MSE News: Wonga busted by the FCA: 330,000 to have their loan wiped

vicarondo

Popeye58 wrote: »

Hi, I too am not affected which I cannot believe. The debt is now 500 days old and I have been in a DMP for 2 years (12 months with this Wonga loan as I had to default) Obviously I shouldn't have applied for a Wonga loan when already in a DMP but was desperate and Wonga shouldn't have loaned to me.
I
I genuinely believed I would be top of the list to be written off but they have done nothing. I think I should request help from the FOS. I even had to reduce my payment to them in jul this year as the payments were too high what with my wife and I having our first baby.

Are others going to complain?

I am going to complain. I firmly believe i shouldn't have been given £1000 when my take home pay is only £1200. I'm going to ask the fos to get wonga to look into it again. I'm going to say they clearly haven't checked accounts correctly therefore breaking the agreement with the fca

Brains64

They have an article on their website called 'Helping Ensure A Loan Doesn't Become A Problem' which they claim covers the changes to their criteria....actually it tells me sweet FA that shows any significant difference between what they were doing before and now, especially as I don't even know what they were doing before but if anyone thinks they can shed some clarity on it they're welcome, I've copy pasted it below....

'We don't want our customers to have financial problems as a result of taking out a loan with us. That means we need to be careful we only lend to people who we think can afford to repay, and only lend an amount that they can manage.
So we're changing the way we make decisions about lending, and setting additional requirements about how much we lend and the financial circumstances of people we can lend to. We have been working, in conjunction with our regulator the Financial Conduct Authority, to develop these new lending requirements.
These changes will affect both new and existing customers.
How our new lending rules protect you
When you apply we will carefully assess your application, using your details, information from credit reference agencies and other sources, and your repayment record if you have borrowed from us before. Then we will use our new lending rules to make a lending decision.
We only want to offer you a loan we believe you can afford. So even if you have been a customer before and have a good repayment history you may only be accepted for a loan less than you have borrowed in the past. In some circumstances we may not be able to offer a loan at all.
If you have recently been declined, it’s likely we can’t offer you a loan just now.
You might want to think about the alternative solutions and whether you actually need to take out a loan, but if you decide that taking out a loan is the right option you can try again after 30 days.
We want to help
We recognise that if our new rules mean we cannot provide the loan you need, it may cause you temporary financial difficulty. If you would like to discuss your situation please call us free on 0800 197 6625, or 0844 874 1830 (charges apply). Calls are charged at standard rates for your phone provider and may be recorded.
Need help with your finances?
Taking out a loan may not be the only solution to your financial situation. Independent, free and impartial debt and money advice is available from StepChange, National Debt Line and Citizens Advice. If you feel you'd benefit from some impartial advice, you can find the contact details below.
Step Change Debt Charity - https://www.stepchange.org
National Debt Line - https://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk
Citizens Advice - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk
There are also free money management and debt solutions at the following links:
http://www.stepchange.org/Debtremedy.aspx
https://www.mymoneysteps.org/public/about/what-is-my-money-steps/'

Monkeyballs

Complain to Wonga first, it will be quicker and if they still refuse then think about complaining to the FOS.

When you borrowed £1000 did you say your take home was £1200 and did you include other outgoings when asked?

MB

Monkeyballs

Oh, and STOP BORROWING!

If you speak to a debt charity then you can look at getting all of your creditors paid off over a period of time while paying an amount affordable to you - this can include making token payments for a short period of time to allow yourself to build up an emergency fund (so save one, it's not an excuse to go crazy while your outgoings are low) and get your finances on track so you NO LONGER need to borrow from PDL's.

Brains, I think what they're saying n their site is that they aren't ging to trust people to tell the truth and will check their background which will making loaning from them more difficult.

MB

emmagerrie

Can anyone give me some advice please, i took out a wonga loan a couple of weeks ago to be paid back 4 november. Since my husband has been diagnosed with ME and i have given up work to care for him. We have no income and are awaiting ESA. As this is the case i cannot pay it back and at present cannot set up a payment arrangement! What are my options?

Monkeyballs

Hi Emmagerrie,

Call Wonga to discuss a payment plan.

If this is not your only debt then I suggest you contact a debt charity such as Step Change ASAP, I also suggest you post something on the Debt Free Wannabe forum - start a new thread.

http://www.stepchange.org/

If you have no other income then something like a DRO (debt relief order) might be in order... But don't just rely on this site, pick up the phone and put your mind at ease

Also, make sure you look into what other benefits are available to you and your husband.

Good luck!

MB

bbfc

Is anyone able to tell me whether or not the payment I made yesterday as part of my repayment plan (before I received the email to say my loan would be wiped) will be refunded? The email did say not to pay anything, but it was too late by then.

vicarondo

Monkeyballs wrote: »

Complain to Wonga first, it will be quicker and if they still refuse then think about complaining to the FOS.

When you borrowed £1000 did you say your take home was £1200 and did you include other outgoings when asked?

MB

Yes, it started off from small loans, then they kept offering me more and I was taking it to cover the interest on tbe loans. Next thing I'm borrowing £1000! Way to easy to get caught in a rut. It started for me when my relationship broke down and I wass lumbered with all the bills/car on finance etc. Luckily I was able to move back to my mothers for 6 months to get myself back on track was also lucky to secure a new job which pays more so am finally in a better place and would never,ever dream of using an pdl again!

re5

hi all

don't know if anyone knows the answer to this, but I am one year into my IVA, wonga is one of my creditors. I've had the email from them to say my loan should not have been made. So, questions are - if the loan is going to written off then surely that element of my monthly iva payments should be taken off, and secondly all the payments my IP has made to wonga, for a loan that should not have been made and therefore not a legitimate part of my IVA, should they not be refunded to me??

any ideas/thoughts?

Monkeyballs

Hi re5,

I don't think so, I think that the element being paid to Wonga will be re-dispersed to your other creditors... If anything is repaid then it should also go to them, not back to you.

MB