Wonga Problem

mnt99york

Hi,

I took out a payday loan in May - unfortunately a couple of days later my bank closed my account because I'd had some unpaid Direct Debits, meaning I had to get paid into my Dad's bank account as I had to apply for a passport and wait for it to arrive before I could open a new account elsewhere.

I asked my dad to pay money into Wonga's bank account for me against my loan, which he did, but unfortunately despite me making it clear that he must give my name as reference with the payment, he forgot, and they couldn't find the payment when I rang them.

My dad didn't even keep the receipt for the payment - and it took ages to get a copy of it from the bank.

So - 24th June I paid £100 into Wonga's account.
6th July I sent them a copy of the receipt.
Today, 12th July, they have finally credited the £100 against my loan.

BUT they haven't taken into account the interest that would have been saved on that £100 since 24th June.

I spoke to an Indian woman on their 'help'line this morning who flatly denied that you could save any money by paying your loan back early, which is of course not true.

Am I in the right expecting the interest to be removed from this £100 or don't I have a leg to stand on?

Is anyone able to calculate how much the interest on the £100 since 24/6 actually is? I'm not good with that sort of thing.

matttye

They have a slider on their site for this very purpose: http://www.wonga.com/money/is-this-apr-expensive/

Borrowing £100 for 18 days (24th June to present) = £24.49 interest.

And yes, they should remove it.

mnt99york

Ah thanks - I didn't think of that. I think that includes the 'transfer fee' though, so it'll be less than £20, I thought it would be more than that.

I'm not sure I can be bothered for that amount, however much it grates, given how difficult it is to speak to them.

mnt99york

Yes - I cannot fault them overall - I don't mind paying the large interest rate because it's such a useful, easy to use service, and everything is clearly explained up front.

It's just that when something goes wrong it's so difficult to get it dealt with - god knows how much I've spent phoning them trying to sort this out.

Caladan

Why did it take a long time to get a copy of the payment from your bank? Surely they can just print it off for you at the branch, takes about 30 seconds.

Was the payment returned to your Dad by Wonga or did it sit in their account until you let them know it was there?

If it was returned to your Dads account you don't really have a leg to stand on, but if they kept hold of it then it was part of their balance sheet and I'd expect them to refund the interest.

pvt

Your Dad 'forgot' to give your name as a reference, so they couldn't marry your repayment up with your loan.

Ask yourself this question. If Wonga had paid the original loan to your bank, but not told them the correct account number and name, and it took a month for the money you had borrowed to finally reach your account. Would you be happy to pay them interest for the month you didn't have the money because of their error?

mnt99york

Caladan wrote: »

Why did it take a long time to get a copy of the payment from your bank? Surely they can just print it off for you at the branch, takes about 30 seconds.

Was the payment returned to your Dad by Wonga or did it sit in their account until you let them know it was there?

If it was returned to your Dads account you don't really have a leg to stand on, but if they kept hold of it then it was part of their balance sheet and I'd expect them to refund the interest.

It wasn't my bank. Wonga's bank account is with Barclays, so my dad took cash into the branch and paid it into Wonga's bank account. Neither myself or my Dad bank with Barclays.

The money has been in Wonga's bank account since it was paid in - as it was a cash payment there was no way of it being returned.

mnt99york

pvt wrote: »

Your Dad 'forgot' to give your name as a reference, so they couldn't marry your repayment up with your loan.

Why have you put 'forgot' in quotation marks there? What are you trying to imply?

Ask yourself this question. If Wonga had paid the original loan to your bank, but not told them the correct account number and name, and it took a month for the money you had borrowed to finally reach your account. Would you be happy to pay them interest for the month you didn't have the money because of their error?

How is this even remotely comparable? The money wasn't paid into the wrong account. It was paid into Wonga's bank account, just without the reference. So they have had the money since the day it was paid in??

Apples2

I'm amazed the bank had a copy of the receipt.

Your dad paid cash over the counter depositing money into a random bank account and walked out. How did they prove it was your dad?

I find it a miracle this random cash deposit has even been linked to your account at all

pvt

mnt99york wrote: »

Why have you put 'forgot' in quotation marks there? What are you trying to imply?

Because that is the very word that you used! And I think it's a strange way to describe an error of this kind.

mnt99york wrote: »

How is this even remotely comparable? The money wasn't paid into the wrong account. It was paid into Wonga's bank account, just without the reference. So they have had the money since the day it was paid in??

Wonga's a large company. They cannot realise/allocate/re-use funds paid into their bank until they know what they are. I think it's a very appropriate analogue.

matttye

pvt wrote: »

Because that is the very word that you used! And I think it's a strange way to describe an error of this kind.



Wonga's a large company. They cannot realise/allocate/re-use funds paid into their bank until they know what they are. I think it's a very appropriate analogue.

No, it's not, because they still had the money. Wonga cannot charge interest on a paid loan.