payday loan problems - ask the ombudsman

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  • Thanks for the thread :)
    Could you do with a Money Makeover?


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  • rizla_king
    rizla_king Posts: 2,895 Forumite
    What are you on about? FOS look at all cases referred to them by customers, they don't "cherry pick" those they want to help...

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5058867

    Seems they were brushed off by a spotty ill informed adjudicator, and told that they could not appeal to the actual ombudsman without any new info. Which is complete and utter bull.
    Still rolling rolling rolling...... :) <
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  • financial_ombudsman_representative
    financial_ombudsman_representative Posts: 94 Organisation Representative
    Check out the article below from The Guardian talking about the new proposals for payday loans:

    http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/09/payday-lenders-price-comparison-sites

    In a nutshell, the new proposals set out for payday lenders mean they have to be more upfront and…

    • give details of their products on price comparison websites
    • provide information upfront about their costs. Meaning you can now shop around for the best deals out there without affecting your credit file.

    Companies that charge you a fee to search for a loan will now have to:
    • tell you that they are not a lender
    • tell you how they are going to use your information
    • make it clear that they will charge you a fee

    If you have any problems with a payday lender or a site that has taken money from you, and not provided you a loan then let us know below. You can also get in touch by sending us an email to [email protected] or calling us for free on 0800 023 4567 or if you’re calling from a mobile on 0300 123 9 123, lines are open Monday-Friday 8am – 8pm and Saturday 9am – 1pm.

    Sarah
  • fermi
    fermi Posts: 40,546
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  • financial_ombudsman_representative
    financial_ombudsman_representative Posts: 94 Organisation Representative
    edited 11 November 2014 at 4:13PM
    New rules for Payday Lenders have been announced today.

    The FCA has announced that from January 2015,Payday Lenders have to follow new rules:

    · they cannot charge more than 0.8% a day in interest and fees.
    · if you fail to pay back on time, they can only charge you a maximum of £15
    · you will not have to pay back more than twice what you have borrowed.

    The new rules are there to protect you and make sure that everyone is treated fairly.

    Check out the article below for more information:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30000472

    But, we know at the ombudsman that problems with payday loans can be about much more than just the costs of them, as we found out in our payday loan report.

    If you have any problems with a payday lender then let us know below. You can also get in touch by sending us an email to [EMAIL="paydayhelp&#64;financial-ombudsman.org.uk"][email protected][/EMAIL] or calling us for free on 0800 023 4567 or if you’re calling from a mobile on 0300123 9 123, lines are open Monday-Friday 8am – 8pm and Saturday 9am – 1pm.

    Sarah


  • Why is a senior Ombudsman speaking at a debt purchasers conference and giving advice to debt collecting agencies on how to game the system.
    Please see the Erudio student loans thread!
  • Monkeyballs
    Monkeyballs Posts: 1,932 Forumite
    Hi Rep,

    Quick question for you... It's not "strictly" a PDL issue, it's Provident but prior to entering into a DMP I had been repaying them on payday each month...

    So, originally I asked them to remove the front stacked interest which they refused (although I understand that a DMP is not a formal process and is in fact voluntary).

    I then asked if they could provide a settlement figure as my loan was only around 6 months old and a relative offered to repay the loan to save on the interest and they replied with a letter from their "Solicitor" CK Edrupt advising that I should direct all contact to them in future and refusing to provide a settlement figure since entering into a DMP meant I had broken my contract and the whole amount was payable with no possibility of negotiation.

    Finally, I decided to put in a formal complaint (which I had previously tried to avoid doing as I wanted to keep things amicable as I had previously had a good relationship with my agent) highlighting that on several occasions I had highlighted to my agent that A) I had numerous PDL's which I was "balancing" but as I was paying them each month and re-loaning they could be omitted from my Income & Expenditure (my agent even checked with my account manager who said it was ok as I was a good customer) B) My last loan was actually two loans to allow me to consolidate my old loan (which in itself was only a few months old) and give me an extra £1000...

    At the time I had a gambling issue which I didn't particularly keep secret from my agent and he even told me that I could do whatever I want with the money and it was good for him as he was earning commission and I was a 'good customer'.

    The reply back from Provident was that I needed to provide I&E forms from the last few years, as well as bank statements and payslips from a similar period and any evidence which I had of discussions at that time but also went on to describe how it was all my own fault and since my agent of the time no longer worked for Provident they had no way of verifying my account of proceedings anyway?

    At this point I felt that they had stacked the cards in their favour as I didn't have much of the information they asked for (I was in a bad way at the time) and how do I prove the conversations I had with my agent?

    Due to this I thought I had no option to forget the whole thing... Perhaps a couple of weeks after their letter I got another letter from Cabot stating that they had bought the debt from Provident so my feeling is that even if I had all of the information they asked for I wouldn't have had time to get it all together and returned anyway!

    I'm not expecting miracles but can you suggest what I may be able to do next (if anything)?

    Thanks,

    MB
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  • financial_ombudsman_representative
    financial_ombudsman_representative Posts: 94 Organisation Representative
    Hi Rep,

    Quick question for you... It's not "strictly" a PDL issue, it's Provident but prior to entering into a DMP I had been repaying them on payday each month...

    So, originally I asked them to remove the front stacked interest which they refused (although I understand that a DMP is not a formal process and is in fact voluntary).

    I then asked if they could provide a settlement figure as my loan was only around 6 months old and a relative offered to repay the loan to save on the interest and they replied with a letter from their "Solicitor" CK Edrupt advising that I should direct all contact to them in future and refusing to provide a settlement figure since entering into a DMP meant I had broken my contract and the whole amount was payable with no possibility of negotiation.

    Finally, I decided to put in a formal complaint (which I had previously tried to avoid doing as I wanted to keep things amicable as I had previously had a good relationship with my agent) highlighting that on several occasions I had highlighted to my agent that A) I had numerous PDL's which I was "balancing" but as I was paying them each month and re-loaning they could be omitted from my Income & Expenditure (my agent even checked with my account manager who said it was ok as I was a good customer) B) My last loan was actually two loans to allow me to consolidate my old loan (which in itself was only a few months old) and give me an extra £1000...

    At the time I had a gambling issue which I didn't particularly keep secret from my agent and he even told me that I could do whatever I want with the money and it was good for him as he was earning commission and I was a 'good customer'.

    The reply back from Provident was that I needed to provide I&E forms from the last few years, as well as bank statements and payslips from a similar period and any evidence which I had of discussions at that time but also went on to describe how it was all my own fault and since my agent of the time no longer worked for Provident they had no way of verifying my account of proceedings anyway?

    At this point I felt that they had stacked the cards in their favour as I didn't have much of the information they asked for (I was in a bad way at the time) and how do I prove the conversations I had with my agent?

    Due to this I thought I had no option to forget the whole thing... Perhaps a couple of weeks after their letter I got another letter from Cabot stating that they had bought the debt from Provident so my feeling is that even if I had all of the information they asked for I wouldn't have had time to get it all together and returned anyway!

    I'm not expecting miracles but can you suggest what I may be able to do next (if anything)?

    Thanks,

    MB

    Hi MB,

    When you set up a payment plan with a business we would expect them to freeze the interest and charges from the point that you made them aware you were in financial difficulty.

    If you have concerns that you may have overpaid then this is something that we can look at.

    If you would like to talk to us about this you can email us at [email protected]

    Or call us on 0300 123 9123

    Kind regards,

    Amy
  • Zerdi6
    Zerdi6 Posts: 88 Forumite
    Good Morning,

    Reference Wonga, I have a PDL with them which is currently included on a DMP with StepChange. I heard nothing from them regarding interest being repaid or loans written off so contacted them. I was told they only had instruction to pay interest back on loans 30-90 days overdue, and to write off loans 90-120 days overdue. My loan is over 400 days overdue and they said they have no instruction or obligation to pay anything back.

    Could you confirm this please?

    Many thanks
  • rizla_king
    rizla_king Posts: 2,895 Forumite
    When you set up a payment plan with a business we would expect them to freeze the interest and charges from the point that you made them aware you were in financial difficulty.

    Really?

    And yet when people actually take a complaint of that sort to your service most of the time you just tell people that its up to the company whether they freeze interest or charges.
    Still rolling rolling rolling...... :) <
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