Payday Loan Claim - Irresponsible lending

LivvyDF97

Hi guys, newbie here!

I’ve been looking into getting help for irresponsible lending for a while now and hit a bit of a dead end! Back when I was on a very low income as an apprentice, I had several payday loans (I know I know, but I was desperate). I got into the awful position of having three or four on the go from different companies, then taking out a new loan to pay off an existing loan because I couldn’t afford the monthly payments. This went on for about 3 years, and has lead to me struggling with my mental health and personal debt ever since. I’ve tried to go through resolver for one of these companies but had no luck (they say to take it to the ombudsman, which I don’t know how to do), and some other companies have gone into administration. Am I doing something wrong? Is there some way I can try and claim for the picture as a whole? My issue isn’t just that I had several loans simultaneously from one company, but that I also had multiple loans from multiple companies that were unaffordable. 

I’m really lost with it all I’m not very savvy with this kind of thing, and I could really use some advice from you lovely people. 

Please help, thanks in advance
Liv x

MorningcoffeeIV

You need to send a specific complaint to each lender.

Not through Resolver and not a generic mass complaint.

MalMonroe

Hi, and welcome.

There is help out there! It seems to me that you are a bit overwhelmed and could do with some help from one of the free debt help agencies -

StepChange, National Debtline, Citizens Advice.

I always recommend StepChange because they helped me so much when I was overwhelmed and needed advice. They are non-judgemental and friendly and can help you find a solution to your financial problem. Before you contact them, it's a good idea to prepare a Statement of Account (SOA) - just basically a list of your incomings and outgoings - so they can get an idea of how best to help you. There is some information in the following link -

https://www.stepchange.org/

I recommend phoning them rather than trying to contact them online.

You can contact the Financial Ombudsman online - 

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/

And in that case, I do recommend contacting them online, you can fill in your comments/complaint and someone will get back to you. I have also used that service and found them to be very helpful.  

But in the first instance I'd recommend contacting StepChange, as I said, because they will be able to advise you about when to contact the Ombudsman and how, if they think it's appropriate for you. They will help you to negotiate a way to a satisfactory conclusion - and, if anything like my experience, will make you feel much better, too. The best thing is that they are free.

You have taken the first steps by admitting you have problems and that you need help. I do hope that this information is of some help to you. 

sourcrates

If you have received your final response from the lender you complained about, and had your complaint dismissed, then yes, you can escalate the matter to the FOS.

Its very simple, you follow the link in the post above, fill in their complaints form online, and send it to them.

They will then decide the matter on the balance of fairness to both sides.

Unfortunatly if your lender has gone bust, the time for complaints has now passed, most have issued a small amount of redress to some customers, and have since been wound up, so you cannot make a complaint about those companies any longer.

FreedomBringsPeace

Some good advice here. I just want to stop by to urge you to get your paperwork together and call step change today they will be able to advise you quickly so you can start to feel better about things and more hopeful for the new year. Take care of yourself