Irresponsible lending help.

Readytodothis1

Hi, looking for anyone with maybe a similar situation.
basically I’ve got myself into over £20000 worth of debt from several different companies. I’ve finally looked at everything and ready to deal with it. I contacted M&S bank to tell them I was struggling after 4 hours of going through everything they have offered to consolidate what I have with them (2 loans and a credit card) interest free. The other companies I rang haven’t been as understanding. 

So my question is should I see if I could claim for irresponsible lending. By M&S response with the offer of a £10,000 interest free loan that seems to me that they have realised they have done something wrong?
any advice welcome

RAS

Consolidation is rarely a sensible idea. The majority of people just get back in trouble again.  How much do you currently owe on each of the M&S cards and the loan? 

Readytodothis1

It’s interest free consolidation they’ve offered me a payment of £154 a month over 5 years.
i owe in loans £5680 and cc £4500

Readytodothis1

Sorry and just to add. This debt has amounted over years, I’ve never sat down and work out how much I owe. The reason for borrowing more has always been to live. Current dept payments are approx 1250 a month before my actual bills. Everything has just gone round and round in circles. I am now ready to face this and deal with it all once and for all

RAS

The sums don't add up. What happens to the rest of the loan or card not covered by this consolidation loan?

Readytodothis1

That’s what I was asking. I reasoned that they had taken the interest off. And I’m not so many words they were admitting that it was sold irresponsibly to me. They didn’t even do a hard check on my credit report 

LinLui

How do you make out it was sold irresponsibly though? I see no evidence that they admitted anything, with or without words.

Readytodothis1

The amount of debt that was also showing at the time I applied I shouldn’t have really been accepted.

ChampagneSupernova36

If you do think they have been irresponsible, send them a letter of complaint and they will investigate:

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/consumer-credit/unaffordable-lending

https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/

It’s a slow process but you can also have the ombudsman investigate if you’re not happy with the response from the creditor. They’ll look at your credit file and bank statements etc to investigate if the creditor acted fairly. Never a guarantee but it certainly will be looked into ! Good luck 

Readytodothis1

Thank you.

CliveOfIndia

Readytodothis1 said:

The amount of debt that was also showing at the time I applied I shouldn’t have really been accepted.

The problem is, having a lot of debt doesn't, in itself, mean you shouldn't have been given further credit.  The lenders will have looked at your credit reports and seen how you'd been managing the existing debt so far.  If you were making all the required payments on time, and your debt to income ratio was within their lending parameters, they'd have no reason to refuse you.

It would be different if there was evidence that you were already struggling to meet your commitments.  Presumably you were honest in declaring what your income was at the time you took on the debt?