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?
LH says
Ive had my letter and been accepted for 87 loans, the letter also states that they will be removed from my credit record. I know im not going to get much of a refund but im just happy they are off my record. Does anyone know how much of an impact these this removal will have on the actual credit record ie, the impact on having them removed if they are over a period of 5/6 years?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if you didn’t miss payments or default, removing them will make little difference. Some mortgage lenders wouldn’t touch you with that many payday loans showing – that is all really.
I suggest you download a copy of your credit report including these loans now and keep it safe. If you ever want to make any form of affordability complaint against a different lender, it will help to be able to show what your real credit record at the time showed.
LH says
ah Sorry. I’ve misread the letter then.
So they don’t remove the loans from my account even though they agree they were unaffordable? it’s been over a year since my last loan so eventually it will not be on my record. Thanks for the advice.
Tracy says
They will remove them from your credit file
Kellz says
I’ve finally had my response since my complaint in 2017. The first three loans not accepted and the total is £12,347.
Nice to finally know.
Becci says
I think you maybe the first person I’ve read of on here that had complained before the administration process and received a final response letter! Seems like we are getting there
Kellz says
Yeah, I did wonder why mine was taking so long considering I’d complained and had mine in a queue with the ombudsman for a while, but I knew they would get round to it eventually.
Kathy says
I complained before they went broke, and have had my letter also! I found the process very easy. I merely emailed them and said I felt I had a claim. They checked and agreed. I didn’t have to provide any loan details, they did that. The only loans rejected for compensation were pre-2011.
Neil says
I had my response today, and mostly accepted by them, a few from 2010 and a big one from 2015 which i think should have been accepted but wasn’t as i had a break in lending. They have said the following which i haven’t seen posted here….
****What was the assessment criteria?
Your loans have been assessed against a number of affordability criteria:
Loan value as a proportion of income
If a loan’s value was greater than 30% of your income at the time that you took out the loan, your claim for that loan has been accepted.
Time in loan or number of loans
Subject to the type of loan borrowed from Wonga, if you were a repeat borrower of Wonga loans for a significant number of loans or period of time (without a break from Wonga of at least 6 months) your claim for all loans beyond the number or period of time threshold have been accepted.
Additional affordability factors
In addition to the above, if there was any evidence that the loan(s) were unaffordable, e.g. payments in arrears or a record of you contacting Wonga and reporting hardship, your claim for all loans after this point (without a gap of at least 6 months) have been accepted.
Please note that any loans that have been previously compensated have not been re-assessed by the Joint Administrators.****
Jaqueline says
Had mine at last – waiting since 2016 with FOS – mine says the same – I noticed I had a loan paid off in 2014 under affordability criteria – they have not accepted this one but have taken the amount off my accepted amount .
Mr E says
Complaint in September 2016. 80 loans all take. Out within seconds of paying the previous one off.
Wonga rejected.
Adjudicator rejected. (Didn’t know what she was doing)
Didn’t make it to an ombudsman.
Today it’s been partially upheld 67 out of 80 loans. Total Value £2700. Total payout likely £27.
Mark says
How do you know payout Likely been £27?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
everyone is guessing. No one knows.
Mr E says
Totally guessing, but when you look at the maths….. 460+ million in claims…. only 40m or probably way less in the pot.
The reality It doesn’t look good
Mr e says
Just a thought here Sara,
Do the financial ombudsman still get awarded there fee’s?
If so, I imagine that’ll be a big chunk? Why don’t they waive there fee’s so that the customers can get a slightly better amount back.
After all, the FOS is there to help the customers
Laura says
No harm buts that’s ridiculous. Goodness knows how much the F.O.S spent on man hours dealing with all Wonga’s nonsense. They are not a charity and equally F.o.s is actually a impartial judge essentially, there remit isn’t to just “help the customers”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS are an unsecured creditor. They will get paid the same percentage of their outstanding fees that you will get paid on your redress.
Chilli bean says
Hi Sara,
Like lots of others now I have finally received my notification from GT.
I have a random question that will apply to all the companies that are currently going under.
As we would normally be expected to pay tax on the 8% interest element of refunds, but the final refunded amounts will almost certainly be less than the amounts due before that interest was added, are we still liable to pay that tax?
Thanks
Ian says
I cant see how they are goin to pay by end of january ive had my claim in since the portal opened like 1000s of others and still had no contact in 7 month so the people who have recently submitted their claim has got to be months before they hear anything and not to mention the ones they dont uphold ie the time its going to take to make complaints send evidence in until all this is settled they cant give a figure for me it could be middle of next year?
Craig Bettany says
I don’t know how it works I submitted my claim in what may/June time after receiving an email off wonga and got accepted claim value of 3000 in September. I’ve forgot about it tbh after finding we would receive next to nothing back on this page. Kind of wish I never got the email saying I’m entitiled to over 3000 and then below saying it will be substantially lower at the time I thought receiving half or even a quarter would be nice. Never realised it would be as low as what people are predicting.
Annie says
I submitted my claim in August 2016 and have been told the value of it is over 4000 and they have not accepted all my loans. Is it wishful thinking to hope I’ll get at least £500 back?
Lynn scott says
I followed Debt Camels advise and used the letter template to complain to Wonga and I didnt pay my last loan to them as I could not afford it without continuous borrowing. I have been emailed regarding a refund and yes it does state that I will receive a smaller amount they also deducted my unpaid last loan from the total they also rejected my first 5 Wonga loans not sure why? I am just so happy Thanks to Debt Camel that I no longer get loans and that I may get some cash back.
Natalie says
I am split on what’s happening with this wonga repayment. I had an email saying they owe me over £6000 I’m a single mum got myself in a state with loans and was glad to be shot of them all (all paid through debt managment) was super happy thinking could spoil the kids ect so was abit bummed to see I wont get much back of it. BUT have to be fair we all got these loans without a care in the world about any of this and really chose to get ourselves into that situation. The fact this has come about being able to claim ect is just a bonus and fingers crossed it will turn out we get an amount that is fair to what we are actually owed. But I do agree with someone else further up about the being told what’s owed making it seem abit like wwhhyyyyy fingers crossed for every1 being happy with what they recieve
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If the Wonga debt is in your DMP, that should be cleared in full.
Stephen says
Hi Sara , has there been any movement on the information that was in the press earlier this year about the government becoming involved in the Wonga administration. I believe it was Nicky Morgan MP for Loughborough quoted às saying ‘it may be time for the government to become involved’.After all they were quick enough to rescue Thomas Cook customers stranded abroad,what about Wonga customers stranded at home !
Sara (Debt Camel) says
None. Not helped by the fact MPs seem to be preoccupied with a different thing…
Matt stegelson says
Keep pushing Sara as we don’t want to give up on the government just yet
rachael Armstrong says
I received an email today from [a claims company] who are processing my claim they have sent me an offer from Wonga of £2700 and requested my bank details.
Will I really be receiving this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No way will you get anything like that. Did the claims company not mention that the Administrators warned you will get substantially less than that amount?
Ian says
Be careful is it legit i phoned my claims company for an update and they said as of last week wonga were having no contact with the claims company anymore and dealing with me direct
kevin says
Got my email stating £5200 due in redress, like others first 6 or so loans not acepted.
ill start the guessing at P in the £, im thinking 5p (5%) max. the administrators and secured debtors will suck anything it has dry.
eddy says
Hi Sara,
Just wondering your thoughts on this,, as we are only going to recieve a small percentage of what we are owed is it likely that we will still get the tax deducted?
Thanks
Eddy
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, you will only get a small percentage.
Tax will be deducted from the part of the refund that is the 8% extra interest added – not from the interest you paid which is being refunded.
eddy says
Thanks Sara,
Ive just got The money shop & wonga left until all my claims are finished and settled!
Website was a great help!keep up the good work
Lew says
Just to really annoy wonga I’m going to ask for my 47p redress to be posted as a cheque and frame it.
Jock thomas says
Class lew. Centre piece in the living room lol
J says
Hi,
Is everyone being contacted now by Grant Thornton? My complaint was with the FO when wonga went bust but it looks like some people who only submitted claims after they went bust have had a response from Grant Thornton? Is this the case? Thanks
GimmeMyMoney says
Yes it is. I’m in the same position.
We will be contacted by GT in due course. They appear to be working the cases in a random order.
Chilli bean says
Mine was with the FOS and I finally got a response at the end of last week. They are working their way through them. Shouldn’t take too much longer I wouldn’t have thought. I think they just left the ones that were at FOS till last for some reason.
Kay says
I’ve had an email
Saying I need to send my bank details and ID. Passport & driving license . Seems a bit dodgy to me ?!
Beverley W says
Pretty sure they don’t ask you to send that stuff. Just asked me to log into the portal and confirm my bank details if they’ve changed. You’re right to be suspicious. With me they just sent a link to the old Wonga login and said I should use the reset my password if I can’t remember the old one.
Andy says
They send you an email with a secure link at the bottom of the email if not then another will arrive in a week.or.so but If there is just click the secure link
Shane says
I received an email it said they will make the payment via bank transfer when they are in a position to do so using the last known Bank details they have on record from wonga unless I log in to my account and change them or call them if I’m unable to log in they said nothing about sending photo Id or anything like that so I’d be careful sounds dodgy to me
Sarah says
I received an email asking for passport and bank statement photos, surely thats not right? Any one else had this?
Bev says
Why would they need that? Your identity has already been established through the portal
Jo says
Yes I have had this email too as they say they can’t pay me as they don’t know my bank details. I’m on here to check if it’s legitimate
Gill says
Got one too. Looks a bit dodgy but the reference number in the email is right and they’ve asked for the 16 digit bank card number to be hidden when uploading bank card details which makes it seem more legitimate. Any thoughts?
Jo says
I’ve given them a fairly dormant saving account and blocked out the 16 digit card number like they said and sent it. No acknowledgement received as yet and to be fair the last Wonga loan I got was about 5yrs ago so they are right, they don’t have my bank details and I can no longer login to change them. The email address is the same as the one that told me my claim has been successful etc… and the reference number is right.
Jacqueline Bell says
Don’t please don’t send any bank details or id if that is what they are asking for. They should already know your bank details and wouldn’t need id. It surely is a scam wanting to get hold of your bank details. Always check first before giving away these details. They gave my last 4 digits of my account number and asked me to contact them if it had changed.
GimmeMyMoney says
I’d agree with this. But it’s important to make sure your sort code hasn’t changed also.
A large number of UK banks went through a process where some customers were given a new sort code due to legislation brought in after the 2008 crash.
Kris says
Ive also had this email. I’m concerned it may be a scam.
Rich says
I have had the same e-mail do we need to send documents or not
B says
They have asked for account number and sort code or asked for numbers to be covered on card so they can’t get anything from your account by giving only those details. Can’t wait to get my £7 😂
Kieran says
I wouldnt give any card details, this is a scammers dream, they will know people are desperate for refunds and easy targets! It will sort code and account number the admins needs not card number!
Craig Bettany says
They are only asking for card details for bank account and sort code to update details so they know what account to transfer to when ready to pay out. They are not asking for the long number of your card hence why they say to cover up long number.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes but the mystery is, why do they need photo id?
Craig Bettany says
I don’t know I hope it’s not a scam I sent my account details and passport photo not thinking anything of it. When I spoke on live chat on wonga site they did say they was going to send a link asking for bank details etc so I thought it was fine.
Tom says
Hi all , I think Wonga’s system or customers accounts were hacked in the past .Would call them to double check if the request you have received is coming from them .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There are two questions
1) has this come from a scammer?
A reader has forwarded the email to me. It looks genuine. All the details look accurate. The telephone number 0207 138 8330 is correct. They have referred you to the wonga website for Live chat – they haven’t given a link for that so you can’t be diverted to a fake website. You can check if the case reference number given in the box is correct from previous Wonga emails. If it’s a scam it’s a very clever one…
2) why do Wonga want the photo id?
I have no idea. You could phone them up or use the webchat to ask?
Andy says
I’ve rang about this email , there should be a secure link at the bottom of the email if not they will send another in a week ish
Judith says
I was amazed to receive information on a refund from the Administrators of Wonga; I have never sent any complaint to anyone about my loans. I was a mature adult when I took the loans and knew exactly what I was doing. I know this was not the case for many people and they deserve redress. I got the info request yesterday and rang the Administrators to check if it was legit. As our addresses are not given anywhere, frankly handing your card over in a restaurant, to make a payment ,is a bigger risk than sending these documents. You will find more and more companies will asking for such proof: an EU directive requiring companies to do more ID checks came into force recently.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you saying you never put a Claim in?
This is surprising. I suggest you ask the Administrators if a Claims Company has done this on your behalf – because they may have done this without your permission, in which case you shouldn’t have to pay them their large fee…
Amy says
I have received an email today, like many others, stating that they are going to pay it into my last known bank account. They have the correct last four digits and address. They have not asked me for photo ID, bank statements or anything like this at all…
Luke says
Hi Sara,
Could do with some advice – I’ve had a loan outstanding with Wonga for £680 since they went bust, hence I stopped repayments based on a claim I had with the FO. I’ve just received a settlement offer from Wonga of £160, however there is no mention of my claim…
Do you have any recommendations of what I should do???
Thanks, Luke
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Someone else has reported getting this “only pay 25%” offer today.
The problem is, if your claim for a refund is accepted, you will be worse off if you accept this… unless Wonga pays out more than 25p in the £ which no-one thinks is likely.
I suggest sitting tight. You could reply that you will consider their offer when they have assessed your claim.
I don’t think this offer is going to go away. Wonga have said they can’t sell the outstanding debts.
Ben says
Hi All,
Today I received an email from Wonga with a reduced pay off deal on my Wonga loan.
The offer is £250 to pay off my £1000 loan.
I have also received an email from the administration with my claim amount of £12500 which includes my £1000 loan taken. I don’t expect to get the full amount but wonder if anyone else has received this today?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like a dreadful offer! It would only work well if Wonga pay out more than 25p in the £ which is VERY unlikely.
David says
Have received my descion of over 5k including my outstanding balance set off. Today I receive email from wonga offering me a reduced balance to pay. Anyone else had this?
Is it just a case of 2 different departments, collections and complaints, and the massive backlog that there will be?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
See my replies to Ben and Luke
GimmeMyMoney says
It’s worth checking with them regarding your claims.
I’d complained back before they went into adminstration and had updates to my current email address (they were also still sending it to my email address I used at the time).
I spoke to somebody last week who told me it should be within a week and it would be sent to both email addresses.
I just rang up again today and was told it was only sent to my old email, the one I used at the time. She forwarded the email straight away to me and I now have my claim amount.
Usual caveats of not receiving the full amount apply.
Turtle says
So Wonga want 25p to the £1 on debts from customers yet we may end up with under 5p on refunds. Are they actually serious?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Here is a new article on Wonga’s offer to settle outstanding loans at 25%: https://debtcamel.co.uk/wonga-settlement-offer/
Bob wailer says
The more people pay back the more the people without outstanding loans get right ? So all the people moaning about not repaying the loan its taking money out of everybody elses refunds
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is a legal obligation to “set off” amounts when A owes B some money (to repay a loan) and B owes A some money (by way of a refund).
This should be clearly described to people by the Administrators. They should not mislead people about their legal rights.
Bob wailer says
So am i correct ? People who dont pay outstanding loans equals less money in the pot for people who are owed refunds ? You seemed to answer like a politician
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Never been accused of that before!
I obviously haven’t been clear. My point is that for anyone that is owed a refund, they legally DO NOT OWE any money to Wonga even if there is an outstanding balance on the loan. A debt adviser will never recommend someone pays an amount they do not legally owe.
A lot of the outstanding debts are several years old. These are from people who can’t afford to repay the loans.
Bob wailer says
But all im wanting is a yes or no im afraid
If people paid there loans back , there would be more in the pot for everybody no ? Including people who havent outstanding balance ?
I get SOME people may not be able to afford it but i know there is alot who just refused such as people who have had claims rejected , clearly wasnt unaffordable lending but yet they refuse ?
So from what ive seen is you say that because a loan is several years old , means its unaffordable even though the same people have had claims rejected and still refuse to pay ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“but i know there is a lot who just refused”
do you have any evidence for that assertion?
At the point Wonga went under more than 70% of the outstanding loans were already in arrears, a substantial amout by more than 6 months. These were not people who took advantage of the insolvency to not repay a loan they could afford, these were people who could not afford to repay their loans.
“such as people who have had claims rejected , clearly wasnt unaffordable lending”
It’s important to distinguish being able to afford to repay a loan from having a claim for unaffordable lending accepted. If someone took a perfectly affordable loan but then loses their job or become seriously ill, the loan is now “unaffordable” as they have no means of repaying it, but if this was one of the first few loans they had from Wonga, they would not win an affordability complaint.
So we have four groups of people here:
1) those who cannot afford to repay the loan.
2) those who do not owe Wonga any money because they have the right of set-off between their last loan and the calculated refund.
3) those who can afford to repay their loans but are happy to have their credit records wrecked to try to get away with not paying them.
4) those who can manage the 25% repayment and who would like their credit records cleaned up.
I suggest that group (1) deserves people’s sympathy – most people reading this have struggled with payday loans themselves. Group (2) has the law on their side and should not be misled by the administrators into paying money they do not owe. And group (3) is likely to be a very tiny number. People in group (4) should, of course, be happy to take the offered settlement.
(I added the fourth group when I realised I had missed it off.)
test123 says
Sara, you’re over complicating this. I am not entirely sure why you are not grasping Bob’s question. The essence of the questions is this:
1. There is a refund pot of circa £41m (with total claims amount running in hundreds of millions).
2. Some people still have outstanding loans and have been offered a settlement amount of 25%.
3. Should some of those people choose to make that settlement payment to close the outstanding balance on their credit report – will that money go into the refund pot? Yes/No?
If you say – well the settlement is being used to “set off” against their loan, then isn’t the “set off” essentially reducing the total value of the claims amount, therefore the answer becomes Yes?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“If you say – well the settlement is being used to “set off” against their loan”
I would never make that statement. The outstanding loan balance should be set off against the refund. That is not what will happen if someone makes a settlement.
I am refusing to answer overly simplistic questions which take no account of the different circumstances.
If anyone reading this thinks it’s a good idea for people to be encouraged to pay a debt they cannot afford or which they do not legally owe, then I suggest you go and find some other website to hang out on.
Maxine says
When will we know what we’re getting?
Surely it can’t be far away untill we find out?
Jock thomas says
Good question…
Ian says
Im guessing thousands havent even had a redress amount yet like me i put mine in in april 6 month on not heard a thing so people who put theres in at the last minute might be waiting months yet so i think getting any money by end of january is far fetched imo
Maxine says
Unless your not getting anything?
I put mine in sep 2016. 6 months is nothing
Ian says
I meant the online portal mines been in same 2016
test123 says
Ian – I submitted my claim 5 months ago, already have had the redress amount sent to me last month, and have been asked for bank account and sort code for the payment to be made once it’s all ready by end of January 2020. If you submitted your claim 3 years ago and still no redress – I’d be scratching my head given that you have people like me only involved for a second and already told “how much” and when I’ll be paid.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I haven’t seen any evidence that claims are being dealt with in the order in which they arrived. You may think that would be logical but it doesn’t seem to be happening.
Ian says
You dont seem to understand whether i had my claim in 6 years ago its irrelavant they are only looking at claims since the portal started 6 month ago so like i say my decision is still pending 6 month on so if i put my claim in lets say last month im guessing 5 month on in february 2020 my claim along with god knows how many still pending so to say all payments will be made in january is far fetched they cant pay any money out till every claim is agreed. Does this make sense to you sara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think we have no idea in what order the Administrators are looking at Claims.
There are more different categories than people may realise:
– people with outstanding loans
– people who had last loan sold to a debt collector
– people who received some write off in 2014/15
– people who had an outstanding claim with Wonga when they went under
– people who had an outstanding claim with FOS when they went under
– people who have put in a brand new claim
– people who have already had a settlement who have put in a new claim
etc etc
The first emails with assessed amounts started going out on 8 August. Until then they were probably working on the program to do the calculations!
It looks to me as though they are getting through a lot. It’s possible there may be a further delay but I haven’t seen anything that suggests it is likely. If I had to guess, any delay on the payouts is more likely to happen because of other factors (sale of assets etc) rather than claims assessments. But that’s a guess!
Ian says
I will start scratching my head when people actually start getting paid! As for how much you are getting paid you dont know, and when you are getting it paid is anyones guess dont think it will be january imo.
Michelle says
I just wish they hadn’t told me my accepted amount! It’s like here’s what you could of won!!
Lu says
I agree with you I am gutted! Truly gutted!
Sally says
Me too . Over £10,000 refund in my ‘here’s what you could’ve won’ email! Mine claim had been stuck in the over six year rule since 2016. Here’s hoping for 10% …
Kim Hall says
Its all very disappointing I have been made an offer of about £800 and my husband £250 I did mine through a claims company at the time so they will get a percentage too! I feel it might have been better to have an outstanding loan amount with them as at least it would have been written off against the debt.
Leon says
Hi,
I have received an offer that will set off my current outstanding loan leaving me with just £7 to pay, I’m happy to pay this but when I go to the wonga website it says I still owe the original amount (£282) and there is no option to pay off the revised amount.
Any ideas how I can pay this and get it off my credit report.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Contact customer services… hopefully they can sort it out.
Ian says
When people are receiving these set of offers that wipe off their loans they owe, are they receiving a refund amount aswell ie your redress would be say £4000?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, that is the problem. The settlement offer arrives on its own, no reference to a refund amount, which is misleading. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/wonga-settlement-offer/.
Ian says
Ah right i was worried because i owe £270 which i have stopped paying monthly payments i would only get a set of offer and not an actual refund as i had over 100 loans i may be expecting say £6000 and even %10 of that is better than the set of offer
Ian says
But are these people eventually getting a refund offer aswell? I owe £270 which i stopped paying monthly payments too so im a bit worried now i had over 100 loans so maybe expecting say £6000 which even 10% is more than the 270 i owe so could i just get a set of offer and no refund
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What should happen here is that your balance of £270 is deducted from your assessed refund and the remaining part of the assessed refund goes into the p in the £ calculation. So you get full value for the first £270 part and a small amount of the rest.
Leon says
Is there any evidence or mention of people getting their account amended to pay the set off amount yet? I have emailed Wonga with my case number and I’m waiting for it to change on the website. It only gives me the option to pay the full amount (£282), not the ‘loan amount outstanding’ minus what I have been ‘partially awarded’ back which is £12
LEE mcnamara says
i have recived a email today off wonga saying i will have a payment into my bank by the end of january 2020 i look formard to my £5 lol
Andy says
Can one request payment via cheque? Or provide a friend’s banking details? I do not have a UK bank account anymore and now live in Canada. I made the claim on Wonga’s website and I received an email in September saying my loan was partially accepted. Amount accepted is 3,600GBP and was informed amount actually paid will be considerably less.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you email customercare@wonga.com and ask.
Peter says
Got a generic email today after emailing bank card and licence through……
Case number: *********
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
Trev says
I haven’t received any email with an agreed amount yet.
Does anyone have an email contact for whom is best to tell me what is happening?
GimmeMyMoney says
Ring them Trev. 020 7138 8330
I don’t think they respond to emails.
Were you using a different email address as a customer with Wonga?
I was and that’s where they sent it
Ian says
Im the same not heard nothing had my complaint in since the portal started phoned them and all they say my decision is pending!
Jaqueline says
Sara, I had a loan cancelled under the affordability rule back a few years ago and my account closed – I then took my case to Ombudesman where it stayed on hold for 3 years – I’ve had my refund letter from Wonga last week however the amount has been taken off my redress – I sort of understand this but when I see above that anyone with loans outstanding has been offered a discount – I’m however paying the whole amount back from my redress – is this something you’ve seen and do you think it’s ultimately fair?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes this is the fair thing to do. That way you get “full value” for your balance owed.
If you settled the balance at 25%, that might sound like a bargain, but you would then only get paid say 5 or 10% of the redress.
What the administrators are doing leaves you better off.
michael says
Ive had a smoothe monthly update on my accounts…..im told im owed 1700…how much is the considerably less amount i dont know….id like to get 300 from it…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think £300 is very optimistic, but time will tell.
Kieran says
More likely to get 85 quid!
Chris says
Is there no action we can take collectively to seek redress from those behind Wonga – the owners? The investors? Even the FCA who allowed Wongs to operate in this way? It’s just not right that average joe carries the cost…again!
Anthony says
How can they take the money they did and when we get the right to claim it back we end up with next to nothing I have a claim and wonga says yes to 10250 and I will be lucky to get 500 . It almost seems as if the were told to pack up because of the claims .they still make money because the interest the made will out run what they will pay back . It’s all a big piss take. We should get what we are owed
Jock thomas says
Spot on comment there.
Elle says
They are only uhpholding 2 out of my 10 loans and guess what – the two I paid the lowest interest in – shock! The FOS would have granted me more, I took out ten loans with them in very quick concession, how can they only say that 2 out of those 10 were unaffordable? I had already bitterly accepted that I would receive next to nothing back but at the very least I was hoping that this burn marks on my credit score would have been removed, but no only two will go. I have lost all chance of getting a mortgage over my borrowing from these companies. Devastated at my poor choices and these companies exploiting a very low point in my life. Terrified I will never own my own house
ChrisS says
Elle never lose hope, I got a mortgage with over 40 Wonga loans and nearly 20 other PayDay loans on my record. They don’t last forever and there a mortgage lenders out there that are more concerned with your current ability to repay the Mortgage amount.
Ian says
Me too it really is a sad state of affairs they (wonga) exploited the people they were borrowing too we couldnt get credit anyway else and they knew this thats why they charged 1000% the government did nothing and they wont its not in their interest again the fat cats come out smelling of roses i bet the directors havnt lost anything, again joe public suffers
Mark says
I still have not heard anything about my refund just emails about updates on the grant Thornton portal, but it doesn’t let me login, do they send you the offer through the portal?
Lu says
I had a direct email via wonga with a detailed outline of loans accepted for refund amount etc this is what you should recieve. It states at the end all refunds will be significantly less and funds wont be recieved as late as 31st Jan 20
Karl says
Once the payments have been made and we get to see how little of our amounts we have actually got back, is there nothing that can be done to challenge this or take it further?. If we have been loaned an amount unfairly then surely the fair thing to do is repay the whole amount that is owed. Or is it basically final and thats that? .
Stephen says
Ian ,. maybe you could contact your local MP. The government stated earlier this year that they were looking at stepping in to this Injustice..Seems to have been brushed under the table with nothing but brexit being debated In parliament.I have emailed Nicky Morgan MP for Loughborough on 2 occasions and o my received automated response.This is the MP who stated that it may be time for the government to step in.
Emma says
Received email from wonga today confirming bank account details for refund money to be paid into by jan 2020, nothing on how much accepted on £3075 goodness knows what I will get
Lynn scott says
Hi every1 who are expecting a Refund from Wonga I recieved an Email from them today stating the refund will be paid end of Jan 2020 & they were checking if my account number was correct last 4 digits as the payment shall be paid Via Bank Transfer they did state Do not send any Details in reply to email only Log on 2 Wonga Account to Change Bank Account number Sort Code .
Archie says
In reading this it looks like the payment from the administrators will be around 8p for every £1 we are owed, so for every £1,000 we will receive £80. :( https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/oct/09/wonga-customers-average-compensation-payout . Never again!
Kerry Jones says
I have had notification that my complaint has been upheld and to be honest I’m not interested in the money as I went into the loans with my eyes wide open it clearly stated the amount I borrowed and had to pay back and when and was a great help when I had unexpected expenses. I just need them removing from my credit history ASAP as this is where it has ruined my finances as there was no information when taking these loans out that it would effect getting existing lending or a new mortgage. I could have reduced my mortgage by 40% but unfortunately all the companies with the best deals wouldn’t touch me due to having taken out these loans. Looking forward to working part time and spending more time with the children. I hope they get a move on with this. I cant believe how taking out these loans and paying them on time have affected me so badly.
Jon says
I’ve had a statement from Wonga saying I owe £1200.
When they went under my case was with the FO and it looked like they were going to settle.
I’m really angry about this. Where are the lawyers?
If 200,000 people are being treated differently to others because of their socio-economic status. That’s discrimination. Pure and simple.
Darral says
I have been told that I now have to appeal through the courts as I missed Wonga’s 21 day dead line to appeal their decision. They submitted a final offer to me which I thought was unsatisfatory and missed their deadline. I cannot afford to take my case through the courts so what should I do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Court is your only option. And you would have to have a very unusual case to win in court. Or for it to be worth the sheer hassle as you are likely to get less than 10% back of the final assessed refund. How many loans did you have, how much interest did you pay and what was the calculated redress from the administrators?
Darral says
1 loan
Can’t remember interest
Approx £150 award. (This is full reward before deds)
There is also a question of mental health status at the time and the problems the debt caused me (pain and suffering as it were)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You aren’t going to get any compensation for pain and suffering. Not from the administrators. Not from any court.
If you only had one loan, and they have offered you any money, then it will be a full refund on the interest on that loan. No way will you get more.
If you had taken your case to the Ombudsman before administration You probably wouldn’t have got more either.
Ian says
Hi sara not wonga related but didnt know where to post i received ppi back from a black horse loan where they wrote to me saying i might be due a refund due to a new system they had in place a week before i saw an advert on fb singaling out black horse for refunds so filled a form out and electronically signed it i got my refund in august the ppi firm was back in may do they have a cut off point where they cant ask for their 20% or could they come back in 2 years saying i owe them £700 thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
BH had written to you before you saw the Claims Firm’s advert? Why then would you reply to the advert if BH had already contacted you?
Ian says
No after the BH letter came after at the time i did the facebook advert ( through fountain finance) i was unaware of a new system BH had which identefied ppi over 20 years ago and this ppi firm obviously got wind of this new system ive since phoned BH and they have said no ppi firm have have been intouch about my redress and unless they have written proof they wont talk to them but want to know what the law is if they can get in touch in 2 years say demanding their% or is it void after so long
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good! A claims company can’t try to charge you if they never put a claim in on your behalf and the lender contacted you directly. They haven’t done any work to demand you pay a fee for.
Cfitz says
Had a email off wonga today asking me to verify my last four digits which I couldnt see so had to ring them and log into my account which they sent me a link so I could change my password and log in as I didn’t remember it from 2012 lol good job as my account was different to what I have now .
christine naughton says
i dont have my password cant remember it and ive changed my bank detail they said ive money to come but it will be sent to wrong acc closed that down opened a new one
Sara (Debt Camel) says
respond to the email and ask what you should do.
stephanie says
i made a telephone call today and found out the wonga or administrators had accept partial of my claim .but i have question of which i hope someone can help but without all the legal jargon what happened was the email was sent to an old email address which i find odd as i have had previous contact from wonga customerservice through resolver upuntil then and if i hadnt found a telephone number when scrolling through loads of info regarding wongaanyways i rang the number and found out my claim had been partially acessed and an amount agreed which at first was happy with but then read something about it could greatly reduced and if i wanted to appeal i had 21 days from date of email which was the 7 /10/19.but i only actually found out today so i think its to late but the amount mentioned was 2985.06 so does this mean i wont get anywhere near this amount come january 2020 please help its a bit confusing for me to understand
Jock thomas says
Only so much in the pot. We are last on the list.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“We are last on the list.” no, you are in the same position as all unsecured creditors. eg the Financial Ombudsman will get paid the same p in the £ that you will be for their outstanding fees.
Kyle Milne says
What email address are these emails coming from?
I had claims of over 70 loans
And haven’t yet heard anything back or missed the email
Is there a standard email address these are coming from?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you submitted a Claim to the administrators?
Phil says
My claim has been judged at nearly 10 thousand pounds ,half would be nice but very unlikely I think
Marianne says
Same mine is £9,111 half of that back would be nice. :)
JD says
Mine wasn’t nearly as much as yours. I keep hearing 5% being batted around.. not sure where this came from but a real shame I suppose. Wonder how much Grant Thornton will walk away with in the end.
diane brookes says
someone said well be lucky to get 10 percent
Lyndsay says
Hi, I had 2 loans with wonga one straight after the other with the same interest etc but oh one has been accepted…. why is this? Also I have changed bank details and my name is now my married name will this affect anything? Any help is most appreciated
Laura says
Your probably best going to the Wonga website and doing live chat.
With regards to loans that’s standard really, the take seems to be at first a company wouldn’t know you were reliant on the product etc
Ian says
Hi sara just had my settlement offer i owed £191 and they want £49 to close and my credit record will be restored is it worth paying or just leaving and not paying anything, still had no redress offer so am expecting it soon now they just sent me the settlement offer
Sara (Debt Camel) says
remind me, how strong is your Claim?
Ian says
Over 180 loans week after week repeat borrowed so expecting a bit to be honest think thats why i havnt heard anything yet because of the amount of loans i had
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply that you can’t decide whether to accept their offer until you have had an assessment of your Claim as you consider it may be much larger than the outstanding balance.
Ian says
I was thinking that, what difference does that make do i still have to make the outstanding balance payment when i have received my redress if i dont pay the settlement offer, its all very confusing lol
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Let me invent a figure for the purpose of looking at your decision about this settlement offer and say you will be assessed as having a refund value of £1000. Obviously I have no idea if that is way too little or way too large.
And let us say that the administrators will eventually payout 5p in the pound. it could be £10p. It could be 1p. This is an invented number.
If you pay this £49, you will eventually get 5p in the £ on £1000 back – thats £50. So overall you will have gained £1.
If you don’t pay anything now and wait for your refund to be calculated and then get the right of set off… your balance is written off and your refund will be reduced to 1000-191=809, which will be paid out at 5p in the £ which is £40.
So you are better off waiting for the reight of set off than taking this settlement offer.
lee jackson says
hello
I had a e-mail telling me to update my bank details with Wonga for the refund to be paid back but I have tried login in to the site wont let me and the number I ringing 0207 1388330 is Wonga but was on the line for 25mins I had to go back to work is they another number I can ring I am concerned I will lose out..???
Christopher says
Hi, I had this problem. I used their online chat and they unlocked my account straight away, I suggest contacting them through that. Good luck
Suzanne says
So from the comments made I’ve has a settlement figure of over £7k and I will possibly only get £300 back if that is that right?
GimmeMyMoney says
Nobody knows what the percentage will be. It will almost certainly be less than 10%
Bob wailer says
Does anybody know if this will be paid hefore january or will it be extended ?
Clare Jane says
Hi Bob,
I had an email from Wonga yesterday with regards redress. I have actually challenged their decision, as they haven’t upheld several of my loans.
Whilst it may only bank me another fiver, it’s more to do with principal and I like to fight until the end!
I’ve found there communications pretty good.
They are still working on payments heading to customer accounts before the close of January 2020. Naturally there could be an extension but, on track as far as I understand…at least from my own dealings with the customer team.
Jill says
How do you challenge? I had an email this morning, 2 loans were accepted and one load was refused
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was the loan refused the first one? That is normal – there would have to be something very unusual about your case to have the first loan accepted.
GimmeMyMoney says
They refused my first five. I can’t believe the way the format they sent me the details in.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Refusing the first 5 is pretty normal.
Will Godfreyget says
Depends, if everyone complains about the settlement amount then the costs go up and you all get less. Depends how many people need to keep contacting them. The administrators assessed it costs them £380 to deal with each application for redress.
Nigel says
Is there a way I can get the Wonga loan removed from my Credit File?
The loan was written off, but still remains with defaulted payments on it?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When was it written off? Was this in 2014/15?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was this in 2014/15?
Nigel says
Yes – that sounds about right
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In that case the default should have been deleted at the time. Email the administrators and say this.