D(MP) Day! 1st July 2025

djdebt_bosh

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81998446#Comment_81998446

@burgervanman Did you use a template for the AF complaints? If so would you mind sharing?

The vast bulk of my debts are CC which obviously applied for. So could an AF complaint be based off the fact that the approved my application despite seeing I was heavily in debt - even though making all payments at the time. Or maybe the fact that they automatically raised my credit limit at various times without me requesting it?

burgervanman

I just used Chatgpt and checked it against a few googled templates. I have bank statements from the time of my zopa loan. So sending them and a credit report. To be fair the zopa one has good grounds for affordability. MBNA not so much but no harm. I'm not sending them till the default is showing to avoid any hold ups in the default process. My other cards are standard so not worth pursuing for me. Zopa was a 24% consolidation loan when already in heavy debt. Whilst it seems ludicrous I accepted those terms at the time I really thought I had no other choice. What a difference a year makes!

djdebt_bosh

Ok, so some form of update from my end.

MBNA Credit Card [def. Jan 2026]: £18,093 now with PRA Group

After being sent what I think was indeed the CCA, I requested that they resend one of the documents as it was too small to be legible, based on the requirement that what they send must be 'clear and easy to read'. That was some 3 weeks ago now, and all I've received is a letter to thank me for raising a complaint - it wasn't a complaint per se, I just asked them to resend it in larger type - but no further comms. To be fair to them, they said they wouldn't contact me again until there was a resolution, and they haven't. Just a bit odd as I would have thought all they'd need to do is just print it off again at 200% size…. Anyway, will keep an eye out for any comms re. this!

I also decided to submit affordability complaints against all the lenders. For the older debts it was against the limit raises towards the back end of the agreements and for the most recent debt (Virgin) it was that they probably shouldn't have set me up with a new credit card when I was already in trouble. Anyway, I received a response I'd like to get people's thoughts on.

Virgin Credit Card [def Jan 2026]: £6,869 now with Lowell

What they said:

The account ending xxxx was opened on ** **** 202*, with a Credit Limit of £6,000 after you made an online application. The limit has never been increased, and the account was sold on to Lowell Financial on ** ******* 2026.

A review of the information you gave us during the application process shows you employed by xxxx and had a Gross Annual Income of £40,000, which was validated by CATO – Current Account Turnover.

As a responsible lender, we used a combination of factors when reviewing application. The decision to approve the application was made using the details provided by you and information held with the Credit Reference Agencies about the performance of other products you held.

This was then reviewed alongside our lending criteria at the time before the account was opened and based upon our assessment, an appropriate and affordable Credit Limit was assigned.

At the time of your application there was nothing provided by you, nor in our validation of the information you provided, that indicated financial difficulties when the account was opened with us. If you believe this to be inaccurate, then please provide any information or evidence that would suggest you made us aware of your financial vulnerable status at the time of the application, or data that you think would have proved your financial vulnerable status at that time. 

Two main issues with the above are that:

1. I never earned anything like 40k at the time. More like 26k. Whilst I don't recall exactly what I entered during the application, and I wouldn't rule out 'inflating' my salary somewhat in order to get a favourable response, that would seem like quite an exaggeration! Is this something that would count in my favour with the Ombudsman (that the income wasn't properly verified), or against me (in that I may have lied about/exaggerated my income)?
2. At the time of the application, I was actually living abroad for a period of time and subsequently returned to the UK, where I'm now based full-time. Again, should I mention this (they didn't verify my residence status) or should I omit it as I think this is pretty much a slam dunk case of me telling a bit of a porky in order to get a desired outcome?

If anybody has any experience or advice about dealing with such issues vis-a-vis affordability complaints/Ombudsman, I'd be very grateful to hear your thoughts. Also, if I do pursue it further, should I go straight back to Virgin or just straight Omb? 👍