PAYDAY LOAN ALTERNATIVES
MORE than 350,000 former Wonga customers, who were mis-sold payday loans, have received letters telling them they’ll receive a paltry 4.3% of what they were owed after it went into administration.
So, this is a wake-up call for anyone who may have been mis-sold a payday loan – DON’T WAIT to check if you’re due £100s or 1,000s, or it could be too late… share them among those it owed money to – including those due mis-sold money back. Ultimately, I suspect the only thing you’ll be able to do now is spit, swear, stamp your feet then get on with life.
CHECK IF YOU WERE MIS-SOLD
PAYDAY loan firms should have done a number of checks to ensure the loan was appropriate, if not you were mis-sold. For example:
■ It didn’t examine your finances to ensure you can afford the loan and fees.
It wasn’t clear how much it would cost you in total to repay the loan.
You weren’t given full or accurate information about how and when to pay back your loan.
It didn’t tell you that a payday loan should not be used for long-term borrowing or if you are in financial difficulty.
You weren’t told what to do if you have a complaint.
If you were mis-sold then you are due back all the interest, fees, charges and 8% per year statutory interest on top since you took it out.
My guide at mse.me/ reclaimpaydayloan has free help.
Alternatively, if the payday lender rejects you, take your case to the free ombudsman (financial-ombudsman.org. uk).
MINIMISE the amount you borrow, ensure you can afford the repayments, and repay as quickly as you can.
Here are some options:
■ Check out a credit union at findyourcreditunion.co.uk.
■ Ask family or friends for help.
■ Check if you’re eligible for a loan from the Government at gov.uk/budgeting-helpbenefits .
■ Get non-profit debt counselling help with either citizensadvice.org.uk, capuk. org, stepchange.org or nationaldebtline.org
Martin Lewis is the founder and chair of MoneySavingExpert.com. Get his free Money Tips weekly email at moneysavingexpert.com/latesttip
■
Don’t wait to claim or you could be left disappointed