Financial Ombudsman after accepting a payment?

Davidc4

I recently complained to Wonga regarding the loans I had taken out between June 2012 and late 2016. They initially replied that they had reviewed all of my successful loan applications and decided that only one in 2013 would be upheld. I was hesitant about accepting but decided to accept the offer. No payment has yet been made by Wonga to me. I have been advised to go to the Financial Ombudsman after reviewing my bank statements from June 2012 to July 2014 during which time I had 49 loans with Wonga. If Wonga do pay me for the one loan can I still go to the FOS about the other 48? Some of them were at the same time as others. In their email response they say that they checked I had no outstanding loans with them. Is this just a generic response?

Davidc4

Last part should have been more clear. They said they they had checked that I had not got any loans outstanding with them on each new application which was incorrect as I had several running concurrently.

fwor

Davidc4 wrote: »

but decided to accept the offer.

What exactly does the wording of the offer that you accepted say?

Davidc4

Full email below


Further to recent correspondence received from your representative Ingram Toft (representative reference: 0), we are writing to confirm that we have investigated your complaint and our findings are set out in more detail below.!

!

Our understanding of your complaint

!

·!!!!!!!!!You feel that insufficient affordability checks were performed and loans were provided irresponsibly.

·!!!!!!!!!You feel that we should have been aware you were experiencing financial difficulty and became dependent on borrowing.

!

Our response

!

!

When investigating your complaint we can confirm that we have looked at!all!of your successful loan applications.

!

Information obtained at the point of loan:

!

!

We asked you a number of questions during any application including:

!

!

•!!!!!!!!!!!Details of your salary, employment status, marital status, dependants, home ownership status, motor owner status, amongst other information.

!

!

This information was taken in good faith and at the point of each application we had no reason to believe the information you provided to us was not correct.!!As a result we relied on this information and it formed part of our assessment when determining the affordability of the loan.

!

!

Before approving a loan, we carry out a credit reference agency check. This information is accessed instantly by us when we receive a loan application.

!

Credit checks:

!

!

We undertook an independent credit check through internal system checks and a Credit Reference Bureau. This information was accessed instantly upon receipt of your loan application and our checks included:

!

!

•!!!!!!!!!!!your credit score at the time of application,

•!!!!!!!!!!!your employment status,

•!!!!!!!!!!!whether you were currently insolvent,

•!!!!!!!!!!!whether you had any outstanding loans with Wonga,

•!!!!!!!!!!!whether historical accounts with us had been subject to a “Do not Relend” status,

•!!!!!!!!!!!whether you had a previous loan which was written off due to outstanding arrears.

!

!

When considering the affordability of the loan, all the above factors were taken into account before your loan was approved.

!

!

Information about total cost

!

!

Our website and customer journey is designed to provide you with all the information you need to make an informed decision about whether our service is appropriate for you.!!The “sliders” on the homepage allowed you to work out:

!

·!!!!!!!!!the total cost of the loan before you applied,

·!!!!!!!!!the term that suited your needs,

·!!!!!!!!!and was supported by all the documentation you needed to read before finalising your application.

!

!

We therefore believe that you were fully aware of the costs of a Wonga loan before applying.

!

Indication of Financial Difficulties:

!

!

In your recent complaint you suggested that you were experiencing financial difficulties and we should not have lent to you. As such we have considered your position at the time and have found evidence that you:

!

!

•!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!continued to borrow over an extended period of time,

•!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!took out a further loan immediately after repayment,

•!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!borrowed a high loan amount when compared to your stated income.

!

You have indicated in your complaint that you experienced difficulty repaying one or more of your loans. You did not, however, contact us at the time to let us know about your financial difficulty. Had you done so, we would have been aware of your circumstances and could have put in place a suitable repayment plan or other arrangement.

!

You may be aware of the announcement from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regarding changes to short term lending. The changes mean that we had to place a price cap on the cost of our loans and be more responsible when testing whether customers can afford the loan they want to take out. We can see from your account that you had loan applications after the changes to our lending criteria were applied in November 2014. All your loan applications after this date met our new affordability criteria and so we are satisfied that we lent you responsibly.

!

If you are struggling financially, you can contact one of the UK`s free debt advice services, such as:!!!!!!

•!!!!!!!!!!!Step Change Debt Charity - 0800 138 1111

•!!!!!!!!!!!National Debt Line - 0808 808 4000

•!!!!!!!!!!!Citizens Advice - 03444 111 444

!

However, having reviewed your complaint, we accept that the loans in the table below may not have been affordable given your circumstances.

!

Outcome

!

Based on the above, there may have been more that we could have done to assist you and so we have decided to uphold your complaint.

!

Additionally, we will also request for the redressed loan to be removed from your credit record. This may take up to 30 working days to be updated fully on your credit file.

!

We would like to offer £114.32 which is an amount equal to the interest and fees on the following loan:

!

Loan reference

Date

Interest and fees



2013-12-05

£114.32

!

!

Interest of 8% simple per year has been added to the total redress for each loan from the date the loan was taken out until the date of calculation. Please see the outline below.

!

Total Interest and Fees

£114.32

8% interest net

£31.23

Total Settlement

£145.55

!

8% Interest Gross

£39.04

Basic rate Tax deduction

£7.81

!

!

Compensatory interest is subject to income tax at the basic rate under UK tax legislation and, therefore, tax will be deducted at the basic rate of 20% from any payments made to you. If you do not pay tax, you may be able to reclaim some or all of this tax reduction from HM Revenue and Customs.

!

!

If you are a higher rate or additional rate tax payer, you may have to pay additional tax on the compensatory interest via your tax return. Please see HMRC.gov.uk for more details.

!

Please note the offer outlined in this letter is made in full and final settlement of all aspects!of!your complaint.!If you wish to accept this offer,!please reply to this email typing your details in to the relevant boxes of the acceptance form below.!Alternatively, you can also print, fill and sign the below form and send it back by post or as an attachment in a reply to this email.

!

Once confirmed we will arrange payment to account number ending. If your account details have changed, you will need to provide us with proof of your new banking details.!This can include a screenshot of your account statement, but will need to show your name, the sort code and account number.!!Please note: If you send us a picture of your current bank card as proof, the 16 digit card number must be completely covered in the picture provided.

!

This is our final response, however if you are not satisfied with it, you have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free of charge but you must do so within six months of the date of this letter.!


If you do not refer your complaint in time, the Ombudsman will not have our permission to consider your complaint and so will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances. For example, if the Ombudsman believes that the delay was as a result of exceptional circumstances.

!

For more information on the Financial Ombudsman Service, please see the consumer information leaflet found at:ombudsman.org.uk/publications/consumer-leaflet.htm[/url]. If you want a hard copy of the consumer information leaflet, please call us on 0207 138 8330.

!

The address of the Financial Ombudsman Service is:

The Financial Ombudsman Service

Exchange Tower

London

E14 9SR

!

!

Telephone:

!

!

Yours sincerely,

!

!

Josette Isaacs

Complaints Handler

Wonga.com

0800 316 6745

!

!

sourcrates

If you accept there offer you cannot progress the matter to the FOS.

If you dont, you can.

fwor

Davidc4 wrote: »

Please note the offer outlined in this letter is made in full and final settlement of all aspects!of!your complaint.!If you wish to accept this offer,!please reply to this email typing your details in to the relevant boxes of the acceptance form below.!Alternatively, you can also print, fill and sign the below form and send it back by post or as an attachment in a reply to this email.

Davidc4 wrote: »

I was hesitant about accepting but decided to accept the offer.

It seems he has already accepted the offer - he just hasn't received the money yet. It's not possible to "unaccept" an offer after you have accepted it, is it? So - if the OP had wanted to reject it on the grounds that 48 of the 49 loans might not have been considered properly, he would have to have rejected the offer?

T-G-C

I will probably be scolded for saying all this, but at the end of the day, you most likely lied on the application form to obtain the loans. If you didn't, there must have been some sort of reason for them not to suspect that the agreement wasn't affordable at the time. Even before the changes, there was still some sort of affordability involved in their lending, just less strict.

Yes, it is true that around 2013-2014 there was massive reform due to the leniency of their criteria, interest and unfounded collection tactics, however I still have the opinion that people need to take responsibility for their debt and stop blaming the company. I have sympathy for parents or vulnerable adults who are absolutely desperate for the cash and would do it to make ends meet, but the ones who took out loans carelessly (not saying you did) and then expect Wonga to essentially "let you off" with the money they borrowed you or rebate all the charges, it is just ridiculous.

I wouldn't be dazed if they closed your complaint with no settlement. You took out loans voluntarily, you accepted a repayment schedule (with the interest pre-agreed) and there is nothing more to it. It's not as if they lied to you about the cost of the loan, then I'd be the first to recommend a complaint.

Davidc4

fwor wrote: »

It seems he has already accepted the offer - he just hasn't received the money yet. It's not possible to "unaccept" an offer after you have accepted it, is it? So - if the OP had wanted to reject it on the grounds that 48 of the 49 loans might not have been considered properly, he would have to have rejected the offer?

I have had a further reply saying that as I emailed them back independently and not through the third party they haven't accepted my acceptance. So I'm guessing now I could go to the FOS as I won't be going back through the third party and accepting.

As for the comments about lying on the forms etc, I actually didn't. My issue with Wonga was being stuck in the loop with no way out for years until right at the end when I cracked and set up a repayment plan. They were good about that but I do feel there was a lack of responsibility on their side to lend to someone every month for 4 years and sometimes with multiple loans at the same time (with Wonga). For example 49 loans between June 2012 until July 2014 is pretty excessive. It carried on right through til late 2016. I haven't asked them to let me off with any of the money, I paid it all back. I do take responsibility for me lending the money but at that time, I could see no other option as I could not afford to break the payday loan loop, like so many others. They would have known I could not afford this continously (they had a lot of information about my income). One loan in December 2013 for example was £500 and then £300. My stated income was £850. I had no way out. I finally broke free in late 2016. I'd never go back.

Dobbibill

Welcome to the forum OP.

What outcome would you like from Wonga/FOS? Have you told them your expectations for a resolution?

Davidc4

Dobbibill wrote: »

Welcome to the forum OP.

What outcome would you like from Wonga/FOS? Have you told them your expectations for a resolution?

I originally went through a third party who said they could get the loans reviewed and possibly get interest/ late charges back etc they contacted Wonga on my behalf so I'm not sure how they worded it. I think they objective is to get them to look into each loan and determine if this was lent responsibly or not. Out of the amount of loans from June 2012 - 2016 (haven't counted how many but there wwre 49 up until July 2014) I think it is a bit strange to pick one random loan from 2013 to uphold. I'm not denying having any responsibility for myself taking out the loans in the first place but I got stuck in an unbreakable cycle of borrow/repay/borrow/repay/borrow.

Dobbibill

The 3rd party will send them a letter of sorts and that little amount of effort will probably cost you up to 30% of any refund.

They won't get a different answer than you would so don't build too much hope on it.

How long ago did they contact you about it? They may not have been successful either.

If you are going to reject their offer, you need to prepare some rationale around why and what your expectation is. Just repeating what you've said above won't be enough.
Otherwise, accept their offer (you readily admit you have to shoulder responsibility too) move on but most importantly learn from it.