In January, a reader told me about a loan he had for £650, with 18 monthly repayments of £147. This adds up to a total repayment of £2,650 – an eye-watering amount and more than four times what he borrowed.
At first I thought this was probably taken out years ago. But in fact, it was borrowed in late 2018 from Loans2Go.
Loans2Go also offer logbook loans, but this article is just about their standard personal loans. I have updated this article with information about what the Financial Ombudsman thought about one of these loans.
These Loans2Go personal loans:
- are for amounts between £250 and £1,000;
- all have an 18 month term;
- there is a set APR of 990%.
The quote above is for weekly repayments. You can also choose to repay monthly or fortnightly but this makes little difference to the total repayment.
Is it legal to charge that much interest?
The loan was taken out by the reader when he was desperate and didn’t think closely about the cost. But now he wants to know if it is actually legal to have to repay that amount.
There is a maximum cap on the amount of interest that can be charged on payday loans. Lenders can’t add more in interest and charges than the amount borrowed. If that payday loan price cap had applied to this Loans2Go loan:
- the maximum repayment would have been £1,300, less than half what L2G charges;
- the monthly repayments would have been lower than for L2G’s loan.
The FCA calls payday loans “High Cost Short Term Credit”. Its definition of High Cost Short Term Credit is a loan over 100% in APR and of 12 months or less.
So the Loans2go loan looks as though it is outside that definition because it is 18 months long.
But there is a small point in the FCA’s definition that says it also covers loans which are to be “substantially repaid within a maximum of 12 months“.
An Ombudsman decision on a Loans2go loan
Normally you don’t get very far if you complain to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) that the interest on a loan was too high.
You can win complaints about expensive credit if you can show the loan was unaffordable for you, but not just because the interest was too high if it was clearly explained at the start… and it was legal.
But here is a decision from the Financial Ombudsman about one of these L2G loans in 2019: Miss R’s personal loan provided by Loans 2 Go Limited .
Miss R borrowed £900 and was due to repay about £3,700, so about £2,800 in interest – she complained this was too high. She didn’t make an affordability complaint.
The Ombudsman points out that some respondents to the FCA’s consultation on the price-cap rules wanted the definition to be more specific, warning that loans of up to 24 months could potentially be caught by it. But the FCA said the definition was broad in order to prevent firms from trying to avoid the rules.
The Ombudsman was concerned that:
the potential harm to a consumer – as a result of having to pay such excessive charges over a longer period – is arguably greater [than for a loan of less than 12 months].
I think that last point is exactly right. If Miss R had taken a payday loan she would have paid a lot less each month and for a much shorter period than taking the L2G loan.
The Ombudsman decided he didn’t have to rule on whether the loan broke the payday loan price cap because the interest rate was in any case simply too high:
this loan had an interest rate so outrageous (i.e. one which works out at well in excess of 100% per annum) that I think a court may well have found it grossly exorbitant and that the agreement grossly contravened ordinary principles of fair dealing.
He reached that decision looking at Miss R’s situation and the fact that L2G knew she was in financial difficulty:
L2G … unfairly took advantage of the situation by providing such an expensive product.
So the Ombudsman’s decision was that L2G should reduce the starting balance on Miss R’s loan to £1,800 instead of c. £3,700 – a major cut in the amount of interest she had to pay.
Reasons to complain about one of these loans
I think this is the worst loan in Britain. It’s not right that you should have to pay every month for 18 months than you would if you take a payday loan and make 12 monthly repayments.
You have two possible reasons to complain about this sort of L2G loan:
- that it was unaffordable for you – the monthly repayments were so high you couldn’t afford to pay them without hardship, borrowing more or getting behind with important bills. This is a standard affordability complaint, used for many other sorts of loan. If you win this you will get a refund of all the interest.
- that the interest rate was unreasonably high and that L2G was not treating you fairly in offering you this loan. You could win this even if the loan repayments were affordable for you, and Miss R’s case suggests you would get the interest reduced if you do.
How to complain
First to Loans2Go
You have to complain to Loans2Go first, you can’t go directly to the Ombudsman.
It doesn’t matter if you have repaid the loan or you are still paying, you can still complain.
Use this template as a basis and make any changes so it reflects your case:
I am also complaining that the interest rate was grossly excessive. It is unfair to charge someone more per month over 18 months than they would have paid to a payday lender for a loan the same size over 12 months.
I am asking you to refund the interest and any charges I paid, plus statutory interest, and to delete any negative information from my credit record.
[delete if you have repaid the loan] I would also like an affordable repayment plan to be put in place if I still owe a balance after this refund.
I am also making a Subject Access Request (SAR) for all the personal information you hold about me including, but not limited to, my applications, all credit and other affordability checks, a statement of account for my borrowing, and a record of all phone calls.
Change that so it is right for you and email it to ps@loans2go.co.uk.
A good idea to send your bank statements
If L2G ask for bank statements, send them if you have them. They will prove your point that the loan isn’t affordable.
If you don’t have them, this is a good time to get them as they are very likely to be needed at the Ombudsman. You can get statements even from closed accounts within the last six years.
Have Loans2Go made you a poor offer?
You can send your complaint to FOS if Loans2Go have rejected it or have made you a poor offer. This is easy, just use the simple FOS form which asks you what they need to know to set up your case.
If L2G have offered to wipe a small balance or take some money off what you owe, is this a good offer?
Sometimes they offer 50% of the interest off “as a goodwill gesture”. Or to reduce your balance by 50%. These are often very poor offers, you could get a lot more by going to the Ombudsman.
Sometimes they will increase an offer if you push them. Here is what one reader said:
They replied firstly with the offer to half what was left and agree a payment plan and I refused and they immediately came back and wiped the loan clean and removed it from my credit file.
It’s up to you what you think a good offer is. But you can’t change your mind later if you accept and then think you shouldn’t have.
So ask a question in the comments below if you aren’t sure.
Ask for a refund for large bad credit loans
Complaining about a guarantor loan
How to ask for a payday loan refund
Mr Daniel says
Hi Sara
I took out a 500 loan December 19 and was paying it fine up until I had to change jobs due to covid and now earn alot less. They have already defaulted my account and I haven’t paid them since September. I can’t have any more bad credit as my score is really low. I’ve paid back around 800 now (more than I borrowed) I’m not sure what to do as I cant afford 100 a month anymore and I’m sick that I even took it out in the first place. Same story online enquiry ( for a smaller loan) and before I knew the money was there. I cant have ccj or have another default.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you send them a complaint using the template in the article above. And add a sentence saying you never applied for that much money and they never told you the total cost for you to agree, they just sent you the money which you think is unfair when they know they are dealing with people who may be desperate.
If the £100 is unaffordable, tell your bank to cancel the CPA (Continuous Payment Authority – it’s like a direct debit except you can’t cancel it yourself from your banking app you have to tell the bank to do it).
As there is already a default, stopping paying them will not harm your credit rating.
They may threaten court but they shouldn’t do this when you have a complaint open with them or with the Financial Ombudsman. And if you win the complaint the deaf should be removed as well as interest removed which should more than clear your balance so you should get a refund.
Martin says
Hi, I took out at a loan with Loans2go for £750 for 18months with £2250 the final amount to be paid. Not long after taking out the loan in Aug 2019 along with other debts it became unmanageable and after looking at the loans and this one in particular I felt that it was way to high of interest to be paying. I made a complaint to Loans2go but never got a response to my email so after around 7months I decided to make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman (while paying Loans2go through Stepchange. After a couple of months of back and forth they presented a letter from Loans2go stating there final response however this had been sent in the post and I had moved house in the meantime so never received the letter. The Financial Ombudsman has come back and stated as my complaint to them is 6 months after the final response from Loans2go, that they can’t take my case any further. Is there anything I can do with this as Loans2go keep emailing and calling about payments (made £900 in payments so far) as I have now stopped them as I don’t agree with the extortionate interest rates. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No. It is a great shame you did not follow this up sooner.
Gary says
Hi can I have some help please, I borrowed £1000 from loans2go on 8th October 2020, in total I would have to pay back £4400 odd, iv made about 3 payments of £228 and 1 payment of £250 so far as there was one month I couldn’t afford, my first payment I made was on 28th October 2020, I got other smaller debts that I’m trying to pay off but this loans2go is ridiculous I phoned up my bank to stop payments being made to them, I phoned loans2go and told them I can’t afford it but they still want me to pay, they sent me a letter the other day and says that I still owe about £3400, iv paid pretty much nearly £1000 what I borrowed so far in like 4 months, I didn’t expect to get the loan when I applied for it as I got bad credit and I already have 2 defaults on my credit report that I’m trying to fix, and I didn’t expect to pay this loan over 18 months I thought it was something like 3 years, I just want this gone now. (Any help will be very much appreciated)
Thomas says
Hi
Just thought I would update on my case with Loans 2 Go.
After chasing the ombudsman for numerous months they have finally made a decision that the loan was unaffordable and loans 2 go should refund me all interest paid.
They have given Loans 2 Go until 16th Feb to respond so lets hope they accept this decision and I can move on!
Stick in anyone waiting to hear back and I would say it’s worth while chasing up.
Thomas says
Update – Loans 2 Go don’t agree with the decision so goes to an ombudsman to make the final decision.
Has anyone got any ideas how many more months this drags on for?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it’s very unpredictable
Jordan says
How long has it taken from start to a decision from FOS being reached? Did you have to chase FOS? I’ve raised a complaint just wondering how long I can expect to wait, cheers
Thomas says
It was around 6 months from the complaint to getting an adjudicator to make a decision to which Loans 2 Go rejected.
Luckily I have only waited another 5 weeks or so for the ombudsman to make a final decision
Hopefully they will refund me soon
Thomas says
The ombudsman have said it will be many many months as they have a lot of high cost credit cases.
I can afford to pay them maybe £100pm while this is ongoing.
Do you think I should or just totally ignore them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you repaid them more than you borrowed so far? Do you have other problem debts?
Stu says
Hi Thomas. I had to wait about 13 months for an Ombudsman to look at my case. Just got a decision by email last wk upholding my complaint. Hopefully u aren’t waiting as long.
Thomas says
Thanks stu. Was that 13 months after the adjudicator or start to finish?
Loans 2 Go will probably be bust by then anyway.
Did you keep paying them?
Stu says
About 26 months in total! 13 months for adjudicator then another 13 months. Hopefully u won’t be that long. I had settled my loan due to a previous redress so wasn’t paying anything.
Thomas says
Another year wait then I suppose! The adjudicator has already said it will be many many months so just have to stick in.
Thanks for the info, much appreciated.
Stu says
6 days after the Ombudsman found in my favour with a final decision and Loans2go have paid up! Very surprising but happy it is done with. 26 months in total with the Ombudsman. Thanks Sara for this informative website! All claims now sorted barring the ones in Administration.
Candy says
Did they contact you by phone? The ombudsman has agreed with adjudicator and loans2 go have 4 weeks to pay up, it’s been 2 now and haven’t heard anything yet
James says
Hi Sara (and others)
Are you aware of L2G making any refunds without having to raise them with the FO? They rejected my complaint, have now sent bank statements so they’re reinvestigating by the end of the week. From reading this it seems like they just reject every complaint.
Cheers
Sara (Debt Camel) says
they sometimes offer to knock off a bit of the interest.
Read back through the comments on this page and see what people are saying.
James says
Thanks I did which is what made me think they rarely accept responsibility. Just wondered whether I’d missed anything different.
Not got anything outstanding with them – purely going after historic interest, so guessing I’m probably going to the Ombudsman. Can’t understand it – thought these companies were charged £500 a pop if a case goes to the FO (does that include if it’s resolved at the adjudicator stage?) so surely makes sense to try and resolve them before that.
Ray says
I thought i was taking out a £250 loan”over 12 months. £10.13. Per week. I received the cash to my bank ins’tantly. Expecting. Them to take the agreed above amount each week. Instead they have been taking £13.13. Each week since. Feb 2020. Which i. Am led to beleive is a 18month plan with silly hnterest rates applied I have requested my Pre -contract. agreement. Because i would have never have knowingly agreed to this. No reply. . i. Opend an online account. All it tells me what i owe- what. Ive paid –
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you send them a complaint, saying the loan was never correctly described to you, was unaffordable as they did not do proper checks and had an extortionate interest rate. Ask for a copy of all your personal information including recordings of any phone calls (if you made any).
Karol says
Hello I Have same problem with loans2go. I took out a loan of £ 1000 I have a weekly payment of £ 52.74 which gives 4113.72 of the total loan payment. I have paid off 50 out of 78 installments so far, what do I have to do? wait until I pay off the entire loan, can I start doing something about it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no you can complain now. See the article above
Karol says
Complaint to ombudsman or try first to L2GO?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you have to go to the lender first.
Ellis says
Hi
I also took out a loan with loans 2 go, of £890 ,I have paid 29 of 78, so in total pain back £1361, I looked to see when my last payment was due as I too thought it was 6 months, I am paying 1001% by the time I finish, I am going to write to them as you suggest, my question is. Should I now stop paying them as I paid back full amount and £471 in interest.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you afford the monthly payments and still pay your other bills, debts and living expenses? Or are you getting deeper into debt each month?
If you stop paying your credit record is harmed. But if you then win your complaint, any missed payments / defaults on your credit record are removed. And a LOT of people are winning these complaints.
Ellis says
No, I have had to borrow money from family to help pay othe debts ie poll tax and such
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I think you should stop paying. Don’t get into debt elsewhere to pay a debt you are disputing where you have already paid the amount borrowed.
if you have other debt problems as well, can I suggest talking to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000?
Dylan says
Hi all, I am starting a case against them too.. I borrowed £1500 of loans to go as I had just lost my job. the website was not clear and didn’t explain any details about how much this was eventually going to cost. I receive a call 10 mins after my application from an agent who stated that the interest was not showing on their website due to an error. she then just confirmed my details (identity) and didn’t explain anything? just hung up.
I am happy to pay off my loan but did not agree to this amount of interest.. I wouldn’t have agreed to this amount of interest!!! I have complained to them and will start my ombudsman after I get a reply and my Data request file. wish my luck
Chris Dixon says
Hi sara I’ve just recently won my complaint with the ombudsman that loans2go have accepted I’m now just waiting on them to send me an offer would it be possible to tell me how much I should be looking at getting back please
Loan 1: 400 paid back 1.417.28
Loan 2-5: 800 paid back 1856 each
Loan 6: 250 paid back 1019
Loan 7: 450 paid back 1.835.10
Loan 8: 650 still have an outstanding balance of 2084 on this one
Hopefully that makes sense to you
Thank you
Chris
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you made any payments to the last loan?
Chris says
From what I can see it looks like i paid 3 lots of £148 and 2 lots of £75 to them
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Adding that lot up, you borrowed a total of £4150 and have repaid £10433. So in all you have paid £6283 more than you borrowed. You should get that as a cash refund and your balance wiped. Also some 8% interest on top.
Elena says
I take a loan from they 1,500 and I mast pay back 4,423😡l don’t know the rate will be sow high 😡l try cancel after 5 minutes when I read the contract, l email them to cancel my request l don’t need a money..but to lait..they don’t answer to my request and send quickly money in my account 😡
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send them a complaint as the article above says.
Naj says
How long does adjudicator take to reply. Mine contacted me in october. I ask every month if theres anything else needed and he says no and i appreciate you want us to look at the case i let you know when we are in a position to progress your case. Its starting to get me down now. I complained to the ombudsman over a year ago. Ive had other complaints resolved quicker than this but loans 2 go seems to be taking forever. I havent paid them this month as ive paid back what i owe and ive paid £620 interest . They still say i owe £340. On a £250 loan. I dont know what else to ask the adjudicator i feel like by the time he replies loans 2 go would have gone bust
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Phone them up and make a complaint about the length of time this is talking.
If making the payments is causing you hardship so you have to borrow elsewhere or get behind with bills, I suggest you stop paying. Any negative marks on your credit record will be remove4d if you win the complaint.
Thomas says
Hi Naj
It took me 7 months to get a decision from the adjudicator which Loans 2 Go rejected.
It’s now gone to an ombudsman’s to make the final decision which by the sounds of it will take another year.
The fact that this is acceptable and in the meantime the company more than likely goes bust is shocking in my opinion and not sure how it’s allowed.
Stick in though and hopefully they accept your complaint earlier.
Naj says
Thanks for the reply i have stopped paying now because its just ridiculous. I just got a feeling they will go bust before i get a decision. Its really getting me down. I was hopeful when adjudicator contacted me in october because usually i have an answer within a month from them but its just taking ages now. Good luck with yours too
Alison Ford says
Hi hoping someone can advise me,
I have an ongoing loan with l2go since 2017 I missed a payment when my dad died in 2018 and was harassed continuously they even sent a letter threatening to take my car and added extra charges to my account! Then a year later I broke my knee so I asked for the payments to be lowered whilst I recovered, they agreed but had weekly letters and calls about the arrears that were accumulating.
My loan was for £3500 paying back at almost £500 per month for 36 months and the total to pay back is £17500 I have just sent a letter to complain about the interest rates and I received back stating as a good will of gesture they will write off the last £1800 that is outstanding IF I do not take it to the ombudsman, so my question is do I accept this offer or do I take it further because they sound like they are fobbing me off? Is this interest rate acceptable? Thank you in advance!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know how much you have paid so far? It could be a lot more than 17500 minus the remaining 1800 if they have added a lot of extra charges and interest.
Alison Ford says
Hi, if I work it out from my statements they have charged me 2x £139 repo fees during the time which I was paying my loan but at a slightly reduced rate when I broke my knee, I have a payment due tomorrow if I include this payment I would have already paid pack a total of £16407.
thank you
Gary says
Loans2go doesn’t know the meaning of a goodwilll gesture, speaking from experience there completely uncaring towards customers complaints so for them to offer you that, to not involve the financial ombudsman tells me there worried about having to refund you all of your interest you’ve paid on your loan, I personally would complain £12000 + is a lot of money to be losing out on
Alison Ford says
Yes my thoughts exactly I even emailed them back so I could get them to confirm that the offer to close the account was only based on if I don’t take it further!my total in interest alone is just over £13000 I have tried to calculate the Apr and it just don’t match up to what I’m paying the only way I can get it close to the 17000 mark is if I devide my loan by 36 which is £97 of my loan per month then multiply the 388% on each month of that£97 surely they cant do this? Plus going through my statements they also added a 3rd repo fee which isn’t on the statement but going from what I have paid and what is outstanding there is a balance difference of another £139! I’ve decided to take this further and will email them declining the offer but should I state all the reasons above or just decline?tia
N says
Had a reply from adjudicator today not upholding my complaint. Im so angry i had so many other payday loans at the time i fell behind with priority bills. Ive asked him to send to ombusdman. Just because i had a £250 loan which was 57.14 a month for 18 months its affordable 😡. I hope someone sees sense because ive paid them back £900 so far and still owe £300.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you supplied FOS with your bank statements, credit record and details of the priority debts?
SHUTDOWN_LOANS2GO says
Hello. Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to “Sara (Debt Camel)”, I borrowed 400£ in january 2020, had to pay back 1900£………………………, stopped paying in about september 2020, used the form above, they offered 50% interest cut so instead of paying 930£ back at that time i have to pay only 465£ which i decided to agree with it i really got no time to play with FOS etc. The only reason i commented is to make people to do something with it, STOP BLOODY PAYING IT!!!!! YOU CAN DO IT, again Thank you Sara, wish you everything best, and again people stop paying this **** THEY NEED TO SHUTDOWN
SHUTDOWN_LOANS2GO says
Forgot to add, Loans2go put a CCJ on my credit file which is gonna last for 6 years…………… im very angry about it….. Sara, do you think there is any possibility to make it gone after i accepted theirs 50% interest cut?
Kind Regards.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No :(
You should have rejected their offer and gone to FOS – then if you had won the case they would have had to remove the CCJ.
Or you should have said you would only accept it if they remove the CCJ.
But now you have accepted it, they aren’t likely to agree to this.
SHUTDOWN_LOANS2GO says
Hello Sara. I didn’t realize i could do that…
Well, that’s sad but we learn on mistakes, but 6 years on credit file… it shouldn’t be that long, anyway Thanks Sara for help!
Kind Regards
Desperate_mug says
So glad I did a search on this company I have a loan with. I’ve had a lot of loans from expensive lenders but these guys really take the biscuit, hard to believe it’s legal (and I’m not sure it is if they are refunding people)
I was desperate at the time thinking I would be able to just pay it off in total so didn’t worry about the interest too much.
Currently in a position to sort out my finances and have been paying things off, most lenders are very costly but l2g stands out so much it’s ridiculous.
1500 loans over 24 months @ 250 a month
So 6k basically , 4x the loan amount.
I’ve paid 1500, there is 4500 left on the account but they have offered a settlement of 1900 , so that will be 3400 total.
Any idea if it’s be able to get this figured reduced at all ?
Sadly I think I’ve had and paid off loans with them in the past too, which I’ll have to look into..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to find out if you have had loans from them in the past NOW. Look at your credit record? Your emails? Ask L2G for a list of all your loans, saying you want to consider the offer they have made you?
If you accept this offer now, you can’t go back and change your mind later because you had other loans.
They are anyway making you a poor offer. If you go to FOS and win, you would not have to pay any more as you have already repaid what you borrowed. You can accept it, reject it and go back to FOS or try to bargain – say you would accept it if they reduce the settlement amount to say £1000?
Desperate_mug says
Thanks for the quick reply.
I quickly checked my emails and found previous details, 3 loans including this current one.
1st I paid off in 4 days so not worried about that.
2nd was for 600 , and I ended up paying a total of 1400 after an early settlement @ 5 months.
More than happy to compile all this info and complain, I’ll start work on that next week as it seems there is a good chance of saving a lot of money and nothing to loose.
My only concern would be it dragging on for months while I’m still paying the tower of interest , if things didn’t turn out as planned I could be paying more then 3400 total for the current loan that I can get away with now.
Thanks again for writing this blog, you have really helped a lot of desperate people who have been taken advantage of save money or given them some hope they could do so ! – I wouldn’t have considered doing so without coming across your blog 😊
Desperate_mug says
I’ve had a reply already which was quick, disappointing though I’m afraid
However they did offer to reduce my interest, but the offer that they gave me was the same as the automated settlement figure in the account.
I paid the principle, 1500 back – they now want 1800 extra in interest claiming they are doing me a factor writing off 2400 from the original 4500 interest over the term.
Not really happy but not sure I can go to fos , they concluded ‘unable to
uphold any aspect of your complaint.’
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you can go back to them and offer a compromise? Would you be happy if they reduc e your balance to say £500?
Or you can just send this straight to the Ombudsman – you could then possibly get ALL the interest removed.
The fact L2G says they don’t uphold any aspect of your complaint means they want you to give up. It does not mean you have a weak case!
Desperate_mug says
Hmm can’t reply to your last comment in this thread for some reason , but anyway yes I wrote straight back trying to negotiate , their response did say final response but the email said I could reply with questions for a time.
I would be happy with a decent reduction of account balance , sadly the figure they gave me is larger than than on my account currently as another payment was recently taken.
So far no confirmation my response was received.
P M says
I got a loan on a Saturday night at 6.00pm and it was in my account by 7pm same night 22_2_2020 no discussion what I had to pay back or how long it’s when I received a statement what I to pay and interest I could not belive this I am blacklisted and have very bad credit history and they stated the check this which I dont belive because it would have been declined. I written to then on this matter and they said it was affordable it’s not and the interest for 300 pounds loan turns out to be 1234.56 four times to what I borrowed surely this cant happen there a license to print money should be closed down its loan sharks yes I agree there customers service is very rude I paid back 137.00 and paid no more especially hold to ransom there must be some kind of protection against this
Thomas says
Hi
Does anyone have any experience recently of the number of months between the L2G rejecting the adjudicator decision and an ombudsman looking at the case?
The Financial Ombudsman just keep saying a few months but they don’t know how many are in front of my case.
How can things actually take 1-2 years!!!
Dvid says
Hi have been looking into my loans2go account and I am in arrears now. I took out 500 over a year ago but haven’t managed payments since September last year. I have agreed a payment plan with them but I can’t even manage it at the moment. It’s really unaffordable and they want just over £100 a month. I already have a default on my credit file but am feeling unsure. Is it possible to get them to reduce the interest?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Read the article above – that looks at how to complain about this sort of loan. Loans2Go may offer to reduce the interest rate – but if you take your complaint to the Ombudsman, all the interest may be removed so you only have to repay what you borrowed AND the default will be removed from your credit record.
Do you have other problem debts as well?
dvid says
No although I do have a poor credit record from years ago. I could afford to pay them something a month but not the full amount. I have already paid back the borrowed amount plus interest. Should I just go for excessive interest rate as I earned more when I took out the loan. I now earn less and pay out more
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you go for both the excessive interest rate and affordability.
As they have already defaulted you AND you have already paid more than you borrowed, you should consider stopping paying them while the complaint goes through. Talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 if you want to know more about the pros and cons of this.
dvid says
I am concerned that they would give me a ccj and I would lose the case with ombudsman. Is this a likely possibility?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Loans 2Go are losing 60% of their cases at the Ombudsman! This is well worth a try.
If they go to court, you can ask the Ombudsman to give your case priority and ask the court to put your case on hold until the ombudsman has decided.
One sensible thing to do here is for you to try to save up the money you would have paid to Lons2Go – then if you lose the FOS case you have the money you can use to repay the loan and you won’t get a CCJ.
dvid says
Ok would it affect my case with the ombudsman that I have made temporary payment plans with them and missed the payments? I absolutely agree that they are an awful company and that they’re loans are unfair I just don’t want to affect my credit future as i have managed to stabilise my situation mainly but this loan is unmanageable
Sara (Debt Camel) says
would it affect my case with the ombudsman that I have made temporary payment plans with them and missed the payments?
no, that just shows you were in difficulty.
if the loan has been defaulted, then your credit record can only get worse with a CCJ. If you can’t manage the repayments, what other alternatives do you have apart from complaining?
dvid says
Yeah I guess your right. I’m just nervous as they’re quite aggressive with they’re tactics.
And I should add the interest rate was 1275 percent for my loan.
Dvid says
Hi just to check. If they go to court would the court definitely put the case on hold if the ombudsman is involved?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can ask for a “stay” while the FOS decision is given. Courts encourage alternative mediation options like FOS. Also FOS should give your case priority if there is a court case.
Dvid says
Could I also ask if you know why people are losing cases against them with the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is very much case by case.
So for example in one case, there had been 2 small loans of 300 and then 200 and then a third one of £500 and L2G offered to remove the interest from the outstanding loan – which the Ombudsman said was fair as the first two were small.
In another case the Ombusdsman asked to see bank statements which weren’t provided.
I can’t say your case will be upheld but it seems well worth trying – what do you have to lose?
Dvid says
Hi I’m trying to organize a reduced payment plan with them for now. They are asking for bank statements. Do I have to provide them with bank statements for this? When I’ve reorganized payments with anyone else they have worked with me and agreed without that
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you don’t have to, but then they don’t have to agree to accept reduced payments.
One easy option if you are making reduced payments to several creditors is a debt management plan through StepChange, see https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
There Stepchange work out the total you can afford and decide it up between the creditors so each gets their fair share. Loans2go are MUCH less likely to try argue with StepChange than with you. And it makes your life much easier, just having to make one payment a month. It’s a low stress way to wait while complaints go through.
Then if you win your complaint, the amount owing in your DMP drops and it will get paid faster.
Jordan says
Hi, I had a loan for £300 with monthly repayments of £68.57 for 18 months. I missed payments and eventually defaulted. I set up a smaller payment plan and repaid that a few months ago. I have raised an unaffordabilty claim however they dismissed it and I have now raised it with FOS. Could I raise another claim to them in regard to the ridiculous interest rates breaching rules? I’m reading FOS take months and it’s already been 1 month and I’ve heard nothing and want the default gone sooner rather than later! What would you recommend? Thankyou
Alison says
Update I have now sent my case to FOS I have 2 and a part payments left to pay to l2g which are purely arrears I have in total now paid them just over £16000 at this stage I feel like I have nothing to loose as I have already paid them so much its worth a try! Should i pay the last of arrears just incase? Or can I stop paying? Will this go against me? Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Will this go against me?
FOS will decide your case based on whether the loan was affordable. It doesn’t make a difference if you still owe money or it has been repaid.
But this is a logbook loan? Do you still have the car? because you can’t stop paying a logbook loan with the risk they will repossess the car.
Alison says
Hi thank you, yes it’s a logbook loan and I still have the car. Will it effect the possible outcome of the interest to a normal loan with them or will it be treated the same way where interest is concerned?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you need to keep paying it then, sorry, or the car can be repossessed. It’s not like a normal loan at all.
Alison says
Hi Sara, thank you
I thought I would so I will, after the final response letter I emailed back telling them I would be taking it to the fos and have but l2g have now emailed back saying they are willing to take a second look at my case? Do I respond and what? Or do I now leave it upto fos ? I honestly don’t believe it will make a difference also is the interest different on a logbook loan? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply that your case will be going to FOS in a week if they have not cleared your balance and made a suitable offer of a cash refund.
Stacey says
Hi all, i am in hope of some advice.
I took a loan out for £600 around dec 2018. I made a few payments maybe a handful of £68. I received an email saying TOTAL OUTSTANDING BALANCE: £2147.62. This scared me and i thought i will never get away from this debt, therefore i didnt bother. Now im trying to better my credit score and this is showing a default. Is their any way i can ask them to reduce the interest etc. The oustanding balance was no where near affordable. I have had a ‘PRE-LITIGATION NOTICE’ i paniced and made another £68 payment. I then was in an unstable mind and didnt make any more payments. Should i leave it as is in hope i receive no further action. I have changed address a number of times since so my details are not up to date with them. I have no emails or letters of the agreement i took out just about 6 emails of payments and the notice. I would be happy to pay the 600 i borrowed but not £2147. 😪 or even more now no doubt. Many thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though the loan was unaffordable so you should put in a complaint as the above article says. Do include your bank statements for October & November 2018 as these will show how unaffordable the loan was.
Change this sentence “I am asking you to refund the interest and any charges I paid, plus statutory interest, and to delete any negative information from my credit record.” in the template to read:
“I am asking you to change the balance outstanding so I will only have to repay in total the £600 I borrowed and remove the negative information from my credit record.
I can afford to make monthly payments of £20 [or whatever] to pay off this balance.”
By making an offer of monthly payments, they may decide not to go to court. But also give them your new address. If you don’t, the court papers may be sent to your old address and you will get a CCJ.
Dvid says
This is my only debt which is an issue now. The problem is that I could afford it when I got paid more and weekly but now I get paid less and monthly. The interest rates mean that I’ve already paid back pretty much a grand from a 500 loan. They still want another 1000. I just want to agree something with them in the interim before I make a complaint
I’ve had to be helped with money from family and I’m worried this will go against me If they see that money has been in my account. But the only reason I’ve borrowed some and given some is because I’ve been struggling
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I really suggest you complain as soon as possible. It doesn’t help to try to do these things one after the other, it just slows things down.
If the loan was affordable at the start you may not win the complaint. But just get it under way and see!
Having to be helped by family should be clear on your bank statements and it helps your case, it doesn’t go against it.
Stacey says
Many thanks for your help. I will try this and will keep you updated of the process for anyone who may be in the same or similar situation.
Shane says
I took out a loan for £2000 in January of this year. I know it was my responsibility but I was deep in a gambling addiction and would have done anything for cash as I was vulnerable at the time. Sadly I lost the lot. However I feel this was irresponsible lending as I was already on a Debt Management Plan to do with other payday loan companies and my credit file is terrible. If L2G had of done more checks and looked my credit history and bank statements they would have seen my DMP and compulsive gambling and could have saved me a lot of hassle and heartbreak.
They wanted me to pay back £55.69 for 104 weeks (nearly £5800) which was completely unaffordable so I never made any payments. After 7 weeks I decided to ring them up and try to come to some sort of fair arrangement. They allowed me to pay £35 a week (to be reviewed) which I thought was manageable but there is no word of dropping the overall balance of £5800.
Ultimately I know I took out the loan and would be willing to pay it off with some interest included but the amount they are asking for is extortionate and I can’t help but feel they have taken advantage of my situation.
Any advice on how to move forward would be appreciated. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you say how large the debts are in your DMP? And how much you are paying to the DMP?
Do you have other problem debts not included in your DMP?
Shane says
Yes the DMP is currently at £2000 and I am paying £58.50 a week and I’ve also been paying £44 a week to Provident.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, well the article above looks at how to complain about the L2G loan. It is easier to win a complaint about affordability than just saying the interest rate is stupidly high.
Have you also sent an affordabilty complaint to Provident? Huge numbers of these Provident complaints are being upheld by the Ombudsman, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/refund-doorstep-loans/ for a template for that sort of loan.
Shane McGuigan says
Yes I have constructed a letter to them using your template and will wait to hear back. I will also take a look at provident too. Thanks
Shane says
So a follow up on my complaint to L2G, they have rejected my complaint and are unable to uphold any aspect of it.
However in an unexpected turn off events they have said the following:
“ However, at Loans2Go our main focus is to treat all of our customers fairly and sympathetically. Considering your gambling addiction and the ongoing pandemic I have decided as a gesture of good will to offer you to write off all interest on your account amounting to £3,791.76, meaning that you only would be liable to return the principal amount borrowed of £2,000……….. We are happy to assist you with a reduced payment plan so your loan can be cleared as soon as possible.”
This was a much better outcome than I expected. So thanks Sara for your article and guidance.
dvid says
How long did it take them to reply?
Shane says
I made the complaint on 10th March and they replied today (13th April)
Thomas says
I have now received a final decision from the Ombudsman about Loans 2 Go.
They have confirmed it was unaffordable and all interest should be refunded.
Does anyone have any experience of once the Ombudsman have confirmed this, the time it takes for Loans 2 Go to refund?
Candy says
I am also in the same position. I have accepted ombudsman’s offer and just waiting on Loans2go to provide the refund
Nicolette says
O my word! I also made a mistake thinking this guys is offering me 12.3% on a 24 months loan for £3000. I never got the “agreement” or signed it as it was between my spam. Today I thought, I must be nearly finish paying for this loan as I pay £114 per week since April… what a surprise. They advice me that the amount payable back is £11856 ????? This is more than 500% interest rate>? This is like money sharking??
I cannot afford to pay this amount, I only lend 3000 pound in September 2020 as I could not secure a tenancy on my name as I was just about to start at a new job after being a student… I am a single mum with 3 kids!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
read the article above and send in a complaint if you feel the loan was unaffordable.
Nicolette says
Yes I did thanks, I just send it to them. I hope they will respond still today. It is really a big stress point for me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK if you can’t afford to carry on paying, do you have other problem debts as well? This may be the biggest but are there others?
Nicolette says
Yes my credit card about £500, and £300 at another place where I pay a x box off. This is not bothering me as I can afford it. I do not want my credit scoring to be affected by this stupid loan.
It is also not just the cannot afford to pay, it is the whole issue surrounding, lending £3000 and ending up with £11000…. I was under the impression I could pay it off in a few months with the weekly instalments. I applied the evening and it was paid out the next day. The guy who spoke with me was definitely not clear as he said to me it would not be a problem I can pay it off in a few months, I remember saying to him that I do not need to take it out over such a long period.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So if the loan is unaffordable the what option do you have apart from not paying it – or offering a much reduced payment amount you can afford?
Borrowing more at high rates to pay this loan is a very bad idea. In this situation you may need to ignore the damage to your credit record and stop paying. If you win your complaint any negative information will be deleted from your credit record.
I understand your anger at the amount you have to repay and that it wasn’t properly explained. And you can raise this with FOS as being an unfair way to treat customers. But keep your eyes focussed on the fact that it is often sinmpler to win a complaint with affordability.
Paul says
Hi, I took a Loan out for £1,000 in 2019 at £225.56 a month for 18 months (£4114.08 in total).
At the time of taking out the loan I was in a financially bad situation with other lenders and I had turned to gambling. When payday would come knowing I was unable to pay all my creditors and bills I would gamble with the hope to win enough to pay everyone but this was not the case.
At the time of accepting the loan I felt like this was the only option as Loans2Go were the only people willing to offer me a loan and I was in a desperate situation.
During the term of the agreement I did not keep up with my payments and entered into multiple payment plans that were unaffordable as the customer service team wouldn’t accept anything less than 50% of original payment what resulted in 2/3 of the months I had paid I claimed a chargeback with my bank as I needed the money.
I am now in a position both mentally and financially to start paying the loan back but I feel the amount of interest is criminal!
The loan is now over the 18 months agreement and I am £3,262 in arrears having only paid £852 (less than the original borrowed amount)
Any advise would be greatly appreciated as until reading this thread I’ve thought there is no chance a complaint will be upheld with me gambling and my bank statements showing this
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send in a complaint and attach your bank statements, they help your case.
What about your other creditors, were some of them also high interest?
Desperate_mug says
This sounds very much like my issue , I’ve paid a little more back on a larger loan (borrowed 1.5k which I have just about paid back)
My problems were gambling like yours, I’ve submitted a complaint based on the above and received a rapid response.
They asked me for bank statements but I chose not to send as I’m not sure they would help my case, I’m on a good wage so based on money in I should have been able to afford things results , but the state of my account was just terrible, hammered by loan repayments and gambling transactions as soon as I was paid ( trying to win to post summer stuff off) , so tbh I was too embarrassed to send these in especially if they just prove I was getting good money.
I focused on the fact their interest rate is ridiculous, and that they loaned to me when my rating was so incredibly poor with several outstanding loans.
They are investigating now, so I’ll wait and see where it goes – slightly lacking confidence as the response said they were putting a full hold on the account until investigation was done but today they have debited my account for the installment anyway ! Will be calling about that shortly.
Good luck Paul 👍
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send those bank statements! Seriously, gambling problems showing helps your case.
And if you cant afford the payments, cancel the Direct Debit or Continuous Payment Authority with your bank.
Desperate_mug says
Thanks Sara – ok maybe I should just send them in then , I’ve not had another acknowledgement yet so I’ll just write a follow up with them attached, and swallow my pride 🙂
Tyler N says
Just a little contribution here .. I also had decent monthly income but the FOS will include it as part of your expenses if your gambling started BEFORE you had this loan.. Just have a look at your bank statements for the two months prior to your loan, if you had more going out than coming in (including the gambling) then this will strengthen your case for sure.
If this is the case, then make sure you also explain your reason for not including the spending in your monthly outgoings when you applied (embarrassment, didnt realise you should, etc).
Loans2go will reject your claim so be prepared for a wait for the FOS! But it will be worth the wait to have the balance nearly wiped and the loan off your credit history. If you have only paid £852, you will still need to the pay the remaining amount of £148 to fully repay the original balance even if you received the full refund.
There will no 8% interest paid if you still have an outstanding balance. But you’ll sleep a little easier with that interest gone!
Good luck Paul.
Unhappy says
Ombusdman didnt uphold my complaint with this company because it is one loan. I am absolutely appaled and i am not going to agree with it. I am going to ask loans 2 go if they will accept a reduced payment to close as i simply jist cant afford to pay them anymore. I am digusted. Waited almsot 2 years for them to reject it
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m sorry to hear that. I suppose the ombudsman thought a £250 loan was too small for L2G to have to make proper checks :(
What are the rest of your finances like?
Paul says
What route would you suggest going down with my complaint? High interest rate, unaffordable or both?
Im just a little lost when It comes to the what to say to L2G- do I tell them the payments weren’t affordable because of my gambling? like the above i feel embarrassed and with missing most payments and not keeping up with payment plans Ect I feel like my complaint will be laughed out the door
Especially when in reality if I wasn’t gambling I would have been able to make the monthly payments
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unaffordable as the main complaint. You can add on that the interest rate is unfairly high but people seem to be winning on the affordability side much easier. Send your bank statements with your complaint to show your gambling and send the complaint to the Ombudsman if L2G don’t make you an OK offer.
Quinn says
Hi Sara, I took out a loan with loans2go about 3 years ago and saw on my dmp that im paying back £2600 on a £5/600. I was literally ringing them 6 times a day trying to get this money as I was desperate and had a drug problem and didn’t really understand how much I’d be paying back.I defaulted several times as I had to take out other loans to keep up but it still wasn’t enough. Do you think I have a case? I think by the fact I kept calling and kept trying to top up the loan in my desperate state should help my case? I’ve sent them the template email, so I wait for a response or can I also start with the ombudsman?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t go to the Ombudsman until L2G have had 8 weeks to reply to your complaint. Have you sent copies of your bank statements to l2G? If not, send them now – they help your complaint.
What is the rest of your current financial situation like?
Edmund says
Hiya just asking for a bit of advice regarding L2G Personal Loans and the Consumer Credit Act’s right to withdrawal. I Took a £250 loan out today as I was referred to L2G through a short term loan comparison site where I was trying to borrow £250 for 3 months. My intention was going to pay it off at the end of the month when I get paid.
Now realised how naff this loan is. £58 for next 18 months – over £1000 for a £250 loan. I was still under the impression it was a 3 month loan! I understand that I have the right to withdrawal under 66a Consumer Credit Act 1974 but I have a few questions about the wording of the agreement – all too legalese for my brain.
“ (9)Where the debtor withdraws from an agreement under this section—
(a)the debtor must repay to the creditor any credit provided and the interest accrued on it (at the rate provided for under the agreement)”
From this I’m not quite sure what The rate in the agreement is. Or what counts as “interest accrued”.
From the agreement:
“ Interest is charged at a simple fixed interest rate of 207.6% per annum on the Amount of Credit for the Duration of the Agreement and is applied to the account, in full, at the commencement of this agreement. ”
(1/2)
Edmund says
as well as:
“ Right of Withdrawal Daily Interest: £1.42”
So basically I’m confused. From what I can tell, at the very commencement of the loan, L2G applies the full amount of interest – the full £770(roughly) in interest that I’m paying for the loan? So where the CCA refers to “any interest accrued”, it means that full £770? And by withdrawing from the loan agreement, I’ll have to pay back, the full £1000?
Or does it mean that if I were to trigger my right to withdrawal, then I would only pay back the £250 + £1.42 x every day after the commencement of the loan?
(2/2)
Tyler N says
Hello,
Right now its only going to cost you £250 + £1.42 (yesterday) + £1.42 (today) Get out of it before its too late!
It will be a £1000 if you dont tell them within first 14 days that you want to withdraw from the agreement.
Tell them today so they’ll give you a settlement figure then just pay it within the stated time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I agree with Tyler. And tell them IN WRITING YOU WANT TO CANCEL THE AGREEMENT and don’t spend the money. If they have told you the account you need to make repayments to, then immediately pay the money back plus two £1.42s.
Edmund says
Thanks Sara & Tyler.
Just got off the phone with L2G. I told them I want to exercise my right to withdrawal and the telephone operative tried talking me out of it and offering me an early settlement discount. I refused and insisted on exercising right to withdraw.
Unfortunately I can’t pay the full amount back today as I used some of the money to pay an unexpected yet urgent bill immediately after receiving the money yesterday.
Am going to pay back £250 + (£1.42 x 12) = £267.02 back in total on the 31st of this month. Not great, but definitely not a bad outcome considering some of the stories in these comments, and affordable at least. I just feel lucky that I was able to realise what a mistake I’d made so quickly before it was too late!
Despite how dodgy they clearly are, I’m hoping that they don’t have any more tricks up their sleeve and that I’m able to make the payment on 31st without a hitch.
I also informed them that I will be writing them a dated letter (with a receipt of postage) to indicate the triggering of my right to withdrawal and demanded email confirmation from them with the details of the withdrawal.
Thanks again
Sam says
Hi,
I got a loan of 3k in September 2020. My credit is so bad I am unable to get a basic overdraft.
L2G are now telling me I owe them over 11k. I have just emailed them to ask them to reduce the interest. I cant believe I was so stupid but did not understand the interest rate.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you afford the repayments? Did you realise this loan was for 18 months?
What other problem debts do you have?
Sam says
I wrote to loans to go. I have just checked my credit report. It seems the whole debt has been removed ?!!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh!
That may be good, but don’t get your hopes up yet.
Sam says
I am not sure why the whole debt would be removed though. It’s been marked as satisfied ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it could simply be an error.
dvid says
I am making a complaint to you about irresponsible lending. You should never have given me this unaffordable loan. If you had looked properly at my situation, you would have seen that I constantly live in my overdraft and struggled to pay rent. I had to rely on family handouts due to struggles with addiction and have struggled financially .My bad credit record should have alerted you to the fact I have had a lot of problems. If you had carried out the proper checks you would have known this loan was unaffordable.
I am also complaining that the interest rate was grossly excessive. It is unfair to charge someone more per month over 18 months than they would have paid to a payday lender for a loan the same size over 12 months. My repayments are £26.37 per week and over 52 weeks this works out to £1371.34 which far exceeds FCA guidance of a maximum of 100% interest over 12 months.
I am asking you to refund the interest and any charges I paid, plus statutory interest, and to delete any negative information from my credit record.
I am also making a Subject Access Request (SAR) for all the personal information you hold about me including, but not limited to, my applications, all credit and other affordability checks, a statement of account for my borrowing, and a record of all phone calls.
i am about to send this, do you think i should add anything?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can add more stuff about your bad credit record if you want. And o enclose your bank statements from 3 months before the loans.
dvid says
Ok I will mention that I have a ccj and multiple defaults. Is it best to send them bank statements or wait for them to ask?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
send them with your complaint. You are showing them the loan was unaffordanle. And showing you are well organised about the complaint.
Dvid says
Ok have sent it. Will keep everyone on here updated. Thanks for all the advice. Im not just making the complaint for myself because I guess every complaint that goes in will make a problem for them and I think this company are loan sharks who have tried to find a loophole in the law and prey on vulnerable people. It should be illegal
Dvid says
Do I have to wait for loans2go to respond to my complaint before going to the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you have to allow them 8 weeks to reply.
Ellis says
I had a 850 loan out with them, kept up my payments for 6 months which were 49 pounds a week, I sent them the pro former that is on here complaining about the high charges and they said I had paid enough for them to right off 2200 that was remaining, a great result as that meant I any paid back 500 extra , very happy with out come
Tracey P says
Hi Sara – I wonder if you can offer some advice. This is not an affordability complaint but more of a contract/terms and conditions complaint.
I had a principle loan for £250 for urgent repairs on my car – I knew that I would only need this short term and wouldn’t require the loan for 18 months (the actual repayment for this full period was almost £1200). The wording of the contract stated ‘this loan can be settled at anytime with no fees and penalties’.
I thought I would need the loan for about 40 days but actually only needed it for 31 days in total. I had made a monthly payment of £57 in February and received the final settlement cost of £303 (I paid this as I wanted this massive loan off my credit file – it significantly dropped my score as they put the total loan cost on my file). This meant I paid £360.80 for a loan for 31 days. I calculate this at 44.32%, the contract monthly interest is 17.3%.
I have made a complaint direct to loans2go but so far they haven’t even acknowledged the complaint. I am assuming I will need to send to the financial ombudsman – do you think I have a case for the excess interest paid?
Weatherman says
Hi Tracey
If the contract let you repay at any point and just pay the interest incurred to date, then I agree with you that you have seemingly been charged more than you should have. I can’t see how that amount has been calculated. If you had the loan for 1 month, then the interest you paid should have been about 17%. Were you given any breakdown of how the final settlement cost was calculated?
You’ve done the right thing by complaining to Loans2Go to start with. If it’s been 8 weeks since you complained, you can take them to the Financial Ombudsman Service (if not, you’ll need to wait and see if they reply within 8 weeks of your complaint). Without seeing the contract itself I can’t be certain, of course – but it’s free to complaint to the FOS, so no harm in doing so. You won’t be in a worse situation if you do so.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The settlement rules are set out in the Consumer Credit (Early Settlement) Regulations 2004
Basically If you have less than 12 months left on your plan, providers can charge up to 28 days’ interest. If you have more than a year to go, providers can add an extra 30 days or one calendar month.
Tracey P says
Hi Sara
These are the parts of the contract detailing early repayment.
Early Repayment Under s94 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 you have the right to repay this agreement early in full. Payment can be made by debit card or cheque, payable to us, at the above address or by bank transfer to an account which you should contact us for details of. To repay all the credit early you must pay all amounts due to us under this agreement less any rebate of charges allowable by law. To repay part of the credit early you must pay some amount to us which is not yet due under the agreement within 28 days of your notice of intention to make early repayment. We shall reduce the amount payable by you as prescribed by law and by reducing the amount of each repayment still to be repaid. We will not seek to recover compensation under s95A of Consumer Credit Act 1974 should you make early repayment(s).
_________________________________________________
Would you expect the contract to clearly state that early repayment would include 28 days extra interest? the actual contract seems ambiguous to me – as the line the loan can be settled at anytime with no fees or penalties, suggests that it is reasonable to assume you only pay for interest up to the date payable?
Second point on this. The daily interest £ rate is £1.43. Even with the extra 28 days this would make my repayment
31+28 @£1.43 = £84.37 + £250 principle sum
Total = £334.37
Actual total paid = £360.84
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about the details of this and how it applied to your situation.
Tracey P says
Hi Sara
Do National Debtline deal with contract issues? It’s not a debt case but an argument of contract interpretation
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is an issue a debt adviser can help with.
sillysouth says
Does anyone know how long L2G are taking to action the ombudsmans final decision at all? I won and finalised my case thank god
Candy says
I also would like to know this. I’m currently on second week waiting since ombudsman has provided final award
Fiona says
Have you received any refund yet? I am in the same situation. Ombudsman disagreed with the adjudicator and has upheld my complaint. I sent back my acceptance of the final decision on the same day. Just wondering how long it usually takes to hear from Loans2go and receive the refund.
Candy says
Yes I received an email with the amount from Loans2go, I provided my bank details and the money was in there 3 days later. Whole process took 2 weeks. I got £4200, so great result thanks to sara.
Rebecca says
I received my final decision on the 29th, both accepted and received confirmation on the 30th from ombudsman. I rang them and they said it could take 4 weeks as mine was sold to a debt company. However got a email on the 1st with the amount and asking for my bank details. But still waiting for the payment due to the bank holiday. Ring them up if you still haven’t heard anything
Emma90 says
Hi I recently had a loan with loans2go and I am not able to repay the first payment I’ve gone for settlement amount but have not enough time to get £1218 to repay £1000 I have untill the 13th April to repay I’m struggling with this laon all my other credit commitments are absolutely fine and my credit rating has started to improve this loans2go have totally made me go back into depression again after all these years of getting to a good enough point and didn’t even explain the Apr outrageous I have to pay £228.56 @ month I only get paid £167.50 a week on Furlough and didn’t ask me for wage slips either very irresponsible I will copy and paste at the top and send them a complaint hopefully can get repays reduced before my first payment
Sara (Debt Camel) says
L2G are likely to make you a poor offer. It sounds as though you may have a good case to get all the interest removed if it goes to the Ombudsman, so it’s best to only make lower affordable payments. This means your credit rating is temporarily damaged but if you win your complaint all the negative marks are removed.
The alternatives of borrowing more to repay a large settlement or keeping up with unaffordable L2G payments are likely to get you into more expensive debt and lead back to wonder problems with your credit score. By refusing to pay L2G the full amount and taking that complaint to the Ombudsman your ensure the credit score problem is just with the one debt and winning the case will clear it.
Dvid says
How much interest do Loans2Go charge?
For their unsecured product, Loans2Go have a 1013.3% APR representative.
To understand how this works, borrowing £550 over an 18 month period at a fixed annual rate of 207.6% with above APR would require you to pay back a total of £2,262.78 across 18 monthly instalments of £90.62. I have also just found this on a website called cash lady. The figures do not add up and the 90.62 payments they are talking about add up to 1087 pounds something. emailed them expressing my concerns. Who can I report them to? They are an online broker with all of l2go info on their website.
Dvid says
Actually I meant about 1631.16 over 18 months sorry. Still deliberately misleading information on their website? Cash lady and others like it are how alot of people have fallen into a l2go loan I reckon. It says you’ll be paying one amount but all of a sudden it’s loads more and the cash is in your account.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Two separate points here. Could you reply to both.
1) the one I can see says:
“Representative example if you borrow £550 over 18 months at a flat rate of 207.6% per annum (fixed) with a representative 1013.3% APR you will make 18 monthly payments of £125.71, repaying £2,262.78 in total.”
Clearly daylight robbery! But not misleading? Are you seeing different numbers somewhere?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you describe in detail how you got your loan and how you thought it was at one rate and only found out the rate was higher after you had received the money. A lot of people have said this, I am not disputing it, I would just like to know more about the mechanics, how it happened in detail
Dvid says
On cash lady it says the repayments are supposed to be 90.62 which adds up to 2262.78. except 18 payments of 90.62 would add up to 1631.16. i have pointed this out to cash lady and they said they are rectifying the mistake. If you search cash lady loans 2go on Google it should come up. When I applied originally I wanted 100 pounds to tide me over for a bit. Then it came up with a 500 pound offer which offered lower payments and a shorter timescale. Only when I had received the money did I get an email from them with the actual amount. This would be difficult to prove as I don’t remember who the original third party broker was. When you apply for this kind of thing you are redirected multiple times to different brokers/ third party companies. It’s confusing and probably designed to be
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think they have already changed it.
Did cashlady say it was a mistake in an email to you or on the phone.
Dvid says
They said it in an email which I have. They said thank you for pointing out the mistake and that they were going to change it
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, then that goes in your complaint to the Ombudsman if you case gets there – that you were misled by the description you had seen.
Dvid says
I’ve been looking into loans2go as a company and I’ve discovered that they are also operating as simplefastloans.co.uk. not really sure about why. Just to add to your list of lenders to avoid.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They have a VERY long list of other brand names, see https://register.fca.org.uk/s/firm?id=001b000000m5zUvAAI
Frances Clark says
Hi,
I took out a £400 loan with Loans2Go which never actually told me what the repayment amount would be. I kept pressing “next”, expecting to reach the SECCI/repayment contract section to check how much the interest would be before I confirmed the loan. However, no such page ever appeared and before I knew it, the loan had gone through. They are now trying to charge me £2,300 in total for the loan repayments, at £91 per month, which is absolutely outrageous and I simply cannot afford.
I cancelled the CPA with Loans2Go as they once took two payments at once without my authority (£182). They payments ceased for one month, but today, they have taken another £91.
I have neither seen or received absolutely any contractual documents from Loans2Go regarding the loan or the repayment amount. So I’m wondering about the legality of this company.
What would you suggest?
Thanks.
I understand I have to repay the loan (even although I’ve already paid back well over the amount I borrowed) but is there anything else I can do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How have they taken the payment if you cancelled the CPA?
Tina Ramos says
I have the same experience as the people rising their complaint, therefore I have started a petition “Legislate to limit interest rates for personal loans”
Click this link to see the petition and start sharing it:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that link didnt work so I have removed it
Kate says
Hello, I took a loan from Loans2go of £1200, within hours I sent back £800 to them. However, they proceeded to take repayments based on the original £1200 figure. I was main earner, i had run out of money and didn’t want to worry my fiance. I knew that Loans2go loan was awful. But I couldn’t face stressing my fiance, it made life hell. So I applied for the £1200, it was sent to my bank. Then after a few hours (4-6) I returned £800 of the £1200. I expected Loans2go to change the loan agreement and repayment schedule accordingly. They failed to do so and still chasing me for over £3k.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
HAve you sent them a complaint?
Andy says
Hello All,
Talking about Loans2go I have 8 loans from them. All credit agreements duration run for 12 months, I usually renewed every 4 months/topped up, The last one I borrowed £800 (given £230 cash) and the credit agreement says I must repay £1856.00. APR for me was 500.7%.
What rules apply to these loans because high cost loans usually have an interest cap of less than double the amount?
It’s worth noting that monthly I missed payments and they was SHOCKING at chasing payment “coming for vehicle” “head office not happy” “iv helped you with head office” I did without.
Do you think I would have a claim for interest or anything?
P.S Sad news about Provident :-(
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
These logbook loans are for more than a year so the “payday loan price cap” doesn’t apply to them.
8 loans sounds like a very good claim to me!
Andy says
Hello,
Not yet? I wanted some feedback from the site, not sure if its valid case. I was thinking of asking for bank statements , I have some details from my credit file but not all.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you send in the complaint now and then get together all the details you may need. Take a copy of your credit record in a form you will be able to forward to the Ombudsman – the statutory reports are often the easiest. And get your bank statements – these will really help your case.
Peter fraser says
Hi I have an on going claim with loans2go I complained to them I received a final response from them. And was shocked with the response claiming I had a gambling problem iv not ever gambled. I have since proved there was no credit checks done. Its with the ombudsman. The final date has passed and no response from either of them. I had a loan of 400 paying back 1800. The other was 200 paying back 980. Dose anyone no how long it takes to sort out throu the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So they did send a “final response” but it was simply wrong. Have you told the Ombudsman this?
Are you making payments to these loans at the moment?
Peter Fraser says
The final response was completely wrong. Yes I am still paying them. Yes I sent a copy of it to the ombudsman.
Adam says
Sara,
I sent Loans 2 go asking to remove an old loan that I withdrew from, off my credit file. They came back saying
“ As you withdrew from the loan, this should not have any effect on your credit file.
However if this affected your credit file, could you please provide us with proof of this? We will then amend your credit file accordingly.”
Is there anything I can say to them to get it removed? As you know from previous posts of mine I’m only doing this to have as little old loans as possible come mortgage time
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you can send them a copy of your credit record and say your complaint goes to the Ombudsman if they don’t remove it… that may work. But you are unlikely to win an ombudsman complaint on this, so they may refuse.