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Wonga loan help please

Hi all,

My Brother took out a Wonga loan a few months back and added top ups to this amount quite a few times. He had just been made redundant at the time and the loan was approved while he was receiving job seekers allowance. He got into difficulty making the re payments and a huge amount of interest and charges were added to the amount. The amount was settled 6 weeks ago by my father.
I found out yesterday that her stupidly took out further loans with Wonga with top ups to pay off original loan amounts as he now has no job and doesn't receive any benefits. As this was a new loan application why was it approved byWonga as he doesn't have any income at all? On their site it states that a credit check takes place and they only give loans to people that they know can repay!
I know my Brother is the one at fault here by taking out these loans instead of asking family to help but I have now coughed up £617.00 to settle these further loans to clear his balance in full. The majority of this amount being interest and charges. Am I right in saying that he should have been refused these loans and is there anywhere I can complain to to try and get the charges back on these loans??? I'm happy enough losing out on the original loan amount as theres probably not much chance of getting anything back of my Brother for a while seeing as he's off to uni in Sept.

Any help appreciated
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Comments

  • bubble1980 wrote: »
    Hi all,

    My Brother took out a Wonga loan a few months back and added top ups to this amount quite a few times. He had just been made redundant at the time and the loan was approved while he was receiving job seekers allowance. He got into difficulty making the re payments and a huge amount of interest and charges were added to the amount. The amount was settled 6 weeks ago by my father.
    I found out yesterday that her stupidly took out further loans with Wonga with top ups to pay off original loan amounts as he now has no job and doesn't receive any benefits. As this was a new loan application why was it approved byWonga as he doesn't have any income at all? On their site it states that a credit check takes place and they only give loans to people that they know can repay!
    I know my Brother is the one at fault here by taking out these loans instead of asking family to help but I have now coughed up £617.00 to settle these further loans to clear his balance in full. The majority of this amount being interest and charges. Am I right in saying that he should have been refused these loans and is there anywhere I can complain to to try and get the charges back on these loans??? I'm happy enough losing out on the original loan amount as theres probably not much chance of getting anything back of my Brother for a while seeing as he's off to uni in Sept.

    Any help appreciated

    That's your answer i'm afraid - payday companies don't refuse anyone - they rely on people being desperate enough to resort to them - and these are the people that are usually the least credit worthy or financially secure.

    I don't think you've got much hope of getting the charges/ interest refunded as your brother will have agreed the terms and conditions including the amounts of charges/interest when he signed up for it. ( that's how they do business)

    All you can do is try to get your brother to stop taking them out - because they will keep lending to him if he asks them to.

    Good luck .x
  • Mara69
    Mara69 Posts: 1,409 Forumite
    The fault clearly lies with your brother - not the pay day loan company. Twice he has been bailed out - think he's learned his lesson yet or will he poodle off to get another loan his family will eventually pay for him? More fool you and your father.

    As for whether the loan was 'mis-sold' or not depends on whether he lied on the application or not. I am quite sure he did - lenders want their money back and would not lend to someone who honestly declared no income. A credit check doesn't show employment status.
  • I've got them to agree that he's no longer allowed to apply for further credit with them and I'm also going to contact the other short term loan companies and get the same sorted with them so it can't happen again. I just can't understand that if a credit check takes place and he's defaulted payments with them before that they allowed him a further loan with an extra 5 or 6 top up amounts.
    Oh well looks like i'm just going to have to do a bit more overtime and remind him in a few years when he's finished his degree he owes big sis a load of money :D
    Thanks for your reply!
  • I didn't realise a credit check didn't show that information. He's been warned that if he does it again then on his head be it. Myself and my parents don't earn enough to bail the silly sod out a third time!
  • sharpy2010
    sharpy2010 Posts: 2,471 Forumite
    Tough love is whats needed here. If you bail him out, he will keep doing it, and will not learn his lesson.

    I know from experience.
  • amyloofoo
    amyloofoo Posts: 1,804 Forumite
    Debt-free and Proud!
    He's very lucky to have such a loving and supportive family, however I'm concerned that you say: 'I've got them to agree that he's no longer allowed to apply for further credit with them and I'm also going to contact the other short term loan companies and get the same sorted with them so it can't happen again... Oh well looks like i'm just going to have to do a bit more overtime and remind him in a few years when he's finished his degree'

    It's wonderful that you're able and willing to support your brother, but you're doing too much, and it might come back to haunt you (and him). He needs to be contacting the creditors, he needs to stop getting credit, and he should be working a part-time job whilst at uni to pay you back. I know it feels harsh now, but it will teach him something that's just as important as what he's studying at uni.
  • I agree with Amy. He's an adult now and if he's off to uni he's going to need to stand on his own two feet financially. He's lucky that he has a family who has been able to bail him out but I think I would be asking him to start paying you and your father back even if it's only £5 a month just to make him face up to his responsibilities.

    I would be quite concerned about how he will manage his student loans and overdraft though perhaps this would be a good opportunity for him to learn about good and bad debt.
  • debtcutter
    debtcutter Posts: 228 Forumite
    You say he's not working, or receiving benefits and is studying for a degree, but was made redundant recently.

    Was he made redundant before he started studying, or was he recently working whilst at university?

    Can he get a part time job?
    From £8,800 to £2,200 in 2 years.

    Nearly there, just the 0% credit card to go!
  • MacMickster
    MacMickster Posts: 3,643 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    By helping to bail him out and repay these loans for him you are actually helping to prevent him from defaulting. Consequently it makes it more likely that he will continue to be accepted for future payday type loans if he applies for them.
    "When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
  • I agree tough love is needed.

    You give your brother money/bail him out he'll spend it you need to point him in the right direction and help him to find his own solution to his debt.
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