Pay Day Loan complaint!!! Light at the end of the tunnel!!!

f0rtheL0v3ofF00D

Hi All,

So here's my story. I was 19 and very stupid with money. I smoked (yuk!) for a start, and just had no concept of financial responsibility. I have worked since the day I turned 16 but the hourly rate was about £2.80 at the time. Anyway, i found my self struggling to get by therefore oh so stupidly took a visit to a high street pay day store.
They very easily handed me over my first loan of £150. That's where the cycle began. Constantly paying and borrowing each month which included excessive interest of course.

Fast forward many years and the dreaded pay day loans still have a place on my credit file. The majority of them are due to drop off shortly but there is a default on one of them that has much longer to go. Afters years of being so stupid with money and thinking bills would disappear. I finally rebuilt my credit score and I began my quest to try and get on the property ladder..

I will add here, i am still far from perfect with money. However, since my default with the payday loan company many years ago.. I haven't and would never miss a bill but sometimes I tend to live beyond my means which is something i’m working on and maybe that’s another post for another time!

Anyway, back to the Mortgage. Well, as you can imagine going online to the usual high street lenders to try and even get a mortgage in principle was unsuccessful.

I thought I was screwed. Then I heard, on MSE, about the possibility to complain to FOS over irresponsible lending. I didn't care about compensation, I just wanted that dreaded mark on my credit file gone! I couldn't believe 10 years later it was still haunting me..

I started the complaint with the thinking that I had nothing to lose but in the meantime I found a FANTASTIC mortgage advisor. Who, i'm happy to say, successfully helped me get a mortgage! I am now a proud homeowner. There's real hope for you if you're reading this and thought you had no hope, like i did!

The reason for me posting this is not to receive negative comments about taking action against horrible pay day loan companies. Some may agree complaining was right, some may think i should have to live with my decisions when i was a teenager. Either way, you’re intitled to your opinion but the reason for the post is to help someone else like me, nothing more.

Back to the complaint... with the excitement of the house etc, i completely forgot about my complaint. Well today I received a phone call from FOS explaining that the complaint had been upheld :T and the advice to said payday loan company was for my interest and charges to be refunded and any adverse information on my credit file be removed! I am so unbelievably happy as I really did believe in my complaint, it wasn’t about the money, it was about how irresponsible lending had impacted my life for 10 years. Not least, at the time i wasn’t even aware that these loans could leave traces on my credit file (that’s how financially stupid i was).

To end, a bit of good luck has came at a really ample time...my washing machine broke yesterday! :rotfl:

kjw327

Thanks for sharing and hopefully you can continue this good fortune and work hard to keep on the straight and narrow with your finances.

Madfool

Fantastic news!

This sounds so like me, back when i was 19 but that was 16 years ago for me. Do i stand any chance of complaining? (How would I?) I just want the darn things removed from history, they seem to be hanging around and not dropping off as when it's near the 6 years they are being sold on.

f0rtheL0v3ofF00D

Hi Madfool,

Thanks for your reply.

I would certainly give it ago! You have to first of all contact the lenders to complain. There are plenty of templates you can use. I started here https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/free-payday-loans-refunds/

Best of luck and let us know how you get on.

If you have any questions about the process feel free to ask!

Madfool

f0rtheL0v3ofF00D wrote: »

Hi Madfool,

Thanks for your reply.

I would certainly give it ago! You have to first of all contact the lenders to complain. There are plenty of templates you can use. I started here https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/free-payday-loans-refunds/

Best of luck and let us know how you get on.

If you have any questions about the process feel free to ask!

Thanks for the information, I've started 2 cases 1 against safetynet and 1 against minicredit. 2 Lenders i know i have defiantly dealt with, i'm trying to find emails from other lenders but to no avail. Is there anyway i could do a search and find out who I've dealt with in the past? Like a database of lenders rather than just trying to remember, in all honesty I've probably had a loan with every single payday lender going over the last 15 years but i don't want to waste mine or lenders time if i actually didn't have one with them.

f0rtheL0v3ofF00D

Madfool wrote: »

Thanks for the information, I've started 2 cases 1 against safetynet and 1 against minicredit. 2 Lenders i know i have defiantly dealt with, i'm trying to find emails from other lenders but to no avail. Is there anyway i could do a search and find out who I've dealt with in the past? Like a database of lenders rather than just trying to remember, in all honesty I've probably had a loan with every single payday lender going over the last 15 years but i don't want to waste mine or lenders time if i actually didn't have one with them.

So the important thing with the complaints is that they can't be over 6 years old. What I think that means is at least the last engagement with them (due to it constantly being rolled over or defaults maybe) was no more than 6 years. So you need to concentrate on them ones only as to not waste your own time.

I'm not sure about a database but if you have the time I would just call them and ask them to search for you on their system. They have to keep data for 7 years for FCA and you are entitled to such data.

Windbag66

Check your credit report, anything taken out over the past 6 years will show on at least one report.

f0rtheL0v3ofF00D

Windbag66 wrote: »

Check your credit report, anything taken out over the past 6 years will show on at least one report.

Lol this would be much easier than my suggestions :rotfl:

Potbellypig

Good stuff. Because it's totally not about the money and all about your credit file, I can imagine a charity close to your heart will be receiving a nice little bonus anytime now. Well done, OP.

f0rtheL0v3ofF00D

Nope, it will be getting used to pay off a loan I had to get to deal with how my finances spiralled out of control after my engagement with payday lenders. :money:

Now move along bitter bob :rotfl: I mean, potbellypig.