Debt & Defaulting. The Process...

RAS

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Genie10

Hi guys,

I am dealing with the irresponsible lending/affordability checks this week. I have used the Debt Camel letter template.
 

Should I supply bank statements for 3 months prior & 3 months after the loan start date?

Should I attach my credit report?

Also one of the loans I only took out earlier this year so there won’t be much interest on it. The letter template asks for interest & charges to be refunded so is it worth bothering with my recent loan or can I ask for a refund in some other way? 

Many thanks 

Isthisforreal99

'Castle Community Loan' - is that a credit union?

Genie10

Isthisforreal99 said:

'Castle Community Loan' - is that a credit union?

Yes unfortunately it is! 

However I have read their terms & conditions & it appears they follow the route of other lenders if I default.  I'll attach what i've read, hopefully I've understood it correctly!

ManyWays

The letter template asks for interest & charges to be refunded so is it worth bothering with my recent loan or can I ask for a refund in some other way? 
If a loan complaint is upheld by the lender or the ombudsman, all interest is removed from the debt so you only ever repay the amount you borrowed.  
This is worth doing for any loan you think was unaffordable.
Althouigh a few loan lenders "stop interest" in a DMP, many say the interest was all due at the start of the loan, so in a DMP the full amount of the loan plus interest is owed. 

Genie10

Hi all,
I've started to receive responses to the affordability complaints.  I've received three back so far & they all follow a similar theme to the one i've posted below.  Do you think I have a leg to stand on & can you think of anything I can add in a response to the companies before going to the Ombudsman?
As always thanks so much for your knowledge & advice!

Genie10

We are writing to confirm that the investigation into your complaint has concluded and we have reached a decision. Following the investigation, our findings are outlined below: 

We understand that your complaint is that you believe the £10,000.00 loan was unaffordable at the time it was granted. 

Our findings: 

On the 2nd April 2025, you applied for a £10,000.00 loan over 60 months for debt consolidation. This was approved and the contract was sent to you on 3rd of April 2025 and signed the same day. The funds were released to you on the 4th of April 2025. 

The contractual monthly repayments for the loan are £264.66, of which you made 4 full re-payments as due, before canceling your direct debit on the 8th of September 2025. 

On the 8th and 9th of September 2025, at 14:06pm on the 8th and 08:00am on the 9th, we sent you emails confirming that your Direct debit had been cancelled and to reach out to us if you are in need of assistance. No further payments were requested after the cancellation of your direct debit. 

Plend are a responsible lender and complete several affordability and creditworthiness checks using both your credit report from TransUnion and 12 months of transaction data from your bank prior to making the decision to provide credit. This allows us to see your income and expenditure both at the present time of your application and historically. 

Your application has been re-reviewed by a senior underwriter. 

Our findings are below: 

After re-reviewing your application, we still find the loan affordable. Having reviewed the bureau at the time of the application, the applicant has a stable credit file. No previous missed payments, no CCJs or defaults and a good credit score of 682. I do not find that the customer had a poor credit history at the time of the application. 

The applicant did have outstanding £67k, however the Plend loan was stated for debt consolidation so it would not add to this debt. 

The applicant had a strong regular salary and was also getting an additional regular £1k a month from a financial associate as well as transfers in from a secondary account. 

43% of their total income was going towards their debts at the time of the application, and as the Plend loan was for debt consolidation, and with an affordability of £1,389 disposable income the loan was deemed affordable. 

The customer has provided their bureau report which shows a £10,000 Zopa loan obtained after the Plend loan, therefore this loan was not taken into consideration at the time of approval of the Plend loan. 

To conclude, given that the loan was found to be affordable and for debt consolidation, I would agree with the approval.

 

Outcome: 

I understand the concern this situation might have caused you. Due to the reasons listed above, we are unable to uphold your complaint. If you are dissatisfied with this complaint response, please let us know within 14 days. 

If no new evidence to support your complaint is provided within these 14 days, we will issue a final response and you may refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

fatbelly

Refer it to the Ombudsman.

That's just the usual twaddle.

Genie10

Hi everyone, 

Quick update.  I have started hearing back from the companies re the affordability complaints.  As expected none have been upheld so far, so I have referred them to the FO.  I have recently heard back from Abound who accept no liability but offered a goodwill gesture of £250 which I refused.  Today they have offered £500. 
 
The  £10665 loan was taken out in March 2024. I have been paying £255 a month until I stopped paying in September.  The current balance is £8469.  

I don't agree with the figures Abound are using. They claim I had £21,747 in unsecured debt when I took the loan, I make it nearer £40k which they dispute. 

Has anyone got experience of anything similar?  What are your thoughts on accepting the £500 over referring to the Financial Ombudsman?

Many thanks