The administration of WDFC, the legal company who operated the Wonga brand, was completed in August 2020.
The company was finally dissolved in December 2020.
See Companies House records for details.
Background to the administration – rising complaint numbers
A payday loan is “unaffordable” if repaying meant you had to get into more debt, by borrowing again or getting behind on bills or other debts. So you may have repaid all your loans but still have a good claim for a refund of the interest you paid.
When Wonga went under there were over 200,000 people with current loans from Wonga – many of them had a good case for the interest to be removed from their balance so they only repay what they borrowed.
The Administrators proposals set out the reasons why Wonga went into administration. These were the increasing number of affordability complaints, especially from Claims Companies, and the decision by the Financial Ombudsman that FOS could look at loans over 6 years old, going back to 2007.
There were 24,000 affordability complaints awaiting a decision by Wonga and 9,500 complaints against Wonga with the Financial Ombudsman when Wonga ceased trading on 30 August 2018.
Details on the Administration
The Administrators have made various progress reports (available from Companies House) and statements during 2018-20:
- in October 2018, the Administrators published their Proposals, detailing how they planned to handle the administration. Creditors voted to approve these Proposals.
- progress report to end February 2019;
- Witness Statement in April 2019;
- progress report to end August 2019.
An online claim page was set up in April 2019 for Wonga customers to submit claims for refunds. The deadline for sending in a claim was 30 September 2019.
The Administrators assessed all claims using an automated tool. This took account of:
- all loans, including those over 6 years old
- how large a loan was compared to a customer’s income;
- how often someone borrowed without significant gaps;
- whether there were indications of hardship such as missed payments;
- if there is a balance outstanding for the right of set-off.
Where it decided one or more loans were unaffordable, it calculated how much interest should be refunded and added statutory interest at 8%.
In August 2019 the Administrators starting sending emails to people saying whether their claims have been successful or rejected.
In September, the Administrators sent an update on progress up to end August 2019. Key points include:
- at end August, 389,621 claims for unaffordable payday lending have been accepted by the administrators;
- the total value of these claims is c £460million – an average of c £1,200 a claim.
- £23m of outstanding loans have been collected. The Administrators say that outstanding loans are being taken into account and given the right of set-off where the customer has a claim for unaffordable loans.
- The remaining loan book will not be sold to a debt collector.
At this point the Administrators were saying that payments would be made by 30 January 2020.
29 January 2020 – administrators announce 4.3p in the pound
On 29 January 2020, the Wonga administrators announced that they will be paying 4.3p in the pound to unsecured creditors, including all the 400,000 people who are owed a refund for unaffordable lending.
The administrators have now given the final numbers:
- they assessed 401,202 claims as being valid;
- of these 358,129 are being paid 4.3% of their assessed compensation value;
- the remaining 43,073 also owed a balance on a loan to wonga, so their compensation has been used to clear or reduce that balance.
What happens next:
- the money should be paid within the next 4 weeks. This has come as a surprise as people had been told it would be paid by the end of January;
- the loans that are being refunded should be removed from your credit record in the next 6 weeks.
My comment – ripped off by Wonga and now let down by the regulators
The administrators told people they would get “significantly less” than that amount as there would not be enough money to pay the claims in full.
But many people will have been hoping for more than 4.3% and are very upset.
It is not the administrators’ fault there is so little money to be divided between so many people. It is the fault of the regulators – first the OFT and then the FCA – that they allowed Wonga to break the rules saying that affordability should be checked
And now the regulators have failed to ensure that these Wonga victims get the compensation they should have. When a PPI firm went under, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme stepped in and people with PPI claims got paid in full. But the FCA has not extended the FSCS to cover payday lenders.
This isn’t just a problem for the hundreds of thousands of Wonga victims. Borrowers from many payday lenders have been unable to get proper compensation after the lender has had to close. This will apply to QuickQuid, the money shop, Payday UK and Payday Express borrowers as well.
The FCA needs to rethink this and provide a safety net for people who were mis-sold unaffordable loans.
Readers comments – Shock and disappointment
This a brief overview of the hundreds of comments below this article.
Some people are happy to be getting anything:
- “I am only getting just shy of £25 but for the sake of completing a 30 second form it’s not too bad.”
- “I will be getting £79.93 of the £1854.17 I was owed. Better than nothing!”
- “£35 out of a possible £800. I wasn’t expecting much anyway. I’m more interested in having the 25 wonga loans removed from my credit file.”
The administrators had said people would get “significantly less” than the claim, but many people were hoping for at least 10%:
- “I got mine £88.67 – claim was £2057.05 – I was expecting at least a couple hundred.”
- “Claim was 3034, getting 130. By considerably less I didn’t think it would be over 95% of it. That is ridiculous.”
- “To receive £44.10 from a claim of £1023.00 is insulting to be honest.”
- “Owed £1499, getting £63…what an absolute joke!”
- “4.3% is an absolute disgrace. Although people are trying to be positive they shouldn’t have to. The people who made all the profit here would spend the biggest payout anyone has received on an evening out and not think twice about it.”
- “Gutted…. was hoping for at least the 10% speculated.”
This reader blamed not just Wonga but the regulators:
- “Over £11k accepted reduced down to £480 – my job, my marriage and 4 years of desperation followed by years of rebuilding my life – that’s what the regulators consider that to be worth! Shame on everyone involved in Wonga and the lack of regulation of lenders like them !”
Some are just are delighted that Wonga has gone under:
- “Heads up everyone…We have won in the end! They can no longer be a hindrance to any of us any more!”
- “Mines going to charity. Best thing to have happened is for them to have gone bust”
- ”Thank you Wonga you paid me to continue gambling, I lost everything. Good riddance.”
Many people are also disappointed and shocked that they aren’t being paid by the end of January. Some people getting these refunds are still in difficult financial circumstances and had planned to use the money to pay a bill or some debts.
February 2020 – some clarifications from the administrators
The remaining loans
The administrators have confirmed that no further payments are being accepted and the debts will not be sold to a debt collector. So you don’t have to worry about being taken to court or bailiffs.
But the debts are not technically being written off. They will remain on your credit record for 6 years from the default date on your credit record. If you don’t know what this date is, I suggest you check it now.
In practice, now the company in liquidation, if you contact a credit reference agency and say your Wonga debt is incorrect, you can ask the credit reference agency to “suppress” the record as Wonga can no longer say what the right entry should be. See How to correct credit records if the lender has gone under for details.
No deductions are being made for tax
The Administrators have said:
“the Joint Administrators have agreed with HMRC that the payment may be treated for tax purposes as set wholly against the interest and fees element first, and statutory interest second. As a result, where the distribution paid by the administrators to each customer does not exceed the interest and fees claimed by them, no withholding tax will be required to be deducted at source from payments made by the administrators in such cases.”
The simple version of this is:
- the administrators are not taking off any tax.
- there will, therefore, be no tax to have to reclaim.
- the vast majority of people will not have to pay any tax on any part of of the refund even if you are a higher rate taxpayer. The amounts don’t have to be declared if you complete an annual tax return eg if you are self-employed.
A small number of extra payments
A small number of customers were owed money by Wonga for a different reason, for example they may have overpaid on a loan. These extra amounts are also being paid out and you will get 4.3% of them too.
If you were not using a claims company, you should have received a single email at the end of January which mentions both amounts.
If you were using a claims company you should have received two emails, each about one of the amounts. If you have only received one email and it mentions a claim which is smaller than the amount you expected, you can contact the administrators, it may be this is the “extra” payment.
Bank account issues
I asked the Administrators why some people are still getting emails asking them to update their bank details. They say:
These emails will be in response to customers’ requests received by the Customer Care team prior to 29 January 2020 providing a secure method by which customers can update their bank account details. Customers should respond to these emails.
I asked the Administrators what will happen if they make a payment and it bounces back to them because the account is no longer open. They say:
Where updated information is available from customers we will attempt to reprocess bounced dividend payments via electronic transfer. Alternatively, we will issue a cheque to the address held on file.
A blogger contacted the Administrators on the 14th February to ask why she hadn’t been paid and was told:
“I can confirm that the joint administrators have commenced distribution of dividend payments to unsecured creditors, including those with redress claims. Given the volume of transactions that need to now take place, the administrators cannot guarantee an exact date when individuals will receive payment but are aiming to complete transactions within the next two weeks.”
February and March – payments started but with problems
I was told by the Administrators on Friday 28th February that 90%+ of payments have been made and they expect to make the rest of payments over the next two weeks by BACS. About 22,000 the following week, about 13,000 the week after. It looks as though the 22,000 group got their money. It’s not clear to me how many of the 13,000 group have.
Many people in the comments below this article were reporting probems. These included people whose bank accounts had never changes. Problems included:
- confusion over whether a claims company has been paid or they will be;
- Wongasaid payment was sent to a claims firm that hadn’t been used;
- Wonga said a cheque was sent to a house you no longer live it;
- Wonga said a payment has been made to your bank account but it hasn’t arrived ;
- Wonga has said a payment was sent to an old bank account despite new bank account details having been given and co0nfirmed as having been received.
On 2 March the Administrators said the payment process was taking longer than expected and payments would continue to about 40,000 people over the next 2 weeks:
The Joint Administrators have now attempted to make dividend payments to over 410,000 creditors… In addition to the payments that were not made we have had approximately 40,000 payments returned to us due to incorrect customer bank details recorded on file with Wonga. We will now begin contacting these customers whose payments were returned, by email, to obtain correct and up-to-date bank account details.
The dividend payment process is taking longer than anticipated and payments will continue to be paid during the next two weeks.
On 19 March the Admistrator’s announced:
The Joint Administrators have now attempted to make dividend payments to over 443,000 creditors representing 98% of the creditor population. This includes payments to creditors whose payments were briefly held back from the initial payment phase whilst additional validation checks were completed to new bank account and/or address details that were provided. The Joint Administrators now continue to focus on the remaining small population of unpaid dividends in order to complete the payment process.
From here on progress was very slow, impeded by lockdown.
End August 2020 – administration ends – do you still have a problem?
Have you not been paid?
The Administrators final report blames the payment problems of Wonga’s poor systems and on creditors who did not update their bank details when requested to. But as many comments below detail, people who had never changed their bank account or who had updated their bank details several times and had each confirmed also experienced prolonged delays.
At 28 Auguest when the administration ended, there were still c 49,000 payments with a total value of £632,000 that had not been made – an average about of £13 per payment. About 70% of these were for amounts owed before the administration, so not affordability complaints.
The Administrators have passed the £632,000 to the Insolvency Service. If any creditors want to claim an unpaid amount, they should email CustomerServicesEAS@Insolvency.gov.uk.
A problem with your credit record
If there is a problem with your credit record then you now need to contact the Credit Reference Agency where the problem is showing – Experian, Equifax or TransUnion. Say you can no longer get an answer from the administrators as the firm has been dissolved so you would like the CRA to “suppress” the credit records (list them) as they are inaccurate.
This problem could have been an error by the administrators, who failed to delete the record. It could be an error by Wonga before the administration: the loan date or balance or default date is wrong – you want the default date to be as early as possible so it drops off sooner – or Wonga may have failed to add a default date.
If the CRA refuses, send the CRA a formal complaint and this can be sent to the Financial Ombudsman. In practice people are getting these sorted with the CRAs without having to go to the ombudsman.
Refunds from large loans & car finance
Refunds from other payday lenders
Is your credit card limit too high?
Bob says
Hi, I’ve had what I would estimate to be between 12-16 loans over the course of the last year and a half from wonga (no easy way to find out the exact amount because their website is offline) with one current loan to be payed by months end. Considering everything that’s going on, I was wondering if you would recommend going ahead with a complaint towards them despite their entry into administration? I’ve already put in complaints to Myjar and QQ over irresponsible lending, but wasn’t sure wether or not it was worth sending another into Wong’s at this point.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can construct a list of your Wonga loans and the interest you have paid is by looking at your emails and bank statements.
12-16 loans over that period sounds like a good case for a complaint. Of course, I can’t guarantee you will win it.
The administrators have warned that people are highly unlikely to be paid the full amount of their refund. It is possible (though the administrators haven’t said this) that people may get back a very small amount, 10p in the £ or less – I have no information that this is likely, I am just saying it is possible.
BUT with money still owing to Wonga for the last loan, if you don’t make that payment you are in a MUCH better position!
Say your refund is worked out at £500 (I just made these numbers up, obviously), you still owe £300 and the administrators eventually pay out 10p in the £. People who didn’t owe a balance would just get £50 back. But you would have the balance wiped using the right of set-off, and the remaining refund of £200 would then be paid out at £20. A good result.
The risk here is that your complaint won’t be upheld and you will get missed payment markers on your credit record.
I suggest you think whether you can make that last payment and not borrow again elsewhere. If you can, then the loan probably is affordable. But if you can’t (and having to borrow every month for 18 months suggests that you are in a mess) then you should cancel the CPA with your bank, tell Wonga that you can’t afford it and put in an affordability complaint.
Because paying it and then borrowing elsewhere and then paying more interest is just being stuck in the high-cost credit trap. You have to escape from this by not paying.
Paul says
Hi I recently had 8 loans with wonga and went through ombudsman as wonga refused a refund first time round I phoned ombudsman the other day to hear that they went in my favour and sent a email to wonga on the 29th of August to aske for interest to be refunded just wondering would they have to offer me something if this was sent the day before they went in to administration I understand I could get nothing but if they have a certain amount of money to share out amongst all they owe do you think they would have to include this claim with it being before the cut off ? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was this decision from the FOS from an adjudicator or was it at the second, Ombudsman, stage?
Paul says
Not to sure what you mean to be honest. ombudsman just sent me a letter out asking me to send all my bank statements and personal circumstances forms etc in to them if I wish to continue which I did that was about 8 weeks ago but today I phoned up to ombudsman for a update to be told they sent a email to wonga on the 29th I think the guy on the phone said they ask them to repay the interest on all the loans so not sure what stage that is classed at sorry so should there be abit more dispute with wonga and ombudsman at this stage? thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That seems unusually quick. I think you are just going to have to wait and see what happens next. But even if Wonga agree, your refund will just going into the pile along with all the others that can’t be paid until the administrators have sorted out how much money there is left to divide between the refunds.
Bill says
Hiya Sara. I had a complaint for 33 loans with Wonga turned down by themselves in January this year and escalated my complaint to the ombudsman. Its been with them since Febuary this year and I learned that my complaint was finally given to an adjudicator about a week before Wonga went into administration. Do you think I have any chance of getting anything presuming they rule in my favor or is there more chance of kissing the Pope?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So far as I know, the administrators haven’t yet decided what they want to do about cases currently with the Ombudsman or those new ones arriving.
African Queen says
Hello,
I received this response from the FOS last week regarding my Wonga complaint. Looks like it’s a waiting game.
“Thank you very much for your email explaining that your happy for us to look into the loans that were sold within the six years.
As previously mentioned Wonga had raised an objection into us looking into your complaint as they said you’d brought the complaint to us more than six years before you raised your complaint to them. We were looking into this part of your complaint in order to see if we could take the complaint forward. Since then Wonga has now gone into administration and it’s unclear what will happen with your complaint going forward. We’re trying to get clarification from the administrators and will update you as soon as we’ve got any news.
Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.”
James says
I borrowed 101 loans through 2012-2015 from wonga, my case is with the FOS, not allocated to an adjudicator yet so looking forward to seeing what happens with it. I paid around 4k in interest so would be a shame not to get anything back at all. I wonder when the administrator/FOS will confirm what the plan of action is.
Ted says
Good morning Sara,
I read this today in paper – sounds like it may be a good idea ?. Hopefully the potential buy will be good for those with ongoing debts with Wonga – more reasonable owners of debt ?? would that also may also mean Wonga have funds to pay refunds ? Or will the debt be bought for much reduced rate anyway.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/business/2018/sep/14/archbishop-of-canterbury-to-lead-wonga-rescue-effort-payday-loans
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would hope the CoE would be a reasonable creditor but it’s not clear to me exactly what the CoE would hope to achieve and how they think they might do this.
JD says
Just made a call to the FOS regarding the fact that Wonga have not addressed my complaint within the 8 week deadline. They said that aren’t taking on new complaints in regards to Wonga until they have come to an agreement on how things will proceed so looks like either another few weeks wait or nothing at all.
nicola says
I won my case against wonga in August after it went all the way to ombudsmen and have to wait to see what’s happening with my case.i might get my payment i might not.i ha e spoke to wonga nearly everyday and just get the same answer that everything is on hold just now
PaulG says
just had a copy of my loans back from wonga. I first submitted my affordability complaint (as per the template off here) on 27th August. I spoke to someone yesterday to find out why no acknowledgement was sent and requested they send all my info, took less than 24 hours to supply that info to be fair to them.
whats best to do, wait out the 8 weeks and if no reply, escalate to the financial ombudsman?
incidentally, submitted a claim to QQ on the same date, and got 2K back off them without the need to escalate. happy days!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
After 8 weeks have passed it will be clearer if going to the FOS is an option or not. Or they may even have made you an offer. Sorry, not much point in speculating – at the moment you don’t have any decision to make so just sit back.
PaulG says
thanks Sara, will update accordingly
cheers for the advice :)
Tara says
Hi again.
I sent Wonga the first template letter of complaint just before they went into administration. They have till 23rd Oct under the 8 week limit and so far I haven’t received anything from them not even acknowledgment. I currently have a outstanding balance on my complaint. I’m getting txts and phone calls everyday from them asking me to pay. Can they do this whilst I have a complaint outstanding? Thanks
Mark says
Tara,
You should read the article at the very top of this page https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-refunds-defaulted-loan/
Tara says
Hi mark.
I have read that article a few times even before making my complaint.
The outstanding balance hasn’t gone to a debt agency yet so I can’t tell them. It’s still with Wonga and it’s wonga who keep txting, emailing and ringing (leave voicemails by computer) they have my complaint so surely whilst the complaint is in progress they shouldnt be on my case every day? Maybe I should email them and tell them that whilst waiting for my complaint to be looked at, that I won’t be paying as I can’t afford it. Does that sound fair?
Mark says
Tara,
Sorry, I think I’m confused (doesn’t take much these days! :-()
The article I mentioned details what to do about repayments while your complaint(s) are being investigated by the lender. Whether they are affordable or not. (from memory I think it’s under the heading “stop repayments?”)
From your comment, it sounds like you can’t afford the repayments, so have you followed the advice on the article?
Mark says
….Sorry Tara, pressed “post” before I’d finished!!!!
Assuming you haven’t contacted the lender about your repayments do so ASAP.
Your offer of reduced repayments is a completely separately issue to your complaint. I.e. if the lender rejects your complaint, that doesn’t change the fact you cannot afford the weekly/monthly repayments.
If you have other debts you are struggling to maintain Step Change is a charity that helps people in financial difficulty. They are superb and completely free.
Tara says
Thank you mark. Originally I had told them I couldn’t afford it and that I’d pay reduced amount and they sent me a email asking me to provide my outgoings etc so they could look into it and see if they could agree to a payment plan but then I found out about this site and followed the guidelines here about complaints. I didn’t set up the plan as after it went into administration I know that if I was to pay and later maybe win my case that I wouldn’t see much of a payout but I’d rather they pay the balance off if it’s upheld. Fingers crossed. I think I’m gonna email them and tell them that whilst under complaint I’m withholding payment due to affordability and will see what their final response is. Thanks for your advice.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
For Wonga that is now probably the best approach – as you say paying any amounts off your balance may just mean your write off is smaller.
Roman says
Hi
I just received email from wonga with my borrowing history (15 loans some of them I paid more on interest than I borrowed in last 5 years). Now I send my affordability complain to wonga as is described above. Do you think that I have some chance to get back something?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Some chance of something back yes. How good a chance I can’t say. Do you still owe them any money?
Roman says
No I don’t.
And what is next? Wait until they replay on my complain?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Realistically you have less chance of a good result if you don’t owe them money. But no one knows at the moment how muc will be available for refunds so all you can do is carry on with your complaint until that is known.
Jack says
Hi Sara,
Excellent forum.. just a few quick question and scenario i wanted to run passed you.
If you have made a request for compensation (post Wonga administration) the feedback seems to indicate no refund and FOS are unlikely to take the case further because Wonga administrators are unlikely to be able to pay back all creditors.
So, add to this scenario that you still owe Wonga, and the clear message is ‘business as usual and debts must be paid back’, here’s my question, if Wonga have been giving out unaffordable loans, but can’t be held accountable (or can’t pay out any further compensation claims) due to their own administration, why is the legal agreement still valid demanding customers pay the lender? If a legitimate customer was given an unaffordable loan then surely they would be within their rights to suspend any repayments until Wonga and/ or FOS conduct a full investigation which determines whether compensation should be paid, following which, if Wonga can’t/ won’t pay the compensation surely the customer should be able to block all repayments to the lender ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have put in an affordability complaint I would be surprised if you are chased for repayment until there is a response to your complaint.
If you can’t afford to make the loan repayments without hardship or without borrowing more, you should ask Wonga for an affordable payment arrangement. If you have borrowed a lot from Wonga previously so a refund is likely to be more than your outstanding balance, you could simply say that you will make a repayment arrangement after the response to your complaint.
Jack says
Hi Sara,
thanks for the response, i have been on the phone with them and said exactly the same. i asked for my account to be put on hold until they review my complaint. the response was simple: “we cannot put your account on hold for the duration of your complaint because we do not know how long this will take, 8weeks is a guideline and it is likely to take longer” “we can put your account on hold for one month, however you will be penalised and interest will be added to your loan”. My situation is that since 2014 i have paid Wonga over £2,400 of interest on short term loans, i currently owe them £580.. once i have paid this back, even if i win my compensation claim, it is clear i will not get any money back as i will not be a priority creditor. I am sure plenty of customers are in this position, paying back Wonga, but highly unlikely to be paid back by Wonga when their complaint is won. I have now emailed telling them i will settle my complaint if they clear my current balance, i fear this is a doomed request and my predicament continues, do i continue to pay or risk by not paying?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The risks of not paying are:
– you will get phone calls, texts and emails asking you to pay. I think it’s unlikely there will be huge numbers of these, but some people find them more worrying and harassing than others.
– missed payments and, in the end, a default are likely to be added to your credit record. If you win your complaint these should be removed. You only have to win your complaint for the last loan for this to happen, not all of your lending.
– your debt could potentially be sold to a debt purchaser. I think with an unresolved complaint underway this is very unlikely but I suppose it’s not impossible.
What isn’t going to happen – you won’t get taken to court for a CCJ. Not with an unresolved complaint underway.
You are right that there must be a lot of customers in a similar position.
Darren says
Hi,
I currently have a complaint in against Wonga. The 8 weeks have now been passed but I believe all claims are currently on hold. I am confident of being awarded at least something as in the past 8 years I have had over 80 loans, paying almost £8k in interest. I am currently on a repayment plan for my last loan, paying £100 per month. I have £500 outstanding. The next £100 payment is due 01/10. Due to the right of set off, I am reluctant to make the payment. Is it reasonable to cancel the payment plan until the complaint is resolved? I fear if I do so collections activity will resume for the full balance and my credit file will be impacted?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is the repayment plan with Wonga or has the defaulted loan been sold to a debt collector?
Darren says
Directly with Wonga.
Does this make a difference in terms of next steps?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It makes a difference because as you still owe Wonga money, there should be a right of set off with any refund being used to reduce what you owe. If the debt had been sold then there would be no right of set off.
I think in your situation it is reasonable to cancel the repayment plan. If they chase you for it, then say you want a response t your complaint before you make any more payments. I would be surprised if you get a lot of pressure from them about this – could you come back and say what happens?
Darren says
Hi Sara,
I called them this evening. In a nutshell they aren’t interested. They tried repeatedly explaining that the complaints process is being disrupted due to the administration of which I am fully aware. The individual indicated he did understand my concerns but ultimately I need to stick to the arrangement. It was left as a choice between either continuing to make payments or cancelling it. If I cancel the arrangement, collections activity will resume, my credit file will be impacted and they make pass the debt to a debt collector.
I found out I have £400 remaining. Part of me thinks it’s not worth the hassle for a % of £400 in terms of collection activity and the negative impact. However, the rational and stubborn part of me doesn’t see why I should continue to make payment. If the final loan is deemed to be irresponsible, the credit rating information should be removed anyway.
Any comments or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“If the final loan is deemed to be irresponsible, the credit rating information should be removed anyway.“ correct.
So you currently have payment arrangement which hasn’t been reported to the credit reference agencies? That’s… odd.
You seem aware of all the facts. There isn’t an easy decision here. The fact is if your complaint is upheld, that remaining 400 may well be most or even all of what you get as a refund. But there’s is no guarantee you will win your complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
For what it’s worth, my guess is that any collections activity will be minimal – just a request for payment – until they have responded to your complaint. They can’t take you to court until the complaint is resolved and it would be hard to sell the debt with a complaint outstanding and Wonga in administration because of the right of setoff in Insolvency.
But of course it’s not me that has to get their emails and texts asking for payment, so that’s easy for me to say.
Tara says
Hi.
I’ve had this response from Wonga today along with all my loan details.
It states I’m classed as a creditor but does give me a final response as it says they need to look into it and see if any of my loans will be upheld but says it could take months.
So does the 8 week window not apply anymore?
They didn’t ask me for statements or anything.
I’m worried now that if they take a long time that I can’t take it further if their response is not a good one.
I’ve also worked out my interest for last 6-8 loans over last 2-3 yrs covers my balance I owe so hoping they will wipe what I owe instead if they are all upheld.
Tara says
Sorry forgot to post letter.
Dear Miss X
Thank you for contacting us in relation to your complaint.
As you may be aware WDFC UK Limited (trading as Wonga) entered into administration on 31 August 2018. Chris Laverty, Daniel Smith and Andrew Charters of Grant Thornton UK LLP were appointed as joint administrators of WDFC UK Limited on 31 August 2018. The company traded at Wonga.com in the UK. The Administrators will conduct an orderly wind down of the business and sale of the assets and start the process of identifying all creditors, in accordance with their statutory obligations.
You are considered a contingent creditor of WDFC UK Limited (in Administration), this means that any amount you may be owed will need to be considered by the Administrators as they assess how to pay out all those to whom money may be owed from the assets of WDFC UK Limited (in Administration).
All complaints that are ultimately upheld in favour of the claimant and which require a refund to be paid will each rank as an unsecured creditor in the Administration. If your complaint is valid, it is very unlikely you will receive the full value of your complaint.
The Administrators will advise you of your claims status and prospect of a recovery as soon as reasonably practicable, however, this could take a number of months to ascertain.
We will send you updates via email. Please make sure to check your junk folder as emails are occasionally directed there.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can send your complaint to the Ombudsman but it is not known at the moment whether the Ombudsman will look at these new cases.
“I’ve also worked out my interest for last 6-8 loans over last 2-3 yrs covers my balance I owe so hoping they will wipe what I owe instead if they are all upheld.” in that case it’s probably best not to make any more payments to the balance. Are you currently making payments?
Tara says
Hi Sara
No I’m not making payments at the moment. I nearly set up a payment plan but then found this site and realised I could make a complaint as I was borrowing from Peter to pay Paul as they say. Then when Wonga went into administration I knew that any balance I paid off wouldn’t go in my favour as I probably wouldn’t see much of it back. I’ve checked my credit file and Wonga do come up on all the dates I got loans but there’s no way they actually checked for defaults and what I owed other credit/loans as it was always instant approval online and my credit score is very low. I’ll wait for their decision and just hope I can take it further when the time comes. Fingers crossed they offer to settle balance though.
Matt says
Hi
I have an outstanding loan with wonga too but also an ongoing affordability claim.
Am I within my rights to reject their payments?
This might be difficult as payment is taken from my debit card using a continuous payment authority system.
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you cannot afford to make the loan repayments without hardship (which is what an affordabilty complaint says) then you should tell your bank to cancel the CPA to Wonga. If Wonga ask you to set up a repayment arrangement which is affordable, say that you will do this when your outstanding complaint has been considered.
Doing this is likely to mean that a missed payment indicator will be added to your credit record. However if you win your complaint, any negative marks should be deleted.
Steve says
Hi,
Wonga have told me that any loans after 2014 I can’t make a claim for irresponsible lending as they changed the criteria. Is that correct? I’ve currentky got a loan with them where I’m struggling and have missed payments and they want to set up an arrangement plan. I’ve had about 4/5 loans back to back from them and wanted to submit a complaint but they have told me I can’t. If someone could clarify that it would be much appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Wonga have told me that any loans after 2014 I can’t make a claim for irresponsible lending as they changed the criteria.” have you just been told this when you asked? Or was it a sentence included in their response to you when you made a complaint?
Steve says
I’ve just been told this when I asked. As I said can I hold off on my arrangement until I’ve heard from my complaint and they said that about loans after 2014
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They should NOT be trying to dissuade you from putting in a complaint. Send them one asap, use the very simple template in the article above. Of course they may not uphold your complaint, but I hope they will not be applying a blanket “everything after 2015 is fine” approach.
At that point you can say that you want a response to your complaint before you set up a payment arrangement as it is possible you may be due a refund that exceeds the balance remaining on your loan.
Steve says
Just had a response which seems like a generic one (listed in this forum). Do I just leave it now until I hear or set up a repayment arrangement with them now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should resist setting up a payment arrangement for as long as possible. If the conclusion of your complaint is that you are due a refund, this will be used to reduce or write off the balance you owe. If you have repaid some of this, you are reducing the amount of a refund you could get this way. The other alternative of getting a refund in cash from Wonga will be subject to how much there is in the pot to be divided between everyone…
Doing this is likely to mean that a missed payment indicator will be added to your credit record. However if you win your complaint, any negative marks should be deleted.
katie says
i have emailed wonga about 2/3 weeks ago now and haven’t had any response whatsoever. Should i send another complaint or just continue to wait? i don’t have all my loan details and requested this on the email but i know i will be due a fair bit of money back. Is it worth persuing this or just leaving it do you think with everything thats going on>?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They have 8 weeks to reply to you – and may indeed take longer. Sorry, you just have to wait until you get a reply, there is nothing more you can do at this point.
Jeremy says
I spoke to the Ombudsman today and they told me they have informed the administrators of
all the decisions they have reached, but all other investigations are currently ‘on hold’ until
further notice
Lisa Round says
Hi.
My 8 weeks from submitting my complaint to wonga is up on the 4th October. Is it still worth sending it on to the ombudsman?
GimmeMyMoney says
I’m a day ahead of you. Also waiting on another lender who thankfully isn’t in administration.
m says
just got this
As you may be aware WDFC UK Limited (trading as Wonga) entered into administration on 31 August 2018. Chris Laverty, Daniel Smith and Andrew Charters of Grant Thornton UK LLP were appointed as joint administrators of WDFC UK Limited on 31 August 2018. The company traded at Wonga.com in the UK. The Administrators will conduct an orderly wind down of the business and sale of the assets and start the process of identifying all creditors, in accordance with their statutory obligations.
You are considered a contingent creditor of WDFC UK Limited (in Administration), this means that any amount you may be owed will need to be considered by the Administrators as they assess how to pay out all those to whom money may be owed from the assets of WDFC UK Limited (in Administration).
All complaints that are ultimately upheld in favour of the claimant and which require a refund to be paid will each rank as an unsecured creditor in the Administration. If your complaint is valid, it is very unlikely you will receive the full value of your complaint.
The Administrators will advise you of your claims status and prospect of a recovery as soon as reasonably practicable, however, this could take a number of months to ascertain.
Anon says
I am 9 weeks into a complaint with Wonga and have just received this email. Is this a standard email?
———————————-
As you may be aware WDFC UK Limited (trading as Wonga) entered into administration on 31 August 2018. Chris Laverty, Daniel Smith and Andrew Charters of Grant Thornton UK LLP were appointed as joint administrators of WDFC UK Limited on 31 August 2018. The company traded at Wonga.com in the UK. The Administrators will conduct an orderly wind down of the business and sale of the assets and start the process of identifying all creditors, in accordance with their statutory obligations.
You are considered a contingent creditor of WDFC UK Limited (in Administration), this means that any amount you may be owed will need to be considered by the Administrators as they assess how to pay out all those to whom money may be owed from the assets of WDFC UK Limited (in Administration).
All complaints that are ultimately upheld in favour of the claimant and which require a refund to be paid will each rank as an unsecured creditor in the Administration. If your complaint is valid, it is very unlikely you will receive the full value of your complaint.
The Administrators will advise you of your claims status and prospect of a recovery as soon as reasonably practicable, however, this could take a number of months to ascertain.
—————————
I do have an outstanding balance with Wonga as I was unable to keep up with payments, a repayment plan is yet to be set up with them. I had emailed them last week informing them that the 8 weeks were up and whether there was an update to my complaint. I’m not sure whether I should continue to hold fire or take it to the ombudsman now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok, you should try to avoid setting up a payment plan, as if your complaint is upheld, the refund will be used to reduce or wipe out what you owe. If Wonga want you to agree an arrangement, say you want a response to your complaint first as that will affect how much you owe.
It’s not clear if the Ombudsman will look at new complaints.
Tara says
I had this email last week. I also have a balance and was gonna set up a payment plan but as soon as they went into administration, I knew that anything that I pay, I won’t see again so have chosen not to pay anything till I get a final decision. I’m just waiting now. I don’t mind waiting as I don’t want a refund, I just want my balance wiped if they uphold enough loans.
Good luck.
Rachel says
I have had this email as well, would it be better to just wait or take it to the FOS? Thanks
Tara says
Hi Rachel
I’m going to wait as I don’t think FOS will take it on at the moment. What is clear is that no one will get a full amount now so if you have a balance then it’s more likely that might be wiped if you complaint is upheld by the administration. Maybe we might still be able to go to FOS after final replies.
Fingers crossed for you too.
Jane says
Hi,
I submitted a complaint on August 30th to Wonga,just before the announcement.
I have just received the same email as yourself but, also a SAR with a breakdown of four loans with interest totaling £1500. I’m not expecting a penny to be honest but, their response was very professional and far better than many others!
Fingers crossed for a result at some stage for us all however small!
GimmeMyMoney says
Wonga haven’t responded. I contacted the FOS and they’ve said they are still accepting Wonga complaints. But who knows what they will do.
The other provider have contacted me after 8 weeks to say they’ve been unable to complete their investigations.
I rang the FOS who seemed very disinterested I’m afraid to say. So much so that the advisor stopped responding to me. I’ve submitted my complaints online now. More waiting
David says
Hi all, looking for advice how to approach Wonga.
I have an outstanding balance with them. My complaint to them is now at 10 week stage. Have just received an email saying that because my account has been outstanding for more than 90 days, basically if I haven’t paid in full or agreed a repayment plan in 28 days they will register a default.
For obvious reasons I don’t want to pay Wonga anything or as little as possible as any balance would be set off with an upheld complaint. I had 23 loans over 2 stages including one that was rolled over 16 months in a row with interest totalling almost £900.
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is a difficult situation. You are right not to want to pay them anything, as this is your best chance of getting a refund. If your complaint is upheld, any default will be deleted so it won’t matter. Your complaint sounds like a good one to me…
You could reply that you feel this is not treating you fairly because they have not yet responded to your complaint. Use those words – it may sound like something a teacher says in the playground, but “treating customers fairly” is the basis of the FCA’s regulation.
Jack Gifford says
Hi Sara,
Sorry I haven’t been on here for a while and I’m assuming you’ve been asked this question a lot recently. But where do i stand with Wonga?
I made a complaint and was offered £4200 but they only took into consideration 12 of the 40 loans I have had. So I rejected the offer and sent my case to the FOS in the start of June.
What with wonga being in administration now I’m reading that I’ll be lucky to get anything from them now, is this true?
Massively gutted as I’ve turnt down a £4200 offer but at the time I was advised it should and could be a lot more so I went with.
Little result on the other side of things as the money shop offered me £2800 for 4 of the 7 loans I had with them so I have accepted before they also go into administration haha.
Any advice will be much appreciated.
Jack
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is my best guess at the moment about what will happen.
The administrators need to establish the full value of your potential refund. It isn’t known if FOS will be able to consider your case – at the moment they aren’t working on any Wonga complaints until this is clear. It is possible the administrators will ask FOS to do the work, or they may come up with a formula themselves or they may say, No, they will use Wonga’s original offer. It seems to me that for you £4200 is effectively the minimum.
After there is a number, however it is achieved, it then goes into the pool of unsecured creditors (unless you currently owe Wonga a balance???) and will be paid out at some rate such s 5p in the £, 30p in the £ or 75p in the £. This won’t be known for months. It s VERY unlikely to be paid in full.
Jack Gifford says
Brilliant thanks for the reply. I’ll just sit tight and forget about it and hope I get a letter with an offer some time in the future lol.
I don’t currently owe wonga anything and haven’t done for a year or two now.
Regards
Jack
T says
I fell your pain I was offered £4200 and declined it and gutted. I just hope we are offered something reasonable. Doesn’t seem fair that they can get away with this.
Vickie says
Yep feel your pain, held out for the over 6 years rule to be changed, after all Payday UK paid out over 6yrs. Wish I’d seen this coming I would of settled for just under £2k from original offer now waving goodbye to just short of £5k. Second time this has happened, should know better and feeling a bit gutted!
Anon says
Spoke with ombudsman this morning and they are expecting an update to go out in the next week or so regarding the wonga situation.
Matthew says
I’m not expecting good news.
Anon99 says
About bloody time! my case has been on hold for 15 months and i expect nothing back now as the Ombudsman have been incompetent in the delay the fact the 6 year cases have been on hold for so long means so many of us now miss out on what we are OWED.
Sally says
I’ve been waiting over 25 months! Bonkers. I also turned down original offer almost two years ago. Pretty frustrating. Just want to know one way or the other now.
Dab says
Is anybody else getting threatening emails from wonga, I have a complaint against them with the FOS I had over 100 loans in 5 years, i also have an outstanding balance of 800 with wonga which I haven’t been paying as I thought the complaint would go in my favour.
I’m now getting emails asking me to pay, first they were saying they would report to the credit agencies now they’re saying they could sell the debt on to another company.
I have replied to their emails but they never seem to answer they just send the same sort of collection arrears email.
Was just wondering what the best way to handle this is and if anyone else has the same problem.
At the moment I cannot afford to pay them without borrowing again or falling behind with other bills.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“I’m now getting emails asking me to pay, first they were saying they would report to the credit agencies now they’re saying they could sell the debt on to another company.”
Well it’s fair enough to report your missing payment to the credit reference agencies as you haven’t paid … but if you win the complaint then any negative marks will be removed.
I think it is very unlikely that they will sell the debt to a debt collector with your complaint unresolved because of the right of setoff (see https://debtcamel.co.uk/wonga-refunds-set-off/).
I suspect these are just automated collection emails. No-one is sitting and deciding what to do with Dab’s case on Monday!
Who knows what will happen with the cases already at FOS, but FWIW 50 loans sounds like a strong case, so if anyone is OK you should be!
And given that, I understand if you are reluctant to set up any payment arrangement to them until you have an answer to your complaint. Especially as your finances are obviously difficult.
Dab says
Thanks for the reply Sara they have upped the ante with the emails lately I think it’s 3 or 4 in the past week after hearing nothing for a while.
My case was sent to the fos in July but obviously with all the uncertainty about what’s happening with wonga complaints I wasn’t expecting a quick resolution.
I was Hoping that they would possibly look at writing off the outstanding balance and wondered if anybody else has had any success with this lately. I never seem to get a response to this request when emailing wonga.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could try phoning? But I suspect that the front line staff don’t have much authority to cut a deal at the moment until the administrators set guidelines. There should be a statement by the administrators and FOS sometime – I am hoping soon – about what is going to happen about the complaints currently at FOS. As I understand they are not being worked on at the moment.
Q says
Hi all,
I had a refund due after wonga agreeing with the adjudicators decision. I had a confirmation email from them on 28/08 to say the payment (£3500+) would be in my bank within 14 days. A few days later the administration was announced. Since then i have been told that their unable to make any refund payments due to refund payments been placed on hold. On 12/10 I had a payment of £13 paid into my account from WDFC UK LIMITED. I’ve sent screen shots of proof of payment going into my bank and forwarded onto their email address after talking to an advisor on live chat. I can’t seem to get answers from them as to why this payment was made. Especially when the website clearly states that no payments can be made.
“No payments will be made until all of the assets have been realised.”
Has anyone else received a payment from wonga after the administration was announced? After the 5th phone call I’m now told that its been forwarded to the relevant department who will be in touch with me to explain what the payment was for. I will keep you posted.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds like an error to me. I am not sure there is much point spending time trying to work out what this is.
Vickie says
Has there been any developments in the Wonga scenario? Pretty sure I’ll not get anything back, kicked myself several times for holding out over 6yrs, waving bye bye for far too much. Given the announcement was in Aug how long Sara would you expect it to be before we officially hear anything back from them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No developments recently.
For you there are three important points:
1 will FOS decide on the value of your redress orwill it be passes back to the administrators?
2 if it’s passed back to the administrators, how will they decide on the value of your redress? And will this include the over 6 year loans?
3 once an amount is determined, how long will it be until it is known how much (how many pence in the pound) you will get.
I would hope we will know the answer to 1 pretty soon and 2 at the same time or shortly afterwards. 3 May take many months.
Ben says
Anyone else just had an email?
‘Claims for which a customer has not received payment but has been notified that they are entitled by a Final Response Letter and have accepted the offer within it will now be assessed relative to the value of assets which are realised. At this time we do not have a date for payment of any redress claims. It is highly unlikely that you will receive the full value of your claim. Further updates on redress claims will be posted here when available’
Movement maybe?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, this is no change, this is what has always been going to happen with an agreed refund.
Anthony says
I received the exact same email yesterday after nothing for months even though my claim has been accepted. Think it was just a generic email sent out with no change at all to the situation.
James says
I had 101 loans over 4 years, I borrowed from other lenders to pay these off every month. Wonga rejected my complaint at start of August and I sent to FOS straight away.
I emailed wonga a couple of days after the announcement asking if they would reconsider and explained my situation, today they have emailed to say they will assess my complaint and have given me a new reference number.
Nathan says
I’ve had a similar email after doing much the same thing about a week before they went into administration.
I essentially told them that I had referred to FOS as they had clearly not investigated my complaint at all and just given me a generic not upheld response.
Email yesterday saying they are looking into my complaint but it may take several months.
Colin says
I am late to the party and only just submitted my compliant today, so no idea if I am too late. Got an automated response saying they would look into this.
15 loans over an 11 month period for increasing amounts. I am less concerned about compensation but would like them removed from my credit file. Will keep you posted.
StevieC says
I am still awaiting a final response to my complaint which was made on August 1st. Every time I asked them what is happening through the chat service the reply is that all complaint responses are currently on hold.
carl says
I accepted a refund one day before they went into administration. I received an email 2 days ago saying they will remove the loans from my credit history. nothing as yet on when i will receive my refund.
Becci says
I received this email today too. I spoke to them a few weeks ago and they explained everything was on hold and that they were unable to look into this so I’m glad they have finally been authorised to follow this aspect up at least.
Luke says
Afternoon i have a case with the Fos for sunny and wonga loans over 40 each over the past 5 years ,
At this point im not really bothered with the refund from wonga but id love to get the loans removed from my credit file as this could have a massive impact on my credit score?
Any advice for me Sara?
Also i submitted the sunny complaint to the fos around 2 months ago what are peoples waiting times before they got a reply?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Getting the loans removed probably won’t have a massive impact on your credit score unless you had missed payments or defaulted on some. And even then it may not make that much difference if there are a lot of other problems with other debts.
But anyway there isn’t much you can do at the moment until the administrators decide how they will handle complaints. I know this is very frustrating.
Colin says
Recently complained to Wonga and just got the below reply today . Hope it is a useful update for some:-
Thank you for contacting us in relation to your complaint.
As you may be aware WDFC UK Limited (trading as Wonga) entered into administration on 31 August 2018. Chris Laverty, Daniel Smith and Andrew Charters of Grant Thornton UK LLP were appointed as joint administrators of WDFC UK Limited on 31 August 2018. The company traded at Wonga.com in the UK. The Administrators will conduct an orderly wind down of the business and sale of the assets and start the process of identifying all creditors, in accordance with their statutory obligations.
You are considered a contingent creditor of WDFC UK Limited (in Administration), this means that any amount you may be owed will need to be considered by the Administrators as they assess how to pay out all those to whom money may be owed from the assets of WDFC UK Limited (in Administration).
All complaints that are ultimately upheld in favour of the claimant and which require a refund to be paid will each rank as an unsecured creditor in the Administration. If your complaint is valid, it is very unlikely you will receive the full value of your complaint.
The Administrators will advise you of your claims status and prospect of a recovery as soon as reasonably practicable, however, this could take a number of months to ascertain.
victoria says
Any news on when this will be decided?
My 8 week period is up tomorrow, but I know they are still dividing up refunds etc
Is there a rough idea of when they will know?
steffi says
It’s going to be months, I received a letter from the Administrators this morning, they are only just getting started, and out of the £2000 plus they agreed to pay I’m not really expecting to get anywhere near that back, if anything, they are likely to pay pennies on the pound. Not sure if the Ombudsman is taking on any new complaints for those that have not yet complained to them.
Paul Gratrix says
my complaint to Wonga hasnt been addressed and we are now approaching the 8 weeks.
do i need to register the complaint with the FO?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You will get a reply at some point. Whether there will be any form of review if you don’t like the response isn’t clear. There hasn’t been an announcement about whether FOs will be looking at any more complaints – a lot of people are guessing that the answer is No. So far as I know, they aren’t doing any work on any WONGA complaints at the moment. You certainly don’t “need” to send it to FOS at 8 weeks and it’s not clear you are likely to gain anything if you do.
Ted says
Hi Sara,
I have just received post with login details from Grant Thornton (Wonga administrators) once logged in there are substantial pages detailing administrator proposals – highlights all Wonga assets / expenses etc – lots of reading to be done. Busy just now though , but hopefully things are positive
Caroline says
Hi Tes I just received the same letter in the post.
I can’t make head or tail of it. Do we have to do anything? I accepted an offer 1 week before they went into Administration.
Thanks
Caroline
Jade says
Hello Ted and Caroline and Sara
I received the same aswell, it is very confusing.. do we need to do anything ?
Jade
Caroline says
Hi SARA
I have emailed you a copy.
From what I’m making of it, it doesn’t look like anything will be settled until next year
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Thanks – at first glance it is interesting but not urgent.
If you are wondering why you haven’t received the letter, I think it has only been sent to people whose complaints have reached “the agreed amount but not yet paid” stage. It’s not a worry if you don’t have one, it doesn’t mean your complaint is being rejected.
EDIT: 2 new articles about this
read How the administrators will handle Wonga complaints
and Letter from administrators – do you have to vote?
nicola says
hiya Sara.i have revived a letter from Grant Thornton today it reads. the administrators proposals in respect of this case are now available for you to view or download by accessing the grant Thornton UK lol insolvency act portal using the credentials below.(thats my password and login details they have sent me.) furthermore you are now able to update details submit proof of debt and if applicable participate in a decision procedure using online prtal.also says I can get hard copies sent to me.do you understand it when I login I can’t really see much.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Nicola, I think all people who had had a refund agreed but not yet before Wonga went into administration have this letter.
I now have a copy of this and will be writing about it to explain what it is and what you could choose to do – there is no rush to do anything.
Jon says
Hi
I’ve had the same email. My claim was with the FO. I’m confused because I was unaware they’d agreed anything. So I feel clueless.
I rang up the FO & was advised that I need to call back next week. They’ve only found out this morning.
claire says
I had put in a complaint against Wonga with the FOS shortly before they went into administration,
I had the following email fro the FOS a few days ago, after I emailed for an update on all the claims I have with them at moment.
“I should explain that as this case is against Wonga we are currently awaiting guidance from the administrators as they are going into liquidation. We will then be in a position to understand what we will be doing with these cases.
As it stands Wonga cases are all on hold.
We will let you know once the decision has been made of the next steps.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.”
Mark says
I have also received the letter today from Grant Thornton and I have logged in and read the documents but I don’t know if I’m suppose to do anything it says about a vote and making a complaint but I’m confused because my case was with the ombudsman but I didn’t receive an offer, thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You are now the second person to say this.
This suggests that the administrators have reached a decision on what to do about at least some, possibly all, of the cases in the ombudsman queue.
At the moment we don’t know what they have decided. If you ask your adjudicator, they may know.
I hope that they have decided to just accept the adjudicator decisions in all cases – but that may be wishful thinking on my part.
Mark says
Thanks for the quick reply Sara, do I just ring the main ombudsman number , I didn’t have my own adjudicator , noone ever emailed me back from the fos about my case but I rang up fos a month before wonga went into administration and was told I would hear very soon, thanks a lot
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah. Then I really don’t know what is happening. Sorry. Yes try the main ombudsman number.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Mark
I have an update.
The administrators say they have sent c 2,000 letters to people from Wonga’s database who have been awarded compensation that hasn’t been paid. If you are not sure why you have received this letter you should email customer services at customercomplaints@wonga.com and put “Administrators Proposals” in the subject line. And explain where you think your query is.
Wonga Customer Services are now briefed to look out for these emails.
I would be interested to know what the result is!
Mark says
Ok thanks very much Sara I will email them and see what they say and I’m going to ring the ombudsman again tomorrow and see if they know anymore info yet. Thanks again
Mark says
I’m wondering if I got the letter just for the £100 compensation wonga offered me months ago which I didn’t accept but because I never heard back from the fos im wondering what’s the chances it went through them and I’ll get a better offer, thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know. Almost all the people who have said here they have received the letter has an agreed award. If the letter had been sent out to everyone Wonga had made a poor offer too who had taken their case to FOS I would have expected dozens and them to have commented here.
Bev says
I have a letter that I have to log in a portal for.DFC UK Limited – In Administration
Following my appointment as Joint Administrator on 31 August 2018 please note under paragraphs 57
and 51 of Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986 and rule 18.18 of the Insolvency (England and Wales)
Rules 2016, decisions of the creditors are sought as follows:
1 A creditors’ committee be formed. Information concerning creditors’ committees can be found in
Liquidation / Creditors’ Committees and Commissioners: A Guide for Creditors published by the
Association of Business Recovery Professionals.
2 The approval of the Joint Administrators’ proposals
3 That the remuneration of the Joint Administrators be fixed according to the time properly spent by the
Joint Administrators and their staff
4 That the Joint Administrators out of pocket expenses at cost; mileage is charged at 45p per mile, be
approved.
In relation to Resolution 3, a fees estimate of £1,773,707 + VAT for the first 12 months of the
Administration is attached as Appendix C to the Joint Administrators’ Proposals.
Please find attached notice of a vote by correspondence and a proof of debt form. What does this mean?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Bev, people who have had agreed claims with Wonga – either directly or via the Ombudsman – have been getting this letter in the last couple of days. Also a few other people as well – do you have an agreed claim?
You don’t have to do anything, but I am writing an article explaining the letter and what your options are.
EDIT: the article is here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/wonga-letter-oct-2018/
Alice says
I have had a letter from Grant Thornton with login details. The case details are available to view but it’s generic, hard to understand information. Do I have to vote on forming a creditors committee or make a claim, or do I just leave it to go through? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Alice – you don’t have to reply. I am writing an article on this at the moment, so look out for it!
Jack says
I also received this letter and log in details. VERY confusing to say the least. I have initially turned down a 4000 offer from Wonga and took it to the FO. Obviously since then wonga have gone into administration. Looking forward to reading your article regarding this Sara.
This page is a life saver for a lot of people.
Mel says
I’ve had a complaint with the ombudsman since May. I received an offer from wonga in July, which was a lot less than my claim, but I accepted. Wonga then claimed it was a copy of a response to a previous complaint I had submitted and not to the new one. The adjudicator resubmitted my claim which restarted the 8 week clock, 2 weeks later wonga entered administration. Very frustrating as I feel like they sent the wrong reply intentionally to buy more time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So close … how maddening.
Mel says
Incredibly maddening Sara. We’ll just have to sit tight and see what comes of it
Sara (Debt Camel) says
For people who have received the letter from the administrators – here is my new article on why you have been sent this and how to Vote if you want – you don’t have to! https://debtcamel.co.uk/wonga-letter-oct-2018/
I am writing a separate article looking at the administrators proposals for how to handle the administration and decide complaints. EDIT – it’s here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/wonga-administrator-proposals/
Jeff says
Hi Sara, what does this mean for over 6 years complaints with the FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
An important question! As the administrators say they are planning that their refunds should be in line FOS refunds, I hope the over 6 year loans will be included.
Andy says
Hi I have a claim with ombudsman after turning down an offer from Wonga. I have not been sent a letter dhould I contact Wonga ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes if you want to vote on the proposals (see https://debtcamel.co.uk/wonga-letter-oct-2018/). I’m not really sure whether you should have been sent a letter, not many people in your position have.
If you don’t care about voting, then don’t bother – the letter is interesting but I have just bee told it will be published on the Wonga website later this week.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Andy,
I now have an answer to what you should do if you think you should have been sent this letter:
Email Wonga customer services at customercomplaints@wonga.com and put “Administrators Proposals” in the subject line. Say why you think you have an agreed award with wonga (you could attach an email that confirms that?).
Wonga customer services have been briefed to look out for these emails.
dave says
this announcement is now on the financial ombudsman site
In September we said that we were aware that Wonga had gone into administration and that due to the nature of the business, there was no protection offered to consumers under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. We’ve since been working with the administrators, Grant Thornton, to clarify the impact on the cases we have with us and whether we’d be able to work any new cases brought to us.
Grant Thornton has confirmed that whether claims will be accepted – that is, whether complaints will be upheld and whether someone becomes a creditor – and the amount of redress they will then receive, is now a decision for the administrators. Grant Thornton is writing to potential creditors to explain this and the next steps they’ll need to take.
This means we won’t be able to progress any complaints about Wonga any further, or work any new cases brought to us. As a result, we’ll be transferring complaints about Wonga to Grant Thornton as the administrators. We’ll be writing to individual consumers to explain this and to let them know that they don’t need to do anything further at this stage and that Grant Thornton will get in touch directly. Further information about the administration process is available on Grant Thornton’s website here.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
thanks – I have updated the article above
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have now written a more detailed article on the administrators proposals: https://debtcamel.co.uk/wonga-administrator-proposals/
Sara says
I sent a complaint in Sept 2018, I got that standard reply, but I really though by now, I would hear if I’m going to get something back or not, understand they don’t know how much people are getting back, but I want to know either way now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The administrators have decided that all the new complaints such as yours will go through their new automated decision tool. I don’t think that has yet been finalised, so no-one in your position has had an answer. I understand that’s really frustrating, but there is nothing you can do to speed this up.
Tom says
Hi.
I just wanted to see if anyone can advise.
I lodged an affordability complaint with Wonga back in January. Having seen success with complaints with Sunny and QuickQuid, I was confident that things would go in my favour. My complaint with Wonga spans 4 years, 36 loans, often taken out consecutive months for larger and larger amounts. Over that period I paid somewhere in the region of £3,200 in interest and £440 in fees.
In March I received an offer from Wonga of the amount of £291 as apparently They would only look at 3 loans before November 2014. I immediately rejected the offer and pushed the claim through the FOS.
The FOS at this time were clearly backdated with Wonga complaints, and I didn’t end up hearing from them on the matter until September when Wonga went into administration.
I’ve since received the letter from Grant Thorton, but I’m just a little unsure on a few things. Firstly whether or not I’ve got any chance with getting anything from the complaint, and if so, what to do next?
I understand that the FOS now aren’t looking at the complaints and everything is with Grant Thorton, but do I need to start the whole process again? And what’s the best approach?
Any guidance would be great.
Thanks guys.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You don’t have to do anything, GT have your complaint. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/wonga-letter-oct-2018/.
What you may get is uncertain for two reasons. First how much your claim will be assessed at, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/wonga-administrator-proposals/. Secondly how much money there is for refunds, which will what percentage of your assessed amount you actually receive.
Tom says
Ok, thanks for the advice.
The thing I’m struggling to get my head around is why I’ve got the GT letter. It says all of those who GT have identified as creditors got the letter, but I’ve not accepted anything from Wonga, nor have I received any sort of update from the FOS. Would this be because of the previous offer that they tabled? Or is this on the guidance of the FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am not sure. It may be because of WOnga’s previous offer – but in that case I would expect a LOT more people to have said they have had the letters. It certainly isn’t on any guidance from FOS.
Mark says
I’m in exactly the same boat, I got offered £100 few months ago and declined never heard back from fos and I received the gt letter a week and half ago
Liam says
I’ve now had a letter from the financial ombudsman confirming they won’t be looking into my complaint and it will be dealt with by the administrators. I’m not sure if this link has been posted but it says go to wonga-administration.grantthornton.co.uk
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Thank you, that link hasn’t been posted before. It seems to be a summary of the current position.
ClaireR says
Hi,
I have also had this letter from the FOS yesterday, Is it still worth complaining again to the administrators when Wonga rejected it initially?
My complaint was sent to the FOS about a week before Wonga collapsed.
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your complaint will have been returned to the administrators by FOS.
You shouldn’t need to put in another complaint.
ClaireR says
Hi Sara,
The letter from the FOS states –
In Wongas case, it is now for the administrators to decide whether peoples complaints will be upheld and whether they will become a creditor. The administrators will also decided how much money any creditors will receive.
What does this mean for my complaint?
We can’t take your complaint forward ourselves, so you’ll need to refer it to the administrators.
Unfortunately we can’t do this on your behalf – because we hadn’t started investigating your complaint at the time the administrators were appointed. Once you’ve contacted the administrators, they will assess your complaint and let you know whether it’s been upheld and whether you’ve become a creditor”
I think I have answered my own initial question Sara, but the above may be useful for others.
Don’t hold out too much hope, but will send complaint in again to the administrators and sit and wait!
Jen says
Hi Sara I got a similar letter today saying the FOS will forward my details to the administrators on 20/11/18 and their involvement will end
Jen says
Hi ClaireR I think if the complaint has been with FOS for a while and they have had time to gather all the info they will forward complaints on to administrators, but if it’s a recent complaint & they don’t have all info back you will prob need to contact the administrators, think the FOS sent out 2 diff letters from what people have posted, depending on how long it’s been with them for & how much investigation they have done, if they have a complete case or not yet
Pete says
Hi Sara, just a quick question. You mentioned on one person’s post about another person having their credit report wiped of the Wonga loans. I was just wondering how that person approached achieving that. I emailed them requesting this to be done for me and they replied with this: (apologies for the length, I’m unable to format that font.
As a responsible lender, we are required to report accurate information to the credit reference agencies. This means accurately reporting every loan application, settled loan and, in some cases, issues with an account.
Our privacy policy, terms and conditions, and website describe how each loan is subject to a credit check and how reporting will be made in respect of each loan.
We are not responsible for how lenders who use the reported data make decisions in relation to credit scoring. Other lenders set their own credit policy that we cannot influence. We are unable to remove any searches, footprints or defaults that have been applied correctly from your file.
If you could advise on what to reply to this email in order to successfully achieve having my credit report amended I’d be sincerely greatful. I too have had the Grant Thornton letter holding the info to login to the pdf files. My adjudicator was finalising my case in my favour too. Hope this is all clear.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The previous comment was about someone who had had an agreed refund which hasn’t yet been paid. You will only get the negative marks removed if your affordability complaint is upheld – whether GT will do this for the complaints they are deciding (including yours) we don’t yet know.
John says
My adjudicator was in the final stages of my case and had agreed with me about a refund, I’m unsure about what was discussed with Wonga at this stage, would I be better to ring them today and ask about this? Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think unless you had confirmation that the adjudicator decision was accepted, it probably wasn’t. You can phone up and ask though.
I hope that in cases like yours, where the adjudicator had made a decision, the administrators will choose to use that decision as the correct award.
Q says
Hi all
I recently commented on the fact I hadn’t received the letter from Grant Thornton. I followed your advice sara and emailed wonga along with a screenshot of the refund I was offered and also the email from them stating that the funds would be in my account within 14 days. My complaint was upheld through the adjudicator and not through wonga directly. I have had no response from wonga regarding the email. Has anyone else that had a complaint upheld at the adjudicator stage not received the letter? Why do you think i have not had this letter?
Is it something I should contact the FOS over or should I try and contact GT directly. Thanks for any help.
Steve says
I haven’t received a reply yet either. Same stage as you. Emailed Wonga they said they couldn’t find me and asked for more details.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When you say you followed my advice, was it this: “Email Wonga customer services at customercomplaints@wonga.com and put “Administrators Proposals” in the subject line.” ??
Q says
Yes Sara that is correct. I sent that email along with the proof of my complaint been upheld and the email to show wonga had my bank details and monies would be in my account within 14 working days. I had a lengthy online chat with wonga this morning and that left me more confused than when I started. I was first told that my complaint was showing as it wasn’t upheld, then after finding my reference number it was suddenly showing as upheld. Wonga have no knowledge of this letter but was asked to forward it to them (I haven’t got the letter that’s why I’m here talking to them). To then be told to contact GT but am only able to do so via a written letter. To say it’s frustrating would be putting it nicely. I don’t know what to do from here.
On the bright side my other complaint with unclebuck was assigned to an ombudsman this morning. Do you have a timescale on how long that would normally take to reach a decision.
Thanks
African Queen says
A quick update on Wonga.
I got a letter from the FOS this evening saying that they will be referring my complaint to the administrators, Grant Thornton, on the 20th of November. Their involvement with my complaint will end after that and it will be up to the administrators to decide if I am one of those that should refunded with whatever monies are left.
I’m not holding out too much hope on this one but I wll post updates as and when I get them.
Good luck to everyone and thank you as always to Sara xx
GimmeMyMoney says
I had the same letter. I’ve also had an email from Wonga saying the same thing
Susie says
Hello, I got the letter from GT a couple of weeks ago although I’m confused because I had been assigned a adjudicator but had no decision. Initially I was offered £4500 but I rejected this as the figure and went to FOS as figure was closer to £11000. Any idea what I should do? Not sure if I should just be glad I’m in the queue or actually fight for the figure.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can’t tell if GT are going to put your claim down as £4500 or if they will run it through their automatic claim calculation tool they are developing and use that number. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/wonga-administrator-proposals/
At the moment there is nothing you can do.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have now found out they will run your claim through the automated tool and they will then use that number OR the £44500 you were originally offered, whichever is higher.
Jamie C says
Hello, is it too late to register a complaint to wonga? I read the info but cant get my head around it. Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
read the “It’s not too late to ask for a refund” section in the article above and put your complaint in – it’s very easy.
Charlie H says
Hi Sara,
Sorry to bother you again but i have a quick question regarding my refund. Like many others, I accepted the offer made to me by Wonga through the FOS as soon as i realised they might be going into Administration. However, having now read the proposals from the Administrators (Thank you for the link to Companies House) i note that they have accepted the FOS final decision regarding the 6 year and beyond issue. When accepting my remittance, I cancelled the complaint re any of my loans beyond the 6 year period, not realising FOS had agreed to actually look at them. Clearly, considering the amount of time we waited, it would have been nice for the FOS to tell me that when i rang them. Anyway, the question is this – Will the Administrators now relook at the original complaint and assess it including those loans over 6 years or will they just stick to the complaint for those loans under the 6 year period? Hope that makes sense
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think where there is an accepted offer, that is it, it won’t be reassessed.
James F says
Hi, I submitted a claim against QQ and Wonga Oct 4 2018. Next Thursday it will be the 54th day.
What I would like to know is, am I going to get any money from them and roughly when? I had around 25-35 loans since 2013.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you had a lot of loans from Wonga you will probably get back something, but it will not be the full value of your refund because there will not be enough money to pay all the claims in full. It will not be known how much you will get for a long while, probably second half of 2019. Do you currently owe a balance to Wonga?
For QuickQuid, they are not making many good offers at the moment, if you get an offer and you aren’t sure if it is enough, the best place to ask is here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/quickquid-payday-loan-refunds/. If you don’t get an offer, send it straight to the Financial Ombudsman!
James F says
No outstanding debts. I shouldn’t have paid them back the 700GBP I paid back in September by the sounds of it.
Sounds like I will be missing out on thousands because I didn’t claim before August. What a mess.
I can see why people employ companies to do this for you. Really isn’t worth the effort from your end now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it is unfortunate you paid them the £700 as that should have been reduced / wiped out by your complaint.
“I can see why people employ companies to do this for you. Really isn’t worth the effort from your end now.” the effort now consists of sending in one email saying you have been given unaffordable loans. Nothing else. It is more work to sign up with a claims firm who will send the same letter.
James F says
So basically I just forget about this for now lol
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, there is nothing you can do to progress this faster.
James F says
I took out around 12000GBP worth of loans between 2012 and 2018. Ballpark what we talking in terms of refunds?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much interest did you pay to which lender? Sorry but it’s not possible to guess at ballparks. If some of the loans were only for a week or so, the interest may be lower than you would expect. If some of the loans were rolled/deferred it could be a lot larger.
Linda says
First of all, I would like to say a massive thank you for all the information and responses you give Sara, I wouldn’t have put a complaint in if it wasn’t for your template letter!
My situation is slightly different in regards to accepting/declining the offer made by wonga, I made the complaint 6th June and they upheld 16 of 42 loans, they offered just over 1000 (16th Aug), I immediatley put a complaint in with the FOS (as it had been over 8 weeks anyway) as I wanted all loans to be upheld, I didn’t reply to the wonga offer and recieved an email from Wonga that the case was closed (the day they went into administration), I had the letter from the FOS that the case could not be carried on further by them and was passed onto Grant Thornton, I have also recieved a letter from GT saying I am a creditor and I could vote, login etc…
My question is, am I right to assume I am being treated as one of the ones who are owed a refund even though I did not respond to the offer? If so, do you have any idea if all loans will be taken into consideration or just the 16 they upheld?
Cheers.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As I understand it, what will happen here is that Grant Thornton will run your 42 loans through the new automatic refund calculator they are developing. They are trying to mirror what the Ombudsman does – we don’t know any more about it than that at the moment. This will give a refund number, say £X.
If £X is larger then the 31000 you have been offered, then £X will be set as your refund amount. If £X is lower, your refund amount will be £1000.
The amount that is actually paid out will beb lower, as there won’t be enough to pay refunds in full.
Dana says
I received a letter today saying:
“I write to advise you that the joint administrators statement of proposals was approved on 9 November 2018 by decision procedure.”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is the Administrators saying that their Proposals (see https://debtcamel.co.uk/wonga-administrator-proposals/ for my comments on them) have been agreed by the creditors. It was always very unlikely that they wouldn’t be.
Emma says
How do I get in contact with Grant Thornton? Do you have a number or email address? I had a letter from The Financial Omburdsman saying they would pass my information onto Grant Thornton on the 20th November but I havent received a response from Grant Thornton to say anything has been received. I want to check they have received my case rather than wait weeks to find out my information hasnt been passed on
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think you need to do this at the moment. I will try to find out.
Paul says
I’m also waiting to hear anything after receiving the same letter you got so guess they haven’t informed anyone yet
Neil says
Hi Sara,
Got an email from the administrators at Wonga yesterday, basically saying they have got my complaint back from the FOS. it says everything you have said on here in the past, but thought i would post a couple of bits from the email for you and other people to see..
‘All complaints that are ultimately upheld in favour of the claimant and which require a refund to be paid would each rank as an unsecured creditor in the Administration. Even if your complaint is valid, it is very unlikely you will receive the full value of your complaint.
The Joint Administrators will advise of you of your claims status and prospect of a recovery as soon as reasonably practicable. However, this is likely to take a number of months. We should also note that it may take a number of months for you to receive any refund even after your entitlement has been determined. We will send you updates via email.’
Neil
Lesley McBain says
I received an E mail from Grant Thornton today basically saying they have my details and that it will takes months before they know IF any monies will be refunded to Unsecured Creditors and then it will, again, be months before any refunds, if any, will be paid. Doesn’t sound promising.
Mark says
Hi
Just wanna say thanks for the wealth of infomration available on this website.
I put in a loan for 500 in august with just over 900 to repay. I have repaid 450 of it so far. I have had multiple loans over the last year from them in the past
Phoned Wonga and said I was struggling. They put my account on hold from 1/12/18 for 38 days.
Have just today sent off a complaints letter hoping to get the intrest refunded so all I pay back is what I borrowed.
What should I do about when my account becomes unfrozen? Shall I just not pay anything until I hear back?
Thanks again
M
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have done the right thing so far.
Wonga will probably come back at the end of January and want you to make a payment arrangement. The problem with this is that every pound you pay them now may well reduce your refund. If you had multiple loans in the last year it may well be that Wonga owes you money, not the other way around.
So the best thing will be to say that you don’t want to pay any more money until they calculate your refund because you “have the right of set-off”.
Mark says
Hi
Thank you for your prompt reply
I forgot to add that Wonga had emailed on 14/12/18 asking for information about my current financial situation so they could set up a repayment plan for myself. I haven’t replied to that email, instead I sent the Affordability complaint as mentioned in my last comment.
Should I just sit and wait for a reply?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply that you consider that they owe you money at the moment because of your affordability complaint and so you would like to wait until that is quantified and it is clear if after set off you do owe Wonga any money.
Joseph says
Hi Sara,
I’ve put a complaint in about Wonga – if they respond and reject the complaint where do I stand? If we can’t send it to the FOS, and probably won’t have much luck negotiating, what can we do? I had 47 loans over the past 2 years totalling nearly £3k intrest alone.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you still owe Wonga any money?
Joseph says
No i dont owe them anything. Does make it even more difficult?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not owing them any money means you don’t have the immediate decision about whether to make a payment arrangement or not.
What will happen with your complaint is that
1) the administrators will put it through their “automatic assessment” tool which they are developing. This is intended to follow the decision-making process that FOS will use, but it could never be exact as FOS would be looking through all your bank statements, whereas the administrators’ tool will just be based on your past Wonga borrowing history.
2) that will give a refund amount.
3) then that refund amount will be set as the amount Wonga owes you and it will then go into the division of the available money between all unsecured creditors, including you. At the moment we have no idea if people will get paid 55, 20% or how much of their refund.
4) the refund is unlikely to be in the first half of 2019.
There will be no option of appealing this to FOS or of negotiating at all. On the plus side, now you have sent in your complaint there is nothing more to do, just sit back and wait.