Payday Loans etc

Hi cg my husband is doing this. A company searches it all for him. As he said he might get something after all the loans, credit cards he's had. No harm trying!

Hi CG

Can't be 100% as it's one of the few things I haven't had to research but MSE forums can be a good source of advice on debt and reclaiming charges.

thanks both, I might give it a bash - looks like it can take over a year so will have to be patient!

I went into a site called debt camel. It gives you letter templates and step by step instructions on how to try and reclaim refunds from payday loans. This way you don't need to use a company who charge fees. I currently have 4 complaints in with all payday companies I have used. You can still do this if the loans are over 6 years old. I Highly recommend debt camel as a place to start.

I didn't know you could get refunds? But to be perfectly honest the way I see it is I borrowed the money to gamble and as part of my recovery I take responsibility and am repaying the money through a debt management plan - I don't want the likes of Provident and Morses on my back and they aren't.

Thanks Hopeful - that the same site I've been posting on (debt camel) - well worth checking out I think. Actually reading a lot of comments, there seems to be a very very common link between payday loans and gambling!

Phil - I think that's why I posted this. I feel a bit uneasy trying to claim money back (actually think my claims might be too late anyway) but equally, there were times I was almost hoping I didn't get approved and the panic I felt when I did have the funds/ knew what I needed to pay back, knowing I couldn't afford to, unless I 'found' money from somewhere

Only one company of the 11 I had pay day loans with, ever asked if the money was for gambling...I remember actually laughing out loud and saying something like 'God no'. That was it. Money arrived 15 minutes later and was spent that night on gambling.

I mean they ask you the date you get paid is. So if I am applying for a £1000 pay day loan 4 days after my pay day...and this is the 6th month in a row I have borrowed one from the same company...they must wonder what the issue is surely??

Better policing is needed on these things as i would not have been able to gamble so much without them...90 applications I made once in a 30 day period...

I was never asked what the money was for but my loans were with Provident and Morses and they come to your house.

I'm sorry to say and I've seen it regularly in the papers that these types of loan providers with the ridiculous APR etc. prey on the vulnerable and I would say someone in the throes of addiction IS vulnerable.

Of course they encourage you to borrow more money (can you blame them? It's commission-based after all) even though you couldn't afford the initial loan....but I knew what I wanted that money for.

Fortunately my Debt Managemant Plan is almost finished but I learnt some valuable lessons.

Best wishes, Phil.

Thanks Phil, mine is one month in so I have a long road ahead!

Absolutely vulnerable but then I am also responsible! Just think it would have put a stop to so much of my debt if I knew I couldn't just borrow more and more !

Hi all

This is a really useful thread. I'm moving it to Overcoming Problem Gambling as it's not really a debate, it's looking for advice on a specific topic.

Thanks everyone.

Deirdre

Forum Admin

Since September 2015, I have taken out 9 loans with door step provider Provident. This is plus another 3 from one other payday loan company (and with it's 3 since May of this year).

re-borrowing in May, June & July should surely be enough to create some alarm bells but apparently not. Especially when you run through your income and should have an excess £700-800 from your pay packet but immediately want to take out a new agreement on payday.

With Provident I was never asked by the agent if I was using the money for gambling. You even have to show your wage slip to the agent so once you go through your expenditure (which in my case for bills/rent etc. is only about 40% of my salary) there shoud be some further line of questioning but as is mentioned above it's commission based.

My credit rating is so poor that these are the only times of companies I can borrow from. I even took out a £2,000 loan recently which over 48 months will cost me £8,000 to pay back and unfortunately they do prey on the vulnerable.

The agents never asked me what I wanted the money for - they simply offered me more which I made the decision to accept and to be frank sometimes I asked for more as I wanted money to gamble.

I would suggest to anyone who is serious about quitting and has debt issues, get in touch with an organisation such as StepChange to see what your options are.

My best option was a debt management plan and it really has given me peace of mind as I have nobody calling, actually calling round to the house, no "threatening" letters, phone calls or e-mails.

Best wishes, Phil.

I would suggest if you are going to claim any interest back through debt camel, it would be wise to sort yourself out first in regards to stopping gambling. I say this to anyone because the money you claim back could just as be a temptation to gamble again. Would be horrible to claim it back and it go into the bookies pockets. I waited until I was 6 months gamble free to claim back the interest and it could around 3 months. I got a good chunk of interest back which I then used to pay my car off.

I couldn't agree more Brummyboy - I'm going to start the process now as most of mine fall within the 6-9years timeframe so need to get it registered, most likely 9-12 months for a decision

I've read a lot about it all now, I suppose my post into the debate section was really to get people views on some of the moraility of it all, on Phil's point that I did ask for the loans etc

that said, some of the sums people are claiming back could genuinely make a difference to some of our friends/family - which is what tipped the balance for me.

Sadly the main lender I used, I've now discovered, charged me around £10,000 in interest and charges, two ago i accepted an offer from them for £2,000, now looks like I should of kept pursuing but guess what - I was desperate for the funds and chose to accept the offer and then gamble the lot. I don't even remember doing any of that - such a mind bending addiction