid your balance in full, you will only get a very small or no refund. And these two calculation issues probably won’t have made a major difference to this.
But for everyone else:
- the first problem will have resulted in a refund that is much lower than it should have been;
- the second problem, ending the calculation too soon, will have affected you unless your Vanquis account was closed by late 2016/2017;
- and there is a third problem than Vanquis are not refunding overlimit charges, even though those would have been cause by the extra ROP interest – that’s not fair.
How to complain!
Look at the examples in here: Vanquis – are the refunds right? They show how some people are getting refunds which look very small compared to what would be expected.
Cancel the ROP
First, if you are still paying ROP, think about phoning Vanquis on 0330 099 3105 and cancelling it. It is very expensive and less use than PPI was…
You are being given a refund for the previous interest added, but from now on, you will still be charged all this extra interest and you won’t be able to get a refund for it!
Complain to Vanquis
Complain to Vanquis by sending an email to ROPRefundsTeam@email.vanquisbank.co.uk with COMPLAINT as the subject. You want to:
- ask them to look again at your calculation because you think it is wrong;
- ask them to refund any over-limit charges on your account; and
- tell them if you never received an email or letter in late 2016/early 2017 about the total cost of the ROP (some readers say they never had this).
At the same time, think if you have a case for saying that the ROP itself (not just extra interest, because you are going to be compensated for that) was not explained properly to you. If you think the ROP was mis-sold, then you can ask Vanquis to refund that as well.
Here is a template you can use for this email. Change it so it reflects what happened in your case.
[Add details so you can be identified: the number of your Vanquis card, your name, address, date of birth.]
I think my refund has been calculated incorrectly.
A) It says in the example on your FAQ page that you are sharing my monthly repayments between paying off purchases and paying off the ROP. This is not right – as no interest should have been charged on the ROP, the ROP should have been paid off last.
B) I understand you are saying that you sent me a letter or email in late 2016/early 2017 detailing how much I was paying for ROP.
choose one of the following three options:
EITHER
I cancelled my ROP when I got this email. But I think the refund calculation should continue after this email as I still had ROP payments and the interest charged on them accumulated in my statement balance, so you have continued to charge me interest on those.
OR
I do not think this letter was accurate. It quoted the cost for Repayment Option Plan including interest for the next 12 months but as this would have been done using your calculations, which give too low an amount for the interest, I think the letter was misleading. If I had realised the true cost, I would have cancelled the ROP. I think I should get compensation for the extra interest resulting from ROP charges after this date.
OR
I didn’t get this email or letter. So I should also get compensation for the extra interest resulting from ROP charges after this date.
C) Only if you had over limit charges:
I also want a refund of the over-limit charges that have been added to my account. If it wasn’t for the extra ROP interest, I do not think I would have exceeded the limit, so these fees should be refunded.
D) Only add this bit if you consider the ROP was mis-sold to you, giving the reason why you think this. It is better to give the reason why the ROP was mis-sold and not just say you didn’t know you had it, as it is shown on your statements. There are a couple of examples here but there could be many others depending on what was said in the sales call to you.
I am also complaining that the ROP was not correctly explained to me, because [ insert reason eg I thought it was automatically included with my card and I didn’t realise I could cancel it / I felt under pressure to accept it or I would not have been given any credit limit increases / the sales call didn’t explain that interest could be frozen on my account if I got into difficulties even I didn’t pay for ROP, if I had known this I would not have paid for the ROP.]
E) If you reject any part of this complaint, please treat this as a Subject Access Request and send me: a summary of each month’s statements showing the details needed for the ROP calculation, a copy of all the emails and letters you have sent me, and a recording of any telephone calls relating to the ROP on my account. I will need these details to send my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.
If Vanquis rejects your complaint
Vanquis has eight weeks to respond to your complaint. If it is rejected, send it to the Financial Ombudsman — it their job to decide what is fair in situations like this. The Financial Ombudsman can order Vanquis to pay a larger refund if necessary.
It’s easy to do this using the Ombudsman’s online form which asks for all the details they need, such as how to contact you.
And why not add a comment to the bottom of this article? It really helps if people know that others are going through the same process.
JB says
I know that Vanquis is pretty much saying Feb 19 to all now but I wonder if anyone will actually receive any money at the end of this month or early next month? Can only wait and see I guess.
Eve says
I doubt it JB but would love to be wrong about that. I’m expecting this to be the 3rd timescale that they won’t uphold as my account is current with a balance and I’ve still not had anything in writing from them about the interest refund JB. Also next week it will be 11 months since I started my complaint for a full refund from Vanquis and 9 months since I sent the complaint to the FOS. It’s been over 3 months since the main Ombudsman ruled on my case but it’s no further forward since then.
JB says
Hi Eve, it is utterly unbelievable that this is actually happening! I have an active account plus balance too. My complaint was rejected in Feb 2018 on the old 6+3 rule! No letters or any updates either other than email replies after I contacted them saying late summer and then end of Feb 19 for the interest refund. It seems far fetched to think that they will pay everyone correctly on 28th Feb 2019 but I suspect that they will have an excuse when that deadline lapses like all the rest that they have so far failed to honour!!!
Lorna says
Hi
I have just looked on my Vanquis account and they have refunded £35 on my account which I know for sure that’s way too low but I have no idea how they have came to this calculation
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you read the article above it gives a couple of reasons why the calculations are too low. there may be others as well!
I suggest you send in the template letter there – and think about whether you can ask for a refund of the ROP itself as well as the interest on it.
JB says
Anyone had any joy with refunds?
Eve says
As suspected not a single penny JB.
JB says
Hi Eve, I think it was just wishful thinking on my part – thought they might have surprised us all and actually paid out some of our refunds! But no!!!
Eve says
Unfortunately it was wishful thinking for us all JB. If they hadn’t hidden the true cost of the ROP in the first place then this should have been easy enough to refund people I would have thought. The full refunds that people received before the FCA ruling had high interest refunds on them and then the first batch of interest only refunds after the FCA ruling were shockingly low. So either some customers have been hugely overpaid or others have been massively underpaid, how does that get resolved? It would also have been fairer to freeze the interest on current customers accounts after the FCA ruling up until payouts are made as current customers are still getting charged a high interest rate on a balance which is higher than it should be! There’s so many inconsistencies and unfairness about the whole way Vanquis have dealt with this.
JILL WRAY says
JB I had £640 ROP interest refund 10 days ago on a balance of £3500!!!. I consider this way too low and have asked for a breakdown of how the figure is achieved, SAR and a transcript of the phone call where ROP was sold to me before I take it to the ombudsman. Will keep you posted !!! on any further developments.
GM says
Any luck with your complaint?
Tam says
I complained re: rop to Vanquis and was told only interest charged would be refunded, then escalated to fos to be told they agreed with Vanquis and there was nothing I could do because of the 6 & 3 ruling, but after reading some comments on here and some customers getting all rop, charges, interest and 8%, is it possibly to put another request in to the fos? Well done to all those who have received above.
BH says
No refund, no communication absolutely NOTHING from this crowd of chancers
Elaine jane banks says
I got this reply to my question asking when I can expect payment!
Thank you for your email
I am sorry that we have not been able to provide your refund as quick as we had expected. The process of refunding interest on ROP is very complex and is taking longer than we first anticipated. I understand this will be disappointing for you, but please rest assured that we are working as quickly as we can, and our number one priority is ensuring that you get the money you are owed.
We have agreed with the FCA that all ROP Interest Refunds will have been repaid to customers by 27th February 2019.
Please note this was a decision made by the FCA and not in relation to your complaint. This is being processed by a separate department, I hope you can appreciate there are numerous accounts that are entitled to this refund and we cannot expedite this process for any one individual.
Your account is currently waiting to be reviewed. You will receive a letter or an email detailing your refund amount and how this has been paid back to you.
BH says
Good letter that you got Elaine, I got exactly the same letter about 6 weeks ago. Maybe we should all just refuse to pay them until they sort it out after all they are charging interest on balances which they know are wrong. Seems like fraud to me.
Elaine jane banks says
Yeah bh I thought it was a standard letter as I sent my question about when would I likely be expecting payment , I have claimed of others for PPI such as banks and credit cards and have never been treated like this , I always had a letter saying we believe we owe you this xxxxamount and sign the form to say you accept this and then it’s paid to my bank account , I really don’t think vanquis will be left with many customers after this I certainly intend to pay them of as quickly as possible .
Elaine Jane Banks says
Received letter yesterday apologising for delay and that they hope to make payment by Christmas I was so cross I tore it up, hoping its worth the wait.
Tara says
Hi all. I have a vanquis account which is currently on a payment plan so no interest is currently being charged but also means my account will close once paid off. I took out ROP a couple of times in the lifetime of my account. At time of FCA ruling I had already cancelled ROP but am entitled to a refund from when I was signed up to it? I can’t remember getting a letter/email about ROP change. Should I ask them for a sar? If I’m entitled does anyone have a template letter I can email over to them? Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“At time of FCA ruling I had already cancelled ROP but am entitled to a refund from when I was signed up to it? ” yes. You won’t get a refund of the ROP itself, but you will of the extra interest they added on because of it.
If you think you have a case to say you should get a refund of the ROP itself – perhaps it was not explained to you that it was an optional add-on, many people were left thinking it was just included with their card? – then you could send a complaint now asking for this and saying why you think the ROP was mis-sold.
Or you could wait until you get the refund and then put in a complaint using the template letter in the article above.
Amanda says
I made a complaint to vanquis around 6 weeks ago regarding irresponsible lending and mid-sold ROP. I finally got a reply today saying they are not upholding my complaint. I didn’t realise that ROP was being treated as a purchase on my account. I understand vanquis are refunding interest but this in itself is mis-selling and ALL customers should receive ALL charges AND interest surely? I have forwarded my complaint to the FCA. Has anybody had any luck they can share with me? Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you had a refund of the interest part already, or are you still waiting for that?
It is the FCA’s decision that because you agreed to pay for the ROP only the extra interest you were charged because it was treated as a purchase is being refunded.
I don’t think the Ombudsman is likely to say the whole thing was mis-sold UNLESS you have some other reason to say this, apart from not being told that it was treated as a purchase on your account. However Vanquis do sometimes seem to just change their mind and settle these cases when they are sent to the Ombudsman.
Amanda says
Hi Sara. No, I am still awaiting the refund. I also informed them that I don’t feel that the product was explained properly to me as I didn’t understand that it would increase as my balance/credit limit increased. I would like the charges and refund fully refunded as I was given all the information to make an informed decision, particularly due to not being told about the ROP being treated as a purchase.
I also complained about irresponsible lending due to minimum payments being increased in full with only one months notice. My payments went from £100 to £170 which left my family in difficulty over the school holidays. In addition, I complained due to how much my credit limit was increased in a short period of time.
Thanks for your help sara.
Amanda says
Also, vanquis failed to respond to some of the points raised in my letter.
Joanne Cameron says
I have just received a letter from the fincial ombudsman saying that Vanquis are going to repay all my ROP from 2012, when originally Vanquis rejected my complaint. I wrote to the ombudsman in Sept this year so just a few months.
LP says
Finally had my email come through telling me my refund amount. £17.91. Had the card since 2008 and payed ROP throughout. Almost always carried a balance, and often a hefty one! What a joke.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it’s not hard to decide that that is worth a complaint! I suggest you use the template complaint letter in the article above. Let us know how you get on – after 8 weeks you can take the case to the Financial Ombudsman if you don’t get a reply.
LP says
Thanks Sara, I agree! I shall use your template and report back :)
A P says
I have held a Vanquis card since May 2015 I took out the rop but wasn’t aware that it would have interest charges, I haven’t received an email or letter saying I may be due a refund but have cancelled it today. Would I be entitled to a refund automatically or would I have to write to them. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the refund will be automatic – but when you get the email, it may be too small. See what you get and then think whether to complain.
Ross says
Yesterday, out of the blue, I received a text, from Vanquis. Unfortunately, it was nothing to get excited about. It was just the usual ‘We apologise for the delay’ and they reiterated that they have until February 2019 to meet all refunds due. To be honest, it’s been so long that I had almost forgotten about it. Just one question though, if you are due a refund (and it’s taking this long) are they obliged to add any compensatory interest on top of the actual figure due? I’m sure that, in a reverse situation, Vanquis would carry on adding interest on any unpaid amounts so, what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander and all that?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you still have a card with a balance?
GM says
Same with me; got that message and I have a balance too
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have a balance, what should happen is that you get refunded for all the interest charged up to the date of the refund on the ROP that was charged before Dec2016.
I don’t think that will happen. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/vanquis-profit-rop-refund-delays/.
It is possible that Vanquis will pay you 8% statutory interest from Dec2016 to the date of the refund. I can’t tell. But they may well be planning on paying nothing which would be very unfair. Hence my suggestion that everyone should complain!
For someone who doesn’t have a balance, my guess is that they will pay 8% statutory interest up to the date of the refund. But we haven’t yet seen one of those.
Ross says
Hi Sara,
Mine is a little different, as the ROP was charged to an old account, which was closed a few years back. Stupidly, I opened another account with them, but the general consensus seems to be that as this refund doesn’t relate to the new account, they will refund by cheque (something I was advised of by the agent at Vanquis, but we will see what ACTUALLY happened). I don’t mind them taking it off the current balance, as I am getting it down quite nicely and it can only but help me get rid of this stupid thing once and for all.
BH says
I also got the text but I would rather they just got on with it and refunded the money. Just wonder how many more deadlines they will ignore
Ian R says
SARA-The letter I received turning down my request for a refund ROP charges states on the second page that I WILL be refunded the interest on ROP from Dec 2014 to when its processed whenever that will be-I will be in touch as soon as I hear anything-👀
David says
Just had an email saying:
‘Firstly, I would like to apologise for the delay in our response following your contact regarding any Repayment Option Plan Interest refund that may be due to you.
We have checked our records and we can see that you may have been charged interest for the Repayment Option Plan. You don’t need to do anything further, if a refund is due it should be provided by the end of February 2019 and will go towards any outstanding debt on your Credit Card. Any additional refund amount will be provided in the form of a cheque.’
Looks like a 5 month wait!
GM says
Same for me too!
gillian says
I got this as well but to be honest I think they have just sent it to every customer I say this because they have last month refunded me all rop chargers and intrest and late fees
Eve says
You must’ve received mine then Gillian because I still have heard nothing at all from Vanquis apart from 2 texts telling to reply YES to pay the amount I have gone overlimit due to them not refunding the interest yet again.
Ian R says
Sara-when vanquis have to report to the FCA every couple months wonder what they say about the lack of progress on refunding which all the comments on your site say-think its time FCA viewed this site to see the truth of what vanquis seem to be on with-🙋
David says
I have also received the text saying it will be Feb 2019. I’ve had an account since 2007 and had ROP all the way even though I had no idea what it was. I cancelled it a couple of years ago. Should I make a complaint re miss selling? What I do not understand is how the FCA can allow them to get away with not paying the correct refunds, which they are obviously doing. What is the point in having the FCA if they do not monitor company’s conduct? Also, I get the feeling that people who never paid the full balance every month, like myself, and we’re maxed out are the people getting the really low refunds. This seems to contradict the advice given at the start of this process.
Lee Betts says
Hi just want to thank you I’ve contacted several payday lenders about payday loans the 8week grace period is now up I’m having to contest them all sunny 13 loans replied no luck
Payday uk and payday express initially replied saying I need to wait longer but now won’t reply so escalated all to f o
Wonga a hundred loans initially replied now nothing so escalated to but with the poor timing I expect nothing
But every cloud has a silver lining I tried vanquis for rop and interest for account opened 2010 and closed 2015 they were great emailed and lettered all the way with no issues and today a cheque arrived for £3838 it’s made my Xmas and all thanks to you so anyone wanting to pursue these claims do so it takes a few mins and can be worth it
I just used the rop form template on here
They acknowledged within two days then kept me up to date then at end of 8 weeks I heard nothing so emailed for an update to which they said there is a letter on its way
It arrived a couple of days later I opened it and was amazed myself as thought would only get a few pounds
Claire says
Just wanted to let people know not to give up with this, I had an initial refund of £27 I used the template letter on here and six weeks later I was refunded £773!! Absolutely overjoyed!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
good news!
Kara says
That’s amazing – well done. Do you know how much you paid in ROP and over how long etc?
claire says
Hi Kara,
Not yet, the last email i sent chasing my claim i was told i would “hear something soon” i only noticed the refund as i was checking my CC balance. I am presuming they will explain it all when they get in touch.
Cat says
So refunds have been initially wrong?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Claire doesn’t know yet how the new refund was calculated yet, it has just been credited to her account. But going from £27 to £773 does suggest that the refund was wrong!
Joanna Kelly says
Hi Sara,
I’ve been following your help site for a few months, it is very helpful thanks to you. Decided to wait to see if I get a refund from Vanquis. Yesterday I received a refund of £58.38 from Vanquis, it was paid directly to my card. I received the apologetic email regarding ROP interest from Vanquis today. Their ‘breakdown’ of calculation makes very little sense. It is a really low payout. So I will be following your template and putting in a complaint to them. I had the ROP approx from 2013 to 2015. The card balance was usually around £900. I got rid of the ROP as it was getting up to £12 or more a month. I never received an email or letter explaining the ROP charges. If I had known about their interest charges I wouldn’t have agreed to the ROP in the first place! So that will be some of my argument as I’m going to try to claim back the ROP as well. I will keep you posted. Many Thanks, Jo
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good luck!
“I never received an email or letter explaining the ROP charges.” so you may have thought the ROP was compulsory, it just came with the card? That is a good reason to ask for it to be refunded.
It won’t be refunded just because the extra interest wasn’t explained – that is what the refund of interest is supposed to put right (apart from the fact they are getting the calculation wrong!)
Jo says
Thanks Sara, yes, I thought it was compulsory, originally. That will be my main point in my letter. Will keep you posted.
Ian R says
Hi Sara when I complained to Vanquis and they turned me down-l went to FOS with it-just had letter from them saying vanquis are now willing to refund my rop charges plus interest due-now its a wait to see what it is-thanks for your help–be in touch again when details come to me 👀
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hmmm I am beginning to think that Vanquis don’t want FOS to have to look at a case and make a decision! Still it’s great for you. And a reason why everyone should be putting these complaints in! Do come back when you have figures…
Amanda says
Would you mind me asking how long this took from your final letter from vanquis to say they aren’t upholding your complaint?
Antony Footitt says
I went to FOS after dealing with Vanquis since January. They admitted that the original ROP email back in 2011 wasn’t delivered(bounced back), and only have record of a 310second conversation from October 2011, called a Welcome Call, but can’t confirm if ROP was discussed or not. When i discussed that Vanquis would have considered freezing my account when i got into financial difficulty, regardless of ROP or not, they said that ROP was put on there so it didn’t affect my credit rating if i needed a freeze, and that should be a good enough reason for me to have wanted it, despite me not giving any permission. FOS sent me a letter last week, saying they are awaiting a response from Vanquis about all this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What was your credit rating like at that point, would it have been worth paying to protect?
Antony Footitt says
I genuinely dont know. It’s always been average … Not bad but not the best. They described it as forbearance, basically saying the applied ROP to protect my credit file if I needed a freeze. Surely that choice should be mine, not theirs?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Indeed – if they had said “your interest may be frozen whether or not you have RZoP but if you pay for a ROP that will protect your credit rating “ then Yiu would have a clear choice. But your argument to FOS should be that this was NOT explained to you and you doubt you would have chosen to pay that much per month only to protect your credit rating.
Antony Footitt says
That’s what I lead with to the FOS. I also submitted an SAR and requested all my monthly statements, but Vanquis failed to supply them. When I’ve spoken to them by phone, they keep saying all was explained to me in the original phone call in 2011, however they’ve admitted in their letter that they don’t have the recording anymore. As it was October 2011, I was expecting FOS to bounce back the complaint, but as they’ve now moved forward to seeking a response from Vanquis, I guess they’ve got enough to go on to investigate?
Liz says
I emailed Vanquis on Monday this week (12th October) using the template provided here and unbelievably got a letter in the post yesterday advising me they are upholding my complaint and refunding all ROP fees, associated interest and charges applied to my account since 27 May 2010. They are sending a cheque within 28 days under separate cover. I’d like to thank Sarah for this website and all her hard work, I hope you realise how many people you are helping. x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Great news!
Eve says
That’s amazing news Liz, congratulations. Did they not query the time bar at all? So pleased you have got a good result with this.
Liz says
They did start by talking about 6 years etc etc however in the next paragraph admitted they had failed to send a welcome pack and therefore I was paying the ROP without my knowledge and were upholding the complaint.
Eve says
Thank you very much for that information Liz, I was rejected on the timebar and my ROP account was started in June 2010, one month after yourself. They claimed they sent me the welcome pack but never provided evidence. I even had a copy phone call from 2015 in which I ask if I have to have the ROP and admit in the call that I don’t know what it’s for (as I didn’t know). but I’ve still not had a final outcome from the FOS and my case has been with them since 4th January this year. It’s always great to hear of others like yourself who get awarded their money back without any hassle. Well done again, great result.
GM says
When did you cancelled the ROP?
GM says
thats great news, i’ve done exactly the same earlier this week, so lets see what happened. i had ROP from may 2007 up to 2012 when i found out it was rubbish) and paid more than £1k in rop fees during that period
Andrew says
I complained to the Financial Ombudsman and have just had my complaint upheld. My grounds for complaint were that Vanquis deliberately concealed the true cost of this product which was marketed as a responsible and sensible way to prepare for any future financial difficulties. I also added that I would have been unlikely to purchase this product as it was rapidly adding to my debt. They also neglected or were unable to provide me with a recording or transcript of my phone call in 2013. (The Financial Ombudsman hasn’t divulged whether a transcript or recording does in fact exist.) Vanquis have agreed to refund all of my ROP payments and all associated interest within the next four weeks. In my case I reached the limit on my credit card very quickly and must have paid at least £2000 in ROP payments in addition to high rate interest and compound interest on all of those payments over a five years period. I haven’t been given a settlement figure yet, so I have decided to go back to the Financial Ombudsman to clarify my position if their offer looks too low. I’m hoping Vanquis will do the decent thing and that my concerns are unfounded, but their track record isn’t great.
GM says
When did you start paying ROP and when did it stopped?
Andrew says
I started paying ROP back in early 2013 and cancelled it in March or April of this year. The Financial Ombudsman has just assured me that I can go back to them if I think the settlement figure looks too low. My view is that the longer Vanquis takes to resolve this the more high rate interest they’ll need to pay me. It’s not ideal to be kept waiting, but I don’t know of any savings account paying nearly 40% interest!!!
Kerrie says
Nice to hear the positives on ROP, I have just sent my complaint email today so lets see what happens will keep you informed
John says
Well my complaint was rejected in March due to the 3 plus 6 ruling and rejected by the Financial Ombudsman because they believed they (Vanquis) did all they could to inform me of the ROP, and because of the 3 plus 6 ruling. Even though i submitted and asked for evidence they did, which wasnt submitted.
Cat says
Same John. Sadly there isn’t much consistency
Julie says
Same here they told me exactly the same
GM says
I don’t understand… some people have had their ROP starting more than 6 years ago and they got their complaints upheld for the full amount.
When did you cancelled the ROP?
Eve says
As Cat said GM, there’s no consistency on who gets rejected and who gets refunded unfortunately. I’ve followed the posts for nearly a year now and you can get 2 cases with the same ROP period but different outcomes. It’s very confusing and obviously disappointing for those rejected.
GM says
Got the response today. They rejected it on the fact it was over 6 years ago.
So, how come the FCA asked them to refund the interest on all the ROP payments regardless of age?
I’m really annoyed as I was hoping to have some refunds. This and the payday loans complaints are all being rejected.
Another one to the FOS pile!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“So, how come the FCA asked them to refund the interest on all the ROP payments regardless of age?” well you would have to ask the FCA that. My guess is was a sort of horse trading – Vanquis agree to refund the interest all the way back and FCA agree only the interest not the ROPO itself is refunded.
Let’s see what happens at FOS, sometimes VAnquis are settling FOS complaints before they have been looked at. No idea why some and not others…
allan says
My vanquis card that I had for quite a few years has been paid off and closed so cant log on to my account anymore.
Do they have an email address I could chase them on as ive never had any rop refund?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Vanquis are refunding the people with open accounts first – I don’t think they have started refunding people with closed accounts yet.
allan says
thanks for the reply, would you suggest chasing them or wait till they get in touch??
Liz says
My account had been closed for 6 years and I got a letter just 3 days after emailing my complaint confirming ROP refund plus all charges. Clearly they are very inconsistent.
Allan says
What email address did you use, I might as well send my complaint in
Liz says
ROPRefundsTeam@email.vanquisbank.co.uk
Debs says
Vanquis has said they are paying £700+ I have not looked at what I was paying and they will be sending a cheque.I wonder if I am actually owed more. How do I work this out?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Could you summarise your Vanquis account history – when was it opened? Do you normally have a large balance on the account or do you often clear it down to zero or a very low amount? Have you ever had any over limit charges? Do you still have ROP? (If you do – cancel it immediately – it is VERY expensive and makes it much harder for you to clear any balance)
Kerrie says
I emailed Vanquis on Sunday 21st October using your template provided got a letter in the post today Friday 26th October telling me they are upholding my complaint and refunding all ROP fees, associated interest and charges applied to my account since 28 FEB 2013. They are sending a cheque within 28 days. I’d like to thank Sarah for this website and I hope this will inspire other to make there complaints to avanquis & good luck
Kelly McCandless says
Hi Sara
I just wanted to give you an update and maybe some hope to people who are still waiting on refunds. Quite a long story but i will try summarise. My sister and I both have vanquis cards £3500 and £3000 both maxed. After the letters in November 2017 explaining true cost we cancelled ROP and complained in January 2018. My complaint not upheld and my sisters ignored. We then stumbled onto this site just after the FCA ruling.
I got refund of interest to my account £38 and my sister £98. Using the template above we both sent DSAR requests and asked for a breakdown of calculations. We then escalated both complaints to ombudsman.
I received a letter in august to say Vanquis had agreed to pay all ROP fees plus interest any over limit charges plus 8%. My total refund to my account was £1598. My sister received a letter from ombudsman today saying the same. No breakdown as yet but i would imagine it will be more as she had her card longer and had over limit charges.
Cant thank you enough Sara for all your help and advice. I have now transferred my remaining balance to a 0% card cut up my 39.99% vanquis card and have sent a letter off to them to close my account. I can finally see an end to this debt hole that vanquis helped put me in.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Excellent news!
Eve says
Well done Kelly, that’s fantastic news, I’m really glad they corrected it for you. Can I ask please if either you or your sister had time barred cases or were they within the 6 years?
Kelly McCandless says
Hi Eve.
Both of ours were within the 6 years. All in it has taken about 1 year from initial letter to finally getting resolved. I must admit though had it not been for this site, Sara’s advice and everyone’s situations I would have gave up long ago. At times I thought I was getting nowhere. All I can say is hang in there. It is worth fighting for. X
Eve says
Thanks very much for the hope Kelly, in 4 days that’ll be a year since I first complained and 10 months with the FOS. Mine is outwith the 6 years so I’m not holding my breath as it’s been over 4 months since the main Ombudsman’s ruling and I’m no further forward. For all I’ve not been successful it’s always great to hear of those who have. Genuinely pleased for you and agree totally that if it weren’t for Sara’s advice I too would’ve probably given up earlier.
Nat Garvey says
Hi Sara, once an ROP complaint has been sent off to the FOS, is the waiting time for an adjudicator to pick it up usually the same as if it were an affordability complaint?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My guess is it will be quicker. Payday loan complaints are now handled separately I think.
Nat Garvey says
Thank you.
Kim says
Thanks for your help Sara. Some one at the FCA is now looking into my complaint…
Fingers crossed
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FCA? or Financial Ombudsman?
Chantel says
Thank you so much to this page, vanquis refused my complaint and I went to the ombudsman, who have told vanquis to uphold it, today I received a letter saying my balance of £1,100 will be paid off and I’ll receive a further £1,000 by cheque it broke down the fees and charges and it’s astronomical how much interest I’ve paid on this ROP. Thank you
GM says
That’s great. How long did the FOS took to sort the case since you forwarded it to them? Were any of the ROP’s over 6 years old?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
great news!
Ian R says
Hi Sara its now 3 wks since FOS letter saying Vanquis would be in touch in 4 wks with than offer-well 3 wks have passed and stiill no letter or anything in my account-hope I not got to go to FOS again about vanquis-1 week to go its wearing me down 😲
gillian says
hi ian I had refund from vanquish after going to the fos I was told 4 weeks after 3 weeks of no contact from vanquish I rang vanquish I got a very nice lady who told me that my refund had been processed the day before I rang and would show on my account in the next couple of days (I only had a very small balance due to paying it of with refunds from payday loans just kept card open so refund of rop intrest would be delt with) I checked my account later and it was showing as zero balance she also said a letter had been sent I received that letter about 3 days later it informed me that my cheque would be with me in the next ten to twelve days I got it about 5 days later so give vanquish a ring i don’t know if they had already done this or if my phone call prompted them but can not hurt to ring them
Paul says
Hello All
After complaining to the FO following a refusal from Vanquis to repay ROP charges, I too won my case and was told by the FO nearly 4 weeks ago that payment would be with me by cheque (account closed end of last year) by the end of this week. As I hadn’t heard anything from Vanquis I took Gillian’s advice and gave them a call today. Typical Vanquis Bank acting like they do told me, after holding on for over half an hour that they could not discuss any refund with me as I had gone to the FO I would have to go through them to get any information. What TOSH ! They really don’t know what they are doing, my claim has gone on for over a year. I will report back when or if I get payment.
Good luck to all of you, who are trying to get YOUR money back.
Tina says
What does 6+3 rule mean?
Eve says
Hi Tina, it means :-
Six years from the event the consumer is complaining about (or – if later – three years from when the consumer knew, or could reasonably have known, they had cause to complain).
This doesn’t seem to be the case with Vanquis though for the 3 year rule as they told me the 3 years started from when the ROP was applied to my account not from when I questioned what the product actually was and could therefore reasonably complain.
Ian R says
Just got in had a letter from van saying might not be done till Feb 19- FOS letter said they’d be in touch in four wks with there offer-they had 3 wks to do it now- on the fone to them tomm if more bull from van- on to FOS again-what is this company playing at-scoundrels and can* t swear on here
Paul says
Hello Ian
It seems there were a small group of us who have won our cases over the past four weeks, we have received confirmation from the FOS that Vanquis Bank will be in touch with us “WITH PAYMENT” within four weeks which for me ends at the end of this week. A reply from me above tells of me calling them today 5/11 and being told they are not prepared to discuss it with me as I went through the FOS and if I want information I need to go through the FOS. It seems at this time Vanquis are not prepared to follow the rules of the FOS and are delaying, delaying and delaying any payment they can and it seems they can get away with it, with or without the rulings from the FOS.
gek says
Provident Financial Group (parent of Vanquis) now say ,in third quarter, Trading Statement issued 19th October,””The rop refund programme is progressing well and should be SUBSTANTIALLY completed in early 2019″.
So much for ” We have agreed with the FCA that ALL rop Interest Refunds will have been repaid to customers by 27th February 2019″
Ian R says
Well just looked online at my acc and guess what-Yes its happened there’s been a payment into my acc overnight £500+ what a wait its been-be back on here when get some figures of its make up-good luck to everybody else🙋 And a big thank you to SARA for her wise words-and hats off to FOS for there pressure on a certain party😃
JB says
I just got another ‘update’ letter saying the usual standard it is very complicated and they are 100% committed to getting it right and giving me my money back by Feb 2019 blah, blah and blah!!!
JB says
As Gek says,
Quote from their trading statement October 2019 reads
‘The Vanquis Bank refund programme to some 1.2 million current and past ROP customers is progressing well
and is on-track to be substantially completed in early 2019. Following completion of a pilot into a small segment
of customers in June, the refund programme is now in full roll-out and approximately 300,000 customers have
so far been refunded. A significant step-up in the volume of refunds being processed is planned through the final
quarter of the year and there has been no material change in the level of ROP related complaints following the
announcement of the settlement on 27 February 2018’
Hmm, well done 300,000 refunds so far – should be more like 900,000 at this point!!! Ye Ha!
Eve says
Couldn’t agree more JB,. So basically they’ve only managed 1/4 of the refunds in 8 months with a lot of those being wrong going by the posts on here. I find it hard to believe they’ll get everyone refunded by the end of Feb 2019 when I’m a current customer and have heard nothing at all about my interest refund yet! It just adds salt in the wounds that they’re still charging us 40% interest on balances that are higher than they should be. I’ve paid them more in interest since the ruling in February than what I calculated that I’m due to be refunded.
Eve says
Well that’s been over a year and my case is now as of today closed at the FOS. Vanquis timebarred me on my first ROP and despite me proving that I didn’t know it was optional it hasn’t made any difference. The Main Ombudsman ruled that my 2nd ROP was mis-sold due to me not being informed of the interest but Vanquis have refused to refund all charges and will only refund the interest that the FCA ruled on. I’m honestly heartbroken as this product caused me so much extra debt and stress and they never once tried to help or advise me.
I’m genuinely pleased for everyone who has been successful with their full refunds, I just don’t understand why if there are timescales and rules in place as to why there is no consistency from Vanquis with refunds and why everyone is not treated the same. I wish everyone who is still awaiting decisions the very best of luck and I hope you all have a successful outcome.
Eve says
So sorry, I forgot to say thank you very much Sara for all your advice and help on here, it really was greatly appreciated.
GM says
Very sorry to hear that. It’s so disheartening.
When did you start to pay for ROP and when did it stop?
I had it from 2007 up to 2012 (way before the first ROP issues started) and when I complained in October, they didn’t uphold due to the time barring, so I forwarded to the FOS where they said they would respond within 4 weeks.
Trouble is, I only found out I could complain a couple of months ago, when I was searching about ROP interest refund delays. I since found that people could complain about the whole ROP being mis-sold.
If Vanquis had stuck to the original timetable of 90 days AND refunded the customers fairly, I don’t think they would have this wave of complaints.
There no consistency with theirs and FOS decisions either. Your case shows that complaints that are not related to PPI or payday loans have a much lower rate of success.
Eve says
It really is disheartening GM and I hope you have a better outcome with the FOS. I had to ROP accounts.
The first ran from June 2010-May 2015 and I didn’t know until May 2015 that the ROP had been optional and I cancelled it. I had a phone call to prove this. The 2nd ROP ran from May 2015-Nov 2015 where it only took me 6 months of being aware what the benefits were and that it was optional to cancel it for good. Vanquis have refused point blank to refund any ROP fees or charges on both accounts.
I only found out in November last year that I could complain. Vanquis rejected on 3rd January this year. FOS investigator then rejected in May 2018, so I escalated to the main Ombudsman and he ruled in June 2018 that my second ROP had been missold due to the interest not being mentioned and that they didn’t have the jurisdiction to rule on my 1st account due to the timebar. Then today an investigator told me that Vanquis are not willing to refund anything on the 2nd account apart from the interest which will be done by Feb 2019.
It just puzzles me how Vanquis can pick and choose who they uphold this time rule with and who they don’t with no consistency whatsoever. It didn’t matter how much evidence I had that contradicted what they said, it made no difference. I wish you every bit of luck with your case GM and really hope that you get a better outcome than I did.
NCarmella says
Well I finally received my letter this morning and a cheque for a refund of the interest. £2200!
African Queen says
Congratulations on a wonderful outcome.
If you don’t mind me asking, is you account still active or closed? It would be good if they have started refunding closed accounts.
Thank you
Maxine says
Well done , when dates did u have your ROP from if u don’t mind me asking
NCarmella says
I opened my account in 2007 and had rop until I paid off my account and closed it in January his year
African Queen says
Excellent. Thank you.
Fingers crossed, cheques will start coming through for us with closed accounts.
Enjoy x
Maxine says
Sorry, so u closed it in January, did u pay it off before then or same time,what was ur credit limit if u don’t mind,did u pay minimum payments and was ur interest rate a high one just so I can get a better understanding at what I may be getting back
Many thanks
NCarmella says
Paid it off and closed account on the same day. Credit limit £500 but massively overlimit, minimum payments every month and interest rate 69% I think
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is an automatic refund of interest from Vanquis? It doesn’t include the ROP payments themselves?
If so, then you should also ask them to refund your overlimit fees… see option (C) in the tempklate complaint letter in the above article ^^^
NCarmella says
Yes this is just the automatic refund of interest, no ROP or overlimit fees included.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, then even though you got a nice large amount, it should have been bigger! As you had so much refunded it is VERY likely your over-limit fees were caused by all the extra interest. If you complain, you should be able to get these back too.
NCarmella says
Sara, should I just complain about the overlimit fees or the ROP itself?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s up to you – it can be hard to win the ROP itself mis-selling for accounts opened more than 6 years ago. Do you remember if it was ever explained to you that ROP was an option – many people thought it was just a feature they couldn’t cancel?
NCarmella says
Apologies, here is a breakdown of my refund.
Interest on ROP charges: £2070.91
Simple interest at 8%: £179.14
Withheld tax: £35.82
Total £2213.93
I’ve sent an email requesting the overlimit charges back too as suggested.
Many thanks for your help :-)
Jc says
Put the letter in For rop refund 1st November using template from here.
Have been offered £780 odd for interest on £3k balance over a few years so not sure it was enough either as I was constantly over limit.
Since letter sent has been sent, rop refunds team have replied to say they have escalated my complaint to customer relations team as formal complaint. They have also said customer relations would confirm acknowledgement within 5 days of original correspondence, and review within 56 days, but nothing as of yet.
Should I seek acknowledgement from customer relations as they have not responded as they stated this early in the process
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It may not speed up the reply to your complaint, but it would be good to know it has been formally logged as a complaint… so yes, I would ask them to confirm this.
At the very least I think you should get your over limit fees back, and the interest that was charged on those!
Cat says
I’m confused I thought they were paying open accounts first? Are they not now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is the first time anyone with a closed account has reported a refund, so they obviously started with open accounts. I have no idea why they haven’t yet completed these.
Cat says
I have no idea either. Ok hoping I get a refund soon as an existing customer :(
Ian R says
Ian R–Sara here the figures for my refund
-£426 rop+interest £144 overlimit charges £21 notional interest minus £4 tax–so got £587 back I’m happy with that had rop for 3 years 4 months– thanks again for advice-Sara happy Xmas & New Year
Gemma says
Can anyone advise if they are getting different information from Vanquis? One minute I am being told my ROP was cancelled one week after my account was opened in 2011 and was due a £1.55 refund which had already been refunded which I know nothing about and then next I’m recieving a letter saying “ your request to cancel ROP has now been processed?? .. I have questioned this via email but the only response I have had is “ please supply us with your DOB so we can assist you” they asked for this the first time round I feel like they are fobbing me off and hope i go away!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who knows what they are doing. Saying you cancelled the ROP after a week is very odd if you have no memory of this.
I think you should send ROPRefundsTeam@email.vanquisbank.co.uk an email with REQUEST FOR ALL PERSONAL INFORMATION as the subject line. Say “This is a Subject Access Request. Please send me: a summary of each month’s statements from the date the account was opened to today, showing the details needed for the ROP calculation, a copy of all the emails and letters you have sent me, and a recording of any telephone calls relating to the ROP on my account.”
Gemma says
I have no recollection of this whatsoever, I have just emailed them requesting this and I have also left them a bad review on trust pilot regarding complaint handling. Might jog them on a little bit! Thanks Sara
Gemma says
After sending an email requesting this information this is all i recieved “Thank you for your email. I have requested for this to be sent to you. This should be with you in 30 days” ………….. 30 days?? thats another month without any answers :(
G says
We have just ha £1300 refunded we had paid off account 3 months ago and didn’t even know anything about this until cheque came in post
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s ok, but should it be more? How long ago did you open the account? Did you often clear it down to zero?
Cat says
Called Vanquis who confirmed no they are not doing existing customers first then closed accounts. I always thought that was the case. Another misleading statement from Vanquis
Eve says
I think that was the wording they themselves used on their website at the beginning of March Cat, that the current customers would be refunded within 90 days and closed accounts within 180 days. It would make more sense and should be easier for them to do that but hey the longer they continue to keep current customers balances high, the more money they make off us in interest. It’s so wrong, but that doesn’t surprise me with this company at all. All interest should have been frozen until refunds were completed, that would have been the fairest thing to customers.
Ross Lewis says
Hi Sara,
I’m still waiting for Vanquis to deal with my ROP interest refund, but it’s encouraging that some refunds for old accounts are starting to emerge. Could I please ask your opinions on old PPI policies, namely from 2002. I have complained to Capital One, after they told me I didn’t have PPI and have now admitted that I DID! Also, what’s the score wit Plevin please, whereby companies charged a huge commission, unknowingly to the customer, and where companies have started to refund this, even if they reject the PPI complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well take Capital One to FOS if they say no. Plevin, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-deadline-august-2019-plevin/
Ross Lewis says
Thanks Sara, as ever.
Ross Lewis says
So now, I’m really confused. On using the Capital One PPi checker, an entering all of my details, they identified I had PPI and provided the account number. I complained, via Resolver, and they have now responded saying that they can’t go ahead with my complaint, as it stands, as they can’t locate the account and/or I haven’t given permission for them to investigate?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask them what extra permission they need. Hard to guess…
Ross says
Hi Sara,
Just a quick update on the Capital One case. They asked me to send an item with my signature on, to proceed with my complaint. They received this, last Thursday, and have sent me information (via Resolver) that they have issued a final response to me, directly, along with ‘details and further instructions’ and that they hope I am satisfied with the final response and, if I am, to show the case as ‘resolved’. It all sounds a bit ominous to me, but there’s no point guessing I suppose. I did say to them that, as well as looking at the PPI case, to also look at the Plevin element. I have noted, from the Ombudsman Decisions page, that very few C1 complaints are upheld, but the majority are for Plevin. I’ll let you know what they come back with.
Still waiting on Vanquis too zzzzzzzz
Elaine says
I received a letter last week apologising for the continued delay and that they hoped to have refunded the amount (whatever that may be knowing my luck it will be 25p) by Christmas I was so cross I tore up the letter in a fit of pique!
Kevin says
I had ROP from 2008 to earlier this year. My original credit limit was £500 but this had risen to £3,000 by 2010 or 2011. I was at the limit the whole time. The interest rate was 49%. Last month I finally got a refund of about £2,350. Does that sound about right? Reading through earlier comments it seems low. I reckon that between February and September they must have made about £900 of interest on that part of the balance which it now seems I didn’t owe. That can’t be right.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Kevin, that may well be too low… if you think it is, use the template letter in the article above to complain.
steffi says
Hi Sara I’m still waiting for my refund, but had a thought and I’m not sure if I am seeing this correctly, my account was closed in 2013 and the outstanding amount sold to Robinson Way Debt firm, they state there is a balance of £730 outstanding, from what I understand when my refund is done, RW will be paid and anything left will come to me in cheque form. However, that debt with RW will have included interest from ROP, so basically sounds like they will be refunding then paying RW for a debt that includes ROP which has to be wrong, as it’s like “we’ll refund you the interest you should not have paid but then you need to pay back RW for interest charged on ROP” surely these sold debts would need to be recalculated? What are your thoughts.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You are correct that the refund will first be used to clear the RW balance and any remaining will be paid to you by cheque.
I am assuming here that RW are not charging you interest on the debt. Say if they are and I will write some more about that.
Suppose Vanquis had not sold the debt and they too had stopped adding interest. In that case Vanquis would have worked out the refund, used that to clear your balance and sent you a cheque for the rest.
You should be left in the same position as that now. Vanquis will clear the RW debt and pay you any extra. If you have paid RW £200 towards the debt so far, this means your balance will be £200 less and your cheque will be £200 larger.
So you are getting a refund of the extra interest but the refund is being used to repay that extra interest first. It’s confusing but not unfair.
John says
Hi Sara,
I have had a letter through from Vanquis regarding ROP. They are reducing the outstanding balance on my account by £62 , even though my account is in default and was sold to Lowell . They said in the letter they will be contacting Lowell to reduce by the amount and have said the FCA has authorised them to use repayments to reduce balances where possible. I know it’s not a lot of money but it would have been nice to have been given an option to be asked how the refund should of have been used. They have admitted they should have done things better.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi John – they are allowed to use the money to reduce your Lowell balance.
HOWEVER the question is, is £62 the right amount? Because as the article above explains, Vanquis seem to be getting the calculations very wrong for some people. How long did you have the Vanquis account for before you defaulted? Did you ever go over the limit? Did you often clear your balance down or was it normally very high?
Lisa says
Had no idea about this but received a cheque in the post today for £626. Thanks to this thread I have sent them an e-mail, will update you when I hear back. Thank you Sara!! Xx
Simon Paterson says
I closed my account back in 2015 after holding it for some 4 year’s (closed in 2014/15). I never missed a payment and as a result had a high credit limit of over 3k which was maxed out for a number of year’s. I have just received a cheque for £70. My research has led me to this page and after reading the comments above I am sure my refund is nothing but a desperate attempt for me to go away quietly!
My job is extremely secure so I would not have taken up ROP if it was explained to me correctly. I will use the template above (thank you Sarah) and update this thread when I receive a response, positive or not.
Thanks
JB says
I have still received absolutely nothing – it still amazes me that closed accounts are being dealt with ahead of active accounts which are gathering huge interest but then again this company doesn’t surprise me at all!!! Total disgrace!!!
Ross says
Hi JB,
I’m still awaiting a closed account being sorted, but have heard nothing for months now. As someone has recently pointed out, they don’t appear to have even scratched the surface, number wise, with reference to how many accounts they HAVE sorted, so how they’re going to achieve closure by February 2019 seems a little pie in the sky. No doubt we’ll still be having the same debate then and thereafter. I would much prefer them to sort out open accounts first though, as the closed ones are no longer causing further interest. The whole debacle has been very badly handled, in my honest opinion.
Cat says
Every time I call, they tell me no they don’t have a system or order they are refunding…. Just as and when they pick them up. It’s madness!
Eve says
As an open account customer I’ve still not received anything yet either. If they hadn’t HIDDEN the ROP interest in with the purchase interest all these years then their job at refunding would have been a lot easier and quicker! From what I can see in 9 months since the FCA ruling they have :-
(1) Raised the minimum payment for customers.
(2) Missed 3 refund deadlines (May, Aug & Sept)
(3) They still haven’t notified all current account customers that there will be a refund due.
(4) There is no system order in refunding interest for Population 1, then 2, then 3 then 4 which would be the logical thing to do. Instead they’re making more money from Population 1 on balances which are higher than they should be.
(4) Most interest refunds issued to date have been wrong and drastically lower than they should be (even after 9 months of apparently having the correct system in place!).
How did all the other credit companies manage to refund PPI and Plevin within 56 days but this company still can’t manage just the interest refunds within 269 days? Sorry for the rant but this company just anger me more and more as the months go on. I personally can’t see it all being resolved by the end of Feb 2019, but I really hope I’m wrong.
GM says
I feel the same too… very angry with this situation and when I complained about the misold ROP, they time barred it. but its not time barred tfor the interest refund, which is calculated using random BS methods.
It’s now with the FOS and hope for a good outcome as I had the ROP from 2007 up to 2012 and I still have an account with them!
Paul says
Hello All
With the help and advice of Sara and Debt Camel, I am one of the lucky ones who has just received over Ten Thousand Pounds from Vanquis Bank.
– Had a Vanquis Card from 2006 until October 2018 (closed account fully paid up) and had ROP from 2006 till January 2014.
– In January 2014 Vanquis sent me a leaflet on my ROP, although I didn’t even know I had it, I didn’t need it and telephoned to cancel it.
– February 2014 they wrote to confirm ROP was cancelled and indicated a refund could be forthcoming.
– January 2018 saw this site, followed the advice and complained to VB via email, they replied by March 2018 saying I would get nothing, quoting the 3/6 year rule.
– Then in August 2018 I requested a copy of my data at the same time putting a formal complaint to the Financial Ombudsman following the guides on this site.
-In September 2018 received my Data from VB with no mention of ROP and missing phone calls I had made and the letter they sent me in early 2014.
– In late October this year heard from the FAS that VB would be paying all Option Plan fees and associated interest and notional interest at 8%.
– Payment from VB received in November 2018. (All dealt with in under a year)
I know I am one of the lucky ones but those of you who are still trying to get payment , stay with it, those new to the site follow the guidelines and join in with the blog.
Good luck in getting YOUR money back.
–
Sara (Debt Camel) says
wow – that is the largest ROP refund I have heard of. Have a good weekend!
Joanne Cameron says
Vanquis have now agreed to uphold my complaint after me contacting the FO. I’m trying to figure out roughly how much I will receive. I have had ROP since 2012 until cancelled in June this year. Credit limit has been upto 2500 at least for the past 3 years (maxed) and I have paid roughly £1400 since 2012 in ROP fees. In there any calculations to get a rough idea? Did you receive a breakdown?
Thanks!
Paul says
Hello Joanne
Great news for you, payment should be on its way to you soon. As I stated I had ROP for eight years from 2006 – 2014 and it was amazing how much the Plan Fees and Associated Interest came to, here is the breakdown (rounded off to the nearest pound);
Repayment Option Plan fess and Associated interest £8,411
Charges – £24
National Interest at 8% £2,169
Withheld Tax Amount -£433
Once again good luck to everyone else and keep up the good work Sara.
Joanne Cameron says
Wow that’s great! Does it break down how much you would of paid altogether of just ROP during that time? Was your credit limit high? And were you always paying the minimum off? I just could do with an idea of how much mind will be 🤔
Thanks for replying 😁
Paul says
Hello Joanne
I have no other information than what VB sent me, I cannot remember what the credit limit was but I do know for most of those eight years it would have had the minimum paid off each month.
Joanne Cameron says
Has anyone any idea how they work out the interest when refunding all ROP payments? I have calculated roughly spending £1300 on ROP in the last 6 years and Vanquis have agreed to pay this back plus interest. How would I find a rough idea of how much I will receive back?
Many Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That depends on your card rate of interest, how often you paid off a lot of your balance and, if your card was often close to the limit, how large that limit was. Sorry, not much help… but if you didn’t clear a lot of you balance sometimes it should be a LOT.
Joanne Cameron says
Card was always up to the Max, paid minimum payment every time. The interest rate is in its 40s I think I have never had good credit rating. Just wondered roughly how much it would be? 🤔🤔
Joanne Cameron says
Sorry and limit was £1000 for first 2 years then 2500 for the next 4 years to date. ROP through all 6 years
Cat says
Sarah, what will happen next if they don’t complete all refunds by Feb?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know. Realistically there will always be some closed accounts that haven’t been paid at that point – people have moved, died, gone to prison, become seriously ill etc. But it will be shocking if Vanquis haven’t refunded all open accounts and all closed accounts with no contact problems.
Mark H says
Hi,
My wife and I both had Vanquis cards a few years ago which were defaulted and Vanquis sold the debt to Lowell. Vanquis recently contacted me to say I was due a refund of around £350 due to interest owed on an ROP but that it was to be deducted from the outstanding balance with Lowell as they had agreed this with the FCA.
Two questions if anyone can help please?
1) Is it worth me complaining to the FO in an attempt to have the money refunded directly to me?
2) Is it worth me pursuing a refund for more interest as the general consensus these are far too low and even pursuing refund for the ROP repayments in full, not just the interest, or will this be taken off my balance with Lowell?
I look forward to your advice.
Thanks,
Mark.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
1) no, this is the agreed process and it is what happens eg with PPI refunds.
2) read the article above. If you think it’s worth complaining, isn’t it worth reducing the balance you owe to Lowell?
Has your wife also had a refund?