Payday Loan Ombudsman Victories - Large Refunds!!!!

Grzegorz_Kowalski

Gambling is a one thing, payday loans are the other. I have been struggling for 15 months with 1200 from Quikquid via rollovers. Eventually, qq Has asked ne to pay the whole loan in a one go. I was unable to do do, therefore they happily offered me a repayment plan, which will finish next month. (hurrey!). What concerns me is the fact, that I was unaware of this solution a year ago, hence I've lost circa 2000 quid in fees.

I am not trying to escape from responsibilities! I just think it is unfair, that simple repayment plans were not mentioned in contract. At the moment Im in a very comfy situation, and I will try to reclaim the fees, just because of the lack of clear repayment options in contract in case of default.

Thank you for valuable information!

eyeopener2

Well done OP for taking on the payday loan company's and winning. I'm amazed at the moral judgement going on on this thread. The vast majority of contributors to this forum have made stupid choices, or been victim of addiction or other people choices and addictions.

The OP has used whatever legal means possible to move on and get rid of debt. The moral angle is irrelevant in my view as money has no morals, banks have no morals, payday lenders have no morals, debt collectors and the people who work for them have no morals.

The OP has a moral obligation to pay it back? Not in my opinion. He has a contractual obligation, if that is seen by the ombudsman to be unfair or illegal, or say in the case of statute barred debts, unenforceable, well so be it. I wouldn't lose any sleep over winning a battle like that.

Ah well, no doubt I will get jumped on now, but as one who suffers from addiction (alcohol), and as one who has in the past won an unenforceable debt action I'm with the op.

Good luck and I hope the futures bright for you.

Monkeyballs

Grzegorz_Kowalski wrote: »

Gambling is a one thing, payday loans are the other. I have been struggling for 15 months with 1200 from Quikquid via rollovers. Eventually, qq Has asked ne to pay the whole loan in a one go. I was unable to do do, therefore they happily offered me a repayment plan, which will finish next month. (hurrey!). What concerns me is the fact, that I was unaware of this solution a year ago, hence I've lost circa 2000 quid in fees.

I am not trying to escape from responsibilities! I just think it is unfair, that simple repayment plans were not mentioned in contract. At the moment Im in a very comfy situation, and I will try to reclaim the fees, just because of the lack of clear repayment options in contract in case of default.

Thank you for valuable information!

Hi GK,

Yup, take gambling and any other addiction out of the equation.

I think therein lies the problem, the reality is that these loans are intended to be short term measures and as such a responsible decision is required to be made by both parties to ensure that they remain short term.

What doesn't get factored in is that what seems responsible to the customer (I.e. you and me) can be the start of a downward spiral (can't afford rent one month! Eep! I'll borrow £100 which of course is then £129 the following month, Eep! I'll have to roll over...).

I think Payday lenders are right to not publicise the fact that there is a repayment plan because that would encourage misuse thinking that they have a cheap payment alternative (and thus can potentially afford to repay 5 or 6 at the same time) and everyone has their own personal circumstances so while you might be able to afford £100 pcm, I might only be able to afford £25 and Joe Bloggs can only afford £12.50 and so on. The PDL not being able to accommodate everyone would lead to calls of them being uncooperative, sharks, etc.

What PDL's ought to take responsibility for is (other than being more thorough in checking to see if a loan is responsible) identifying when a customer is either increasing month on month their lending OR rolling over, OR repaying and then re-loaning then freezing interest and pro-actively contacting the customer to discuss a repayment plan.

There should also be a register (which I believe is being planned already) which all PDL's should have access and maintain showing loans outstanding and status.

HOWEVER, the customer should not be molly coddled and must be encouraged to take ownership of their debts by cooperating with the lender and keeping them informed to allow an agreement to be put in place or for them to get further guidance if they have a general debt problem (such as CAB, SC, Payplan, CAP, etc).

I don't however think that any lender should ever say to their customer "we can only help you if you wait until payday, let the payment to us fail and then call us to discuss options" what sort advice is that!!!??? Any normal person is hearing "let us try to raid your bank so you have nothing left and then we won't lend to you and you're shafted for the month" LOL at least now more people seem to be educated about CPA but even so...

There are a lot of stressed, scared and generally naive (as good a word as any) people out there who just panic and fail to do the right thing and make matters worse and when they shout up about their problems then everyone starts pointing their finger at the evil lenders who were villainous enough to be the only people to lend when nobody else would!!! There are obviously a small section of the customer base who just couldn't care less and take the p**s

So, in short - it's not all PDL's fault, customers need to be more responsible and there needs to be more communication!

MB

Monkeyballs

eyeopener2 wrote: »

Well done OP for taking on the payday loan company's and winning. I'm amazed at the moral judgement going on on this thread. The vast majority of contributors to this forum have made stupid choices, or been victim of addiction or other people choices and addictions.

The OP has used whatever legal means possible to move on and get rid of debt. The moral angle is irrelevant in my view as money has no morals, banks have no morals, payday lenders have no morals, debt collectors and the people who work for them have no morals.

The OP has a moral obligation to pay it back? Not in my opinion. He has a contractual obligation, if that is seen by the ombudsman to be unfair or illegal, or say in the case of statute barred debts, unenforceable, well so be it. I wouldn't lose any sleep over winning a battle like that.

Ah well, no doubt I will get jumped on now, but as one who suffers from addiction (alcohol), and as one who has in the past won an unenforceable debt action I'm with the op.

Good luck and I hope the futures bright for you.

Hi Eyeopener,

It's a personal thing but and I've expressed my opinion above so I'll not repeat that.

However, I do strongly believe that if an addiction has played a part in the problem and it is not under control then "winning" a battle like this can be a dangerous thing as it is setting a precedence so if the OP had got the money back and then gambled it away he may then feel it is an easier option to continue to feed that addiction by taking out more loans because he will get all interest and a bit more back in a years time.

At some point the ombudsman will have to realise the fault lies with the customer (or becomes ineffective), what would happen if the ombudsman is contacted by the PDL's and then they rule in favour of the DPL's and tell the customer to repay all the monies back? LOL ok, so that wouldn't happen but hopefully you see my long and rambling point here?

MB

matttye

Good result.

Too many armchair psychiatrists in this thread saying that gambling addiction isn't an illness. I wonder how qualified anyone is to make such statements.

There's a responsibility on the customer to borrow only what they can afford, but there's equally a responsibility on the lender to check a customer's affordability. Payday loan companies are known to be very blase when it comes to affordability checks. In other words, they deserve everything they get.

[Deleted User]

Grzegorz_Kowalski wrote: »

that simple repayment plans were not mentioned in contract.

No type of lender has to offer a repayment plan! simples


In short there's also an element of fraud prevention required.
After all it was the different cards allowed for repayments of loans that allegedly made W.nga the victim.




Heaven help us if the FOS thinks PDL's customers are the absolute priority - as much as I'm amazed by post no1! 2011/2012 quite different I was awarded interest that was actually proven overcharged under the legal system, no one understood back then - in addition from 1 of the 2 challenged
I would also receive a 'gagging or keep quiet' order - it wasn't a worthy win looking back on it now I can say so with a hand on my heart though I did think so at the time! no I don't think this will take of lenders will retaliate with we gave you time to pay which is why I think there is more to this 'win' thread that meets the eye, personally, forgiveness forget and move on is the biggest win you can get, didn't think I'd say that then!!

OneWay_2

-taff wrote: »

No, it isn't, because as I said, you can't catch it, it's not inherent in your mke up from birth.

I'm not making any accusations against people who are addicted to gambling, I'm making a statement that it's not an illness.
It's easy to blame something else for your own actions, 'oh, I can't help gambling, it's an illness' which makes it sound like it's no-ones personal responsibility for beginning in the first place.

Illness is something that can't be helped. Everyone who gambles makes a conscious descision to start doing it, then they may or they may not become addicted.


Nowhere have I 'knocked' someone who is addicted to it, nor made any disparaging remarks to the OP.

I've never heard anything so foolish in all my life.

I assume you can catch schizophrenia? Lung cancer? A brain tumour? Depression? Or are these not illnesses?

I am a compulsive gambler. Through support from family I have been relatively clean for around 9 months now. I accept I've had the occasional 'blip', usually when I've had a drink and thrown a few pounds in a fruit machine. But by banning myself from all sites online, having a block on my PC, and limiting the amount of money I can physically access each week I have managed to stop myself from sliding down the very quick slippery slope that I am sure the OP & others in this thread have experienced and can understand. I guess if you haven't suffered and haven't been in the position where even though something is telling you not to put that last pound in, you still do, then maybe you just can't understand.

I understand the mixed reactions to the OP's refunds, I can see both sides of the argument. I have been in & still am in the payday loan trap myself struggling to pay it all off, through exactly the same reasons. But away from that, well done to the OP on getting on the straight and narrow and long may it continue.

simonp96

Hello All,

Thank you for all the comments whether you agree with me or not. I'm tough enough now not to let any comments affect me. I can only control myself and not others and also i understand that not everyone will see things my way.

I posted this to hopefully help others who may have or are in similar situations, in fact i have had a couple of PMs asking for help so if it helps them then great

I posted on this board as the aim is to become debt free - something i will now be able to become.

I am able to pay back my mum all the money i have borrowed (I had been paying her back £200 per month)

I am able to make amends to people that i have let down in the past.

I will also be able to start looking to the future and my outlook on life and debt has now changed. I don't aim to make the same mistakes as the past.

I have remained gamble free and this has helped me change my thinking and the way i deal with things.

I can't expect everyone to agree with me but i will not pass judgement on anyone else - that's their life to live how they see fit.

All the best

Simon

sourcrates

simonp96 wrote: »

Hello All,

Thank you for all the comments whether you agree with me or not. I'm tough enough now not to let any comments affect me. I can only control myself and not others and also i understand that not everyone will see things my way.

I posted this to hopefully help others who may have or are in similar situations, in fact i have had a couple of PMs asking for help so if it helps them then great

I posted on this board as the aim is to become debt free - something i will now be able to become.

I am able to pay back my mum all the money i have borrowed (I had been paying her back £200 per month)

I am able to make amends to people that i have let down in the past.

I will also be able to start looking to the future and my outlook on life and debt has now changed. I don't aim to make the same mistakes as the past.

I have remained gamble free and this has helped me change my thinking and the way i deal with things.

I can't expect everyone to agree with me but i will not pass judgement on anyone else - that's their life to live how they see fit.

All the best

Simon

Well done mate, I completely understand your reasons for posting this, you will always get the moral high grounders who of course have never made a mistake in there lives and live like monks in a monastery, this forum is here to encourage debate, whether positive or not, and to offer advice to those who need it, never be afraid to say what you think !!!
good on yer !!!:T

simonp96

http://www.ombudsman-decisions.org.uk/viewPDF.aspx?FileID=20264

And this is a similar decision that the FCA found in favour of the customer - this time against Wonga. And with a similar sitation as mine.