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Wonga – what happened during the administration

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.

In October, many people with a balance still owed to Wonga received an offer to settle the debt for 25% of its value. This included some people who had made a Claim and had that upheld – the administrators withdrew these offers as they didn’t take account of the refunds owed.

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. This includes 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;
  • 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 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:

  1. the administrators are not taking off any tax.
  2. there will, therefore, be no tax to have to reclaim.
  3. 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:

  1. confusion over whether a claims company has been paid or they will be;
  2. Wongasaid payment was sent to a claims firm that hadn’t been used;
  3. Wonga said a cheque was sent to a house you no longer live it;
  4. Wonga said a payment has been made to your bank account but it hasn’t arrived ;
  5. 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.


More Debt Camel articles:

Refunds from large loans & car finance

Payday Loan Refunds

Refunds from other payday lenders

part of a credit card

Is your credit card limit too high?

April 21, 2020 Author: Sara Williams Tagged With: High cost credit news/policy, Payday loans, Wonga

Comments

  1. Wayne says

    February 28, 2020 at 6:13 pm

    Does any one no the number for payday refunds Ltd I have been on to wonga and told that I have a cmc dealing with my case I could not remember them and have no contact for them if any one can help it would be much appreciated

    Reply
    • Michelle Jones says

      February 28, 2020 at 6:21 pm

      Pay day refund are not in operation anymore I went through them so god knows where our money is ..
      Send about 8 emails to try and find out nothing ??

      Reply
  2. Charlotte says

    February 28, 2020 at 6:15 pm

    Well I’ve phoned Wonga today as I haven’t received my payment. Spoke to a nice lady who checked all my details and confirmed I wasn’t on the list for returned payments or on cheque payments. She then advised that my payment hasn’t been issued as they have had no contact with me since I updated my bank details in sept 19! I straight away corrected her to state that I have spoken to several people at Wonga and sent several emails and confirmed bank details several times the most recent been Wednesday who again confirmed my full bank details and told me payment would be today! She apologised and said she would send my case to be escalated right there. I did state how can I trust that when people previously haven’t been able to do simple things like update the records that I had been in contact!? She just assured me that she was doing it. I asked her would I be waiting another 4 weeks/6months/ never?? She has advised me to leave it a week and then contact again if no payment. No holding my breath.

    Reply
  3. Shaun says

    February 28, 2020 at 6:19 pm

    Another 2 weeks is a joke, if they had started making payments sooner or more payment this past week it wiukd of sped up the process, doesn’t help me as I have baliffs coming next week, if I was paid my redress it wod of stopped them coming,

    Reply
  4. Paul says

    February 28, 2020 at 6:35 pm

    So my story…

    Updated bank details 14th December I remember as its my sons birthday.

    Confirmed several times and they even read my account details back to me so I know they had them.

    Several times calling over the weeks/months and assured would be paid today. Called Wonga back gave all my details to be told payment was made end of January to an old account and hasn’t bounced back so must be in that account. So hunt down my old Clydesdale account they said money was sent to, Clydesdale have said that account has been closed for 3 years so won’t be any money in there.

    Wonga won’t transfer to correct account, Clydesdale saying they have nothing so now I stuck with no where to go!

    Reply
    • Paul Reid says

      February 29, 2020 at 11:04 am

      Ok update this morning after being advised to go to my nearest branch and speak to them I have just had a 50 mile round trip to speak to them. They no longer have any accounts open for me so they said wonga are lying. If payment was made 2 weeks ago like they claim it would have been rejected straight away. So now I have wonga claiming I’ve been paid and the bank so no I haven’t because that account has been closed for 3 years. I have no idea what to do this is a disgrace! Any help or ideas?

      Reply
  5. Ian says

    February 28, 2020 at 6:35 pm

    Hi all,

    I too have not received any payment. I spoke to wonga 2 days ago and got the “you’ll be paid by end of business Friday”.

    Whatever people’s individual stories and circumstances are, the fact of the matter is we the people have been fed a lie and have not been updated (bar Sara) in any way whatsoever by GT.

    The irony of it all just makes me laugh. When I think of the emails, texts and phone calls I received from wonga if I was late with a payment, the pressure and anxiety they inflicted. However, now the boots on the other foot so to speak where they owe me money but still inflict anxiety and misery on 1000’s.

    I really hope this is sorted quickly and both wonga and GT are exposed in the media for what they really are.

    All those talking about taking legal action, I sincerely hope and wish you well to expose these companies to the unknowing world of what we have all endured and had to put up with

    Reply
    • Steph says

      March 2, 2020 at 11:42 am

      I still haven’t heard anything. I get a standard email back as a response and now they are experiencing technical difficulties with their phones!
      It’s really annoying me now! Loads of time spent on the phone for no reason! 😢

      Reply
  6. Rich says

    February 28, 2020 at 6:36 pm

    It’s no longer payday refunds. A company called last minute refunds has taken over their cases. The number is 01392 982170

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      February 28, 2020 at 6:38 pm

      If you didn’t agree to your case being taken over, you may well be able to dispute paying them any fees.

      Reply
  7. John says

    February 28, 2020 at 6:37 pm

    Whats going to happen if they send a cheque to an old address and they marked on their systems as payment completed..?

    Reply
  8. Laura says

    February 28, 2020 at 6:47 pm

    Hi guys, i am mentally checking out from it all now. Wonga was the end of the road for me with my claims. I was owed £16,004 but expected £688 anyway no sight and I’m so I fed up checking. Feels horrible the way it’s been handled in all truthfulness, as of we are not worth the decency of a honest update. I paid my last debt this week and have one case left at ombudsman with very which went in my favour at adjudicator but now waiting on ombudsman 🙄 in total had they not went bust (wonga) my redress was ~£24,000 from the companies 🙈 honestly Sara is it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be where I am today. If get my £688 half will go to foodbanks and the other half is going on a spa for me after so much stress the last few years. Thanks so much you are actually a hero!

    Reply
  9. Ryan says

    February 28, 2020 at 7:25 pm

    Is there a possibility that GT have had a howler and over paid the first 90% there was cases of it on here. Now don’t have the funds to refunds the last 10%

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      February 28, 2020 at 7:47 pm

      I think there is no chance that has happened.

      Reply
      • Dionne says

        February 28, 2020 at 8:49 pm

        I know you don’t know for sure Sara but in your professional opinion what do you think has happened regarding payments?

        Reply
        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          February 28, 2020 at 9:48 pm

          I suspect they underestimated how many people had changed bank accounts and the time to get all the updates sorted.

          Reply
  10. Jax says

    February 28, 2020 at 9:02 pm

    Reply I got

    Thank you for your patience whilst we are in the process of sending payment to your account.

    We have previously informed you your payment will be made by the end of February 2020. We have experienced a slight delay with a small number of cases and will be processing the payment to you shortly. We do not have a precise date for payment to be made. However, we will update you in due course to advise you of when this payment will be.

    Reply
    • Debs says

      March 2, 2020 at 10:48 am

      I got the same email

      Reply
  11. DC says

    February 28, 2020 at 10:09 pm

    I actually spoke to Daniel Smith earlier today, it was a polite conversation as no point getting aggressive as he could have just hung up. It did surprise me though that as one of the three faces given as the administration team he admitted he wasn’t really involved in the case. He was sympathetic as I explained that people like me didn’t take out these loans because we were financially secure, it was a desperate last alternative, so the promise to make payments by a certain date would make a difference to people. He said that there were a lot of payments to be made, I said you knew in advance how many there would be before you announced that payments would be made by the end of January and you chose to move the goalpost until the end of February, we are working to your timescale not ours. He apologised and said he would look into on his return, apparently out of the country at the moment. I mentioned that he may come back to a lot of backlash. I am looking forward to the walk to work on Monday as the direct debit for my road tax will bounce, fortunately I don’t get charged for DD’s that do not get paid but does mean having to reset up again and pay two months in one 31 day period. At least like all administration companies in these instances they have been paid, they always pay themselves first.
    Anyway slightly bitter but not remotely surprised I will bid all my fellow Wonga/GT victims a Bon Nuit
    Hats of to Sara though for this site
    Thank You, Thank You, Thank You ♥️

    Reply
  12. Tom says

    February 29, 2020 at 12:06 am

    I confirmed my bank details friday with Wonga all correct over the phone. They said has been paid depends on bank. I had all the emails etc.

    Still no money

    Reply
  13. Paul says

    February 29, 2020 at 8:12 am

    Still no payment or communication. I was first on Thursday to review grant thornton on their trust pilot site https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.grantthornton.co.uk now a further 39 have posted their disgust at how GT have handled this shambles 😩
    Let’s all post our feeling on trustpilot maybe this ‘might’ get them to do something

    Reply
  14. Ian Moran says

    February 29, 2020 at 9:38 am

    Hi Sara

    What evidence did they give that over 90% of claims have been paid? I wouldn’t trust them one iota.

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      February 29, 2020 at 9:53 am

      I didn’t ask for evidence. The figures they gave were not out of line with what I can see, looking at how the number of people reading this page has declined.

      I understand why people feel they have been badly misled and let down. I hope communications are going to be improving.

      Reply
  15. Villa1874 says

    February 29, 2020 at 11:43 am

    Hi

    My payment was received this morning (cheque) which was sent via my claims company ( ). The letter assigned with the cheque was dated the 27th February. Interesting that I called the latter claims company on the 27th and they confirmed that they had not received my payment from Wonga (?). Anyway, one thing to note is I asked Wonga on more than one occasion to send the money to my bank account not to my reclaim company. So if you have used a claims company and yet not received your payment I suggest you give your claims company a call.

    Finally, thanks to Sara and all those that have contributed to this great forum.

    Reply
  16. J Fagan says

    February 29, 2020 at 2:28 pm

    Hi Sara. My partner was made bankrupt in 2010 and discharge was 2011. Had email from Wonga saying Official Receiver has claimed the redress. Can they do that 10 years later? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      February 29, 2020 at 2:48 pm

      f the loans were before the bankruptcy, any compensation goes to the Official Receiver.

      Reply
  17. Dawn says

    February 29, 2020 at 3:14 pm

    Update!

    After sending by bank details September 2019 and getting an email in January confirming my bank details were on record then calling last week and being told my bank details were correct.

    I have got a cheque sent to my old address! Thought I would check on the off chance as many have received cheques.

    Totally disorganised and no one seems to know what processes they are following.

    So hopefully cheque will clear

    Reply
    • Dionne says

      February 29, 2020 at 4:03 pm

      How did you discover it was sent to an old address? Did you have to go and retrieve it?

      Reply
      • Dawn says

        February 29, 2020 at 4:56 pm

        I was passing so thought I’d check and it was there. Although Wonga told me it was going into my bank and they had correct details.

        Reply
  18. Dionne says

    February 29, 2020 at 3:54 pm

    I never changed my bank details they have always remained the same I also went through a claims company but did not ask for money to be sent to them plus my claims company says they do not accept money from lenders only from customer once they have received. Just in case I did speak to the claims company I used on Wednesday they said no money ever comes to them they had not received anything and that they were told by administrators that payment would be made on Friday (28th) by 6pm. I am just baffled to be honest.

    Reply
  19. Reah says

    February 29, 2020 at 4:35 pm

    Hello everyone I’d just like to let some of you know I updated my bank details in January and got an email early February confirming they had been updated I haven’t bothered chasing them up for anything, I still haven’t received my payment and stupidly hoped that I would get it by the end of February to cover my car insurance, when it wasn’t put in yesterday I called my insurance and explained the situation and they were really helpful allowing me to pay it a week later.
    I understand people like myself were relying on this money and it’s frustrating not receiving it when we were told, but as they say patience is a virtue and I’m sure we will all get paid soon.
    Thanks to Sara for this website I don’t know about anyone else but it has helped ease my anxiety through these past few months.

    Reply
  20. Jenna says

    March 1, 2020 at 1:24 pm

    I haven’t received a penny I was told it would be in my bank by the end of the working day 28th of February nothing I knew it would be too good to be true why I ever listened is beyond me! Think I’m giving up on ever seeing the money good riddance to WONGA!!!!

    Reply
  21. William says

    March 1, 2020 at 2:03 pm

    Has anyone actually received anything ? Beyond a joke now. My £3398.99 went to £146 , and is currently £0. If I was late I’d have to pay charges . So corrupt.

    Reply
  22. Timbouk says

    March 1, 2020 at 3:43 pm

    Hi

    Do you think those of us still to be paid will be entitled to any compensation from GT because of the further delay in payments? I appreciate no Wonga money would be available but wonder if GT would pay.

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      March 2, 2020 at 8:04 am

      I would be surprised.

      Reply
      • Dave L says

        March 2, 2020 at 8:26 am

        I’d be just as happy if they got fined a lot of money by their regulators . Last time I checked honesty and integrity were an essential part of their chosen profession. Given that Wonga have lied yes lied on their behalf about payments being made.people need to be sacked over this, I’m not impressed.

        Reply
  23. Dionne says

    March 1, 2020 at 7:42 pm

    So just received this random email…

    Dear Dionne,

    I write in reference to your email addressed to the Joint Administrators of WDFC UK Limited (trading as Wonga).

    We are looking into your matter and will provide a response as soon as we are able.

    Kind regards

    Liz

    Liz R Lazell

    Assistant Manager, R&R

    Grant Thornton UK LLP

    Reply
  24. Dave L says

    March 1, 2020 at 9:29 pm

    That’s my complaint through the insolvency gateway done , I genuinely hope they get fined hundreds of thousands of pounds for their incompetence

    Reply
  25. Matt says

    March 1, 2020 at 10:13 pm

    I’m also still waiting for my minimal amount of money to hit my bank account.

    Considering invoicing GT with a daily interest charge for each day over since the 28th Feb – will set the figure at 365%pa (fixed) and charge them a transmission fee once I receive the money.

    This organisation is utter joke.

    Reply
  26. JP says

    March 2, 2020 at 12:44 am

    Ok so it’s now Monday 2nd March. This is gonna be interesting regards excuses as to why we haven’t got our money.

    Reply
  27. russell andrew says

    March 2, 2020 at 6:06 am

    any one been paid im still waiting???

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      March 2, 2020 at 6:40 am

      I don’t think anyone is being paid this morning. See article above.

      Reply
  28. Jason says

    March 2, 2020 at 7:20 am

    If we were late paying we had a late payment penalty. I’m going to tell them administration fee for late payments go both ways.

    Reply
  29. GimmeMyMoney says

    March 2, 2020 at 8:12 am

    I’ve had a reply from Friday saying they’ve experienced a small delay in some cases. They don’t have a timescale as of yet.

    Oh right, thanks for that.

    Reply
  30. Ian says

    March 2, 2020 at 8:36 am

    Hi Sara

    Can you let us know the process to make a formal complaint through the Insolvency Gateway please as advised to do on Friday if we received no reply.

    Thank you

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      March 2, 2020 at 8:43 am

      Let’s wait and see what the Administrators Statement is.

      I’m not trying to put people off complaining. If after reading the statement (whatever it is, I haven’t seen it) you want to complain, fine. But this seems the wrong point with the statement coming soon. Which you may wish to refer to in your complaint.

      Reply
  31. Richard says

    March 2, 2020 at 9:24 am

    Just got an email saying the following…

    We can confirm that your payment was successfully sent to your bank account number ending in 3980. Please check your bank account for the amount of £138.75.

    Once again they are trying to pay into my old account even after they have verified that my details are up to date and an email saying I will be paid into my account pending xxxx pure joke

    Reply
  32. Donna says

    March 2, 2020 at 9:27 am

    Hi, I’ve just recieved this email from wonga!
    Has anyone else had any form of communication from them yet?

    Thank you for your email.

     

    Thank you for your patience whilst we are in the process of sending payment to your account. 

    We have previously informed you your payment will be made by the end of February 2020. We have experienced a slight delay with a small number of cases and will be processing the payment to you shortly. We do not have a precise date for payment to be made. However, we will update you in due course to advise you of when this payment will be

    Reply
  33. Will says

    March 2, 2020 at 9:35 am

    Hi there do we just write it off now,those that have not received payment ???. Or will there be something more we can do in a few months down the line …this non payment has already cost me a further £24 in charges …

    Reply
  34. Gayna says

    March 2, 2020 at 9:39 am

    Has anyone managed to get through to Wonga this morning? Currently been on hold for 25 minutes.

    Reply
    • JP says

      March 2, 2020 at 9:46 am

      Currently in the call queue for Wonga and 45 mins in …. Wonder what BS they come up with!

      Reply
    • m smith says

      March 2, 2020 at 9:46 am

      Wonga are experiencing “technical difficulty’s” with their calls today! What a surprise!

      Reply
    • Miss Cole says

      March 2, 2020 at 10:53 am

      I still have not received my payment after being told during a call to customer care, it would be in my account at the close of business on Friday.
      Now, I cannot get through to customer care. Not happy as I was relying on this payment.

      Reply
    • Melchior says

      March 2, 2020 at 11:02 am

      Hi,

      As of today i received no payment – Wonga phones are down and the administrators Thornton hang up on you on the phone.

      Any solution..?

      Reply
  35. Ian says

    March 2, 2020 at 10:12 am

    And theres a shock a delay into a statement about the delays into payments you really couldnt make it up

    Reply
  36. Martin says

    March 2, 2020 at 10:31 am

    Hi,

    Just looking for any suggestions as to where to go next, if anything!

    Sum was due to be paid before 28th, didn’t happen, called Wonga and was advised payment had been made to an account I didn’t recognise. Definitely not the account details on the e-mails sent previously!

    The Wonga rep advised that this was paid to Allay, as they were acting on my behalf before Wonga went into admin, but were no longer as the claim was with the Ombudsman at this point and the claim was closed at Allay’s end. They also confirmed that the account number the funds where paid to was not theirs, so as it stands who knows where this money has ended up!

    I have e-mailed GT to all of the e-mail addresses that have been posted above but for some reason I have no faith that I will get a reply!

    What do I do next?

    Reply
  37. Chris says

    March 2, 2020 at 10:31 am

    Looks like they are just fobbing us off again saying about a statement. For me it’s not about the money but now it’s become matter of principal I understand some people need the money and find it a disgrace the way it’s been handled

    Reply
  38. Hannah says

    March 2, 2020 at 10:53 am

    So guys I have just spoken to my solicitor who I went through for my claim. They have basically told me there will be no payments at all this week and will be two more weeks, and they are unable to contact them either as there is no one to speak to.

    Reply
  39. William Fenton says

    March 2, 2020 at 11:20 am

    They’ll continue to make payments over the next two weeks , are they serious ?!

    Reply
  40. Ian says

    March 2, 2020 at 11:22 am

    Its on the wonga site now another 2 week wait

    Reply
  41. Sara (Debt Camel) says

    March 2, 2020 at 11:29 am

    UPDATE: from the Wonga website

    “The Joint Administrators have now attempted to make dividend payments to over 410,000 creditors. As indicated in the Dividend Declaration dated 29 January 2020, it was envisaged that a small population of creditors would not be included in the first phase of the dividend payment process as further time was required to process a significant volume of correspondence received from customers, including validating and auditing bank account information, in the lead up to the Joint Administrators issuing the Dividend payment. 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. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and if you do not receive your payment within this period please contact the Wonga Customer Care team at customercare@wonga.com or on 020 7138 8330.

    The Joint Administrators appreciate customers have waited a significant time for these payments and we are working hard to ensure monies are distributed as quickly and efficiently as possible.

    The Joint Administrators thank you for your patience during this time, and should customers have any queries in relation to this matter, please contact the Wonga Customer Care team.”

    Reply
    • Claire says

      March 2, 2020 at 11:37 am

      So basically we just have to wait? Again? Where will complaining get us though? Will it make any difference to anything?

      Reply
    • Dionne says

      March 2, 2020 at 11:38 am

      I don’t really understand this because there a a lot of us that haven’t been paid that have never changed bank details? So how does this apply to us? My bank details never changed so what’s happened to my payment?

      Reply
    • Liz says

      March 2, 2020 at 11:39 am

      Pathetic, my details have never changed in 10 years, absolute bull

      Reply
    • sandra says

      March 2, 2020 at 11:41 am

      Total Rubbish,

      I have also changed my bank details 4 times and they confirmed them over the phone , so this is yet again just another excuse

      Reply
  42. Dave L says

    March 2, 2020 at 11:31 am

    I’ve spoken to Jade at Grant Thornton who was actually very apologetic., I also advised her of the negative reviews on trust pilot and the anger and dissatisfaction towards her firm at present I have just read the update and it was apparently always envisaged that not everyone would be paid within the four weeks. Personally I would be encouraging everyone that can to make complaints through the insolvency gateway now as this shows that they were never intending to do what they promised.

    Reply
  43. Rich says

    March 2, 2020 at 11:32 am

    To those who haven’t read the statement click on the Wonga link at the top of this page, apparently they have had 40,000 returned payments due to bank changes and will be emailing us confirming details and we have to wait ANOTHER 2 weeks! Absolutely pathetic. I have confirmed my details 5 times and never changed banks! I can’t wait for this to be over I’ve had enough of waiting around!

    Reply
    • Stephen says

      March 2, 2020 at 11:43 am

      An utter shambles! GT have sent emails before this process started to confirm they had the correct bank account details. They had my bank account details from day one. I use a major high street bank, have not changed my bank account or address details in years and find it hard to believe that any attempted payment into my account would have failed. I never have any problem with any other incoming payments. The statement doesn’t make clear whether all outstanding payments are previously refused payments. If they ask me to confirm my details I suspect I will be giving them information they already have. Why will their next payment attempt succeed?

      Reply
    • Chris says

      March 2, 2020 at 11:43 am

      Well I’ve not changed banks and still no payment I don’t believe them, I’m unimpressed.

      Reply
      • Paul says

        March 2, 2020 at 12:44 pm

        Never changed bank details either, think they’re lying on this point too. I’m now going to get charged thanks to this delay

        Reply
    • Hannah says

      March 2, 2020 at 12:34 pm

      Well that’s rubbish 😂 as they paid the 40p they owed me not the actual redress amount and that’s going into the same account 😂

      Reply
  44. Shahdad says

    March 2, 2020 at 11:56 am

    Thank you for your email.

    Thank you for your patience whilst we are in the process of sending payment to your account.

    We have previously informed you your payment will be made by the end of February 2020. We have experienced a slight delay with a small number of cases and will be processing the payment to you shortly. We do not have a precise date for payment to be made. However, we will update you in due course to advise you of when this payment will be.

    Kind regards,
    The Joint Administrators

    Reply
  45. Dave says

    March 2, 2020 at 12:03 pm

    Sara, any advice if you have not received the email please? Just a bit concerned that they have not aknowledged the fact to me, no changes in bank details or address. Thank you

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      March 2, 2020 at 1:30 pm

      I *think* they are only emailing people who sent in a complaint by email last week. Not everyone.

      Reply
      • deb says

        March 2, 2020 at 1:52 pm

        I sent email last week and did not get a reply today wither

        Reply
  46. Emma says

    March 2, 2020 at 12:10 pm

    I have bit the bullet and made a complaint to the Insolvency Gateway. Where this will get me I don’t know but I’d like to think that Grant Thornton will get the kick up the backside they need to perform better in the future and actually deal with this properly. I don’t see how my bank details have suddenly changed since I have confirmed them three times with Wonga. I am totally sick and tired of this whole farce.

    Reply
  47. Sam says

    March 2, 2020 at 12:11 pm

    Are the majority of people waiting those who changed bank details?

    Mine were always correct, got an e-mail confirming the last 4 digits, those were right, so I never replied. Are other people like this still waiting??

    I’ve also moved plenty, so the cheque chat is a bit concerning. How frustrating all around!!

    Reply
    • Dave l says

      March 2, 2020 at 12:13 pm

      Does anybody know who to email because I have never changed my bank details for over 20years so not sure why I haven’t been paid I understand that people with change of circumstances are slightly delayed thanks

      Reply
    • Nath says

      March 2, 2020 at 12:14 pm

      I’m not sure why my payment would have bounced? My bank details were correct! Useless!

      Reply
      • Lynne says

        March 2, 2020 at 1:31 pm

        Same here Nath. They had the correct bank details and I verified 8 times yet they still say the payment bounced.

        Reply
    • John says

      March 2, 2020 at 12:23 pm

      hmmm – I’ve had same bank account for >30 years and confirmed details last week yet still no payment received – certainly my payments TO Wonga never failed with the same bank account!

      Reply
    • Ryan says

      March 2, 2020 at 12:47 pm

      Just seen the update, iv not been paid and my details haven’t change and are correct? So not really sure why I haven’t been paid?

      Reply
    • Shaun Overy says

      March 2, 2020 at 1:26 pm

      Statement lots of fobbing off, I’ve had the same account for more than 10 years, my bank has said they haven’t returned any payments,

      Reply
  48. Ken says

    March 2, 2020 at 12:16 pm

    Good Day All WONGERETTES

    So its day ‘I have lost count’ – I am yet to be paid. I have been really patient and decided not to contact Wonga. The reason for this is because I got the emails at the same time as everyone and thought I was in the process.

    So as I had not been paid at the end of February, I called today to make sure all was good. 1hr 25mins later “ON HOLD” I could not hold anymore. I put the phone down on the Wonga Customer Services line – I just kept on getting the same voice saying “we are experiencing technical issues, more blah, blah, blah”…. I could not take it anymore… It is a good job I was in the car on the motorway listening.

    Wonga have upset me for the last time. I cannot get involved in this anymore.. It seems I am in an endless cycle of madness.

    Thanks Sara for the site – A blessing until today when I finally give up in 1,2,3……………………………………………….

    Reply
  49. Ian says

    March 2, 2020 at 12:18 pm

    The lies that they spin never seem to end. After they spoke to Sara on Friday we were informed that over 90% of customers “had been paid” and there were 35,000 left to pay. We even received a break down of how many per week for the final two week period of payments. We are now told that in addition to the payments that were not made (no number given) they also have to pay the 40,000 that were returned. It just gets better doesn´t it? It is actually laughable. We will obviously never receive any proof that the 40,000 payments were truthfully returned to them so again I will be taking that with a pinch of salt. I know some will say what reason do they have to lie. I guess that question is now fairly irrelevant though given the lies that people were told on the phone last week. I am actually quite interested to hear what the problem is in another two weeks.

    Reply
  50. Jeanette says

    March 2, 2020 at 12:34 pm

    I’m still on hold, 3 hours and 33 minutes. I suspect Wonga wont be picking up calls today. Do you happen to know what the email addresses are to complain to?

    Reply
  51. Will says

    March 2, 2020 at 12:47 pm

    Super. And it’s heavy odds on no-one will get anything til the very last day of the payment ‘extension’ isn’t it, if at all.

    Reply
  52. Lizzy says

    March 2, 2020 at 12:51 pm

    This is just unacceptable now, the remaining people who haven’t been paid should also now get compensation for all this, surely there must be something we can do so that they start taking us seriously they have gone back on there word and just making excuses and it’s disgraceful it’s not even about the money it’s the principle!

    Reply
  53. Jon says

    March 2, 2020 at 1:00 pm

    Hi everyone.I can’t belive how money of us still have to deal with wonga.Come on this is crazy.I got an email on the 29th of January saying I will be paid in next 4 weeks bleee bleee bleee.Chacked today still nothing.I started calling wonga today at 9am and still waiting for someone to answer the phone.I really don’t undartstand how is all of this okay.Why is there no news about all of this on the tv.I have accept the fact they giving penny’s back to people even through I think it’s crazy they got away with it becouse this is what they had to share.Sorry but how is this our problem.We all spend years paying back crazy money and I’m sure none could say sorry I can only give 4% back becouse this is what I have left.Crazy.So many people had to deal with stress broken families and they got away with all of it.I suppose to get £200 back and I have to fight for it again.Where is my money?

    Reply
  54. Ian says

    March 2, 2020 at 1:31 pm

    What is the process for complaints through the insolvency gateway?

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      March 2, 2020 at 2:06 pm

      Complaints about an Insolvency Practitioner can be started here : https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-insolvency-practitioner

      As that says “Try to resolve your complaint with the insolvency practitioner first.” which is why I encouraged people to complaint to the IPs on Friday. If you haven’t done this, email them at chris.m.laverty@uk.gt.com daniel.r.smith@uk.gt.com and andrew.charters@uk.gt.com

      If you haven’t had a reply to your complaint or you don’t think it was adequate, then you can send the complaint in on the gov.uk site.

      As the form says, you look up the details of the 3 IPs here https://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/FIP1/Home/Search – that will give the addresses, telephone numbers and their governing body.
      I suggest the following answers:
      Has your complaint been assessed by the authorising body before and fully considered? NO
      Case details COMPANY – WDFC UK Ltd – ADMINISTRATION
      What is your relationship to the insolvency? CREDITOR

      Then set out why you are complaining.
      If the delays and poor communication have cause you stress or hardship, explain how.
      If you have tried to get things resolved by emails which aren’t answered or by phone calls which weren’t answered, were rude or you consider you were lied to, explain.

      If you have emails that support what you are saying, you would need to save them to attach them

      NB “We aim to reply to your complaint within 15 working days ”
      also in my opinion you will not get anywhere if you complain about only getting 4.3% or if you say the IPs fees were too high.

      Reply
  55. Nats Daley says

    March 2, 2020 at 1:32 pm

    Same as you my bank details never changed lived at the same address for 25 years …
    Powerless to do anything … personally I’ve contacted stepchange to get my financial situation sorted once and for all.
    After divorce I have a mountain of debt and this whole wonga situation just made me realise dont wait … find your own solution as they really dknt care .x

    Reply
  56. Jan says

    March 2, 2020 at 1:48 pm

    I’ve followed this forum for weeks and not said anything. My name address and account details have never changed, even double checked with them on friday when they said I will be paid by the end of friday. Well that’s never happened. Absolutely useless trying to get through to customer care. The thing is a shambles.

    Reply
  57. Matt says

    March 2, 2020 at 2:03 pm

    No email received! No money received! Can’t call them as I moved overseas and I’m not mounting up a massive phone bill for them.
    Can’t be bothered to hold my breath anymore for this money thanks GT for giving me more stress and sleepless nights you should be ashamed of yourselves! I’m with the other Matt and have written this payment off.

    The last contact I had with this organisation was the 10th Feb:

    Bank details and Supporting documents received
    Dear xxxxx,  Case number: xxxxx
    Thank you for providing us with your banking details. These have now been updated on our systems. For more information, including what happens next and what to expect, please visit our  FAQs 
    Kind regards, 
    The Joint Administrators The affairs, business and property of Wonga Group Limited, WDFC UK Limited, WDFC Services Limited and Wonga Worldwide Limited (the Companies) are being managed by Chris Laverty, Daniel Smith and Andrew Charters, appointed as Joint Administrators on 31 August 2018. The Joint Administrators act as agents of the Companies and without personal liability. Chris Laverty, Daniel Smith and Andrew Charters are authorised by the IPA to act as insolvency practitioners.

    Reply
  58. Nikki says

    March 2, 2020 at 2:11 pm

    Update
    The Joint Administrators have now attempted to make dividend payments to over 410,000 creditors. As indicated in the Dividend Declaration dated 29 January 2020, it was envisaged that a small population of creditors would not be included in the first phase of the dividend payment process as further time was required to process a significant volume of correspondence received from customers, including validating and auditing bank account information, in the lead up to the Joint Administrators issuing the Dividend payment. 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. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and if you do not receive your payment within this period please contact the Wonga Customer Care team at customercare@wonga.com or on 020 7138 8330.

    The Joint Administrators appreciate customers have waited a significant time for these payments and we are working hard to ensure monies are distributed as quickly and efficiently as possible.
    The Joint Administrators thank you for your patience during this time,

    Reply
  59. Sara (Debt Camel) says

    March 2, 2020 at 2:12 pm

    I am not publishing comments which say the administrators are doing this to make more interest or that they have run out of money.

    Reply
    • Stephen says

      March 2, 2020 at 3:13 pm

      I don’t think they are doing that but I do think they are incompetent and not fit to be administrators. They have consistently missed deadlines and rather than warn us beforehand, for example, that they wouldn’t make all the payments within 4 weeks they make a statement AFTER they have missed the deadline. It would have been better for all and caused less stress and worry if they had been more open and honest about the delays.

      Reply
  60. sandra says

    March 2, 2020 at 2:20 pm

    i feel its watch dog time

    Reply
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