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?
Julie says
I got another reply today short and sweet. Cant tell me when payment will be….
PR-B says
Round and round and round and round and……
Received 20 minutes ago…
I apologise that you have not received your payment of £438.66 yet.
I have emailed the accounts team direct to ask them when you can expect payment. All your correct details are on the spreadsheet. I assume that you sent in photos of your bank statement and passport for ID verification purposes?
Kind Regards
Lesley
It would be better at this point for them to just tell us all to get lost, at least we’d know where we stand.
Luke says
I had that one 2 weeks ago!!
Luke says
Finally received another message
I have been in contact with someone from our accounts team, to understand why your payment has not been yet.
I have been informed that we had to wait for approval for the payment to be signed off, which has caused the delay, but payment should be in your account by tomorrow.
I really do thank you for your patience, and please do not hesitate to get in touch with any further queries
Luke says
Followed by this email lol
Paige is off today, so I have contacted accounts for you and can confirm that payment will be going out this week to hit your bank account early next week
PR-B says
Luke! That is hilarious 🤣
Mark says
Had another email today saying payment has been made and should reflect in my bank by the 21st.
Will wait until the 21st to not see it still.
Never known a payment to take so long to clear.
Moi says
Typically, if they are still doing the payments via BACS, then it would be Wednesday morning that it’d show up if it’s done on Friday. I’m really hoping that some of us will see something going in tomorrow. The sad thing is that if not it means that it won’t be until some eventual wednesday after that since they won’t commit to dates it payments and let’s face it there’s many of us who are sceptical now. I just can’t believe how many cases they are now suggesting they have left!
Chris Anderson says
What gets me is why the can’t commit to a date when we was supposed to be paid by the end of January 2020, we are now nearing June 2020 and we are still getting fobbed off, I bet Grant Thornton have been paid their fees, it’s absolute madness we are still having to wait and chase this up, there can’t be that many of us now (below 100) so why can’t payment be made to us, if an error has been made in their part why are we still waiting? We are creditors and the money was there to pay us so due to theirs and Wonga’s error we are left waiting, it should be paid immediately, from what I’ve read on here (and I know I certainly have) is that everybody has followed procedure and updated details when requested, for them to now say we need to update details again, what are they doing?? Is it run by children Grant Thornton??
Fazza says
That would be an insult to the children lol
PR-B says
So nothing this morning in anyone’s accounts? So much for payments going into people’s bank on Friday…just another lie.
Mark says
Nope. Still waiting as expected.
Cp says
I am having a nightmare trying to sort my credit report after winning my claim agains Wonga. I received the minor pay out and my Experian report was updated however, my Equifax still isn’t sorted! And this was supposed to have been done in March 2020.
I have contacted numerous email addresses and individuals at the administration and I am getting no responses! When the Wonga customer care team responded when they were still in operation they said it was all done, obviously not by my report.
What do I do? I need this resolved so I can apply for a mortgage and it’s holding me back.
Is there a further body I can complain to or a phone number?
Matt says
Hi
If you hold out till later, I have the same issue and I will show you the method I’m Using to rectify this.
Let me send it all off first and I’ll send you or post back all the email addresses I’ve used.
Jonathan Wilson says
Just commenting so I get notifications! Need everything off my credit file too
Matt says
Just to point out HIT ALL THE EMAIL addresses in the same email ,
don’t do it individually
Shane says
Hi, I am trying to sort my credit report too. I had a confirmation from Wonga saying the accepted claims would be removed but they are still on there! Would be good to know anyone else having the same issue and what can be done.
Mark says
Payment is now showing from Friday and finally put an end to it all.
Hopefully the rest will be finished this Friday, better late than never.
Thanks to this site and Sara for all the help and advice
PR-B says
Very pleased to hear you’ve received your payment Mark 🥳
Nats Daley says
So crazy just recieved an email from WDA saying dividend will be paid in 7 days.. yet nothing from wonga ..
Really crappy practice
Jamie Peters says
I had that email from WDA yesterday. Shame Grant Thornton couldn’t have been that quick to pay out. Only had my secure portal message yesterday to now pay the money into my bank account, despite them having my details since October last yet as they’re not processing cheques anymore.
Luke says
Payment recieved!
All I can say to anyone still waiting, be persistent and be blunt.
Naeem says
Apparently a recall request has been submitted. It can take 2/3 weeks because the bank needs to respond with the relevant details and get the original payment sent back to them first.
Sarah says
I had that one. No holding my breath tho
Debbie Humphreys says
I have never received my claim
Nats Daley says
I cant actually believe I recieved my WDA payout TODAY yet still no wonga …..
Jamie Peters says
Hi Nats, got my WDA payment today too. They’ve paid out when they said they would unlike Wonga. I was told by the person dealing with my Wonga case that where they’ve had so many people and different offices dealing with it before they closed down Customer Care, it’s been an absolute shambles to sort out, as the people in the customer care hadn’t recorded people’s details properly, that’s why it’s taken them so long to pay out.
Chris Anderson says
Me too Nats, although a fairly small amount but the process was easy, last year I received an email to update all relevant information through the portal which I did, I got an email confirming it’d been done, I was kept updated with regarding my redress, I received an email Monday to say my redress would be paid into my account within 7 days, checked my bank today and a sum of £22.99 Had been paid in, I would assume that WDA are dealing with less creditors than what Wonga were but the principle is still the same, it just highlights how bad Wonga and this administration are, in all my dealings with finances over the years I’ve never known such a poor situation as this we find ourselves in with Wonga, we are 4/5 months late being paid (if at all) I really hope the Administrators are dealt with severely over this, I don’t know who’s job it is to oversee this but I really hope they get fined a lot of money.
Ruby says
I have just recieved a reply from Lesley asking for me to send in proof of my bank card and proof of identity. For example my passport! Is this normal?
Mark says
Yeah. I had to provide the same information again but this time it worked. The sooner you do it then the higher the chances of you getting paid. It seems payments get processed on a Friday and in your bank by the following Thursday.
Moi says
I had to do it 3 weeks ago. Still not had my refund yet tho
Gilly says
Lesley asked me for the same information on 1 May, told me I’d receive payment in 2-3 weeks. She also stated a lesser amount than I’m due. I queried it with her but was told that’s what’s showing on her screen. She told me the UK had taken over payments because SA were incompetent. And here I am still waiting…. Looks like the incompetence was contagious…..
David says
Hey Guys,
I have followed advise on here for some time now. Being a working father I can’t always call due to shifts at work (key worker) if I’m with a patient I may not always get time in an ambulance either so it’s been hectic more than usual of late.
I have emailed Wonga direct, they do bed me off before they closed down. I have emailed GT direct and never had a reply back, so I replied again with the threat of action and still no reply!
A third time still brought the same result so I’m at the point of contacting the finacial ombudsman.
Has anyone gone this route successfully or is it a waste of time? Would I be best emailing every email above as Matt has done?
I’m fed up of even thinking about it, it’s drained me and I’d rather walk away as a bad job! You can’t fix stupid and in my line of work we can fix everyone!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is no point in contacting the Ombudsman. They have no jurisdiction to look at complaints about Insolvency Practitioners. That is why I have suggested in the article above that people put in a complaint to the insolvency Service Gateway where it can be routed through to the correct body.
But why not email every GT person you can as well?
Danielle Harris says
Sorry if I’m posting in the wrong place, wondering if you can help please.
The majority of my wonga loan complaints were accepted. I’ve checked my credit reports and they’ve been removed from experian but still showing on equifax. Do I need to contact wonga administrators or equifax regarding this? I’m concerned as looking to apply for a mortgage in the next 3 months.
Shane says
Having the same issue. Would be great to know what to do.
Danielle says
I called equifax yesterday and they said they will raise a dispute directly with Wonga. Hope it works!
PR-B says
Hello everyone, I’m happy to report that I have received my Redress on Monday morning, whilst I know there may still be some of us waiting I’m quite confident that we’ll all be paid, I no longer live in the U.K. and whilst it took longer than it should have its been resolved and is over….good luck to all those still awaiting payment I do hope it’s sorted soon.
Stu says
Received payment this morning. Good luck to the rest of you
Dan says
I received an email from Wonga Customer Care back in April that:
‘Wonga is aiming to have it’s customer’s credit files updated by the end of the administration period.’
I still have all the wonga loans on my credit file. Any ideas how I can get them removed?
Thanks
Dan
Chris Anderson says
I received another email yesterday that I have to update my bank details (that was the 5th time I’ve updated them since June 2019) they now say (Grant Thornton) that they will recall the redress they supposedly sent to a closed account in March (this account has been closed 6+ years) my bank claim that a payment sent to a closed account would be sent back to sender within 48hrs, Grant Thornton claim they payment was made between the 9th & 12th March 2020 (11 weeks ago) you just couldn’t make this up, luckily my CMC who were after their fees have now said they believe I haven’t been paid and will wait till Grant Thornton make the new payment, I just can’t get my head round how they can claim they now have to recall the redress when it would’ve been sent back to them no later than the 20th March (10 weeks ago) somebody is lying, I will now wait to see what happens next, I will not get my hopes built up anymore as I’ve been let down by these liars too many times now.
Chris Anderson says
One for Sara
Hi Sara, my CMC said that Grant Thornton (the Administrators) are now taking care of the final payments to be made (to the people still waiting on their redress, me included) I’m a little bit puzzled how the staff at Wonga could still be sorting peoples redresses out (Or attempting anyway 😢) when they was already in Administration, I thought Granth Thornton would have took responsibility of the financial side of things immediately ? I’m sure there is an explanation to this, I’d be interested to hear why Wonga up till recently were left in charge ? With them in charge there were major errors made and so many lies told to us, seems odd to me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is common in an administration for the administrators to retain some staff from the firm in administration to carry on some operations during the administration. They are the people who know how the systems work. If they were all sacked, can you imagine walking into a deserted office and trying to figure out how it all works?
Chris Anderson says
I see your point Sara thank you but I fail to see what benefit it was keep those staff on, we were told lies, fobbed off, I was sent someone else’s details (personal details) luckily I immediately binned them, I could understand keeping some staff on to show them how the computers work and were things are etc etc but to let them deal with customers who they’d ripped off in the first place, the dealings I had with them were shambolic, even the staff at Grant Thornton said they were incompetent (that came from my CMC)
As an example I had a redress from WDA, I updated my details through the portal last year, it was all done within 48 hours, I received regular emails to update me of the redress and other important stuff, I received an email 2 weeks ago to say my redress would be in my account within 7 days and within 3 days it was in, the difference is remarkable, I understand Wonga would have had a lot more people to deal with but you have to admit it’s been bizarre to say the least, nearly 5 months of waiting and still non the wiser.
Anzzzz says
Still nothing. Beyond a joke…
Jamie Peters says
Same here. Almost 6 months since they said we’d get our money. Absolute shambles.
Asd says
Still not been paid, giving me the run around stating they had already payed into my correct bank already and they are looking into why I have not received my money, it’s not alot and I don’t need it but I am on the autistic spectrum and things like this mess with my head. Is there anyone else other than the insolvency complaints we could complain too? Would the police not investigate under theft?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is there anyone else other than the insolvency complaints we could complain too?
Not really. You could tell your MP…
Would the police not investigate under theft?
No, this is a civil matter not a criminal one.
Jamie Peters says
Had an email this morning saying my payment is being processed this week and if I haven’t received it by close of business Friday, then contact them and they’ll investigate. Not holding my breath it’ll be in by then.
Nats Daley says
How bizarre
Just recieved an email from Lauren asking for identification and bank details my card
I know others have been asked for the same but really its june …
My oh my you cant make it up
Fazza says
I have just been paid even though it wasnt in my account in the morning. Glad to put this behind. Good luck to all waiting !
Sarah says
Nothing here ☹️
Jamie Peters says
Finally got mine this afternoon. Only taken 6 months for them to pay out. Hope everyone else who is waiting for theirs gets it soon.
Moi says
Shocked my redress has gone into my bank account this evening. Hang on in there. It’s been a though time but at last it’s over
David I Poulsen says
Still nothing 😫
Dean says
for people trying to resolve their credit reports – I raised a dispute with Equifax and attached all the information from my emails with Wonga, and they are removing the loan from my credit report
Sara (Debt Camel) says
good to know!
Nats Daley says
I cant actually believe I just recieved an email from wonga after several days of me asking wheres my redress with a response we dont know whe you’ll be paid….
WOW
Yes that’s all I have ….at this rate I’ll proably get moneyshop redress before Wonga ….
Caroline Edge says
I received email from money shop they told will pay by April 2021 😣
Calm 1 says
Ok so its been a while and I hope the posters are all well. I was one of those who got paid my minute redress from Wonga when the administrators first promised but my question relates to the credit report side of things.
Since, Wonga I have also had redress from a couple of lenders ie Bamboo loans and Mr Lender (all through Financial Ombudsman). I recently registered with credit karma and can still see all the defaults there and I think the loans that should have been removed. Even my QQ loans are showing and they busted obv before we got paid out anything!
Can we still expect these to be QQ entries to be removed or do we have to act?? If the businesses have requested entries to be removed how can we check and how long does it take?
Is it the case that credit scores improve as soon as entries are removed etc (provided one is managing their credit/finances well etc)
Just a bit of general advice from somebody who knows would be much appreciated.
many thanks
Calm 1
Anzzzz says
Just got paid the redress. This has been by far the worst customer service experience ever. Maybe Ryanair could recruit the grant Thornton admin teams to make their customer service even more streamlined…
Thanks for a great site Sara
Julie says
Im still waiting…
I continued to liaise with Lesley but guess what… she didnt have an answer about what the problem was or when I would be paid. I have never received any information about why my payment was delayed.
I was told the accounts team would contact me urgently. Again they didnt
Can you make this stuff up?
Do they train to be this incompetent?
I have never come across a process that is so incompetent in all my life.
I hope they sleep well at night knowing they are screwing with families.
Chris Anderson says
I agree Julie, they’re saying to me that my redress was paid into a closed bank account (the account I took the loans out in back in 2012) this account has been closed since 2013, they are saying that they can’t pay me till they get this money back, Grant Thornton took over from Wonga on the 24/04/2020 so how long does it take them to get money back (recall payment) my bank have assured me the redress would have been sent back to Wonga within 48 hours of the payment attempting to be made to a closed account, Wonga stated that payment was made 12/03/2020 that was 12/13 weeks ago, I updated all my details through the portal and verbally over the phone with Wonga in 2019 (4 times in total) so did everything requested of me, I also updated my details again in 2020 (twice) and yet they still tried to pay to the old account, I emailed Grant Thornton yesterday who are just as bad as Wonga with their responses, due to their incompetence we are still sat here waiting and that is not fair, we have been treat unbelievably poor here, I’ve never experienced anything like this in all my life. I could understand them making payments to the account the loan was taken out from if details hadn’t been updated that wouldn’t have been their fault and I would have had to accept that but I updated all my details at the request of Wonga and my CMC and it was all verified which makes this all the more bizarre, I’ve done everything I should have done.
Nats Daley says
Well just to add more salt to our wounds I emailed GT yesterday asking for a update
Payments rolled out every Friday great I thought
I then recieved an email saying my bank card didnt have my account number on it .. no it doesn’t I replied only my sort code…Oh we need more information they said
Oh I said
I then replied you should of told me this last week ….
So emailed banm statement with my I formation and now radio silence
All this back and forth for £160.00 and what’s worst if I hadn’t of emailed would they have contacted me ….
Wow…. that’s all I have ..
Have a good day and remeber stay alert….
Cassie says
Hi In an email I received it mentioned wonga will remove and adverse payment history, my loans were all paid up but I defaulted on one and as a result this is on my credit file, anyone know if they will remove this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
was the loan that defaulted one of the ones that the administrators decided was unaffordable?
Cassie says
I’m not sure I was never sent a breakdown of what loans they had accepted.. only the final totals of the loans
Nats Daley says
Saints be praised
ACTUALLY GOT MY REDRESS … just j time for my birthday next Tuesday…
Thank you Sara for a great site no doubt I’ll be posting about DROs stress….
Have a great weekend all and I hope you get your money soon x
Claire says
Hi Sara, how do I get these loans removed from my credit report .. I have emailed Wonga, GT and Credit reference agency with no luck, thanks!
Chris Anderson says
Still nothing paid to me, Grant Thornton took over as from 24/04/2020 that was nearly 8 weeks ago, I updated my details (again) on the 29th May 2020 at the request of Grant Thornton (6th time in total) it’s now the 15th June and still no payment, I emailed Grant Thornton on the 11th June 2020 and asked them some very valid questions and the response I got is “they was not at liberty to answer them” well I feel they are because payment should have been made in January 2020 and it’s now June 2020, I wanted to know why through no mistake of mine that I am still waiting, I was promised that now Grant Thornton had taken over things would move forward quicker, we’ll Grant Thornton took over nearly 8 weeks ago and I’ve seen no signs of anything being quicker, to be fair to Grant Thornton I do get a reply when I email (unlike Wonga) but the reply doesn’t five me any information apart from we understand your predicament but basically there is nothing we can do, of course there is something they can do, it’s absolutely ridiculous that this can’t be resolved after all this time, it literally shows that Wonga and Grant Thornton do not care in the slightest, I read somewhere on here that Grant Thornton want this Wonga situation resolving as soon as possible (can’t remember who said it) well it doesn’t look that way to me, Are Grant Thornton experienced in this dealing with situations like this? They can’t be. Even my CMC have given up now.
Sarah says
I gave them my details on the 5th May as they requested and still nothing. It’s frustrating, annoying and disappointing. They said they were waiting for whoever’s bank they paid it into to confirm it got there and send it back to them. Up to 3 weeks. That was 6 weeks ago and still nothing. Fed up with it all now ☹️
Chris Anderson says
Exactly Sarah, my redress was paid into a closed account (apparently) on the 12/03/2020 which is 14 weeks ago, I rank the bank up who I’m still with by the way..it’s just an upgraded account, the account they supposedly paid the redress too has been closed 6/7 years, my bank confirmed that the money paid would have been sent back to Wonga within 48 hours (bounced back) automatically, Grant Thornton who took over all this on the 24/04/2020 started contacting people like you and me and I was reassured they’d get the money back, how can they get the money back when it would have been sent back to Wonga well before they took over on 24/04/2020? Somebody is lying, the dealings I’ve had with Grant Thornton since the 29/05/2020 has been poor as well, they are not bothered and are not explaining anything to us apart from the line “we are trying to retrieve the money from closed account to prevent fraud” so my money is missing due to their incompetence and I have to suffer because of it, I’ve followed all guideline as to updating details etc as far back as June 2019 as I’m sure you have, it’s just unbelievable really, I’ve explained to Grant Thornton about the stress this has caused my family and myself (especially with the situation we all find ourselves in at the moment “Covid-19” and their response is that they can’t give me a pay date or if at all, they are just as bad as Wonga with their communications. This is so unfair
Chris Anderson says
A question for Sara
if as Sarah says above that they are trying to retrieve the redress they paid into a wrong account and they can’t retrieve that money then what happens then? This is the case of me and others, will Grant Thornton still have to pay the money when people like myself updated their details as requested?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If it is their error, I think they should pay you.
Sarah says
I would also say that I had communications from the Wonga team (I still have the emails to prove this) that said the money would be paid into my account (the correct one) and that if the details were correct I didn’t need to do anything. So I didn’t. No payment tho.
When GT took over they came back with a completely different account they claim it was paid to. I just don’t understand where the other account came from. It wasn’t on any communications from Wonga. I raised this point with GT but they never answered it. The whole process has been extremely frustrating and disappointing. I’m going to try and contact them again this week. Try to get another update but will probably be fobbed off again.
Alvin Drew says
I feel your pain. I had exactly the same problem. Wonga communicated to me the account that my redress would be paid into (which was the correct account). I then find out from GT after emailing them that my payment was made in February, but to an old account that is closed and one that I have no access to. They advised me that I need to contact the bank for a letter explaining that the account is closed. My reply was “why should I have to contact the bank, it’s Wonga’s error and not mine”. GT have said “they can’t do anything with out me obtaining a letter from the bank”. I’ve had enough of this saga and told them to shove the £437 where the sun don’t shine. I can’t believe how unprofessional they are, this whole process has been nothing but headache, lies and incompetence.
Gilly says
Hi Sara
I’m in the same situation as others above. I was told on 01 May 2020 that my new bank details had been received and I would receive payment in 2-3 weeks. Today I was told a different amount had been paid into a (closed) account at the end of February 2020 and the account had been confirmed as active. I closed it years ago, so it’s not active at all. I rang the bank today and they confirmed no payment had been received but I have to go into the branch for written confirmation of this. I just don’t believe a word GT say anymore. I have asked for documentary evidence it was paid.
At this stage Sara, can we make a claim through the small claims court if GT are saying we’ve received the dividend due to us when lots of us are saying we have not?
Many thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no you can’t make a claim through the small claims court. Administrations go through completely different procedures and although you can sue the administrators it is not simple or cheap.
Chris Anderson says
My bank told me they couldn’t give details on an account what had been closed over 6 years (like mine has) this is the account the loans were paid into and paid from, my updated account which has been opened for 7 years now is an updated account to the old basic one (what loans were paid out of and into, this was all verified by Wonga (change of details etc) my bank confirmed that any payment attempted to be paid into the closed account would automatically bounce back within 48hrs maximum (sent back to Wonga) that was 13 weeks ago and yet they state that they are still trying to retrieve payment (incase if fraud) this is their error not mine so the money should be paid then they should try and get the money back (I truly believe the money wasn’t attempted to be paid at all they made an error) Why should we have to wait like this through their error? This is just absolute shambolic, they are messing with people’s lives here and they know it.
Gilly says
It’s just so wrong that the onus is on us to prove a negative – that we haven’t received the dividend due to us – when it should be a positive obligation on Grant Thornton to show that we have. They can keep telling us all sorts of nonsense and we have no effective way to challenge them. It’s just shameful, they’re an utter disgrace, hiding behind insolvency legislation which is inadequate to protect creditors like us.
Chris Anderson says
Exactly Gilly! I asked Wonga and GT this and have a guess what? I got no reply. There is no way that it takes this long to find a payment (transaction) to a closed account what has bounced back to Wonga, it’s been 13 weeks tomorrow for me that the payment would have bounced back to Wonga, I truly believe payment wasn’t attempted at all, why are we the creditors having to wait through their incompetence, when GT took over on the 24/04/2020 I really thought things would be resolved in a timely manner, how wrong I was! They are just as bad, they do reply usually but it’s the same reply “sorry and we totally understand your frustration etc etc” but nothing is done about it, I’d love to know how many of us are in this situation. I’ve still not heard off of The insolvency gateway with my complaints and they was made 4 months ago, I’ve never had a thorough explanation off of anyone (Wonga or GT) why we are still waiting 6 months later for OUR money, it’s unbelievable really, this has really affected me especially that no one listens to us and that really there is nothing we can do here, surely this is theft, they are keeping our money what we are entitled to. Sara said that they should pay us if they can’t find the money they supposedly paid into a closed or wrong account – if that’s the case why haven’t we received our money by now? They’ve had more than enough time to find the lost payment which they and Wonga Supposedly made, Seems rather bizarre to me.
Gilly says
Chris, I find it astonishing that we are in this position. This is a snippet of the email I sent today to GT:
‘Dear ****
I have literally trawled my high street today going into each bank where I have held an account in the last 7 years. Not one of them has any record of an account in my name ending ****. Can you provide more information about this account which you say is the one where payment was made to me – if you say it is in my name then there can be no problem with data protection.
I do find it strange that you say the payment of £69.19 was made to this account between 13 – 22 Feb 2020 yet on 01 May 2020 **** sent me an email saying her screen showed I was due £69.19 and she would forward my bank details to your accounts department for payment in 2-3 weeks.
I can see from various forums (Debt Camel in particular) that many people are having this same problem with Grant Thornton. It doesn’t seem right that the onus is being placed on us to prove a negative – that we haven’t received payment – when the onus should be on yourselves to prove we have – a positive is much easier to prove than a negative.
I am owed a mere £73.25 and I have been fighting for months to receive it. It’s quite disgraceful that so many of the redress creditors have still not been paid – people who have been deemed financially vulnerable by virtue of the very fact their claims have been accepted.’
Sarah says
I sent an email asking what was going on as per the last email I had, which said if I hadn’t heard anything within 3 weeks (is now 5 weeks later!). Haven’t had a response surprise surprise. I am astounded as to why it should take so long like you say. Fed up with it all now. It is ridiculous.
Hasan says
I still have multiple Wonga loans showing on my credit report. I thought these would all be removed. Does anyone know how to fix this? Thanks
Sam says
Just wondering if anybody has had the loans removed from their Equifax credit report as advised would happen in January? Looking to start a mortgage application but waiting until they have been removed. Have emailed the administrators but no response.
Julie says
Radio silence now for me from Wonga, i’v been waiting 2 weeks for accounts to contact me apparently. The apparent case manager just ignores me.
Sara do you have any way to communicate with them for an update as to why this is happening?
Chris Anderson says
Join the club Sarah, it’s Grant Thornton who are the contact now, when I email them it’s the same generic email “we totally understand your frustration we are working on this matter” that’s basically it, that doesn’t really tell me anything apart from lies, Grant Thornton took over on the 20/04/2020 it does not take 8 weeks to sort this, they are as bad as Wonga. We are really being let down here, I mean we was supposed to get our redress by the end of January 2020 and yet here We still are chasing “OUR” money nearing the end of June 2020 potentially into July/August if at all, even my CMC have given up now, the woman from my CMC who has been very fair said she’s never encountered anything like this with any company she’s dealt with and she dealt with a few.
Sarah says
Had this today
Please do accept our apologies for the delay in your payment. We really do understand your frustration and want to assure you that we are picking these queries up so that we can ensure that they are actioned in the right manner.
Please be assured that we have taken the necessary steps in order to recall your funds from the bank, and once these are received we will be able to re-issue your payment. In addition, we are in regular contact with the bank to seek updates in relation to the recall.
Took them 4 days to respond. Generic and fobbing me off yet again 😡 really don’t understand. It’s been over 7 weeks now. How can it take so long to contact a bank 🤷🏻♀️
Chris Anderson says
Very similar to what I’ve had Sarah on 2 occasions, if you ring your bank up I’m sure they’ll tell you the same as they told me that payment to a closed account would be returned to the sender (Wonga) my bank the Yorkshire bank told me it would’ve been returned within 48 hours, no Wonga claim my payment was made to this closed account on 12th March 2020 (15 weeks ago) so I just can’t see what the problem is about recalling payment, Wonga would have had my payment back no later than the 20th March 2020 and yet I’m still here waiting and Grant Thornton saying what they’ve told you basically, it’s absolutely ridiculous this is. Wonga and Grant Thornton should be ashamed of themselves they’ve done nowhere enough for us who are still waiting on their money, I bet Grant Thornton have had their money.
John Dillingham says
Still nobody been back in touch in over 8 weeks , all grsnt Thornton team , who can i contact?
Sarah says
The bank they sent it to isn’t even my bank. I don’t know why they did it as they had my correct details. I’m so fed up of it. They really are the pits!
Gilly says
It’s the same for me Sarah, I have no record of an account GT have told me they paid the money to sometime between 13-22 Feb 2020. I had a request from Wonga 27 Feb asking for my bank details and another email from Lesley at GT on 01 May 2020 confirming she had received my bank details and passed the info to accounts for payment in 2-3 weeks. All my former banks have said any payments to a closed account would be bounced back in 48 hours. We’re just being told a pack of lies from GT. The sums owed to last few few of us are so small, it must be costing them more to pay their employees to keep telling us this nonsense than it would cost just to pay us.
Sarah says
Agreed. It’s £60 odd for me. You would think it should be straight forward. Some people would say why am I bothering. I could just accept its a lost cause but it’s owed to me but it’s the principle. The misery these loans caused me when I was at my lowest ebb Relationship and money wise is hard to explain. It won’t take that away but it’s mine and it’s owed to me. They should just pay up now. It’s ridiculous!
Gilly says
I feel the same as you Sarah. I’m only owed £73.25 and I don’t really need it, but it’s owed to me and Grant Thornton are not getting away with not paying it.
I’ve just made a Data Subject Access Request to GT for all the information they hold on me relating to the Wonga administration, including, but not limited to, the details of the bank account where they claim to have made my redress payment in the period 13-22 February 2020. They must respond within one calendar month. I’ve sent it to the Chief Executive David Dunckley.
There is a generic template letter on the ICO website for DSAR requests.
Let’s see what happens.
I’m also going to make a Freedom of Information request to ask how many redress claimants are disputing payment has been made and the total sum of money that amounts to.
Gilly says
Edit to my previous post: Please ignore my reference to a Freedom of Information request, FOI requests can only be made to public authorities not private companies like GT.
Gary says
I’m in the same boat – they finally acknowledged they made an error in attempting payment to my old, closed account and said the new details were passed to the relevant team to process payment. This was on the 6th of May and I’ve chased it every week since. The last correspondence I had was on the 6th of June stating they were waiting for the original payment to be recalled and have ignored me since. It’s very frustrating to not even get so much as a reply.
Gilly says
Try a subject access request Gary. By law they have to respond within one calendar month. I’ve directed mine to the CEO because he should be aware of the firm’s obligations in relation to SARs. If I don’t get a satisfactory response within a calendar month, I’ll be referring it to the ICO. I’m completely fed up with the misleading information, the general nonsense and incompetence we have experienced from Grant Thornton and I’m not putting up with it anymore.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good idea! Other people may like to try this too.
Gary says
I’ll give it a go, nothing to lose at this point. Thank you!
Chris Anderson says
That’s exactly were I’m at Gary, it never takes this long to recall a payment, no way!
Gilly says
You’re right Chris, it doesn’t. I had a fairly chaotic banking history when I was using Wonga (thankfully out of that now) but last Friday (19 June) I went in person to every bank where I ever held an account and every single one of them said a payment to a closed account would be bounced back to the payee within 48 hours. We’re being lied to by Grant Thornton. I really don’t need £73.25 anymore but I’m so angry that a company like Grant Thornton (and please use the full name so it gets picked up by their internal media searches) can be so incompetent at dealing with an administration like Wonga to the extent that financially vulnerable people are being cheated out of the redress they are owed.
Chris Anderson says
I’ll be doing this in the morning, there is no way I’m letting them get away with treating us like this, it may spear them on to pay us what we are entitled to, there is no way on Earth it takes this long to chase up money what’s supposedly been paid to a closed account (I fully believe the redress hasn’t been paid to my closed account at all) surely contacting the bank with the date, redress amount and who they are is enough to ensure there has been an error made to get the refund, I saw someone said on here that they (Grant Thornton) are in regular contact with the banks, what does that mean? Surely one phone call is enough, it’s glaringly obvious were the errors been made so why are we still here waiting for our redress? Something isn’t right here, I haven’t had no response to recent sent emails to Grant Thornton now when before they responded.