Affordability

CurlyTop11

Hi all,

It has been a while since I have posted, but still chipping away and reading often.

I am considering filing a couple of affordability complaints as I have read other success stories recently. I do remember thinking at the time of my madness 'I didn't expect them to give me that' or 'can't believe they have increased my limit' a couple of times, so hopefully may be able to get somewhere!

I just have a couple of questions for anyone who has done similar please:

- Is there a way to find dates/credit increases etc? Can this be done via your credit report history? Or would I need to try and find emails? If I couldn't find them all, could I still do a general affordability complaint?
- As the debts have defaulted and been sold on, if I was to get a refund of any interest etc, how would this work? Would the original creditor pay it to the current debt owner/purchaser?

Thanks all

MattMattMattUK

CurlyTop11 said:

Hi all,

It has been a while since I have posted, but still chipping away and reading often.

I am considering filing a couple of affordability complaints as I have read other success stories recently. I do remember thinking at the time of my madness 'I didn't expect them to give me that' or 'can't believe they have increased my limit' a couple of times, so hopefully may be able to get somewhere!

I just have a couple of questions for anyone who has done similar please:

- Is there a way to find dates/credit increases etc? Can this be done via your credit report history? Or would I need to try and find emails? If I couldn't find them all, could I still do a general affordability complaint?

They would show in your credit reports, they would show on your statements, you could potentially have emails and/or letters about the increases. 

CurlyTop11 said:

- As the debts have defaulted and been sold on, if I was to get a refund of any interest etc, how would this work? Would the original creditor pay it to the current debt owner/purchaser?

Thanks all

The refund of any interest would be used to reduce the debt you owe, if that interest refunded exceeded the amount you owe then you would get the difference back. They would normally buy back the debt in these circumstances, but may part pay it to the current owner, it just depends. 

ManyWays

I think you can just ask in a credit card affordability complaint to be sent a list of all limit changes and dates.

Also look at complaints about Lendable and Zopa, some of the biggest wins reported here have been about loans!

PanAction25

CurlyTop11 said:

Hi all,

It has been a while since I have posted, but still chipping away and reading often.

I am considering filing a couple of affordability complaints as I have read other success stories recently. I do remember thinking at the time of my madness 'I didn't expect them to give me that' or 'can't believe they have increased my limit' a couple of times, so hopefully may be able to get somewhere!

I just have a couple of questions for anyone who has done similar please:

- Is there a way to find dates/credit increases etc? Can this be done via your credit report history? Or would I need to try and find emails? If I couldn't find them all, could I still do a general affordability complaint?
- As the debts have defaulted and been sold on, if I was to get a refund of any interest etc, how would this work? Would the original creditor pay it to the current debt owner/purchaser?

Thanks all

I won my affordability complaint against Amex last month, so just wanted to share a few things that might help.

To evidence the credit limit increases, I used my credit card statements. Some dates weren’t exact—for example, my January 2023 statement showed a higher limit than December 2022. In those cases, I simply stated that the increase happened between those two months, and that was accepted.

As for your question about defaults and refunds: in my case, the FOS instructed Amex to refund all interest and charges from 2019 onwards. They also clarified that if Amex needed to report any missed payments or a default, it had to be backdated to 2019. That worked in my favour because I had no missed payments or defaults on my credit file until February 2025. So effectively, the FOS decision meant that the 2025 default couldn’t stand.

The key thing is getting the FOS to uphold your complaint. Once they do, they’ll usually require Amex to remove any default, buy back the debt if it’s been sold, and correct your credit file accordingly.

Just recently (3 days ago), I received an email from Amex saying they’ll be crediting my account with £9,000. The balance at the time of default was over £9,200. I’ve now asked them for a full breakdown of how they calculated that figure because I think the refund should be or around £10,000 and for written confirmation that the default and missed payments from 2025 have been removed or backdated to 2019 (which is now over 6 years ago).

Hope that helps—happy to answer any other questions based on my experience.

agentblackcat

Hi Curly Top. 

I have gone down this route, winning a few complaints around irresponsible lending. There is template letters you can use. The more information you can get the better. Credit report. Bank statements. If it's more than 6 years ago it's more difficult. Are these accounts still open ? When did these accounts start ?

CurlyTop11

Thanks all @MattMattMattUK @ManyWays @PanAction25 @agentblackcat

I have requested full credit report form Experian, I am just waiting for the pin to come through to access it.

The accounts aren't open anymore as they have been defaulted, so technically closed and sold elsewhere. Apart from maybe one of my CCs which is still with the original lender, and is being managed by Cabot I think it is. I am going to go through everything when I have my report and hopefully I can get something back.

Do people tend to have more luck with credit cards or loans? Or is there no real pattern?